Connecticut Postings

SEYMOUR — The town’s police chief has apologized for using profanity in front of fellow officers last month.
The apology was part of discipline Chief Michael Metzler received from the Board of Police Commission earlier this month.
In a letter dated Jan. 17 that was addressed to “all employees,” Metzler wrote: “I wish to extend my apology to any employee who felt offended by the inappropriate comment that I made in December.”
Following a closed door session Jan. 12, commissioners found that Metzler “used poor judgments” in statements he made Dec. 19.
The commissioners’ decision to discipline the chief was unanimous. He was given five days to apologize and also has to forfeit two vacation days.

On Monday, I’ll be riding my bicycle to work as part of our “Get There” project for the Connecticut Post. The concept is simple: Get to work without a car. A few of us Post reporters will be doing just that next week. They’ll be taking buses and Metro North. I’ll be the only one using human-powered transit.

To commute by bike, you’ll need a couple things besides a bike –– a serviceable floor pump and a pretty good lock. Let’s talk about the lock.

If you want to keep your bike, you’re going to have to learn a thing or two about bike locks.

When you buy a bike, it’s a good idea to have at least $40 to $130 left over for a good lock. I’m always amazed at all of the cheap, almost useless bike locks that I see at railroad stations.

Cable locks like this one can be defeated in less than 10 seconds with a hacksaw.

One particularly ineffective lock type is the cable lock, even the thick ones. These can be defeated with a hacksaw or even a pair of wire snippers in about 6 seconds. I know because I’ve done it. And cheap chain locks can be cut without much trouble, too. Remember, you’re buying time. Most bike thieves will pass up a lock that they figure will take more than 10 minutes to defeat.

If I can make a blanket statement, you can’t by a good bike lock for less than $35. Even on-line.

So, if you want your bike to be waiting for you at the end of the workday, get yourself a nice, hardened steel, flat key U-lock, or a heavy-duty hardened chain lock. The type of lock you get depends on where you plan to lock up your machine. U-locks are great for bike racks, but are useless if you have to lock your bike to a light pole. So scout out parking spots for your bike and figure out how you’re going to secure it. If you can get away with a “mini” U-bolt, like the Kryptonite New York Fahgettaboutit Mini, so much the better. Mini U-locks can’t be defeated by so-called “leverage attacks” (i.e. car jacks) because there’s no room for a sufficiently powerful jack.

As for chain locks, my favorites are the Abus Steel-O-Chain 880 (good), the Kryptonite New York Fahgettaboutit 1415 (better) or the Abus Granit City 1060 (even better, but hefty).

Also, make sure you’re locking up the frame to the rack, not just one the wheels. You don’t want to return to find your front wheel, minus the rest of the bike.

You can use a “looped cable” in conjunction with your main lock to secure your front wheel and seat. Or, a separate armored cable with a built-in lock. Using an armored cable lock, like the Abus Milleninioflex 896, along with your U-lock, will make your bike very difficult to nick because different tools are needed to defeat these two different locks.

On Monday, I’ll be riding my bicycle to work as part of our “Get There” project for the Connecticut Post.

This is the Presta valve. It's smaller, lighter and more elegant than the far more common Schrader valve.

The concept is simple: Get to work without a car. A few Post reporters will be doing just that next week. The rest of them will be taking buses and Metro North. I’ll be the only one using human-powered transit.

I have commuted by bike to work before and I’ve done quite a bit of cycling, so there won’t be much of a learning curve that I’ll have to absorb.

For the benefit of those who would like to take their bikes to work, but don’t know where to start, I’ll be writing a few blogs on the subject.

Today, we’re going to look at inflating your tires, or “tyres” as they say in the UK.

This assumes that you already have a bicycle. And if you do, I’ll bet folding money that your bike has soft tires. If you’re going to commute by bike, the first step is to make sure your tires are up to pressure.

So, to do this, you’ll need a bicycle pump. A floor pump with a gauge works best. They are sold at bike shops. Don’t inflate your bike tires at a gas station because you’ll blow them to pieces. Bike tires need only a small amount air, and gas station pumps aren’t designed with bike tires in mind.

This is a Schrader valve. It's just like the one on your car. It's fatter and heavier, but it gets the job done.

Those emergency electric tire pumps that plug into your car’s cigarette lighter will usually work out well, too.

OK, so you have a pump. Now check the tire sidewall for the maximum pressure that the tire is designed for. Attach the chuck to the valve (there’s usually a little lever you’ll have to flip up or down), and begin pumping. You’ll want that maximum air pressure in your tires to reduce your rolling resistance as much as possible. Then add a few more pounds for good measure.

“What?” you ask? Have I lost my mind? Actually, it turns out that the number on the sidewall was set by the tire company’s legal department, and the tire will actually take a good deal more pressure. So, if the tire says 100 lbs., the tire can easily handle about 115 pounds per square inch of pressure.

Note: Because of the physics of tires and air pressure, fatter tires don’t need as much air pressure as skinny ones. This is why car tires need only about 35 pounds of pressure, even though your car weighs about 3,000 pounds.

The author's bike pumps. The one on the left was made in Italy and is only for Presta valves. The other one will work with both.

When you remove the chuck from the tire, you’ll hear a very brief “pffssst” sound. Don’t worry –– this is just the air escaping from the pump, not the tire.

One more thing. Bike tires lose about 5 to 10 percent of their air every week, so, top off your tires once a week.

Press release:

Are you interested in Stratford’s vibrant theatre and arts community?

If you want to know more about Festival! Stratford 2012, get involved in the early stages and become part of Stratford’s grand cultural legacy, join festival organizers at an informational volunteer meeting on February 9, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. in the Town Council Chambers at Stratford’s Town Hall, 2725 Main Street.

Thanks in part to the hard work and dedication of the 2011 volunteers, last year’s great success numbers and audience feedback will be shared at the February 9^th meeting in addition to committee descriptions and needs.

The committee is seeking volunteers for the mid-August event to assist with communications, volunteer coordination, staffing, vending, ushering, parking management, donations/raffle and main stage support.

Based on the success of the 2011 festival, organizers are expecting an increased need for community and volunteer involvement. The 2-week festival will include theatre and music performances, art exhibits, children’s shows and so much more on the grounds of the American Festival (Shakespeare) Theatre.

To volunteer, please contact festivalstratfordct@gmail.com or visit www.festivalstratford.org for more information on the Festival.

Though a long way off, completion of the Moses Wheeler Bridge replacement project is projected to come 14 months ahead of schedule.

“By contract there was a reduction in the schedule from Oct. 31 of 2017 … to Aug. 31 of 2016,” said James Pelletier, the project engineer.

The new bridge is projected to cost about $45 million less that the initial estimate of $430 million.

Questions arose about the project when a crane being used for the bridge reconstruction project fell in the parking lot next to Bossanova restaurant on Ferry Boulevard. About five gallons of fuel leaked out.

Crews were dismantling the crane when it toppled over Wednesday night, Pelletier said. The incident did not slow down progress, he added.

“We’re on track,” Pelletier said.

He added, “This is a big undertaking.”

Track the Moses Wheeler Bridge reconstruction project’s progress here.

In December, we reported that Easton had about $278,000 in its driveway bond account. In Easton, residents have to put up a $2,500 deposit if they do any work on their driveways. The deposit ensures the driveways are built to town code, and is supposed to be returned once the driveway is finished.

We reported some residents claimed it was nearly impossible to get their bonds back. They were told their driveways did not conform to town standards or simply could not get through to the Engineering Department and gave up.

The Easton Board of Selectmen recently voted to release all driveway bonds more than 20 years old and all road opening bonds more than 15 years old.

“We will consider our options as we continue to review all other open bonds,” first selectman Tom Herrmann said. “As I like to say, we should use it or lose it and have a firm fix it or forfeit policy.”

SEYMOUR – Groups that would like to use the town’s park facilities this year have to file an application before Feb. 27.
Applications can be picked up at the town clerk’s office at Town Hall or on the town’s website: www.seymourct.org
Completed applications should be returned to the selectman’s office at Town Hall or sent to Robert Lang, the Parks Commission secretary, at 27 Wood St., Seymour.

From Housatonic Community College:

BRIDGEPORT – The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, which provides free tax preparation for eligible families, will kick off the new tax season with an opening event on Friday, Jan. 27, at Housatonic Community College.

Under the program, volunteers are trained by the Internal Revenue Service to prepare income tax returns for households earning less than $50,000. HCC students typically participate in the program.

Highlighting Friday’s program will be addresses by HCC President Anita T. Gliniecki; Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch; Peter Yazbak, outreach coordinator for Cong. Jim Himes; IRS senior tax specialist Ron Peruzzi and Merle Berke-Schlessel, president and CEO of the United Way of Coastal Fairfield County.

The event begins at 1 p.m. in the Atrium in Lafayette Hall. Free parking is available in the Housatonic Garage, 900 Lafayette Blvd in downtown Bridgeport.