Madison News Roundup

From noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 20, Madison Festival 2009 will encompass the entire Madison, CT downtown area. All are invited to come and enjoy musical entertainment, a myriad of activities for kids, food vendors, prizes, gift certificates and more.

Following the festival, there will be closing ceremonies at Café Allegre from 4-6 p.m. The festival is free; tickets to the closing ceremony are $35 per person, and include drinks, appetizers, and last call on the Silent Auction items, which include vacation homes, jewelry. and unique services.

Please email Wendy Price for tickets to the Closing Ceremonies. A limited number of tickets are available, so don’t delay. For more information contact Kathy Glynn at 203-245-2580, Shelley Farmer at 203-245-4478, or Annie McHugh at 203-779-5444.

The Audubon Shop, located at 907 Boston Post Road in Madison, CT will kick off the 23rd Annual Fall Bird Walk series at Hammonasset State Park and Beach from 8 a.m.-10:30 a.m. on Saturday Sept. 12. Participants will see migratory shorebirds, songbirds, and birds of prey at one of the premier birding areas in Connecticut. Beginners are welcome. You are urged to bring binoculars, although rentals are available. The walks will be conducted each Saturday through Nov. 21. Participants meet at The Audubon Shop, at 7:50 a.m. and carpool to the park. There is a $4 charge per person. For more information, call 203-245-9056, or visit the Audubon Shop website.

The New Haven Symphony Orchestra (NHSO) will present a fundraising event on Thursday, September 10, at Madison Art Cinemas. The event will feature a film on composer William Walton — At the Haunted End of the Day. The evening begins with a Patron Event at 5:30 p.m. at Ciao Bella Moda International of Madison with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, as well as a raffle to be drawn at 6:45 p.m. Raffle prizes include two tickets to any concert of the NHSO’s 2009-2010 Symphony Series, two tickets to any 2009-2010 Pops concert in East Haven, and two tickets to the NHSO’s performance of Handel’s Messiah in December 2009. Music Director William Boughton will introduce the event.

At 7:00 p.m. all attendees, patrons, and ticketholders will be invited for dessert and a silent auction at the Madison Art Cinemas. The film will be shown at 8 p.m. This 1981 film from the director of filmic bios on Stravinsky, Benjamin Britten, and Rachmaninoff is the only substantial film documentary on William Walton, who died in 1983.

Lisa L. Landa, an English Teacher at Daniel Hand High School, was recently recognized as Madison public schools 2010 Teacher of the Year. Landa was honored at the District Convocation held on August 26, 2009 and also by the Board of Education at their meeting on September 1, 2009. Landa started as a substitute teacher in the 1980s, and then worked as a paraprofessional in the special education department before becoming an English teacher, a job she’s held for 17 years.

It certainly sounds innocent enough — President Obama’s is scheduled to give a “Welcome Back to School” speech on Tuesday, September 8. But the occasion has Madison public schools officials jumping through hoops trying to figure out which students should have the opportunity to listen to the noontime speech, and how to accommodate those who choose not to.

A letter from schools Superintendent David J. Klein states that the focus of the speech will be on the importance of education, working hard, and staying in school. Klein said that Madison public schools officials have “thoroughly discussed this topic” and developed a plan that is intended to be “thoughtful and respectful.” The plan is as follows:

* Elementary Schools – The speech will not be televised. You may choose as a family to watch the speech at home.
* Brown Middle School – Grade 5 & 6 students will have an opportunity to view President Obama’s speech in one of two locations:
– Grade 5 Students – Library Media Center
– Grade 6 Students – Room #230.
The viewing of the speech will be optional for all students and if students choose not to watch the speech they will remain in their regularly scheduled class or activity with their teacher. Klein said that if parents do not want their children to watch the speech, they should communicate that to their children also notify the school administration of their intentions.
* Polson Middle School – Grade 7 & 8 students will have the opportunity to view President Obama’s speech in one of two locations:
– Grade 7 Students – Library Media Center
– Grade 8 Students – Cafeteria B (Students may eat their lunch and watch the speech).
The viewing of the speech will be optional for all students and if students choose not to watch the speech they may remain in their regularly scheduled class or activity. Again, Klein said that if parents do not want their children to watch the speech, they should communicate that to their children also notify the school administration of their intentions.
* DHHS – President Obama’s speech will be aired in some classrooms at DHHS where it is relevant to the instructional program. If parents do not want their children to watch the speech, they should communicate that to their children also notify the school administration of their intentions.

Klein said the school system does not intend to distribute or implement the companion lesson plans and activities associated with the President’s “Welcome Back to School” speech.

As a busy mom, a fulltime IT consultant at Pfizer in New London, Kimberly Terribile was initially hesitant about accepting the position of president of the Madison Newcomers. But her belief in the organization and its mission — welcoming new arrivals to Madison, CT and making them feel a part of the community — turned the tide. Terribile moved to Connecticut in 2003 from Michigan. She lived in Branford for 1 year and then spent 2 years in East Haddam. In 2007, she and her husband Justin moved to Madison. Although Justin grew up in Madison, she wanted to make new friends and meet other women with children. She decided to join Madison Newcomers and had an amazing experience, meeting many new people in the community. Terribile loves the Madison shoreline and the Madison community. She is exciting about giving back this year as president of the club. The first Newcomers meeting of the year is Tuesday, September 8, at Memorial Town Hall, and will include a “Taste of Madison” for women new to town from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., and then a general membership meeting from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Read more about it in The Source.

The Madison, Connecticut Police Department has introduced two new methods for the public to relay crime tip information. The Crime Tip Line is available by calling the routine number for the Madison Police Department (203-245-2721) and either asking for the Crime Tip Line, or selecting voice mailbox 222. Crime tips can be left anonymously on this line, or the caller can leave identifying information. Messages left in this voice mailbox will be checked routinely by members of the Department’s Criminal Investigation Division and Shift Supervisors.

The Department has also introduced a Crime Tip Email System. The public can email crime tips directly to the Department via: crimetips@madisonct.org Emails sent will be monitored routinely by members of the Departments Criminal Investigation Division and Shift Supervisors.

Using either method, callers and/or authors of emails should be as specific as possible in terms of the type of crime, time and date of occurrence, general information concerning the crime or activity, description of people involved and motor vehicles used. Neither the Crime Tip voice mailbox nor the Crime Tip email account are designed for filing official complaints with the Police Department and the public should not use either method to report emergency incidents or crimes in progress. Routine police complaints should be filed by calling the Department at 203-245-2721 and requesting police assistance. Emergency matters should be called in on the Department’s 911 Emergency line.

The State Mosquito Management Program announced today that mosquitoes trapped in Madison, Connecticut on August 18, 2009 tested positive for Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) virus. This is part of the State’s routine mosquito surveillance program, and four other towns have had positive test results for EEE this season. The species of mosquito that tested positive only feed on birds, but there is a chance that other species of mosquitoes can transmit this virus to humans and horses. Eastern equine encephalitis is a rare but serious disease caused by a virus that is spread by adult mosquitoes. On average there are 5 cases each year in the United States. There has never been a documented human case of EEE in Connecticut, but the virus is found in birds and bird-biting mosquitoes that live near wetland habitats along the eastern seaboard from New England to Florida. In some years, high numbers of birds get infected favoring spread to the types of mosquitoes that bite both mammals and birds. These mosquitoes can then infect people and horses. EEE is not spread by people or horses with the disease. The risk of getting EEE is highest from late July through September. The State Mosquito Management Program and the Madison Health Department are closely monitoring this situation. Residents are urged to follow basic precautions to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes. More information is available at: http://www.ct.gov/mosquito/site/default.asp, http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/arbor/eeefact.htm,
or you may call John N. Bowers, Madison Health Dept. at 245-5614.

Madison, Connecticut resident Edward J. Safdie was sentenced Tuesday to 4 years and 3 month in federal prison for a fraud scheme revolving around his purchase of the Inn at Chester. According to documents filed with the federal district court in New Haven and statements made in court, in late 2002, Safdie approached Acorn Capital, a Greenwich-based assets lending firm, and said he needed $1 million to place in escrow to secure $3.5 million in financing in order to purchase The Inn at Chester. In January 2003, Safdie provided false and fraudulent documents to Acorn Capital that vastly overstated his personal wealth, including brokerage account statements that he fabricated. The securities named in the fabricated statements served as collateral for the loan, and Acorn Capital wired $1 million to Safdie. He then told Citizens Bank that the $1 million he received from Acorn Capital was his own, and that he was going to use the funds for a down payment on his purchase of The Inn at Chester. Safdie also provided false brokerage account statements to Citizens Bank and made other misrepresentations related to his personal wealth to the bank. On February 19, 2003, Safdie, operating through 318 Main LLC, purchased The Inn at Chester from a third-party for approximately $2.35 million. On that same date, he caused 318 Main LLC to sell The Inn at Chester to Quantum 318 LLC, which he also controlled, and did so using $3.5 million in loan proceeds obtained from Citizens Bank. Safdie then used the proceeds from the Citizens Bank loan to pay back the original $1 million Acorn Capital loan. Safdiei later conviinced Acorn Capital to provide him with a $2 million revolving loan facility, of which he drew down approximately $1.1 million. In 2005, using the Inn at Chester as security, Safdie refinanced the Inn and, by way of the refinanced mortgage, received approximately $4.5 million from Beal Bank of Plano, Texas. He then used a significant portion of the funds to repay the fraudulently obtained Citizens Bank loan. Eventually, Safdie failed to repay the Beal Bank loan, and Beal Bank foreclosed on The Inn. In February 2007, Beal Bank and SAFDIE entered into a stipulated judgment in which Beal Bank took title to the property. In April 2008, Beal Bank sold the property for a gross sales price of $2.45 million, significantly less than the $4.5 million mortgage. During Tuesday’s sentencing proceeding, Judge Janet Bond Arterton ordered Safdie to pay restitution of approximately $1.1 million to Acorn Capital.

Madison, Connecticut’s Michael Amatrudo has become the subject of widespread media coverage since Saturday, when he posted an offer to sell his parents on Craigslist. The 51-year-old insurance executive created the ad as a joke, inspired in part by the recent “Cash for Clunkers” program. Craigslist is a website that hosts local classified ads and community forums. Amatrudo wrote in his ad that he “got lots of use out of these guys over the past 50 years, but it’s time to move on.” He offered to sell or trade his parents for $155 or a younger set of parents, an Erector set, or a “hot blonde.” He included a photograph of his parents, Arlene and Ed Amatrudo. Amatrudo said he got a lot of responses, including inquiries about whether his parents would be willing to hitchhike to their new destination. Amatrudo’s parents have been great sports about his joke, he said. Read Amanda Pinto’s story in The Register.