Chris Fisher of Cuddy & Feder, the law firm representing Homeland Towers’ application, discusses the proposed cell tower in Ridgefield. —Steve Coulter photo

Visibility, appearance and location were all concerns raised at a public information session last Saturday for a proposed cell tower that will overlook the Titicus River Valley.

A snowstorm didn’t keep a dozen or so residents from attending the meeting, which doubled as a question-and-answer session — not a public hearing.

“Do we get any guarantee that it won’t become a 180-foot pole or potentially even higher?” asked a resident about the proposed 150-foot tower off Ledges Road that will show anywhere from 20 to 50 feet above the tree line in several locations, including Barlow Mountain Elementary School, Ridgefield High School and Seth Low Pierrepont State Park.

Chris Fisher, the attorney representing Danbury-based Homeland Towers, which is partnering with AT&T on the project, replied that the state’s siting council has increased tower height during its review sessions in the past, but added that his applicant had no intention of making the pole any higher than the 150 feet that was proposed in the technical reported submitted to the town on Nov. 4.

• PowerPoint presentation from the meeting is available; click here.

He added that the tower would be made available for other non-AT&T carriers, who would use the lower part of the pole.

“Have you ever increased the height of one of your towers?” another townsperson asked Manny Vicente, the owner and president of Homeland Towers.

“We have 20 towers and we’ve never increased the height of a tower,” Mr. Vicente said.

One of the conceptual decisions open for discussion during the meeting was whether the pole should be constructed as a “monopine” — an antenna designed to look like an evergreen.

“We want to let the people of the town have as much input as possible on the look of the tower,” Mr. Vicente said. “If it is a monopine there will be five feet of branches at the top that will make any antennas virtually invisible.”

He said the clearest views of the tower would be on Hobby Drive, which were shown during a PowerPoint presentation.

“Any of the places you’re going to see the pole, it won’t make much of a difference,” Mr. Fisher said of the height. “Any lower would really negatively impact the potential coverage — 150 feet is a very effective tower.”

Dick Aarons, the town’s emergency management deputy, addressed any problems the small crowd had with the site location.

“Is this the only site possible for emergency services?” one member of the room asked.

Mr. Aarons replied that several members of the emergency management program, which includes some members of the Fire Department and other town safety departments, did more than 20 site surveys in town and concluded that the intended location was the “key site” for a possible cell phone tower.

“It’s a geographically perfect site,” he said.

He said an alternative presented by the state for increasing emergency communication is the placement of a temporary cell site called a COW — cell on wheels.

“The state can’t provide you with a COW without a permanent tower structure in place,” he said, echoing Mr. Fisher’s comment earlier in the meeting that with no options, “a new tower becomes the solution.”

Mr. Aarons said that 22 families were isolated during severe storms last winter and “physically couldn’t step out of their homes.”

He added that the emergency communication equipment the town has is 20 years behind and in “desperate need of an update.”

“What’s maintainable in the future? That’s what we’re really looking for here,” he said.

Fire Chief Heather Burford said there had been a dramatic shift in how 911 calls were received, with most coming in via cell phone.

“That’s only going to increase as we continue to rely more and more on cell coverage,” she said. “This is why we have to act quickly on getting something done.”

Would there be emergency power for the transmitters?

Mr. Fisher said other carriers would be able to deploy mobile emergency generators to the site in case of an emergency, but most power problems could be handled off-site.

“All carriers on the tower will have a battery backup, which will have limited capacity during a long-term power outage but will be more than sufficient in normal instances of power loss,” he said.

He added that AT&T would have a diesel generator on site that could handle power for two to four days.

Some members of the crowd wanted to know about the timeline for the pole’s installation, if it gets approved by the state’s siting council as well as the townspeople.

Mr. Fisher said “best case scenario for operation” would be late 2014 at the earliest.

“We’ve had projects that have taken years to construct for different reasons,” he said, citing a recent situation in Sherman. “There’s a possibility the application will be met with opposition from outside parties that will enter into the proceeding with a lawyer and look to stall any progress.”

He added that the town will send its comments and criticisms to the applicant by the end of January, and from there, the application will be filed with the state’s siting council.

Sometime in the late spring — “around April or May” — there will be a public hearing scheduled, probably at a school in town, according to Mr. Fisher.

“We’re then looking at June or July until we get the state’s approval and then two or three more months to get various building permits and other approvals,” he said. “There’s a lot of work to get to the point of construction.”

Although most of the questions were posed with a negative, non-approving tone, one speaker gave positive feedback to Mr. Vicente and Harry Carry, the director for external affairs at AT&T.

“This tower can’t come fast enough,” he said. “I know it comes at a cost because we’ll see it, but that’s nothing compared to the possibility of saving lives.”

Only a dozen or so residents turned out for the hearing in the snow.

“It’s unfortunate the weather didn’t comply with the meeting date or time, but the presentation will be available for those who are interested very soon,” said First Selectman Rudy Marconi.

Marion Roth is leaving the Chamber of Commerce to lead The Prospector.

Looking to open this summer with a mission of bringing movies to Ridgefield while more fully integrating disabled people into the community, the Prospector Theater has hired longtime Chamber of Commerce director Marion Roth as its new general manager.

“I’m just really excited about the team I’m going to be working with at the Prospector,” Ms. Roth said.

“Just to help people and feel great about what you’re doing every day,” she said.

“I’m all about inclusiveness. I’m passionate about opening everyone’s eyes — that we all have value.”

Ms. Roth, who has led the Chamber for a little over five years, said the Chamber board’s executive committee had already begun working to find a new director.

“They’ll be accepting résumés. There’ll be a search process,” she said.

“They’ll be setting up a formal screening and review process.”

Ms. Roth is due to finish at the Chamber on Jan. 2 and to start working for the Prospector Jan. 13.

“My first day of work is at the Sundance Film Festival,” she said, sounding a little amazed and a little delighted.

Prospector founder Valerie Jensen said she’s happy to have landed Ms. Roth for the new move theater.

“I interviewed many qualified and talented people for this job — many with backgrounds in the arts, theater, nonprofits, and business (and even some who just plain love movies!),” she said.

“I needed someone like Marion.”

Ms. Jensen began talking to Ms. Roth informally during a Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation fund-raising walk.

“As we spoke, my excitement grew as I realized that Marion would be the perfect candidate for the job: super knowledgeable, and fluent in Ridgefieldian — the people, the businesses, the demographics, the schools, the vibe, and the terrain,” she said.

Tigerlily Jensen sat in front of a fat snowman at The Prospector Theater’s 454 Main Street office Tuesday, after joining with members of SPHERE in snowman-making that was filmed by the local Fox News channel, which is expected to air it Monday at 7 and 8 in the morning and 4 in the afternoon. —Macklin Reid photo

Before she even knew Ms. Roth was interested in the position, she thought she’d be great for the job — which has broad and unusual requirements.

“I need a lot of help and strong leadership for the Prospector Theater to be built well and to be built to fulfill our mission,” Ms. Jensen said.

“There are complicated challenges and decisions involved with a start-up business (and a start-up nonprofit). My mission is to build the theater that will make meaningful jobs and opportunities for disabled adults, by operating a fun, vibrant movie theater that features good programming, good food and good times.

“None of that will or should come at the expense of the other businesses in town,” she added.

“I’ve been the leader of a nonprofit in Ridgefield for 10 years (SPHERE) and I know the challenges of fund raising, development and resources,” Ms. Jensen said. “When managed properly, we work together and everyone benefits.

“I knew that Marion would understand business relationships and the important role of nonprofits on the quality of life in our community.”

Ms. Roth will wear many hats in her new position.

“As general manager, Ms. Roth’s responsibilities will include the overall management, development and success of the theater, and providing training and leadership through employee and patron motivation, mission-oriented strategic planning, marketing and community outreach,” a release from the Prospector says.

“Ms. Roth comes to the Prospector Theater from her tenure as executive director of Ridgefield’s Chamber of Commerce. She has more than 20 years’ experience working with member-based associations, marketing and management, with the last five at the Chamber.

“There, she was instrumental in expanding business and community involvement through educational events, business networking events, festivals, special events and displayed her commitment and passion for this town, its residents and its businesses.”

Before the Chamber, much of Ms. Roth’s career was spent in the credit union industry.

The Prospector Theater is operated by Prospects, Opportunity and Enrichment Inc. (POE), a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt public charity.

“Through offering patrons diverse movies and programming, concessions, gourmet popcorn, a bar, a restaurant and a cafe, POE will conduct a Job Opportunities Program, an Internship Program, and a Film Production Program for adults with disabilities,” the news release says.

Ms. Roth is looking forward to it.

“We’ll be training and providing job opportunities for people with developmental disabilities, and engaging them with the community,” she said.

“It’s very motivating.”

Before that happens, the Prospector has to get itself set up to operate.

“We’ll be building a team and working hard to get the Prospector open. A lot will have to happen, including the finishing of the building and training of the staff,” Ms. Roth said.

“The goal is this summer, to have it up and running.”

In speaking of her new job, Ms. Roth sounded as though she still had the goals of her old position in mind.

“I’m excited about what it will do for the community,” she said. “If they sell 50,000 to 60,000 tickets a year, what will that do to support our Ridgefield businesses!

“I have loved my five and a half years here at the Chamber,” she added. “Meeting and engaging with committees and groups, and together accomplishing more.

“The giant pumpkins, state of town address and annual meeting, women’s forums, Summerfest: All of those things take teams of volunteers and businesses to make them happen. I think the Chamber is in a fabulous place.”

Although the Chamber board is setting up a new email address specifically for the search for a new director, for now people interested in discussing the job or submitting applications may email Ms. Roth. The email address is mroth@ridgefieldchamber.org.

“Résumés and salary requirements will be accepted,” Ms. Roth said.

“There’s no point in talking to somebody if the salary doesn’t meet their expectations.”

Ms. Roth has lived in Ridgefield 24 years. She and her husband, Ron, have a daughter, Lindsey, who just got her master’s degree in special education at UConn, and a son, Justin, who is a junior at Tufts.

She is eager to join the Prospector.

“I’m very excited and honored to be given the opportunity,” she said.

The Ridgefield Chorale, conducted by director Daniela Sikora, performed its Holiday Concert Sunday, Dec. 8, to a standing-room-only audience in the sanctuary of St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church.

The proceeds from the concert, and from other fund-raising by the chorale members — totaling more than $3,000 — was donated during the concert to a representative of the Connecticut Food Bank.

The Connecticut Food Bank serves more than 680 food pantries, soups kitchens and day-care programs throughout Connecticut. A $1 donation enables them to buy $10 worth of food. Therefore, the donation from Sunday’s concert will provide $30,000 worth of supplies for distribution around the state.

The chorale also collected a large amount of food and dry goods for the Food Bank from sites around Ridgefield.

The Ridgefield Chorale’s next concert, entitled Broadway!, will be performed on Saturday, May 10 in the auditorium of Ridgefield High School.

How many Christmas trees has Ridgefield supplied for Rockefeller Center?

As near as we can figure, three. But one of them was the very first official Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.

The first tree at “30 Rock” was unofficial, erected in 1931 by construction workers before the center was completed. The 20-foot balsam fir was decorated with “strings of cranberries, garlands of paper, and even a few tin cans,” according to historian Daniel Okrent.

The first official tree was installed in 1933, just after the center was completed. According to a story in a 1933 Press, the Norway spruce came from Outpost Nurseries in Ridgefield.

Outpost, operated by Col. Louis D. Conley, covered many hundreds of acres in the Farmingville and Limestone districts of town, and included what is now Bennett’s Farm State Park. Most of the nursery was later subdivided by various developers, and many roads in town take their names from trees and shrubs that Outpost grew on neighborhood land, including Copper Beech Lane, Linden Road,  Birch Lane, Cherry Lane, Dogwood Drive, Laurel Lane, plus, of course, Nursery Road.

Outpost was one of the largest retail nursery businesses in the East. Among its many jobs between 1925 and World War II were plantings for the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair; the 1939 New York City World’s Fair; the National Art Gallery in Washington; parks along Riverside Drive and elsewhere in New York City; Harvard, Yale and Williams colleges; Narragansett and Monmouth Raceways; and the estates of such people as Cole Porter, Lowell Thomas, Gov. Thomas E. Dewey, President Franklin D. Roosevelt (at Hyde Park), Walter Winchell, Robert Montgomery, and the Buckleys at Sharon.

The 50-foot Outpost tree was decorated with 700 blue and white bulbs. Today’s trees carry some 30,000 lights and are up to 100 feet tall.

The next Ridgefield tree we could find was in 1994. The 85-foot Norway spruce belonged to Maria and Alan Egler, who feared it would one day fall on their house. However, “when my wife saw that tree going out the driveway in that 100-foot flatbed, she sobbed,” Mr. Egler told a reporter.

In 2006, an 86-foot Norway spruce was felled on the property of Robert and Deborah Kinnaird. With a 48-inch trunk, it was the heaviest tree the Rockefeller fellers had ever handled.

Mr. Kinnaird, a longtime Ridgefielder, took a bit of teasing for allowing his century-old spruce to be dispatched. Fellow longtime Ridgefielder David Gelfman claimed in a letter to the editors of The Press that Mr. Kinnaird was being considered by the “National Society of Deforestation and Destruction” for its annual award for “ultimate desecration of nature.”

At three, Ridgefield may hold the record for the largest number of Rockefeller Center Christmas trees supplied by any one town. However, we’ve been unable to find a complete list of all the contributed trees, so we can’t tell whether another community equals or surpasses ours, or whether Ridgefield may have supplied more than three.

Archie, who owner Nancy Metz describes as a rescue dog of uncertain heritage, was recently the center of attention by the Groom Room staff. From left, Kaylin Barnwell, Meri Bustamante and shop owner Bridget Miller. —Macklin Reid photo

“Dogs get treated like gold,” said Bridget Miller.

Maybe that’s why The Groom Room, which she has owned and operated in Ridgefield since 1983, is building on 30 years of success.

Her approach to customer service probably helps as well.

“I try to accommodate people. Easy, easy, easy, that’s my thing,” Ms. Miller said. “If they want to bring a dog in early, or change times — you’ve got to accommodate the customer.”

For business longevity, it’s important to have good customers. To Ms. Miller, that means customers who are good pet owners.

“Ridgefield is a fabulous town to work in,” she said. “It makes my job easy because people take such good care of their dogs. I don’t see anything bad.

“You get to know people. You get to know their dogs. Ridgefield’s been good to me.”

A former New Yorker who now lives in Danbury, Ms. Miller grew up in Brooklyn and went to the New York School of Dog Grooming in Manhattan.

“I started in Ridgefield May 1982,” she said. “I was at The Animal House, in Copps Hill Plaza.”

She wasn’t there much more than a year.

“At The Animal House I asked for a raise, and they said ‘fine’ — then six months later he said he’d rather use the space for storage.

“My father said, ‘I just got my first Social Security check. If you match it, we’ll start saving, and then you can open up your own business.’”

He died four years ago.

“My father was a huge influence in my life. He just believed in me,” she said. “If you needed him, he was right there.”

The Groom Room is at 36 Grove Street, between Sunset Lane and Old Quarry Road — it’s her third spot in town, and the first one she’s been in as an owner. She’d been a renter at two different locations over the years. She finally got her own place and, after a lot of remodeling and landscaping, opened up on Grove Street.

“I never realized this was such a great location,” she said.

The traffic backups are part of life on one of Ridgefield’s informal Main Street bypass routes. That can be frustrating to drivers, but it also means people sitting in their cars, looking at a converted house that’s been nicely fixed up as The Groom Room.

“You get such great exposure,” Ms. Miller said.

The business cares for “between 75 and 100 dogs a week,” according to Ms. Miller.

She employs three people — Kaylin Barnwell, Meri Bustamante and Matthew Hoffman.

“The nice thing with having all these people that work here, I can put two people on a dog. Someone can hold them, while someone works on them, if they’re older, or they have arthritis.”

The Groom Room is open Tuesday through Saturday. Hours are 6 a.m. to 2:30 Tuesday through Friday, and 6 to 11:30 Saturday morning.

“I’m an early bird,” Ms. Miller said.

Many customers take advantage of the early opening.

“We had six dogs in here at 6:15,” she said on a recent Thursday. “A lot of people don’t like to leave their dogs here all day — first one in, first one out.

“If they can have the dog here by 6:30, we can have it done by 8.”

The standard grooming service is “a bath, brushed out, nails clipped, ears cleaned, a haircut,” Ms. Miller said.

The Groom Room also sells dog accouterments —  “treats, toys, sweaters.”

And as Ms. Miller sees it, that’s not really all of what The Groom Room offers.

“Not to sound cocky, but you get me,” she said. “I’ve been doing it for 31 years.”

What do robots, public speaking and human geography have in common? They could all be a part of the high school’s curriculum next year, part of an effort to give upperclassmen more choices and better prepare them for the future.

Department chairs, assistant principals and teachers rallied together to present the four proposed courses to the Board of Education on Monday night and now will wait to see which, if not all, get approved before by the board the budget process begins in 2014.

“These are the type of courses that are absolutely necessary,” said board member Richard Steinhart. “We’re talking about building robots in our school — this makes us trendsetters.”

Assistant principal Jarret Pepe presented the proposed Robotics 101 course along with technology teacher Tim Sykes and claimed that a lot of colleges have a similar course at the entry level of their engineering department.

Mr. Sykes added that Ridgefield would be the first school in their District Reference Group to offer such a course and that it would give students an advantage when applying to college.

He said the course would be available to a “wide variety of students,”  from grade nine through 12. The course would be rigorous, meant for students looking to get into the fields of engineering, software development or programming.

Some board members wondered that if only one section of the semester-long elective would be enough, indicating they already were on board to pass the course when it comes time to vote.

“Student enrollment and interest will really determine the number of sections offered — we’ll be happy to start with one and see where it goes,” Mr. Pepe said.

In his rationale for the course, Mr. Pepe explained over the past several years, robotics has become a focus within the engineering fields and has gained popularity as a career.

“The use of robotics is expected to increase in the near future, ranging from robots used from manufacturing to experimental robotics for medical, military, and automotive industries,” he wrote to the board.

He added the potential “wide range of careers” in robotics engineering include: space exploration, agriculture, manufacturing, research and development, and power-plant maintenance — as well as the fields of surgery and nanotechnology, which have increased in their demand for technicians proficient in robotics.

“The course incorporates a combination of mechanics, electronics and problem-solving, using real world applications,” he concluded. “Activities mirror similar practices used by engineers and technicians.”

Robotics wasn’t the only trend-setting course being proposed for next year’s curriculum.

Larry Friedman, head of the Social Studies department, pitched the course AP Human Geography along with faculty member Jessica Postlethwaite, who has taught the course before in Texas and at Western Connecticut State University as an independent study.

This advanced placement course would be offered to juniors and seniors.

“We’ve noticed that our kids are really interested in trying AP level social studies courses such as AP Politics, AP Psychology and AP Economics,” Mr. Friedman explained. “This will give them another option on that list and will give them the opportunity to become geographically literate, which is a skill they’ll need if they want to be successful global leaders.

“Human geography is like lacrosse was back in the day — only accessible in certain pockets of the country. But it’s going to sprout out significantly in the coming years and get popular really soon,” he said. “There was a time that the course didn’t exist and now 13 schools in the state have it and almost 100,000 AP exams were filled out last year.”

Citing the 2010 National Assessment of Education Progress, Mr. Friedman said only 20% of high school seniors are proficient or better when it comes to geography.

He said the course would build on already existing global history curriculum, while preparing students “to take an active and informed role in our increasingly globalized society” through the analysis of local, national and global issues.

“With its focus on current events and the development of 21st Century technology and skills, this course is well-aligned with the requirements of the Common Core Standards, and utilizes a curriculum that is relevant, rigorous, multi-disciplinary and recognized by universities across the nation,” he said.

Board Chairman Austin Drukker asked what type of student would want to take the course and what degree or career could they pursue after taking it.

Ms. Postlehwaite replied that students looking to get into political science, agriculture, and international business would be the ones she expects to sign up. However, she added that the course was open to a wide variety of students as it will cover topics such as geographic skill development, population and migration, cultural patterns, ecology, geology, political organization, urbanization, and industrialization.

“We’re serving a group of students that haven’t been served yet, and may not even know what they’re missing out on,” she added. “This is very applicable stuff with all the recent world disasters in Japan, Indonesia, and Haiti, as well as most recently in the Philippines.

“This is the type of course that will prepare them to be the decision makers of tomorrow by learning and studying about what is going on around them in the world today.”

With assistant principal Bob Slavinsky, Patricia Boutilier, head of the English Department, presented two upper-level English courses — The Art of Public Speaking and English IV: The Human Condition.

She said public speaking is one of the four language art skills stressed in the state’s common core and that there was a noticeable absence in the high school’s curriculum in developing that specific skill.

She added that the half-year elective would be offered to juniors and seniors and would be adjoined with the department’s other half-year elective, Film Criticism and Analysis, with the focus on preparing students for “real world applications” like job interviews, presentations and speeches.

“We think that it’s important to make public presentations available at all levels and we want to encourage that this skill is developed in our schools and help foster interest in this subject,” Ms. Boutilier said. “It’s beneficial to students in both grades because they can hone this skill, as well as listening skills, before they enter college and life after it.”

Several board members mentioned that “a good amount of adults” struggle with speaking in public and favored having a course that focused on delivering speeches and studying certain rhetorical devices.

As for the course focusing on the human condition, Ms. Boutilier said it would give seniors another choice when selecting their final, upper-level English course, while also providing students another full-year course as opposed to two elective courses that are taken one semester at a time.

The proposed class would benefit the English department’s restructuring away from its current model of nine full-year courses and 11 half-year electives, which has become unbalanced in recent years.

“We’ve found there’s a lot of kids interested in taking a full year of English in their senior year,” she said. “And I think a lot of that comes from the fact they go on their internships at the end of the year so for that second semester, if it’s a half-year elective course, then a lot of the material is crammed over a small period of time.

Besides AP English and UConn English, which are both full-year, college-level courses, the high school currently offers seven full-time English classes — three honors, four college prep — to seniors.

Marylee and Joseph Mohn

Marylee Hoyle Dilling and Joseph Paul Mohn were united in marriage on Oct. 26,  at five o’clock in the evening at Central United Methodist Church in Kings Mountain, N.C.

The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. David Thomas Dilling of Kings Mountain. She is the granddaughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. C. Hudson Hoyle, and the late Mr. and Mrs. John B. Dilling Jr., all of Kings Mountain.

The bride is a graduate of Kings Mountain High School.  She was a National Merit scholar at the University of North Carolina, where she earned her bachelor of science in biology and romance languages.

She received her doctorate of medicine degree from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia and completed residency at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. She joined Western Connecticut Medical Group and practices internal medicine and pediatrics in Ridgefield.

The groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Vincent Mohn Jr. of Danbury. He is the grandson of Mr. Paul D. Meskill Sr. and the late Mrs. Meskill of Ocean City, Md. and Mr. and Mrs. Paul V. Mohn Sr. of Palm Coast, Fla.

Mr. Mohn graduated from Immaculate and earned his bachelor of science in accountancy from Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. There he ran cross-country and indoor and outdoor track, serving as captain his senior year. He was an associate with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Philadelphia, and subsequently an analyst with BHP Billiton in Houston, The Hague and Singapore.

He is a master of business administration candidate in strategic marketing at Cornell University. Upon graduation in May, he will join Boehringer Ingelheim in Ridgefield.

The groom’s parents hosted a rehearsal dinner at Owl’s Eye Vineyard and Winery in Shelby.

The bride’s parents hosted a reception at Cleveland Country Club in Shelby, N.C.

After a honeymoon in Mauritius, the couple will live in Redding.

Embellished Knitting is a new two session class available through Ridgefield Continuing Education.

The course covers applied embellishments such as frilly ruffles, flowers, twists, I-Cords, and beads. Participants should already know how to knit, purl, increase, and decrease. A list of required materials will be provided by the instructor prior to class.

Instructor Lizabeth Doty is a professional educator for more than 35 years, has taught knitting to students of all ages.

Class meets on Tuesdays, Jan. 14 and 21, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Veterans Park School. Cost is $49 plus a $10 materials fee.

A new session of Knitting for Beginners starts Feb. 4.

Visit www.ridgefieldschools.org or phone Peggy Bruno at 203-431-2812 for information.

Triumphs over the Malloy administration are being proclaimed by a couple of Republican state legislators.

State Sen. Toni Boucher of Wilton, a candidate for governor, exults that she compelled the state police to disclose that they spent almost $14,000 to send three state troopers with Gov. Malloy on a political fundraising trip to California.

And state Rep. Penny Bacchiochi of Stafford, a candidate for lieutenant governor, drawing on investigative reporting by the Yankee Institute, notes that state government’s medical insurance exchange, Access Health CT, spent $79,000 on three murals for its offices.

But these days a governor hardly can go to the bathroom without a guard. And while those murals are in the totalitarian and didactic style beloved of the political left and are certainly extravagances, complaints about them would be more persuasive coming from a party that embraced the principle of getting everyone insured.

Besides, even as Boucher and Bacchiochi were complaining about state spending of less than $100,000, the governor was announcing another expensive modification of state government’s settlement of the Sheff vs. O’Neill school integration lawsuit.

The modification is state government’s pledge to move about 1,900 more Hartford students into racially integrated settings in the next school year. This may raise the percentage of Hartford students in integrated schools by 2% to 44%.

The Sheff settlement continues to mock the state Supreme Court’s decision in the case 17 years ago, even if that decision deserves mockery, since it held that every student in Connecticut has a state constitutional right to an integrated education, a right impossible to secure without racial assignment of students that would be unconstitutional federally and without massive transfers of students in every town that would bankrupt the state. This supposed constitutional right of all students is being applied to less than half the students in only one town, so it’s really not a constitutional right at all.

Indeed, it’s the governor, a Democrat, rather than Republicans who is beginning to talk, if delicately, about the futility of the Sheff approach to education. Announcing the settlement modification, Malloy noted that state government’s response to the Sheff case — school choice programs and regional “magnet” schools — already has cost $2.5 billion.

“Over the next year,” the governor said, “it will be important to take a hard look at what’s changed since this case was decided — to listen to parents, students, and the community; to acknowledge the complex demographic changes in the region; and to focus, first and foremost, on making a quality education available to every child.”

While the Supreme Court’s Sheff decision did not purport to require a “quality” education for every child but rather a racially integrated one, not even the Sheff plaintiffs take that seriously anymore. Indeed, some parents in Hartford complain that Sheff policy is hurting most city schools and students, removing better students to the regional schools and leaving the remaining schools with a larger share of terrible students, neglected kids from broken homes, who have to go somewhere and drag schools down wherever they go.

That’s really why regional schools have been tolerated politically throughout the state: They are primarily mechanisms not for racial integration at all but for allowing more conscientious parents to get their kids away from the kids who drag schools down.

Meanwhile standardized tests keep showing that in many Connecticut schools half the students do not perform at grade level but are still promoted and eventually given high school diplomas anyway. The billions in Sheff spending have purchased no more learning than integration.

Education in Connecticut is a far bigger issue — a catastrophe, really — than the governor’s travel and a few Stalinist murals. Much bigger, it seems, than Republican minds can comprehend.

Chris Powell is managing editor of the Journal Inquirer in Manchester.

Carol Hanlon, left, and Kathy Vescera

The Ridgefield Board of Realtors gathering at the Ridgefield Community Center recently featured an award for Kathy Vescera, who received the National Association of Realtors “Realtor Emeritus” award.

The award recognizes more than 40 years of service to the real estate community. (It does not, by the way, mean that Ms. Vescera has retired!)

Carol Hanlon, Ridgefield board president, presented the award.

Ms. Vescera is a founding member of Keller Williams Realty in Ridgefield, joining in 2004.

“She has committed herself to serving the greater Ridgefield and Danbury marketplaces with integrity and enthusiasm,” Ms. Hanlon said. “Her clients rely on her for caring advice and counsel both as buyers and sellers.”

In 2010, Ms. Vescera’s husband, Victor, joined her to create Team Vescera, and they are continuing the tradition of a caring real estate practice together.

In an effort to eliminate two costly health insurance taxes — one from the state, another from the Affordable Care Act, the school district is considering a switch from its commercial  insurance toward self-insurance.

“Essentially, the Board of Education would become the insurance company ” explained Rob Fitzpatrick, the district’s consultant for health benefits. “We continually investigate the best possible practices for health insurance costs, and a self-insurance model may be the best practice for the district.

“It’s is so far off at this point — we’re still in the preliminary phase of discussion — that we’re not anywhere close to making a decision,” he continued. “And I’m not sure we’ll ever do it, but it’s my job to look into ways to control cost, and this is one of them.”

Mr. Fitzpatrick, who said he wasn’t speaking on behalf of the school board, presented the educators with a health benefits update at their meeting on Dec. 9. He recommended the shift away from the current system, in which the board pays a premium to an insurance company for a certain package of health benefits.

The change comes with an inherent risk — if the cost of care ends up higher than predicted, the district would have to cover the remaining cost. There would be a need for a reserve fund  that would be based on the number of claims the district filed over the last five to 10 years.

Despite the uncertainty, the potential savings are substantial, enough to entice board members to evaluate the change, Mr. Fitzpatrick said.

He added that if the district were to become self-insured, it would avoid having to pay the annual 1.75% state tax on health insurance as well as the 2.4% health insurance industry fee that stems from the Affordable Care Act.

These would be the “minimum savings” from the switch, with the rest depending on the district’s size.

“We’re looking at the claims experience to determine whether or not it’s even viable to make a change and what the savings would look like for a town of this size — we don’t have a dollar estimate yet,” he said. “We also don’t know what the size of the reserve fund would be, because the investigation has only just begun.

“A lot of it depends on school enrollment and the amount of claims,” he continued. “That stuff changes year to year.”

Paul Hendrickson, the district’s business manager, added that he and Mr. Fitzpatrick had not yet “put any concrete steps into place,” and that they would be looking into all the possible ramifications — positive and negative — the switch would create.

“There’s a lot of discussions to be held before this really takes off and goes somewhere, if anywhere,” he said. “We’re in the midst of the budgeting process for 2014-15 right now, so I’d imagine we’ll be meeting with Rob to go over our health benefits before we have any additional discussions about self-insurance.”

The risk of self-insurance is something town officials are familiar with, after switching to self-funded dental insurance about eight years ago.

First Selectman Rudy Marconi said the town’s switch has reaped $1-million-plus in savings, but said its success may have come as a product of the times.

“Switching to self-insurance was easier back then, due to some archaic software that created a 60- to 90-day delay that allowed us to collect the first three months of premiums and put them in the bank before any costs were incurred,” he said. “Now, money is absolutely necessary to any self-insurance model and that money has to be up front at the very beginning — that’s why there’s a discussion about needing a reserve fund. …

“The shift to self-insurance doesn’t happen all the time — the timing has to be correct,” he continued. “We lucked out when we did ours.”

William Jaegar, the chairman of the town’s insurance and risk management committee, added that Ridgefield’s school district may be too small to self-fund its health care costs.

“One of the risks of self-insurance is that it’s not 100%, there’s a stop-loss component that kicks in for self-insured employers to protect themselves against gigantic claims,” he said. “In this case, the schools would be the ones insured under the stop-loss policy and the insurance company would act as the administrator, but not the entity who is paying for the coverage — this leaves a lot of potential costs for the employer. …

“This is not a criticism by any means toward the Board of Education, or the town, but this is a substantial risk that makes me wonder how sustainable a model like this could be,” he said. “With that said, it’s never bad to explore options.”

He concluded that self-insurance policies are “generally applied to a population that is fairly large.”

Mr. Marconi added that the school district once had a self-insured plan under former superintendent Ralph Wallace in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

When Ken Freeston took over the job from 2003 to 2007, he was reluctant to keep the plan. Eventually, after one person had a huge medical expense after a severe accident, the schools switched to commercial insurance, Mr. Marconi said.

“The risks weren’t worth it and there was a ton of opposition,” he said. “There were also different people on the board back then, so now things may have progressed to the point where we look at it again as a viable model to increase our health benefits savings.

Mr. Marconi said he was reluctant to favor the plan because it is “very trend-oriented” and difficult to predict.

“You don’t want to switch to self-insurance when your claims are at the bottom of a five-year trend; you want to switch when you’re at your peak and claims are on a downward trend; then you ride the reduction of claims you have to pay,” he said. “However, you never know the number of claims you are going to get in a given year, and that’s why it’s risky.

“Whatever ends up happening, the town will want to review it before it goes anywhere,” he said.

George Hancock has written three short novels about life in Ridgefield past.

George Hancock’s Until Jacob Comes Marching Home, the third book in his series of Ridgefield history-based fiction, came out in latter part of this year and is available in town.

Until Jacob Comes Marching Home follows Mr. Hancock’s first book, This Quiet Place, and his second, A Killing at The Inn, and like the first two it draws characters, places and events from Ridgefield history. Again his narrator is Keeler Dauchy, a historical Ridgefielder whose character Mr. Hancock’s imagination fills out based upon a scarecrow sketched by the facts found his research.

“This is the second half of the Civil War story,” he said.

A Killing at the Inn, covers from 1858 to 1863, the second year for the war, and “traces development of Civil War and how our boys started to march off,” Mr. Hancock said

Until Jacob Comes Marching Home follows the movement of Jacob LeGrand Dauchy, his narrator’s son, and tells of other boys from Ridgefield through the end of the war when they come home — events not at all like the image of the song his title echos.

“They seemed to all leave at the same time, but they all came back in dribs and drabs,” Mr. Hancock said.

“The popular idea of ‘When Johnny Comes Marching Home’ didn’t happen.”

He looks at difficulties created and faced by the returning soldiers

“How the town treated deserters — it was a very big issue in the Civil War,” he said. “Volunteers who have come home from war, voluntarily, without permission: How does the church deal with that?”

A Keeler Tavern tour guide, Mr. Hancock acknowledges a considerable author’s debt to A View from The Inn, the Keeler Tavern’s republication of Anna Marie Resseguie diary from 1851 to 1867, as well as local historians Charlie Pankenier, Elise Haas, Kay Ables and Jack Sanders.

The book is available in town at Books on the Common, Bissell’s and Bella Home, and also at Keeler Tavern.

Mr. Hancock, who has published three books in two years now, is working on his next project.

“Oh, sure. I’m going to write all winter here, and hopefully in June or so come out with a collection of short stories, which will all be on Ridgefield,” he said. “I’m going to try to come up with stories from each part of town.”

Average retail gasoline prices in Connecticut have risen 1.1 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $3.65 a gallon yesterday, according to GasBuddy’s daily survey of 1,540 gas outlets in Connecticut. This compares with the national average that has increased 2.2 cents per gallon in the last week to $3.23, according to gasoline price website GasBuddy.com.

Prices in Ridgefield Sunday included $3.69 cash at Valero, $3.75 at Irving, $3.84 at Pamby (Danbury Road and Grove Street), and $3.99 cash at Shell. Low price in Danbury was $3.55 at a Sunoco on Newtown Road. Lowest in the state was $3.45 at a Costco in Milford and a Sam’s Club in Orange.

Including the change in gas prices in Connecticut during the past week, prices yesterday were 1.2 cents per gallon higher than the same day one year ago and are 4.9 cents per gallon higher than a month ago. The national average has decreased 2.4 cents per gallon during the last month and stands 0.9 cents per gallon lower than this day one year ago.

“Motorists hitting the road for Christmas travel are cringing as gasoline prices have picked up with the best now behind us,” said GasBuddy.com Senior Petroleum Analyst Patrick DeHaan.

“While prices will advance, I don’t expect it to last too long- January and February generally also feature relatively low gasoline prices. And while motorists aren’t looking forward to the higher prices, they may take some solace in our expectation that gasoline prices in 2014 should average lower than they will after 2013 is complete. Make no mistake- gas prices will see volatility, and there will be times when motorists will experience “motion sickness” at the pump, but that shouldn’t discount that Americans will be able to spend less on a yearly basis in 2014 than they did this year.”

GasBuddy operates ConnecticutGasPrices.com and over 250 similar websites that track gasoline prices at over 140,000 gasoline stations in the United States and Canada.

Life Scout Robert Castle of Troop 431 is doing something a bit unusual for his Eagle Project. He’s hosting a benefit concert.

Robert is the founder of Musicians Give Back, a non-for-profit organization committed to spreading music and literacy to the community.

The organization will be hosting a concert at the Jesse Lee Church Carriage House, 207 Main Street, on Friday Jan. 3, from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

The concert will feature several young musicians playing solos in the classical, rock or jazz genre. Admission is open to the public.

Although, the concert is free Musicians Give Back requests that all attendees bring one new or gently used children’s’ book to donate.

“This concert is advocating for two major causes,” Robert said. “First of all, we will be exposing the community to jazz, rock and classical music, genres which are largely glanced over in music today. Secondly, the books that audience members donate will be given to the members of the Waterbury Boys and Girls Club, who do not have access to the same opportunities as children here in Ridgefield do.”

Frank Capra’s 1946 film, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” to be broadcast tonight at 8 by NBC television, is loved most for its personal message of discovery at Christmas: that its hero’s life has been, unbeknownst to him, crucial to his family, friends, community, and country.

Such general encouragement may seem more needed than ever these days; indeed, this may be, sadly, the cause of the film’s popularity. But “It’s a Wonderful Life” may be more important still for its overlooked lesson in democratic economics, a lesson arising from the struggle for survival of a combination credit union and savings bank, the Bailey Building & Loan in the Everytown of Bedford Falls.

The Building & Loan’s founder and chief executive, Peter Bailey, has died and its board of directors is deciding the institution’s future. The richest man in town, Potter, a misanthropic banker, ruthless landlord, and a member of the board, proposes dissolving the Building & Loan, and his callousness angers Bailey’s elder son, George, played earnestly by Jimmy Stewart, who has been working as assistant to his father.

POTTER: Peter Bailey was not a businessman. That’s what killed him. Oh, I don’t mean any disrespect to him, God rest his soul. He was a man of high ideals — so-called. But ideals without common sense can ruin this town. Now you take this loan here, to Ernie Bishop. You know, the fellow who sits around all day on his … brains, in his taxi. I happen to know the bank turned down this loan. But he comes here, and we’re building him a house worth $5,000. Why?

GEORGE BAILEY: Well, I handled that, Mr. Potter. You have all the papers there — his salary, insurance. I can personally vouch for his character.

POTTER: A friend of yours.

BAILEY: Yes, sir.

James Stewart in “It’s A Wonderful Life.”

POTTER: You see, if you shoot pool with some employee, you can come and borrow money. What does that get us? A discontented, lazy rabble instead of a thrifty working class. And all because a few starry-eyed dreamers like Peter Bailey stir them up and fill their heads with a lot of impossible ideas. Now I say. …

BAILEY: Now hold on, Mr. Potter. Just a minute. Now you’re right when you say my father was no businessman — I know that. Why he ever started this cheap, penny-ante building-and-loan I’ll never know. But neither you nor anyone else can say anything against his character, because his whole life was. … Why, in the 25 years since he and Uncle Billy started this thing, he never thought of himself. Isn’t that right, Uncle Billy? He didn’t save enough money to send Harry to school, let alone me, but he did help a few people get out of your slums, Mr. Potter. Now, what’s wrong with that? Why, you’re all businessmen here. Doesn’t it make them better citizens? Doesn’t it make them better customers? You said that … what did you say a minute ago? “They have to wait and save their money before they even think of a decent home.” Wait? Wait for what? Until their children grow up and leave them? Until they’re so old and broken-down that they. … Do you know how long it takes a working man to save $5,000? Just remember this, Mr. Potter: that this “rabble” you’re talking about, they do most of the working and paying and living and dying in this community. Well, is it too much to have them work and pay and live and die in a couple of decent rooms and a bath? Anyway, my father didn’t think so. …

At the board’s insistence, George Bailey takes over in his father’s place to keep the Building & Loan going, and soon he forestalls a run on it, part of a general financial panic, by putting up the money he has saved for his honeymoon and by preaching to a mob of frightened depositors about how they should not withdraw their money but instead have faith in the institution, because their money isn’t kept in cash in the safe but rather is invested in the houses, the mortgages, the very lives of their neighbors.

Of course, this is Capra’s metaphor for politics and the world: that there is progress when everyone is given a chance, a little capital and credit, when people play by the rules, look out for each other, and don’t take too much more than they need, and that selfishness is the ruin of everything.

Something like this — more or less a policy of helping to make middle-class everyone who aspired to it and would indeed play by the rules, a policy of democratizing capital and credit — made the United States the most prosperous country and the most successful in elevating the human condition.

But for a few decades now the price of obtaining and maintaining those “two decent rooms and a bath” and the middle-class life to go with it has risen as real wages have fallen for most, largely under the pressure of government’s unrelenting taxes in the name of services that have not really been rendered, a welfare system that has subsidized what somehow is not permitted to be called the antisocial behavior it is, and a plutocracy that has gained control of both major political parties.

There seem to be more people who, if too confused or demoralized to be dangerous, are still closer to being a “rabble” than the country saw even during the Great Depression.

Even at its best now Christmas is seldom more than an itinerant charity that, necessary as it may seem, tends to suppress the great political question of the day  after  Christmas, the question of how things can be organized to ensure that everyone has a good chance to earn his way in decency. But the great joy of Christmas is that the answer has been given, that we are not lost, that the country has been shown the way and can recover it — that society can work for all, that it really can be a wonderful life if enough selfless people make it a political one.

Chris Powell is managing editor of the Journal Inquirer in Manchester.

Christmas 1913: One hundred years ago Christmas givers were advised that they would no longer be required to lick their stamps when they deposited their parcels for mailing, unless they wished to, for the post office department announced that its postmasters and their clerks would attend to that duty if requested.

The innovation was put into force in the interests of better mail service during the holiday season and was expected to facilitate the movement of the vast crush of mailings that were anticipated.

Ridgefield’s postmaster asked patrons to mark the outside packaging of all Christmas gift parcels with the notation “Do not open until Christmas Day” so that those parcels could be separated from business mail. He also asked customers not to mail squabs, fresh pears and other perishables in Christmas packages because many had arrived at their destinations in less than desirable condition.

The school board decided that the giving of presents by children to their teachers and by the teachers to the children should be discontinued. The board said that the schools, especially those in the outlying districts, were once small informal little gatherings, while it now had more than 450 scholars, so that conditions had naturally changed.

For the 1913 Christmas season the board proposed giving young children a box of candy and an orange to take with them to celebrate at home. The board sought donations for a fund totaling $100 to cover the cost of the candy boxes.

“Shop Local” is not a new concept in Ridgefield. One hundred years ago The Press wrote, “Why Go Out of Town to Do Your Shopping?” The article went on to discuss the goods and services in town that were available for the Christmas season. The Busy B’s, Brundage & Benedict, had a full store of articles suitable for gifts, including lingerie, all kinds of toys, candy, cigars, gloves, hats, and caps. Ye Colonial Shop on Danbury Avenue had many fine antiques and collectibles. The Old Corner Store owned by George G. Knapp had a nice lot of domestic and imported groceries.

There were two excellent livery stables if you wished to take a drive for business or pleasure. If you wished to get anywhere in a hurry, you could hire an automobile and driver from H.E. Bates or Charles E. Scofield.

The Press noted that Morris Gottlieb’s store had a fine line of clothing for men, women and children and, “there is also a large line of — well, articles for ladies’ wear, which modesty forbids us to mention.”

Adams & Keeler’s harness store had whips, robes and blankets.

Francis D. Martin’s jewelry store had watches, fobs, rings, and chains. He was also the local agent for Indian motorcycles, and you could have a top-of-the-line 7 HP special with an electric starter for $325.

The Five, Ten and Twenty-five cent store had “a bewildering array of articles and every one suitable for a present.”

McGlynn & Ryan had a large stock of Christmas novelties, including mechanical toys, and D.N. Robinson’s market at the corner of Main and Depot streets had tender poultry, juicy steaks and roasts.

The 1913 holiday season was marred by one incident: the arrest of Amanda Behnka, an alleged poultry thief, by Constable Taylor. The probable cause hearing was heard by Justice Valden in Town Hall and a large goose and a duck were introduced into evidence. The goose was unsettled at first and objected to her appearance in court until Constable Taylor settled her down on his lap.

Next week, Mr. Belote will look at Christmas  75 years ago.

Ridgefield has put up an all-out effort to combat bullying, and it seems to be working.

A nine-school, district-wide attempt to educate students, in small groups, about the negative consequences of bullying has lowered the number of disciplinary incidents at all three levels — elementary, middle and high school — over the last school year.

Four of the six elementary school principals, along with middle school principals Martin Fiedler and Tim Salem, presented the 2012-2013 discipline data report to the Board of Education on Dec. 9, discussing their unified positive behavior intervention system and advisory programs.

The principals told the board that the model has them collaborating everyday to create effective intervention techniques and skills that help students progress through different levels of the education system.

“It begins with behavior goal setting at the elementary level,” said Barlow Mountain Principal Rebecca Pembrook. “From elementary it goes to middle school and then all the way up to the high school and it builds at each level — it’s an all-school, all-district intervention program.”

In-school suspension numbers at the middle schools shot down from nine in 2011-2012 to none in 2012-2013, while the total number of suspensions at the high school decreased from 44 to 20.

More importantly, the number of “potential bullying” disciplinary events shrunk from six to three at the elementary level; 10 to none at the middle schools; and 28 to seven at the high school.

Illegal substances

Incidents involving drugs, alcohol or tobacco at the high school also dipped — from 23 to 13.

The district is required by state law to report all offenses that result in suspensions, expulsion, and all accidents involving drug, alcohol or weapons.

In 2012-2013, RHS mandated three counseling sessions with a school psychologist or social worker, one of which the student’s parents must also attend, following a suspension for drugs or alcohol.

“We credit this strategy with a reduction in repeat offenses,” the report’s high school conclusion said.

“The potential bullying category demonstrates a dramatic decrease from  28 to seven events and is mainly attributed to an increased focus on safe school climate, a heightened awareness and proactive approach on the part of all staff members and our advisory program.”

There were three weapons-related disciplinary events at the high school and none at the middle school in 2012-2013, which was at par with the previous school year.

The schools must report “all serious offenses” as defined by the state’s department of education, which include more than 100 different violations that range from robbery, sexual harassment and fighting to attempted suicide, vandalism and plagiarism.

The number of serious incidents at the high school went down from 19 to 10.

What is not reported during these incidents is student names, the victim names or identity number, and any criminal charges that accompany the school sanction.

Five basic tools

The five basic tools teachers, as well as paraprofessionals, staff members and administrators, promote amongst the student population, as part of the cross-school intervention system, are cooperation, assertion, reflection, empathy, and self control.

“We labeled it CARES,” said Farmingville Principal Susan Gately. “It sets a community tone and the message is given at all three levels, at all nine schools.”

The board was impressed with the results in school, but wondered if the trend of positive behavior continued outside of school walls.

“What is the cyber bullying like at the elementary and middle school level?” asked board member Irene Burgess. “Are you seeing the Facebook fights or the Instagram photos coming into the classroom — is that a problem yet?”

Dr. Fiedler said cyber bullying was not a problem at East Ridge and Ms. Gately added that it wasn’t a problem at Farmingville either.

Mr. Salem couldn’t recall an incident of cyber bullying at Scotts Ridge, but explained that the model targeted school climate and focused on what the principals could control.

“This is the most holistic approach to behavior I’ve seen in my 20-plus years as an educator,” he said. “I meet with each grade and talk about expectations on day one of each year, so by the time the student is in eighth grade, he or she has heard the message and really gets it.”

He said the advisory program at his school, as well as the other eight, sets up an “advisory period” that acts as a mandatory class for 12 different students to participate in per day.

In the advisory period, the students and Mr. Salem discuss topics as broad as school work and life at home, while instilling the tools of positive behavior to handle certain situations that would otherwise produce negative consequences.

“The expectations on day one are stated and then they’re repeated from there through the advisory groups,” he said. “We have to put the cards on the table to teach them the severity of bullying.”

Board member Chris Murray asked, “Are the kids seeking out adults more than they have in the past with this model?”

Mr. Salem said the “small-group approach” eliminates isolation by building a support group and giving students two sources for positive reinforcement — adults and their peers.

Dr. Fiedler added, “it’s very difficult to feel alone now.”

He said the need to seek out an adult is less because the students’ concerns are being addressed through the advisory period.

Despite its success, he said the need for an all-district intervention method at the middle school will always be there.

“Middle school students do silly things without even thinking twice about it,” he said. “Our job is to point out their negative behavior and turn it around and create something positive.”

Stephanie Parker and Robert Slavinsky, assistant principals at the high school, discussed behavioral trends at the district’s largest school.

Addressing the issue of cyber bullying, Mr. Slavinsky said part of the school’s advisory program is a social media component that teaches students how to be responsible on the Internet.

“We have a proactive culture of accountability that’s great for our school’s culture and the student’s future because it teaches them to make good choices with technology,” he added. “It’s played a major role in our advisory program over the last two years and it’s been really beneficial for all parties involved.”

The number of cyber bullying incidents were not listed in the report.

Mr. Slavinsky said communication between the students and the staff has been crucial to the program’s success thus far, but he also praised the cooperation from parents, who he said played a fundamental role in addressing behavioral concerns.

“The more cooperative we can get the parents to be, the better,” he said. “They’re critical in stopping any issue before it gets too critical and a third party, like the police, has to get involved.”

Ms. Parker said the district “working as one big team” has made a substantial difference in the improvement of behavior as well as school climate.

“The continuity between all three levels is much more aligned than it ever has been and that’s great because there’s no awkward transition for the kids,” she confirmed. “They come in knowing what to do because they’ve heard it now over and over again at the middle school level.”

As a result of the program, the high school’s largest area of infraction — or negative behavior — is students parking without a parking sticker or forgetting to have their student identification cards on them at all times, she said.

“We prefer those instances a lot more than fighting or bullying,” she said.

Assistant superintendent Kimberly Beck added she has attended advisory periods at different schools and complimented the program’s cohesiveness across all levels.

“It’s not going to be a cure-all,” she said. “But it will provide many avenues for administrators to recognize positive behavior and that will teach students to avoid the negative consequences that surround bad behavior.”

When Veterans Park Brownie Troop 50090 learned that not all homeless people are adults, and that kids also struggle to stay warm on the streets without homes to shelter them, they set about making winter hats for children. Given the spirit of the season and the cold nights setting in, the troop worked to provide the New Jersey organization “Hats 4 the Homeless” colorful fleece hats for distribution at St. Francis Xavier’s Soup Kitchen in New York City. Modeling hats that they fashioned for themselves are (front row, from left): Madison Mueller, Bryn Grant, Sloane Fleming, Gabrielle Genna, Lia Giusio, Malina Maxham, Stephanie Bissing, Grace Teperzer; (rear row, from left): Heidi Atkins, Katherine Petrillo, Annabel Earle-Hecht, Luisa Simon, Emma Costello, Caroline Kelly, Lizzie Kuhn, Maxine Lynch, Savannah Reyes, and Sophia Farenga (missing: Kit Lasberg, Charlotte Bowler and Caroline McClellan).—Scot Lynch photo

All natural pink drinks, a professional photographer complete with wind fan, make-up applications by the pros an entertaining speaker: They are all to make everyone who attends Drink Pink, Think Pink Wednesday, Jan. 15, including cancer survivors, feel beautiful while raising money for a great cause.

The evening at The Ridgefield Playhouse will raise money for Ann’s Place and Danbury Hospital’s Breast Care Program.

The evening starts with a wine tasting and cheese sampling, hors-d’oeuvre, pink drinks, professional head shots, make-up applications plus a silent auction and raffle items in the lobby at 6:30 p.m.

At 7:30 author Jude Callirgos will read excerpts from her new book Breast Left Unsaid, a funny and poignant story about finding out you have cancer and how you deal with it.

For tickets at $25 (100% of proceeds to breast cancer charities), call the box office at The Ridgefield Playhouse, 203-438-5795, or order online at ridgefieldplayhouse.org.

As if a gift from above, Ridgefield got a white Christmas on the holiday’s eve.

It was a treat — except for drivers.

The snow squall began around 7 p.m. Because of cold temperatures, the snow immediately stuck to the roads, which also had been washed clean of their earlier “salt” treatments by rain a few days earlier.

Accidents and disabled cars were reported in many parts of town as road surfaces quickly became slick.

Danbury Road was bumper-to-bumper traffic for a long time, slowed or stopped by accidents and disabled vehicles — one, an 18-wheel tractor trailer that got stuck near the Verizon Store.

Ivy Hill near the rail trail was “a sheet of ice,” and highway crews had to back salting trucks  down the hill there. One truck was involved in a minor accident on the hill.

The town was asked to help treat some state roads.

The actual accumulation was only about a half inch in the south side of town, just enough for the “white Christmas” effect.

Roads are in generally good condition this morning, but will have icy patches.