09/17/11 The Raw Greenwich News Feed: Late Night Edition

News Reports About Greenwich, CT

Greenwich Opens With 16-3 Win Over Ridgefield [VIDEO] Patch.com Football is back in Greenwich. After a dismal 5-5 record last year the Greenwich Cardinals are looking to turn it around this season and head north of 500. If Friday night's 16-3 victory over Ridgefield was a preview of the how they are going to do ...

Greenwich boys soccer plays Wilton to a draw Greenwich Time Two games into the new season, the Greenwich High School boys soccer team has two draws, results the young Cardinals will accept at this point of their 2011 campaign. "Our players have shown a lot of character because we have been down twice at ...

Greenwich art show sets sail Ct Post 16, 2011, during the annual Greenwich Arts art fair taking place on the 228-foot exhibition vessel SeaFair docked in Greenwich Harbor at the Delamar Hotel marina. The art fair will run throughout the weekend and Monday...

St. Luke's rallies to tie Greenwich Academy soccer Stamford Advocate Fireworks were exactly what the fans at the Greenwich Academy soccer field were treated to Saturday as two of the top players in the FAA showcased their talents in a 2-2 tie between the Gators and visiting St. Luke's. The Gators led 2-0 at halftime but ...

Old Greenwich Man Injured in Trumbull Crash Patch.com The car went off the road early Friday near exit 6 in an unlit area of the southbound Rt. 25 Connector in Trumbull By Aaron Leo An Old Greenwich man suffered serious chest injuries and and his female passenger was stable after their 2002 Honda Civic ...

Greenwich football team downs Ridgefield in season-opener Greenwich Time Rich Albonizio, the Greenwich Cardinal Head Football Coach makes a point to his assistants prior to opening day kickoff against Ridgefield. Albonizio is entering his 15th year at the helm in Greenwich. Photo: J. Gregory Raymond / CT Ridgefield RB John ...

Greenwich Academy wins opener Greenwich Time The Greenwich Academy field hockey team began the season the way it begin most seasons, with a win. The Gators (1-0) defeated King 4-0 on the grass at King School. "We won our first FAA game so it was a good outing," GA coach Angela Tammaro said. ...

Suspects Nabbed in Statewide Burglary Spree Patch.com By Barbara Heins "The Greenwich Police Department Detective Division has been investigating a residential burglary spree that began in January of 2010 and continued into November of 2010. "Greenwich Police Detectives collaborated with more than one ...

EGHS Boys Soccer Beats Narragansett 1-0 Patch.com By Stephen Greenwell East Greenwich's Derek Ferra plays a ball off his head in the first half. Ferra had the only goal of the game. East Greenwich would score the only goal of the game in a hard-fought 1-0 victory against Narragansett Friday afternoon ...

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09/17/11 Children's Education Zone Says Give Greenwich Children Two Hours Per Week And That Will Equal A Lifetime Of Success

The Children's Education Zone is an educational enrichment center. The center runs programs for children ages 2 to 12 years old. Programs include preschool enrichment, math enrichment, language enrichment, art and music as well as success programming. In addition to subject-based courses, the programs aim to build positive study skills and habits as well. For further inquiries, visit www.ChildrensEducationZone.com or call the Children's Education Zone at 914-481-5711 or 203-962-1177.

"2 HOURS/WEEK = LIFETIME OF SUCCESS!" Susie T. Ponce

Susie Ponce
Executive Director
Children's Education Zone
32 Field Point Road
Greenwich, CT 06830

203-962-1177

168A Irving Avenue,
Suite 200B
Port Chester, NY 10573
914-481-5711
www.ChildrensEducationZone.com
www.youtube.com/AldenAndMila

09/17/11 Central Middle School Principal Shelly Somers Had Closed Her Private Educational Facility To Avoid CT License Revocation Hearing Part 2

You Wont Read This In The Greenwich Time
Greenwich Board Of Education Screw Up

Parents Are Not Informed Of Central Middle School Principal Shelly Somers' Checkered Past

Children Were At Risk

East Granby Day-care Expected To Close

EAST GRANBY — Cornflakes day- care center, which is facing license revocation this month, has scheduled a tag sale for Saturday at which virtually its entire inventory will be sold.

The business is expected to close by Dec. 15.

An advertisement for the embattled day-care center published Wednesday in a local shopper, The Yankee Flyer, stated: ``Moving sale: Day care center contents, supplies, toys, playground equipment, wood playscape, appliances, cubbies, tables, chairs, etc.'' The address for Cornflakes -- 121 Hartford Ave. -- then followed.

Another advertisement, published in the December issue of The Granby Drummer, a local monthly, offers for rent the 2,000-square-foot former train station that houses the day-care center. Cornflakes' owner told her landlord she would be out by Dec. 15, said Toni Shohan, the landlord.

Cornflakes owner Shelly Somers, reached by telephone at the center Thursday afternoon, confirmed the tag sale, but said she had no further comment. Somers, a former teacher, has operated the center for 11 years.

The state Department of Public Health, the licensing agency for day- care centers, received a telephone call from Somers on Tuesday afternoon in which she told officials she would be closing, said Janet G. Chisholm, policy manager for the health department's day-care licensing division. They have received no written confirmation, Chisholm said.

The license revocation hearing, scheduled for Dec. 18, stems from eight allegations concerning the care and supervision of children. Chisholm said the revocation hearing is still set to go forward.

Somers is facing license revocation because she allegedly left a toddler unsupervised in a parked van for at least 45 minutes in November 1994, failed to notify parents that a preschooler may have ingested Advil while in the center's care and misled state officials in order to retain her license, according to health department letters to Somers obtained by The Courant.....

UPDATE:

CMS principal taking leave during district investigation

Lisa Chamoff, CT Post Staff Writer

Updated 10:36 p.m., Thursday, October 6, 2011

The principal of Central Middle School is taking a leave of absence while the district investigates a report that she closed a day-care center she owned in Hartford County and surrendered her day-care license to the state 15 years ago after allegations were made concerning her care and supervision of children.

Shelley Somers, who was hired by the district in the fall of 2009 and took over as principal at CMS the following January, had operated Cornflakes Day Care Center on the East Granby/Granby town line for 11 years when she reached an agreement with the state Department of Health to sever ties with the facility and to not operate a facility within the state for five years.

...A reader brought the matter to the attention of Greenwich Time, providing a copy of a Hartford Courant story....

...."The Greenwich Public Schools take seriously its responsibility to assure that its school leaders are fit for that responsibility," district spokeswoman Kim Eves said in an email. "At this point, we have made no findings, but rather we are investigating the situation as reported to determine the facts and the response, if any, by the Greenwich Public Schools."

Eves said that when the district hired Somers in 2009, it followed the standard hiring processes, including interviews, site visits, fingerprinting, background and reference checks. Somers' experience and affiliation with the day-care center was not disclosed to or otherwise discovered by the Greenwich Public Schools during the interview and hiring process.

Internet searches were not part of the district's background checks at the time Somers was hired....

...Superintendent of Schools Roger Lulow took over this past August and wasn't involved in the hiring process for Somers, but he said it was likely that because no formal charges were filed or legal action was taken against Somers, the case did not come up in the background check the district performed before she was hired....

....Before she was hired by Greenwich Public Schools, Somers headed the School of Arts, Communication and Technology, one of five small, themed schools at the 1,600-student Beaufort High School in Beaufort, S.C. She started out as an English and Spanish teacher at the Humanities School of Beaufort in 1999, according to the local school district. Somers then moved to Battery Creek High School, also in Beaufort, to chair the English department in 2000. In 2003, she became assistant principal for Hilton Head Island High School, in Beaufort County, and later spent a year teaching English at Robert Smalls Middle School, also in the county, before accepting the job at Beaufort High School in 2006.

Somers took over for Roger Stenz, a veteran educator who came out of retirement earlier in 2009 to replace former CMS Principal Carol Walsh on an interim basis after she was promoted to an administrator job in the district's central office.

PLEASE ALSO SEE:

11/13/09 Supt. Appoints CMS Principal

Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Sidney A. Freund, has announced the
appointment of Ms. Shelley Somers as Principal for Central Middle School,
effective January 1, 2010. See attached for more information....

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09/17/11 First Selectman Peter Tesei recently signed a proclamation from the Town of Greenwich, designating September 17 to 23 as Constitution Week

Photo: Helen Hansel, a sophomore at Greenwich High School and president of the Mary Bush Children of the American Revolution (CAR), was on hand to witness the signing. Constitution Week is a national week-long celebration of the drafting of the Constitution and this year marks the 224th anniversary.

PLEASE ALSO SEE:

09/16/11 WE ARE GETTING OUR COUNTRY BACK!!!!! CONSTITUTION AND CITIZEN JOURNALISTS WIN AGAIN - THIN SKINNED POLITICIANS GO HOME WITH THEIR TAILS BETWEEN THEIR LEGS

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09/17/11 Central Middle School Principal Shelly Somers Had Closed Her Private Educational Facility To Avoid CT License Revocation Hearing Part 1

You Wont Read This In The Greenwich Time
Greenwich Board Of Education Screw Up

Parents Are Not Informed Of Central Middle School Principal Shelly Somers' Checkered Past

Children Were At Risk

Day-care Center Owner Gives Up Operating License

EAST GRANBY — The owner of the former Cornflakes Day Care Center has surrendered her day-care license to the state and agreed not to operate a facility within the state for five years.

In a settlement released by the state Department of Public Health Tuesday, Shelley Somers agreed to sever all ties with Cornflakes, which she operated for 11 years.

The center, in an old train station at 121 Hartford Ave. on the East Granby/Granby town line, closed in December after allegations concerning the care and supervision of children became public. Another day- care center called All Aboard has opened in the same location.

``We're pleased that the agreement has been reached to bring closure to this item,'' said Janet G. Chisholm, program supervisor for the day-care licensing division of the state health department. ``We are always concerned about the families and the children who need day care. We feel that this best protects them.''

Somers could not be reached for comment.

As part of the agreement, Somers neither admitted guilt nor denied the allegations. Those allegations include reports that she left a 2 1/2-year-old boy alone in a van for at least 45 minutes while children from the center attended a performance in Hartford; that Somers failed to notify parents that a preschooler may have ingested Advil while in her care and that she misled state officials in order to retain her license, according to health department letters to Somers.

The agreement further states that if she were to seek a child day-care license in the future, the department would ``deem as true the allegations against her in the statement of charges dated Sept. 21, 1995'' and ``construe as proven the allegations in the statement of charges.'' Under the agreement, Somers ``agrees the department shall have absolute discretion whether to issue, reinstate or place conditions on the license.''

This agreement concludes a case that started after a November 1994 incident in which about 20 children from Cornflakes day care went on a field trip to see ``Babes in Toyland'' at the University of Hartford. Somers apparently miscounted the children and left a sleeping toddler in her van. He was not discovered until the group returned to the van after the performance. The child's mother, Bev Violette, of Granby, said she was pleased with the decision, but would have liked the state to take a stronger role.

``It just kills me it's [worded as] accusations when every bit of it is true,'' she said of the agreement. ``I guess the thing that just kills me is she stopped the day- care under her own free will because she knew all this was coming down ... because of so much publicity, that there was no way she could run a day-care. I guess I would have rather had the state come in and say, `You are closed.'''

Violette was also upset that state employees talked to her son about the incident before she even knew what had happened and without her permission. Somers reached the agreement with the state health department Feb. 9. The agreement was not released until Tuesday afternoon, when the day-care licensing division received a decision from the state Attorney General's office about what information could be released to the press, Chisholm said.

UPDATE:

CMS principal taking leave during district investigation

Lisa Chamoff, CT Post Staff Writer

Updated 10:36 p.m., Thursday, October 6, 2011

The principal of Central Middle School is taking a leave of absence while the district investigates a report that she closed a day-care center she owned in Hartford County and surrendered her day-care license to the state 15 years ago after allegations were made concerning her care and supervision of children.

Shelley Somers, who was hired by the district in the fall of 2009 and took over as principal at CMS the following January, had operated Cornflakes Day Care Center on the East Granby/Granby town line for 11 years when she reached an agreement with the state Department of Health to sever ties with the facility and to not operate a facility within the state for five years.

...A reader brought the matter to the attention of Greenwich Time, providing a copy of a Hartford Courant story....

...."The Greenwich Public Schools take seriously its responsibility to assure that its school leaders are fit for that responsibility," district spokeswoman Kim Evessaid in an email. "At this point, we have made no findings, but rather we are investigating the situation as reported to determine the facts and the response, if any, by the Greenwich Public Schools."

Eves said that when the district hired Somers in 2009, it followed the standard hiring processes, including interviews, site visits, fingerprinting, background and reference checks. Somers' experience and affiliation with the day-care center was not disclosed to or otherwise discovered by the Greenwich Public Schools during the interview and hiring process.

Internet searches were not part of the district's background checks at the time Somers was hired....

...Superintendent of Schools Roger Lulow took over this past August and wasn't involved in the hiring process for Somers, but he said it was likely that because no formal charges were filed or legal action was taken against Somers, the case did not come up in the background check the district performed before she was hired....

....Before she was hired by Greenwich Public Schools, Somers headed the School of Arts, Communication and Technology, one of five small, themed schools at the 1,600-student Beaufort High School in Beaufort, S.C. She started out as an English and Spanish teacher at the Humanities School of Beaufort in 1999, according to the local school district. Somers then moved to Battery Creek High School, also in Beaufort, to chair the English department in 2000. In 2003, she became assistant principal for Hilton Head Island High School, in Beaufort County, and later spent a year teaching English at Robert Smalls Middle School, also in the county, before accepting the job at Beaufort High School in 2006.

Somers took over for Roger Stenz, a veteran educator who came out of retirement earlier in 2009 to replace former CMS Principal Carol Walsh on an interim basis after she was promoted to an administrator job in the district's central office.

PLEASE ALSO SEE:

11/13/09 Supt. Appoints CMS Principal

Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Sidney A. Freund, has announced the
appointment of Ms. Shelley Somers as Principal for Central Middle School,
effective January 1, 2010. See attached for more information....
=======================================
Please send your comments, news tips and press releases to GreenwichRoundup@gmail.com

09/17/11 Remember when they were tearing down parts of of conde nast to build the Hyatt Hotel...

Diane DeStefano posted in Friends of Old Greenwich, Connecticut. Diane DeStefano 1:41pm Sep 17 Remember when they were tearing down parts of conde nast to build the Hyatt Hotel.It was brutal living across the street at the Commons during the demolitions...but thankful for leaving the historical magazine pillars up on the post road..defin with an added charm entering into Old Greenwich View Post on Facebook

09/17/11 The Greenwich Topix News Message Board - (9 stories) - FIRST STORY: Greenwich Board of Ed. Releases Next Agenda

Greenwich - News September 17, 2011 See Greenwich Weather Greenwich Board of Ed. Releases Next Agenda (The Daily Greenwich) GREENWICH, Conn. - Here is the agenda for the next regular meeting of the Board of Education, scheduled for Sept. Greenwich art show sets sail (Connecticut Post) Leo Duval, left, and Marianne Lind of Plateaux Gallery as seen through one of the gallery's pieces of art on display Friday, Sept. Greenwich Arrests Made in Statewide Burglary Spree (Patch) Greenwich Police have arrested a duo of daring thieves who are charged with ripping off dozens of residents throughout the state, including several in Greenwich. Greenwich downs Ridgefield (News Times) Joel Arroyo returned a kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown, Michael Daly scored on an interception return and Shane Nastahowski ran for 133 yards to lead Greenwich High School to a 16-3 win over Ridgefield Friday night at Cardinals Stadium. Greenwich chiropractor gets one year in jail for killing elderly man (News Times) More than two and a half years after killing a 78-year-old resident with a punch in a downtown parking lot, a Stamford judge Friday gave a Florida chiropractor the maximum one-year jail sentence for the criminally negligent homicide of Herbert Davidson. Woman Arrested With Fake Prescription in Greenwich (The Daily Greenwich) A Bronx, N.Y., woman was arrested in Greenwich Thursday trying to use a fake prescription to get Oxycodone at a CVS Pharmacy on East Putnam Ave, police said. Tyme for Lyme to host Third Annual Fall Boutique and Appraisal Day (StamfordPlus) Greenwich, CT - Time for Lyme , an organization that raises money to fund and promote research for Lyme and other tick-borne diseases, will host the 3rd annual Fall Boutique and Appraisal Day on Tuesday, October 25th, from 9:30am to 4:30pm at the Christ Church Parish Hall at 254 East Putnam Avenue in Greenwich, CT. Suspects Charged with Theft, Forgery, Drug Possession (Patch) Employee charged with theft of boss's Cartier watch A woman employed by a Greenwich woman has been arrested on a charge she stole the boss's Cartier watch in August. Q Poll: Linda McMahon, Chris Murphy take lead in 2012 U.S. Senate race (NewsTimesLive) Republican Linda McMahon, the former WWE chief executive and wife of wrestling promoter Vince McMahon, spent $50 million of her vast fortune on an unsuccessful bid for Senate in 2010.

09/17/11 The Greenwich First Selectman Report

A News Report About Greenwich First Selectman Peter Tesei

Longtime RTM member to step down Greenwich Time ... conference with fellow District 7 members in February to dispute the findings of historical budgetary analysis released by First Selectman Peter Tesei. ...

A Recently Updated Web Page About Greenwich First Selectman Peter Tesei

Fairfield County Look - Fashion's Night Out - Saks Fifth Avenue and ... Billie Messina, Peter Tesei and Mary Ann Henry. Christa Hartch and Tia ... Mary Ann Henry, Peter Tesei, Billie Messina, Geri Corrigan, Suni Unger. Nancy Long ... www.fairfieldcountylook.com/.../1790-fashions-night-out-saks...

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09/17/11 Water Main Repair on Riversville Road 'Going Well' and more from Greenwich Patch

Today 67° 50° Tomorrow 69° 50° September 17, 2011 Your News September 17, 2011 Water Main Repair on Riversville Road 'Going Well' Patrick Barnard | Sep 17, 2011 | 0 Comments Aquarion Water Co. official says project is still about a week head of schedule and should be completed before the end of September. Suspects Nabbed in Statewide Burglary Spree Barbara Heins | Sep 17, 2011 | 0 Comments Greenwich Police: Town homes targeted by pair of thieves. Old Greenwich Man Injured in Trumbull Crash Aaron Leo | Sep 17, 2011 | 0 Comments The car went off the road early Friday near exit 6 in an unlit area of the southbound Rt. 25 Connector in Trumbull Water Main Break Prompts Early Dismissal For Eastern Middle School [Update] Patrick Barnard | Sep 16, 2011 | 0 Comments Break also caused service disruptions to 30-40 residences on Hendrie Avenue, Hendrie Lane and Coventry Lane. NY Woman Arrested on Drug Charges in Riverside Michael Dinan | Sep 16, 2011 | 0 Comments The Bronx 25-year-old held a falsified prescription for Oxycodone, according to police. See more News » ALSO: September 17, 2011 Senate Hopeful McMahon Beats Shays Barbara Heins | Sep 16, 2011 | 0 Comments Quinnipiac University polls shows Greenwich resident has overwhelming support over former congressman. Linda's Money And Game Plan Is In Place For Round Two .... 07/13/11 GOP Political Operatives And U.S. Senate Hopefuls: Linda McMahon And Christopher Shays To Headline Greenwich GOP's Big Annual Clambake Linda McMahon and Christopher Shays will speak at the 80th annual Greenwich Republican clambake event, along US Senate hopeful Brian K. Hill, the only declared candidate in the race on the Republican side. Former U.S. Comptroller General David Walker, whose name has also been bandied about for the seat of retiring incumbent Joe Lieberman, is also scheduled to attend. Mr. Hill, who practices law in Hartford, is a former U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's Corps officer who lives in Windsor. Mr. Walker founded the Comeback America Initiative, an advocacy group for fiscal responsibility based in his adopted hometown of Bridgeport, where he bought Shays' former house. Mr. Shays the former 21-year congressman from Fairfield County. Mrs. McMahon is the wrestling executive-turned-unsuccessful candidate for Senate in 2010, when she spent $50 million of her personal fortune in a loss to fellow Greenwich resident and Democrat Richard Blumenthal. With Mr. Shays and Mrs. Mcmahon in the same race it looks like Greenwich Republicans are at a rough primary between the two big time Republicans. THE FIX IS IN..... To try to spice up the Greenwich Republican event this year, organizers who support Ms. McMahon have decided to conduct a presidential straw poll for the first time ever among the local Republican attendees. Tickets to the event, which runs from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Greenwich Point clambake area, are $45 per person. The menu choices include lobster, steak, swordfish, chicken or a vegetarian meal. The candidates are scheduled to speak at 2 p.m. Starving Greenwich Time reporters like Niel Vigdor will probably once again throw all journalistic standards aside and don a lobster bib and dine for free with the Greenwich Republican leaders. Then Greenwich Time reporter Niel Vigdor, will pick the steak seafood from between his teeth and run off to the Greenwich Time offices to excitedly report .... THIS JUST IN TO THE GREENWICH TIME NEWSROOM BREAKING NEWS: "Linda McMahon Came Out On Top In Greenwich Clambake Straw Poll!!!! WOOT!!! WOOT!!! WOOT!!!"