WINSTED — Under a mandate to do so from the state, the Winchester Board of Selectmen still has not developed a plan to provide the minimum funding required for this year’s school budget.Selectmen did not vote on how to fund the 2011-12 minimum budget requirement (MBR) during their meeting on Monday, Feb. 6. Instead, the board authorized Town Manager Dale Martin to meet with Town Attorney Kevin Nelligan to discuss the issue.The vote on the measure was five to two and was along political party lines, with Democratic Mayor Maryann Welcome and selectmen George Closson, Michael Renzullo, Candy Perez and James DiVita all voting for the motion.Republican selectmen Ken Fracasso and Glenn Albanesius voted against the motion.History of the MBRThe approved action by the selectmen is just the latest on what has become a long-running saga on the approved town budget for fiscal 2011-2012.In late May, town voters approved a budget set forth by the selectmen that set education funding at $18,600,000, which is $1,358,149 below the state-mandated MBR.In August, Brian Mahoney, chief financial officer for the state Department of Education, told the town it was not compliant with the MBR and asked for the town to come up with the remaining funds.In late November, the newly elected democratic majority on the Board of Selectmen approved a motion by Perez to fully fund the MBR.However, Perez put in her motion that town officials would be required to meet with Board of Education members and state officials to make sure that the school district is using proper accounting procedures and to address any financial discrepancies.Perez made the addition to her motion due to the release in November of an audit of the school system’s 2009-2010 fiscal year.The audit showed that as much as $636,000 in spending was not properly documented by the school district.In early December at a Board of Education meeting, Superintendent of Schools Thomas Danehy said the school district could prove the funds were properly spent. Danehy said the money was part of $1.1 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds that the school spent on salary payments to employees.As of Monday, almost six months after Mahoney told the town they were not compliant with the MBR, and almost four months after the Board of Selectmen voted to fund the MBR, the selectmen still did not reach a decision on how to fund it.Discussion at meetingAt the meeting, Town Attorney Nelligan told the selectmen that he had not been authorized by the town to research the issue and consult with Town Manager Martin.“You have not made any formal motion to do this,” Nelligan told the selectmen. “Obviously, I have thought about it. It has been hanging over you for months and months.”“I was working under the impression that both you and Dale were working to understand how to go about this,” Mayor Welcome told Nelligan.As part of the proposal, Martin presented a draft funding plan that would amend the budget by taking funds from budget-line items to fund the MBR.The draft funding plan was not directly voted on by the selectmen, but rather was given to the board by Martin as a “framework” for a potential future plan.In Martin’s draft funding plan, the funds to meet the MBR would come from a contingency line from the town’s fund balance of $735,000 and various available funds from budget lines and town departments.Also, payments to agencies outside of the town would receive reduced funding, including Foothills Visiting Nurses, Camp Lark, the Youth Service Bureau, the Susan B. Anthony Project, The Chore Service and other several agencies.Despite this, Martin said the town would still come up $54,000 short of funding the MBR if the “framework” was approved as is.Selectman Fracasso then brought up the issue of the estimated $636,000 that was allegedly not properly documented by the school district in school year 2009-2010.“When our auditor was here a few weeks ago, she was asked that, if the school district misappropriated funds in 2009-2010, what are the chances that this also happened in 2010-2011,” Fracasso said. “She said that if it happened in 2009-2010, then it probably happened in 2010-2011. If we are looking at $1.3 million we cannot account for, will we have to pony all of it up? Does this mean we will have to issue a supplemental tax? If we take all of this money that we are talking about tonight, I don’t think we will have anything let in the town coffers.”“We are going to have to spend it,” Mayor Welcome said. “The previous board decided to underfund the MBR, which is why we are in the position that we are in now.”“No, the taxpayers are the ones who voted on the budget,” Fracasso said. “We just put the budget forward.”Fracasso asked Nelligan to research whether it was legal for the Board of Selectmen to overturn a town budget once residents have approved it.Nelligan said he would research the issue.
Latest News
One systemic consequence of slavery is the loss and obscuring of the histories of those who were enslaved. Records were often not kept about where Africans had been stolen from or who they were related to. Families were torn apart, leaving nothing but the faintest traces of the past. The delineation point, where genealogists can no longer trace histories back, is refered to this as the “document wall.”
Today, 250 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence and more than 160 years since the Emancipation Proclamation, there is a growing effort to restore some of the history stripped from enslaved people and their descendants. Among the leaders of these efforts is Mills, president of the Alex Breanne Corporation, a nonprofit organization that works to identify previously anonymous Black Americans from history and connect them with their living relatives.
The work began with Mills’ sister, who started digging into their family’s past in the 1990’s and introduced him to this emerging world of genealogy. Through that process, the Mills family discovered their great-great-grandfather, Ned Mills, who had been enslaved in Texas. His last name came from his final enslaver and remains the family surname. Through their research, they found that the document wall directly affected their ancestor, who learned of his liberation on June 19, 1865, now commemorated as Juneteenth.
“For the first time,” Mills writes on his website, “American slavery wasn’t something that had happened to anonymous people in a history book. It had happened to my family.”
The discovery gave Mills a familial pride he had been missing for years. That pride fueled his desire to help others find their own history. In 2023, Mills received his certificate in genealogical research from Boston University. He has used his expertise to help descendants of enslaved people uncover histories they never dreamed of learning.
To do this, he uses a process called “reverse genealogy,” identifying a person from the past and working forward to discover their descendants. Along the way, Mills has found some remarkable people who fought for freedom on American soil, some of whom were never freed.
Pay Bill for Robin Starr’s service in the Continental Army.Courtesy the Alex Breanne Corporation
At the Cornwall Historical Society event, Mills will present the stories of four Connecticut families: Job Lathrop of Norwich, the son of Pirmus Armes, about whom Mills has published a book; Prince Mortimer of Middletown, also the subject of a book by Mills;, the three sons of London Wallace of Simsbury; and Robert “Robin” Starr of Danbury, who later lived in Cornwall and Sharon.
A few years ago, Cornwall Consolidated School social studies teacher Will Vincent reached out to Mills for research guidance on a local history project his students were undertaking. Together, they learned about Naomi Freeman of Cornwall. After purchasing an acre of land on Great Hollow Road in 1828, Naomi Freeman became the first Black female landowner in Cornwall.
The students petitioned the town to rename a road after the historic Cornwall resident In April 2025, Great Hollow Road was officially renamed Naomi Freeman Historic Road. U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes joined Mills and the Cornwall Consildated School students for a presentation of their research.
Since then, Mills has guided the students in their quest to learn more about Starr’s story. Starr was a Revolutionary War soldier who joined the Continental Army to earn enough money to buy his own freedom, receiving the Badge of Merit in the process. The stories of his descendents’ services are equally worthy of their own books.
In recognition of Mills and the students’ work, First Selectman Gordon Ridgway proclaimed Feb. 8 as Robin Starr Day.
Preregistration is required for the event at the Cornwall Historical Society. To learn more about Mills’ work, visit
alexbreanne.org.
John Mills speaking at Quinnipiac University.Courtesy the Alex Breanne Corporation
Stephanie Saetta runs Charlie Chicken Bones, a sanctuary in Salisbury.
Dogs have been at the center of Saetta’s life since childhood. She remembers going to the library to research different breeds and trying to convince her parents the family needed a dog. She had her heart set on an Irish Wolfhound, but she was more than happy when her mom brought home a West Highland terrier.
After college, she adopted Charlie as a puppy from a rescue on Long Island. He was a hound-shepherd-Rottweiler mix who suffered from intense seizures. Some veterinarians recommended euthanasia, but Saetta wasn’t ready to give up on him.
When Charlie would have an episode, she would sit with him, nose to nose, talking him through it. She learned to look for the moment he began to come around — when he could smell her again and his tail started to wag.
“You only get one or two of these soul connection dogs, so I do this in his honor,” Saetta said. “I like to think that all the dogs that come through are going to have that person that they connect with just the same.”
Through a network of women working to rescue animals in Texas, she learned about the desperate situations facing many dogs.
With limited space, some public pounds euthanize even healthy animals to make room. Limited access to veterinary care leaves sick dogs or unvaccinated puppies especially vulnerable.
Saetta saw that reality firsthand with a puppy named Gus, a Labrador mix she fostered who has since been adopted. Gus and his sisters had been dumped beside a road, where they were living under an abandoned car. People would leave food for them, but no one would take them to the pound.
“Even the people who rescue animals down there were like, ‘sadly, the best place for them to be is on the side of the road,’” she said. “That’s safer. Someone might actually help them that way.”
Saetta knows that there are far more dogs than any one person can save, but she also knows that helping one dog means one fewer on the street.
Stephanie Saetta,with her rescue dog George and Blue (left), a shepherd mix awaiting his forever home.Madi Long
Charlie Chicken Bone Sanctuary operates entirely through foster homes, a model that Saetta believes is best for the dogs and the humans hoping to adopt them.
Rather than moving directly from a difficult environment into a permanent home, the dogs have a chance to settle into a quieter setting. They can learn what it’s like to live with a family, sleep somewhere comfortable and receive affection without fighting for attention. Fostering also allows the rescue to really get to know each dog.
“As fosters, we’re honest,” said Saetta. We’ll tell you everything that’s been bad, everything that’s been good. What their temperament is and how they’ve responded to all the things they’ve experienced.”
A successful adoption is not just about finding a dog a home; it’s about finding the right home where the dog and family can thrive together.
Saetta is looking for more people willing to open their homes to foster dogs. She understands that the thought of growing attached and eventually saying goodbye can feel daunting. But she sees that goodbye a little differently.
Fostering means being part of a dog’s journey, even if only for a short time. It gives dogs a safe place to rest, the chance to trust again and the love they have gone without for much of their lives. And when the time comes for them to leave, it is not really a loss. It is the reward of knowing they are moving on to a forever home.
Blue, Saetta’s current foster, is hoping to find his perfect home.
Blue, a 7 year-old Shepard mix, is waiting for his forever home. Madi Long
Now around 7 years old, Blue spent most of his life wandering the streets of Texas. People sometimes left food out for him, but his mangy, dirty coat kept them from stopping to pet him. Today, he has a chance to experience something different.
Blue is still waiting for his forever home. Saetta believes he would do best as the only dog in a household or alongside another senior dog. He will need someone willing to continue working with him on his training and understand that a dog with his history needs patience.
But what he gives in return is a whole lot of love.
“He’s so enthusiastic, he’s so excited for life, he’s so friendly, and he’s got such a good heart, and he loves to cuddle,” Saetta said. “He’s a good, good, good dog.”
For more information on adopting Blue or how to foster, visit ccbsanctuary.org.
Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.
