Sponsored by Ever Ready Press

78 Clifton Avenue, Ansonia

May 8, 2016

THE VALLEY INDY

Issue 12 | A Weekly Summary of Stories from ValleyIndy.org FREE
The Great Give 2016
Raises $1.4 Million!
The Great Give, an annual 36hour fundraising event for
nonprofits across the country,
raised about $1.4 million in
Greater New Haven and the
lower Naugatuck Valley.
As part of the eort, the
Valley Indys Eugene Driscoll
and Ethan Fry interviewed
leaders from 20 nonprofits
from Ansonia, Derby,
Seymour, and Shelton during a
webcast that coincided with
the fundraiser May 3-4.
The webcast was sponsored
by Grin Hospital.
An archive of the webcast is
available on the Valley Indys
website: www.ValleyIndy.org
The event is run locally by the
Community Foundation for
Greater New Haven and the
Valley Community
Foundation.
Though there were some tech
troubles early on with
processing donations
nationally, the event was
extended locally by 16 hours
and eclipsed last years eorts
in total money raised.
ValleyIndy.org

203 446 2335

Ansonia Delays Budget Decision

ANSONIA Ansonias budget debate ocially went into

overtime Thursday.
The citys charter calls on Aldermen to have a spending
plan and a tax rate in place for next year by the end
of April.
Instead, they met Thursday and voted to recess the
meeting until May 24, by which time they hope to have
agreed on a plan to save money on insurance with the
Board of Education.
The citys corporation counsel said after the meeting the
move was OK under the citys charter, and other towns
have done it in the past.
See 'Budget,' page 2 . . .

158 Main St., Suite 305, Ansonia

Sponsored by Ever Ready Press

78 Clifton Avenue, Ansonia

May 8, 2016

. . . 'Budget,' from page 1

In the meantime, residents will have to wait to find out

what will happen with taxes and more than 40 teachers
will spend another month wondering whether theyll have
jobs next year.

THANK YOU!
The Valley Indy uses the annual
Great Give as its only reader
drive to raise money.
A two-employee nonprofit that
began in 2009, the Valley Indy is
now in its eighth year.
The Valley Indy is the only news
organization devoted to covering
the lower Naugatuck Valley
exclusively.
In addition, in the last year we
launched a news talk show/
podcast; have a sports history
podcast in the works as well; and
started the weekly four-page
newsletter youre reading
right now.
We could not have done that all
without the support of
organizations like the Valley
Community Foundation and the
Katharine Matthies Foundation,
who have generously supported
the Valley Indy since it began.
During this years Great Give,
we supplemented that by raising
$10,125 from 149 donations.
Your support means
everything to us. THANK
YOU SO MUCH!
-Eugene Driscoll and Ethan Fry
ValleyIndy.org

203 446 2335

Briefly, the major sticking point in the discussion has been

school spending, the biggest single department in any
municipal budget.
The school board has asked for $2 million more for next
year. Mayor David Cassettis request called for a $750,000
increase contingent on school employees moving to highdeductible health savings accounts he said would save
$600,000.
The mayor, his sta, and several Aldermen are convinced
the city can also save big bucks by moving to self-funding
its health insurance plans for school and city employees.
The school board, whose president, William Nimons, was
a close ally of the mayors until a sudden fracture last
month, is skeptical of the self-funding plan.
Cassetti said hes sure school and city ocials will come to
a meeting of the minds.
When you see the savings thats there its a no-brainer,
Cassetti said. I promised that I would lower taxes and
fund education, and thats exactly what I plan on doing.
And this is the proper way to do it.
He said the city could reduce its property tax rate by .66
mill by moving to self-funded insurance.
Nimons said the school board is open to the citys idea
but said they need to do due diligence on the proposal.
We have to do whats proper for the teachers, he said.
We cannot take all the unions and throw them into a
plan that may go belly-up.
Board of Aldermen President Phil Tripp said he is
hopefully optimistic an impasse will be avoided.
158 Main St., Suite 305, Ansonia

Sponsored by Ever Ready Press

78 Clifton Avenue, Ansonia

May 8, 2016

Guilty Plea In Fatal Derby Overdose

The Derby man accused of supplying heroin to a Hawthorne Avenue
resident who died of an overdose pleaded guilty in the case at federal court
in New Haven Friday.
Bradley Commerford, 20, now faces up to 40 years when he is sentenced,
though a plea agreement in the case calls for a sentence in the range of
roughly five to six years behind bars.

Route 34 Bridge Closed

For Night Construction
DERBY A section of Route
34 in Derby is closed overnight
as part of the ongoing
reconstruction of the bridge that
carries thousands of vehicles
over the Naugatuck River daily.
The bridge will close and
detours will be used from 9 p.m.
to 6 a.m. from Sunday, May 8
through Friday, May 13.
The state Department of
Transportation says a detour will
use Pershing Drive, Division
Street and Route 115/Derby
Avenue to get motorists around
the closed bridge and back to
Route 34.
Detour signs will be posted and
Derby and Ansonia Police will
assist with trac control. One
lane will be provided for
emergency vehicles and
pedestrians only during the
closures, according to the state
DOT.
The bridge is closing so new
concrete can be poured.
The $8.8 million bridge
reconstruction project started in
March 2014 and is scheduled to
end in November.
ValleyIndy.org

203 446 2335

Commerfords sentencing is scheduled for July 28 before U.S. District

Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford.
Commerford has been locked up since late February, after Derby and
Shelton police with help from a federal Drug Enforcement
Administration task force identified him as the man who sold the drugs
that killed his lifelong friend.
On Friday Commerford pleaded guilty to distributing heroin to a person
under 21 years of age before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Merriam at U.S.
District Court in New Haven.
The investigation was prompted by two non-fatal overdoses in Shelton on
Feb. 16 and the fatal overdose on Hawthorne Avenue in Derby the next
day.
In a prepared statement, U.S. Attorney Deirdre Daly and Special DEA
Agent Michael Ferguson said Commerford identified as the heroin source
of supply in all three overdose cases.
The investigation also revealed that Commerford sold heroin to a 16-yearold individual who did not overdose, the statement said.
Though the charge carries up to 40 years behind bars, a plea agreement in
the case means Commerford will likely receive a prison sentence of
between 57 and 71 months.

WHO ARE YOU GUYS?

The Valley Indy is a news site you should be reading right now.
ValleyIndy.org is our web address. It employs two full-timers.
Ethan Fry is a reporter. His email is elelandf@gmail.com. Hes a Mets fan
who lives in Shelton.
Eugene Driscoll is a reporter. His email is eugenedriscoll@gmail.com. He
lives in Derby and his house needs to be painted.
158 Main St., Suite 305, Ansonia

Sponsored by Ever Ready Press

78 Clifton Avenue, Ansonia

May 8, 2016

LEGAL NOTICE
A certified list of the Democratic party-endorsed candidate
and the Republican party-endorsed candidate for the City of
Derby for election as Democratic Registrar of Voters and
Republican Registrar of Voters will be on file with the Oce
of the Secretary of the State, 30 Trinity Street, Hartford,
Connecticut, and copies thereof will be available for public
distribution.
A Primary will be held August 9, 2016 if the required primary
petitions for opposition candidates is filed, pursuant to
Sections 9-382 to 9-450 of the Connecticut General Statutes,
not later than 4:00 p.m. on June 7, 2016. Petition forms,
instructions and information concerning the procedure for
filing of opposing candidacies, including schedules, may be
obtained from:
Louise Pitney, Democratic Registrar of Voters, or
Ernestine Gaudio, Republican Registrar of Voters
1 Elizabeth Street, Derby, CT 06418 203.736.1454

Marc J. Garofalo, MPA

Town / City Clerk of Derby, CT

ValleyIndy.org

203 446 2335

158 Main St., Suite 305, Ansonia