Straight from the Microfilm machine at Seymour Public Library, reporter Jean Falbo-Sosnovich is here to take you on a journey back to 1980!
Tuesday, Oct. 21, 1980
City Boards Hear Requests For Funds
ANSONIA – The budget requests for the 1980 – 81 fiscal year total more than $11 million – a figure that will have to be slashed, according to Dominic J. Polis, finance director.
Last year’s budget totaled $9,385,064.
Mayor James J. Finnucan has asked the Board of Apportionment and Taxation to keep spending increases to 5 percent.
The 5 percent limit would put the budget at about $9,854,000.
Dumpster Blaze
ANSONIA – A dumpster fire at Peck School on Holbrook Street was extinguished at 7:46 p.m. Monday, officials reported today.
Schools Seek Substitutes
DERBY – The school system is seeking substitute teachers.
Anyone interested in obtaining the necessary application should visit the superintendent’s office at 50 Oliva St.
To be eligible, a person does not have to possess a teaching degree. A college degree is acceptable.
High school level substitutes are needed, according to Dr. Angelo E. Dirienzo, superintendent. College seniors, majoring in education, will be accepted, he said.
Battery Stolen
SEYMOUR – A North Street resident reported Monday that a batter was
stolen from his car while it was parked in the driveway of his home.
Wednesday, Oct. 22, 1980
Sponheimer Runs For Fourth Term
ANSONIA – John P. Sponheimer is seeking a fourth term as representative from the 103rd District.
The 32-year-old Sponheimer is a partner in the Ansonia law firm of Ajello, Hoyle and Sponheimer. A graduate of Derby public schools, Sponheimer earned a bachelor’s degree in government from Cornell University and a juris doctorate degree from the University of Connecticut Law School.
Fire In Car Seat
DERBY – Firefighters were sent to Joyce Avenue Monday afternoon to extinguish a fire in a seat that had been removed from a car and discarded.
Reunion Is Planned
DERBY – Members of Derby High School’s Class of 1966 will hold an organizational meeting for its 15th year reunion at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Yankee Clipper, 418 Roosevelt Drive. Class members interested in attending can contact Thomas Baklik.
Free Pumpkins Carry Tradition
SEYMOUR – Nick Attruia says he will return to his childhood this weekend.
So if you drive by his fruit and vegetable stand off Route 8, you will find that part of his yard has become a Halloween fantasyland.
There will be characters like a straw man, a dragon and a bear, all under the magical rule of pumpkin queen. And a good queen she is, says Attruia, because she will give away hundreds of pumpkins to children.
Sure, it’s a catchy way to boost business. But Attruia confirms that the Halloween courtyard is accomplishing a two-fold purpose. He is recreating a fantasyland from his childhood dreams. And he is bringing back a tradition in Seymour that his farther started a long time ago.
Thursday, Oct. 23, 1980
Motorcyclist Injured
ANSONIA – A 21-year-old motorcyclist was injured in an accident at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday on East Main Street.
Italian Night
DERBY – The John H. Collins Post will hold an Italian Night at 8 p.m. Saturday at the post. Dinner will be served. Dancing will be from 9:30 m. to 1:30 a.m. with music provided by the Fascinations. The cost is$7.50 per person.
DEP To Sponsor Program At Park
DERBY – The State Department of Environmental Protection will offer a program Sunday on the availability, selection, use and cutting of wood as a fuel.
The program, coordinated by DEP naturalists, will be held at 11 a.m. Sunday in Osbornedale State Park’s lower pavilion off Chatfield Street.
According to Kevin Blados, unit manager at Osbornedale and Indian Well State Park in Shelton, the program will focus on using wood as fuel.
Mark Gatewood, a DEP naturalist, who is now working at the 350-acre park in Derby, will explain what types of wood are best for burning, and how to cut trees safely.
There will be a demonstration in the proper use of a chain saw and wood splitting.
Program At Library
SEYMOUR – The Friends of the Seymour Public Library will sponsor a workshop on needlepoint at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the library. Grace Brand of Oxford will be the instructor. There will be a registration fee of 50 cents a person.
Friday, Oct. 24, 1980
Club Plans Dance
ANSONIA –The Lemko Club will hold a fall Festival Dance Nov. 1. Dinner will be served at 7:30 p.m. and dancing will be from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. For information, persons can call the clubrooms.
Derby Appoints 2 To Police Force
DERBY – Thomas Lenart, 26, of 118 Hawthorne Ave., Thursday night, was appointed by the Board of Police Commissioners to fill one of the four vacancies in the department.
Lenart, who has been a member of the supernumerary force for four years, will be sworn in Monday night along with five supernumerary patrolmen.
The commissioners also named Marcel Lajuenesse as a member of the supernumerary force. He finished fifth in the test of the position.
The board previously named Allen Cota, Kenneth Dupke, Eugene Mascolo and Edward Wabno to the department.
All six will be sworn in by Mayor Edward J. Cecarelli at 7 p.m. Monday in aldermanic chambers at City Hall.
Seymour Reports Dip In Construction
SEYMOUR – Twenty-six permits with a total estimated construction value of $281,850 were issued in September by Building Inspector Peter Giovacchino.
In September 1979, 17 permits were given out with a total construction value of about $633,450.
Among permits issues last month were five for house construction. Five permits were also given to house owners for the installation of wood-burning units, as more people turn to wood as an alternate source of heat in the face of increasing costs for oil and electricity.
Saturday, Oct. 25, 1980
Quake, Aftershock Rattles Valley Area
A minor earthquake, or tremor, rated at 3.0 on the Richter scale, shook up a number of Valley residents and people in other parts of the state at 1:37 p.m. Friday.
Then an aftershock struck at 8:41 p.m. with a rating on the Richter scale of 2.9.
No damage was reported in the Valley or in the rest of the state, according to Richard Cassada, communications and warning officer for the state Office of Emergency Planning. The quakes lasted less than three seconds.
Salaries To Raise Budget
ANSONIA – The city’s 1980 – 81 budget may be inflated and the soaring cost of living will not be the only reason.
Inflation, especially increases in salaries to teachers and other union and non-union municipal workers, will play a large role in the budget increases.
But there are some other expenses that also be must be figured into the final total.
The General Assembly several years ago passed a law mandating that all communities switch to the state’s uniform fiscal year, July 1 to June 30 by 1980.
Ansonia’s year is Oct. 15 to Oct. 14.
The switch is costly. A mini-budget must be adopted in Ansonia’s case from Oct. 15 to July 1. Ansonia has not yet made the switch, and a new state law was passed to allow a delay until 1985.
But the law also says that the city must set aside two mills each year from 1980 to 1985 to prepare for the change to the uniform year. The money is put in a special fund and can be used in part to fund the mini-budget.
In Ansonia, two mills in 1980 – 81 will equal $320,000. It takes $160,000 to raise each mill.
Brunch Planned For Candidates
DERBY – Voters will have an opportunity to meet Democratic candidates during a brunch planned for 10 a.m. Nov. 2 at Rapp’s Grassy Hill Lodge.
Harry I. Kinney, Democratic town chairman, said that in addition to the regular fare of breakfast foods, champagne will be available.
Tickets are $6 for adults and $2.50 for children.
Motorists Nabbed
SEYMOUR – Three motorists were charged with speeding Thursday in the Great Hill area. Written warnings for speeding were issued to six other motorists as police continued their crackdown on speeding.
Valleyites To Walk To Benefit Hungry
Plans have been made for A Valley Hunger Walk Sunday.
The 10-mile walk is being sponsored by the Ansonia-Derby Clergy to provide food for needy in the Valley. Proceeds will be distributed to food banks in Shelton, Derby, Ansonia, Seymour and Oxford.
Walkers have been asked to register at Trinity Church, Seymour, before 1 p.m.
