Looking back on winter 2012

Stafford Elementary School students place pennies they have collected into containers. Photo by Annie Gentile.

The winter of 2012 saw people in local towns engaged in a number of fulfilling activities: everything from creating art, to collecting money for food and fuel charities, to crafting chocolates and excelling at sports.

For a couple of years, Becky Murphy and her daughters would collect pennies throughout the year, cashing them in near the holidays and donating the proceeds to help offset fuel costs for a needy family in town. This year, Murphy’s daughter Anna and her fourth-grade class at Stafford Elementary School collectively gathered $216. With matching donations, they raised more than $900.

“The WinnaWorks Years,” a retrospective of 76-year-old artist Edwinna Jill Mordasky, was on display at the Stafford Public Library. To view some of Mordasky’s art, visit www.flickr.com/photos/ejmordasky. Also last winter, Willington resident and sculptor Randall Nelson was called upon to recreate one of his gold-leafed statues that had been damaged on the grounds of Connecticut’s Old State House in Hartford.

Meanwhile, Debbie Kingsbury - the owner of Debbie’s Specialty Cakes - created chocolate confections for Valentine’s Day, or any day, in the bakery attached to her home in Union. She is well known for her artfully-designed cakes, which she has been making for 30 years, but Kingsbury is also trying to become as well-known for her specialized chocolates.

Any trace of winter weather seemed to disappear in the Willington Parks and Recreation Department’s Zumba classes, where instructor Kate Levesque kept everyone moving, shaking and shimmying for a solid hour at a time.

Danielle Cote, a senior at E.O. Smith High School and an accomplished high-jumper on the school’s track and field team, prepared to participate in the Down Under Sports Tournament in Australia. “I am honored to be an ambassador of not just my community and state, but also our country,” she said.

Local towns were also taking time last winter to prepare for the year ahead. Stafford First Selectman Richard Shuck planned for a year of evaluating and organizing. Union residents and boards discussed budget increases and the possibility of all-day kindergarten. The town of Willington placed a public appeal to residents interested in being considered for appointment to the volunteer position of town historian.