www.northhavencitizen.com
Volume 12, Number 37
Friday, December 14, 2018
Residents push back against bullies Services problem in this town and we need to address it,” Morfi said last Friday, after attending the meeting and speaking during public comment.
By Bailey Wright The Citizen
More than two weeks after a resident received a threatening letter in the mail, town officials and residents spoke out at a recent Board of Selectmen meeting.
Lisa Burton brought to the meeting a sign she alleges was mangled multiple times in her front yard during recent campaign seasons, forcing her to stock up.
The week of Thanksgiving, Danielle Morfi received an unsigned letter threatening to “expose” her and expressing embarrassment of her actions. The letter prompted a police investigation. Morfi, and several town officials, believe Morfi was targeted for being outspoken at public meetings. During a Thursday, Dec. 6 meeting, some residents spoke up during the public comment portion to voice their disdain for the actions of the person, or group, that sent the letter to Morfi. Several residents shared their own stories of bullying
North Haven resident Danielle Morfi speaks during a Board of Selectmen meeting on Thursday, Dec. 6. | Bailey Wright, The Citizen
in town, saying Morfi’s experience isn’t isolated. “So many people came out to talk about their own experience, and their own
state of concern and disgust with the climate that hasn't really been addressed, that we cannot ignore the fact that we have a
The sign, designed by Signs of Justice, features alternating lines of statements starting with “we believe” and ending with “black lives matter” and “women’s rights are human rights.” Burton said the sign was first “demolished” about a week after she put a campaign sign for a Democratic candidate next to it. She replaced it, and the next year, it was mangled again after putting another Democratic candidate’s sign up beside it. See Bullies, A11
Weekend fundraiser for animal rescue By Bailey Wright The Citizen
Rescue K 9-11 will hold a fundraiser at Bagelicious on Saturday, Dec. 15 to raise money for the medical care and supplies of eight sick puppies and their mother. The public is welcome at Bagelicious II, 91 Washington Ave., from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. to take photos with Santa for $10. Supplies to be donated will also be collected.
“I’ll be grateful for anything,” said Gina Queiroga, co-founder of the homegrown rescue organization. The funds will go to the nonprofit Rescue K 9-11, to support Queiroga’s current rescued litter, who were recently very ill and required significant medical attention. Queiroga said the litter is about three weeks old and was born while she and her family were in transit with the mother from Jacksboro, Texas.
About a week ago the 10 puppies started acting oddly and stopped eating on the mother, so Queiroga brought a few of them to the vet, where they were tested for a variety of things. All the tests came back fine, but over the next few days, the puppies were still not acting right. Queiroga said that if she hadn’t decided to bring the animals to a friend, Cheryl Podyma at the beCAUSE 4 A puppy saved by North PAWS clinic in Milford, she Haven Rescue K 9-11. See Rescue, A10
| Photo courtesy North Haven K 9-11
held for longtime firefighter By Bailey Wright The Citizen
Howard Cappetta was honored with a full firefighter’s funeral Monday for his more than 40 years of volunteer service, which friends have said will have a lasting impact on the fire department. “We don’t do that very often,” Fire Chief Paul Januszewski said. “We’re making an exception because Howie was such an enthusiast of antique fire trucks, so that’s where he will be, in an antique fire truck.” “Howie,” as his friends call him, was 60 years old when he died surrounded by family at Connecticut Hospice in Branford on Dec. 5. He joined the North Haven Fire Department in 1974, starting at the West Ridge Volunteer Co. #3 and later transferring to the Montowese Volunteer Co. #2. The funeral service was held Monday morning at Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity Parish at St. Therese Church, and was followed by a procession to the All Saints Cemetery for the burial, with a brief stop in front of the Montowese Firehouse, where Cappetta’s firefighting equipment was laid out in remembrance. Januszewski said full firefighter funerals are normally See Services, A10