Bus Trip to see UCONN Huskies

Hometown Hoop Star to Participate in Ansonia Memorial Day Parade

ANSONIA - Tierney Lawlor is coming home.

The former Ansonia High School basketball star and member of the University of Connecticut Huskies last three NCAA women’s championship basketball teams, will participate in Ansonia’s Memorial Day Parade on Sunday May 28.

Tierney will ride along the parade route with 2^nd Ward Alderman Lori Vaccaro in a mint condition vintage 1968 Chevrolet Impala convertible.

At the conclusion of the parade in front of city hall at the parade grandstand, Tierney will be given the “Key to the City” in a proclamation ceremony hosted by Mayor Dave Cassetti.

Tierney was a member of UCONN women’s last three national championships (2014-2016) including a final four appearance in 2017. During her 4-year career at UCONN, she played in 123 games logging more than 400 minutes, scoring 47 points.

(This is a press release from Ansonia City Hall)

Ansonia Rec Hosting UCONN Huskies Trip Feb. 25

Bus Trip to see UCONN Huskies

Ansonia Mayor Goes to White House to Celebrate UCONN Women Huskies

ANSONIA = On Tuesday, Sept. 15, Mayor David Cassetti was invited to the White House to celebrate the UCONN Women’s Basketball Team and their championship year. 

The Mayor met with President Barack Obama and the Connecticut Congressional delegation to welcome the University of Connecticut’s Women’s basketball team to the White House in celebration of their 2015 NCAA championship title.

“I am so proud of the UCONN women’s basketball team, Coach Geno Auriemma, the coaching staff and all that they have been able to accomplish. I am especially proud of Ansonia’s own Tierney Lawlor. It was an honor and a distinct pleasure to be a part of the celebration.” Said Mayor Cassetti.

(This is a press release from Ansonia City Hall)

 

Ansonia Armory used as backdrop for UConn basketball documentary

ANSONIA >> Several former UConn women's basketball players were in the city Sunday afternoon filming a documentary.

From Mayor Cassetti's office:

"These players have put women's basketball and Connecticut on the map. Coming here to our Armory helps shine a spotlight on Ansonia's rich history of sports and basketball. This building has seen a lot of great players come through its doors. Today is a milestone," said Mayor David Cassetti in a release.

"We are thankful to Mark Dixon and the CT Office of Film Television and Digital Media. They referred ESPN to Ansonia. They recognized that the historical backdrop of the Armory would make a great location for this documentary. Ansonia has a lot to be proud of in terms of its sports and athletes and this documentary will remind everyone of our great history and our love of basketball," said John Marini, the city's corporation counsel, in a release.

"Whenever we can raise awareness of our community and our historic buildings and highlight Ansonia it's a great day. This documentary will be shown worldwide. It's exciting for us and it helps promote our great City," said Sheila O'Malley, the city's director of Economic Development, in a release.

The Valley Independent Sentinel has the full story here.

Crosby Commons in Shelton welcomes UConn mascot

Alisa Geller (center) introduces retiring UConn mascot Jonathan XIII to residents of Crosby Commons Assisted Living Community in Shelton during a 'retirement party' this week. / Contributed photo

SHELTON - Jonathan XIV, the husky puppy who will take the job as UConn’s newest mascot, made a special appearance Monday at Crosby Commons Assisted Living Community. The puppy visited the community with his predecessor, Jonathan XIII, who is entering a well-deserved retirement, having served as the University’s mascot since his debut in March 2008. 

A special retirement party was held to honor and celebrate Jonathan XIII and welcome Jonathan XIV into his new role as UConn’s 14th Husky mascot. The party, organized by Activities Director Mary Ann Milano and hosted by the staff and residents of Crosby Commons, featured a special gift presentation to both dogs, UConn-themed decorations, a UConn cake, an introduction to the dogs, and plenty of time to visit with both huskies. Crosby resident and UConn grad, John Balog, presented the dogs with their gifts and led the guests in the singing of the Connecticut Husky mascot song.

Staff, residents, and family members, many who are avid UConn fans, gathered for the retirement celebration dressed in their UConn best.
The community was delighted to welcome the huskies and thrilled to have the opportunity to meet and pet the dogs and wish them well.

Crosby Commons Assisted Living Community is located on the Wesley Village Campus at 580 Long Hill Ave. To learn more about the award-winning community, visit www.crosbycommons.org or call 203-225-5000.


This is a press release from United Methodist Homes.

Crisco supports Malloy's UConn initiative

Plan would yield top-tier research university

HARTFORD – State Sen. Joseph J. Crisco, D-Woodbridge, a University of Connecticut alumnus and former trustee, voted Saturday with an overwhelming majority of his Senate colleagues to approve Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s Next Generation Connecticut proposal.

The proposal would expand science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) academic and research programs at the state’s flagship university.

Crisco said over the next 10 years the initiative would develop a highly skilled Connecticut workforce, stimulate economic growth in the state, and create jobs.

“This ‘next generation’ proposal will build upon Connecticut’s strengths and successful in-state industries by training a technologically advanced workforce and attracting research funding and private sector investment alike,” Crisco said. “The foresight built into this plan will yield a preeminent, nationally recognized center for 21^st century higher learning.”

The plan authorizes $1.55 billion in new bonding over the next 10 years, positioning the university to hire innovative faculty, build new facilities and enroll thousands of additional talented students. 

Specifics of the plan include:

• Hiring 259 new faculty members (of which 200 will be in STEM).
• Enrolling an additional 6,580 talented undergraduate students.
• Building STEM facilities to house materials science, physics, biology, engineering, cognitive science, genomics and related disciplines.
• Constructing new STEM teaching laboratories.
• Creating a premier STEM Honors program.
• Upgrading aging infrastructure to accommodate new faculty and students.
• Expanding digital media and risk management degree programs in Stamford.
• Relocating the Greater Hartford Campus to downtown Hartford.

Crisco said over the next 10 years, UConn’s expansion and focus on STEM is expected to attract $270 million for research and more than $500 million in business activity to Connecticut. 

The proposal will create an estimated 30,000 construction jobs and support some 4,050 permanent jobs.

SB840, An Act Concerning Next Generation Connecticut, now advances to the House of Representatives for its consideration.


This information is taken from a press release from Crisco's office.

Thinking about college? That's a lot to think about

Register staffer shares her first visit to UConn 

Zack Sosnovich with UConn mascot Jonathan

By Jean Falbo-Sosnovich 

Register Correspondent

As the mother of a high school junior, the daunting task of thinking about college is upon me.

It seems like only yesterday when I waited at the bottom of my driveway for the big yellow school bus to carry my son Zack off to kindergarten. With his Spongebob Squarepants backpack slung over his little shoulders, Zack embarked on his school career.

Fast forward a decade later, Zack, now 16 years-old and almost 6 feet tall (and yes, he has since traded the Spongebob backpack for an Under Armour one), is a junior at Woodland Regional High School in Beacon Falls. 
Before I know it, he’ll be sporting a cap and gown, graduating with his fellow seniors in the Class of 2014. Yikes! But between now and then, some major decisions about ‘what to do next’ will need to be made.  

I’m sure lots of kids Zack’s age have some idea of what they’d like to major in at college, but not Zack, not yet anyway. 
We thought the Yankees might be holding a spot open for him somewhere in the outfield, since he has pretty mad baseball skills, but then quickly I snap back to reality. So, instead, when we heard about UConn’s annual open house, held last month, the family jumped in the car and headed to Storrs to see what the iconic college could potentially have in store for Zack.

Met the infamous Jonathan

I’ve actually never been to UConn, and as we approached the campus, I marveled at how it looked like its own mini-town. Remember I’m a Valley girl, so New Haven, Stamford, and Bridgeport seem like big cities to me.

We checked in at Gampel Pavilion, and just seeing the big dome in person, where many a basketball championship has gone down, was kind of cool. It was also pretty neat to see Jonathan.
Don’t know who Jonathan is? I didn’t either until we came upon a larger than life statue of UConn’s infamous Husky dog mascot. Of course, we all posed for pictures with Jonathan for posterity.

The campus was bustling with fellow wide-eyed high school juniors and seniors from all over. At every turn was a UConn student, clad in blue and white rugby shirts, making them easy to spot as tour guides for the day.

Those with a clue of what they’d like to pursue, i.e. engineering, nursing, education, were able to attend specific presentations. We, on the other hand, checked out the presentation for undecided majors, and were surprised to find out the man giving the talk started out wanting to be a dentist, ending up majoring in biology and landed a job at UConn mentoring kids undecided about majors. A lesson in irony, for sure.

We also got a tour of the campus, courtesy of two friendly sophomores who knew the place inside and out. We ended the day’s events with a tour of a dorm room, one shared by three guys, which was surprisingly clean and didn’t reek of dirty socks.  

You may wonder what Zack thought of the experience, especially since it was his first time setting foot on a college campus. He thought it was “cool” and a place where he could maybe picture himself going. But I guess only time, and my pocketbook, will tell.

And anyone who’d like to offer us newbies some advice on how to navigate this whole college process can certainly drop me a line at jean.sos@snet.net.