NHS girls almost shock T-town again

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TORRINGTON — If Friday night’s game in Torrington was any indication then the second half of the Naugatuck Valley League season is going to be a wild ride for the Naugatuck girls’ basketball team. Last year, the Greyhounds pulled off the upset of the century in a game that has been dubbed The Shocker in T-town. With a valiant effort, the Hounds (4-7) almost shocked the Red Raiders (11-0) again, losing, 44-41. To put the contest in perspective, Torrington came in sporting an average of 64 points per game and had defeated its opponents by 30 or more points in seven of 10 games, including the season opener in the borough.

BOE seeks union concessions, bailout money

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NAUGATUCK — News that the school system’s projected 2009-10 budget shortfall has shrunk to $1.55 million, down from $2.33 million on Nov. 11, was not enough to sooth tensions within and surrounding the Board of Education during a meeting last Thursday at Naugatuck High School. The board took no action but plans to meet this week with borough officials and employee unions in hopes of balancing its books at a special meeting Thursday at 8 p.m. at Tuttle House. Superintendent of Schools Dr. John Tindall-Gibson said last month he expected the board would reconcile the budget gap by Wednesday. A Board of Education negotiating subcommittee has met with Naugatuck Teachers’ League representatives three times since the week of Christmas, on Dec. 21, 27 and Jan. 7, but both sides have been quiet about their progress. Board Chairwoman Kathleen Donovan said only that they are working on a concession package worth about $600,000. During public comment at the end of last Thursday’s meeting, NTL President George Macary stressed the urgent need to reach a compromise but provided no details about ongoing labor talks, citing an agreement to keep such information private.

Even in defeat, Hawks prove they’re elite

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BEACON FALLS — The word on the street before the Woodland girls’ titanic clash with St. Paul on Tuesday night was that the game probably wouldn’t be close—after all, the Falcons are one of the best squads in the Naugatuck Valley League, suffering their only loss to mighty Torrington early in the season. That word must have been in a different language, because the Hawks didn’t get it. Though the Black and Gold fell, 42-40, in the final seconds of the Brass Division showdown, Woodland proved it belongs in the conversation about the best in the NVL. “No one expected the game to be this close,” Woodland junior Heather Framski said. “We found out that we can compete and have a chance against a really good team, as long as we play to our potential.”

Hounds overwhelm Raiders for fourth win

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NAUGATUCK — The Naugatuck girls closed out the first half of the Naugatuck Valley League season with a convincing, 67-42 win over Derby Tuesday, improving to 4-6. The Greyhounds used a potent outside shooting attack, blistering the nets with seven three-pointers. That helped them to pull away in the second period, when they hung up 21 points on the scoreboard; Derby answered with only nine. A 14-12 nail-bitter in the opening period quickly became a commanding, 35-21 advantage at the break. The Red Raiders battled back and cut their deficit to 12 in the third period. But Naugy turned it on in the final period with a 20-7 outburst to rack up its highest point total of the season.

Naugatuck sinks Woodland in the pool

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BEACON FALLS — Knowing the next day they faced one of the Naugatuck Valley League “big dogs,” as Woodland head coach Tom Currier put it, the Hawks gathered Monday night for that time-honored team-building ritual: the team dinner. But as of Tuesday, the Black and Gold may be in the market for a new tradition—and it’s not because they lost to three-time defending league champ Naugatuck, 94-85. “We had some bad meatballs last night, so a lot of [the boys] were sick today,” Currier said, laughing. “We’re trying to track down who made the meatballs.” The Greyhounds showed little mercy for their unhealthy hosts, until the meet was in hand and they swam the last three events as exhibitions. Naugy won the first eight swims, led by Kyle Conrad and Chris Branco, who captured two apiece.

Beacon Falls Republicans look for a change

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BEACON FALLS — In recent elections nationwide, it has been Democrats trumpeting change, in contrast to Republicans’ status quo. But here it is the GOP working to remake its image, in hopes of balancing a local government controlled largely by Democrats. Among 15 total winners in November’s municipal elections, only four were Republicans and just two, Town Clerk Kurt Novak and Board of Education member Bill Fredericks, actually beat Democrats for their seats. Many Democrats won their seats unopposed, after the seemingly disorganized Republican Town Committee failed to compile a full slate of candidates. So it was unsurprising that when caucusing last Wednesday at the senior center, an assembly of 39 registered Republicans elected a 25-member body that included 17 people who were not on the committee at the start of the current term. Howard Daniels, Jr., Leonard Greene, Ursula Henry, Helen Mis, Brian Ploss, Susan Ploss, James Woodward and Judith Wrenn will be the eight holdovers when a new term begins in March.

Hounds almost pull off huge comeback

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NAUGATUCK — It hasn’t been an easy season so far for the Greyhounds, as the coaching staff continues to try to instill a total-team-effort mentality. Naugatuck (0-7) took a big hit last week when leading scorer Warren Buerkle went down with an injury in a loss to Kennedy. The Greyhounds were just showing signs of putting it together, outscoring both Holy Cross and Woodland in the second half of recent losses. Now, with Buerkle on the sideline, it was gut check time for the young Greyhounds. On Friday at the Edward Mariano Gymnasium, in front of a hometown crowd bordering on 250 fans, the Greyhounds quickly came unraveled, as Ansonia burst out to a 20-6 first period lead.

Naugy swimmers cruise in first NVL meet

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NAUGATUCK — The Naugatuck boys’ swim team began its quest for a fourth straight Naugatuck Valley League title Tuesday night, upending Seymour by a convincing, 97-72 margin at the Gimbo Sullivan Pool. The Greyhounds were coming off a season-opening loss to perennial state power Glastonbury, by a 96-82 margin. Naugy is a young squad with limited experience, making the NVL opener against the Wildcats a huge measuring stick for the season.

Hawks’ 4-game win streak ends

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ANSONIA — In a game that would be hard to describe as anything other than ugly, the Woodland boys’ basketball squad ended its four-game winning streak with a 64-57 loss Tuesday to divisional rival Ansonia, marking the Hawks’ first Brass Division defeat of the year. While the Black and Gold placed three players—seniors Bryan Spickle, Shaine Thompson, and Ryan Genua—in double figures, they committed 21 turnovers and allowed the Chargers to bang eight three-pointers, all of which seemed to come at incredibly inopportune times for the Hawks.

High school hoops roundup for Dec. 29

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Three of the four local hoops teams were in action Tuesday, after a week-long holiday break. The Naugatuck girls got 29 points from Jessica Webber in her first game since reaching the 1,000-point plateau but fell to Wilby, 58-49. The Woodland ladies remained unbeaten by trouncing Derby, 64-43, and the Hawks boys continued their uncharacteristically hot start to the season with a 58-43 win over the Red Raiders.

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