Marching Nighthawks Wrap Up Their Season

By ELIZA HALLABECK

Published: Nov 21, 2008 12:00 am

By Eliza Hallabeck

Students who participate in the Newtown High Schools Band and Color Guard gathered in the schoolâs lobby on Saturday night, November 8, to eat and socialize before heading to Bridgeport for the championship tournament of the season.

The Musical Arts Conference Championship started earlier in the day at Kennedy Stadium in Bridgeport, but the Newtown Marching Band was not scheduled to show until 8 pm. At the end of the night, Newtown had placed second in its division to Cheshire High Schoolâs marching band. Before this year the NHS Marching Band stood undefeated for five years.

The food in the school lobby was provided by a number of parents, and some also gathered with the students. Before they had time to eat, the students practiced one last time before the event.

âWeâre pumped,â said Chris Segovia, a junior who plays tuba in the band, while waiting in the lobby before the championship competition. âWeâve been working for it for the past couple of months.â

Chris said he enjoys being in the band because he likes playing music.

Chelsea Young, a junior who was waiting with Chris during the break from rehearsals at the school, said she was excited to go to the championship.

âI love music,â Chelsea said, âand weâve been working on this for so long.â

Drum majors Laura Hanulik and Laura Bittman, both seniors, said they were hopeful for the upcoming event.

âIâm hoping that we just have the best show of the season so far,â said Laura Hanulik.

She said as drum majors, she and Laura Bittman try to make sure everyone is focused and pumped before starting an event.

âIâm so excited,â said Laura Bittman.

She said being in band gives students a feeling of community and a chance to make friends with many other students.

âI love all of these kids so much,â she said.

Newtown came in second to Cheshire, Danbury came in third, and Brien McMahon school came in fourth during at the championship Saturday night.

Patricia Anzellotti

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It seems a lot of the discussion around the flagpole focuses on vilifying drivers who pass on the right, but the real issue is being overlooked. If Chapter 248 Section 14-251 were enforced, we wouldn’t see this problem to begin with. That statute prohibits stopping in the middle of a roadway to yield to cross traffic—as so often happens with cars waiting to turn from Church Hill. When vehicles stop illegally in the travel lane, they effectively create a blockage. Other drivers then either sit through unnecessary delays or carefully pass around them on the right, which is fully permitted when the vehicle ahead is “illegally parked” in the roadway. Instead of punishing drivers reacting to the obstruction, enforcement should focus on the cause: vehicles unlawfully stopping and backing up traffic in the first place. If that behavior were addressed, the need to “go around” would largely disappear.

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John, you raise an important point — these situations are tragic, complicated, and often far less clear-cut than the headlines make them seem. In the Fredericksburg case, the full facts still aren’t publicly known, and like so many of these stories, there’s conflicting information. It was apparently the back door at 3 a.m. — was it justified to use deadly force? We don’t know yet. What we do know is that the homeowner has been charged, and as you rightly noted, that is very serious. But this is also where perspective matters. These cases are quickly sensationalized in the news and on social media, yet when the dust settles, the outcomes are rarely publicized. People forget that in our system, you are innocent until proven guilty. Try to find much coverage of the convication in the case of the Fairfield Realtor vehicle homicide, or updates on the woman who shot her husband a couple of Christmases ago, or even the pedestrian death in Sandy Hook a year or so back. The follow-through simply isn’t there, and public opinion is often shaped only by the first round of headlines. At the end of the day, these situations remind us how split-second decisions in the middle of the night can change lives forever — which is exactly why the right to protect one’s property, home and family is so fiercely debated, and lucky constitutionally protected.

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First the low hanging fruit. Dave; it was a joke, please get over it. You are the only person in Newtown that thought I really wanted to build a stadium on 6 Commence Rd. Now on to Alex. You might not appreciate my writing style or my selection of words, but let's not loose sight of the fact that by responding to my letter in the manner that you did, you have removed any doubt whatsoever that you have no idea of the quantifiable benefits you are dismissing not only for the town, but also for protesters. Either you stopped listening at the word "ordinance" or you never started.. Your constitutional rights to assemble were never in question and would actually be strengthened and there would be literally no impediments. We could even title it "The Alex Villamil Ordinance" if you want. It could be your legacy and actually show Newtown your willingness to work in a bipartisan way for the betterment of the town. Businesses would be protected. Traffic wouldn't be interrupted. The town would save hundreds of thousands of dollars in police overtime. And maybe most importantly, the town could prevent another tragedy while mitigating legal risk in the event something terrible happens at a protest. Nothing bad could never happen in Newtown right? All that could be accomplished by a simple, non-intrusive ordinance unless all the detriments to our town are intentional in order to bring more attention to your cause. Alex, this was not me throwing a temper tantrum. Believe me, you will know it if that happens. I am just putting Newtown first. From that perspective, if you think critically, the regulation is necessary. It makes sense logically, rationally, and is reasonable. There is absolutely no down side. None. I would be willing to sit down with you to see if we could come to some type of compromise if you want. Let me know. You would be amazed how much you can accomplish when there is dialogue amongst neighbors.

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Marching Nighthawks Wrap Up Their Season

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