HAPPY 6TH BIRTHDAY ANGELA!

January 15th, 2012

Six years ago today I was blessed with the birth of my daughter Angela. Renata and I have four children together but only one girl.

Angela was born on January 15 2006 at 9:48 in the morning; 3 days early.

She weighed in at 7 pounds 10 ounces and measured 18 inches in length.

I have a very busy life. A lot of that is by my own hand.  I suppose I could do a little less and be around a little more. There is so much to do and see and there are so many ways to make a difference; so many examples to set both perfect and imperfect. I really believe that all of my kids are coming to understand this in their own ways.

Daddy has to work in the city but somehow he manages to get home most nights to spend a little time doing something with everyone.

There are nights that I am running in the door to change for a meeting and I kiss them all and run back out. They protest a little as they want me to stay but they understand in their own ways that there are things to do and responsibilities to bear.

They know that a sacrifice “tonight” means a benefit of an extra week away on vacation as a family or an additional “stay up late” night camped out on the living room floor watching cartoons or playing Twister.

Today however is your day Angela – other than putting a new battery in the minivan, it’s all about you.

To the movie birthday party with you and your friends from school and then later at home for cake with the family – it is all you little girl

Happy 6th birthday daughter; I will always remember, fondly, these days when you were a little girl no matter how old you get.

I love you – Daddy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

ZUMBA DANCE PARTY — FUNDRAISER

January 6th, 2012

Club Lucent

25 North Plains Highway, Wallingford, CT 06492

Tuesday, January 17, 2012 6:30pm until 8:30pm

 

Please come support us while we try to raise funds for a new system for the YMCA gymnasium. This new system will allow us to provide quality sound for our ZUMBA classes on a regular basis.

- Come kick off the New Year with a great way to burn mega calories and help us support the YMCA.

- Several instructors will be there to rock your world!!! Raffle prizes too

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off

Christmas tree disposal for area towns

December 29th, 2011

As published at MyRecordJournal.com

There’s no update for Wallingford; I will try to follow up and see if I can get an answer to that.

Posted: Thursday, December 29, 2011 9:44 am | Updated: 10:15 am, Thu Dec 29, 2011.

Richie Rathsack

With Christmas come and gone, area towns are putting out information on how residents can dispose of their Christmas trees.

Meriden

Christmas Tree curbside collection:

For residents east of the railroad tracks, pick-up runs from Jan. 9 – Jan. 20.

For resident west of the railroad tracks, pick-up runs from Jan. 23 – Feb. 3.

Residents may also bring their trees to the transfer station on Mondays 7:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.; Wednesdays, 10:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. and the first and third Saturdays of the month from 7:30 a.m. – noon.

Residents are asked to remove all decorations and lights from their trees prior to pick-up or drop-off.

Residents can call (203) 630-4018 with any questions or visit the City website at www.cityofmeriden.org/.

Southington

Residents can drop-off Christmas trees at the Bulky Waste Transfer Station at 617 Old Turnpike Rd. The transfer station is open Jan. 7 and Jan. 21 from 8 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. For more information on the transfer station, including information on obtaining a permit sticker, visit the Highway Department section of the town website at www.Southington.org.

The Southington Land Conservation Trust will offer a curbside pickup for $10 donation on Jan. 7, 14, 21 and 28 between 8 a.m. and noon.

The land trust asks anyone interested in the pick-up to send a letter indicating which Saturday they would like to their tree picked up along with their name, address, phone number and a $10 check made payable to Southington Land Conservation Trust Inc. The mailing address is SLCT, POX 369, Southington, CT 06489. Please contact Al Fiorillo at (860) 690-2484 with any questions.

Wallingford

Collection dates to be announced.

Cheshire

Resident may drop-off Christmas trees at the former Transfer Station at 1286 Waterbury Road (Route 70) on Jan. 14 from 7:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The collection is for Cheshire residents only, and only Christmas trees will be accepted. There is no charge for this service. For more information visit the town website at http://www.cheshirect.org/.

The Cheshire High School Band is also conducting its annual Christmas tree pick-up for a $15 donation to the band. For more information or to fill out the online form for pick-up visit the website http://www.ramband.com/ and click on the Christmas Tree to access the form. Email ramband-tree-pickup@cox.net with any questions about the pick-up.

Tags: ,
Posted in WALLINGFORD - Local News | Comments Off

Wallingford police investigating debit card fraud

December 28th, 2011

Posted: Wednesday, December 28, 2011 11:07 am | Updated: 11:33 am, Wed Dec 28, 2011.

Russell Blair – MyRecordJournal.com

WALLINGFORD – Police are investigating complaints from locals who say their debit card information has been stolen.

The department has received dozens of complaints of bank debit cards being compromised, police said. All of the victims were in possession of their debit cards, but the card’s information was used to make thousands of dollars in fraudulent purchases.

On Christmas Day, one of the victim’s debit card information was used at a Walgreens Pharmacy in Greenwich. A black female and two black males are believed to be involved, police said.

“Most of the victims were alerted to the fradulent purchases by their banks when suspicious activity on their accounts was noticed,” police said in a statement.

According to police, banking officials believe that debit card information was stolen over the last several months when the debit cards were used for local retail purchases.

Police are working with local businesess and banks to determine the extent and origin of the fraud.

“We encourage residents to be proactive by regularly checking their bank accounts concerning their debit card use and immediately notifying their bank upon locating a suspicious debit card transaction,” Lt. Marc Mikulski said in a statement. “The sooner the bank is made aware of the unauthorized transaction, the quicker it can be corrected and the fraudulent transactions stopped.”

Anybody who may be able to identify the individuals pictured in Walgreens security footage is asked to contact Wallingford Police Department at (203) 294-2805.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in WALLINGFORD - Local News | Comments Off

Lyman Hall and Sheehan bands still in running for Pepsi grant

December 28th, 2011

As published in the Record Journal, Tuesday December 27, 2011

By Melissa Chicker
Record-Journal staff

WALLINGFORD— The marching bands at Sheehan and Lyman Hall high schools have teamed together to encourage the community to vote in a contest that could result in a $50,000 grant for new uniforms.

“Combining our efforts gets more people of the community involved,” Sheehan band director David Giardina said. “We thought if we combine the two schools in this competition, we will get a lot more votes and give us a better chance to win the grant.”

The schools are competing as one against 322 other groups around the country in a contest sponsored by the Pepsi Refresh Project, which gives away millions of dollars each month. The top 10 groups in the competition that ends on Saturday will receive $50,000.

“Grants are for wide-reaching ideas and with groups and organizations putting in significant time and effort,” officials said on the Pepsi Refresh Project website.

The grant would go toward about 125 uniforms for each of the two marching bands. Each new uniform costs at least $500, setting a steep total price of up to $140,000.

Uniforms, said Giardina, typically last 10 to 13 years. Sheehan’s uniforms are between 15 and 17 years old.

The Sheehan and Lyman Hall bands were in second place Monday — they have been among the top five the entire time, including some time at No. 1. Giardina believes the effort to get out the word is the key.

“We spread the word through our band parents’ organization and throughout the schools,” he said. “Word has spread quickly and I think this is why we have been so successful so far.” The competition began Dec. 1, and both band groups have been working since the start to urge people to log onto the site and cast their vote. Supporters have passed out fliers at Stop & Shop on weekends, created a Facebook page and sent emails to family and friends.

“The schools have always been rivals, and while it’s good to have a rivalry, this is a great way to foster the community spirit and work together for a common goal,” said Heidi Belcourt, co-president of the Sheehan Music Parents Association.

Voters can vote up to three times per day until Saturday.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Fundraiser, Philanthropy and Charity, WALLINGFORD - Local News, WALLINGFORD - SCHOOLS | Comments Off

Adoption’s finality makes holiday special

December 26th, 2011

AS PUBLISHED IN THE RECORD JOURNAL MONDAY DECEMBER 26, 2011

By Kimberly Primicerio
Record-Journal staff
kprimicerio@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2279

WALLINGFORD — Dawn and Cathy Thomas spent their first Christmas knowing their son, Jaden, would be with them forever. After obtaining an adoption license and going through a long child-matching process with the Connecticut Department of Children and Families, the local couple received Jaden when he was 21 months old in February 2010. It wasn’t until Dec. 13 that the adoption was made legal.

“It took 669 days, 17 hours and 32 minutes. We weren’t counting or anything,” Dawn Thomas, 45, said Sunday. She said the adoption process is lengthy. Some adoptable children legally have no connection to their biological parents, while others, like Jaden, still do, which extends the process. On Dec. 13, the family went to court to finalize the adoption.

On Christmas morning, Jaden, 3, was playing with a toy grocery store register. He handed out fake money to his parents and pretended to make coffee per mother Dawn’s request. He crawled around the floor in his festive sweater and khaki’s as he prepared the make-believe beverage.

 

Photo courtesy of the Record Journal

Although this is the family’s second holiday season together, Jaden knows more about the holiday and the meaning of Christmas than he did last year. Jaden understands that he is celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, Dawn Thomas said.

“He’s totally into the Nativity,” she said. “He knows that Santa Claus is coming to celebrate Jesus’ birthday.”

On Christmas Eve, the family sang “Happy Birthday” to baby Jesus. Jaden went to bed and didn’t wake up until 7:30 a.m. Cathy Thomas, 47, said he popped his head into the bedroom and said “I’m ready.”

“He was really excited. He wanted to see all his gifts,” Dawn Thomas said.

Both years have been magical, Dawn Thomas said. Last year, her son was overwhelmed by the amount of gifts he received from Santa and relatives. He opened only five presents before he stopped to play with other toys, Cathy Thomas said.

This year, Jaden unwrapped all the gifts piled in front of the Christmas tree. Among them, a Toy Story garbage truck and Lego men were his favorites. He put the Lego man in the driver’s seat of the truck and made motor sounds as he rolled the vehicle over the living room rug. Jaden also put some of the cash register’s fake coins into the truck.

Jaden’s Christmas playtime represents the end of a long journey for the couple. After going through fertility treatments for eight years and experiencing five miscarriages, they decided to adopt through DCF; something they had always wanted to do, Dawn Thomas said.

“We wanted to adopt a child locally,” Cathy Thomas said. The couple could have went through a private organization or internationally.

They went through training and a 10-week program. DCF employees conducted background checks and made sure that their home would be a safe environment for a child, according to Dawn Thomas.

Once Dawn and Cathy Thomas received their adoptive license in 2009, they started the child-matching process. DCF had to find the best family fit for the child, Dawn Thomas said.

In early 2010, they received a call from DCF. The couple first learned all about Jaden, and then went to meet him on two separate occasions. Typically, parents who are adopting meet the child a couple of times and then the child goes home for a night and then a weekend, Dawn Thomas said. But it didn’t happen that way. On Feb. 11, 2010 a DCF social worker called Dawn Thomas at noon and asked if they could take Jaden at 5 p.m. Cathy Thomas prepared his room, relatives bought a high chair and baby monitors. His first night in his new home, Cathy Thomas said, he slept through the night. The couple was up all night checking on their new son while he was fast asleep.

Dawn Thomas said it’s been amazing and wonderful. It wasn’t too traumatic going from being childless to having a kid to raise, she said. As trying as it was to Cathy to experience miscarriages, Dawn Thomas said, God has a plan and now they have Jaden in their lives.

“We’ve enjoyed every second of having him,” Dawn Thomas said. “He’s been a blessing from God. We thank God every day.”

“He’s beautiful and perfect,” she said. “He even looks like us.” Both parents have olive skin and curly hair, and so does Jaden.

For people considering adoption or becoming a foster parent, call 888-KID-HERO for more information.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Family, WALLINGFORD - Local News | Comments Off

Feeling famous with Cafe B

December 18th, 2011

As Published in the Record Journal, Sunday December 18, 2011

By Tiffany Diorio
Record-Journal staff
tdiorio@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2234

WALLINGFORD — When they formed in the fall of 2001, members of the Wallingford band Cafe B never thought they’d still be together this long.

But that’s what happened. In November, musicians in the ’80s cover band celebrated their 10th anniversary.

Named after the “cool cafeteria,” Cafeteria B, in Sheehan High School, the fivemember band has gone through transformation after losing two members, vocalist Rachel Nalbandian and bassist Steve Vedder.

“We went from six members to four. We couldn’t imagine the band without them,” said keyboardist Mark Hastings. “After being together for nine years, how do you incorporate someone new into that mix?”

But after meeting Pat Russo, their new bassist, at Vedder’s wedding, integrating a new member came easy. Russo, who originally played guitar, learned how to play bass guitar and played his first show with Cafe B this past February.

“He’s like another family member,” said vocalist Renee Morehouse. “He fits right in.” Morehouse, Hastings and his brother, Scott, who plays drums, have had an interest in music since they were around 5 years old. Morehouse sang in a choir and the Hasting brothers played instruments that their parents gave them — Mark on keyboard and Scott on drums.

“My brother and I, we both picked it up instantly,” Mark Hastings said. “No one in our family was really musically inclined.”

Morehouse sang with other bands while she was growing up, but out of all the bands she’s sung with, Cafe B has been her favorite to perform with.

“This is definitely where I fit in and where I feel comfortable,” she said. Covering classics from Pat Benatar, Journey and Foreigner over the years, the band has expanded its song list to include current artists like the Black Eyed Peas and Katy Perry.

But even though their song list has grown to nearly 80 songs, there’s still one song that has remained Mark Hastings’ favorite to play—Van Halen’s “Jump.”

“That song has a lot of keyboard and it shows off my talent,” Hastings said. “As far as getting people dancing I like playing ‘I Have a Feeling’ and ‘Firework.’ I just love the fact that people are enjoying it and dancing around.”

Cafe B loves playing to a full house, but it was never the members’ intention to get famous when they got together 10 years ago. Playing music was just an outlet for the cover band to have fun.

“We knew right from the beginning that we’re a cover band and it’s just for fun,” Morehouse said. “I don’t think I could even handle being famous. I hate having my picture taken and I hate Facebook, could you imagine?”

Despite not wanting to be in the spotlight, Morehouse does have one goal for the band — to feel famous. With Cafe B typically playing shows at smaller venues, Morehouse wants to have the chance to play to a larger crowd. After filling in as a vocalist for the band The Happening this past summer, Morehouse had the opportunity to play a show at the Wolf ’s Den at Mohegan Sun in Montville.

“When I filled in for that band I kept thinking I have to get Cafe B here,” she said. “It’s just a great feeling and it’s fun.”

Tags: ,
Posted in Entertainment, WALLINGFORD - Local News | Comments Off

An old “FROM WALLINGFORD” article of mine from May of 2009

December 17th, 2011

I was backing up some files on my PC this morning and archiving them off the hard drive when I came across this old “FROM WALLINGFORD” article. It was the second one I wrote for the Record Journal back in May of 2009.

 

I finished reading a bedtime story to my two older kids, Andrew who will be five in August and Angela who turned three this past January. I try my best to read to them every night that I am home at a sensible hour, which fortunately is most nights. As part of the routine, I lay down with them for a few minutes each before I leave their rooms. The whole event barely takes an hour of time and that will often include playing on the living room floor for a couple of minutes with my youngest son Adam who turns one on the 17th of May.

Generally by 8PM I am headed back down to my home office to finish up whatever work I need to get done that had gotten away from me during the course of my workday. I say generally because Andrew will often protest a little bit because he would like me to stay until he falls asleep and today was no exception.  I said to him “tonight I really can’t; I have a lot of things I need to try to finish up before I go to bed.”

“Oh, OK Daddy, you can go then.” I kissed him on the forehead and got up. He called out “Dobranoc” (“good night” in Polish) as I left the room.

Tonight, part of that work that needed finishing happened to be my submission for this week’s edition of From Wallingford. I’m supposed to get this in before the end of the day on Wednesday. My previous submission (which was my first) was sent via email at the actual end of the day – midnight. I was happy this time that despite getting slammed at work that I was just doing a final proof read at 8PM and that I was going to have four hours to spare.

I was closing up browser windows on my computer before opening Outlook up when I realized that I still had the “Lyman Hall friends mourn Brian McCarthy” story open from the morning; I had gotten so busy at 6AM with work emails that came in that I stopped reading the paper online and only upon seeing the story again had I realized that interruption had occurred fourteen hours before.

I minimized the submission I was working on and started to read the story.

Brian McCarthy died on Monday due to injuries sustained from a single car accident on Whirlwind Hill Road which occurred on Thursday. There were two other teenagers in the car that had sustained injuries from the crash but the story outlined that they were both expected to fully recover.

I didn’t personally know Brian McCarthy. As I read the story that kept coming up in my mind for some reason. I did know from the article that he was somebody’s brother and somebody’s son. He was a “friend, classmate and teammate” to many. The story finished “Brian was such a great kid” “we are all going to miss him.”

I took a look at the submission I was about to send in for my article this week and decided to save it for another day.

I turned off my monitors and the lights in my office and headed upstairs.

My wife called out to me “did you finish the article?”

“No” I said, “I need to re-write the whole thing.”

I peaked in Angela’s room; she was fast asleep.

I went into Andrew’s room and as carefully as I could I laid myself down next to him.

He opened his eyes just slightly and said “are you done working Daddy”?

“No, but I’d rather stay here right now. I have until midnight.”

Posted in From Wallingford, Opinion | Comments Off

Pepsi Refresh Project – Replace parts of 17 year old band uniforms at 2 Wallingford High Schools – HELP KEEP US IN FIRST PLACE!

December 5th, 2011
image
VOTE NOW WALLINGFORD!
YOU CAN VOTE ONCE EACH DAY!

Tags: , ,
Posted in Philanthropy and Charity, WALLINGFORD - Local News, WALLINGFORD - SCHOOLS | Comments Off

3rd Annual Holiday Stroll Friday December 2, 2011

November 30th, 2011

Stroll the streets of Downtown Wallingford this Friday from 4 PM to 8 PM.

Support our local merchants for a chance to win some great prizes.

For the full details please see http://www.wallingfordcenterinc.com/pdf/holidaystroll.pdf

Tags: ,
Posted in WALLINGFORD - Event, WALLINGFORD - Local News | Comments Off

« Older Entries