Stratford News Archives

A local woman has been charged with abandoning her small dog for several days. Michelle Irizarry, 36, of Barnum Avenue, was charged Wednesday with cruelty to animals, keeping a dog confined for an unreasonable time, failure to license a dog and failure to get a rabies vaccination for a dog.

Stratford - In response to Mayor James Miron's campaign press conference, held in the Mayor's Office with town employees in attendance, State Representative John Harkins issued the following statement: "The Mayor's use of taxpayer resources for campaign activity is unethical and... Miron’s “cabinet” appointees received 6-10% pay raises that were approved at the same time the Mayor was negotiating a wage freeze with other town employees...

Officials have made the long-awaited announcement on the start of the 2009 leaf pick-up program.

From: Connecticut Post October 26, 2009

As you may or may not know, we have been facing very hard times equipment-wise at the Stratford Fire Department. Our engines are older and unreliable, many times on loan from neighboring towns. Many of my firefighters are responding to fires with outdated fire coats and pants, many with holes and burn damage. Our radios constantly go dead due to old batteries and when they do work they are unreliable at best. As one of the assistant fire chiefs, I have been battling for three years just to get my firefighters suitable eye protection. These problems have not seemed to have been a priority for the current administration. Obviously all of this had a direct effect on the morale and effectiveness of my firefighters. We have tried to quietly and professionally handle these problems and have been met with hollow promise after hollow promise. Then they had state Rep. John Harkins take the time out of his busy election season schedule to attend Fire Ops 101. During Rep. Harkins attendance, they had someone for the first time in a long time who was not a member of our department seem to understand and care about their equipment needs. Obviously his official campaign position on public safety appealed to us all. Our last resort was to hope his endorsement by us and possible election would change the way we were being prioritized and equipped to serve the citizens of Stratford.

Thomas Murray

Assistant Fire Chief ~Stratford

A former Stratford police officer has filed a federal lawsuit against the town, claiming town officials intentionally delayed his request for a disability retirement pension hearing and stopped paying him ... a patrol officer from March 1999 until January 2009, maintains in the suit he was denied his constitutional right of due process, and is seeking monetary compensation for the three months he was not paid and additional damages. The suit maintains while O'Meara was out on injury leave that town officials, including Human Resources Director Edmund Winterbottom, kept delaying his disability pension hearing. The delays, he contends, caused the town to stop paying him when he was out...

Stratford's first mayor wants a shot at re-election. Three challengers -- a Republican state lawmaker and two petition candidates -- are gunning for his job. Miron allowed a fender bender to morph into something bigger. What mayor is perfect? But rather than defuse problems, Miron takes a blow torch to them...

Before Democratic Mayor James R. Miron was in favor of changing from the nearly century-old town manager form of government, he was against it...

Presenter: Jeffrey Pindelski This webcast will enable you to learn essential rapid intervention rope rescue concepts that can also be applied daily fireground survival.

The cause of a Friday night fire that resulted in heavy damage to a single-family ranch-style home at 52 Bowe Ave.

Two people are hospitalized in serious condition after a fire destroyed a Stratford home Friday night...

cwilson said in the Bridgeport Forum : It has been a very rough ride for my dad the past few weeks. I am happy to say that he has been given the green light to come home in a few days. There are no easy answers as to why such complications such as heart attack occurs after bypass surgery but it is fact that a man of advanced age such as in the case of dad, and the added problems that diabetes will pose, complications can and do happen. My dad is a strong man with the will to live. After serving in two wars and building a successful business and family life, he understands how good life is to us. He taught us to always be positive and believe in the power of yourself. He turns a bad situation into a good one teaching us how to survive. I would guess that since he has survived this time again, he has more work to do on this earth. He is able to talk now and has made good progress in his recovery the past two weeks. He still is confined to a wheelchair and has you may know, recovering from major spine surgery when this happened. He took a fall to the ground during the attack and his back was re injured adding another complication to the whole experience. How much more can a man take I do not know. I think dad has had enough. On behalf of my family, I would like to thank his friends on the forum that he talks with for asking about him. He tells me he will be back in fighting form. He's been watching the news and is angry about recent developments in politics. He keeps saying the country is being taken over by far left socialist nutjobs right under everyones nose and no one is stopping them. I can not stop him from watching the news. He paid for the TV. Go easy on him please. cwilson

A Stratford man has been charged with driving drunk with his two young children in the car after an accident...police received calls about an accident on Route 59 the evening of Oct. 11. When officers got to the scene, they saw two children, 6 and 4 years old, wandering along the side of the road...

Stratford Republican mayoral candidate state Rep. John Harkins, second from left, speaks during Wednesday night's mayoral debate at Stratford High School, sponsored by the Stratford Chamber of Commerce and League of Women Voters, as candidate Dominic Costello, far left, Mayor James R. Miron, second from right, and candidate George Mulligan listen.

Stratford resident Bob Rich holds a piece of his vehicle that was damaged when a shop placed the wrong size wheels on his truck.

A proposed $2.5 million streetscape improvement project along Barnum Avenue was detailed for residents and businesses by local and state officials during a public information session Monday at Town Hall.

More than 500 people came to church Thursday in Stratford looking for a job. While most left a job fair at Christ Episcopal Church, 2000 Main St., without their prayers being answered, many were confident they had made a contact that could lead them to a new job.

A public information meeting on a streetscape project planned for Barnum Avenue, one of the town's busiest streets, will take place Monday.

It's been more than two years since SaveStratford got involved in the Raymark toxic waste issue....Rep. Harkins went to the mat for our community and Stratford is a better place for it. In stark contrast, Mayor Miron's recent comments at the Protect Your Environment debate, where his outright dismissal of residents' concerns regarding the long-term health impact of exposure to Raymark toxic waste, were disconcerting to say..

Alonzo Darby, of Bridgeport, decides against giving his 2 year old son, Chaz, right, the live H1N1 intranasal vaccine after reading the risks at the Department of Health clinic on Friday, Oct.

Former Fire Chief John J. Cybart, who retired in January at age 54 while facing termination by Mayor James R. Miron for overseeing a bidding process for a new fire truck that sparked controversy, has won Town Council support to pay some of his legal bills.

The Stratford Police Union Local 407 announces our enthusiastic endorsement of John Harkins for mayor of Stratford. John Harkins has always been a leader the Stratford Police Department can count on. From mandatory lifetime sentences for repeat violent offenders, to increased penalties for child predators, to obtaining state funding to improve our town's first responders, Stratford police officers and the families they protect have always been able to count on John Harkins as a state representative in Hartford. As mayor, John Harkins will improve morale and restore responsible leadership to the department. He'll enhance public safety by making funding for our public safety and emergency response agencies a priority in the town budget. John will make certain that Stratford can recruit and retain the best and brightest to our police force by working to fully fund the town's pension system, which is less than 30 percent funded. And he'll use the relationships he's built over 13 years in Hartford to ensure that Stratford gets its fair share of state aid for public safety. But most importantly, John Harkins will restore pride and morale in the police force. Over the last four years, Stratford police officers have been forced to endure an administration that has injected politics and nepotism into the operation of the police department. It has hurt morale among the officers, and worse, has endangered public safety. John Harkins will never allow nepotism and backroom politics to again threaten the lives of Stratford citizens. ...Voters have the rare opportunity to elect a person who can make a difference and bring back pride to a once proud town. John Harkins is a man of integrity and honesty and a devoted family man. He knows of the daily struggles working families must endure. He has devoted his life to improve the lives of all our citizens. We believe it's time to take politics out of the equation and ensure all of our citizens are treated fairly.

Voters have a choice to make on November 3rd that will determine the future of Stratford. To ensure the future is safe and secure, we must elect a mayor who will be a strong ally of Stratford police officers and working families. That is why the members of the Stratford Police Union Local 407 encourage you to cast your vote for John Harkins for mayor.

Executive Board

Stratford Police Union Local 407

Given that memories fade and many do not know of this disturbing incident, I would like to enlighten my fellow voters in Stratford.Several years ago, the now mayor of Stratford, James Miron subpoenaed 68 senior citizens to court in the 5th District. These seniors were Democrats who were disabled, blind and/or terminally ill. They were forced to suffer this indignity for exercising their given right to vote by absentee ballot. The day of the trial, one of these seniors, a gravely sick woman, hired an attorney at the cost of $300 to go to court on her behalf. This poor woman died two weeks later. Considering Mayor Miron's own disability, I would have thought he would have been more sensitive and not have listened to his father when told to take these people to court unnecessarily. All of this was on account of the vindictiveness of Mayor Miron's father, the then-Democratic Registrar of Voters and chairman of the Democratic Town Committee, Richard Miron. Chairman Miron's handpicked candidate, Mike Danko, lost to the late Councilman Raymond Voccola. The decisive factor in Mr. Danko's defeat was Councilman Voccola's absentee ballots. So, the Mirons thought, if they could just nullify these seniors votes, the election could be rewritten in their favor... presiding Judge Scott Melvin dismissed the case on the grounds that it was without merit. He told Attorney James Miron, "Councilor, I have given you three chances to prove your case; three strikes and you're out." Sue Becker, who signed the complaint allowing the case to go forward, later felt that she had been used by the Mirons. Shortly before her death, Ms. Becker called me to express her regret and said "I never realized what was happening until afterward." After four years of Mayor Miron's abysmal "leadership," I think we can all share her sentiments. I could never forgive Mayor Miron for what he did, and if he and his father think people will forget, we need to assure them that that will never happen. I am encouraging the voters of Stratford not to vote for this caliber of person, because the town is in disarray under James Miron's administration.

Sylvia Guberman~ Stratford Taxpayer & Resident Printed with permission

The conference room of the Board of Education is generally packed with concerned citizens during board meetings, especially budget season.

Want Fries with That? Yes; they're crinkle cut, crispy, and golden. Price: Hamburger Works, $3.35; Cheeseburger Works, $3.70; fries, $2.50 Notes: Second location open in Shelton, Connecticut.

Paralyzed below the waist, 22-year-old Alex Convertito continued Wednesday to fight for his life in a local hospital....Meanwhile across town the man accused of severely injuring their son in an accident he caused while driving drunk on Route 8 in Trumbull last month... This was the second time the divorced, self-employed engineer has been in a courtroom following his arrest for drunken driving. In the first case in 2001...where he paid a $100 fine...

Long Island Soundkeeper Terry Backer , sporting a wild beard and white hair tucked under a seaman's cap, peers out over Norwalk Harbor from his tiny Edgewater Place office, looking every bit the crusty New England fisherman fighting to save the sea from pollution.

The local police union, at odds with Mayor James R. Miron over the course of his term, has endorsed Miron's Republican opponent, state Rep. John Harkins...

State auditors on Thursday began investigating the role a University of Connecticut professor played in running a focus group and advising Gov.

Last month, the Connecticut Post ran a story about Jay Tyler, who, through no fault of his own, has what could be described as the most bizarre driveway in Fairfield County.

A popular program that provides helpers to assist elderly residents shop for groceries, threatened by a loss of funding, will not be cashiered after all.

In a sprint-like four hours, Democratic majorities in the House and Senate on Friday approved the final pieces of legislation authorizing the two-year $37.6 billion budget that took effect July 1. Barring any potential vetoes by Gov.

The town is looking for a few good diapers -- lots of them, in fact. The Health Department says that it wants to collect 500,000 diapers that would be donated to struggling...

Many Lyme disease patients rejoiced last month when the General Assembly unanimously passed a bill specifying that physicians could diagnose the controversial chronic Lyme disease and prescribe equally contentious long-term antibiotics to treat the tick-borne illness without fear of reprisal.

Thumbs up to the 26 liquor stores in Stratford that refused to sell liquor to underaged customers during a recent state liquor control...

A federal grand jury in Bridgeport has indicted the former controller at Expand International of America here on six charges involving the theft of $2.5 million in company funds...