Month: October 2017

Trumbull News: Integrity Awards

#TRUMBULL— Senator Marilyn Moore (D-Bridgeport, Trumbull, Monroe) hosted the 2017 Trumbull Integrity Awards at Town Hall Thursday evening where she honored five town residents making a positive impact on the community through their work and volunteer efforts.

 

“A person of integrity personifies a state of incorruptibility, soundness, and completeness,” Sen. Moore said. “Throughout the town of Trumbull, this is a quality that resonates in our residents.”

 

Sen. Moore’s Trumbull Integrity Award identifies and honors individuals whose integrity stands out in their community and echoes throughout. This year, the honorees were Edward Gillespie, Jennifer Gillis, Paulette Mack, Jeffrey Kunkel, Michael Silva, and Dr. Matthew Wheeler. Honorees were selected by the Trumbull Rotary Club and Trumbull Mothers Offering Mothers Support (MOMS).

 

Here’s what they wrote about each nominee:

 

Ed Gillespie –Nominated by Trumbull Rotary Club

Ed Gillespie is the Executive Director of BizMark, the B2B marketing and communications firm he founded 12 years ago. Ed grew up in the Bronx NY, attended the University of Virginia and later earned his master’s degree from New York University. His career started in financial services, including six years at Citicorp, before he moved to advertising at agencies including Burrell Communications Group, Omnicom and BizMark. Ed believes his life outside of the office is way more important than work. He currently serves as the Vice President of the Bridgeport Rescue Mission, a Christian non-profit that serves the homeless, hungry and addicted.  He just finished a term as President of the Trumbull Rotary Club and actively serve at his church, Crossroads Community Church. Ed lives in Trumbull, CT with his wife Eileen and three grown children, Brian, Meaghan and Erin.

 

Jeffrey Kunkel – Nominated by Trumbull MOMS

Jeff Kunkel runs Trumbull Helps, which has a mission to help residents of local Trumbull communities. This group has grown from organizing food drives (although this is still a large and important part of the group) to offering assistance to residents asking for help, providing meals at Bridgeport Rescue Mission, and supporting high school theater productions. Jeffrey regularly organizes food drives, fundraisers and serves/cooks food for the Bridgeport Rescue Mission and the Trumbull Food Pantry. Jeff is a Trumbull father and grandfather. He runs building services of Southern Connecticut. During storms, he has offered to shovel snow for elderly neighbors. He organizes events to pray the rosary, walking events around the mall. Jeff is a person who unites the community of Trumbull in friendship and fellowship and inspires and motivates others to help and support causes greater than themselves.

 

Michael Silva – Nominated by Trumbull MOMS

Michael Silva helps to run Trumbull Helps, which has a mission to help residents of local Trumbull communities. He is affectionately known in the community as “Bacon Mike,” because of his love of bacon and food. This group has grown from organizing food drives (although this is still a large and important part of the group) to offering assistance to residents asking for help, providing meals at Bridgeport Rescue Mission, and supporting high school theater productions. Michael frequently hosts food drives at his house. He helps to run a semi-annual bacon egg and cheese fundraiser with donations going to the Bridgeport Rescue Mission. Michael is always very positive, is the first so say hello when he sees you, and is always spreading positivity when you see him in person and on social media. His positivity is contagious. He has two children who are in the Trumbull Public School system. He has high moral standards and adds tremendous value to the community.

 

Dr. Matthew Wheeler Nominated by Trumbull MOMS

Dr. Matthew Wheeler, also known as Mr. Matt to the children and parents, has been a preschool coordinator at Trumbull Early Childhood Education Center for the past nine years. The reason he is nominated by MOMS Club is because he is more than just a preschool coordinator; he truly goes above and beyond what is required. He is in constant communication with parents. He makes home visits to help with kids sleeping, eating, parenting and much more. On his own time, he delivers presents to under-privileged children for the holidays. He makes sure that those that are having financial difficulties have Thanksgiving meals. At all events the PTO and Father’s Club sponsors, Mr. Matt is always there, smiling and socializing with the parents and students and doing more than just your typical director. Parents always feel comfortable calling him and discussing anything that involves their children. Caring for people comes natural to him, as he was an EMT for 22 years in a previous career. Mr. Matt is a genuinely kind and compassionate person who makes our community better.

 

Jennifer Gillis and Paulette Mack- Nominated by Stern Village resident Patricia Carter

Jennifer Gillis works at the Senior Center at 23 Pricilla Place in Trumbull as an Outreach Social Worker. Paulette Mack works at Stern Villave, 200 Hedgehog Circle in Trumbull Housing as a Resident Service Coordinator. For these jobs you need to be a people person to do these jobs correctly and they both do. All the other items below is what makes them so “special” at their work:

 

  1. Both are good listeners
  2. Both are soft spoken
  3. Both are comfortable to be around
  4. Both are kind and caring with a mix of a lot of understanding
  5. Both are great problem solvers
  6. Both of them make you feel “special” when talking with you
  7. Both of them work great with seniors and the disabled
  8. They both give 100% plus which doing their jobs

 

We all believe in them and they are their when we need them. They always call you back too!

 

Senator Moore congratulates all the award recipients and encourages them to continue to serve Trumbull and surrounding communities with love and integrity.

(Senator Moore Press release)

Norwalk News: Cold Case Murder Arrest

#Norwalk CT–Hakeem Atkinson, age 22, of 68 Bradley St., Bridgeport, was charged with Murder in the unrelated slaying Joseph “Jabs” Bateman, who was fatally shot behind the Avalon Gates housing complex on
Belden Avenue in Norwalk on February 3, 2012. According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Atkinson was 16 years old when Bateman was shot to death in a crime related to street gang activity in Norwalk.
The arrest is the result of an intensive investigation by the Norwalk Police Department in conjunction with the Cold Case Unit in the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney and the Office of the State’s Attorney for
the Judicial District of Stamford/Norwalk.

Bateman’s death was featured in the fourth edition of the cold case playing cards produced in conjunction with the Department of Correction and sold to inmates in the Connecticut corrections system. Information on Bateman’s death was described on the nine of diamonds card. Atkinson surrendered to Norwalk police this morning. He is being held on $1 million bond and will be arraigned today at Norwalk Superior Court, G.A. No. 20. The charge is merely an accusation and he is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

“I thank all who worked so diligently on this investigation. While we may consider a case to be ‘cold,’ it is never closed as we continue to work as hard as we can to bring some sense of closure to families who have lost loved ones,” said Norwalk Police Chief Thomas Kulhawik.  State’s Attorney Richard J. Colangelo, Jr., commended Norwalk police detectives and the Cold Case Unit for their work on the investigation. The case will be prosecuted by the Office of the State’s Attorney for the Judicial District of Stamford/Norwalk and the Cold Case Unit.

(Norwalk Police Press Release)

 

Fairfield Museum and Black Rock History Committee Help Rescue Historic Mural

A large mural painted by a renowned local artist in the 1940s, and which was on display in a Black Rock bank for nearly 70 years, has been preserved by the Fairfield Museum & History Center in partnership with the Black Rock History Committee. The mural of “Old Black Rock Harbor About 1810” was commissioned by the Black Rock Bank & Trust Company in the mid-1940s and remained on display there until this year, when it was removed prior to the building undergoing a complete renovation.

 

“Through the generosity of the building’s new owner Tom Quinn, this important part of Black Rock’s artistic history has been donate to the Fairfield Museum and will be preserved for future generations,” noted Fairfield Museum executive director Michael Jehle.

 

Artist Robert Lambdin (1886-1981) of Westport was hired to design and paint the mural for the bank, which was located at the corner of Fairfield Avenue and Brewster Street.  He spent two months researching the area at the Fairfield Historical Society and then three months working on the piece. It depicts Black Rock Harbor as he envisioned it in the early 1800s, with a ship unloading its cargo onto the docks, with a warehouse nearby, and Black Rock lighthouse in the background.  The mural was completed in 1948 and presented at an open house where the bank encouraged the public to come and view the new 8′ by 20′ scene.

 

During the Great Depression of the 1930s, Lambdin won several New Deal commissions through Works Progress Administration projects to depict American life in public buildings such as libraries, schools and post offices. Some examples of Lambdin’s WPA wall art have been preserved in Westport, and the Fairfield Museum’s swift action in saving this mural will ensure that it can be viewed and appreciated in the future.

 

Fairfield Museum Library Director Elizabeth Rose emphasized the importance of the mural and its preservation. “The mural,” she said, “helps us to imagine what the Black Rock port looked like when it was the center of economic life, with ships carrying the products of Fairfield’s farms to cities along the east coast as well as to the West Indies.”

 

The “Old Black Rock Harbor” mural suffered some damage over the years when the bank building was vacant, and the Fairfield Museum is seeking donors to assist in its restoration, the cost of which is estimated to be $25-30,000.  An initial condition survey of the mural has been completed through the generosity of Bruce Hubler.

 

Fairfield News: Drones For Traffic Safety

#Fairfield CT–The Fairfield Police Department announced today that this afternoon, Wednesday, October 11, 2017 between 4:30 pm and 5:30 pm, Fitzgerald and Halliday, a transportation planner and engineering firm, will be conducting a traffic study on the Black Rock Turnpike business corridor.

Given the complexity of traffic conflicts along this corridor, the firm is looking for better information to calibrate their traffic models in order to provide more accurate solutions.

During this afternoon’s traffic study, there will be 7 commercial drones launched from 3 different locations along Black Rock Turnpike covering Samp Mortar Drive to Tunxis Hill Corner:

-The corner of Black Rock Turnpike and Fairfield Woods Road
-309 Stillson Road
-The northern end of Katona Drive Extension

These are the areas selected to launch the drones, but they are subject to change if existing conditions present challenges to the drone operators. In the event of high winds or rain, the study will be conducted tomorrow at the same times and locations.

The 7 drones will fly simultaneously for approximately 20-30 minutes. Pilots will operate along the edge of the road, within the right-of-way. Police officers will be monitoring the operation to ensure that there are no issues with traffic or launch.

The traffic study is part of the Town’s efforts to improve the safety of this heavily traveled corridor. The Town had received a State grant to identify strategies to create a safer and more attractive pedestrian environment and to develop more robust infrastructure for bicycles, buses and other vehicles as well as improved connections between nearby residential areas and the shops, businesses and restaurants situated along this vital corridor.

 

This press release is made possible by:

Larry at Interstate Batteries of Fairfield and Litchfield Counties is the EXCLUSIVE distributor of the Pumpkin Spice Interstate Battery!

 

Fairfield News: Untimely Death

#Fairfield CT–On 10/10/2017 at 10:24am the Fairfield Police Department responded to a report of an untimely death at 447 Meadow St. in Fairfield. First responding officers arrived on scene to find a 41 year old Caucasian female from Fairfield deceased from an apparent gunshot wound.  Fairfield Police Detective Bureau with the assistance of the Connecticut State Police Major Crimes Unit are currently conducting a forensic examination of the scene to rule out any other circumstances related to the untimely death, which is currently believed to be a suicide.
This case is currently under investigation by the Fairfield Police Detective Bureau. Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to call (203)254-4840

 

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