RepublicanAmerican

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2013 FINAL 75

REP-AM.COM

State Guard to take hit

Malloy says federal budget cuts would furlough 576 personnel

JIMMIES BIG DAY

JIMMIE JOHNSON WINS DAYTONA 500, PAGE 1C

ASSOCIATED PRESS

NVL HOOPS FINAL 4

WATERTOWN, WOLCOTT ARE SURPRISE TEAMS IN NVL BOYS SEMIFINALS, PAGE 1C

HARTFORD Automatic federal budget cuts set to take effect this week would result in the furlough of 576 National Guard personnel in Connecticut, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said Sunday. The Democratic governor, sparring with former Republican Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi on CNN, said Republicans who control the U.S.

House of Representatives are seeking to cut unspecified services to preserve military spending. They want to make sure they get their defense spending so they want to take more out of services, they want to take more out of the middle class, they want to really beat up the middle class pretty bad, Malloy said. This has real consequences and its absolutely the wrong time to be doing this.

In response, Barbour said Democrats who run the U.S. Senate have failed to propose an alternative spending plan. Col. John Whitford, a spokesman for the Connecticut National Guard, said in an interview with The Associated Press that the 576 National Guard personnel who would be affected represent nearly 90 percent of technicians who do See CUTS, Page 3A

WHATS TO LOSE
If federal budget cuts take effect, Connecticuts potential losses include about $15 million for education, thousands of Department of Defense civilian jobs, and more than $1 million for publichealth related programs. See a list on Page 3A.

Newtown volunteers saving, answering the

Cheshire may put eyes on bus

Cheshires Town Council is expected to vote soon on a proposal to install cameras on school buses to catch motorists who illegally pass buses. PAGE 1B

letters of love

Energy facility proposed in Ansonia

Plant will turn food waste into power, compost
BY ALIA MALIK
REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN

Banker ready for a challenge

Charles J. Boulier III had big shoes to fill when he took over as head of Naugatuck Savings Bank last month because of the huge growth under his predecessor. PAGE 1D

Pope bestows final blessing

Pope Benedict XVI gave his final Sunday blessing to a cheering crowd in St. Peters Square. He resigns from the papacy on Thursday. PAGE 5A

Web still danger zone for teens

Despite social websites having rules and trying to keep teens safe, an educator says a large number of youths meet people in person after meeting them online. PAGE 1B

OPINION OF THE DAY: Ridding the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy and ministries of pedophiles and those who have covered up their crimes against children, rather than hiding these poor souls behind church lawyers and Vatican walls, is critical for the new papacy. Peter F. Fox, Middlebury
READ THE FULL LETTER ON PAGE 4A

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Stephanie Porzio, left, reads a condolence letter Friday sent to Newtown in response to the Dec. 14 massacre of 26 students and staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Porzio and her mother, Lauren Porzio, right, are part of the Newtown Volunteer Task Force that is creating an archive of all the condolences and letters of support that arrived.

ANSONIA It is a familiar scenario: A company proposes to build the largest food-wasteto-energy plant in the country, here in a depressed town along the Naugatuck River. Such a project was shot down in Waterbury four years ago, but it could become a reality in Ansonia as early as next year. Greenpoint Energy Partners, a company based in Brooklyn, N.Y., is plan>> Artists ning to sink rendering of $30 million into the proposed a facility that energy plant, would use a Page 3A. process called anaerobic digestion to convert 150 tons of food waste daily into two megawatts of electric power and 60 tons of compost. The company would sell the power to municipal buildings and local businesses at an equal or lesser rate than they are paying now, said Chris Timbrell, one of the partners in Greenpoint. Supermarkets, restaurants and universities that use the plant would pay less in tipping fees than they do now, Timbrell said. The plant would create at least eight jobs and add high-tech facilities to the citys property tax rolls, he said.

See PLANT, Page 3A

WEB EXTRAS
TO DAY AT R E P -A M .CO M >> THE NVLS FUTURE Joe Palladino has details on the
addition of Oxford High School to the Naugatuck Valley League. Read more in his Off the Record blog. >> FEED THEM, THEYLL COME Look in the Gardening blog for tips on making the best bird feeders for your yard. >> WORTH REPEATING Seeing is believing and Malloy has shown me nothing but that he loves to spend. posted by raycity on the story Malloy: Better times ahead. >> FOLLOW ON TWITTER Stay tuned to the new account RepAMnewsdesk for headlines and more. >> WINSTED TAX WATCH View a comparison of Winsteds old and new assessments and estimated taxes at rep-am.com.

Volunteers archive thousands of good wishes

BY PAT EATON-ROBB
ASSOCIATED PRESS

OSCAR
WINNERS
Argo was named best picture Sunday night at the 85th annual Academy Awards show in Los Angeles.

41 Low 23
High

Sunny and cool today; rain coming later in the week. Page 6C

AnniesMailbox 6C Business 1D Classified 4D Comics 3D Crossword 6B

Editorials 4A Horoscope 6C Jumble 6B Lottery 2A Movie theaters 6C

Obituaries 4-5B Public record 2A Sudoku 6B Television 6B Your Page 5A

24 pages. 2013 Republican-American Established 1881, Waterbury, Connecticut All rights reserved

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Read todays editions online at rep-am.com

ome letters come from church groups, others from parents whove lost children of their own. One came from a police officer who responded to the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City. Theyre some of the estimated 175,000 cards and letters of support and condolences that have poured into Newtown from around the world since Decembers massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary school, and volunteers are working to preserve them and say thank you to as many senders as they can, one handwritten note at a time. The archiving project is the brainchild of resident Yolie Moreno, who said she was floored to see the trays and trays of letters lining the walls of the towns municipal building after the mass shooting, many containing artwork or the thoughts of schoolchildren. One that touched her was a childs watercolor, with You dont know how strong you are until being STRONG is the only option you have, written over it in marker.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Origami dogs made by elementary school children in New Jersey are part of a collection of cards and letters that the Newtown Volunteer Task Force is sifting through. Its incredible, incredible stuff, Moreno said. And I imagine everyone who sent something would like to know that it was held, read, touched, photographed and shared. With the permission of town officials, Moreno and a handful of other volunteers have begun photographing as much of it as they can. Tray by tray, wed take the letters out of the envelopes and photograph them, sometimes as a group, sometimes single letters, and try to motor through as much as we could, Moreno said. We are trying just to document the outpouring from around the world. See LETTERS, Page 3A

Other big winners include: >> Best-actor awards went to Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook) and Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln). >> The best director Oscar went to Ang Lee for Life of Pi. >> Best-supporting actor honors went to Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables) and Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained). >> Brave was named best Animated Feature Film.