Valley Independent Sentinel

The Best (And Worst) Of 2011, Part II

by STAFF | Jan 3, 2012 9:47 am

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Posted to: Ansonia, Derby, Oxford, Seymour, Shelton

2011 — gone but not forgotten!

Here is part II of the Valley Indy’s superlatives for the year that just passed.

Click here if you missed part 1.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
Criteria: Quick, effective response in defense of members of the public.

Seymour Emergency Responders: While every town was faced with similar weather problems this past year, Seymour seemed to have been hit especially bad each time.

And the emergency responders reacted quickly and calmly — and even had the foresight to set up a Twitter and Facebook account to help communicate with residents during the storms.

For that — and for their professional dealings with the media during chaos — we name the emergency responders in Seymour (police, firefighters, EMS crews) as the most valuable players this year. (Runners up are obviously the emergency responders in every other town. You guys all worked really hard this year!)

WACKIEST CRIME STORY OF THE YEAR

Criteria: You can’t make this stuff up.

Grandma’s Ashes Stolen: A Southbury man was arrested in January after he stole an urn containing the ashes of an Oxford woman’s ashes.

Mark Zakrzewski was given a suspended sentence of six months in prison for the incident. He returned the ashes to the victim.

Runner Up: Huge Tub Grinder Stolen From Seymour Public Works. How would you steal a 40-foot piece of equipment from a public works yard? The suspect in Seymour’s caper just hired a tow truck to bring the equipment to Queens. Police hired the same tow truck driver to bring the equipment back to Seymour.

COLLABORATION AWARD
Criteria: With our powers combined. . .

Double Rainbow Sightings: After an afternoon of rain and thunder on Thursday, Sept. 29, a double rainbow appeared over the Valley. Readers posted these photos of the beautiful incident on the Valley Indy Facebook page.

It turned into a great, unplanned collaborative effort that showed the rainbow from lots of different viewpoints.

Runner up: The Valley Indy Facebook wall. Readers helped us find out about news all year, by turning to our Facebook page.

We found out about shootings, fires and suspicious phone calls through comments posted on that wall — just to name a few. Readers have started helping each other getting answers to their questions on the Facebook wall too. It’s a great use of social media to help residents stay better informed, and we’re happy you all participate!

CITIZEN JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR

Criteria: Readers share their news with us.

Jenny Ames, Irving School Teacher: Ames is an adviser for the Derby Middle School running club. She sends regular updates on the club, its races and times. Because of Ames, the Valley has been able to watch the new club grow and compete. We thank her for her service.

Runner up: Shelton and Seymour fire prevention efforts. Ted Pisciotta, the Assistant Chief of Fire Prevention in Shelton, and Timm Willis, the Deputy Fire Marshal in Seymour, send regular tips and updates about fire prevention to the Valley Indy. The public service helps remind residents to stay safe. We hope it makes a difference.

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