2014 was a roller-coaster ride

WINSTED — This year brought a lot of changes to the town over the course of the year, many of them unexpected.

Quite a few town officials resigned over the course of the year.

This was probably the only year in the town’s history that three mayors served.

There were political fights and battles that have become commonplace in town.

It was also a surprise election year with a special election held in September.

Despite all of the arguments and political tussles, residents came together when there were times of need, or to participate in community wide events. 

Here was 2014, with all of its good and bad.

January

The First Church of Winsted held its 24th annual Boar’s Head Festival on Jan. 4 and Jan. 5. The festival is a recreation of an ancient processional celebrating Epiphany. 

The Planning and Zoning Committee voted to examine medical marijuana dispensary regulations at its Jan. 13 meeting.

The commission would eventually settle on regulations that would have cleared the way for Nutmeg State and Wellness Center to convert the former KFC restaurant on New Hartford Road.

However, in April the state granted a license to six medical marijuana dispensaries and Nutmeg State and Wellness Center did not make the cut.

On Jan. 17 it was announced that the state will be covering the entire cost of a $4.8 million project to repair the Holabird Avenue bridge.

The project was originally slated to start in 2015 but has been moved to 2016.

On Jan. 24, Former Finance Director Henry Centrella plead guilty to five charges of larceny in his appearance at Litchfield Superior Court.

Centrella was fired by the town in January 2013 and arrested in August 2013 by state police when he was suspected of embezzling at least $2.2 million in funds.

He was formally sentenced in April and, as part of a plea deal, he will serve 20 years in prison which will be suspended after 11 years, along with five years of probation.

February

On Feb. 7, more than 200 residents attended the eighth annual Bubbles and Truffles event held at Whiting Mills.

The event was a benefit for local organization Friends of Main Street.

On Feb. 11, the Board of Education voted Richard Dutton back onto the board due to the resignation of Monique Parks-Abreu.

Abreu submitted her resignation to the board in late January and cited “family and work responsibilities” for resigning.

On Feb. 22, a benefit dinner was held for 10-year-old Samantha Hall at Greenwoods Country Club. Samantha was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease in 2013.

On Feb. 23 Holabird bridge was closed to traffic.

The bridge was closed due to deep potholes in the deck, with some metal rebars sticking out from the potholes.

The bridge would reopen in May after a $37,613 project from Harwinton Paving to install bituminous asphalt on the bridge deck.

In late February, longtime United States Post Office (USPS) postal carrier Chuck Bascetta retired from the Winsted Post Office. Born and raised in Winsted, Bascetta served for 35 years for USPS.

In early February, Recreation Director Tricia Twomey resigned after working for the town for five years.

March

In early March, former Town Manager Paul Vayer was named the new executive director of the Winchester Housing Authority, replacing retiring Executive Director Fred Newman.

Vayer served as a town manager during the 1990s and as an interim town manager from January to March 2011.

He subsequently filed a discrimination complaint against the town with the state’s Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities in August 2011.

In March, after an executive session, the board voted to approve a settlement of the Vayer case by 6-1, with Selectman Candy Perez as the lone dissenting vote.

On March 6, a  ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to open Carriage Maker Place, located at 19 Gay St.

The 32 apartment senior housing complex, which is operated by the Winchester Housing Authority, stands where dilapidated houses and buildings once stood.

On March 12 Finance Director Robin Manuele submitted her resignation. She was hired by the town in February 2013.

Manuele did not state a reason for her resignation in an interview with The Winsted Journal.

In the early part of March, longtime town Treasurer Spencer Monroe submitted his resignation.

Monroe worked for the town for more than 20 years and did not specify his reason for resignation.

In late March, Economic Development Director Dick Labich announced that two manufacturing businesses would move out of town: AllPoints Food Service Parts and Supplies, which relocated to Lumberton, N.J., and Tangent Industries, which moved to Torrington.

On March 29, Winsted Native Kevin Smith, 22, was found dead due to an apparent heroin overdose in Torrington.

According to a press release by the Torrington Police Department, Smith was found dead by department members who were responding to a medical emergency.

April

In the beginning of April, Batcheller Early Education Center Principal Clay Krevolin announced he would be retiring at the end of the 2013-2014 school year.

Krevolin previously served as the principal of Pearson Middle School for nine years and served as the principal for Batcheller since 2012.

On April 3, after serving only five months in office, Republican Lisa Smith resigned.

She did not cite a reason for resignation in her letter to the town clerk’s office or respond to requests for comments from The Winsted Journal.

On April 7, Selectman Robert Vogt submitted his resignation.

“... There were certain circumstances that have led to my decision,” Vogt said in an email to Town Manager Dale Martin. “I feel at this time like my opinions on the future of this town are very different than fellow board members.”

In light of the resignations, the Winsted Democratic Party announced that they would start a petition drive for a special election to fill the seats.

The petition drive took place in front of the Winsted Post Office on April 12 and gathered 427 signatures along with protests against the Democratic party from Winchester Independent Party Chairman David LaPointe.

In late April at a selectmen’s meeting, the signatures were determined by Town Clerk Sheila Sedlack to be enough for a special election to take place. The special election was scheduled for September.

In the meantime, the Republican majority of the Board of Selectmen chose Marsha Sterling to fill out Smith’s term as mayor and former selectman Glenn Albanesius to fill out Vogt’s term at the April 7 meeting.

On April 10, Superintendent of Schools Thomas Danehy submitted his resignation to the school district.

Danehy, a West Hartford resident, was originally hired by the Board of Education in July 2011. 

One day after Danehy submitted his resignation on April 11, Public Works Director Neil Amwake submitted his resignation. Amwake was hired by the town in June 2013.

Neither town employee would give their reasons for resignations in their resignation letters.

May

In early May, the Laurel City Commission announced that the long running Laurel Ball and Parade were both cancelled.

The event was a town tradition for some 79 years.

However, a one-day Laurel Festival event took place on June 8 at East End Park.

On May 9, resident Weston Parent, 23, was arrested and charged by the Winchester Police Department with an alleged stabbing incident at the Gilbert Clock Shop Apartment building on 13 Wallens St.

According to the department, Parent allegedly stabbed Louis Colon, 22, multiple times in the abdomen and extremities.

The 78th annual Pet Parade was held on Saturday, May 17. Hundreds of spectators watched as marching bands, costumed children and their pets marched down Main Street.

The town honored fallen veterans with Memorial Day celebrations on May 26. A parade down Main Street took place along with commemorations at various soldier memorials throughout town.

On May 29, Northwestern Connecticut Community College held its 48th commencement ceremony. At the ceremony, 176 students graduated in 25 fields.

On May 31 at Pearson Middle School, residents approved the proposed town budget for fiscal 2014-15 on the first try. The vote was 758-531.

The adopted budget is $32,515,357, approximately $1,179,010 less than last year’s town budget of $33,694,367, with the mill rate set at 31.91 mills.

June

On June 8, Sarah Martin, 18, was crowned the Laurel Queen at the 80th annual Laurel Festival at East End Park. She won a $1,000 scholarship as part of winning the event.

On June 17, Anne Watson was named as the new superintendent of schools by the Board of Education. Watson’s salary is $149,000 for the 2014-15 school year.

On June 18, Northwestern Regional High School held its 56th graduation ceremony at the Warner Theater. At the ceremony, 201 students from Barkhamsted, Colebrook, New Hartford and Norfolk graduated.

On June 25, The Gilbert School held its 119th commencement ceremonies. Seventy-eight students graduated in the class of 2014.

On June 30, Tanya Risucci was named as the town’s new recreation director.

July

On July 12, the Highland Lake Watershed Association held their annual boat parade. Boats decked out in various decorations, along with people in costumes, paraded all around the lake.

On July 18, the town hired Brenda Fox-Howard as its new finance director. Howard started working for the town on Aug. 4.

Also on July 18, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced that the town is designated to receive a $500,000 grant from the state’s Small Town Economic Assistance Program (STEAP) to assist with costs of redeveloping the old Lambert Kay building at 32 Lake St.

Malloy traveled to town to make the announcement and he held a press conference with Mayor Sterling and other town officials. 

On July 21, a special town meeting was scheduled to be held to decide on whether or not to approve a plan for XS4D Entertainment Gaming Holding Co. LLC of Fountain Hills, Ariz., to purchase the Lambert Kay property on 32 Lake St.

However, Mayor Marsha Sterling asked residents to vote on delaying the meeting because she said “the company has requested to delay this town meeting regarding Lambert Kay.”

A few weeks later, at a special selectmen’s meeting on July 31, the selectmen voted unanimously to stop negotiations with XS4D effectively killing the deal. 

At a special Board of Education meeting on July 10, members voted to hire Holly Martin as the new principal for Batcheller Elementary School.

Martin previously worked as the assistant principal for Meadow Brook School in East Hartland, Mass. from 2009 until this year.

On July 23, Matthew O’Connell resigned as principal of Pearson Middle School. He worked in the Winchester School district for nine years.

O’Connell went on to serve as the Principal of The Botelle school in Norfolk.

On July 31, Carol Cox resigned from the Board of Education. Cox was voted in at the 2013 municipal election, but she only attended the Nov. 19 and Feb. 11 board meetings.

August

Tension surrounded a special selectmen’s meeting on Aug. 5. The meeting had only one agenda item “executive session: personnel matter regarding the town manager.”

Sixty residents attended the meeting, and Town Manager Martin asked for the meeting to be held in open session. After Martin’s request, Mayor Sterling adjourned the meeting.

Audience members loudly booed and jeered the Republican majority as they walked out of the meeting.

The special meeting set up what happened at a special selectmen’s meeting on Aug. 14 when the Republican majority voted to suspend Martin.

Mayor Sterling read several pages of charges against Martin at the meeting as audience members, once again, loudly booed and jeered.

The Winchester Fire Department held its annual carnival from Aug. 13 to Aug. 16.

A parade was held on Aug. 16 that included members of the fire department and department members from other towns.

On Aug. 26, Rista Malanca was chosen by the Board of Education to fill the rest of Carol Cox’s term.

At the same meeting the board voted to hire Barbara Silverio as the new principal of Pearson Middle School.

On Aug. 29, Gov. Malloy visited the American Mural Project to announce that the state has awarded the project a $1 million challenge grant.

If the project raises $1.4 million by Aug. 31 2015, the state will award $1 million in order to complete it.

September

On Sept. 13, voters ousted Republican Marsha Sterling from the Board of Selectmen at a special election. Democrat Steven Sedlack was elected to the board along with Republican Glenn Albanesius.

On Sept. 15, the Board of Selectmen unanimously voted to reinstate Town Manager Dale Martin.

On Sept. 23, first term Selectman Candace Bouchard was chosen as the town’s new mayor at a special board meeting.

October 

On Oct. 4, the second annual Ragtime ball was held at the Elks Club #844. Over 40 residents attended the event, most of them dressed in ragtime-era clothing.

In mid-October, the town and a mortgage company started foreclosure proceedings against a Utah company that owns the former Laurel Hill Healthcare property on 108 East Lake St.

The facility was supposed to open but never did.

At their meeting on Oct. 20, the Republican majority on the Board of Selectmen voted not to vote back in Planning and Zoning Commission Chairman Michael Peacock back onto the commission. Peacock’s five-year term was up at the end of October.

November

On Nov. 9, Torrington resident Benjamin Steen, 21, drowned in Highland Lake. The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection determined that the drowning was caused by a boating accident.

December

Finally, all throughout the month of December, holiday celebrations were held throughout the town.