Is new magnet school process illegal?

“With the lottery to select students for Windham‘s new Charles H. Barrows STEM Academy Magnet School about to take place, Adamowski and the Windham School System STILL HAVEN’T filed a legally-approved Operations Plan with the State Department of Education and the application form that they have been using inappropriately requests that students provide their social security number. It is a technique that effectively reduces the number of immigrants and poor who might apply for a seat in the new school.” – Jonathan Pelto

By Jonathan Pelto

You can keep Gov. Malloy’s “Special Master” Steven Adamowski, and Windham’s school administrators on the list of entities and individuals who seem unable or unwilling to follow the state’s laws and regulations.

With the lottery to select students for Windham‘s new Charles H. Barrows STEM Academy Magnet School about to take place, Adamowski and the Windham School System STILL HAVEN’T filed a legally-approved Operations Plan with the State Department of Education and the application form that they have been using inappropriately requests that students provide their social security number.

It is a technique that effectively reduces the number of immigrants and poor who might apply for a seat in the new school.

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Victim of Willimantic Police shooting identified

By Brenda Sullivan | HTNP News Editor

State Police released a statement today that identifies the victim of the fatal shooting by a Willimantic Police Officer on Wednesday, March 12 2013 as 58-year-old Daniel Johnston, whose address is given simply as Willimantic, CT.

According t the release, shortly after 7:53 p.m. on March 12, Willimantic Police Officers were dispatched after receiving a complaint reporting a man was outside an apartment building at the corner of Main and Clark Streets, “acting in a threatening manner.”

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Rescheduled Hebron Maple Fest is this weekend

The 23rd annual Hebron Maple Festival is March 16-17, 2013… rescheduled because of the snow last weekend.

By Brenda Sullivan | HTNP News Editor

Don’t forget – the Hebron Maple Fest is this weekend (March 16 and 17), moved to a new date because of the snow on the ground last weekend.

Events are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Come prepared to eat… a lot.

The festival has its own web site – http://hebronmaplefest.com – with a downloadable (in PDF format) schedule of events.

This year’s festival includes the first-ever Farm Tractor Parade, which begins at Ted’s Supermarket on Main Street (Route 66) where the tractors will be on display beginning at 11:30 a.m. Antique and working tractors will parade through the center of town beginning at 1:30 p.m.

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Postponed – DEEP Commissioner to ‘charge up’ at Storrs Center

CT DEEP Commissioner Esty is expected to charge his Chevy Volt at one of the stations – there are four Level 2 retractable electric charging stations in the Mansfield Garage – and a Hertz car-share program will be introduced.

Editor’s note: This event was postponed because of winter weather. When a new date is announced, I will share that information.

By Brenda Sullivan, HTNP News Editor

Connecticut DEEP Commissioner Dan Esty  is expected to join Mansfield Mayor Betsy Paterson and other local dignitaries at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 19 to tour the Storrs Center development.

The visit is meant to highlight energy and pro-environment aspects of the development, including electric vehicle charging stations  for the public.

Commissioner Esty is expected to charge his Chevy Volt at one of these stations – there are four, Level-2 retractable electric charging stations – and a Hertz car-share program will be introduced.

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Fund approved for workers traumatized by Newtown shootings

The Sandy Hook Workers Assistance Fund will be used to reimburse medical expenses and lost wages. It will be overseen by the Connecticut Office of Victim Services and funded through private donations (including corporate donations), which will be handled by the United Way of Newtown.

By Brenda Sullivan | HTNP News Editor

The Connecticut General Assembly unanimously gave final approval today (March 6) for legislation that will create a special fund to assist workers who were traumatized by the shootings at Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, CT. The Sandy Hook Workers Assistance Fund will be used to reimburse medical expenses and lost wages.

It will be overseen by the Connecticut Office of Victim Services and funded through private donations (including corporate donations), which will be handled by the United Way of Newtown.

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Windham Hospital Auxiliary offers college scholarships

Windham Community Hospital in Willimantic CT. Contributed photo.

The Auxiliary to Windham Hospital invites applications from area high school seniors for the Anne L. Card Memorial Scholarship.

The scholarship, named in honor of the late Anne L. Card who was a 50-plus year member of the Auxiliary and a dedicated volunteer at the hospital, awards two $1,000 scholarships to students planning to enter a full-time course of study in medical-related fields.

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Gov Malloy – Storm Charlotte points to climate ‘turmoil’

The intersection of Valley Street Ext. and Milk Street in Willimantic buried beneath about three feet of snow left behind by Storm Charlotte on Feb. 9, 2013. Photo copyright 2013 by Brenda Sullivan.

By Brenda Sullivan | HTNP News Editor

At a press conference Monday evening (Feb. 11), Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy fielded questions from reporters, including one about whether the state was adequately prepared for Storm Charlotte – in light of recommendations made by the Two Storm Task Force that looked at problems that arose during Tropical Storm Irene and the recent hurricane, Storm Sandy.

Gov. Malloy responded by saying that while his opinion might make some people unhappy, “we’re in a time of climate turmoil,” and that planning needs to get underway “on an expedited basis” for more of these kinds of events.

“We need to make sure we have the resources to respond to these kinds of incidences,” he said, and pointed to the fact that this is the fifth emergency/disaster declaration within a period of months.

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UConn plans to revive Spring Weekend

By Brenda Sullivan | HTNP News Editor

For decades, Spring Weekend – the celebration enjoyed by the Storrs UConn campus in the days between the end of the spring semester and the beginning of final exams – has been a black eye for the university.

Over the years, Spring Weekend became synonymous with binge drinking, off-campus (including out-of-state) party crashers, cars set on fire, reports of rape, and even violence resulting in death.

The problem wasn’t with the university-sanctioned events carefully organized by students. Trouble brewed in the mobs that congregated over the three days, mainly at apartment complexes on Hunting Lodge Road adjacent to UConn’s north campus (as well as within UConn’s X-Lot.) Triage units were stationed at Carriage House Apartments, for example, to deal with injuries and other emergencies, such as alcohol poisoning.

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