The Coventry Volunteer Fire Association has received approval for a third ambulance.

CVFA will house the ambulance with its two others.

CVFA Chief Joe Carilli told the Town Council Monday [March 15] that CVFA received the approval from the state Department of Public Health.

Carill and CVFA President George Savoie were at Monday’s meeting to talk about their request for $151,704, an increase of $204 over the current budget.

Carilli said the department decided it needed a the third ambulance because it received roughly 100 “double calls” - or instances of two medical calls in a short span - in the 2008-09 fiscal year.

Without the third ambulance, the town would have to rely on help from another town in the event of a third medical emergency, he said.

Carilli also said CVFA contacted the North Coventry Fire Department about an offer to house the third ambulance there, but only two NCFD members expressed an interest.

Carilli said NCFD’s personnel are trained for handling rescue calls, and noted that accidents occur more frequently on the northern side of town, while CVFA specializes in medical calls.

“Our ambulance is placed in the best location in town,” he said. More medical calls occur in the southern part of town, he said.

NCFD Chief Scott Morris could not be reached for comment.

Posted March 18, 2010, edited by HTNP.com Editor Brenda Sullivan

Mansfield Middle School Principal Jeff Cryan sent a warning email to parents at about 2 p.m. today that two students were offered a ride by an unidentified driver waiting in a van at an intersection near the school.

He writes:

“We have learned today from the State Police that two middle school students were offered a ride on Wednesday afternoon by an unidentified driver near the intersection of Spring Hill Road and Clover Mill Road.  This is within a quarter mile of Mansfield Middle School.  The students were walking home from school at the time.”

The driver was described as a white male, 50-60 years old, average build, wearing a straw hat with a dark string.

He was driving a white van with no windows on the driver’s side.  The van had windows in the rear door and white patches on the body that didn’t match the color of the rest of the vehicle.  There were also dark scuff marks on the body of the vehicle.

The driver asked the students, “Where are you going?  Do you want a ride?”

Anyone with information that might be helpful to police should call the Resident Trooper’s office in Mansfield at 860-429-6024 or State Police Troop C at 860-896-3200.

“We reviewed this information with students in small groups this afternoon at school,” Cryan says.

“We reminded them never to accept a ride or to have a conversation with someone who tries to get them into a vehicle.  We have also reminded them to shout loudly for help if they ever feel endangered.”

“We ask that you have similar conversations with your children, encouraging them to share information with you or with us about any incident like this.”

Police have promised increased police patrols around the middle school in the afternoon after dismissal.

UPDATE

At about 5 p.m. , Mansfield Middle School Principal Jeff Cryan said police have found the man they believe was identified by the school children.

“After we notified the students about the incident that occurred on Wednesday afternoon, some students and staff members provided further information about the vehicle and driver.  This information was provided to the police,” he said.

And Resident Trooper Sgt. James Kodzis provided this update at 4:30 this afternoon:

“State Police have identified and located the vehicle and individual involved in this incident.  This individual has been cooperative with police questioning. No arrests are anticipated regarding this incident, however should any further leads of suspects be developed, they will be investigated.  Residents are encouraged to be vigilant and notify State Police of any suspicious activity at 860-429-6024.”

Parents should still encourage their children to stay safe, Cryan said. “Please review safety strategies with your children should they be approached by a stranger offering a ride.  Making lots of noise and putting distance between themselves and a stranger are recommended strategies.

We are grateful for the quick response today from the Resident Trooper’s office, and we will pass along to you any further information related to safety concerns.”

Posted March 18, 2010; updated 5:30 p.m.

UConn's Tina Charles. Photo by Al Malpa

As the NCAA tournament brackets were announced Monday night on ESPN, loud cheers were heard inside the University of Connecticut women’s basketball locker room at Gampel Pavilion.

Cheers for the six other Big East Conference teams selected for the NCAA tournament - DePaul, Georgetown, Notre Dame, Rutgers, St. John’s and West Virginia.

All but one - St. John’s - was not in UConn’s region.

Cheers also were heard when the match-up everyone has been clamoring about has the potential to happen at the Final Four in San Antonio between UConn and Tennessee.

And there were the cheers when the players watched the ESPN-produced segment they had taped, with junior Maya Moore playing the drums, surrounded by the rest of the starting lineup dancing to the beat.

Six games remaining and a chance to make history

The road to San Antonio begins on Sunday afternoon at 12:16 p.m. (ESPN2, WILI 1400-AM, WTIC 1080-AM) when No. 1 nationally-ranked UConn (33-0), the top seed in the Dayton Regional, meets No. 16 Southern University (23-8) in the first round of the NCAA tournament at the Ted Constant Convocation Center in Norfolk, Virginia.

“It’s tough this year,” senior Kalana Greene said. “A lot of teams are evenly matched, from what I can tell. It is fun to see who is going to play who and which bracket seems the most difficult.”

Initially, it was thought that the Huskies - who will be making their 22nd consecutive NCAA tournament appearance - would be headed to Pittsburgh for the opening two rounds. But about15 minutes before the Selection Show aired on ESPN, murmurs were rumbling that UConn would take its road show south to Norfolk.

“I was excited that we get to play our first game in Norfolk,” Greene said. “It’s closer for my family [South Carolina] to come up there and, hopefully, we get a little bit more sun than we have had here in Connecticut.”

And Coach Geno Auriemma likes the fact that UConn will be playing in Norfolk.

“I’m actually happy,” Auriemma said. “We’re in a tournament atmosphere. Sometimes when you’re home you’re still going to class, you’re still doing the same things. So this is a real tournament feeling. I love the fact that we’re not home. Now, it’s bad for our fans that we’re not home.”

Six victories would put UConn into the history books as the first women’s team ever to win back-to-back national championships while going unbeaten.

The only other time that has happened was on the men’s side, when the Wizard of Westwood, John Wooden, guided UCLA to back-to-back titles in 1972 and 1973.

Opponents are riding 7-game streak

The Huskies’ first-round opponent, Southern University, hails from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The Jaguars - who received the automatic bid from the Southwestern Athletic Conference with a 60-47 victory in the tournament final over Alabama State last Saturday - are riding a 7-game winning streak and are making their first NCAA appearance since 2006.

In the second game on Sunday, eighth-seeded Temple (24-8), coached by former UConn assistant coach Tanya Cardoza, meets Colonial Athletic Association tournament champion and No. 9 James Madison (26-6).

Last year, Temple and UConn were in the same bracket as well, in Storrs. Florida played the role of spoiler by defeating Temple in the first round.

“I just hope Tonya’s team wins, because I always root for my assistants to play,” UConn Coach Geno Auriemma said. “I also know James Madison’s really good. And there are teams I think you’ve got to worry about a little bit. Teams from conferences that people don’t always give the respect that they probably deserve.”

Ohio State, Florida State, Iowa State and Virginia would be potential opponents for UConn when the tournament reaches the Regional semifinal stage in Dayton, Ohio.

And UConn has advanced to the Sweet 16 every year since 1994.

Second-ranked Stanford (Sacramento), No. 3 Tennessee (Memphis) and No. 4 Nebraska (Kansas City) also received No. 1 seeds

And if things hold to form, the match-up everyone is savoring to see - UConn vs. Tennessee - would occur at the Final Four in San Antonio in the NCAA national semifinals.

Posted March 17, 2010

Coventry police and liquor agents from the state Department of Consumer Protection, along with underage volunteers, ultimately checked 10 businesses starting at 5 p.m. Saturday, the DCP said in a statement.

The DCP said Coventry Wine and Spirits and Michael’s Penalty Box, both on Daly Road, and Dimitri’s Restaurant on Route 31, were caught selling alcohol to underage patrons.

The DCP did not name the seven other businesses it visited.

“We routinely conduct these alcohol compliance checks in towns across the state,” DCP Commissioner Jerry Farrell, Jr. said. “Our objective is to find those businesses that are selling to underage patrons and bring them into compliance with state law.”

Coventry Police Chief Mark Palmer said the fact seven of the 10 businesses were found to be in compliance shows that most businesses in town that sell alcohol follow state laws.

“I think that, for the most part, people are responsible [about] checking for (ID),” he said.

He added that Northeast Communities Against Substance Abuse provided funding for the compliance check.

He said the department will refer the results to the DPC’s Liquor Control Commission, which will hold public hearings and determine what actions to take against the three businesses.

DPC spokeswoman Claudette Carveth said it’s likely the hearings won’t be held for a few months, but that the businesses will be allowed to remain open at this time.

She said the state does have the authority to shut a business down while awaiting a public hearing, but only does so when a violator repeatedly has put “public health and safety in danger.”

Carveth said each case is handled individually, but violators face possible fines, civil penalties and suspension or revocation of liquor permits.

She also said between 35 and 40 percent of businesses statewide are caught selling alcohol to an underage patron during compliance checks.

Posted March 17, 2010

Coventry Town Council member William Zenko and Council Chair Elizabeth Woolf

A former councilman has called for an apology from current Coventry Town Council member William Zenko, a Democrat, for what he claims was a personal attack made two weeks ago.

Former council member Thomas Pope, a Republican, said at the March 15 Town Council meeting that he feels Zenko “verbally assaulted” him during a town council meeting March 1.

He said Zenko’s comments were made during discussion of the voters’ rejection of a $6 million proposal for a new town garage and upgraded fire station in North Coventry.

Zenko declined to comment this morning, but council Chair Elizabeth Woolf, a Democrat and Councilman Valdis Venkels, also a Democrat, defended Zenko.

According to the minutes of the March 1 meeting, Pope addressed the council and said he believes the council should have provided more information about the $6 million proposal.

He said the council also should have provided more information about a possible roof project at some of the schools and he raised the issue of ownership of the North Coventry fire station.

Later in the meeting, according to the minutes, Zenko said the Coventry Republican Town Committee claimed the town needed to talk about the proposals further and “somebody’s being disingenuous.”

The minutes do not state that Zenko specifically named Pope, but Pope said Monday that Zenko specifically accused him of being “disingenuous.”

Pope, who is the former Republican Town Chairman but is not currently on the party’s committee, said the comments lacked “civility and respect.”

According to Pope, Zenko attacked him as a prominent Republican in town; Zenko blamed Republicans for the garage/fire station project’s rejection.

Pope - who was voted off the council in 2007 - also said Zenko attacked him personally because he, “can’t handle the truth.”

Pope said that Zenko should issue “an apology for [his] abhorrent behavior” to all residents in town.

But Woolf defended Zenko at this week’s meeting, and said he “was responding to another councilman” during the March 1 discussion, and that she did not believe there was reason for an apology.

Venkels said Zenko made “fair comments” on March 1, because they were based on the discussion and on Zenko’s own opinion.

Republican Councilman Richard Williams, however, agreed with Pope and also said Zenko should issue an apology.

He also said he sometimes feels “uncomfortable” voicing opposition during council meetings, “because I feel like I’m being attacked.”

Democrats have a 5-2 edge against the GOP on Coventry’s top elected board. In 2007, the GOP controlled the council.

Posted March 16, 2010

According to Nora R. Dannehy, U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Justin Edwards, 27, was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to 33 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, for his role in a bank fraud scheme.

On Nov. 2, 2009, Edwards pleaded guilty to four counts of bank fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

According to court documents and statements made in court, between July 2007 and March 2008, Edwards and Kyle Seibert of Canterbury stole balance transfer checks, also known as “convenience checks,” from residence mailboxes.

Edwards, Seibert and Timothy Taylor of Mansfield then opened several bank accounts at various Connecticut financial institutions, forged the stolen checks making them payable to themselves and deposited them into these accounts.

Edwards and Seibert then withdrew cash before the victim’s financial institutions discovered the deposits were fraudulent.

Through this scheme, Edwards and his co-conspirators deposited approximately $188,454 in fraudulent checks and were successful in defrauding the victim banks of $89,082.

Seibert and Taylor also pleaded guilty to charges stemming from their involvement in this scheme.

On Jan. 5, Taylor was sentenced to three years of probation.

Seibert awaits sentencing.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the U. S. Secret Service. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul H. McConnell.

Posted March 11, 2010

Dr. H. Wayne Carver told prosecutors, the defense and Judge William Bright he had not seen other children sustain the same type of injuries 7-month-old Michael Brown Jr. sustained from his reported “fall” while in foster care in Mansfield.

Monday was the sixth day of an originally scheduled 10-day trial in Rockville Superior Court against 44-year-old Suzanne Listro, of 260 Stearns Road, Mansfield.

Listro was charged July 16, 2008, with first-degree manslaughter and risk of injury to a minor for the death of Brown Jr. and pleaded not guilty in December.

Bright has offered to extend the trial until March 16 due to witness scheduling conflicts from both the prosecution and the defense.

If the trial is extended, Listro’s bench trial - in which Bright will hear and try the case alone - will have lasted 12 days. All trial proceedings are taking place in Rockville Superior Court.

Carver conducted the autopsy on Brown Jr. and reported the infant died of a “blunt traumatic head injury.” He ruled the death a homicide.

“Most of my contact with kids (who suffered from) short falls is in the emergency department stitching up their scalps,” he said.

During his testimony, Carver showed Brown Jr.’s autopsy photos to describe the bleeding, retinal hemorrhaging and optic nerve damage Brown sustained.

Listro wiped away tears from her eyes after she looked at the graphic medical photos of Brown’s injuries.

Brown Jr. was in Listro’s care for a week when he “fell off the bed” and died May 19, 2008, according to Listro’s statement to police.

According to Carver, if Brown Jr. did fall, he should have had a “marker” on the back of his head from the impact.

“It should have left a marker,” he said. “It should have left visible bleeding under the scalp.”

However, Brown Jr. suffered a subdural hematoma at the top of his skull - near his “soft spot” - but there were no other injuries found on the child.

In previous testimony, Dr. Paul Kanev, director of pediatric neurosurgery at the Children’s Medical Center in Hartford, testified he had withdrawn almost 5 ounces of blood from the child’s head to reduce the pressure on his brain.

During cross-examination, Carver told Hubert Santos, one of Listro’s attorneys, that he did not know the exact cause of Brown’s death, but he believed Brown Jr. did receive “blunt force” to the head.

“My opinion is a great deal of energy went into this kid’s head,” he said. “I don’t know how.”

He said shaken baby syndrome - which is what prosecutors are indicating as the cause of death in this case - is one of several ways the infant could have sustained the deadly subdural hematoma.

Santos focused on those other conclusions to emphasize Brown Jr.’s exact cause of death had not been determined.

“The bottom line is we don’t know all we should know about how the brain reacts to trauma,” said Santos.

Under cross-examination, Carver said he did not see “grip marks,” inexplicable cruising or contusions that would directly identify the infant had potentially been shaken or struck against any item.

In addition to Carver - who is scheduled to continue testimony today in Rockville Superior Court when court reopens at 2 p.m. - child-care providers who saw Brown Jr. the day he died also testified Monday.

According to Linda Kelly, infant teacher at the Mansfield Discovery Depot, Brown Jr. appeared “normal” that Monday and was settling in at the daycare center well.

“I didn’t see anything unusual about him,” she said.

Kelly said the infant had the “wide-eye look” of the new kid in class.

She said he was “observing the whole time” and was not “fussy” during the day unless he was hungry.

The half-court drills were intense. The red squad consisting of substitutes also featured former Husky standout Donny Marshall.

One white squad of Donnell Beverly, Darius Smith, Gavin Edwards, Ater Majok and Jamal Coombs-McDaniel stood out by swinging the ball for open perimeter looks. The other white squad of Jerome Dyson, Alex Oriakhi, Charles Okwandu, Kemba Walker and Stanley Robinson displayed a bit more dashing, driving and dumping for layups and dunks.

Was Calhoun tipping his hand in reference to which white-clad unit might start today at approximately 2:30 p.m. (ESPN, WILI 1400-AM, WTIC 1080-AM) when the 12th-seeded Huskies (17-14 overall, 7-11 league) tangle with No. 13 St. John’s (16-14, 6-12) in a first-round Big East Conference tournament game at Madison Square Garden in New York?

To be honest, not even Calhoun knows who will start. More importantly, he’s just looking for someone to finish strong as the reeling Huskies enter another stretch where they hope to salvage a season gone horribly awry.

“As far as the starting team, we keep changing that today based on what individuals are doing in certain drills,” admitted Calhoun, who will take a squad that limped to an 0-3 finish to the regular season, losing Big East games to Louisville, Notre Dame and South Florida, to The World’s Most Famous Arena where the Huskies have not won a tourney title game since 2005, a span of four consecutive first-game losses. “As I think more about it, I don’t know if that’s important.

“I think it’s more important how we play the game, whoever’s on the court, that will be determined by me watching how they’re playing. You’ve got to play hard.”

Three days after Calhoun pulled his starters from the floor with 16:04 remaining in Saturday’s eventual loss to South Florida and kept seniors Jerome Dyson, Stanley Robinson and Gavin Edwards on the bench to the final buzzer, the Huskies will look to somehow realize their unrealized potential of a season gone bad.

A team that has shown flashes of inspired play - remember the wins over Texas and Villanova? - as well as mind-boggling stretches of laissez faire hoop - pick any one of at least a dozen contests - could come home tonight or advance all the way to Saturday night’s title tilt.

“You know, if I could ever figure this team out, then I probably wouldn’t be losing my mind,” said Calhoun. “But I have not figured them out. As I’ve said numerous times, I really like them. It’s a great group of kids, but it’s been a really different basketball team.”

“We’ve put three good games together before against really good teams so we can do that again,” said Edwards, who holds no animosity for his benching on Saturday.

Today’s winner advances to Wednesday’s second round against fifth-seeded Marquette, again at approximately 2:30 p.m.

According to the web site www.webster’s-online-dictionary.org, history is “…the aggregate of past events; the continuum of events occurring in succession leading from the past to the present and even into the future.”

Well, that road to history, that road to 71, that magical number that has been asked about in so many ways by so many, was precarious at halftime.

There was no explosive scoring run. The shots from the perimeter? They weren’t falling.

Take away Caroline Doty and Tina Charles and the top-ranked University of Connecticut women’s basketball team was shooting just 21 percent (4-of-19) from the floor.

The halftime lead stood at just three points, 25-22.

Needing to find some kind of spark, the Huskies turned to one of their biggest strengths.

That strength? Defense, defense, defense…….

And it all adds up to history in the making.

That’s the way it was at 7:55 p.m., March 8, 2010.

Senior Kalana Greene shot 6-of-9 from the floor in the second half while scoring 13 of her 15 points as history was completed for top-ranked UConn (32-0) on Monday night at the XL Center with a 59-44 defeat of No. 6 and fifth-seeded Notre Dame (27-5) as the Huskies earned their NCAA Division I record-breaking 71st consecutive victory in the semifinals of the Big East Conference tournament.

“I was non-existent in the first half,” Greene said. “I look at like I was 6-for-9. We didn’t have a great offensive night. When we play defense like we did in the second half, we’re guaranteed to win.”

The victory advances UConn to its 20th Big East title game in 22 seasons where the Huskies will face No. 9 and second-seeded West Virginia (28-4) tonight at 7 p.m. (ESPN2, WILI 1400-AM, WTIC 1080-AM).

The Mountaineers advanced to the title game with a 56-49 victory over Rutgers (19-14) in Monday’s semifinal nightcap.

Several moments stood out in the second half as UConn looked to get energized.

Leading by five points, 36-31, Greene provided two of those moments on consecutive possessions.

First, Doty stole a pass in the paint, looked up and found Greene in a full sprint the other way for a break-away layup.

Then, Greene grabbed an offensive board over Notre Dame’s Erica Williamson, faded away and banked in a 6-foot jumper, was fouled by Devereaux Peters and slid towards the UConn bench while opening up a 40-31 lead with 13:14 remaining.

All this from Greene, who was 1-for-8 from the floor in the first half.

“I can’t just sit there and shoot shots,” Greene said. “I have to find other ways to score. One of the ways I know I can score is to get on the glass and try to put it back up, keep fighting and tip balls to keep our team up.”

It was all part of a 14-3 run that ended with UConn up 49-35 with nine minutes remaining.

The Fighting Irish got no closer than 10 points the rest of the way.

“Greene hurt us a little bit and that was kind of our game plan to see if somebody else could beat us besides Charles and Moore,” Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw said. “We gave her some easy around-the-basket shots.”

Husky coach Geno Auriemma said that Greene had the most shocked look on her face when assistant coach Shea Ralph said in the locker room that she was 7-for-17 from the floor.

“Kalana just had the look in her eye,” Auriemma said. “I’m not sure she’d be able to pull that off a couple of years ago.”

The 25 points scored by UConn in the first half was its lowest output in a half since the 2007 NCAA tournament Fresno Regional final against Louisiana State when the Huskies produced just 22 points.

Freshman Skylar Diggins led Notre Dame with 10 points, all in the first half.
The final minute of play saw Doty (9 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals) get hit in the back of the head while being inadvertently elbowed by Notre Dame’s Ashley Barlow.

Doty was down on the floor for several minutes before being led to the locker room by team trainer Rosemary Ragle and team doctor Tom Trojian. Doty is questionable for tonight’s title game.

Charles, who did not take an official shot until 9:37 remained in the first half, finished with her 10th double-double of the year while scoring 16 points and adding 17 rebounds. Junior Maya Moore added 11 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for UConn.

And what about the streak, which began with an 82-71 victory over Georgia Tech at Gampel Pavilion on November 16, 2008?

“After the season, the last game we play we can look back and see what we’ve done,” Greene said. “You don’t want to celebrate about wins. We don’t plan on our season being over any time soon.”

Johnson said after making multiple inquiries and writing letters to various state officials, she received a call from a state Department of Transportation liaison who indicated the funding had been found.

She said part of the hold-up was DOT officials had to come up with regulations for the issuance of the funds.

“It’s been a long process,” Johnson said, adding she’s attempting to get an installation date from transportation officials, who haven’t provided one yet.

Johnson said Providence & Worcester Railroad Co. officials have discussed the possibility of increasing the number of trips and increasing the speed of the trains, but the gates should be installed regardless of those discussions.

“It’s a priority anyway,” she said.

Currently, the Providence & Worcester Railroad Co., uses flagmen who get off the train and stop traffic at the intersection to allow the train to pass by.

The DOT has been required to install advance-warning signs to notify residents of an upcoming crossing and state police have been requested to more strictly enforce the 35-mph speed limit near the crossing.

Currently warning motorists are old-fashioned flashing lights, but town officials want gates that include an automated arm swinging down to physically stop traffic.

Upon hearing the news, Town Engineer Joseph Gardner said it was “encouraging” funding had been, at least, identified.

He said he believed installing the gates would cost about $250,000, but intersection and other improvements could run the price tag higher.

He also reiterated the need for the gates.

“There’s a bad sight line there,” Gardner said “We don’t want there to be a serious accident.”

Gardner also said there had been some discussion about upping the speed and number of trips on the line, but before the railroad did, officials are hoping to have the gates installed.

Attempts to reach DOT officials were not successful this morning.

Windham Town Manager Neal Beets said he had also heard the report from Johnson, but didn’t have additional information other than what Johnson had reported.

The issue of gates has been raised for a number of years, dating back to when state Rep. Walter Pawelkiewicz was in office.

In 1998, a Rhode Island man was killed when a New England Central Railroad train struck his oil tanker on another crossing near the Route 203 crossing in question.

In March 2007, P&W resumed service on the 15.02-mile line from Willimantic to Plainfield, which had been dormant for nearly two decades.

Prior to the re-opening of the line, town officials had requested safety gates with drop arms to physically stop traffic and protect motorists.