Barbara Cerone, left, Terry Berlingo, center and Lucille Yusi from the Red Hot Babes of Greenwich celebrate with the Red Hat Society at the Greenwich Hyatt Tuesday.
(Helen Neafsey/Greenwich Time Staff photo)
Hyatt hosts Red Hat Society lunch
When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter
Those first lines from the Jenny Joseph poem "Warning" came alive Tuesday inside the Hyatt Regency Greenwich, during the second annual regional meeting of the Red Hat Society. Over 100 ladies lunched and drank tea to the tune of each other's company and a live banjo player, all in personalized red hats and purple dresses, of course.
Established in 1998 by a California woman who read "Warning," the Red Hat Society is a now-international sisterhood of women over 50 who reject the idea that aging means having less fun. Local chapters led by "queen bees" meet once a month for lunch and any number of other activities in their eye-catching uniform....
By Colin Gustafson/Staff writer
Article Launched: 10/22/2008 03:26:55 PM EDT
Convent of the Sacred Heart's headmistress, Sister Joan Magnetti, will retire as head of the all-girls school in June, after nearly two decades at the helm, the school has announced. Magnetti, who has worked as the backcountry school's headmistress since 1990, will be replaced by Pamela Juan Hayes, a 1964 graduate who has also worked as a member of the school's faculty and administration. "We are delighted that Pam, a graduate of our school, has been chosen," Magnetti said in a statement. "Her love and mission of Sacred Heart and her experience as a Sacred Heart student, teacher and administrator solidifies the past and gives great hope for the future." Magnetti declined to be interviewed about her retirement plans.
Comment:
That's It ???
A One Paragraph Press Release On This Departure.
There Is Much More To This Story.
But Cub Reporter Colin "Run The Press Release Through The Spell Checker And Publish It" Gustafson, Has Not Developed Contacts With Parents, Teachers And Board Members At Sacred Heart.
Isn't The Greenwich Time's Education Reporter The Least Bit Curious Why Sacred Heart Isn't Even Giving Sister Joan Magnetti A Proper Press Release And Swan Song As She Is Sent Out The Door?
This Boy Colin Just Doesn't Have A Nose For News.
Or As They Used To Say Back In Missouri, "This Bird Dog Don't Hunt"
With Complacent Media Like This Test Scores Will Soon Be Declining At Both The Private And Public Schools Of Greenwich.
The town Health Department has put up signs along town roads and launched a campaign to warn residents what they can do to protect against ticks.
"This time of year it's big," said Caroline Calderone-Baisley, director of the Health Department.
Many people think ticks are inactive in the fall. But that is not the case. October and November are peak months of activity, said Calderone-Baisley....
...The town Health Department offers Lyme disease testing of engorged ticks found on humans. It also offers a test that detects the presence of co-infections, such as Babesia or Ehrlichiosis, which could also lead to illness, but the ticks must be found on a human.
The department tests nearly 900 ticks a year. Residents can bring ticks to the laboratory in Town Hall. The test costs $49 for residents and $57 for nonresidents.
Undaunted by predictions that this is a Democratic year or Connecticut's status as a solidly blue state, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich was in Greenwich Tuesday for a breakfast fundraiser to support Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., who is in the toughest re-election battle of his career.
Aides to Shays said there was plenty of appetite among supporters of the 21-year incumbent to see Gingrich, the pivotal figure of the 1994 Republican revolution.
"You know that almost 100 people showed up at 7:30 a.m. on a cold Tuesday morning," said Michael Sohn, campaign manager for Shays. "I think that people are curious to hear what speaker Gingrich is saying. He's one of the most intellectual people in politics."
The event, held at the Winding Lane home of Christy and Sheldon Gordon, who is a director of several companies, including one that specializes in off-shore oil and gas exploration, brought in $50,000, according to the Shays campaign....
...Tuesday's fundraiser with Gingrich, which cost a minimum of $250 per person to attend, was displayed among a list of events on the Shays campaign Web site.
The campaign did not put out any media advisories about Gingrich's visit, however, a contrast to a string of announcements that went out prior to an Oct. 12 Shays fundraiser in Westport with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Shays' aides said the two events were quite different and that there was no press availability at the Gingrich breakfast....
...Sohn, the campaign manager for Shays, said 90 percent of the incumbent's donations throughout the campaign have come from individuals in Connecticut, compared to just 60 percent for Himes.
"It shows that the people of Connecticut care about the work that Chris is doing and Chris is in touch with the people of Connecticut and the 4th District," Sohn said.
Sachse, the spokesman for Himes, said he would have to verify the information....
...Sachse also questioned Shays' ties to the host of Tuesday's fundraiser, Gordon, who is a director of Gulfmark Offshore, a Houston-based oil and gas exploration company, and said it might explain why a major environmental group recently expressed disappointment in the incumbent's record.
A spokesman for Shays dismissed the claims and said the Himes campaign was playing politics.
"That's the continuation of negative partisan attacks from the Himes campaign," said Sean Phillips of the Shays campaign.
Comment:
I Wonder If Chris Shay's Appreciates How Hard The Greenwich Republican Party Works For Him.
Election After Election Greenwich Republicans Save Shays' You Know What.
Yet Chris Shays Year After Year Fails To Deliver Any Bacon To Greenwich.
Wouldn't Be Nice If Chris Shay's Paid Back These Hard Working Greenwich Republicans With Some Special Money Ear Marked For The Greenwich Public Schools?
I Am Sure That Chris Shays Knows That The Greenwich Republican Party Volunteers Work Ten Times As Hard As Their Democratic Rivals.
For Example, Take Republican Volunteer Named Pat.
Pat Comes Up To Me Asking If She Can Put A John McCan't Sign In Front Of My House.
So Have I Tell Her "Pat You Know That I Voted For Bush The Last Two Times, But This Time I am Voting For Obama. Things Have Gotten So Screwed Up I Just Want To Give The Other Guys A Chance."
So Pat Says,"Don't Be Silly. Give Me Your Email Address I Want To Send You Some Information."
Then Pat Says That She Wants To Still Put Up A Sign And Promises It Will Only Be A Little Sign.
So I Say,"Alright Pat You Win."
I Just Can't Tell A Sweet Blond Headed Republican Woman No Forever.
Besides, John McCan't Needs All The Help He Can Get Because He Is Going To Lose Anyway. Plus My Neighbor Will Get A Big Kick Out Of The Sign Because He Is A Big Sarah Palin Fan.
Well It Turns Out That Pat Is A Big Sarah "Not Ready For Prime Time" Palin Fan Too.
After Some Small Talk Pat Quickly Puts Me In Her Car To Put Those Signs Up, Before I Change My Mind.
Now In Her Car Trunk Is McCain, Camillo, Franz And Shays Signs.
All Of A Sudden Greenwich Roundup Is The Biggest Republican Party Advertiser On The Block. But That's Not Good Enough For This Dedicated Blond Member Of The Greenwich Republican Machine.
Now Pat Says, "Brian Don't You Know That Guy Up At King Street And Bedford Road?
I Reply, "Yes, Why Do You Ask?"
Pat Boldly Asks,"Do You Think He Would Like To Put Up A A Sign?
I Respond,"I Don't Know, I Am Not Sure. Maybe I'll Ask Him Next Week."
Of Coarse, This Hard Working Blond Dynamo Says, "Come One Brian Let's Go See Him Now."
Well The Rest Is History And The Greenwich Republican Party Now Has A Shays, Camillo And Franz Sign At King And Bedford.
Pat Has Now Ran Out Of McCain Signs, Because His Campaign Screwed Up And Did Not Send Enough To The Greenwich Republican Machine.
This Almost Amazing And Semi-Incredible Greenwich Republican Machine Has Gotten Greenwich Roundup To Put Up Republican Signs And To Ask One Of Friends To Put Up Republican Signs.
This Is So Wild, Because There Are Some Republicans In Town That Spit After They Mention Greenwich Roundup.
If Jim Himes Really Wants To Win He Some How Has To Try And Get Some Dedicated Blond Republican Volunteers Like Pat Rich To Work For His Campaign.
And Her Is The Funny Part Of This Story....
These Hard Working And Loyal Greenwich Republicans Don't Even Like John McCain. Greenwich Republicans Are Conservative Bush Republican And McCain Really Is Not Their Man.
If The Democrats Have Gotten Any Greenwich Republicans To Put Up Obama Signs.
For The Record I Am A Registered Independent And I Have Been Voting Since Reagan Ran Against Carter. I Was Right In That Election And Every Single Election Since.
Further, I Was Born In The Show Me State Of Missouri A Bellwether State That Has Correctly Picked The President Since The Early 1950's
So I Am Voting For Obama Which Means The Bellwether State Of Missouri Will Vote For Obama, Thus Insuring A National Victory.
In Fact, I Am So Sure An Obama Victory I Might Not Even Bother To Vote.
However, When It Comes To Local Elections I Am Usually On The Outside Looking At The Victory Party Inside.
For Example, One Of My Son's And I Mailed In Absentee Ballot's In Support Of Sam Romeo's Bid Against Jim Lash. Of Coarse, When We Returned Home We Found Out Mr. Romeo Had Lost, But Now Everyone In Town Knows That My Son And I Were Right About Jim Lash.
Here Is One Final Word Of Advice. If You Are Going To Be Out Of Town Mail Your Own Absentee Ballot In. Do Not Be As Stupid As I Was And Ask Your Favorite Candidate To Deliver Your Absentee Ballot For You.
They Do Take Note Of Absentee Ballots And Retaliate After The Election.
Now You Know Why I Had So Much Trouble Under The Final Term Of The Lash Administration.
Nancie Bourne, 73, has volunteered at the Nathaniel Witherell nursing home for more than 40 years.
Whether it was tending to the garden, running the auxiliary committee or now managing the gift shop, Bourne, a longtime Greenwich resident, has dedicated countless hours to the town-owned facility.
"I think there is a special need for Nathaniel Witherell in the community and it's just a wonderful place to be a part of," she said.
Bourne is one of dozens of volunteers, including retirees, relatives of facility residents and high school students, who keep the Nathaniel Witherell's day-to-day operations running, facility officials said.
The Nathaniel Witherell, at 70 Parsonage Road, needs more volunteers and will host a two-session open house for anyone interested from 10 a.m. to noon and 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday.
Volunteers do a variety of tasks, such as transporting ambulatory residents to physical therapy or recreational activities and meeting with residents, according to volunteer coordinator Sally Van Leeuwen.
Van Leeuwen began as a volunteer more than 10 years ago, working directly with residents, and then switched to plant maintenance and physical therapy transportation, before being hired as the volunteer coordinator.
Comment:
May God Bless Nancie Bourne.
It's Volunteers Like Her That Make Greenwich Special.
HEADLINE SHOULD READ:
2008 reading test scores is more proof that Greenwich school district administrators are failing our children.
Connecticut has previously cited failed Greenwich administrators for not making "adequate yearly progress" under George Bush's No Child Left Behind law.
QUOTE:
"If next year's results continue to go down like this, we're going to have a very serious problem," said Chris Winters the high paid and failed school administrator of curriculum, instruction and professional training. "We cannot have this happen again."
Cub Reporter Colin Gustafson's Exclusive Story:
Greenwich public school officials say they aren't taking any chances when it comes to addressing a precipitous decline in scores in the Connecticut Academic Performance Test.
With 10th-grade CAPT reading scores tumbling 10 percentage points to a five-year low this year, public school officials are rolling out aggressive reforms to the reading programs at the town's high school.
The measures include increasing t instruction time for reading in the ninth and 10th grade and administering periodic "practice tests" to chart students' progress before the actual exam....
...In Greenwich, the percentage of 10th-graders scoring "at goal" on the CAPT reading exam plummeted from 71.6 last year to 61.3 this year. The percentage scoring at the "advanced" level declined more sharply, from 41.4 to 28.2....
...GHS headmaster Al Capasso said Tuesday that his own faculty, after analyzing each student's test scores from last year, had uncovered a pattern of significantly lower results for a handful of reading teachers.
GHS teachers will spend a day in November learning how best to prepare their students for the reading exam. They also will begin assigning more non-fiction reading work to prepare 10th-graders for the CAPT's "reading for information" section, which uses newspaper and magazine articles as sample texts to gauge test-takers' comprehension....
...The board will vet the district's proposals on reading at the meeting Thursday at New Lebanon School at 7 p.m. Members also will consider the district's proposed capital spending plan for the 2009-10 school year; review a list of options for renovating the district's headquarters at the Havemeyer Building on Greenwich Avenue; and discuss state reimbursements for the Hamilton Avenue School project.
Comment:
Greenwich parents are disappointed and Greenwich students have suffered, because a confused high paid administrator named Chris Winters has failed put a system in place to screen every child who may end up needing additional support.
Chris Winters, who is the district's failed director of curriculum, instruction and professional training should have long ago began administering for the periodic diagnostic tests to allow teachers to single out specific students in need of extra help.
Greenwich schools was cited by Connecticut for not making "adequate yearly progress" under the federal No Child Left Behind law, based mainly on students' lackluster reading results.
Chris Winters, the district's failed director of curriculum, instruction and professional training repeatedly said he was hard pressed to explain the sharp declines.
Yet Greenwich High Sschool headmaster Alan Capasso says his own faculty, was able to do Chris Winter's job and analyze each student's test scores from last year, and then uncovered a pattern of significantly lower results for a handful of reading teachers.
Maybe we should fire failed Administrator Chris Winters and give his big fat pay check to Alan Capasso's faculty group that was able to figure out the data and come up with an action plan.
For The Record The Greenwich Citizen And The Greenwich Post Are Just As Clueless As Failed School Administrator Chris Winters.
There Is Nothing At Either Newspaper About This Greenwich School System Action Plan That Will Be Presented At Thursday's Board Of Education Meeting.
With the town drafting its land use initiatives for the next 10 years, the Commission on Aging fears a commitment to exploring work-force housing - particularly where senior care providers could live - may be left out.
More and more, Greenwich seniors want to stay at home rather than move to hospices or nursing homes, said Sam Diebler, director of the commission....
...the Planning and Zoning Commission reports a lack of subsidized housing in Greenwich. It commits to at least considering increasing the amount of affordable and senior housing, as well introducing work-force housing - affordable housing for town employees, such as teachers or police officers.
"What the draft of the plan does now is provide an arena for future discussions on work-force and senior housing," said Deibler. "If we don't have it in the POCD (Plan of Conservation and Development), it's not going to happen."
Deibler's concerns that the document's affordable housing goals could be deleted stem from Selectman Peter Crumbine's criticism last month.
"I've heard all the arguments for senior housing, for work-force housing and affordable housing, but you can't have it both ways," Crumbine said at a public meeting. "If you've got more housing, you've got more population....
...Crumbine also said that opening up work-force housing to some town employees and not others created a list of other problems. Emphasis should instead be put on increasing train service, he said, allowing out-of-town employees to more easily commute.
Town Planner Diane Fox, director of the Planning and Zoning Commission, said the Plan of Conservation and Development was currently being updated, but did not comment on the status of its housing goals.
"We are changing some things around," she wrote in an e-mail. "The revised version will be out by the end of the month for all to review and comment."
ONS\Orthopaedic and Neurosurgery Specialists PC of Greenwich are celebrating its 10th year.
The firm was founded by Drs. Seth Miller, John Crowe and Mark Camel, who were former colleagues at Greenwich Hospital.
ONS has 18 physicians including four neurosurgeons, 11 orthopaedic surgeons and three no-surgical doctors. The physicians include specialists in the spine, shoulder, upper extremity, hand and wrist, hip and knee, and foot and ankle, as well as joint replacement, physiatry, sports medicine and trauma.
ONS, located at 6 Greenwich Office Park, has a satellite office in Tully Health Center in Stamford.
************************************
Sandra Morgan of Sandra Morgan Interiors Inc. in Greenwich has been named one of the Top 50 Interior Designers in the New York Metro Area in the October 2008 issue of NY Spaces Magazine.
Morgan has operated an interior design firm in Greenwich for 20 years. To celebrate the firm's anniversary in June, she launched SM Home, a retail showroom featuring Swedish antiques, quality reproductions, unique decorative accessories and fine art.
NORWALK - A city couple was killed in an early Tuesday fire at their 17 Carlin St. home. Joyce and Norman Hunt were at home when the fire was reported at 1:30 a.m. The fire's cause remained under investigation, Norwalk Fire Chief Denis McCarthy said.
More Greenwich Time
Sports Stories:
Greenwich Time Editorial:
The griping was predictable. Some municipal officials in Connecticut have complained that the Democratic primary in the 4th Congressional District this year was a waste of money, and took funds needed to conduct next month's general election.
Officials in Shelton, for example cited their city's expenditure of $10,000 for the primary, won by the party-endorsed candidate, Jim Himes, by a ridiculous 87-13 percent margin over challenger Lee Whitnum. The vote wasn't really necessary, was the complaint.
This time, maybe it wasn't. But the law is the law. Ms. Whitnum crossed the necessary threshold of petition signatures to qualify for a spot on the ballot, and therefore had the right to a primary. There's no debate on that score.
It's worth remembering too the events of two years ago: Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman had for years inspired plenty of grousing, but initially few thought a then-unknown challenger, businessman Ned Lamont, had a shot to defeat him in a Democratic primary....
MORE EDITORIALS:
Letters To The
Greenwich Time Editor:
To the editor:
The Opinion Page column written by Managing Editor Jim Zebora ("Marriage ruling not logical," Greenwich Time, Oct. 17) is itself illogical and confused. The column searches, without success, for a means of reconciling the holders of traditional family values with the needs of non-traditional families in contracting ceremonial marriages.
The editor concludes that we need to change our legal structures to get government out of the marriage business - in effect, to let couples of all shapes and sizes have whatever ceremony they want, and simply require the government to memorialize the result. He proposes a sort of dumbed-down universal union that would not offend those easily offended when the status is bestowed on non-traditional couples.
The editor apparently proposes only the continuation of current law: In Connecticut, marriage has long been only a civil status, and couples may presently be joined by judges, magistrates or a Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is - or, if they choose, by clergy. The result is the same regardless of the status of the celebrant, and the government plays an extremely limited role in determining before whom the parties' union will be solemnized.
Until this month, gay and straight couples could have the same ceremonies but had to call the results by different names. The editor confounds these concepts.
Forty years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court held that anti-miscegenation laws were unconstitutional.
It is hard to believe that 16 states then still had such laws. Forty years from now, we will look back in similar disbelief at all forms of status-based barriers to marriage. Relegating same-sex couples to second-class citizenship by excluding them from the institution of civil marriage makes as little sense as it did for interracial couples.
Ultimately, the Kerrigan case is about dignity and respect. The notion that marriage can simply be replicated by a parallel but inferior institution makes no sense, nor does - as the editor proposes - relegating all couples to some lesser status in order not to give offense to some.
Hilary B. Miller
Greenwich
The writer is an attorney and a participating counsel in the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund.
More Letters To The
Greenwich Time Editor:
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