Derby Library plans benefits workshop, discussion about Brokaw memoir

DERBY - The Derby Public Library will host the workshop, Maximize Your Social Security 

Benefits, at 6:30 p.m  Sept. 28.  

David Cowan, endorsed AAA retiree advisor, will discuss how to navigate retirement savings challenges, ways to safeguard retirement savings, and how to increase Social Security benefits by as much as $100,000.  

Learn when the right time is to start taking your Social Security, hidden benefits you may have from a former or deceased spouse, and the benefits of "switches."

While the program is targeted for pre-retirees, ages 60-66, the general public is welcome.

Registration is requested.  

Lunchtime Book Discussion 

The Library has scheduled its next Lunchtime Book Discussion for 12:30 p.m. Sept. 30.

The selected title is the powerful memoir, A Lucky Life Interrupted: A Memoir of Hope by Tom Brokaw.  

As Brokaw battles multiple myeloma, an incurable but 

treatable blood cancer, he reflects on a long and lucky life, including a great marriage of more than 50 years, a 

brilliant journalism career culminating in his 22 years as anchor of NBC Nightly News, a bestselling author, and his scores of devoted friends.

As he comes to terms with his own mortality Brokaw also looks at the larger picture of aging in America and rising health-care costs.

Multiple copies of the book are available at the circulation desk.  Participants are asked

to bring a sandwich and a friend as they “chat and chew.”  
Dessert and beverages will be provided.  

Registration is requested.  

For more information on any program, stop by the Library at 313 Elizabeth St., call  

203-736-1482, or visit www.derbypubliclibrary.org.   


This is a press release from Cathy Williams, Director, Derby Public Library.

Dementia is topic of forum at Wesley Village in Shelton

SHELTON - In celebration of National Assisted Living Week, the Connecticut Assisted Living Association, the Institute for Senior Living Education, and the Alzheimer’s Association Connecticut Chapter, will present a Community Caregiver Forum at Wesley Village from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Sept. 16.

The event will be hosted by Crosby Commons Assisted Living Community but held at Wesley Heights Assisted Living Community, located on the Wesley Village campus, 580 Long Hill Ave. 

The topic for the evening, “Keeping Connected in the Disconnected World of Dementia,” will feature an overview of dementia and include communication techniques, behavior strategies, and a variety of resources for caregivers to stay connected with their loved ones. 

This event is free and open to the public, however, seating is limited and space will be reserved first for family caregivers and other senior care providers. 

A light meal will be served. RSVP to 203-925-4952 or by email at msalvesen@umh.org. 

Please be sure to park at and enter through the Wesley Heights building when arriving for the event.

Wesley Village is a campus of senior care communities including Crosby Commons Assisted Living Community, Wesley Heights Assisted and Independent Living Apartments and Cottages, Lifestyle Transitions Memory Care at Wesley Heights, and Bishop Wicke Health and Rehabilitation Center. 

The campus is owned and operated by UMH, a local, mission-based, not-for-profit organization serving all members of the community and is located at 580 Long Hill Ave. 

To learn more about the continuum of care offered at Wesley Village or the mission of UMH, visit www.wesleyvillage-ct.org or contact Lisa Bisson at 203-225-5024.

This is a press release from United Methodist Homes.

State commission to host hearing on transit issues in Derby

DERBY - The Connecticut Public Transportation Commission will hold a public hearing at 7 p.m. Sept. 9 at City Hall, 1 Elizabeth St. 

This will be the first of four hearings that the Commission holds statewide this fall to gather testimony from the public, transportation providers, public officials and other entities concerning the operation of public transportation services, dial-a-ride and ADA transportation and other issues.  

The Commission seeks public comment on the extent to which existing services are meeting public needs and on improvements or new services to address unmet travel needs.  

Local and regional issues of particular interest include service on the Waterbury Branch of Metro-North, the lack of evening and weekend bus service in the Lower Naugatuck Valley, limited transit options in communities between Derby and Waterbury, the Valley Transit District’s bus service, the Naugatuck River Greenway, and other topics of interest to the public.

The Commission will use the testimony received at this public hearing as well as from other hearings conducted across the state in preparing recommendations for its annual report to the Governor, the Commissioner of Transportation and the Transportation Committee of the General Assembly. 

In addition, the Commission’s other fall public hearings will be Sept. 30 in Old Saybrook at the Old Saybrook Town Hall, Oct. 6 at Windsor Locks Town Hall, and Oct. 13 in Stamford at the Western Connecticut Council of Governments office in the Stamford Government Center, all at 7 p.m. 
The Commission  held three hearings this spring in Norwich, Hamden, and Plainville.



This is a press release from the Connecticut Public Transportation Commission.

Craft beer, chili fest slated in Seymour

Read all about the fifth annual event here in a story by my friend and New Haven Register correspondent Jean Falbo-Sosnovich.

Ansonia Hilltop residents learn about burglaries, block watch plans

Ansonia Police Officer Rick Esposito addresses an overflow crowd Tuesday evening in the parking lot of Hilltop Hose Company 5 firehouse on Pulaski Highway. Mayor David S. Cassetti, at podium, listens to the presentation.

Ansonia residents cram into firehouse to get information about recent break-ins and attempted break-ins in the Hilltop section of the city.

Officials estimated that more than 300 residents attended the informational meeting.

Ansonia Police Chief Kevin Hale said the large turnout was "a very good thing. It's a very good step going forward." 
He said six burglaries had occurred between Aug. 6 and Aug. 21. "There have been more attempts than actual burglaries," Hale said. "Every entry has been through an open or unlocked window. No force has been used except for a cut screen, and we're not even sure of that."

Hale said all of the break-ins and attempted break-ins have occurred between 11:30 p.m. and 5:30 a.m. Stolen items included small electronics, including laptops and cell phones.

He said, "We have enhanced our presence up here tremendously but we haven't taken away from patrols in other parts of the city."


As Hilltop residents my husband and I were both glad to see the community turn out and share their concerns. 

Please click here for a story by Jean Falbo-Sosnovich, New Haven Register correspondent. 

Accessible fishing pier project in Derby moving forward

Dugatto announces $325,000 grant 

DERBY - Mayor Anita Dugatto announced today that a $325,000 grant has been awarded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on behalf of the Connecticut Housatonic Natural Resource Trustee Council to construct an accessible fishing pier at O’Sullivan’s Island Recreation Park.  

Although previously planned, the project was unable to be approved due to ongoing environmental issues at the site. 

The Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments (NVCOG) was able to secure the funding after conducting extensive analysis of the soils and groundwater. 

Based on those studies NVCOG requested a report on potential public health risk from the Connecticut Department of Public Health (CTDPH). Meg Harvey, Epidemiologist with the CTDPH and author of the June 2015 Health Consultation for the site concluded that, “the available site information indicates that the intended construction and engineering work can proceed as planned in a safe manner.” 

Working with the Derby Board of Aldermen, NVCOG staff developed the project at the direction of Executive Director Rick Dunne and Dugatto. 

During construction a Licensed Environmental Professional will sample and review conditions of all soils excavated and disturbed to properly manage any potential contamination that is known to exist below the surface layer. 

President of the Board of Aldermen, Art Gerckens, said, “Securing this grant is a fine example of local government working together with other agencies to achieve a positive goal. This is a win for the citizens of Derby and will give our fishermen a better opportunity to land some huge stripers.”

The pier will be designed and permits secured this year with construction slated for completion in early fall 2016. Dugatto said, “This opportunity, the result of successful collaboration among community partners, brings us one step closer to our goal of restoring recreational use to O’Sullivan’s Island.”

The grant was made possible by funding set aside specifically for sites along the Housatonic River like O’Sullivan’s Island. 

According to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, “An October 2000 Consent Decree required GE to provide $15 million to the Natural Resource Trustees for natural resource damages; these were associated with the environmental harm caused by releases of PCBs into the Housatonic River watershed in western Massachusetts and Connecticut. The funds were roughly divided so that $7.5 million would be available for restoration projects in each state's portion of the Housatonic River watershed.” 

The Derby project was originally selected for funding in 2010 under the Housatonic River Restoration program but not funded due to an inability to secure environmental clearances. 

“We look forward to working with the NVCOG and the City of Derby to improve public access to the Housatonic and Naugatuck Rivers,” said Tom Chapman, Supervisor of the USFWS New England Field Office. 

“The new path and accessible fishing pier will re-connect people with these extraordinary rivers.”

O’Sullivan’s Island is a peninsula at the confluence of the Housatonic and Naugatuck Rivers, located south of Derby’s downtown commercial district. 

The addition of an accessible fishing pier will provide an elevated place to view the river and create equitable access to the Housatonic’s increasingly rich fish stock. In the coming years the City of Derby and NVCOG will continue making O’Sullivan’s Island safer, cleaner, and more accessible for all who enjoy fishing, walking, biking, boating, and spending time in this singular place at the union of two rivers. 

Updates on the project will be available on the NVCOG website at www.nvcogct.org. 

This is a press release from Mayor Dugatto's office.

Church in Orange to host 35th annual 'Odyssey' this weekend

The festival features food, Greek dancing, children's games, giant tag sale, marketplace, and more. 

Hours are noon to 10 p.m. Friday through Sunday, and noon to 8 p.m. Monday, Labor Day.

This four-day event is a popular Labor Day weekend tradition! 

It is held on the grounds of St. Barbara Greek Orthodox Church, 480 Racebrook Road, Orange.