In Columbia – Towns consider sharing cost of construction equipment

Selected proposals will receive a state grant of 50 percent, if at least one of the towns is a “distressed municipality/targeted investment community/public investment community.” Windham falls under the “distressed municipality” description and Elsesser said he is looking forward to working with Windham.

The nine towns in the Windham Region Council of Governments (WINCOG) have begun talks on a new project that could help save the towns money by sharing public works equipment.

A meeting Tuesday (Jan. 31) brought many of the public works directors and town management staffs together to brainstorm ideas.

WINCOG provides towns with a forum for intermunicipal discussion, coordination and decision­making and includes workshops on timely issues and occasions for such discussion and coordination.

Member towns are Chaplin, Columbia, Coventry, Hampton, Lebanon, Mansfield, Scotland, Willington and Windham.

The project could have the towns take advantage of the state Office of Policy and Management’s Intertown Capital Equipment Purchasing Incentive (ICE) Program.

Coventry Town Manager John Elsesser said a lot of equipment the towns were thinking of getting is “quite expensive.”

He said some of the equipment discussed Tuesday included a portable pothole patcher, a skid-steer loader, or Bobcat with special attachments, and portable lighting, among other items.

“A lot of ideas were thrown out and haven’t been finalized yet and some ideas may be added or dropped,” Elsesser said.

WINCOG Executive Director Mark Paquette said the grant offers towns a way to get the machines they need without carrying the full burden of the cost.

“Many of these towns would never be able to get these types of equipment on their own,” Paquette said. “This is a great deal with a great incentive.”

Selected proposals will receive a state grant of 50 percent, if at least one of the towns is a “distressed municipality/targeted investment community/public investment community.”

Windham falls under the “distressed municipality” description and Elsesser said he is looking forward to working with Windham.

Municipalities must provide matching funds and the state grant cannot exceed $250,000.

Coventry Director of Public Works David Gofstein said if scheduling the use of equipment is done right, there shouldn’t be any problems with availability among the towns.

“All of the towns would split the cost accordingly,” said Elsesser. He added that each town was asked to put a “placeholder” of $14,000 in their capital budgets.

“For $14,000, we can all get $250,000 of equipment,” he said.

Elsesser added this isn’t a new idea for Coventry; the town has shared a catch basin cleaner with Mansfield for almost 15 years.

Windham Mayor Ernie Eldridge, who wasn’t at Tuesday’s meeting, said he is all for sharing equipment with other towns. “Sharing is a great part of keeping cost down for our towns… Why would one town need $100,000 worth of equipment on their own?” he said.

Paquette said there will be more discussions about the idea.

“There is a strong incentive to get this significant savings,” he said, but they “still need to do some research on the whole idea.”

A decision should be made within the next couple of months. Final proposals must be received by the state Office of Policy and Management on or before May 1, 2012.

Posted Feb. 2, 2012 as edited by HTNP.com Editor Brenda Sullivan

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Columbia students on UConn Dean's List

The University of Connecticut recently distributed the list of students who attained the Dean’s List for the fall 2011 semester.

To make the Dean’s List, students must take at least 12 credits, finish the semester with a grade point average (GPA) that is among the top 25 percent of students enrolled in their school or college, and have no grade below a “C.”

The following edited list includes students from the HTNP.com general readership area. Some categories were grouped together where students listed their residence as a village within a town, i.e. Moodus (East Haddam, CT) and Storrs (Mansfield, CT) and therefore may not be in alphabetical order.

Also note that while many students on this list give their address as Storrs, it may be they are living on campus but, in fact, have a different hometown address.

While HTNP.com is happy to correct any errors, we are not responsible for any omissions or incorrect information, as this list was provided by the university.

Posted Jan. 31, 2012

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Congressman Courtney introduces bill to curb student loan costs

The College Cost Reduction and Access Act lowered subsidized Stafford student loan rates from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent over a four-year period, to ease the burden on thousands of students and their families. However, without Congressional action, this act expires; loan rates will double later this year and cost students and families thousands of dollars, over time.

Connecticut Congressman Joe Courtney today (Jan. 25) introduced H.R. 3826, legislation that would ensure that interest rates on certain student loans do not dramatically increase this year.

In 2007, Congress made an historic investment in higher education when it passed the College Cost Reduction and Access Act.

The legislation includes a provision that reduced the fixed rate on Stafford student loans for undergraduate students.

The College Cost Reduction and Access Act lowered subsidized Stafford student loan rates from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent over a four-year period, to ease the burden on thousands of students and their families.

However, without Congressional action, this act expires; loan rates will double later this year and cost students and families thousands of dollars, over time.

Courtney’s bill would eliminate the existing “sunset” and ensure that rates remain at 3.4 percent.

“A college education is key to success in today’s economy, but for many students, the spiraling costs of higher education are creating an immense barrier,” said Congressman Courtney.

U.S. Rep Joe Courtney, Connecticut 2nd Congressional District. File photo by Frank Funk

“President Obama’s message was spot on last night when he said: ‘When kids do graduate (from high school), the most daunting challenge can be the cost of college. At a time when Americans owe more in tuition debt than credit card debt, this Congress needs to stop the interest rates on student loans from doubling in July.’

“This legislation will defuse that ticking time bomb, and help young people repay the student loans that have weighed them down too heavily for too long,” Courtney said.

According to the non-partisan U.S. PIRG (Public Interest Research Group), if Congress does nothing, borrowers who will take out the maximum $23,000 in subsidized student loans will see their interest balloon to an additional $5,200 over a 10-year repayment period and $11,300 over a 20-year repayment period.

Posted Jan. 25, 2012, as edited by HTNP.com Editor Brenda Sullivan

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Audrey May Stimson Oct 31 1925 – Jan 20 2012

Audrey May Stimson, 86, of Columbia, CT, widow of the late Lester W. Stimson, passed away peacefully Friday, Jan. 20, 2012 at Apple Rehab in Colchester, CT surrounded by her loving family.

Audrey May Stimson, 86, of Columbia, CT, widow of the late Lester W. Stimson, passed away peacefully Friday, Jan. 20, 2012 at Apple Rehab in Colchester, CT surrounded by her loving family.

Born Oct 31, 1925, in Milwaukee, WI, she was the daughter of the late Frederick and Martha (Henning) Mueller.

On May 25, 1946, she and Lester W. Stimson were married and shared 60 years of marriage before he passed away on Nov. 29, 2006.

Mrs. Stimson had worked as a secretary for Brand Rex in Willimantic for many years before her retirement.

She was a member of the Columbia Congregational Church.

Survivors include three children Andrea Ballou of Columbia, Gregory Stimson of Colchester and Tedd Stimson of Glastonbury, CT; several grandchildren; and numerous extended family members and friends.

Care of private arrangements has been entrusted to the Aurora-McCarthy Funeral Home of Colchester, www.auroramccarthyfuneralhome.com

Posted Jan. 23, 2012

Funeral notices may be sent to editor@htnp.com  Currently there is no charge for posting these notices.

Firefighter’s mission is to aid Sept. 11 responders now struggling with cancer

South Windham, CT firefighter Jim Preston (third from left), Northeast Director of the Fire Fighter Cancer Foundation, is working to provide air purifiers for the homes of sick responders of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. With him are (L-R) Willimantic firefighter Natalie Siebecker, fundraiser David Wollner from the Willimantic Brewing Co. and Willimantic firefighter Ron Miles Jr. Photo by Al Malpa

Currently, the Northeast Director of the Fire Fighter Cancer Foundation, Jim Preston, 52, has been a volunteer firefighter at the South Windham Fire Department for more than 16 years.

He’s also a supervisor at Home Depot.

And he’s a man on a “mission” – to help those who rose to the occasion on one of the darkest days in U. S. history – the firefighters, 9/11 responders, Ground Zero workers and family members who have been stricken with cancer.

While the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks immediately killed thousands at the World Trade Center in New York, as well as more in Washington, D.C. and those aboard Flight 93 in Pennsylvania, more of those who came to their rescue are dying as well, mainly due to cancer and other diseases associated with the environment of Ground Zero.

The Fire Fighter Cancer Foundation, which has grown internationally to Australia and England, is working now to provide air purifiers for the homes of sick 9/ 11 responders and others involved.

Preston, has worked at the foundation for more than eight months. “We are losing, sometimes, up to three (responders) a week,” said Preston.

More than 1,000 Sept. 11 responders have died since the cleanup ended, he said.

Preston joined the Fire Fighter Cancer Foundation when its President Cindy Ell asked him if he’d be interested, at a press conference in Boston. “I couldn’t say no. How can you?” Preston recalled.

Preston lost his first wife to cancer when she was only 27, and then his mother three weeks later to the same disease.

Now he is joined by Cheryl Preston, his wife of 20 years, in this different kind of rescue effort. “We try to find these people and find out exactly what they need,” Preston said.

The foundation will help with anything from legal advice to finding them cheaper, better medications, Preston said.

Preston admits to feeling guilty, even today, for not going to Ground Zero right away. At the time, he was working for American Ambulance Services and couldn’t leave Connecticut immediately.

Many of his coworkers left right away, but Preston waited for his days off to go.

When Preston arrived, it was already the first weekend after the attacks. With his wife by his side, Preston went to as many firehouses as he could.

“I was freelancing and doing whatever I could to help,” said Preston. “You could see it in their eyes. It was a heartbreaking thing.”

To each firehouse he went to, Preston left a letter titled “Heavens Fire Department” in which he tries to make sense of the horrible events.

“In heaven of course there is a grand department,” says one of the letters. “This department is staffed with our Brothers and Sisters from all over the world. God, the ultimate Chief, knew this would be a tough transition so he needed the very best, and he called the FDNY.”

500 purifiers needed

The foundation has a list of 500 responders who need purifiers. Each costs $500. Made by the MagneGrip Group, they are hospital grade. They can even sense toxic chemical fumes in the air and break them down.

“What we are doing is all worthwhile,” Preston said. “This may extend someone’s life.”

Preston has another goal, and that is to get the Zadroga Act amended. The controversial federal bill was supposed to improve services and protection for 9/11 responders, but lacks coverage for cancer.

“We need to get these people the help that they need,” said Preston. He noted the bill covers carpal tunnel syndrome, but not cancer.

“We never hear about that bill or the responders anymore,” Preston said. “We are only 145 miles from Manhattan. This is terribly frustrating.”

His message to those responders in the Northeast whom he hasn’t found yet is to just sit tight – Preston will find you. “To the people out there, we love you and we aren’t going to leave any of you behind,” he said.

However, for all the foundation’s work, they are losing men and women on a weekly basis. Purifiers won’t save their lives, but they may add more time.

Preston said he and his wife attend the funerals of those who lose their battle with cancer.

“She’s incredible,” said Preston. At the last funeral they went to, he said, Cheryl Preston pulled her husband aside and told him that she loved him.

“She said, ‘I’m so glad you didn’t go (that day),’” Preston said, tears in his eyes. “‘I know you feel guilty.’”

The next step for Preston is to keep spreading the word. He has a couple of conferences lined up in New Hampshire and Massachusettsto get more people involved.

For more information about the Fire Fighter Cancer Foundation, visit www.ffcancer.org

Also, donations can be mailed to Fire Fighter Cancer Foundation, Inc., P.O. Box 2830, Wilmington, Del. 19805.

Questions? Call Jim Preston at (860) 617-7450.

Posted Jan. 22, 2012 as edited by HTNP.com Editor Brenda Sullivan

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Generations Family Health Center celebrates new home

State Rep Susan Johnson cuts the ribbon at the ceremonial opening Jan. 19, 2012 of Generations Family Health Center in Willimantic CT with Arvind Shaw, CEO of Generations, left and Sen. Donald E. Williams, Jr., right. Photo by Al Malpa

What began more than two decades ago as a part-time health services office in a small “white house” off Mansfield Avenue in Willimantic, has bloomed into a 32,000- square-foot geo­thermal facility.

And, it will allow Generations Family Health Center to improve both the quality and the quantity of the services it provides to local residents.

The new space will allow the health center to increase the number of unduplicated patients from 7,800 to 9,300.

Plus, it’s all theirs.

Administrators, staff, board members, legislators, community members and those otherwise invested in the healthcare facility, which serves under-insured and uninsured residents throughout Windham County, gathered at the new location at 40 Mansfield Ave. (between Main and Valley Streets) Thursday (Jan. 19) for a grand opening ceremony.

Generations actually began servicing patients at the new location Dec. 19, 2010.

For Generations Executive Director Arvind Shaw, the ribbon-cutting was a special day indeed.

“This is way too emotional for me,” said Shaw, reflecting on the journey during a tour of the facility before the ceremony.

Featuring dual access X-ray machines, centralized treatment areas and lots and lots of windows to let in natural light, the new facility rendered the previous rented location at 1315 Main St. cave-like in comparison.

In designing the new facility, Shaw said, they relied on feedback from the people who would be using it the most. “We listened to our staff and we listened to our patients,” said Shaw. “The patients wanted light.”

The $16 million facility was funded by a variety of sources, including a USDA loan, state dollars under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, New Market Tax Credits, as well as donations from foundations, corporations and individuals.

While the building was closed during Thursday’s event, most staff was on hand to share in the big day.

Dr. Margaret Ann Smith, chief dental officer, said her expanded workspace was much needed.

“It doubles the number of people we can take,” said Smith. “It’s beautiful, it’s efficient and the patients just love it.”

In addition to increasing the number of operatories from five to 10, the spacious new dental stations are designed to accommodate left-handed dentists and offer X-ray machines efficiently positioned between two adjacent stations for use by each.

Ken Maharan, a medical assistant who joined Generations a year ago, said the new space is much more professional than the old one. “When you get up in the morning and you like coming to work, it’s a lot of fun,” said Maharan.

Rebecca Antonucci, a medical receptionist, who has never worked in a public healthcare facility before, said the comparison is incredible.

“We do about everything we can to help anyone who needs it,” said Antonucci.

Along with this facility, Generations is also building a new 10,000- square-foot facility in Putnam and has offices in Danielson and Norwich. They also have three mobile stations.

In addition to medical and dental services, the facility also has a comprehensive behavioral health unit serving children and adults with individual and group therapy and medication management.

Dr. Irma Ross, chief of behavioral health, who just joined Generations after 32 years at Waterbury Hospital, said it was an opportunity she couldn’t resist.

Ross said the focus now is on providing comprehensive health care, which means addressing the whole individual and all of the health-related needs, physical and emotional.

“We are working on integrating medical and behavioral health,” said Ross, including an initiative to get young children in to see the dentist.

Some said the beautiful new facility, which gives no impression of a stereotypical “clinic” atmosphere, is exactly what they wanted.

“We are valuing the human being, having nothing to do with where they come from,” said Ross.

Carl Asikainen, who has been on the Generations Board of Directors for eight years, remembers when owning their own facility, where all the services could be consolidated into a one-stop shop for the patients and the staff, was still just a dream.

Even when the money started materializing, Asikainen said it was hard to imagine it would, one day, amount to what it has. “The people that we treat and the people that we serve deserve this as much as anyone else,” Asikainen said.

Legislators participating in Thursday’s groundbreaking included state Senate President Pro Tempore Donald E. Williams Jr., D- Brooklyn, state Rep. Susan Johnson, D- Willimantic, and U.S. Rep. Joseph Courtney, D-2nd District, while a slew of others joined the festivities, including state Sen. Edith Prague, D-Columbia, making one of her first public appearances since suffering a mild stroke Christmas Day.

After opening at the “white house” on Mansfield Avenue, Generations opened a satellite office at the Windham Heights apartment complex, because that is where many of their patients lived.

Later, it moved to 1315 Main St., where it provided services until now.

“It’s miraculous,” said Dr. Morton Glasser, chief medical officer, who was there at the humble beginning and served patients on a part-time basis at the “white house” – then called the Windham Area Community Action Program (WACAP).

“This whole thing got started because the clientele we were serving were really underserved. Our mission is to serve people who can’t get care otherwise,” Glasser said.

“It’s really heartening to see that we’ve come this far,” he added. “It’s something our patients have deserved all along.”

Generations provides primary health, oral, and behavioral health care, case management and support services for people of all ages. It accepts Medicaid, Medicare, General Assistance, HUSKY, many managed-care programs and most insurance plans. It also offers a sliding fee scale and flexible payment arrangements for those who are eligible. It never turns anyone away for inability to pay.

To learn more, visit www.genhealth.org or call (860) 450-7471.

Posted Jan. 20, 2012

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Back on her feet – Sen. Prague attends ribbon-cutting

Sen. Edith G. Prague, at the podium, recalls the beginnings of community health care in Windham at a ribbon-cutting ceremony Jan. 20, 2012 at Generations Family Health Center. This was one of Prague's first public appearances since suffering a mild stroke on Christmas. With her are Generations CEO Arvind Shaw and his Administrative Assistant Sandy Silvay. Photo by Al Malpa

In one of her first public appearances since suffering a mild stroke Christmas Day, state Sen. Edith Prague, D-Columbia, attended the ribbon­-cutting for the new Generations Family Health Care facility in Willimantic on Thursday (Jan. 19).

She said she wouldn’t have had it any other way.

“It was critically important. I wouldn’t have missed that if they had to carry me,” said Prague, 86, from her home in Columbia this morning.

Not only was she not carried to the event, but on Friday, Prague said she was looking forward to a doctor’s appointment during which she hoped to receive the OK to get back behind the wheel of her car and back to business as usual.

“I like my own independence,” said Prague, who said she is feeling “great.”

Thursday’s ribbon cutting made her feel even better.

State Senate President Pro Tempore Donald E. Williams Jr., D-Brooklyn, who participated in the event, acknowledged Prague’s presence as a sign of how important services provided by Generations are to the community.

“Edith’s presence says a lot about what Generations means to policy makers,” said Williams. “This is an incredible work of collaboration and teamwork that you all can be proud of.”

Prague has been involved with the process since it was first identified as a need in the community.

Upon graduating with a degree in social work, Prague went to work for the Natchaug Valley Community Health Agency (NVCHA), which operated a well-child clinic out of the “white house” on Mansfield Avenue.

“It was obvious the kids needed some health care and so did some of the parents,” recalled Prague.

When Prague was first elected to the state House of Representatives 1982, she served on the Human Services committee. And when a high-level state official announced the availability of money to start new programs, she wasn’t about to let the opportunity pass. “I dashed out after him and told him about this prospect of a community health center in Willimantic, a town with so many poor people,” recalled Prague.

Laura Gugerty, whom Prague had worked with at NVCHA, and William Whalen, then chief of surgery at Windham Community Memorial Hospital, wrote the grant and received $75,000.

“With that $75,000 they started the Windham Area Community Action Program (WACAP),” which later became Generations, said Prague.

Prague said she is impressed with what she saw Thursday.

“Arvind has done a wonderful job,” said Prague of Generations Executive Director Arvind Shaw. “I’m so proud of that clinic.”

Posted Jan. 20, 2012 as edited by HTNP.com Editor Brenda Sullivan

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Applications now available for state's annual firewood lottery

Applications will be accepted until Feb. 1 2012. The Firewood Lottery will be determined using a random-number-generating process. “Winners” will be posted on the DEEP Forestry Website by March 14. Firewood lots are generally offered during the warm months when forest roads are accessible. Connecticut residents may apply for one Forest Products Harvesting Permit per household per year.

The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) announces that applications for the annual state forest firewood lottery are now available.

Applications will be accepted until Feb. 1 2012. The Firewood Lottery will be determined using a random-number-generating process. “Winners” will be posted on the DEEP Forestry Website by March 14.

Firewood lots are generally offered during the warm months when forest roads are accessible.

Connecticut residents may apply for one Forest Products Harvesting Permit per household per year.

Firewood Program in State Forests

The annual firewood lottery provides Connecticut homeowners with a renewable, affordable, locally grown fuel source.

Firewood harvesting from State land helps achieve sustainable forest management goals, improve forest health, and offers fun physical activity for family and friends. (Henry David Thoreau is often credited with the saying that firewood warms you twice, once through the exercise of splitting and once in the fireplace.)

DEEP reminds all visitors that removal of any firewood from a state forest requires a permit.

Standing trees and downed wood will be sold to the lottery winners in designated two-cord lots for $60 by DEEP Foresters, as forest road conditions allow.

Most all permits will be issued before October 2012.

In addition, personal protective equipment (PPE) must be worn while cutting wood. The minimum requirements of PPE include: hard hat, eye protection, hearing protection, and cut-resistant chaps or pants.

Chainsaws have to be equipped with properly functioning safety devices, including a chain brake.

Cutters without PPE may have their Forest Product Agreement revoked and not be offered a woodlot the following year.

To submit an application

Applications may be downloaded and more information may be found at the State Lands Firewood Program Web site at http://ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?a=2697&q=429464&depNav_GID=1631 or by calling 1-860-424-3630.

Applicants who do not receive a permit by lottery selection will be placed on an alternate list. Alternates may be offered permits at the discretion of DEEP Forestry based on supply.

Posted Jan. 19, 2012

Editor’s note: The cost for pre-cut firewood in Connecticut at this time appears to range from $160 to $225 a cord.

Related links: What is a cord of wood? http://www.snowservicesllc.net/

Listing of some CT businesses selling firewood http://www.firewoods.net/ne/CT.aspx

CT DEEP/Forestry listing of certified wood product sellers – look to right column for link to info about certification and the list (in PDF format). http://www.ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?a=2697&q=322792&depNav_GID=1631

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Columbia resident petitions for Election Day vote on library expansion

Napolitano’s second petition asks for support for scheduling a Special Town Meeting to determine the date of the referendum. According to the town clerk’s office, Napolitano would need 173 signatures from registered voters for this petition to be valid.

The timing and cost of a library expansion project in Columbia caused a hubbub at the Jan. 17 Board of Selectmen’s meeting.

One resident is petitioning against the project’s timing.

Plans for the Saxton B. Little Free library include an expansion and a new parking lot, as the current library shares a parking lot with the town hall site next door.

The project cost is estimated at $10.7 million, including financing and other expenses. Construction costs are expected to be about $8.15 million.

No timetable has been officially finalized, but selectmen are mulling a May 29, 2012 Town Meeting that would adjourn to a referendum in June 12. Selectmen have not yet voted to schedule those dates.

Resident Lisa Napolitano is planning to circulate two petitions questioning the timing of the plan. In the first, Napolitano seeks support in opposing a referendum in the spring rather than on the November 2012 election day.

Selectmen have said a spring referendum would bring out the most voters who know the particulars of the project.

In contrast, given the amount of interest in this year’s presidential election, local voters may not pay as much attention to the library project.

Napolitano rejects this rationale and feels that because fewer voters are likely to turn out for an April referendum, selectmen are “disenfranchising” some voters. “Everybody still gets to pay whether they are educated or not,” she said.

Columbia First Selectmen Carmen Vance responded, “No one is disenfranchising anyone.” By not coming to vote, residents are disenfranchising themselves, she said.

“Nobody is telling any of these people they can’t vote,” Vance said.

Selectmen noted the public will have as much opportunity as possible to be educated about the project, including public hearings.

Napolitano’s second petition asks for support for scheduling a Special Town Meeting to determine the date of the referendum.

According to the town clerk’s office, Napolitano would need 173 signatures from registered voters for this petition to be valid.

A committee of volunteers was formed a few years ago to evaluate the town’s library services and come up with a plan for the expansion project.

Drummey, Rosane Anderson Inc., an architectural f irm with an office in South Windsor, was hired for the project.

Napolitano said she is concerned about the library expansion’s high price tag.

Some board members agreed that cost is an issue. “It’s going to be a tough decision, especially in this economy,” said Selectman Richard Szegda.

Library building committee member Henry Schwartz, however, said the committee researched library services in other towns and said Columbia’s proposal is in keeping with libraries in towns of similar size to Columbia.

Schwartz also said he is concerned the problems of the existing building are being “put off.”

“The infrastructure of the building is deteriorating,” said Schwartz.

If the project does not pass, the town would need to take on repairs to the library, including HVAC work and roof repairs.

Columbia has budgeted $20,000 for the library roof project, but the work has been postponed until after a vote on the renovation project.

Registrar of Voters Astrid Belanger said she is “disappointed” about the board’s decision to hold the referendum in the spring, rather than in November.

She said there was an 88 percent turnout at the last presidential election and, historically, there’s been a 25 percent turnout for referendums held on other dates.

Vance said the board chose a referendum as late in the year as they could before school closes. The summer, she noted, is not a good time to have hearings because many residents are on vacation.

Posted Jan. 18, 2012 as edited by HTNP.com Editor Brenda Sullivan

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Want to learn how to help your community during a disaster?

Are you part of a business, church or neighborhood that would like to strengthen its ability to come through a storm strong, and reach out to others? Anyone can take the Red Cross Shelter Operations training; children under the age of 16 may attend if accompanied by an adult.

Recent storms Irene and Alfred saw most of our state shut down and several shelters opening throughout our region.

Self-sufficient, resilient communities are strong communities during tough times.

Many local volunteers used Red Cross Shelter Operations training to assist at the shelters, but we need more help!

Already Trained?

Those who are already Red Cross Shelter Operations certified may join together on the afternoon of Feb. 4 for a tabletop sheltering drill held at Windham Hospital.

Disaster workers will organize into teams and set up a shelter on paper, and problem solve common issues.

Please register to reserve a spot. There is no cost to participate in this drill, and it is open to the entire region.

Need Training?

There is one more opportunity to take Disaster Shelter Operations training before the drill – Saturday, Feb. 4, 9 a.m. – noon at Windham Hospital. Please register now because space is limited. There is no cost to participants.

Are you part of a business, church or neighborhood that would like to strengthen its ability to come through a storm strong, and reach out to others?

Anyone can take the training; children under the age of 16 may attend if accompanied by an adult.

For more information and to register, call 860-456-2221 or send email to citizencorps@wincog.org

Posted Jan. 18, 2012

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