Stevens bids farewell to West Haven Community House

WEST HAVEN, Dec. 17, 2021 — (Pictured): Mayor Nancy R. Rossi, right, congratulates Executive Director Patricia W. “Patty” Stevens on her retirement from the West Haven Community House during a reception attended by administrative staff members and officers and members of the board of directors at 227 Elm St. on Friday.

Rossi presented a citation to Stevens for 36 years of service, including the last 16 as executive director, to the social service agency, established in 1941. She was also cited by the mayor for making “a real difference in our city.”

“Under your guidance, the Community House has initiated an unparalleled expansion of facilities and services, such as the flagship Head Start program, that have fostered healthy, independent and meaningful lives for countless West Haven children, adolescents and families, as well as individuals with disabilities,” Rossi said.

Stevens was hired as the Community House’s administrative assistant in 1984 — the beginning of a steady climb through the not-for-profit organization that saw her promoted to assistant director in 1986, associate executive director in 1988 and executive director in 2005.

(City Photo/Killian M. Gruber)

Santa Claus, West Haven’s supreme history buff, holds a paperback copy of the new centennial book, “City of West Haven: Village to Town,” and WestHavenOpoly, the centennial version of the board game Monopoly, at City Hall on Dec. 10. Mayor Nancy R. Rossi and author Dan Shine will sign copies of the $20 book from 5:30-7 p.m. Monday at the city’s Main Library, 300 Elm St. People can also buy the $30 board game at the book signing. (City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

Centennial book signing set for Main Library on Monday

WEST HAVEN, Dec. 17, 2021 — Mayor Nancy R. Rossi and author Dan Shine are signing more copies of the new centennial book, “City of West Haven: Village to Town,” at the city’s Main Library, 300 Elm St.

The signing is from 5:30-7 p.m. Monday.

The $20 book, printed in partnership with GHP Media of West Haven, chronicles the stories and photos that shaped the community’s past 100 years. The information was sourced from the “Historian’s Corner” series written by Shine, one of the foremost authorities on West Haven history.

The 116-page historical work, which has black-and-white and full-color photos, was commissioned by the City of West Haven Centennial Celebration Committee to commemorate the community’s 1921 birth and its incorporation by the General Assembly as Connecticut’s youngest town, said Rossi, the committee’s honorary chairwoman.

The paperback book, along with WestHavenOpoly, the centennial version of the board game Monopoly, is also available for purchase while supplies last in the Department of Human Resources at City Hall, 355 Main St., or by calling Commissioner Beth A. Sabo at 203-937-3558.

Sabo, the committee’s chairwoman, said the book and the $30 board game are the perfect gifts for the holidays.

Taxes due Jan. 1 in West Haven

WEST HAVEN, Dec. 17, 2021 — The second installment of city tax bills — real estate, personal property, motor vehicle, sewer — is due Jan. 1, and payments after Feb. 1 are considered delinquent and subject to interest, Tax Collector Dorothy Chambrelli said.

The 2020 supplemental motor vehicle bills have been mailed for vehicles registered after Oct. 1, 2020, and are also due Jan. 1.

Payments can be made by cash, check, credit card, debit card or money order from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays in the tax office on the first floor of City Hall, 355 Main St. The city has an ATM outside the office.

Taxpayers can also make a payment on the city website at Tax Collector. Sewer bills are on the same page but under a separate tab. Tax payment history can also be viewed and printed.

The fees for credit cards and electronic checks are available at Tax Collector Payments.

During tax season, taxes can be paid by the drop box outside the interior door of the tax office from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Taxes can also be paid by mail.

When paying by lockbox or drop box, the canceled check is the receipt.

Anyone needing a motor vehicle clearance must pay in person by cash, credit card, debit card or money order.

To enter City Hall, visitors must use the west entrance on the Savin Avenue side, wear a face mask and show ID to the security guard.

Leah Retherford, an engineering project manager for Atlas Organics of South Carolina, shows the composting company’s extended aerated static pile composting system to area municipal officials, members of the South Central Regional Council of Governments and officials of the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection at the West Haven compost site Tuesday. (City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

Composting system shown to area municipal officials

WEST HAVEN, Dec. 16, 2021 — Representatives from a South Carolina composting company showed the company’s extended aerated static pile composting system to area municipal officials and regional and state partners at the West Haven compost site Tuesday.

Standing in front of a pile of food waste and leaves covered in woodchips, Leah Retherford, an engineering project manager for Atlas Organics, said the EASP system can manage up to 6,000 tons of compostable waste per year.

The system is composed of high-density polyethylene plastic pipes attached to a machine that blows hot air into the bottom of the pile to accelerate the decomposing process.

The compost heap was built at the 1 Kimberly Ave. site by heavy equipment operator John Harwood of the city Department of Public Works.

Among those at the presentation by Retherford and Jim Davis, Atlas’ vice president of strategic development, were West Haven Public Works Commissioner Tom J. McCarthy and Grant Coordinator Doug Colter. They were joined by members of the South Central Regional Council of Governments and officials of the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

Colter, the city’s project manager, is overseeing a food waste diversion and compost pilot project funded in part by a grant from the U.S. Agriculture Department’s Natural Resources Conservation Service Urban Farming program.

According to Colter, the composting project is permitted by DEEP as a pilot program in cooperation with SCRCOG and is a public-private partnership with Atlas.

The initiative, supported by McCarthy and Mayor Nancy R. Rossi, is exploring ways for West Haven to reduce the waste it trucks to an incinerator to better position the city for the Connecticut waste disposal crisis that threatens future budget health, Colter said.

Atlas, based in Spartanburg, South Carolina, provides services to pick up composting materials for residential homes, corporations, local businesses and municipalities and to deliver the highest-quality grade of finished compost for agricultural and landscaping uses, according to the company’s website.

Davis said Atlas is looking to contract with SCRCOG and its 15-member municipalities in New Haven County, including West Haven, to improve the municipalities’ sustainability and to reduce waste.

SCRCOG brings together local governments to coordinate transportation planning, regional planning and municipal services programs on a regional basis.

Sinatra tribute show closes centennial; watch on YouTube

WEST HAVEN, Dec. 14, 2021 — The City of West Haven Centennial Celebration Committee drew the curtain on the first great chapter in the story of West Haven on Sunday with a free concert paying tribute to the Chairman of the Board — the one and only Frank Sinatra.

The show, performed by American Swingtime Featuring the Echoes of Sinatra Orchestra, was the swan song of the community’s 100th anniversary festivities, a six-month series of free events commemorating West Haven’s 1921 birth and its incorporation by the General Assembly as Connecticut’s youngest municipality.

The five-piece EOS Orchestra, fronted by Sinatra tribute artist Steve Kaz, traced the career and life of Ol’ Blue Eyes through music and storytelling in West Haven High School’s brand-new, state-of-the-art auditorium.

Kaz was accompanied by drummer Tony Traina, saxophonist Keith Gurland, trumpeter Larry Nissman, trombonist Howard Levy and keyboardist Christian Martirano, the quintet’s music director.

For nearly two hours, Kaz entertained the audience with fascinating stories of Sinatra, playful banter with the orchestra, and spot-on swing renditions of the Sinatra hits you know by heart, including “Come Fly With Me,” “I’ve Got the World on a String,” “Witchcraft,” “I Get a Kick Out of You” and “Fly Me to the Moon” — the first song NASA played in space, Kaz noted.

Other fan favorites included “Luck Be a Lady,” “The Way You Look Tonight” and “Summer Wind,” one of Sinatra’s most-requested songs, Kaz said.

The concert finale joined an impressive list of special events planned by the centennial committee — a grassroots group of city officials, first responders and civic leaders led by Mayor Nancy R. Rossi, the honorary chairwoman, and city Human Resources Commissioner Beth A. Sabo, the chairwoman.

The events observed West Haven’s secession from Orange a century ago, including the Centennial Boat Parade in June, the Centennial Savin Rock Festival in July, the Centennial Fireworks and the “Hubbard Farms” exhibit in September, and the Centennial Fire Expo and the “100 Years of Veterans” exhibit in November. The rural and residential sections of Orange separated in 1921 when the residential part, West Haven, became the state’s youngest town.

The afternoon show featured Kaz crooning big-band standards from Sinatra’s tenure with bandleaders Harry James and Tommy Dorsey and selections from the Great American Songbook, as well as the holiday classic “The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You)” sprinkled in for good measure — much to the delight of a brood of children seated in the sixth row.

Before an electrifying drum solo by Traina, the EOS Orchestra closed the concert with “The Lady Is a Tramp,” “Mac the Knife” and “My Way,” which Kaz dedicated to Sinatra on what would have been the icon’s 106th birthday. The show culminated with the anthem “New York, New York,” followed by a standing ovation from the audience.

The inaugural chapter in West Haven’s annals spanned most of the 20th century before crossing the third millennium into a new frontier in the 21st century, chronicling the first 100 years of West Haven’s existence as a town — a community that has shaped and has been shaped by history.

“Congratulations to all residents on our first century of terrific accomplishment,” Rossi said. “And thank you to the members of the City of West Haven Centennial Celebration Committee, especially Chairwoman Beth Sabo, for organizing so many wonderful events to mark West Haven’s birthday.”

Before the concert, Sabo sold copies of the new centennial book, “City of West Haven: Village to Town,” along with centennial coins, lapel pins and WestHavenOpoly, the centennial version of the board game Monopoly.

All book and merchandise proceeds generated by the committee will offset expenses and support the $50,000 centennial budget approved by the City Council, Sabo said.

For other centennial merchandise, visit the official Online Store.

The store, hosted by West Haven vendor West Shore Associates, sells such centennial-branded merchandise as long- and short-sleeved T-shirts, hooded sweatshirts, stainless steel tumblers, stemless wine glasses, insulated beverage bottles, ceramic mugs, retro sunglasses, canvas and cotton tote bags, eco-performance face masks, and pigment-dyed twill and mesh trucker caps.

A portion of the vendor’s merchandise proceeds will support the centennial account, Sabo said.

Watch the full concert on West Haven YouTube.

Frank Sinatra tribute artist Steve Kaz, front, leads American Swingtime Featuring the Echoes of Sinatra Orchestra in a free concert in the West Haven High School auditorium Sunday. The two-hour show traced Sinatra’s career and life through music and storytelling and closed the West Haven Centennial Celebration. (City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

The EOS Orchestra, from front: keyboardist and music director Christian Martirano, drummer Tony Traina, saxophonist Keith Gurland, trumpeter Larry Nissman and trombonist Howard Levy. (City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

Frank Sinatra tribute artist Steve Kaz tells the infamous story of how Sinatra got out of his contract with bandleader Tommy Dorsey in 1942 to purse a solo career. (City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

Kaz croons “The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You)” to a mother and her children. (City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

Trumpeter Larry Nissman plays a solo in a Frank Sinatra song. (City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

Kaz listens to saxophonist Keith Gurland play a solo in a swing song. (City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

Drummer Tony Traina plays a masterful drum solo in the vein of Buddy Rich. (City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

Residents urged to test for radon

WEST HAVEN, Dec. 14, 2021 — City Health Director Maureen B. Lillis is encouraging residents to protect their health by testing their homes for radon, the second-leading cause of lung cancer.

Radon is a colorless, odorless and naturally occurring radioactive gas formed from the natural decay of uranium. It is found in rock, water and soil.

While radon in outdoor air poses a relatively low risk to human health, it can enter homes from the surrounding soil and become a health hazard inside buildings, Lillis said.

Lillis said testing for the presence of radon in the home is recommended in the winter months.

A limited number of free radon test kits have been made available to West Haven residents by the state Department of Public Health. To receive a test kit, call the city Health Department at 203-937-3660.

A sanitarian from the department will deliver the kit and help place it in the home, Lillis said.

To learn more about radon, visit the DPH Radon Program.

Last sworn in for 3rd term as West Haven treasurer

WEST HAVEN, Dec. 14, 2021 — (Pictured): Mayor Nancy R. Rossi administers the oath of office for a third term to Democratic Treasurer Michael P. Last at City Hall on Monday.

Last, the chairman of the Democratic Town Committee, was unable to attend West Haven’s inaugural recently because he was in Orlando, Fla., with the West Haven Seahawks of the Ray Tellier Midget Football League.

The Seahawks’ 10U football team and three cheerleading teams competed for Pop Warner championships, with the pee wee cheer team winning this year’s national title.

Last is president of the league’s Seahawks organization.

(City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)