GREENWICH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 27TH AWARD-SPECIAL RECOGNITION
GREENWICH, CT, MARCH 31, 2011: The Greenwich Chamber of Commerce has made a special effort to recognize the Police, Fire & EMS who are sometimes overlooked for the good works they do for the Greenwich community. The Chamber selects an individual from each of the services that has contributed in a way that has changed someone’s life or contributed to enhance the town’s quality of life. The following is a brief description of the acts that were considered in awarding the individuals.

Tommy Huestis
Police Officer
Greenwich Police Department

Post Advisor
Explorer Post 45
2006 – Present

• Volunteers approximately 200 hours a year with an additional 6 days of overnight trips.
• In 2006 initiated a program of attending the Explorer Police Academy. They academy had been available for many years but required a significant increase in the commitment by the coordinator as well as motivation on the part of the Explorers. The Explorer Police Academy is a massive undertaking in which the youths are immersed in the mock police academy run by Coordinators from numerous program across the state. Officer Huestis is the primary Basic Drill and Ceremonies Instructor for Explorer Academy
• In both 2007 and 2008, The Greenwich Explorer Post under Officer Huestis’s direction, won 1st Place at the Northeast Regional Law Enforcement Educational Conference for their outstanding performance.
• Consistently increased the number of active members to current high of 26 members.

Sherry Hoffman
Paramedic
Greenwich Emergency Medical Services

Ms. Hoffman was detailed to work as the GEMS paramedic assigned to the GPD Marine Division on June 26, 2010. At 10:59PM the patrol boat was dispatched for mutual aid into Stamford Harbor for a boat collision. A 31 year old male had run his boat into the breaker wall at high speed.

The patient sustained a major head injury as well as internal bleeding from an injury to his liver. He was treated on scene by Ms. Hoffman and extricated from his boat with the assistance of two GPD officers. He was transported to the Trauma Center at Stamford Hospital where he was able to completely recover from his life threatening injuries.

This excellent outcome is a testimony to the skill and dedication of Ms. Hoffman as she was able to deliver the highest quality of pre-hospital emergency care in a difficult setting. This call is also an example of the superior inter-agency cooperation between GEMS and the Greenwich Police Department, which allows us to deploy the only asset on Long Island Sound with advanced life support capability.

Christopher Moynahan
Lieutenant
Greenwich Fire Department

Chris is the organizer of Firefighter’s Local 1042 charity golf
tournament. This event has raised thousands of dollars over the years for charities such as the Connecticut Burn Center, Ronald McDonald House, Firefighter Cancer Support Network, and Fairfield Pediatric Center in Bridgeport.

Chris has brought a new level of enthusiasm to hands on training for our department his initiatives have enhanced firefighter health and safety on and off the fire scene. Chris has also taken a lead role in consolidating equipment and inventories, insuring that equipment repairs and service are completed in timely and efficient manner. The result has been an increase in reliability of equipment combined with cost effective replacement measures. Through Lt. Moynahan’s efforts the Greenwich Fire Department operates in a safer more efficient manner.

It brings tears to my eyes just think about the funeral Saturday of the young Greenwich Police Officer, 44-year old Jim Genovese.

The Silver Shield has quite a tribute in store. Tomorrow’s funeral will be at St. Mary’s on the Avenue at 10 a.m. But the real heart-breaking ceremony will be as the funeral motorcade drives down Greenwich Ave. towards the Havemeyer post that Office Genovese staffed for many years. The procession will pull into Police Alley, the officer’s widow and young daughter will be escorted by a partial honor guard (missing man formation) to the Havemeyer intersection. A memorial wreath will be placed On the dot” at the intersection. Dispatch will make a ceremonial “last call” to the “Havemeyer Man” over the PA. A bugler will play taps – with an echo bugler in front of the Board of Ed building.

The intersection will eventually be staffed — but there will always be a hole in our hearts for the affable “Havemeyer Man.”

P r e s s R e l e a s e

Chief David Ridberg and the Greenwich Police Department are greatly saddened to announce the sudden death of active-duty Police Officer James “Jim” Genovese, aged 44. Officer Genovese was a 20-year, 6-month veteran of the Department assigned to the Patrol Division. He died at approximately 10:20 p.m., on Tuesday, March 22nd at the Westchester County Medical Center in Valhalla, New York after a medical episode at his home on Sunday. Officer Genovese had not been previously diagnosed with any ailments or conditions and his passing was both sudden and unexpected. He is a graduate of Iona College in New Rochelle, NY holding a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice and is survived by a wife and 5-year old daughter.

Officer Genovese became well known to many residents since his assignment to full-time traffic control duties at the intersection of Havemeyer Place and Greenwich Avenue upon the retirement of Officer Hubert Salamon in 2005. During his career he was decorated for bravery and his personnel file is replete with letters of gratitude and commendation. Officer Genovese was cross-trained as an Emergency Dispatcher and has spent time assigned to the CT-POST Academy teaching recruit officers about effective traffic direction.

Jim was a credit to our Department and the profession of law enforcement. He will be sorely missed by us all. At the request of his wife, donations in lieu of flowers may be sent to the American Heart Association or American Cancer Society.

Funeral arrangements are as follows:
Viewing Hours: Friday, March 25th from 1500 hrs. to 1700 hrs. and again from 1830 hrs. to 2100 hrs.
Castiglione’s Funeral Home, 134 Hamilton Avenue, Greenwich, CT

Mass of Christian Burial: Saturday, March 26th at 1000 hrs.
Saint Mary’s (RC) Church, 178 Greenwich Avenue, Greenwich, CT

Most people know him as the traffic officer near Starbuck at the corner of Havemeyer and Greenwich Avenue. The officer too nice to scold jay-walkers.  The cop with the ready smile.   Jim Genovese, only 44, died suddenly at 10:30 last evening at the Westchester Medical Center.  The cause of death has not been released.  He leaves a wife and 5-year old daughter.  Funeral arrangements have not been announced.

As one police officer said: “The Greenwich Police Department lost a dear, sweet man tonight.  He was part of our family.  Many of you had contact with Jim on an every day basis, he was the jolly happy fellow who directed traffic on Greenwich Avenue at Havemeyer Place. Jim always had a smile on his face and if you ever had any interaction with him he always put a smile on your face. Jim used to say “When an old man dies, a library is lost”, We all wish he could have made that library much bigger before he left us. Jim had recently completed 20 years of service for the Greenwich Police Department.”

What a lost for the Town of Greenwich.

Breaking News

Cardinal Football Head Coach Rich Albonizio
Named Finalist for NFL High School Coach of the Year

According to a release from NFL.com:

More than 50 players recognized the coaches who helped shape them during their teenage years by nominating them for the 2010 NFL High School Football Coach of the Year Award  Created in 1995, the award honors coaches who profoundly impacted the athletic and personal development of NFL players.

This year’s finalists and the NFL players who nominated them are:

“Our players come from different backgrounds, regions and life experiences,” said NFL Commissioner ROGER GOODELL. “The one thing they all have in common is that they received guidance and learned important life lessons from their high school coaches. These five finalists have dedicated their lives to teaching young players how to become leaders both on and off the field, and we congratulate them and all high school coaches for the roles they play in helping develop the leaders of our game.”

A blue-ribbon committee of sports leaders appointed by the NFL selects the winners. The panel is comprised of JON BUTLER, executive director, Pop Warner Little Scholars, Inc.; JACK FLEISCHER, veteran sportswriter; SCOTT HALLENBECK, executive director, USA Football; GRANT TEAFF, executive director of the American Football Coaches Association; former Dallas Cowboys personnel director and NFL.com contributor GIL BRANDT; and MIKE BERG, TONY DEMATTEO, RICH KALLOK and WILLIAM MCGREGOR II, all former NFL High School Football Coach of the Year winners.

In his nomination essay, JOHN SULLIVAN of the Vikings recalled learning his work ethic from Coach Albonizio, writing “Coach taught me that nothing comes without hard work.”

Congratulations Coach Al!

Tree Removal Accident

537 North Street

At about 3:30 PM the Greenwich E-911 dispatch center received a call of a serious accident involving a worker who was removing tree stumps.  The Greenwich Police Department, Greenwich Fire Department, and Greenwich Emergency Medics were detailed.

The worker is employed by a local tree trimming service and had been working on the property most of the day. At about 3:25 PM the worker became entangled within the grinding wheel of a large mechanical stump grinder.  The worker sustained significant injuries to both his arms and one leg. The entangled worker was removed from the machine by a fellow worker.

Upon arrival all of the emergency personnel on scene provided medical care for the patient. He was then transported to the Stamford Hospital Emergency Room.

At approximately 1730 the scene was turned over to the State OSHA investigator.

The patient is a resident of Port Chester his name will not be released until after the notification of the family. No further details will be released at this time.

SUPERINTENDENT ANNOUNCES

GREENWICH HIGH SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR APPOINTMENTS

(Greenwich, CT: For Immediate Release, Monday, March 14, 2011) Superintendent of Schools Dr. Sidney A. Freund has announced administrator appointments at Greenwich High School (GHS), effective July 1, 2011. The appointments will fill the positions recently presented in the reorganization of the administrative structure at GHS.

Dr. Freund said, “I am confident that the new administrative structure and the leadership we have selected for those positions will address our objectives: to maximize administrative time devoted to instructional leadership including classroom observation, teacher support, and continuous review and refinement of curriculum; to more proactively, efficiently and effectively address student discipline; and to better define and align high school administrative positions, duties and responsibilities.”

The appointments are presented below:

Bella House Administrator/Social Studies: Richard Alessi, current Program Administrator for Grades 9-12 Social Studies, will assume the position of Bella House Administrator with responsibilities for the House administration and the Social Studies department at the high school.

Cantor House Administrator/TEPL Humanities*: David Ross, current Cantor Housemaster, will remain as the administrator for Cantor House and will assume the responsibilities for teacher evaluation and professional learning for the Humanities related departments in the high school.

Clark House Administrator/TEPL Math, Science, Technology*: David Walko, current Clark Housemaster, will remain as the administrator for Clark House and will assume the responsibilities for teacher evaluation and professional learning for the Math, Science and Technology departments in the high school.

Folsom House Administrator/Math: Dana Tulotta, current Program Administrator for Grades 9-12 Math, will assume the position of Folsom House Administrator with responsibilities for the House administration and the Math department at the high school.

Sheldon House Administrator/English: Brigid Barry, current Program Administrator for Grades 9-12 English, will assume the position of Sheldon House Administrator with responsibilities for the House administration and the English department at the high school.

Dean of Students: Lorraine Termini, current Bella Housemaster, will assume the position of Dean of Students, responsible for student life activities and student discipline – working proactively to engage students in positive behaviors and activities as well as addressing any infractions in behavior.

*TEPL is the District’s Teacher Evaluation and Professional Learning (TEPL) plan. The responsibilities of the TEPL House Administrators – in addition to the House administrative duties – will focus on providing high quality supervision to GHS teachers. Relieved of low-level discipline responsibilities and departmental leadership, the TEPL positions afford the administrators ample time to work with teachers to meet instructional goals in the classroom.

The five House Administrator positions replace the current Housemaster positions and three of the Program Administrator positions. The Dean of Students position is a new position created to focus on working proactively to ensure a safe learning environment for all students. The reorganization results in a reduction of two administrative positions and a savings of approximately $50,000.

As part of the administrator restructuring five (0.4 FTE) Assistant Dean positions were also created, one assigned to each House. These positions will be filled by certified teachers (GEA) and will be focused on student discipline – supervised by their House Administrator and working with the Dean of Students to proactively engage students in positive behaviors and activities. Sixty percent of their time will be devoted to teaching and forty percent to their assistant dean responsibilities.

Greenwich High School Headmaster Chris Winters said, “The administrative restructuring positions GHS to move forward in accomplishing our academic and social-emotional goals. I have full confidence in the team we have assembled to work cohesively toward improved student achievement. I’m particularly excited about the Dean of Students position and the opportunities that provides for building greater connectedness to GHS for all our students.”

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