Bishop Wicke rehab center in Shelton holds reunion

Former patient Mary Jackem of Shelton with Bishop Wicke staff member Zach Taylor.

SHELTON - Bishop Wicke Health and Rehabilitation Center opened its doors April 29 to welcome back past rehab patients and their families at its spring Rehab Reunion.

The annual event provides patients and their family members with an opportunity to reunite with staff and other former patients after returning home from a short-term rehab stay at the facility.

Held in the resident dining room, the reunion included a meal prepared by the Bishop Wicke Dining Services team and a few brief speeches by Administrator Debra Samorajczyk, and Lisa Bisson, Campus Director of Community Outreach.

Staff members were thrilled to have the chance to visit with and see the progress of their patients who returned with greater strength and increased mobility, and many smiles, hugs, and stories were shared.

Bishop Wicke Health and Rehabilitation Center is located on the Wesley Village campus, 584 Long Hill Ave.

For more information about short-term rehab at Bishop Wicke or to pre-book any short-term rehab stay, visit www.wesleyvillage-ct.org or call 203-929-5321.

This is a press release from United Methodist Homes.

Patriotic concert planned in Seymour

Sharing from the Facebook page of the Office of First Selectman Kurt Miller:

"Seymour's Culture & Arts Committee will be holding a patriotic concert to celebrate Armed Forces Day on Saturday, May 16 at 7 p.m. at Seymour Middle School."


The school is at 211 Mountain Road, Seymour.

Donate food Saturday, help letter carriers help Valley needy

Valley letter carriers will join others across the nation Saturday and collect non-perishable food items - canned goods, pasta, peanut butter, cereal - that are bagged and placed by a mailbox.

The food will be distributed to local food banks.

Students appreciate teachers at Ansonia High School

Photo from Ansonia Public Schools' Facebook page.

It's Teacher Appreciation Week and at Ansonia High School the Teacher Appreciation Bulletin board says "You're out of this World," and students wrote notes to teachers on stars and planets.


Note: I'm sharing this photo and information from the Ansonia Public Schools' Facebook page. 

My children graduated from AHS and they both had great teachers! 

Legendary songwriter in spotlight at Derby Public Library

Patty Carver interacts with audience at Derby Public Library. 

DERBY - My husband, Ralph, and I attended an entertaining program earlier this week focusing on legendary lyricist Johnny Mercer.

Effervescent actress/singer Patty Carver of Essex presented the show at Derby Public Library. It was held as part of the library's Spring Open House event.

Carver sang portions of many well-known songs and talked about Mercer's life and music. 
Her delightful performance included songs such as Jeepers, Creepers, Hooray for Hollywood, That Old Black Magic, Moon River, and Days of Wine and Roses.

Below is a video of Carver singing the 1934 hit, P.S. I Love You, with music by Gordon Jenkins and lyrics by Mercer.

Johnny Mercer (1909-1976)

Carver said she is working on a presentation about actress/singer Mary Martin. We're looking forward to it! 

Griffin Hospital in Derby to offer skin cancer screenings

Event to include talk on prevention 
DERBY - Griffin Hospital is offering free facial skin cancer screenings and a free talk about skin cancer signs, symptoms and how you can stay safe this summer May 21 in the hospital’s Meditation and Learning Center, 130 Division St.

Nurses from Griffin Hospital’s Community Outreach and Parish Nurses Program will provide facial skin cancer screenings from 5-6 p.m. and Dr. John F. Reilly will present “Stay Sun Safe” at 6 p.m.

Individuals must register for the screenings and they will be handled on a first-come, first-served basis. Additional screenings may be available after the talk, but there is no guarantee. 


To register, call 203-732-1511 or visit the calendar at griffinhealth.org.

The talk is open to everyone; no registration is required.

Dr. Reilly will lead an easy-to-understand discussion on skin cancer and how to protect yourself while enjoying time outside. 
In addition to being Chief of Plastic Surgery at Griffin Hospital, he is an advocate for skin cancer prevention and part of a select group of physicians with Board of Medical Specialty Certification in both plastic surgery and general surgery.

The talk is part of Griffin Hospital's Healthy U education series, which features Griffin Hospital medical experts and community partners providing trusted health information and answers to questions on a wide range of topics. 

Light refreshments will be served.


This is a press release from Griffin Hospital.

O'Brien Tech in Ansonia names 'Teacher of the Year'

Congratulations go out today to history teacher Allison Kinard, who has been named Teacher of the Year at Emmett O'Brien Technical High School in Ansonia.

Principal Laurie LeBouthillier called Kinard a "hardworking, caring, kind teacher."

Click here to read a story written by New Haven Register correspondent Jean Falbo-Sosnovich.