Dear Readers,
Eugene Driscoll and Ethan Fry, the Valley Indy staffers, are on vacation this week.
We’re publishing a number of year-in-review stories.
In this installment, Valley Indy co-founder (and Seymour resident) Jodie Mozdzer Gil gives her take on the year in local news.
We hope you enjoy the look back — and thank you for reading the site this year.
Happy New Year, and here’s Jodie:
I don’t work here anymore, but here’s my top 10 list of news stories for 2014 anyway.
10. Iconic Ansonia Graffiti Cleaned Up
For some reason there’s graffiti in Ansonia with a fan club. For years “Why Lennon” has been painted on the flood wall along the Naugatuck River in downtown Ansonia. This September, the city finally cleaned it up.
I chose this story based on the number of Facebook shares (419) and I liked corporation counsel’s John Marini literal thinking on the matter — the “why Lennon” question was answered years ago by Lennon’s killer, Mark David Chapman, Marini pointed out. Chapman told a New York parole board that he shot Lennon because he was drunk and depressed.
“Given the answer to the question, I think it’s appropriate that it come down,” said Marini.
9: “Action” Jackson earns his nickname
Ansonia Police Officer Joseph Jackson was in the news again this year for his quick thinking in tough situations.
Jackson, whose nickname is “Action,” performed CPR on an 8‑day-old baby on North Main Street in March, saving her life.
It wasn’t his first life-saving attempt, and it wouldn’t be his last.
He was honored with the Ansonia Police Department’s Life Saving Award for the response, and a second life-saving call regarding a young child, at the police awards ceremony in May.
8: Full Day Kindergarten Launched in Shelton
It’s great to see citizens engaging with their local government — especially when government acknowledges and acts on their requests.
That’s what happened in Shelton this summer, when the Board of Aldermen and Board of Education reached an agreement that allowed the schools to fund full-day kindergarten this fall.
Special hat tip to the 402 residents who joined the Facebook group Shelton Taxpayers for Full Day Kindergarten, and who continue to share information about the schools and city on the page.
7: ‘Heinous’ Abuse Case in Seymour Home
File this under disturbing. Seymour police in April arrested a Seymour man on charges he had allegedly kept his adult sister prisoner in their home for several years. Arthur Gauvin, 59, has pleaded not guilty to the charges. The story shocked people in town, and across the country when wire services picked it up.
6: Homicides in the Valley
Two fatal shootings and a murder trial dominated Valley news this year.
In March, 15-year-old Kristjan Ndoj was shot and killed in a wooded area on Agawam Trail in Shelton. The shot came from 150 feet away, police have said. The crime has not been solved yet, but police are offering a $50,000 reward for information that can help them make an arrest.
Then in May, state police arrested Scott Gellatly for allegedly fatally shooting his estranged wife Lori, and her mother. Mery Jackson survived the shooting. Gellatly has pleaded not guilty.
The murder prompted proposals in Congress to prevent domestic violence suspects from keeping firearms after a restraining order is granted.
In April, Cordaryl Silva was convicted of killing his distant cousin after a five-day trial at Superior Court in Milford. Silva was sentenced in June to 50 years in prison for the crime.
5: Chemical Spill Closes Route 8
This one affected anyone who drives on Route 8 north in Ansonia.
In March, Route 8 near exit 19 was closed for more than 12 hours as state police and environmental experts cleaned up an accident and chemical spill there.
The driver of a pickup truck towing a trailer with drums of chemicals — isocyanate derivatives used in spray foam insulation — crashed into the guardrail and spilled some of the chemical onto the road.
Road crews ended up tearing up part of the roadway as a precaution after the spill.
4: Downtown Improvements in Seymour
Route 67 smelled like a fart for a whole Sunday afternoon, but downtown Seymour looks a lot nicer now that Seymour Lumber has finally been torn down.
The move came after years of planning and waiting for the former lumber yard building to be demolished. Part of the delay dealt with environmental concerns over properly removing asbestos inside the building. Was the aging asbestos in the wind what caused a stench during the demolition? We may never know.
Meanwhile down the street, a new riverfront park is taking shape as town and state officials continue work on a fish bypass along the Naugatuck River.
3: Shakeup in Ansonia Government
There’s lots of change taking place in Ansonia after long-term mayor James Della Volpe was unseated by Republican challenger David Cassetti in 2013.
A new WPCA board, new economic development director and the ouster of the long-time Planning and Zoning chairman.
“It is always encouraging to welcome fresh faces into city government,” Cassetti told Aldermen after putting forward a new name for the Planning and Zoning chairmanship in December. “Please join me in wishing the new commissioners luck in their new positions.”
2: Riders Unite Against ‘Outhouse on Wheels’
Maybe I have a special place in my heart for public transportation after editing a series on the CT Transit buses this past fall. (See my story of the commute from Seymour the New Haven.) But something about the Metro North rider complaints this year really spoke to me.
In July, Dozens of riders packed a meeting at the Valley Council of Governments office at the Derby Train Station to air complaints. Bathroom waste leaks out into the aisles, poor scheduling leaves passengers stranded for hours, and upstate riders drive into New York just to avoid the Waterbury line, they said.
They weren’t kidding, Seymour Selectman Len Greene said in a follow up column, after riding the 7:03 train. The Connecticut Commuter Rail Council continued its push into September, when it held a meeting with U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal.
Keep up the effort!
1: Valley Residents Band Together In Difficult Times
It’s one of those things you hear again and again from people living in the Valley: the community here is the most supportive many have seen. Two incidents in the past year again give evidence to those claims.
In January, a devastating fire leveled half a block in downtown Shelton, leaving 30 people homeless and destroying several businesses. Immediately, the Valley responded, gathering food, clothes and gift cards to help those displaced by the fire. The Echo Hose Hook and Ladder Co. firehouse was cram packed with donated goods in the days after the fire. Relief funds were set up at local banks.
A crew of firefighters and other volunteers worked with local organizations such as TEAM Inc., St. Vincent DePaul and Spooner House to secure apartments and new furniture for the displaced residents.
Last winter, when Seymour teen Nina Poeta was diagnosed with an inoperable cancerous brain tumor, the Valley community again reacted, setting up fundraisers to offset medical costs and buying the family a handicapped accessible van to continue taking her to football games. Poeta, a Seymour High School cheerleader, died on Nov. 1 at 17 years old.
