Wendy Foster and her new service dog Tippy. Tippy was given to Foster by the Essex Rotary Club.

ESSEX –- Wendy Foster, the recipient of a service dog donated by the Essex Rotary Club, will speak at their weekly meeting on Tuesday, May 22, 2012 (6:00 p.m.) at the Essex Yacht Club on 13 Novelty Lane, Essex.

A 26 year veteran pre-school teacher, Essex resident Foster was forced to retire when she became weakened by an undiagnosed neuromuscular disorder.  In a cruel twist of fate, Foster’s first service dog became blind.  Learning about Foster’s need, the Essex Rotary Club stepped in and purchased Tippy, an 18 month old Labrador retriever trained through NEADS (National Education for Assistance Dog Services) headquartered in Princeton, Massachusetts.  Their mission is to provide canine assistance for people who are deaf or have a disability.  The dogs become an extension of their handlers and bring them freedom and physical autonomy. Many of the dogs, including Tippy, are trained in prisons by inmates who fiercely compete for the privilege.

Foster will demonstrate how Tippy helps her in all aspects of daily living with an eye toward fall prevention.  When the inevitable fall does occur, Tippy snaps to attention and provides a strong back to steady Foster as she lifts herself off the ground.

Accompanied by Tippy, Foster has testified in various legislatures on behalf of the U.S. Pain Foundation on the subject of chronic pain awareness and pharmaceutical discrimination of those in constant pain.

Memorial Day offers an opportunity to reflect on our freedoms and the price of those freedoms. Without rhetoric or dissertation, men and women gave their lives to secure and protect those freedoms.  In recognition of these fallen heroes, the Essex Memorial Day Parade will provide a reverent celebration winding through the streets of Essex.

The parade will commence on Monday May 28 at 9:00 a.m. All veterans are welcome; wear your uniform of choice or collared shirt/slacks and join your fellow military comrades. Assemble at the Foot of Main Street in downtown Essex at 8:45 a.m.

The parade will follow a three mile route as it makes the following stops to pay respects: Riverview Cemetery, First Baptist Church, Town Hall, Centerbrook Cemetery, and the Essex Veteran’s Memorial Hall. There will be a short ceremony at the Veteran’s Hall at the conclusion of the parade (approximately 11:00 a.m).

If weather precludes a parade, ceremonies will be held at Essex Town Hall at 9:30 a.m. and at the Essex Veteran’s Memorial Hall at 11:00 a.m. All interested parties may contact Phil Beckman at 860.767.9755 or philipbeckman@yahoo.com with questions. Please come out to pay tribute to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms.

To be listed on the map, send $10 to the Chester RTC, 248 Middlesex Avenue, Chester, CT 06412, or visit the Century-21 office in Chester Center.  You must be a Chester resident or business and your sale address must be in Chester to be listed on the map.  Proceeds from listing fees, map sales, and advertising on the map are used to promote the event throughout Connecticut, to pay for extra police duty during the event, and to benefit the Chester Republican Town Committee’s general fund.

Last year, more than 80 individual residences and businesses were listed on the map and over 500 maps were distributed.  We estimate that well over 1000 buyers come to town that day.

The first such event of its kind in the Lower Connecticut River Valley, the Chester Town-Wide Tag Sale was started by a group of Chester merchants in the mid-90’s and was run by the Merchants for several years.  In 2003, the Chester Historical Society took over the event and ran it for the next seven years.  This will be the Chester Republican Town Committee’s second year to organize the event and sign-ups are pouring in.  Several other towns in the area now host similar events at other times of the year.

“The Chester Town-wide Tag Sale offers buyers a concentration of sales at one convenient destination, increasing the buyer’s chances of finding that special piece that they just have to have.  It’s a great way to spend a day of fun and relaxation, and it affords professional dealers an efficient day of shopping to replenish their inventories,” said Glenn Reyer, the event’s prior organizer.  “Chester residents and businesses who wish to have a sale get the benefit of traffic volume that is rarely seen in Chester.  For less than the cost of a single classified ad, sellers see a flow of buyers that they could not hope to achieve on their own.  And the town as a whole benefits by getting all the tag sales over with on one day.”

And when you’re done or if you just need a break, please stop by any one of our six downtown restaurants for a cup of coffee, snack or really nice lunch … or you can just continue shopping in the downtown shops.

For more information, contact Kris Seifert at (860) 526-8440 or kris.seifert@gmail.com.

Pacileo, who served as the minority Republican on the Essex Board of Selectmen from 2003 to 2009, was endorsed over MacMillian on a 7-4 delegate vote in the convention held at Essex Town Hall. The district includes the towns of Chester, Deep River, Essex and Haddam.

Pacileo was nominated by Margot Gamerdinger of Deep River, who cited his experience in town government and in running a legislative campaign. Pacileo was the unsuccessful Republican challenger to Democratic State Senator Eileen Daily in the 12-town 33rd District in 2008, losing to the long-time incumbent on a vote of 30,320-17,624.

MacMillian, wife of Bruce MacMillian, the unsuccessful Republican nominee for Essex first selectman last year, was nominated by Martha Dean, the Avon resident who was the unsuccessful Republican nominee for attorney general in 2006 and 2010. Allowing Dean, who was not a delegate or resident of the district, to make a nominating speech required a rules change that was approved by the 11 delegates. Dean said MacMillian “understands freedom,” and is ready to challenge a “one party legislature” controlled by Democrats.

In the roll call, MacMillian was supported by three of the four delegates from Essex, and one delegate from Haddam. Pacileo had the delegates from Chester, Deep River, two of three from Haddam, and Essex delegate Jim Hill, a former chairman of the Essex Republican Town Committee.

Pacileo, in remarks to the convention, said his campaign themes would be reform and renewal. “It is about time we returned to citizen representation and away from the career politicians that dominate Hartford,” he said.

A former human resources manager at Pfizer in Groton, Pacileo has worked for the past 18 months as the director of administrative services in Stonington, handling human resources, labor relations and grants administration among other duties. Pacileo said his boss, Stonington Democratic First Selectman Edward Haberek, has given him the go-ahead to run for the legislative seat.

MacMillian said after the vote she supports Pacileo, and would not contest the nomination in a primary. “I am ready to be a foot soldier for Vin’s campaign,” she said.

The 36th District seat is currently held by Democrat Phil Miller, a former first selectman of Essex who led the board while Pacileo served as the minority party selectman. Miller won the seat in a February 2011 special election, defeating Republican Janet Peckinpaugh, the former television anchorwoman and unsuccessful 2010 congressional candidate. The seat had been held for a decade by Democrat James Spallone, who resigned after winning re-election in 2010 to take the job of deputy secretary of the state.

Miller had been expected to seek a full term as state representative in the Nov. 6 election, but has also been mentioned as a possible candidate for the 33rd State Senate District seat that was opened up earlier this week when ten-term incumbent Democratic State Senator Eileen Daily of Westbrook announced she would not seek re-election this year. Democrats are scheduled to nominate a candidate for state senate in a convention Monday at Essex Town Hall. The Democrats nominating session for the 36th House District is Tuesday May 22 at the Whistlestop restaurant in Deep River.

John Guy LaPlante

A recent report by the Pew Foundation said that 19 percent of adults in the U.S.have read an e-book.  I’m amazed the percentage is so high.

Some of you may already be buying e-books.  Some of you – even as passionate readers of  books as we know them, meaning books printed on paper – may not have a clue about e-books.

E-books are shorthand for electronic books, also known as digital book.  They are books meant to be read not on paper, but on a computer screen.  Or more recently, on specialized devices called e-book readers (e-readers).  In fact, these have become a rage.

E-books have been around for a decade, maybe two decades.  In fact, undoubtedly since the beginning of word processing programs.  Microsoft Word, notably.

If you could write a letter or a report or an article on your computer with Microsoft Word, why not a book? Sure.  But such a book wasn’t called an e-book back then.  It was just a long Microsoft Word document (.doc).  You saved it on your computer.

If you wanted to send it to somebody, you did it with a floppy disk and later, a CD.   The widespread arrival of the Internet and email made it possible to send it even thousands of miles in a minute or two.

Then Adobe developed the pdf—the portable digital format.   Very important because it preserved your document or article–whatever you created—exactly as you wrote it.  With the same typeface, same type size, same formatting (italics, paragraphing, and so on), the same everything in every detail.  A remarkable and wonderful breakthrough.

But—this just occurred to me—if you are reading this, you know a lot about this already.  After all, you are reading this as a digital file.  Suddenly I feel very dumb.

Well, it’s less than five years ago—Nov. 19, 2007,  that the first e-book reader appeared.  The Kindle.  That was an invention by Amazon.com.  It sold for $399.  It was sensational.  It  sold out practically overnight.

It was also wonderful.  It fit in your pocket.  You could store more books on it than you could read in a lifetime.  You could buy them fron Amazon and receive them on your Kindle in just a couple of minutes.

It was as significant an invention as that of movable, reusable type by Gutenberg in 1447.  The Kindle and the e-book changed our reading habits forever.  It turned the book world topsy-turvy.

Today there are six Kindle models, varying in features and price.  The lowest-price is $79 and the top of the line  $199.  Incredible how the  prices have dropped.

In fact, there are numerous e-book makers and there are more than 30 different brands on the market. There is even the extraordinary kind called a tablet.  So-called because it is considerably bigger and lets you access not only e-books, music, photos. movies and connect to the Internet and perform other miracles,

The most sophisticated is Apple’s Ipad—a groundbreaking invention by itself.  A full-fledged computer.  It, too, has been selling like hotcakes.  The price keep changing—about $500 on up depending on features. Amazon selling for $600 and considerably more, depending.

In fact, Amazon’s $199 unit – the Kindle Fire – is a tablet, designed to cut into Apple’s market.  It has been said that Amazon prices its units even below cost.  All to stimulate sales of e-books.

As some of you know, in the last six years I have written three books.  Print books.  I also wrote one 50 years ago, but let’s forget that.  I would have written more books, I think, but life interfered.

And in the spirit of full disclosure I want to tell you all three will soon be e-books.  Why?  It’s absolutely essential if I want to make them available to the greatest number of readers possible.   And like all writers, I write to be read.

I never, never thought I would  own an e-book reader.  No need.  Now I  own two.  Use them hardly at all. Was intrigued by the technology, I guess..

Now back to my main topic today.  Public libraries.  I think they are imperiled.  I say this although I’m aware public libraries have more users than ever.  Yes, it’s true.  Even in this digital age.

National Library Week came and passed just recently.  April 7 to 13.  I missed it somehow.  What a shame.  National Library Week?  Hey,who notices?  Who cares?  Well, I do.  Libraries mean so much to me.

I’m worried about their future.  Not for myself.  The day will come before long when I’ll no longer need my library card.  But I’m worried for library lovers everywhere.

This is why I have gone on at length about  e-books.  Because I realize that if this e-book phenomenon continues … and certainly it will … it will kill public libraries.  Yes, kill them.

Well, certainly libraries as we know them.  Just as Amazon.com is killing off neighborhood bookstores as we know them.  Even giant bookstores.  Just consider that the giant chain Borders just went under.  For sure, a casualty of Amazon.com and the e-book revolution.  What a loss.

Just consider also: not only are books becoming digital.  So are newspapers—and look at how our newspapers have declined— because they began producing e-newspapers as well.  And then did the stupid thing of making them available free.  Now the papers are smartening up and beginning to charge for their electronic editions.

The changes are beyond belief.  Even textbooks are becoming e-textbooks.  Tablets like the Ipad are becoming standard everyday necessities for just about any man or woman who has to read and write in order to earn their living.

In fact, look at what just happened to the venerable, absolutely wonderful Encyclopedia Britannica.  Its 30 or so hefty volumes take up whole shelves on a bookcase.  Britannica just printed its last edition.  It, too, is going digital.

I gave my son Mark a set when he married just seven or eight years ago.  I love to see it on display in his living room when I visit.

But I don’t think he’s ever used it, and he is a university professor and a lover of books.  Why?  Because it’s so much easier for him to access this wealth of information online.  He does this online every day.

Still I’m glad he has the big set.  I consider it a sort of statue that attests to one of his core values.

The impending doom of our public libraries saddens me beyond words.  I love libraries.

What’s the problem?  Well, now libraries are providing e-books.  You can download one for two weeks, say. Free.  The libraries are even teaching people how to do this.

Aren’t they making the same terrible mistake that the newspapers did—committing suicide by being so generous?

Gradually the libraries will acquire more and more e-book titles.  The more e-books published, the more e-books the libraries will want to stock.  Library users will check out more and more e-books.  The libraries’ budget for e-books will swell.

The process will snowball.  The borrowing of print books will decline.  In time, the books in the stacks will gather dust.  In time, only e-books will be available.

And remember: e-books don’t take up space on shelves. They are stored in a computer. You could put a whole library of e-books in a computer.  Who is going to need a great, big library anymore?

This won’t happen next year.  But it will happen.

Many of you will say, John, how can you be against progress?  I recognize that this is progress.  But frankly, I’m glad I won’t be around to see the demise of the libraries.  That’s such a painful thought.

I consider the public library the most important institution in any community.  The only thing more important to me is the supermarket.  I admit this.  As much as I love books and reading, I love to eat.  But libraries come next.

I have visited hundreds of libraries.  Make that thousands. I’m serious.  All over theUnited States and numerous other countries.  I measure a community by its library.  A good library means this is an enlightened community.

A big thing I like about living here in the Connecticut Estuary is that fine libraries surround me.  My own Deep River Public Library, but also Essex and Ivoryton and Chester and Old Saybrook and Old Lyme and even farther.  And know what?  I get to all of them.  Some more often than others, of course.

Yes, how lucky we are.  Connecticut has one of the best library systems in the country.  I know.  Let me give you one example.

In Connecticut I can go to any library in the state, the Sharon Public Library up in the northwest corner, say, borrow a book by showing by Deep River card, and take it home.  To return it, I don’t have to take it back to Sharon.  I just return it to the Deep River Library.  It will get it returned to Sharon.

I spent much of the winter in Newport Beach, Calif.  Beautiful community.  Beautiful library.  I have a card for it.  One day I was in the Huntington Beach Library, just two towns north.  I saw a book I liked.  I wasn’t sure Newport Beach would have it.  I took it to a librarian and showed my Newport Beach card.  “Oh, we don’t do that here,” she said.

I go to a library just about every day.  Let me rewrite that sentence: I enjoy a library just about every day.  I will go to a library today.  I’m sure you are asking yourself, “What kind of nut is this LaPlante?”

Blame my Maman.  I was 8 or 9.  She was a young immigrant gal, French from Québec and woefully poor in English back then.  Working 44 hours a week in the big brick textile factory down the street as Papa struggled to get his little linoleum store going.  That was in Pawtucket, R.I.  That’s where I was born.

We spoke French at home.  I began to learn English only when I went out to play with the neighbor kids.  Began studying it in first grade, of course.

One day she took me on the bus downtown.  Led me up through the bronze doors of the Pawtucket (Slater) Public Library.  Managed to explain she wanted a card for me.  The nice lady librarian made that happen. then showed us the kids’ section.  I walked out with a book.  I don’t remember its title.  But I remember I didn’t understand all the words.  Maman took me back again.  I took out another book.  I became hooked.  I still am.

That was about the time she also signed me up at the Boy’s Club for swimming lessons.  Swimming also became one of my big interests.  I tell you this only because it tells you so much about my Maman.

Bill Moiles said it perfectly for me back in 1958, I think it was.  I was a rookie reporter at the Worcester Telegram.  He was a star reporter turned columnist.  I feasted on his columns.  One I have never forgotten because I agreed so heartily.

Those were the awful days when we feared the U.S.S.R. would drop an A-bomb on us.  Popular Mechanics and other magazines were telling us how to build underground shelters in our backyard and stock them with canned soups and flash lights and toilet paper.

“The bomb may fall,” Moiles wrote. “Catastrophic for sure.  But if the Public Library survives, we have a chance.”

I knew exactly what he meant. It’s all there, on those shelves.  Everything we need to know.  It holds true for any blast in the future.

The Pawtucket Public Library of my youth provided only two services.  It lent out books and let you come in and read papers and magazines.  Free of charge.  That’s what all libraries did back then.

This is the right moment to tip my hat to the great Andrew Carnegie.  He made his millions in the steel business.  But he went down in history as our greatest philanthropist because he used much of his fortune to get public libraries built all over the country—nearly 3,000 of them, most of which still exist, of course. Free public libraries.  What a sensational idea.

As we know, today libraries don’t provide only books. They specialize in “media”.  This is the new word that covers books, magazines, newspapers, music and movie disks, audio books, maps, and of late, e-books—information in all its forms.

They often have a children’s library, or a genealogical room, or a map collection.  Provide research assistance.  Host meetings.  Provide free computers for us to use, connected to the Internet, mind you. Provide photocopying and scanning services.  Operate used-book stores as a fund-raiser for themselves.  Some serve coffee; even have a cafe or even a restaurant.

Often city libraries have branches, even a library on wheels or a service for the housebound.

In all this, I must mention one more grand thing about public libraries.  They are such wonderful, welcoming places.  As we know, anybody is free to come in, sit down, and enjoy all the goodies.  How wonderful.

But there has been one sad development.  In some big libraries…urban libraries, for instance, even smaller ones such as in New London and New Haven … often you will come in and encounter many street people, homeless folks.

On the one hand, how good it is that they have such a safe and comfortable and interesting refuge.  On the other hand, some of these unfortunates–definitely not all–are slovenly and smelly.  Maybe it’s wonderful to welcome them in.  Maybe bad.  I understand both points of view.  Who will come up with a solution fair to the libraries and these poor folks?

Two months ago I was in Las Vegas.  Of course, I had to visit its municipal library.  Quite big.  Modern.   As I arrived, I noticed half a dozen men hanging around the front door, unkempt, smoking butts.  Inside, so many people that it was hard to find a chair.  Many like those I just mentioned.

Yet many were actually reading books.  I did see some who I thought were just putting on an act, hoping to fool the librarian at the desk.

But I walked down a hall and found a class in session.  Crowded with about 25 people.  The teacher was teaching English as a second language.  Some in there looked down and out, or close to it.  But I studied them through the door window.  All looked intent, studious.  And I had to think, How wonderful, this library…

Two weeks ago I was visiting in Sunrise, Fla.  It’s a very nice suburb of Fort Lauderdale.  Fine, new library.  I walked in at 10:15, shortly after it opened.

I noticed the public computer section.  It had about 20 computers.  Half of them were already being used. More than half by blacks, all adults (schools were in session).  Sunrise is a very predominantly white community.  I assumed most of these folks at the computers did not own one.

As I walked by them, I noticed most were doing serious things—I mean, not playing games or watching porno.  Again I thought, how wonderful this library!

I bless Benjamin Franklin for his brilliant idea of starting a lending library in Philadelphia.  He was the pioneer.  Other communities did the same.  That’s how our public libraries started..

This is the right moment to tip my hat to the great philanthropist Andrew Carnegie (1935-1919).  He made his millions in the steel business.  Became the richest man in the world.

But he went down in history as a great man because he used much of his fortune to get libraries built all over the country—nearly 3,000 of them, most of which survive and have prospered.  Free public libraries,  What a sensational idea.

I have a story about another philanthropist for you. I was in the new, beautiful library in Québec City.  I asked a librarian if I could use a computer.  Showed her my passport.

“Obi, Monsieur!” she said with a big smile and pointed to one.  “You are American.  Our computers were made possible by your Monsieur Bill Gates and Madame Gates.  Their Foundation. ”

Bill and Melinda Gates have done this with their Microsoft money in many libraries and in numerous countries, it seems.

I have a bit more to say about them.  As some of you know, until two years or so ago, I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine.  I expected to find a few libraries there, but it has thousands.  It’s a civilized country. But most are way behind the times.

While I was over there, I read that the Gates Foundation was providing $27 million over five year to expand the use of Internet in the country.  They were doing this by providing computers and funding Internet services in libraries all over the country.  The first priority: to give instruction.

In essence, libraries are not about books and paper.  They’re about knowledge and information and literature and science and civilization and the life of the mind.   This is their purpose.  They achieve it with the books they lend us for free plus all the other services they provide, nearly all free.

The day when e-books will take over is coming fast.  As you know, Google is attempting to convert every book in the world into an-ebook.  Has already converted millions of print books.

This is 2012. Still 88 years left in this century.  I believe this sweeping change will occur long before 2100. Who is going to need print books?

And no big library will be needed just to store e-books.  They are just digital files.  They can all be saved in a computer.  In fact, they may all be safe on a digital “cloud” somewhere, to use a totally new digital concept.

ii) Librarians as a breed are not only famously caring and generous and serving.  They are very intelligent. They have cleverly adapted and made their libraries better for us since the very first.

Just think – they switched from candles to oil lamps to electric bulbs.  Some are now putting in solar panels. They went from a list of books maintained in a pad to massive card catalogs and the brilliant Dewey Decimal System.  Now even the smallest has a computer on which you can find any book easier and faster—even borrow one from another library.

Our librarians will find a way to make life better for us.  Their working in a library building as we know such is doubtful.  There won’t be a library for us to go to.

We’ll be ordering e-books and other media from them by computer.  They’ll send them to us by computer. Will do everything by computer.  Probably we’ll never see a librarian face to face.  In fact, the process may be automated.

I’m optimistic.  I’m all for progress. But I’m glad I won’t see this progress.  I treasure my memories of my good times in public libraries big and small, near and far.  Good times beyond count.

But do you think I’m wrong in these speculations?

Ivoryton

Neil Simon wrote one of his best plays about this husband. The Last of the Red Hot Lovers which opens in Ivoryton on June 6 and runs through June 24,  introduces us to  Barney Cashman, a 47-year-old restaurateur, who decides he needs to take a break from his 23-year-old marriage. On three different afternoons, he brings women to his mother’s apartment while she’s at the hospital volunteering. Behind plentiful laughs is a tender portrayal of a decent fellow who just can’t succeed in sinning.

R. Bruce Connelly* returns to Ivoryton to play the hopelessly faithful Barney Cashman. Bruce has performed at the Playhouse many times, most recently in the critically acclaimed production, THE PRODUCERS. Bruce will be joined by Playhouse veteran Beverley Taylor, Kate Hubbard* and Bonnie Black*

Longtime wives who attend The Last of the Red Hot Lovers are urged to bring their longtime husbands. Each guy may well see how smart he’s been to not humiliate himself the way Barney does!

Directed by Maggie McGlone Jennings, the set design is by Rachel Reynolds, lighting design by Marcus Abbott, and costumes by LisaMarie Harry.

The Last of the Red Hot Lovers opens on June 6th and runs through June 24th for 3 weeks. Performance times are Wednesday and Sunday matinees at 2pm. Evening performances are Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30pm, Friday and Saturday at 8pm. Tickets are $40 for adults, $35 for seniors, $20 for students and $15 for children and are available by calling the Playhouse box office at 860-767-7318 or by visiting our website at www.ivorytonplayhouse.org  (Group rates are available by calling the box office for information.) The Playhouse is located at 103 Main Street in Ivoryton.

*member of Actors Equity

About 60 residents turned out for the meeting, where the spending plan was approved without discussion. First Selectman Edmund Meehan explained the only change made by the board of finance after the May 1 public hearing, restoring $18,000 to the appropriation for Chester Elementary School while deferring $18,000 in the capital expenditure plan that was to be set aside for roof repairs at the school.

The finance board, citing declining enrollment at the school, had recommended a $20,000 cut in the elementary school budget. The cut drew a mixed response from residents at the public hearing after the local board of education reported it could only find $2,000 in cuts from the proposed budget. The finance board later decided to restore $18,000 for 2012-2013 while deferring the $18,000 for planned roof repairs.

The total $12,748,081 spending package includes a town government budget of $3,411,243, $428,961 in capital expenditures, a $4,223,900 appropriation for the elementary school, and the town’s 4,683,977 share of the Region 4 education budget that was approved by the voters of Chester, Deep River, and Essex in a May 8 referendum.

The board of finance will vote this week to set a tax rate of 22.24 mills to fund the spending plan. The new rate, which represents $22.45 in tax for each $1,000 in assessed property value, is up by .34 mills from the current tax rate. In setting the rate at 22.25 mills, the finance board will approve a transfer of $174,641 from the town’s undesignated fund balance to help cover expenditures. The transfer would leave about $1.34 million in the fund balance as of June 30, 2013.

Voters also unanimously approved several other items on the town meeting agenda, including authorization of two transfers from the capital expenditure plan that are funded in the current budget. Voters approved $40,000 for the Main Street Committee to pay for an engineering consultant for the long-planned Main Street improvement project, and $110,000 for road repairs to be completed this summer. Meehan said the town would be resurfacing a section of North Cedar Lake Road from from the Boy Scouts shack north to the Haddam town line.

Voters also authorized joining the new Lower Connecticut River Valley Council of Governments, a regional organization that will replace the existing and more informal Lower Connecticut River Valley Council of Elected Officials to coordinate a planned merger of the two regional planning agencies serving area towns.

The organization has already received membership approval from the required two-thirds of the 17 towns in the proposed region, with the vote Tuesday making Chester the 14th town to join the COG. The new council of governments is expected to implement the merger of the Old Saybrook-based Connecticut River Estuary Regional Planning Agency and the Middletown-based Midstate Regional Planning Agency this summer.

Nearly 100 residents turned out for Monday’s meeting, which had been preceded by talk of a possible paper ballot vote. But the spending plan was approved by voice vote with no request for a paper ballot vote.

The total $22,090,118 budget includes $6,853,591 for town government, $7,535,591 for Essex Elementary School, and the town’s $7,701,887 share of the Region 4 education budget that was approved by the voters of Chester, Deep River, and Essex in a May 8 referendum.

The board of finance will set the tax rate for 2012-2013 at a meeting Thursday. First Selectman Norman Needleman said he is hoping the finance board would hold any increase in the property tax rate to one-half mill or less. The current tax rate is 17.98 mills, or $17.98 in tax for each $1,000 of assessed property value.

James Francis, finance board chairman, said the board would discuss various options for the tax rate, including a possible transfer from the town’s undesignated fund balance to limit the tax increase or cover the increase in capital and sinking funds that is part of the approved budget. The town currently has at least $2.3 million in the fund balance.

Democratic State Senator Eileen Daily of Westbrook

AREAWIDE–  Democratic State Senator Eileen Daily of Westbrook announced Tuesday that she will not seek a new term in the Nov. 6 election, throwing open the race in the 12-town district Daily has represented for ten terms.

Daily’s decision to retire, which comes after she had formed a 2012 candidate committee earlier this year, was confirmed only one week before the Democrats district nominating convention on Monday in Essex. A former first selectwoman of Westbrook, Daily has represented the large district since 1992, defeating a series of Republican challengers by wide margins in each legislative election.

The district currently includes the towns of Chester, Clinton, Colchester, Deep River, East Haddam, East Hampton, Essex, Haddam, Lyme, Portland, Westbrook, and portions of Old Saybrook. During portions of Daily’s tenure, Durham, Killingworth and Marlborough were also in the district.

Lon Seidman, an Essex resident who serves as a Democratic State Central Committee representative for the 33rd  District, said more than one prospective candidate is likely at the nominating convention where he is expected to serve as convention chairman. “We want to make sure it’s a fair and open process,” he said. Seidman, who serves on the Essex Board of Education, said he would not be a candidate for the senate seat.

One likely candidate is 36th District State Representative Phil Miller of Essex. A former first selectman of Essex, Miller won the seat representing Chester, Deep River, Essex and Haddam, in a February 2011 special election. A longer serving legislator in the district is State Representative Linda Orange of Colchester, who has represented Colchester and abutting towns, including East Haddam, since 1997.

District Republicans have set up a likely Aug. 14 primary contest for the party nomination after Neil Nichols of Essex, the unsuccessful GOP challenger to Daily in 2010, edged 23-year-old newcomer Art Linares of Westbrook on a 24-22 delegate vote at the party nominating convention Monday.  Nichols Tuesday wished Daily well, recalling that he and Daily had each run positive campaigns in their 2010 contest that Daily won by 3,818 votes. “I respected her enough that I concentrated on the issues,” Nichols said.

There will also be a Green Party candidate on the Nov. 6 ballot. Melissa Schlag of Haddam, an opponent of the controversial but now cancelled Connecticut River land swap that Daily supported last year. Schlag has the Green Party ballot line and is currently collecting petition signatures in an effort to qualify for public financing for her third party campaign.

See related Press Release:  Sen. Daily to Retire from Legislature upon Completion of Current Term

Senator Daily has represented the towns and residents of Chester, Clinton, Colchester, Deep River, East Haddam, East Hampton, Essex, Haddam, Lyme, Old Saybrook, Portland and Westbrook in the state Senate since 1993. Senator Daily is a former First Selectman of Westbrook and prior to that served on its Board of Education.

“Replacement and renewal are integral to the revitalization of any institution,” Senator Daily said. “In the past year holding office has become more physically demanding for me and it would be difficult to initiate a re-election campaign. I’ve been diagnosed with cancer, endured chemotherapy and associated treatment, and am presently recuperating from a broken ankle.”

“During the last weeks of this session I was challenged to maintain the pace required at the Capitol. As I review my 20-year tenure and consider the future I’ve settled on this plan with complete confidence that it’s time for another voice to speak for this district,” Senator Daily said. “I am also literally blessed with a loving husband and family – Jim and I eagerly look forward to spending more time with our children and grandchildren.”

While in office Senator Daily co-authored breakthrough legislation creating the Small Town Economic Assistance Program (STEAP), through which grants are available for large-scale public works projects that might be otherwise unaffordable for small towns. Senator Daily also co-authored legislation creating a fund for open space acquisition statewide, and was instrumental in preserving many acres of open space in her district.

Senator Daily identified completion of several short and long-term projects among the many gratifying instances of bringing state resources to bear in her district:

• Sediment detention and ice control in a federal/state Salmon River Flood Control Project.
• Inclusion of the beautiful Eight Mile River Watershed within the national Wild and Scenic River program.
• A comprehensive, federal/state dredging project for the Westbrook harbor, announced earlier this spring, to begin next fall.
• Acquisition of property in Haddam for new athletic and recreational fields.
• Grants to 33rd District towns through STEAP for infrastructure improvement.

“Connecticut’s 33rd Senatorial District is home to some of the most beautiful natural treasures our state has to share and its voters have repeatedly given me the distinction and decidedly good fortune to advocate for this area all this time,” Senator Daily said. “Nevertheless the day-to-day opportunity I’ve had to serve and help constituents overshadows successful completion of these public works projects and policy initiatives.”

Senator Daily said her office remains open and available, as always, to help municipal government officials and constituents.

From left to right are Matt Gyorog accoustic guitar and vocals, Leif Nilsson banjo, Colleen Seymour guitar and vocals, Gary Parrington percussion, Mike Conklin bass and vocals, Todd Schrager electric guitar and vocals (photo courtesy of Caryn B. Davis Photography)

The Side Doors performed for FARM AID, a Benefit Concert for the farm at Bushy Hill Nature Center on Saturday, May 12 to hundreds of supporters and fans.

They play next at the Ivory Pub in Deep River on May 25.

About the recipients:

Robert C. Fusari

Robert Fusari is the President of Real Estate Service of CT (RESC), a company he co-founded in 1978.  Over the last 57 years, Bob has developed and built custom homes, single family subdivisions, condominium communities and apartment developments ranging from 10 units to 3,500 units, and he is regarded as a national and regional authority on land use and residential construction.

As President, Bob has earned the respect of his peers, at local, state and national levels in the Home Builders Association.  He has been chosen as Builder of the Year several times in the 90’s, and has served as president of both the State chapter and the Hartford County chapter and one of only seven members to receive its prestigious Charles C. LoDolce Award for outstanding leadership and service.

He currently serves as Chairman of the properties committee for HOPE (Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere), a non-profit organization currently building 16 units of affordable housing in Old Saybrook.  He also serves as the Co-Chair of the Middlesex United Way Leadership Council administering the Middlesex County 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness.

Bob is the past president and director of Martin House, a non-profit supportive housing organization; and past president of the Thames River Family Program, serving formerly homeless families of single mothers.

He is a director and past chairman of the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce, and was a founder and co-chairman of the Environment, Energy and Land Use Committee and the Affordable Housing Committee.  Both of these committees have been instrumental in making change in Middlesex County.

Bob is a life-long resident of Connecticut.  Born and raised in Portland, Connecticut and moved to Old Saybrook in 1958 where he raised a family of two daughters and two sons who have blessed him with ten grandchildren.    He is committed to increasing affordable housing in Connecticut.

Michael “Jay” Polke

Michael “Jay” Polke’s long and distinguished history in Middlesex County began in November of 1960 in Cromwell when he took a job at the third in what was a series of bowling alleys across the state, owned by Joe Cambareri.  Cromwell Lanes opened in the fall of 1960 and joined the other bowling establishments in New Haven and Hamden, Conn. of the same ownership.

Jay developed his interest in this industry as a young boy as a patron in a hometown bowling alley in Port Chester, New York.  From age 10, he took an interest with the automatic pin-setters at the lanes.  Seeing this interest, the owner gave him a part-time job there and Jay advanced in the business’s ranks, becoming the bowling alley’s mechanic in the 1950’s.

From the age of 17, Jay worked at Mr. Cambareri’s establishments, agreeing to retain his position as a mechanic with the understanding that he would be afforded the opportunity to take continuing education courses in order to be certified in the field.  After making his way to Cromwell, Jay found a unique component to the community and elected to remain a resident of the town—which he views as a quiet and beautiful one—as the mechanic at Cromwell Lanes.

Then, in 1964, after acquiring the Middletown Lanes business, Jay entered into service as a member of the United States Army Reserves.  Here, he was on active duty for six months along with another six-and-a-half years of inactive duty.  In the meantime, Cromwell Lanes was closed.  After serving his country, Jay returned to the business community along with his friend, Mr. Cambareri, where the two were asked to manage a bar/restaurant establishment at the then-Edgewood Golf Club in Cromwell (presently the TPC River Highlands).

Jay spent the first year managing the business with Mr. Cambareri, then led it on his own until 1974.  At this time, the opportunity to open a liquor store in Cromwell presented itself.  Seeing a viable opportunity here, Jay and Mr. Cambareri opened Willowbrook Spirit Shoppe in December of 1975.  The two took on several real estate investments along with the Willowbrook property, and the two remain as current owners of several highly-visible business properties in Cromwell.

Joining the Chamber in 1978, Jay has always been the first person to take the lead not only for the business community, but also the community as a whole.  He is an energetic and dedicated member of Cromwell’s Economic Development Commission and keeps a close watch on all zoning issues.  As the owner of a liquor store, Jay has always known his duty to the community to help with the fight against substance abuse.  As a result of this ongoing commitment, the Middlesex County Substance Abuse Action Council (MCSAAC) presented Jay with its annual Business Recognition Award in 2004.  In the effort to battle underage drinking, Jay also has collaborated with Cromwell’s Prevention and Awareness Council with many initiatives.

An effective businessman, Jay also led Willowbrook Spirit Shoppe to a Business of the Year accolade from the Middlesex Chamber.  He is also a parishioner at St. Elizabeth Seton church in Rocky Hill.

Jay has been married to his wife, Linda, for 47 years, whom he met at the Cromwell Lanes in 1961.  The couple has two children: Jennifer and Jeff, and also five grandchildren that range from 8 to 17 years old.  The family maintains its strong Cromwell roots as Jay and his son and daughter, along with their respective families, all live in the same subdivision in town—a subdivision that Mr. Cambareri and Jay developed in the 1980’s.

John W. Rafal, JD

John Rafal is the Founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Essex Financial Services, a Connecticut financial services firm with more than $3.4 billion in assets under management.

John has more than 30 years of experience in financial advisory services and has received numerous industry awards in the field of investment management.  Mr. Rafal was named the #1 Independent Financial Advisor in the country by Barron’s Magazine for 2007 and 2008.  John was named as on the “The Best 100 Financial Advisors” in the United States by Barron’s magazine in 2004-2011.  He is a member of the Connecticut and American Bar Associations, the Financial Planning Association and is a Registered Securities Principal.

John received a B.A. in political science from the University of Connecticut in 1971 and a J.D. from Temple University School of Law in 1975.  He serves as a Board member of the Essex Savings Bank, Middlesex Hospital, The UConn Foundation and The Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center, Inc.  He is a past member of the Board of the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra and The Cove.

John is a 28 year resident of Old Lyme, Connecticut and is married to Dyanne.  He has a son Matthew who is a cum laude graduate of Northeastern University and a daughter Alysia who is a cum laude graduate of Princeton University.

For more information on Chamber events and activities, please contact Jeff Pugliese at jpugliese@middlesexchamber.com.

The Valley Regional High School Class of ’87 is planning their 25 year reunion weekend for June 29 and 30. Activities will include a Steam train/Riverboat cruise, a morning at the High School and an afternoon at the Stone House.

For more information or to purchase event tickets, please email VRHS87@gmail.com. Please share this information with anyone who may not be aware of the event.

Sincerely,

Beth Simkins

The primary would pit Linares, 23, against Nichols, a retired airline pilot and self-described senior citizen who unsuccessfully challenged ten-term incumbent Democratic State Sen Eileen Daily of Westbrook in 2010. The Nov. 6 election will also include a Green Party candidate, Melissa Schlag of Haddam, an opponent of the controversial and now cancelled Connecticut River land swap that was supported by Daily last year.

Nichols, who represents the 33rd District on the Republican State Central Committee, edged Linares on a 24-22 delegate vote in the convention at the Old Town Hall in East Haddam. Linares said after the vote that he would contest Nichols for the nomination in an Aug. 14 Republican primary in the 12-town district.

The session began with convention chairman James McCabe of Portland attempting to exclude Valley News Now from direct coverage of the event, a move that was later overruled by the delegates. There was also an effort by some delegates to hold a secret ballot vote, an action not allowed by state law that requires a public role call vote of delegates.

Nichols, who formed an 2012 exploratory committee in March, was nominated by Kenneth Gronbach of Haddam, with seconding remarks by Cindy Varricchio of Portland, a member of the Republican State Central Committee, and Anselmo Delia of Clinton, the unsuccessful GOP nominee for regional judge of probate in 2010. Gronbach called Nichols “a decision maker,” and noted his experience as an airline pilot. Varricchio and Delia recalled Nichols efforts over the past five years supporting Republican candidates for state and municipal office. Varricchio added that Nichols, who lost to Daily on a 21,669-17,851 vote in 2010, had waged the closest race of any previous challenger to the long-time incumbent.

Linares, a co-founder of the Middletown-based Green Skies Renewable Energy LLC, was nominated by state Rep. Marilyn Giuliano of Old Saybrook, with seconding remarks from Thomas Lindner of Deep River. Lindner described Linares, the son of a Cuban immigrant who interned for Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio, as “an exciting new face on the Republican scene” who could appeal to unaffiliated voters as well as Republicans.

Nichols said after the vote he is prepared for a possible primary contest with Linares. In remarks to the convention, Nichols pledged to run “a very spirited campaign” that would include “knocking on a lot of doors.”

The 33rd District nominating convention for Democrats is set for Monday at 7 p.m. at the Essex Town Hall. Daily established a candidate committee earlier this year, and is expected to be renominated for an 11th term in the district that includes the towns of Chester, Clinton, Colchester, Deep River, East Haddam, East Hampton, Essex, Haddam, Lyme, Portland, Westbrook, and portions of Old Saybrook.

The scenic landscape in all its splendor the morning after the Planning Commission meeting

The sentiment was loud clear at the Essex Planning Commission’s public hearing on May 10 at Essex Town Hall. The future neighbors of the Foxboro Point development do not want “public access” at the site.

Specifically, (1) local residents do not want to give the general public the right to walk down a pathway from the road to the water, and (2) they do not want to allow the general public to walk along the water’s edge of the site.

As evidence of the opposition of neighboring property owners to “public access,” every time a speaker attacked it, there was vigorous applause.  By contrast when Essex resident Bill Reichenbach got up to urge the Planning Commission to require “public access” at the site, both to the water and along the water, when he sat down there was nothing but a stony  silence.

Developer offers a little area of “public access”  

In something of a surprise, Judge of Probate Terry Lomme,  acting in his “after hours” capacity as counsel to the Foxboro Point developer, offered a new, very modest “public access” proposal to the Commission.

The essence of the proposal was that the developer would allow a small “pocket park” of “public access” at the site. Also, immediately below this “nice little park,” as Judge Lomme called it, there would be a visual, “public access” easement down to the waters of North Cove. This meant that a visitor to the “pocket park” would have a small viewing area to look down at the waters of North Cove, but not to walk there.

The proposed "pocket park" is shown at the top of a blue vertical strip. The horizontal green strip indicates the shoreline easement.

Planning Commission Chairman Dr. Thomas Danyliw appeared miffed that the developer had come forward with this new “pocket park” plan. He said that he thought that the developer had agreed at the last meeting to formulate a “public access” plan  that would incorporate a pedestrian path to the water from the road, as well as a pedestrian strip along the waterfront.

“I thought there was a general agreement to focus on this,” Chairman Danyliw said.  Instead, Judge Lomme was now ignoring what the Chairman thought the developer had agreed to, and was proposing an entirely new plan of “pocket park” access.

“This is a new proposal, and this is not what we agreed to at the last meeting,” Chairman Danyliw said, heatedly. “I was surprised,” he added.

Planning Commission Chairman Dr. Thomas Danyliw and Vice Chairman Linda Herman

In an attempt to deflect the Chairman’s ire, Judge Lomme said that he had, “listened to the neighbors of the development,” and that the new proposal was closer to what they wanted than what had been discussed at the last meeting. He added, “You can’t make everybody happy.”

“Public access” is not legally valid attorney charges

The next development at the public hearing was an even greater surprise. A resident of the Foxboro area had hired a private lawyer, named John Bennet, to represent him and his wife at the Planning Commission proceedings.

In his appearance before the Commission, Attorney Bennet began by not only attacking the Commission for recognizing “public access,” but also the entire legal authority of “public access” under Connecticut law. He said that if the Commission in any way recognizes a right of “public access” in its deliberations, “We will oppose you.”

“You are wrong to recognize “public access,” Attorney Bennet said, and he added, “It is unfair to foist public access [upon his clients].”

Bennet then cited case after case, which he said demonstrated that “public access” could not be recognized, because it had no legal legitimacy under Connecticut law. Essex subdivision regulations purporting to grant “public access,” he said were wrong.

In response Chairman Danyliw said to Bennet, “You are challenging the very core of our authority.” To which Attorney Bennet responded, “You cannot hold as legitimate a public access easement.”

Interrupting the litany of cases that Bennet was citing to show that no state law in Connecticut legitimizes “public access,” Chairman Danyliw asked Bennet to put his arguments in writing. In a conversation with Attorney Bennet after the hearing, he said that he intended to write a letter to the Commission summarizing his arguments against the validity of “public access.”

Attorney John Bennet seated after his stand up attack on the legal legitimacy of "public access"

A lawsuit could delay the Foxboro project for years

 It remained an open question as to whether Bennet’s arguments before the Planning Commission, questioning the very legitimacy of “public access,” would ultimately lead to a lawsuit against the Planning Commission. This could be the result, if the Commission were to recognize “public access” in its decision approving the Foxboro Point development.

If a lawsuit were brought, the development of Foxboro Point could be set back for years, as the lawsuit made its way through the courts.

After this contretemps over “public access” was finished, the Commission continued its public hearing in a normal fashion, with speaker after speaker stating that they were against applying “public access,” as part of the Foxboro Point development.

The hedging threat to the new development

Another topic mentioned at the public hearing was to note that the developer had promised to establish a perpetual visual easement that would restrict overly large hedges and other visual obstructions at the development in perpetuity.

Just what tall hedges would look like at the site is demonstrated by the dense, nine foot hedges that are presently in place along Foxboro Road on the other side of the road from the development site. Such tall hedges and other tall obstructions could block the view to North Cove, and of course to the windmill, if they were permitted.

Nine foot, visually impenetrable hedges across the street from the site. A foretaste of things to come?

Essex Land Trust favors “public access” at site     

Essex Land Trust President Bob Nussbaum and Land Trust Acquisition Committee Chairman Paul Greenberg made a presentation that essentially endorsed Bill Reichenbach’s view that the Commission should approve “public access” via a new public pathway from the river to the road, coupled with a pathway along the shore.

However, in an interview after the meeting, Greenberg said that he was reaching out to the developer’s counsel, Judge Terrence Lomme, to see if the Land Trust could reach a compromise with the developer that would be satisfactory to both entities.

At the public hearing the Land Trust representatives noted, “We are neighbors of the Foxboro Point property in that the Land Trust’s Great Meadows area is located just across from North Cove.” Mentioned as well was that if a compromise on “public access” failed at the site, the Essex Land Trust was empowered to accept monies from a developer to acquire an equivalent open space property in other areas of Essex.

As the drumbeat of speakers’ rejecting “public access” continued, one member of the audience said, “Our property is our first priority, except possibly our children.”  She continued, “If you let the public in, it is going to be a pig sty out there.”

Another speaker said simply, “Public access, I just don’t get it.”

There followed a brief discussion about installing docks along North Cove by property owners, and it was agreed that any party who wished to install a dock would have to get Planning Commission approval.

Near the end of the public meeting Judge Lomme made the point that in his opinion, “The developer has offered benefits to the community above and beyond those that are required.”

Chairman polls Commissioners for their views

After the public portion of the hearing ended, Commission Danyliw called on Commission members to express informally their views on the developer’s application. The result was that support for “public access” at the site was underwhelming.

With the applicant’s latest “pocket park” proposal before them, the next Planning Commission public hearing on the Foxboro development is June 14.

Fishman’s audience will be transported by a collection of music and stories inspired by his far-flung travels from New Orleans, where he spent his formative musical years, to rural Romania, Ukraine and Hungary and influenced by the exciting new music generated in Brooklyn, NY,where he is currently based. His travel experiences engender/give birth to his songs. Fishman says, “I never sit down to write a song. The melody just comes unbidden.”

Fishman’s musical style is difficult to characterize. He has been compared to artists as diverse as Hoagy Carmichael and Johnny Cash, but he improvises his own personal take on various musical forms—New Orleans jazz, Brooklyn soul, folk, country,blues, gospel, pop, classical and experimental—creating a sound entirely his own. Backstage wrote that he creates “an irresistible synthesis,” while Downbeat called it“something entirely new.” The New York Times has said that Howard Fishman’s music “transcends time and idiom.”According to The Los Angeles Times, “At a time when performers in virtually every genre are trying to stretch their stylistic boundaries, Fishman refuses to acknowledge that boundaries exist.”

One of the pioneers of the current Brooklyn music scene, Fishman moved to Williams burgin the late 90s and began playing on subway platforms for spare change until he and his band were “discovered” by music insiders. This landed them a two-week engagement at the Algonquin Oak Room, one of NYC’s toniest concert venues. Since then he has headlined in major venues and garnered a devoted following, both here and abroad. Fishman has headlined at the Lincoln Center American Songbook series, The Steppenwolf Theatre, The Pasadena Playhouse, Joe’s Pub, NJPAC, and Le Petit Journal in Paris. In April he played with his New Orleans-style Biting Fish Brass Band at the Garde Arts Theater in New London.

A frequent National Public Radio guest, Fishman has appeared on “Fresh Air” with Terry Gross, “World Cafe,” “The Leonard Lopate Show,” “Word of Mouth”and “Sound check” among others. Fishman has performed on bills with such diverse artists as Odetta, Yo Yo Ma, Maceo Parker, Robyn Hitchcock,Madeleine Peyroux and Allen Holdsworth. He has recently released a trilogy of new albums—The World Will Be Different, No Further Instructions and Better Get Right.

The concert is open to the public. Admission is$25 for adults, $20 for CBSRZ members and $10 for children under 16. For reservations and further information, call 860-526-8920 or visit www.cbsrz.org.  

Congregation Beth Shalom Rodfe Zedek is located at 55 East Kings Highway in Chester.  

See the legendary Wells Fargo Stagecoach at the Essex Memorial Day Parade, May 28

Essex — Essex will get a very special delivery on May  28  when the Wells Fargo Stagecoach rolls into town. This American icon will arrive at the Essex Memorial Day Parade and will be available for photos from 9 a.m. -12 p.m. The public is welcome to come and experience this American icon and take pictures.

For more than 150 years, the Wells Fargo Stagecoach provided an important link for communication and business by land between eastern and western states. Today, the Wells Fargo Stagecoach is a recognized, appreciated and enduring corporate symbol.

“The Wells Fargo’s Stagecoach is a unique expression of the company’s rich heritage,” said Philip Reynolds, Branch Manager, “The stagecoach symbolizes how we continue to come through for our customers and the diverse communities in which we serve.”

For more information about the Wells Fargo Stagecoach coming to Essex, contact the local Essex office of Wells Fargo Advisors at 860-767-2681.

About Wells Fargo Advisors

With $1.2 trillion in client assets as of March 31, 2012, Wells Fargo’s brokerage businesses are comprised of 15,134 full-service financial advisors and 3,352 licensed bankers.  This vast network of advisors, one of the nation’s largest, serves clients through offices in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.  Wells Fargo Advisors is the trade name used by two separate registered broker-dealers and non-bank affiliates of Wells Fargo & Company: Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC and Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, LLC (members SIPC).  Statistics include other broker-dealers of Wells Fargo & Company.   www.wellsfargoadvisors.com Investment products and services are offered through Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC.

About Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a nationwide, diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.3 trillion in assets. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 9,000 stores, 12,000 ATMs, the Internet (wellsfargo.com), and other distribution channels across North America and internationally. With more than 270,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in America.  Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 23 on Fortune’s 2011 rankings of America’s largest corporations. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy all our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially.

Funds raised from the car wash will help the teens during their week-long humanitarian relief efforts in July 2012. In Appalachia (Pipestem), West Virginia youth will work alongside experienced building professionals to restore dilapidated housing, tutor and mentor children, prepare/serve/deliver meals to the homeless and home-bound, and assist with an urban agriculture program and its greenhouse project. In Las Delicias, El Salvador youth will focus on building homes &community buildings, provide prenatal and child well-check medical visits, complete water supply checks, provide vaccinations and immunizations to dogs and cats, and deliver food/clothing/hygiene items to families and the elderly.

Please come and support this dedicated group of teens.  If you can’t attend our event, please consider a donation to help the teens purchase supplies needed for their humanitarian. Donations can be mailed to DRCC, P.O. Box 246, Deep River, CT 06417.  Checks should be made payable to DRCC; please indicate “2012 YM” on the memo line.  DRCC is a 501(C) 3 organization and your donation is tax deductible.

Children are encouraged to don their finest princess dresses and jackets and ties. Special guests include Miss Connecticut 2011 Morgan Amarone who will visit from 3 to 4 pm, and Cinderella who will lead a sing-along beginning at 4 pm. Children and their parents can also learn to ballroom dance, take part in arts & crafts activities, and enjoy refreshments.

To purchase tickets or for additional information, please contact Community Music School at (860) 767-0026 or visit  www.community-music-school.org

The Chester Land Trust will be holding their 2012 Gardner’s Round Table on Sunday May 20, 4 p.m. at the Chester Meeting House on Liberty Street, Chester.

Please join our panel of Master Gardeners for an informative and lively discussion on cultivating raspberries, nutrient dense gardening, growing vegetables, shade plants and much more. Come ask questions of Margot Caldor, Lois Nadel, Janet Nelson and Helene Ferrari. Wine and Cheese will be served.  Most Chester Land Trust education and awareness programs are free, please consider joining us!membership@chesterlandtrust.org. For more information on the Gardener’s event, please contact Deb Dembo: heydebs@gmail.com or phone 860.304.7560

Tel Aviv Beach by Dianne Roberts

The Connecticut Valley Camera Club (CVCC) is having a photography exhibit at the Synagogue in Chester (55 East Kings Highway).  The subject is “open” with 45 member prints for viewing and for sale at very reasonable prices.

The public is invited to attend the opening reception from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm on Friday, May 18, 2012. The exhibit is open to the public from 10-3pm M-F from May 21st through July 31st ,2012.

The CVCC meets the last Monday of each month at 7:00 pm at the Community Room (lower level) of the Deep River, CT Library (photographers at all levels are welcome).

The Essex Library’s Spring Book Sale, to be held at the Library on May 19 and 20, will feature items signed by actress Katharine Hepburn in a special silent auction to be held Saturday. Pictured with the items are Jean Caron (l) and Dora Grover (r).

The Friends of the Essex Library are holding their Spring Book Sale at the Library, located at 33 West Avenue, on Saturday May 19 and Sunday May 20. Money raised by the sale goes to provide numerous special library programs and activities. Outstanding features at this event are two silent auction items signed by Katharine Hepburn. Lot 1 is a signed copy of the book “The Private World of Katharine Hepburn”. Lot 2 consists of a signed note to a fan on Miss Hepburn’s personal stationery plus a copy of Sotheby’s 2004 Auction Catalogue, “Property from the Estate of Katharine Hepburn”. The silent auction will be held on Saturday only.

The sale will run from 10 AM to 5 PM on Saturday May 19, and from 1 to 5 PM on Sunday May 20, when everything remaining will be half price. There will be a special table of books signed by their authors. Other offerings will include clean, well-sorted books on cooking, gardening, history, literature, art, travel, philosophy, science, nature, nautical subjects, sports, self-help, foreign languages, and more. There will be tables of fiction, children’s books, paperbacks, book sets, and audio-visual materials.

Specific information about titles offered in various categories and the signed books available will be on the Essex Library website, at www.essexlib.org.

On book-sale Saturday library materials can be checked in and out from 10 AM to 2 PM, but computers in the adult section will not be available for use. There will be no library services available on Sunday.

Neighbor Appreciation weekend includes free TRAIN and BOAT rides for residents in 5 towns along the Valley Railroad’s operating line – - Essex, Deep River, Chester, Haddam, and Old Saybrook.

• Passengers may elect a 1-hour train ride or 2 1/2-hour train and boat ride at 11:00am, 12:30pm, 2:00pm, or a 1-hour train ride at 3:30pm.

Hop aboard this springtime adventure bursting with flora and fauna! The magnificent Connecticut River Valley that’s our own backyard, will be on full display from the multiple decks of the Becky Thatcher riverboat. Enjoy close up views of the wildlife’s natural habitat as the train traverses the tidal wetlands of Pratt Cove and Chester Creek. Treasure the historic sites including East Haddam Swing Bridge, Goodspeed Opera House, and Gillette Castle.

Bushy Hill at Incarnation Center is located at 253 Bushy Hill Road, Ivoryton, CT. Please meet at the Activity Center field. If you have any questions call (860)767-0848. Visit our website at www.bushyhill.org for more information.

Furniture Conservators Fallon & Wilkinson will give a lecture, Caring for your Treasures and answer questions on Thursday, May 17 at Gather, 104 Main Street, Ivoryton, CT, noon-1 p.m.

Fallon & Wilkinson, brings a combined 45 years of training and experience to the care and conservation of furniture, wooden artifacts, and interior woodwork, blending old world craftsmanship with modern conservation practices. The firm also provides museum quality reproduction furniture for institutions and private clients. Since its founding in 2000, Fallon & Wilkinson, has built a worldwide reputation for its knowledge of antique furniture and the delicate art and science of conserving it.

Tad D. Fallon and Randy S. Wilkinson both trained at the Smithsonian Institution’s prestigious Furniture Conservation Training Program. Tad completed a conservation fellowship at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and holds a Master’s Degree in Conservation from Antioch University in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Randy completed fellowships at the Preservation Society of Newport County in Rhode Island and the Mystic Seaport Museum in Connecticut and holds a Master’s Degree in Conservation from Antioch University in Yellow Springs, Ohio.

To register call Essex Books at 860-767-1707 or call Gather at 860-767-7816.

*Bring one of your own treasures to ask the experts about conservation.

Canal du Midi by Deborah Rutty

Congregation Beth Shalom Rodfe Zedek will be exhibiting 45 photographs by 22 members of the Connecticut Valley Camera Club in the Main Street Gallery of the synagogue. The show will run from May 18 to July 27, Monday through Friday from 10 am to 3 pm. The photos represent a juried selection, covering a wide variety of subjects, including very old Connecticut cemeteries, classic European synagogues, brilliant nature studies and contemplative landscapes and waterscapes.

Danny Street Synagogue Interior by Vincent Pipit

The Connecticut Valley Camera Club is an organization whose purpose is to help its members hone their technical and creative skills through presentations, interactive workshops and critiques. CVCC members Sheila Wertheimer and Elin Dolle organized the show with Linda Pinn, curator of the Main Street Gallery at CBSRZ.

Elegance by Edward McCaffrey

The exhibit is free and open to the public. All photos are for sale. For further information, call 860-526-8920. Congregation Beth Shalom Rodfe Zedek is located at 55 East Kings Highway in Chester.

It has always been the minister’s purpose to transmute their flocks’ pain and suffering into character. While suffering may indeed build character, I can’t help wondering why we are so reluctant to get angry at God. Maybe the creator wants to know how we really feel.

The words attributed to the dying Jesus as he endured three hours of raging human pain, “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me” are the most passionately honest words found in Scripture. This cry, born out of human despair, poignantly describes the human situation.

Thinking about Jesus’ cry of desolation transports me back to an incident that happened a few years ago.  I was entering my home through the backyard and noticed a tiny mouse lying on the step. It was either ill or badly hurt, but alive.  I knew the mouse was dying, and that I should end its suffering.  However, I was too cowardly to kill the little mouse.

Although I don’t believe the Creator is up there somewhere floating in the clouds, I remember looking up and yelling at God, “do something, this is your responsibility.”  When I looked down, the mouse was dead.  It is curious, but that tiny mouse symbolized all the horror, violence, misery and injustice that I see in our world.

While I remember feeling rage towards God, I also felt close to my Creator for the very first time. It was several months later that I understood what transpired on the back step. I was visiting a friend who had been seriously ill for the past six months. She had cancer in her lung, her kidney and her liver. Throughout her illness she appeared stoic and prayed frequently. Members of her church visited with her and prayed with her regularly.

On this particular day, my friend was very weak-but not too weak to tell me about a dream that she had the previous night. In the dream she was carrying a giant gift box tied with a bright red ribbon. She was carrying the gift to a church at the top of a hill. As she climbed the steps to the church, she kept falling backwards as the box was too big and cumbersome.

After an arduous climb, my friend finally reached the door to the church. She had a terrible time opening the door as she would not put the box down-not for an instant. Once inside the church, she could not take a seat because the box was hitting people in the head.

Finally, an old man with a long beard and wearing a white robe came over to her and suggested that she simply put the box on the alter. My friend did not want to give up the box so she left the church. As she was lugging the big box down the steps she awakened from her dream.

My friend asked if I knew what the dream meant. I in turn asked her what was in the gift box. She claimed that she didn’t know so I suggested that we take a look inside.  Together, we imagined ourselves untying the big red bow and looking inside.

With tears streaming down her fragile face, she looked into the box and told me that it was filled with garbage. Spontaneously, she cried out “what have I done to deserve this? Where are you? I can’t stand this anymore. I hate you God!”

My friend did not need for me to interpret her dream. She understood, at the deepest level, that the garbage symbolized all the negative feelings that she was denying God. She understood also that the wise man in her dream was urging her to leave the box of garbage on the altar as a gift for God.

The next morning, my dying friend smiled as I entered her room. With her mouth so dry and cracked that she could hardly speak, she told me that during the night she looked across the room at the wall facing her bed and saw a beautiful young man with long glowing hair. He was standing in a field of wild flowers-beckoning to her.

She said to me, “he has come to take me to God.” My beloved friend slipped into a coma that night and died two days later. Her dream, her tearing passion, and her vision helped me to understand that a despondent cry to God is a beautiful prayer of trust and of healing.

Implied in her prayer was an affirmation of faith and respect for the integrity of God. Her prayer showed enough trust in God’s love to express her rage for the horrors that she simply did not understand.

Alison Nichols, M.Div.
Essex, CT

Body murals created at the Chester Elementary School Family Night

CHESTER — For the fifth year in a row, Chester Elementary School joined thousands of schools, libraries and community groups nationwide in a coordinated effort to encourage millions of Americans to turn off televisions, computers and video games for seven days and turn on the world around them.  Screen-Free Week is a chance for children to read, play, think, create, be more physically active and to spend more time with friends and family.

“Screen-Free Week is a much needed respite from the screen media dominating the lives of so many children,” said Wendy Fiore. “Now, more than ever, it’s imperative that we help children discover the joys of life beyond screens.”  On average, preschool children spend over four and a half hours a day consuming screen media, while older children spend over seven hours a day including multitasking. Excessive screen time is linked to a number of problems for children, including childhood obesity, poor school performance, and problems with attention span.

Students practicing yoga at the Family Night

A Family Night was hosted with a poetry slam, yoga, as well as creating body murals with Lori Lenz and Wendy Fiore.

PHOTO 1: Community rowboat races will be one of the many free Burning of the Ships Day events happening in Essex Village on Saturday, May 12. Pictured here is the 2011 team fielded by the Sailing Masters of 1812. PHOTO 2: Free Men of the Sea will be on hand for colonial weaponry demonstrations and maritime games at the Connecticut River Museum’s Burning of the Ships Day on Saturday, May 12.

Essex, CT – On Saturday, May 12, Governor Dannel Malloy will arrive in Essex Village to help commemorate the historic 1814 British raid on Essex.  The festivities begin at 2:00 pm with the annual Burning of the Ships Commemoration Parade presented by the Sailing Masters of 1812 Fife & Drums Corps.  Along with 14 other regional fife and drums corps, they will march down Main Street to the Essex waterfront to perform a small “muster” and ceremony remembering the fateful night when British troops rowed upriver and destroyed 27 ships during the War of 1812.  Joined by Connecticut River Museum Executive Director Jerry Roberts, Essex First Selectman Norman Needleman and State Representative Philip Miller, the Governor will recognize the Sailing Masters for nearly 50 years of service in keeping Connecticut’s heritage alive and then officially proclaim Essex as a War of 1812 battle site with a presentation to the Connecticut River Museum for their efforts in researching and telling the story.

At the conclusion of the ceremony, the Connecticut River Museum will present re-enactors, colonial weaponry demonstrations, and maritime games on its lawn while hosting community rowboat races off of its docks.  At 5:00 pm, the public is then invited to join museum staff in the Burning of the Fleet exhibit gallery for a special evening of grog, rum and tales of the British raid. The program will end in time for the 8:00 pm start of the 3rd Annual Regency Ball hosted by the Sailing Masters of 1812 at Essex Town Hall.

For more information on the Sailing Masters of 1812, go to www.sailingmasters.org. For more information on the Connecticut River Museum, go to www.ctrivermuseum.org or call (860)767-8269.

Burning of the Ships Day Itinerary

Governor Arrival

1:45 pm │Connecticut River Museum, 67 Main Street:  Governor Malloy arrives at the Connecticut River Museum prior to the 2:00 pm parade (before the street is closed) for a quick tour at the 1814 British Raid on Essex exhibit.

Sailing Masters of 1812 Commemoration Parade

2:00 pm │Essex Town Hall, 29 West Avenue:  The Sailing Masters of 1812 along with approximately 14 visiting fife and drum corps assemble at Town Hall and proceed on foot down Main Street to the Essex waterfront.

Waterfront Commemoration Ceremony

2:15 pm (approx.) │Foot of Main Street, adjacent to Connecticut River Museum

Sailing Masters Captain Ted Nelson begins commemoration ceremony by welcoming those gathered, introducing the corps and saying a few words.  He then introduces Connecticut River Museum Executive Director Jerry Roberts.

Jerry Roberts provides a brief history of the 1814 British raid on Essex and introduces Essex First Selectmen Norman Needleman.

First Selectman Needleman says a few words and introduces State Representative Phil Miller.

Representative Miller says a few words and then introduces Governor Malloy.

Governor Malloy speaks to the following three themes of the day:

1. Kick off of the Bicentennial of the War of 1812 in CT
2. Recognition of  the Sailing Masters for keeping our heritage alive for nearly 50 years
3. Official declaration of Essex as a War of 1812 battle site (see attachment from SHPO)

If possible, the Governor could present an official proclamation to the Sailing Masters for their years of public service in addition to presenting a proclamation recognizing Essex as a War of 1812 battle site to the Connecticut River Museum for display in the Museum’s exhibit.

Ted Nelson thanks the Governor, Phil Miller, Norm Needleman and Jerry Roberts.  He then cues the start of the fife and drum corps muster while the Governor stands in review.  Fife and drum corps disperse back up Main Street to Town Hall.  Connecticut River Museum commences community row boat races and lawn activities.  Governor departs Museum grounds.