Youth Lacrosse Fundraiser At Cherry Berry Tonight

Networking Careers Event at MxCC on April 12

Health Information Management (HIM) and Information Technology (IT) continue to be at the top of job lists across America, and many people are preparing for careers in this high-demand field.  To explore some possible paths, Middlesex Community College’s Computer Club is hosting its third annual “Network Event.” 

This free event, which is open to the public, will be held on Saturday, April 12, 2014, in the Founders Hall cafeteria from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Successful professionals representing the fields of HIM and IT will be on hand to share practical career information and demonstrate innovative technology. For more information, or to register, contact Carolyn Sommer at 860-343-5749 or csommer@mxcc.edu.

Lack of Due Diligence Leads to Six-Figure Loss -- Popcorn by The Colonel # 89

Dear Colonel:

We’ve been doing business for the past several months with an entity that represented itself to us as a “freight forwarder.”

This company has handled quite a few loads for us without a problem. It properly issued us bills of lading in its own name and used various underlying motor carriers to provide the actual transportation.

We never troubled to identify or check out these motor carriers, figuring that was the forwarder’s problem. To us, the only carrier that mattered was the forwarder, which was, of course, acting as shipper to the motor carriers.

MxCC FOUNDATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS WELCOMES TWO NEW MEMBERS

Kevin Scarpati, Meriden city councilman, and Elaine Law, retired human resources executive from The Hartford, have been confirmed as new members of the Middlesex Community College Foundation Board of Directors.  The Foundation, which supports MxCC faculty development, student scholarships, campus projects, academic programs, and instructional technology, announced the new members at its monthly board meeting in March.

Kevin Scarpati is a lifelong resident of Meriden and is director of athletics for the Meriden YMCA.  He is an active member of the community, currently serving as chair of the Meriden Public Safety Committee, and as a member of the State Police Commissioners Association of Connecticut. Previously, he served on the Meriden Board of Education.  He is excited to help the MxCC Meriden Center grow as an active campus – and infuse life into the evolving city. 

Elaine Law is a resident Portland who recently retired after a long and successful career at The Hartford.   Through her work in human resources and employee relations, Elaine fully developed skills in relationship building, critical thinking, and talent management – which will now be used to the benefit of the Foundation.  This is of particular relevance as the College is currently searching for a new dean of institutional advancement. Elaine’s relationship with the school began in the 1990s when she was an active on-campus recruiter for open positions at The Hartford.  

“Both Kevin and Elaine bring an impressive level of energy, experience and innovative thinking to the board,” said H. Brian Dumeer, MxCC Foundation chairman. “We are fortunate to be able to tap into their talents as we continue to support Middlesex Community College’s mission to provide a high quality, affordable and accessible education to our regional population.”

 

Incorporated in 1979, Middlesex Community College Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) public charity dedicated to supporting the College, its students and faculty.  In 2013, the Foundation awarded $89,000 to MxCC to support scholarships, program enhancements and equipment.

Founded in 1966, Middlesex Community College (www.mxcc.edu) is part of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities System. In all it does, Middlesex Community College strives to be the college of its community. By providing high quality, affordable, and accessible education to a diverse population, the college enhances the strengths of individuals through degree, certificate, and lifelong learning programs that lead to university transfer, employment, and an enriched awareness of our shared responsibilities as global citizens. MxCC, recently named a "Great College to Work For" by The Chronicle of Higher Education, offers more than 50 degree or certificate programs at the main 38-acre campus in Middletown, the downtown Meriden Center, and online. 

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Conservation Commission honors Ron Klattenburg

Ron Klattenburg was honored and thanked for his long service to the environmental community at the Conservation Commission's regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, March 18th. It is with much gratitude and appreciation that he was honored. Ron was surprised and thankful for he recognition. He spoke briefly about his time in public service.

Ron gave years of leadership in the preservation of the City's natural resources and had a long time role in land and energy conservation. Ron's efforts will increase the quality of life for citizens of Middletown and beyond for years to come. He started in public service as a Conservation Commissioner when the CC was resurrected in 1989 after some time on hiatus. Later he served on the Common Council. Among his many accomplishments, he was instrumental in promulgating and passing an important bill to restrict the use of outdoor wood furnaces which have unhealthy particulate emissions and are detrimental to air quality.

The Conservation Commission wishes Ron all the best in his future endeavors.

Ron Klattenberg with two current Conservation Commission members (and past Chairs) Sheila Stoane (left) and Ellen Lukens (right). 
[this post has been edited to correct Ellen's last name. Thanks for the comment] 

One Book One Middletown Coice 2014 Event: Tonight at The Buttonwood Tree / Sunday Concert Postponed

March 22 @ 7:30 pm - 10:00 pm 

Celebrate the author, Rita Leganski, and her book The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow with the music of the Louisiana Delta region. Zydeco/cajun music by members of the Bayou Brethren. Free drink with book purchase!

Al Karas - fiddle, vocals

Mark Thompson - Cajun accordion, vocals

Fran Karas - bass, vocals 

Pete Stielau - guitar s

Cajun dance music, which traditionally includes quite a few two-steps and waltzes, many with lyrics sung in French. Some songs are instrumental, some non-Cajun songs (sung in English) as well. The band has been playing Cajun and zydeco music dating back to 1994. Mark is also a member of the Zydeco Hogs.

SUNDAY'S CONCERT WITH SIMPLY DIAMOND HAS BEEN POSTPONED. 
New date TBA

The Buttonwood Tree Performing Arts & Cultural Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. We never turn away anyone for lack of ability to pay. 605 Main Street. 860-347-4957

Molly desperately needs a home! Can you help?

   

My Name is Molly!

Can you take me home with you?

I am a very cute, 14 year old here at CAT TALES because my owner got sick and had to go to a nursing home. So here I am…waiting…for a new companion. While at CAT TALES, they realized I have a large mass in my stomach and they do not know if it is cancerous or not.  

So I am looking for a special person who can be with me and care for me. I am hoping for a home where I can spend the last of my days on someone's lap and not at the shelter. I am very playful, purr when petted, snuggly, and a very happy girl despite my diagnosis and I am sure to bring joy to a special person’s heart and home.

If you work from home or are retired, you are the perfect companion for me.

Please come take me home with you.  You will be so happy that you did!

CAT TALES is seeking a permanent fostering for me and will tell you the best way to take care of me.

Please call CAT TALES at (860) 344-9043 or

Email: info@CatTalesCT.org to inquire about Molly!

The Buttonwood Tree hosts NY Award-winning Singer Songwriters Full of Passion Tonight

John Pray & Dan Pelletier

March 21 @ 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm

$10

Sit for an hour with Dan Pelletier and you’ll walk away chuckling, shaking your head, wanting a long, cool drink and the red, tender lips of someone to love. He will show you himself, yourself, your lover, your family and friends and quite a few characters you may not know, but will instantly recognize. They jump out of his songs full of beauty and blemishes, brilliance and foolishness, insanity, humor, intensity and tenderness.
Pelletier’s passionate performance of these songs make him a rising star on the national folk scene. He is the winner of first prizes in the 2002 USA Songwriting Competition (Lyrics), 2002 Plowshares Songwriting Contest, 2001 SFFF Songwriter Competition, the 2001 Rose Garden Songwriter Contest and the 2000 Mid-Atlantic Song Contest. His second CD Wild Heart Rodeo was released in the spring of 2003 and is available on Hudson Valley Records.
http://danpelletier.net/

Music took hold of John Pray at a very early age. Influenced by family music collections of Al Jolson, Eddie Cantor, Bobby Darin, Elvis Presley and countless others, his interest in singing songwriting began. After attending the Westchester Conservatory of Music, Pray started a long and diverse musical life that has played a major part in his development. Along with local appearances, live concert performances, and studio work, he has been a partner in recording, songwriting, and production with Steve Katz of Blood Sweet and Tears; the Grammy and Emmy nominee Peter Denenberg; and the Grammy winner Rory Young. As a vocalist, songwriter, guitarist, he has spent more than a decade volunteering his time and musical talent comforting hospice, nursing home, and hospital patients, leading him to write, produce, record, and donate a collection of songs to hospice organizations entitled “Behind Sacred Walls.”
http://www.johnpraysingersongwriter.com/

Events are held at The Buttonwood Tree Performing Arts and Cultural Center
605 Main Street, Middletown, CT   (In the former Arriwani Hotel)
Casual, cozy and surprisingly good! Refreshments available
www.buttonwood.org   860-347-4957

Warner to Retire as City Planning and Development Director

Bill Warner, who has served as Middletown's Director of Planning and Director will retire on April 25 after 25 years of service.  This is the letter he submitted yesterday:

Dear Mayor Drew;

As you are aware I have worked for the City of Middletown for the last twenty five years.

During my tenure we have revitalized the downtown, overseen the construction of over 2 million square feet of commercial and industrial space and preserved over 2,500 acres of open space.  I have spent over half of my life working for the betterment of Middletown. I am very comfortable proclaiming that the city is far better now than when I arrived in 1989. For a Director of Planning, Conservation and Development that is the ultimate measure of success.

You provide great leadership to a great city workforce.  Because of your leadership, I am confident our downtown development initiative and the long anticipated riverfront development will come to fruition and further strengthen the downtown and its connection to the riverfront.

I have had a great career with the city and I have looked forward to coming to work every day. But it is time for change.

Therefore, I submit this letter indicating my intention to retire as of April 25th, 2014.

I thank you for your support and your confidence in my abilities. It has been a pleasure working with you and all the other great people involved in making Middletown a truly great place.

St. Vincent de Paul Recruiting Teams For The Walk Against Hunger

From Bob Walsh, St. Vincent De Paul.
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St. Vincent de Paul is now recruiting teams in the Greater Middletown area to participate in the 2014 Foodshare Walk Against Hunger in Hartford on May 4th. St. Vincent de Paul and its Amazing Grace Food Pantry are a benefitting agency for this year’s 31st anniversary walk. Money raised by Middletown teams will help feed hungry people in our community.

We hope to have an even larger turnout from the Greater Middletown area than we had in 2013 when we had 300 Walkers who raised over $46,000. Become a Team Captain and form a team-- ask your friends, co-workers, and neighbors to walk with you to raise money for a wonderful cause, or join an established team. If you can’t walk, sponsor someone who is walking or become a virtual walker.

The 2.5 mile walk begins and ends at Hartbeat Park, adjacent to The Hartford’s main campus, and takes walkers around Bushnell Park. Two stops along the route provide water and restrooms. St.Vincent de Paul will give all walkers a free T-shirt. Foodshare also is offering recognition prizes for funds raised. Free event parking is provided at The Hartford insurance lot at 690 Asylum Avenue. Walkers should arrive by 1 pm on May 4th for registration and entertainment. The walk steps off, rain or shine, at 2 pm.

Amazing Grace Food Pantry is a program of St. Vincent de Paul, Middletown. Local families in need can shop once a month and receive approximately three days’ worth of groceries free of charge. Family size determines the quantity of food allotted at each visit. Amazing Grace currently serves about 1000 individuals and families each month and distributes over 360,000 food items each year. In 2013, Amazing Grace and the St. Vincent de Paul Soup Kitchen together provided approximately 1000 meals a day to residents in our local area.

The Foodshare Walk Against Hunger is the largest walk in the state to fight hunger. It drew 4,000 walkers and raised over $630,000 from all across Connecticut last year. Through Foodshare’s management, local community partners like St. Vincent de Paul Middletown can participate in the walk and raise funds for their local programs.

To learn more about the Walk Against Hunger, go to www.foodshare.org and click on “Join the Walk.” Be sure to check the box for St. Vincent de Paul Middletown as the benefiting program in your registration to ensure the money you raise stays in the Middletown community.

If you have any questions or would like help with the registration process, please contact the Volunteer Walk Co-Coordinator Bob Walsh at 860-463-5061 or bwalsh@svdmiddletown.org.

Save the date:Climate Justice Conference at Wesleyan

Plan to Join Us : 2014 Climate Justice Conference of Solutions

FEATURING: presentations, panel discussions and workshops  focusing on solutions to our climate and energy challenges (from campaign strategy, policy, and technological perspectives), the co-benefits of climate action (from labor, social justice, business, and national security perspectives), and on-the-ground accounts of solutions in action. The focus will be both national and CT in scope.

KEYNOTE: David Foster, Executive Director, the BlueGreen Alliance 

WHEN: Saturday, April 12th, 2014   8:30am - 5pm

WHERE: Wesleyan University, Exley Science Center, 265 Church Street

REGISTER: Registration is free. Vegetarian lunch will be provided for those who register in advance. Visit online here to reserve your space.

For more information: contact Claire Rusowicz (Rockfall)  or Jen Kleindienst (Wesleyan U) ; or visit U.S. Climate Plan

CONVENERS: Wesleyan Climate Ambassadors; Wesleyan Sustainability Office; Middlesex Community College ; The Rockfall Foundation;  U.S. Climate Plan ; College of the Environment, Wesleyan University; Earth and Environmental Sciences Department, Wesleyan University.

Want to help spread the news? Click the link below for a flier:

http://www.rockfallfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/climate.conf_.flier_.2014.pdf

Survey Time!

Here is an informal poll for your Wednesday.

If I were to put $100 on a table, in all crisp one dollar bills, and then were to ask you to take what you would consider to be a "substantial majority"... how much money would you take?  No strings attached (insert irony here)

A.  $51
B.  $75
C.  $100
D.  Other ______