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Volume 18, Number 39
Health director leaving for job in Florida The director of the Plainville-Southington Regional Health District has resigned to accept a public health position in Florida. “I want to thank you all for the support over the years, I really appreciate it,” Shane Lockwood told the Lockwood Southington Town Council after delivering his last COVID-19 update during a council meeting, Sept. 13. According to Plainville Town Manager Robert Lee, Lockwood will be accepting a position as a county health director in Florida. Lockwood was not available to comment for this story. See Lockwood, A2
Serafino Pharmacy closes after 65 years By Devin Leith-Yessian Record-Journal staff
Operating a namesake pharmacy may have defined Ron Serafino’s life since he was a teenager, but the time had come to close the doors. Maryellen Edwards, director of Planning and Community Development, pulls a schematic from the archives in the planning department at the John Weichsel Center at 196 N. Main St. in Southington on Sept. 15. Dave Zajac, Record-Journal
New town planner starts on the job By Mary Ellen Godin Record-Journal staff
Balancing growth with conservation and preservation is the town’s biggest land use challenge, according to its new director of Planning and Community Development. Maryellen Edwards began her new Edwards role last month, filling the position left vacant when Rob Phillips departed. Phillips left in June and now serves as executive director of the Northwest Hills Council of Governments. Edwards, of Cheshire, most recently served as Woodbury’s town planner for nearly five years.
At age 70, Serafino wanted to spend more time with family. Still, he struggled with the decision to close the business. Making the move was “very difficult. It took me over a year to really put anything in motion and I kept wanting to go ahead,” Serafino said. He filled his last prescriptions Sept. 13, around 37 years after inheriting Serafino Pharmacy from his father, Paul Serafino, in 1984. As much as he loved helping his neighbors every day and will miss the conversations, he has a fourth grandchild on the way and wants to be
Pharmacist Ron Serafino fills orders as his black Labrador Retriever dog named Bosco lays by his feet. File photo
able to visit his children out of state more often. He has also watched friends and family lose their health See Serafino, A6
~ SPECIAL SECTION ENCLOSED ~
LOOK INSIDE!
See Edwards, A2
52nd SOUTHINGTON
APPLE HARVEST FESTIVAL October 1-3 and October 8-10
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By Devin Leith-Yessian Record-Journal staff
Friday, September 24, 2021