Colleen St. Clair Weatherspoon leading city’s Memorial Day parade at 10:30 a.m. Monday

WEST HAVEN, May 20, 2025 — Colleen St. Clair Weatherspoon, a Navy veteran of the Grenada/Panama era, will lead the city’s Memorial Day parade as grand marshal when the patriotic procession steps off at 10:30 a.m. Monday.

Weatherspoon, who served stateside during the U.S. invasions of Grenada in 1983 and Panama in 1989, will guide the more than 40-unit procession of veterans, dignitaries and bands along the 1 ½-mile parade route, which follows Campbell Avenue from Captain Thomas Boulevard to Center Street.

Like her grand marshal predecessors, she embraced the recognition with typical grace and humility.

“I am so honored to be selected as grand marshal of the West Haven Memorial Day parade,” said Weatherspoon, who serves as the commander of American Legion Post 196 of Milford, the East Shore post’s first female at the helm. “I have watched this parade all my life, both as a little kid and then as a mom of three kids, watching them march in a variety of Little League or soccer teams through the years.

“Being a Navy veteran has always been one of my proudest achievements. Now I consider being grand marshal of a parade in my hometown one of my proudest moments.”

Weatherspoon was chosen by the Veterans Council, which helps the city organize the annual parade, for her years of service to the military, her fellow vets and her community, the latter of which is the cornerstone of the qualifications for grand marshal, council President Dave Ricci said.

“Colleen St. Clair Weatherspoon served her country with honor during a pivotal time in our history,” Mayor Dorinda Borer said. “She has continually advocated for all veterans throughout her life. As the first female commander of American Legion Post 196, she continues to lead with strength, dedication and a deep commitment to her fellow veterans. She makes West Haven proud.”

The 2025 edition of southern Connecticut’s oldest and largest Memorial Day parade has no rain date and will feature three marching divisions and a military division, as well as special accommodations for disabled veterans.

The procession will include an eight-seat golf cart carrying former grand marshals that is adorned with a star gracing the names of those deceased. Other veterans will ride on a float.

It will also include a flyover by a C-130 Hercules, a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft operated by the Connecticut Air National Guard.

Weatherspoon will lead the procession on foot with the West Haven Police Honor Guard.

The 90-minute parade, in memory of the deceased members of the U.S. armed forces of all wars, will showcase the city’s legion of veterans groups, including West Haven Vietnam Veterans, Surfside Veterans and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9422.

The procession, headlined by the Connecticut Army National Guard’s 102nd Army Band, will include the West Haven High School and Bailey Middle School marching bands, the East Rock Brass Band, and the New Haven County Firefighters Emerald Society Pipes & Drums, as well as bands from the Rock House School of Music.

It will include members of the West Haven High cheerleading and dance teams, cheerleaders from the West Haven Seahawks, and members of the Mulkerin School of Irish Dance.

The procession will also spotlight the traditional contingent of youth organizations and sports leagues, dance troupes and Scout troops, fraternal organizations and service clubs, local and state leaders, police officers and firefighters.

After the parade, a wreath-laying ceremony will take place at the World War I Armistice Memorial on the Green.

Weatherspoon was born to Raymond and Kathleen Bowler St. Clair and grew up with her two brothers on Prospect Avenue in West Haven’s West Shore neighborhood. She graduated from West Haven High in 1982.

In October 1983, Weatherspoon enlisted in the Navy at age 17. She completed basic training eight weeks later at the Naval Training Center in Orlando, Florida.

After boot camp, she was stationed at Naval Station Mare Island in Vallejo, California, where she worked on a tugboat crew moving nuclear submarines in and out of a drydock.

She was then promoted to the rating of torpedoman’s mate and was stationed at the MK 48 Torpedo Intermediate Maintenance Facility on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, where she assembled and tested warhead and exercise submarine torpedoes.

On Oct. 25, 1983, the United States invaded the Caribbean island of Grenada, followed by the Central American country of Panama on Dec. 20, 1989. In Grenada, Operation Urgent Fury, which lasted eight days, the U.S. intervened to secure the evacuation of American students and restore democracy after a coup that ousted Prime Minister Maurice Bishop. In Panama, Operation Just Cause, which lasted just over a month, the U.S. invaded to capture dictator and Gen. Manuel Noriega, who was accused of drug trafficking and suppressing democracy.

Weatherspoon was honorably discharged from the Navy in August 1991. She received the Good Conduct Medal and the Meritorious Unit Commendation.

After the Navy, Weatherspoon returned to her native West Haven and worked as a sales coordinator at Bayer HealthCare from 1993 to 2007.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Albertus Magnus College in 2002.

From 2007 to 2022, Weatherspoon worked as a senior marketing project coordinator at Medtronic, a medical equipment manufacturer.

Since July 2023, she has worked as a furniture, fixtures and equipment planner at Yale New Haven Health System.

Weatherspoon lives on White Street in the center of West Haven and is a member of Elks Lodge 1537.

She and her former husband, Marine Corps veteran and West Haven police Sgt. Eric Weatherspoon, have three children — Jordyn, Donovan and Morgan Weatherspoon — and a 1-year-old granddaughter, Ivy.

The couple had met and wed while stationed in Hawaii.

Phase 17 dedication of Veterans Walk of Honor bricks, memorial additions scheduled for 5 p.m. Saturday

WEST HAVEN, May 20, 2025 — West Haven Veterans Council members and city officials will dedicate Phase 17 of the brick Veterans Walk of Honor in Bradley Point Park at 5 p.m. Saturday.

This year’s phase will also include the dedication of a granite memorial to veterans of Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm, Iraq and Afghanistan and the dedication of a granite memorial to nurses of the U.S. armed forces.

All veterans are invited to participate in the seaside ceremony, which will feature a flag-raising, an invocation and a wreath-laying, as well as remarks by Mayor Dorinda Borer and Veterans Council President Dave Ricci.

The public is also invited. The rain date is June 7.

Rick Spreyer, Borer’s chief of staff, will serve as the master of ceremonies.

In November 2006, the Veterans Council began the first of 17 campaigns selling bricks to memorialize vets on the 100-yard Walk of Honor between the William A. Soderman and Vietnam Veterans memorials.

The bricks, which cost $75, have charcoal lettering for personalized messages.

About 3,100 bricks have been installed to date, including 72 for Phase 17 and 47 for Phase 16, which was dedicated May 25, 2024.

Phase 1 of the Walk of Honor was dedicated in May 2007, along with a memorial to Korean War veterans.

In May 2008, Phase 2 of the walkway and a memorial in commemoration of World War II Army Pfc. William A. Soderman were dedicated.

Soderman received the Medal of Honor after he distinguished himself in December 1944 while defending an important road junction near Rocherath, Belgium.

On July 1, 1984, Bradley Point Park’s flagpole was dedicated in memory of Soderman, who died in 1980.

Also in 2008, 14 grave markers signifying every war in U.S. history and peacetime were dedicated. The markers are mounted on granite posts.

The walkway was built by City Point Construction Co. of West Haven. The granite Korean War and Soderman memorials were made by Shelley Bros. Monuments of Guilford.

In May 2015, the dedication of Phase 8 included the dedication of a granite stone in memory of Veterans Council President Lorelee “Lori” Grenfell, who died in 2015 at age 60. The memorial was crafted by Giordano Bros. Monuments of West Haven.

Subsequent dedications have been held amid much fanfare, attracting hundreds of veterans and their families from all corners of Connecticut and beyond.

‘West Haven, we did it!’: City exits state financial oversight after nearly 8 years

WEST HAVEN, May 16, 2025 — After nearly eight long years, the state Municipal Accountability Review Board on Thursday voted to end its financial oversight of the city.

Mayor Dorinda Borer, who joined the Hartford MARB meeting remotely from her City Hall office, sat glued to her desktop computer as members of the bipartisan board commended her for “changing the culture” and “restoring long-term fiscal survival” in West Haven.

A floor down from the mayor’s office, more than 100 city employees, including City Council members, Board of Education leaders, and police and fire officials, gathered and watched the momentous meeting unfold on two large monitors in the Harriet C. North Community Room. Residents also witnessed the meeting via a livestream on Facebook.

Before motioning for the final vote, MARB Chairman Jeffrey R. Beckham, the secretary of the state Office of Policy and Management, complimented Borer and declared, “The city has met the criteria to be released.”

The mayor then spoke and thanked the MARB members for their guidance and support. She concluded her remarks by saying, “I am respectfully asking you to vote us out.”

And the members did just that, voting unanimously to release the city from state oversight and setting off rousing applause at City Hall.

Many employees reacted to the historic decision by exclaiming words of joy, including “Finally!” and “It’s about time!”

Once the meeting ended, Borer scampered down to the second floor and hosted a news conference to share the “exciting” news with the rest of the city and state. As she walked into the room to thunderous applause and cheers, the visibly emotional mayor was met with hugs from co-workers amid bursts of confetti.

Taking the stage for the press conference, Borer, who was a West Haven state representative when MARB oversight began in late 2017, proclaimed: “West Haven, we did it! The future of West Haven is bright!”

The mayor then thanked West Haven’s “incredibly talented” employees and the city’s “resilient” residents for staying the course during the oversight process.

Borer also thanked Gov. Ned Lamont for “being there every step of the way.”

Although the city’s $18 million bond deficit triggered MARB oversight under the former administration, Borer touted the city’s posting of three straight credit rating upgrades and balanced budgets since taking office in December 2023.

The board applauded Borer and her crack finance team for turning the city around faster than expected.

Borer then lauded and introduced Finance Director Michael Gormany, who thanked the mayor, her team and his staff, saying, “This has been a long journey, and this is a great day!”

During the half-hour MARB meeting, members also praised Borer’s corporation counsel, Paul J. Dorsi, and her chief of staff, Rick Spreyer, for helping to right the ship.

The board determined that the city was eligible for oversight release based on satisfying its audit results, bond ratings, and financial plan and practices.

In 2022, the MARB escalated its oversight to Tier IV, the board’s highest level of oversight, requiring the financially distressed city to present all budgets to the MARB and its West Haven subcommittee for approval.

Since taking office 17 months ago, Borer has fostered a more collaborative relationship with the board, making it a top priority of her administration.

She said that one of her main goals for running for mayor was to “lift the city out of a negative cloud that had hung for too long.”

Under Borer’s leadership, the city has taken extraordinary steps to tackle the many issues that led to an increase in MARB oversight, including internal control issues, staffing shortages in the Finance Department and audit delays.

The Borer administration has worked closely with the board and a third-party consultant to improve its financial management practices and internal control functions, such as the hiring of several key financial management positions that had been vacant, including a finance director, internal auditor, payroll manager, risk manager, and senior and junior accountants.

West Haven has also hired two third-party consulting firms to help identify and address its internal control issues, leading the city to make changes in its procedures and to institute new policies, including bank reconciliation, audit trail reporting and payroll segregation of duties.

According to the MARB, the city has satisfied the completion of no audited operating deficits in the general fund for the two most current consecutive fiscal year audits and has satisfied the completion of a general fund balance of at least 5% in the two most current consecutive fiscal audits.

In fiscal 2024, the city posted a general fund surplus of $6.44 million, increasing its fund balance to 11.02%, and a general fund surplus of $6.77 million in fiscal 2023, increasing its fund balance to 7.93%.

The city has also satisfied that it has received an investment-grade or higher long-term bond rating from at least one rating agency and that the rating has improved or remained unchanged since its most current designation.

In its MARB-approved financial plan, the city has projected a fund balance in each of the plan’s three consecutive fiscal years by meeting operating result criteria and fund balance criteria in its fiscal 2024 audit.

In each of the plan’s three fiscal years, the city has met its projections based on recurring revenues and expenditures with no one-time revenue found in its approved five-year plan. In the plan’s third year, the city has also met a positive fund balance projection of at least 5%, projecting an 11.29% fund balance.

Blind support group, ‘Our Journey of Sight,’ welcomes Mayor Dorinda Borer

WEST HAVEN, May 16, 2025 — (Pictured): Mayor Dorinda Borer, back center, joins members of “Our Journey of Sight,” a low-vision and blind support group for area residents, at their monthly meeting Friday at the West Haven Public Library’s main branch.

The support group, led by Richard Howard, a member of the National Federation of the Blind of Connecticut, features informational speakers, organizes activities and meets from 10 a.m.-noon on the third Friday of each month in the lower level of the library at 300 Elm St.

This month’s speakers included Borer and Beth Rival, a former board member of the federation’s Manchester-based Connecticut chapter who is a prominent advocate for the rights and equality of blind and visually impaired individuals. Rival lost her sight at age 19 and has been involved with the NFB for many years.

Also speaking was Michelle Puzzo, who in 2019 co-founded UR Community Cares, a Manchester-based nonprofit that offers vision resources, including assistive technology devices.

To join the support group or for more information, call Howard at 203-214-7631.

(City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

Program supports kids with siblings with disabilities

WEST HAVEN, April 25, 2025 — West Haven Youth and Family Services is excited to launch a new program at WHINC in collaboration with Southern Connecticut SIBshop at Southern Connecticut State University.

The program, SIBshop, is designed to support children in West Haven who have siblings with disabilities.

SIBshops provide a unique space where children can connect with peers, enjoy recreational activities and build emotional resilience. While many children express positive experiences growing up alongside a sibling with a disability, they often face unique challenges, such as emotional stress, a heightened sense of responsibility or a drive to “compensate” through high achievement.

While the primary focus is on Spanish-speaking families, all are welcome. The program is limited to eight spots.

For more information, contact youth services coordinator Coraly Colon at 203-943-8802 or ccolon@westhaven-ct.gov.