WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2012

REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN

7B

SANDY HOOK REMEMBRANCES

Towns across Connecticut invite residents to remember the Sandy Hook victims. Burlington: The towns of Harwinton and Burlington, joined by the Region 10 Board of Education, will host a candlelight vigil Sunday at 4:30 p.m. outside Lewis S. Mills High School. People are encouraged to bring a flameless candle or flashlight. If there is inclement weather, the vigil will be moved inside, where real candles are not allowed. Kent: First Selectman Bruce K. Adams is asking all residents to step outside and listen to the bells from Kent School, St. Andrews Church and First Congregational Church when they join a statewide moment of silence and the ringing of bells 26 times at 9:30 a.m. Friday. Friday at 6 p.m., an ecumenical prayer service will be held at St. Andrews Church, led by the Rev. David McIntosh, Rev. Melinda Keck and the Rev. Roger White. The offering at that service will be equally divided between the emergency medical technicians of Kent Volunteer Fire Department and emergency services in Sandy Hook. Thomaston: The town and the local churches will hold a vigil 4 p.m. Sunday at the Thomaston Firehouse, 245 S. Main St. Waterbury: The Sanctuary of The First Congregational Church of Waterbury, 222 West Main St., will be open to the public this week from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Waterbury: A prayer service for the children and the teachers lost at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown will be held at the Albanian American Muslim Community on Thursday at 7 p.m. at 38 Raymond St. Watertown: A special service of solidarity and remembrance will be held Friday at 6 p.m. at St. John the Evangelist Church, 574 Main St. A collection will be taken up as the parish and parish schools support for the families of the Newtown community. Call 860-274-8836 for information. Winsted: Students from the Gilbert School have organized a vigil at 6 p.m. Friday at East End Park. Woodbury: Town officials have organized a vigil at 4 p.m. Sunday at Hollow Park. All clergy and community groups have been invited to offer words of solace and reflection during this community gathering. For information, call the First Selectmans Office at 203263-2141, send an email to JanK@woodburyct.org or call the Parks and Recreation Office at 203-263-3113. Hochsprung Memorial Fund at the Waterbury CT Teachers Federal Credit Union. Hochsprung was the principal of Sandy Hook Elementary School, and was killed in the massacre there Friday. Contributions may be brought or mailed to Waterbury Connecticut Teachers Federal Credit Union, 773 Straits Turnpike, Middlebury, CT 06762. For information, call 203-758-9500 or 800-992-2226. Newtown: A group of Newtown parents of the children who survived Fridays Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting has formed the My Sandy Hook Family Fund (http://www.MySandyHookFamilyFund.com) to provide immediate and continuing support to the 26 families who lost children and family members. To make a donation, visit MySandyHookFamilyFund.co m. Donations are being processed through EverRibbon, which charges four percent plus thirty cents per donation. This fee covers credit card processing. One hundred percent of the net proceeds will be donated to the victims families. Newtown: The U.S. Postal Service has established a unique Post Office Box to allow the public to send condolences to those affected by the tragedy in Newtown. Those who wish to send expressions of comfort should address them to: Messages of Condolence for Newtown, PO Box 3700, Newtown CT 06470 Waterbury: United Way of Greater Waterbury and its community partners are joining forces to provide support services to members of the Greater Waterbury community in response to the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. On Saturday, trained clinicians will be available from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Waterbury Police Activity League, 64 Division St., to provide support to individuals and families affected by the tragedy. For information call the United Way of Greater Waterbury 203-757-9855 or visit unitedwaygw.org. Wolcott: The town has set up a fund for victims of the Newtown shootings. Donations to the towns Sandy Hook Fund will go directly to the Newtown Savings Banks survivors fund. Checks should be made payable to the Sandy Hook fund and mailed to: Town Hall; Attn: Linda Bruce, finance officer; Wolcott 06716. Also, donations may be dropped off at Town Hall. University of Connecticut: The Sandy Hook School Memorial Scholarship Fund will provide financial aid at UConn for any students who currently attend the elementary school, siblings of those killed in the assault and dependents of teachers and other adults who also lost their lives. The aid will be available to students who are admitted to UConn, complete required financial aid forms, and qualify for assistance. Any remaining balance afterward will benefit future students from Newtown who attend UConn. Contributions in the amount of $10 may be made by texting 50555 with uconn newtown (alumni should also add name and graduation year uconn newtown John Smith 88). Contributions may also be made online at www.friends.uconn.edu/sandyhook or by mailing a check to the UConn Foundation at 2390 Alumni Drive Unit 3206, Storrs, CT 06269-3206. Please note on your check that the gift is for the Sandy Hook School Memorial Scholarship Fund.

SHARPTON: Warning on love of guns

Continued from 1B against our children, were not worthy of having children, said Sharpton, calling for a ban on semiautomatic weapons similar the one police say Adam Lanza used to kill 26 people at a Newtown school before killing himself. Sharpton, who is also a Baptist minister, spoke to more than 600 people at Zion Baptist Church on Tuesday night. The event was sponsored by the Connecticut Baptist Convention. We should look at Newtown and make this the drawing line, Sharpton said. We cannot in our lifetime allow this to happen again. Sharpton said the country needs to ban assault weapons because you dont need 100 rounds of ammunition to protect yourself. Also, he said the country must find a better way to deal with people who suffer from mental health issues. The time is for all of us to come together: black, white, rich, poor, Sharpton said. We must send a united message to this country. Lanza used a Bushmaster .223-caliber semiautomatic rifle to kill students and teachers in the school, according to police. His mother legally owned the gun. These guns must be challenged by people who respect

CHRISTOPHER MASSA REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN

A packed Zion Baptist Church acknowledge the Rev. Al Sharpton Tuesday night in Waterbury. Sharpton was speaking about gun control following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. life, Sharpton said, as the crowd applauded. Some of the blame for the tragedy in Newtown lies in societys desensitization to violence, he said. People watch violence on TV as a form of entertainment, he pointed out. And kids play violent video games. Sometimes it takes the bloodshed of children to wake us up, Sharpton said. We cannot return the (families) loved ones, but we can make sure they did not die in vain. Changing peoples mindset about guns starts with parenting, he said. If you raise a child to think violence is acceptable, then how are you going to be shocked when that child acts how he was raised? Sharpton said. He said proper parenting can begin at Christmastime, by

ensuring that children arent given toy guns or violent video games as gifts. Some of you right now are sitting here saying (the tragedy in Newtown) is a shame, and youre going home and putting a toy gun under the Christmas tree, Sharpton said. Children dont need a toy gun for Christmas, Sharpton said, his voice rising. They need a book.

DAWN: Principals sacrifice memorialized

Continued from 1B mourn the loss of 26 lives here today, including Dawns, there are many other students and educators in Sandy Hook who will live on because of Dawns sacrifice. The borough, Hochsprungs family and the Congregational Church of Naugatuck organized the vigil to memorialize the victims of last weeks shooting spree. The churchs bells rang 26 times before speakers began to address the crowd, standing near a giant angel that art students at Naugatuck High School built and decorated with messages to the victims and their families. Each speakers voice broke as they talked of Hochsprung, who lived in Woodbury at the time of her death but had family and friends in the borough. She was 47 when she died. Her family has set up the Dawn Lafferty Hochsprung Memorial Fund, which will give scholarships to Naugatuck High School graduates who aspire to be educators. Hochsprung graduated in 1983 from Naugatuck High School and was soon a single

CHRISTOPHER MASSA REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN

A grandson, who was not named, holds a candle on the Naugatuck Green during a vigil honoring the late Dawn Lafferty Hochsprung, a Naugatuck native, who was killed during the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Hochsprung was the principal at the school. mother of two girls, said Paul Singley, a friend and the editor of the Patch news sites for the borough and Oxford. She got her masters degree while raising her daughters, doing homework in the bleachers at their sports games, Singley said. When Singley was a reporter at the Republican-American covering the Region 14 school system, Hochsprung, then a principal there, introduced him to the woman who is now

his wife, Katie Singley. Hochsprungs former track coach, Ron Aliciene, said she was named captain her senior year but took it upon herself to organize things as if she were the assistant coach. She got involved in the parent-teacher organization for her daughters school and the Union City Little League, Aliciene said. This community, our country, our state and our world lost somebody who made a difference, Aliciene said. Although Hochsprung was killed, her character and good deeds will live on, said the Rev. Gordon Rankin of the Congregational Church, who officiated the vigil. We lost an inspirational and heroic life and 25 others much like it, but all that happened last Friday could not kill Dawns love, Rankin said. Kevin DelGobbo, a former state official and longtime friend of Hochsprungs, said although he was saddened by her death, he was grateful for her life. Thank you, Dawn, for the lives you have saved, DelGobbo said. Thank you, Dawn, for the lives you have changed and inspired.

Memorial funds and other efforts

Newtown: The United Way of Western Connecticut, in partnership with Newtown Savings Bank, has established the Sandy Hook Support Fund. Donations will help underwrite support services, immediate needs, and funeral expenses for the victims. Donations can be mailed to Sandy Hook Support Fund, c/o Newtown Savings Bank, 39 Main St., Newtown, CT 06470. Danbury: Regional Hospice and Home Care of Western Connecticut has offered the support of its Healing Hearts Center for Grieving Children and Families in Danbury. Healing Hearts provides grief and bereavement support for children and families who have suffered the loss of a loved one. While not a mental health center, Healing Hearts social workers are specialists in bereavement counseling and support groups, all of which are provided free to the public. Healing Hearts does not provide trauma counseling, but past experience has shown that families benefit significantly from grief and bereavement support days, months and even years after a traumatic experience. For information, call 203702-7400. Waterbury: The family of Dawn Hochsprung has established the Dawn Lafferty

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