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Just a thought . . .
A government that is big
enough to give you all you
want is big enough to take
it all away.
Barry Goldwater

M O N D AY, M A R C H 3 , 2 0 0 7
Local NEWS HOTLINE
354-1062
PA G E A 3

NEWS
BRIEFS
Teens, adults work
together on solutions
NORWALK — The next
meeting of NNHT (Norwalk
Neighbors Helping our
Teens) will be Wednesday
from 7 to 9 p.m. at 25 Van
Zant St. This meeting will
be co-facilitated by teens.
The format is based on cir-
cle discussions without the
usual front table/podium
speaker that may make peo-
ple feel reluctant to speak.
Everyone can get involved
and everyone has something
to contribute. The goal is to
stop listening and start
hearing our teens.
Sauerbraten dinner
NORWALK — A sauerbra-
ten dinner will be held
March 11 from 5 to 7 p.m. by
the Norwalk Quartette Club
Singers, 162 New Canaan
Ave. Tickets are $15 per per-
son prepaid; $17 at the door.
Beverages not included.
Reservations are required
by Friday. Make checks
payable to NQC Singers, 14
Cricket Lane, Norwalk, CT
05850 or call (203) 838-0616.
Topics: How city can
prepare for disaster
NORWALK — To help
strengthen and localize
existing preparedness and
collaborative efforts, the
Norwalk Fire Department
Office of Emergency Man-
agement, has planned an
emergency preparedness
workshop on Wednesday,
focusing on houses of wor-
ship and their congregants
as well as human service
organizations and their
clients.
The workshop will focus
on equipping faith-leaders
to lead disaster prepared-
ness, response and recovery
initiatives. Participants will
City examines reimbursement of employee legal costs
By ROBERT KOCH
Hour Staff Writer
NORWALK — The city of Nor-
walk is not alone in picking up
the legal bill of employees and
elected officials who’ve been
cleared of allegations of ethics
violations.
From there, how much such
bills should run is open to
debate.
The Office of State Ethics in
Hartford administers and
enforces the ethics code for
state employees and public offi-
cials. Under state law, those
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, with Grace Fosnot, presents a proclamation to the residents of The Marvin
in honor of their completion of 1000 blankets for wounded soldiers. Fosnot has been making blankets for soldiers since World
War II.
employees and officials are
entitled to reimbursement, if
they cleared of allegations, or
if a court overturns an ethics
board’s finding of a violation.
“If an individual is the sub-
ject of a complaint and faces
allegations through a hearing
— (allegations) that he or she
has violated the code of con-
duct — and has been found not
to have violated the code, then
the state shall pay reasonable
legal expenses,” said Carol Car-
son, office executive director,
citing state statutes.
State statutes, however, do
not define a reasonable legal
expense in dollars.
According to state law, the
“state shall pay the reasonable
legal expenses of the respon-
dent as determined by the
Attorney General or by the
court if appropriate.”
Last Tuesday, the Norwalk
Common Council approved
reimbursing Councilman
Nicholas D. Kydes $13,677 for
legal costs he incurred defend-
ing himself against an ethics
complaint last year. An ethics
Hour photo / BEN GANCSOS
board found that Kydes hadn’t and moved to reduce it to
violated the city’s ethics code $5,910. The motion failed.
by discussing a Wall Street David W. Rubin, Kydes’
redevelopment project. attorney, charged his client
Council members approved $13,195 for 40 hours of work on
the reimbursement on a 7-3 11 different dates between Sept.
vote. 21 and Oct. 31, 2007, according
Councilwoman Amanda M. to the bill presented to the
Brown, who voted ‘No,’ said council. That averages to an
afterward that she empathized hourly fee of $330. FedEx and
with Kydes, but added that the copying charges, and the hiring
council had a duty to reduce of a legal reporter, made up the
the bill. Brown, a senior parale- balance of the $13,677 bill.
gal, said Kydes’ bill seemed When the matter was before
“excessive and bloated in council’s Finance and Claims
areas.” She reviewed the bill See KYDES’, A4
Curriculum
changed to
meet needs
of non-native
English speakers
By NINA SEN
Hour Staff Writer
NORWALK — The growing population
of students who are not native English
speakers in the city’s schools has
prompted a revision of curriculum and
the English Language Learner program
that is well underway.
A study conducted by professor
Naomi Migliacci of Southern Connecti-
cut University, recommended several
options to enhance resources for ELL
students and their parents.
In the 19 schools, 1,350 students study
English as their second language. At
West Rocks Middle School, students in
Chester Dawson’s and Donna Reeves’s
classes say they are grateful for the Eng-
lish instruction.
In Spanish, Ninrod Escalante, who
comes from Guatemala, said he was
shown where his classes were by other
students when he came to West Rocks
and he wants to help other new arrivals
learn the basics of life in the U.S.

The Marvin has our troops covered

engage in scenario exercis-
es, and have the opportunity
to discuss issues and con-
cerns related to emergency
planning.
The free workshop will
be held in the Center for
Global Studies at Brien
McMahon High School.
Pre-registration is
required. To register, con-
tact Michele DeLuca at 203-
854-0238 or e-mail mdelu-
ca@norwalkct.org.
Police firefighters
to aid blood drive
NORWALK — The Ameri-
can Red Cross has enlisted
police and firefighters to
help increase blood dona-
tions for Connecticut hospi-
tal patients. On Tuesday
and Thursday, from 12:30 to
6:15 p.m., and on Saturday,
from from 8 a.m. to 1:15 p.m.
at the Fairfield County
Donor Center on 596 West-
port Ave., the second annual
Battle of the Badges 2008
will bring together local
police and fire departments
for a one-week competition
to see which group can
recruit the greatest number
of people to volunteer to
give blood through the
American Red Cross. The
department recruiting the
most donors and garnering
the most votes from blood
donors wins a traveling tro-
phy. Residents are asked to
donate blood or join the
recruiter’s bureau to help
spread the word. For more
information, call 1-800-GIVE
LIFE or visit
www.givelife.org and enter
sponsor code Norwalk.
Government today
• Board of Estimate &
Taxation Budget Review
meeting, 5:30 p.m., Room
231, City Hall
• Board of Estimate &
Taxation Regular meeting,
7:30 p.m., Common Council
Chambers, City Hall
• Planning Committee of
the Common Council spe-
cial meeting, 7 p.m., Room
A300, City Hall
Students in the West Rocks ELL pro-
gram are primarily Hispanic, indicative
of the changing population in Norwalk
and Fairfield County. There is also a
growing Haitian presence. Others come
Residents produce 1,000 blankets for wounded service members` from Europe or Asia, Dawson said.
Dawson speaks Spanish fluently and
By JARED NEWMAN residents are encouraged to partici- yourselves in The Marvin to continue can quickly converse with his students.
Hour Staff Writer pate in an accredited daycare pro- to help men and women who are in Reeves speaks to many Haitian students
gram for 3- and 4-year-olds that is harm’s way,” Moccia said. in French.
NORWALK — Residents of The
also held at the facility. The state legislature delivered its After recommendations by Migliacci,
Marvin were showered with praises,
Lori Coates, The Marvin’s resident own citation via state Reps. Toni who was herself an ELL student, the
proclamations and citations Sunday
services coordinator, started the pro- Boucher, Lawrence Cafero and program is looking to revise curriculum
as they celebrated their 11th anniver-
gram to send blankets to soldiers Christopher Perone and state Sen. through the Rosetta Stone language
sary and the completion of 1,000
around the world two years ago. She’s Bob Duff. translation tools, increased teachers and
blankets for wounded American sol- since received honors from the Amer-
diers. “You do more than warm (sol- aides as well as educating mainstream
Handmade fleece blankets, bearing
ican Red Cross of Mid-Fairfield
County, but Sunday’s event was for
diers’) bodies, you warm their teachers.
hearts,” Cafero said, “and you do that Many of the West Rocks ELL students
military insignia, patriotic symbols
or traditional Army camouflage, have
the residents. for our community and our nation, said they are nervous about the newly
Surrounded by framed pictures of and for that I am grateful.” introduced science standard tests at the
been sent to Landstuhl Regional Med- blankets-in-progress and samples of
U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays, R-4, end of eighth grade. The new test will
ical facility in Germany, Balad Air- their work hanging from the walls,
bestowed his blessings on the resi- measure a students awareness of biolo-
base in Iraq, the National Naval Med- residents received deep thanks from
dents as well. gy, chemistry and physics during the
ical Center in Bethesda, Md. and Wal- government officials.
“Whether you’re a Republican or fifth and eighth-grade years.
ter Reed Army Medical Center in Mayor Richard A. Moccia declared Becker said the program is providing
Washington. Democrat or unaffiliated, whether
March 2, 2008 a day of celebration in more science textbooks as well as an
The Marvin, 60 Gregory Blvd., is honor of the residents. you thought we should be in Iraq or
not, everyone loves our troops,” Shays instruction specialist to the programs.
an affordable housing facility for sen- “That’s the best part of being Some students in Dawsons class
ior citizens. Among other activities, mayor, is working with people like See RESIDENTS, A4 worked on their science projects Thurs-
See NUMBER, A4
Hispanic vote seen making
a mark in Dems’ primaries
Associated Press said. As much as 75 percent of
Hispanics who voted this year
HARTFORD — The political
clout of the Hispanic commu- participated in Democratic pri-
maries, he said.
nity is growing as its popula-
tion continues to increase. And in states such as Flori-
da, where Cubans and other
Andres Ramirez, vice presi-
dent for Hispanic programs at Hispanics historically have
leaned toward Republicans,
the New Democrat Network, a
Washington think tank, has Ramirez said large turnouts
this year showed a shift to the
analyzed the Hispanic vote in
the presidential primaries. His- Democrats.
“The Latino electorate is
panic participation increased
from 9 percent of the Democra- still the great unknown to
many in the political and press
tic primary electorate in the
2004 primaries to 13 percent arena,” Ramirez said. “As a
this year, he said. result, they are prone to suc-
cumb to stereotypes and myths.
In Connecticut, the number
of Hispanic voters grew from This election will certainly
help debunk some of those
2,535 in the 2004 presidential
primary to 20,236 this year, myths due to the increased
roles that Latinos are playing.”
Ramirez said. This increased
the Hispanic vote to 6 percent Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-
Conn., who speaks Spanish flu-
of the state’s primary elec-
torate. It’s a small percentage, ently, was asked by Sen. Barack Hour photo/BEN GANCSOS
but could provide the margin of
victory in a close election.
Obama after he was endorsed
by Dodd to campaign for him in
Warm up
Hispanic communities in The Serendipity Chorale, under the direction of Gigi Van Dyke, right, warms up their voices for A
The rising participation
among Hispanics is good news Texas for the state’s primary on Celebration of Negro Spirituals at the First Congregational Church On the Green.
for the Democrats, Ramirez See DEMS’, A4

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