The New Year Is Here And Milfords Kids Future Is Near

The Holiday Cheer is behind us and for some that is a relief from all the joy that the holiday seasons brings. Every year I hold an annual Christmas party at my home and every year it grows to new stellar levels. The parties are fun, the kids love to play and celebrate with time off from school and we as parents honor our kids achievements with thoughtful gifts and presents.

The most important part of the holiday season, is to close out the old year and set the course for the new year. Some in my family have made resolutions, I on the other hand stay resolute and continue to find those solutions to the difficult problems that face the average person like myself and my family.

Each time I spend time with my kids, I am reminded of how much I love each and every one them. I also have dedicated my life to working hard and spending every penny I have to make sure they have a good home, food on the table and get a good education.

All of my remaining wonderful children and step children, two girls and one boy will be going off to college soon and like most kids they will have high hopes and dreams of aspiring to great things. My eldest step daughter already graduated from college, completed her Masters degree and is a teacher in the Fairfield Public School system. We are all very proud of Brianna who has made such great decisions for herself.

With the new year coming upon us, all too often we parents place all our energy in taking care of our kids up until college. To few of us teach our kids to fight the very forces in Washington D.C. who pass laws exporting their jobs to China and India.  This reality is increasingly frustrating universities and our youth who are discovering that they cannot find jobs that are good enough to pay for the loans they took out to pay for their education.

What I learned over the last year, and in talking to and meeting with several college graduates is that they are all to often struggling. Many believed that College and good grades were the answer to what we as parents taught them are the keys to independence and success.

The job of raising and loving your kids today is being redefined, and as such a crossroads exist. We can tell our kids to get good grades, go to college and with that diploma live a life inferior of that of their parents. Or we can accept that raising a kid today is more then just about good grades, a diploma and lots of student debt. Anyone out there who is raising children needs to accept that education is only a small part of parenting, the biggest part is making sure your kids are politically involved and actively discussing politics.

There is no way to make the next generation stronger than the last without demanding that our kids take part in elections as well as get a good education. Our kids need to learn how to fight corrupt congress people like Rosa Delauro who support and promote Communist ideals in our state.

We as parents want our kids to succeed, but when the wholesale destruction and dismantling of our economy is permitted in the name of bribery and corruption, we could expect our kids to live lives inferior to those that we as their parents made them accustomed to. The straddling of debt and being the product of a diploma mill will ultimately lead to our kids being increasingly frustrated. This year lets make it our mission to love our kids enough to teach them how to vote and identify those corrupt individuals who are ruining their future out of office. There is no greater new years resolution than to teach your kids how to identify and fight those politicians who destroy their future and then lie about it. Raise your kids to be infowarriors!

Happy New Year 

Milford CT High School Merger Followup.

A proposal to replace the city's two public high schools with one large, new one drew mixed reactions Tuesday.

Timothy Chaucer, who co-founded Milford Citizens Against Mega-Schools to defeat a similar plan five years ago, said Tuesday that large high schools don't work and that cities that have tried this experiment have gone back to two facilities.

"Fairfield tried this, and it was an absolute failure," said Chaucer, a retired Hamden High School teacher. "Meriden merged Maloney and Platt into one huge school and they regret it. Joe Foran (a former Milford superintendent), said the ideal size of a high school is 900 to 1,000 students." Rocco Frank, chairman of the local Independent Party, wrote on his blog that building one new high school makes more sense than spending the same amount of money to repair two older buildings that waste a lot of energy

Continue Reading Frank Juliano Story by Clicking HERE

Milfords Schools In A Leadership Crisis

The New Republican dominated board of education is being sworn in today, and their first day on the job will be a nightmare. The crisis in leadership however is nothing new to some legacy board members who expunged the last Milford Superintendent in a similar swarm of controversy.

Harvey Polanski our Current Milford School Superintendent who won high and lavish praises from our mayor Jim Richetelli is now mired in a second wave of controversy. This time the Richetelli favorite is accused of lewd and lascivious acts toward two female Principals who made the allegations against our superintendent.

This is the second time this year that Mr. Polanski found himself in the news, for those who may have forgot last August he was investigated along with Republican Board of Education member Joanne Rhorig.

Rhorig resigned from the Board of Education after a firestorm of controversy occurred surrounding her household and numerous allegations of illegal activity. Charges were made that Polanski attended a party where known sexual predators lived, and underage drinking was ongoing in his presence.

Harvey Polanski is currently put on administrative leave. This occurred after an emergency closed door session of the Board of Education voted on an emergency response to the two principals allegations.

According to local sources an outside investigative agency will be hired at an undisclosed sum of taxpayer money. The investigators are expected to conduct a fact finding inquiry into the allegations made by the two Milford principals.

The Milford School System, will temporarily be under the direction of Michael Cummings the Assistant Superintendent. Larry Schaeffer previously took the post once before after our former Superintendent of Schools Gregory A. Firn "exercised poor judgment" and undermined confidence in his leadership by his handling of a situation involving a coach accused of sexual assault.

The board said "Firn's actions regarding a letter of recommendation for former coach Robert Dulin would be considered in the Superintendent's contract negotiations in June." Firn later Resigned of his own recognisance.

This years case may be much more egregious and prove to be an even poorer choice of a candidate for Milford's top paying job should these allegations be proven true. Aggregate factors already overshadowing our current Superintendents administration has also been the terrible results of the CAPT test scores, a test vital to the graduation of Milford's High School students.

The Republican dominated administration holds a majority on every board in the city of Milford except the Planning and Zoning board of which they hold an even stake. The rebuilding of our schools leadership will be at the helm of the incoming administration.

Most onlookers in the know, however, have been less than impressed with the Richetelli record on education of which now includes the towns second Superintendent being mired in troubles, failing CAPT test scores, standing room protests over 180 teachers having their employment threatened, objections over the Jonathan the Law additions, and controversy over media aides being let go and then rehired.

Rebuilding Milford, Our City Continues To Improve

Milford certainly has made progress over the last few years and its important to note that despite the new found blight complaints our city has continued to improve. Some of the most notable improvements have been in Devon. These improvements include all those streetscapes that involve new lighting, parks and yes the Bridgeport Flyer Diner is now a "stellar" place to dine at.

Down in Walnut Beach, a new boardwalk is out for bid, and a developer built brand new town houses right across from the beach. Travelling north, Bridgeport Steel once a plighted property has now received a new face lift and is nearing completion.

On the green, Peter Spalthoff dramatically improved his property and his neighbor Harrison's hardware is set for a rebirth into a restaurant and retail establishment. Further north the Sikorski memorial bridge was beautifully redone, and the good news recently arrived that the I95 bridge spanning into Milford over the Housatonic is set to be rebuilt. And most recently, the New Aldi's supermarket (On the Post Rd.) recieved a nice welcome.

Jonathan Law High School is also getting a brand new wing, marking growth and improvement in our schools and local activists like the ECC are encouraging energy saving technologies to all our city buildings.

The greatest single improvement to our city has been the rebuilding of the former Jai Alai into a new Lowes, the addition put on the Mall, two new hotels and the redevelopment of the old trailer park into a Barnes and Noble, and Walmart Plaza's.

These modern improvements are in fact very exciting, but some fear that not enough emphasis is being placed on restoring Milford's historic architecture. Thankfully, and much to the credit of the voters that message was heard "loud and clear" and now provisions and safeguards have been put in place to make sure Milford's History is carefully preserved and protected.

Many thanks to all those people who have worked so hard to improve Milford, I sincerely hope that everyone's energy, investment and drive continue long into the future. Milford, through this kind of "Incrementalism" can improve its place on the coastline, and become the model for a modern metropolis.

As a final note I would also like to mention that the progress being incrementally made here in town is in fact wonderful. However, as the economy continues to "wind down," and the state grants arrive to their conclusion, it will be up to our city business leaders and elected officials to maintain what has been built and to continue to do so into that turbulent future.

Milford Kids Prepare For Halloween

Each year one of the most interesting and spectacular times in my neighborhood is Halloween. Where I live in Lexington Green, locals find it attractive this time of year. The community is a closed in community with about 450 houses spread across three very distinct developments.

The people in Lexington Green have actually grown accustomed to the very large swath of kids that arrive each year with their parents. The "Trick or Treaters" go house to house in their usual array of costumes scaring the neighbors in exchange for candy.

Last year I personally greeted about 500 hundred of the masked masqueraders right at my front door. The kids who arrived were not only limited to my neighborhood, I soon discovered that cars parked all along the entrance had kids getting out from as far as Bridgeport, but mostly they were locals right here in the immediate area.

With the large swath of open land, I discovered that many people in Milford, with kids, prefer housing developments because of the perception of safety and security that they have. Lexington Green is one such place, as it has lots of street lighting many responsible adults walking around with their kids and a large open green that is used to host an annual neighborhood costume party.

The association does not forbid outsiders from entering our community to "Trick or Treat" nor does it liberally advertise it. Hopefully this year will be a fun filled celebration that will bring lots of fun and joy to our neighborhood community once again. Certainly you are all are welcome to bring your kids to my house for a treat.

Petty Thieves Hit Lexington Green

The wonderful development here in the North end of Milford, Lexington Green seems to always have its share of nuisances when it comes to petty criminals. This latest incident involved the theft of of two video game consoles and a purse from Oak Ridge Lane.

According to the victim the game console can be identified as belonging to her kids because she initialed everything. The game console bore the initials "J" and or "B" and can be clearly seen in large letters.

Her neighbor was also the victim of a stolen purse, a purse that was taken from the inside of her car parked in front of her house. These thefts at Lexington Green and its associated two developments are not uncommon. Just last year vandals damaged the gazebo, spray painted profanities on the rocks by the gazebo, and followed up with a purple "W' painted on the main entrance.

Those responsible for these juvenile delinquent acts almost always trace back to local kids who either live in the development, or have parties where outside kids come into the development sometimes under the influence of alcohol and do damage to association property.

In the last year accidents have also been up as two light posts and a fence was taken down by distracted, or drunk drivers who failed to adequately pay attention to the road. Should anyone know of any information that can assist in reporting the names of individuals involved in these criminal acts, they are urged to contact the local Milford Police department, or me the neighborhood watch dog at (203) 247-4357.

This 4th of July, Milford Kids and Adults Should Take Notice Of Suzuki's Invigorating Message

This young Girl, Severn Suzuki gave a speech at the UN Earth Summit in 1992. Her goal, was to tell the World that her generation deserves better than the broken policies of the past. Although little has changed today, and such speeches can bring tears to our eyes, we again need to be reminded of how important it is to turn off the television, stop being consumed by our Ipods, personal problems, etc. and make time for our ailing country.

Personally I believe that our great nation is governed by "We the People" the very words that the founders of America wrote as an immutable law to the governance of ourselves. The very reason our world has become dominated by corporate greed, special interests, and unconscionable corruption is because too many people are asleep. Too few Americans are up to the challenge of critical thinking, and even more have not even considered citizenship as an important priority.

While we do, however have a very high voter turnout in town, we do not have many leaders who are capable of solving or challenging the very culprits that have created the problems Suzuki speaks of...just hear the words of this very brave and admirable young lady. It has been said that she silenced the world for five minutes.

Always Look At The Bright Side Of Life

As the local economy unravels and our elected leaders struggle to find new ways to deal with the surging food and energy costs that are resulting in cutbacks all over town, I thought today I would spread a little cheer to distract us from our personal woes.

The sad news is that we may not have the Oyster festival this year, or some other creature comforts that once existed in town. The good news is that at least we have those priceless things that we often take for granted, like our friends and families.

Hopefully this Mothers day was a reminder of the importance of family and loved ones, the very things that I deem priceless and above any and all material stuff that can get us stressed out. For those parents who are fortunate enough to have extra time on their hands, you should take the opportunity this summer to connect with your children and family. Create those strong bonds and give many great heartfelt lessons to your kids, it will make them proud of themselves.

This mothers day I learned that if we take the time to teach our kids about caring for not only other family members, but themselves they will take more pride in who they are and consequentially feel more content with their lives. I learn as much from my kids growing as I do trying to teach them lifes little lessons. Never in my life could I imagine missing out on parenthood.

Maintaining strong family unity in the wake of terrible odds today, is what I found is the best thing we can do to make our town and people a happier place. Milford has a respect program, and that is a great start, but ultimately the love and devotion a parent gives their children and vice-versa is what makes our kids respectful. Programs and respect starts at home.

Loving our children, and acknowledging them with a kiss goodnight at bedtime, a night time story, and lots of hugs and good guidance about important issues is the surest way of helping them not repeat the mistakes us grownups have made. Today's post is about always looking at the bright side of life, and there is nothing brighter than putting your family first.