Month: November 2019

Westport Firefighter Passes

#Westport CT– It is with great sorrow we announce the untimely passing of Westport Firefighter Turk Aksoy who succumbed to an occupational cancer earlier today. He was 46 years old. Firefighter Aksoy was a 13-year veteran of the Westport Fire Department, and worked many years prior as a paramedic.

 

Firefighter Aksoy was predeceased by his wife Denise in January of 2019. He leaves behind two children. Turk will be memorialized by the Westport Firefighters, Local 1081 and the Westport Fire Department; the details of his services are still pending. Please keep Turk’s children, his family, friends and fellow firefighters in your thoughts for strength and healing in this difficult time. Donations can be made in Turk’s memory and in support of his children at: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-firefighter-turk-aksoy-and-children

 

Occupational cancer has proven to be the new epidemic we face in the fire service, far too many members of the fire service have been lost to this relentless illness. Rest in Peace Turk, you have served your community with tremendous honor and will be greatly missed. “And, you know, it’s not easy. Every morning you wake up and you got to put your feet on the floor because you have a family looking after you and hopefully, you know, I’ll go back to work tonight actually, and then tomorrow I’m back in New York City starting chemo again. You know, and that’ll wipe me out for three days until I have to go back to work again. You know, and it’s tough on my kids, and it’s tough on my wife…”

FF Aksoy to CT House Labor Committee, testifying in support of presumptive cancer legislation, 2016

 

Homicide In Bridgeport

UPDATE: Police say the victim in the homicide isDarren Connolly of Bridgeport

 

Police UPDATE: Today at 1013 hours, a shooting incident was reported at 49 Mill Hill Avenue. A male called 911 stating he had just shot his roommate. Officers responded to the scene and found a 53 year old male deceased inside the first floor of the residence. The victim appears to have sustained a gunshot wound to the chest. The 911 caller remained on scene and was detained by police without incident. This male is cooperating with detectives and is not being charged at this time pending further investigation. Detectives secured a search warrant for the residence and are processing a crime scene.

 

2019-11-22@10:13am–#Bridgeport CT– Police were called to 49 Mill Hill Avenue for a person shot. The suspect has surrendered to police. Police spokesperson Terron Jones said the victim is deceased. The suspect nor the victim has not been identified at this time. Detectives are still investigating.

Governor’s Work Council

NEW HAVEN, CT) – This afternoon on the campus of Southern Connecticut State University, Governor Ned Lamont led the first meeting of the Governor’s Workforce Council, a historic group of leaders representing the diversity of stakeholders across the state that are involved in education, training, hiring, and economic development. The council was established last month through executive order and is being tasked by the governor to improve the state’s education and training ecosystem and pipeline so that all residents are able to access high quality and affordable training and education that are aligned to the needs of businesses.

 

In forming the council, the governor has brought together some of the most influential and talented education, training, business, nonprofit, government, and labor leaders in the state representing every portion of the pipeline, including K-12 public schools, career and technical schools, higher education, employers, state agencies, and workforce development boards.

 

The governor explained that his goal in creating the group is to take a system designed for the 20th century and bring it into the 21st century.

 

“By 2025, Connecticut’s economy will need 70 percent of workers to have received some kind of post-secondary training or education. Today, we are hovering around 55 percent,” Governor Lamont said. “Closing this skills and credentials gap is a critical component to growing our state’s economy and will tear down the barriers to economic opportunity that block too many of Connecticut residents.”

 

Governor Lamont’s Executive Order No. 4 requires the council to submit a report to the governor and legislature by January 1, 2021 that makes strategic recommendations to improve the state’s workforce system in a variety of areas, including better coordination, reducing barriers to training, strengthening the bridge from high school into post-secondary training and education, and emphasizing data-driven outcomes.

 

“Having a group of this caliber – including a significant number of some of the state’s finest business, education, nonprofit, and labor leaders – meeting together to  improve our workforce training system is unprecedented,” Governor Lamont said. “To grow jobs, businesses need trained workers who are prepared to meet the demands of new technologies in the workplace. Connecticut rightly has a national reputation for its high quality, skilled workforce, and maintaining that standing is key to attracting new businesses and creating new, good paying jobs.”

 

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