Mural takes on special meaning

Paper: Connecticut Post (Bridgeport, CT)
Title: Mural takes on special meaning
Author: STEVEN ANDREWS
Date: February 26, 2005

BRIDGEPORT - Looking for inspiration when asked to paint a mural for Black History Month, Sharvon Pettway went back to her roots.

The 16-year-old junior at Central High School said that reading Roots, Alex Haley's Pulitzer Prize-winning epic about a black family's experiences from Africa to America, gave her the creative spark for the massive painting.

Pettway painted the mural, which has been on display at Central for more than two weeks, last month. Though she did not originally plan such a large display, the mural eventually spread to include 10 large pieces of paper.

"I was trying to show people who were really inspiring," said Pettway.

Featured on the oil pastel mural are Harriet Tubman, a key figure in the Underground Railroad, and other icons of the more recent civil-rights movement such as Rosa Parks, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.

"All of the people I painted showed that if you put your mind to it, you can really do anything," Pettway said. She also included a depiction of slaves working on a plantation, similar to scenes from the book Roots.

Pettway was asked to create the artwork as part of the school's effort to promote awareness of Black History Month.

The entire mural took Pettway 10 days to complete, working for about three hours each day.

The teen said she's pleased school officials put her painting on display because it's important for people to visualize history so they don't forget it.

A lot of students were surprised that I made this because most of them didn't know I could do anything like this, she said. Pettway said that many of Central's students and teachers have complimented her on the mural. Also displayed with the painting is a ceramic piece Pettway created called Handmade, which shows many hands working together as if they are sculpting something of their own.

Since she is interested in both painting and sculpture, Pettway hopes to use her artistic talents professionally and become an interior designer.

And even though Pettway believes every person depicted on the mural is significant, her favorite is King.

"He was so important, because his actions created so many opportunities for other people," Pettway said.

(c) 2005 The Connecticut Post. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Media NewsGroup, Inc. by NewsBank, Inc.

Scholarship competition fierce at schools' Science Expo

Paper: Connecticut Post (Bridgeport, CT)
Title: Scholarship competition fierce at schools' Science Expo
Author: STEVEN ANDREWS
Date: February 5, 2005


The competition at Bridgeport schools' annual Science Expo was so fierce that even a lengthy head start on the projects wasn't enough to guarantee victory.

While most competitors started their projects a couple weeks into the school year, Truong Ho and Maurice Barclay, both juniors at Harding High School, began their botanical experiments last summer.

"We spent a lot time on this," said Barclay, showing off his plant project at the University of Bridgeport's Student Center on Friday. "We began it in the summer and spent at least five hours on every Saturday since then to complete it."

Their project, "Woody Invasive Plant Life Under Canopy Cover at Various Forest Depths," was a detailed look at plant survival, analyzing growth and longevity.

Other experiments on display included "The Relationship between Sunspots and Dendrochronology" and "Estuarine Bacteria."

The Science Expo featured about 160 projects from student scientists in seventh through 12th grades in the city's public schools. But it was the 11th-graders who had the most to gain from the competition--the winning team is awarded four-year scholarships to UB.

"The scholarship is why we've spent all summer on this," Ho said.

The top prize in the 11th grade competition went to Patricia Sandoval and Leah Pierre Noisette, also from Harding, who did a project studying lichen, various small plants composed of fungus and alga.

In fact, all of the winning groups from the 11th grade were Harding students.

The first-place winners continue on to the state-level scholastic science competition to be held in March at Quinnipiac University in Hamden.

The local projects were presented to about 50 judges, including professors from the UB and Fairfield University, as well as engineers and other professionals from around the state.

In addition to receiving a congratulatory certificate, the winning students will be given a cash prize for their efforts at a future awards ceremony. First-place winners will get $100; second, $75; third, $50; and honorable mention, $25.

The science fair is a great way for students to express themselves and see how they compare with others in a competitive environment, according to Andrew Cimmino, the principal at Thomas Hooker School.

"The students have a real passion for this. We give them something else to compete against other schools with other than basketball," Cimmino said.

"Students need to compete on all these levels. The quicker you get them in here, the more you get them exposed to this, the better they do," he said.

Portia Scott, who teaches seventh and eighth grade at High Horizons Magnet School, has been involved with the event eight years.

"I think it's a wonderful activity because it makes science real for these students and makes them question the world around them and how it works," she said.

Dr. Asaad Samaan, a UB professor as well as a judge and organizer of the event, commended the teamwork involved in bringing the event to fruition each year.

"This takes a lot of effort between the university and the schools, as well as the Board of Education," he said.

Assistant Supt. of Schools Henry Kelly announced the award winners.

"I usually deal with a lot of problems all the time," Kelly told the students, "but when I came into this room, you all really made my day."

(c) 2005 The Connecticut Post. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Media NewsGroup, Inc. by NewsBank, Inc.

Area diver discusses exploring the Sound

Paper: Connecticut Post (Bridgeport, CT)

Title: Area diver discusses exploring the Sound
Author: STEVEN ANDREWS
Date: February 9, 2005

Some people hesitate to venture into Long Island Sound, others make a career out of it. Noel Voroba estimates he has explored its murky depths at least 5,000 times.

His dives have retrieved a plethora of objects from wrecks in the Sound, some of them lost in the briny deep for more than a century.

"We get all sorts of things down there," he said, which rest somewhere between 48 to 85 feet below the water. "We find china, bottles, jugs. We even found a nice telescope."

It's taken Voroba decades to gather his collection.

"I started diving down there in 1963, in my teens," he said.

On Thursday, Voroba will share his experiences exploring the wrecks of Long Island Sound during a lecture at the Regional Vocational Aquaculture School in Bridgeport.

His love of scuba diving and undersea exploration led him to open Orbit Marine in 1973, a dive shop in Bridgeport that specializes in renting and selling equipment, as well as teaching people how to use it.

The shop organizes expeditions for people once they learn how to dive and use the gear. It operates two boats out of Captain's Cove Marina in the Black Rock section of Bridgeport, offering diving trips to sites off the Connecticut coast from May through October. Orbit Marine also sets up more ambitious trips to places like Florida, the Bahamas and Mexico.

On the trips closer to home, divers can explore the sunken ships beneath the Sound.

"The two wrecks we dive at mostly seem to date back to the 1850s or so," Voroba said.

While his trips have not uncovered any massive treasures, he said, "The possibility is always there to find something valuable."

"One of the wrecks off Westport is carrying barrels and barrels of nails," he said. "I always joke with people and say that, you never know, one of them could be full of silver or gold from people trying to fund the Civil War."

The good news for anyone who goes diving in the Sound is that objects down there are mostly free game.

"A few of the wrecks have now been deemed historic sites," Voroba said. "On most of the sites we go to, though, people can just keep the stuff they find down there."

There are some distinct differences between diving in Long Island Sound locations that Voroba frequents and those such as the Caribbean.

"There's not a lot of visibility in this area because of all the plankton in the water," he said, "which is the opposite of the Caribbean, which is almost crystal clear."

The low visibility, which ranges from just one foot up to 15, actually makes the Sound a good place to learn how to dive.

"If you can dive in Long Island Sound, you can dive anywhere," Voroba said. "It's a great training place."

Even though the ocean floor is peppered with these hulks of former vessels, they're barely noticeable unless one goes underwater to look for them.

During his lecture, Voroba will narrate a slide show detailing his dives in the Sound and showcasing some of the more interesting artifacts found there.

(c) 2005 The Connecticut Post. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Media NewsGroup, Inc. by NewsBank, Inc.

Howe School raises funds for Asia

Paper: Connecticut Post (Bridgeport, CT)
Title: Howe School raises funds for Asia
Author: STEVEN ANDREWS
Date: February 7, 2005

BRIDGEPORT - Elias Howe School's pupils, with the help of parents and faculty, are coming together to bring help to victims of the killer waves that wreaked havoc in south Asia in December.

The school recently held four tag and baked-goods sales to raise funds for relief efforts by the American Red Cross.

Students and their families, as well as Howe teachers and administrators, donated all of the items sold, which went for a quarter each. The sale featured used books, action figures and stuffed animals, as well as fresh-baked cupcakes and cookies.

"We've raised almost $3,000 so far, which is incredible," said Sara Batalla, a first-grade teacher who along with fifth-grade teacher Kelley Samperi, proposed the fund-raisers.

"We came up with this idea because the school also ran a fund-raiser for 9-11, which raised about $1,400," Batalla said. "We weren't expecting to get more than $1,000 for this."

Once the principal approved the proposal, teachers began to tell students about the tsunami and how people left in its destructive wake are in desperate need of food, clothing and housing.

Batalla has not been surprised by the generosity of Howe's students and their families, despite the fact that many at the Clinton Avenue school have little money to spare.

"We've had kids bringing in $5 and $10 bills," she said. "The kids need to understand that they do have a lot, there are many organizations who help us out and they've gotten a lot from that."

Students eagerly lined up last week to peruse the tag-sale goods to see if anything caught their fancy. But they also understood the real reason they were there.

"The people over there need money because their houses were destroyed," said Anthony Garcia, 5, a kindergartner.

The Howe youngster's charitable efforts have not gone unnoticed by the Red Cross, which sent a representative to the sale.

"We are grateful for anything this school does, but I think the potential of this school is enormous, when all of the parents and students work together," said Patricia Scharr, director of major gifts for the Red Cross of Southeastern Fairfield County.

"We're using Elias Howe as an example for other schools to follow in our latest letter we send to all schools," she added.

(c) 2005 The Connecticut Post. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Media NewsGroup, Inc. by NewsBank, Inc.

Illness exhausts family resources

Paper: Connecticut Post (Bridgeport, CT)
Title: Illness exhausts family resources
Author: STEVEN ANDREWS
Date: March 23, 2005


DERBY - When Scott and Lauren Flanigan were preparing to have their third son in six years, they knew their children would become the focus of their lives. However, when their son Dillon was born with a rare and debilitating disease that requires constant attention and costs thousands of dollars a day to manage, their world was transformed. Now, with their insurance company refusing home nursing care and any state legislative help stalled, the family has turned to the community for help.

An April 17 benefit in East Haven featuring food, entertainment, a raffle and a silent auction will raise money for the Dillon Flanigan Foundation.

The 16-month-old boy suffers from Type II collagen chondroplasia and restrictive lung disease, which limits his ability to breathe. The condition affects only one in a million children.

Dillon cannot speak because of a tracheotomy and requires constant attention due to his use of a ventilator and feeding tube. The family's struggles revolve around their attempt to keep Dillon at home, as their insurance company is staged to remove all support.

"The company only gives us 80 nursing visits for each year, which we've already exhausted," Lauren Flanigan said. The company is willing to pay for Dillon's care in a hospital, but the family wishes to keep him at home.

"The best place to raise him is here with his family," Flanigan said. "They are willing to pay $3,000 a day to keep him in a facility, but not less to keep him home."

The family hopes that at the very least, the fund-raiser will help keep Dillon out of the hospital as long as possible.

"We spend every waking moment worrying about this and what we're going to do," Flanigan said. "As far as I know right now, I'm prepared to just stay up 24/7 with him."

The benefit will take place at the Irish American Community Center on Venice Place in East Haven on April 17 from 2 to 6 p.m. Tickets are $20 and children under 10 are free.

For tickets, call 799-2641 or visit www.thedillonflaniganfoundation.org.

(c) 2005 The Connecticut Post. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Media NewsGroup, Inc. by NewsBank, Inc.

Study: Many in U.S. losing sleep over losing sleep

Paper: Connecticut Post (Bridgeport, CT)
Title: Study: Many in U.S. losing sleep over losing sleep
Author: STEVEN ANDREWS
Date: March 30, 2005

It's not only in Seattle that Americans are going sleepless.

Three-quarters of the nation's adults regularly fail to get either enough sleep or quality sleep, according to a study released Tuesday by the National Sleep Foundation.

Most people ignore the difficulties, which include insomnia, snoring and sleep apnea, the study found, and few people actually report they think sleeplessness is a significant problem.

Yet only half of those polled were able to say they sleep well most nights. Most adults sleep an average of 6.9 hours, the foundation says, although many experts recommend from seven to nine hours. And one-quarter of those surveyed admit that sleep problems have some impact on their lives.

Mary Dibattista of Milford is one of the sleep-deprived, and Tuesday she went looking for help.

"My sleep is very erratic," Dibattista said. "Sometimes I wake up at 1:30 a.m. and just can't get back to sleep."

Dibattista's search for sleep took her to Griffin Hospital in Derby, which was hosting an open house Tuesday at its new Sleep Wellness Center.

Each of the center's four rooms is furnished with chairs, a bed, an entertainment center complete with a television, large paintings on the wall and a private full bathroom. Patients even get breakfast and a newspaper in the morning.

The state-of-the-art equipment is used to monitor and evaluate patients with possible sleep disorders.

Kevin Rush, who oversees the sleep lab, said that one of the most common, and potentially dangerous disorders, is sleep apnea, a condition in which a person's breathing stops completely while sleeping. "There are 20 million Americans with sleep apnea, and only about 5 percent are treated," Rush said. In addition to leaving people fatigued and unproductive during the day, people who fail to treat sleep apnea are at a greater risk for heart problems like hypertension and heart failure, Rush said.

He urged people who snore, are tired during the day or have been told they stop breathing at night to seek medical attention.

At the Griffin center, patients undergo testing in which 23 wires are attached to their bodies for monitoring overnight. The sleep specialists, who see about 20 patients a week, try to identify and treat the problems. They often find the most effective treatments involve changes in lifestyle and diet, not simply medicine.

"I'd rather find out why I'm not sleeping than take a pill to fix it," said Dibattista. Rush said most of the sleep center's referrals come from a spouse or bed partner of the patient.

"The spouse is kicking and snoring and then that disrupts their sleep," he said.

In fact, when awakened by a bed partner's problems, the other loses an average of 49 minutes of sleep a night, or 300 hours a year, according to the foundation's study.

That's how Victor and Corinne DeLisil of Shelton found their way to the Derby open house.

"I can see at night that he definitely stops breathing," Corinne DeLisil said of her husband. Based on information he gathered Tuesday, especially about potential heart problems, Victor concluded that he should probably contact his doctor about his sleep problem.

Though apnea usually cannot be cured, it can be treated. The most common solution is the application of a continuous positive airway pressure device, or CPAP. The CPAP is a nasal or facemask that allows people uninterrupted breathing through the night. Despite a varying acclimation period, the CPAP can help save a person's life, said Rush.

Frank Stuban of Seymour, who admits he snores, was impressed with the sleep center.

"This looks like an excellent program, if you really have a problem," he said. "Of course, it doesn't hurt [that] these rooms look better than the Waldorf Astoria."

The sleep wellness program is located within Griffin Hospital on the first floor. To schedule an appointment, call the office at 732-7571 Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., or have your physician arrange for you to be evaluated. For more information, visit www.griffinhospital.org

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

(c) 2005 The Connecticut Post. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Media NewsGroup, Inc. by NewsBank, Inc.

'Heroes' to be honored at Red Cross breakfast

Paper: Connecticut Post (Bridgeport, CT)
Title: 'Heroes' to be honored at Red Cross breakfast
Author: STEVEN ANDREWS
Date: March 27, 2005

Chuck Kennedy was returning home from a business dinner last November when he saw a car smashed into a tree off Madison Avenue in Trumbull, its driver slumped over the wheel as smoke and fire billowed from the engine.
Other drivers had pulled over to gawk at the wreck, frozen by fear and morbid curiosity. But Kennedy pulled his car to the side of the road and jumped out, rushing to the aid of the injured motorist.

Because of his quick actions, Kennedy, along with the help of fellow Trumbull resident Joseph Miele, was able to free 17-year-old David Axelrod, trapped in the driver's seat and suffering from severe injuries. Moments after the men helped pull Axelrod from the wreckage, the driver's side of the vehicle burst into flames, melting the steering wheel and the seat.

"When I first got there, people were just standing around the car, 15 feet away, while the engine was on fire, watching it like a bonfire," recalled Kennedy. "That's what shocked me the most, that people were just standing there watching."

Kennedy, Miele and more than a dozen other Fairfield County residents will be recognized for their bravery and community service on Thursday when the Southeastern Fairfield County chapter of the American Red Cross holds its fifth annual "Heroes" breakfast program. Proceeds from the breakfast will benefit Red Cross programs and services.

"It's a very humbling experience to get an honor like this," said Kennedy, who along with Miele will be given one of the Good Samaritan awards. "That's the most important part of this breakfast, to bring awareness to the community about helping others."

Brandon Roy, a 20-year-old from Easton, is also being honored with a Good Samaritan award.

In July, he was relaxing with friends in a boat on Candlewood Lake when he heard yelling nearby. It turned out that the group was trying to find their friend, who had dived into the water but did not resurface.

"No one knew exactly where he had gone down, so there was just a circle of six or eight of us diving and trying to find him," Roy said. His first dive yielded nothing because of the water's darkness. On his second attempt, Roy was overwhelmed by the cold and again could not reach the bottom of the lake.

"The third time I went down there, I felt his leg," said Roy. "I was able to grab him around the arm and neck and take him back up. He was down there for probably two minutes."

Roy's persistence in making the rescue is credited with saving the life of the swimmer, Robert Carr, a Yale University student.

Despite being scared initially, Roy said he wouldn't hesitate doing the same thing again, since it's "just something you have to do."

"We are thrilled to be saluting men and women from our community whose extraordinary acts of courage and kindness make them local heroes," said Dianne Auger, executive director of the Southeastern Fairfield County chapter of the American Red Cross.

In addition to giving awards to local good Samaritans who helped out in unexpected circumstances, the Red Cross is also honoring firefighters, law-enforcement officers and military personnel. Richard Carlson, a Trumbull police officer, will be honored for helping a family of six escape from a burning house on White Plains Road in February 2004.

"I was driving around on patrol at about 1 a.m. when I smelled smoke," he said. "I found the house where it was coming from and saw that it was on fire."

Carlson rushed to the house and was able to wake up one of the occupants and then entered. He then went through the burning house and made sure that everyone else woke up and escaped to safety from the blaze.

All six people were uninjured.

Carlson said he's honored to receive the award, and though the fire rescue was no routine matter, he said doesn't consider it to be extraordinary.

"Basically, I was just doing my job," said Carlson, the recipients of the Law Enforcement Award. "I'm just really happy that everyone got out in time."

First Lt. David Myers of Fairfield, a Marine deployed to Iraq, will be given the Red Cross' Military Award for his work in Fallujah, where he led a platoon. While clearing a supply route, Myers spotted an explosive device moments before it detonated. He was able to take cover and suffered only minor injuries, spending two weeks in the hospital. Myers has now resumed command of his platoon.

Two special awards will be presented to the families of two soldiers from the area who were killed during the last year in Iraq: Army Specialist Tyanna Avery-Felder of Bridgeport and Marine Corporal Kevin Dempsey of Monroe. While each of the award recipients will surely be pleased with the citation, Kennedy feels the Heroes event signifies much more.

"Even though that crash happened several months ago, it's still a very vivid memory," he said. "Recently, David came over to the house, and to see him walking and talking and healthy, that's really my greatest reward."

Others who will be honored at the event are:

-Fairfield firefighters Lt. Patrick Barry, Justin Greenhaw and William Tuttle will receive the Firefighter Award for delivering a baby boy last June.

-The Good Samaritan Award also will be given to Frances Festa and Jean Cass for administering emergency medical treatment to a stricken man in a Fairfield church.

-The Tiger Team Students from Stratford's Wooster Middle School will receive the Good Samaritan Youth Award for collecting goods for the homeless, sending cards to the military overseas and putting together gift bags to cancer patients.

-Receiving the Community Impact Award will be Suzanne Bates, Joanny Bauer, Alice Berry, Gretchen Saccone and Jami Whiteman, volunteer parent advisers at Jockey Hollow Middle School in Monroe, who helped organize students to send packages to troops in Iraq, work in a soup kitchen and collect goods for the homeless, and visit nursing homes.

The Heroes of Southeastern Fairfield County Breakfast will take place at 7:30 a.m. Thursday in the Trumbull Marriott hotel on Hawley Lane in Trumbull. Reservations for the event are required and can be made by calling the Red Cross office at 576-1010. There is a required donation of $20 per person to attend.

(c) 2005 The Connecticut Post. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Media NewsGroup, Inc. by NewsBank, Inc.
Author: STEVEN ANDREWS

Loss of small park upsets critics

Paper: Connecticut Post (Bridgeport, CT)
Title: Loss of small park upsets critics
Author: STEVEN ANDREWS
Date: February 15, 2005

BRIDGEPORT- There soon be a little less park in the Park City.

Though it was recently approved with little fanfare or dissension, the plan to replace a small downtown park with a chain pharmacy is not the right prescription for everyone.

Russo Park, a roughly 2-acre tract bounded by Park, Washington, Fairfield and West avenues, was once the site of a medical office building, but about a decade ago was lent to the city as parkland by the estate of its late owner.

The city landscaped the site, added shrubs, benches and even sculpture to create a small oasis of greenery downtown.

But the estate served notice on the city last year that it wanted to take back control of the property, and construction of a Walgreen's pharmacy was proposed. Last month, the Planning and Zoning Commission approved the project.

Critics do not look forward to what they fear will be an increase in traffic, as well as the loss of so much open space in the congested downtown area.

"I work right around the corner from the park, and even now the traffic is unimaginable," said Ellen Conte Neeley, a representative for Friends of Russo Park, a group that opposes the park's development.

"There are so many Walgreens around here, I don't know why they need to put another one right here," she said.

Raymond Rizio, the attorney for the pharmacy developer, said Neeley's assertion about traffic problems is wrong.

"A traffic study was conducted, and the city engineer agreed there'd be no increase in traffic," he said.

Neeley also decried the loss of the patch of greenery, "so [the city] can tax it when it's something that so many people use."

The late Dr. Robert Russo temporarily loaned the land to the city for use as a park in 1997. The property was later sold to Select Corner Properties LLC, whose application for a pharmacy was approved Jan. 31 by the Planning and Zoning Commission.

As recently as last week, unseasonably warm temperatures drew people to Russo Park, with some walking their dogs or just relaxing on one of its many benches.

"I come out here almost every day to take my dog out," said Maurice Sample, who lives across the street from the park.

"This is one of the only places that's close by where kids can come and play," Sample said. "I also have a couple of other friends who always take their dogs out here."

Once the weather gets warmer, the park gets more activity.

"During the summer you see a lot of families out here eating with picnic baskets," Sample said.

However, Sample admitted that not only was he unaware of the plan to build a pharmacy, he probably would not have even gone to protest it.

Neeley feels the city intentionally made it difficult to oppose the move.

When she went with others to a public hearing, the item was so late on the agenda that even though she waited four hours, the issue was not brought up for comment, she said. Since many of those against the change had brought their children, they had to leave before the proposal was discussed.

Rizio thinks criticism may stem from the fact that even though the land has been used as a park, the site was never really public property.

"People should not look at this negatively that the land is now being developed on," he said. "The Russos received no tax breaks for lending the city this land and it was always planned to eventually get developed."

And not all neighborhood residents believe the new pharmacy will have a negative impact on the area.

Danny Zayat, who works at a convenience store across from the park, believes Walgreen's may generate more commercial activity in the area.

"I think the new store may actually help," Zayat said, "because it will mean more people in the area and maybe more business for me."

Even though he sees a possible personal upside to the park's closing, Zayat does admit that it will be considered a loss by those who live nearby.

"Some people don't have cars, and if their children want to play around here, this is the only place for them to go," he said.

(c) 2005 The Connecticut Post. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Media NewsGroup, Inc. by NewsBank, Inc.
Author: STEVEN ANDREWS, Staff writer

Tribute echoed by Lori

Paper: Connecticut Post (Bridgeport, CT)
Title: Tribute echoed by Lori
Author: STEVEN ANDREWS
Date: April 9, 2005
Section: Connecticut Post, Page A1

BRIDGEPORT - Shortly after throngs of presidents, prime ministers and pilgrims paid tribute to Pope John Paul II at an elaborate Vatican funeral Friday morning, Bishop William Lori presided over a midday Mass in St. Augustine Cathedral for an equally devout crowd of local leaders and the faithful.

His homily celebrated the late pontiff's "insight and zeal" and his work building bridges among nations and faiths. "We are in solidarity with millions of people around the world as we mourn the death of Pope John Paul II," the bishop of the Bridgeport Diocese said.

Though nothing like the spectacle of an estimated 300,000 mourners at the Vatican service, the local cathedral was filled with several hundred worshipers.

Worshipers included representatives of other religions, students from local schools and colleges and Mayor John M. Fabrizi.

Tina Katz, 70, of Bridgeport, woke up early Friday to watch television coverage of the pope's funeral as it unfolded in a time zone six hours ahead of the eastern U.S., and also attended the noon service at St. Augustine's.

"It was really an excellent tribute here to the pope," she said. She also acknowledged that it was a much different event than the one at the Vatican.

"They were two completely different Masses, but one holy man was being honored," said Katz. A major focus of Lori's homily was the importance John Paul II had placed on young people, saying that he "loved and respected" them and they returned that sentiment because he never looked down on them.

He acknowledged the number of students at the service as proof.

William McBain, a sophomore at Fairfield University, was one of several Fairfield U. collegians at the Mass.

"I wanted to be a part of the Masses all around the world honoring this man," he said. "John Paul really provided a lot of spiritual hope in his final days as his health failed."

The local service paid tribute to John Paul's nationality by reading a Bible passage in Polish.

"This Mass certainly had a special meaning to me, being Polish," said Stratford resident Fred Kleczkowski, 55, a teacher at St. Joseph High School in Trumbull, who attended with several students.

"This pope worked so hard reaching out to people and tried to make the world a smaller place by visiting so many other countries," he said. Many agreed that it will be nearly impossible for the next pope to have the same impact as John Paul II, especially considering the length of his 26-year reign and dynamic personality.

"I'm really hoping the next pope can have the same charisma," Katz said. "I really think John Paul was one of a kind."

"The most important thing will be having the next pope build on the progress that John Paul has made," said Kleczkowski, "but that will be hard to do."

Even Lori recognized the challenges the next pope faces in succeeding the hugely influential John Paul.

"Every pope is different and unique, bringing his own gifts and virtues," he said. "John Paul has left a tremendous legacy of direction to follow."

Author: STEVEN ANDREWS
Section: Connecticut Post

(c) 2005 The Connecticut Post. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Media NewsGroup, Inc. by NewsBank, Inc.

'You just can't forget it'

Paper: Connecticut Post (Bridgeport, CT)
Title: 'You just can't forget it'
Author: STEVEN ANDREWS
Date: January 30, 2005
Section: Local/Regional News, Page A10

As light snow fell on the frozen ground and bleak rows of abandoned barracks, a spectral cloak enveloped Thursday's ceremony commemorating the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp, the most notorious of the Nazis' World War II extermination centers.

In the eerie quiet of southern Poland, where the tears and screams of 1.5 million people once reverberated before they died, world leaders and a few camp survivors gathered to mourn the terror's toll and vow never to let the world forget how it happened.

In southwestern Connecticut, the solemn commemoration prompted powerful memories among Auschwitz survivors. They joined in saying that their stories must stand as a warning against the brutal policies that launched the Nazis' genocide.

"It's really been a long time and it's still with me, you just can't forget it," said Elizabeth Deutsch of Fairfield, who was 15 years old when she was taken to Auschwitz in 1944.

Before Soviet soldiers liberated the camp, Deutsch and her family were among millions of Jews sent by the Nazis to Auschwitz. Most arrived by crowded rail cars. There, at the site where last week's ceremony took place, the prisoners were met by doctors who chose a few to work as slave labor while the rest were sent to gas chambers. Others died of starvation, exhaustion, beatings and disease.

The majority of those who died at the camp were European Jews, but the slaughter also included Soviet prisoners of war, Poles, Gypsies, Jehovah's Witnesses, homosexuals and political opponents of the Nazis.

As the liberation ceremony ended with a recording of a locomotive whistle blaring from loudspeakers, a half-mile of train tracks leading from the front gate to the crematoria was set ablaze, two flaming straight lines through snow, toward death.

The scene would appear hauntingly familiar to Deutsch.

"As we rode the train to the camp, we could smell smoke and the burning of flesh," she said. "My father could see the flames from the crematorium and told me, 'We have come to hell.' "

Deutsch, 77, tells her story because she does not want people to ever forget what happened.

"I've been talking to children in school and they've been really flabbergasted by what had been done," she said. "They were shocked by the tattoo on my arm"-- the prisoner number indelibly stamped into her flesh by the Nazis.

Abe Baron, 80, also has a tattoo on his left arm marking him as Auschwitz prisoner No. 127326.

Baron, a Polish native who now lives in Fairfield, was 15 when he was taken from his home and spent almost the entire war in prison camps. He worked as hard as possible to survive, and vowed that one day he would let others know about the crimes being committed.

"Every year I speak to about a dozen groups," he said. "I've told my story to thousands of people at colleges, churches and synagogues."

For survivors, telling their firsthand accounts of the Nazis' persecution personalizes the tragedy and brings the cruelty to life.

Anita Schorr of Westport was 14 when she was imprisoned at Auschwitz.

"It's amazing how the kids are really interested. They say I make the history come alive, because otherwise it's just a page in the history book," said Schorr, 74.

Rabbi Israel Stein of Congregation Rodeph Sholom in Bridgeport believes that remembrance of the Auschwitz horrors is essential.

"What makes the Holocaust especially painful is that it gave precedent to an event that now dares to be repeated," he said.

"Humankind was guilty of indifference then, and is guilty again when it fails to respond to the genocide in Rwanda and Sudan."

The Auschwitz survivors are acutely aware of this point.

"I always give a mission to those I speak to, that they never forget this story and I beg them to avoid discrimination of any kind," Schorr said.

Dr. Gavriel Rosenfeld, an associate history professor at Fairfield University who specializes in the study of the Holocaust and modern Germany, agrees that continued education is imperative in preventing future tragedies.

"It is certainly important to recall the crimes that were perpetrated at Auschwitz," Rosenfeld said. "It is important for its own sake, but more important because of the innate human tendency to forget over time.

"In a world where Prince Harry can attend a party dressed in a Nazi uniform and not think twice about it, it is clear that no matter how much we think we've heard and learned about the Holocaust there are always some who haven't."

Rosenfeld's point is given credence by a recent BBC poll that found that 45 percent of adults in Britain had never heard of Auschwitz; among people under 35, the number rose to 60 percent.

Despite the atrocities they witnessed and the hardships they endured, the Auschwitz survivors see their lives after the camp's liberation as a gift.

"For children survivors, it took almost as much courage to rebuild our lives as to survive, and that is what is barely mentioned," Schorr said.

Baron met his wife, Sari, who also spent time in Auschwitz, a few weeks after liberation while working with American soldiers.

"At first I felt completely left alone and wondered why I fought all those years," Baron said.

Looking at his family, which now includes two children and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren, he describes his life since he moved to America in 1949 as "miraculous."

Baron would not trade those horrific experiences for another life, because he is so proud of what he has done.

"I would never get my tattoo removed," Baron said. "It's like a Purple Heart, because the man who put it on me is dead, but I'm still here to tell my story."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.



Author: STEVEN ANDREWS
Section: Local/Regional News

(c) 2005 The Connecticut Post. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Media NewsGroup, Inc. by NewsBank, Inc.

Downtown Shelton sees businesses growing

Paper: Connecticut Post (Bridgeport, CT)
Title: Downtown Shelton sees businesses growing
Author: STEVEN ANDREWS
Date: March 30, 2005
Section: Connecticut Post, Page A5

SHELTON - When John and Michele Zoppi were driving around downtown Shelton more than a year ago, they couldn't find a home-style deli where they could grab lunch. So they decided to fill that void and opened their own.

Now their business, Zop's Deli at 97 Center St., is one of several restaurants in the area that have opened or been renovated.

The Zoppis celebrated the first anniversary of their restaurant's opening early in March, and see it as a benchmark for creating more excitement downtown.

"In the years I've been in Shelton, I've seen some marked changes, but there have to be reasons for people to come down here," John Zoppi, a Shelton resident, said.

"As more businesses come down, there'll be more people. Everybody needs to do their part to keep it going."

Another restaurant dedicated to helping the revitalization of downtown is Liquid Lunch.

The owners of the Howe Avenue soup-and-sandwich shop recently added a new section that gives them more room for the lunch crowd, as well as an area for their new nighttime fare.

"We started to serve dinner and dessert, as well as bringing in local acoustic acts on the weekend," said manager Michele Bialek, who opened the store with her husband, Fred.

She said she sees great potential in the area, which is a sharp contrast from how she remembers the area during her childhood.

"When I grew up here, there really wasn't anything to do," she said. "I think people are getting sick of malls and a lot more will be coming downtown now since there are so many reasons to come here."

Shelton Alderman Stan Kudej, R-2, has seen a concerted effort to turn downtown, the area he represents, into a gathering point for many years.

"That's really been our project for a while," he said. "It takes a little time, but you can see the trend over the last dozen years or so. It's really seen a steady and positive improvement."

Kudej also said the state and city have been proactive in encouraging growth by loans to prospective businesses, as well as other help.

Bialek thinks that there is already plenty of incentive for people to come downtown and there would be even more if more parking was available.

"I think that's the only thing really stopping more people from showing up, but it's something all of the businesses have been working with the town to fix," she said.

Author: STEVEN ANDREWS
Section: Connecticut Post

(c) 2005 The Connecticut Post. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Media NewsGroup, Inc. by NewsBank, Inc.

W. Haven man sentenced in rape of 8-year-old boy

Paper: Connecticut Post (Bridgeport, CT)
Title: W. Haven man sentenced in rape of 8-year-old boy
Author: STEVEN ANDREWS
Date: April 14, 2005
Section: Connecticut Post, Page A2

MILFORD - A West Haven man was sentenced in Superior Court Wednesday to a seven-year prison term for raping an 8-year-old boy.

Isaiah Peck, 18, had previously entered a guilty plea for the Aug. 2, 2004, incident in which he was found in bed with the boy by a baby-sitter. He also pleaded guilty to violating his probation stemming from a December 2003 robbery charge.

Peck, who was 17 at the time of the incident, was tried as an adult.

"This is a very serious crime," Assistant State's Attorney Kevin Lawlor said of the sexual assault, asking that a series of specific rules be added to Peck's probation.

Peck must be entered into the state's sex offender's registry for life and is not allowed any contact with minors under the age of 16. He is also not allowed to have any children's clothes, toys or games in his possession.

After serving the sentence, which carries a mandatory prison term of five years and 10 years probation, Peck must notify the probation office of any sexual relations he has and is not allowed to date anyone with children under the age of 16 without prior approval. Judge Patrick Carroll also ordered Peck to stay away from any areas used primarily by children, such as schools, parks and swimming pools.

Peck was arrested after a baby-sitter complained to police that she saw him in bed with the boy. The victim complained of inappropriate touching and was brought to an area hospital, where evidence of the rape was discovered.

Author: STEVEN ANDREWS
Section: Connecticut Post

(c) 2005 The Connecticut Post. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Media NewsGroup, Inc. by NewsBank, Inc.

State attorney: University violates drug law

Paper: The Fairfield Mirror (Fairfield, CT)
Title: State attorney: University violates drug law
Author: STEVEN ANDREWS
Date: April 14, 2005
Section: Page 1

An offhand remark by a state attorney during the sentencing phase of a former Fairfield University student has resulted in the administration changing its drug policy, with the possibility of much stricter penalties for students caught in violation.

During the sentencing phase for Erick Rodriguez '05 (see story on page 8), Senior Assistant State's Attorney C. Robert Satti Jr. blasted the school's Public Safety officers for illegally confiscating drugs and not notifying the proper authorities.

"What is especially troubling is that in the course of the investigation as related to the police officers, that security officers at Fairfield U. would find drugs or drug paraphernalia in Mr. Rodriguez's room and really do nothing but take the contraband and who knows what they did with it," Satti said.

"It appears to be a violation of the law, it appears to be outrageous, and when the police actually showed up to his room, he was working at the computer and they had drugs and paraphernalia in his room there," he added. "That is one of the more troubling aspects of this particular case and that the state would be looking at more fully."

However, school officials admit they were shocked to hear Satti's remarks and categorically deny drugs were ever confiscated from Rodriguez.

"We had no connection with this case at all; we were completely out of the loop," said William Schimpf, vice president for student services. "At no times were we involved in touching or seeing the drugs."

Todd Pelazza, director of Public Safety, said that in addition to having no connection with the state's investigation, the school never took drugs from Rodriguez during his time at Fairfield.

Satti refused to comment on his statement, only saying that an investigation is currently ongoing, but the scope and target could not be specified.

The school has been left in confusion over where the attorney received his information.

"My guess is that it came from Rodriguez, but I don't know his motivation," said Schimpf.

Due to the allegations, however, the school has been forced to change its drug policy. When officers would find small amounts of marijuana on students and they did not suspect them of selling, they would confiscate it, make sure it was marijuana and then discard it. Now, any amount found is given to the Fairfield Police, who may then press charges against the student.

"For us to turn over every joint to the police is not to everyone's best advantage, it would just swamp the courts and lead to more arrest records," Schimpf said. "That doesn't benefit the educational process here."

Fairfield police admit that they were aware of the university's previous policy of taking small amounts of marijuana, and are concerned about the new allegations.

"After concerns raised by the state attorney, we'll work closely with the school to develop new protocols for the seizures and destruction of small amounts of drugs," said Sergeant Gene Palazzolo.

Schimpf said that the university has contacted their attorneys in an attempt to find a resolution that would both satisfy the law and work in the best interests of all involved. He expects some sort of resolution in as soon as a week.

In addition to now handing over all drugs to the police, all of the paraphernalia used for training purposes, such as bongs and bowls, have been destroyed by Public Safety, according to Pelazza.