by Kathleen Pulek

Thousands of people jammed New-

ingtons Mill Pond Park last week to savor
the sights, sounds and tastes that the towns
33rd annual Extravaganza, sponsored by
Price Chopper, Best Market and the MDC,
had to offer.
The midsummer celebration featured
more than 100 vendors, including artists
and crafters, non-prot organizations, civic
groups, local businesses and food conces-
sions. Music, entertainment, carnival rides,
games and other family-oriented fun and
activities culminated in Saturdays day-long
festivities and spectacular reworks display.
I think this is the eighth year weve
come, said town resident Ken Grattage,
who waited with his wife, Kathy, while their
children Olivia and Nick enjoyed the Musi-
cal Chairs ride on Saturday morning. The
family fun keeps us coming back. We like
the fried dough and well be back later for
the reworks.
Olivia and Nick were all smiles as they
exited the ride and declared the Extravagan-
za, A lot of fun!
Bakery manager Shannon Gormley and
cheese master Amanda Faust manned the
popular Best Market booth.
Weve enjoyed meeting people and
talking about our store, which opened in
October of 2013. Were here to show New-
ington that Best Market offers great prices
and great products, like the delicious fresh
mozzarella Amanda makes, and to give
away prizes, said Gormley.
Christine Mooney and her 18-month-
old daughter Charlotte spun the Best Market
roulette wheel and won a $5 gift card.
I havent been to Best Market yet,
but Ill be going now, Mooney said with a
smile. Were here today because my hus-
band, Mark, has a booth. He owns Mooney
Real Estate, so we want to support him and
also do fun stuff like go on rides.
Long-time resident Ann Albert and her
daughter, Michele Aponte, who was visit-
ing from Mississippi, checked out the Lucy
Robbins Welles Library booth.
The kids are still in their pajamas so
we decided to come out early, according
to Albert. We enjoy seeing all the different
arts and crafts and we usually run into peo-
ple we know. Michele is bringing the kids
back later to enjoy the carnival rides and
were all looking forward to the reworks.
There are some clouds in the sky so
the suns not very hot. The weather is ideal.
Im really enjoying this day.
Library Director Lisa Masten called the
Extravaganza a great place to meet people
as well as to see people who use the library
all the time. Were here to promote the li-
brarys 75th anniversary and our Wizard
of Oz Extravaganza. Well be showing the
movie simultaneously in three places on
Friday night, Aug. 1. One showing will be
up in the Childrens Room so people can
come and go. There will be a sing-a-long
version downstairs, and well have the pur-
ist version in another area of the library
where there will be no talking.
Were also here to promote our One
Book project. Were doing a community-
wide reading event of the book Defend-
ing Jacob by William Landay, who will be
speaking at the library Sept. 14 at the Li-
brary Boards annual meeting.
For Gina and Don Lavery, the Extrava-
ganza provided the perfect day and the per-
fect place for us sell T-shirts and to get the
word out about the 10th annual Master Po-
lice Ofcer Peter J. Lavery Memorial Mo-
torcycle Run, which will be held on Sunday,
Sept. 21, at Churchill Park. We had around
600 riders last year, and since this is the 10th
year, were hoping for an even bigger turn-
out.
Dons uncle, Peter, a 17-year veteran
of the Newington Police Department, was
fatally shot in December of 2004 while
responding to a domestic disturbance call.
Monies raised from the T-shirt sale and the
motorcycle run benet the Peter J. Lavery
Scholarship Fund, which distributes scholar-
ships annually
to students en-
rolling in the
elds of law
enforcement
or criminal
justice.
Mondays
free Fam-
ily Pool Party
at Mill Pond
Pool for town
residents got
the Extrava-
ganza under-
way.
New for
2014 was a
Family Tie
Dye Party with Menchies Frozen Yogurt
at the new pavilion in Mill Pond Park, on
Wednesday.
Were here to invite everyone to our
grand opening on July 20 as well as to the
week-long celebration we have planned,
said Jad Chawi, owner of Menchies. We
have something going on along with some
great giveaways every single day.
We want to be part of the community
so we offered to sponsor the Extravagan-
zas new event, the Family Tie Dye Party,
which turned out to be a great success. We
had a big turnout and gave away about 350
cups of frozen yogurt in an hour and a half.
We also had our mascot, Menchie, here on
Wednesday. The kids loved having their pic-
tures taken with him. We did a lot of con-
tests and gave away 30 T-shirts, ve dodge
balls and three Menchie dolls. It was a lot of
fun. I enjoyed it. Menchie enjoyed it and so
did the kids.
Newingtons own Collectivity
opened Fridays Concert in the Park, spon-
sored by Data-Mail, Inc., and also featured
the Journey tribute band SCARAB and
plenty of libations in the Adult Beverage
Garden
Youngsters and those young at heart
delighted in carnival rides like the Octopus,
Scrambler, Carousel, Hook and Ladder, and
Hymalaya, the Chickn Coop Funhouse and
Bounce Castle, the fast-paced water balloon
race, the fun and creativity of Sandart and
plenty of treat options and carnival favorites
like apple fritters, fried dough, sundaes and
slushies.
Whats Happening
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Newington Police News
7/14: Lisa Sobol-Yonush, 39, of 402 Con-
necticut Ave., was charged with disorderly
conduct, police said.
7/15: Allan Duperry, 22, of 89 Judd St.,
Bristol, was charged with criminal viola-
tion of a protective order, police said.
7/15: Masayuki Kobayashi, 26, of 80 Ma-
ple Hill Ave., was charged with disorderly
conduct and third-degree criminal mis-
chief, police said.
7/15: Tiffany Rizzuto, 33, of 265 East 66th
St., New York, N.Y., was charged with
third-degree criminal mischief and disor-
derly conduct, police said.
7/15: Alexander Rumyantsev, 61, of 294
Cherry Hill Dr., was charged with disor-
derly conduct, police said.
7/15: Sergey Rumyantsev, 32, of 294 Cher-
ry Hill Dr., was charged with disorderly
conduct, police said.
7/16: Gregory Henderson, 31, of 52 Cy-
press Rd., was charged with two counts
of criminal violation of a protective order,
police said.
7/16: Jonathan Reyes, 47, of 16 Saddle
Ridge Dr., West Simsbury, was charged
with two counts of third-degree burglary,
second-degree criminal mischief, third-
degree criminal mischief, fth-degree lar-
ceny and sixth-degree larceny, police said.
Dear Editor,
The recent public hearing on the pro-
posed Mill Pond Park recreation complex
and Town Hall renovations, supported by
the Democratic majority, is a glaring ex-
ample of failing to listen to the will of the
people.
The public overwhelmingly requested
a November referendum instead of the
proposed August date and were denied
this opportunity by the Democratic major-
ity, who decided to hold the referendum in
September. We, the Republican councilors,
voiced our objection to the proposed refer-
endum date and adamantly requested that
it be scheduled with the general election in
November, as the public wanted. We feel
that this would not only save tax money,
but also hopefully would get the best resi-
dent turnout. The cost estimate for holding
this separate referendum is estimated to be
$33,000, as of today.
Our objection to the project is based
on the costs of a separate building concept
earmarked for open space that cannot be
replaced, the loss of a soccer eld without
a concrete plan for replacement, overall
project costs and the failure of the architect
and construction manager in presenting a
project that best ts the needs of Newing-
ton residents.
The Town Hall renovation committee
has been through many changes over ve
years. The referendum that gets sent to the
voters ignores our 2020 Town Plan that
identied the Mill Pond Park as dedicated
open space. Unfortunately, the Town Hall
renovation is being held captive and Parks
& Recreation will end up with its own fa-
cility on the little open space left in New-
ington.
Mayor Woods strongly defended
building a separate community center, as
reported in the June 26 Hartford Courant.
This decision was just as strongly supported
by the Democratic majority. We will leave
it up to you, the residents of Newington, to
determine if this course of action is the kind
of representation you wanted or expect.

Republican Town Councilors
Daniel Dinunzio
Maureen Klett
David Nagel
Annual Extravaganza Celebrates Newington
Nick Grattage cant catch his sister, Olivia, on the Musical Chairs ride. Photo: Dave Burnham.
Christine and Charlotte Mooney won a $5 gift card
from Best Market. Photo: Dave Burnham.
Letter to the Editor
Gina and Don Lavery were on hand to promote the 10th Annual Master Police Ofcer Peter
J. Lavery Memorial Ride. Photo: Dave Burnham.