A 2012 Jesse Lee ASP crew poses with their homeowner in Washington County, Va. Clockwise from top left: Max Day, Patrick Devlin, Krista Palmiotto, the homeowner, Laura Craighead, Mimi McKibben, Andrew Senesac and Peter Seirup.

“It’s always hard to explain to people who have never gone on ASP exactly why I love it as much as I do,” said Kiera Bloch, a six-year ASPer and current college student.

“It doesn’t exactly sound fun, I guess, when I talk about a two-day drive, sleeping on the floor, no air conditioning, cold showers, cafeteria food and manual labor for hours every day, but somehow it is.”

On June 29, Ridgefield’s Appalachia Service Project (ASP) will be making its 30th journey to the rural South, where volunteers experience what Ms. Bloch called difficult, but rewarding, conditions.

Although most would not describe these conditions as their typical idea of fun, Ms. Bloch and her fellow Appalachia Service Project volunteers swear it is.

Since 1984, Ridgefield’s ASP has had one mission in mind: To help make the homes of low-income families warmer, safer and drier.

Sponsored locally by Jesse Lee Memorial United Methodist Church, ASP began in Ridgefield 30 years ago with only 28 volunteers who served one county in Appalachia. Today, ASP sends 150 volunteers to four different counties in Appalachia.

Appalachia Service Project is a nationally based organization, and each community participating is responsible for funding the trip itself. This year’s trip will cost just short of $100,000.

“At Jesse Lee, the money is raised for ASP by things like a registration fee, car washes and stocks,” said Neal Bowes, a nine-time ASP veteran and the director of Youth Ministries at Jesse Lee. “The money is then sent to ASP for each person for building supplies, food, and to pay for the wonderful center staff.”

Ted Robinson gives direction as Laura Gustafson screws a decking board onto a wheelchair-ramp panel during Jesse Lee ASP’s “Basic Skills” training session on May 18. All new and second-year ASP participants had to attend a “Basic Skills” session to be eligible for the upcoming mission trip.

Appalachia Service Project was started in 1969 in Kentucky by the Rev. Glenn “Tex” Evans, a United Methodist minister. Mr. Evans began with only 50 recruits; today the organization receives the help of 17,000 volunteers a year from churches all over the country.

Appalachia has such a strong need for home repair assistance that the organization can help only 10% of the applicant families every year. This high demand for home repair “shows why it is so important that we keep it going,” said Mr. Bowes.

“There are many reasons why life in Appalachia is the way it is,” said Mr. Bowes. “The driving economic force was the coal-mining industry, but in this day and age, a lot of the mines are now empty, and machines do most of the work on the remaining active mines.

“A majority of the mineworkers in Appalachia suffer from black lung or emphysema from breathing in the air of the coal mines, and cannot work even if they had a job to go to. This pressure trickles down to teenagers, who frequently feel the need to support their family, and cannot spend time in school.”

ASP volunteers witness first-hand the lives of the people of Appalachia, who are neither lazy nor apathetic, but in a lot of ways, trapped.

The experience opens eyes.

“The idea of poverty is really an abstract idea until you meet people and know their name and see their face and stay at their house, and then it becomes personal,” said Mr. Bowes. “It really helps us ASP volunteers feel thankful and appreciative of what we do have.”

Ms. Bloch, veteran of five trips, says that she has always described the ASP journey as her “reset button.”

“Every year I gain a new appreciation for everything I’m lucky enough to have, and am reminded that there are people who do not have the same privileges as I do.”

Ms. Bloch has been hooked on ASP since her first year. “That first year I had great people in my center, both kids, and adults, and I really got the chance to connect with the family whose house we worked on. It was those connections that made an immense impact.”

Claire Sigworth, a Ridgefield High School student and fourth year ASPer, considers the trip to be her break from suburban life. “Up here in the Northeast, people are constantly rushing and they are so busy with their lives that they don’t take a minute to appreciate the small things.

“In Appalachia, it’s not like that. It’s a nice break from the Northeast, and it’s made me really think about how I let myself get so distracted by life.”

While home repair is the main purpose of the mission trip, according to Dave Sigworth, a fourth year ASPer who is also a co-leader, it is not the only significant effect of ASP. “While the work we do on people’s homes gets most of the attention, the connections we make with the homeowners are equally important.

“There’s a saying that ‘ASP is a relationship ministry with a little home repair on the side.’ We take the work seriously, but we also want the families to know we care about them even more than we care about fixing up their house or trailer.”

Mr. Sigworth is proud of Ridgefield’s celebrating its 30th year of ASP.

“The fact that Jesse Lee ASP is going stronger than ever in its 30th year speaks highly of its structure and the people of Ridgefield,” he said. “The faces change over the years, but each year’s participants are committed and have a system to follow that has proven to be successful.”

More than 20 minivans-long, the 2012 Jesse Lee ASP caravan rolls back into town.

Appalachia Service Project runs for eight weeks of the summer, with volunteer teams showing up for nine-day stints. For those nine days, the experience is more than rotting stairs and floorboards, leaky roofs, and broken plumbing. The past 30 years these journeys have brought friendship, leadership, appreciation, humbleness, labor, kindness, strength, and laughter into the lives of Ridgefielders.

Whether Ridgefield volunteers think of ASP as their reset button, their break from busy northeastern life, their eye-opener, or simply as a mission trip, all have one thing in common: They cannot wait to go back.

The writer is a three-year ASP veteran. Learn more about Jesse Lee’s ASP at Jesseleeasp.org. Although Jesse Lee sponsors ASP, the trip is open to all religions and to anyone who is in their freshman year of high school or beyond.

Christiane Hepp, a former Ridgefielder, died June 7 in Houston, Texas. She was 82 years old and the widow of Vincent Hepp.

Mrs. Hepp was born in France Dec. 28, 1930. She and her husband and family lived on Ivy Hill Road from 1972 to 1980.

Interment was in Houston.

Parking for new BMWs will replace the tennis courts where Ridgefielders have played for 40 years. But some members of the Ridgefield Tennis Club are organizing an effort to create a new club — and looking for help from the town.

“We do have a resident who is willing to build a facility if the town is willing to provide the property,” First Selectman Rudy Marconi said Monday.

With little discussion Tuesday night, the plans to turn the Ridgefield Tennis Club’s eight courts into a parking and car storage area for BMW of Ridgefield were granted final approval from both the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Inland Wetlands Board.

The approval will facilitate a contracted sale of the more than 40-year-old tennis facility to the neighboring auto dealership. Club owner Andy Bodner had said in a letter to members several weeks ago that the club will probably close in late August if the deal goes through.

A public hearing on the plan had packed the room at the town hall annex last week, and five people had spoken — all opposed. The audience had been warned that the commission was only interested in testimony that related to wetlands and zoning issues, not the value of the tennis club as a recreational resource.

Nonetheless, speakers at the hearing did discuss what the club meant to the town’s tennis players, and Tuesday night commission member Patrick Walsh said he hoped the public wouldn’t feel the commission was ignoring their comments.

“I just found some of what they had to say very compelling,” Mr. Walsh said. “…I didn’t want them to think it fell on deaf ears.”

But, by state law, the commission in its approval process is limited to considering land use issues — wetlands, environmental impact, traffic.

Walter Beatty, who had acted as informal spokesman for Ridgefield Tennis Club members at the public hearing, described the effort to organize another club — which is in the discussion stages.

The effort is being led by local benefactor George Landegger, and has involved meetings with First Selectman Marconi and some review of sites for Mr. Landegger by an engineer.

“There is general agreement, of course, on behalf of many in the tennis-playing community and also more specifically and importantly between Rudy and George Landegger, that the town clearly needs a new tennis facility and that the transition should be as seamless as possible from the closing of the Ridgefield Tennis Club,” Mr. Beatty said in an email Wednesday morning.

“George Landegger has offered as a charitable donation to the town to build a new tennis facility and operate it as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization provided that Rudy on behalf of the town will find suitable land that the town can donate for the facility. As I understand it, the broad arrangement would be not too dissimilar to the Founders Hall project in this regard. Rudy and George are working to make this happen at present…

“Once in operation, the objective would be as a non-profit to generate enough revenue to cover ongoing capital and maintenance expenses.”

Mr. Marconi said there had been some discussion of using land that is part of the Schlumberger property. But that site presents problems with both topography and the Board of Selectmen’s previous commitment to try to recoup some of the town’s acquisition cost for Schlumberger through reselling parts of the property.

“It is difficult for us, the town, to justify the allocation of any property for a tennis facility absent any bid. We couldn’t just donate it,” Mr. Marconi said.

“But there is another location we’re currently working on.”

Halpin Court is Ridgefield’s only privately built and owned low-income housing developments. The 25-unit complex has been open since 1991. The town has a poverty rate of 2.5% and an unemployment rate of 6.3% according to a 2012 Connecticut Economic Resource Center town profile. —Steve Coulter photo

Ridgefield — with its lavish mansions, pristine town center and nine-figure tax revenue —  has not been synonymous with poverty.

However, in the wake of the economic collapse, there has been an increase in the town’s population that is living below, and slightly above, the poverty line.

“There are lots of people still struggling and that’s often due to job loss, which we’ve seen a lot of in the last five years,” said Karen Gaudian, the municipal agent for the elderly and town’s Social Services department administrator. “Finding work is pretty difficult and even the people who are fortunate to get a new job find out their new job is not the same caliber — the salary is not high enough…

“People don’t think we have a poor population but we do.”

According to the Connecticut Economic Resource Center (CERC) town profile released in 2012, Ridgefield has a 2.5% poverty rate. Based on that number, approximately 616 of its 24,638 residents are below the poverty line.

Comparatively, Fairfield County has a 8% poverty rate, while the rest of the state has a 9.2% rate.

Although the town sits well below the state’s poverty level, the result of poverty in town is similar to anywhere else, including families coping with impending house foreclosures.

“There’s the cost food and clothes, there’s medical expenses, there’s electric and heat bills, and the family can’t afford it all,” said Lisa Kuller, the clinical director of the Youth Service Bureau. “It creates problems for everyone in the family because in some cases, where the family is living below the poverty line, they don’t know where that night’s dinner is coming from.”

Family counseling

The Youth Service Bureau, which has been operating for 35 years, provides free counseling for families who can’t afford therapy otherwise.

“All the people we see have extreme financial difficulties,” she said. “If they can pay for therapy, we usually refer them elsewhere because with our time, we want to help those who can’t access therapy.

“Our goal is to help people get back on their feet, whether it’s teens with depression and anxiety issues or parents with their parenting problems.”

Ms. Kuller, who works part time in all five elementary schools, counsels individuals as well as whole families. She works on 20 cases in the office and 20 more in the schools.

“I’ve worked part time here for the last 12 years and now I work full time and there’s still not enough time to cover anything,” Ms. Kuller said.

While poverty seems to be increasing, First Selectman Rudy Marconi said the issue’s main propeller is job loss. The town has an unemployment rate of 6.3% — 758 residents, according to the CERC profile.

“Poverty is a relative term — I think what we’ve seen here is a rise in unemployment over the last five years,” he said. “Unfortunately, we can’t find jobs for people and that’s hurting us.”

Mr. Marconi said the town has seen improvement in unemployment numbers over the past two years.

“It’s nowhere near where it used to be prior to 2008, but we have seen improvement,” he said. “2009-2010 were the lowest years here, but it’s gotten better since then.”

Besides job loss, the other causes that bring individuals and families closer to the edge of poverty include medical bills, mortgage and rent payments, and heating and electric costs.

Divorce

However, divorce is the second largest factor contributing to poverty, according to both Ms. Kuller and Ms. Gaudian.

“Divorce tears families apart,” Ms. Kuller said. “When you have a single parent — doesn’t matter which one — raising all the kids, it becomes a struggle because there’s no longer that shared responsibility.”

Ms. Gaudian agrees.

“Divorce has a traumatic impact on a family economically  — it causes families to lose their house and relocate, lose their cars and other possessions,” she said. “In some cases, they have to move out of Ridgefield because they can’t afford to live here and they must reduce their lifestyle.”

Ms. Kuller added that in most low-income, single parent cases, the mother ends up as the primary guardian, which changes the dynamic of the household.

“Moms have to come to terms with this identity shift where they go from being moms all day to being an employee who has to learn a craft and work all day and then come home to raise the children,” Ms. Kuller explained. “In these cases, the kids are equally affected because they don’t come home to mommy and they have to grow up more independent.”

Besides divorce, Ms. Kuller said three other factors can create single parent homes — mental disorder,  alcohol addiction, and death. She has seen all of these.

In terms of extreme medical bills, she says these make up a minority of her cases but acknowledges that a severe medical crisis can damage a family financially as well as psychologically.

Ms. Gaudian believes this to be a “huge group” that factors into the town’s poverty because of the long, rolling cost of medical treatment.

“A traumatic medical expense, such as a car accident, or long-term disease, such as cancer, is devastating; families financially fall apart from it and sometimes are never able to recover,” she said.

The town can provide short-term help for families that suffer from these type of situations — it gives them cash to help pay medical bills so they don’t increase or incur debt. However, the financial support can’t be ongoing, and some 738 residents have made use of three different Medicaid assistance programs, according to the CERC profile.

With people facing home foreclosures, Ms. Gaudian said, the legal process can “go on for years,” which gives them a chance to find another job.

“If you miss a payment, they’re not going to throw you out next week,” she said. “However, missing a payment is terrifying — these are people fighting to keep their houses while they try to make ends meet.”

She said one of the problems the public faces is that even “affordable housing” isn’t affordable.

“It could be $1,400 a month, which is still very expensive,” she explained. “The town wants to increase these projects but they have to work out for the community at large.”

Elderly and disabled

In addition to those faced with the strains of divorce, medical expenses, and home foreclosures, the elderly and the disabled factor into the town’s poor population but they are qualified for long-term assistance that other groups can’t access.

Ms. Gaudian said the town provides this group with housing and transportation opportunities and services, as well as the food pantry and clothing donations.

“We’re here to advocate for them and we try to take care of them to the best of our ability,” she said.

Nonetheless, the situation remains dire for this group just as it does for younger individuals and families suffering from job loss, divorce and medical bills.

For the elderly, poverty can stem from a variety of other factors, Ms. Gaudian says.

One is that the individual does not have a retirement fund. They are  “completely dependent on Social Security, which is not very much or not enough to live here.”

These people live on a fixed income while the cost of many needs — from groceries to oil — continues to soar. She said in most cases the low fixed income is around $1,000 a month.

“It’s tough to pay for everything with $1,000,” Ms. Gaudian said. “They’re not getting an increase in money while everything else goes up.”

According to CERC, the federal poverty levels in 2012 based on family size were: $11,170 for one, $15,130 for two, $19,090 for three, and $23,050 for four.

Ms. Gaudian noted that Connecticut Light and Power has programs for people struggling to pay their electric bills. The town’s social service department offers similar assistance.

“A big fear for seniors on fixed incomes is if they do not have enough to get through the month, they will forgo food and medications in order to pay their rent,” she said. “This is a very unhealthy and potentially dangerous practice — we’re here to make sure no one has to do this.”

Ms. Gaudian said more families are living just above the poverty line.

“Lots of people are on the edge of poverty,” she admitted. “They’re out of range, but not by much — it’s an extremely difficult spot to be in, but these people can also get assistance from the town and the state.”

Some of the problems these families face include whether or not a child can play a sport or go on a school field trip.

School lunches

The town offers several options to children living in these circumstances, including free or reduced lunches, free summer camp and an affordable day-care service for students under the age of 12.

Patricia Flynn, the bookkeeper for the food service department, said the district approved 120 students for free lunches and 24 for reduced-price lunches — less than 3% of students within the district — for the 2012-2013 school year.

“The increase in number of free and reduced lunches has been small percentagewise, but it’s been gradual,” Ms. Flynn said. “It’s the highest it’s ever been.”

The program began in the early 1960s.

A family can reapply for the program every year. In addition, families may apply any time during the school year if necessary.

The seven-part application focuses primarily on the household’s monthly income to see if the family qualifies for the program.

As long as a student qualifies, he or she can stay on the plan until graduation from high school.

Once in the program, the student’s identity is concealed and they can’t be overtly recognized. A student under the program can go to the cafeteria’s register “just like any student” and give their PIN number to receive a meal.

Ms. Flynn said about 70 high school students, the largest group in the district, get free or reduced-price lunches, consisting of an entree, a side dish, fruit and vegetables, and a milk.

The cost is reimbursed through federal funds, said Paul Henrickson, the business manager for the school district.

As they try to appease the political hysteria arising from the massacre in December at the school in Newtown, Gov. Malloy and most state legislators are not concerned about the other consequences of their actions. But when things calm down they should reconsider a little.

Needing reconsideration is the new state law exempting from disclosure under freedom-of-information law any photos taken by police of murder victims at crime scenes. Some people were afraid that police photos of the carnage in Newtown would find their way to the Internet, and then advocates for murder victims generally expressed resentment of the favoritism being shown to the families of the Newtown victims, so now all police photos of victims at murder scenes are to be concealed.

But the other day a state trooper shot and killed a man said to have been acting crazy and to have been waving a club while running toward officers at a house fire in Salem. This may be a case of “suicide by cop.” Or it could be something else. What if the man was shot not in the front as he rushed police but in the back as he fled? Photos of his wounds might settle the question. But the new law likely would prohibit disclosure of any such photos. Thus it would exempt police and prosecutors from accountability.

A week earlier a man was shot five times by a police officer in Cromwell. The man appears to have stolen a truck, crashed it into a few buildings, led the officer on a chase, crashed into another building, and, upon getting out of the truck, to have pulled out an umbrella and pointed it at the officer. He too many have deserved what he got. But he says some of the shots hit him in the back and buttocks. If he dies the new law may prevent public examination of his wounds and thus obstruct any testing of the police account.

Of course it’s unlikely that there was any misconduct by police in these two cases. Even if their judgment was imperfect, police have to be given some room to deal as best they can with criminals and crazies.

But Connecticut should know very well that there sometimes are wrongful shootings by police.

A reminder came the other day with the suicide of a former New Milford police officer who committed such a shooting in 1998, killing a criminal with a shot to the back as he lay restrained on the ground. The officer was convicted of murder, won a new trial, and then pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, criminally negligent homicide, losing his career, and, some think, his life. (The shooting likely was the accidental discharge of a service pistol with a hair trigger, worsened by the officer’s trying to excuse it by concocting a story that the criminal had made a sudden threatening move.) Presumably if Connecticut’s new law on murder scene photos had been in force back then, important evidence in this case would have been withheld from public review.

Other fatal shootings by police in Connecticut have been questionable and become controversial without leading to criminal charges, like the fatal shooting of a fleeing felon by an East Haven police officer during a chase in 1997.

Should public examination of such cases and holding police and prosecutors to account be impaired forever now because of fear that a gory photo will turn up somewhere on the Internet? Police and prosecutors may hope so, others not so much.

Photos of the Newtown massacre are not necessary to the public’s evaluation of the atrocity. The perpetrator killed himself and there will be no prosecution. Legislation could have considered the massacre a special case and applied itself only there.

But given the frequent mistakes and corruption in criminal justice, blanket concealment of any criminal evidence guarantees more injustice.

The photo concealment law should be amended to apply only to the Newtown case.

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

CL&P has begun a tree trimming program in Ridgefield this month.

“In Connecticut, trees are the number-one cause of power outages, especially when severe weather strikes,” said CL&P representative Theresa Gilbert.

“That’s why CL&P invests millions of dollars each year in vegetation management across its service territory, trimming and removing trees that threaten the electrical system to improve service reliability.”

Work will take place from late June to October on the following roads and connecting side roads: Bennett’s Farm Road, Bob Hill Road, Danbury Road, Haviland Road, High Ridge, Peaceable Hill Road, West Lane, and West Mountain Road.

CL&P will notify residents via letter or door hanger on work planned for their property.

For more information on CL&P’s tree trimming program visit www.cl-p.com

The carnival used to be on the school lawn, but is now held on the paved parking lot so athletic fields won’t be damaged.

Now that summer is officially here, what better way to celebrate than with a carnival packed with rides, games and fried foods?

The Ridgefield Volunteer Fire Department will have its 16th annual firemen’s carnival Wednesday, June 26, to Saturday, June 29, in the parking lot of East Ridge Middle School.

“The carnival is a really important event for our staff to work together and put on a good show for everybody in town,” said Volunteer Fire Chief Tim Pambianchi.

“It’s a lot of hard work that involves a lot of effort on our guys’ part, but we enjoy doing it because it continues to be a big success and happens at the perfect time of year with the school ending.”

The carnival will open at 6 every night and close around 10.

Admission is free but people have to buy tickets for the games and rides.

For the second straight year, the volunteers are doing “bracelet night” — unlimited rides for all ages at one fixed cost — every night.

“Last year was the first year we did bracelet night every night and the results were extremely positive,” Mr. Pambianchi said. “It will really help shorten wait times and make the event so much more enjoyable.

The volunteers plan to use the same set-up they have in the past, with Tufano Amusements of Chesire providing entertainment for the event.

There will be rides for both younger childen as well as rides for pre-teens and teens, including Avalanche, Moonwalk, Pirate Ship, and Super Slide.

While amusement rides and game booths set the atmosphere with their bright neon lights, food plays an equally important role. This year, the volunteers will sell a variety of carnival grub, ranging from hot dogs and hamburgers to fried dough and cotton candy.

“We take care of the food,” Mr. Pambianchi said.

The carnival serves as one of the department’s largest fund-raisers. All proceeds go toward training, purchasing equipment and gear, and general expenses for the 60-person volunteer staff.

Mr. Pambianchi says the carnival’s attendence has been increasing every year but the turnout is always weather dependent.

The department’s website, www.RidgefieldVFD.com, tells about the carnival and will have weather updates throughout the carnival.

Parking will be at East Ridge Middle School’s rear lot, the Winter Garden ice rink, Veterans Park School, and the old high school. Fire police will be stationed at crosswalks to help townspeople cross and for traffic control.

Julie Paltauf, Christine O’Leary, Suzanne Brennan and Allison Stockel.

The Ridgefield Playhouse has expanded its senior executive team.

Scott Schneider, chairman of the board, reports the team of directors consists of Executive Director Allison Stockel, Chief Financial Officer Julie Paltauf, newly added Suzanne Brennan as chief development officer, and Christine O’Leary, chief theater operations officer.

Ms. Stockel, who will be marking her 10th year in this position in 2014, donates 100% of her time to the nonprofit performing arts center, and is responsible for all aspects of the Playhouse and its operations.

“Allison is the guiding force behind the Playhouse, Ridgefield’s entertainment crown jewel, and we are privileged to support her in providing the resources necessary to lead us into a new era,” Mr. Schneider said. “The Playhouse’s programs have expanded dramatically, both in variety and frequency. We will offer in the neighborhood of 120 shows this year. By bringing in additional management talent, Allison will focus on our programming — what’s on stage and behind the stage — as well as signing performers and creating new events, the things that are at the heart of what the Playhouse does.”

Ms. O’Leary is a popular stage and television entertainer with a background in the nonprofit sector as well as social work. “Christine takes it from the stage to the front door,” Ms. Stockel said. “She’s a fabulous entertainer with a larger-than-life personality, and our patrons know and love her. She is also a brilliant manager. She will be responsible for the customer experience, including the performance hall, concession area and entrance. She will personally greet patrons, see to their needs, and sometimes appear on stage.”

Ms. Brennan was until recently headed development for the Ridgefield Chamber of Commerce.

Ms. Stockel said Ms. Brennan’s job will be to connect businesses and the community at large with the Playhouse’s arts and entertainment. “Suzanne takes it from the front door out to the public. She will advance our initiatives within the community so the Playhouse can continue to thrive for years to come.”

Ms. Brennan was on the chamber’s board and executive committee. She was also the 2008 Chamber Choice Award Recipient for Outstanding Achievement in the Community including the areas of arts and business. Before that, for six years she was a partner in the Ridgefield shop, Shoe La La. She is co-chair of the Ridgefield Prevention Council.

Ms. Paltauf is marking her eighth year, having served as finance director and now chief financial officer. She also donates a portion of her time. Ms. Stockel said: “Julie is a strong administrator who keeps a firm and guiding hand on the Playhouse’s administration and finance. She has done a terrific job leading finance during a time in which our activities and transactions have grown significantly.”

The Playhouse has hired Erik Granato to the new position of media coordinator. Mr. Granato will be in charge of all aspects of media including social and traditional media and overseeing the marketing and media team. Mr. Granato has worked in marketing and advertising for 20 years and is co-founder of Talking Finger, a Connecticut-based social media and marketing company.

Steven J. Bellagamba of Bradenton, Fla., who grew up in Ridgefield, died at Casa Mora Rehabilitation and Extended Care on Friday, June 21. He was 62 years old and the husband of Denise Churnugal Drillon  Bellagamba.

Mr. Bellagamba was born on Sept. 2, 1950, in Danbury to the late Silvio and Barbara Sterling Bellagamba. He was a 1969 graduate of Ridgefield High School and  served in the U.S. Air Force. He formerly lived in Watertown.

Also known as “Uncle Buck,” he was a self-employed  tile contractor and did home improvements.

“He was quick to help family and friends with anything they needed,” his family said.

Mr. Bellagamba was an avid golfer, bowler and softball player and loved the New York Yankees and Giants.

Besides his wife, he is survived by his children, Brian Bellagamba and his wife, Carey, of Watertown, Melissa Bellagamba of Clinton, and Cara Newton and her husband, Mike, of Bristol; four grandchildren, Julianna Bellagamba, Emma Newton, Olivia Grella and Isabella Newton-Castrogiovanni;  three brothers, Rick Bellagamba of Puerto Rico, Gary of Ridgefield, and David of North Carolina.

He was the former husband of Robyn Redwine of Thomaston.

A memorial service will be take place Friday, June 28,  at 1 p.m. at the O’Neill Funeral Home, 742 Main Street, Oakville.

Friends may call on Friday from 11 a.m. until the service at 1 p.m. Burial will be private and at the convenience of his family.

The O’Neill Funeral Home is handling arrangements. To extend online expressions of sympathy or for more information, visit www.oneillfuneralhome.com.

Practically since I learned to talk, I’ve been asked what I want to do when I grow up. That answer’s changed more times than I can count, but the question remains. Now that I’m about to face a mound of college applications, deciding what I want to do with my life is more pressing than ever.

Thankfully, colleges won’t ask me for specific career plans. They will, however, want to know what I plan on majoring in. And while most American colleges won’t force me to major in the area I choose now, British universities require students to study in the degree they apply in. That means I need a pretty clear idea of my post-graduate career plans.

Even American colleges, while luckily more flexible, still require applicants to apply to certain schools within the undergraduate program. This raises a host of terrifying questions — What if I apply to the school of foreign services and later decide I want to be an English major? Should I do an undergraduate journalism degree and forever rule out prelaw? What if I start a foreign language in college, realize it’s my passion, and then can’t transfer into the school of languages? And what’s to say I won’t develop some hidden talent for the clarinet after steering clear of any undergraduate schools of music? Transferring between undergraduate schools is easy at some colleges; at others, however, it’s impossible.

I know choosing which major to apply in is nothing compared to choosing a career. Even actually majoring in a certain area might not help or hinder my employment prospects. Still, figuring out which of the many boxes to check under “Please indicate your intended major” seems important. If nothing, it’s yet another reminder that the Real World is coming; isn’t that what the college application process is all about?

I’m lucky. I at least know the areas in which I want to study. And hey, there’s always that comforting “undecided” option.

The Ridgefield Police Department is accepting applications for current and future vacancies, according to a press release.

All entry-level applicants must be 21 years old and possess a high school diploma, or the equivalent.

Other requirements include proof of US citizenship and a valid driver’s license.

The applications can be found on line at www.ridgefieldct.org. There is a non-refundable fee of $100 required when the application is submitted.

The patrol officer’s pay would be $56,935.

Applications will be taken until July 2 at 4 p.m.

Three down, three more to go.

The Board of Education unanimously voted to approve three school security capital items Monday night.

The items, which will cost $851,113, include access control, cameras and mass notification system.

Craig Tunks, the district’s director of information and operations development, estimates that it will take approximately three weeks to officially purchase the items. The items will then take 60 to 90 days to install.

Access control will include interior and exterior doors that will cost $154,294 and $251,000, respectively.

Security cameras — located at all elementary school playgrounds, and all main entrances, doors and parking lots — will cost $325,906.

The board approved using $151,000 out of the 2012-2013 operating budget for a security mass notification system, shrinking the total cost of the capital items to $731,200.

The mass notification system’s hardware will feature security “beacons” throughout all the schools that will trigger lights and speakers to announce different security situations.

The emergency communication system’s goal is to reduce response time and increase security inside the building. The system will ensure police, students and staff are notified in an emergency as quickly as possible, Mr. Tunks said.

When Mr. Tunks recommended the three capital items  at a  June 10 meeting, board members wanted to know why other ecurity gates, window film and vestibule entrances were not up for approval this year.

Superintendent Deborah Low responded that access control, cameras and mass notification addressed “more immediate needs than the other items” and that  the district can act on the other plans in the future.

“We certainly need the other items presented tonight but we can’t do it all at once,” Ms. Low said. “The cost of the vestibules is still undetermined and we could only have them installed during the summer because it can’t be done while school is in session.”

“The three items we’ve been asked to vote on work better on our timeline and we know exactly what their costs are and what the timeline is for their installation,” she said.

The items still have to face approval from the Board of Finance as well as a town meeting.

“While I can’t speak for the other members of my board, the Board of Education, Board of Selectman and the Board of Finance have been discussing these capital requests, in which case, the money would come from 20 year bonds — as will the $3.7 of capital items approved by votes in May, ” said Board of Finance Chairman Dave Ulmer.

Cass Gilbert may always be remembered locally as the architect behind the town’s fountain, but what local historian Charlie Pankenier wanted to give the former Keeler Tavern owner was something many often overlooked — a personality.

“There’s no shortage of commentary on his career and his accomplishments, but my advantage writing about him was being able to describe him in more than biographical terms,” said Mr. Pankenier. “I wanted to give him a personality and show that he was more multi-faceted than he’s been generally portrayed over the years.”

Cass Gilbert: He was a warm, family man.

Mr. Pankenier wrote and published Cass Gilbert Comes Home to the Cannon Ball House earlier this year, after sixth months of researching and writing, to coincide with the Keeler Tavern’s 300th year anniversary celebrated on June 15.

However, there were several factors that motivated Mr. Pankenier to write the book. First, he felt there was a dearth of stories about Gilbert as a figure in Ridgefield, a town he lived in for more than 25 years.

“My instinct told me that there was not much written about his years in Ridgefield so I investigated everything that had been written about him and I discovered a niche,” he said. “My research of him told me there was room to write something about the time he spent here and what he was like as a person.”

Mr. Pankenier said he was encouraged to write this book now because he was able to interview Cass’s granddaughter, who is in her 90s.

“I wanted to make sure I got to talk to her while I could because I really wanted to get a sense of what life was like inside the Gilbert household in the 1920s and 1930s,” he said.

From conversations with her, and additional outside research, Mr. Pankenier said he was able to discover a softer side of Cass Gilbert that few people know.

He says that Mr. Gilbert was enchanted by his children and grandchildren, spending copious amounts of time with them and engaging with them through his drawings.

“This dimension of him doesn’t come out through other writings,” Mr. Pankenier said.

The author was encouraged to write this book now because he was able to interview Cass’s granddaughter, who is in her 90s.

Another redeeming quality Mr. Gilbert had but didn’t often show off was that he was extremely self-aware, says Mr. Pankenier.

“In the eyes of the public, he was a pompous stiff who was rigidly conservative, but he knew who he was and he wasn’t afraid to make fun of himself when he was with a certain crowd he felt comfortable with,” he said.

Mr. Pankenier also wanted to show how dedicated Mr. Gilbert was to the town in which he spent his summers and the house he referred to as “the Cannon Ball House.”

He purchased the house in 1907 and knew about the inn’s history in the Revolutionary War, says Mr. Pankenier.

“Cass was very aware of the historical significance of the original tavern building and left it mostly the same as it was,” he said. “He was very respectful of its architecture.”

While he didn’t alter the original building, Mr. Gilbert did make some significant changes to the property, building a barn that still stands in the back of the residence as well as the famous Garden House, which used to house lavish parties with its “lovely setting.”

“Cass and Julia, his wife, loved to entertain widely and often,” Mr. Pankenier said. “They used to have parties with as many as 100 guests come and share their home.”

Mr. Pankenier said the book gave him the opportunity to correct a few inaccuracies he came across during his research phase.

Charles Pankenier: He wanted to show the side of Gilbert that has not been reported.

For instance, he found that the town’s fountain was installed in the late spring of 1916, not 1915, which is often a misconception because no formal ceremony unveiling the fountain has ever been reported.

To write the book, Mr. Pankenier went through the historical archives of the Keeler Tavern, The Ridgefield Press and town hall as well as Mr. Gilbert’s correspondences that have been preserved by his family.

Mr. Pankenier got into Ridgefield history about a dozen years ago when he became a guide at Keeler Tavern. He says the more history he finds while working there, the more stories he wants to tell.

“The quality of the people who have lived there is a distinctive trait of the museum,” Mr. Pankenier said. “It’s a rich, evocative narrative of three centuries of New England history — there aren’t many places like the Keeler Tavern because it spans the entire history of this country.

“It’s not confined to any particular era, which makes it unusual to say the least.”

He added that Cass Gilbert is the “quintessential representative of Ridgefield in the Gilded Age.”

Although he admits Mr. Gilbert is without question the biggest celebrity figure to ever own Keeler Tavern, Mr. Pankenier believes Timothy Keeler played the most important role in the property’s 300-year history as the inn’s operator during the American Revolution, preserving it from British attack during the Battle of Ridgefield.

“The history of the Keeler Tavern and the history of our town intersect across three centuries of history,” he said. “From settlement through the revolution through the Industrial Revolution through the Civil War and into the Gilded Age — it’s always been here.”

8 a.m. — A moving van became entangled in overhead wires on Keeler Drive around 7:40 this morning, and pulled down both wires and a pole.

The driver was still in the truck at 7:55, but was not hurt. He was staying inside because of the potential that the metal parts of the truck are electrified.

CL&P was dispatching a crew at 7:55 and it was expected to arrive in about 20 minutes.

The incident occurred near 119 Keeler Drive, in the Pleasant View Estates neighborhood off the west side of upper Ridgebury Road.

No ambulance was needed.

Police and fire personnel are on the scene.

Sharps & Flats is offering guitar performance rock workshop

Sharps and Flats Music Conservatory on Danbury Road plans a Guitar Rock Performance Workshop for all ages and ability levels with Rob Stevens Russo.

The one-week intensive camp includes instruction, rehearsal and performance at the end of the week. In addition, all participants will be eligible to perform at all future showcase gigs at the Redding Roadhouse with Rob and his house band. The camp will run from July 8 through July 12 from 10:30 to noon with a performance on the 12th.

Mr. Russo has been teaching guitar for more than 30 years. He has played and toured with top artists such as Buddy Guy, Albert King Band, Clyde Copeland and many more. He has major label experience with his own band and toured as a headliner and opener for countless international acts across the United States and abroad.

Sharps & Flats Music Conservatory offers private music lessons in piano, guitar, string and wind instruments. For more information call 203-438-3300 or e-mail sfmusic@att.net.

All Destinations travel unveils new website

All Destinations’ website, alldestinations.com, has a new, modern look and feel as well as updated resources and travel ideas for travelers.

Ridgefield resident Allyson Catanzaro has been the owner of All Destinations for 24 years and has been in the travel industry for more than 30 years.

“We book trips all over the world for clients all over the country, and I’m excited to have a site that serves them better,” she said. “It’s also fun to showcase beautiful images our clients have taken in their travels, and the testimonials they send us upon return.”

Travelers may peruse the honeymoon options and unique offers sections to get ideas, and everyone can benefit from the travel tools section with links to essential U.S. government agencies.

The website was built by boutique communications firm Kate Fitzpatrick Consulting and will be updated regularly with special promotions.

Ms. Catanzaro has been in the travel industry for more than 30 years. She was raised in the Virgin Islands and is a Caribbean expert. She is actively involved with many local organizations such as the Ridgefield Chamber of Commerce, where she serves on the board of directors, as well as Ridgefield Rotary Club and Believe Inspire Grow (B.I.G.).

Prudential helps vets become Realtors

Prudential Connecticut Realty launched its Veterans to Realtors Program over the Memorial Day weekend.

The program is designed to help the men and women who have served in our military forces become Realtors.

“The men and women of our military have done so much for us. Now it’s our turn to do something for them,” said Candace Adams, president and chief executive officer. “Through our unique and innovative program we hope to help our veterans get started in a lucrative and exciting career in real estate, while subsidizing the costs associated with becoming a Realtor.”

The program was built to acknowledge and recognize that many of the characteristics that build good soldiers transfer easily into the real estate business.

For more information, visit www.Vets.PrudentialCT.com.

Bank names Pelosi senior credit analyst

Ralph Pelosi has been named senior credit analyst at Fairfield County Bank at 150 Danbury Road.

Mr. Pelosi has 15 years of commercial banking experience starting with The Bank of New York. He became a credit analyst in 2003 at IDB Bank, and later became a senior credit analyst at Key Bank Corporation in 2007. Before joining Fairfield County Bank, Mr. Pelosi was a senior commercial credit analyst specializing in asset based lending at Sterling National Bank.

As senior credit analyst, Mr. Pelosi is responsible for commercial loan underwriting and credit analysis in support of all commercial loan officers.

Mr. Pelosi received a bachelor of science in marketing from New York University Stern School of Business. He has his master’s of business administration in finance from the State University at New Paltz, and has graduated from many banking and finance schools.

Mr. Pelosi served in the U.S. Army, First Infantry Division, Mechanized Ground Infantry from 1981 to 1983.

He lives in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

Garrett joins board of marketing group

The American Marketing Association, a global professional association with more than 30,000 members, announces the appointment of Mary Garrett of Ridgefield to its international board of directors.

Ms. Garrett is vice president of marketing and communications for IBM global sales and distribution, an organization that operates and extends IBM’s presence in 170 markets worldwide.

She also leads the development and execution of unique marketing and communication strategies encompassing the Smarter Planet agenda, Big Data, cloud computing, social business and other growth plays in support of IBM clients across both mature and emerging markets.

In addition, she is the secretary for the IBM board of advisors, an esteemed group of clients that provide constructive guidance on IBM’s strategy, portfolio, and go to market execution.

The AMA’s board of directors, made up of 15 volunteers with leadership roles in the marketing industry, sets the long-term strategy for the association, and ensures that the organization delivers programs and initiatives that are responsive to the ever-changing marketing industry.

For more information, visit www.MarketingPower.com.

Laurel Ridge takes part in conference

Clinicians and medical professionals gathered May 23 at the Leir Retreat Center for a conference focused on disorders of the lower extremities that affect adults.

Speakers from both Western Connecticut Health Network and Laurel Ridge Health Care Center discussed best practices and state-of-the-art procedures for joint replacement and lower extremities orthopedic care, particularly in the elderly.

Among the participants were Robert Messina, RPT, rehabilitation program manager for Laurel Ridge and Sharon Health Care, Ridgefield resident John Dunleavy, MD, orthopedic surgeon, Laura French, DPT, physical therapist for Laurel Ridge, F. Scott Gray, MD, orthopedic surgeon, Rose Haklits, MSN, APRN, Anesthesiology Pain Services of Danbury Hospital, and Robert T. Deveney, MD, orthopedic surgeon.

Here are some of the stories and features in this week’s Ridgefield Press, out today in print and e-edition:

• Four pages of coverage of RHS graduation include the awards, the colleges and, of course, the speeches and pictures. There’s also coverage of Ridgefield Academy and Wooster School graduations.
• Teams of police officers from area towns have descended on Ridgefield to help crack down on distracted driving. Hundreds of expensive tickets have been written for texting and cell phone use.
• What’s behind the burn-out of coaches at the high school?
• He’s only 17 but already he’s written a business book, been published by Forbes, and has interviewed many leading entrepreneurs — including Twitter’s cofounder.
• All that construction in the center of town is eating up parking spaces, creating a crunch for CHIRP concerts.
• The town’s new social services director will seek out people who may not know help is available.
• After 47 years in the Ridgefield schools, Ruth-Ann Flynn bids farewell to teaching.
• Some officials have become concerned about the growing number of road closures in town due to special events like races and fairs.
• School security improvements costing hundreds of thousands of dollars now face the Board of Finance.
• A golf tournament has been scheduled to raise money to improve the golf course.
• Begun in the year 2000, the $90-million “school bundle” is almost finished 13 years later. There’s still aid to be received.
• Some local restaurants were not pleased at the business they’ve been losing to a mobile food vendor visiting construction sites.
• A special section featuring the latest summer fashions, fishing, dealing with Cape traffic, and more.
• Elise Haas is a mainstay at the Keeler Tavern Museum, and has been honored for her efforts by state historians.
• RHS athletics has received several gifts.
• Are there poisonous snakes in town?
• The new Nissan Quest is a comfortable people-hauler, says test driver Steven Macoy.
• Note: Because of the Fourth of July holiday, next week’s Press will appear in print and e-edition on Wednesday, July 3.
• The Ridgefield Press is on Facebook — become one of more than 1,475 friends and get news updates. Facebook.com/RidgefieldPress.
• 7,285 people have signed up for Ridgefield Press news bulletins via Twitter. You can, too, by stopping by twitter.com/RidgefieldPress.

For newsstands carrying The Press, click here.

Money’s on the table. So, what else gets looked at?

With hopes of potentially recovering the full $7-million investment taxpayers made in the Schlumberger property, the selectman are attempting to balance financial considerations with other values —  such as neighborhood aesthetics and what kinds of places longtime townspeople might be looking to move into.

“It’s going to be driven by the density and the selling price,” First Selectman Rudy Marconi said of discussions on the town’s re-sale of parts of the 45-acre parcel it bought in December 2011.

Town Engineer Charles Fisher is putting together “request for proposal” documents on two separate Schlumberger parcels the selectmen hope to market by fall. Selectmen will be sending him emails with their thoughts on what the guidelines should be.

“I know the board feels we have a lot of million dollar inventory in town,” Mr. Marconi said. “We’d like to see something that’s less expensive for people who want to continue to live here, and still have it be affordable — while still trying to recoup $6-or-$7 million.”

But as responsible public officials — and politicians, who run for re-election — the selectmen will likely keep an eye on the dollar total .

“Although the town may say we don’t want million-plus condominiums, when you’re made an offer of a lot of money for the land, what do you do?” Mr. Marconi said.

Two parcels are under consideration. One is the 10-acre area off Sunset Lane that the Planning and Zoning Commission may rezone to multifamily use, at the selectmen’s request.

For a five-acre piece off old Quarry Road — on the north side, across for the rest of Schlumberger,   the selectmen envision marketing for some kind of business use.

Proposed specifications for the five-acre parcel should be ready for the July 17 selectmen’s meeting, Mr. Marconi said, “and possibly some draft specs for the 10-acre parcel, as well.”

The Planning and Zoning Commission has asked town Planner Betty Brosius for a resolution of approval on the selectmen’s request rezone the 10 acres to Multifamily Development District or “MFDD zone,” which allows six units are acre, and up to eight units if some  qualify as affordable. A final vote is still awaited, however.

“We would hope to build a residential development that would be in keeping with the current density of the neighborhood,” Mr. Marconi said.

Several developers have varied ideas for the site.

The requests for proposals will ask buyers for both a price and a vision for how they plan to develop the property.

“I know some people, on the 10 acre parcel, have inquired about single family homes and have asked to be put on bid list. Others have talked about condos,” Mr. Marconi said.

For condos, two have “expressed an interest — one project moderate priced, one project higher-priced or upper end, luxury.

“We have inquiries from one company that would like for us to consider an assisted living facility,” he said. “That greatly reduces traffic concerns. But the building layout is one large building on that parcel, that would really not be in concert with the neighborhood at all.

He said he “got another call today from a national builder that wanted to gather more information about the property, and is possibly interested in a purchase.”

Mr. Marconi said “one of the conundrums I’m afraid may develop: the higher the selling price of project, the greater the land cost can be justified.

“If you’re building 40 units of moderately priced condominiums for Ridgefield — say north or south $700,000, — you may say you’re willing to pay no more than $125,000 or 150,000 an acre for that land,” he said.

“If you’re in the range of $1 million and above for your finished project, you can justify a higher land cost.”

The developer’s ‘land cost’ is money the town’s pocket.

Discussion at the board’s June 19 meeting showed the push and pull.

“On the 10 acres, we had a conversation about age-restriction. Is that something we’re going to put on the table?” Andy Bodner asked.

“I thought we’d agreed we’d age-restrict that property,” Barbara Manners said.

“I don’t know what that would do to the price,” Mr. Marconi said.

“I know the population is trending toward that age,” Maureen Kozlark said. “The whole ‘boomer’ thing.”

“Are we still … trying to have a certain percentage of the town affordable?” Mr. Bodner asked. “Is there such a thing as ‘senior affordable?’ ”

The five-acre parcel is viewed as less desirable for residential use since it’s next to both the highway department’s garages and village sewer plant.

“The bottom line is it will be a business use,” Mr. Marconi said.

Mr. Marconi said the selectmen hope to see the process move along.

“I would anticipate, end of September, early October, ready to go out to bid — at the latest,” he said. “We need to move, and move now, because ultimately there will be a public hearing and a town meeting to approve the sale of the property.”

William ‘Bill’ Saville, who grew up in Ridgefield, died Wednesday, June 12, in Joplin, Mo., after a long illness. He was 59 years old.

Mr. Saville was born in Pittsfield, Mass. on July 9, 1953, son of Harriet  Bristol and the late Richard Saville. He grew up here and graduated from Ridgefield High School in 1972.

He spent many years in Boy Scouting and was an Eagle Scout.

“Bill was a bright, gentle person with a great sense of humor,” his family said. “He dealt with adversity with a cheerful note and never complained.”

Besides his mother, Mr. Saville is survived by his close friend, Tamara Leyh of Joplin, Mo.,  and her children, Justin Henson of Joplin, Gary Henson of Joplin, and Chrystal Henson of Tahlequah, Okla ; three sisters, Amy Otten and her son, Geoffrey Olsen, Alison Saville and her daughters, Sarah Kralovic, Amanda Kralovic, and Bethany Kralovic, Barbara Ray and her husband, Richard, and their children, Chelsea Ray, Kristen Evans and Cameron Ray.

Memorial services will be held at a later date in Cookeville, Vt.

Memorial contributions may be made to Klinefelter’s Syndrome and Associates, Donation Processing, P.O. Box 872, Pine, Colorado, 80470-0872

Alice Schreiner

Alice Schreiner, a long time resident of Ridgefield, died on June 11th in the comfort of her own bed and in the company of her daughters. She will be forever remembered as their beloved mother and best friend.

A native of Floral Park, New York, Alice and her family moved to the Virgin Islands in the late sixties. She returned to the states, and after a successful real estate career, she retired to continue her active life. She enjoyed and excelled in tennis, golf, mah jongg, billiards, and pickleball. She traveled extensively and spent her winters in Naples, Florida.

Her busy retirement continued through radiation and many rounds of chemotherapy, which only a few members of her family knew about.  She kept up with her activities without sharing her cancer news with her many dear friends, choosing to enjoy their company without the burden of her personal struggle.

She is survived by her two daughters, Kim Elfstrom, and JoAnn Tyler of Westport, two brothers and their spouses, Albert and Phyllis Swayhoover, and Arthur and Mary Swayhoover. At her request, there will be no memorial service and, in lieu of flowers, contributions in her honor can be made to Regional Hospice and Home Care of Western Connecticut, 39 Old Ridgebury Road, Danbury, CT.

Are you planning a trip in the coming months? If so, you’re among the 59 percent of Americans who expect to go on a summer vacation, according to an American Express survey.

But your time away won’t come cheap: The survey found that people were expecting to spend just under $1,200 per person for their holidays.

One of the highest costs you’ll pay will likely be your hotel room rate. There are other options available, according to the Connecticut Society of CPAs, but be aware of the pitfalls associated with some of them.

Renting a Vacation Home

Instead of going with a hotel, nearly half of all respondents to a recent TripAdvisor survey have stayed, or plan to stay, in a vacation home. If you’re trying to avoid staying at a hotel you have a wide range of choices, from a vacation house you might rent by the week through a realtor to a home or apartment you rent directly from the owner through an online site.

What’s the downside? If you find a rental through a site that essentially functions as a message board —allowing owners to post information that is not verified — you run the risk of finding the accommodations to not be what you expected when you arrive.

That’s why it’s important to check disclaimers on any site you use, as well as information about whether what’s posted has been verified and what kind of recourse you may have if the rental doesn’t meet your expectations or is actually part of a scam.

If reviews are not available on the site you looking at to book the vacation home, ask the owner for recommendations from those who have stayed there in the past. Always check any contract carefully to ensure you are comfortable and that the terms of the deal meet your expectations.

Finally, remember that if there is a problem and you end up wanting a full or partial refund, it will be easier to get it if you pay with a credit card rather than cash or a check.

Doing a House Swap

Another alternative is to trade a week’s stay at your home with a family who lives in another location that you want to visit. If you’re interested, there are online sites where you can list your own home and look for available places in areas you want to visit.

Once again, you’ll want to ask the other homeowner for referrals from previous exchanges and have both sides sign a written agreement that sets forth the expectations and limitations, covering both your stay in their house and their stay in yours. Issues to cover in the agreement might include things like use of the homeowner’s car, expectations regarding pets and their care, and cleaning responsibilities.

By taking advantage of a house swap, your expense for a place to stay should be no more than the relatively low cost of a membership to a site that specializes in these exchanges, which could save you a significant amount.

Moving Right In

Many people are familiar with B&Bs, but it’s also possible to find less formal arrangements in which people rent out spare rooms in their homes.

Questions to ask in advance include whether you will have a private bath or kitchen privileges and whether there are pets or children in the home. It’s generally best to book through a website that offers the chance for a refund if you find the room is not what you were promised.  I

t’s also important to make sure you thoroughly investigate potential hosts before committing, and, ideally, find a place that offers online reviews or references so that you can be sure you are not compromising your comfort or safety.

Additionally, confirm that the renter is acting within legal parameters for their city/state.

The Connecticut Society of Certified Public Accountants supplies this column. For more information, visit www.cscpa.org