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PRST-STD U.S. Postage Paid Palmer, MA Permit #22
FREE! Long History of Serving the Community One hundred sixty-two years of history can be found at the Somersville Post Office. By the time Abraham Lincoln was elected, the post office had already opened and served the public through four presidential administrations. The United States consisted of only 30 states when this post office first opened its doors, and for the past 15 years or so Bob Hall of Somers, left, has been among the many residents to call the Somersville post office his post office. Photo by David Butler II
Snipping, Clipping and Downloading Extreme Coupon Savings By Linda Tishler Levinson With the introduction of “Extreme Couponers” on TLC, many people are talking about the show and asking if what these shoppers accomplish is even possible. These shoppers can be seen purchasing $5,000 worth of groceries and paying around $250. Local couponers say it is possible — to a point.
In This Issue • EAST WINDSOR: Selectmen seek small budget increase ................p. 4 • EAST WINDSOR: Trolley museum opens for 71st season ........................p. 5 • ELLINGTON: High school drama club presents bullying play ........p. 9 • REGIONAL: Walkers sought for Relay for Life ............................p. 12 • ELLINGTON: Friends of Music hold first pancake breakfast..............p. 13 • ELLINGTON: Selectmen seek a 2.14% budget increase ............p. 14
Gina Juliano of Enfield runs the website Gina’s Kokopelli at www.ginaskokopelli.com, which welcomes visitors to her “manic obsession for all things coupon/free/cheap.” A former assistant principal at Weaver High School in Hartford, Juliano lost her $104,000-a-year job in June 2009. Suddenly, she was on unemployment com-
pensation bringing home $26,000 a year. Before her job loss, she and her husband, Gary McNeff, were spending $800 to $1,000 a month on food, toiletries, dog and cat supplies, and cleaning products at the grocery store. Juliano began going on the Internet looking for coupons. “There wasn’t a Connecticut-specific website,” she said.
So, she decided to start her own. “My husband thought I was nuts,” she said. McNeff was concerned that she would only be able to buy junk food or packaged items with coupons. He is a gourmet cook and does the cooking for their family, and he likes to prepare food from scratch. He wanted ingredients to cook with, not
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• ELLINGTON: Senior center offers wide variety of programs ..........p. 17 • SOMERS: Dads & Donuts draws a crowd to the library........................p. 19 • SOMERS: Knorr will be named to Board of Selectmen ........................p. 22 • SOMERS: Local mom will chair efforts for March of Dimes ......................p. 24 • STAFFORD: Selectmen seek 4 percent increase in annual town budget ..p. 26 • EDUCATION: Honor rolls............p. 33 • AUTO: Hyundai Elantra..............p. 37 • CLASSIFIEDS:....................pp. 38-39
• NEXT ISSUE • DEADLINE: April 29, 2011 (860) 698-0020 www.thenorthcentralnews.com
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