FROM WALLINGFORD - Our future leaders

As published in the Record Journal Sunday July 3, 2011

As I sit to write my second-to-last From Wallingford piece, I’ve decided to write regarding some of the future leaders of Wallingford and beyond.

I am, of course, talking about the K-Kids from Highland Elementary School.

The Kiwanis Club-sponsored K-Kids is a service organization for elementary students worldwide for grades 1 through 5.

Highland is a K-2 school and has a group of about 60 first- and second graders that meet once a month under the supervision of Principal Victoria Reed and teachers Angela Buccheri, Kristina Kiely, Sarah Reynolds and Lisa Rodgers.

The K-Kids have taken on projects that directly help their school such as when they took the time to clean the school grounds and promoted recycling. They reached out beyond the school when they made and collected valentines for Veterans as well as taking on a hat and mitten collection for Master Manna. When the tsunami hit in Japan, their efforts went worldwide when they collected coins for the tsunami relief efforts.

Back here in Wallingford they had an ice-pop sale to raise funds for the Wallingford Fireworks Fund. The students decided that a local initiative like the fireworks, a show basically shown in their own backyards, would be something they could contribute to and they would be able to see the end result of their effort that their hard work helped made happen. As part of the final effort, the K-Kids made and hung posters around the school and wrote and read messages during the morning announcements. On the day of the sale they collected money from the classroom teachers and counted out and delivered the orders.

This was not the standard “bring home the fundraiser pack and pawn it off on Mom and / or Dad.” These kids dug in and did the work themselves, many times, before and after school. The students were involved in every step of the process and with direction and assistance, executed everything on their own.

They raised $500, which exceeded their own expectations and was gratefully appreciated by us. In the day and age of “kids today are spoiled” commentary on the whole (without considering the individual) we see an entire group of students learning the true meaning of teamwork, responsibility and civic minded efforts that give back to the community as a whole – right here at home and abroad.

What a wonderful example they set for their peers and at such an early age; one could only hope that it flourishes and grows rather than fades away over time. I hope they inspire their friends in other Wallingford schools to lead, as well.

Not follow – lead. We have plenty of followers; we need more leaders.

Duty and responsibility are a part of life and that is something these kids are already learning.

Life is not a spectator sport and they are learning this lesson, too.
As I am fond of saying here, “get informed and get involved” — and these kids are already involved. As they grow and learn they will “get informed.”

Perhaps a little of this might rub off on some the adults in the community that have gotten hard skinned over the years about engaging as part of the community. One could always hope. I would be satisfied enough if this next generation simply goes on setting its example without being tainted by the prior one.

So to the classes of 2021, 2022 and 2023: I tip my hat to you – you’re off to a great start. Show us all up and become the citizens we all should be; continue to make us proud. Someday, when you’re grown up and are asked “how did you ever become so civic minded and such a diverse leader?” you can respond, “I grew up in Wallingford, Connecticut, where I learned from great examples and had some of the best teachers in the world.”

WALLINGFORD FIREWORKS FUND - Brighter forecast eases fireworks anxiety

As published in the Record Journal, Friday July 1, 2011

By Russell Blair
Record-Journal staff
rblair@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2225

WALLINGFORD — The weather forecast has improved for the town’s Fourth of July fireworks celebration Saturday, but should it rain, organizer Jason Zandri says the event is unlikely to be rescheduled.

Zandri said he was told this week by Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. that rescheduling the fireworks on such short notice would be impossible, but Zandri believes it can be done.

“You pick another date, you work it out with the vendor and publicize the new date,” Zandri said. The logistics are difficult, but not impossible.”

Dickinson said Thursday that the trouble with rescheduling the event has to do with scheduling overtime for the police officers needed to safely run it.

“I think it’s primarily because of difficulties in scheduling the kind of manpower that is needed,” Dickinson said. “People are called in for service who would normally be off in order to have enough people to provide the public safety.”

The town had long funded the annual fireworks show, but budget cuts threatened to cancel it last year. Zandri, Town Councilor Craig Fishbein and other volunteers managed to raise enough money to save it and have since set up a nonprofit fireworks fund. This year, they needed to raise $24,150 by May 27.

Dickinson said the money for the display had to be collected well in advance so the Police Department would have enough time to find officers to work the event.

“The Police Department needed to know by the beginning of June to get the word out,” Dickinson said. Scheduling the same number of officers for another day would be difficult.

“It becomes impossible to do that over multiple days,” Dickinson said.
Another part of the concern over potential cancellation of the event is the overtime that could still have to be paid. If the event is called due to weather after police, fire and public works employees report for duty at the site — 5 p.m. — Zandri said $12,000 worth of overtime would still have to be paid.

“There’s the possibility we have the show with a chance of thunderstorms, it starts pouring at 6 p.m. and we call the show when they’re already out there,” Zandri said. “That’d be the perfect storm.”

He added that the fund has $1,000 lined up for next year, but not enough money to cover a second day’s worth of overtime.

If the event is canceled earlier in the day, the overtime won’t have to be paid, but it’s up to the town to set a new date and find available personnel. If the town doesn’t have to spend the money for the overtime, Dickinson said, it would be returned to the fund.

Zandri said he remembered fireworks being rescheduled when he was younger, but said he can’t remember a rain date being used recently. Dickinson said to his knowledge the town has never needed to shoot off its Independence Day fireworks on a rain date. Since the Wallingford Fireworks Fund delivered the check to the town, Zandri said that the town has been handling the planning of the event. Dickinson said that the decision of whether to call the event due to weather would be up to the police, fire marshal and parks and recreation.

The fireworks begin at 9 p.m. Saturday, with viewing available on the grounds of Sheehan High School, Moran Middle School and Highland School. Weather forecasts on Thursday were predicting a very low chance of rain Saturday, compared to forecasts earlier this week of intermittent thunderstorms.

Wallingford Fireworks Celebration – Saturday July 2, 2011 after 9PM on Hope Hill Road

Looks like we’ve lucked out on the weather again this year. What was looking a little shaky earlier in the week on the long range forecast has now turned out about as perfect as we could have hoped for.

The Wallingford Fireworks celebration takes place this year after 9PM on Hope Hill Road. The best view is from the Highland Elementary and Sheehan High School lawns.

Parking is available at both of the schools as well as over at Moran Middle School. After that, there is parking on public streets unless otherwise posted.

Please remember as well to take care as you park in the neighborhoods around the schools and walk over to the school grounds. The neighbors there, especially the ones that are indifferent to the show, have to put up with a lot of cars, people and inconvenience for that night.

Please be mindful of all of this as you are a guest in their neighborhood. Take care as you would in your own neighborhood and take away with you anything you brought to the show.

We will take up a collection for the 2012 event on the grounds before the show starts and on the way out after the show ends; if you can support us early for 2012 please consider donating a few dollars.

Thank you again for all the support and we’ll see you at the show!

Menzo counts benefits of K-5 revamp

As published in the Record Journal, Monday June 27, 2011

By Russell Blair
Record-Journal staff
rblair@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2225

WALLINGFORD — The debate leading up to the decision last year to reconfigure the town’s elementary schools was often heated and contentious. But once the plan passed, school officials said the first year of reconfiguration went smoothly.

The change has brought about the advertised results: smaller class sizes, budget savings and an increased focus on literacy education for students in the K-2 schools, but there have been other benefits, too.

And while there were some bumps along the way, and logistical challenges the district had to tackle, School Superintendent Salvatore Menzo called reconfiguration “a community success.” Reconfiguration creates two smaller groups of elementary schools and makes it easier to offer uniform instruction to the district’s students, said Assistant Superintendent for Personnel Jan Guarino. She said it has been easier to hold meetings with staff and administrators from the four K-2 or the four grade 3-5 schools, rather than getting people from all eight elementary schools together.

Two of the big strategic plan items the district purchased for next year — the Treasures reading program and hundreds of tablet computers to create literacy stations — should help bolster the reading and writing skills of the district’s youngest students. The reconfiguration allows for better resource allocation, Menzo said, and the opportunity for technology and personnel to be divided in a more consistent manner.

An unintended side effect of reconfiguration has been a greater balance in enrollment across the district’s elementary schools. Menzo said that, at times, Parker Farms and Moses Y. Beach were at risk of being considered “racially imbalanced” by the state, but reconfiguration has offered more equity across the district. Menzo said another unintended benefit has been the opportunity for him to get more involved in the community. The plan, created in Menzo’s first year as superintendent, “helped me get out in the community,” he said. Reconfiguration required input not only from parents, teachers and the Board of Education, but community organiza­tions and the police and fire departments. “I would have made those connections, but it happened faster,” Menzo said. “We had a real reason for working together; it wasn’t just a meet and greet. You can’t measure the value of those relationships.”

Financially, reconfiguration has been a gain for the district. Menzo said the move saved $1.14 million, much of it coming because the district no longer had to pay for rental properties. Menzo said the school district could not have dealt with the slight (0.42 percent) increase in its budget recommended by the mayor without the savings. The alternative, he said, would have been more teacher layoffs and elementary school classes that would be nearing 30 students.
The plan passed the school board by a 7-2 vote in May 2010, with the two “nay” votes not necessarily against the idea of reconfiguration, but rather the pace with which the district seemed to be pushing it forward. Jay Cei, a board Democrat who voted against the proposal, said at the time that the district should take at least the next year to work out the kinks. Reached Friday, Cei said he felt the plan had worked well in its first year.

The district “believed having only half the grades in each school would provide better focus and more resources at each grade level. It appears they were correct,” Cei said. “Although it will likely take another year to fully implement the programs associated with this new structure, we are already seeing some educational benefits. I think we will see many more in one more year.”

Michael Brooder, a Republican, was the other board member to vote against the plan. At the time, Brooder, like Cei, said he wasn’t against reconfiguration, but felt it would be better to wait a year. But Friday, Brooder also said he felt the first year had gone well.

“With anything you change, there’s going to be hiccups in the beginning,” Brooder said. “But I think what’s most important is that they have the same good teachers. I think it went OK.” Brooder had a daughter in second grade when the reconfiguration passed, but she avoided the transition because Rock Hill became a grade 3-5 school. “I haven’t heard anything that leads me to believe it didn’t go well,” Brooder said.

Guarino said it took the cooperation of the entire community for the plan to work, and once it was set into motion, everything went smoothly. “We were moving 10 schools and we had less than $1,000 worth of damage or items we had to replace,” she said. “It wouldn’t have been possible without everyone working together.” The difficulties with buses that some parents experienced at the start of the year would have happened regardless of reconfiguration, Guarino said, because the district had planned to redraw the bus routes anyway.

Menzo felt the district was responsive and honest. “We listened to parents’ concerns,” he said.

But not all parents agreed that the plan had been well thought out. Erin Labbe, who has twin sons at Rock Hill, said she felt there was a lack of communication between her family and the school. “I feel like it was a big mess all year,” she said. “They didn’t have it together.”

Labbe said she felt that the district had to spend so much time selling the program to parents and dealing with angry feedback that it didn’t have time to properly plan for reconfiguration. Labbe, who has an older daughter at Dag Hammarskjold Middle School, said she had good experiences with the middle school and only had trouble with her twins after they moved from Moses Y. Beach to Rock Hill.

Administrators, however, say they have gotten many more positive responses than negative. Menzo said he has been receiving phone calls from parents who have seen improvement in their children’s learning. He added that for most of the parents who were against the change, once it was made, they were onboard with doing what was best for the kids. Many of the parents who lobbied hardest against reconfiguration have helped lead the charge to implement it in the town’s schools. “The loudest voices against have become our best problem solvers,” Guarino said.

The impact on student test scores likely won’t be seen for three to five years, Menzo said. But even then, it may be impossible to ever draw a direct correlation between any test score increases and the reconfiguration.

“I don’t think we’ll ever be able to pinpoint what leads to higher scores,” he said. “We don’t want to ignore the hard work of others.”

Bill to Limit Use of Credit Reports in Hiring Passes Legislature

For Immediate Release
June 14, 2011

Bill to Limit Use of Credit Reports in Hiring Passes Legislature

State Representative Matt Lesser (D-Durham, Middlefield and Middletown) announced passage during the final hours of this year’s legislative session of a bill (SB361) he sponsored to protect the privacy of job applicants' credit reports.

"In this economy, people can have bad credit for all kinds of reasons - there is no necessary link between your credit score and your job performance," said Lesser, who has been fighting for similar consumer protection legislation for the past three years.

Lesser cited stories from constituents, like David Greaves of Middletown who found employers turning him away because of his credit.

"You can get caught in a credit catch-22," said Lesser. "Laid off from your job, you max out your credit cards and then find you can't get a job because your credit is shot. The credit industry is telling employers that people with bad credit are lousy employees - but there is zero evidence of this."

Specifically, the bill prohibits employers from requiring an employee or prospective employee to consent to a credit inquiry as a condition of employment. Certain businesses, like financial institutions, could use credit checks when the credit history of the applicant is substantially job related, when it is otherwise required by law or when an employer has specific reason to believe an employee may have violated the law.

Over half of employers examine the credit histories of employees and job applicants.

“Connecticut has taken a powerful step to stop the inequitable practice of screening employees and potential employees based on their credit histories. Research shows that there is no credible evidence that negative credit reports correlate to job performance. I congratulate Connecticut on increasing job opportunities for workers that had been unfairly shut out of employment,” said Miles Rapoport, President of Demos and former Connecticut Secretary of the State. “

Lesser attributed this year’s passage of the bill to the strong leadership on the issue from Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney and House Speaker Christopher Donovan.

State Representative Matt Lesser is serving his second term representing the 100th Assembly District of Durham, Middlefield, Rockfall and Middletown. He is Vice Chair of the state legislature’s Government Administration and Elections Committee.

FROM WALLINGFORD - The show will indeed go on

As published in the Record Journal, Sunday June 12, 2011

This week’s “FROM WALLINGFORD” is written by my counterpart on the column – Stephen Knight

“ I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.” — James Madison, 1788

The tradition of a fireworks show in the Town Of Wallingford will continue this year due to the efforts of Jason Zandri, Craig Fishbein and others who solicited donations from hundreds of residents. And the only obstacle all along that had to be overcome was financial. Never was there any other reason not to continue the tradition. The money having been raised, we now take for granted that the show will indeed go on. After all, who doesn’t love a fireworks display?

With this as a backdrop, I would like to take you to San Diego, California, where I was last weekend attending a family event. As I am wont to do when traveling, I picked up the local newspaper, the San Diego Union-Tribune. In it was an article about their fireworks event, and it is a cautionary tale that I think you will find alarming.

For the past twenty-seven years, San Diego has had a fireworks display put on by the La Jolla Community Fireworks Foundation. But this year, an envirokook outfit named the Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation took the group to court, contending the display was a violation of the 1970 California Environmental Quality Act. On May 27th, a superior court judge agreed, ruling that any function that required a permit from the city had to undergo an extensive environmental review — a review that takes up to a year and can cost tens of thousands of dollars. The ruling was so sweeping that it would have applied not just to fireworks displays, but block parties, birthday parties and weddings held in city parks, charity runs and thousands of other events. Last weekend, after an incredible public outcry and nationwide ridicule, the judge stayed implementation of her order for 90 days in order that the fireworks show could be held. But after ninety days, unless the ruling is appealed, this ludicrous judicial overreach will be in force.

It has been observed by many that, in the United States, cultural, political and legal changes very often begin in California and then move east. Californians pride themselves on being the leading edge of societal change. If that is indeed so, then what now appears to be just an odd ruling pertaining to one city three thousand miles from here may eventually become the prevailing groupthink everywhere, certainly including the People’s Republic of Connecticut.

The vast and ever-expanding web of environmental laws, rulings and regulations being formulated and carried out by myriad bureaus, commissions and agencies on every level of government used to have a narrow purpose of actually improving the environment. No longer. Those in power still claim this to be the goal, but it is becoming increasingly obvious to even a casual observer that the real purpose is an exponential expansion of the nanny state.

Everyone knows the anecdote about the frog and boiling water, wherein a frog placed in a pot of boiling water will jump out, but one placed in cool water that is then heated to boiling will sit in it and die. For the most part, we live our daily lives, too busy to notice that government is intruding in our existence more and more. But once in a while, we are handed a warning of that encroachment. By sheer accident, Judge Linda Quinn of the Superior Court of California has done just that. It was John Adams, writing to his wife, that suggested we Americans celebrate our independence from an oppressive British government with fireworks every 4th of July. And so we do. What a terrible irony it is, then, that our own government seeks to extinguish such celebrations through the oppression of a crushing, burdensome and intrusive regulatory regime.

Spanish Community of Wallingford (SCOW) to mark Flag Day on June 14

The Spanish Community of Wallingford has invited the public to its first Flag Day celebration at 5 p.m. on Tuesday June 14 at the Council Chambers in Town Hall.

The event will feature the Mariachi Academy of Connecticut and the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps, Edson Division, in a program of patriotic music and prose.

Children and adults are welcome to attend. For information, call Maria Harlow or Evangeline Mendoza at (203) 265-5866.

The next 'Citizen Mike' to address Mantzaris resignation, Wallingford Housing Authority and the American Legion Building

Former Wallingford Town Councilor Mike Brodinsky next "Citizen Mike" public access show discusses the recent resignation of Town Attorney Adam Mantzaris.

Additional topics include a discussion on whether Town Councilor Gerald Farrell Jr. will succeed Mantzaris, given his recent announcement of not planning to seek re-election to the Wallingford Town Council where he is currently Vice-Chair.

There is also a segment on the recent departure of Wallingford Housing Authority commissioner William Fischer as well as some discussion regarding the proposals to renovate the American Legion Building.

The show airs on cable Channel 18 at 9 p.m. every night, except Sunday and it is also available online on demand via http://www.wpaa.videoalive.com/#

Memorial Day 2011

Thank you to all our U.S. Service Members who died while in the military service of this great country of ours.

Freedom is not free; it has been paid for by the ultimate sacrifice of many.

I know this, I will not forget this, I will teach my kids this and make sure they understand it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Day

FROM WALLINGFORD - Memorial Day and legacy

As published in the Record Journal Sunday May 29, 2011

This week’s FROM WALLINGFORD is written by my counterpart on the column – Stephen Knight

Tomorrow is one of our nation’s most important days: Memorial Day — a day of remembrance of and thanks to those who have laid down their lives in service to us, to their country and to the very concept of freedom. It has also become an opportunity to thank those who have served and are still here to hear a grateful nation say it.

But as wonderful as are the speeches and the parades, what makes me even prouder of America are the day-to-day activities that so many Americans are involved in to support our military men and women.

One of those efforts is Holy Joe’s Café, a group within the First Congregational Church of Wallingford supplying donated coffee to military chaplains in Afghanistan, Iraq and Kuwait. I hope you have read one of the recent Record-Journal articles about it, because space does not allow me to give you much detail.

Suffice it to say that Tom Jastermsky, who is heading up the effort, and Carol Wallace, whose company has donated thousands and thousands of dollars packaging and shipping the coffee, are the primary two people who have made this program work.

But there have been others, and I want to use them as examples of some of the support you might never see, support that is given instantly, enthusiastically and with no questions asked other than “when do we start.” CCI Logistics in Wallingford has donated warehouse space for two years now – thousands of dollars worth.

T.R. Brysh, an owner-operator freight hauler; RKZ Trucking; Bailey’s Express of Middletown; Old Dominion Freight Lines and Andreucci Trucking all provided transportation. It costs a lot of money to operate a truck or warehouse, but if it was “for the troops,” they were just grateful to have been asked.

These acts of love and respect for our military are found all over this country. Go to troopsupport.com and you will see an index of ninety-four volunteer groups dedicated to support our military in some way, and that list doesn’t even include large ones such as Fisher House Foundation, Wounded Warrior Project or Soldier’s Angels. Scroll through this list and see if it doesn’t put a lump in your throat and pride in your heart about what America is all about. And think of the thousands of local efforts by school students and others involved in all manner of activities aimed at making sure that members of the United States military know in what high esteem they are held.

There are two reasons for all this effort. The first is obvious. The people in the military service of the United States of America are the best in the world at what they do. The best trained, the most disciplined, the most compassionate and, at the same time, the most humble. Why wouldn’t we support such professionalism?

But the second reason is this: there was a period in our history when we civilians did not conduct ourselves properly when it came to supporting our military personnel. They do not call the Korean War “The Forgotten War” for nothing. And the Viet Nam War? Many, many of us will spend the rest of our lives trying to make right what we did – or more accurately – did not do when soldiers returned from that awful conflict. And we most certainly did not support their efforts when they were in theater as we should have.

So I would like to conclude this piece by speaking directly to those of you who served in these two conflicts: When you see soldiers being cheered as they walk though airports; if you see a stranger walk up to a soldier and say thanks; if you read of efforts such as Holy Joe’s Cafe and thousands of similar projects, know that this is part of your legacy. Some of that love, some of that respect, some of that admiration that you see is for you. It is late, but it is real.

WALLINGFORD FIREWORKS FUND - Charity saves the day

Fireworks show must go on in Wallingford

As published in the Record Journal, Saturday, May 28, 2011

By Russell Blair
Record-Journal staff
rblair@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2225

WALLINGFORD — For the second year in a row, private donations will fund Wallingford’s Fourth of July weekend fireworks display after the town dropped the celebration from its budget.

Jason Zandri, who successfully led the fundraising charge last year, came up with the $24,150 needed only hours before Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr.’s Friday afternoon deadline.

Zandri said the group was about $6,000 short of its goal at the beginning of the week, but made the final push thanks in part to a $2,500 donation from the New Life Church in Meriden (http://www.InNewLife.com).

“It’s very gratifying to know that we made the deadline,” said Republican Town Councilor Craig Fishbein, who helped Zandri on the fundraising effort.

Fishbein said he had some doubts about a month ago that the money could be raised in time, but Zandri was confident the money would come.

“I wasn’t able to help as much as I did last year,” Fishbein said. “For Jason, this is a labor of love. His confidence and work ethic should be heralded.”

As of 11 p.m. Thursday, Zandri had posted on his blog that the group still needed $1,288.

Zandri took off from work Friday and started collecting money at the Dunkin’ Donuts on North Colony Road at 7 a.m. while his father collected at the Dunkin’ Donuts on South Colony Road. Jason Zandri said that he was able to raise nearly $200 Friday morning before he collected the $2,500 check from the Rev. Will Marotti. Zandri said additional donations were collected at the Stop & Shop in town.

Dickinson said it was good that Zandri raised the money in time and applauded the successful effort. Dickinson said the town would begin to appropriate the money and plan for the show. He said the check was delivered to Town Hall about 2:30 p.m. Friday.

While Zandri has made the deadline each of the last two years, it hasn’t been easy. In 2010, Choate’s $5,000 donation pushed the fund past its $30,000 goal. This year, the money wasn’t raised until the eleventh hour. Even though fundraising efforts started earlier this year — and the group earned 501(c)(3) status, making its donations tax deductible — Zandri said it wasn’t until the last few weeks that the checks started rolling in.

Zandri said he hopes to get more volunteers next year, and that the current group of himself, his father and Fishbein “isn’t sustainable.” He said he hopes to form a committee next year to help better coordinate the effort.

Fishbein said that the group’s three fundraisers — a dinner, a concert and a movie matinee — didn’t draw many people from the community. Fishbein attributed the success to a number of small donations and “grassroots fundraising and going door to door.”

Fishbein said he doesn’t foresee the town providing taxpayer dollars for the event in the near future, and that residents should get used to chipping in for the fireworks.

“I’ve said all along, this event is for the people, by the people,” Fishbein said. “If the residents of the town want this event, then they should volunteer.”

The fireworks are scheduled for July 2 at 9 p.m.

WALLINGFORD FIREWORKS FUND – New Life Church makes their $2,500.00 donation; collections continue as we are $600.00 short our goal

Craig and I stopped by New Life Church this morning at 10:30 to meet with Will Marotti Senior/Founding Pastor who was happy to hear that we had crossed the matching grant level.

When we arrived he already had the check ready for us saying “we knew folks would come forward to help get you over the grant threshold where we were able to donate.”

With that grant given and the money from this morning in we are sitting at about $600.00 short of our goal to get the check cut and over to the Mayor for the 5PM deadline.

The mail has yet to arrive with possible donations and I am going to see about standing at Stop and Shop to collect so we still have time to get the funds to the town.

Fireworks Show		$12,000.00
Police Overtime		$7,750.00
Fire Department / Overtime		$1,900.00
Port-o-lets		$990.00
Fire Marshall		$850.00
Public Works		$330.00
Board of Education		$330.00
Total		$24,150.00

$600.00 in six hours? Piece of cake Wallingford, we know we can do this.

WALLINGFORD FIREWORKS FUND – 18 hours left, $1,288.00 left to collect

I am writing this blog post after 11PM on Thursday night; it’s scheduled to automatically post on Wallingford Politico and it’ll appear on From the Mind of Jason Zandri at 7AM on Friday.

We need to collect just $1,288.00 more and the show will be on. This assumes the matching grant from New Life Church in Meriden (http://www.InNewLife.com) comes in (their current total is $2,360.00 against our recently collected total of the same amount). I am supposed to meet with Founding Pastor Will Marotti at 10:30 tomorrow morning to pick up their matching grant check.

My father will be at Dunkin Donuts on South Colony Road collecting donations after 7AM and I will be at the Dunkin Donuts on North Colony Road at the same time.

We have until the close of business at Town Hall on Friday to get the $24,150.00 to the Mayor.

Please consider stopping by and making a donation and helping us get over that finish line.

WALLINGFORD FIREWORKS FUND – Where we stand with 35 hours to go

Hi Gang – I am sure you read the news in the Record Journal as well as my blog post from the other day; we are about $5,000.00 shy of our goal and New Life Church in Meriden (http://www.InNewLife.com) has pledged to grant up to $2,500.00 to the funds as matching funds to the fireworks effort.

What this means is all the donations that are coming in over the next two days will be matched by them, dollar for dollar, up to $2,500.00.

Yesterday’s donations from Wednesday the 25th also applied and here’s where we are:

Donations received on Wednesday May 25th - $1,273.00
Donation to be made as part of the grant - $1,273.00

Total due to the Town of Wallingford for the show – $24,150.00

Total cash on hand in the Fireworks Fund – $19,415.00

When you add together the cash on hand in the fund and the donations to be made from the New Life Church matching grant our new total is $20,688.00; we are now just $3,462.00 short of our goal with 35 hours to go.

My father will be collecting at Dunkin Donuts in Yalesville today from about 7AM to about 9:30AM or so – if you’re in the area please consider swinging by and making a donation; New Life Church will match all of these donations and double the impact.

On Friday I am taking a day off from work to collect as well; I am going to be at the Dunkin Donuts on North Colony in the morning to about 10AM and I will call Stop and Shop as well to see if we can stand out there in the mid afternoon.

If you’re considering mailing a donation please do it this morning – it has to reach me by tomorrow to be considered part of the match.

Checks can be mailed to The Wallingford Fireworks Fund, c/o 35 Lincoln Drive EXT, Wallingford CT 06492.

You can also make a donation via PayPal to the fund via our website - http://www.wallingfordfireworks.org/

We can do this Wallingford – effectively we are talking about $60.00 an hour or so over the next 35 hours when you add in the effects of the matching grant.

Let’s roll.

WALLINGFORD FIREWORKS FUND - Church helps fund fireworks show with days to spare

As published in the Record Journal, Thursday May 26, 2011

By Russell Blair
Record-Journal staff
rblair@record-journal.com  
(203) 317-2225

WALLINGFORD — With help from the New Life Church and the Rev. Will Marotti, fundraising efforts for town’s Independence Day weekend fireworks display may reach the amount needed.

Jason Zandri, who has coordinated the event since the town dropped financing for it last year, said the New Life Church agreed Tuesday to match up to $2,500 in donations Zandri receives before Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr.’s Friday afternoon deadline.

“They reached out to me and said they wanted to do something,” Zandri said.

“We’ve been in Meriden for 11 years and we’re always looking for ways to add value back to the community,” Marotti said. “We’ve been having weekly services in Wallingford for a year, and we thought this was a good way we could do something to bless the community.”

Wednesday afternoon, Zandri said the group was still about $5,000 short of the $24,150 needed, including $7,750 of overtime pay for police officers to work the event, which draws around 10,000 visitors.

Zandri said he asked Dickinson for an extension to Tuesday, but the mayor wouldn’t budge. Dickinson said last week the town needed to know by Friday to allow time for securing state permits and scheduling employees from the Police Department, Public Works and the Fire Department.

Despite the looming deadline, Zandri is optimistic that the money will be raised in time. Last year, Choate Rosemary Hall donated $5,000 to fund the show.

“I’m pretty optimistic, we’re pushing hard to get this,” Zandri said. “I know checks are coming, I’ve had some people call and say they were sending more money in. It’s going to be a photo finish, but we’ll clear the line.”

WALLINGFORD FIREWORKS FUND – 59 hours and counting

It’s 6AM Wednesday morning as I write this blog post from the train and we have 59 hours to the close of Town Hall on Friday to get them the check for $24,150.00 for the fireworks.

Our cash on hand total is currently $18,230.00 and there is a $900.00 pledge from my former employer Microsoft still outstanding.

You might have already seen from my post yesterday - WALLINGFORD FIREWORKS FUND – Closing the gap with a grant from New Life Church – New Life Church (website - http://www.InNewLife.com) has made a pledge to match all new donations dollar for dollar up to $2,500.00 from now to the end of collections on Friday.

This means, effectively, if we can raise just $2,500.00 more in new donations we can clear the total amount due and have the show paid for by the close of business on Friday.

My father is out collecting at Dunkin Donuts this morning and he’ll be out there on Thursday and Friday as well. I am taking Friday off myself to collect additional donations. All of these cash donations will be part of that matching grant from New Life Church so every dollar you give now counts twice.

You can also make a donation via PayPal to the fund right off our website at http://wallingfordfireworks.org/. Donations there will also be applicable to New Life Church’s matching grant as well as all monies mailed and received by Friday. If you want to mail in your donation please try to do it today or Thursday morning the latest so that we might receive it in time to apply it against their matching grant offer.

Checks can be made out to the Wallingford Fireworks Fund and mailed to “c/o 35 Lincoln Drive EXT Wallingford CT 06492.”

This is the home stretch Wallingford so let’s do what we do best – pull together and get it done!

WALLINGFORD FIREWORKS FUND - Wallingford Fireworks Fund needs to raise $5,000 by Friday

As published online via the Post – Chronicle, Tuesday May 24, 2011

New Life Church pledges to match new donations

WALLINGFORD - The Wallingford Fireworks Fund, a recognized 501(C)(3) organization as designated by the IRS, has been collecting donations all spring to supply the town with the needed funds to operate the annual Independence Day weekend fireworks celebration.

The event was dropped by the town in 2010 and saved by two residents. This year the collections for the $24,000.00 event — which is the costs for the municipal services and the fireworks themselves — is presently $5,000 short of the amount needed with a deadline of Friday, May 27.

New Life Church in Meriden (http://www.InNewLife.com) contacted Jason Zandri, President of the Wallingford Fireworks Fund, and has offered to match all donations to the Wallingford Fireworks Fund (up to $2,500.00) over the next 72 hours.

Donations can be made on the fund’s website at http://www.wallingfordfireworks.org/ via PayPal or they can be mailed to The Wallingford Fireworks Fund, c/o 35 Lincoln Drive EXT, Wallingford CT 06492.

WALLINGFORD FIREWORKS FUND – The deadline hammer is falling…

I’ve had my conversation with the Mayor; the money is due on Friday May 27th – end of story. I made the case for a couple more weeks but I was unable to convince him to change his mind on the matter.

So from there we more forward, about $5,900.00 short as of today.

I have two pledges outstanding at $900.00 so that means, technically, we are $5,000.00 short IF (BIG “IF”) the pledges come in.

I have to work all week in New York City so I am effectively unavailable but I am putting every moment of time I can spare to the effort. (I am writing this post to Wallingford Politico from the train on my ride home. It’ll be cross posted to my other blogs on Tuesday). I do have Friday off and my Dad is collecting as much as he can at Dunkin Donuts this week. I am going to try to see if I can stand at Stop and Shop on Friday (it will depend if I can get permission and if no one else has the time booked).

The bottom line at this point is that it is highly unlikely that we can collect everything we need from individual donors by the deadline.

We will continue to do so anyway; I am working on something that may get us a bridge for a couple of additional weeks beyond the Mayor’s deadline. That would allow us to both get the money in to the town on time AND to continue collecting for the next two or three weekends into June.

In the meantime it is always possible that one of the larger businesses I solicited might come through for us.

A lot can happen in four days and I am driving full bore to the finish.

AGENDA - PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE

TOWN OF WALLINGFORD, CONNECTICUT

NOTICE OF SPECIAL MEETING

TOWN COUNCIL

PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE


TOWN HALL, ROOM 315


THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2011

6:30 P.M.


AGENDA

1. Opening / Pledge of Allegiance

2. Discussion and Possible Action with regard to the "Redwood Flea Market" site

3. Discussion and Possible Action with regard to use of ATV's (All-Terrain Vehicles) without permission of the land owner.

4. Adjournment

FROM THE PAGES OF THE RECORD JOURNAL - Fireworks fund drive still short

As published in the Record Journal, Saturday May 21, 2011

By Robert Cyr
Record-Journal staff

WALLINGFORD — The annual Independence Day-weekend fireworks display, dropped by the town and saved by two residents last year, is $6,000 short of the amount needed to hold the half-hour celebration, attended annually by about 10,000 people.

Event coordinator Jason Zandri said it costs $24,000, half for the display and the rest to pay overtime for police and fire personnel. The deadline to raise the money is Friday, and Zandri said he’s going to ask Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. for an extra three or four days.

“I am unfortunately overwhelmed doing this, and can’t mail letters to everyone I’d like to,” he said. “I’m not really thinking I can’t get that money over the next 10 days — it will materialize.”

Dickinson, who hasn’t yet heard from Zandri about an extension, said the town will need to know by the end of next week whether or not there’s enough money for the entire show, to allow time for securing state permits and scheduling employees from the Police Department, Public Works and the Fire Department.

“We’ve indicated we do not have money in the budget for this kind of purpose, so the money has to be raised by outside means,” he said. “It’s a showing of community support for it, or not. If there aren’t funds sufficient to do it, we certainly need to understand that.

”The fireworks show, which would be held July 2, could get some last-minute support, the way a late push made it a reality last year. In the last week of fundraising in 2010, Choate Rosemary Hall made a $5,000 donation. That allowed Zandri and his fundraising partner, Town Councilor Craig Fishbein, to meet their goal, and it gave them a $4,000 head start on this year’s drive.

In November, the Wallingford Fireworks Fund Inc. won nonprofit status from the Internal Revenue Service after being rejected twice. Fishbein and Zandri rewrote the application with help from the secretary of the state’s office, and the fund was accepted as a 501(c)(3) organization, allowing people to claim the gifts as charitable donations on their tax returns.

The fireworks are launched from a knoll near Moran Middle School, and Zandri said he’ll be mailing requests for donations to that part of town.