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BETHANY

Building Committee To Study Comparative Construction Costs
At a meeting of the Town Building Committee at the Town Hall last Monday evening, various proposals for meeting the capital needs of the town were discussed. Thomas H. Brown, chairman of the Board of Finance, presided, with Rus- P. Winter as clerk.
It was pointed out that, whereas many departments of the town require additional housing facilities, the two most immediate needs were adequate provision for storing the Town records, as recommended in the 1950 Auditors' report, and at least two more school rooms for children already enrolled for the fall of 1953. The necessity of providing a combined auditorium-gymnasium for school and town use was also generally agreed.
SMALL ADDITION SUGGESTED
Wallace S. Saxton, First Selectman, suggested that a small addition be made this year to the present Town Hall as a temporary measure to house the Town records and to provide a Town Clerk's office. He also suggested the installation of toilets and a new stove. It was estimated that this addition would cost between six and eight thousand dollars. Mr. Saxton pointed out that the present hall is adequate for most of the Town functions, and that, although better accommodations were desirable, this relatively small expenditure now would enable the town to proceed with plans for meeting the school building needs by 1953.
SCHOOL NEEDS
Mr. Winter, Chairman of the Board of Education, discussed the findings of the Board relative to the school building needs for both elementary and high school pupils. The enumeration figures show that it will not be possible to house the town's children within the pre-
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Easter Services Are Planned By All Churches in Area
BETHANY
The Easter Sunday Service at Christ Episcopal Church in Bethany will be conducted by the Reverend Dr. Fleming James of North Haven. There will be a special Good Friday Service at the Church on March 23 at 7:30 P.M.
The First Church of Christ, Congregational, in Bethany will combine its Sunday School and regular morning Service on Easter Day. Paster Iverson Graham has chosen the topic "This Is The Victory" for his sermon. The choir will present a special program of Easter music.
On Easter morning, members of the Young People's group will attend the Sunrise Service on the Prospect Green. Breakfast will be served in the parish house after the Service. The ceremony will be attended by members of churches throughout the Naugatuck Valley. A Sunrise Service will also be conducted on East Rock on Easter morning. Many members of church groups in the area are planning to attend.
ORANGE
The Reverend Lewis E. Purdum has chosen the topic "The God Of Unfinished Business" for his sermon Easter Morning for the service to be held at 11:00 o'clock in the Orange Congregational Chruch. There will be a special program of Easter music. The guest soloist will be James C. Thomson, violinist, formerly head of the music department at Baylor Uni-
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ORANGE

Town Mourns Death Of Third Selectman Elmer L. Manley
[photo]
ELMER L. MANLEY
Funeral services were held on Tuesday afternoon for Third Selectman Elmer L. Manley, of Fernbrook Road, who died in Grace Hospital on Saturday at the age of 41, after a long illness. The Reverend Lewis E. Purdum, pastor of the Congregational Church, officiated, and burial took place in Orange Center Cemetery.
Elmer L. Manley was bron in Derby and had made his residence in Orange for 30 years. His service to the town began when he was appointed a member of a town road committee --
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Woodbridge Voters Announce Formation of Taxpayers' League To Discuss Local Problems
Announcement has been made by a representative group of local citizens that they have formed a new organization called the Taxpayers' League of Woodbridge. As stated in the League's constitution, the purpose of the association is "to promote sound, economical government by non-partisan study and discussion of public activities; to encourage citizen understanding of public affairs; and to co-operate with and assist public officials in supplying efficient public service."
ANY VOTER ELIGIBLE
According to the announcement, "any person, man or woman, who is eligible to vote at a Town Meeting of Woodbridge may become a member" of the League. No member of the organization who is a town officer, member of a town agency, or town employee, however, may hold an office in the League or serve as chairman of any of its committers.
Officers of the League, elected at a recent meeting, are: Chairman, Gerard Langeler; Vice-Chairman, Edwin J. Hill; Secretary, Adolph Luciani; Treasurer, Harry Eckhardt; Executive Committee, the officers and Kingsbury Billings, William D'Addio, M. Raleigh Jeynes, William V. Maselli, James Melbourne, and Charles A. Sattig.
"In former years," the announcement goes on to say, "when the population of the town was much smaller, and the problems connected with town government were not nearly so complex as they are now, it was an easy matter for the voters of the town to assemble at a town meeting and consider all questions that needed to be decided. Today, with increasing demands of new problems, it has become almost impossible, during the short time that a town meeting is in session, for the voters to give adequate consideration to all the questions brought before them and to decide what is best to do.
"This is where it is felt the Taxpayers' League can render a noteworthy service. It can make preliminary studies, in advance, of all matters that are coming up and hold meetings where everyone can hear and be heard in greater detail than at a town meeting. By awakening the peoples' interest in town affairs, it can bring home to them the importance of attending all budget hearings and town meetings. Too often only a comparatively few voters are present, with the result that there are frequent misunderstandings regarding town business.
SOUND GOVERNMENT
"Woodbridge is fortunate in having a sound town government, with able citizens to administer its affairs. They have many difficult problems to solve and are not only willing but eager to hear from all the people regarding their viewpoints and wishes. They need to know the will of the people in order to serve them better. Every citizen of Woodbridge who is interested in good government is urged to join and become an active member in the Tazpayers' League."
The next meeting of the League will be held on Thursday, April 5, at 8:00 P.M., in the Town Hall. Memberships will be accepted at that time. The primary subjects to be dis-
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Your Town Officers: the Town Clerk
EDITOR'S NOTE
Today we present the sixth in a series of special articles covering the officers, organizations, and activities of the three "Amity Star" towns.
The duties of the Town Clerk are set forth in Chapters 23 and 24 of the General Statutes of the State. In brief, he maintains permanent records of all votes and other official proceedings of the Town; he records and indexes all deeds and other instruments required by law to be recorded -- land records, real estate and chattel mortgages, maps, records of vital statistics, etc.; he keeps on file publications of State officials, the Statutes, and lists of legally enrolled voters, licensed embalmers, professional engineers, licensed dogs, and liquor permittees; he issues licenses (marriage, dogs, bees, hunting, angling); to the proper State authority he must send abstracts of Town business, the Grand List, annual reports of corporations, official publications of the Town, official reports of nominations and elections, and records of vital statistics; he must make and file, annually by the 10th of October, a list of transfers of taxable property; he serves, with the Selectmen, on the Board of Registration, making voters; he has custody of the seal of the Town and affixes it to all certified copies of record; he is charged with the responsiblity for keeping all public records in fireproof storage. Bonded to the Town for the faithful performance of his duties, he may nominate one or two Assistant Town Clerks, who are empowered to act for him in his absence. He is also expected to have, at his fingertips, general information on all local matters.
Next week: the Tax Collector.
Photo by Ringenberg
SIDNEY SVIRSKY
Sidney Sversky was born in New Haven on August 5, 1904. He prepared for college at the New Haven High School and received a B. A. degree from Yale in 1925. In June of 1927 he was graduated from the Yale Law School and was admitted to the Connecticut Bar.
Moving to New Jersey, he served in a clerkship for admission to the New Jersey Bar and, in 1929, became attorney for a law firm in Newark. Two years later he became associated with another lawyer, and in 1933 he opened his own office, practicing law until 1940, when he moved to Bethany. Since that time he has been engaged in poultry farming, carrying on a limited law practice at the same time.
In 1944 Mr. Sversky was appointed an Assistant Town Clerk by the late John E. Hinman, and upon the latter's death in 1948, he was appointed to complete the unexpired portion of the term as Town Clerk. He was first elected to a full term in May, 1949.
He is a member of Bethany Grange; the Bethany Athletic Association; Hiram Lodge No. 1, A. F. & A. M., of New Haven; the New Haven County and Connecticut State Bar Associations; and of Congregation B'Nai Jacob, of New Haven.
Mr. and Mrs. Svirsky live on Old Amity Road. Their daughter, Judy, is a student at the New Haven High School.
Amity Star Photo
HOWARD B. TREAT
Howard B. Treat was born in Orange on September 8, 1892. He attended grammar school in this town and then took the Boardman Scientific Course at the New Haven High School, in preparation for college. After being graduated from the Yale Sheffield Scientific School in 1915, he worked briefly as a draftsman for the New Haven Railroad and then took a year's post-graduate work in electrical engineering.
Joining the Army in 1917, he was commissioned a 2d Lieutenant from Plattsburg and served in France with Battery D, 7th Field Artillery, until December of 1918. He was honorably discharged as a Captain and was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in February, 1918.
Resuming peace-time pursuits, he spent two and one-half years in New York City in the exporting business and a year with the United States Steel Corporation in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. In 1923 he returned to Orange to engage in farming, which he continued until forced to retire in 1939.
Mr. Treat was elected Town Clerk in October, 1947, on the
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Amity Star Photo
NEWTON H. STREET
Newton H. Street was born in New Haven on March 16, 1895, the son of Samuel Hotchkiss and Alice May Newton Street. His mother's family had long been identified with Woodbridge, and his grandfather was First Selectmen about ninety yeaers ago.
After attending New Haven public schools and the University of Connecticut, Mr. Street
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