Voice Profile

By Josh LaBella

Voice Reporter

Board of Education Nursing Supervisor Donna Kosiorowski is retiring after what she called “a great 25 years.”

The supervisor started her career as a nurse in Rapid City, South Dakota where he husband was serving in the Air Force. They later moved to Boston and lived there for several years before returning to her hometown of Shelton – where she worked at Griffin Hospital.

Kosiorowski got her start as a nursing supervisor at a school in Shelton and got the position in West Haven after a 10-year tenure there. She said when she first got to her job in the city she was intimidated due to a lack of familiarity with her staff but it quickly subsided.

“I made the transition over here and never looked back,” said Kosiorowski. “The district has been wonderful.”

According to Kosiorowski, while many people think being a school nurse is a “cushy” job, there has been a tremendous change in school nursing over the past 35 years she has worked as one.

“In a hospital you have people that can help you,” said Kosiorowski. “You have other nurses, you have doctors – you’re never alone. In a school, the nurse is the only health care provider. If you don’t know what to do; it’s a problem.”

Kosiorowski said school nurses have to know a lot about everything. She said they are responsible for understanding a myriad of medical syndromes, conditions and practices for people from the ages of 3 to 21.

“We do have kids who have complicated and, sometimes, severe issues,” Kosiorowski said. “We have to be ready to do whatever it is we need to do to make sure they are safe and that their family feels comfortable too.”

The challenges of the job, Kosiorowski said, are making sure all the students are safe and ensuring the nurses feel supported.

School nurses, she said, are critical to keeping students healthy, in class and learning. Kosiorowski said she has a great respect for her colleagues.

Kosiorowski said one of her favorite parts of her tenure in West Haven has been the four superintendents she has worked under, who she says have always been very supportive of the nurses.

“The administrative support that the nurses and I get here is not something you are going to find everywhere,” said Kosiorowski.

She said she also looks back fondly on her time with the other nurses and the students that she worked with.

Kosiorowski said she follows a mantra that while many things such as: her wealth, what house she lived in or what car she drove, won’t matter a hundred years from now, one thing will – being important in the life of a child.

As the government relations chairman for the Association of School Nurses of Connecticut, Kosiorowski tracks laws and policy to keep her association apprised of changes in nursing practice.

Looking forward, Kosiorowski said she is not ready to “fade into the sunset” and believes there is still work for her to do. She said in retirement she still has a lot to offer the school system but plans on doing other work as well.

“I also have an opportunity to teach school nurses throughout the country,” said Kosiorowski.

Kosiorowski will continue her work with the professional associations she is a member of. The way she puts it: “I have a lot of irons in the fire.”

By Josh LaBella

Voice Reporter

West Haven High School Athletic Director Jonathan Capone has no regrets from his nearly 40 year tenure at West Haven public schools. The longtime teacher, coach and mentor has called it a career, and his retirement was accepted by the Board of Education. But, he’s staying put for the time being.

Capone, who was born and raised in West Haven, graduated from the high school in 1973. During his time there he played baseball, winning a state championship in 1973 as a pitcher, and basketball.

“From there I went to the University of Evansville in Evansville, Indiana,” said Capone. “Got my degree in physical education and health. I landed a job at Our Lady of Victory Junior High.”

Capone said he started working as a physical education teacher at Carrigan Intermediate School in 1982. He also coached student in baseball, basketball and football.

“I was at Carrigan for 17 years,” said Capone. “Then, 20 years ago, which [was] 1999, I got the athletic director position at West Haven High School.”

Capone is the coordinator of health and physical education for grades K-12 and athletic director for grades 7-12. He is also the coordinator of facilities for the board of education for after school activities.

“Everything goes through my office to use the facilities after school,” said Capone. “So youth programs, boy scouts, PTA, Christmas Concerts – everything circulates through this office back out to make sure that people who are use the facilities have what they need.”

According to Capone, he was on the Board of Education agenda to retire on May 20. His retirement was approved, but he is coming back to oversee the move to the new high school building while also handling the responsibilities he had before retirement.

“Seven years ago, we did a fairly similar situation when we made a decision to make Carrigan, a junior high school, an intermediate school,” said Capone. “So that means elementary teachers moved to Carrigan. That all had to be coordinated. They asked me to and I did it. Everything went well.”

It was for that reason, Capone said, that he was recommended to oversee the move to the new high school building. While Capone wanted to stay in the public school system, he had been offered a position at Sacred Heart Academy.

“They are a private school,” said Capone. “The state law says I can retire and collect my pension while also working at a private school.”

Capone said he was caught in a catch-22 where his contract had incentives for early retirement. If he had retired his wife could stay on his benefit plan until she was 65 and his daughter could stay on until she was 26.

Capone and Superintendent Neil Cavallaro came to an agreement where he still retired but came back to fill his old position and that of moving coordinator, but for 45 percent of his salary. This due to a state rule where a teacher or administrator can come out of retirement but can only be paid that percentage of his previous salary.

“They would have been paying me $130,000 but now they’re only paying me $58,000,” said Capone. “But I get to collect my pension. So it’s a win-win for both.”

Capone said he is going to stay for a minimum of two years. The athletic director said he is only supposed to work 45 percent of the time. He said due to the demands of the job that would be impossible.

“I’m working 100 percent,” said Capone. “I’ve got to work full time. You could never do it [the job] while working three hours a day.”

By Josh LaBella

Voice Reporter

A job in public works can be reactive by nature. Tom McCarthy, Commissioner of Public Works, said there are few kudos in the work they do.

McCarthy said he got his start in construction as a concrete worker in New York and was a member of Local 18A, where his father also worked. He eventually became the director of construction for a large building company in New Jersey. He added that he has built houses all across the country.

When his wife got headhunted for a job a Bayer, McCarthy and his family moved to Connecticut and he became a stay at home father. Around the time that Mayor Nancy Rossi was running for office, Tom’s son was starting high school. When she offered him the position he said he had to say yes.

“The only reason I took this job is because the timing was right,” said McCarthy. “My son is now a freshman at Notre Dame [High School].”

McCarthy, said while he enjoys the work, the job has been eye-opening. He called the position “time-consuming” and said he usually clocks in 60 to 70 hours a week physically on the job and another 10 from the phone calls he gets when he is home.

“I like to say we are 5 percent of the budget,” said McCarthy, “and 55 percent of the phone calls that come in.”

According to McCarthy, even though this past winter was not bad in terms of snow, the repeated freezing and thawing have made the potholes “uniquely hard” to deal with.

“We’ve been really aggressive but it’s been hard to catch up,” said McCarthy. “We’re very mindful of that. I mean every place we go we hear about it. So while we are catching up, it’s not fast enough for the public. I appreciate that but it doesn’t mean we aren’t working as hard as we can.”

McCarthy said if they talked to 10 people, most of them would give them advise on how to do their jobs better. He said they do their best to listen and occasionally they come across someone who has good advice.

“Sometimes our folks get a hard knock,” said McCarthy. “We have people who like to take photos of a truck her or a truck there. But I promise you we have folks who work harder than just about anybody. And they care. Do we make mistakes? Yes. But it’s not because we’re not trying.”

The commissioner said he lives by the motto, “Make every mistake once.” He said if they do not make mistakes they are not learning.

McCarthy said during his term public works have expanded their office hours by an hour during the week and have added a Saturday shift so they people who work can call on the weekends. He said they have also tried to work on bigger projects so as to not just put a “Band-Aid” on things.

If McCarthy is asked to serve another term, he said he would most likely say yes.

“I would find it very hard to say no to Mayor Rossi,” said McCarthy. “But this has been very time consuming, very taxing. But I genuinely love this city. Win, lose or draw, I will still be in the city. I suspect if any mayor asked me to do something, I would find it hard to say no.”

By Josh LaBella

Voice Reporter

Director of Personnel and Labor Beth Sabo began working at city hall 42 years ago, and during that time she’s worn many hats. While she isn’t from West Haven, or Connecticut for that matter, she said she has a deep appreciation for the community.

Sabo said she came to Connecticut from New York to get her master’s degree from SCSU in the early 70s. It was the height of the “teaching crunch,” she said, and there were not many teacher jobs out there.

I wasn’t able to get a job,” said Sabo, “So, I worked elsewhere for a period of time. I interviewed with a gentleman by the name of Bill Fulbruick. He was the community development manager. This was under Robert Johnson’s administration.”

Sabo said the city did not get back to her for about a year but they eventually offered her a job to run an after school program. She said when she came to talk to them she asked to meet with Johnson to discuss his commitment to the program.

“Back then, I didn’t realize that asking to see the mayor was a bigger deal than just making an appointment,” said Sabo.

According to Sabo, Mayor Johnson asked Fulbruick about her salary and, when he found out she was being paid less than a man they had just hired, demanded she be paid the same wage. She said she thought that was amazing back in 1977.

Sabo worked as the Community Activities Coordinator and ran “Project Soften,” which serviced communities and families in targeted neighborhoods. The program enlisted teachers to lead students in everything from volleyball games to cooking classes.

When the grant ran out Sabo became the Assistant Director of Human Resources and remained in that job until 1987 when Mayor Azelio “Sal” Guerra reorganized city departments to create commissioner positions. She said she took the job and was fortunate to remain in that post until 2003.

“I was made — once Artie Ferris had retired — Commissioner of Public Works,” said Sabo, “and that took me until about 2013. In 2014, under the O’Brien administration they asked me if I would be the Personnel Director, which has a dual capacity.”

Sabo said the position is not only the Personal Director but also the Head of Social Services – Human Resources. When Mayor Rossi was elected she was reappointed to the position and remains there today.

Some of her favorite accomplishments, she said, were renovating places like Quigley Stadium, the West Haven Green, the Veterans’s Walk of Honor and the high school baseball and softball fields.

“I’ve been able to do things outside of what people might consider to be the realm of human resources or public works,” said Sabo. “That, I have found incredibly rewarding.”

Sabo said she has met incredible people along the way. She said she has learned as much from them as she hopes they have from her.

“The truth is that, by the time I am ready to retire, it will have been an honor and a privilege to have worked for this community,” said Sabo. “That’s really how I feel about it.”

West Haven has a lot to offer, said the director. She said the community really comes out for a cause, regardless of what it is. Sabo has been on the Breast Cancer Awareness Committee since its formation.

The seed for the committee was planted after Savin Rock Community School teacher Susan Ruickoldt died of breast cancer. The Committee has held numerous yearly fundraisers. In the time they have operated it has raised over $700,000. Every year they give a $2,000 scholarship to a senior graduating from any of the high schools in West Haven.

“[The person who is awarded the scholarship] are not selected based on financial need,” said Sabo. “It’s based on community involvement and they have to write on the importance of mammograms.”

Sabo said none of it would be possible if it was not for the West Haven Community. She said it reminds her of the Margaret Meade quote, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

By Josh LaBella

Voice Reporter

Much of Carolyn Sires’s 30 years in physical therapy private practice has been spent helping the community. A Westie, she said she consolidated all her practices in the area to one location in her home city.

She said there are three communities she does charity work for: veterans, seniors, and individuals with disabilities.

“I learned so much from them,” said Sires. “From the veterans, I learned honor, integrity and pride. From the seniors, I learned wisdom. Wisdom enough not to make mistakes through their stories and their experiences. From the disabled I learned patience and humility and gratitude.”

Sires said she has treated active duty and military veterans with a whole range of injuries from loss of limbs to head trauma.

“Every veteran or active duty military I treated brought me closer to appreciating the country and appreciating their volunteerism,” said Sires. “To take a bullet for me. I just could not let this population go by the wayside. I had to do more and more for them.”

Sires said it was because of that belief that she got more involved in doing charity work for veterans. She said one way she is involved is by being a suicide prevention awareness advocate.

“It’s prevalent,” she said. “It’s needs to be stopped or it needs to be addressed.”

Sires said 22 veterans commit suicide a day on average. She questioned where the United States would be without its military, adding that they deserved to be taken care of during and after service.

“Because I am not courageous enough to volunteer frontline,” said Sires, “I will volunteer to take care of them when they need help.”

Sires said for eight years she has been a certified service dog trainer. She and 10-year-old yellow lab Blue have travelled across the country meeting with members of congress to lobby for service dogs for to be free for veterans who need them.

Senator Richard Blumenthal and Rep. Rosa DeLauro invited Blue and a few other service dogs to be their guests for the 2016 presidential inauguration. Sires said she has visited many state representatives and seven or eight members of congress in a year.

“We are incredibly well received,” said Sires. “They agree that service dogs, who used to be paid for by the government as a medical service devise, help [veterans]. There is enough study.”

According to Sires, service dogs were paid for by the federal government until 2012 when the funding ended. She said she is trying to get Congress to continue the program. She added that training service dogs costs around $30,000.

“It’s an expense,” said Sires, “but its life altering for them.”

For seniors, Sires said she teaches the population about Medicare fraud and scams and is a certified agent of the Agency on Aging. She said it is sad that there are so many seniors she has to counsel on fraud, waste and abuse.

She also said she helped fight and stop the Parkside Village Project, a housing development project in Branford that would have put 90 seniors out of a home.

“My passion for seniors is if, at the end of their lives, if we can’t find them a home, shame on us,” said Sires.

Sires also said she hosts events, classes and trips for seniors. She said what she does isn’t special.

“I’m not doing anything more spectacular than anybody else could do,” said Sires. “It’s just that I do it. There’s a lot of people out there who want to change the world. They always come to me and ask how they can. I tell them, ‘I’ll help you do it. But if you do it there is so much pride in doing it.’”

By Josh LaBella

Voice Reporter

For more than half a century, 52 years, Gloria Bacinello has worked as a waitress. A few weeks ago she celebrated her 33rd year working at Elm Diner.

Bacinello said she got her start working at Dutchess Diner on Campbell Avenue, which was across the street from her father’s flower shop.

“At that time, the owner of the diner said, ‘I’m putting you to work to keep you out of trouble,”’ said Bacinello. “The rest is history. [It’s been] a long time.”

For Bacinello, the best part of the job has always been the people. She said over the years she has waited on four or five generations of families.

“I started when I was 17,” said Bacinello. “I’m now going to be 70 in January.”

According to Bacinello, she worked at Dutchess Diner for a few years but wanted to work at a restaurant that served alcohol. She said she ended up working for the former (on Sawmill Road) Vallee’s Steakhouse for eight years.

A car accident she was involved in prevented her from carrying a tray and so she went back to Dutchess Diner. Bacinello worked there for about six more years but left after an incident with her boss. It was then that she found herself at Elm Diner, working part-time.

“After me being out of work for three weeks the boss there said ‘Gloria, I understand you have been out of work. One of my waitresses’s mother died. Can you help me out?’” said Bacinello. “I said, ‘Sure.’”

The job, which was only supposed to last for a few weeks, turned into 33 years. She said it seems like five. A knee replacement three years ago prevents Bacinello from working full-time, but she said she still loves the job.

“I love all my people,” said Bacinello. “My new expression is ‘I’ve got to go see my peeps.’ I can’t stay home.”

Bacinello said there are many memories she looks back upon which make her smile; many involving children. She said one of her regular’s grandkids makes sure to give her a hug when he comes in and when he leaves. She said her regular customers feel like family.

“It’s wonderful,” said Bacinello. “I can’t complain about anything.”

The waitress said she plans on doing another five years at Elm’s if she can make it.

“Why not?” said Bacinello. “I don’t want to become sedentary. When I had three months off for my [knee] I went crazy.”

Bacinello said she gets recognized by people all over town. She said it feels good to be known like that.

“Just talking about it makes me want to cry,” said Bacinello. “Everyone here has embraced me. It’s really neat.”

By Josh LaBella

Voice Reporter

Colleen Bailie leads the library system as executive director during a time when the library has seen yearly cuts and is struggling to not exceed its budget.

Bailie started out her career in information technology but decided to study librarianship after she realized she did not want to work in technology for the rest of her career. She said she got her start working in libraries by working in IT for the West Haven system.

“When I first got here I started looking at the computers,” said Bailie. “A lot of the computers hadn’t been updated in quite a few years. We didn’t have wireless yet. So I brought that in during that time. The website was really outdated. It was about 10 to 15 years old; so I updated that.”

Bailie said she started in West Haven about 10 years ago as the department head for tech services. According to Bailie, the connection she found between IT and library services is helping people. She said she also had always had love of literacy and reading.

The director said she got her master’s in library science from Southern Connecticut State University. She said she decided to work at a public library opposed to an academic library because she was able to do a lot more.

“The staff is a lot smaller,” said Bailie, “So, you’re not as confined to one spot. I kind of like that aspect.”

Bailie has worn many hats at the West Haven Library, saying she has worked in most positions. She said her favorite aspect of the job will always be the people.

“I like the fact that you get to immediately help people,” said Bailie, providing an example. “When someone comes in to use our computers in the reference room and you show them how to upload pictures of their grandkids on their Facebook account, that’s something that is an immediate help and they walk out with a good feeling. To me that’s what we’re here for.”

When the position of director came available, Bailie said she decided to take a shot at it. She says during her three-year tenure in the job she has enjoyed “steering the ship” and thinks they have come a long way. Still, she said budget cuts have made it difficult.

“Despite the fact that we’ve had to cut our hours and materials budget every single year, we have seen an increase in people coming into the library,” said Bailie. “There is a need for a vibrant library in town. First and foremost we are here for the patrons.”

Bailie said staffing is the biggest piece of their budget and if their funding keeps getting cut they will need to have less hours. She said sometimes scheduling can be like a jigsaw puzzle; trying to put the right people in the right places. When they have to change hours, Bailie said they try and be cognizant of how it will affect their patrons.

If she did not have to worry about the budget, Bailie said they would try and restructure the buildings to make more room for people as well as adding more chairs and tables. She also said they want to keep their book collection relevant and add a dedicated teen space.

“Bringing in more computers is also something I’d like to look at,” said Bailie. “I would love to do more programming as well but we can only do so much with the budget that we have.”

Bailie said books are a small piece of what libraries provide as they cover everything from helping people fill out resumes to looking up medical terms.

As far as the budget, Bailie said they are near the limit. She said they are in the process of looking at different types of fundraisers to raise money.

“We need one really good fundraiser, that we can hopefully make an annual event,” she said. But we haven’t stumbled upon it yet.”

As Bailie sees it, she is doing her best to keep up the staff’s morale. She said the library is not going anywhere, but the current system may change.

By Josh LaBella

Voice Reporter

During her time at Southern Connecticut State University, Westie Jamie Kelley has had a full plate.

Kelley, who is graduating in May, is majoring in both political science and history. She said she mainly chose Southern because it was affordable. Kelley said it was during her time in the freshman leadership experience, a program designed to develop new students leadership skills, that she met most of the people she is friends with today.

“That really set the tone for the rest of my time here,” said Kelley. “Southern felt like home.”

Kelley said she was involved in a number of leadership positions during her time at West Haven High School including being on the staffs of the school paper and the art and literary magazine.

“I also did the mock trial and debate teams,” said Kelley, “and a bunch of other stuff. But mock trial and debate were really the big ones.”

Kelley, who wants to go on to study law, said she has wanted to study political science since her junior year at the high school. She said in that class she worked on John Picard’s campaign as a part of a class taught by social studies teacher Mark Consorte.

“I just really liked the experience,” said Kelley. “Through that I got a side job at the registrar of voters during elections. So I used to work on the polls.”

Kelley said Consorte was just one of many influential teachers she had during her time in the West Haven School system. She said she decided to study history after taking a class her freshman year at Southern.

According to Kelley, at Southern she was vice president and then president of Pre-Law Society, where she helped the organization grow. She also served in the same roles in College Democrats – where she continued to work on campaigns.

“Being a part of that here was an extension of being involved in politics in West Haven,” said Kelley. “Through that I got involved in Hamden and New Haven.”

One of Kelley’s biggest roles has been being the president of the class of 2019, a post which she has held since her freshman year. She said it was one of the best things she had done at Southern.

“I like that through it I get to host events that are either educational or social for the students,” said Kelley.

As president of the graduating class, Kelley is charged with giving a speech at the graduation ceremony on May 24. She said she is still in the process of writing it.

“It’s really hard to write a culmination of four years of really intense years of education,” said Kelley. “There’s so many things that I’d like to talk about. But at the same time it’s really important for me to realize that it’s not about me. It’s about all of us [the graduating class].”

Kelley said being from West Haven has influenced who she is. She said one of the great things about West Haven is that people are really involved, do not take no for an answer, like to put themselves out there and have big hearts.

“West Haven is the kind of town where everybody knows everybody,” said Kelley, “and it’s not a bad thing. So when we branch out from West Haven and do other things – it’s good. I think that it has made me a better person because I was raised in a town that was so accepting and wanted me to succeed.”

Store owners make a promise

A new store aims to fill the wishes of its customers by stocking anything they need – or want. Dollar and Dream, which has been open for about a month and is located on Elm Street in the Stop & Shop plaza, is packed floor to ceiling with hundreds of things to purchase.

Amber McKiel, the store’s manager, said they have practically every item from luggage to balloons. She said if the store does not have something in stock they will order it for you and have it within the week.

“It’s like a one-stop shop basically,” said McKiel. “Besides the liquor and tobacco, we sell pretty much everything.”

McKiel said the store plans on having a grand opening and ribbon cutting with Mayor Nancy Rossi. She also said they want to have a raffle during which customers will receive a ticket for every $10 they spend.

“We have four prizes,” said McKiel. “They are very big prizes. One is an Iphone. One will be a stereo system. There will be a luggage and gift set.”

The store is owned by Jasmine and Ken Jiang, immigrants from China. The couple commutes from Queens every morning to oversee their stores, the other three of which are in Bridgeport. Jasmine Jiang said she and her husband are looking to relocate to West Haven.

Jiang said they used to work for a distributor or retail items but decided they wanted to be able to sell directly to consumers.

According to McKiel, business has been good so far and is best on the weekends. She said they pride themselves on being very accommodating and that nobody should be afraid to come in and ask any questions.

McKiel said the raffle is going to start soon and will be set to end Father’s Day weekend.

By Josh LaBella

Voice Reporter

Rose Majestic said her 30 years of food banking have been challenging but fulfilling.

Majestic, who studied at Yale Divinity School, has been the director of the West Haven Emergency Assistance Task Force, or WHEAT, for 15 years. She said the work she does is closely tied into what she studied.

“Absolutely, I think all of us — all the volunteers and myself — we are definitely people who are compassionate and also listen to peoples stories,” said Majestic. “When people come to WHEAT they want to tell you why they’re here.”

Majestic said one reason they want to tell her and the volunteers why they are there is because they are marginalized and nobody else listens to them. In a way, Majestic said, everybody who works or volunteers at WHEAT is a spiritual director.

“There’s a direct correlation between doing this kind of work and the other work that I do, which is ministry,” said Majestic. “It’s definitely a vocation, it’s not a job. You get called to it.”

The director said during her time there WHEAT has done nothing but grow as the need for food assistance rose. Majestic attributed the growth to several factors.

“We’re a rapidly aging city,” said Majestic. “We have had a lot of industries leave. We have a huge veteran population, some of which are disabled in many ways. We have a lot of seniors who are on fixed incomes. We have so many under employed people who are working minimum wage jobs and don’t have benefits, don’t have health insurance.”

Majestic said people paying for other necessities can end up not having enough food to get them through an entire month. She says her role is to keep the doors open but also to see what other needs they can serve.

“For instance we’ve had seminars by companies who will talk to people about Medicare,” said Majestic. “We’ve had visiting nurses come in and do vaccines. We’ve had the hospital come in and do fall prevention programs for the elderly. So it’s like, what else besides feeding people are we in a position to do for our clients?”

According to Majestic there are many moments she considers highlights during her three decade career. From giving a widowed man food and Easter baskets for his children to one of their food bank partners getting a pallet of oranges with packets of cocaine under it.

“People think of human services as if we’re all like beating our breasts and crying and downcast,” said Majestic. “There are just as many crazy things that happen as there are things that make you cry.”

The people of West Haven are incredibly generous, Majestic said, adding she had never found such faithful contributors as she had in the city.

“These people understand that one of their neighbors or themselves, at one point, were in crisis or in need,” said Majestic. “That is something I will always take away.

Another thing Majestic said was that people need to continue doing the work. She said the need is not going to end.

“I wish to God I could say ‘We’ll close when hunger ends,’” said Majestic. “But, that’s not going to happen because hunger is one rung of poverty. It’s the first rung. But it’s caused by not having affordable housing. It’s caused by not having a livable minimum wage. So you’re always going to have that need.”

Majestic said in West Haven people are cognizant that there are people in need and they cannot ever lose sight of that.