Native Americans: Indian mascots at Connecticut schools no symbol of pride

By Kate Ramunni

NORTH HAVEN >> To many in this town of about 23,000, the North Haven High School’s Indian’s nickname shows a pride in their community and the courage and strength of the athletes playing on its sports teams, as evidenced Thursday night by the turnout at the district’s monthly Board of Education meeting for a discussion on the moniker.
But for many Natiive Americans, the use of an image of an Indian is offensive and shows how little Americans understand about Native American history. This was never more evident than during the discussion Thursday night that ended in a shouting match when Talia Gallagher, a member of the NHHS class of 2013 and a sophomore at Clark University in Massachusetts, urged the board to consider changing the school’s mascot, saying using the likeness of an Indian is offensive.

Read more here.  

Derby runners compete in North Haven 5K race

Joseph Ostuno

DERBY - The Derby Middle School Running Club participated Sunday in the North Haven PTA 5K road race.

Steven Stanley finished first in his age group, breaking the 20-minute mark for the first time in the history of the club with a time of 19:59.  

Rachel Fleischer and coach Jenny Ames finished second in their age groups, with Kiley Rodriguez placing third. 


Other DMS runners included Tristan Pruzinsky, Nicolette Tasi, Sara Gerckens, Akshar Patel, Joseph Ostuno, and Rocco Samoker.

 

Sara Gerckens

 

Rachel Fleischer

Photos by Tim Pruzinsky of Derby


Congratulations to all the Derby Middle School runners!
 
 
This information is from a release from runner and Bradley School kindergarten teacher Jenny Ames.

Center for Domestic Violence Services slates workshop

BHcare event to feature 3 guest speakers

    The Center for Domestic Violence Services, a program of BHcare, will host “Lethality of Domestic Violence,” an educational workshop and interactive panel discussion, Oct. 19 at Anthony’s Ocean View, 450 Lighthouse Road, New Haven.
    The workshop will run from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. and is one of many activities planned to mark National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.  It is sponsored by the Petit Family Foundation and Anthony’s Ocean View.
    Guest speakers will include:

• Lundy Bancroft, who has 20 years’ experience specializing in interventions with abusive men and their families. He has written four books in the field.
• Karen Jarmoc, executive director of the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence; and
• Nancy Tyler, an attorney with O’Brien, Tansky and Young, a Hartford law firm, who works with domestic violence programs.

    The Center for Domestic Violence Services provides services for victims and their children at two sites, in Ansonia and North Haven.
    All services offered are free of charge and confidential. Services support 170 different languages 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
   The Center provides services for residents of Ansonia, Beacon Falls, Bethany, Branford, Derby, East Haven, Guilford, Hamden, Madison, Milford, New Haven, North Branford, North Haven, Orange, Oxford, Seymour, Shelton, West Haven, and Woodbridge.

    Register at www.bhcare.org. The cost, which includes breakfast and lunch, is $55; $35 for students.
    For information about registration and lunch choices, contact Linda Luongo, 203-736-2601, ext. 1334, or lluongo@bhcare.org.


    This information is taken from a release from Susan DeLeon, Director, Center for Domestic Violence Services at BHcare (formerly Umbrella and Domestic Violence Services of Birmingham Group Health Services, Inc.).

Connecticut law targeting scrap metal theft ignored by some dealers; Register investigation exposes loopholes (video, photos)

Sims Metal Management in North Haven "is not your grandfather's scrapyard." This is the ferrous metal yard. Mara Lavitt/Register

By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo
Investigations Editor
mtuccitto@nhregister.com / Twitter: @nhrinvestigate

On an afternoon in March, two New Haven Register reporters drove a Ford Freestyle SUV carrying a newspaper honor box into the lot of a Derby scrap metal business, M. Jacobs & Sons on Factory Street.
We wanted to see if the staff would ask for identification, or ask if we had permission to sell the large, metal, coin-operated Register honor box. The boxes are on streets and in plazas across the region and have been targeted by thieves and sold for scrap metal.
An employee asked us what we were selling, and we were truthful. The employee glanced in the window and told us to drive around back to dump it.

We unloaded the box and were paid $6 cash for it. No one ever asked us for any identification. We were not asked whether we worked at the Register or had any right to sell it.
The Derby business’ performance was the worst in a recent undercover sting operation in which Register reporters sold scrap metal to businesses in the region to see if they would follow the law.
To try to make it easier for police to catch metal thieves, lawmakers have created rules for scrap metal businesses to follow, like asking for identification from sellers.

Read the full story here.

Ansonia graduate, youngest head of U.N. Security Council, honored

By Patricia Villers
Register Staff
Ivan Barbalic, permanent representative from Bosnia and Herzegovina to the United Nations, recently received an honorary doctor of humane letters degree in a ceremony at the University of Bridgeport.
Barbalic graduated from Ansonia High School when he was an exchange student in 1993.
He lived with Joseph and June Virzi of Ansonia while in his senior year. He attended the University of Bridgeport on a full scholarship and graduated with a business degree in 1997.
The Virzi family remained in contact with Barbalic, 36, and his wife, Stela, over the years.

Read the full story here.

Derby man accused of theft from North Haven Middle School girls locker room

NORTH HAVEN — A worker for a contractor that cleans North Haven Middle School has been arrested for allegedly stealing personal items from the locker room of the girls softball team, police said Wednesday.
In April, team members reported missing property, including an iPhone, iPod and athletic clothing.
The school resource officer coordinated a surveillance with a female officer, police said.
Victor Casco-Rojano, 21, of 307 Olivia St. in Derby, an employee of the contracted independent cleaning crew, was seen in the locker room, police said.
He was charged recently with four counts of sixth-degree larceny and will appear in court on June 30. He was sent home by the cleaning contractor after being interviewed by police and his status with the company is uncertain, police said.
All of the missing property has been recovered.