Thursday, May 19, 2022
Person of the Week
Guilford Courier
Staying Strong After an Unfathomable Tragedy
Published May 18, 2022 08:30 a.m.Most Guilford residents are sadly all too aware of the tragedy that occurred in January 2018, when 15-year-old Ethan Song lost his life in an accidental shooting. The grief, despair, and frustration the Song family has endured since Ethan’s death simply isn’t possible to truly convey.
The Source
A Nite Like No Other
Published May 18, 2022 08:30 a.m.Since 1989, the educators and parents of Madison have created a special and safe evening for graduating seniors. Though postponed and revamped the last two years due to the pandemic, this year’s Nite In Hand (NIH) event will come back as strong as ever, thanks to efforts of volunteers like Beth O’Keefe.
The Sound
Cudgma Helps SEA ‘Celebration of Healthy Aging’ Return
Published May 18, 2022 08:30 a.m.It’s been a long wait for fans of Shoreline Eldercare Alliance (SEA)’s signature event, but SEA president Steve Cudgma says shoreline seniors, and those who care for them, will be thrilled when SEA welcomes them back to enjoy its Celebration of Healthy Aging on Wednesday, May 25, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Woodwinds in Branford.
North Haven Courier
Helen Pappas: Living Big Through Still Life
Published May 18, 2022 08:30 a.m.Objects, landscapes, animals, and people have a state of existence mostly invisible to the non-artist. For the artistic mind, the ordinary becomes extraordinary. For Helen Pappas, the lens through which she witnesses and celebrates life is two-fold enhanced, one through the lens of her camera, the other, through the lens of autism.
East Haven Courier
Beth Purcell: Volunteering Close to Home
Published May 18, 2022 08:30 a.m.There’s an old saying that life’s greatest riches are often right in our own backyards and that one does not have to venture far to have a full and productive life. East Haven native Beth Purcell is a living example of this philosophy.
Valley Courier
Kevin Lam: Banding Together
Published May 18, 2022 08:30 a.m.Kevin Lam conducts bands. But Kevin, instrumental music director at Valley Regional High School (VRHS) and group lessons teacher at John Winthrop Middle School, had never conducted a band the size of the Ukraine Benefit Ensemble, the group he recently led. The large group performed as a part of the spring concert at the high school.
Harbor News
Ready for Launch: Using Preps OSHS Students for Next Steps
Published May 18, 2022 08:30 a.m.All high school students have had a moment where they thought to themselves, “I have no idea what I’m going to do with my life.” Luckily for Old Saybrook High School (OSHS) students, they have Carina Using, the college and career readiness coordinator, to help them find some guidance.
Harbor News
Gary McCauley: Finding a Community, Ready to Help
Published May 11, 2022 08:30 a.m.In 2011 Gary McCauley and his family bought a summer place in Old Saybrook. They became year-round residents in 2018 and ever since Gary has made his presence felt in the community as a member of the Old Saybrook Rotary Club.
Valley Courier
Libby Stacia: Everyone Needs to Be Heard
Published May 11, 2022 08:30 a.m.“You talk about everything at a bar. You sit at a bar, everyone always wants a beer, there’s no pressure to sell, they’re coming to you,” she says.
The Source
Sharing a Love for Books
Published May 11, 2022 08:30 a.m.Despite several decades of prediction of the doom and demise of bookstores, the town’s iconic R.J. Julia Booksellers has not only survived, but thrived.
East Haven Courier
Marissa Mollica-Velazquez: Preparing Preschoolers for Success in K-12
Published May 11, 2022 08:30 a.m.Marissa Mollica-Velazquez may have a long title—East Haven Family Resource Center (FRC) and School Readiness Early Childhood Facilitator—but her mission is simple and clear: to help local preschool youngsters and their parents prepare for entry into grade school.
North Haven Courier
Rob Deko, Jr: Heroes Helping Heroes
Published May 11, 2022 08:30 a.m.Rob Deko, Jr., comes from a family of helpers, in the form of public service providers via firefighting through his father and nursing via his mother. Born and raised in East Haven, Rob spent his early years serving his local community but now helps in North Haven, North Branford, and beyond.
The Sound
Smith Seeks to Help Ukrainians in Need
Published May 11, 2022 08:30 a.m.Shane Smith’s first trip to Ukraine in 1999 was far different from trips he has undertaken in recent months, on his own, to do what he can to help others in need in a time of war.
Guilford Courier
Blumberg Rallies Support for GHS Project Graduation
Published May 04, 2022 08:30 a.m.After Covid created a two-year upheaval to traditional Project Graduation (PG) celebrations, Christine Blumberg and many parent volunteer members of the Guilford High School (GHS) community are determined to make this year’s all-night, substance-free PG party especially memorable for the GHS Class of 2022.
The Source
Dianne Coyle: Taking Time to Reflect
Published May 04, 2022 08:30 a.m.To say that grief is complicated is something that seems a bit obvious. As we all grieve and process the loss of loved ones in our own unique way, local author Dianne Coyle has compiled a lifetime of reflections on this topic in her new book, A Widow’s Spiritual Journey: Prayers, Reflections and Meditations for the Everday Catholic, not as a guidebook, but as a larger map to find one’s way past the darkness of grief.
East Haven Courier
Lynn LaFogg: A Two-Wheeler Supports Four-Leggers
Published May 04, 2022 08:30 a.m.East Haven native Lynn LaFogg grew up loving animals. Today, when not caring for and enjoying her own dogs—Diva, a blue heeler-Chow mix, and Gunner, a Labrador retriever mixed with three other breeds—she volunteers to help both abandoned pets and feral animals through the organizations she supports.
Harbor News
Susan Esty: All In Like a Lion
Published May 04, 2022 08:30 a.m.“Honestly when people ask what is a Lion, I say well, I don’t know what a Lion isn’t,” Susan Esty says.
Valley Courier
Vicki Miorelli: Call Her Captain
Published May 04, 2022 08:30 a.m.This could be a Final Jeopardy question, and Vickie Miorelli would know the answer
The Sound
Rob Deko, Jr: Heroes Helping Heroes
Published May 04, 2022 08:30 a.m.Rob Deko, Jr., comes from a family of helpers, in the form of public service providers via firefighting through his father and nursing via his mother.
The Source
George Marinelli Proves It’s Cool To Be Kind
Published April 27, 2022 08:30 a.m.A far as cool goes, Madison’s George Marinelli is pretty much as cool as the proverbial cucumber gets. A life-long musician whose list of playing and band credits is as impressive as it is long highlights the respect his fellow rockers have for this talented guitarist.
Guilford Courier
Press Play: Simon Explores Modern Egypt’s Cassette Culture in ‘Media of the Masses’
Published April 27, 2022 08:30 a.m.An introductory Arabic class at Guilford High School. Experiencing the Egyptian Revolution in Tahrir Square. Discovering the power of two magnetic tape reels inside a plastic case.
The Sound
Zdunek’s Handywork Keeps Branford’s Blackstone Library Running
Published April 27, 2022 08:30 a.m.He may have arrived in Branford speaking no English, carrying a single suitcase and with only $10 in his pocket, but Frank Zdunek feels enriched by the luck that brought him here, and that has helped him to become a beloved member of his adopted hometown.
North Haven Courier
Kimberly Carew: For the Love of History
Published April 27, 2022 08:30 a.m.Where history, community, and children converge you will find Kimberly Carew. She has a long history of service to North Haven children as a teacher and in her efforts to help preserve the town’s history through her work with the Mayflower Society of North Haven.
East Haven Courier
Rob Deko, Jr: Heroes Helping Heroes
Published April 27, 2022 08:30 a.m.Rob Deko, Jr., comes from a family of helpers, in the form of public service providers via firefighting through his father and nursing via his mother.
Valley Courier
Dick Shriver: Firsthand Knowledge of Ukraine
Published April 27, 2022 08:30 a.m.Dick Shriver has something to say about Ukraine, and not just because he listens to news reports. Dick and his wife Barbara lived for seven years from 1995 to 2002 in Lviv, one of Ukraine’s major cities in the west of the country near the Polish border.
The Source
Ann Devine: Stewarding a Stable Polling Process
Published April 20, 2022 08:30 a.m.It’ safe to say that Madison’s new Republican Registrar of Voters Ann Devine grew up around a ballot box.
Guilford Courier
Martone Shares News of GFL Spring Book Sale and Other Exciting Events
Published April 20, 2022 08:30 a.m.As one who jumps into costume to help host Guilford Free Library (GFL)’s annual Comic Con, it’s safe to say Teen Services Librarian Sara Martone can get pretty enthusiastic about GFL’s special events, including the annual Friends of GFL Spring Book Sale coming Friday, May 6 and Saturday, May 7 to GFL at 67 Park Street.
North Haven Courier
Rudy Vener: The Art of Perseverance
Published April 20, 2022 08:30 a.m.The famed science fiction writer Ray Bradbury wrote in his advice to writers, “To fail is to give up. There is no failure unless one stops. Not to work is to cease, tighten up, become nervous and therefore destructive of the creative process.”
East Haven Courier
George Ambel: Helping Disabled Veterans
Published April 20, 2022 08:30 a.m.George Ambel, 83 years young, may live in North Haven but his desire to help U.S. military veterans reaches across the shoreline, including East Haven.
The Sound
Logan Shares Self-Worth Journey in ‘Reporting Facts and Running from the Truth’
Published April 20, 2022 08:30 a.m.Former TV journalist Erin Logan doesn’t gloss over some gritty details in her new self-help book, Reporting Facts and Running from the Truth—A TV Anchor’s Struggle to Find Self-Worth Beyond a Job Title.