Thursday, August 27, 2015

Ansonia to host free movie Friday


Derby educators hold convocation, unveil high school 'redesign'

Derby Mayor Anita Dugatto addresses educators Monday at Derby Public Schools' convocation in the Derby High School gym.



Please click here to read my story in the Valley Independent Sentinel about the event and about the recently completed 'redesign' at the high school.

Wednesday was the first day of school in the district. 

Children's book clubs, movie planned at Seymour Library

SEYMOUR - The Seymour Public Library will host the following activities in September:

9/3 -  4 p.m. – StoryKids’ Book Club for K-Grade 2 . Book talks, craft and a snack  -  Child must have some reading ability.

9/9 -  4 p.m. – Nutmeggers’ Book Club for Grade 5 and up. Book talks, craft and a snack - features the Intermediate Nutmeg Nominees.

9/10 – 4 p.m. – BookChatters’ Book Club for Grade 2-4.  - Book talks, craft and a snack - features the Magic Tree House Series. 

9/16, 23, 30 –  10:30 a.m. – Morning Mini Movies for preschoolers.  We read a classic children’s book and show its movie version.  Child must be able to sit and listen.

9/22 – 10:30  a.m. – Lynn Lewis - Music and Movement for ages 0-6.  A fun time for all!


All programs are free, fun, and formative!

Some programs have limited enrollment; registration is required for all.

For information call 203-888-3903, visit us on Facebook, or visit us at                  
www.seymourpubliclibrary.org


This is a press release from Ann Szaley, children's librarian. 



Re-posting: Dinner tonight to support 2 Ansonia families

Nyah Marcano and Leah Rondon / Shared from Prendergast PTO Facebook page

ANSONIA – A ziti dinner fundraiser and a balloon fundraiser will be held to support the families of two six-year old children, who lost their lives in car accidents a week ago. 
Nyah Marcano, a Prendergast student, and Leah Rondon, a Mead student, were about to enter first grade Thursday, the first day of the 2015-16 school year.

The ziti dinner fundraiser will be held at Ansonia High School on Thursday. There will be three waves of dinner times: 4 p.m.; 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. 
Volunteers from Ansonia Public Schools, the Ansonia Fire Department, the Ansonia Police Department, Ansonia Rescue Medical Services and other agencies will be assisting. 
Admission to the ziti dinner is $10 for adults; $5 for students; and free to children ages 6 and younger. 

A balloon fundraiser, “Ansonia Goes Blue for Nyah and Leah,” will be held this weekend as well. 
Mayor David S. Cassetti is providing a banner that will span Main Street, promoting this special remembrance. Anyone wishing to purchase a balloon for $5 will be asked to complete a form with their name and address and submit the form with their cash payment by this Friday, Aug. 28 to Mead or Prendergast School. Volunteers from Mead and Prendergast School and their parent-teacher organizations will fill the balloons and deliver them to the purchaser’s address on Saturday, Aug. 29. 
For purchasers who live outside of Ansonia, the balloons will be tied outside Mead and Prendergast School.  

Anyone wishing more information may call the schools: Mead School, 203-736-5090, and Prendergast School, 203-736-5080.

The Valley United Way will be serving as fiduciary for all funds that are raised.


This is a press release from Ansonia Public Schools.

Ansonia's pageant contestant wins hearts at market place, concert

Madison Greenlaw
Congratulations go out to Madison Greenlaw, 8, of Ansonia, for winning in the photogenic category at a pageant earlier this month in Stamford. She also won several trophies.


Last month I had the pleasure of meeting Madison and her mother, Samantha Greenlaw, above, at the Valley Market Place in Veterans Park next to Ansonia City Hall. 
At the time Madison was selling her artwork to fund her participation in the pageant. She returned Wednesday to the market place to show off her sash and meet her fans. 

Wishing this sweet young lady all the best in her future endeavors!

The R&B/Funk band All Funk'd Up rocked the park after the market place. All in all it was a fun evening to close out the Cultural Commission's summer concert series. 

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Veterinarian recognized for 35 years' service to Valley

Seymour First Selectman W. Kurt Miller presents a plaque to Dr. Tara Nanavati during the Board of Selectmen meeting Aug. 18 in Town Hall./ Submitted photo

The towns of Seymour and Oxford recently congratulated Dr. Tara Nanavati for providing 35 years of service to the Valley community, and to its animals in need. 
The Seymour Board of Selectmen presented him with a plaque during the monthly meeting in Town Hall on Aug. 18, and a similar presentation took place the week prior in Oxford.
Nanavati opened a veterinary practice in 1980 when he converted a former hot dog stand on the Ansonia-Seymour line into a small veterinarian office. He promptly began rescuing animals in precarious situations: a dog stuck on an icy pond near the Naugatuck River in Seymour; an injured swan who had swallowed a fish hook and required surgery; and helping to save the life of a puppy named Amazing Grace, a victim of abuse. 
Dr. and Mrs. Nanavati

Just a few weeks ago, a kitchen fire severely damaged an Ansonia house, and the two dogs residing there needed a place to stay while their owners recovered for several days. They were taken to the Ansonia Animal Hospital and to Nanavati's care.

He has helped many of the region's animal shelters and animal control officers, run rabies clinics with proceeds donated to charitable causes, including St. Michael’s Church in Derby, the Methodist Church in Seymour after a devastating fire, the Woodbridge Dog Pound, and the Ansonia Nature and Recreation Center. 

During the last five years, Nanavati has taken on charitable work that extent well beyond the region. 
In 2010, he collected 3,000 pounds of medical supplies, clothing, bedsheets, shoes, and toiletries for the survivors of the recent earthquake in Haiti. 
The donations were picked up by the Haiti Relief Fund Inc. of Lynbrook, New York. In 2011, he followed up with a collection for the Japan Tsunami victims, and he helped with the settlement of Nepalese refugees in the region. 
In late August 2013, he completed another clothing and personal item collection to benefit the survivors of the Oklahoma tornadoes that killed 23 people and injured nearly 400 earlier that May. 
The Salvation Army of Hamden picked up more than 100 boxes and furniture that were donated and stored by Nanavati.

For Nanavati, the collections and donations bring an immense sense of satisfaction, since he knows what it is like to lose a home and live in a tent city: This happened when he was a child in India, and he still remembers the horrible living conditions. 
Like many immigrants, Nanavati left his native India for the United States young (30), eager to establish a practice, and nearly penniless ($100 in his pocket). He had studied veterinary medicine at the University of Udaipur in India, and continued his studies in Virginia while working for a veterinarian. He passed the state board exams in 1978, then began a one-year internship in Kentucky with another veterinarian.

In 1980, Nanavati settled in the Valley, opened his veterinarian practice, and returned to India to marry four years later, bringing his wife to America. 
In 1988, he opened the Ansonia Animal Hospital at 876 South Main St., Seymour.  Three years later, he renovated a house at 105 Oxford Road (Route 67) and opened a second animal hospital there. Nanavati now splits his time between the two busy offices.

Nanavati, an Orange resident, is joined at his practice these days by his wife, and Becky Mahon, a veterinary assistant who has been a staple at the animal hospital for nearly eight years. 
She said there are numerous adult cats and kittens available for adoption; call 203-735-9915 for more information. She said she has a soft spot for the cats and has taken home a few over the years, as well as provided foster homes for several cats and dogs. 
The Clinic Cats, a well-fed group of felines who found their way Nanavati - and to Becky - have never left.  
  
When asked what he plans to do, now that he has completed 35 years of service, Nanavati said he will try to make it to 40 years, since there is always an animal, and a community, in need.    


Contact Dr. Nanavati at 203-735-9915 (Ansonia Animal Hospital) or 203-888-9292 (Oxford Animal Hospital).


This information is taken from a press release.

  

Seymour Police raising funds for K-9 Unit



* Sharing this from the Office of First Selectman Kurt Miller's Facebook page.