Hartford Courant from Hartford, Connecticut • 33

PAGE NSIDE CONNECTICUT FRIDAY NOVEMBER i3, 1987 FINAL Metro Final Edition Bloomfield zoning commission ousts chairman TOWN BRIEFS Telling Reichin, "I hope you will not take it personally," O'Connor said that supporting Hager was in' keeping with his campaign stance that the commission needed to be changed. He added that although Hager has shown concern for residents' interests, she "must work on" being equally sensitive to business interests. Republican Donald Thatcher, who seconded Hager's nomination, praised Reichin's policy of letting other commission members speak before he did. But he added that he was disappointed when Reichin "tried to follow the steps of the previous chairman," DuBosar, in supporting a residential subdivision proposed by Millstein and Levine for near Kenwood Circle. Thatcher, who voted against the subdivision, has said he believed the approval process was tainted because DuBosar had concealed Mill-stein's and Levine's interest in the from her pocket.

For that reason, she said, she had prepared a statement in case she was elected. "Bloomfield is at a critical point in its development" she said, adding that she encouraged input from residents and businesses. "AL you've worked consistently and energetically for this commission for many years," she said, adding that he has shown leadership under difficult circumstances. Colman said he would accept the secretary's position "reluctantly." Thatcher was reappointed commission representative to the Capitol Region Council of Governments; O'Connor was named alternate. Colman was appointed and Nome reappointed as commission representatives to the inland wetlands and watercourses commssion.

In a show of peace, Reichin seconded Thatcher's nomination. "He's done an outstanding job representing the commission on that board," he said. site from a resident during a preliminary hearing. In a heated moment, Reichin said: "I said that I wouldn't say anything," but "I will not allow myself to be attacked verbally by a member of the commission." Thatcher, he said, had voted illegally against the application because Thatcher had been predisposed against the application. He called Thatcher's vote "a break of the ethics of this commission." As Thatcher began to respond, Town Manager R.

Gary Stenhouse who was running the meeting cut off the debate and called the question. Republican Harald Nome and Democrats Colman, Shirley Williams and Reichin voted for Reichin. Republicans Thatcher and O'Connor and Democrats Carlson, new commission alternate Daisy Chavez and Hager voted for Hager. "This is probably the hardest moment I have ever had to deal with," Hager said, pulling a sheet of paper Reichin had been chairman since the resignation in January of former Chairman Samuel DuBosar. DuBo-sar resigned because of criticism of his role as an investor with Democratic Town Chairman Bennett Mill-stein, local developer Milton Levine and 11 others in a proposed landfill in town.

Colman, in nominating Reichin, said he has run the commission well, has fair to applicants and has shown concern and compassion for the town. In nominating Hager, Carlson cited Hager's training and expertise in environmental matters, her ability to understand and mediate conflicts and her success in attracting votes in elections. Hager, a member of the commission for the past three years, also is chairwoman of the town community awareness task force. Republican Gerald O'Connor said he had done "an awful lot of soul searching" since he learned of Hager's challenge. 4: ') HARTFORD Budget director applies for new job David G.

Cressman, the city's director of management and budget is one of two finalists for the job as the first town manager of Tewksbury, Mass. Cressman has been director for two years and a city employee for eight years. BLOOMFIELD Donations wanted of canned food The Interfaith Special Needs Fund and the town's food bank are seeking contributions for the holidays. The interfaith group fund, sponsored by the town's churches and synagogues and administered by the department of social services, provides Thanksgiving dinners for elderly residents who are alone, emergency energy help, emergency food, shelter and warm clothing for familes with sudden crises and help to people who have been evicted from their homes. The food bank distributes canned goods to needy people.

1 Canned goods may be brought to the town hall's social services department weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Checks for the Interfaith Special Needs Fund may be mailed to Elarwee Gadsden, director of social services, Bloomfield Town HalL P.O. Box 337, Bloomfield 06002. WINDSOR Business donates to homestead fund Culbro Land Resources has 1 donated $2,500 to the drive to restore the Oliver Ellsworth Homestead and has pledged to raise an equal amount 1 Ellsworth was a member of the Continental Congress and helped draft the U.S.

Constitution. The homestead is on Palisado Avenue and is maintained by the Connecticut Daughters of the American Revolution. The DAR last month held had a reception at the home, attended by about 40 representatives of the Windsor business community, in an effort to increase interest in restoring the historic house. Culbro President Len Sucsy said the company will support the restoration effort. He said, "We're part of the Windsor community and those projects which are important to Windsor are important to us." Out-of-state group to tour train station Several residents of Concord, will visit Saturday to talk with town officials and view the old Windsor railroad station, which is being renovated into an Amtrak station and restaurant Mary W.

Forbes, assistant to the town manager, said Thursday. She said the residents are interested in restoring a railroad station in West Concord. "They will check out what we are doing to see if it might apply to what they have in mind for the West Concord station," Forbes said. The visit was organized by Councilman William D. Chiodo, one of Windsor's representatives to the Greater Hartford Transit District.

Library holding book sale Saturday The semiannual book sale at the public library on Broad Street will be held Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Donated and discarded books, records and toys will be sold for 25 cents. Magazines will be sold for 10 cents. Skating lessons offered for youths Registration for four weeks of ice-skating lessons, including basic hockey skills, will take place Saturday from 12:30 to 3 p.m.

at L.P. Wilson Community Center, 599 Matianuck Ave. The lessons, for youngsters 5 to 12, are sponsored by the Windsor Youth Hockey Associaton. More information is available by calling Rowland or Gail Beaulieu at 688-5144. By JON ELSEN Couront Staff Writer BLOOMFIELD Citing a need for change, members of the town plan and zoning commission Thursday narrowly ousted Chairman Albert Reichin in favor of fellow Democrat Lois Hager, who had been' commission secretary.

Democrats split 3-3 and Republicans voted 2-1 for Hager, tipping the balance of the 5-4 vote against Reichin. Jonathan Colman was elected secretary, the commission's second-ranking post "A change in the leadership of the commission will be a healthy thing, after all that has been said and done," said Democrat Susan Carlson, who nominated Hager. In the past year, the commission has been accused of allowing' the town to develop haphazardly and too quickly, and two commissioners have been accused of acting improperly. Comment sought on park plans By BILL KEVENEY Couront Staff Writer How can Hartford's neglected parks be spruced up and made safe? What kind of recreational programs should be offered? Where will the money come from to pay for it all? Parks and recreation officials say they cannot act until residents an-N swer those questions, and they plan to seek public opinion and involvement through a series of neighborhood meetings and a sophisticated survey of city residents. The department is devising a comprehensive parks and recreation plan to counteract years of neglect that officials and residents say propelled the system into a steep decline.

"I think we've hit rock bottom and have nowhere else to go but up. We've got a real challenge ahead of us," Parks and Recreation Director Ernest W. Nance said at a meeting Thursday to kick off the study. Eight neighborhood meetings are being held in the next three weeks to encourage public interest in returning the city's parks and recreation Srograms to a lofty status, said lance, who took over as the city's parks director in June. Nance introduced Joe Bannon of Management Learning Laboratories the Illinois consulting firm that will assess the parks and recreation department and develop a comprehensive management plan.

The consultant, being paid $74,000, has analyzed parks programs in 40 communities, including Knozville, and Evanston, El. Bannon, a professor and former chairman of the leisure services department at the University of Hli-. nois, said he will devise a plan that gives Hartford residents what they want in a parks program. "We want your input," Bannon said. "If we don't get it, it's not a very good project" Substantial improvement will not come without money, Bannon said, and Hartford may have to consider a system of fees or tax increases.

Bannon said his six-member con-; suiting team will meet with all groups involved in parks and recre-: ation. From those meetings, the team will draw up a custom-made, bilin-gual questionnaire to be distributed to a random sample of 2,500 Hart- ford residents of all ages, races and incomes, Nance said. Jacqui Anderson, a former city council member, told Bannon to make sure the survey reaches all groups in the city, including resi-! dents of public housing and other people sometimes neglected. Although suburban residents, who make substantial use of Hartford's parks, will not be included in the survey, groups that use city recre-- ation areas and directors of parks from neighboring towns will be in- terviewed, officials said. Bannon said he will present a pre- liminary report to the city council and city departments in December, so early parts of the study can be considered during budget delibera- tions.

The final report will be sub-j mitted in May, he said. Information from an existing five-' year park-improvement plan will be included in the consultant's study, Nance said. The schedule of neighborhood meetings includes: Elizabeth Park Pond House, Sunday, p.m.; Kelvin D. Anderson Center, Tues- day, 7-9 p.m Burns School, Wednesday, 7-9 p.m Fox Middle School, Nov. 24, 7-9 p.m Metzner Recre- ation Center, Nov.

24, 7-9 p.m.; Be-. tances School, Dec. 2, 7-9 p.m.; and Kennelly School, Dec. 3, p.m. Robert J.

Stewart Special to The Courant HORSING AROUND Ramona Tirado of New Britain, who works Thursday going up in the center's plaza area. The display should be at the Hartford Civic Center, cleans one of the Christmas decorations completed before Thanksgiving. City man arrested on drug charges taining 100 small bags of marijuana to the ground, he said. Kitson was caught in the basement of his residence and brought to the Morgan Street jail for booking, he said. His bond had not been set early today.

The 100 bags of marijuana have a street value of between $1,000 and $1,500, Flaherty said. Hartford police said Kitson is a suspect in a West Hartford purse snatching. West Hartford police said they received a report of the purse snatching at 324 N. Main St about 8:50 p.m. West Hartford police car chasing a car into Hartford, police said.

Hartford officers gave chase, but stopped soon afterward because of road conditions, Sgt. John Bowen said. Officers later saw the car on Mansfield Street and a police dog tracked the scent to Edgewood and Enfield streets, where Kitson was spotted in front of 474 Edgewood police said. Officers approached Kitson and identified themselves, but the man fled to 478 Edgewood St, Flaherty said. Police chased him and saw him throw a large bag of marijuana con After assisting West Hartford police in a car chase, Hartford police arrested a city man on drug-related charges Thursday night, police said.

Raphael Kitson, 19, of 478 Edge-wood was charged with possession of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell and interfering with police. He was charged after officers chased him on foot into his residence and saw him drop a plastic bag containing marijuana, Sgt. James Flaherty said. A Hartford of ficer on patrol saw a Simsbury lacks joy over holiday fair Two face charges in drug case WEST HARTFORD A West Hartford husband and wife were arrested and about one-quarter pound of high-grade cocaine was seized during a raid at their home Thursday night William F. Baker, 39, and his wife, Nancy M.

Baker, 36, of 62 Vine Hill Road, were taken into custody at their home at 7:15 p.m. The arrests were made by a squad of eight detectives and officers who had a warrant to search for drugs. Lt Ernest Little, head of the West Hartford police special investigations division, said the arrests ended a two-month investigation by his department acting with the New Britain Police "Special Services Division and the Central Connecticut State University Police. Baker was being held today in lieu of $200,000 bond. He was charged with two counts of sale of cocaine; three counts of possession of cocaine; one count of possession with intent to sell cocaine; one count of operating a drug factory; one count of possession of drug paraphernalia and one count of possession of marijuana.

Nancy Baker, who was held on $100,000 bond, was charged with two counts of possession of cocaine; one count of possession with intent to sell cocaine; one count of operating a drug factory, one count of possession of drug paraphernalia and one count of possession of marijuana. Little said officers confiscated a revolver that was found under a cushion on which Nancy Baker was seated. The cocaine seized had an estimated street value of $25,000, Little said. By JACK CROFT Courant Staff Writer SIMSBURY Some town officials are less than very merry about this year's Berry Merry Fair. The holiday crafts show, which has grown from its humble beginnings in a private home seven years ago, is being held today and Saturday at the Apple Barn in the town's Sims-bury Farms recreation complex.

The fair, which this year has 32 participants, is for fun and profit But the culture, parks and recreation commission's policy on the Apple Barn allows the building only to be used by non-profit organizations. Gerard G. Toner, the town's recreation director, said Thursday he did not discover that the fair is a profit-making venture until after the town are pottery, porcelain, woodwork, baskets, stuffed teddy bears and holiday decorations, Altschwager said. Paul F. Pendergast chairman of the commission, said the mix-up can be traced to "miscommunication or non-communication." The fair first was allowed to use the Apple Barn last year, shortly after the building opened.

When the fair asked to return to the Apple Barn this year, the question of whether the group met the non-profit requirement apparently was not raised. Toner and Pendergast said that unless the policy changes, this will be the last year the fair will be held at the Apple Barn. had signed an agreement allowing the event to be held. Debbie Altschwager, one of the organizers of the event, said she was surprised by the town's reaction. "We've never said we were nonprofit We've always been a profit organization.

We've always been up front in saying we're a group of crafters," said Altschwager, who lives in the Collinsville section of Canton. She said she hopes the fair can return to the Apple Barn next year. "I feel we bring a lot of business into Simsbury and a lot of recognition to the Apple Barn," Altschwager said. There is no admission fee to the fair, which runs from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

today and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Among the items for sale Youth held on gun charges after arrest at school A 16-year-old arrested for carrying a gun into Bulkeley High School remained in the Morgan Street jail Thursday, a week after his arrest police said. Kendall Jones, 16, of 228 Newfield is being held on $10,000 bond on charges of carrying a pistol without a permit altering a serial number and interfering with police, police said.

Jones was arrested at the school about 10:30 a.m. Nov. 5 after he was involved in a noisy disturbance in the cafeteria, Hartford Police Chief Bernard R. Sullivan said. Sullivan said a security guard confronted Jones in a stairwell after the disturbance and told him to see the vice principal Sullivan said that Jones kept walking and replied, "You don't know who I am." Jones pushed the female guard down the stairs and ran off, Sullivan said.

Other security guards found Jones and took him to the main office conference room, Sullivan said. He said three security guards and a school official were needed to subdue Jones. The guards found three bullets in Jones's pocket and a handgun in his book bag, Sullivan said. The serial number of the pistol had been destroyed, he said. Jones's next court appearance in Superior Court will be Nov.

20. I Correction Hartford police Capt James Meehan's name was misspelled in Tuesday's Courant in a story about the department's task force on gang violence. 1.