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WATERBURY -- Greyhounds senior captain Jessica Webber became the ninth player in Naugatuck girls' basketball history to reach the coveted mark of 1,000 career points Tuesday night at Holy Cross. The slashing point guard would have been happy to give up a few of those points in exchange for a victory, but the Greyhounds defense accomplished what it set out to do in spite of the 56-35 loss to Holy Cross.

NAUGATUCK — There are no Christmas gifts in the world of sports; if the Naugy boys want a win, they’re going to have to earn it the hard way. The Hounds went 0-3 after a 50-59 loss to Holy Cross Tuesday night at home. Head coach Kevin Wesche has been looking for the silver lining in a rocky start to the season, and that lining could be found Tuesday in a 10-point scoring performance in the second half from varsity newcomer Matt Zahornasky, 12 points overall for Warren Buerkle, and an early second-half offensive explosion.

She calls almost every day, my “old friend from Oak Terrace.” I can tell by the tenor of her voice, as soon as she greets me, what kind of day she’s having: Sometimes it’s a joyful chirp, quoting scripture and gushing about choir rehearsal; others it’s a smoker’s croak, bitter and depressed and “just about ready to give up.” My friend’s name is Linda Jean Cray. She’s 45, heavyset—though she’s lost a considerable amount of weight recently—with stew-brown hair that flows just over her shoulders. Her smile reveals badly-worn, discolored teeth. A single, front tooth, apparently the survivor of the bunch, remains intact, recalling some cartoonish caricature of a baby.

PROSPECT — State police and the Prospect Volunteer Fire Department reported one death in a Wednesday-morning structure fire at a 62 Summit Road home. The victim’s identity has not yet been released, and the cause of the blaze is still pending investigation from the Connecticut State Police and Fire Marshal. Prospect Mayor and Assistant Fire Chief Bob Chatfield said the call came in at 7:11, and firefighters were on the scene at 7:12. When they arrived, he said, smoke was seeping from windows, doors, and through shingles on the roof; it wasn’t until a window gave and the flame was thus oxygenated that it really erupted. About fifty Prospect firefighters battled the inferno, many of them new members for whom this was their first major call. All told, Fire Chief Marty Lautenschlager said, it took them about 45 minutes to extinguish the fire, and no one was injured.

NAUGATUCK — After spending more than two hours behind closed doors Monday night at City Hill Middle School, the Board of Education emerged with a cost-saving plan it hopes will make up all but $372,000 of a more-than-$2 million budget deficit and prevent layoffs during the current school year. The problem is the Naugatuck Teachers’ League won’t entertain the proposal until the board puts to public vote a concession package approved by the NTL Nov. 24.

The fire everyone knows about, the one that’s the flaming hub of a spirited Thanksgiving Eve pep rally, will take place Wednesday night, just hours before the Greyhounds host rival Ansonia. The one that players and alumni know about, the one that’s the flickering center of a pensive gathering, will take place just a few hours before the other. It’s called The Burning of the Shoe, a tradition Naugatuck head coach Rob Plasky brought with him from Springfield College when he took the reigns of this already tradition-rich program in 2001. And it’s just what it sounds like: The Hounds gather around a burning cleat and just talk … and listen.

NAUGATUCK — The meeting was canceled, but the rally went on. Hours before the Board of Education was scheduled to convene Monday, in an attempt to reconcile its more than $2 million budget shortfall, the school system’s governing body called off the gathering. But that didn’t stop the more than 100 people who planned a demonstration outside Tuttle House from picketing and chanting anyway. A new community group that calls itself Our Kids Come First organized the rally in protest of a last-resort cost-savings plan proposed last week by Superintendent of Schools Dr. John Tindall-Gibson. The sweeping measure, which would save an estimated $2.26 million, includes cuts to K-8 music, K-6 physical education, K-8 art and freshman sports. Both Tindall-Gibson and members of the board have said they aim to avoid these programming rollbacks.