Halloween Haunt set for Oct. 25 in Painter Park

Halloween Haunt on Tuesday at Painter Park tennis courts

WEST HAVEN, Oct. 19, 2022 — The Department of Parks and Recreation is holding its annual Halloween Haunt on Tuesday at the Painter Park tennis courts, 190 Kelsey Ave. The rain date is Oct. 27.

The free event, for city residents 12 and younger, includes a candy corn guess and a contest for best decorated pumpkin.

The hunt schedule is 5:30 p.m., ages 3 and younger; 5:50 p.m., ages 4-5; 6:10 p.m., ages 6-7; 6:30 p.m., ages 8-10; and 7 p.m., ages 11-12.

Participants should register 10-15 minutes before their hunt time and must show proof of residence, including a driver’s license, a utility bill or a child’s report card.

Only one adult may assist a child in the hunt for ages 3 and under; all other age groups hunt unassisted.

Special education lawyer receives ‘Way to Go!’ award

WEST HAVEN, Oct. 19, 2022 — (Pictured): Special education lawyer and child advocate Jeffery Forte, left, receives the “Way to Go!” award from Viola Waldo on behalf of the West Haven Interagency Network for Children at the Johnson Community Center on Monday.

Waldo, the facilitator of the West Haven Parent Support Group for special needs children, presented the award to Forte for “providing services and resources to families of children with special needs.”

Forte’s law firm, Forte Law Group LLC of Shelton, is dedicated to exclusively representing families and children with special needs.

The Way to Go program recognizes providers who present at Parent Support Group meetings and go above and beyond to offer services and resources.

(City Photo/Sharon Rodrigues)

Support groups resume meetings at West Haven Senior Center, Noble St.

WEST HAVEN, Oct. 19, 2022 — West Haven Youth and Family Services’ new Bereavement Support Group for Grieving Parents is holding its inaugural meeting and open house from 6-7:30 p.m. today at the West Haven Senior Center on the upper floor of the Johnson Community Center, 201 Noble St.

The group, facilitated by Marianne Gambardella and Cate Saxton, will meet monthly on the first and third Wednesdays from 6-7:30 p.m. at the senior center.

The Bereavement Support Group of West Haven for widows, widowers and partners meets monthly on the second and fourth Wednesdays from 6-7:30 p.m. at the senior center.

The West Haven Interagency Network for Children’s support groups for parents and guardians of children with autism and other disabilities have resumed meetings from 6-7:30 p.m. at the senior center.

The Parent Support Group, facilitated by Viola Waldo, meets the second Monday of each month.

The Spanish-speaking Parent Support Group, facilitated by Gricel Aguilar-Cobos, meets the second Tuesday of each month.

Youth and Family Services has intended to offer on-site child care so people can attend support group meetings, but the respite service has been suspended until further notice. Anyone needing the service to attend a meeting must contact Youth and Family Services Director Diane Dietman at least a day before the meeting at dietman@westhaven-ct.gov.

Those attending support group meetings must follow all national, state and local COVID-19 safety protocols. Face masks are recommended but not required.

Join us Saturday! Community engagement is a vital component of this project. Stop by from 8 a.m.-noon to view drawings of the possibilities for the area, and let us know what you think. We hope to see you there!

Boardwalk Eco-Restoration Project website and survey announced

Boardwalk Eco-Restoration website, survey announced

WEST HAVEN, Oct. 18, 2022 — As part of the West Haven Boardwalk Resilience and Eco-Restoration Project, the Shoreline Restoration Committee has collaborated with SLR International Corp. to create an informational website that features an overview, some history about the location, and plans for public engagement in the form of a survey and an on-site event on Saturday.

The project sits on 1.5 acres of shoreline adjacent to the boardwalk at Old Grove Park on Palace Street.

“Community engagement is a vital component of this project,” said committee co-leads Marilyn Wilkes, the vice president of the Land Trust of West Haven, and Mark E. Paine Jr., the director of the city Department of Parks and Recreation. “We are actively seeking the public’s input at the on-site event and through the survey on the website in order to gain diverse perspectives and a better understanding of the community’s needs.”

An initial community engagement event will take place at the project site from 8 a.m.-noon Saturday and will feature drawings of the possibilities for the area to spark the public’s imagination. The rain date is Oct. 29.

The website survey will be open until Dec. 1. Feedback from the on-site community event and the survey will inform conceptual alternatives, and a community workshop will be held in early 2023 to explore the opportunities.

Shoreline Restoration Project updates can be found on the Land Trust’s website or the city’s website.

‘Tree tenders’ plant red maple in Brennan Field Park

WEST HAVEN, Oct. 18, 2022 — (Pictured): West Haven “tree tenders” gather in the shade of their newly planted red maple in West Shore’s Brennan Field Park on Saturday.

The tree was planted near the park’s basketball court at Highland Avenue and Arlington Street as part of the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s Urban Forest Equity Grant award.

The hole was dug by a Department of Public Works crew to give the roots the best chance to grow, said Tree Warden Leo Kelly, who oversees the volunteer group of about 30 tree tenders.

The group will plant more trees next spring.

To become a tree tender, email whtree@westhaven-ct.gov. For information and updates, go to the group’s Facebook page at WH Tree Tenders.

(City Photo/Leo Kelly)

The 100th anniversary of Fire Prevention Week is observed by West Haven’s three fire departments and the city at the second annual West Haven Fire/Police Service, Public Safety & Health Expo in Old Grove Park on Saturday. The free exposition brought together families and first responders from around the state for hands-on activities and interactive demonstrations to promote public safety education. (City Drone Photo/Andrew Kosarko, Courtesy of Jow Films LLC)

Expo promotes fire prevention, public safety education

WEST HAVEN, Oct. 17, 2022 — The city joined West Haven’s three fire departments to mark the 100th anniversary of Fire Prevention Week at an exposition of all things fire, police, public safety and health in Old Grove Park on Saturday.

The second annual West Haven Fire/Police Service, Public Safety & Health Expo brought together families and first responders — firefighters, police officers, EMTs, health care professionals — from around the state for hands-on activities and interactive demonstrations to promote public safety education.

Read the full story and see the photo spread at Expo 2022.

The West Haven Breast Cancer Awareness Program is supporting this fundraiser. The Susan A. Ruickoldt Scholarship Fund was founded in March 2003 to raise breast cancer awareness in honor of Ruickoldt, who taught third grade at Savin Rock Community School before succumbing to breast cancer in 1997. Each spring since 2003, scholarship organizers have awarded $2,000 in Ruickoldt’s memory to a female high school senior from West Haven who plans to continue her education.

Dubel’s Cafe tees off for breast cancer scholarship fund

WEST HAVEN, Oct. 17, 2022 — (Pictured, from left): Dubel’s Golf Tournament organizers Katie Heffernan Farrell, Jo-Anne Hugendubel-Case, Beth Sabo and Laura Nelson join other tournament organizers and participants during a post-event reception in the backyard of Dubel’s Cafe at 260 Campbell Ave. on Friday.

Heffernan Farrell, Hugendubel-Case and Nelson are breast cancer survivors.

The annual tournament, co-chaired by Dubel’s owner Fred Hugendubel and Art Gilbert, raised $7,500 for the West Haven Breast Cancer Awareness Program’s Susan A. Ruickoldt Scholarship Fund, said Sabo, the program’s chairwoman and the city’s commissioner of human resources.

The fund was founded in March 2003 in honor of Ruickoldt, who taught third grade at Savin Rock Community School before succumbing to breast cancer in 1997.

Each spring since 2003, a $2,000 check has been awarded in Ruickoldt’s memory to a female high school senior from West Haven who plans to continue her education.

(City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)