The Berlin
Cit itiz ize en
Volume 15, Number 35
Berlin’s Only Hometown Newspaper
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Homicide in Berlin uncommon, rarely involves locals
Razzle dazzle
By Olivia L. Lawrence The Berlin Citizen
Citizen photo by Olivia L. Lawrence
Berlin High School’s Band Camp was in session last week, getting ready for football season with tunes from “Chicago” such as Razzle Dazzle. To see video of the band go to www.berlincitizen.com. Berlin High School music Director Mark Bowling oversees the program.
In July, a man was charged with attempted murder after a stand-off with police at a motel in Berlin. Police said he stabbed a woman and she was hospitalized with serious injuries — it could have been worse if police hadn’t intervened when they did. But, historically, this sort of crime is unusual in Berlin. The timeline for murder in town stretches out with large gaps over the decades — homicides occurred in 2006, 1996, 1988, and 1978. “It’s relatively infrequent,” said Deputy Chief John Klett, adding, that
Berlin Fair president gets ready for the show
Diane Dornfried Jacobson, who is fair president for the 63rd annual rendition of Berlin’s beloved fall event, says her family is no stranger to the job. “It’s been 20 years since my Dad was president,” Jacobson said of Robert DornJacobson fried Sr. The former president of the Lions Club Berlin Fair has been “very helpful” to the current presi-
dent. “It’s nice having him there for moral support,” Jacobson said, adding that she has a brother, a son, and husband who are also involved and they provide “a nice support network — as do all the other guys and girls at the fair.” Jacobson talked about the new features to look for at the Beckley Road fairgrounds. The fair opens Sept. 30. “We’ll be having professional bullriders — that’s a pretty big deal for us. I’ll be curious to see what it’s about,” Jacobson said
See Homicide, page 5
For storm coverage and updates see page 3.
Taking the bull by the horns — By Olivia L. Lawrence The Berlin Citizen
when it does happen, the incident usually doesn’t involve a resident. In the latest Berlin Turnpike case, the man was from Meriden and the woman from Wallingford. Often, Berlin’s homicide or attempted homicide incidents involve a transient population, Klett said. Sometimes, the murder may have taken place elsewhere, but the body ends up in Berlin. For instance, in 1996 a man was shot in the head and dumped from a vehicle at a pig farm on Middletown Road. The man was from New Britain and was involved with drugs. In this
of the Xtreme Team Bull Riding event. The idea for a bullriding exhibition came from Lion B r i a n Matson, who’s involved in that area of interest. “We asked ‘what’s going to bring people to the fair’ and that seemed like a really See Fair, page 6
Bullriding is on for the fair. See a video interview of all the fair’s highlights at www.berlincitizen.com.