BRIDGEPORT — Nine Milford students at Housatonic Community College were honored May 26 at HCC’s Awards Night ceremony honoring the “Best of the Best” of the Class of 2009.
Student Robert W. Vieira won the most awards of any student, six, including the Academic Dean’s Prize for maintaining a perfect 4.0 average. Other awards he won include the Outstanding Community College Accounting Student (Connecticut Society of CPA's Educational Trust Fund), a Certificate of Achievement in Accounting, the Blum-Shapiro Accounting Scholarship Award, the Dale Ward Endowed Scholarship, and the Dale Ward Scholarship.
Vieira is shown with emcee Mary Hoyt of Blum-Shapiro, who presented him with the Blum-Shapiro Accounting Scholarship award.

Other Milford students honored include: Arnold DeVera, Certificate of Accomplishment in Accounting;
Cara L. Szekeres, Outstanding Academic Achievement in Human Services; Christa F. Barbin, Academic Achievement in the field of Early Childhood Education: Degree; Janet P. Samelwich, Certificate of Accomplishment in Business Administration: Finance; Margarita G. Brown, Outstanding Contributions to Horizons, the Student Newspaper of HCC, The Quinn Award for Exceptional Improvement as a Writer and Reporter; Nicole D. Catalano, Outstanding Academic Achievement in Human Services; Richard J. Presner, Academic Accomplishment in Business Administration, General; Thomas Natowski, Certificate of Accomplishment in Accounting, Academic Accomplishment in Business Administration: General

Brown, left, is shown with Cody Quinn, a member of HCC’s class of 2009.

ORANGE - Al de Cant, well known local singer and songwriter will be featured in Pajama Jam, a family concert and fundraiser sponsored by the Orange Arts and Culture Council at 6:30 p.m. Friday, June 12 in the High Plains Community Center cafeteria/lounge.

De Cant is known for the way he engages the audience with singing, dancing, clapping, marching, playing percussive instruments and signing about caring, friendship, family, the environment and silly things in life, organizers said. His high-energy tunes reflect many genres, including folk, rock and roll, and Afro-Reggae rhythms, organizers said.

Everyone is invited to come in pajamas, nightgowns, robes, slippers –whatever is comfortable.

Bring a pillow, a teddy bear, a blanket. Refreshments will be served after the concert. OACC members will do face painting throughout the evening.

Tickets are $5.00 ($20.00 for families of five and over). For ticket information call 397-8915.

The event is a fundraiser for the OACC’s proposed black box theatre, a flexible performing/exhibition space to be housed in the Clark Building in the old library stacks area. A feasibility study on the space has been done, the Board of Selectmen has approved the concept and the OACC is actively involved in fundraising for the renovation of the space. Attending this concert is a way to support the arts in Orange, to add a bit to the Building Fund, and to have a good time, organizers said.

NEW HAVEN — With the summer season just around the corner from Memorial Day Weekend, the state Department of Environmental and Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station ask campers, vacationers and state residents citizens not to transport firewood from its original site as doing so could spread the Asian Longhorned Beetle and other wood pests.
The Asian Longhorned Beetle is a serious pest that can kill hardwood trees that are common in Connecticut, the DEP said in a statement. Although the beetle has not been found in the state yet, federal agricultural officials confirmed it is in nearby Worcester, Mass. About 64 square miles in Worcester and surrounding towns are regulated due to the beetle infestation, the statement said and infested trees are being removed and destroyed. The beetle also has been found in New York City and New Jersey.
The DEP and CAES recommend purchase of firewood near camp or seasonal home destinations, instead of bringing it from home. All wood purchased at camps and seasonal homes should be used and not brought home.
Any tree infested with the beetle will die because the larvae tunnel in the wood and prevent the tree from receiving nutrition, the statement said. Infested trees need to be removed as early as possible, and the earlier an infestation is found and reported, the quicker federal, state and local officials can work to remove the pest, the statement said. Suspected infestations can be reported to the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station at Caes.StateEntomologist@ct.gov or the Office of the State Entomologist at (203)-974-8474. Reports also can be called in to the Asian Longhorned beetle New England hotline number (866) 702-9938.

STRATFORD — This summer, Sterling House Community Center is offering Summer of Service, a youth volunteer program for Stratford students going into 8th, 9th and 10th grades, according to Robert J. Wargo, Jr., Director of Volunteers.
The program gives students the opportunity to actively participate in organized part-time volunteer experiences that meet community needs. These service-learning activities provide students with personal growth, including the development of social and civic responsibility, increased social skills with peers and adults, enhanced self-esteem, and a sense of accomplishment.
Students and their parents are invited to attend an orientation and registration meeting on Thursday, May 28, at 7:00 p.p. at the Sterling House, 2283 Main Street, Stratford.
Summer of Service will begin Saturday, June 27, with training and orientation and continue until July 31, with the students being placed in different volunteer sites such as Lord Chamberlain Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Grace Lutheran Summer Camp, Stratford Library, and the Garbage Museum.
For more information about the Summer of Service program, visit Sterling House on the web at www.sterlinghousecc.org or call Sterling House Community Center at 378-2606 x 113.

The Agency on Aging of South Central Connecticut, the Mary Wade Home of New Haven, and the city's Department of Elderly Services will team up to sponsor the free annual New Haven Senior & Disability Expo from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, May 15, at the New Haven Athletic Center, 480 Sherman Parkway, New Haven.
The New Haven Senior Expo 2009 is part of a month long celebration by the Agency on Aging of South Central Connecticut for Older Americans Month, organizers said. The event is a wonderful occasion for to meet friends, socialize, gather information, and enjoy the day, organizers said.
Participants will be part of a self-paced exploration of services, programs and products that are available for members of our older population and for those with disabilities, organizers said. There will be numerous vendors and entertainment, including Vinnie Carr.

ORANGE — Chabad of Orange-Woodbridge will hold a lively outdoor event in honor of the Jewish holiday of Lag B’omer from 5 to 7:30 tonight at High Plains Community Center, 525 Orange Center Road.
The event, which includes circus entertainment by Peter Panic, face painting, and relay races, is for Jews from all walks of life, including adults, students and children, to come together to enjoy and partake in a kosher community barbecue, in celebration of the joyous day, organizers said.
Lag B’omer commemorates the lives of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai and Rabbi Akiva, who both set examples of proud perseverance and dedication to the Torah and its teachings during the Roman occupation of Israel. It is a day of unity when family and friends join in harmony with acquaintances as well as strangers in accordance with the teachings of Akiva that all people should respect each other as themselves, organizers said. It is also a joyous holiday following the instructions of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, a sage, mystical thinker, and author of the Zohar; having fulfilled his mission in this world, he asked that the anniversary be celebrated as a happy day.
For more information on the event, call Rabbi Adam Haston at (203) 589-4783 or email events@chabadOW.org

A low cost rabies clinic, sponsored by Wags and Whiskers, TLC, will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday May 30, at Pet Supplies Plus, 471 Boston Post Road, Orange, Conn.
The cost is $10 per vaccine and pet owners should bring previous a rabies certificate to receive a 3-year booster. Cats must be in carriers and dogs must be on leashes. For more information, please e-mail or call Jim Vitelli at pounddogs@yahoo.com or (203)937-3642.

WOODBRIDGE — The National Council of Jewish Women, Greater New Haven Section, will honor two members at its "Angel Luncheon" 12:30 p.m. May 19 at the Oak Lane Country Club, 1027 Race Brook Road.
The members to be honored are: Linda Levine, who is the Angel, and has been chairwoman of the luncheon for several years. She is the past president, has been treasurer, participates in voter registration, cancer awareness projects, and section committees.
Sondra Bernblum is the Special Recognition Honoree, presently recording secretary of NCW, Greater New Haven Section. Bernblum has been engaged in publicity, voter registration, an art excursion to the Hill Stead Museum in Farmington, and many other committees for good and welfare to women, children and families through research, education and advocacy in New Haven communities, and elsewhere in the United States and Israel.
The Ezra Academy Children’s Choir will perform at the luncheon. Reservations must be made in advance by calling 389-2431. Attendees are asked to bring cans or boxes of food, which will be distributed to the needy at the pantry of the Jewish Family Service, 1440 Whalley Ave., New Haven.

In a tribute to The Purr Project‘s guardian angel, the group has created an academic scholarship honoring Suzan D’Antonio.
D’Antonio, of Hamden, a veterinary technician and animal lover, died in March 2008. On her behalf, her family and friends donated almost $4,000 to the Purr Project.
To honor D’Antonio’s memory and carry on her work of caring for animals, The Purr Project, Inc. will grant a yearly $1,000 academic scholarship to eligible college students and incoming freshmen enrolled in a veterinary technology or pre-vet program. Named the Suzan D’Antonio Full Bucket Scholarship, after book "How Full is Your Bucket?," the scholarship will be awarded to those who have demonstrated the notion of filling buckets and therefore giving back to animals who have no voice, a statement said.
The $1,000 scholarship is meant to "support the supporter" by being available for books, supplies, meal plans, and certain fees that many other scholarships do not cover.
Complete eligibility requirements are being formulated and will be based on: a history of giving back to animals, need, and GPA, among other factors.
The annual award will be granted for the first time this summer, for the 2009-10 school year. Applications will be available through most college and high school counselors’ office by May 11, online at purrproject.org/D’Antonio, or by calling The Purr Project, Inc. at (203) 865-0878. Deadline for submitting applications is August 3.
The program will be administered by The Purr Project Foundation, a volunteer group that will also include members of the D’Antonio family. Donations to the foundation can be made with a credit card or Paypal through the Purr Project, Inc. Web site at www.purrproject.org, or sending a check or money order to The Purr Project Foundation. 843 State St. New Haven, 06511.
The Purr Project Foundation is staffed by an all volunteer force and more than 90 percent of each donation goes directly to helping students.