Milestones And Honors For Newtowners In 2007

By Nancy K. Crevier

It is, of course, people that make a place special. For some, honor is bestowed upon them. For others, adventure calls and they must answer. Yet others follow their passions or share their skills and knowledge. In 2007, The Newtown Bee had the privilege of telling the stories of just some of the many marvelous souls that make up this town.

There is a sense of peace about Joan Nickerson but this sense of grace was not always so easy for her and her family. When her youngest of three children was diagnosed in 1984 as bipolar/schizophrenic, her world was thrown into turmoil. Through Interlude, a mental health agency in Danbury, Ms Nickerson and her family regained a sense of order. She, in turn, has given back to the clinic through her volunteer services. Her unwavering devotion to the mental health agency did not go unnoticed. On May 4 Ms Nickerson was honored for 15 years of volunteer service to Interlude, Inc at the Interlude 10th Annual Community Support Awards Breakfast.

Judge William Lavery, Chief Court Administrator, was surprised and honored to add 2007 Labor Day Parade Grand Marshal to an already long list of recognitions over his 40-year career. He has been vice president and president of the Connecticut Judges Association, former co-chair of the Legal Internship Committee, and a member of the Judicial Performance Evaluation Committee. From 1981 until 1989, Judge Lavery was Judge of Superior Court, and Judge of Appellate Court in 1989. He served on the Advisory Committee on Appellate Rules from 2002 until 2006 and from 2000 to 2006 served as Chief Appellate Judge, before being named Chief Court Administrator in February of 2006. Judge Lavery’s commitment to the town and to the C.H. Booth Library, where he served on the board of trustees for 14 of the years between 1991 and 2007, made him the perfect representative for the Labor Day Parade, the theme of which was “C.H. Booth Library: Keeping Us Reading For 75 Years.”

Terry Stoccatore was the guest of honor at a June 1 retirement party. After 20 years as the clerk at Botsford Post Office, Thursday, May 31, marked Mrs Stoccatore’s last day. She was also honored at that time with a US Postal Service Certificate for Twenty Years of Service and presented with a 20-year pin.

The Newtown Board of Realtors named Eileen Brooks as Realtor of the Year at a luncheon and ceremony held Thursday, June 21, at Rock Ridge Country Club. Ms Brooks is a realtor with Century 21 Home Services and is president of the Newtown Board of Realtors.

As 2007 got underway, Doctor Henry “Hank” Gellert, known for 30 years to thousands of residents for his patient-friendly practice on Church Hill Road, handed over the reins of his practice to Dr Joshua E. Baum, a trusted associate with whom he worked closely for the past three years.

Dr William Snyder, who founded the Dental Associates on Church Hill Road, also said goodbye as he prepared for his December 31 retirement from the practice after 37 years, many of which were in the Newtown office.

Members of Newtown Congregational Church, friends, and family gathered August 26 to bid farewell to interim minister Reverend Lee Moore. Rev Moore filled the position of senior minister at the Newtown church on a temporary basis since July 2005. He was succeeded in September by the Reverend Matthew Crebbin.

Library Director Janet Woycik celebrated 25 years of service at the helm this September. She has been instrumental in many updates to the C.H. Booth Library and in 1995, she began her push for what would be one of the most monumental tasks she has taken on: the 23,000-square-foot addition to the library. The expansion allowed the library to nearly quadruple its book collection and increase the number of programs offered to adults and children of the community.

For 20 years, Peggy Jepsen has served as court probate clerk in Newtown, serving first under Judge Merlin Fisk, and since 1991, under Judge Margot S. Hall. Probating wills, administering estates, overseeing living trusts, determining title, appointing guardians, terminating parental rights, granting adoptions, granting name changes, and committing the emotionally ill to the proper facility are just some of the areas that probate courts cover, each with its own forms. So, for two decades, Ms Jepsen has walked people through the intimidating forms.

Also celebrating an anniversary this year was Michael Sorrentino, who 30 years ago turned the 1,000-square-foot Teeny’s Hardware Store in the Queen Street Shopping Center into the iconic Newtown Hardware Store, now located on Church Hill Road.

R. Scudder Smith, editor of The Newtown Bee for 35 years, announced in July the immediate appointment of Curtiss Clark to the position of editor at The Newtown Bee. The appointment of Mr Clark heralds the first time since 1881 that a name other than Smith follows the title of editor in The Bee’s masthead. At the same time, Mr Smith announced the promotion of David Smith from associate editor of Antiques and The Arts Weekly to managing editor of that publication and Sherri Smith Baggett was appointed business manager at The Newtown Bee, a position formerly held by Helen Smith.

It is the kind of trip people talk about all of their lives, but Arthur Upshur and his 19-year-old son Raleigh made it a reality. The two Upshur men spent the whole summer in the bike saddle, pedaling from San Francisco on a journey that spanned seven states between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans before ending near Machipongo, Va., on August 15. Via e-mails to The Newtown Bee, Arthur and Raleigh kept our community abreast of their many adventures. The 3,800-mile bike ride was dedicated to the memory of Raleigh’s 7-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Rupert Bear, with hopes that people would donate contributions to the Canine Advocates of Newtown.

Newtown resident Ellen Binio, 17, and 16-year-old Ruiqi (Ree-chee) Deng of Beijing had the opportunity this summer to compare and contrast their hometowns and lifestyles, thanks to an exchange program for youth sponsored by their mothers’ employer. Glorianne Garvin and Yanhang Wang work for sanofi-avantis pharmaceutical company and took advantage of the program that allowed their daughters to travel halfway around the world for new adventures.

Newtown resident and boys’ track coach for Bethel High School Yvonne Grimes also took a trip around the world. She was selected as one of two track officials in the United States to officiate at the October Special Olympics World Games in Shanghai, China. Ms Grimes left for China on September 29 and spent two weeks at the event that brings together mentally challenged athletes from all over the world.

Colonel Robert Knapp returned to his home in Sandy Hook from Iraq on June 18 after serving a year in Baghdad as a Department of Defense contractor. He shared his experiences and philosophy on serving his country with The Bee following his return to civilian life.

When longtime clients at Plumtrees Animal Hospital on Newtown Road in Danbury ask for an appointment with Dr Baff now, they have to be a bit more specific. Since August of this year, Dr Frederic K. Baff of Newtown, who opened the animal hospital there in 1981, has been joined in practice by his son, Dr Wesley Baff.

Mark Hanson of Stratford took over the position of postmaster at the Commerce Road Newtown Post Office on October 15. Mr Hanson came to Newtown from Derby, where he held the position of Acting Postmaster for the past four years.

It might come as a surprise to find that Sandy Hook is home to a full-fledged record label with its own artists, producers, and writers. Curt Urbina moved to Sandy Hook in early August with his wife, Michelle, and 4-year-old daughter, Lenie, from New York, bringing the record label formed in 2005 with his partner DJ ManX, with him. He discussed the changes in the music industry with The Bee this past year.

Music just happens in Newtown, it seems. Break Of Reality, made up of three cellists and a drummer, is a full-time job for band member Chris Thibdeau, an alumni of the Newtown School System’s music program. The band held a workshop this fall for Reed Intermediate students and a free public performance of their original music that fuses classical and rock sounds.

Where there is music there is theater, and for the first time, Sandy Hook resident and nationally known comedian Andrew Kennedy performed in his hometown. Right on the heels of the November 30 Ram Pasture tree lighting, Mr Kennedy lightened up Edmond Town Hall with his family humor, one of six Treehouse Comedy Productions events scheduled at Edmond Town Hall this year.

Since Robyn Gaines received her first American Girl Doll, Samantha, when she was just 4 years old, the 10-year-old Newtown girl has appeared on television to help promote the popular doll line, met Nancy Drew actress Emma Roberts, and attended numerous American Girl Doll events in the City. She shared her huge American Doll collection in an exhibit this fall at the C.H. Booth Library.

Josh Whitmore, the son of Rick and Eve Whitmore of Newtown, returned home November 14 from the island of Java in Indonesia with two years of what he termed “valuable lessons” under his belt. Josh, a sophomore at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, served a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). The purpose of his mission, as is true for all young LDS missionaries, was to share the gospel — something that posed a challenge in a nation where the majority is of the Muslim faith.

Calling it “One of my favorite jobs of all time,” Ever-Green Interiors’ owner John Kruzshak also returned home November 14 from not so far away, a three-day trip to Boston where he and three members of his interior landscaping staff installed the lighting for the 60-foot Christmas tree that welcomes shoppers to the Faneuil Hall Marketplace in the city’s North End.

Local and regional customers of Newtown Savings Bank have the chance to revel in her holiday creations this year as Jackie Shea, proprietor of Settings By Jackie Shea, has worked her decorating magic on the foyers and public spaces of the 12 Newtown Savings Bank offices in the region.

In 94 years, writer Mary Mitchell’s journeys have taken her across the ocean and around the United States, as well as over the hills and into the woods of Newtown, but it is a journey of far fewer miles that is the source of her latest publication, Exploring Newtown’s Land of Serendip, a bibliography of the 50 states culled from her reading about many of the 50 states of the union. She took a wealth of fascinating information tucked away on the bookshelves of our library and turned it into a state-by-state catalog full of off-the-beaten-track details about each state.

Thanks to local author Justin Scott, Ben Abbott is snooping around the fictional Connecticut town of Newbury again. Abbott, who comes to life under the skillful pen of Mr Scott, is featured once again in his newest book, Mausoleum, the fifth in a detective series that takes place in a New England village suspiciously similar to Newtown.

Charles Fulkerson added his name in 2007 to the list of published authors from Newtown. Mr Fulkerson, a Newtown resident, is the author and illustrator of The Great Steam Trains, a book that builds on his lifelong passion for trains.

Be proactive was the message from Betsy and Deryl Gaier in Sandy Hook. Check wiring periodically, test the smoke alarm, have a family fire plan in place, and hope for a lot of good luck on your side. When an electrical fire broke out at their Buttonball Drive home June 9, having a family plan and “the blessings of God,” said Betsy Gaier, and quick actions by her sons Marty, 16, and Andy, 12, turned what could have been a very damaging fire into practically a nonevent.

Local residents John Tucci, Bill Webb, and others had an Extreme Work Week through their involvement with the popular ABC reality show Extreme Makeover Home Edition hosted by Ty Pennington this summer in Bridgeport.

Scouts from Newtown Boy Scout Troop 270 gathered with dozens of other boys at Camp Sequassen’s Clark Field in New Hartford on Wednesday, August 1. They joined approximately one million other scouts worldwide who gathered that morning for a simple sunrise celebration commemorating the first scout camp, held August 1, 1907, at Brownsea Island in the United Kingdom.

Newtown resident Roxie Define, who served as a sergeant under General Omar N. Bradley in World War II from 1941 to 1945, was one of 100 veterans of World War II honored by the Honor Flight program in September. The national nonprofit organization flies armed forces veterans to Washington, D.C., to visit and reflect at memorials dedicated to the wars in which they fought.

On Sunday morning, September 30, Newtown resident Jim Bayles leaped into Lake Lillinonah in New Milford shortly after 6 am to begin a 22-mile swim that ended in Lake Zoar in Monroe. This was Mr Bayles’ 15th swim for charity, and his seventh swim to support the Epilepsy Foundation of Connecticut, an organization dear to his heart.