From a press release:
“Hope for Haiti: A Benefit Concert for its People” will be held on Saturday, March 20 at 7:00 p.m. at The First Congregational Church in Essex, Connecticut, UCC, 6 Methodist Hill. A free will offering will support the United Church of Christ’s Haitian Relief Fund.
The evening of spirituals, inspirational, traditional and contemporary music will feature performances by the Senior, Youth and Junior Choirs and the Grace Notes Bell Choir of The First Congregational Church in Essex, UCC; and the Senior Choir of The United Church of Chester.
Business As Usual Will Perform in Essex March 20th
Performances by Connecticut musicians, composer/pianist, Lee Ann Olsen of Higganum; guitarists Taylor Bickford and Danny Minor of Essex and vocalists Veronica Lee of Old Lyme and Charles Della Rocco of Chester round out the program.
Music directors of the concert are Barry Asch of Old Saybrook,CT, Senior Choir Director of The First Congregational Church in Essex, Connecticut, UCC; Shari Wilcox of Centerbrook, CT, Youth Choirs Director at The First Congregational Church in Essex, Connecticut, UCC; Cheryl Harger of Ivoryton, CT, Bell Choirs Director at the church; and Karli Gilbertson of Chester, CT, Senior Choir Director at The United Church of Chester.
In addition to serving as Senior Choir Director, Barry Asch is Music Director/Conductor and Co-founder of Cappella Cantorum. He has conducted critically-acclaimed concert tours with Capella, performing throughout Europe and in Canada. A graduate of the Hartt School of Music and The University of Hartford with a master of music education degree, Asch served as music department chairman at Valley Regional High School in Deep River, CT, where he taught for 31 years. During the summer of 2000, conductor Asch was part of the Conductors Master Class with Helmuth Rilling at the Oregon Bach Festival and a participating conductor in the Dennis Keene Choral Festival at The Kent School in Connecticut. Asch received the Shoreline Arts Achievement Award in 2007 for a significant and on-going cultural contribution to the shoreline community.
Shari Wilcox is the Youth Choirs Director at The First Congregational Church in Essex, Connecticut, UCC. She teaches voice and piano, both as a member of the faculty at The Community Music School in Centerbrook, CT, and at her private studio. A mezzo-soprano, she has appeared in opera, musical theatre and as a guest soloist with regional orchestras. A graduate of the University of Rhode Island with a bachelor of music performance degree, she studied voice with both the late Mary Langdon of Mystic and Connie Bloomer, former choral director at Ledyard High School. She is a member of Con Brio, a 50-voice auditioned chorus.
Since 1999, Cheryl Harger has directed the bell choirs at The First Congregational Church in Essex, Connecticut, UCC, comprised of the Grace Notes, Rainbow Ringers and Cheerful Chimers. In addition to her position at the church, she is also a member of the Shoreline
Ringers, a community handbell choir, based in southeastern Connecticut. Cheryl performs with the Ringers at venues throughout Connecticut and appeared with the ensemble when the group played at Carnegie Hall in New York City and at the annual “Joy For The Kids” concert in Hartford, sponsored by WFSB-TV.
Karli Gilbertson, Senior Choir Director at The United Church of Chester, is artist-in-residence and a member of the voice faculty at The Community Music School in Centerbrook, CT. A graduate in vocal performance of the New England Conservatory of Music and the University of Minnesota, she has studied voice with Doris Yarick-Cross, Susan Fischer-Clickner and Donna Pegors. As Resident Artist with the Connecticut Opera Company, Ms. Gilbertson has performed many leading roles at The Bushnell in Hartford.
For more information on the “Hope For Haiti” benefit concert, call The First Congregational Church office at (860) 767-8097.
By Charles Stannard
ESSEX– The board of selectmen has approved a proposed $6,483,745 town government budget for 2010-2011 that represemts a decrease of about $40,000 from the current town government appropriation.
The budget plan was unanimously approved by the selectmen this week and presented to the finance board at a meeting Thursday. The budget will be presented to residents at an April 7 heariing, with a final town meeting vote on a spending plan for 2010-2011 expected in mid-May.
First Selectman Phil Miller said selectmen faced “a difficult budget year” because of a loss of about $68,000 in tax revenue resulting from a drop in the 2009 grand list, and a higher debt service payment for the now completed renovation and expansion of Essex Elementary School. “This is as austere of a budget as we can have without taking major backward steps,” Miller said.
The budget includes no wage or salary increases for elected officials or non-union town employees. The town’s funding contribution for the Essex and Ivoryton libraries is unchanged from the current year, and the spending plan funds no major road repair or improvement projects.
The budget funds the existing mix of full and part-time staff for various health related services, even though information presented at a Feb. 1 hearing indicated the town could save about $60,000 by joining the Connecticut River Area Health District. Miller said the selectmen are still planning a vote on joining the health district for later this year, with any possible savings from the budgeted amounts for health services to be redirected toward capital purchases sinking funds that would be funded in 2010-2011 at only 75 percent of the amounts in the current budget.
Despite a tight town government budget, residents are still facing a tax increase due to proposed education spending. The budget plan for Essex Elementary School that will be presented to the finance board later this month is expected to show an increase of about 2.98 percent, while the Essex share of the Region 4 education budget and the Supervision District budget that funds shared services in Region 4 schools call for new spending of about $330,000.
Miller said a tax increase of about one-half mill would be needed to fund the total town/school spending appropriation. The current tax rate is 16.95 mills, or $16.95 in tax for each $1,000 of assessed property value.
By Charles Stannard
ESSEX— The renovations to the first floor at town hall are complete, a project that includes a new floor and improvements to offices entranceways.
First Selectman Phill Miller announced the completion of the work at Wednesday’s meeting of the board of selectmen. The project that began in late December was prompted by severe deterioration of the original floor of the building that was discovered during a carpet replacement. The town hall was constructed in the early 1890s and served as the town’s high school until 1952.
Miller said the work, which includes a new laminated floor and upgrades to the town clerk and registrar of voters offices, cost a total of $41,700, about $1,700 more than was initially anticipated. Funding for the work, which was done by Riggio and Sons Inc. of Ivoryton, was available in the current town budget.
In other business, Miller announced that town police would be conducting enhanced speeding and stop sign enforcement on Lynn Road in the Ivoryton section in response to recent complaints from residents. The selectmen in 2008 rejected a request from residents for a new stop sign at the intersection with Winthrop Hills Road . A traffic consultant had advised against putting a stop sign at the location, which is on an incline in the road.
From a press release:
Irish singer and folklorist Tom O’Carroll performs songs and stories of Ireland at the Essex Library on Tuesday, March 16th at 6:30 P.M.
Tom brings a wealth of stories, humor, wit and history to his performances and, whether playing a plaintive air on the tin whistle or singing and playing rousing traditional songs to the accompaniment of the guitar or the bodhrán (Irish drum), he will captivate all with his lively program of Irish culture. CDs of Tom’s music will be available for purchase after the show.
This performance is free and open to all. For reservations or information, please call the Essex Library at 860-767-1560. The Essex Library is located at 33 West Avenue.
From a press release:
Transfiguration church in Kizhi, Russia. The Centerbrook Architects Lecture Series continues Friday, March 19th at 7 P.M. with God Comes To Earth: Ecology, Theology, and Architecture, with Prof. Michael Crosbie, at Essex Town Hall)
Professor Crosbie, a prolific writer on the topic of religious architecture, will discuss the ways in which today’s religious structures challenge old ideas, fashioning sacred places where me might not expect to find them, using space and materials in decidedly untraditional ways.
Michael J. Crosbie has served as an editor at Architecture: The AIA Journal, Progressive Architecture, ArchitectureWeek.com, and is editor-in-chief of Faith & Form, a quarterly journal on religious art and architecture. He is also a frequent contributor to Architectural Record and writes about architecture and design for the Hartford Courant. He has also appeared as an architectural expert on The History Channel. He is the author of more than 15 books on architecture, including five books for children. Dr. Crosbie is Chairman of the Department of Architecture at the University of Hartford, and has served as an adjunct professor at Roger Williams University and Catholic University.
This lecture is free and open to all, but reservations are strongly suggested. Please call the Essex Library for information or reservations, at 860-767-1560. The Essex Town Hall is located at 29 West Avenue in Essex.
From a press release:
Even music lovers are intimidated by the monumental four-opera cycle written by Richard Wagner, Der Ring des Nibelungen, despite its place in the pantheon of great music. But the Essex Library’s “Opera at the Library” is planning to make these musical masterpieces new fans, when its “Wagner Without Fear” series kicks off Saturday, March 13th at 2 P.M., with a talk by opera scholar James Kuslan. His easy-to-enjoy lectures combine erudition with humor (and surprises!)
The first screening in the Ring Film Series will be Das Rheingold, the Metropolitan Opera’s definitive, classic staging, starring James Morris, Christa Ludwig, Siegriend Jerusalem, and Ekkehard Wlaschiha, Friday, March 19th at 2 P.M. Enjoy this dazzling performance in Surround Sound and Stereo, with our newly upgraded sound system.
Mr. Kuslan, a popular speaker on the topic of classical singing, has lectured on operatic disasters and on madness in opera (and mad modern stagings). As artistic producer, he is creating a series of vocal CDs for Deutsche Grammophon to feature some of the German classical record company’s most glamorous stars, and wrote the liner notes for London Records’ 20 CD collection, Opera Made Easy, which highlights the artistry of Luciano Pavarotti. He also wrote completely original dialogue for Salt Marsh Opera’s performances of Johann Strauss’s Die Fledermaus.
Don’t miss this chance to discover (or get better acquainted with) the music of this controversial genius. Call the Essex Library at 860-767-1560 for information or reservations.
Photography by fine art photographer Jerry Reed will be on display at the Essex Library through the month of March, including this one, called “Nothing Left To Shelter”.
Additional learning materials will offered as a follow-up to the program. Jerry has previously conducted 27 digital photography workshops. This is not a “how to” workshop, so there is no need to bring your camera or computer, just an open mind. The program is free and open to all. Please call the Essex Library at 860-767-1560 for reservations or more information. The Library is at 33 West Avenue in Essex.
By Charles Stannard
ESSEX— The zoning commission Monday approved a permit renewal for Calamari Recycling Company for a volume reduction facility for construction and demolition debris at the company facility on Dump Road.
The panel had approved a permit for the facility in April 2004. But it was never built and the permit expired last June. Joel Nucci, a representative of the company that currently recycles metals on the site, said the company is ready to build the facility this year after economic and market conditions led to a delay in the original plan.
Nucci said the facility, to be located in a 105-square-foot by 105-square-foot building, could be completed in about six months. The facility will process and separate materials from construction and demolition debris for further recycling or disposal at a landfill. The state Department of Environmental Protection has granted a permit for the facility. Acting after a brief public hearing, the commission approved a permit extension for the facility through March 2014.
In other business, the commission set a March 15 public hearing on a special permit application from the town’s park and recreation commission for a basketball court at the former state commuter parking lot on the corner of West Avenue and Saybrook Road (Route 154).
The commission also appointed alternate Lillian Mosa as a regular member to replace Jeff Woods. A Republican, Woods had been appointed to the board of finance in December to replace Joel Marzi, another Republican who resigned from the finance board after he was elected to the board of selectmen in November. Woods had run unsuccessfully for the board of finance in last year’s town election.
A former chairman who had served on the commission for more than six years, Woods was the only member of the panel to vote last month in favor of the permit application for a large Rite Aid pharmacy on Westbrook Road. The commission rejected a special permit for the Rite Aid project on a 4-1 vote on Jan. 25. The decision has been appealed to Middlesex Superior Court.
Woods resigned from the zoning commission immediately after the Rite Aid vote. The elevation of Mosa as a regular member leaves a new opening for an alternate on the zoning commission.
By Charles Stannard
ESSEX— The town has hired a new full-time park and recreation director who will begin working in Essex on March 8. Richard Audet, an East Lyme resident, was hired based on the recommendation of a town selection committee that interviewed three finalists.
Audet currently works as the park and recreation director in Marlborough. He has a bachelor of science degree in recreation management from the University of Northern Colorado, and a masters degree in organizational leadership from Palm Beach Atlantic University in Florida. He has worked previously in park and recreation positions in Palm Beach Garedens, Fla. West Hartford, and Cromwell.
A total of 51 applicants were screened and narrowed by a review committee comprised of three members of the park and recreation commission and Selectman Joel Marzi. The committee interviewed three finalists before making a hiring recommendation. Audet will receive a starting salary of $44,262.
Audet replaces Brian Wilson, who was the town’s first full-time park and recreation director. Wilson, who held the job for about 15 months in 2008-2009, left the Essex job in October. Audet’s duties will include coordinating and managing park and recreation programs, and the maintenance of the town’s parks and ballfields.
By Charles Stannard
ESSEX— The town has openings for representatives on two regional commissions, the Connecticut River Gateway Commission and the governing board for the Connecticut River Estuary Regional Planning Agency.
First Selectman Phil Miller announced the openings at Wednesday’s meeting of the board of selectmen, noting the town is currently “under represented”. Essex is entitled to two representatives on each commission.
The Connecticut River Gateway Commission, formed in the 1970s, is comprised of eight towns fronting on the lower Connecticut River, including Chester, Deep River, East Haddam, Essex, Haddam, Lyme, Old Lyme, and Old Saybrook. The commission is charged with protecting the riverfront on both sides of the river through development standards, input to town land use boards, and occasional purchases of property or easement rights. The CRERPA directors govern the operation of the nine town regional planning agency. Both panels meet monthly, ususally at the regional planning office in Old Saybrook.
Miller told the selectmen he has spoken to Ivoryton resident Anthony Chirico about the Gateway Commission seat. A consultant on doing business in China, Chirico ran unsuccessfully for the State Senate in the 33rd District in 2000 and 2002, and later served on the zoning commission.
Miller said Fred Vollono, who has served on the Gateway Commission for several years, is ready to give up his seat. The other Essex seat on the commission is vacant. One Essex spot on the regional planning agency board of directors is also vacant.
If Chirico accepts the offer of appointment to the Gateway Commission, the town would still need one additional representative to the Gateway Commission, and one additional representative on the CRERPA board of directors. Interested volunteers should contact the first selectman.
