Thames River Times

Pride, Family, Legacy: Colonel wrestling program boasts 17 state titles, unrivaled history

2009-01-08T18:06:21Z

One voice, a calmly-delivered and succint tone, reverberates throughout the Ledyard High School wrestling practice in their vast dungeon of a training room, called “The Bomb Shelter.”

Amid the sounds of grunts, gasps, and pounding feet in the gymnasium’s cellar, new coach Jason Lanoue is the only individual talking throughout the two-hour workout. That is, unless he asks someone to speak.

Toward the end of practice, after 28 wrestlers finished their 10th 30-yard sprint to one side and back, Lanoue asked, “Boys, how are you feeling?’’

“Good, coach.”

Two words did the trick. Lanoue then blew his whistle, instructing the team to continue to sprint, completing three more rounds.

“I have a rule: when I speak, no one else speaks,” Lanoue said. “I tend to favor a very quiet training session. That’s the way it was when I wrestled. The coach spoke and taught, and the wrestlers listened.”

With his shaved head and flat stomach, Lanoue, 35, resembles a drill sargeant.

“I don’t think any teams will be better conditioned than us,” he said.

He means business and knows what it takes to win a championship. Ledyard’s wrestlers need only to check the Colonels’ fabled “Wall of Fame” in the training room to realize that, although they were fully aware of Lanoue’s unprecedented reputation.

Lanoue’s name stands out as one of only two Ledyard two-time New England champions—recently graduated T.J. Hepburn is the other—and as a 1991 All-America performer as well in the 140-pound class. As a junior Lanoue was 46-0 at 135 pounds in 1990 and as a senior he was a state-record 53-0 at 140 pounds in 1991. He received a full scholarship to wrestle at Syracuse University.

His wrestling resume is unmatched as he starts a new chapter in his first year as a scholastic coach.

“You just look up at the board and know he’s very decorated,” said Ledyard junior Shane Sullivan, a Class M champ as a 145-pound sophomore last year. “He’s giving us a lot of discipline and doesn’t tolerate any horsing around. I like it so far.”

Lanoue promises a different style than previous coach Steve Bilheimer, who resigned to coach Ledyard’s Middle School team in an attempt to travel less and spend more time with his young family. But Lanoue desires the same results because Ledyard wrestling boasts a winning tradition unlike any other sport in the area, if not the state.

The Colonels have won 17 state championships, including two straight and four in Bilheimer’s seven years (133-29 record overall). Only Ansonia football has won as many (17) CIAC state championships in any sport.

“Ledyard has a great football tradition,” said Sullivan, a starting linebacker who just finished playing in the Class M state championship game before beginning wrestling practice two days later. “But Ledyard wrestling blows it away.”

The program, which began in 1968, has won state titles in 1972 , 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1999, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2007, and 2008.

Perhaps when Bilheimer stepped down last spring, prospective coaches felt intimidated at the prospect of trying to live up to the program’s standards. Ledyard athletic director Pete Vincent surprisingly fielded few serious applications to become coach. Bilheimer even tinkered with the idea of returning, because the position was still open less than a month before the season opener Dec. 17.

“I was aware the position was unfilled, and Steve called me asking if, at best, I’d be interested in helping out from time to time,” Lanoue said. “I called him back and said, ‘Steve, how about if I become head coach. The time was right. I’ve started to coach my 8-year-old son Jacob, and to me, this is kind of a circle-of-life situation. I wanted to pass on all that I learned from wrestling about surviving when things don’t go well and all the positives from the sport.”

For Lanoue and countless others who have shone or simply participated in Ledyard wrestling, preserving and promoting the tradition of the program is not only a privilege but an obligation.

“One of the big reasons Ledyard wrestling is so successful is that so many alumni want to give back,” Lanoue said. “It’s always been a proud program, and I have an open-door policy for any Ledyard alumnus who wants to drop into a practice down here. They’re welcome.”

Lanoue joins esteemed company among Ledyard wrestling coaches. The father of the program, Rodney Leyland, compiled a 165-20-1 record and won five state titles from 1966 to 1980. He was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Lifetime Service contributor in 2004.

Lou Gabordi, principal of Ledyard High today, won five state crowns and was 103-10 from 1980 to 1987. Grant Murray won a state title from 1987 to 1988 (29-9-1 record), and Rob Murphy was 220-67, winning a pair of state crowns from 1989 to 2001. Bilheimer added four more state titles in his seven years.

“Ledyard wrestling represents a heck of a lot of pride,” Lanoue said. “It represents family, and it represents legacy. It’s like in baseball. What do the Yankees represent? Championships.”

Lanoue plans to carry on the legacy with many of the same techniques Leyland and Gabordi used to put the program on the map.

“Ledyard wrestling is strong on executing simple fundamentals and having an excellently conditioned team,” Lanoue said.

Lanoue practices what he preaches, dropping 30 pounds during the last year to weigh just five pounds over his championship wrestling weight of 140.

“It’s probably stress,” he said with a smile. “Actually, I did a lot of landscaping this summer and dropped the weight. The idea of coaching has become more appealing now than my son, Jacob, who is my life, has gotten involved in the sport. I like the idea of him seeing me continue the sport I love.”

Fathers and sons offer generational links in Ledyard’s proud history. Sullivan’s father, Michael, was a state class winner in the 1980s. Shane won Class M’s 140-pound title as a sophomore last year. His younger brother Brendan also participates.

Grant Murray’s brother, Charlie, was also a state champion.

Many fathers and recent alumni give back to the program, volunteering as coaches in the Ledyard Colonel Youth Wrestling Program that practices two days a week in the Bomb Shelter.

“It’s great to have such an active feeder program,” Lanoue said.

Bill Jones, who wrestled in school in Pennsylvania, became president of the Colonel Youth Program in 2003. He conceived a Web site to include information on the high school history, middle school program, and youth program. The site, ledyardcolonelwrestling.com, features the Wall of Fame, a list of Ledyard’s All-Americans, All-New England, and state champs.

“I thought it would be neat for everyone to get a look [and think] ‘Wow, what a history,’” he said. “Our philosophy is to keep it fun, keep having kids come into the room and teach them wrestling. It’s up to the parents if the kids want to travel to tournaments. I guess we’ll see in the next few years if this philosophy continues Ledyard’s winning tradition.”

Ledyard graduated 18 seniors from last season’s No. 2-ranked team in the state poll, Class M champ, and second-place State Open finisher behind Danbury. Notable graduates included All-New England 189-pounder Julian Hightower and 140-pound State Open champ C.J. Satti among others. Sullivan, Caleb Morth (140), and Dean Gilbert (135) are the top returning wrestlers for the Colonels, who were 2-0 and ranked 6th in the state poll heading into the new year.

“We lost a lot of seniors,” Sullivan said, “but we graduated 18 seniors in football. Even though I didn’t think we’d return to the states in football, we came within a minute of repeating as state champ. Therefore, I’m optimistic we’ll continue to be a power this year.”

By Larry Kelley
Special to the Times

Pop Culture - New Year’s Resolution: Stay Smart

2009-01-08T18:04:22Z

If there is a politician I would’ve liked to have had dinner with, it would have been Daniel Patrick Moynihan.

Moynihan, who authored nine books during his 24 years in the Senate, is generally regarded as the last academic-as-politician, able to reference the ancient Greeks and labor statistics in the same breath.

Plus, I think there would have been plenty of whiskey.

But if I do at times weep for the future, it is over the debate over the role of intellect in public life.

It’s as though we can’t decide if want to elect a president whom we want to have a beer with, or one who can tell you intricate details about molecular structure of Coors Light.

Supporters of Barack Obama will say they are taken with the president-elect’s posture as the professor-in-chief, while right wing detractors dismiss his academic tone as elitist.

Meanwhile, the modern American conservative movement founded by eggheads such as William F. Buckley, Jr. and Irving Kristol threw in with George W. Bush and Sarah Palin, for whom public incuriosity was an
election-winning strategy.

The most telling moment, for me anyway, of the election season circus, as reporters and bloggers were on constant Def-Con 5 alert for gaffes, was Palin’s comment about fruit fly research.

During a press event Palin was making a point about the federal government frittering away taxpayer money on projects that “really don’t make a whole lot of sense” and have “little or nothing to do with the public good. . . things like fruit fly research in Paris, France.”

Well, it turns out, that research into fruit flies has been valuable in the search for the causes of autism.

Now, I don’t have any proof of this, but I’m willing to wager that the fruit fly comment was a talking point meant to be humorous and innocuous.

Instead, it was especially embarrassing moment for the campaign, seeing how much they touted Palin’s sensitivity to families with special needs children.

But imagine for a second if at a press conference Obama gave a dissertation on how fruit flies are an integral part of autism research.

Can you just hear the cable
television talk show hosts? “It’s Al Gore nerd-talk all over again.”

I’m sure Obama’s acolytes would have nodded along, in the same manner conservatives laughed along with Palin at Frenchies dissecting fruit flies.

Now that scene wouldn’t have happened, not the least of which because Obama is a much better politician than either Palin or McCain would dream of being.

After all, this supposed left-wing change messiah hired his opponent Hillary Clinton as secretary of state and invited Pastor Rick Warren, whose supporters helped ban gay marriage in California, to speak at his inauguration.

President Che Guevara this is not.

But I hope—there’s that word again—that Obama, who used the word “connotes” during an appearance on David Letterman and made me smile, continues to project his obvious intellect in public.

It’s not elitist to be the smartest guy in the room, especially when that room is the Oval Office.

And if maybe Obama can be a president that younger people look up to, maybe he’ll inspire them to know more tomorrow than they do today.

This is the opinion of Stephen Chupaska.

The Builder: Stephen George

2009-01-08T18:01:52Z

It's patently unfair to encapsulate a person with one word but Stephen George is a builder.

On one hand, it’s his job title.

As Connecticut College’s manager of planning, design and construction, he’s overseen the school’s building projects for the past 20 years.

And before that he worked building submarines at Electric Boat.

academic structures and ships are merely just the objects he’s built. . But in his nearly 40 year in the region George, who lives on seven acres in Preston, has helped build something else – a sense of community that stretches from his job at Conn to mission work in Haiti.

In fact, Haiti is where George, his wife and one of his three sons are right now.

“We’re going down to try to help alleviate some of the starving children,” George said, in an interview during last month’s snowstorm.

The snow that day put temporary halt on his latest project, the $5 million addition to Conn’s athletic center.

Construction on the campus has become a familiar sight, as Connecticut College’s $60 million, 10-year renewal plan, is well under way.

George has been the point man in coordinating the often entangled interests of public and private entities that participate in major construction projects.

In fact, George’s management style that relies on partnerships won him an award last year form the Associated General Contractors of Connecticut.

“Steve´s faithful commitment to the college and partnership-style of management make him more than deserving of this recognition,” Conn’s Vice President for Administration Ulysses Hammond said.

George said his management technique, which he calls a “nexus” non-competiveness and conflict resolution, has been a hallmark of the recent work on the athletic center.

“Rather than fight,” he said “It’s a better method.”

Jack Cipriano, the New London’s building official said all of his dealings with George have

“been good.”

“He an outstanding citizen,” Cipriano said.

The athletic center, which will meets the environmental LEED standards for ‘green’ buildings, is designed to house the college’s exercise equipment and yoga studios that are becoming commonplace on campuses around the country.

“It’s for average students,” George said. “Not everyone is an athlete.”

The athletic center will complement the architecture on the eastern portion of the campus across Mohegan Avenue.

George was born in Denver, but lived in various parts of the country, including San Antonio and Chicago.

He joined the Army, and served for four years, before getting out. While George was in the service, his mother moved to Westerly, and he followed here.

George never left.

“I thought: the Northeast is a weird place, I’ll never stay here,’ George said. “36 years later, I’d never live anywhere else.”

After a stint at Electric Boat, George responded to a newspaper ad for a job at Connecticut College, ad, and, again, he’s never left.

And George sees his role as part of the college’s academic mission.

“The college provides a great platform give young people the foundation they need going forward,” he said. “It’s not just a job.”

By Stephen Chupaska
Staff Writer

Food for Thought - Vitamin A for the New Year

2009-01-08T17:59:42Z

Happy New Year!

For many, 2009 brings with it New Year’s resolutions of losing weight, eating healthier, and exercising more. These are all great ideas and wonderful for increasing your overall health and well-being, however, many individuals set unrealistic objectives.

If you have made eating healthier a New Year’s resolution, set yourself up for success by not biting off more than you can chew (pun intended). Change only one eating habit every three weeks. It typically takes about 21 days for a new eating behavior to become habit. For example, aim to eat one more fruit or vegetable each day. Once you have accomplished your first goal, move onto the next.

The key to achieving your final objective (eating healthy, exercising more, or losing weight) is to make a list of smaller “mini-goals” that you feel you can achieve each month and will eventually lead to your final objective. Write down your goals and display them in a place where you can review them each day. Cross out, highlight, or check off each goal as you accomplish it. This will give you a feeling of accomplishment and allow you to see your progress towards your ultimate objective. Remind yourself that small changes in your lifestyle habits and behaviors will build up over time to create a huge impact on your health.

Since it is a new year, I thought it would be fun to encourage you to eat healthier by discussing the benefits of certain vitamins, starting with the beginning of the alphabet.

Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin. Like the other fat-soluble vitamins (D, E, and K), Vitamin A dissolves in fat. Fat soluble vitamins are carried throughout your body attached to fat, which is why daily, moderate fat consumption is important. Fat-soluble vitamins are stored in body fat and is the reason why vitamin overconsumption (typically through over-supplementation) should be avoided. If the recommended intake is exceeded daily over an extended period of time, these vitamins can accumulate to unsafe levels in body tissues.

Vitamin A plays a number of important roles. It supports normal vision and helps your eyes adjust well to the dark; promotes the growth and health of cells and tissues throughout your body; protects the body from infections because it keeps your skin and tissues in your mouth, stomach, intestines, and respiratory, genital, and urinary tracts healthy; and helps to prevent illness by regulating your
immune system.

The precursors of Vitamin A, carotenoids, act as antioxidants. Your body is able to convert carotenoids found in fruits and vegetables into Vitamin A. Good sources of carotenoids are red, yellow, and orange fruits and vegetables such as carrots, pumpkin, squash, bell peppers, tomatoes, peaches, and grapefruit, and many dark green, leafy vegetables such as spinach, kale, and collard greens. Vitamin A, which is not converted by your body because it is completely formed, is found in liver, fish oil, eggs, milk fortified with vitamin A, and other Vitamin A-fortified foods.

The recommended intake of Vitamin A for individuals 14 years and older is 3,000 IU for males and 2,333 IU for females. If you take a multivitamin, make sure it does not supply more than 3,000 IU of Vitamin A. Too much can be harmful since it can accumulate in your body.

To ensure you are receiving adequate amounts of Vitamin A, strive to consume a variety of red, yellow, orange, and dark green, leafy vegetables each week. During the winter months, add red peppers, carrots, sweet potatoes, winter squash, spinach, and green beans to soups or stews. Try adding a small amount of olive oil to red or yellow pepper slices and roasting them in the oven for a delicious side dish. If you are pressed for time, buy frozen spinach or mixed vegetables. Make pumpkin muffins, bread, or waffles for a delicious snack or part of a brunch. Check out my Web site for a wonderful pumpkin pie waffle recipe. Freeze the extras so you can enjoy them later. During the summer months, make colorful salads with spinach, carrots, and red and yellow peppers.

Vitamin A is important for your health and can be easily included into a variety of dishes. Make it a goal to eat red, yellow, orange, and dark green, leafy vegetables each week in 2009 to help you increase your Vitamin A and vegetable intake and to eat healthier.Katie Jeffrey-Lunn, MS, RD, CD-N, LD-N, is the owner of FitNutrition, LLC, in Mystic. For more information, call 860-536-3610 or go online to www.fitnutrition.net.

A Look Back: Revisiting some of our favorite feature photos from 2008

2009-01-02T20:44:19Z

In compiling our top five photos of the year, we considered several criteria in the process. Overall punch, great angles, drama, and irony, among others.

Using those criteria, we soon discovered several Times photos were contenders for the top five spread. As such, we had to expand our concept a bit and placed our second string of favorite photos in smaller form on the front page of the paper.

We hope you enjoy these photos as much as we enjoyed capturing them.

To view the corresponding Top 5 photo album featured in the Jan. 1 Thames River Times inside spread, click on the photo at right.

Hitting the Trail: Organizers continue work to create multi-town trail

2009-01-02T20:40:44Z

With municipal support in place, the committee trying to build a recreational trail from Groton to Preston is on the verge of starting its fundraising campaign.

The Bluff Point to Preston Trail Committee, comprised of representatives from Groton, Groton Utilities, Ledyard, and Preston, has been together roughly a year. In that time, they’ve acquired broad support for the proposal to build a trail from Bluff Point State Park to the Preston Community Park in the Poquetanuck section of that town.

Now it needs the money to complete engineering studies to determine the exact route of the trail and even if it’s feasible. David Holdridge, chairman of the committee, said once the studies are done, the group could capitalize on the information by applying for various state and federal grants.

“We’re certainly encouraged by the fact that so many people feel positively about it,” Holdridge said recently. “This is possibly the most positive reaction I’ve ever experienced to an idea.”

The fundraising effort will be a local initiative. The group is considering asking for small donations from various civic organizations and businesses. It might even leave a few cans on countertops to collect loose change.

“The sooner we get the money, the sooner we can get underway,” Holdridge said.

Preston First Selectman Robert Congdon, a member of the committee and trail advocate, said even if the committee raises the roughly $15,000 needed for the study, as well as the money to build it, the group still has a lot of work to do before it can begin constructing the trail.

For now, the route is theoretical. Nothing will be permanently put to paper until a preliminary engineering study is done and property owners—public and private—agree to allow the route to cut through their land.

Despite much of the proposed trail incorporating the right of way, committee member Peter Borch said the ways make up two-thirds of the potential route. Obtaining easements and other legal documents could take years.

Along the way, the possible route will try to take advantage of several rights of way owned by the state, Northeast Utilities, and Groton Utilities. Obtaining permission, and rights, to use those paths may not be easy. One idea is for the trail, which would begin at Bluff Point, to head north and skirt around the Groton Utilities reservoir property near the Mystic Marriot before continuing north along Route 117. It will cross the Copp property, owned by the town of Groton, and then possibly take advantage of rights of way owned by Northeast Utilities before linking with the former Clark Farm property owned by the town of Ledyard before ending at the Preston community park.

When pitching the idea to Groton Utilities, Borch said the group provided information about Lake Saltonstall, owned by the Regional Water Authority in Branford, and the Airline Trail property in East Hampton.

Admittedly, a lot of work has been completed on the project over the past year. The committee has municipal support, and the state and utility companies are at least considering the proposal.

Those involved fully expect to feel like they’re occasionally “spinning their wheels” while trying to make the proposal real.

“Is it worthwhile to spin our wheels to make it come to fruition? Absolutely,” Congdon said. “If we can make a safe environment for families and people to travel from here to Bluff Point it would be very, very good.”

Al Dion, deputy director of the water division for Groton Utilities, said he’s aware of several successful trails and recreational programs taking place on utility properties throughout the state and Rhode Island. Currently, Groton Utilities offers supervised visits to its property, including hiking and birding activities. The company’s first mission, however, remains to protect the community water supply.

He said the plan, if implemented, must balance the reservoir’s safety and the opportunities for hikers and bikers to enjoy the vistas.

Regarding the proposal, Dion said, “We’re very fortunate here and have some great opportunities to work together.”

Some of those opportunities could include creating spurs off the trail that lead to different parks and commercial areas just off the route, he said.

By MEGAN BARD
Staff Writer

Parent's Eye View: Kids Need Hopeful Role Models During Troubled Times

2009-01-02T20:37:05Z

We are living in precarious times, bombarded with mixed messages, unsure of what the future holds.

On the one hand, we have a president-elect who promises change in the New Year when he takes office and has instilled a sense of hope and enthusiasm in many Americans. There is also increasing evidence that optimism and positive attitude play a key role not only in people’s mental health, but also their physical well being.

On the other hand, we’re in an economic downturn of grave proportions that’s causing enormous stress for families faced, at the very least, with financial insecurity, not knowing if or when the other shoe will drop, and those for whom it’s already dropped and are coping with the loss of jobs—and even homes, due to foreclosure.

So how do parents maintain that important equilibrium between being truthful and communicative with their kids, while at the same time staying positive and hopeful and making them feel safe in the world?

I asked several child psychologists to share their thoughts with me.

“Children may become frightened or confused by these unexpected threats to family security and will look to adults for information and guidance on how to react,” says Marilyn Giuliano of Old Saybrook, in her 28th year as a school psychologist, currently at Mile Creek School in Old Lyme. Giuliano is also state representative for Connecticut’s 23rd District.

Giuliano suggests that parents make time to talk to their children and reassure them that they’re safe and so are other important adults in their lives.

“Your words and physical presence will be comforting and will give you the opportunity to monitor your child’s reaction,” she says, and “to the extent possible, stick to normal routines for meals, homework, chores, and bedtime.”

Younger children will be comforted if you read or play quiet games with them before bed. Spend a little extra time tucking them in and let them sleep with a light on if they ask for it.

”These activities are calming, foster a sense of closeness and security, and reinforce a sense of normalcy,” Giuliano says.

Abby Lipschutz, a licensed clinical psychologist whose practice, Shoreline Psychological, is based in Madison, has been working with children, adolescents, and families since 1996.

Lipschutz concurs with Giuliano that first and foremost, kids need to feel physically and emotionally safe and that needs to be balanced by a realistic picture of the world without creating undue anxiety.

She suggests having family meetings and discussing some of the changes that may be taking place, such as not going out to dinner as much or forgoing a family vacation this year.

This can be a wonderful opportunity to teach children about values and money and gratitude about what they do have, Lipschutz points out.

“Great lessons come in during these times of distress,” she says.

Parents can help kids feel like important, contributing members of their families and community by asking them to shut off lights to conserve energy or volunteer with mom or dad at a local soup kitchen to help those in even greater need.

Lipschutz also notes that parents shouldn’t create anxiety by projecting about what hasn’t happened yet and should speak as close to the present as possible.

“It’s not helpful to project into the future if there’s a great unknown,” she says. “It’s better to help children live in the present.”

“Keep your explanations developmentally appropriate,” Giuliano advises. “Elementary school children need brief, simple information that should be balanced with your reassurances that the daily structures of their lives will not change.”

Both women agree that maintaining a hopeful attitude is key when the world is throwing curve-balls.

“Hope is a psychological strength that not everyone possesses,” Lipschutz points out. “You really have to teach hope and model hope. We live in a society that’s very fearful, very negative. On the flip side, hope instills optimism, and when optimists are faced with difficult situations, they don’t give up.”

Giuliano adds that fostering resiliency in children helps instill hope and optimism.

“Resiliency is that important and adaptive psychological attribute that allows kids to be calmer, more optimistic, and creative problem solvers in the face of adversity,” she says. “Teaching the dimensions of resiliency helps to create strong kids.”

The bottom line is, no matter how rocky the road may get during these challenging times, children—of every age—who feel loved and safe, encouraged rather than discouraged, included rather than excluded, helpful rather than helpless, will develop the inner resources to cope—and even thrive—no matter what obstacles are put in their path.

E-mail Amy Barry at aimwrite@snet.net.

...With Boughs of Holly: LHS agri-science students host holiday decor workshop

2008-12-23T20:54:27Z

The afternoon before Thanksgiving this year, a friend’s mother sent her on a hunt for seasonal accessories to spruce up the dinner table, leading to a frantic quest for miniature pumpkins. When area stores failed her, she made fall-colored candy bundles and resolved to plan further ahead come Christmas.

A brief afternoon at Ledyard High School last week would have solved her seasonal decorating angst. Horticulture teacher Shelly Roy and four students made Christmas decorating look simple, during a recent gift box centerpiece workshop.

This is the second year Roy has offered seasonal decoration lessons. Those in the know—mostly faculty and parents of agri-science program students—are repeat attendees who made floral cornucopias to adorn Thanksgiving tables last month. The workshops are so popular, Roy offers two sessions.

The featured Christmas centerpiece was a hollow red glass cube criss-crossed by festive ribbon to suggest a gift-wrapped parcel, with three types of white flowers and a bow arranged on top.

“It’s simple, it’s easy, very quick, and it goes together,” Roy said. She found the idea in an issue of Florists’ Review magazine but spruced up its institutional color palette when she interpreted it for the workshop.

Participants began by sticking greens around the base of the wet block of flower foam sitting in the empty cube. They cleaned all of the leaves off the bottom tip of each piece so it stuck cleanly into the foam. They added the large spider mums and then the smaller flowers.

Student helpers, thrilled at the opportunity to teach their teachers, ensured the different plants were spaced with aesthetic symmetry at slightly different heights, keeping the whole visually interesting but also pleasing to the eye.

“What do you think is wrong with it?” senior Jessica Senphansiry asked Susan Rhorer, gesturing to her
flowers. As the subsitute teacher watched, Senphansiry deftly thinned out one section of the arrangement and tightened another.

“What’s really neat is seeing how the kids can teach,” Roy said, echoing several of the teachers there.

Everyone finished the craft by fashioning a four-loop bow from the ribbon and attaching it to a small wooden pick with wire. The pick landed in the center of each arrangement with the loops and end of the bow folded among the flowers. Then, in a brief hour, 10 happy teachers paraded off with homemade decorations that, Roy assured them, would remain vibrant through the holidays if watered and kept in a cool location.

And if their houses were too steamy, she said, everything needed to make the centerpiece can be purchased at a craft store and filled with flowers from the supermarket.

Make Your Own
Gift Box Centerpiece

Materials:

1 6-inch glass cube

2/3 brick of floral foam

Greens (like some fir or spruce)

Three stems of white spider mums

Two stems of white cushion mums

Four stems of white carnations

1 1/2 stems of yellow or green
hypericum

2 to 3 yards of wired ribbon
(2 inches wide)

1 6-inch wooden pick with wire

The Kissing Ball

Junior Cheri White described it as “a misletoe times seven and put on steroids.” The kissing ball is a sphere of boxwood attached to a hanging hook and decorated with ribbon.

To make it, use one third of a block of flower foam covered with chicken wire or a kissing-ball-specific sphere of foam, and attach it to a wire with a hook. Then fill in the foam with sprigs of boxwood until all the interior is hidden. Make a bow out of ribbon, attach it to a wooden peg, and then plunge the peg into the foam near the top of the ball. If desired, attach a few hanging pieces of ribbon to the bottom of the bow to make it look like the bow went through the kissing ball. Then hang it up and go find someone to meet beneath it.

The Boxwood Tree

Make this miniature Christmas tree by starting with a piece of foam. Stick one sprig of boxwood in the top to create a vertical axis. Then, visualizing a triangle with the tip of that first sprig as its point, fill in the foam. Make sure there are longer pieces at the bottom and shorter pieces toward the top.

Choose tree accessories to stick, interspersed, into the foam that match with the rest of your Christmas decorations, senior Jessica Senphansiry advises. Then top it with a bow.

“You want to give it rhythm and harmony,” she said.

By KIRA GOLDENBERG
Staff Writer

Top Books and Beats: Local business owners recommend book and music titles

2008-12-23T20:52:46Z

Eons ago, in the Paleozoic Era, people went to bookstores to get books and to record stores to get records.

There they met professional bookworms and record store geeks behind the counter, people that the writer Nick Hornby called “professional appreciators.”

Despite the twin meteors of the Internet and big box stores, these places still exist in southeastern Connecticut.

And the people that work and own book shops and record stores are still experts in their fields and have opinions about what was good reading and good listening in 2008.

Dan Curland, owner of Mystic Disc in downtown Mystic, counted Rockferry by Duffy, the 24-year-old blue-eyed soul singer from Wales, as one of the best albums he heard this year.

And Curland was tipped off about Duffy from an unlikely source.

“My 9-year-old daughter, Lena, turned me on to her,” he said. “[Lena] has good taste.”

Curland said Duffy reminded him of the late Dusty Springfield, whose Dusty In Memphis, from 1969 was produced by the late Jerry Wexler.

Rockferry features former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler as a producer, whose string-laden arrangements are both baroque and restrained.

“Listen to that,” Curland said, while cueing up the title track. “Not bad for a blond-haired girl from the UK.”

The other albums on Curland’s turntable—vinyl is king at Mystic Disc—include the latest archival releases from Bob Dylan (Tell Tale Signs), Neil Young (Sugar Mountain –Live at Canterbury House), and Stephen Stills (Just Roll Tape from 2007).

For jazz fans, Curland recommended the box set commemorating the 50th anniversary of Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue, that includes a double CD, a vinyl edition, and a DVD about the making of the record.

Blues fans should check out the latest by Lurrie Bell, whose Let’s Talk About Love, from 2007 was the strongest seller at Tumbleweeds in downtown Niantic in 2008.

“That sold every time we put it on in the store,” owner Tara Wyatt said.

Wyatt also said Jukebox by Cat Power, the nom de rock of singer-songwriter Chan Marshall, was another popular release that sold plenty at Tumbleweeds.

As for what she found interesting this year, Wyatt has been feasting on a steady diet of soul and funk.

“I don’t listen to a lot of mainstream stuff,” Wyatt said.

Foremost has been Pebble To A Pearl by Nikka Costa.

Wyatt noted the most mainstream thing she’s been smitten by is the latest by Brett Dennen, the folky from California, who has recorded with the Afro-beat singer Femi Kuti.

Down Main Street at the Book Barn, owner Randi White said the most notable book he’s read this year has been The Knack, not to be confused with the band of “My Sharona” fame.

Appropriately enough, The Knack, by Norm Brodsky and Bo Burlingham, is an economics book aimed at small business owners.

White said that most financial advice titles are written either by or for people who work at Fortune 500 companies.

“I’m not one of those companies,” he noted.

And business has been relatively brisk this Christmas season at the Book Barn.

“We’ve seen a definite increase in the number of used books sold this year,” White said. “The collectable book market has bottomed out, but people are buying used ones as stocking stuffers.”

As for reading material on his nightstand, White said that most of his favorites this year have been mysteries.

Patience Banister, co-owner of Bank Square Books in Mystic, was most impressed with Mudbound, by novelist Hillary Jordan.

She said that President-elect Barack Obama’s books, The Audacity of Hope and Dreams From My Father, continue to be hot sellers.

Also Banister has been selling plenty of copies of Wally Lamb’s latest, The Hour I First Believed, and Toni Morrison’s new novel, A Mercy.

And young readers have been scooping up copies of Stephanie Meyers’ “Twilight” series and The Tale of Beedle the Bard, the latest by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling.

“It’s not selling as much as the Harry Potter books,” Banister added.

By Stephen Chupaska
Staff Writer

Special Distinction: Barbara Miller first woman named to Connecticut Veterans Hall of Fame

2008-12-23T20:51:04Z

Gales Ferry resident Barbara Miller became the first woman inducted into the Connecticut Veterans Hall of Fame Dec. 9. The honor was created by Governor M. Jodi Rell in 2005 to recognize people who both served with distinction in the military and went on to devote their careers to public service. Miller is one of 40 total inductees.

“To be inducted as the first woman is a very great honor,” said Miller, 74. “But as I maintain, it was a great honor for me to serve my country and I feel very blessed to have been able to do this,” she said.

Miller had a 20-year active duty career as a Navy nurse with service during the Vietnam War, retiring at the rank of commander. An educator for more than 26 years, she has provided medical instruction, training, and volunteer services for multiple organizations including the Department of Developmental Disabilities, Connecticut League for Nursing, the American Red Cross, the
American Heart Association, and the American Cancer Society. She has served as president of the WAVES Unit #40, president of the state chapter of the Military Officers Assocation of America, and director of the Retired Activities Office, Submarine Base New London.

Miller said the ceremony, in the Legislative Office Building in Hartford, was a beautiful, choreographed affair with two Navy sailors from the Groton Submarine Base there to present a medal and certificate from Rell. Attendees received certificates from state congress members and other high-ranking leaders too.

“I almost needed a wagon to carry everything home,” Miller said.

According to a statement from the governor’s office, 40 Connecticut veterans have been inducted into the Connecticut Veterans Hall of Fame, including former President George H.W. Bush and four Congressional Medal of Honor recipients.

“It is most appropriate that we pause each year to recognize and honor the heroes of the past and present who have so vitally shaped our nation and way of life,” said Governor Rell in the statement. “These individuals not only answered the call of their nation, they have answered the call of their communities. It is what they have done beyond their military service that truly sets them apart as individuals worthy of this special honor. The example they have set, the courage they have shown, and the public service they have given is most worthy of the respect and admiration of all Connecticut citizens.”

By Kira Goldenberg
Staff Writer

The Clip File: Christmas, 1988

2008-12-23T20:49:10Z

New London kicked off the 1988 Christmas season on Dec. 2 with its first annual Plaza Lights Festival.

Mayor Carmelina Como Kanzler hit a switch lighting the tree next to the Soldiers and Sailors monument.

The Downtown New London Association ran the tree lighting ceremony that has since been repackaged by New London Main Street as the Celebration of Lights and Song.

Downtown Mystic retailers were worried about the impact of the five-year-old Crystal Mall on holiday sales.

Michelle Gemma, now an accomplished photographer but then a clerk at the former A Stitch In Time boutique, told the newspaper that shoppers are loyal to Mystic.

“I think people like Mystic because it’s quaint and historical,” she said. “They go for a small town atmosphere rather than the flashy trendy mall.”

The former Software Etc, computer store and Radio Shack, both in the Crystal Mall, were selling some of the hottest items that Christmas season.

Popular that year were computer flight and submarine simulators, with Cold War-era names such as “Red Storm Rising.”

Christopher Rich, a sailor stationed at the sub base, was a fan of a submarine simulator that apparently allowed users to attack Libya.

“I’ve killed Gaddafi several times already,” he said.

And who could argue with a game called ‘Earl Weaver Baseball’ under the tree.

Radio Shack had a hard time keeping compact disc players in the store, at $160 a pop.

But retailers around the region were also concerned about the effect of Electric Boat on the shopping season.

People also opened up their homes in different ways that Christmas.

JoAnn and Biddle Morris of Mystic welcomed a Russian exchange student from the still-in-existence Soviet Union. Several families in New London who lived in historical Victorian and Queen Anne homes allowed tours of their houses, which were decked with boughs and holly.

Schools around the region dealt with how to celebrate the holidays in the schools.

East Lyme Superintendent Robert O. Minor offered guidelines in the town’s public schools.

“The air we have in the community is whatever we do is non-sectarian,” he said.

In Ledyard, the First Church of Christ put on a performance of Handel’s ‘Messiah,’ directed by the Hygienic Art’s James Stidfole, while Connecticut College’s Unity House celebrated Kwanzaa.

The Day’s editorial board added some levity to the season by offering a mock-commentary on the state of the Roman Empire around the birth of Christ.

The editorial chastised Rome for “the plodding pace” of its census. No word if it favored a “strong emperor.”

And like it should, Christmas brought out the best in people.

The Groton Motor Inn donated chicken dinners to the Salvation Army in New London allowing a Christmas dinner to anyone who wanted one.

By Stephen Chupaska
Staff Writer

It’s Here! It’s Finally Here!: Christmas is filled with rich family traditions

2008-12-23T20:47:48Z

Christmas is but hours away. This year, there are sure to be a small number of children who are not quite sure what to believe about Santa Claus. Way back in the late 1970s when I was struggling with my own beliefs about Santa, my big sister straightened me out.

“Now Kerri, of course Santa is real. You know that air is real even though you’ve never really seen air, you know that God is real even though you’ve never really seen God. The same goes for Santa: he’s like air and God. You know he’s there but you may never see him in action.” My big sister is quite smart and I had no choice to believe her. Besides, her explanation made perfect sense.

These days, children who are pre-tween age need look no further than their computer, library, and DVD collection to have their faith in Santa affirmed. “Take it for granted” is no longer applicable for this generation; they can actually prove that Santa is real (but they’ll still never see him in action).

Mrs. Claus Explains it All (Sourcebooks, 2008) is a book of questions answered by Elsbeth Claus, a.k.a. Mrs. Claus. My younger children’s favorite question was, “Dear Mrs. Claus, I’m worried that Santa is too fat. Does he ever exercise?” To which Mrs. Claus answers: “Santa is certainly plump…he’s a big fan of my home cooking and our Chef and Baker Elves are among the best, but he’s surprisingly fit and limber—he has to be to accomplish all his deliveries on Christmas Eve.”

Mrs. Claus also explains such mysteries as how the reindeer get their names and where elves come from. No inquiry about Santa goes unexplained or unanswered.

Visit http://www.christmassantaclaus.com/naughty_nice.asp to answer a few simple questions about your daily living habits (Do you share your toys? Is your room clean?) to find out if you are on Santa’s naughty or nice list. I am pleased to report that I am… “…so good that you should be the angel on top of the tree. Everyone at the North Pole, including me, is very proud of you Kerri. Keep up the wonderful work.”

Santa’s Nice-o-meter found at http://www.claus.com/naughtyornice/nn_hmpg2.php was not so kind: “Still very much on nice list, but must continue good behavior. Should eat more vegetables instead of junk food. Was very polite last Thursday. When doing chores, needs to do them as well as possible. Often exhibits good behavior.”

Mr. Jingle the Elf at http://www.growley.com/cmas/christmas/elfland/nice-list.html was even harsher than the Nice-o-meter. When Jingle was asked if I was naughty or nice, he said I “…just might squeak by.” and advised me to perform good deeds if I would like a “happier” answer.

The last Christmas movie our family watched was Fred Claus, the story of Santa Claus’s brother. I highly recommend this PG-rated movie for any 8- through 12-year-old who is experiencing inner turmoil about Santa’s existence. The scenes in Santa’s North Pole toy factory are amazing. The movie directors were even able to film a bike being placed in cardboard box, complete with packing materials for safe shipment. Charettes of all ages took different truths away from this movie.

Children can actually find out where in the world Santa is minute by minute as he begins his journey on Christmas Eve. Log onto http://www.noradsanta.org/en/home.html and you can find out when Santa will be in the vicinity of Ledyard, Gales Ferry, and Preston.

The Web site even explains how the tracking of Santa is conducted: Why does NORAD track Santa? Twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year, NORAD tracks airplanes, missiles, space launches, and anything else that flies in or around the North American continent. While the tradition of tracking Santa began purely by accident, NORAD continues to track Santa. We’re the only organization that has the technology, the qualifications, and the people to do it. And we love it. NORAD is honored to be Santa’s official tracker on Christmas Eve.”

Merry Christmas to you.

Kerri Charette lives in Ledyard.

In Preston’s Pastures: Buckley Quarter Horse Farm is a family affair

2008-12-18T17:12:29Z

When Stacy Brown brought Twister to the Buckley farm, she was afraid to ride her own horse.

Brown had purchased Twister 18 months before and had been working with another trainer. The horse is headstrong, to say the least, and was unruly. The trainer was tough. Twister’s behavior worsened. The horse was scared, and so was Brown; if he coughed, Brown jumped.

“I didn’t know what I was going to do,” Brown said recently. She decided to switch trainers.

In the fall of 2007, Brown brought Twister to William “Buster” Buckley at the Buckley Quarter Horse Farm on Hollowell Road and hoped for the best.

The first day, Buster just walked the ring with Twister, trying to get the horse to relax.

One year later, Twister will rest his head against Buster’s shoulder to show affection. Brown has won multiple competitions riding Twister, her first coming the first time she got back in the saddle.

“He and Tara [Green] really saved me…and Twister,” Brown said recently of Buster and his fiancée.

Bill Buckley, Buster’s father, credits his wife Carol, Buster’s mother, with getting the family interested in horses.

The Vietnam veteran said one of the earliest memories of his wife is an old picture of Carol as a 7-year-old girl, with a black and white pony.

The couple have known each other since birth and have been married 37 years. They have always had horses in their life.

In their 20s, Carol and Bill started boarding other people’s horses. They had a small farm in Lisbon before they were hired by the late owners of Applewood Farm in Gales Ferry.

In 1976, the couple thought they hit it big when they were hired by Falls Creek Farm in Sterling to manage the vast horse farm. They doubled their salary, were given housing, and had horses everywhere.

That year Buster was born. Bill’s father told him that it was time for him to get a real job.

They stayed for 27 years.

If Bill has any regrets, it’s that he and Carol didn’t create their own farm 20 years ago.

“It’s nice to have a place for the future, for the kids,” Bill said recently of Buster and his sister Laura.

The Hollowell Road farm is a family affair.

The entire family, with help from employee Brian Morris, takes care of every aspect of the farm.

Buster and Laura train and tend to clients’ horses. Bill, who is a judge for the National Quarter Horse Association, and Carol do the same. Buster’s fiancée, Tara Green, is also a championship rider who has been around horses her entire life.

They manage the horses, show the horses, shop for horses, and sell the horses. They act as consultants for their clients who live out of state who board their horses at the farm.

The locals who keep their horses at the stables receive the same treatment. The Buckleys try to make the property as welcoming as possible. There are no barn hours. The cubbies used to store saddles and other materials are inside a small office attached to the barn. A wood stove keeps the place warm on raw, cold days.

While trying to ease Brown back onto Twister’s saddle, Buster and Tara stood in the middle of the ring, softly offering encouraging words. Brown said the entire family, many of which have been clients for at least 10 years, and just about everyone who keeps their horses at the farm were the same.

Brown bought a second horse, Erin, in May of 2007. Buster chose her.

“I was going to quit,” Brown said of her mental state before becoming part of the Buckley farm family. “I wanted it to be a stress reliever.”

Now she’s at the farm, either caring for Twister and Erin or in the ring, every week.

Bill said they’re always about 400 projects behind—they need fix the gutters and mend the roof—but he wouldn’t change things.

Bill and Carol hope that horses remain in the lives of Buckleys to come.

Buster and Tara’s 10-month-old daughter, Isabella, already knows what to do when she’s put in the saddle. She pumps her legs and bounces up and down as if she’s riding, they said.

Isabella already has her own pony, a grey lady named
Jasmine.

About the Farm

The Buckley Quarter Horses barn on Hollowell Road has a 45-stall barn with indoor and outdoor riding facilities.

Father and son team, Bill and Buster Buckley, respectively, have been in the winning circle for more than 20 years. Recent awards include Buster being chosen as Reserve World Champion at the NSBA World Show.

The Buckley farm focuses on Western Pleasure and English style riding along with pattern events, such as Western Riding, Horsemanship, and Equitation.

BY MEGAN BARD
Staff Writer

Scouts Go to the Dogs: Ledyard now home to Dog Scout Troop 188

2008-12-18T17:10:09Z

Most parents know that they can enlist their daughters in Girl Scouts and their sons in Boy Scouts, but a smaller contingent knows, for the furrier child, some areas offer membership in Dog Scouts.

And as of last month, one of those places is Ledyard.

“It actually was my dog’s fault,” said new troop co-leader Sheri Throop of Ledyard. “I have a Standard poodle, and we were looking for activities to do as a family that would be good to do with the dog.”

They searched for letterboxing, which entails following clues to find boxes hidden in public places, online a couple years ago, she said, and found out the activity can earn a Dog Scout badge.

A couple years later, Dog Scout Troop 188, covering Eastern Connecticut and part of Rhode Island, was born. It held its first meeting in November, and the next one will be in January.

The troop is under the auspices of Dog Scouts of America, a Michigan-based, 13-year-old nonprofit that champions responsible pet ownership and the importance of the pet-owner bond. There are three other Dog Scout troops in New England and about 80 troops nationwide. One woman drove more than five hours from Maine to attend Troop 188’s first meeting.

DSA is explicit about who gets to be the center of attention during Dog Scout activities—the dog is the scout, and the owner is “the individual at the loop end of the leash.”

The Dog Scout Motto is, “Let us learn new things that we may become more helpful,” and the dog-owner duo must pass a test to prove the four-legged half is docile before the dog can be called a Dog Scout and wear its official red neckerchief. Any dog breed and owners of any age can participate.

Throop, co-leader Julianne Grove, and other interested participants will meet this month to decide what sorts of projects, activities, and badges scouts may pursue. Dog Scouts can earn badges for skills like therapy work and search and rescue.

“She did a great meeting,” Ledyard Animal Control Officer Kimlyn Marshall said of Throop. “She had cookies and chips, and she had dog biscuits for the dogs.”

By KIRA GOLDENBERG
Staff Writer

People interested in joining Troop 188 can contact Throop at 287-9031 or Grove at 401-369-1187. For more information about Dog Scouts, visit www.dogscouts.com.

Thames River Times

Pride, Family, Legacy: Colonel wrestling program boasts 17 state titles, unrivaled history

Pop Culture - New Year’s Resolution: Stay Smart

The Builder: Stephen George

Food for Thought - Vitamin A for the New Year

A Look Back: Revisiting some of our favorite feature photos from 2008

Hitting the Trail: Organizers continue work to create multi-town trail

Top Five Sports Stories of 2008: Mignault Retirement a Once-in-a-Century Fete

Parent's Eye View: Kids Need Hopeful Role Models During Troubled Times

...With Boughs of Holly: LHS agri-science students host holiday decor workshop

Top Books and Beats: Local business owners recommend book and music titles

Special Distinction: Barbara Miller first woman named to Connecticut Veterans Hall of Fame

The Clip File: Christmas, 1988

It’s Here! It’s Finally Here!: Christmas is filled with rich family traditions

In Preston’s Pastures: Buckley Quarter Horse Farm is a family affair

Scouts Go to the Dogs: Ledyard now home to Dog Scout Troop 188