Community organizations to celebrate Fourth of July on Derby Green

 

Community to celebrate Independence Day on Derby Green

 

Patriotic essay contest offered to Grade 7, 8 students in Derby

 

Community to celebrate Fourth of July on Derby Green

 

Ansonia officials congratulate historical commission essay contest winners

ANSONIA - Mayor David S. Cassetti Tuesday congratulated all three winners of the 2024 Essay Contest supported by the Ansonia Historical Commission at an award ceremony at the Ansonia Library.

This year’s essay topic was the impact of the 1955 flood on Downtown Ansonia.

Out of 63 essays, three were selected as winning entries:

Anthony Marini, 1st Place

Stanley Vasquez, 2nd Place

Haley Acoba, 3rd Place

Big thanks and appreciation to our amazing Ansonia Historical Commission for their support and work on this event: former Mayor Thomas P. Clifford; Bartholomew Flaherty; Michelle Libby; John Maloney; and John Kileen.

Also big appreciation to the judging panel: Jennifer Bosques; Daniel Bosques; and Jen Shuart.

This is shared from the City of Ansonia Facebook page.

Derby Historical Society moves July 4 celebration to CWV Post 1562 in Derby

Due to the threat of thunderstorms in tomorrow's forecast, the Independence Day Celebration will be held at the CWV Post 1562, 112 Derby Ave., Derby.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Patriotic essay contest award ceremony slated July 4th on Derby Green

Derby Public Library accepting essays for annual scholarship prize

DERBY - The Derby Public Library is now accepting submissions for its Annual Scholarship Prize of $500. 

It is open to all high school seniors living in Derby who are planning to further their education, regardless of where they currently go to school. The Library Board of Directors will choose the winner based on a submitted essay explaining the role of libraries in the applicant's life. 

The award will be presented by the Library Board of Directors at its April meeting. In addition to the monetary prize, the winner’s name will be added to the Scholarship Prize Plaque located in our Young Adult Department. 

High school seniors may submit their entries to dplreference@biblio.org now through April 1. Good luck!

This is shared from the Derby Public Library Facebook page.

Rochelle to recognize winners of Future Fair essay contest

Community building event slated Saturday

State Rep. Kara Rochelle 

             

ANSONIA - State Rep. Kara Rochelle, D-Ansonia/Derby, Wednesday announced the winners of the 104th District’s first Future Fair essay contest.

Fahmida Chowdhury of Ansonia and Jessica Gerckens of Derby will be recognized and receive citations from the Connecticut General Assembly at Future Fair, the event Rochelle is hosting at Emmett O’Brien Technical High School from noon-4 p.m. Saturday.

The essay topic: “How does civic engagement and community service help strengthen our communities and how can you participate in both to improve your city?” was open to all eighth graders in Derby and Ansonia with a mission of encouraging students from the community to make connections between their current lives and the importance of civics and community service.

“The Valley has a deep tradition of residents giving their time and working together to build up our community. We show up for each other, and many volunteer regularly in making our community stronger, safer, and more vibrant for our residents. I wanted to encourage students to continue on this path,” Rochelle said.

The presentations to Chowdhury and Gerckens will take place at 1 p.m. 

Future Fair will feature dozens of organizations providing resources and tools for residents, as well as opportunities to get more involved in community efforts.   

All are welcome to attend and residents are encouraged to be present at 1 p.m. when the essay contest winners who have shown great understanding of the value of civic engagement are honored. 

This is a press release from Rochelle's office.

Ansonia High School student honored for her 'Laws of Life' essay

Ashmal Baig, an Ansonia High School student, was honored Wednesday at SEE's 13th Annual Character Celebration at Amarante's in New Haven. 

Ashmal is one of the top 10 essayists for the Laws of Life Essay Contest. 

Congratulations, Ashmal!

*Shared from the Ansonia Public Schools' Facebook page.

Derby Public Library accepting essay submissions for scholarship prize

Essay contest winners honored at Ansonia City Hall

City of Ansonia photo

The Ansonia Historical Commission Thursday held its essay awards program at City Hall. 
Commission Essay Chairman Loisann Marazzi and Mayor David S. Cassetti presented certificates to, from left, Jenna Davis, Grade 8, first; Ryan Tyszka, Grade 8, second; and Isabelle Jadach, Grade 8, third. 
All three are students at Assumption School.

Congratulations go out to the honorees! 

*This information is shared from the City of Ansonia Facebook page. 

Seymour Middle School students' essays recognized

Pictured from left: state Sen. Eric Berthel, R-Watertown, Colin Stewart, Assistant Principal Ernie DiStasi, Adelina Barreira, and state Rep. Nicole Klarides-Ditria, R-Seymour./ Contributed photo


SEYMOUR- In honor of Women’s History Month, state Rep. Nicole Klarides-Ditria, R-Seymour, and state Sen. Eric Berthel, R-Watertown,  hosted an essay contest for Seymour sixth graders. 
The theme was “How a Connecticut Woman Made a Contribution to the State and/or Nation and How it Has Influenced Me.”

The winner and runner-up finishers were picked by Seymour Middle School teachers and were presented with an official state citation and pin. 

The winner and runner-up and who they profiled are:

First Place – Adelina Barreira – Caroline Maria Hewins

Runner-Up – Colin Stewart – Ella Tambussi Grasso

This is a press release from Klarides-Ditria's office.

Congratulations go out to the two essay contest winners!

Derby Public Library announces annual scholarship essay contest

DERBY - The Derby Public Library Annual $500 Scholarship Prize is open to all high school seniors living in Derby who plan to further their education, regardless of where they go to school. 

The Library Board of Directors will choose the winner based on an essay explaining the role of libraries in their life. 

The award will be presented June 20 at the Library Board of Directors' meeting. 

In addition to the monetary prize, the winner’s name will be added to the Scholarship Prize Plaque located in the Young Adult Department. 

High school seniors may submit their entry directly to the Library Director now through May 24. 

For more information, stop by the Library, 313 Elizabeth St., or call 203-736-1482.

This information is shared from the Library's website.

Ansonia mayor honors students who penned winning essays

Pictured from left: Mikayla Wiacek, Jenna Davis, Kristina Gecaj, and Ansonia Mayor David S. Cassetti /Contributed photo

ANSONIA - Mayor David S. Cassetti received a history lesson Thursday at City Hall as he congratulated three winners of the Ansonia Historical Commission’s annual essay contest. 

The winners were:

1st Place – Kristina Gecaj – Assumption School

2nd Place – Jenna Davis – Assumption School

3rd Place – Mikayla Wiacek – Assumption School

The contest, in its 15th year, was open to middle school students throughout Ansonia and Assumption School. 

A total of 34 entries was submitted for review by Historical Commission Judges Loisann Marazzi and Chairperson Mary Gibson.

This year’s 500-word essay theme was a fictional/factual interpretation of being an eyewitness to pedal bicycle inventor Pierre Lallement as he rode his bicycle through downtown Ansonia in 1865, his hometown. 

Cassetti told the winners, “I am extremely proud of you and your accomplishments in winning these awards tonight. It tells me that you love Ansonia as much as I do.” 

For their creative writing skills, each winner received a certificate and monetary award of $100/First Place, $75/Second Place, and $50/Third Place.

Below is the first place essay:

The Ride of the Wooden Horse

First Place Essay

Kristina Gecaj    Gr. 7    Assumption School

I got to the beautiful Main Street of Ansonia, Connecticut three hours before the big event began.  Today was the day that the crowd would finally get to see my brother ride the first Velocipede down this very street.  Before the big event started, I thought about how Pierre got to this day and how he had made this magnificent invention.  Pierre and I lived near Nancy, France.  All his life, making new and helpful inventions that would make people’s lives easier fascinated Pierre.

Pierre first was employed building baby carriages in 1862 when he was only 19; this had started his interest in creating new ways to move oneself or others.  When he saw someone riding a dandy horse, he immediately thought of how he could make that invention better and help people move around.  He modified what he saw by adding a transmission with rotary crank mechanism pedals to the front.  After spending countless hours to perfecting this, he created the Velocipede.  In 1863 Pierre moved to Paris and showed the Oliver brothers his likely invention.  The Oliver brothers saw the potential in Pierre’s invention and assisted him with getting the news about it out to the public.

In July 1865, Pierre left France for the United States and he settled in Ansonia, Connecticut.  While he was there, he perfected the build and design of the Velocipede.  In April 1866 James Carroll made a patent application for the Velocipede.  I remember Pierre being excited about receiving the patent.  It made this invention his own; nobody could steal or use his design or methods.

Now, Pierre is about to ride the Velocipede.  The streets of Ansonia are filled with people cheering and waiting for this unique event.  Nobody has ever seen anything like this in the past.  As I look to my left I see a little girl holding her mother’s hand jumping up and down.  When I look to my right, I see an elderly couple looking onto the street with amazement in their eyes.  This was the first time they have ever heard of an event like this.  It felt like a parade was about to begin.  I was right in the front row and had a great view of all the beautiful buildings.  Everyone decorated their little shops with flowers and other decorations to show support for Pierre.

Finally the crowd began to cheer louder when they saw Pierre settle into the beginning of his riding course.  He grabbed onto the wooden handles and started pushing the pedals with his feet.  The Velocipede had two large wheels, one in the front and one in the back.  Pierre began his ride at a slow speed so he could wave to the large amount of people that were there as he drove by, but he quickly picked up speed and demonstrated how fast his invention could go.  With amazement and excitement, the crowd clapped and cheered and transportation would never be the same again!

This is a press release from Cassetti's office.

My congratulations go out to the three winners! Keep writing!

Shelton fire prevention poster, essay contest winners applauded

First place poster in fifth grade drawn by Selin Ho.

SHELTON – The two first place Fire Prevention Poster Contest winners, a fourth-grade and a fifth-grade winner, were announced Tuesday during the annual Shelton Fire Prevention Contest Awards Ceremony at Shelton Intermediate School. 

Overall City of Shelton winners are:

4th Grade - Griffin Marcinczyk, Elizabeth Shelton School

5th Grade - Selin Ho, Perry Hill School

Each of their posters have advanced to a state level contest. 

First place poster in fourth grade created by Griffin Marcinczyk.

Assistant Chief Ted Pisciotta congratulated students and thanked parents, teachers, principals, school staff, and firefighters for their efforts.
Mayor Mark A. Lauretti spoke about the benefit of this annual contest and his gratitude for all the many individuals that support this fire safety program. He commented that fire safety education is important to save lives, prevent harm, protect property, and keep everyone safe. 
Fire Marshal James Tortora and Chief Fran Jones also congratulated all the winners for a job well done. 
All first and second place winners from the fourth and fifth grade representing each of Shelton’s public and parochial schools, received a cash award of $100 and $75, respectively, from Lauretti. The two, Overall City of Shelton winners, were each presented a cash award of $125, a certificate, and a medal.

Contest launched in 1984 

The annual poster contest, launched in 1984, is designed to develop fire safety awareness in youngsters and to encourage them to take the message home to their families. 
It is jointly sponsored by Connecticut FAIR Plan, representing the insurance industry in the state; the Connecticut Fire marshals Association; Connecticut Board of Education and the Office of State Fire Marshal. 
The local contest is administered by the Shelton Fire Prevention Bureau. 

Approximately 900 posters were submitted this year from Booth Hill, Elizabeth Shelton, Long Hill, Mohegan, Perry Hill, St. Joseph, St. Lawrence, and Sunnyside schools. 
Each student who submitted a poster will receive a Certificate of Appreciation and a pen from the Connecticut Fire Prevention Poster Committee. 
Judging was held on Dec. 16, with representatives from the Board of Aldermen as judges. All first place posters will be displayed over the next year at schools, public buildings, and events. 

Lauretti also presented cash awards and certificates to winners of the Sixth Grade Essay/Public Service Announcement Contest. 
Classrooms, and each student author, received a cash award of $100, $75, and $50 for first, second, and third place, respectively. 

The Bureau is thankful for the volunteer essay/PSA judges: reporter Ethan Fry from the Valley Independent Sentinel, and Patricia Villers (that's me) from The Valley Voice blog and website. I must say I always enjoy reading the creative essays written by the sixth graders. 

Since the contest began in 1996, its purpose has been to promote fire safety by having students research the topic while writing their PSA. 
The fire department/fire prevention bureau would like to use the essay to help remind adults and children how important fire prevention is to Everyone/Everyday. This year’s winners are:

1st Place

Ms. Ibsen’s class, Perry Hill School

Author:  Joe Schiappa

2nd Place

Mr. Federowicz’s class, Perry Hill School

Author:  Ella Dzujna

3rd Place

Mrs. Coffin’s Class, Perry Hill School

Authors:  Nicole and Natalie Plavec

Participants in both the poster and essay contests depicted many of the essential elements of preventing fire from ever occurring and of preparation and planning required to be ready for fire. 
Pisciotta is hopeful that the messages of posters and essays will be shared with everyone in the community to help further reduce needless damage to property, injury to persons and loss of life that can result from fire. 
In addition to spreading information about fire safety, Pisciotta finds the contest helpful to measure the effectiveness of educational programs of the fire prevention bureau.  
From reviewing the nearly 900 posters and 20 essays it becomes apparent where the bureau has made a great impact and has identified areas where special focus may be needed to improve educational efforts.

For more information about fire safety, the public is encouraged to contact the Shelton Fire Prevention Bureau at 203-924-1555 or on the web at www.cityofshelton.org, where all winning posters and essays may be viewed by finding the Fire Prevention Bureau under “Public Safety.”  
For direct access go to: www.sheltonfireprevention.org.

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