The Berlin
Cit itiz ize en Berlin’s Only Hometown Newspaper
Volume 15, Number 6
Thursday, Februar y 10, 2011
Government highlights
School referendum
Grand list
6th District debate
A date has been set for a referendum regarding renovation and expansion of Berlin High School. March 15 voters will have a chance to decide whether or not the town should move forward with a $69,950,000 project to address code and educational inadequacies at the school. The cost of the project is expected to be paid from an estimated $22,621,830 in a state grant and $47,328,170 from town general obligation bonds. The Town Council approved the date at its Jan. 25 meeting. All polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. March 15. Summarizing the view of proponents, Mayor Adam Salina said “The building is almost 60 years old. We have an opportunity to renovate the high school — do it once, do it right and capitalize on state reimbursement, lower construction costs and extremely favorable interst rates. Or, if it’s defeated, do it piecemeal and pay larger sums of
The assessor has signed off on the 2010 Grand List, a financial analysis that shows the town had an overall growth in value of 1.48 percent last year over the previous year. That brings the total valuation of real estate, personal property and motor vehicles to over $2.3 billion. The biggest change came in the motor vehicle line which showed an increase of over $7 million or a 4.52 percent jump over last year’s assessment. The net assessment of motor vehicles is nearly $165 million. “There were a lot of new vehicles,” said Assessor Joseph Ferraro, attributing the purchases to the many incentives car dealers offered. Last year the Grand List grew by 1.4 percent and with the sluggish economy that was considered a decent increase as many towns had no growth or a decline. This year, “It’s a tad more — it’s good,” Ferraro said. The growth will “help keep the mill rate
(See page 3 for profiles of the candidates: New Britain Mayor Timothy Stewart and former state Rep. Terry Gerratana.) A debate between the candidates for the 6th District state senatorial seat is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 12 at 1:30 p.m. at Trinity on Main, 69 Main St., New Britain. The 6th District includes Berlin, New Britain and a portion of Farmington. Candidates for the seat are Tim Stewart, the mayor of Stewart New Britain and former legislator Teresa Gerratana. A special election for this seat is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 22. Moderator for the debate is Dr. Mark Russak, a League of Women Voters trained moderator. Questions for the debate can be submitted in advance to: Nancy Greenough, 747 Lower Lane, Berlin; or Gerratana Marjola Nelson, 407 Steele St., New Britain. The public is encouraged to attend
See School, page 8
See Grand, page 25
See Debate, page 13
Kids send vets a cheery ‘hello’ By Olivia L. Lawrence The Berlin Citizen
With the help of Berlin High School Upbeat, fourth graders at Griswold Elementary School connected with Berlin’s veterans this winter with an “out of the blue” project. “We wanted to give them a smile and make their day,” said Rachael Cavanagh , one of the 99 fourth graders who participated. Working with Upbeat’s Griswold House, led by BHS senior Samantha Hall, students came up with a new twist on reaching out to local veterans. They decided, that after the holiday season was over — when people are likely to be getting cards and enjoying more activity and so-
Snow days puts schools to the test Graduation, tests and roofs the issues By Olivia L. Lawrence The Berlin Citizen
Citizen photo by Olivia L. Lawrence
Fourth graders at Griswold Elementary School talk about the letters they received from local veterans. From left: Mark Bednarczyk, Siobhan Dornfried, Max See Kids, page 8 Schlein, Rachael Cavanagh, Colin Asklar.
The school district was originally set to end classes June 15, but a winter that has “wreaked havoc” with schedules, means the last day, graduation and other dates may need adjustment, according to Superintendent of Schools David Erwin. Erwin said these issues will be a topic of discussion with the Board of Education at its Feb. 14 meeting. “It’s been a unique
year with snow…its wreaked havoc with everyone’s schedule,” Erwin said, adding “And we don’t know what is ahead of us.” The district has used six snow days so far. With the current schedule, Thursday, June 23 would be the last day of classes. That is “kind of unprecedented,” Erwin said, of the atypically late finish. The district has 183 days of instruction in its calendar and the state mandates students have classes scheduled for a minimum of 180. That requirement is likely to impact graduation See Snow, page 27