Shelton fire official shares holiday safety tips

Battery-powered, flameless candles are preferable. / Contributed photo

SHELTON - The City's Fire Prevention Bureau would like to remind everyone it is important to make fire prevention a top priority when decorating and celebrating this holiday season.

Fires involving holiday trees, lights, candles and cooking pose a serious threat during this time of year. Decorating homes and businesses is a long-standing tradition around the holiday season.

Unfortunately, these same decorations may increase your chances of fire that can cause extensive damage to property, in addition to possible injury or death.

Following a few simple fire safety tips can keep electric lights, candles, and a Christmas tree from creating a tragedy. 

Ted Pisciotta, Assistant Chief - Fire Prevention, believes that everyone can help ensure a safe and happy holiday by considering hazards associated with holiday trees, decorative lighting, candles, and cooking:

• If you plan on a “live/cut” tree, be sure it is remains fresh and is never dry. Needles on fresh trees should be green and hard to pull from the branches, and a needle should bend, not break, if the tree has been freshly cut. Bouncing the tree trunk on the ground can identify old trees. If many needles fall off, the tree has been cut too long, has probably dried out, and is a fire hazard. Do not put the tree within three feet of a fireplace, space heater, radiator, or heat vent. The heat will dry out the tree, causing it to be more easily ignited by heat, flame, or sparks. Do not leave a tree up for longer than two weeks and be sure to keep the tree stand filled with water at all times.

• Holiday lights can be a potential ignition source. Only use lighting listed by an approved testing laboratory. Do not link more than three light strands, unless the directions indicate it is safe. Make sure to periodically check the wires – they should not be warm to the touch. Never leave a lighted Christmas tree or other decorative lighting display unattended. Inspect lights for exposed or frayed wires, loose connections, and broken sockets. Do not overload extension cords or outlets and do not run an electrical cord under a rug.

• Avoid using lit candles. If you do use them, make sure they are in stable holders and place them where children, pets, or cords from vacuum cleaners etc. cannot easily knock them over. Consider where combustible items might be placed and where candles could be knocked over and where they could be forgotten about over time. Never leave the house or go to sleep with candles burning. Of course, battery-powered, flameless “candles” are always preferred.

• Stay in the kitchen when you are cooking. Many fires that start small occur when food is left on the stove or the oven unattended. Always keep an oven mitt and lid nearby when you’re cooking. If a small grease fire starts in a pan, put on an oven mitt and smother the flames by carefully sliding the lid over the pan. Turn off the burner. Don’t remove the lid until it is completely cool, and never, ever try to move the pan anywhere! If there is an oven fire, turn off the heat and keep the door closed. Of course, for any fire situation call 911 immediately!

• Remember, at any place of business or at home, make sure all exits are accessible and not blocked by decorations or trees.

Finally, as in every season, have working smoke alarms installed on every level of your home, test them monthly and keep them clean and equipped with fresh batteries at all times. 

Know when and how to call “911” for help. And remember to practice your home escape plan.

For more information, the public is encouraged to contact the Shelton Fire Prevention Bureau at 924-1555 or on the web under “Public Safety” at www.cityofshelton.org.

This is a press release from the Shelton Fire Prevention Bureau.

Wesley Village in Shelton seeks caregivers for focus group

SHELTON - Wesley Village, a campus of senior living communities in Shelton, is looking for caregivers to help with a special new initiative. 

Local residents who are currently caring for an aging loved one are invited to participate in a one-hour focus group to share experiences, opinions, and perspective on what it is like to care for someone in their home. 

The purpose of the focus group is to learn more about the needs of caregivers and their aging loved ones and explore the areas where there may be gaps in service. No preparation is necessary and light refreshments will be served. 
Two focus group sessions have been scheduled for Dec. 16 from 2-3 p.m. and from 6-7 p.m. at Wesley Village. To learn more or to RSVP, call 203-925-4953 or email Carlene Rhea, Director of Mission Development, at crhea@umh.org. 

United Methodist Homes/Wesley Village has been awarded a planning grant from the State of Connecticut to help with the State’s Strategic Rebalancing Plan (a plan aimed at balancing long term care systems and allowing more seniors to stay in their homes). 
Participation in one of the focus group sessions will assist us in submitting a formal business plan back to the State. 

Wesley Village is located at 580 Long Hill Ave. and is owned and operated by United Methodist Homes, a mission-based, not-for-profit organization serving all members of the community. 

For directions to the campus or for more information about Wesley Village, visit www.wesleyvillage-ct.org.


This is a press release from United Methodist Homes.

Journalist pens good news story featuring Shelton, Orange businesses

Please check out this heartwarming, first-person holiday story written by my journalist friend Pam McLoughlin of Orange, a reporter for the New Haven Register. 

It highlights acts of kindness performed for a family of seven in need. Pam said she was telling her personal story in an effort to inspire others to perform random acts of kindness. 

I'm sharing it since the heating and plumbing supplies company that helped her family - Shelton Winnelson Co.- is located at 740 River Road, Shelton. Pam said she had never met the owner, Prisco Panza, who gave her a new boiler.

The other company that greatly assisted the family is Tamaro Oil Corp., based in Orange. Pam said she has been a customer for 20 years.

The companies donated a new furnace and installation to the family.  

These two area businesses deserve plaudits for paying it forward!
And plaudits go to Diane Downey, an Orange schools social worker, who contacted Panza about the family's situation.

Dancers teach importance of attendance at Irving School in Derby

Dance team performs for students, families at Irving School./ Contributed photo

DERBY - Students and families from Irving School were treated Dec. 3 to a special performance by Danz Magic to promote school attendance, goal-setting, and perseverance. 

The show was held to support Irving’s plan to reduce chronic absenteeism and build a school culture that values and recognizes regular school attendance. 

Danz Magic’s owner, Debbie Parlow, collaborated with Irving School’s Attendance Coordinator Maria Bowers to plan the event for students.  
The Danz Magic Dance Team includes approximately 50 dancers from around the Valley area ranging in ages from nine to 23 years. 
The dancers perform routines with tap, ballet, lyrical, jazz, pointe, and tumbling.  

Parlow said, “Danz Magic wanted to spread a little magic throughout our community, and help Irving School teach the importance of commitment and dedication. We know it will help these kids become responsible people, who go far in the future.”  

Irving School is in its fourth year of a comprehensive turnaround, and designated as a Review School in the Department of Education’s Alliance Grant, an improvement from a Focus School status in 2012.  
Alliance Districts are required to address chronic absenteeism, which includes students missing 10 percent or more of school. 

“We made it a priority this year to improve student attendance,” said Principal Jennifer Olson.  
“Historically, our school struggled with inconsistent student attendance including absences, tardies, and early dismissals. We are intentionally working to help families to identify and resolve any obstacles that interfere with children coming to school every day.”  

In the first marking period, daily attendance at Irving School improved from 95 percent in 2014-2015 to 98 percent in 2015-16. Chronic absenteeism also dropped from 17 percent to 11.9 percent.  
The state’s target is 10 percent.

“Making attendance a priority in your home as early as preschool will create a habit that follows students through life. When children miss school, whether it is an excused or an unexcused absence, they miss out on important learning,” Bowers said. 
“We want our students to be ‘On Time and Ready to Shine’ because it is a great start to being the best you can be, and I am here to help.”

Fifth grade teacher Jori Pirritino said, “The school’s focus on attendance helps me as a teacher because we can build a more cohesive classroom community because everyone is there for the same experiences and learning.”

The Danz Magic performance is one of many ways Irving School is helping bring attention to the importance of school attendance. The school celebrates classes with perfect attendance daily, and recognizes students with perfect attendance quarterly.  
At the first marking period Honors Reception in November, 89 students, or 27 percent of students in Grades K-5, were awarded certificates for perfect attendance. 
According to Olson, 14 students who had perfect attendance in the first marking period were chronically absent last year. 

Parlow and Danz Magic’s Assistant Director Stephanie Waldron offered Irving students who attended the performance a free dance lesson, and Danz Magic pencils that read, “On Time and Ready to Shine!”  

Danz Magic has studios in Derby and Milford and is celebrating 29 years in business. “At Danz Magic, we are not just another dance studio, we are a family. Kids form friendships that last a lifetime,” said Parlow.


This is a press release from Irving School.

House in Derby lights the night

I came upon this tastefully decorated house last night when I was on Elizabeth Street in Derby and had to stop and take a photo. It put me in a holiday mood!

That gave me the idea to ask readers to submit photos of decorated houses and other buildings in the Valley and surrounding communities.  
I will post your photos here on the blog. You can mention the town if you'd like.

I'll go out to seek some more photo-worthy ones too.

Let's get festive! 


Please send your photos to: pmcv394@gmail.com. 
Thanks in advance.

P.S. We don't have any lights in our yard; at least not yet. Maybe that's why I enjoy looking at others so much!