Susan Nash-Ditzel is sounding the alarm that drastic cuts to Killingly Public Schools will occur if the revised town budget of $71.5 million passes at Killingly’s Town Meeting on Monday The initial budget proposed increases of 9.96% to the schools and a 17.11% increase to the town portion of the budget. Following the budget hearing on April 10 and citing concerns from residents over rising taxes, the Town Council reduced the proposed budgets to their current levels, which increases the school budget by 3.33% and the town budget by 2.23% The budget being put before Town Meeting on May 5 reduces the School Department increase by two-thirds The town budget is also reduced from an increase of $1,658,957 to $1,099,434 School Department warns of drastic cuts if budget passes In a letter to parents and guardians Nash-Ditzel and Board of Education Chair Susan Lannon wrote that seven people would lose their jobs and 24 positions in the district would be eliminated athletics and information technology budgets will all be reduced Among the two dozen eliminated positions are 10 teachers three elementary and three intervention specialists The middle school media specialist position and two district-wide special services positions will be eliminated The Killingly Center School assistant principal position will be eliminated as well as a district-wide reading consultant position A dozen non-certified positions will also be eliminated The secretary position at Killingly Center School will be reduced from full time to part time other impacts related to the reductions will be increased class sizes eliminated or reduced intervention services and non-emergency repairs could be delayed in order to ensure sufficient funds for emergency repairs The Bulletin reached out to Nash-Ditzel seeking comment on the letter and the proposed budget When is Town Meeting?Voters will have their say on the budget at the town’s annual Town Meeting on Monday There will then be a town-wide referendum on the budget on May 13 Voters who vote down the budget at the ballot box will be asked an additional question: “Is the budget too high or too low?” The Bulletin is proud to present its 2024-2025 Girls Basketball All Star Team The honored players were consistently on our daily top performers lists during the regular season The players were selected with input from coaches and were chosen from these six schools: Norwich Free Academy This year’s team is led by Norwich Free Academy senior Emily Orcutt Orcutt averaged 13 points and nine rebounds per game while playing against some of the top teams in the state NFA’s non-league schedule is traditionally the toughest amongst all the teams in the ECC Orcutt was an ECC Division I All-Star selection this season Norwich Free Academy: Wildcats guard averaged nine points Atchinson helped NFA capture the ECC Division I regular season title Plainfield: Panthers guard averaged 13.4 points Cross had a career-high 32 point game against Griswold Cross was an ECC Division 3 Honorable Mention selection this season More: Killingly eliminated by North Haven in Class MM opener Killingly: Killingly center capped a terrific career by averaging 11.4 points and 13.1 rebounds per game Headen helped Killingly qualify for the Class MM state tournament in each of the past four seasons including a state quarterfinal appearance during her freshman year in 2021-2022 Headen was an ECC Division 2 All-Star selection this season Ellis Tech: Golden Eagles center averaged 13.5 points and 4.8 blocks per game while helping Ellis Tech qualify for the Class S state tournament She helped Ellis Tech reach the CTC tournament finals during her freshman year in 2023 Lopez was an All-CTC First Team Selection this season Norwich Tech: The Warriors guard led the team in points (213) and steals (83) and was second in assists (52) while helping Norwich Tech qualify for the Class M state tournament Luurtsema was an All-CTC First Team Selection this season More: Griswold's Matheson reaches 1,000 career point milestone Griswold: The Wolverines guard led the team with 14 points and 4.2 assists per game while helping Griswold qualify for the Class M state tournament Matheson scored a career-high 44 points in Griswold’s season finale win over Putnam She scored her 1,000th career point during the Wolverines' Class M state tournament game against Watertown Matheson was an ECC Division 3 Honorable Mention selection this season Killingly: Killingly forward averaged 9.9 points and 9.7 points per game while helping Killingly qualify for the Class MM state tournament Spadola was an ECC Division 2 Honorable Mention selection this season Norwich Free Academy: Wildcats captain averaged five points and two and a half assists per game She also averaged less than two turnovers per game as the team’s point guard Stringer helped NFA capture the ECC Division I regular season title Stringer played a big role in revitalizing the NFA program following a 3-19 season in 2021-2022 Stringer was an ECC Division I Honorable Mention selection this season Norwich Tech: The Warriors center led the team in rebounds (161) and blocked shots (32) and was second in points (208) while helping Norwich Tech qualify for the Class M state tournament Ulrich was an All-CTC First Team Selection this season Griswold: The Wolverines guard averaged 13.6 points and three steals per game while helping Griswold qualify for the Class M state tournament Your access to this service has been limited If you think you have been blocked in error contact the owner of this site for assistance ****You have attempted to log in with incorrect information too many times –although your information was correct and it blocked you—please contact the web team at [email protected] or go to https://cea.org/website-issues for assistance If you are a WordPress user with administrative privileges on this site please enter your email address in the box below and click "Send" You will then receive an email that helps you regain access Wordfence is a security plugin installed on over 5 million WordPress sites The owner of this site is using Wordfence to manage access to their site You can also read the documentation to learn about Wordfence's blocking tools or visit wordfence.com to learn more about Wordfence Click here to learn more: Documentation 6 May 2025 9:11:36 GMT.Your computer's time: document.write(new Date().toUTCString()); Parents and students in Killingly continue to push for a no-cost, school-based mental health center after the Board of Education tabled a vote to take action on Wednesday. A parent-led petition calling on the board to step up led to a public hearing Thursday “We are trying to get this resource for our kids,” said Christine Rosati Randall “We’re exasperated because we’ve presented all the information needed just to have the school board dismiss them.” The Board of Education rejected the proposal to open a school-based health center in March. Parents then pleaded their case at the state Board of Education’s April 6 meeting The parents also filed a complaint with the state Department of Education on the grounds that the school district failed to provide mental health services to students in need The department found the complaint to be substantial and opened an investigation In a survey by SERAC of 477 Killingly students in grades 7-12 14.7% “admitted to having made a suicide plan,” and 28.2% had “thoughts of hurting themselves.” In the first 92 days of the 2021-22 school year there were “500 incidents where students were emotionally unable to stay in class and needed to access immediate counseling.” “This is a really serious matter,” said Rosati Randall.“Every day that goes by our students are not receiving this lifesaving support Parents said the pandemic has left many young people in town dealing with mental health problems But some school board members who oppose the mental health center are in doubt as to whether enough numbers of students require mental health support Some board members have said they voted against the center because a counselor might offer a student advice that goes against the views of that student's parents the school district would partner with Generations Family Health Center which operates a school-based health center at Putnam Public Schools During a February informational session for the school board staff at Generations said that from the initial contact parent/guardian consent and involvement are initiated and emphasized as crucial to successful treatment There would also be collaboration between Killingly High School’s clinical team and other health care providers on student needs The Board of Education has until May 6 to respond to the complaint Receive daily news and talk from Connecticut Public Radio directly to your inbox Town of Killingly approves sale of vacant land to data center developer The town of Killingly in Conecticut has approved the sale of vacant land at 125 Alexander Parkway to NE Edge LLC to develop a data center with NE Edge planning to develop on the site and two adjacent parcels NE Edge will be required to deposit an initial $100,000 in an escrow account that will contribute to the final sale price as due diligence is carried out on the site NE Edge must close on the property within two years and will be fined $50,000 per year after this period that the property remains under the agreement but not sold Residents have until August 27 to file an objection to the sale at which point NE Edge will be able to fully proceed with due diligence Town Manager Mary Calario has said that she does not know of any objections and that project is "environmentally clean and financially advantageous to the town." NE Edge estimates that it will bring between 80 and 100 long-term high-paying jobs to the area and will bring the town around $165m over the next thirty years The facility is planned to be used by hyperscale customers such as Apple NE Edge is named as a defendant in a $30 billion lawsuit led by Thomas Quinn's former business partner at GotSpace Data Centre Dynamics Ltd (DCD), 32-38 Saffron Hill, London, EC1N 8FH Email. [email protected]DCD is a subsidiary of InfraXmedia The Killingly Public Schools paid $30,808,973 in gross pay for the 2023-2024 school year, up from $29,713,830 the previous year Various administrators were among the top 20 earners The data was provided by Killingly Public Schools in response to a freedom of information request Elise Geary, the district’s director of pupil services, was the second-highest earner, making $157,196. This total is up from the $152,652 that she made as director of pupil services and principal of Killingly High School in 2022-2023 Geary became director of pupil services in January 2023 after serving the first few months of the 2022-2023 school year as the principal of Killingly High School Each of the building principals in the district were in the top 20 with Killingly High School Principal Karen Lagace being the highest paid This figure is up from her 2022-2023 salary of $139,996 The other building principals in the top 20 were Goodyear Early Childhood Center Principal Sally Sherman Killingly Memorial School Principal Tina Chahanovich Killingly Central School Principal Emily Caviggia and Killingly Intermediate School Principal Bryant Sheldon Others in the top 20 include Killingly Public Schools IT Director Christian Iamartino who earned $119,597 in the last school year and the district’s Manager of Business Affairs Christine Clark Iamartino earned $111,604 during the 2022-2023 school year Twenty-seven individuals in the Killingly Public School District made more than $100,000 last year up from the 23 who made six figures the previous school year it's no surprise that a new Killingly facility already has a waitlist The Westview Child Care Center opened Aug and primarily serves children preschool aged and younger The Women’s Business Development Council and the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood visited the child care center Thursday to follow up on a $25,000 grant from the Child Care Business Opportunity Fund the two entities awarded This grant program started in 2020 to support childcare for workers during the pandemic and create or preserve nearly 8,000 jobs and over 34,000 childcare slots statewide WBDC Marketing and Communications Director JoAnn Gulbin stated in an email The childcare issue is a convergence of many issues, from the ability for families to pay for daycare, to the ability to pay early childcare professionals. The past two years, early childcare providers across the state, including the Thames Valley Council for Community Action, demonstrated for A Morning Without Childcare which urged the state to contribute $700 million to the childcare industry Connecticut loses $1.5 billion from its economy annually due to insufficient childcare for infants and toddlers. Investing in childcare is expected to bring a 7 to 13% return on the investment, the 2023 OEC Blue Ribbon Panel on Child Care states. Access to childcare also supports brain development in a crucial time in a child’s life and laying the groundwork for future learning OEC Deputy Commissioner Elena Trueworthy said About the childcare centerThe Westview Child Care Center is an extension of the Westview Health Care Center and about a quarter of the students are children of Westview staff The child care center was created to help retain staff and incentivize new hires The state wants to encourage more employers to open their own childcare centers or otherwise provide a childcare solution to its employees is already paying off with the jobs created for this facility WBDC Child Care Program Manager Linda Fecteau said Westview’s own reputation as a quality workplace has helped it avoid hiring difficulties for early childcare workers The Westview Child Care Center watches young children Various songs and activities teach sensory exposure as all the classrooms surround an indoor play space where the children line up before they’re given the okay to let loose and play including ones that help with education through play like the wooden play equipment that is a source of gross motor exercise More: State and city officials try to save Norwich preschool programs Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont organized a Blue Ribbon panel A five year plan was created to emphasize equity “We have now a road map of what steps we need to take to strengthen our system,” Trueworthy said The first two years will stabilize the system and providers and then grow the system and providers in the following three Connecticut also increased its funding of early childcare the state will have increased its early childcare funding by 90% compared to 2019 Part of the childcare issue is employing people. Though early childcare workers are paid professionals, they earn a lot. The average base salary for an early childcare worker in Connecticut is $17.78 per hour, as of March 11, according to Indeed Providers have tried raising wages and improving benefits but that means costs are passed on to parents The fact improving things costs more than what parents are willing to pay is “the crux of the issue,” Fecteau said The state has created employment pipelines and apprenticeship programs for early childhood education infant and toddler classes cost $340 weekly; pre-school is $275 weekly for full-time Westview employee families receive a 30% discount A full year of preschool care would cost $14,300, less than the Connecticut annual average of $15,591. That average is the fourth highest in the country, according to Tootris Connecticut offers subsidies for early childcare to enrolled facilities through CT Care 4 Kids though families will still have to pay some tuition the program currently has a backlog of enrollments to process It is expected that Care 4 Kids eligibility will increase with the proposed budget Westview Child Care Center is not yet a part of the CT Care 4 Kids program Other programs that Westview Child Care Center can participate in include the School Readiness Preschool Grant or childcare contracts from the Office of Early Childhood It’s still a businessWhile early childcare is about supporting children it still also needs to be a stable business There are times when programs lose track of the business side of things The Westview Child Care Center has a strong business model and sought out investments for building the facility Holzer has been a good leader and has a quality staff Westview may add another toddler classroom with one for four- and five-year-olds this year and one for school-aged children next year Voters in Killingly will have a chance to change the town's landscape and finances at a special town meeting on Tuesday Following a Town Council public hearing at 7 p.m. voters will be asked to approve the sale of 39.1 acres of town-owned vacant land at 125 Alexander Parkway to NE Edge along with two other adjacent parcels to build a three building campus for a hyperscale data center which would support some of the world's largest data companies The special town meeting will take place at 8 p.m and any registered voter as well as individuals who have owned property valued at least $1,000 on the town's Oct The 125 Alexander Parkway is one of three parcels required by NE Edge to build the data center The town-owned land currently has an assessed value of $106,890 The purchase and sale agreement lists the purchase price as $5,004,800 "This is a very beneficial development for the town," Town Manager Mary Calorio said "It activates a long-standing vacant property and will provide good paying jobs for the community.: The other two properties are located at 145 Alexander Parkway which is currently a gravel operation and 141 Louisa Viens Dr. The town currently collects $1,845.84 in taxes for the gravel operation and $5,262.84 for the vacant land $100,000 would immediately be placed in escrow for the town with a second $100,000 placed in escrow 365 days later followed by a $50,000 escrow deposit two years after the approval but allow NE Edge to do its due diligence in terms of verification that the property is suitable for the project the Host Fee Agreement is triggered and the town will receive as much as $165 million over the 30 life of the agreement The host fee agreementThe host fee agreement supersedes all of the town's rights to tax the property The first payment to the town will be made within 30 days of the issuance of the first building permit The first annual payment of $3.5 million is due 365 days after a temporary certificate of occupancy for the first building is issued and there will be an additional $2.5 million due to the town at the end of the fifth twentieth and twenty-fifth year of the agreement "This will be substantial revenue for the town which will assist the town for many years," Calorio said More: Killingly finally passed its town budget. Here's what the passage means for the town. More: Department heads the top earners in Killingly last year It is expected that the data center will provide between 80 and 100 high paying jobs While the buildings are under construction there are expected to be 1,500-2,000 construction jobs the building is expected to be quiet and not disturb residents Air conditioning units will be placed on the roof with sound barriers to mitigate noise The data center is proposed as a clean energy building and certification as such is included in the purchase and sale agreement The center is expected to be fully electric and Calorio said that there is plenty of capacity available on the grid to support the center The developer is required to pay all permitting fees without a discount and be in compliance with all state and federal regulations All costs to upgrade utilities will be done at the developer's expense In addition to the $5.5 million per year the town is expected to receive from the host fee agreement the upgrade to fiber connectivity will give area residents a better high-speed internet experience KILLINGLY — Though voters last month approved a nearly $28 million bond to allow the shifting of recreational programming to a former Killingly school residents are slated to keep using the old community center for at least the next couple of years “That building will still be used and occupied while we go through the design and construction process,” Town Manager Mary Calorio said on Tuesday “We’re looking at about three years which includes an 18-24 month construction phase before we totally move into the new space.” Voters on Nov. 28 approved a $27.8 million bond to cover repairs and refurbishments to the 79 Westfield Ave building which currently houses school district administrative staff and EASTCONN students Calorio said the project is now in the hands of the Permanent Building Commission which will be tasked with approving request for proposals needed to hire a drafting architect before the project goes out to bid shuttered bathrooms pose problemsIn the meantime small upgrades will likely be needed to keep the Broad Street community center running and comfortable for visitors More: Local Flavor: Six standout, locally-owned restaurants in Eastern Connecticut in 2021 is balancing spending at a building that will soon no longer be the town’s responsibility “There’s no sense making a huge investment but we need to have operable heat,” she said “We’ll do what we can on the cooling side but we might need to reduce summer programming.” Recreation Director Tracy Mason said plumbing is also an issue at the building “We’ve had to close down several bathrooms and this is the time of year when we have a lot more people coming inside,” she said we have one in the theater area and everything else is window units.” Using federal funds for repairsWhile the voter-approved bond is expected to cover $15 million worth of roof and brick work at Westfield Avenue and $13 million in other upgrades that would allow the recreation department move the incoming Town Council could opt to defray some of that cost with federal American Rescue Plan funding The town is in line to receive just less than $4 million in the COVID-19 relief money with $2.6 million of that available for the community center project Calorio said the council will discuss the possible use of that money in January Current council Chairman Jason Anderson - the incoming council will be sworn-in and elect officers later this month - said he's in favor of using the federal funds as long as it makes fiscal sense "If using this money decreases the interest on the bond payment and that savings is more than what would be earned in interest by just having it sit in the general fund I'm in favor of using it for the project," he said "I'd like to hear from (Calorio) to make sure there's no other pressing needs for that money What happens to the Broad Street center after the move is complete?“We’ve had different developers over the years express interest in that building typically for use as housing,” Calorio said “We plan to issue (request for proposals) to developers so they can formally present their plans and we’d eventually sell that building and get it back on the tax rolls.” More: To keep up with increased need in 39 Connecticut towns, a Bozrah commissary gets a remodel Calorio said no decision has been made on whether the town will market the building on its own or hire a realtor for the job “We’ve had success in marketing several properties in-house but it might be the case that a realtor could bring a wider scope of developers to the table,” she said Mason said the idea of moving out of the Broad Street site is somewhat bittersweet prospect for many of her staff members like moving out of a well-loved older house into a bigger residence “There’re a lot of sentimental feelings for this building,” she said we’re going to a facility that offers more parking bigger event spaces and places for outdoor programming but we treasure the time we’ve had here.” John Penney can be reached at jpenney@norwichbulletin.com or at (860) 857-6965 A tradition for making sure every child has a happy holiday The Tommy Toy Fund which provides gifts for kids 12 and under in need The Tommy Toy Fund started in response to a girl who wrote to The Bulletin saying her family was only able to afford the necessities that year and her little brother wouldn’t understand why Santa Claus didn’t give him any toys that year Readers brought so many toys to the newsroom extras were donated to other families in need the United Way of Southeastern Connecticut’s website for the Tommy Toy Fund states Now led by the United Way as an internal program it’s exciting to see the Tommy Toy Fund reach this milestone and is a testament to the generosity of eastern Connecticut Vice President of Community Impact Scott Umbel said and we want to cherish that for the next 50 years,” he said No family wants to go a holiday season without a gift for their children “If we can provide gifts so their electricity stays on or they can put food on their table How to register and get toysIf you need toys from the Toy Fund, you must register with a partner organization by Friday to guarantee toys. The full list with phone numbers is listed on the Toy Fund’s webpage but some organizations include Childworks Preschool and the Hispanic Alliance in New London over 4,000 children have been registered to receive toys there won’t be many toys to give to anyone who didn’t register and 2123 Killingly Commons Drive in Killingly How to donateMonetary donations can be given on the website The Norwich Police have a toy drive at the Norwich Walmart from 4 p.m Attendees to the Greater Norwich Area Chamber of Commerce’s Business After Hours event can also donate toys GNACC will also collect donations during the First Friday Meet and Greet from 8 a.m at the Water Street Lofts in downtown Norwich Also on Friday is the Tommy Toy Fund Fun Run, which starts at Billy Wilson's Ageing Still on Broadway in Norwich at 7 p.m., sponsored by the Mohegan Striders running club Kurt’s 4th Annual Toy Drive will be at Outer Light Brewing Company in Groton from noon to 6 p.m and a touch-a-truck sponsored by the Groton Fire Department Donations can also be dropped off at the distribution sites on Monday and Tuesday How to volunteerThe distribution site needs volunteers to set up or 12-17 with parent or guardian supervision The volunteers must be able to lift 15 pounds Volunteers can pick which role and shift they’d like More information is available on the Toy Fund website People throughout the country will celebrate the total solar eclipse on Monday the moon will pass between the sun and the earth the eclipse will pass over Mexico and Canada States in the path of the eclipse are Texas This will be the last total solar eclipse visible in the U.S A partial solar eclipse will be visible in Norwich beginning at 2:14 p.m the moon will become visible over the sun’s disk Here’s how people in Connecticut will celebrate this rare occurrence From March 1 through April 30, the Killingly Public Library will hold its Discover the Solar Eclipse reading challenge. Participants can earn badges for reading books. The more participants read and engage in activities, the more badges they can unlock. Those interested can register on the Killingly Public Library’s website or through the Beanstack app Come and learn all about the solar eclipse and participate in activities with CT State Parks Goodwin-Niering Center for the Environment and Camp Harkness staff and volunteers This event will take place from 1 to 4:45 p.m To allow access to both parks and the beach the program will take place at Camp Harkness Harkness Memorial State Park and Waterford Beach Participants should look for signs directing them to the event Solar telescopes as well as eclipse viewing glasses (while supplies last) will be available at the event Luigies Pizza and Jumping Cow Ice Cream will be available to purchase Guests can also visit the job fair while at the event Connecticut Science Center, 250 Columbus Blvd., Hartford The Connecticut Science Center in Hartford will host eclipse activities throughout the day on April 8 as well as interactive exhibits and activities There will also be a livestream of the total solar eclipse in the theater at the science center More: When is the 2024 total solar eclipse? Your guide to glasses, forecast, where to watch. A viewing party for the partial solar eclipse will take place at Yale University’s Leitner Family Observatory and Planetarium A limited supply of eclipse glasses will be given out at the event so guests should bring their own just in case The Durham Public Library will host two events that pertain to the solar eclipse on April 8 guests will learn how to safely view the upcoming solar eclipse during “The Eclipse and the Spring Sky” event Every attendee will receive a pair of glasses to view the eclipse on April 8 On April 8, the library will host an eclipse viewing party, complete with interactive activities as well as arts and crafts. To register for both events, visit the Durham Public Library’s website Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Norwich Bulletin subscription. Here are our subscription plans Like school boards across the nation in recent months, the Killingly body has been at the center of roiling discussions on topics that touch on social and political issues as much as those traditionally associated with education In February, members opted to fully suspend mandatory face-mask wearing in schools going beyond an initial recommendation by the superintendent to only suspend the policy pushed forward a motion to curtail public comment a proposal that’s been since shelved rejected a plan to bring free mental health services to the high school – a controversial move that later became the subject of a formal complaint and ongoing investigation by the state Board of Education State investigation: Here's why some say the fate of Killingly school board investigation hinges on next steps The board became the focus of state and national attention in 2019 after members voted to get rid of the Killingly High School Native American “Redmen” moniker a nickname considered by opponents of the mascot – and several local tribes - as offensive That vote triggered an outcry by logo supporters with several Republicans subsequently running for – and winning - board seats on promises to overturn the decision the new board voted to restore the mascot by a 5-4 vote Killingly school mascot: Native American mascot decision will cost Killingly tens of thousands of dollars opted not to run for reelection after the mascot vote “It had become too toxic,” she said “For much of my time on the board – before the mascot issue – all of us could respectively disagree and I could still go and have coffee or dinner with someone who voted differently than I did It was reasonable and there weren’t these huge chasms of disagreement.” She said even though the board for years stood at a 5-4 balance favoring Republicans even complicated ones like full-day kindergarten and lunch balance forgiveness passed with some form of bi-partisan support “That changed after the 2019 election,” she said “There was no more debate on the merits of an issue It felt vile to me personally and I felt targeted because of my party affiliation and because I was a woman.” Killingly's image: Killingly schools won't use a PR firm. Here's how the district may self-promote alone. bringing with it heated discussions on school-based mask mandates vaccination plans and other health-based issues heavily freighted with the kind of political rhetoric typically not seen at the local government level through the same kind of Republican-Democrat split vote that now commonly marks such discussions rejected a proposal to allow a voluntary COVID-19 vaccination clinic on school grounds we’re not going to hand out condoms and birth control at Killingly High School are we?” Republican board member Jason Muscara said before the Nov then we might as well have a Bible clinic and hand out Bibles.” three chairmenThe board’s leadership has undergone several abrupt changes with three individuals named to the post within a two-year period Craig Hanford resigned in April 2020 and his successor Both Republicans cited work and travel issues as reasons for their departures a Republican appointed to fill a board vacancy in February 2020 and later elected to a full term last year was tapped to fill the open chairman slot in December She would resign in April, just months into her tenure as chairwoman ARPA funds: Killingly has $1.8M worth of pandemic money to spend. Who decides where it goes? Joly was a polarizing figure and her leadership style was criticized by local Democrats many still feeling the sting of the 2019 election during one of her first meetings as chairwoman Joly recommended changing the length of public comments during board meetings That proposal came after 45 minutes of resident comment on mask mandates - a turnout Joly applauded She noted while board meetings are held before the public they were not “public meetings for the public to discuss various issues.” “There’s no provision in the law for the board to listen to the public or read letters submitted to the board – it’s a courtesy that we extend,” she said noting the night’s meeting was likely to go past 11 p.m “Our board meetings should not be extended past two hours A lot of us have jobs – I get up at 5 a.m.” Joly recommended reducing public comment from five minutes per speaker to three She proposed allowing a total of 21 minutes of public commenting during each meeting as opposed to the 20 minutes per subject laid out in board by-laws Killingly public library: Killingly joins the national trend and eliminates library late fees. What else changed? But Joly’s recent departure from the board Superintendent Robert Angeli on April 13 said the district’s lawyers were still reviewing the proposal’s language The board voted to send the motion back to a policy subcommittee for further “revamping re-wording and reconsideration.” Muscara reiterated his opposition to the proposal “I support everyone’s right to call me an (expletive),” he said In 2021, Angeli began talking with representatives of the Generations Family Health Center about bringing a school-based health center The state Department of Health licenses dozens of such centers throughout Connecticut which would offer various mental and behavior health services to students at no cost to the district was suggested as the best way to deal with what proponents called a mental health crisis among students who responded to a November survey by the non-profit SERAC group 28.2% said they had thoughts of hurting themselves and 14.7% admitted to having a suicide plan Killingly Central School: New Orleans, LA, or Killingly, CT? Mardi Gras parade held at Killingly Central School. Supporters of the center held rallies in town and spoke in favor of the proposal before the board “How do you know they were honest responses?” she said as audible gasps could be heard in the town hall meeting space The board ultimately rejected the proposal 6-3 with Democrat Lydia Rivera Abrams voting with the Republican majority and Republican Kelly Martin joining two Democrats in supporting the plan a 17-year-old Killingly High School senior said she began hearing of the SBHC proposal months ago “I thought it would be a definite asset to the school something that we could have used here years ago in 2017,” referencing the year when two district students and an administrator died “I’d like to say I was shocked when it wasn’t approved Potholes: After decades of underfunding, Killingly may double road repair money. Where would it go? The vote led to a group of parents and residents filing a complaint with the state Board of Education accusing the board of neglecting its mandated duty to “fulfill the educational interests of the State of Connecticut by failing to provide the minimum services and supports necessary to deal with the social emotional and mental health needs of the students at Killingly High School.” The state during the week of April 5 deemed the complaint “substantial” and opened an investigation into the board’s actions Joly abruptly resigned from the board on April 8 and Norm Ferron was elected as new board chairman Killingly baseball: After slow season start for Killingly baseball, are the 2021 ECC champions back? Residents also successfully petitioned the board to hold a public hearing for members to state why exactly they voted against the SBHC That hearing could be held as early as this week 'Mob' accusations and a police presenceIn a letter to the editor published in the April 1 edition of the Killingly Villager Joly accused local Democrats of “telling lies about me” and waging a misinformation and intimidation campaign that had its roots in political sour grapes “You should be ashamed of yourselves for the lies printed in that fake petition,” she wrote “You all might recall that the majority of people in Killingly voted for the candidates they wanted to represent them back in November rather like Hillary Clinton did when she lost the election.” who did not return a request for comment on this story also expressed concerns about her safety in the letter Tracy Mason: Killingly's longtime recreation director leaves at the end of March. Here's her legacy. I feel unsafe when an angry mob of over 30 people is gathered outside the Town Hall and they are all screaming at me Town Manager Mary Calorio said Joly contacted her soon after the SBHC vote and requested a police presence at meetings “until further notice.” She said a constable was assigned to cover two meetings at the standard overtime shift rate of approximately $60 an hour Calorio said she reached out to Ferron after Joly’s resignation and was initially informed police were no longer needed at future meetings “He later did request an officer be present for the board’s April 27 meeting but just for that meeting,” Calorio said Benny's in CT: Last empty Benny's in region purchased: What's moving in? Why was it hard to find a buyer? The board at that meeting is expected to revisit the high school health center option with several members who voted against the initial proposal stating they’re now willing to reconsider the issue if certain compromises – including a shorter contract length and assurances of parental consent – are folded in the parent of a Killingly student and a former Democratic state representative has been one of the most vocal advocates for a school-based health center She decried what she called the “slow methodical descent” of the town’s public education system under the board’s recent oversight Rosati Randall said she suspects the change in board tone can be traced to the 2016 presidential election in which President Donald Trump defeated Democratic challenger Hillary Clinton “That led to people who’d only voted in top-of-the-ticket to come out for mid-ticket “I think the hostile extremism that came out of all that put pressure on traditional Republicans who were uncomfortable with that ideology So all you had left was the extremists.” Medical care: Federal funding allows United Services to add primary care offerings in Killingly, Mansfield director of account services for the Southington-based Rebel Interactive group, was invited to make a presentation to the board as part of its discussion on whether to hire a public relations firm to represent the district The conversation touched on the mascot controversy Several board members pushed back on the notion that the district needed outside help and later rejected the hiring proposal Shimer at one point in the discussion reiterated his core argument the Killingly 10-4b complaint is finally resolved A resolution agreement dated July 17 was signed by Killingly Board of Education Chair Susan Lannon State Commissioner of Education Charlene Russell-Tucker and Attorney Andrew Feinstein who represented the concerned parents and residents of Killingly the agreement spells out the Killingly Board of Education’s commitment to student mental health services which includes hiring more mental health professionals and the Connecticut State Department of Education’s support for mental health services in the district This agreement solidifies that the state cares about student mental health as a part of education Connecticut Board of Education Vice Chair Erin Benham said education is looked at as test scores,” she said “The whole child is what’s so important; it is a priority of our board.” Ned Lamont mirrored this sentiment in a press release from the Connecticut State Board of Education "This is a significant victory for the students of Killingly," he said This agreement plays a part in destigmatizing mental health needs who was a constant supporter of student mental health with the Killingly Board of Education Benham also told Lannon she wants to rebuild the relationship between the Killingly board and the state “The Connecticut Department of Education is a marvelous support system for any district so to have that as a support system is vital,” she said Kristine Cicchetti and Christine Rosati Randall did not expect the process to take so long and said it should have been a simple board decision to approve “(The complaint) was meant to be a validation that we were saying was true,” Cicchetti said students had to make do with what they had venting to their peers while on bathroom breaks "That’s not the right thing,” Rosati Randall said Even when a family decided to get mental health services for their children they might still need to travel an hour or more for services as Killingly is deemed a mental healthcare desert The proximity to care was a big part of what the parents were fighting for The student mental health center was first voted down in January 2022 argued for parental rights and notification in its opposition Rosati Randal said it contradicted what students The parents found their “treasure” in Feinstein The process was “an eye-opener” for the town With many new members elected to the board last November and the board changed attorneys to resolve the 10-4b complaint Cicchetti and Rosati Randal praised Lannon for her commitment to the students and what she put up with from the former board Despite the over two-year battle being rough on the students it also taught them to stand up for themselves “It gave them the courage to speak out publicly,” Rosati Randall added Community Health Resources (CHR) offers services at Killingly Intermediate and Killingly High schools. The relationship between the CHR and the schools is cooperative and families are informed about services, Service Director Caitlyn Ogilvie said in June Rosati Randall and Benham hope the topic of student mental health services doesn’t get politicized again like it did in Killingly The 10-4b complaint has set a precedent in the event student mental health care becomes politicized in other districts There’s also evidence for the success of school-based mental health centers a 10-4b complaint was filed with the state Board of Education by parents after the Killingly Board of Education rejected grant funding for Generations Family Health to start a school-based mental health center Hearings have been held since November 2023 The Killingly BOE preferred Community Health Center (CHC) due to better online reviews and a parental opt-in requirement Community Health Resources filled the same requirements after CHC dropped out then-Vice Chair Kelly Martin said at the first hearing Superintendent Susan Nash-Dietzel testified that the district provides for student mental health needs including programs preventing bullying and absenteeism 2024 at 10:00 am ET.css-79elbk{position:relative;}A warehouse that serves as a hub to Walgreens stores in Connecticut is on the corporate chopping block CT — More than 300 Connecticut jobs are being lost in a consolidation move on the part of Walgreens which is slated to close its Killingly distribution center Walgreens officials said this week the job elimination tally in Connecticut totals 322 bringing the total number of jobs lost to more than 600 "We are focused on aligning our operational structure to best serve our patients and customers," Walgreens said in an official statement "This includes an evaluation of our distribution center operations in order to streamline capacities to best support our stores we've made the difficult decision to close our distribution centers in Dayville resulting in the elimination of approximately 646 total roles We are grateful for the many contributions our team members at these facilities have made and we are committed to supporting them during this transition." The eastern Connecticut warehouse is located at 500 Forbes Road in the Dayville section of Killingly See also: Hospital Announces Layoffs: Reports Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts. School is starting soon and even if you don’t have children in the schools you’re going to want to drive carefully in school zones the Office of the State Traffic Administration is allowed to designate any part of a state highway next to or close to school property as a school zone School zones are typically marked with signs A person who fails to comply with speed limit postings or violates the law within a school zone faces fines double the amount ordinarily issued for the same violation outside of a school zone Norwich Police Chief Pat Daley said his department will patrol school zones in the city early this upcoming school year to enforce compliance with state law “We will have officers by schools,” Daley said “We will make sure people aren’t passing school buses.” Here’s a list of when school starts for schools in your community Norwich Public Schools The first day of school for students in the Norwich Public Schools is Thursday Norwich Free Academy School starts Wednesday Plainfield Public Schools The first day of school for students is Thursday The Town of Killingly’s grand list increased by more than 26 percent from 2022 to 2023 The 2023 net grand list totaled $2,169,884,639 up from the 2022 net grand list total of $1,717,065,355 Real estate increased substantially from the 2022 to 2023 grand lists Its valuation increased from $1,335,847,519 to $1,793,794,376 Personal property and motor vehicle values both decreased from the 2022 to the 2023 grand list Personal property was valued at $294,333,228 in the 2022 grand list and at $293,201,568 in the 2023 grand list Motor vehicle valuation fell from $176,510,690 in the 2022 grand list to $169,698,823 in the 2023 grand list as those numbers did not include the valuation of the Lake Road Generating Power Plant which had a net assessed value of $280,000,000 for the 2022 grand list the plant paid in accordance to a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreement The agreement expired and the town had to negotiate with the company on a new long-term agreement While under the PILOT the plant value was added to the grand list and then exempted off the list "Since the PILOT has expired the exemption is no longer applicable and therefore the grand list reflects the appraised value of the plant," Killingly Town Manager Mary Calorio said in an email in March 2023 "It wouldn't be appropriate to just compare last year's grand list to this year's grand list due to this change." Lake Road Generating Company LLC $238,314,683 assessed value This is the power plant on Lake Road owned by Dynegy Energy While it is listed as Connecticut Light and Power Eversource Energy owns utilities assets in the town there are other Connecticut Light and Power related listings under different names Motor vehicles are listed as Connecticut Light and Power Company and $3,248,940 more in personal property listed as Connecticut Light and Power Company Co Gen-L Dynegy Resources II LLC (owner of Lake Road Generating Company LLC) $41,702,588 assessed value This company owns the currently standing power plant in Killingly The Pepsico-owned company known for numerous chip brands The company owns three properties in Killingly at 107 Atta Crossing 1886 Upper Maple Street and 628 Wildwood Way The Atta Crossing location is a garage with a 16,000 square foot gross living area The buildings at Upper Maple Street include the plant itself The nine buildings have a total gross area of 454,940 square feet This company owns multiple commercial properties at or around the Killingly Commons They include 581 and 592 Hartford Pike and 1049 and 1150 Killingly Commons Drive The total square foot gross living area for these 10 buildings is 355,752 The company also owns land at 624 Hartford Pike and 66 Railroad Avenue Rim Properties 1 LLC $14,031,170, all real estate. This company owns the Walgreens distribution center located at 500 Forbes Road in Dayville. The distribution center is set to close on May 17 The Connecticut Water Company is a public water utility that serves more than 107,000 customers in 60 Connecticut towns The company also provides wastewater services to 3,000 customers in the town of Southbury The building on 155 Tracy Road was a Staples Distribution Center with a 307,955 square foot gross living area This company owns land around Alexander’s Lake Rim Properties 1 LLC and Alexander's Lake Conservation & Rentals LLC were among the top 10 taxpayers in 2023 Alexander's Lake Conservation & Rentals LLC ranked 13th among the top taxpayers in the town Rim Properties 1 LLC was not among the top taxpayers in Killingly prior to their purchase of the Walgreens distribution center in April 2023 Rim Properties 1 LLC purchased the distribution center from PJC Realty Co who was the town's seventh-highest taxpayer in 2022 Target Corporation was the town's 10th-highest taxpayer in 2022 and paid $8.262 million in real estate taxes on the Target store located at 2177 Killingly Commons Drive The 2024-2025 girls basketball season is underway for Norwich Free Academy The goal and mantra for every Connecticut team is “Run to the Sun.” This year’s state finals take place March 15-16 at Mohegan Sun Arena Griswold’s Bill Hanley is in his third rebuilding season with the Wolverines Griswold should continue to improve behind some solid guard play this season has added Panther alumni Brett Weldy (Class of 2020) and Chloe Lapierre (Class of 2020) to his staff The Panthers lost Bulletin Player of the Year Morgan Yonush and Maddie Nordstrom to graduation Kevin Plasse has returned to the Quiet Corner from Virginia and begins his first season at Killingly who replaces one of his former junior high and AAU players will rely on one of the top centers in the ECC in senior Ariahna Headen And Norwich Tech’s Pam Pinch hopes to continue the Warriors recent success in girls athletics Pinch helped guide the Warriors’ softball team to the CTC tournament championship last spring Norwich Tech’s girls volleyball team and cross country team won league titles this past fall while the Warriors girls soccer team reached the CTC tournament final Here are the Norwich Bulletin’s girls basketball players to watch in 2024 Center: Jordyn Bay-kent (Norwich Free Academy More: Killingly eliminated by North Haven in Class MM opener KILLINGLY - With less than a month until residents vote on a multimillion-dollar project aimed at shifting operations of Killingly’s parks and recreation department to a former school officials have inked an agreement laying out the proposed division of cost-sharing and other responsibilities at the facility The money is slated to be used to refurbish and upgrade portions of the former high school as well as pay for the recreation department to move its staff and programming to the site from the dilapidated community center on Broad Street Westfield currently houses school district administrative offices and students from nonprofit regional educational service center EASTCONN Town Manager Mary Calorio said the school board in December 2019 approved a similar memorandum though the document became moot after an earlier call to move recreation to the facility fizzled More: New London County's COVID cases fall 11.3%; Connecticut cases up 5.9% The board re-evaluated an updated version of the memorandum on Sept the areas of responsibility in that building concerning utility costs cleaning and general co-use based on square footage,” Calorio said “This is a fair and just division of cost and maintenance should the capital project proceed.” What: Information forums on Killingly Community Center project to 8 p.m.,Thursday at the Killingly Community Center's theater Access: Wednesday's forum will be broadcast on the town's Facebook Live page at https://www.facebook.com/KillinglyTM the school board retains the use and control of many of the same areas it already occupies and uses including student and administrative spaces theater and some currently vacant classrooms Calorio said she expects the town’s share of heating and cooling costs at the school to line up closely with those at the community center “We pay about $60,000 a year to heat and cool the center,” she said “But because part of the proposed work includes new windows and electrical efficiency upgrades even though recreation would be operating in a larger overall space.” Recreation Director Tracy Mason said she couldn't "even begin to guess" how much of the pumped-in hot or cool air actually stays inside the drafty community center but it all runs in zones here,” she said “There’s been times when my office heat is off and I can still hear it working to warm other rooms that are freezing.” drapes and even blankets and towels to trap warm and cold air inside the facility “The only space that has a real air-conditioner is near the theater,” Mason said “We use window units for everything else.” Municipal custodians are expected to have more to do “The theater at Broad Street seats about 200 while the school’s theater can hold 800,” Calorio said “The current cafeteria can hold approximately 50 people while the Westfield one can accommodate 300 individuals.” would maintain Westfield athletic fields – the board recently transferred ownership of the tennis courts to the town – and municipal workers would plow parking lots and maintain sidewalks Mason said Westfield boasts soccer and baseball/softball fields used by local youth sports teams, as well as outdoor areas that at times double as recess spaces for nearby elementary school students and those from EASTCONN More: Biden rededicates research center at UConn to man who prosecuted Nazi Party officials "Having those fields opens up a lot of options for us when they're not in use by students," she said "Maybe its a nice night and we want to have a bootcamp class outside or we look at shifting one of programs from Owen Bell Park to the school." The town this week will host two public information forums on the project The council will hold a public hearing and town meeting on the project on Nov The town meeting is slated to be adjourned to a Nov 16 machine vote at the Killingly Public Library The Walgreens distribution center located at 500 Forbes Road in Dayville is set to close May 17 causing hundreds of people to lose their jobs In a notice filed with the Connecticut Department of Labor March 14 Walgreens said 322 employees will be laid off due to the closure The layoffs are set to begin on or about May 17 “As Walgreens continues to work on solutions to help business momentum and improve the efficiency of our operations we have looked closely at our distribution center network streamlining capacities wherever possible to best support our stores,” David Metz senior director of employment law at Walgreens said in the notice filed with the state department of labor “After a careful review of our DC operations we have made the difficult decision to close our Dayville Connecticut distribution center located at 500 Forbes Road Metz said in the notice that the layoffs will be permanent and involve the entire distribution center He added that Walgreens planned to provide affected employees a 60-day notice of their separation effective March 14 All affected employees will remain employed and receive their full compensation and benefits for the entire 60-day period or until they resign The Bulletin attempted to talk to employees about the site's closure next month Security would not allow the paper to speak to the employees or take any photographs of the distribution center the Walgreens distribution center in Orlando 324 employees will be laid off due to the closure of the Orlando distribution center Stores serviced by Dayville will be serviced by the Walgreens distribution centers in Hartford In the notice filed with the state department of labor Metz said Walgreens planned to help the affected workers at the Dayville distribution center find new jobs “We expect these reductions in force to be permanent and we will provide all affected employees with the opportunity to participate in on-site career fairs and/or outplacement services to assist with their transition to other employment,” Metz said Killingly Town Manager Mary Calorio said she is disappointed to see the Dayville distribution center close “Clearly this is a business that’s going to be leaving our area,” she said they’ve already engaged in placing their employees with new employment elsewhere.” Killingly Energy Center is a 650MW natural gas-fired combined-cycle plant being developed in Killingly The project will involve a private capital investment of $700m NTE will also own and operate the plant upon completion The plant will have a capacity to power 500,000 homes and address the demand for expanding the energy base in the state of Connecticut and the region It will be a cost-effective energy generation facility with measures for reduced environmental impact Connecticut Siting Council approved the NTE’s Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need in June 2019 and Sierra Club approached the council to reconsider the approval and later challenged the decision in a court of law the Connecticut State Superior Court quashed the appeal paving the way for the project to go ahead The construction activities for the project are scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2020 and the plant is expected to begin operations in 2022 The power plant project will generate 450 jobs during the construction period and up to 25 jobs during its operations The power generation facility will be located on a 28.3ha area at 180/189 Lake Road in Killingly Town The plant will be located in an industrial area in the northern part of Killingly The site is bounded by Interstate 395 and Alexander Lake Lake Road and the Hartford Providence Turnpike The area of the site is separated from the residential areas by the Killingly Industrial Park and I-395 The Killingly town is connected to natural gas and electric transmission network The Killingly Energy Center will incorporate a single combustion turbine generator (CTG) in a 1x1x1 configuration with a steam turbine and a heat recovery steam generator The plant will use natural gas as the primary fuel with ultra-low sulphur diesel (ULSD) as a back-up fuel It will receive natural gas via the Algonquin natural gas pipeline which will be delivered through an upgraded Yankee Gas lateral The facility will utilise Mitsubishi M501JAC gas turbine with DLN combustors duct burners and heat recovery steam generator The turbine will improve KEC’s emissions profile and decrease ambient air impact concentrations compared to the previously proposed Siemens SGT6-8000H CTG The Killingly energy centre will be connected to the existing Eversource 345kV electric transmission line located adjacent to the site Water will be supplied from the Connecticut Water Company (CWC) under an existing contract and wastewater will be discharged via interconnections to the existing Killingly wastewater treatment plant The Mitsubishi M501JAC is an advanced high-capacity gas turbine for 60Hz power generation It will deliver a combined-cycle efficiency of more than 64% and a rated speed of 3,600rpm The Killingly plant will use the Mitsubishi turbine and a TC2F steam turbine in a multi-shaft configuration It will reduce the amount of fuel consumed by the duct burners The M501JAC turbine uses air cooling for combustors instead of steam cooling and operates at a turbine inlet temperature of 1,600°C It ensures high operability and short start-up time The turbine’s combustor has an improved fuel nozzle which helps to produce a homogeneous mixture of fuel and air Its compressor incorporates advanced three-dimensional design techniques for better performance with reduced shock loss in the initial stages and frictional loss in the intermediate and final stages Killingly facility’s Environmental Justice Plan was developed in accordance with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP)’s Environmental Justice Policy The plant is expected to support Connecticut’s commitment to the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2008 NTE aims to reduce greenhouse gas emission levels at the plant by a minimum of 80% by 2050 It will help displace less efficient and older coal and oil-fired facilities with cleaner power generation units The facility is expected to be among the cleanest and most efficient natural gas power generation plants in the North America region The company made a pledge to either retire the plant in 2050 or operate it with zero net greenhouse gas emissions It will also consume less water compared to traditional wet-cooled facilities procurement and construction (EPC) services contract with NTE Connecticut to build the power plant in March 2020 Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Americas (MHPS) was contracted to provide the power train while Tetra Tech prepared an environmental overview report for the project Give your business an edge with our leading industry insights View all newsletters from across the GlobalData Media network For the first time in decades – if ever – the Killingly Board of Education has formally reprimanded one of its own But the school board’s majority decision on Wednesday to censure Democrat Susan Lannon - while dramatic - carries no sanctions “The bi-partisan vote was 7-1 in favor,” he said in a Thursday email members cannot be removed or suspended by a board vote.” Under the board’s bylaws a two-thirds majority vote is required to censure or reprimand a member Jennifer Hegedus and Kyle Napierata - along with Democrat Lydia Rivera Abrams - voted for the admonishment measure with Democrat Chris Viens voting against though before that restriction was formally noted her name was called as part of the motion’s roll-call Calls by The Bulletin to former board members who served in the past 20 years said no censure votes were made during their terms of office and none recalled hearing of any such formal rebuke measures coming before past boards Killingly student mental healthKillingly school health center candidate withdraws; BOE member accused of sabotage The censure motion was introduced by Martin who accused Lannon of sabotaging a proposal by Community Health Center to operate a student mental and behavioral health center in the district’s high school Martin said CHCI withdrew its proposal after Lannon reached out to them independently with questions about their planned operations and later publicized her concerns with The Bulletin and other media organizations Martin also accused Lannon of working with Generations Family Health Care the company whose health center plan was previously rejected by the board Mental, behavioral health in CT schoolsState IDs Killingly as high-need district for student mental, behavioral health. Now what? Martin said CHCI officials informed her they withdrew their proposal as they felt they would not be “welcomed with open arms” and could possibly be entering “violative territory” if they agreed to run the center without a base-line level of community trust The Bulletin has requested any documents related to CHCI's withdrawal from Superintendent Robert Angeli under the state Freedom of Information Act Angeli on Thursday said his office was in the process of identifying the requested correspondence Minutes after the board voted in favor of censure who represents the Concerned Residents/Parents of Killingly group – which successfully petitioned the state to investigate the board – fired off an email statement in support of Lannon Feinstein said six board members – including all who voted to reprimand Lannon - voted against the Generations proposal in March in an effort to stave off a planned state Board of Education inquiry into their alleged inactions concerning how they’ve dealt with the mental health needs of students developed an “inferior proposal for a school-based health center with CHCI.” Killingly legal actionsExplained: Rapid-fire legal actions ahead of Killingly's student mental health inquiry He said it was the weeks of “increasing demands” from board members to modify a CHCI contract that led to the group’s withdrawal “While the CHCI school-based health center would have been better than the current situation it was never an adequate solution to the intense problem of mental health in Killingly schools.” Feinstein called Lannon’s censure a “transparent ploy” by the board to shift the blame from themselves “The citizens of Killingly will see through this and know who to hold responsible,” he wrote Wednesday’s board meeting played out with striking sets of role-reversals as members - including those who came out adamantly against a school-based health center months before - publicly lamented CHCI’s departure Martin and others called the CHCI plan – which unlike the Generations proposal required written parental permission before a student could avail themselves of services - an acceptable compromise that received support from state education officials CT state inquiryBlistering state report condemns Killingly BOE's response to student mental health crisis Lannon and others noted the CHCI plan required the district to pay a one-time up-front cost of $25,703 to establish the planned clinic The Generations plan carried no activation costs for the district In an email to Martin shared with The Bulletin Lannon also raised concerns about CHCI’s proposed staffing levels and time it would take for the group - 90 to 180 days – to begin operating at the high school Both Martin and Lannon briefly served together on a board subcommittee tasked with finding alternative options to the Generations proposal Martin resigned as head of that ad-hoc group after one meeting Lannon was removed from the group after it was reformed by Ferron last month John Penney can be reached at jpenney@norwichbulletin.com or at (860) 857-6965 The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Monday accepted a November termination filing by ISO-NE citing the likely failure of NTE Energy to achieve certain “critical path schedule milestones,” including commercial operations of the Killingly plant as laid out in a 2019 capacity supply obligation tariff developers of the planned 650-megawatt natural gas-fired plant slated for Lake Road in the Dayville section of town secured an obligation in ISO-NE’s 2019 forward capacity auction for the 2022-23 supply period That means it agreed to produce a certain amount of power at a specific cost that would be funneled into the larger New England power grid which operates the New England bulk energy power system and administers its wholesale electricity market contends NTE has not met the financial or operational benchmarks that would enable the plant to produce the promised power within the contracted timeframe More: Former race car driver opens cigar lounge in Uncasville with his wife NTE agreed to begin producing power in June 2022 but an automatic two-year extension moved that deadline to mid-2024. ISO-NE argued its monitoring of NTE’s progress found the developer won’t hit its “critical path schedule milestones” in time to meet that extended deadline. FERC commissioners wrote they agree with ISO-NE's characterization that NTE has made “virtually no progress” on the Killingly project since first awarded a capacity supply obligation More: 'We are not a racist town.' Conn.'s first Sikh city council member reacts to defaced signs “We do not agree with NTE that ISO-NE’s requested termination is premature or based on faulty assumptions,” the FERC statement read which went into effect on Tuesday, means NTE will be unable to take part in a Feb In its written rebuttal to ISO-NE’s filing request – which NTE described as “unripe" – the development company said it experienced three significant developmental delays: a challenge by incumbent generators; administrative challenges by environmental groups that resulted in a complaint to the state Supreme Court; and various COVID-19 issues More: Norwich got just over half the COVID-19 tests CT promised. Residents snatched them up. said the company is “very disappointed” with FERC’s decision “The Killingly Energy Center is important for grid reliability and we will continue to work to be the bridge for the region’s carbon-free future,” he wrote. the agency responsible for approving such projects in February 2019 approved NTE Energy's petition to refile for a certificate of environmental compatibility and public need a crucial document needed before construction could move forward More: Plainfield police again form special unit to solve major cases, relieving patrol officers The council rejected NTE's application in May 2017 without prejudice meaning although the company did not demonstrate a public need for a combined-cycle plant off Lake Road in Dayville developers were free to reapply in the future The council partly cited the failure of the company to qualify in that year's energy auction as a reason for the rejection It formally approved NTE's application for a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need in June 2019 No plant means millions in unrealized town revenueUnder a pair of 2018 Town Council-approved agreements the town of Killingly was in line for $5 million under a community environmental benefit agreement along with $120 million in projected tax revenue over the course of 20 years of operation Town Manager Mary Calorio said that projected revenue was never a sure thing “None of that money was appropriated for any projects since we knew everything was in a holding pattern until the plant was actually built and running,” she said “We’re not an affluent community and that money would have gone a long way to helping with certain capital and community projects but it’s not realistic or fiscally responsible to allocate money you don’t have in hand.” More: Rapper Mic Nickels remembers Norwich Free Academy days in recently-released memoir Town Council Chairman Jason Anderson called FERC’s decision a “huge blow” to the project “They didn’t have all their financing lined-up and for them to finish the project in time to meet a June 2024 deadline – with a 30-33 month construction period - meant they’d have to break ground today,” he said He said noting NTE’s inability to take part in this year’s energy auction would push any development off for several years More: Dayville resident and her brother turn old Moosup VFW into modern event, wedding venue “It they can’t bid again until the 2025-26 auction it makes it more difficult to finance if they don’t have power to sell until then,” Anderson said having that revenue coming into the town would be great but there was always the possibility it wouldn’t come through There was never any guarantee and we’d never look to spend money before we had it.” The project has drawn sharp criticism from some environmental groups and state lawmakers who in January 2020 bluntly signaled his opposition to the project More: Poppy and Rye owners retiring, business to become La Stella Pasta and Pastry “I don’t want to build Killingly,” he said at a Connecticut League of Conservation Voters summit “I'm not positive you're going to see Killingly built at all.” The largest public proponents of the plan have been union workers anticipating the hundreds of new construction jobs such a project would require The Bulletin is proud to present our 2024 Boys Soccer All Star Team This year’s team is led by Killingly senior John Fitzgibbons Killingly senior midfielder scored 17 goals and had five assists while leading Killingly to its best season in over a decade This season Killingly (10-7-3) created the most goals and posted the most shutouts (10) in 12 years Fitzgibbons helped Killingly reach the ECC tournament semifinals for the second straight year and qualify for the Class M state tournament Killingly has made it to the second round of the state tournament in two out of the past three years Killingly Killingly senior center midfielder scored two goals and dished out three assists He helped Killingly reach the ECC tournament semifinals for the second straight year and qualify for the Class M state tournament Basley was voted The Bulletin’s Preseason Player of the Year The Warriors senior center back spearheaded a defense that allowed the least amount of goals in the CTC Charter Oak division for the third consecutive year Bastien helped the Warriors qualify for the Class M state tournament KillinglyKillingly junior defender helped Killingly create the least amount of saves needed The Wildcats senior midfielder and captain scored five goals and dished out six assists PlainfieldThe Panthers senior midfielder scored seven goals and dished out eight assists The Wildcats senior midfielder was an ECC Scholar-Athlete award winner More: Plainfield's Heredia leads Bulletin Girls Soccer All-Star Team The Golden Eagles senior striker scored 35 goals and dished out seven assists He led the conference in scoring with 32 regular season goals and helped Ellis Tech qualify for the Class L state tournament The Panthers junior forward scored a team-high nine goals and dished out two assists LaRose was responsible for 25 percent of all the goals Plainfield scored this season The Golden Eagles senior center back scored two goals and dished out three assists He helped Ellis Tech qualify for the Class L state tournament Larose spearheaded a defense that allowed only 10 goals in league play including six shutouts and six games allowing just one goal KillinglyKillingly senior midfielder scored eight goals and dished out eight assists LeSage was selected Honorable Mention All-ECC Norwich TechThe Warriors senior striker led the team with 13 goals He helped the Warriors qualify for the Class M state tournament Killingly senior goalkeeper posted nine shutouts and finished with over 500 career saves More: Football Notebook: Killingly, Griswold/Wheeler roll to Thanksgiving wins The Warriors freshman forward scored 12 goals and dished out four assists Both were goal and assist records for a freshman at Norwich Tech KillinglyKillingly junior forward scored eight goals and had one assist The Wolverines junior goalkeeper made over 150 saves while averaging 12 saves per game The Panthers senior defender scored one goal and had two assists while anchoring Plainfield’s defense The Wildcats sophomore goalkeeper finished close to a school record with 86 saves and posted three shutouts Norwich Free AcademyThe Wildcats senior defender and captain was an ECC Sportsmanship award winner The Wolverines junior center midfielder scored nine goals and dished out four assists Weidner was selected Honorable Mention All-ECC The Killingly Central School Mardi Gras Parade Thursday had the look, feel and excitement of the annual carnival on Bourbon Street in New Orleans The big difference was that those marching were pre-kindergarten to first-grade students with their teachers and staff Chanting "We love to read" the school's 365 students marched in the parking lot to celebrate the 37,258 books the children read in March for National Reading Month "We had five weeks of reading for the month," Holly Bunning a reading specialist at the school who organized the event with other staff members "Each week if they met their reading goal they got a beaded necklace." The children wore colorful masks made in art class for the celebration The Broken Crust in Putnam: 'We opened up eight days before COVID-19 hit' "Each class was asked to come up with a theme and an author that they wanted to study," Bunning said "They will have a class banner to show what they focused on." The children marched around the school parking lot which was decorated with balloons and colorful ribbons They passed a judge's reviewing stand as lively music played Palm Sunday: Holy Week is almost upon us: Why does it start with Palm Sunday? awards were given to each class that included "Most Likely to Become a Book Worm," "Most Amazing Masks," "Most Colorful" and "Most Creative Book Cover" to name a few The grand marshal was principal Emily Caviggia First grader Kaleb Morin said he and others shouted "We love reading" while they walked in the parade CT jobs: As the Connecticut jobs picture brightens, some see hope for young workers. Here's why. Fellow first grader Marie Laroux said she read 20 books "My favorite book was 'The Ugly Duckling' because he thought he was ugly but turned .. WEST HARTFORD ― Veteran Bulletin reporter John Penney is part of a distinguished panel of Connecticut journalists who broke the state’s top stories in 2022 The event, “The Stories Behind the Big Stories of 2022,” is sponsored by the Connecticut Foundation for Open Government (CFOG) and will feature five reporters who will share how they landed their stories and the work involved in covering them Penney is being recognized for his work related to a proposed school-based mental health clinic in Killingly. The clinic was proposed to be located at the Killingly High School and would have operated at no cost to the town or school district and yet was voted down The event will take place on Thursday, Feb. 9 at 5 p.m. at the Elmwood Community Center in West Hartford. The discussion will be moderated by Leslie Mayes CFOG is a nonprofit organization founded in 1991 by citizens of Connecticut interested in promoting open government and the public’s right-to-know Read some of Penney's stories about Killingly School District and the mental health clinicCreate a “playbook” for the districtKillingly schools won't use a PR firm. Here's how the district may self-promote alone. Public protests:Killingly's school board reconsiders a health center it rejected in March. What changed? Killingly Board of Education:Here's why some say the fate of Killingly school board investigation hinges on next steps Killingly school board's troubling year:Resignations, complaints, and an investigation A push for a revote:Staring down a state investigation, Killingly school board rejects health center. Again. Justify its decision:Calls for Killingly school board members to defend their actions come from two directions 'A culture war:' Despite pleas, Killingly BOE refuses to explain health center 'no' votes Neither side shows signs of budging.In Killingly, mental health center discussion devolves into shouting match How things stood in September:How Killingly's school board plans to handle student mental health without a health center “Deliberate indifference”:Blistering state report condemns Killingly BOE's response to student mental health crisis What can the state board require?State to discuss Killingly school board complaint this week Killingly student mental health ignored:Conn. school authorities ordered inquiry into Killingly's school board. What happens now? 'Let’s discuss the actual lie'Killingly BOE chairman slams state investigation as biased, but to cooperate with inquiry Here's what happened in December:After months of controversy, Killingly schools to pilot mental, behavioral health program Behavior Health Pilot program:State IDs Killingly as high-need district for student mental, behavioral health. Now what? “Alternative” mental health options:After rejecting one school health center, Killingly looks at another Dec. 28. What to know Breaking it down & explaining it:Rapid-fire legal actions ahead of Killingly's student mental health inquiry Democrat Susan Lannon:Killingly BOE member censured, accused of sabotaging student health center plan Scapegoating or penalty for sabotage? What a censure from Killingly's school board means Dueling narratives emerge.Killingly BOE rivals issue statements to sway public sentiment. KILLINGLY — After declining last year to move forward with a plan to shift recreational programming to the town’s former high school the Town Council is expected this month to re-visit that option though such a project will now carry a substantially higher – about $10 million - price tag The council on Tuesday at Killingly High School will discuss setting public hearing special town meeting and machine-vote dates on a proposal to bond $27.8 million for improvements to the Westfield Avenue school complex including ones that would allow the recreation department to operate out of the facility The council in March 2020 declined to move forward with a $16 million bonding proposal that would essentially have accomplished the same aims at the new plan conditions at the Broad Street Community Center have continued to deteriorate “The bricks have gotten substantially worse since last year which has led to more water infiltration issues,” Town Manager Mary Calorio said on Friday “We have increased the scope of proposed repairs to include all windows to build a maintenance garage shed and add more air conditioning to Westfield but the main reason for the project cost increase is the delay in moving ahead.” Back to school: Face-to-face once again: Killingly welcomes back students to in-person learning Over a period of weeks beginning late last year, a hot-water heater failed and staff was confronted with a brief infestation of squirrels at the center issues that led to the facility’s closure for a time which allowed the town to use the space as a cooling center third-floor restrooms were shuttered after a failed pipe sent water raining down to lower levels Soon after the water heater and pest issues arose council members authorized an $18,000 cost analysis of their options The report updates a 2018 engineering study that offered three possible solutions to the recreation problem: Build a new community center for $27.2 million; renovate the current center “as new” for $21.2 million; or make upgrades to the Westfield facility for $16.1 million and move programming to that building voted against moving ahead with the work last year because the council at the same time was poised to approve millions in bonding for repairs to the Killingly Memorial School “I didn’t want to have to bond two huge projects at the same time,” he said “I was looking to get a year or so of a staggering between the two.” Anderson said both the community center and the school have both continued to deteriorate in the interim with brick issues at Westfield threatening to impact window integrity He said the big jump in the project’s costs can be partially attributed to the “sky-rocketing” cost of construction materials because of the pandemic High School football: Killingly poised for another playoff run “That’s something no one could have anticipated at the time,” he said “You also have the regular escalating costs of a project like this that happens every year But those buildings got worse in a hurry.” Calorio said the Westfield option is the only one on the table for discussion on Tuesday which is in 2023 construction cost numbers includes $14.6 million for roof and brick work as well as the $13 million for changes we’d need to do to use portions of the building for recreation,” Calorio said “But that plan would need to be approved by December before construction costs rise another $1.4 million.” The first floor of 79 Westfield Avenue is home to school district's administration staff including the superintendent’s office Classes for EASTCONN students are hosted on the second floor portions of the building would operate as “shared spaces.” The project calls for major heating electrical and handicap-accessible upgrades to cafeteria and theater areas while shifting the food and community store to other parts of the building and adding restrooms “There will also be several security upgrades since we’d have three different users – district staff students and members of the public – using the facility,” Calorio said “The idea would be to keep those users separated.” Fighting blight: Updated Killingly blight ordinance proposal aims for flexibility in dealing with unsightly properties The plan also calls for creating a new on-site parking area to accommodate more guests while also making it easier for voters – the building is a designated polling place – to cast their ballots “And there are athletic fields already on the property including tennis courts,” Calorio said Calorio said the council on Tuesday could set October dates for a public hearing and special town meeting and adjourn to an Oct 19 referendum. Alternatively, councilors could push such meetings and votes to November Where: Killingly High School. Meeting can also be viewed on the town's Facebook Live page at https://www.facebook.com/KillinglyTM/ town officials were under the impression the current community center building But Calorio said a new legal interpretation of the building’s deed refutes that earlier take on the issue “The deed states if the town uses it We’ve had a number of developers express interest in the building In an August letter to the council’s Fiscal Subcommittee said its always been her department’s mission to provide safe and comfortable spaces for community members to learn But a lack of upgrade and repair funding has made meeting those goals a challenge Mason said moving to Westfield would mean bigger classroom and activity spaces which she said could lead to more participants “The move to the Westfield facility would provide not only larger and more indoor space but fields and parking would be beneficial to the continued growth of the department and (a) potential boost in revenue viable and comfortable environment for the users and workers alike,” she said The lawyer representing a group of citizens who filed a complaint against the Killingly school board says a “looming catastrophe” is on the horizon in the district unless student mental health issues are addressed at the high school and failed to offer practical alternatives Six board members – Janice Joly (who’s since resigned), Norm Ferron along with Democrat Lydia Rivera Abrams – on March 16 voted against a proposal to allow Generations Family Health Center Inc. to operate a school-based health center at Killingly High School at no cost to the district Feinstein’s letter was sent less than two weeks after the board defended its actions though a complaint response that argued members were well within their statutory rights to reject the proposal A deeper look: Resignations, complaints, and an investigation: Killingly school board's troubling year said Feinstein's original April 5 complaint was a red herring “The complaint is not about the failure of a board of education to provide an integrated and comprehensive educational program designed to meet the needs of all students in a safe and nurturing learning environment,” the board’s Shipman & Goodwin LLP attorneys wrote it stems from a disagreement about a single decision of the Killingly Board of Education: whether or not the Board should provide space in its high school for Generations to provide private social work counseling services.” who represents the "Concerned Residents/Parents of Killingly Students" group countered that the availability of mental health services is the “crux” of complaint the state has deemed substantial enough to investigate CT jobs: Manufacturing companies struggle to fill jobs. What are they doing to entice workers? “The Killingly Board of Education has both through statements of members of the Board and through its inaction promoted the view that public education is limited to academic matters and that public schools have no business delving into the personal lives of children,” Feinstein wrote Feinstein writes the state has a choice: To dismiss the complaint and accept the board’s “truncated” definition of the state’s education interests or order the board to create a “comprehensive system” to address the social and emotional needs of students the state could order the Killingly board to undertake a remedial process aimed at rectifying the lack of compliance “Such a decision would not just impact Killingly but would send word out throughout the state of what adequate public education requires,” Feinstein’s response states Burgers, shakes, and seafood: 102 years and a Food Network feature: How Harry's Place in Colchester keeps succeeding After rejecting the school-based health center board members proposed several “alternative” options including hiring more staff and introducing peer mediation and anti-bullying programming Feinstein characterized the hiring proposal as an impractical solution given the district’s limited budget and its lack of success in filling existing employee vacancies “This issue is not that the board failed to choose the best possible option,” Feinstein wrote referring to the health center. “Rather when faced with a demonstrable crisis in mental health for its students the Board rejected a demonstrably workable solution for political reasons while going through a meaningless exercise of considering (alternatives).” a vocal proponent of the school-based health center plan, on Friday said the board has already submitted a rebuttal to Feinstein's own counter-response Jean Jacques murder trial: Norwich murder suspect 'adamant' police video was faked. He was talked out of testifying. "And I expect (Feinstein) will in turn file a response to the board's newest letter," she said "My hope is the state will make a decision on this sometime next month." State Board of Education officials could not immediately be reached for comment on its investigative timeline The original proposal for the health center forwarded by Superintendent Robert Angeli months ago called for Generations to offer a range of free mental and behavioral health services to high school students Proponents said such a service was crucial in addressing an uptick in mental health issues several residents again urged the board to revisit its rejection decision declined to allow public comment to extend past the allotted 20-minute limit on the SBHC topic A motion to add a discussion and possible action item on the proposal to the night's agenda also failed to garner enough support KILLINGLY — With issues continuing to mount at the Killingly Community Center the Town Council on Tuesday will discuss whether to contract with an engineering firm to get updated cost figures for moving the recreation department to the town’s former high school building The agenda item to pull $18,000 from a contingency account was added this week after officials learned a hot water heater in the Broad Street facility burst and squirrels had made their way into the building’s theater space Town Manager Mary Calorio said the new study is aimed at updating a 2019 rehab cost analysis for the Westfield Avenue building that currently houses the school district’s central offices and classes for EASTCONN students That previous cost break-down led to for bonding $16.1 million to address roof window and other long-standing issues at the former school while also paying for modifications to allow a portion of the building to be used for recreation programming as did one to include $100,000 in the 2020-21 budget for an engineering and evaluation study aimed at pinpointing what work would be needed to keep the Broad Street center’s doors open Calorio said to accommodate the public at the school bathrooms added and made handicap compliant and electrical systems upgraded “Part of this new study will also look at possible grant reimbursements from the state Office of School Construction,” she said “Those numbers will let us evaluate whether to pursue the grants or decide if the town would cover the costs on its own.” Calorio said there is a potential downside to accepting any state reimbursements “That could come with added upgrade requirements and a slower start time on any work,” she said we’d need to get an application in by June 30 and that wouldn’t get to the Legislature until Spring 2022.” Calorio said the proposed engineering firm could get the council fresh cost figures for construction work to the council by March go to https://www.killingly.org and click on the blue Facebook Live tab has been plagued by infrastructure and system issues for years problems that have accelerated in the last year some of the facility air and heating elements failed one of the building’s two hot water heaters died squirrels were spotted in the theater area after presumably making their way through holes in the building’s soffits That infestation led to the facility’s temporary closure to the public “We haven’t yet trapped any of the squirrels — none have even gone after the peanut butter laid out — which tells us they were likely coming in for the warmth.” Temporarily patches were placed over some exterior holes though that type of stop-gap work can’t be done everywhere “There’s a worry adding a lot of new materials to compromised ones would be detrimental,” Calorio said Recreation Director Tracy Mason said the facility is still on schedule to reopen on Monday KILLINGLY – The countdown to the end of the school year continued on Monday at the Killingly Central School with hundreds of falling cereal boxes Inside the Soap Street school’s gymnasium kindergarten and first-grade students sat on rows of bleachers and cross-legged on the floor in front of the dozens of upright cereal boxes their parents helped collect for donation to a local food pantry mascot-emblazoned pattern spelling out the school’s initials – KCS – in straight lines and curving spirals near where Principal Emily Caviggia stood and thanked her young charges for their collective work More: Killingly finds savings through transfer station changes, but those savings are tenuous “Thank you for being so kind,” Caviggia said to the group of face-masked children “Look at all these cereal boxes.” staff members sent the boxes tumbling into each other a domino effect completed without a hitch that drew a renewed eruption of cheers from the crowd Caviggia said the school began the breakfast food collection in March and eventually brought in roughly 400 boxes of cereal destined for the Friends of Assisi Food Pantry coffers She said the domino unveiling – uncooperative weather prompted a shift to a 15-minute indoor celebration - was inspired by a similar event conducted by a Midwestern school and seemed the right way to celebrate the last week of classes that marked the end of a challenging year “We’ve been open five days a week since August except for a couple of shut-downs,” Caviggia said “The students have been super resilient and the staff amazing.” More: New tax revenue and Cheetos coming out of Killingly Frito-Lay expansion project a 7-year-old first-grader who brought in two cereal offerings “I’m happy that the people who don’t have food will have some now,” he said Inside her officer right across from the gym executive secretary Jo-Ann Gallo teared up as the students made their way back to classrooms “This is the first time all year they’ve all been together in the same place at the same time,” she said Pantry director Jean Cyr said the imminent donation came at a “perfect time” for her agency granola bars - and definitely cereal,” she said “Even if they’re going to be out at camp parents can put cereal in baggies for their kids cereal was one of the things we specifically asked a local school to collect for us.” The Danielson-based food pantry remained open even during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic though many of the group’s older volunteers were unable to make their way to the Water Street facility “We didn’t see much of an uptick in clients but did see a re-arranging of the types of people coming in,” Cyr said “Some of our regular clients were afraid to come out Cyr said the pantry adjusted its service system to include a “take-out” window and pre-packaged meal boxes – filled with meat produce and cupboard staples - that could be adjusted to individual preferences “We’ve been so incredibly blessed by the generosity of the community,” Cyr said This is not the RTO Insider site you are looking for.Unless it is There was a problem resetting your password KILLINGLY - Construction workers were busy remodeling a Killingly Commons storefront Wednesday ahead of an Old Navy clothing store’s anticipated move into the long-vacant space is expected to open its doors to customers sometime this year likely in time for the holiday shopping season The store will operate out of the former Bed Bath & Beyond tenant space inside the Dayville shopping center requires some upgrades and refurbishments before it can be formally rechristened as an Old Navy store “It’s basically a matter of changing the interior layout with some minor exterior work – like storefront signage – but the size of the space isn’t changing,” she said “I think the same supply chain issues that have been affecting everyone have played a part in the remodeling process but I expect they’ll open before Christmas.” The company paid $7,235 in building permitting and sprinkler review fees to the town in June and its refurbishment plans were approved by the Planning & Zoning Commission The storefront is located on a side strip of the plaza anchored by Target and T.J Building schematics calls for an 11,974-square-foot sales area along with fitting rooms and stock and sales areas Improvement costs to the space are pegged at $435,000 according to a building permit renovation/addition document issued on June 9 Olympia SportsThe plaza still has two major vacancies left after the Dressbarn and Olympia Sports stores recently shuttered The Olympia Sports company also began closing its stores in 2019 after being bought out by another sporting goods retailer Calorio said Old Navy’s imminent move into town means more tax revenue for the town “The personal property taxes will increase and we’ll see a slight increase in real estate taxes,” she said Old Navy recently moved out of its Lisbon Landing location though Calorio said such a move isn’t a cause for concern “A company like this isn’t going to go to this level of investment in a brick-and-mortar store in Killingly if they didn’t do the market research and believed they had customer support here,” she said More: Killingly girls soccer extends unbeaten streak with 2-2 draw against Bacon Clair said the relatively long time it took to get a new tenant into the storefront shouldn’t be mistaken for a lack of interest in the site “Many of the stores in a plaza like Killingly’s have no-compete clauses in which an existing business doesn’t want another store selling similar products moving near them and competing for that same market share,” she said but would that be an issue with Staples?” Claire said many companies have recently relaxed such oppositions - especially in a post-pandemic retail world in which supply-chain and other issues have hurt sales “It’s less about turf and more about growing that retail pie,” she said KILLINGLY — Ahead of Valentine’s Day Superintendent Robert Angeli sent an email to school administrators laying out the district’s plan for safely celebrating the holiday which went out to the district’s three principals and its head of the town's pre-school program Angeli included links to three website articles he described as “some resources during COVID.” While two of the links — to the Connecticut Children’s and Kids Help Phone sites — offered kid-friendly celebration suggestions ranging from sending virtual valentines to making cookies the other sent browsers to a Healthline page with more adult content according to documents The Bulletin received under a Freedom of Information Act request "I had been told my principals might be planning to allow Valentine's Day celebrations in class and I consulted with our nurse supervisor about doing that during a pandemic," Angeli said on Monday "After we decided those kind of in-class celebrations weren't safe included some alternate suggestions on ways to celebrate." Angeli said he did a quick Google search on the subject of Valentine's Day amid a pandemic pulled three hyperlinked articles and sent them out More: Local superintendent salaries hover around $180,000 “6 Tips for a Lovely Valentine’s Day During COVID-19,” included recommendations on how couples could add sparks to their relationships with references to “wildest/hottest encounters,” couples showering and how to “take the stress out of sex.” "I perhaps grabbed the articles too quickly," Angeli said. Emily Caviggia of the Killingly Central School replied back to Angeli’s email hours after receiving it to state she had shared the links with her staff and noted the content of the Healthline article “Emily brought to my attention that the second link is not really applicable (to) classroom celebrations,” Angeli wrote “It came up in a search I did for safe school Valentine’s Day celebrations. Sorry for that.” Killingly High School Principal Elise Guari Intermediate School Principal Heather Taylor Memorial School Principal Tina Chahanovich and Sally Sherman director of the district’s Preschool and Family Resource Center The district’s head nurse and assistant superintendent were also included as receivers Angeli said his email was forwarded by two school leaders to staff though he said he was not aware of the links making it to the parent or student level. More: Killingly hires Lebanon superintendent to lead its schools Board of Education members met in executive session for more than an hour for “discussion and possible action on the superintendent’s performance.” The meeting was adjourned seconds after members emerged from the closed-door session without any public comment Board Chairman Doug Farrow did not immediately return calls for comment the former Lebanon superintendent who was hired to fill Killingly’s top district spot in November with an annual salary of $185,000 KILLINGLY – After more than 10 years of stuttering discussions concerning the future of the town’s community center and its role in providing recreational programming to residents voters in November will decide whether to shift the operations of the parks and recreation department to a former school The Town Council on Tuesday unanimously approved setting a Nov 9 public hearing and special town meeting – to be adjourned to a Nov 16 machine vote – on whether to bond up to $27.8 million to make improvements to the 79 Westfield Ave building currently occupied by school district administrative offices and EASTCONN students “This is not being rushed,” Council Chairman Jason Anderson said “This came before us two years ago and I don’t want to delay any longer It’s been kicked down the road and at some point someone needs to pick up the can and do something about it.” If approved, the town would eventually move its recreation staff and programming from the deteriorating 185 Broad St The bonding would cover $14.6 million worth of roof and brick work at Westfield Avenue and pay for $13 million in upgrades that would allow the recreation department to move in The council last year declined to act on a similar proposal, citing, in part, the planned multi-million bonding for improvements to the Killingly Memorial School. Since that decision, the cost of the Westfield project has risen roughly $10 million The back story: The price tag for a new Killingly community center has jumped $10 million. This is why. If no decision is made on the proposal by the end of the year construction costs for the proposed work are expected to jump another $1.4 million The council briefly discussed the ramifications of allowing the next council – municipal elections will be held on Nov “It’s not fair to have an incoming council rush through a $27 million project” to meet a deadline,” Andersons said “This is not the Town Council approving the project by any means but us setting the project in motion and allowing the public to vote.” electrical and handicap-accessible upgrades to cafeteria and theater areas at Westfield while shifting the food and community store to other parts of the building and adding restrooms Additional security doors and parking areas would also be added Working in Killingly: Updated Killingly municipal employee manual 10 years in the making Public comment on the possible move was mixed with many residents curious about what will happen to the current community center Joseph Zornado said the Broad Street facility still held significant cultural value “I raised my family in the building in many ways with its theater and summer programs." contrary to previous interpretations of deed language it could market and sell the community center Town Manager Mary Calorio said she plans to host three public information meetings on the project before the November public hearing She said she’s exploring partially offsetting initial cost estimates for the work with the use of general fund and federal COVID-19 relief funding Calorio said the town has conducted regular annual maintenance at both the Broad Street and Westfield Avenue buildings which once served as the town’s high school but that’s not been enough to address larger infrastructure issues “It’s like having a house and a shingle blows off a roof,” she said on Wednesday but after 20 years that roof is too junked to repair without a significant investment And the community has not made those investments which leads to further deterioration.” High school football: Killingly poised for another playoff run The Board of Education will soon be presented with an updated memorandum of understanding that would transfer ownership of the Westfield building to the town and lay out a cost-sharing plan that would split utility and other costs between the town and school district The board two years ago approved a similar document When asked by Anderson whether the Broad Street center could continue to operate during what is expected to be a three-year construction project Calorio answered with a qualified “yes." “We’ve already had to cancel programming at times because of no heat or too much heat,” she said noting the building’s theater cooling system is also unreliable “The gym has one heater with the other going down two years ago the only ones they found were in a museum in the Midwest.” KILLINGLY – When one of the heaters recently stopped working in the Killingly Community Center’s gym facility employees did an internet search in hopes of finding a replacement part “But the only place that showed up as having the part was an antiques museum in the Midwest,” Recreation Director Tracy Mason said A lack of easily obtained replacement parts for needed repairs is just one issue plaguing the Broad Street center in Danielson a building whose fate has been in limbo for years with no immediate solutions in sight The Town Council in March declined to move forward with a $16 million bonding proposal that would have shifted programming to the town’s former high school on Westfield Avenue and made any repair issues at the Broad Street site moot Town Manager Mary Calorio said council members were leery of approving two large bonding packages – the council eventually approved a $16 million Killingly Memorial School upgrade plan – in the same year “The idea is to bring the issue back up in a year or two,” she said “But more than half of that community center bonding was to make improvements to the Westfield building’s roof windows and other items that need to get done before it can be used for recreation The estimates are the price of that work will increase 5% every year going forward what was a $16 million bond will likely be $17 million next year and close to $18 million the year after.” In an attempt to keep the current facility running Calorio proposed including $100,000 in the 2020-21 budget for an engineering and evaluation study aimed at pinpointing what work would be needed to keep the center’s doors open “That money did not survive the budget process,” she said $50,000 was directed to be taken out of the town’s contingency fund for any emergency repairs that might need to be handled this year.” single-paned windows whose lack of efficiency forces employees to plug gaps with towels and blankets in the winter Many of the facility’s rooms with high ceilings are cooled – poorly – by window-mounted air-conditioning units and a cooling system dedicated to the theater area is on its last legs it’ll be very uncomfortable for people to keep using that space which is used for productions and senior movies,” Mason said “We’ll continue to work with what we’ve been dealt but at some point we may have to modify or scale-back our programming here.” Conversations on how to best address the center have cropped up frequently in the last decade A November 2018 feasibility study found several issues plaguing the Broad Street site including a building “not adequate for large events and fully scheduled times.” The center’s infrastructure was judged to be in sound condition though its original incarnation as a former school means its floor plan largely consists of utility and small storage rooms rather than program-friendly spaces The center’s gym was deemed undersized and not handicap-accessible while security features needed upgrades and jumping and other impacts cause continual vibration problems including a $27 million build-as-new option complete with indoor soccer fields that received a lukewarm reception from officials A $21.3 million plan to renovate the current center was also offered Council members in January 2019 approved exploring a $7-9 million upgrade plan – one that ultimately fizzled - that also called for making bare-bones repairs to the Broad Street building that offers space to the Retired Seniors and Volunteer Program overseen by the Thames Valley Council for Community Action and the Danielson Veterans Coffeehouse group Several council members previously said they hoped to use anticipated money from a community development benefit agreement with power plant developer NTE to cover some center upgrades though no firm discussions have been held on what portion of that $4 million might be drawn on “The issues at the center aren’t going to improve in the coming years,” Calorio said “So right now we need to decide what we need to do to keep those doors open understanding that no one wants to heavily invest in a building we might eventually stop using.” Details: cache-fra-eddf8230112-FRA 1746522801 119273033 KILLINGLY — Plans to move the Killingly Community Center’s operations to a former high school in Danielson could mean the end of space problems for a popular veterans group Town leaders are mulling over the possibility of sending a $16 million proposal to voters aimed at shifting town recreation offerings from the Broad Street community center to 79 Westfield Ave the school district’s administrative offices the Danielson Veterans Coffeehouse group would also make the trip from Broad Street to Westfield Avenue which 300 students used during lunch waves as the new space for the veterans,” Town Manager Mary Calorio said “The maximum number of guests that can fit into their current space is about 70.” Local veterans began meeting in the center in 2015 under the umbrella of the Thames Valley Council for Community Action’s Retired and Senior Volunteer Program The group later voted to break away and become an independent entity The group’s popularity — weekly meetings regularly attract 65 or more guests — sparked interest from other area towns and led to sister groups being formed in Norwich namely worries about crowded conditions as new veterans discover the offering The group last year expanded into a second room inside the center after exploring moving options Calorio said the proposed move would require some expansion and refurbishment work that includes widening walkways adding restrooms into the cafeteria and installing alarm-secured doors and frosted windows to help segregate guests from student areas a small office for one-on-one meetings with veterans and there are plans to expand parking near the polling place entrance which will become the center’s main entrance,” Calorio said “We also plan to add more lights that will help voters and people attending evening events navigate the area.” The Town Council on Tuesday tabled any action on the plan — which calls for spending $9.5 million for structural upgrades to the former school and another $6.5 million to transform former vo-ag rear hallways and auditorium spaces into recreation areas — until public information sessions on the idea can be held as well as a separate $16 million plan to upgrade sections of the Killingly Memorial School will be taken up again by the council in February said the anticipated move to Westfield isn’t a new idea the superintendent offered us room there,” he said “But at the time there were access issues involving the students and security For us to have taken it back then meant we’d basically have had to have a person standing right at the front door the whole time we were there “We’ve started to have more of our meetings open to the public “We’ve looked at other locations and this one is the best option so far