This week we take a look back to 1987, when big-haired millennials were rockin’ out to Whitesnake’s “Here I Go Again,” and Microsoft launched Excel spreadsheet software for Windows 2.0, representing a pivotal moment in personal computing and business productivity.

Ronald “Tear Down This Wall” Reagan was President of the United States, and the movie Stakeout is at the top of the box office. The fashion scene was dominated by women wearing sweater dresses, shoulder pads and animal prints, while guys were sporting tracksuits and Nike Air Jordans.

On TV, people were watching “The Facts of Life,” “Moonlighting” and “Star Trek: The Next Generation.”

Here’s what was happening in our Valley!

Tuesday, Oct. 6, 1987

Goumas Appointed
ANSONIA – Peter Goumas has been named Vice President of Security, Facility Development and Purchasing at Great Country Bank.

Goumas joined the bank as Mortgage Officer in 1971 and in 1981 became Assistant Vice President of Security and Purchasing.

An active community volunteer, Goumas has also been involved with area youth as coach of Biddy Basketball and Little League teams.

Jr. Coppers Remain Unbeaten
ANSONIA – The Ansonia Junior Coppers remain unbeaten in Southern Connecticut Pop Warner Competition after defeating the Derby Red Raiders in their season opener and then battling to a 6-6 tie with the Prospect/Naugatuck Junior midgets.

The Coppers defeated the Red Raiders 18-6 in their opener, but the task was from easy, as the Raiders boast a determined defense and a potentially explosive defense.

Ansonia’s offense ran 28 plays from scrimmage for a total of 216 yards. Their first score resulted from a 92-foot race between Ansonia’s David Moore and the Raiders secondary after Moore sliced off the blocks of Keith Johnson, Steve Coughlin and John Walsh.

Money Taken From Purse
DERBY – A woman reported to police that about $330 was stolen from her pocketbook that she has left in the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant on Pershing Drive Saturday.

Vandals Strike School
SHELTON – Graffiti was found on the outside walls of the Elizabeth S. Shelton School on Willoughby Road Monday, police said.

In addition, several windows were discovered broken and a Bridgeport Hydraulic Co. water meter on the building was damaged, police added.

Wednesday, Oct. 7, 1987

Methadone Clinic Proposed For Ansonia
ANSONIA – A Rhode Island-based private company has applied for state permits to open a methadone clinic in the city that principals hope will ultimately serve 250 heroin addicts.

The clinic would be the first in the state that would operate without federal or state subsidies, according to David Piccoli, a co-principal of The Center for Behavioral Health in Cranston, R.I. He said the center operates a similar office in Arizona.

Ansonia was targeted, Piccoli indicated, because it is roughly the center of a geographic triangle composed of Bridgeport, New Haven and Waterbury – the primary markets for the clinic.

“There’s a long waiting list for methadone treatment in Connecticut – up to one year in some cases,” Piccoli said. “There is definitely a market for the service we provide.”

Repairs Named For Apartments On Olson Drive
ANSONIA – New refrigerators, stoves and kitchen floors, as well as repairs to stairs and building exteriors are among improvements planned at Riverside Apartments on Olson Drive.

The Ansonia Housing Authority announced this week that a $1.7 million grant from the state Department of Housing and Urban Development has been made available for the repairs.

The complex has been the focus of criticism because of dilapidated and sometimes hazardous conditions.

D’Amico Hurt in 7-Car Crash
DERBY – Derby Dog Warden Pasquale D’Amico, who is also employed by the Board of Education, was involved in a seven-car crash Monday on the Arrigoni Bridge that spans the Connecticut River between Middletown and Portland.

D’Amico was injured in the 3:30 p.m. accident and admitted to the Middlesex Memorial Hospital in Middletown.

Six other people were treated and released at the hospital.

Superintendent of Schools Michael Ippolito said D’Amico was using his private car to transport a Derby student home from a school she attends in Portland. The 12-year-old was treated at the hospital and discharged.

Ippolito said the Board of Education carries extended coverage on private cars that are used to transport students on official business.

Landmark Ex-Food Market Turns To Catering
SEYMOUR – Elm Food Market, 56 Pearl St., has gone the way of so many ‘mom and pop’ grocery stores in recent years. Its doors have been closed.

But in its place, its owners, Thomas and Vincent Vizzo of Derby, have expanded their catering business – Elm Food Catering.

A landmark for 36 years at the corner of Pearl and Maple streets, Elm Food was purchased by the Vizzo brothers three years ago from Paul Sikeris. Sikeris ran the store for many years with a partner, Harry Sepanek.

A few months after assuming ownership, the Vizzos introduced a deli counter, offering a variety of hot and cold sandwiches and dinners prepared in a kitchen at the rear of the store.

“Our catering business really took off,” Thomas Vizzo said. “About a year and a half ago we began operating a mobile canteen service, going to area factories with our sandwiches and dinners. Within a few months, we added two more trucks and we’ve been growing ever since.”

Athlete Of The Week
SHELTON – They call Shelton High School football superstar Tom Oko “Mr. Everything.”

And Oko did just that – everything – as the Gaels rolled to a 48-0 Housatonic League victory over Amity Regional’s previously unbeaten Spartans at Finn Stadium.

The versatile senior personally accounted for 28 of Shelton’s points by scoring four touchdowns and kicking four extra points. That earned him The Evening Sentinel’s Athlete of the Week honors.

Thursday, Oct. 8, 1987

Board Votes To Charge Elderly $1 For Home Football Games
ANSONIA – The Board of Education voted 4-3 Wednesday to charge senior citizens $1 admission to attend home high school football games, according to board President Carl Badamo.

Badamo voted against the admission charge.

“We’ve never charged the seniors,” he said today. “We have staff members making $30,000 and $40,000 a year who walk into the games for free and here we are charging seniors? I can’t see it.”

Oktoberfest Week Slated For Warsaw Park
ANSONIA – A trip to Germany last year inspired a Fairfield-based promoter to bring a little bit of the old world to Warsaw Park this weekend. The festival will begin at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Rich Dembeck, who began the popular Polka Festival, which is held every July at Warsaw Park, visited the annual Oktoberfest in Germany and felt that Connecticut residents would enjoy a similar event.

Dembeck said music and dancing will take place inside the large hall on Warsaw Park grounds and there will be large tents outside where people can purchase German food and drink.

Panel: Math Errors Blamed For Part Of Budget Surplus
SEYMOUR – Mathematical errors in a recent town audit may have inflated estimates of a reported $1.03 million budget surplus, Board of Finance members said Wednesday.

First Selectman Robert J. Koskelowski, who has defended the auditor’s report since it was released in September, called the board’s comments “purely political.”

Finance board members said that among the 20 problems with the report were errors regarding a $94,000 transfer of funds and a $50,000 bond redemption.

Last week, the board criticized Koskelowski for overstating the surplus by about $500,000 by not adhering to accepted accounting principles.

Man Feared Dead After Fall From Shelton Bridge
SHELTON – State Police divers early this morning started searching the murky waters of the Housatonic River just east of the Derby-Shelton bridge for the body of a man who apparently fell to his death as he attempted to cross the bridge. He was reportedly walking on a water pipe attached to the side of the span.

The incident occurred shortly before 1:30 a.m. today. Shelton police said three young men were attempting to cross the river on the pipe. As they neared the middle, one lost his balance and fell about 50 feet into the water.

Friday, Oct. 9, 1987

GOP Aldermen Press For Ban On Drug Facilities In Ansonia
ANSONIA – The three Republicans on the Board of Aldermen this morning proposed the adoption of an ordinance prohibiting the operation of methadone of drug rehabilitation clinics in the city.

David Foote, 5th Ward Alderman and Ceil Rafalowski and Conrad Gagnon of the 6th Ward, submitted the resolution in the Office of the Town and City Clerk. Gagnon said it was in response to a proposal by a Rhode Island firm that has announced it hopes to soon open the state’s first privately-operated methadone clinic in Ansonia that is designed to eventually serve 250 heroin addicts.

“We wanted to do this now so we have something to fall back on if these people try to go ahead,” Gagnon said. “I’ve been going door-to-door up on the Hilltop and nobody wants to see that clinic in our community, I certainly don’t.”

City’s Re-Evaluation Continues In Derby
DERBY – Assessor Paul Dinice has announced that homes located on the following west-side streets are the next ones scheduled during the city’s re-evaluation:

Buckingham Road, Derby Neck Road, Great Hill Road, Silver Hill Road, Patty Ann Terrace, Joyce Avenue, Donna Avenue, Cullens Hill Road, Hawthorne Avenue, Chatfield Street, Nutmeg Avenue and Coon Hollow Road.

Plastics Company Selected For Park
SEYMOUR – A Stratford plastics company was the choice of the Economic Development Commission to occupy the last site in the 145-acre Silvermine Industrial Park.

The commission voted unanimously to sell a 5.7-acre lot to Plastic Molding Technology for $225,000 and to refer the proposal to the Board of Selectmen for approval.

The company plans to relocate its existing operations to a 20,000 square-foot facility it will build on the Silvermine site. It manufactures precision injection molds for small complex thermos-plastic parts primarily for use in the electronics industry.

Campaign Manager Named
SEYMOUR – Paul S. Hassler, Democratic candidate for first selectmen, has appointed Rosalie Averill as his campaign manager in his effort to win the November election and unseat the Republican administration.

Mrs. Averill has been active in town government and Democratic politics in Seymour for many years, having served on the Planning and Zoning Commission and a school building committee.

“Rosalie Averill knows the town well since she has lived here all her life and is well-acquainted with the people of Seymour and their concerns. Her experience in civic affairs gives her the background to effectively manage our Democratic campaign,” Hassler said.

Land Trust Slates Nature Walk
SHELTON – A nature walk conducted by the Shelton Land Conservation Trust Inc., at 2 p.m. Sunday, will begin at White Hills Shopping Center. The public is invited.

The non-profit organization is dedicated to preservation of open space.

Saturday, Oct. 10, 1987

Law Barring Facility May Not Be Legal
ANSONIA – A proposed city ordinance that would block the proposed opening of a privately operated methadone clinic in the city may be unconstitutional, several local attorneys told The Sentinel today.

The three Republican members of the Board of Aldermen Friday introduced a resolution that proposes that drug treatment or rehabilitation clinics be banned.

“I can see that it could well be unconstitutional – unfortunately – because it could fall under the equal protection clause and could also be covered by restraint of trade laws,” attorney Joseph Buckley said today. “It is a medical facility, and I don’t see how they can ban one type of medical facility and not another. It may be a case of too little, too late.”

4 Radar Arrests
SEYMOUR – There were four radar arrests made in the Mountain Road and Bungay Road area over the weekend, police said today.

Car Show
SEYMOUR – The 19th annual Antique Car Show sponsored by the Seymour Lions Club will be held Sunday.

The Antique Car Show will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the grounds of Seymour High School, 2 Botsford Rd.

Frank DeLeo, co-chairman, said in addition to more than 150 antique cars, this year’s show would include custom and street cars.

Shelton Reptile Proves There’s No Place Like Home
SHELTON – More than two months after taking it on the lam, George, the 18-inch Savannah Monitor lizard, has returned.

George, if you will recall, was the subject of a fruitless search after he escaped from his owner, Kevin Petroski of Maple Lane on Aug. 6.

In fact, until he was found by neighbor, Albert Grasso Saturday, George’s loved ones considered him a goner.

“After the snowstorm, everyone thought we’d never see him again,” said Heather Zeleznik, Petroski’s niece. “I’m glad he’s ok.”

Apparently, George had been living in the Grasso’s backyard shed.