Stratford News

When a New Haven man's first attempt to open an unattended cash register at Walmart failed, he grabbed two claw hammers from the shelf and tried those.

(Photo from Stratford Firefighters Local 998 Facebook page)

Stratford firefighters saved two rabbits and a guinea pig when fire struck a Johnson Avenue residence Saturday afternoon.

Engines 1 and 2, TAC 5, Ladder 1 and Care 3 were dispatched to 275 Johnson Ave., where Engine 1 reported smoke from the attic and rear of the house, according to the Stratford Fire Department Local 998 Facebook page. Engines 3 and 4 were then summoned to the scene.

two lines were stretched, according to Local 998, and no one was injured. The Milford Fire Department covered headquarters for Stratford. It was the third fire in as many days. Friday around 6 p.m., four engines, Ladder 1, TAC 5 and Car 3 responded to 132 McKinley Ave. when flames that engulfed a car spread to the house. Thursday around 5 p.m., firefighters extinguished a truck fire in the parking lot at WalMart, Barnum Avenue Cut-off.

On Sunday, Feb, 12, at 2 p.m., author/Professor Mark Albertson will speak at the Stratford Library on "The Causes of World War I." The talk is part of our "Sunday Afternoon Talks" series in which notable locals speak in an informal atmosphere on a wide range of topics. The talk is free and open to the public.

The talk is part of our "Sunday Afternoon Talks" series in which notable locals speak in an informal atmosphere on a wide range of topics.

Milford police say a Bridgeport man led them on a car and foot chase in the early morning hours of Feb.

...Robertson fled on foot, police said, but was located in a Home Acres Avenue yard with the assistance of a Stratford police K-9 unit that was called to the scene. The K-9 unit was Stratford Officer Bob Joy and canine Roscoe...

After being taken into custody, police learned that Connecticut State Police had an active warrant for Robertson's arrest for escape from custody, according to the report.

Joy said Roscoe has found who he was tracking 58 times. “That’s got to be one of the highest stats in Fairfield County,”

Stratford firefighters battled a house fire at 132 McKinley Avenue about 6:15 p.m. Friday, Feb.

A family of four was displaced from their McKinley Avenue home Friday night after a car fire in the driveway spread, lighting the house up in flames.

Firefighters put out the fire, which caused heavy exterior damage to the roof and left side of the house.

There were no reported injuries. The blaze was discovered by a neighbor who called 911 after seeing flames spouting from a Ford Mustang convertible parked in the driveway. Firefighters at the scene said the car fire spread to the house, crawling up the left side and curling onto the roof...

In a video response to Malloy's State of the State address yesterday, State Sen. Kevin Kelly (R-21) said the governor promised similar school reform last year.

"But what he also did," Kelly said, "was hand the state of Connecticut and its taxpayers $1.5 billion increase in taxes -- the state's largest in its history."

In his speech, Malloy pitched school reform that included giving 80 percent of a proposed $128 million education agenda to the lowest-performing school districts.

In the video, Kelly said Malloy's $1 billion in new state spending last year was a major burden on the middle class. "Parents would also agree that we need to make sure we have the best education possible for our children," Kelly said. "However, the devil is always in the details."

Stratford :"Thank you for pointing this out Kevin. We should be rewarding the sucessful school and creating incentives for the lower performing schools.

Stratford will receive a reminder, albeit a subtle one, that it is indeed winter.

Under a new proposal put forward by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to reform education , the Stratford School District would receive some $576,597 in additional education funding for fiscal year 2012-13. Under the proposed 2 012-13 Education Cost Sharing funding, Stratford would receive $21,072,199, a 2.81 percent increase from this year's ECS entitlement, ... (more)

Nominated and voted on by her fellow volunteers, Carrie Burr, was selected for this honor and presented with a plaque at STARS Annual Banquet Dinner.

Carrie’s love for animals shines through with the countless hours she spends at the Stratford Animal Control Facility every week. Carrie tirelessly walks, trains and socializes the homeless animals everyday. She does not hesitate to step up to the plate to clean the facility, organize donations/supplies and work at all fund-raising activities.

Carrie makes a difference in the lives of Stratford’s abandoned and neglected animals and is treasure to the community.

Frank DuBois stands in front of his home on Glenwood Ave., in Stratford, Conn. Feb. 9th, 2012.

For two years, Frank DuBois has listened to promises that never came to fruition from his bank as he fought to keep his Stratford home. So he and other people on the front lines of the foreclosure crisis were skeptical that the newest set of promises -- couched in a $25 billion multistate settlement unveiled Thursday -- would finally deliver actual help.

"That's fine, but are they going to follow guidelines?" asked DuBois, who has been trying to modify the mortgage on his home. Like many people, his personal economy tanked along with the global economy a couple of years ago. ... In Connecticut, according to CoreLogic, a real estate research and document filing data company,..

by ROB VARNON-CTPOST

Mayor John A. Harkins has named Patrick Ridenhour Chief of the Stratford Police Department.

Ridenhour, who has been with the department since 2009, had been serving as the acting chief since the departure of former chief John Buturla last April.

In making his announcement, Harkins said he is looking forward to working with Ridenhour to continue to make positive changes both within the department, and throughout the Stratford community.

“Chief Ridenhour has done a fine job leading the department during his time as the acting police chief,” said Harkins. ... "I am extremely grateful for the way I have been embraced by town officials, many citizens, and the men and women of the Stratford Police Department during my time here,” Ridenhour said. “We have made significant progress in the last year, both internally and externally that I hope to build on during my tenure. I will continue to work hard every day for the people of Stratford, doing my best to ensure that they get the best police service possible.”

" Have You Met... " is a chance to get to know some of your neighbors. These lovely folks work and live in our community to make it a place they love .

A Bridgeport man led Milford Police on a car and foot chase in the early morning hours of Feb.