Issues. People. Events. Waterbury Connecticut's Independent Newspaper
Story and Photographs By John Murray
J. Paul Vance Jr. has been appointed Claims Commissioner in Connecticut and has dropped out of the 2011 mayoral race in Waterbury. Although he accepted the job three weeks ago, Vance didn’t get his official appointment until Monday, August 15th, his first day on the job.
On Monday, September 12th, New Opportunities, Inc. will hold their 17th Annual Bobby Bonds Memorial Scholarship Classic at The Country Club of Waterbury. Registration/Lunch begins at 11:00am with Shot Gun Start at 12 Noon. 4-man Team. Scramble format. Cost is $200 per golfer with Sponsorship options starting at $150.
When serious leads aren't followed up by law enforcement, Bill and Jan Smolinski scour the woods for the remains of their missing son Billy, who was murdered in August 2004.
Story and Photographs By John Murray
Picture the murder of Billy Smolinski as a crystal vase. Hold it in your hands. Spin it around. Now drop it on the kitchen floor and watch it shatter into a thousand pieces. Each shard of glass represents a clue into who killed Billy on August 24th, 2004. When patched together the vase reveals the gruesome truth of who murdered Billy, and why. The vase points to the spot Billy is buried in the Naugatuck Valley.
Naugatuck's Lou Dube as Abraham Lincoln, and Waterbury's Martin Spring as the president's body guard.
Step back in time to the 1860’s, hear the sounds of battle, the roar of cannons
as Union and Confederate troops clash again. Building on two successful events, the 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery and the Western Connecticut Convention and Visitors Bureau will once again host a Civil War-Living History event August 13-14th, 2011 at Three Rivers Park, Woodbury, CT. Experience life as it was during “The War Between the States”.
This post card of West Main Street in 1911 described The Elton Hotel as "The most attractive hotel in New England".
After listening to dozens of members of Waterbury's black community speak out in support of Dr. Portia Bonner, a black woman who was born and raised in Waterbury, the Board of Education voted 7-3 to hire Dr. Kathleen Ouellette as the new Superintendent of Schools in Waterbury. The board members who voted for Ouellette cited her strong track record of experience as the deciding factor.
Member of the Pontelandolfo Community Club carry the statue of San Donato up the final steps towards their chapel Sunday afternoon.
By John Murray
Waterbury firefighter Bill D'Occhio, and fellow firemen from Truck #3, met with the Petite contestants during the lady's whirlwind tour of the city.
Jimmie Griffin blasted the process used to hire the new superintendent of schools.
Jimmie Griffin has earned a reputation in Waterbury as a fiery speaker who enjoys tangling with individuals in power. When Griffin perceives that the minority community is being overlooked he isn't afraid to take on a mayor, the school board, or the publisher of the daily newspaper. Griffin ran for mayor in 1995, was the driving force behind the aldermen by district movement, was the the head of the NAACP in Waterbury for seven years, and was statewide president of the NAACP for two years.
Press Conference Today!!! WOW LEARNING CENTER
Location: 304 Walnut Street
Waterbury, Ct.
Time: 5:00 PM
Date: Today 4 August 2011
Contact: Jimmie Griffin, Convenor at 203-577-8084
The Naugatuck River Revival Group is organizing a clean-up in the Naugatauck River Sunday, August 7th, from 9 am to noon. The area targeted for this low-river clean-up is between Platts Mills and Union City. Interested individuals or groups are encouraged to contact Sondra Harman at nrrg_sh@yahoo.com
A bolt of lightening strikes in Morris during a late evening storm in Litchfield County. Photographs by John Murray
Column By Chelsea Murray
Before I graduated from Marist College last year most adults I knew told me that I would learn more in the real world than in the classroom. Much to the dismay of my parent’s wallets, that has turned out to be true. Why waste time in class when I could have gotten a smack-in-the-face education from the real world all along?
Waterbury, Conn. – Some of the area’s most well-known colleges and universities are teaming up for the City of Danbury Education Fair, which will take place on Thursday, August 4, from 11 am to 2 pm. The event will be held at 235 Main Street in the lobby of the law offices of Ventura, Ribeiro & Smith. Parking is available in the City Parking Garage next to the Ice Arena. Visitors are asked to please park in this garage and not in the parking lot for the building.
(Editor's note - the following column was written by Don Coppock, an American ex-pat now living in Thailand. Living 8000 miles away from the United States provided Coppock time and space to reflect about the dramatic changes in American life that has evolved during the past sixty years)
Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic musical SOUTH PACIFIC will premiere its new production at the Palace Theater in Waterbury for four performances, September 23 – 25, before setting sail on its 2011-2012 National Tour. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by phone at 203-346-2000, online at www.palacetheaterct.org, or in person at the Palace Theater Box Office, 100 East Main Street in Waterbury.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Girls Varsity Softball Team won the Parochial City Tournament Championship for the fourth year in a row by defeating Blessed Sacrament 8-2. The team had a perfect season (17 and 0) and has won the City Championship for three years in a row.
Waterbury Mayor Mike Jarjura is a five-term incumbent, and after switching to the Republican Party in June, Jarjura is seeking a record sixth consecutive term in office. Last night while accepting the GOP nomination Jarjura was animated, engaged and fired up. For much of the past ten years his public speeches amounted to singling out local and state dignitaries in the crowd for acknowledgement. Last night, Mayor Jarjura uncorked a blistering speech that he wrote late Monday night after the Board of Aldermen meeting.
Waterbury Mayor Mike Jarjura was enthusiastically welcomed by local and state Republican leaders after announcing he had joined the GOP. Jarjura will be nominated tonight to head the Republican ticket for the November municipal elections.
The Waterbury Republican Convention is being staged tonight, July 26th, at the Marriott in downtown Waterbury. The event is open to the public and begins at 6:30. The following candidates are going to be presented to the Republican Town Committee for approval at the convention.