On May 15, 2018 multiple tornadoes hit Connecticut and it left certain towns in the state, including Hamden, in total disarray.
According to the National Weather Service the winds peaked at 95 mph. It destroyed power lines, homes and also destroyed state parks.
Tree Fallen on Garage Photo Cred: Roger Kepler
The storm had a devastating affect on many residents who were in the areas that were hit by the tornadoes.
Hamden resident Roger Kegler said, “My wife texts me ‘where the hell are you’ as I pull into the driveway. I get my wife and three kids into the basement and put on some candles to calm everyone down”.
The storm was intense and knocked down trees and destroyed property.
Destroyed Car and Garage Photo Cred: Roger Kepler
“We heard a thump and then we hear the dishes shaking in our kitchen…. I was the first one up,” Kegler said. “I saw that the garage and car was completely destroyed by a tree.”
After the storm, the state needed assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for aid and to help clean up the areas affected so the residents could live their once again.
Governor Daniel Malloy reached out to FEMA for individual assistance meaning that FEMA would help out individual homeowners but this request was denied, according to a report by NBC CT. This has left homeowners still dealing with the effects of the tornado.
Kegler said, “After the storm the neighbors house was damaged, the guy across the street completely lost his house and the guy next to me didn’t lose anything…you can still see the destruction if you drive around you can see the trees that are still in the middle of the cul de sac.”
Only recently has the town started to clean up the streets again.
According to a recent statement by Hamden Mayor Curt Leng, “The collection of debris from the May 15 tornado will resume on Sept. 24, and will continue until Friday, October 5. It will be immediately followed by bulk trash collection through the end of October. Storm debris collection will occur only in the Mount Carmel and West Woods neighborhoods, which were most heavily affected by the tornado.”
Leng also told all citizens affected to keep all bills and quotas from their damage so that he can appeal the decision by FEMA so that homeowners can get the help that they need.
Sleeping Giant National Park which is Located across the street from Quinnipiac University, was one of the parks damaged from the storm.
Sleeping Giant Park Ranger, Jill Scheibenpflug, said, “All the trees were knocked down and the trails were disrupted and there were some holes in the roof of the pavilion.”
The damage caused the park to be shut down until further notice. The state is hopeful it will open sooner rather than later.
Scheibenpflug said, “We were hoping for fall but now we are leaning more towards spring for when it will reopen”.
According to Scheibenpflug, when it happened there was a lot of debris and trees that caused the park to stay closed. Contractors came fairly soon to clear the trees so it looks better but there is still a lot of work that needs to be done. All of the rain that has been falling has prevented the park from being able to plant any trees.
There’s a familiar face in a different location in Hamden, once located at 3000 Whitney Avenue, MiKro Beer Bar has now moved to 0 Depot Avenue.
Tucked neatly into the space behind Amity Wine and Spirit, and nestled cozily into an old railroad building, MiKro’s new location brings all of the quaint craft beer bar feel of its former location into a bigger and bolder space.
General Manager Greg Vayneris says one of the main reasons for the move is space. “People have loved MiKro for years but our space was so small that people couldn’t come in. They’d drive by and see that it’s full and they’d go some place else,” Vayneris said.
The new location, which holds over 120 compared to the former location’s 53, sits right on the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail, which is something Vayneris emphasized as a major reason MiKro chose the location. Not to mention the historic background at the rail depot which is a spot Vayneris says his partner, Mike Farber, has been eyeing for years.
The interior, which Vayneris describes as “kind of industrial yet homey at the same time,” appears to be made almost entirely of wood and accented with metal. Some of the materials that were used to build the structure came from the location itself.
“We used a lot of reclaimed wood, we used 200 year old chestnut that we found in the building,” Vayneris said. “The railroad tracks that were in the ground when we took the space, we used those railroad tracks on the bar as foot rails. The rail spikes that were here, we used those as tap handles.”
The bar offers 20 draft beers which are in a constant location. “There’s always a couple IPAs, double IPAs, there’s always a couple Belgian beers, there’s always a couple stouts or porters, we always have a cider on that’s gluten free,” Vayneris said.
The bar is fully stocked, but don’t try to order a shot. “We have a full bar but we don’t have everything, we don’t want to have everything. You can’t come here and order a shot, we don’t want people to drink shots, we don’t want people to get drunk here, we want people to have a great experience.”
Vayneris emphasized the culture, or what he calls the counterculture, of craft beer and it’s something MiKro emphasizes from top to bottom. The move forced Vayneris and Farber to toe the line between continuing to cultivate the image they had already established while trying to freshen their style in a brand new location.
“The concern for a lot of the regulars is they didn’t want it to lose the feel of MiKro. So we didn’t, we painted the walls the same color as the old place, the music selection is very similar, the lighting is very similar,” Vayneris said.
The culture growing around craft beer is something that makes Vayneris hopeful for the future of his business. “People drink more craft beer and we want to continue that legacy.”
MiKro Beer Bar is now open at 0 Depot Avenue in Hamden, it’s former location at 3000 Whitney Avenue has reopened as TexiKo Tequilla Bar.
Quinnipiac University plans to wait until new President Judy Olian assumes her role as president before Quinnipiac’s board of trustees approves a final plan and funding strategy for building the new residence hall on Quinnipiac’s York Hill campus according to the Quinnipiac administration.
On March 27, the town of Hamden’s Zoning and Planning Department approved and granted Quinnipiac University’s special permit and site plan to build a new 220-bed senior residence hall on Quinnipiac’s York Hill Campus.
According to Hamden Town Planner Daniel Kops, Quinnipiac needs to accomplish several tasks before they can obtain the necessary permits to build a new residence hall.
“The first step is to revise the plans to make any changes required by the conditions of approval,” Kops said. “Then comply with any other conditions of approval that must be addressed prior to obtaining a Zoning Permit.”
After complying with the conditions of approval the Zoning and Planning Department can issue a zoning permit to the University.
“Once this is done, the University must obtain a building permit from the Building Department,” Kops said.
Kops believes because of the size and scale of a project, the whole permit process could take several weeks.
After filing all of the necessary permits, according to Kops, the University has five years to complete the project but can request a five-year extension. After the University’s permits are approved, it needs to obtain funding and hire a construction company before the project can start.
According to Kops, as long as Quinnipiac revises and follows the conditions and plans of the approval, there isn’t anything from the town’s point of view that could derail the project.
According to Quinnipiac’s Vice President of Facilities and Capital Planning Salvatore Filardi, the financial plans to build a new residence hall on York Hill won’t be finalized until new President Olian assumes her role as president of the University.
“Now that we have the town’s approval, the University is still required to get the final plan and funding strategy approved by the Board of Trustees,” Filardi said. “Given the timing and the cost of the project, I expect that such a decision will not be addressed until the new president takes office.”
After the project is approved to move forward, Filardi anticipates that the new residence hall will take about 18 months of construction to complete.
“Once the projected is approved to move forward, we will have a typical schedule of construction; starting in the spring and completing in the second summer, some 18 months later with students occupying that fall,” Filardi said.
Toys R Us is closing its doors nationwide. While local students are disappointed about losing the experience taking a trip to the toy store, they understand the change in today’s toy culture has contributed to the close.
“I think it’s kind of sad,” said Pat Pitts, a junior journalism major at Quinnipiac. “Everything they [kids today] want is on electronics or something like that, so they don’t have that toy experience that you and I had growing up.”
In its long history, Toys R Us has emerged as an important part of the childhoods of Quinnipiac students. Ben Kuru, a freshman marketing major at Quinnipiac even had a specific memorable experience.
“My favorite thing there was a bike that I got to ride around there a little bit,” said Kuru. “The workers there were really friendly and it’s unfortunate that the place is closing down.”
Over the past year, Toys R Us has faced a series of financial miscues that have led to the company’s downfall.
On September 18th the company declared bankruptcy after being over $5 billion dollars in debt. Four months later the company announced that it would be closing over 100 stores across the country.
By March Toys R Us announced its liquidation, leading to the closure of over 700 nationwide locations.
While debt is arguably the biggest contributor to the company’s demise, some saw different reasons for Toys R Us’s decline.
“I noticed that their video game section wasn’t that drastic,” said Shannon Marmot, a junior public relations major at Quinnipiac. “They tried to base it more on board games and I feel like that was a huge downside to them.”
Others saw issues with the pricing of the items in the store.
Kuru said he thought prices at Toys R Us were “a little bit out there,” but it’s not the only reason he thought the toy store failed.
“Kids are more into technology than they are into physical toys nowadays,” said Kuru.
Lori Hershman, an employee at Evan’s Toy Shoppe in Hamden, Connecticut, had similar feelings on children’s shift towards technology.
“I see in restaurants that they’re playing with iPads instead of coloring books,” said Hershman. “In cars, they’re watching movies or playing games instead of looking out the window.”
Amy Cavallo, a sophomore finance major at Quinnipiac, said there could have been a way to save the store.
“If debt was truly the issue…I think at that point you really need to refocus your business practice on repaying,” said Cavallo. “You could’ve invested that [money] into repaying your loans.”
With the end of the Toys R Us in sight, Hershman is concerned that the absence of the company could have a negative effect on children.
“If there isn’t a toy store and they couldn’t get what they want, that would be detrimental. It’s important for kids to have that experience of saving their pennies and getting that toy they’ve wanted,” said Hershman.
Toys R Us has commenced liquidation sales in all of it’s nationwide locations. The company is anticipated to run out of money by May.
The York Hill campus, courtesy of Quinnipiac’s website
By Tatyana Youssef
As Quinnipiac reaches its goal of 7,000 undergraduate students, the student body is experiencing changes in the traditional housing structure. More students are being fit into the 15 different residential areas on York Hill and Mount Carmel campus, while many others are living in off-campus options such as Quinnipiac owned houses or apartments. “Approximately 4,800 students live in university-owned housing in traditional residence halls, suites, apartments and off-campus houses,” according to the university’s website.” With housing selection approaching, students are making decisions with the limited options and new changes.
In early 2017, Quinnipiac announced a variety of changes to the housing structure aimed at reducing the crowding being experienced in some dorms due to the increasing size of incoming classes. There is no longer enough room for all sophomores and freshmen to live on Mount Carmel campus, which is within walking distance of classes.
Current senior and Vice President of the Student Government Association Jacqueline Schmedel has seen drastic changes in housing since she began her experience at Quinnipiac. She says, “I have seen freshmen packed into common rooms, students temporarily displaced due to combusting generators, and underclassmen being sent up to York Hill because there isn’t enough space on campus to accommodate them.”
Good thing Quinnipiac ran out of Housing for over 100 sophomores…… Including myself
Some sophomores are currently living on York Hill, a campus originally intended for upperclassmen. While the university’s website states, “The Crescent and Westview residence hall is one of our newest residence halls, providing housing for upperclassmen,” this does not hold true for the many sophomores living in Crescent dorms.
Alongside freshman dorms of Commons, Ledges, Mountainview, Irma, Dana and Larson, the rise in populations opened up Judge Philip Troup Hall, a former sophomore housing option, as a freshman dorm.
Junior options expanded on York Hill as the former senior dorm, Townhouses, now houses six juniors each. Whitney Village, a living option off campus in a condominium style is now open for juniors.
For many students, living on campus is seen as a privilege entering their first two years at Quinnipiac. When news broke of the sophomore separation, students were disappointed and feared losing their sense of community tied to the Mount Carmel campus. Whitney Leyland, a sophomore psychology major, recalls what her peers say about the York experience. “I haven’t heard of it being stressful on York. Some of my friends actually really like it.”
Charlotte Gardner, a sophomore journalism major, was nervous to find out her higher lottery number left her with a crescent room option on York Hill last spring semester. This year, she is satisfied with the experience, “I love living on York. I’m so much more relaxed and calm and not as anxious as I am when I’m on Main (Mount Carmel campus)- it really feels like I’m coming home as opposed to a dorm.”
Students have expressed frustration with the random “lottery system” through which housing numbers are assigned. Freshman health science major Gisselle Acevedo vocalizes her annoyance with the current housing process, describing the experience as “too competitive.” She questions the temporary solutions combatting the influx of incoming students accepted this year. “I don’t like how for most of the good rooms it’s seven people. What is the point of a forced triple? Why not make rooms with 8 people and have equal space?”
Whitney Leyland, currently living in Sahlin on the Mount Carmel campus, understands the temporary solutions but sees what makes it so complicated for the students new to the process. “The whole lottery system is chaotic because after people start to get their housing situations set up, people have to get kicked out to fit other styles.” In an ideal world, she believes having the same number of students in each room allows the housing selection process to run smoother. “Having the same amount live together would alleviate the stress of the possibility of getting kicked out and everyone would know how many they needed to fill the room.”
One administrator proposed a different idea when approaching the random lottery housing process. Erin Twomey Provistalis, Assistant Director of Student Affairs, says “I think there should be a way for students who get a certain GPA, are involved outside the classroom, pay their bills on-time, etc. get preference in the lottery.” With the unfairness that stems from random lottery, Twomey would “love to see a system that rewards our students who are really making an impact at Quinnipiac.”
When it was being constructed in 2010, the York Hill campus was originally approved to have several more dorms in addition to the ones that were built. While these dorms were never constructed, President Lahey revealed in Fall of 2017 that Quinnipiac was beginning the process of applying for permits to begin constructing a new 220-room dorm on the York Hill Campus. The addition of this new building could alleviate much of the stress experienced during the housing process by giving students more modern and attractive options.
State Representative Michael D’Agostino addresses the committee
By Rob McGreevy
The Hamden Democratic Town Committee met on Tuesday night in Hamden Public Library’s senior center to begin its spring session and to welcome newly elected committee members.
According to the chairman of the Hamden Democratic Town Committee, Lew Panzo, the committee welcomed 23 newly elected members. Some incumbent members said that number was even higher.
Whether it was 23 or more than half of the 63 members as some suggested, this is an unusually high turnover for the committee.
“Our body here was an older body of people who served here for 25-30 years and it was time for a change for some of them,” Panzo said.
The meeting was full of young people, and the loudest and most active voices in the crowd all belonged to newly elected members.
The committee didn’t reach a quorum and therefore was unable to conduct official business, but there were still plenty of opportunities for members to ask questions and voice opinions.
Connecticut state senator Martin Looney attended and briefed the room on the party’s status in the town, as well as the state.
He spoke about the senate’s general agenda and how it was going to act on certain matters, as well as what the Hamden Democratic Town Committee could do to help.
After Looney spoke, Panzo allowed a number of speakers who were either running for elected office, or had opened an exploratory committee to do so, to speak to the room. The group included Connecticut state representative Michael D’Agostino, who is running for attorney general.
The group also included two prominent Connecticut democrats — both vying for the same elected office.
Susan Bysiewicz announced she had opened an exploratory committee to run for governor. Her political resume includes 12 years as secretary of state. She spoke at length on major Connecticut issues, including establishing a pay equity law, infrastructure and especially tolls.
Bronin is a former aide to maligned Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy. He lasered in on fixing Connecticut’s budget issues, while also brushing upon the base Connecticut Democratic issues that his opponent did – taxes, tolls, infrastructure, etc.
The HDTC gives these candidates a platform to reach Democrats in places they may not have been able to otherwise.
“Especially in an election year we have so many candidates running they will generally invite candidates to attend town committee meetings so they can present their case,” Looney said.
The HDTC did not have enough members to conduct its affairs, but going forward the newly elected members will be officially members at the committees next meeting on March 12.
Panzo seemed hopeful toward the new and exciting future of the Hamden Democratic Town Committee.
“It’s good to see this new influx of young people,” said Panzo, “that’s what this party needs, it needs to be revitalized.”
Looking ahead Panzo says that Hamden has always followed along with the state’s Democratic platform, “but there’s talk about us writing our own platform” — something that Panzo said will probably take place this year.
Scaling up Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania is no easy feat.
It’s an extreme altitude mountain trek. It takes hikers through five different ecological zones, from farmland to alpine desert to snow capped arctic peaks. Temperatures can reach an upwards of 104 degrees and at night drastically drop between 20 to -20 degrees Fahrenheit, not including windchill. People can start experiencing acute mountain sickness symptoms as low as 8,000 feet and, as one enters the higher altitude zones, limited oxygen begins to impact one’s physiology, officially making the experience empowering yet treacherous.
Now, imagine ascending to the top at 64 years old.
Hamden resident Lew Nescott is taking on this challenge wholeheartedly. He flew out on Feb. 18.
In order to reach the top of the 19,341-foot summit, the body has to train itself, physically and mentally, to adapt to change. He felt the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University would be the perfect place to help him get back into tip top shape.
Nescott reached out to Bruce Koeppen, the dean of the school of medicine, about wanting to team up for this project. Koeppen then reached out to the biomedical sciences professor Tom Martin.
Martin said, “yeah, let’s give this a try,” and then blasted a call out to the first-year medical students to see who was interested in taking on such a project— perhaps as the student’s required capstone project.
Katherine Woolley was the first to jump on the offer.
“Oh, I hopped on it,” she said.
You can say it was fate.
“I was really excited about it,” Woolley said. “Honestly it seemed too good to be true.”
Katherine Woolley
Woolley is a bright-eyed 23 year old from Denver, Colo. She is an avid rock climber, hiker and snowboarder who loves the outdoors and nature. Having done undergrad at the University of Colorado Boulder, studying Integrative Physiology with an emphasis in exercise science, she knew that Quinnipiac University, nestled in between Sleeping Giant State Park, was the perfect choice for med school.
“The facilities are beautiful and the professors are amazing,” she said.
The year before she moved out to the East Coast, Woolley took a gap year, hiking all over Southeast Asia for three months, developing an appreciation for what the human body is capable of. She explored Thailand, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal and India.
Woolley and Professor Martin
“I did some high altitude trekking in Nepal, which is where I kind of had my first idea of making my capstone project involving high altitude and mountaineering,” she said. “It’s such an interesting culture there.”
The entire infrastructure of Nepal is based on Nepali Sherpas taking tourists up different mountains that normally one couldn’t do on their own.
“I thought it was so interesting that this 5-foot-2 tiny man can carry like 200 pounds on his back and run up the mountain and all these big buff tourists are struggling to catch their breath,” she said.
Nescott’s request couldn’t have aligned better with Woolley’s curiosity and career aspirations.
“This project is so multifaceted,” she said. “Not only are we helping a master’s athlete who came out of a retirement for a climb to do something amazing, but he’s doing it all for charity.”
Woolley said that working with Nescott has been inspirational and that he is motivated, hard working and doing this from the bottom of his heart. Nescott is funding his trip all out of pocket. All the money raised will go directly to the Sarah Foundation, which provides programs and services for people with intellectual and other disabilities who live in Connecticut.
According to the foundation’s website, Nescott said this climb is personal. He is climbing for Sarah, as well as his cousin, George or “Geo.”
“I think this goes to show you that if Lew can come out of retirement, hike to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, then anyone in the Sarah Foundation, anyone anywhere, if you are down on your luck, if you are turning over a new leaf, you can do anything you set your mind to,” Woolley said.
“It’s been a real honor to work with him and everything that this climb stands for.”
Nescott started to ascend to the top of the mountain on Feb. 20 or Feb. 21, but in order to prepare, Woolley and Martin devised a strategic plan for Nescott to help him through the harsh conditions.
Even though Nescott is an experienced climber having previously scaled three of the seven highest mountains in the world, he still needs to train and prepare for that high hypoxic environment.
“We came up with high intensity interval training, which has been shown to improve your cardiovascular fitness very efficiently,” Woolley said. “You can go for like an hour jog or you can do a 30 minute HIIT routine and you’d be sucking in a lot more air after the HIIT routine.”
The program also has different measures of heart rates that they want Nescott to hit. He has his own monitor with a watch he wears so he knows what beat per minute he needs to be at and for how long. These exercises can be done on his own, which is something Woolley thought was important.
“It’s a pretty strict exercise regiment,” she said. “Now he has the equipment to really workout properly.”
Testing began eight weeks ago before training started in the Motion Analysis Laboratory.
The work doesn’t end when Nescott returns from Africa on March 1.
From the plane, he will head to Quinnipiac and, on March 2, the rest of the data will be collected and they will begin to see how the operative outcome affected a bunch of the different variables.
“And on top of that, we have data we are collecting while he is climbing,” she said. “So he is wearing a bio strap. It’s going to be collecting heart rate, heart rate variability, temperature, activity level and GPS, all that kind of stuff. He is going to be wearing a pulse oximeter, O2 saturation…”
Woolley though is most excited about the video interviews Nescott will record, answering questions like: How nauseous are you? How are you sleeping? How are you eating? This is all to see if Nescott is getting altitude sickness.
Woolley will be able to see his cognitive abilities, how he is talking and how he looks. She also has him doing ataxia exams, heel to toe walking and a stroope test for air detection.
“The whole idea of all the senses is so we can recreate this climb from a data standpoint,” Martin said. “This is how he went from this elevation, how the heart rate and body temperature changed …that kind of stuff.”
Whooley said it may seem like a niche study, but there really isn’t any other data on anyone like Nescott out there.
“It’s a great opportunity for Katherine and the learning for the school of medicine students,” Martin said. “It’s also a way to help advance science potentially. To kind of get an idea of how athletes can respond to the altitude, it benefits the community, it benefits Lew, it benefits the foundation, it benefits the students and it also has the ability to potentially help the sciences. It hits all those landmarks.”
The research isn’t even close to being done yet, but Woolley is thankful for the opportunity.
“I am really grateful for Lew, the foundation is awesome, the school has been very supportive and Dr. Martin has been the best mentor ever,” she said. “He’s even teaching me an independent study, which is something he is doing out of his own free time.”
Quinnipiac University will host its eighth annual QTHON charity event Saturday from 2 p.m. to midnight. The 10-hour dance marathon will take place in Quinnipiac’s recreation center at Quinnipiac University’s Mount Carmel campus.
QTHON has been an annual event at Quinnipiac University since 2011. QTHON has raised more than $450,000 to date for the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. Dancers and sponsors raised $218,184.83 for the cause at last years event.
The dance marathon charity event began in 1973 in the HUB Ballroom at Penn State. Penn State’s IFC President Bill Lear put on the inaugural event. His goal was to host a dance marathon for a worthwhile cause. Over $2,000 was raised in its first event. Since then, the event has adopted the name “THON” and has raised well more than $100 million to date at Penn State alone.
Students and community members around Hamden will gather Saturday to attempt to reach the goal of $250,000 raised. Dancers who have raised more than $100 prior to the event will receive a QTHON dancer shirt, as well as food and other amenities.
The entry fee for all other attendees is $10 at the event according to QTHON co-executive director, Steph Rivera.
To donate or start your own fundraising page visit QTHON’s website here.
According to Hamden Mayor Curt Balzano Leng, the Hamden Legislative Council recently approved the town’s first “Animal Control Facility Gift Fund.” The fund is the foundation for a new Hamden or regional facility and was established as a reaction to the community wanting a secure shelter.
“We would like to do a little better with animals than we are doing with them now,” Leng said.
Authorizing this fund shows the commitment to create a new animal control facility and allows those interested in helping the town and shelters make this goal a reality. According to the Town of Hamden’s Facebook page, any donation made to the gift fund must follow the town’s procurement process and solely be used for the purpose of a new facility.
While Hamden’s Gimme Shelter Animal Rescue and Where The Love is Animal Rescue are excited to hear this news, their main priority is to tend to their animals needs. Co-founder of Where the Love Is Animal Rescue, Christina Hackett, said all of the animals that arrive are examined by a veterinarian and given any treatment needed.
“Before [the dogs] leave and go to their forever homes they are microchipped, vaccinated and are either spayed or neutered,” Hackett said.
With the help of donations from pet stores like Pet Valu, grants and fundraising events, Where The Love Is is able to cover medical bills with that money. This year, they spent about $80,000 in vet bills and were able to use all of the adoption fees received and money donated/fundraised to help cover the cost.
To shelter their animals, they rent out two places.
“We have a garage and a kennel,” Hackett said.
The garage holds six 5-by-5 cages and the kennel holds four 5-by-5 cages with 20 dogs and two cats to care for. Hackett is happy where the animals are sheltered, but is also hopeful the gift fund allows all of the animals to be housed together soon.
While the animal rescue shelters continue to raise money to help support the animals they rescue, they also do what they can to raise money for a new facility. According to Leng, Hamden’s biggest contributor to help raise money for the shelter is Gimme Shelter Animal Rescue.
“[Last year] we held a small blue collar fundraiser that inspired the town to make an animal shelter fund,” Gimme Shelter volunteer Lenny Young said.
Gimme Shelter Animal Rescue has continuously held events to fundraise money for their animals, but their next big event will be a fundraiser to help establish a Hamden or regional animal shelter. On Feb. 15, JaSa Asian Cuisine will donate 20 percent of each pre-tax bill to the Hamden Animal Shelter Gift Fund. Young and other Gimme volunteers are excited for this event.
“We chose the day after Valentine’s Day because it’s the Chinese New Year, which is the year of the dog,” Young said.
The purpose of this fundraiser is to bring the animal shelter issue out of obscurity.
“We are trying to get people to support it, not necessarily help out. We just need people to spread the word,” Young said.
To get 20 percent of your bill donated, go to Gimme Shelter Animal Rescue’s website, print out the flier and bring it with you to the restaurant.
“Every penny goes to the animal shelter gift fund,” Young said.
According to the Where The Love Is Facebook page, the shelter has been doing more adoption events than fundraising events. On Feb. 9-10, volunteers went to various Pet Valu stores in Connecticut. At these events they bring along a few furry friends to interact with possible families who want to adopt a rescued animal.
They have yet to release any upcoming events, but are more than happy to have volunteers come in and help in any way possible, Hackett stated.
With the foundation of the gift fund under way, our furry friends in Hamden will hopefully be housed together in their new animal shelter very soon.
Walking into the student center, a winter wonderland appears just seconds after opening the door. Friendly snowmen line the tables, as do pine branches and glittering flakes of fake snow. Christmas music echoes throughout the building, playing softly behind the laughs and conversations that come from the students eating their dinner.
This scene is nothing new to Quinnipiac University. On Thursday, Dec. 7, Quinnipiac hosted its annual Holiday Dinner. The festive event has become a school tradition – a tradition that has been around for 33 years.
***
Jill Martin, professor of law and chair of the Holiday Dinner Committee, has been a part of the Holiday Dinner for all 33 years. In fact, she was one of the people that started the tradition.
“We wanted to get everybody together. It’s the one event on campus, frankly, that has both students, faculty, staff, administration, Chartwells, everybody on campus involved, or can be involved if they so choose,” Martin said. “And we wanted to offer something for the students before they left for the break and before they start their exams.”
Martin based the dinner off of several events she attended as a student at Keuka College. The school hosted a Christmas dinner for the students as well as an Italian dinner where the faculty served the students. Martin decided to use a combination of both as her template for the Holiday Dinner at Quinnipiac.
“In the beginning we played around a bit with the menu and we tried different things, and now we basically have the menu set,” Martin said. “This works really well and it’s a good menu, and you get roast beef or turkey and mashed potatoes with gravy and pasta.”
The Holiday Dinner requires an impressive amount of food preparation, according to Leean Spaulding, the director of dining at Quinnipiac. The staff starts preparing the meal the day before the event. The large food orders and decorations are ordered a month prior.
The food order includes: 320 pounds of roast beef, 560 pounds of roast turkey, 100 pounds of pasta, 15 gallons of marinara sauce, 20 gallons of alfredo sauce, 132 pounds of broccoli, 120 pounds of carrots, 440 pounds of mashed potatoes, 100 dozen dinner rolls and 186 assorted pies.
Preparation for the Holiday Dinner includes more than ordering the food. In fact, the Holiday Dinner Committee holds up to three meetings a year to prepare and organize, and none of it would be possible without the 120 volunteers that pitch in their time each year. For Martin, the students’ reactions are worth all of the dedication and hard work.
Currently, the school gives out 2,000 Holiday Dinner tickets to students. However, only about 1,500 students regularly attend the dinner. Martin would like to see the number grow within the next few years.
“We’d like students to know more about it because we really are trying to give something back to the students. We all know everybody’s stressed now. We all know how busy everybody is. We’re busy, we’re stressed too, but we wanted to do something for an hour to make you have a nice time,” Martin said.
