Missing Milford Kayaker Search Still Ongoing

Search and rescue teams from area police departments and the U.S. Coast Guard continued through Sunday evening looking for a missing kayaker, as computer models relayed a 17- to 27.9-hour window of survivability based on water temperatures, Fire Capt. Chris Zak said.

Two people were thrown into the water from their kayak early Sunday. One of the men, identified by U.S. Coast Guard officials as John Ferraro, was able to defy the odds and swim to land, but the other man, identified as Michael Krupa, 22, of Middletown, remained missing. Officials did not have an age or hometown for Ferraro.

Zak said that at 4:42 a.m. Sunday the department’s emergency operations center received a 911 cell phone call reporting a person in the water. Fire officials later learned that two people were in the kayak when it flipped over and were unable to get back into the boat.

Zak said both of the kayakers began to swim toward anchored boats, and one man was able to swim to Charles Island, where he found a boat and woke up the people who were on board. Fire officials did not release the identity of the kayakers.

When firefighters arrived, the man was suffering from hypothermia because of the prolonged time in the water, and he is currently at an area hospital in guarded condition.

The man did not have a flotation device on, Zak said. A Coast Guard helicopter and boat, along with Milford fire and police, Stratford and West Haven fire personnel, searched all day and into the evening for the second kayaker, Zak said.

Beachgoers who basked at Silver Sands State Park Sunday watched the rescue operation with interest.

Bob Gabris of Naugatuck sat on the shore Sunday afternoon, staring out across the water.

“We came down here to walk on the beach and relax, and we picked a bad day, because somebody lost their life,” he said.

Gabris hadn’t heard about the accident before coming to the beach, but immediately knew something was wrong when he saw the helicopter. “One or two people go down every year between here and Stratford,” he said. “Long Island Sound is very dangerous.”

Terry Ames of Waterbury stood out on the sandbar Sunday afternoon filming the scene. In the distance, emergency services boats surrounded Charles Island.

Ames said he comes to the beach several times a week to film nature. After seeing the news today, he knew he was in for a different scene.

“I couldn’t believe it when I turned the news on. I was here just yesterday,” he said. Ames said he was anxious to know who the missing boater was, as he knows a lot of people in the area.

“There’s too many drownings this year, all over the place. Too many,” he said

Zak said they were using sonar to try and locate the person. They found the kayak. Crews are searching between Silver Sands State Park and Walnut Beach.

A side scan sonar device was used by Milford Fire Department divers to try to ascertain if the individual was submerged. Fire department units also performed grid search patterns in Long Island Sound, and shore units were walking the beach areas.

Zak said it is somewhat remarkable that one of the kayakers was able to swim to Charles Island because it was very windy out and the currents are “very difficult” to navigate.

“He is very fortunate he did make it,” Zak said.

Zak also said once boaters position their vessel south of Charles Island, they are no longer protected by land, which allows the winds to pick up and make the waves treacherous.

Zak emphasized the importance of having a personal floatation device when using any type of water vessel, and the need to have a family member or friend know your destination and estimated return time.

A detailed plan outlining the departure location, destination, identity of people on the vessel and expected return time can assist rescue workers in locating those lost in an emergency, officials said.

By Brian McCready, Milford

This Weeks Property Transfers

65 Tulip Tree Ct, James Parker Esse and Maria Turnage to Richard and Leighann Weber, $431,000.

109 Grant St, Angelo C. and Gene A. Memoli to Melissa P. Knauert, $475,000.

12 Alana Dr Unit 12, River Brook LLC to Chris Palumbo, $250,000.

14 Beverly Rd, Stephen and Lisa Young to Calogero A. Distefano, $385,000.

58 Botsford Ave, Pierpont Russell J Jr Est and Barbara Richards to Salvatore Cappetta, $135,000.

207 Broadway, Bank Of New York and Certificate Holders Inc to Brian W. Wellington, $260,000.

75 Carmen Rd, Nationstar Mortgage LLC to Vasilia Perselis, $241,500.

77 Carriage Dr Unit 77, Edmund Doglio to Terrence J. Garrison, $157,500.

250 Chapel St, US Bk and Master Alternative Loan T to Jonathan J. and Meredith L. Trottier, $215,600.

59 Colonial Ave, Lance S. Winer to Melissa Kamen, $258,000.

14 Cooper Ave, James B. and Janet E. Turiano to Elena Martinez, $170,000.

55 Earle St, Vincenza Garcia to Wells Fargo Bk, $1.

125 Eastern Pkwy, Maria F. Rimkus to Brandon M. Adams, $226,000.

34 Elaine Rd, Un Cha Deane to Barbara S. Werner, $239,900.

20 Elder St Unit 20, Thomas A. Maguire and Janet M. Shanley to David Colasanto, $203,000.

53 Fairfield St, Deutsche Bk to Michael Braccio, $136,000.

33 Foran Rd Unit 16, Mark Pueci to Paul Smith, $144,000.

33 Forest Rd Unit C, Bank Of New York Mellon to Marilyn P. Boone, $225,900.

6 Green Meadow Rd, Karey S. and Glenn V. Maxwell to Debora M. Taylor and James F. Weaver, $379,900.

118 Gulf St Unit 12, Marcia M. Benedosso to Megan Flaherty, $170,000.

61 Hackett St, Terence Lilly to Anthony J. Pantuso, $246,000.

146 High St Unit 101, Graham Wylie to Laura Sincavage and David Mcallen, $152,000.

53 Hilltop Cir, Robert N. Morrissey to Scott J. Cweklinski, $250,000.

2 Jackson Dr Unit 2, Annette Mezzanotte to Jerome Hampton, $210,000.

88 Joyce Ct, Kar Financial LLC to Terrence W. and Stacy D. Lilly, $325,000.

3 Kensington St, Russell Davies to Laura and Fabio Marinelli, $317,000.

157-1/2 Kings Hwy Unit F, Charles T. and Eileen J. Poarch to John A. Dubac, $306,500.

19-21 Marie St, Jose R. Suarez to HSBC Bank USA, $1.

180 Melba St Unit 105, Ocean Point LLC to Colleen Ryan, $189,900.

180 Melba St Unit 112, Ocean Point LLC to Celia Gote, $299,900.

74 Midwood Rd, Theodore W. and Leslie A. Bielecki to Christopher Canavan, $350,000.

498 Naugatuck Ave Unit C, Irene M. Pataiano to Jared J. Becker, $170,000.

783 Naugatuck Ave, Frederick W. Detar to Milton Investments LLC, $175,000.

158 New Haven Ave, Deborah Snyder and Kevin J. Cusseaden to Bank Of New York and Certificate Holders, $265,200.

843 North St, Joseph M. Wicklow and Joy A. Taylor to Doreen Castigaoli, $425,000.

169 Oronoque Rd, Donald J Ritchie RET and Donald J. Ritchie to David J. Field, $360,000.

208 Point Beach Dr Unit 3, Richard J. Cottrell and Anthony N. Benedosso to Aurora Loan Svcs LLC, $145,331.

6 Rita Ln, Yongsian Su and Oi Che to Erik Wattnem, $340,000.

153 Rogers Ave, Bank Of New York and Certificate Holders Cwabs to Brendan Magnan, $369,900.

61 Sandpiper Cres Unit 61, Christian Thompson to Patricia Sabasteanski, $322,000.

23 Silver St, MTS Rentals LLC to Gary J. and Diana L. Cirillo, $120,000.

14 Springdale St, Doris Cossett to Stephanie M. Mccarhern, $165,000.

39 Stiles St, Alicia and Robert L. Guevara to Craig Corey, $360,000.

417 Swanson Cres Unit 417, Carol A. Wiencko and Debra S. Masica to Jason Parsons and Lori Mcnulty, $188,000.

50 Underhill Rd, Adam J. and Susan S. Karvosky to Robert J. Thomas and Amanda A. Sternemanow, $263,900.

30 Wilcox Rd, Michael F. King and Carol K. Salvatore to Cynthia Johansson and Juan Muniz, $242,000.

56 Windy Hill Rd, John and Marlen Ivak to Glenn and Jocelyn Porzelt, $310,000.

N/a, William E. and Genevieve M. Chase to Ryan D. and Linda James, $322,500.


CLICK HERE TO SEARCH PROPERTY RECORDS

Rocco Frank Board of Education Candidate Comments on Education

Today I read the New Haven Register, and once again heard the Republicans and Democrats sparring over comments that were made by various board members over education.

The word used by Mr. Wiley dubbed our schools as "adequate" or, as being in the interests of Milford. After being challenged by the Democrats he recanted "Adequate" to infer he was talking about buildings and nothing more.

While I personally do not care about debating the semantics of "he said, she said" I will put on record what I always put on record and that is Milford's kids cannot be marginalized, and that a "world class" education system should be our goal.

Harvey Polanski, has recently sent me and I assume all board of education candidates a budget, and additional information regarding Milford's schools. Contained in that package are many useful and supportive items and I commend the Office of the Superintendent for taking the time to get this kind of information out.

Milford has alot of money for our schools, more than enough to get the job done and done to a stellar level. The best and costliest assets our town has is the abundance of raw man, and woman power in our schools. With nearly a 100 Million dollar budget to run our schools, Milford from this day forward could begin to solve its educational challenges by constantly reviewing new applicants for teacher positions.

Teachers are the "front lines" in the war against ignorance and for lack of a better metaphor the "essential social engineers" of children in our community. Teachers, can impress, and impact our kids in ways that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

Should we compare teachers to factory workers, it is safe to say that their industrial output is tomorrows leaders. Our kids will go on to be our Doctors, our Lawyers, our Community Leaders, our Soldiers in war, and one day the ones who will make our end of life decisions for many of us who have kids.

The stakes for education are high, and anyone who doubts the importance of education should be reminded of the high price of ignorance. Milford's kids cannot afford to be marginalized, schools and teachers must know that kids who come from challenged homes can be saved by being pushed in the right directions by teachers, coaches, and principals who realize and know that teaching is more than just a "job."

Our kids in Milford are very intelligent and emotionally aware, they know when school administrators treat them like "pains" and push them through the system not for their own benefit but for the benefit of the bureaucracy that education has become.

Milford's kids, see the world that is being left behind, they know what they are inheriting from the very adults before them. The Board of education should be spending every waking minute improving education where ever it can a little bit at a time so our state, and town can have a stronger future.

The most important aspects of achieving this objective are almost always monetary. Money is the sad reality of everything we do in education and since 85% of that money is derived from real estate taxes the burden of funding education rests with Zoning and Planning, and the values of our homes.

Zoning and Planning is a crucial part of the Education equation. When a city is permitted to develop densely packed cheap homes we essentially add kids to our schools without the base revenue to properly educate those kids. For this reason Zoning and Planning needs to get on board with the schools financial needs.

Milford has the same resources as every community in our state, the same state challenges, and the potential to succeed in education. The buzz is now out on Smart Growth, and Milford should model itself as not only energy efficient, but also engage in social engineering projects to bring Negative Income Properties, in line with property taxes, and Educational funding.

Purchasing of open space is a great Smart Growth initiative, supporting commercial development and stopping the subdivision of lots for residential housing, also a good idea. Once this policy is developed, and the number of students comes into balance with the needs of the taxpayers we will begin to see real change in education.

In the current economic climate, cancellation of construction projects or cutbacks to text books and teachers is not the answer. I believe the answer is engaging Zoning and Planning to act immediately and place a temporary moratorium on McMansions, Front Lawn house Constructions, and any expansion of low cost negative income housing units. Stabilizing the student population should be Milford's Highest immediate priority if we are to take education seriously.

Milford Democrats Defend Lambert's Game Of Solitaire

Republicans are calling on state Rep. Barbara Lambert, D-Milford, to “apologize” to residents for bringing “nationwide ridicule” to the city after a photo caught her playing solitaire during state budget deliberations.

The Associated Press photo, shot 12 hours into the session Monday, showed Lambert and another lawmaker playing card games on their computer screens while state Rep. Lawrence F. Cafero Jr., R-Norwalk, was speaking.

Voters “expect their elected officials to represent their interests, not be preoccupied with putting the red five on the black six,” said Thomas Jagodinski, the Republican Town Committee chairman.

“They expect their elected officials to listen to others’ ideas, not to be sitting in the people’s chamber looking for alternatives to Minesweeper,” he said.

“Lambert could not be reached Thursday for comment. She had said Tuesday, “I take my job seriously.”

Democratic Town Chairman Richard Smith defended Lambert Thursday by lashing out at the Republican Party, calling it “a sad and pathetic little political party.”

“Personally, I wouldn’t think the Milford Republicans, which is up to their eyeballs in drugs, sex, developer kickback and alcohol scandals, would have the audacity to criticize a Democrat for simply playing solitaire. But, what do I know?” Smith responded. “I would say, Yep! A Democrat played solitaire. Guilty as charged.”

Republicans are taking advantage of Lambert’s gaffe by slating a solitaire benefit for the Police Department.

Residents are being asked to go to GOP campaign headquarters at 374 New Haven Ave., at 7 p.m. Sept. 15, and bring a laptop or deck of cards and “ignore crucial issues affecting Milford,” Jagodinski said.

Jagodinski said all proceeds will be donated to the Police Department to buy a video monitoring system for Wildemere Beach. He said the Democratic majority on the Board of Aldermen cut the funds from the budget.

Police have spoken about disorderly groups, noise, trespassing, liquor violations and minor drug and motor vehicle violations in the area. Residents and business owners have requested the cameras to help serve as a deterrent.

Smith called on Jagodinski to clean up the Republican Party, and instead of holding a “boring” solitaire fundraiser, he said the GOP should return the funds it has “fleeced” from the taxpayers by years of gross overspending.

Lambert had said Tuesday she did not mean any disrespect to Cafero, whom she said was making a point he had made before. She said she had done her “due diligence” on the budget, checking that Milford’s issues were taken care of, and knew she was going to vote for the budget.

Lambert said she was on the phone with Milford officials all day Monday, including education leaders, going over the ever-changing budget to ensure it was in the residents’ best interest.

Jagodinski said Lambert’s explanation is “outrageous.” He said residents elected Lambert to represent their interests “not to be a foot soldier representing the interests of the Democratic Party machine.” He said Lambert and other Democrats were busy approving a budget that would raise taxes on city residents.

“If the Democrats had spent more time looking for reasonable budget cuts instead of playing computer games, Connecticut wouldn’t be in its current financial mess,” Jagodinski said.

ORIGINAL BRIAN MCREADY STORY AT THE NEW HAVEN REGISTER

Intermission (Listen To A Song) While I get The Latest Story

Milford's Barbara Lambert At Work

When a national website with Millions of hits picks up our Milfor Rep. Barbara Lambert we know the City made a huge mistake. Thank God for the Independent Party because as I recall Mayor Bloomberg "Fired" a government employee for this very same behavior. What is wrong with our local leaders?

See the link below for the Infowars shame post on CT.

Click HERE for full story

Chris Dodd Still Draws Fire

Senator Dodd in an effort to recover from the repercussions of the "Dodd Clause" of the AIG contract is still drawing fire. Dodd was accused of allowing AIG executives to pay contractual bonuses with taxpayer bailout money.

For obvious reasons, the general public is outraged over this practice. Had AIG entered bankruptcy protection chances are that none of those bonuses would have ever been paid. Under bankruptcy law AIG could have been forced to restructure itself, and as a result been able to legally not give bonuses to the people responsible for the global economic "Melt Down."

The pandemonium of fear in Washington however, took control of AIG and nearly 3/4 of its stock. AIG was deemed too important of a company, and as such categorized as of "too big to fail." Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Ben Bernake (A self proclaimed expert on the Great Depression) said the "bailout was the right thing to do because a lack of a bailout during the Great Depression is what induced the economic hardship on Main Street."

Peter Schiff, a potential contender against Chris Dodd and expected to have raised his first One Million Dollars on line, said that "Bernake's actions just put off our economic problems to a later date and more severe consequences are later expected." Schiff suggested the Federal Reserves motto ought to be "What America has succeeded in creating is not an economy impervious to shocks, but merely one which enables their consequences to be postponed to a later date."
Schiff may be running against a full slate of Republican contenders, including Rob Simmons, Linda McMahon (Owner of the WWF), and others who have yet to formally announced.

The Connecticut waters are certainly filled with sharks, and a wounded Chris Dodd is entrenched in a moat as he is under fire from his many critics. One such critic Senator John Cornin put this advertisement on Google titled "Dump Dodd." These public criticisms in tandem with the public view are responsible for eroding his approval rating to a record low of under 41%. and many political science experts are of the opinion this very well could be his last term.

Dodd has also announced that he is ill with prostate cancer, and as such earned the kind supportive words of many local leaders including Gubernatorial candidate Jim Amann and all who wish him well. Some are concerned that Dodd may have an epiphany and realize his re-election is futile. He may ultimately decide to retire on his own terms. However honorable this may be, (especially in lieu of the acrimonious nature of the general public and their sentiments toward is work in the last few years) it is not likely to happen.

Well all that is left to say is that Dodd's ego is even bigger than his Prostate. Read the story below...

SEE STORY AT THIS LINK

Dodd Will Be Running Leaner And Meaner "Without A Prostate."