Scholarship offered in memory of schoolteacher

Scholarship offered in memory of Savin Rock School teacher

WEST HAVEN, May 4, 2017 — The city’s Breast Cancer Awareness Committee is accepting applications for a scholarship fund it founded in memory of a third-grade Savin Rock Community School teacher who died of breast cancer.

The 15th annual Susan A. Ruickoldt Scholarship Fund will award $2,000 to a female West Haven High School senior who plans to continue her education.

Candidates must submit an application form, an official transcript and a class rank, as well as a 250-word essay on achievements and goals and a 250-word essay on the importance of breast cancer screening and education.

Applicants must also submit a letter of acceptance from a postsecondary school and a letter of intent to attend the school.

Applications are available at the high school, 1 Circle St. They are also available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays in the Department of Human Resources at City Hall, 355 Main St.

Applications are due by 5 p.m. May 22.

Craft, farm, food truck vendors sought for farmers market

WEST HAVEN, May 4, 2017 — The city is seeking craft, farm and food truck vendors to participate in the Tony Inzero Farmers Market, which opens its 18th season July 6 on the Green.

Through Oct. 28, the expanded marketplace at Main Street and Campbell Avenue will feature state farmers selling homegrown fruits and vegetables Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

It will include crafters selling their wares and an internet radio station DJ playing hit music.

The Thursday markets will showcase food trucks galore, dishing up baked potatoes, fried dough, Italian ice, kettle corn, lobster rolls and pulled pork.

To download a participation form, click on Farmers Market Application.

Forms are also available in the mayor’s office at City Hall, 355 Main St., where they are due June 9. Forms can also be emailed to farmers market organizer Erin Sweeney at esweeney@westhaven-ct.gov or faxed to 203-937-3705.

Public info meeting slated for project to raise Beach St.

Public informational meeting slated for project to elevate Beach Street

WEST HAVEN, May 4, 2017 — The city will hold a meeting for the reconstruction of a section of Beach Street and First Avenue that was 5 feet underwater during Superstorm Sandy.

Members of the public are invited to review and discuss the project’s preliminary design plans with officials from the city and its engineering consultant, DTC of Hamden, at 7 p.m. May 11 in the Harriet C. North Community Room on the second floor of City Hall, 355 Main St.

At the informational meeting, a DTC representative will present an overview of the plans, which are about 60 percent complete, according to City Engineer Abdul Quadir.

Quadir said the $8.5 million project calls for raising a 4,000-foot stretch of First Avenue and Beach Street from Monahan Place, near the wastewater treatment plant, to Morse Avenue, near the former Chick’s Drive-in restaurant.

Elevations will range from 2 to 5 feet, based on existing topography, Quadir said.

“The raising of Beach Street will ensure that the road is fully accessible throughout an extreme storm, such as Superstorm Sandy,” Mayor Edward M. O’Brien said.

The coastal resiliency project is part of West Haven’s aggressive recovery efforts in the aftermath of Sandy to better protect the Beach Street area from flooding events.

On Oct. 29, 2012, the Water Pollution Control Plant, 2 Beach St., was inaccessible to staff and emergency vehicles for nearly 12 hours because of extensive flooding by Sandy.

In the storm’s wake, the city has taken steps to make it more resilient to tidal flooding and coastal storms, including dredging the Old Field Creek salt marsh off Beach Street, thanks to federal funding to help Connecticut municipalities like West Haven make such improvements.

The Beach Street project, which kicked off in 2015, is being financed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery program.

The project will also include the construction of new concrete sidewalks and a two-way bike lane for future connection to a regional shoreline bikeway system, said David W. Killeen, assistant city planner.

Anyone with questions about the meeting or project can call Quadir at 203-937-3577.

Wrann sworn in to Water Pollution Control Commission

WEST HAVEN, May 4, 2017 — From left, Water Pollution Control Commission Chairman Brian Reichert joins new WPCC Commissioner Nathan Wrann and Mayor Edward M. O’Brien after Wrann was sworn in by City Clerk Deborah Collins, not pictured, on Friday at City Hall. Wrann, of First Avenue, succeeds Commissioner George Monahan, whose two-year term expired Dec. 3. (City Photo/John W. Lewis)

Karlene Lindsay bridal shop opens in downtown West Haven

Karlene Lindsay bridal shop opens on Campbell Avenue

WEST HAVEN, April 28, 2017 — Mayor Edward M. O’Brien, holding a pair of oversize scissors, cuts the ceremonial ribbon April 27 with Karlene Lindsay-Worrell, CEO and designer of Karlene Lindsay Designs, to celebrate the custom bridal shop’s grand opening at 429 Campbell Ave. Karlene Lindsay Designs, originally established online in 2012, makes high-quality wedding, formal and party dresses for all sizes at affordable prices. The downtown shop is open 10 a.m.-8 p.m. weekdays and Saturdays and noon-4 p.m. Sundays. For an appointment, call 475-441-4025. (City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

Senior Celebration Day set for May 18

WEST HAVEN, April 28, 2017 — In recognition of Older Americans Month, the Department of Elderly Services will hold its 28th annual Senior Celebration Day from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 18 at the Savin Rock Conference Center, 6 Rock St.

The health and resource fair, designed for residents and their caregivers, will include more than 30 elderly service agencies and businesses, refreshments and giveaways, as well as music by Vinnie Carr.

Free box lunches will be provided for 300 people by reservation courtesy of Apple Rehab-West Haven, West Haven Funeral Home, RegalCare at West Haven and Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center.

Lunch tickets must be picked up at the Allingtown and West Haven Senior Center, 201 Noble St., or the senior housing complexes. Seating is limited.

Beautification Committee seeks volunteers, schedules meeting

WEST HAVEN, April 18, 2017 — The West Haven Beautification Committee is seeking volunteers to help with planting and organizing community cleanups.

Committee Chairwoman Marilyn Wilkes will hold a meeting for new and current members from 7-8 p.m. May 18 in the basement conference room of City Hall, 355 Main St.

Those unable to make the meeting can join the committee by calling Wilkes at 203-415-4712.

The committee is composed of volunteers who plant flowers and care for designated locations across the city, including litter cleanups, during the spring and summer months.

“I believe that everyone can make a difference and everyone has a role to play in environmental stewardship,” said Wilkes, founder and president of the West Haven Community Garden, which is behind the former Molloy Elementary School at 255 Meloy Road. “From picking up a piece of trash you see on the street to caring for your home to planting gardens throughout the city to recycling — it all builds our sense of community and helps our city.”

Wilkes said several Saturday cleanups around the city in April, May and June have been organized and need volunteers:

—April 29, 9-10 a.m., Colonial Boulevard brook.

—May 13, 9-11 a.m., Savin Rock Beach and walkway, with Land Trust of West Haven.

—May 20, 9-10 a.m., Jones Hill Road.

—June 10, all day, “Keep Your Street Neat” Campbell Avenue event.

—June 17, 9-10 a.m., Minor Park area, Allingtown.

To sign up for a cleanup or for information, contact Stacey Giaquinto at stacey.giaquinto@whschools.org or 203-494-5190.

Student participants will receive community service credit, said Wilkes, who sits on the Land Trust board of directors.

The committee welcomes input from residents about other areas needing attention, she said.

The committee can also help publicize resident-organized litter cleanups, Wilkes said.