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April 24, 2016

THE VALLEY INDY

Issue 11 | A Weekly Summary of Stories from ValleyIndy.org FREE
Drug Charges Lodged
ANSONIA Ansonia police
arrested a Waterbury man
after allegedly finding heroin,
crack cocaine, and about
$17,000 in cash after raiding a
Howard Avenue apartment
April 14.
Ocers from the
departments Anti-Crime
Unit, as well as detectives and
patrol ocers, served a search
warrant at the apartment
the first floor of 190 Howard
Ave. about 10 a.m.,
according to a probable cause
report authored by Detective
Kristen Hunt.
They allegedly found more
than two ounces of heroin,
under one ounce of crack
cocaine, roughly $17,000 in
cash, and other items
pertaining to the sale of
narcotics.
Jamar Jones, a 34-year-old
Waterbury resident, was
charged with two counts each
of sale of narcotics, possession
of narcotics, possession of
narcotics within 1,500 feet of
a school, and possession of
narcotics with intent to sell
within 1,500 feet of a school.
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Ansonia Wooden Playground Razed

ANSONIA For 25 years thousands of Ansonia kids have
climbed, slid, and frolicked on the wooden playground at the
Ansonia Nature and Recreation Center.
But the playground reached the end of its life this week, after
Mayor David Cassetti said a six-inch wood splinter caused a
nasty injury to a child playing there.
Crews from the public works department were in the process
of tearing the playground down Tuesday morning. Nature
Center ocials and volunteers are now ramping up a
fundraising eort to replace the playscape.
The wooden playground was built in 1991 as part of a
community eort.
See 'Playground,' page 2 . . .
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April 24, 2016

. . . 'Playground,' from page 1

Cassetti said he ordered it closed Monday following a report
from a building inspector that deemed it unsafe.
The mayor said he had the building inspector inspect the
playground because a child playing there was severely injured
by a wooden splinter last week.

Remembering Leah
ANSONIA Little League
held a ceremony April 16 to
remember 6-year-old Leah
Rondon, who died last summer
after being struck by a vehicle.
Leahs parents, Colleen and
Henry, are league volunteers.
Her older brothers, Sam and
Henry Jr., play in the league.

The child was taken to the hospital for treatment, Cassetti

said, where he had to stay overnight because he had a six-inch
sliver that went down through his thumb into his forearm and
wrist.
I had the building inspector go up and look at it and evaluate
what the deal is, Cassetti said. He said its in real bad shape.
Youre talking about a 25-year-old playscape. It needs
replacement.

Before throwing out the first

pitch, Mayor David Cassetti
asked those gathered to bow
their heads in Leahs memory.

Cassetti said he was planning to have the steel and fiberglass

playground from the now empty Riverside Apartments on
Olson Drive moved to the nature center as a temporary
solution.

She was a beautiful young girl

who is no longer with us here on
earth but who will be forever
remembered in our hearts and
our souls, he said.

Meanwhile, a fundraising eort to replace the aging playground

has already been underway for about 18 months, Alison
Rubelmann, the nature centers director, said Tuesday.

Colleen Rondon said Saturdays

opening day was pictureperfect.

That playground has lived a long life and has been used by
thousands of children, Rubelmann said.

We appreciate the Mayors kind

words, Fr. Jim Sullivans beautiful
prayers and blessing, and the
participation of our AHS
baseball player volunteers, she
said. Seeing everyone come
together like that, with all the
kids and coaches in their
uniforms filling the infield,
makes all the hard work worth
it. We are looking forward to
great things for our league.

The eort to raise money for a new playground, overseen by

the Friends of the Ansonia Nature Center Inc., has raised about
$35,000 so far.

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203 446 2335

But about $150,000 is needed, Rubelmann and the mayor said.

We have some grant applications out to local granting
organizations as well, but we need support from the public and
from corporate donors, Rubelmann said.

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78 Clifton Avenue, Ansonia

April 24, 2016

Derby Embarks On Downtown Plan

DERBY Derby ocials announced April 13 theyre teaming with a
Miami-based firm to come up with a new plan for the citys redevelopment
zone.
The zone is 14 acres downtown o Main Street along the Housatonic
River.

Recognition Dinner
ANSONIA The Ansonia
Gridiron Club has announced
that their annual Recognition
Dinner will be held on Friday,
June 3 at 6 p.m. The event will
be at the AM Club, 30
Hawthorne Ave., in Derby.
The Gridiron Club will honor
former players Pat, Tim and
Terry McNamara and also the
state championship teams of
1976 and 1977.
The McNamara brothers are
arguably the greatest pass
catching family in the history of
Connecticut high school
football.
The 1976 and 1977 Ansonia
football teams both went
undefeated at 11-0 and won state
championships.
The 1976 team beat Derby 6-0
in the state final and the 1977
team defeated Stamford
Catholic by a 20-7 score in the
title game.
Reserved tables and also
individual tickets for the prime
rib dinner are $40.00 and can be
obtained by calling Rob Lisi Jr.
at 203-231-5197.

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Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company (also known as DPZ Parters) will use a
$445,000 grant Derby received from the state to come up with a credible,
detailed development plan for the revitalization of the long dormant zone,
according to a press release Wednesday from Derby City Hall.
The ultimate goal of this project is to create a path for development
one that residents can rally behind that best positions the City for
private investment, Mayor Anita Dugatto said in the prepared statement.
Breathing new life into the redevelopment zone has been a challenge for
Derby, to say the least.
The zone is a political hot potato, with mayoral candidates and their slates
often making redevelopment there a cornerstone of their election
platforms.
Two preferred developers have come and gone in Derby in seven years,
and in 2009 the city agreed to pay $1.75 million to one of the developers to
settle a breach of contract lawsuit.
Countless plans have been dangled in front of the public, only to fade from
view.
DPZ is based in Miami. It was founded in 1980 by husband and wife
Andrs Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk.
DPZ diers from a traditional commercial developers because they
specialize in urban planning and code writing along with architecture.
The firm essentially designed the unincorporated town of Seaside, Fla.
from scratch by creating the communitys zoning code and architectural
style. The Jim Carrey flick The Truman Show was filmed there.
The company is closely associated with the new urbanism movement in
community planning that is, focusing on creating walkable communities
tied to bus and train lines instead of cars.
158 Main St., Suite 305, Ansonia

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78 Clifton Avenue, Ansonia

April 24, 2016

Derby Legal Notice

City of Derby
Notice is hereby given that a Presidential Preference Primary of the Republican and Democratic Party will be held on April 26, 2016, in
each town.
Notice is also hereby given that the following are the names of the candidates (including the category Uncommitted) which are to appear
on the ballot at said primary in the manner and in the order in which such names and category are herein listed, under the oce
designation Nomination for President of the United States," together with the addresses of such candidates:
Democrats - Name and Address:
Roque Rocky De La Fuente, San Diego, CA
Hillary Clinton, Chappaqua, NY
Bernie Sanders, Burlington, VT
Uncommitted
Republicans - Name and Address:
Ted Cruz, Houston, TX
Ben Carson, West Palm Beach, FL
Donald J. Trump, New York, NY
John R. Kasich, Genoa Township, OH
Uncommitted
Dated at Hartford, CT, this 22nd Day of March, 2016. Denise Merrill, Secretary of the State
The foregoing is a copy of the notice which I have received from the Oce of the Secretary of the State in accordance with Secs. 9-433 and
9-471 of the General Statutes. As provided, such primary will be held on April 26, 2016.
The hours of voting at said primary and the location of the polls will be as follows:
Hours of Voting: 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Location of Polling Place Voting District
Irving School 104 and 105
9 Garden Place
Bradley School . 114
155 David Humphreys Road
Absentee ballots will be counted at the following central location: Derby City Hall, 1 Elizabeth St.
Dated at Derby, CT, this 23rd day of March, 2016.
Town Clerk Marc J. Garofalo
City of Derby

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158 Main St., Suite 305, Ansonia