Derby fountain figures prominently in history of troughs throughout U.S.

This is the National Humane Alliance fountain located at the entrance to the Derby Greenway. (Photo shared from Electronic Valley website.)

Local history buff Jack Walsh of Derby, President/COO of Valley United Way, has created an interactive map of the National Humane Alliance fountains found throughout the United States.

Derby's fountain originally was located on Founders Common on Academy Hill Road. It was moved to the entrance of the Derby Greenway in 2007.  

National Humane Alliance Fountains were given to more than 100 communities between 1903 and 1913. They were used as watering troughs for animals.

The link below goes to the interactive map Walsh posted Sunday on Facebook. 
I found it interesting, and thought it would be fun to share here with others who enjoy learning local history.



https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=zppjy_YObc5I.kuVVcPshFwl8

The 31-Day March Challenge: I hope it raised awareness

PKD: Polycystic kidney disease. Putting an end to it is a fabulous idea!

National Kidney Month is marked each year in March. 

I've never liked talking about myself, but in late February
my husband urged me to post the 31 Day Challenge initiated by the PKD Foundation.

I did, and that forced me to talk about myself and my PKD diagnosis. I wrote about that here, on Feb. 29.

My hope in spreading the word about the challenge was that I'd not only raise awareness, but also meet others diagnosed with PKD. 
That didn't happen. 

But I'll continue to write about PKD, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, Multiple Sclerosis, Muscular Dystrophy, and a myriad of other chronic conditions, because awareness is important.

I'll leave you with these factoids about PKD I posted a while back.

Spring plant sale at church in Ansonia to benefit Venturing Crew 77

Spinathon slated in Shelton to benefit 'Pedal for PCRC'

Irving School posts honor roll for third marking period

DERBY – Jennifer Olson, Principal of Irving School, has announced the honor roll for the third marking period.
Those students who have achieved High Honors are:

GRADE FOUR: Nadya Benjamin, Olivia Cramer, Bria Hayden, Mia Hernandez, Jacob Holcomb, Sonny Khanthaphixay, Diana Ladouceur, Elizabeth Nolan, Edward Nowinski, Denis Poric, Kylin Santamaria, Riana Sullivan.

Those students who achieved Honors are:

GRADE FOUR: Nancy Barillas, Ivan Nickolas Cardenas, Zoila Gonzalez, Devyn Gourley, Vanessa Guerra, Machi Ingram, Genesis Ocasio, Atiana Reyes, Elise Roman, Ce’Ajah Wilson, Madeline Zavala

GRADE FIVE: Randy Alston-Brown, Nohelia Arteaga, Brian Baktis, Kyle Baktis, Anneliese Cole, Leah Gilbert, Johnathan Hewitt, Abby Kiraly, Nathaniel-Tyler Lagliva, Alexander Manon, Theodore Orazietti, Stephanie Parra, Grace Saldana, Kameron Vereen.

*Sharing this from Irving School PTO's Facebook page.

Congratulations to all the students on their achievements!

I'm happy to post honor rolls for Valley students. Please email them to me at pmcv394@gmail.com.

Sharing thanks from Derby official for monthly food collections

Note from Town/City Clerk Marc Garofalo:

"Dear City of Derby Colleagues and Friends,

Thank you very much!  

With your help, we delivered 85 cans of beef stew and 2 more jars of mayonnaise to the St. Vincent DePaul Food Bank today.  

If you still have beef stew or other canned goods, please drop them off at City Hall or directly at St. Vincent DePaul Food Bank, 237 Roosevelt Drive, Derby, CT – 203.734.7577.  We keep growing in our third month!

For those who may be new to our distribution list, the Derby City Hall staff, in lieu of a Holiday Secret Santa Gift, donated food to the St. Vincent DePaul Food Pantry in December.

After discussions with the operators of the Food Bank, we asked them for monthly suggestions for food collections to concentrate on what is in short supply.  

We decided that we would start a monthly collection of one specific item to help them feed those in need in our City and the Valley.  

In January we collected jars of jelly, in February we collected jars of mayonnaise and in March we collected cans of Beef Stew.

It’s April and College Basketball is set to crown its National Champions, its opening day of Baseball season, and the flowers are blooming.  

This month we will be collecting Baked Beans for the St. Vincent DePaul Food Bank.

Please consider donating some cans of Baked Beans and bringing them to the Town/City Clerk’s Office by the end of April and we will deliver them.

I have attached a flyer, as requested, for your convenience.

Please forward to friends, relatives, associates and colleagues.  We appreciate your support.

Thank you for your cooperation and possible participation."

Extra, extra: Check out our newsletter

In case you missed it, I'm re-posting the link to our latest Valley Voice newsletter here:

http://goo.gl/CmkMFT


Today I dropped off copies at the following locations: 

• Town Clerk's office, Derby City Hall, 1 Elizabeth St., Derby.
• Derby Public Library, 313 Elizabeth St., Derby.
• United Cigar Store, 41 Elizabeth St., Derby.
• Ansonia Library, 53 S. Cliff St., Ansonia.
• Barb's Corner Consignment, 25 W. Main St., Ansonia.

I plan to drop them off at two more locations tomorrow. Stay tuned!

We also sent out slightly more than 100 newsletters via email this week. 
If you would like to be added to our email list, please send your address to ralphvillers@gmail.com.