HAMDEN -- Board of Education member Adam Sendroff has been appointed by Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney to the Connecticut Advisory Council for Teacher Professional Standards.  The council advises the governor and state Board of Education on matters such as teacher preparation, teacher recruitment, teacher certification, and teacher assessment and evaluation. Sendroff is in his fourth year on the board. He chairs the Operations and Curriculum committees. He is running for re-election.

HAMDEN -- "Friends of the Cesares 2011"  invites the public to a campaign fundraiser to elect Austin T. Cesare as councilman at large and Jonathan Cesare as the 4th District councilman. They are brothers.
Austin currently serves on the Board of Education and Jonathan on the Planning and Zoning Commission.
The event is from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Oct. 5 at  Mickey's restaurant, corner of Whitney and Dixwell avenue.
Tickets are $35 a person. Checks payable to "Friends of the Cesares 2011" or cash can be paid at the door.
If you would like to contribute but cannot attend please mail Heather Cesare at 20 Harding St., Hamden, CT 06518.

I wanted to bring you a video I took of North Haven firefighter Alan Riggs on Friday but due to technical difficulties, posting did not occur. You can look up the video on http://www.nhregister.com/ video list.
What Riggs was doing was speaking to first-graders at Green Acres School in North Haven, to promote the annual North Haven Professional Firefighters annual bicycle safety program.
"We want to make it cool to wear a helmet," Riggs said.
That's the psychology behind why firefighters in town for the last 16 years have been giving away free bike helmets to first-graders.
Seventeen years ago, three kids were hurt when they didn't wear their helmets. "We decided we wanted to do something" in the way of prevention, he said.
So, they got advice from pediatricians and educators about which age group was best to help out.  First grade was chosen. Since then, Riggs and other firefighters visit those classrooms at each elementary school. Kids are given coupons to bring to the fire headquarters at 11 Broadway from 9 a.m. to noon on either Sept. 24 or Oct. 1. Firefighters give a free helmet to each child who presents a coupon. Additionally, all children are entered into a drawing for a free bicycle. The children and the adults who accompany them also sign a bicycle safety pledge.
Students from Quinnipiac University's Occupational Therapy Department help to fit the helmets on children's heads. "It's to protect them from having injuries and requiring rehabilitation," said Tracy Vanoss, assistant clinical professor in the School of Health Sciences.
So, if you are a first-grade parent, don't forget to bring the kiddoes to the fire station.
And, even if your child has a helmet already, it doesn't help to have a spare.

Release from the U.S. Forest Service, Northern Research Station
Contact: Melody Keena 203-230-4308

HAMDEN – Staff with the U.S. Forest Service, Northern Research Station, are inviting the public to an open house celebrating the completion of a project that significantly improved the energy efficiency of the Northern Research Station's facility in Hamden, Conn.

The open house will run from 1-6 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 21. The Northern Research Station office is located at 51 Mill Pond Road, Hamden, Conn.

The “greening” of the 45-year-old building was funded by a 2010 Economic Recovery Act grant for $2.3 million. Improvements included the addition of a solar array that now provides some of the building’s electrical needs as well as new energy-efficient windows and an insulated eastern white cedar façade.

Improving the building’s efficiency went beyond renovation. In October 2010, USDA Natural Recourses Conservation Service (NRCS) and Southwest Conservation District (SWCD) staff moved into empty space on the second floor of the Hamden main building.

“We’ve done more than renovate our space, we’ve filled it,” said Melody Keena, a research entomologist with the Northern Research Station. “We have increased the occupancy rate for the building, increased the services included with the space, saved the government over $28,000 a year in space leasing costs, and reduced the Forest Service research dollars going into maintaining the facilities.”

Open house activities include tours highlighting the “greening” projects, a tour of the new office space of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Southwest Conservation District, brief presentations on Forest Service research, and NRCS and SWCD presentations on services available to the community.

The mission of the U.S. Forest Service is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. The agency manages 193 million acres of public land, provides assistance to state and private landowners, and maintains the largest forestry research organization in the world. The mission of the Forest Service’s Northern Research Station is to improve people’s lives and help sustain the natural resources in the Northeast and Midwest through leading-edge science and effective information delivery.

Mayor Scott Jackson and the Hamden Democratic Town Committee will host a Headquarters Grand Opening on Monday, September 19th, from 6:00 to 7:00 pm at the new Democratic HQ located at  2371 Whitney Avenue (across from Memorial Town Hall).

Residents are invited to visit who may be interested in volunteering or who have any questions for the Mayor. The Jackson for Hamden Committee and supporters will also be on hand to discuss the many ways residents can volunteer, in ways both big and small, to help the Mayor with his re-election efforts.

If there are any questions, please email https://mail.journalregister.com/owa/redir.aspx?C=b93d77cfabcb4e219b2106b28404ef14&URL=mailto%3aJackson4hamden%40gmail.com. We hope to see you as we put the fall campaign into full gear!

Please visit https://mail.journalregister.com/owa/redir.aspx?C=b93d77cfabcb4e219b2106b28404ef14&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.jacksonforhamden.com for more information about Mayor Jackson, the campaign and future events.

This from the Republican Town Chairman Lee Campo --
Sunday Sept. 18, Rain or Shine, 1-4 p.m.

Barbecue Fundraiser for mayoral candidate Matt Corcoran

Brooksvale Park, 524 Brooksvale Ave., Hamden
 $20 per person; $30 per couple; children 4-12 $5

Checks made payable to "Corcoran for Mayor"

 

From the Mayor's Office:

New Saturday Hours at Whitneyville Library

Pilot Program Running at No Additional Cost!

HAMDEN – Mayor Scott D. Jackson and the Hamden Library announce a pilot program for Saturday hours at the Whitneyville Library. This weekend program will be run with no additional cost to the Town.

The Whitneyville Library will be open 9:30 am to 1:00 pm on Saturdays through November 26. An extension of the dates of the program will be considering based on popularity of the new hours. In the spring, a similar program will be offered at the Brundage Community Branch Library.

“The Whitneyville Civic Association and members of the Legislative Council targeted Saturday library hours as a priority for improving community access to the library. I’m very happy to see this community resource made available to residents as a wonderful no-cost service the Town can offer. Many thanks are due to Nancy McNicol for her efforts in making this happen,” said Mayor Jackson.

Hamden American Legion Post 88, the 2^nd Company Governor’s Foot Guard and Hamden Elks Lodge 2224 are holding a Pasta Dinner to raise funds for Fisher House to help aid veterans and their families on Sunday, September 18, 3-7:00 p.m. at the Hamden Elks Lodge located at 175 School Street in Hamden. For more information, call Hamden Lodge Veterans Committee Co-chair Don Tozzo at 203 288-0455. $10:00 per person donation. Fisher House is a “home away from home” to provide shelter and support for military families of veterans while facing medical crisis and undergoing treatment. There are 51 “Fisher Houses” throughout the United States and plans are underway to build on the campus of the Veterans Affairs Hospital in West Haven. For more information, visit https://mail.journalregister.com/owa/redir.aspx?C=edcc4efa5c8c4cc79838cfd3e0d6fbf1&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.fisherhousect.org

HAMDEN -- A tour of the glacial kettle property, lead by Yale geologist Copeland MacClintock, will take place at 9:30 a.m. Saturday 9/17 at Servoss and Mather streets. Just prior to the tour, the fencing around the site will be dedicated by Mayor Scott D. Jackson.
The Hamden Land Conservation Trust is organizing the tour. The trust is a non-profit organization that promotes the preservation of open space lands for current and future generations.
The tour will give the general public a chance to see how a glacial kettle is formed, said trust board member Betsy Gorman.
"It will bring more of a presence to the site, and it will be nice to have our neighbors gather to see the fence," she said. "If the public was more aware of the property, it would prevent people from dumping on the site."
Glacial kettles are shallow, sediment-filled bodies of water formed by retreating glaciers or draining floodwaters.
The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.
(This information thanks to Register intern Brittany Montague.)

Hi Folks,
I'm not sure how the photo of this license plate ended up vertically when I switched it to be horizontal, but in any case, this license plate commemorates the 9/11 attacks in New York. The license plate belongs to Billy L. Smith. It was sent in by Hamden resident Cheryle Rennie-Smith, who says that her husband wanted to find a way for people to keep the tragedy fresh in their minds every day, and never forget what happened to our country on 9/11.

Thank you to Cheryl for thinking of me and our Register readers.

Hamden residents will have an opportunity to learn about the new proposed town Charter and ask questions at the next meeting of the Dunbar Hill Civic Association on Monday, Sept. 12th ,  7:15 p.m., at the Dunbar Hill Volunteer Firehouse, 420 Dunbar Hill Road.  Charter Review Commission Vice-Chair  Michele Mastropetre and member James O’Brien will be present to answer questions.Residents will also be updated on current council issues and the upcoming election in November as well as the status of the Maselli property and the Habitat for Humanity project.
 
Refreshments will be served and the meeting is open to the public.

HAMDEN -- Not doing anything Friday night? Looking for a little nostalgia?
Bring the kids, or yourself, to the Town Center Park for Hamden's Free Outdoor Movie Night.
Residents who voted in an online survey chose the timeless classic, "E.T., the Extra-Terrestrial," to be shown among four other movies.
Showtime is 7:30 p.m. Sept. 9. Bring a blanket or lawn chair.
Fried dough, hamburgers, hot dogs, sausage and peppers, kettle corn and ice cream will be available for purchase.
Town Center Park is at 2761 Dixwell Ave. You can park in the Miller Library or Hamden Middle School parking lots.
Event is sponsored by the town of Hamden, the Town Center Park Commission and the Arts, Recreation and Culture Department.
For information or cancellation visit: http://www.hamden.com/ or 203-287-2579.

The New Haven Register is taking its reporting to the next step by crowdsourcing when power was turned on, by address and neighborhood, across the our coverage areas and the state. We are asking readers to answer a very brief survey created in Google Docs, asking them when their power was turned back on. Here’s a link:

https://mail.journalregister.com/owa/redir.aspx?C=9cc89bcd534d4628acc0e039f7b96614&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.nhregister.com%2farticles%2f2011%2f09%2f02%2fnews%2fdoc4e610caf914a9110888254.txt

We will then place that data  on a map of the state, overlay other things such as Census data on population and income, if relevant, and analyze the trends to see if the utility companies followed their own policies of bringing major population centers online first, and whether there are distinct patterns in how they deployed resources.

HAMDEN -- The town has extended its emergency food distribution through 1 p.m. today for people who are still without power.

The M.L. Keefe Community Center, 11 Pine St., and the Miller Memorial Library Senior Center, rear of 2901 Dixwell Ave., will be open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., according to Mayor Scott D. Jackson.

On Friday afternoon, 1,600 or 6 percent United Illuminating Co. customers in Hamden were still without power, Jackson said.

Eleven UI crews were in town, supported by public works crews.

"There’s a lot more activity today than all week. There are more crews on the ground. Everybody wants this to be done," Jackson said.

Jackson said UI told him that all neighborhoods were to be back on line by the end of the work day on Friday. UI also projected that all customers would be back with power by Sunday.

With questions about the emergency food program, call 203-562-5129 or 203-287-2547 and for storm response information call the mayor’s office at 203-287-7100.