NEW MILFORD — A 30-year-old local man was arraigned Monday on first degree failure to appear charges.

Roger Birch, of Pickett District Road, New Milford was arrested Saturday on an active warrant for first-degree failure to appear issued by Superior Court in Bristol.

The rearrest order related to drug charges and illegal possession of a weapon in a motor vehicle from a November 2014 incident, according to the state Judicial website.

Birch was held on $10,000 bond by New Milford Police from the time of his arrest. Arraignment information was not available Monday afternoon.

Two 15-year-old boys from Ridgefield were arrested on Friday after spraying graffiti on a cars and buildings, Ridgefield Police said.

The young people were caught just past 6:15 p.m. near the Casagmo Condominiums after defacing a parked car in the complex. They also put graffiti on other cars and business in the area earlier that night and the night before, police said.

They were charged with criminal mischief and then released into the custody of their parents. They are scheduled to appear in Danbury Juvenile Court next Monday morning.

The names of the two young people were not released by police.

RIDGEFIELD — Ridgefield Fire Department reports that a faulty blower in the HVAC system at Boehringer Ingelhiem offices sent smoke through the building Monday afternoon.

Employees were sent home as it was near closing time and conditions uncomfortabble,  according to Capt. Dave McDevitt, of Ridgefield Fire.

Volunteers Al Tani (left) and Don Wright cook up a meal at Loaves & Fishes present site

NEW MILFORD — Loaves & Fishes Hospitality House has filed a new special permit application with New Milford Zoning Commission to construct a facility on Bridge Street.

The new application was filed March 27 after variances had been approved for the site by the Zoning Board of Appeals in February.

The pre-existing non-conforming structure that had serve Straub’s Plumbing for decades would be demolished and 15 parking spaces created in its space.

The existing 4-family residence on the front of the parcel would be reduced to three-family with the removal of the studio apartment in the building.

The newly constructed building would house a hospitality house, containing a kitchen, dining room, storage area, conference room and mechanical room on the ground floor and offices, conference room, laundry and restrooms on the main level.

Loaves & Fishes would relocate its existing program from the Richmond Citizens Center on the Village Green.

A public hearing date before Zoning still has to be set.

NMPD Officer David Petersen during a speeding enforcement program in September

NEW MILFORD — New Milford Police are taking part in a statewide distracted driving enforcement starting April 1.

The campaign is called “U DRIVE. U TEXT. U PAY” and is sponsored by the Natioanal Highway Traffic Safety Administration, that has named April “National Distracted Driving Awareness Month.”

Police along with the DOT Highway Safety Office have partnered to crackdown on morotists who chose to text, talk or otherwise distract themselves from the task of driving by use of a hand-held mobile phone.

Extra patrols will be added and strategies include roving police patrols, spotters strategically located on local and state roads, and stationary police vehicles prominently placed around the town.

Under Connecticut’s cell phone and texting law, violations involve heavy fines, ranging from $150 for first offense, $300 for second offense, and $500 for each subsequent violation.

The enforcement program runs from April 1 through april 30 and again from Aug. 3 through Aug. 16.

The neighborhood museum on Long Ridge Road, the city’s only Scenic Road.

DANBURY – An unaffiliated church has dropped its plan to buy an 18-acre ridgetop property after public protests by neighbors along the city’s only Scenic Road.

A representative for the church known as BRN gave no reason in a letter last week withdrawing an application for zoning breaks that the church needed to complete the deal.

At issue was how traffic and water quality on Long Ridge Road would be affected by the sale of the Institute for Children’s Literature to a church run by the Rev. Gerardo Zendejas, a former member of a breakaway community of Catholic priests known as the Society of St. Pius X.

The manor house on the 18-acre property owned by The Institute for Children’s Literature.

Homeowners who formed an association to resist the plan said the victory was more than just the defeat of a threat to the pastoral character of the neighborhood.

“We learned so much about our neighborhood by meeting people we have lived next to for years,” said Martha Rhodes, president of the Long Ridge Neighborhood Preservation Association. “This is a wonderful opening to start new relationships.”

Pamela Hochstetter (Courtesy of the Cultural Alliance of Western Connecticut)

The Cultural Alliance of Western Connecticut will host a four-week “Build Your Creative Courage” workshop beginning April 30 at its home, @287 Gallery & Meeting Place on Main Street.

Artists, business and creative professionals, designers and writers are invited to the workshop, which will be led by painter and sculptor Pamela Hochstetter, who will guide participants through a variety of low-impact act exercises, ungraded writing assignments and friendly conversation.

The workshop will be held from 7-9 p.m. on four straight Thursdays beginning April 30.

The workshop costs $150, which covers all four sessions and art materials. The Cultural Alliance will also provide light refreshments.

Participation is limited and pre-paid registration is required. To register, visit eventbrite at http://bit.ly/1F8ee8l or mail a check to CAWC, 287 Main Street, Danbury, CT 06810 before April 27.

To learn more about Hochstetter, visit her website, www.pamelahochstetter.com. And for more information on the program, call 203-798-0760.

An view of the 5-acre site (shaded gray) next to the Newtown Youth Academy on the town-owned Fairfield Hills campus, where a new community center had been proposed.

NEWTOWN – First Selectman Pat Llodra wants to call off the April 28 public vote to build a community center and start the discussion over about how to use a $15 million gift from General Electric.

“I am going to recommend to the Board of Selectmen that we take a step back and reconsider the process and engage the community more fully,” Llodra said Tuesday.

Llodra’s comments come one week after a public meeting where critics questioned the design of a 35,000-square-foot community center proposed on a 5-acre site on the Fairfield Hills Campus. Some of the critics said it was more of a senior center than a gathering place for all ages.

The plans had been drawn up with the help of an advisory committee in response to a $15 million gift GE gave to the town following the Sandy Hook school shootings. The idea was to build a community center with $10 million and use the remaining $5 million to fund operations.

After last week’s information hearing, Llodra said it was clear that there needed to be more discussion about the plans before the public vote. Three additional meetings were then scheduled.

On Tuesday those meeting were canceled.

“We are not abandoning hope that we will have a community center that meets the needs of the community and honors the intentions of the GE gift,” Llodra said.

Llodra said she expects the Board of Selectmen to come up with a plan to design a new community center that has widespread appeal.

Former Bethel elementary school teacher Brian Stroh, of New Fairfield, Conn, represented by Attorney Kevin Chamberlin, left, appeared in Danbury Superior Court Tuesday, March 31, 2015.
He is being accused of sexually assaulting three boys. Photo: Carol Kaliff

UPDATE: TUESDAY 3:55 P.M.

Brian Stroh has been released from custody after he posted $250,000 bond Tuesday, according to the clerk’s office at Danbury Superior Court.

ORIGINAL POST: TUESDAY 12:13 P.M.

DANBURY – A former Bethel teacher accused of sexually assaulting children will remain in custody after Judge Dan Shaban denied a motion Tuesday to release him on a promise to appear in court.

Brian Joseph Stroh, 30, of New Fairfield, was arrested March 9 on felony charges of fourth-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor.

His attorney, Kevin Chamberlin, had filed a motion to release Stroh’s from custody for reasons that include his client’s inability to have mental health treatment. However,  Assistant State’s Attorney Sharmese Hodge argued that Stroh would be a threat to the victims.

“There are families that are extremely worries,” she told the judge.

Also present in Superior Court in Danbury was attorney Susan Filan, who’s representing the mother of one of the victims.

“This mother is very fearful,” Filan said. “She’s very, very frightened of any contact whatsoever.”

Shaban agreed and continued the $250,000 bail.

Bethel school officials placed  the former Berry Elementary School first-grade teacher on leave Feb. 19 after they learned Connecticut State Police were investigating him for inappropriate contact with minors. Stroh then resigned from his position.

The three victims, all boys, were 6, 9, and 11 years old.

No further details of the assaults have been provided and the arrest warrant remains sealed. However, officials have indicated that no crime occurred on school grounds.

U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy said he will “continue to press” FirstLight to restore funding cut to CLA

It seems that FirstLight Power Resources intends to maintain the funding cut it announced in February for the Candlewood Lake Authority.
U.S. Senator Chris Murphy had contacted FirstLight’s parent corporation, GDF Suez, in March after learning the company was reducing its $50,000 annual funding to the CLA to $10,000.
A grant program was also being opened by FirstLight to all 23 municipalities in the Housatonic River region that the CLA and two other lake authorities of Lillinonah and Zoar could also apply to.
Murphy asked the company to reconsider and do further study before making any funding changes.

Zen Smati, president and CEO of GDF Suez, responded to Murphy in a March 20 letter that the funding changes would remain as planned.

“We believe that a competitive grant program will have a greater positive impact on the communities around Candlewood Lake,” Smati wrote. “It was only after a significant deliberation process that we made this decision.”
Smati continued to say that the new funding structure requires local organizations to describe the proposed use of funding, which provides the company with a means of accounting for money used and benefits achieved.
“Our commitment will remain to support the communities around Candlewood Lake,” Smati wrote.
Murphy said Tuesday he appreciated Smati’s response, “but I maintain my position that FirstLight has a responsibility to contribute their fair share to maintain Candlewood Lake.”
Murphy said he will continue to “press this issue” and is sure that a company “worth $44 billion,” like GDF Suez, will do the right thing.
“They certainly haven’t heard the last from me,” Murphy said.

NEW FAIRFIELD — A kitchen fire at a home on Woodridge Lane in New Faifield was quickly extinguished Tuesday, according to Chief Bruce Taylor, of the New Fairfield Volunteer Fire Department.

The fire call came in about 10:30 a.m. as a fire alarm and when firefighters arrived on the scene, they discovered a fire in the kitchen, Taylor said. Damage was contained to the kitchen cabinets and some smoke damage to the second and third floors, he said.

The family dog was taken to the veterinarian’s for smoke inhalation and was doing well, Taylor added.

Kayla Mooney

DANBURY – A first year high school science teacher accused of inappropriate behavior with a student has been charged with second-degree sexual assault and providing alcohol to a minor.

Kayla Mooney, 24, of Danbury turned herself into police headquarters at 5 p.m. Tuesday following a seven-week investigation.

Mooney was placed on administrative leave Feb. 10 after allegations that she had inappropriate sexual contact with a male student. Her name was not released at the time because she had not been charged with a crime.

Mooney remains on paid leave, said Sal Pascarella, the superintendent of schools.

Pascarella sent high school parents an automated message Tuesday night informing them of the teacher’s arrest.

Pascarella did not provide details about the incident, except that it happened off campus late last year.

Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton declined to comment.

Mooney was released without bail and is due in Court on April 14.

Walmart on Newtown Road in Danbury.

DANBURY – A man and a woman were arrested Monday afternoon following a shoplifting complaint from Walmart, 67 Newtown Road, Danbury.

Police said security personnel saw Breahnna Mahler, 18, and Jonathan Corvino, 20, remove merchandise off of the selves, hide it and then try to leave the store without paying for it.

Mahler, of Barkhamsted, Conn., and Corvino, of Brewster, N.Y., were charged with sixth-degree larceny and conspiracy to commit larceny. They were released on a promise to appear in court April 8.

This was the second couple to be charged with shoplifting from Danbury’s Walmart in less than a week. Last week, two Danbury residents were caught on camera attempting to steal merchandise from the store, police said.

Thomas H. McMorran, Ed.D., speaks at the Joel Barlow High School 2014 Graduation Ceremony at Western Connecticut State University’s O’Neill Center in Danbury, Conn. Wedneday, June 18, 2014. Photo: Tyler Sizemore

The boards of education in Easton, Redding and Region 9 have named a new superintendent for the three districts.

Thomas McMorran, current assistant superintendent and head of school for Joel Barlow High School, will replace Bernard Josefsberg, who is retiring this summer after four years on the job.

The three boards unanimously approved the appointment at a special meeting Monday night, according to a news release.

McMorran, 51, is a Newtown resident and has served as Joel Barlow head of school and Region 9 assistant superintendent since 2007. He previously worked as assistant principal and English Department chairman at Ridgefield High School.

“He brings energy, experience, intelligence and commitment to the many challenges at hand,” Josefsberg said in the news release. “He’s a proven leader who knows the community and its expectations. Not only will he meet those expectations, he will galvanize the collective effort required to exceed them.”

The search for a new superintendent drew 14 applications and included an online survey and group sessions with parents, teachers, students, administrators, and board members from the three districts.

In his letter of application for the superintendent position, McMorran said the districts can “become more personalized and attentive to individuals.”

“With smaller, more agile teams, we can build sequences of learning that more closely track the needs of our students,” he wrote, according to the news release. “We can stop thinking of ourselves as an elementary program that hands off to a middle school program that passes along to a high school program. We can think and act as one program.”

Besides the superintendent, Easton and Redding also share Joel Barlow High School, which is known as Region 9.

A camper displays his work at one of last year’s workshops. (Courtesy of the Aldrich Art Museum)

The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum will offer full-day, week-long summer workshops for local children called Camp Aldrich, running five weeks from July 13 until Aug. 14.

The programs are for students entering grades 1-10.

The workshops include plaster-casting techniques, animatronics, fashion design and 3-D artwork, and will be led by visiting artists and museum educators. The culmination of each workshop on Friday will be a celebration for family and friends, during which the children will present their work.

The camp is $300 for Aldrich members at the Family level and above and $330 for non-members. To register, visit http://www.aldrichart.org/education/summer.php or contact Michelle Friedman at mfriedman@aldrichart.org. Friedman can also be reached by phone at 203-438-4519 during regular museum hours, noon-5 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday.

The museum is located at 258 Main Street.

Chris Herren

NEWTOWN – Former Boston Celtics point guard Chris Herren, who lasted just two seasons in the NBA because of his drug addiction, is coming to Newtown on April 7 to speak with parents and kids about how he recovered from substance abuse.

Herren will speak at 7 p.m. at the Newtown High School as part of the ongoing dialogue of recovery sponsored by the Newtown Parent Connection and the Newtown Prevention Council.

The Fall River, Mass., native achieved his dream of playing NBA basketball when he was drafted by the Denver Nuggets. He was traded to Boston where he played for one more season before failed drug tests and drug-related arrests ended his career.

He got sober in 2008 and began a career in counseling. His story is chronicled in a 2011 memoir, “Basketball Junkie,” and in an ESPN documentary called Unguarded.

For more details about the Tuesday night event visit www.newtownparentconnection.org.

DANBURY — A pedestrian was hit by a car Wednesday afternoon near a McDonald’s on 67 Newtown Road in Danbury, according to scanner reports.

Early reports indicate the person sustained minor injuries.

More information as it becomes available.

NEW MILFORD — Police are investigating a bomb threat received today by New Milford High School, a school district official said Wednesday afternoon.

As a precaution, students were evacuated to the football field and bleachers while they waited for buses for early dismissal, the district announced in a message to parents.

All after-school activities have been cancelled for today, said Pat Silverman, administrative assistant for the superintendent. 

All other New Milford Public Schools will dismiss students at the regular time, Silverman said.

It was not immediately known how and what time the threat was received.

Echo Bay on Candlewood Lake is one area covered by the CLA Marine Patrol

FirstLight Hydro Generating Company has awarded its first grant from the recently established Housatonic River Project Fund to the Candlewood Lake Authority.

The CLA will receive a $10,000 grant to help fund the purchase of new radios for its Marine Patrol. The radios enable patrol members to communicate with the stte Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) and emergency dispatch in the event of an emergency on the lake.

“The CLA grant request for funding of its public safety radios is a great example of how FirstLight’s funding can help community organizations,’ said Len Greene, spokesman for DGF Suez, FirstLight’s parent company.

Greene said the $10,000 grant is in keeping with the  Fund’s mission to promote environmental protection, energy efficiency and public safety in the 23-town Housatonic River region.

Phyllis Schaer, CLA chairwoman, said Wednesday that she appreciated the early notice from FirstLight regarding the grant.

“This relieves our concern about being able to get our Lake Patrol out with radios for communication,” Schaer said. “Perhaps this will be a way for the CLA and FirstLight to work with each other while meeting corporate needs.”

Schaer said this was a “matching grant” with a private donor providing another $10,000 toward the radios. The CLA has submitted two other grant applications to the Housatonic River Project Fund.

FirstLight has reduced its annual direct funding to the CLA to $10,000 for next year and coming years, an 80 percent funding cut.

A Danbury man was arrested Wednesday after police said he was begging for money at Walmart.

Police were dispatched to the store, 67 Newtown Road, Danbury, for a report of an unwanted person at about 5 p.m. When they arrived, the suspect was in custody of Walmart security personnel, who said the man was panhandling and bothering customers, according to the report.

Justin D. Balzarini, 19, was charged with third-degree criminal trespass, breach of peace and panhandling.

After his arrest, police learned customers had called Walmart security to report that he was spitting on cars and begging for money in the parking lot, police said. 

Balzarini is being held on a $1,500 bond.

He also was charged March 15 with criminal mischief and breach of peace, according to the state Department of Justice website. He’s scheduled to appear in court April 13 to respond to those charges.