Gov. Malloy asks period of grieving for victims at Sandy Hook Elementary School

Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT, where 20 school children were killed on Dec. 14, 2012. Web site photo

Earlier this evening (Dec. 15), Gov. Dannel P. Malloy asked for a period of grieving for the 20 young children and seven adults shot to death at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT.

Gov. Malloy acknowledged that people want to know more about the man police believe was the shooter, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, and about the events of that morning – many, out of concern for the safety of their own children at their schools – but asked that for a moment, people focus on the shock and grief felt not just in Connecticut, not just across the country, but in homes around the world.

Earlier, a similar plea was made by the spokesman for Connecticut State Police, Lt. J. Paul Vance, who asked that reporters respect the privacy of the families of those who were killed, when a list identifying the victims was released.

Among the adults who were identified was the school’s principal, Dawn Hochsprung and a substitute teacher, Lauren Rousseau. According to reports posted by NPR, Hochsprung was shot while trying to keep other staff members from entering the hallway when shots were being fired.

Authorities also have disclosed that all of the children who were killed were first graders.

Many of the details of yesterday’s events are still waiting to be clarified, such as whether the alleged shooter’s mother was a teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

And as of now, the motive behind the shootings is unknown.

In a public address today, Gov. Malloy acknowledged that there’s little anyone can say that can begin to address the shock and deep sadness shared by the state’s residents – many of whom have flocked to vigils in their own communities.

“Though we could all try, when something as senseless as this occurs, there’s precious little anyone can say to the families of the victims that will lessen the horror and sense of loss they feel. We could say we feel their pain, but the truth is we can’t,” Gov. Malloy said tonight.

“When tragedies like this occur, people often look for answers, an explanation of how this could have occurred. But the sad truth is, there are no answers. No good ones, anyway,” he said.

“So what can we do? … As has been happening since yesterday, we can show and share with each other the grief we feel for the children and adults who were killed, and for their families and loved ones. We can speak about what’s really important, and what can wait for another day.

“There will be time soon for a discussion of the public policy issues surrounding yesterday’s events, but what’s important right now is this: love, courage, and compassion.

Love, as it has poured in from around the world.

“Courage, as was demonstrated by the teachers and other adults in the school building, whose actions no doubt saved lives.

“Courage on display, as it always is, by all our first responders.

“Compassion, as shown by people around Connecticut who’ve arrived in Newtown wanting only to help,” Gov. Malloy said.

He added, “In the coming days, we will rely upon that which we have been taught and that which we inherently believe: that there is faith for a reason, and that faith is God’s gift to all of us.

“Those educators, and those innocent little boys and girls were taken from their families far too soon. Let us all hope and pray those children are now in a place where that innocence will forever be protected.

“May God bless you, may God bless those 27 people, may God bless their families and friends, and may the pain their loved ones feel be someday absorbed by the love of mankind.”

Posted December 15, 2012

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Candlelight Vigil in Mansfield on Sunday for victims of Newtown shootings

A candlelight vigil will be held beginning at 6 p.m. in Mansfield on Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012 to honor the victims of the shootings – including 20 children – at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT.

A candlelight vigil will be held beginning at 6 p.m. in Mansfield on Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012  to honor the victims of the shootings – including 20 children – at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT.

The vigil will be held at the Audrey P. Beck Municipal Building (Town Hall), located at 4 South Eagleville Road (at intersection with Route 195-Storrs Road).

All are welcome; please bring candles.

In the event of inclement weather, the vigil will be held at the Mansfield Community Center (behind the Town Hall) at 10 South Eagleville Road.

Posted December 15, 2012

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Mansfield Superintendent reaches out to local parents in response to shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary

At this time (Dec. 14), Connecticut State Police are confirming that as many as 28 people have been shot and killed – including at least 18 children and the shooter – at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.

At this time (Dec. 14), Connecticut State Police are confirming that as many as 28 people have been shot and killed – including at least 18 children and the shooter – at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.

According to State Police spokesman Lt. J. Paul Vance, 911 calls alerting police to the incident began coming in at about 9:30 a.m.

Details about the cause of the violence are not clear, and there currently are conflicting reports about the identity of the assassin.

Sandy Hook Elementary School’s web site indicates that there will be a gathering at 7:30 p.m. tonight for the community, at St. Rose of Lima Church in Newtown, CT  and that the church will remain open for 24 hours.

The New York Times is reporting that the suspected shooter’s mother was a teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary, and other reports state the suspect’s father also has been found dead.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s office reports that he has met with the families of the victims. He said the children who were killed were between 5 and 10 years old.

Gov. Malloy is also expected to address the public about this tragedy tonight at 6 p.m. at Treadwell Park (Philo Curtis Road) in Newtown, and has asked for flags to be lowered to half mast.

In a statement emailed to Mansfield families at about 4 p.m., Mansfield Schools Superintendent states:

I write to inform you that due to a tragic incident which occurred at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, the Mansfield Public Schools, E.O. Smith High School, the Town Manager, Director of Emergency Management, Youth Services Coordinator and Resident State Trooper have met and plan to take the following steps:

A meeting will be held with all staff by the end of the day to address any questions they may have and provide support as necessary.

School psychologists will develop and distribute to teachers, with the assistance of the building principal, an age appropriate opportunity for students at all schools on Monday providing students with an opportunity to discuss any concerns they may have regarding this incident.

I wish to assure you that the district has a current safety plan in place to protect students and staff.  As the facts of this incident become more readily available, Town officials will work with building principals and Central Office staff to review the current safety plans for each school and to modify those plans as appropriate.

Parents are encouraged to address this incident with their child as they deem appropriate and if needed, please feel free to contact your school for support and/or assistance.  An article entitled Talking to Children About Violence: Tips for Parents and Teachers is available at www.mansfieldct.gov/mboe.

Posted December 14, 2012

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Saturday music series continues at Storrs Center

On Dec. 8, the band SDL will play from 2 to 3 p.m., followed by the Conn-Men (http://www.conn-men.org), an all-male a cappella group, from 3 to 4 p.m.
The performances are free, and the public is invited to make a day of it and explore all of the new shops and restaurants now open at Storrs Center.

Local musicians perform every Saturday in December at Storrs Center, Mansfield’s new downtown complex on Route 195 (Storrs Road) adjacent to UConn’s south campus.

On Dec. 8, the band SDL will play from 2 to 3 p.m., followed by the Conn-Men (http://www.conn-men.org), an all-male a cappella group, from 3 to 4 p.m.

The performances are free, and the public is invited to make a day of it and explore all of the new shops and restaurants now open at Storrs Center.

Both groups plan to perform outdoors on Dog Lane. In the event of rain, performers may move indoors to one of the open shops or restaurants in Storrs Center.

The music series continues with the following performers:

Saturday, Dec. 15 – The Recliners

Saturday, Dec. 22 – Full Gael (http://www.fullgael.com )

Saturday, Dec. 29 – Mike Casey Jazz Quartet (http://www.mikecaseyjazz.com)

Questions? Please visit the Storrs Center Facebook page: www.Facebook.com/StorrsCenter

Storrs Center is a new mixed-use, pedestrian-oriented downtown in Storrs-Mansfield, Connecticut with shops, restaurants, services, apartments, a town square and public areas as well as a parking garage open to the public, with a second garage now under construction.

For more information about this ongoing project, visit www.storrscenter.com

Posted December 8, 2012

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Learn more about UConn’s plans for a $170 million Tech Park

You can learn more about the proposed Master Plan for the UConn Technology Park at an open meeting to be held at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 6 at the Audrey P. Beck Municipal Building (Town Hall), located at the corner of Routes 195 and 275 (South Eagleville Road) in Storrs-Mansfield.

You can learn more about the  proposed Master Plan for the UConn Technology Park at an open meeting to be held at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 6 at the Audrey P. Beck Municipal Building (Town Hall), located at the corner of Routes 195 and 275 (South Eagleville Road).  The info session will be held in the council chambers.

If you are unable to attend in person, you will be able to watch the info session live at this link:

http://townhallstreams.com/locations/mansfield-ct

… and on Charter Cable Community Access Channel 13.

You also will be able to view the recorded session through Charter On Demand for at least 31 days following the meeting.

Charter also will rebroadcast the recorded session several times – check listings at http://www.mansfieldct.gov/channel13 .

The UConn Technology Park will be located on a roughly 300-acre site on a portion of university property known as North Campus, which is bordered by Route 44 on the north, Route 195 on the east, North Eagleville Road on the south and a long stretch of forest, wetlands and other landscape features to the west.

The General Assembly has allocated $170 million in state bonds to pay for the design and construction of an initial facility at the tech park, which will be called the Innovation Partnership Building.

The building will include roughly 125,000-square feet for specialized research equipment, flexible-use laboratories and business incubator space.

The plan is to gradually build out the park with other facilities depending on the types of business partnerships that develop and the market demand for research space.

The Innovation Partnership Building is projected to open in 2015.

One aspect of the project that will affect the local community is construction of a new access road that is expected to relieve UConn-related traffic congestion on Route 195. This part of the project is in the design and permit process.

Based on a feasibility study, UConn has projected the tech park will create between 1,000 and 1,300 new jobs, both directly and indirectly related to the facility, within its first 10 years.

Questions? Please contact Planning and Community Development Assistant Jessie L. Neborsky at the Audrey P. Beck Municipal Building at 860-429-3330 during office hours.

Posted December 5, 2012

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How to support locally-owned businesses this holiday season

Get your Christmas shopping started and meet the owners of several locally-owned businesses on Sunday, Dec. 9 at the Local First Mansfield One Stop Shop. This event, organized by the Mansfield Downtown Partnership and the Town of Mansfield is open from noon to 4 p.m. at the Mansfield Community Center on South Eagleville Road (Route 275) in Storrs-Mansfield, CT.

Get your Christmas shopping started and meet the owners of several locally-owned businesses on Sunday, Dec. 9, 2012 at the Local First Mansfield “One Stop Shop.”

This event, organized by the Mansfield Downtown Partnership and the Town of Mansfield,  is open from noon to 4 p.m. at the Mansfield Community Center on South Eagleville Road (Route 275).

The “One Stop Shop” will include businesses that don’t have a traditional storefront, as well as those with “brick and mortar” stores.

Scavenger Hunt participants also can bring their cards to the One Stop Shop to enter a drawing for prizes.

All “One Stop Shop” attendees will receive an entry for the drawing. Scavenger Hunt participants will receive additional entries based on the number of businesses they successfully found.

The goal of Local First Mansfield is to encourage residents to support the many and diverse locally‐owned businesses in Storrs-Mansfield.

Look for the Local First Mansfield posters in participating businesses. You also can visit the Town Web site at www.mansfieldct.gov and click on “Business” for a list of participants – and check back often, as more join.

If you are a Mansfield business owner interested in being a part of Local First Mansfield, please call the Mansfield Downtown Partnership office at 860-429-2740 or send an email to mdp@mansfieldct.org There is no fee to participate.

You can also keep tabs on this community project on Facebook (Local First Mansfield) and on Twitter  @MDPLocalFirst) and by visiting the blog at http://localfirstmansfield.blogspot.com

Posted December 3, 2012

Get to know Storrs-Mansfield better and win some prizes http://mansfield.htnp.com/2012/11/24/get-to-know-storrs-mansfield-better-and-win-some-prizes/

Have a news item, event or Letter to the Editor you’d like posted on this news site? Simply send your information to editor@htnp.com and include your town in the subject line of your email. Please also include a phone number where you can be reached if there are questions. For daily updates on local and Connecticut news, “like” us on Facebook at HTNP News. https://www.facebook.com/HTNPnews and find us on our NEW  Twitter page at HTNP News (@HTNPNews )

Don’t miss the free annual Artists Open Studios tour

This an incredible opportunity for you to meet Northeastern Connecticut’s painters, sculptors, fiber artists, photographers, potters, jewelers, glass artists, metal smiths, wood-turners, and other fine artists. Dolphin Vase image fromhttp://www.funkwarepottery.com – one of the studios on the tour.

The Artists’ Open Studios free, self-guided tour is a much anticipated event this time of year.

Traditionally held over two weekends – beginning with Thanksgiving Day weekend – the 2012 tour dates are Nov. 23, 24, 25 and Dec. 1 and 2, 2012 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

While many of us enjoy fine art by visiting art galleries and museums, we rarely have the chance to meet the artists whose work we admire, and be welcomed into the spaces where they nourish their creativity and produce their art.

This annual event also gives artists the opportunity to connect with you and to share their passion and expertise – a sure cure for some of the isolation artists often feel while they work in their studios day after day.

This an incredible opportunity for you to meet Northeastern Connecticut’s painters, sculptors, fiber artists, photographers, potters , jewelers, glass artists, metal smiths, wood-turners, and other fine artists.

You have your choice of more than 70 artists who work in a wide variety of mediums and styles, and live in an even wider variety of studio environments.

So, pack a bottle of water, bring your brochure and a camera to take in the scenery in the Northeast Corner of Connecticut.

Helpful tips

The AOS brochure contains a complete listing of artists and directions to their studios, a map of the entire tour area (not to scale), and sample images of work for each artist. You can download a copy in PDF format at http://www.aosct.org/member-user-registration/downloads/category/4-brochures.html

The artists also will be glad to assist you with directions for getting from one studio to another.

Editor’s note: You might also want to plan to make two visits – clustering three or four studios near each other per day – because the tour covers a large geographical area.

Posted November 24, 2012 based on publicity materials and the AOS web site

Have a news item, event or Letter to the Editor you’d like posted on this news site? Simply send your information to editor@htnp.com and include your town in the subject line of your email. Please also include a phone number where you can be reached if there are questions. For daily updates on local and Connecticut news, “like” us on Facebook at HTNP News. https://www.facebook.com/HTNPnews and find us on our NEW  Twitter page at HTNP News (@HTNPNews )

Mansfield and Windham now eligible for funds to cover Hurricane Sandy damages

Hurricane Sandy, which was later downgraded to a Tropical Storm, pounds Connecticut on Oct. 29, 2012. Image source: FEMA

FEMA has announced that state and local governments and certain nonprofit organizations in three additional Connecticut counties are now eligible to receive federal disaster assistance under the Public Assistance program to supplement state and local response to Hurricane Sandy.

Windham and Tolland counties were added to the major disaster declaration issued Oct. 30, 2012, as well as Litchfield County.

Windham County includes Ashford,  Brooklyn,  Canterbury,  Chaplin,  Eastford,  Hampton,  Killingly,  Plainfield,  Pomfret,  Putnam,  Scotland,  Sterling,  Thompson,  Windham (Willimantic) and  Woodstock.

Tolland County includes Andover,  Bolton,  Columbia,  Coventry,  Ellington,  Hebron (Amston),  Mansfield (Storrs),  Somers,  Stafford,  Tolland,  Union,  Vernon and  Willington.

Governments in these towns, as well as some nonprofits, are eligible for funds to cover permanent work to repair and rebuild disaster-damaged infrastructure, as well as costs for debris removal and emergency protective measures.

The funds are available based on a federal cost share of at least 75 percent.

In Connecticut, cost share for emergency power restoration and emergency public transportation was 100 percent at the height of hurricane recovery through Nov. 14.

Grants also help pay for emergency protective measures such as police overtime; debris removal from public roads and rights-of-way; and permanent repairs to roads, bridges and public buildings.

Previous counties designated under the declaration are Fairfield, Middlesex, New Haven and New London, and the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan Tribal Nations in New London County.

For more information about assistance, visit http://www.fema.gov/disaster/4087

Posted November 24, 2012, as edited and added to by HTNP News Editor Brenda Sullivan

Have a news item, event or Letter to the Editor you’d like posted on this news site? Simply send your information to editor@htnp.com and include your town in the subject line of your email. Please also include a phone number where you can be reached if there are questions. For daily updates on local and Connecticut news, “like” us on Facebook at HTNP News. https://www.facebook.com/HTNPnews and find us on our NEW  Twitter page at HTNP News (@HTNPNews )