Here’s a glimpse at some of the stories making news in Branford in 2019.

January

Guided by Branford375, a special committee formed by the First Selectman’s Office and Branford Parks & Recreation, Branford begins a year of community celebrations and programs to celebrate the 375th anniversary of the founding of the town. On Jan. 4, Branford375 kicks things off by rolling out a giant birthday cake and hosting First Night on the Branford green.

Branford’s Harbor Street Bridge re-opens for vehicles and pedestrians on Jan. 7.

On Jan. 9, Branford’s newly elected Branford State Representative Robin Comey (D-102) and State Senator Christine Cohen (D-12) are sworn in at the capital, together with re-elected State Representative Sean Scanlon (D-98), who represents parts of Stony Creek and Pine Orchard as well as Guilford. Comey takes over a seat held for 10 years by retired Democrat Lonnie Reed. Cohen’s elective win fills a seat formerly held by Ted Kennedy, Jr., who did not seek a third term.

The Connecticut Department of Transportation (DOT) is considering a plan to turn the intersection at Route 1 and Route 22 near the Branford/North Branford/Guilford line into a roundabout. DOT officials have said the change would improve traffic flow and safety, but some area business owners express concerns it may be too great a change.

The annual Branford Fire Department (BFD) report is released, indicating another increase in call volume over the previous year. BFD responded to 6,313 incidents from Jan. 1, 2018 to Dec. 31, 2018; up 5.5 percent from 2017 and 13.3 percent over the past six years. The majority (72.3 percent) of the calls were in response to emergency medical service or rescue calls.

The all-volunteer, multi-faith committee that organizes Branford’s annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Breakfast announces the 19th annual event will be moved to the Branford High School (BHS) to accommodate the large number of guests expected.

The Connecticut Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) selects 7th-grader Nathaniel Kerr 2019 as state winner of the VFW Patriot’s Pen essay contest. Kerr wrote the essay as classroom assignment at East Shoreline Catholic Academy in Branford.

Comey announces a citizen science project seeking to improve the quality of the water at Johnson’s Beach launched under the direction of East Shore District Health Department (ESDHD). It will be the first ever citizen science project in CT utilizing microbial source tracking with DNA markers, and is expected to assess the water quality and mapping of current direct and indirect sources flowing from within the area’s Farm River Watershed.

With construction and major facility infrastructure upgrades making progress despite cold winter weather, work on Branford’s Community House expansion is now expected to be completed by late May 2019. At that point, the building will be turned over to the town to allow Branford Parks & Recreation and Branford Senior Center to begin the move-in process. Work began in October 2017.

February

The National VFW names Branford VFW Post 12106 an All American Post. The Branford post is one of only 102 selected among 6,500 posts nationwide. The National VFW also honors Post 12106 Commander Elliott Hastings as a 2017-’18 All-American post commander.

After arresting a 30 year-old former Branford resident on outstanding arrest warrants, Branford police report finding find six handguns in his vehicle, as a result of a subsequent investigation and search.

On Feb. 13, Branford’s Representative Town Meeting (RTM), by majority vote, approves the creation of a Coastal Resiliency Fund, and a recommendation from the Board of Finance (BOF) to appropriate $1 million from the town’s undesignated fund balance for its initial funding. Going forward, a percentage of the town’s property tax levy (to be determined) will be fed into the fund annually, and that percentage will be invested to help the fund grow further. First Selectman Jamie Cosgrove and Branford Finance Director Jim Finch will now seek assistance from state lawmakers to help push for the creation of state legislation that would help Connecticut municipalities leverage coastal resiliency fund investment proceeds to earn a higher rate of return, said Finch.

On Feb. 21, members of Branford’s Planning & Zoning Commission (PZC) hear a brief introduction to a revision meant to overcome a hurdle on town-approved applications for the development and expansion of Parkside Village I, under Connecticut General Statute (CGS) Section 8-30g affordable housing (8-30g). Developer Beacon Communities Development LLC and owner Branford Housing Authority (BHA) have submitted a request to delete a proposed Melrose Avenue extension on the town-approved site plan for an expanded Parkside Village I at 115 South Montowese Street, instead incorporating use of BHA-owned Sliney Road as the emergency access road.

Previously operating under the auspices of non-profit Branford Food Pantry, Feed Branford Kids has earned non-profit 501(c)3 status as its own charitable entity.

Following community input and months of work by a special committee, the PZC adopts Branford’s new Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD). The POCD will help guide land use decisions for the next 10 years.

Many from a long-time lunch crowd that frequented Lynn’s Restaurant and Delicatessen for 41 years turn out to say goodbye to sisters Lynn DeMusis-Grady and Helen Borrelli on Feb. 28.

Following the superintendent’s budget presentation and workshops, the Board of Education (BOE) votes to recommend a 2019-20 school budget with a $57.7 million operating budget, representing a 1.77 percent annual spending increase of approximately $1 million, with a capital spending plan request of $1.15 million for equipment and services.

March

Members of the family of the late Betsy Klarman gathered at Community Dining Room (CDR) March 2 at an event naming the Betsy Klarman Home Delivery Program at CDR. As a Branford resident and dedicated community volunteer, Klarman created the program in 1997 to meet the nutritional needs of the home-bound population in Branford and stepped down as its coordinator in 2015.

Quick action by two citizens save a 92-year-old man as a house fire broke out on Cedar Street in Branford on the morning of March 5.

A man reported missing in a large wooded area in the vicinity of Pine Orchard since March 1 was located by police on March 10, and subsequently arrested on outstanding misdemeanor and felony warrants.

In response to the governor’s budget proposal placing a portion of teacher pension costs on towns, Branford’s school board amends its proposed operating budget with an increase of $201,290 help cover Branford’s potential share next year.

At noon on March 15, a group of BHS students walk out of school, joining students across the U.S. and around the world in a Global Climate Strike. The Branford strike, organized by BHS junior Stella Martone, gathered about 30 students who left the building at noon to walk to a rally point in front of Town Hall on the Branford green. Most of the students carried signs and posters to raise awareness and demand action to address climate change.

Saying their actions led to a 2016 decision by Costco to withdraw its application to build on his family property off I-95 at Exit 56, Branford citizen Wayne Cooke files a lawsuit against the town’s inland wetlands director, a former Inland Wetlands Commission chair, and the outside consulting firm hired to conduct a peer review of the Costco site plan application. Cooke also initiates an online information campaign (branfordfraud.com) and posting “Where’s Costco?” lawn signs around town.

Branford’s State of the Town address is given by First Selectman Jamie Cosgrove during a gathering hosted by the Economic Development Commission (EDC) at Stony Creek Brewery.

The Branford Recreation Commission hears a request from the Trapasso family to name the town’s new community house, currently under renovation, for the late Joe Trapasso, who served as Branford’s recreation director for 43 years.

Branford’s police chief of eight years, Kevin Halloran, announces he will retire effective March 2019. Halloran is a Branford police veteran of more than three decades. On March 20, the North Branford Police Commission officially hires Halloran to become North Branford’s next police chief for a five-year-term, from May 1, 2019 through July 1, 2023.

On March 21, a Wallingford man is arrested in Branford after he threatens, by phone, to “blow up” the TD Bank branch at 1003 West Main Street after his checks did not clear. The branch manager quickly evacuated the bank and called police who apprehended the man after employees identified his vehicle, which was on route to the bank. No weapons or explosive devices were found.

By unanimous vote on March 25, the BOF sends a $115.41 million annual budget recommendation to the RTM for final RTM committee review. The recommended budget represents a three percent annual increase in expenditures, with $101,609,281 to be raised from taxation, representing a 0.53 mill rate increase for a 1.85 percent tax increase for property owners.

On March 27, Branford police doggedly pursued an operator of a stolen vehicle until finally taking the Waterbury juvenile into custody after he reportedly parked one stolen vehicle at a North Main Street gas station, then stole another vehicle left running while the owner went inside the gas station.

With three temporary Branford Youth Lacrosse (BYL) fields set to share space in a popular field where dogs play at Young’s Park this spring, the Young’s Park Commission and Branford Parks & Recreation work to allay concerns of dog owners worried about encroachment on their dogs’ use of the Pine Orchard park.

April

On April 8 Branford’s Police Commission names the town’s next chief of police, Jonathan Mulhern, who has served as Branford’s deputy chief of police since July 2018. What may look to be a quick decision by the commission is actually the result of a succession plan the commission began working toward in 2017. Mulhern will be sworn in as chief in May.

Following a debate and party-line vote on April 10 (16-8), Branford’s Republican majority RTM is sending a message to Hartford: No tolls.

On April 11, Stop & Shop union employees in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island walk off the job and onto picket lines at all sites belonging to the grocery chain, including Branford’s Stop & Shop at 22 Leetes Island Road. Unions representing the workers say unreasonable wage and benefit cuts forced the strike.

The PZC opens a crowded public hearing on an assisted housing developers’ request to substitute Sliney Road, instead of the plan’s previously approved use of a proposed extension of Melrose Avenue, for required access on the plan to redevelop Parkside Village 1. The hearing is continued to April 22, and again to May 2.

Remediation and abatement begins, followed by the complete tear-down of the Indian Neck/Pine Orchard Fire Co. 9’s firehouse, to make way for ground-up construction of a new, larger firehouse at 6 Linden Avenue. In the interim, volunteer Co. 9 will keep its apparatus at a secure site on nearby Block Island Road.

To right a fiscal deficit with which Branford-based Connecticut Hospice has been grappling for several years, the Connecticut Hospice Board brings in new leadership, hiring Barbara Pearce as Connecticut Hospice interim president and chief executive officer and Joe Mooney as chief financial officer/chief operating officer. Mooney also serves the Town of Branford in an appointed role on the Board of Finance, which he chairs.

With a special Branford375 event, Branford celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Patricia C. Andriole Volunteer Services Center on Harrison Avenue, which is home to non-profit volunteer programs including Community Dining Room (CDR), Branford Food Pantry, and BHcare Clothing Bank.

On April 16, with one absence, the RTM Rules & Ordinances (R&O) committee votes 5-1 to support an ordinance restricting plastic bag use at Branford retail checkouts. The recommendation now heads to full RTM in May. The movement to create the town ordinance was first proposed in 2018 by grassroots group Bring Your Own (BYO) Branford.

The Blue Plan, a new paradigm in Connecticut management of Long Island Sound, is introduced in Branford at a public meeting held by the Department of Energy & Environmental Protection.

Anchoring the eastern edge of the Branford Green, historic Trinity Episcopal Church is undergoing a $2 million renovation that will largely take place beneath the building.

On April 22, UFCW Local 371 notifies its union members to report back to work at Stop & Shop, following a tentative, three-year contract agreement reached on April 21 between the grocery store chain and unions.

On April 29, members of the Trapasso family launch an online petition asking supporters to sign in favor of naming the community house in honor of the late Joe Trapasso. The family hopes to gather 1,000 signatures to bring to the Recreation Commission, which is currently mulling the request brought to it by the Trapasso family in March.

After 17 years of leadership, Doug Shaw will step down as executive director of Soundview YMCA at the end of April, to take on a new challenge, as president of the newly formed Ben Callahan Sports Complex project.

May

On May 3, Jonathan R. Mulhern is sworn in as the new Branford chief of police.

On May 8, by unanimous vote of the Branford Recreation Commission, the town’s combined community/senior center will now be named the “Joe Trapasso Community House Honoring Branford World War II Veterans.”

The BOE appoints Dr. Maria Clark as the new principal of Sliney Elementary School. She comes to the district from her most recent role as principal of Brennan-Rogers Magnet School in New Haven.

On May 13, with help from organizer Carolyn Sires, Branford welcomes American artist Scott LoBadio to the Town Green with his Veterans Suicide Awareness art installation, 22-13.

On May 14, the RTM votes unanimously to adopt a 2019-’20 town budget totaling $115,297,464.

By RTM unanimous vote on May 14, Branford restores a traditional defined pension benefit plan, lacking since 2011, for Branford Police Department officers. The plan is effective through June 30, 2031. The RTM also approves a new, three-year contract with raises of 2.5 percent for police, effective through June 30, 2022. The pension plan and contract, negotiated between the Town of Branford and the police union, was ratified in April by union UPSEU/COPS Branford Police Unit #459.

Also on May 14, the RTM tables a possible vote on Branford’s proposed ordinance restricting plastic bag use at retail checkouts, due to awaiting final input from the town attorney. The RTM is now anticipated to take up the matter in June.

On May 17, the Town of Branford formally recognizes national Endangered Species Day by planting a Franklin tree (Franklinia alatamaha) on the green beside the Civil War monument. The Franklin tree — America’s first rare tree – was discovered in 1765 and in honor of Benjamin Franklin.

A May 18 celebration at Stony Creek Quarry recognizes the new supply of Stony Creek Pink built into the brand-new Statue of Liberty Museum, which officially opened to the public on Ellis Island on May 16, 2019.

Branford’s Memorial Day Parade draws crowds to Main Street and also helps to celebrate Branford375.

A three-part public hearing on Beacon Communities/BHA’s application to substitute Sliney Road for required access to redevelop Parkside Village I ends on May 16. The PZC plans to reconvene May 30 to deliberate.

With a unanimous vote by the BOF on May 20, Branford’s new mill rate for the 2019-’20 fiscal year is set at 29.07 mills, an increase by 0.43 mills, which creates an annual tax increase of 1.5 percent for property owners.

Backed by a coalition of community organizations, Branford Gets Fresh launches as a community initiative focused on providing opportunities for residents of Branford to learn more about healthier foods and how to cook them. A Facebook page sharing tips, recipes and more and community events are in the planning.

June

On June 5, following a presentation by four 4th graders, the BOE votes to ban Styrofoam lunch trays in all Branford Public Schools.

On June 5, Branford First Selectman Jamie Cosgrove and Selectman Jack Ahern welcome Selectman Joe Higgins back to the town’s Board of Selectmen (BOS) meetings, after his absence following hospitalization earlier this year.

Despite objections from an attorney representing property owner Beachcroft LLC, the BOS votes unanimously on June 5 to “initiate condemnation proceedings” to take, by eminent domain, privately owned Crescent Bluff Avenue and a lawn at the southern end leading to Long Island Sound in Pine Orchard. By town charter, three other Branford government boards, the RTM, PZC, and BOF, will need to weigh in as part of the process. Based on negotiations between the property owner and the town resuming in the following weeks, the RTM and PZC table the item.

Branford citizen Wayne Cooke, who filed a lawsuit in March against the town, amps up his branfordfraud.com information and sign campaign with a growing number of “Town Hall Fraud” lawn signs posted around town.

ESDHD notifies residents of case of rabies in Branford, after a sick baby racoon tests positive.

The PZC votes 3-2 to approve an application to modify an emergency road on the town-approved Parkside Village I site plan. The approval includes conditions including at least one requiring further permission granted by the town before the project can begin.

In a year-end report, Superintendent of Schools Hamlet Hernandez shares district accomplishments including strides to embrace play-based learning for the district’s youngest students and laying the groundwork to Project Lead the Way (PLTW) in each elementary school. Additionally, he reports Phase I of the project to construct the three-story academic wing of next-generation WIS is in its sixth month, with students slated to move into the new academic space in January 2020.

The BHS Class of 2019 graduates with 220 members walking onto the Town Hall stage to accept diplomas June 12.

With a crowd of all ages coming out to show support, the RTM votes 23-0-2 on June 12 to pass an ordinance prohibiting plastic bags used for retail checkout. The new ordinance will become effective in October.

The 35th annual Branford Festival once again draws thousands to the Town Green over a three-day weekend that also celebrates Branford375 this year, as does the weekend’s 40th running of the Branford Road Race on Fathers’ Day.

Non-profit Legacy Theatre CT holds a groundbreaking ceremony with a warm welcome from the town and the village of Stony Creek. The former Stony Creek Puppet House will be transformed, while retaining the historic theater’s character.

Branford Arts and Cultural Alliance (BACA) holds a Branford375 birthday party at the Branford Armory, opening the armory building to the public for the first time in 20 years.

Branford’s first female K9 officer, Melissa Carney, and her partner, K9 Arrow, graduate from Connecticut State Police with the 201st Patrol Dog Class. On June 18, Carney and Arrow successfully track a man who fled into a thickly wooded area following a serious one-car crash on East Main Street.

Branford holds its annual Fireworks Display in June at Branford Point to mark Independence Day, and adds some special effects to help make the event a memorable for Branford375.

After serving as Branford’s Republican registrar of voters for 37 years, and, before that, volunteering to assist voters for more than 20 years, Republican Registrar of Voters Marion Burkard officially steps down on June 30; Branford’s Republican Town Committee selects Darren Lawler as her successor.

Denali, part of an outdoor lifestyle retail chain, closes its Main Street shop in Branford.

The month ends as a summer’s worth Branford Jazz starts up for the annual Thursday night Branford Jazz on the Green Series.

July

In a demonstration of a municipal government working across the aisles locally and at the state level, the Town of Branford is the key to bringing about the state’s new Municipal Climate Change and Coastal Resiliency Reserve Funds act signed into law by Governor Ned Lamont in June and effective July 1, 2019. While the idea was born in Branford, the new law will benefit any town in the state with the ability to set up the fund.

On July 2, Branford police arrest Gurpreet Singh, age 37, of Ohio in connection with the murders of four family members in West Chester, Ohio in April 2019.

In response to some of the original conditions placed on the plan approved by the PZC in June, Beacon Communities and BHA file an appeal in Superior Court which takes issue with several of the conditions laid out by the PZC in its June 13 site plan modification approval.

About 200 area residents come out to the Town Green for one of many Lights for Liberty rallies held around the nation. The night calls for an end to practices of family separation and detainment of children and opposition to treatment of asylum seekers; with organizer Reverend Sharon Gracen of Trinity Episcopal Church in Branford calling it a “spiritual crisis.”

Branford Parks & Recreation officially opens its newest outdoor playscape at Branford Hills Park on Jefferson Road, including the town’s sixth installation of a sensory and handicapped accessible play park.

Trinity Episcopal Church on the town green begins a $2 million basement renovation beneath the historic building.

To celebrate Branford375, Legacy Theatre CT delivers performances of Branford’s first outdoor Shakespeare production, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, on the Town Green.

Non-profit Branford Community Foundation’s (BCF) second annual Hometown Harmonies, billed as the town’s official 375th Birthday Celebration, brings Broadway songs from a memorable musical lineup to crowds at the Owenego Inn and raises funds for BCF-supported community giving.

With the municipal election coming up in November, slates for both parties are solidified. Republican First Selectman Jamie Cosgrove will run unchallenged for a fourth term. While there is no Democratic first selectman’s candidate announced, Dems name as a selectman candidate Ray Dunbar, who will run to fill a selectman’s seat vacated by outgoing Democrat Jack Ahern. Republican incumbent selectman Joe Higgins will also run uncontested for a fourth term. The focus of the race will be Democrats and Republicans vying for the majority on the town’s top governing body, the 30-person RTM. Currently, Republicans hold the majority with 18 seats. In addition, three Republicans and one Democrat are nominated by their parties to be on the ballot to fill four BOE seats of varying terms.

Stop & Shop and Big Y stores, which both have businesses in Branford, announce no more plastic bags will be distributed at retail checkouts after July 31, 2019. The announcement comes ahead of the state’s new plastic bag law kicking in on Aug. 1.

Support and complaints from residents are being aired concerning the numerous “Town Hall Fraud” signs that continue to be posted around town by Wayne Cooke. At his website, Cooke, in turn, claims several of his signs are being taken and that the signs are part of a citizen’s right to free speech.

August

After 18 years as Branford’s special project/economic development manager, Branford resident Terry Elton is recognized, and thanked for his contributions to the town’s economic growth, by town and state leaders. Elton officially retires Aug. 2.

A father and son are identified as the two men found deceased in a home at Branford Hills Apartments, after police respond to a 911 call on Aug. 5. The State Chief Medical Examiner’s Office later rules out homicide as a cause of death for both men.

An attorney for the town addresses several concerns listed by Beacon/BHA in a July Superior Court appeal concerning conditions placed on the June 2019 approval of a Parkside Village I emergency access road site plan modification. Based on those responses, an attorney for BHA/Beacon says his clients are “now willing and able” to accept five of seven conditions that had been questioned in the court appeal. That leaves two remaining conditions (5.c and 5.d) in the appeal, both of which address a requirement that the applicant ensure the placement of an Emergency Vehicle Pullover Area of about 1,200 square feet.

Crowds of well-wishers and long-time customers stop in at Towne Pharmacy on Aug. 14, the last day of business for the pharmacy after 54 years at 1012 Main Street.

To help mark Branford375, a doggie birthday costume contest and other special attractions are part of Dan Cosgrove Animal Shelter’s annual Woofstock on the Branford Green.

A “Branford Gets Fresh” public Facebook page goes live with healthy recipes and asks the community and local restaurants to contribute their own health posts.

On Aug. 23, the American Red Cross, state YMCA leaders and Connecticut legislators honor a team of trained professionals at Soundview YMCA who saved a man’s life on April 7.

September

On Sept. 14, legendary BHS Field Hockey coaches Cathy and John McGuirk are honored at a BOE-hosted ceremony naming the Cathy & John McGuirk Field Hockey Field as part of the James McVeigh Athletic Complex at BHS.

Branford Land Trust announces it has received national recognition as an Accredited Land Trust.

The developer of the project to replace Parkside Village I, Beacon Communities, submits a site plan modification application to the latest plan. The new application provides two options for an emergency vehicle pullover area. Branford’s PZC will hold a September public hearing.

Twenty years and more than two million books later, Branford-based Read to Grow celebrates two decades of growth into a statewide non-profit supporting the importance of developing early childhood literacy.

Branford Public Schools start the new year with an enrollment of approximately 2,800 students, with a slight increase in the elementary school population. Meanwhile, over the past 10 years, the district’s student profile has grown from 18 percent to 40 percent “high needs” (special education, free and reduced lunch-qualified, or students identified as English language learners).

A full year of activation at Branford’s cooperative, 4.5-acre solar farm on the town-owned Tabor property brought great results, town officials report. In first year of operation, the system generated 1.24 million-kilowatt hours of electricity (an average of about 3400 kWh/day), enough energy to power some 125 homes for a year.

Branford holds a moving 9-11 memorial ceremony at Branford Fire Headquarters, marking the 18th anniversary of the terrorist attacks and lives lost.

Supporters of Branford’s Blackstone Library expansion and renovation project were treated to a first look at the newly completed, 2,000 square-foot rear entrance lobby addition, topped by a brand new rooftop patio terrace at the iconic Main Street building.

A special Branford375 version of BCTV’s annual Tour de Branford bike ride is held.

Friends of the Blackstone Library include Branford375 as part of its iconic, gigantic Book Sale on the green.

While no mosquitoes carrying eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) have been identified in Branford, as of Sept. 27 the town’s schools and parks are taking the precaution of restricting outdoor activities during times when mosquitoes are most active until further notice.

October

As S&P Global once again reaffirms Branford’s AAA rating, the town completes its biggest bond sale in Branford history, selling $45 million in long-term bonds through a competitive bid process.

Bioscience and biotech rising stars brought their bright ideas to Branford for “Pitch to Build Your Venture 2019,” organized by Branford-based Accelerator for Biosciences in Connecticut (ABCT).

A unique collaboration between BHcare and Fair Haven Community Health Care (FHCHC) is creating a new entity and health care facility, Shoreline Family Health Care, in Branford, currently hoped to open in December 2019.

Ahead celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2020, Branford Counseling Center announces it will enter the new era with a new name: Branford Counseling & Community Services.

Branford completes a two-year renovation and expansion project, opening the newly named Joe Trapasso Community House honoring World War II Veterans. The $12.1 million project blends Branford Parks & Recreation and Canoe Brook Senior Center programs into a single, two-story building at 46 Church Street.

For the second time in six years, Branford hosts the Greater New Haven Columbus Day Parade, the largest parade of its kind in New England.

Worries about teen vaping causing rapid addiction to nicotine, during a time when the nation is experiencing an outbreak of vaping-related illnesses, drives a community vaping forum at Oct. 24 at BHS.

Volunteers of Shoreline Community Church (SCC) in Branford host second annual Light the Night on Halloween on the green.

November

On Nov. 1, Olympia Sports in Branford, located in the Branhaven Plaza, posts “Store Closing” signs and announces it will be one of 76 shops in the national chain will close in January.

Following the Nov. 5 municipal elections, Branford Republicans retain the majority among the town’s elected leadership. However, Democrats make some gains with a close race in several districts, requiring RTM recounts in districts 4 and 5; which yielded no changes. Unchallenged GOP First Selectman Jamie Cosgrove earns his fourth consecutive term in office. He will be joined on the three-person BOS by new Democratic Selectman Raymond Dunbar and returning GOP incumbent Joe Higgins.

The annual Branford Veterans Day Parade, one of just a handful in the state, honors all who have served on Nov. 10 .

Now in its 22nd year, the annual BHS Anthony “Bob” Bescher Veterans Appreciation Day program takes place at BHS on Nov. 11. The program gathers a large group of local war veterans of historic conflicts stretching back to World War II as well as present-day military members.

On Nov. 21, Branford police locate a man struck and killed by an Amtrak train near Tabor Cemetery; he is later identified as a 53-year-old Branford resident.

A lasting tribute to Ted Aub, who did much to assist Branford veterans causes and to support classic car enthusiast programs along the shoreline, is recognized with a special ceremony at a new granite bench installed in his honor at Parker Memorial Park at Branford Point.

During the first full meeting to include four recently elected members of the seven-member BOE, re-elected Republican Shannen Sharkey is voted in as the new BOE chair by the board. She replaces re-elected Republican Mike Krause as BOE chair.

On Nov. 30, Branford Parks & Recreation hosts the Holiday Parade and Tree Lighting event with a Branford375 theme.

Saying some confusion with public perception of the application needs to be addressed, representatives for 65-99 Burban Associates LLC withdraw a request before the PZC for a zoning designation to change a frontage boundary along Burban Drive from R4 (residential) to R1 (residential) zoning.

For his decades of dedicated service, Branford Parks & Recreation Director Alex Palluzzi, Jr., receives the Connecticut Recreation & Parks Association’s Distinguished Service Award.

The results of the 16th Liberty Bank-Rotary Thanksgiving Dinner Drive are announced, with Branford Rotary Club raising $8,711 and receiving a Liberty Bank Foundation match of $2,178, bringing the total to $10,889.

December

The newly constructed Indian Neck/Pine Orchard Fire Co. 9 firehouse opens for operation at 6 Linden Avenue.

The renovation and expansion project at WIS reaches a milestone in December, when BPS announces students will move into the newly constructed academic wing on Jan. 6, 2020.

The PZC votes 3-2 to approve an emergency vehicle pullover area on the Parkside Village I site plan, with conditions that may require further approval from the town for emergency vehicle access.

The sudden, unexpected passing of Branford resident Denise D’Ascenzo, who gained a statewide following in more than 30 years a television journalist at WFSB, generates hundreds of tributes in her honor.

Branford’s retail plastic bag ban, which is stricter than the state’s retail plastic bag fee law, begins as of Dec. 12, banning any plastic bags at retail checkout at all stores.

Marking a record year for donations and sales, the volunteers of Branford Homemaker Thrift Shop gives away a total of $40,000 to six Branford charities in 2019.

For the first time, Branford joins national Wreaths Across America Day. A crowd of volunteers and supporters come out to a ceremony at St. Agnes Cemetery on Dec. 14, then help place wreathes on 1,500 veterans graves in town. The ceremony, wreath laying and fundraising effort is an eagle scout project organized by 15-year-old Branford resident Mark Hally.