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Animal Control Officers from several towns worked together rescuing 27 dogs March 18 in Winsted.
Photo by Jennifer Almquist
WINSTED — An organized search for a missing dog and an investigation by Winchester Police Department, Harwinton Regional Animal Control and Suffolk County New York District Attorney’s office led to the recovery of more than two dozen dogs in the early hours of March 18.
A press release later that day stated two warrants were served to Sarah Smolak at her Winsted home. She was arrested on two counts of cruelty to animals and transferred to Torrington Superior Court to be held on $150,000 bond.
In a follow up interview, Winchester Chief of Police Chris Ciuci said, “The number of dogs rescued is 27. The teams are still doing their work here. There were dogs loose, there were dogs in crates.”
“The search warrant is sealed so we can’t share any details associated with those investigations, or that search,” said Ciuci.
Each rescued dog will receive veterinary care and will be tagged and documented.Photo by Jennifer Almquist
Marshmallow, the missing dog that prompted the search, was not among the 27 dogs rescued on March 18.
The search began in January when the team at Angels for Mistreated Animals animal shelter, which initially rescued and rehabilitated Marshmallow before placing him in Smolak’s care in December 2024, stopped receiving updates from Smolak.
The animal shelter is a Brooklyn, New York-based, no-kill animal shelter with a mission to safeguard and rehabilitate animals that have experienced the most severe cases of abuse, neglect and abandonment.
After a month of no communication, Angels for Mistreated Animals learned that Smolak was fostering dogs from numerous agencies. A team of volunteers intervened in February.
Michele Walsh, board member of Angels for Mistreated Animals, coordinated a meetup with Smolak. “We were able to get seven dogs out of Sarah Smolak’s home in Winsted the night of Feb. 25,” she said.
Walsh said these seven dogs were in “grave condition” and were taken to a safe home on Long Island.
The dogs rescued from Winsted crossed state lines, prompting District Attorney Ray Tierney, of Suffolk County in New York, to open an investigation. Suffolk County’s BEAST Unit — which stands for Biological, Environmental and Animal Safety Team — began coordinating with Winchester Police and Harwinton Animal Control.
As for the 27 dogs rescued on March 18, Chief Ciuci said, “Every dog is being tagged, documented, will be examined by a vet, is being cared for, housed and treated, mostly by Harwinton Regional Animal Control. They had to enlist the help of the Torrington Animal Control.”
The investigation remains open and individuals with relevant information are asked to contact WPD at 860-379-2721.
Great Dane was among the 27 rescued dogs in Winsted March 18.Photo by Jennifer Almquist
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The Mountaineer cheer squad amps up team spirit in front of a pink-themed student section during rivalry night against Lakeview High School on Feb. 5.
Photo by Riley Klein
FALLS VILLAGE — Housatonic Valley Regional High School basketball games this year had more spirit than in years past thanks to the return of courtside cheerleaders.
Founded by senior captain Taylor Terwilliger, the Mountaineer cheer team was reformed this winter for the first time since 2005. When asked what inspired her to bring the squad back to life, she said, “I found my voice last year.”
From left, Taylor Terwilliger, Vi Salazar, Elizabeth Allyn and Soren Trivelli make up the newly reformed cheer squad at Housatonic Valley Regional High School.Photo by Riley Klein
Terwilliger began her cheer career two years ago, teaming up with Gilbert School and Northwestern Regional High School cheerleaders on the sideline of Gilbert/Northwestern/Housatonic co-op football games. She attempted to form a cheer team for HVRHS basketball games last year, but there was not enough interest in the school.
“We didn’t have enough and according to coach, she said that they’ve been trying to start one since my freshman year, which was 2021,” said Terwilliger.
Cheer coach Melissa Colman cheered on the last school squad in 2004-’05. She now teaches at Salisbury Central School.
This year HVRHS junior Elizabeth Allyn and freshmen Soren Trivelli and Vi Salazar joined the GNH cheer team. When the football season ended, Terwilliger kept the group together to bring back Mountaineer cheer.
“We practice twice a week,” Terwilliger said. “And before games too,” added Allyn.
Aspects of competitive cheer, such as vaulting, were incorporated into the group's routine.Photo by Riley Klein
The team began cheering for boys and girls basketball during the recent season. They performed halftime shows at home games and created new chants and choreography with some help from their coach, the GNH squad and the internet.
“We also had some influence on the themes,” said Trivelli, referring to coordination of themed outfits in the student section such as neon, pink-out and Hawaiian. “We made the themes really pop off,” said Terwilliger.
Cheerleading is a varsity sport in Connecticut with a minimum team size of seven needed to compete. Berkshire League schools will participate in a season of cheer meets next year and HVRHS is hopeful to take part.
Allyn mentioned an upcoming summer clinic with cheerleaders from across the region. It will be held at Northwestern Regional High School.
“It’s to recruit and let people get the feel of it,” said Allyn. “And just to get more experience,” Salazar noted.
Contact HVRHS Athletic Director Anne MacNeil at amacneil@hvrhs.org for more info.
Halftime shows returned to HVRHS basketball games this year.Photo by Riley Klein
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Health center advocacy group launches legal action over ‘inadequate’ Medicaid reimbursement
Mar 13, 2025
An exam room at Community Health and Wellness Center in North Canaan.
Photo by Riley Klein
NORTH CANAAN — The new federally qualified health center in North Canaan has treated more than 1,000 patients since opening its doors last summer to strong demand in the Northwest Corner. However, operators of that facility, and others like it in Connecticut, said they are facing a “serious financial crisis” because Medicaid reimbursements have failed for decades to cover the actual costs of providing essential services.
In response to the longstanding problem, the not-for-profit Community Health Center Association of Connecticut has filed a Declaratory Ruling Request with the state Department of Social Services regarding that agency’s legal obligations for setting and revising Medicaid reimbursement rates for the state’s federally qualified health centers, also referred to as FQHC’s.
The legal action follows more than 18 months of administrative rate requests and unsuccessful negotiations with DSS, according to a statement issued by the association on March 11, which noted:
“After great effort made by the FQHC’s to work with DSS and reach resolution, the offer made by DSS offers inadequate rate adjustments, failing to address the FQHCs’ financial concerns, and requires them to surrender their due process rights under the law.”
Joanne Borduas, who chairs the association’s board of directors, said DSS’s offer was for “less than reasonable costs and came with unacceptable policy stipulations that we would be made to agree to in order to get the grossly inadequate proposed rate rebasing, which would be paid over a four-year schedule.”
“Our request to DSS was clear,” said Borduas, who also serves as CEO of Community Health and Wellness Center of Greater Torrington which also has centers in North Canaan and Winsted.
“We want DSS to follow the Federal law and compensate us accordingly so we can continue to care for our most vulnerable populations, and we need that to happen now because our 440,000 patients, 264,000 of whom are enrolled in Medicaid across our FQHC network, need us.”
Borduas noted that the decision to move forward comes after years of CHC/ACT and health centers making “good faith efforts” to get this important process changed to comply with federal law.
She said the financial strain on the state’s health centers has reached a point where vital services are at severe risk, including those under the umbrella of Community Health and Wellness Center.
“As of now we continue to operate without additional cuts or layoffs, however, it is difficult to fill vacant positions. It is difficult to recruit in this environment. We need to stay competitive with workforce wages in order to recruit providers, and that is difficult to do.”
She added that “We cannot provide raises for our staff who are extremely valuable, care about our mission and the people we serve and who work hard every day, and we cannot think of expanding services to meet community needs because there is an associated cost.”
In response to Declaratory Ruling Request filed with the state Department of Social services, that agency’s spokesperson, Christine Stuart reported on March 13 that the department acknowledges receipt of the request and “shall be analyzing and responding in due course and in compliance with statutes pertaining to petitions of state agencies for a declaratory ruling.”
DSS 2024 report: state’s method cost effective
In 2024, the Department of Social Services issued a “final report” into the state’s Medicaid program which found the state’s operating methods to be “cost-effective and high-performing, while identifying some areas where further improvements can be made.”
The analysis, which was conducted by Accenture and Manatt at the request of the state, evaluated the current program’s cost efficiency, quality and access, “while also exploring whether other models of operations could be an improvement over the current system, which operates through an administrative services organization model.”
The report found that Connecticut’s program “stands out as a model of cost-efficiency, with per capita spending 14% lower than the average of most northeastern states, and administrative costs significantly lower than managed care states (3.8% vs. 9.4%).”
The DSS “final report” further noted: “It also shows that the state is meeting national benchmarks to provide reliable service delivery while maintaining fiscal responsibility and is performing above the median on approximately 70% of national adult and child quality measures,” and suggests other states “could benefit from reviewing Connecticut’s program as a blueprint to achieve similar results.”
The Community Health Center Association of Connecticut is not convinced.
It maintains that as the state’s health centers begin to “suspend vital services, freeze hiring and deplete their cash reserves,” they have been left with no choice other than to pursue legal remedies. “They are not seeking special treatment, but simply asking DSS to follow the law as written.”
CHWC’s dental services ‘not sustainable’
Speaking to her experience as CEO of Community Health and Wellness Center of Greater Torrington, Borduas explained that adjusted rates for medical and mental health were received by the state Department of Social Services for adding the North Canaan Health Center.
“Medical rates per our 2024 cost per Medicaid patient leaves a $122.48 gap between reimbursement and cost per patient. This difference,” she noted, “is what we lose for every patient enrolled in Medicaid that we care for.”
Behavior health is better compensated, said Borduas, but dental, which was offered at Community Health and Wellness Center’s Torrington and Winsted locations, is compensated $137.15 below 2024 costs and as a result, “CHWC has had to unfortunately suspend our dental services having incurred $350,000 in losses for restorative care in 2024.”
That included services like dentures, bridges, crowns and root canals, and an analysis of full services is in process and will likely yield greater losses, said Borduas. “The low Medicaid reimbursement that applies to 60% of our patients, the large gaps in payments are simply not sustainable.”
440,000 patients served by FQHC’s
Connecticut’s federally qualified health centers provide critical medical, dental and behavioral healthcare to more than 440,000 of the state’s neediest and most marginalized residents.
On average, 60% of patients at the statewide centers have Medicaid coverage, where their care cannot be denied, according to the association.
“The FQHC’s need a rate-setting process that makes sense and follows the law, to ensure that all Connecticut residents, regardless of their income or background, can continue to access the care they need,” added Borduas.
Shawn K. Frick, CEO of the Community Health Care Association of Connecticut, noted that “The Connecticut legislature has been consistently supportive of our work, but our attempts to address this issue through the legislative process have been consistently opposed by the administration.”
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Employment Opportunities
Mar 13, 2025
LJMN Media, publisher of The Lakeville Journal (first published in 1897) and The Millerton News (first published in 1932), is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit news organization.
We seek to help readers make more informed decisions through comprehensive news coverage of communities in Northwest Connecticut and Eastern Dutchess County in New York.
We currently have the following positions open.
Audience Development Editor
The Lakeville Journal and The Millerton News seek an Audience Development Editor to expand and engage our readership across digital platforms. In this role, you will select stories for wider distribution, craft and write engaging promotions, and leverage social media and other digital channels to help inform and educate our communities and broaden our reach.
Working closely with editorial and business teams, you will analyze audience data to refine strategy, identify and execute new growth opportunities, and continually enhance best practices for attracting and retaining readers. If you thrive in a collaborative, fast-paced environment and have a strong interest in connecting communities through local journalism, please email your resume and cover letter to James Clark, publisher@lakevillejournal.com.
Full-time Reporter
The Millerton News is seeking a news reporter to cover Harlem Valley towns, including Millerton/North East, Amenia, Millbrook/Washington and Pine Plains and school districts.
Are you interested in your local news scene? Here is a chance to report on community news, business news, the environment, government, police and all the issues that affect the lives of Millerton News readers.
Writing skills and basic knowledge of how New York government functions are a must.
Email Resume and Writing Samples to James Clark, publisher@lakevillejournal.com.
LJMN Media is an equal opportunity employer.
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