The Berlin
Cit itiz ize en Volume 14, Number 1
Berlin’s Only Hometown Newspaper
Thursday, Januar y 7, 2010
She’s a real life saver
Dodd makes visit to talk about jobs
By Olivia L. Lawrence Associate Editor
Citizen photo by Olivia L. Lawrence
U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd shakes hands with Peter Campanelli, of Cambridge Specialties, and a member of the town’s Economic Development Commission. Dodd was in town Jan. 4 to meet with local business leaders at the Berlin-Peck Memorial Library. Dodd is holding a series of meetings around the state to promote his jobs agenda and to get community input on economic concerns. About a dozen business leaders participated along with: Mayor Adam Salina, Deputy Mayor Steve Morelli, Economic Development Director Jim Mahoney, Town Manager Denise McNair and Chamber of Commerce Director Kate Fuechsel.
This was a school expulsion of which one student can be proud and another student can be grateful. It was Dec. 23, the day before the long holiday break. Berlin High School juniors, Stephanie LaPierre and Hailie Shaw, were in study hall laughing, talking and not doing too much in the way of academics — after all, school would soon close for the next week and a half. Hailie was enjoying a gobstopper — also known as a jawbreaker — a hard candy about an inch across. “It went really fast to the back of my throat,” Hailie recalled during an interview this week. She couldn’t talk or breathe. She did manage to gesture to her throat and alert Stephanie to the situation. “She was purple — and white. She had no expres-
sion,” said Stephanie. “I jumped up out of my chair and I knew what to do. Amazingly, I didn’t question it. It wasn’t until that night— I was overwhelmed. I thought ‘oh, my God, I saved her life’.” After Stephanie administered several deep Heimlichs to Hailie, the gobstopper “was expelled,” according to Assistant Principal Janet Parlato. “It went flying,” Hailie said as both girls laughed in retrospective at the critical event. The manueveur required that Stephanie get behind her friend, place her thumb forcefully against Halie’s sternum, and exert pressure. “She did it pretty hard, too,” Hailie recalled, although she wasn’t sore after the fact. “She did what she was
See Life, page 4
No motive found yet in New Year’s arson case By Olivia L. Lawrence Associate Editor A New Jersey man is being held on $250,000 bond and has been charged with first-degree arson, reckless burning, first-degree criminal mischief and second-degree reckless endangerment after setting fire to a home at 93 Hudson Street just after the New Year began Jan.1. Stephen Brummell, 20, recently of Woolwich, N.J., was arrested and charged with setting fire to the home minutes after midnight. The house is currently boarded up and secured
until the insurance company can make a determination of the damage which the fire marshal’s office said included extensive heat and smoke damage. According to the fire marshal’s office, Brummell was a friend or acquaintance of one of the sons in the family which was displaced by the fire. Public records show the house belongs to the Walentukonis family. Brummel used to live in Berlin and recently had moved back to the area and was staying with various people he knew. Fire Marshal Steve Waznia said
Brummell admitted to starting the fire, however there is no known motive at this time. Brummel allegedly used a cigarette lighter to start the fire. As there was a delay in discovery of the fire, the flame apparently had time to spread significantly and involve other areas of the house. Waznia said dispatch received multiple calls including one from a family member. Three family members, as well as Brummell, were in the house when they heard glass breaking in the area of the porch after which they discovered the fire.
After waking the father, who was sleeping upstairs, a family member called 911. All four fire departments responded to the scene where they encountered heavy fire conditions on the first floor where the rear porch was involved as well as a kitchen and a first floor bedroom. Deputy Fire Marshal Matt Odishoo said it appeared the fire “moved pretty quick” from the porch to the main house. A dog that was in the kitchen died as a result of the incident. There were no other injuries. (Editor Robert Mayer contributed to this story.)