Legion Post in Shelton to hold dinner, magic show to benefit Fisher House

SHELTON - Sutter-Terlizzi American Legion Post 16 is hosting a Family Pasta Dinner and Magic Show to benefit Fisher House. 
The fundraiser will be held Jan. 26 at the Post home, 295 Old Bridgeport Ave.

Spaghetti, meatballs, French bread, and salad will be served at 6 p.m., followed by the magic of Brian Lizotte at 7 p.m. 
The cost is $15 per person, kids 12 and under $6 and pre-school age children and under are free. Tickets may be purchased in advance at Post 16 most afternoons. Buying in advance is encouraged. 
Call the Post at 203-924-9887 to make sure it is open prior to coming to purchase tickets.

The members of American Legion Post 16 are U.S. veterans still serving America. Please join us in supporting the Fisher House. 

On April 11 the Fisher House Foundation broke ground on a new Fisher House at the VA Medical Center in West Haven. The Connecticut Fisher House will provide accommodations for the families of Connecticut veterans when facing a medical crisis. The house is scheduled to open early 2018.

The Fisher House Foundation builds and maintains long-term residential facilities near military hospitals nationwide for the families of seriously injured soldiers who need a place to stay during the long rehabilitation process. 
This is a vital need, which is not covered by any other resource. 
The facilities are supported by contributions and the VA Hospital and openings are granted in reverse order of rank, so that the lower enlisted soldier has first chance at the housing. 
The stay is free for the soldiers and their families for the entire time they are there.
Currently there are more than 45 Fisher Houses worldwide, mostly in the United States. 
Since 1990 they have provided services to more than 8,500 military families who have stayed more than 1.5 million days supporting their soldier during rehabilitation.

This is a press release from Post 16.

Learn about winter sowing at Plumb Memorial Library in Shelton

SHELTON - Plumb Memorial Library, 65 Wooster St., will offer a special gardening event, “Winter Sowing Workshop,” at 10 a.m. Jan. 27. Snow date is Feb. 24 at 10 a.m. 

Participants will learn this fun and easy way to start seeds outside in winter. 
No lights, heat mats, or expensive equipment is required to grow seeds. 
Everyone who attends will sow seeds to take home with them.

The class will be taught by gardener Debbie Semonich. 
She has been gardening for 20 years and began winter sowing 15 years ago. The success she had with this method led to her selling flowers at local farmers' markets.

The program is free and open to the public. 

Registration is required and can be done by calling the Adult Department at Plumb Memorial Library, 203-924-1580, or by registering at http://sheltonlibrarysystem.org.

Newsletter highlights new businesses in Derby and Seymour, more

Dear readers,

Today's Valley Voice newsletter features the opening of a counseling practice in Derby, a unique shop in Seymour, and a story about snow, cars, and mistaken identity.

Thanks for reading!

We'll be back on Tuesday. Enjoy the weekend!

Patti and Ralph

Author to speak at Shelton Historical Society annual meeting

SHELTON - At the annual meeting of the Shelton Historical Society Jan. 28, author and photographer Emery Roth II will discuss his book, Brass Valley: The Fall of an American Industry.   

      The meeting will be held at 2 p.m. at the Huntington Congregational Church Fellowship Hall, 19 Church St.

In this ode to Connecticut’s Naugatuck River Valley, vibrant photos and moving poetry relate the region’s legendary industrial history and ponder its legacy.  

        The story begins in 1802, when two metalworking families joined forces to manufacture brass.  

        Business soared during the War of 1812 with the demand for buttons, and soon brass 

parts became essential in the age of steam and electricity. As large-scale brass manufacturing grew across what became known as the Brass Valley, mill towns along the river, such as Torrington and Waterbury, developed into thriving cultural centers. This continued until 2014, when the last plant closed, and the tradition of soot-covered workers charging generations-old furnaces came to an end.  

        This poignant elegy captures the glowing metal flying through the air at the Ansonia foundry in its final days, as well as abandoned opera houses and train tracks, the vestiges of a dying infrastructure and American way of life.  So many of the mill towns in the area shared this common history, employing proud members of the respective communities, including those in Shelton.

Brass Valley: The Fall of an American Industry will be available to purchase. 

There will be a brief business meeting prior to the presentation. 

        The meeting is free and open to the public; donations are welcome. Refreshments will be served.  

         In case of inclement weather, please refer to the Shelton History Center’s Facebook page. 

    The Shelton Historical Society owns Shelton History Center, a complex of six historic buildings located just north of the Huntington Green, and strives to provide programs of historical interest to the community.   

     The Brownson House displays the 1913 lifestyle of a middle-class farm family while the Wilson Barn exhibits the 300-year history of Shelton. There is a one-room school and a carriage barn containing horse-drawn vehicles as well.  

      Shelton Historical Society maintains its collections, which include newspaper clippings, business ledgers, personal diaries and letters, scrapbooks, and artifacts at Shelton History Center.  

   For more information call 203-925-1803 or visit www.sheltonhistoricalsociety.org.

        This is a press release from Tracey Tate, executive director, Shelton Historical Society.

Logan to host coffee hour at Valley Diner in Derby

Logan, R-Ansonia, represents the 17th District in the state Senate.

Gentile, colleagues seek cost-saving report from education department

Request update on special ed improvements passed in 2015

HARTFORD - State Reps. Linda M. Gentile, D-Ansonia, Michelle Cook, D-Torrington, and Michael D’Agostino, D-Hamden, recently sent a letter to the state Department of Education requesting a progress report on implementation of cost-saving measures related to special education.

Legislation passed in 2015 directed the department to create a new Individualized Education Program form that is easier for parents and students to understand and implement an online IEP system to be made available to public school districts at no cost. 

IEPs are documents created by the school system for each special education student outlining their educational plans.

The letter states, “We are specifically concerned that the implementation of a digital IEP system allowing districts to share information online with authorized State Department of Education personnel for audit purposes, negating the need for certain site-visits, may never have been implemented.”

The letter requests a progress report specifically on the implementation of Sections 264 to 285 of Public Act 15-5.

“We pushed for the passage of this bill because we knew implementing the new digital IEP form would improve Connecticut’s special education system,” Gentile said. 

“It’s important that we start this cost saving measure as soon as possible and hope that our inquiry to the Department of Education will give us a better understanding as to why certain provisions in the bill have yet to be implemented.”

“We passed these proposals in order to improve the special education system for families and schools while containing costs. IEPs are integral to meeting special education students’ needs, but the lack of a streamlined process can create headaches for everyone involved,” Cook said. “Given the state’s current fiscal situation, it’s particularly concerning that we have not seen the implementation of a digital IEP system. The current system is not cost-efficient for the state or for school districts.”

“The legislation that was signed into law in 2015 sought to strengthen our state’s special education system by putting our students first and ensuring their individual educational needs were met. This bill sought to implement a digital IEP system and develop a new form that was easier for parents and students to understand - at no cost to public schools. Some of these provisions, however, have not yet been implemented. It is vital for us to better understand why these efforts to improve our education system have been stalled so we can identify a way to bring this measure to fruition for the improvement of our children’s schooling,” said D’Agostino.

This is a press release from Gentile's office.

Greater Valley Chamber in Shelton to host session on business plans

Business Plan Basics sponsored by the Women's Business Development Council

Did you know a business plan can help you grow your business and get funding? 

Join the Women’s Business Development Council at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 31 for this one hour information session and learn how developing a business plan can help take your business dream from idea to reality. 

A strong business plan is key to helping you grow your business. 
Join us to find out the steps you need to take to put one in place.

The free program will be held at Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce offices, 10 Progress Drive, Shelton.
Pre-registration is required.


*Information shared from the Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce

Derby Neck Library to host dinner, film about Billie Jean King

DERBY - The Derby Neck Library, 307 Hawthorne Ave., will host Dinner and a Movie for ages 18 and older at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 1. 

This month’s presentation is Battle of the Sexes, a movie about tennis player Billie Jean King and her historic 1973 match against Bobby Riggs. 

Free movie refreshments will be served, including a pizza dinner at  intermission.
For details call the library, 203-734-1492.

This is a press release from Patricia Sweeney, reference librarian, Derby Neck Library.

Senior scams topic of presentation at Shelton Senior Center

The Valley Senior Services Council presents

“Senior Scams and Safety”

The program will be held at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at Shelton Senior Center, 81 Wheeler St., Shelton.

Learn the latest scams that affect senior citizens and how to protect yourself from them.
Guest speaker will be Tracey Parks, coordinator of Community Education and Training at BHcare. 

Please RSVP by calling 203-924-9324.