100 Party-Goers Help
Turn on the Lights!
for the
Cottone Field Fund
Wethersfield, CT
Friday, 11/28/2003
Dr.Ken Sokolowski
Involved parents, concerned coaches, local politicians, and like-minded friends and media representatives chatted, snacked, and (sedately) partied at a fundraiser for enhanced lighting at Wethersfield High School's Cottone Field.
Arranged by the newly formed "Wethersfield Youth Organization" (WYO), under the direction of former Republican Councilman Dan O'Connor, the fundraiser was held at Hamilton's Bunker Cafe, under the Flower Box Florists at 580 Silas Deane in Wethersfield.
Notables included former and current members of the Wethersfield Town Council and the Wethersfield Board of Education. These included the Mayor Russ Morin and Deputy Mayor John Karangekis, and Chairperson of the BOE Stacy Hodges and Vice Chair Gerri Roberts. Even former Hartford Mayor Michael Peters attended. Dan Carey (friend of Mike's), mingles with the other supporters.
Greeting the friends, neighbors and supports at the entrance of the Bunker Cafe, O'connor demonstrated to all the two styles of artificial turf being considered for the Cottone Field. He and WYO officer Lou Sanzaro discussed the need for the rebuilding of Cottone Field and extolled the virtues of the faux turf and the low-spill lighting recommended by WYO for it. O'Connor also delighted in wide and deep support, he claimed, has been offered by large contributors and friends of the various sports groups in town.
Joining in were three of the four, Wethersfield Irish Persons of the year, (2004) James Callahan, (2003) Thomas Pentalow, and (2002) James Hugh. (Judy Keane will share in the honors with Callahan.)
All admitted that the infrastructure of the field needs to be rebuilt to assure the effectiveness of the artificial turf in reducing the number and severity of injuries of to local and visiting student athletes and performer. The former Town Council has already agreed to study the need for and cost for the field's rebuilding and resurfacing. The new Town Council has the subject of the lighting of Cottone Field on its agenda for its meeting of Dec. 1, 2003.
Low-spillage lighting (for example, Musco.com)is designed to confine sufficient, high intensity light on the playing field without spilling over into the adjacent neighborhood to the north. The neighbors of the West Way and the Church Street Extension are said to be of mixed feeling about this project which would expand use of the field into the evenings of the darker half of the year.
The fundraiser was hosted and generourly subsidized by Greg Lichatz, owner of the the Flower Box and the Hamilton's Bunker Cafe. (Hamilton, Greg's young son, did not attend).
