Newsletter features the saga of our accessible van

Hip, hip, hooray!

Ralph got his van back this week, thanks to a friend who helped us retrieve it.

He wrote about the vehicle's return and I wrote about a fun get-together for women that I attended in November at the Greater Valley Salvation Army in Ansonia. 

Please click here to read the latest issue of The Valley Voice.

~ Patti

Derby collecting coffee, tea for St. Vincent De Paul food bank

Dinner slated to benefit Ansonia Youth Cheer

Acoustic trio to perform at Seymour Public Library

The Coffee Grinders will perform Dec. 14 in Seymour./ Photo from the band's Facebook page. 

SEYMOUR - The Seymour Public Library will host the acoustic trio, The Coffee Grinders, playing the Blues at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 14.

Members include Frank Breen on acoustic guitar and vocals, Jim Choquette on vocals and harmonica, and Howie Horn on wash tub bass and vocals. 
The band has an eclectic mix of influences including the Stones, Beatles, Dylan, Muddy Waters, and Robert Johnson. This program is free and coffee will be flowing.
For information call 203-888-3903. The Library is at 46 Church St.


This information is shared from an online community calendar sponsored by The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven and The New Haven Independent. 

American Heart Association recognizes Griffin Hospital in Derby

DERBY - Griffin Hospital received the 2016 bronze level recognition in the American Heart Association’s inaugural results of the Workplace Health Achievement Index, a science-based and evidence-informed measurement that assesses and recognizes workplace health programs. 

Initiated by the AHA’s CEO Roundtable, the Index provides employers with best practices to evaluate the quality and effectiveness of their workplace health programs.

“We are honored to have achieved this recognition from the American Heart Association,” said Griffin Hospital Director of Human Resources Stephen Mordecai. 

“A key strategy at Griffin Hospital is to build a supportive culture that engages employees in their health and well-being, and provides them with many choices for how they can help improve their health outcomes.”

The Workplace Health Achievement Index is unique in that it scores and recognizes companies on the structure of their workplace health program and their employee’s heart health based on Life’s Simple 7® - the AHA’s seven behaviors and metrics for ideal heart health.

Research shows that improving these seven factors can lead to significant reductions in heart disease, stroke, cancer, and many other health problems. 

In addition, people who achieve ideal cardiovascular health by age 50 have significantly lower lifetime risk of heart disease and stroke, and live, on average, approximately 10 years longer than people with two or more risk factors.

“The stakes are high. We need to act now to improve the health of the American workforce,” said Angelina Stackpole, director for the American Heart Association in Greater New Haven. 

“The Index offers employers a science-based approach to assess the quality of health programs and the overall heart health of their employees. The Index also offers a roadmap for continuous quality improvement regardless of where a company may be in that journey.”

Comprehensively designed and fully implemented workplace health programs can help with job satisfaction and employee retention, as verified by a Nielsen 2016 Employee Health Survey. The Workplace Health Achievement Index gives companies a specific framework they can adopt to improve the quality and effectiveness of their programs, while learning from one another. The AHA CEO Roundtable companies serve as a learning laboratory environment to develop, test and refine the Workplace Health Achievement Index, as well as additional resources for practical use.

For more information on the AHA’s continuous quality improvement in the workplace and additional workplace health resources, visit www.heart.org/workplacehealth.

About the American Heart Association
The American Heart Association is devoted to saving people from heart disease and stroke - America’s No. 1 and No. 5 killers. We team with millions of volunteers to fund innovative research, fight for stronger public health policies, and provide lifesaving tools and information to prevent and treat these diseases. 

The Dallas-based association is the nation’s oldest and largest voluntary organization dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke. To learn more or to get involved, call 1-800-AHA-USA1, visit heart.org or call any of our offices around the country. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

This is a press release from Griffin Hospital. 

Ansonia Police announce parking rules for snow removal

ANSONIA - Winter Parking Regulations will be in effect from Dec. 1, 2016 thru March 31, 2017, police announced today. 

There shall be in the city a Twenty-Four hour (24) a day, seven (7) days a week, parking ban on all city streets and highways. 

The purpose is to allow snow equipment to remove snow and ice as quickly as possible from all city streets and highways, with the following exceptions:

For this winter season: Motor vehicles shall be allowed to be parked, starting on Dec. 1, 2016, on the even-numbered side of municipal streets continuing until March 31, 2017.

City streets that display “No Parking Signs” shall be exempt from alternate side parking during the winter parking season in the area designated by the “No Parking Signs.”

These streets include: South Cliff Street, North State Street, Crescent Street (Howard Ave to Day St.), Franklin Street (Jackson to Wakelee Ave), Colony Street, Division Street and North Spring Street (from Hill Street to Jewett Street), High Street (Lester St. to Howard Ave), Doyle Drive, Fourth Street (Gattison Park area), Church St., Holbrook St. (Pork Hollow to Jackson St.) and Pork Hollow.

Winter parking is allowed only on the odd side of the following street(s):
• Star Street

Parking is only permitted on the even numbered side of the following streets, regardless of the calendar year:
• Fifth Street;
• Jewett St. (North Spring Street to Platt Street);
• Hotchkiss Terrace (the area west of Kathy Lane);
• North Cliff Street;
• Colony Street, north of Gardner’s Lane;
• Park Place.

Parking is prohibited on the following streets: Stage Coach Road, Remer Street, Union Street, Crowley Street, Pleasant Street, Beaver Street, (North Street to the Seymour Line), Holbrook Court and Father Lar Drive, Lawton Terrace, Crescent Street (Howard Ave to Lester St.), North Fourth Street, Prospect Street, (Moulthrop St. to Viselli Court), Rockwood Ave. Ext., Viselli Court, Walkers Court, Oak Lane and Carver St.

Parking is prohibited on Main Street, West Main Street and East Main Street from 12 a.m. (midnight) to 6 a.m.

Any person receiving a written notice for violating the regulation must either submit payment of $15, or file a formal appeal, to the Police Department within ten (10) days. The fine will increase to $30 after ten (10) days.

Residents should also be aware of the city regulation that requires the removal of snow and ice from sidewalks within six hours from the end of the snowfall.
The owner of the land and or the person having care and control of the property shall be responsible for the removal.
Any violation of this may result in an infraction for violation of a town ordinance.

Thank you.

Sharing this information from the Ansonia Police Department Facebook page.

Center Stage carolers to perform at Celebrate Shelton tree lighting

Great Hill Hose in Seymour to host annual tree lighting

Handmade market slated Saturday in Shelton