10B THE SUNDAY REPUBLICAN

JANUARY 20, 2013

AMBULANCE: Naugatuck service shows a profit

Continued from 1B affect it in the future, Santoro said. With the economy now, a lot of our patients that had insurances dont, Santoro said. We still have to transport them and were not necessarily getting paid for them. THE SURPLUS CAME about partially as a result of savings since fall 2011, when Naugatuck Ambulance switched its billing company from Campion Ambulance to Emergency Medical Management Services out of Beacon Falls, Santoro said. The new service takes a 6 percent cut of collections, while Campion took 9.5 percent, Santoro said. The federal reports also show Santoro made nearly $18,000 more last year than the year before, not counting a $5,000 payment to a retirement account that was not made while Naugatuck Ambulance was losing money, according to the ambulance services attorney, John Baldelli Jr. Of the increase in compensation, about $12,000 came from Naugatuck Ambulance, while the rest came from its for-profit subsidiary home care organization, Where the Heart Is. Santoro made a total of about $108,000, apart from the retirement contribution, according to the forms. Santoro said all pay increases go through the organizations board of directors and that his pay should have equaled that of Susan Griffin, the founder of Where the Heart Is and human resources director for the ambulance corps. Griffin makes almost $90,000, not including $26,000 in health insurance and retirement contributions from both companies. I dont know why that discrepancy is there, Santoro said. That should not be. Naugatuck Ambulance is working to set up a meeting with borough officials to resolve a dispute over whether the borough should continue making supplemental payments in the absence of a contract with the ambulance service. The previous contract, which had the borough paying $148,000 yearly, expired last June. Campion Ambulance, by contrast, proposed the same level of coverage in the borough for $96,000. The company, which operates 21 ambulances headquartered in Waterbury, Torrington and Cheshire, could provide the same services for less because most of the needed resources are already in place, said President and CEO William T. Campion Jr. and John A. Zarrella, director of operations. Campion said he would have one manager doing double duty in Waterbury and the borough and would not incur any additional costs for information technology or billing. The company would move two ambulances and associated personnel, including one paramedic in a fly car, to the borough from Waterbury. Based on response times and call volumes, Campion said he could renegotiate costs with the borough if more ambulances were needed. However, Naugatuck Ambulance is the states Primary Service Area Responder for the borough, a designation that can only be removed if the organization gives it up or the state determines the organization is performing poorly enough that patient care is compromised. Santoro has said he will not give up the designation. CAMPION HOLDS the PSA designation for Torrington and objected when Torrington solicited bids two years ago for possible replacements. In this case, however, Campion said officials on the borough subcommittee seemed serious about a possible switch. They have assured our organization that they have some valid, specific reasons for wanting to change, Campion said. Tamath K. Rossi, chairwoman of that committee and a subsequently formed EMS oversight committee, declined to comment on the reasons but said the situation had improved since the oversight committee was formed. Were moving forward in a positive direction, definitely, Rossi said. The Joint Boards of Finance and Mayor and Burgesses decided to put the boroughs ambulance services out to bid last year after Santoro tried to

eliminate the round-the-clock paramedic position headquartered in the borough, calling medics instead from Waterbury as needed. The move angered borough officials, who said Santoro was breaching their contract, and Santoro has kept the paramedics in the borough since. Charles Mallon, 62, of Prospect, was president of Naugatuck Ambulance in the 1990s, when it stopped being the Naugatuck Volunteer Ambulance Corps and transitioned to a paid organization. Although he works for Campion Ambulance, he said he thinks residents and officials are getting the wrong idea about a dedicated group of emergency medical personnel. Its not that we want to screw them or take Naugatuck citizens to the bank, Mallon said. Weve never done that. ... Nobodys making a ton of money.

BILL: Training school land eyed for housing

Continued from 1B roads in four phases beginning in 1984, but the apartments are full and the waiting list has 150 names. There is no more land to build on at Grace Meadows, and board members have looked elsewhere to add apartments. (The waiting list) is staying about even, said the Rev. Frederick McGee, president of the nonprofits. We have to pare it down constantly, go through it to meet federal standards. ONeill said he was approached two years ago by two members of the nonprofits about the training school site. The land is on the southern side of the training school campus off Route 172. It is where the former Personnel Village is located. From all accounts ... everyone agrees it is a good site for senior housing in Southbury, ONeill said. He said the problem is that the training school continues to use areas of Personnel Village, where campus workers used to be housed. Critics are likely to argue the state could make money by selling the property to the town instead of giving it away, he said. ONeill has helped pry a few parcels from the training school over the years for use as land preserves, but this is the first time he has tried to get anything close to the center of the campus. This is going to be a little more difficult to arrange, he said. Members of the nonprofits brought their expansion plan to the Board of Selectmen in November, and got a favorable response from board members. People have been waiting three or four years to get off the waiting list at Grace Meadows, which was funded with federal

SCHOOL: Auditors expected to visit Bucks Hill this month

Continued from 1B accepted Dec. 21, and officials have begun to put the plan into practice in recent weeks. A couple of weeks in, the staff has been reassured and most like what they understand of the plan, Drewry and others said. Maybe it was looked at as a negative in the beginning, but at the end of the day, it means you are going to get the help you need for your kids, second grade teacher Melissa Ciccone said. Ciccone has been with the school since 2004. The teachers have always been dedicated, she said, but she believes the plan will help them become more effective. Its seven pages, mostly broad goals matched with strategic actions (or strategies), and broken into stages over three years. GOALS FOR THIS YEAR include: strong leadership; effective teaching; a redesign of the school day; use of data for continuous improvement; better family and community engagement; an improved instructional program and an environment in the areas of safety, discipline and other non-academic issues affecting student success. At this stage, differences in the school are subtle. Its the same staff, using basically the same lessons and materials in the same amount of time. Theyre trying to be smarter about the use of that time. There has been training for staff. Principal Ann Begley and Vice Principal Angela Razza are spending more time modeling good teaching, said Instructional Leadership Director Darren Schwartz. Even the twice-monthly staff meetings are being used more effectively to push instructional improvement, Schwartz said. Schwartz is another big change, though not unique to Bucks Hill. Hes one of four recent city hires in a new class of administrators charged with helping lead reform efforts. Waterburys schools have been divided among these directors. New resources have been a bit slow in coming. The plan calls for approximately $150,000 in spending this year alone, on 20 new computers, extra tutors, extended summer school, a new literacy expert, teaching materials and more teacher training, said Chief Academic Officer Ann Marie Cullinan. District officials think the state might pick up a big portion of that expense, and arent spending big sums until they have a better idea. Cullinan said state auditors will be visiting Bucks Hill later this month. Maybe the district will find out then, she said. State Department of Education spokeswoman Kelly Donnelly was unable to say Friday if more state dollars are available. Asked about new resources during a visit to the school Thursday, Begley pointed a thumb at Schwartz. The new administrator gave some at the school a deer in the headlights feeling a few weeks ago, Begley

STEVEN VALENTI REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN

Grace Meadows, an 88-unit complex that was started in 1984 and is full with a 3- or 4-year waiting list, in Southbury on Friday. Two lawmakers have proposed a bill to have the state transfer 45 acres at Southbury Training School to Southbury to build subsidized housing for the elderly. money. Because of that, the nonprofits cannot restrict occupancy to Southbury residents; however, most residents either are from Southbury or a surrounding town, or have family in the area. ONeill said the bill will work its way to the Government Administration and Elections Committee for discussion. He said it will be incorporated into a larger conveyance bill, where transfers of state land to municipalities are considered. After that, it will be up to House and Senate members to decide whether the transfer makes sense. Ultimately, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy would have to sign the bill. McGee said how much money the federal government provides will determine the number of apartments that can be built. It depends how much funding comes in, he said. There will be additional need as we go along. There is precedent for the state to convey land from Southbury Training School. In 1998, former Gov. John G. Rowland signed a bill authorizing transfer of 40 acres off Spruce Brook Road to the Southbury Land Trust. The trust pursued the property after trustees determined several threatened and endangered species of plants were growing among the rocks and steeply carved banks of Spruce Brook, which empties into the Pomperaug River. State officials walked the property and realized the sloping terrain would make future development of the training school impractical. With assistance from trust members, ONeill wrote a transfer resolution and submitted it as part of the bill Rowland signed. Known as the Koons Preserve, the property was named for the late Walter and Harriet Koons, ardent supporters of the land trust. ONeill said he hopes he can have as much success with the Personnel Village property as he did acquiring the Spruce Brook Road site for the land trust. This is going to be a little more difficult to arrange because the land is still being used, he said. We have to wait and figure out a way to see how to make this work. Grace Meadows was named for Grace McCandless, a retired educator from New York who lived in Heritage Village. She and others conceived of an affordable place in town for seniors to live. Groundbreaking for the first phase was in April 1984, and the first residents moved in 16 months later. The housing authority and town filed three expansion applications with the federal government, and all were approved.

ERIN COVEY REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN

Darren Schwartz, the instructional leadership director in the Waterbury School District, sits in front of a poster outlining the new posted policy at classrooms throughout Bucks Hill Elementary School.

said. But now hes part of the building, she said.

BUSINESSES: Refinishing and retailing

Continued from 1B made from industrial metal gears. The space just became available and it just made sense, said co-owner Maureen Garceau, who moved her consignment and vintage shop, Melange, from its 850-squarefoot space on Main Street in Watertown to the first floor of the factory building shortly after opening Reworx. The 2,800-square-foot first floor holds smaller objects like upcycled jewelry and handpainted desks. The renovated industrial space holds special meaning for Garceaus husband, Steve Garceau, whose parents met while working at the factory in the 1950s. Steve Garceau said he got to know the building well as a child, bringing his mother supper when she worked late at night. Before the Garceaus took over the building about a year ago, it was falling apart. It took them six months to renovate, gutting the building to bare brick walls, stripping the floors, and ripping out old plumbing. True to his artistic philosophy, Steve Garceau saved those old pipes to turn into new furniture. I think its got the right feel, the right vibe for what were doing now, Steve Garceau said. Maureen Garceau said the first few months in business

LARAINE WESCHLER REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN

Don Fournier, left, and Frank Rinaldi stand in their antiques store at 141 Main St. in Oakville. have been tough, especially since many people have trouble finding the store tucked away on a side street. The artisans hold a meet-and-greet cocktail reception once a month and theyre hoping exposure in an online market will soon bring greater interest. In time, I think we can make it a destination, Garceau said. Down in Oakville, Don Fournier opened Main Street Pickers in his fathers building when its former tenant, Mikes Gun and Tackle, shuttered after 39 years. Fournier said he still had inventory from when he bought and sold estates years ago. Knowing how hard it would be to rent retail space in this economy, Fournier took it off his fathers hands. We had to redo the place anyway, he said. Fourniers buddy, Frank Rinaldi, has a workshop in the basement to restore and refinish old furniture. I like finding something thats pretty much garbage and turning it into something people want to display in their house. It gives me a sense of accomplishment, Rinaldi said. The men sell everything from vintage jewelry to industrial bits and pieces from Waterburys Scovill Manufacturing Co., to folk art. A 1960s Israeli army walkie-talkie sits near a 1940s Coco Cola machine. The inventory is always turning over as Fournier replenishes the showroom with pieces from his warehouse. In the basement, several metallic skull-covered chairs created by a local artist are in the works. Theres a market for just about everything, Fournier said.

BUCKS HILL Elementarys Connecticut Mastery Test scores have hovered around the bottom of the district in recent years. Collectively, its students scored 51.2 out of a possible 100 points last year. Only two other city schools scored lower. In the past few weeks, a lot has been done with existing staff behind the scenes. A new leadership team of Bucks Hill teachers has been formed. Theyre mostly responsible for adapting or adjusting the improvement plan, but can advise on anything in the building, Schwartz said. A team of educators tasked with helping use student test data has been revamped. Begley said staff seem more eager to volunteer these days. One committee leapt from two members to 10. Inside the classrooms, changes are less readily apparent so early in the plan. On Thursday, fifth-grade teacher Betsey Sweeney could be seen using a Venn diagram in a lesson a recently taught technique. In some classrooms, big-lettered papers outlining student expectations were high on the wall, reading Listen, Be Kind and Raise Your Hand, among others. Schwartz said teachers are also being asked to begin lessons with an explanation of the intent, defining the skill they hope to impress. Twelve of the Bucks Hills most struggling students have been added to the after-school program. The school has also enlisted the aid of two volunteer student-tutors from Wilby High School. Drewry said teachers are still not certain how fundamentally the plan will change how they teach their lessons in the long term, or exactly what resources will be available. Shes optimistic the school will be allowed greater autonomy under the plan. Maybe it will mean fewer unnecessary tests and more time for true instruction, she mused. Were in here every day as teachers, Drewry said. I know whats working for my kids.