Bethel State Representative Raghib Allie-Brennan is working with the organization Action Together Connecticut for a winter coat drive.  Donations can be dropped off at the Danbury Democratic Town Committee headquarters on Main Street from 5:30pm to 7pm tonight.  Collections will also take place tomorrow from 11am to 4pm and Sunday from noon to 6pm.  In addition to new or gently used coats, they're also accepting snowpants, hats and mittens.  All donations must have working zippers and buttons, and no stains or tears.  Items will be donated to Dorothy Day Hospitality House. The Danbury homeless community is in need of large and extra large winter coats.

The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference has recognized Bethel High School as one of 16 member schools to be recognized as Michael’s Cup Recipient.  The award is for outstanding contribution to the class act program, student participation in school climate and community service.  It was created in the early 1980s and transitioned in 2008 directly to CIAC oversight of the program.  Participating schools are asked to submit information via a survey, and a mathematical formula is used to analyze the data.

Economic Impact Payments are currently being distributed.  5th District Congresswoman Jahana Hayes reminded constituents that the IRS has a tracker on their website for people to check the status of the payment.  Anyone eligible who does not receive yjr payment by today can request payment when filing 2020 taxes.

There will be COVID-19 PCR testing in New Milford today.  Testing is first come first serve at Pettibone Community Center from 3pm-7pm.  On January 30th, another testing session will be held from 3pm-7pm, but will take place at New Milford High School.  This is also on a first come, first serve basis.

Monday is the Martin Luther King Day holiday and while many municipal functions will be closed, there will still be COVID-19 testing at the Kent site.  Testing is available from 3pm to 7pm.  The state has alerted Kent officials that the northwest regional site will be open through at least the end of February.

More improvements are coming to Danbury Library.  Now that new shelving has been installed in the Junior section, the City is looking to hire a contractor to create a formal story corner and sensory room on the library’s second floor.  The sensory room would be the first of its kind in a Connecticut library.  The project is being funded with a $100,000 state grant and $100,000 from the Library Board.  Currently, only curbside pick up is available for materials as the building remains closed to the public due to the pandemic.

New Milford Mayor Pete Bass says the Library renovation project is progressing on schedule.  Existing space is being renovated, and an addition is being constructed.  A second floor is being added to the 1977 addition.  The project includes a new facade and entrance, a new makerspace, and ADA accessibility.  There is still about a years worth of work to be completed.  Residents approved $6.5 million for the project, the state awarded a $1 million grant and another $1 million has been committed by the library Board of Trustees.  The library remains operating during the construction.

A Waterbury man was killed in an accident in Ridgefield early yesterday morning.  Ridgefield Police responded to Route 7 near Stonehenge Road shortly after 4am and determined that two vehicles collided head on.  Both drivers had to be extricated from their vehicles.  20-year old Jose Miguel Guillen-Hernandez was pronounced dead at the scene.  44-year old Karol Mora of Ridgefield was transported to the hospital for evaluation.  Route 7 was closed until about 10am.  The investigation is ongoing.  Ridgefield Police are asking anyone who may have witnessed the accident to contact Capt. Shawn Platt or Lt. Brian Durling at (203) 438-6531.

One fallout of the pandemic is that completion rates for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form in Connecticut is down 16-percent compared to last year.  State Education officials say FASFA is an important step in the path to postsecondary education and associated with higher rates of college enrollment. 

Governor Lamont launched a FASFA Completion Challenge in December to boost completion rates among high school seniors.  Rates have improved by 7-percent since then.  Now, Danbury and 15 other school districts have been asked to join the FAFSA Learning Cohort and compete for prizes through through the Challenge. 

Lamont says the goal is to help those districts in most need overcome the obstacles to completion. In September, Governor Lamont will publicly recognize four school districts who have demonstrated the greatest percentage point growth in high school FAFSA completions, compared to the Class of 2020. 

Newtown's Police Chief has been reappointed to a the Connecticut Police Officer Standards and Training Council.  POST is a division of the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection.  It oversees training and certification of police officers, as well as a mandatory police department accreditation program. 

Over the summer, Governor Lamont signed a bill into law which refreshed the membership of the council effective January 1st. 

James Viadero served as an officer in Bridgeport from 1985 to 2014, as the police chief of Middlebury from 2014 to 2015, and has been the police chief of Newtown since 2016. He has served on the POST Council since 2018.

In addition to the appointments made by the governor, other members of the council include appointees of legislative leaders, as well as several ex-officio members, including Commissioner Rovella, Commanding Officer of the Connecticut State Police Academy Lieutenant Mark Davison, Chief State’s Attorney Rich Colangelo, and FBI Special Agent in Charge David Sundberg.

The Greater Danbury Chamber of Commerce will host a free webinar this afternoon to discuss the Second Stimulus.  The Chamber will talk about how to apply for increased amounts on Economic Injury Disaster Loans, applying for the second round of the Paycheck Protection Program, the PPP forgiveness process and how to simplify the process.  Panelists will talk about mistakes they’ve seen and how they managed those mistakes.  It is an interactive webinar and Chamber officials urged attendees to be prepared with questions.  Registration is required for the 1pm webinar.

The towns of Bethel and Redding are combining resources to establish a local COVID-19 vaccine clinic, which is expected to open by the first week of February. Bethel is accepting advanced registrations now for eligible residents.  People age 75 and older will be placed on a waiting list and contacted to schedule an appointment when vaccines become available.  Supplies are very limited and First Selectman Matt Knickerbocker says they don't know exactly when appointments will be scheduled.  Residents can register by telephone through the Bethel Vaccine Infoline at 203-794-8523. The line is staffed from 8am to 4pm Monday through Thursday, and 8am to Noon on Friday.  Bethel Senior Center staff is also ready to help seniors with the form.

Food Collection is ongoing for the New Fairfield Emergency Food Pantry.  Officials say the need is still strong, and asked that residents consider buying a few things from their list if possible, though all non-perishables are accepted.  The items the pantry is most in need of include canned or cupped fruits and Apple Sauce, cleaning supplies and wipes, and rice mixes.  They're also in need of Parmalat milk, boxed, non-refrigerated.  Food is collected Tuesday, Thursday and Saturdays between 9am and 11am in the church parking lot at 20 Gillotti Road.  Distribution is for anyone who needs food on Thursdays from 3pm to 4pm, or a new option of Saturdays from 11am to noon. 

The 115 body cameras have arrived in Danbury, and next month the vendor will begin training members of the Police Department on how to use them.  Chief Patrick Ridenhour says he hopes they'll be on the streets in the next month or two. 

The Department is working to finalize a policy on when they need to be on and when they don't. 

The newly passed police accountability bill requires body and in-car cameras. Ridenhour says Danbury has cameras in patrol cars, but they are getting new ones.  The dash cams have been in place for at least a decade, but they're failing and past their usefulness.  The company that was originally used is no longer in business, so they’re not serviceable anymore. 

Ridenhour says the plan is for the new in-dash and body cameras to interact with each other for a seamless system. 

The Danbury Police Department had a tentative deal with a vendor last December to get body cameras, but Ridenhour says the vendor could not meet the terms when the funding was approved. The previous vendor was acquiring a new company and changing models, sending Danbury back to the drawing board. 

So far this week the City of Danbury has recorded 228 positive COVID-19 test results.  There were 89 returned on Monday, 94 on Tuesday and 45 yesterday.  Last week the City reported 334 positive COVID-19 cases.

The State is expected to expand Phase 1b to include all individuals over the age of 65, increasing the number of people to be vaccinated in Phase 1b to over 1,000,000.  New Fairfield First Selectman Pat Del Monaco aimed to temper expectations though, noting that Connecticut is only allocated 44-thousand doses of vaccine per week by the federal government.  Even if the vaccine allocation increases, she says Phase 1b will likely continue for several months. The State is expected to vaccinate those eligible in Phase 1b in waves, beginning with the roughly 270,000 individuals over the age of 75. 

Kent First Selectman Jean Speck is urging residents 75 and older to fill out a short form to register for a COVID-19 vaccine appointment.  The Torrington Area Health Department will then send out an email which will allow them to make a reservation to get vaccinated.  Each person registering must have a unique email address, for example if a couple is looking to get vaccinated in the first part of Phase 1b, they cannot used one shared email address.  Speck says for seniors who do not have a computer, a hotline phone number is expected to be released today to register to be vaccinated.

Since the mid-1970's, a large wooden badge greeted visitors of the former Bethel Police Headquarters on Plumtrees Road.  The badge had been a gift to now-retired Captain James O'Hara. Over time, the paint faded, but the badge kept its meaning to the Department and was brought to the new station on Judd Avenue during the move.   The Department said in a statement that the badge was recently renovated by Records Supervisor Maria Wallenta and is now displayed in the Bethel Police training classroom.

The Meadow Ridge retirement community in Redding is under new management.  Partial ownership of the facility was recently acquired by  Massachusetts-based Benchmark Senior Living.  The original developers still possess an ownership majority.  Benchmark has taken over operations of the community, which has 415 apartments spread over 136 acres in Redding.  They include independent living, assisted living and nursing units.

A volunteer steering committee has been formed for the proposed Danbury Career Academy.  Mayor Joe Cavo says former Mayor Mark Boughton, who has been actively involved in each developmental stage of this project, will chair the group. 

Cavo says the Career Academy will make a great addition to Danbury's public schools.  He says it will be an opportunity for students to find careers they may not otherwise be exposed to. 

The City of Danbury will ask residents to vote on the funding for this project via a referendum planned for June. The project, estimated at $93 million, would be reimbursed by the State at 80%. 

Cavo added that the plan with the Summit and the State’s reimbursement allows Danbury to gain critical infrastructure without hurting the pockets of taxpayers.  Developers plan to have businesses and 400 apartments at the former Union Carbide world headquarters and Matrix Center as well.  The Summit developers promised to pay $13 million over 15 years to cover the cost of any additional students the apartments could bring to the city.

The Danbury Board of Education is working on the curriculum development for the proposed academy.  Initial plans call for about 40 classrooms for 1,100 students in grades 6 through 12. 

Steering committee members:

Dr. Sal Pascarella, Superintendent of Danbury Public Schools

Antonio Iadarola, Public Works Director

Courtney LeBorious, DPS Director of Finance and Operations

David St. Hilaire, Director of Finance

Sharon Calitro, Director of Planning

Dean Esposito, Chief of Staff to the Mayor

Fred Visconti, City Council Member

Dan Petrovich, Engineer for the City of Danbury

The Danbury Department of Health and Human Services is following the COVID-19 vaccine distribution guidance developed by the State Department of Public Health. In an effort to provide residents 75 and older with the best possible access, they're requesting they fill out a survey.  City officials warned that respondents must attest, under penalty of False Statement, that they qualify for vaccination under Phase 1B.  The information in this form is confidential and will not be shared.  Anyone with questions or concerns, is urged to contact the City at (203) 797-4510 or email healthdept@danbury-ct.gov.