The Berlin
Cit itiz ize en Berlin’s Only Hometown Newspaper
Volume 13, Number 20
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Petition may hold up trash switch
Up close and personal
By Olivia L. Lawrence Associate Editor The plan for automated trash collection recently approved by the Town Council is being challenged. The new pick-up system was supposed to begin the first week of July, but it appears those plans may be stalled by a petition seeking an ordinance to keep the old system in place until the point in time when no other option is available. Town Clerk Kate Wall certified the petition May 6. There were 677 verified electors who signed the petition.
The proposed ordinance was drafted by Paul Argazzi who also drafted the original ordinance in 1999. “The current (trash collection) contract is in violation of the ordinance,” Argazzi said. The proposed ordinance reaffirms the existing ordinance that allows residents to throw out trash in cans and bags. “The council can’t take that right away from us by going to automated collection.” Mayor Adam Salina said “I don’t see the down side to it… you either do it now and
See Trash, page 9
BOE seeks kindergarten registrations Kensington Preschool Academy student Aubrey Young gets a closer look at some caterpillars. Aubrey and her classmates watched the caterpillars make their chrysallis and turn into butterflies, then set them free.
Kindergarten registration forms have been sent for all children who will reach the age of five years on or before December 31, 2009, as well as any children already five and not registered in school. If you have a child in this category and have not received a registration form, contact the Board of Education office at (860) 828-6581. If you have already received a form, please return it as soon as possible.
Berlin Relay speaker Lobo lived her cancer in public eye By Robert Mayer Managing Editor It’s hard enough having cancer in obscurity, but when your battle is played out in the public eye it can be even more draining. That was the plight of RuthAnn Lobo and her diagnosis of breast cancer in 1993. Her diagnosis came during the same time her daughter, Rebecca, was becoming the most famous female basketball player in the world as a member of the University of Connecticut women’s basketball team and later the first player drafted into the WNBA.
RuthAnn Lobo has entertained, inspired, and coached numerous audiences nationally on a variety
Ruthann Lobo
of topics including education, gender equity/sexual harassment, mothers and daughters, and women’s
Countdown to Berlin Relay: 2 Weeks
health issues. She will do so again at the Berlin Relay for Life on May 30 and 31 at the Berlin Fairgrounds. She is schedule to speak at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 30. “When I was diagnosed in 1993 it was still known as ‘the big C’,” Lobo said. “People wouldn’t even talk about it and didn’t want to talk about it because they were afraid. I am in education and I remember a student came to me and said his mother had cancer and she was diagnosed over six years ago, but was doing very well. Talking about it in public was not something anyone felt comfortable with. It was simple. If you had cancer it was a
death sentence.” Lobo specializes in workshops and presentations on gender equity and sexual harassment in schools. She also is committed to speaking on coping with breast cancer. She served Connecticut as an educator and middle school counselor for 33 years. She was the Title IX compliance coordinator for the district of Granby and a member of the Connecticut State Advisory Board for Equity. In 1990 she was a finalist for the Connecticut State Teacher of the Year. Lobo and daughter Rebec-
See Lobo, page 8