Stratford, Connecticut (April 24th, 2023)–The Stratford Health Department, Stratford Parents Place, Stratford YMCA and The Baldwin Center invite moms and caregivers of infants to join us for a 5-week walking series every Tuesday for the month of May.
Dates and locations:
Tuesday, May 2nd, 2023 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM(Stratford Seawall)
Tuesday, May 9th, 2023 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM(Short Beach)
Tuesday, May 16th, 2023 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM(Sikorsky Estuary)
Tuesday, May 23rd, 2023 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM(Silver sands)
Tuesday, May 30th, 2023 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM(Shakespeare Trail)
Each week we will be at a different location to give local residents an opportunity to explore the Town of Stratford. Come with your child in a stroller or backpack and walk with some of our community healthcare professionals to learn about health topics relating to your infants. All questions are welcomed!
We are proud to have Public Health Nurse Bernice Bova, Health Program Associate Alivia Coleman, Environmental Health Supervisor Maureen Whelan, Health Program Assistant Veronica Cortes and Pediatrician Louis Hart, M.D. These healthcare professionals will touch on topics such as Infant Growth and Development, Immunizations, Emergency Preparedness, Food Safety, and Lead Prevention.
“This is a fun way to ask questions, get tips and squeeze in some exercise all at the same time with your community partners” says Andrea Boissevain, Health Director.
“We hope to rally more pediatricians to join community-based programs like these to help understand and get in touch with the people we serve” said Louis Hart, M.D., Assistant Professor and Medical Director, office of Health Equity, Yale New Haven Health System. We look forward to seeing new moms and caregivers of infants.
2023-04-21@1:27pm–#Bridgeport CT– #Stratford CT– #cttraffic– Sounds like a one-car crash on I-95 southbound near exit 29.
Hashtag FYI– Hashtags are used to locate information, not to be used in every word of a sentence. So if you look up or follow on social media, you can follow #cttraffic for all info regarding Connecticut traffic. Or, #Stratford for news regarding the town.
2023-04-17@6:17pm–#Stratford CT– Firefighters were called to a fire at the Stratford Guns and Ammo located at 760 Honeyspot Road. When firefighters arrived they reported heavy fire from the roof area on the right side of the building and called for a second alarm. They sounded a third alarm which brought mutual aid from Bridgeport, Fairfield, and Milford to the scene for additional resources. They had the bulk of the fire out within the hour and there were no reported injuries.
#Stratford CT–On 04/05/2023 Scott Watkins age 41 was arrested by warrant for an armed robbery that occurred at the Milford Savings Bank located on Main Street in Paradise Green, Stratford. The robbery occurred on 03/23/2023 at approximately 3pm.
Watkins was charged with Robbery in the Second Degree and Larceny in the Third
Degree. Watkins is currently incarcerated for an unrelated incident and was
arraigned at the time of his arrest in court. During the incident approximately
The Stratford Police Department will be conducting additional enforcement patrols during the month of April as part of the national distracted driving awareness campaign. April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month; the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) is launching the U Drive. U Text. U Pay., high-visibility enforcement campaign to crack down on distracted driving.
The national U Drive. U Text. U Pay. campaign is a partnership with State and local law enforcement, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). In Connecticut in 2022, there were nearly 5,200 crashes attributed to distracted driving.
Over the past decade, distracted driving has become one of the leading causes of vehicle crashes on our nation’s roads. At any given moment across America, approximately 660,000 drivers are using or manipulating electronic devices while driving – a number that has held steady for over a decade. According to NHTSA, in 2020, the last year of available national data, more than 3,100 lives were lost in crashes involving distracted drivers. Approximately 8 percent of all fatal crashes in 2020 involved a distracted driver.
The U Drive. U Text. U Pay. campaign will increase efforts to enforce distracted-driving laws across Connecticut from April 1 to April 30, 2023, to reduce crashes and keep people safe. Connecticut Department of Transportation Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto said, “If your attention is anywhere other than the road, you are driving distracted and putting yourself and others at risk of a crash, injury, or death. Distracted drivers often do not see the risk of their behavior until it’s too late. We are
counting on every single driver on our roadways to be a part of the solution by paying attention to avoid putting everyone on the road in danger.”
Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection Commissioner James Rovella said, “Every state trooper has seen the horrible consequences of drivers not paying attention to the road. The results can be heartbreaking. A distracted driver is a menace to other drivers on the road. The sad part is that all distracted driving accidents can be avoided by simply ditching the distractions. If you must answer a text or a call,
please pull over to a safe location, such as a commuter lot or rest area.”
Connecticut law prohibits the use of any hand-held mobile electronic device while operating a motor vehicle. Drivers who are 16 or 17 years of age are prohibited from using a cell phone or mobile device at any time, even with a hands-free accessory. Violating Connecticut’s distracted-driving laws can be costly. Drivers who are ticketed are fined $200 for the first offense, $375 for the second offense, and $625 for the third and subsequent offenses.
The public is reminded of the following safety tips:
When you get behind the wheel, be an example to your family and friends by putting your phone
away. Texting and driving is not safe behavior.
If you struggle to ignore your phone notifications, activate the “Do Not Disturb” feature or put your silenced device in your vehicle’s trunk, glove box, or back seat until you arrive safely at your destination.
If you are expecting a text message or need to send one, pull over and park your car in a safe location. Once you are safely off the road and parked, it is safe to text.
Give control of your phone to your passenger. Let them respond to calls or messages.
Never engage in social media scrolling or messaging while driving.
Even when hands-free, do not stream or watch movies or videos.
If you see someone texting while driving, speak up. Tell them to stop what they are doing because it is dangerous. If someone catches you texting while driving and tells you to put your phone away, put it down.
Remember, when you get behind the wheel, U Drive. U Text. U Pay.
The Stratford Library continues “Sunday Afternoon Talks”, its series of informative and entertaining talks featuring prominent local guest speakers, on Sunday, April 2, 2023 at 2pm with Jay Misencik, Geralene Valentine and Ed Brinsko, Jr. and their presentation, “ReVisit Bridgeport: Photographs by Ed Brinsko”. The talk and slide presentation will be presented live in the Library’s Lovell Room. It is free and open to the public.
Ed Brinsko was a life-long Bridgeport resident. His career with the Post Publishing Company spanned 43 years. Like the best of early to late 20th century newspaper photographers, Ed Brinsko carried heavy cameras and many rolls of film and then spent hours developing his images in the darkroom. From 1945 to 1988 – with a two-year interlude in the U.S. Army as a reporter with Pacific Stars and Stripes – Brinsko was a photographer for the Bridgeport Post- Telegram.
The images he captured during those years are flash-frozen specimens of times that have passed, a simpler time of post-war relaxation of Barnum Festival Ballyhoo Shows and the comedy of a Jack Benny. But the 50’s and 60’s were passing, and Ed Brinsko was there to document, from the JFK Inaugural Ball in January 1961, to the fiery speech of Malcolm X at the University of Bridgeport on November 21, 1963, the day before Kennedy’s assassination. For the Library talk, Brinsko’s work will speak for itself in a lavish slide presentation: portraits of heavyweight champ Floyd Patterson training in Newtown in 1959, Jane Fonda cavorting at Compo Beach in Westport and, perhaps most interestingly of all: Charles DeStasio – Charlie the Bum – who wandered the streets of Bridgeport for close to 50 years.
The “Sunday Afternoon Talks” series, hosted by Charles Lautier of Stratford, is held from 2-3:30 pm in the Stratford Library Lovell Room, 2203 Main Street in Stratford, CT.
For further information visit: www.stratfordlibrary.org or call the Library at: 203.385-4162
2023-03-13@1:36pm–#Stratford CT–A viewer sent in this photo of a crime scene at
Milford Street and Soundview Avenue. Police Chief Joseph McNeil told me that it was a drive-by shooting between occupants of two vehicles and that there were no reported injuries.
The Stratford Library has announced that Youth Services Librarian Tess Beck will retire her position on April 4 after 24 years. Beck graduated with a Master’s in Library Science from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. She joined the Stratford Library Youth Services Department in July 1999.
Tess Beck was instrumental in creating numerous programs at the Library which addressed child development needs and skills for new parents. These included Baby Lapsit, Beginning with Babies, Babies & Beyond, Storytimes, and StoryCraft programs. Known for her colorful bulletin boards and numerous art classes, Beck conducted several outreach initiatives over the years taking her storytime programs to area
daycare programs and preschools. Working with current Department Head Caitlin Augusta, she also contacted local businesses and organizations to partner with the Library for its popular “Read Around Stratford” program. She has served on Connecticut’s Nutmeg Book Award Committee and ALSC (Association for Library
Services to Children) Notable Recordings Committee. Beck was also active in the Connecticut Storytelling community and was chair of the Fairfield County Children’s Librarians Roundtable for several years.
According to Library Director Sheri Szymanski, Beck will be greatly missed at the Library. “Tess Beck has been an invaluable resource to our Library and the greater Stratford community”, she said. “We congratulate her on a well-earned retirement”. A public reception for Tess Beck will be held in the Stratford Library Children’s Department on Monday, April 3 from 3-6 pm. The public is invited.
The Stratford Library will go to the dogs with a special program from the Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation, “Fidelco Puppy Raising” on Saturday, March 18 from 11:30 am-12:30pm.
The program is free and open to the public.
Guest speaker Sarah Silverman of Stratford, puppy raiser turned Fidelco Puppy Raiser
The trainer will present all the information needed to know about raising a German shepherd puppy for a good cause. Insights and orientation to the training program will be followed by a Q&A session with Fidelco staff and current puppy raisers. There is also a live “puppy meet-and-greet” planned. Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation is a recognized leader in the guide dog industry and still the only guide dog organization to exclusively breed the German shepherd dog. More than 1,600 guide dogs from Fidelco have been placed throughout North America
“Fidelco Puppy Raising” will begin at 11:30 am in the Stratford Library Lovell Room on
March 18. The program is free but seating is limited and reservations are recommended at:
