Hartford Courant from Hartford, Connecticut • Page 27

f)C Hartforb Courant. Metro Hartford 7 WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 22, 1999 SECTION TOWN NEWS Digest Suspect Deemed Fit To Stand Trial I Til if irr in MARC YVES REGIS THE HARTFORD COURANT THE REV. ALFRED J. JAENICKE, pastor at St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church on Clark Street in Hartford, will retire next month.

Jaenicke has served the Hartford Archdiocese for 45 years and plans to move to Petrolina, Brazil, to serve five parishes there with a fellow priest. St. Michael's Pastor To Retire The Rev. Alfred J. Jaenicke To Serve 5 Parishes In Brazil EAST HARTFORD A bank's employees are so moved by the simple request from a little girl for a pair of new sneakers that they collect $102 by the end of the day and send a co-worker out to shop.

This page HARTFORD In Dance Connecticut's current production of the Nutcracker, which starts a 12-performance run today, four siblings will perform on the same stage their mother did 20 years ago. Page A4 The Rev. Alfred J. Jaenicke, pastor of St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church on Clark Street, who has served as a priest for the archdiocese of Hartford for 45 years, will retire next month.

This page First and foremost, Wayne Martin is a New York Knicks fan. So when he had a chance to see and hear Marcus Camby speak at his school last year, he took advantage of the opportunity. In Hartford's Neighborhoods, Page B4 NEW BRITAIN A Plainville man is "delusional but competent" to stand trial on burglary charges, says a court-appointed psychiatrist. This page WINDSOR I Th? first and fhly executive director of First Town Downtown says thit he is leaving to head the state umbrella organization of the nonprofit group. This page AREAWIDE Medicare's inspector general is looking into accusations by California physicians that companies such as Aetna and WellPoint Health Networks aren't paying them all the money they're owed.

Page B3 Democratic first selectman candidate Gordon Mello is suing the Connecticut Republican State Central Committee for libel. Page B3 The two pilot whales that were released from Mystic Aquarium two months ago continue to provide scientists with valuable information about their species. Page B7 LOCAL EDITORIAL Hearts opened wide after hundreds of toys destined for underprivileged children in New Britain were stolen. One ugly act spawned hundreds of generous donations that will spread good will well beyond the city's borders. Editorial, Page A16 Index Hartford A4.B1.B4 New Britain B1 East Hartford A6.B1 Windsor B1 Coming Events B2 Legal Notices B5, F10 Letters NEWS BUREAU 285 Broad Hartford, CT 061 15.

Telephone: (860) 241 -6747 or toll-free (800) 524-4242, Ext. 6747. Fax: (860) 241-3865. For Newington, Rocky Hill and Wethersfield news: 40 South New Britain, CT 06051. Telephone: 860-832-5000 or toll-free 800-524-4242, Ext.

5000. the love, prayers and forgiveness that was being shown by the people they were trying to harass. "Even though the African Americans were discriminated against, they showed the love of Jesus Christ that we learned in the Gospel." The archdiocese of Hartford had been considering closing St. Michael's but is keeping it open for now. "The parish deserves to be kept open," said Jaenicke on Monday.

"It's contributed to the area in the name of the Archdiocese of Hartford. It is very important, and the parish must continue its presence here." Under Jaenicke, St. Michael's developed a clothing program for children who do not have proper outfits to wear when the school year begins. The church also has a food pantry program for the needy. Jaenicke said he is hoping another priest will agree to take on the assignment at St.

Michael's. "It's poor materially, but rich spiritually," he said. "I'm praying that the Holy Spirit will guide some one of our brothers in the priesthood to a wonderful place where they will he happy and proud to serve." By CONSTANCE NEYER Courant Staff Writer The Rev. Alfred J. Jaenicke, pastor of St.

Michael's Roman Catholic Church on Clark Street, who has served as a priest for the archdiocese of Hartford for 45 years, will retire next month. Jaenicke will move to Petrolina, Brazil, where he will serve five parishes with a fellow priest Lew Brown, a television reporter for WVTT-Channel 30 and a member of St. Michael's congregation, has high praise for Jaenicke. "Father Al represents the true shepherds in the Roman Catholic Church," Brown said. "His spiritual leadership has taught me to go on." Although Jaenicke's departure will hurt, Brown said, 'his words will stay with me." Sister Maureen Faenza, co-director of the House of Bread in Hartford, called Jaenicke "probably one of the holiest men I've ever met." The 72-year-old Jaenicke was born in the Fair Haven section of New Haven.

He graduated from St. Thomas Seminary in Bloom-field in 1944 and St. Mary's Seminary in Bal timore in 1948 and was ordained in 1954. He served at churches in Meriden, Waterbury and Windsor before coming to St Michael's. Jaenicke has been active in the civil rights movement, both here and in the South.

He started one of the first Catholic Interracial Councils in the state in the 1960s in Waterbury to improve relationships among HARTFORD people of different races.Also in the '60s, he went with several other clergy to Selma, to help in the civil rights struggle of African Americans.He said he stayed in a Baptist church and met "eyeball-to-eyeball" with police who were blocking voter registration. "It just reinforced my feelings that the discriminations in the areas I lived were just as strong as down South," he said. Jaenicke said he discovered something important on that trip. "I learned there was great power in love and forgiveness on the part of people discriminated against in Selma," he said. "The troopers and police down there who were armed couldn't use their weapons because of By AL LARA Courant Staff Writer NEW BRITAIN A Plainville man is "delusional but competent" to stand trial on burglary charges, a court-appointed mental health professional said Tuesday during a hearing in New Britain Superior Court.

Vasil Zaho's public defender, however, was given permission to obtain a second opinion. Zaho, 38, of 45 Maple Unit 25, thinks "Mafia influence" is behind his arrest, but he understands the charges and the court process, psychiatrists and prosecutors said in court. Zaho is accused of committing a series of burglaries and thefts in Newington. He was arrested there in September and charged with eight counts of third-degree burglary, seven counts of sixth-degree larceny, two counts of third-degree larceny and one count of criminal impersonation. On Nov.

24, by a court order, a NEW BRITAIN team of psychiatric specialists from the state Office of Court Evaluation interviewed Zaho at the Hartford Correctional Center to determine his competency. One of the mental health professionals, Elizabeth Kane, testified that Zaho told her he was under arrest because money had been taken from a bank account somehow linked to organized crime. In court Tuesday, Zaho said a girlfriend had taken the money and had done so, somehow, in his name. "My girlfriend stole money in my name," Zaho said. "I didn't do anything wrong.

People think I'm a criminal, but I'm not guilty." Details of the charges against Zaho were not immediately available Tuesday. "Oh, I believe he's delusional," Kane told Judge Frank Iannotti. But while Zaho thinks the Mafia is behind his incarceration, he does not believe organized crime is influencing the court, Kane said. His beliefs about organized crime, she said, do not interfere with his understanding of the court process. Assistant public defender David Cosgrove asked to have Zaho examined by another psychiatrist.

Iannotti said he would allow the examination and continued the hearing to Feb. 1. From Johanna Size 6." As Hatfield read, the room became quiet "Everybody said, 'Oh my god! That's terrible, she recalled. Employees organized a collection and managers looked up the return address. They believe it's an apartment building in the South Bronx.

They also tried to get information about the address Johanna gave for Santa P.O. Box 26596, Hiton State, New York, NY 10029 with no luck. The girl may have misprinted it Dorinda McBride, whose 10-year-old daughter wears size 6 shoes, was in charge of shopping for gifts. A few employees brought in extra purchases. Based on the shoe size, the workers think Johanna is between age 10 and 12.

They are sending her a portable CD player, boots, sneakers, a necklace, Up gloss and hair accessories. The employees are also sending a Christmas card on which they've written, "May you and your family have a Cliristmas filled with laughter and joy knowing that dreams do come true." Misdirected Letter Inspires Employees To Play Santa First Town Downtown Director Leaving To Take Helm At State Group Hatfield, a supervisor. Judy Dube came across the letter a week ago while sorting mail. "When I saw 'Santa I knew definitely it wasn't ours not our account" she quipped. Some 60,000 envelopes arrive at the building daily, each containing a check for a doctor, utility or cable TV EAST HARTFORD company whose bill-payment system is managed by Fleet The operation employs 600 and processes checks 24 hours a day.

The Santa letter ended up on the third floor in the department that handles health care accounts. Hatfield opened the letter to make sure it didn't contain a payment "Everybody listen up!" she said. "We got a letter to Santa" "Dear Santa," she began to read. "I have these sneakers for like over 2 years or so, and these shoes, I just don't like them they are so old. "All my friends make jokes about them and laugh at me and I just cry.

By BARBARA NAGY Courant Staff Writer EAST HARTFORD The letter to Santa asked for a new pair of sneakers. The girl who wrote it said her friends made fun of her old shoes and laughed at her. "I just wrote. Somehow, the Santa letter got mixed in with thousands of payment envelopes sent to a Fleet Bank check-processing center at 99 Founders Plaza last week. It was signed "Johanna," with a return address in the South Bronx.

The bank's employees, many of them struggling themselves to make ends meet in entry-level jobs, were so moved by the simple request that they collected $102 by the end of the day and sent a co-worker out to shop. On Tuesday, they wrapped everything they had collected including a new pair of size 6 sneakers piled the gifts in a box, and sent it special delivery. "Everybody feels good. It sort of made their Christmas," said Carol gram, makes Windsor one of six members statewide. Originally an initiative of Connecticut Light Power the Connecticut Main Street Program was spun off last month as a nonprofit group.

Simone succeeds WINDSOR community development consultant Lisa Bumbera, who had been working part time to coordinate the Connecticut Main Street Program. is just one organization," Simone said. "They created the nonprofit to bring more supporters on board. The goal is to build the profile." The state Department of Economic and Community Development is now also a financial supporter of the state program. Marty McMahon, president of Please see DIRECTOR, Page B3 By JOSEPH ROCHA Courant Staff Writer WINDSOR The first and only executive director of First Town Downtown said Tuesday that he is leaving to head the state umbrella organization of the nonprofit group.

John Simone, who has been the administrative workhorse for the town's chapter in its first three years, will become the Connecticut Main Street Program's first full-time executive director in mid-January. "The new position presents an exciting opportunity for me to be in on the ground floor of creating a new and more comprehensive statewide program," Simone said. The Connecticut Main Street Program, which is based on a national model and sponsored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, is a 4-year-old organization. First Town Downtown, one of the early participants in the Main Street Pro -A- 4, JB flj. (Mi J(A tu h.

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