Veterans’ program set Sunday, local NAACP to host ‘meet the candidates’ at Manross Library

Bristol veterans among those to be honored Sept. 17

Three of the World War II veterans from Bristol, the youngest, 98, and the oldest, 105, will be honored during the World War II Legacy Foundation’s “End of World War II” event on Sunday, Sept. 17, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in East Hartford. World War II veterans from across the state will be on hand.

As part of the Ceremony, American Legion, Post 2 will have the honor of conducting the “Missing Man Ceremony,” also known as the POW/MIA Table, with Bristol’s Post 2 historian assisted by a fellow Post 2 member, a World War II Veteran and Iwo Jima survivor, Joe Caminiti.

This past February, Caminiti was presented with a portrait at the Bristol Library. This Sunday a friend of his from New Britain will have the honor of receiving a painting from the same artist. It will be presented during the event.

Quilts of Valor will be on hand to present quilts to those not quilted earlier.

NAACP to sponsor meet the candidates program

The local chapter of the NAACP will sponsor a “Meet the Candidates” program Tuesday, Oct. 3, in the Manross Memorial Library’s conference room at 6 p.m.

This year’s municipal election includes candidates running for mayor, city council, Board of education and tax assessor offices. It will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 7. from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. at all local polling places.

Connecticut Energy Assistance Program accepting applications

The Connecticut Energy Assistance Program (CEAP) is now accepting applications through May 31, 2024. CEAP helps Connecticut residents afford to heat their homes. Applications for CEAP typically take 30-45 minutes. Basic benefits towards heating bills range between $180 and $530. Benefits are usually paid directly to the utility company or fuel supplier. Households that heat with deliverable fuels like oil or propane may be eligible for additional free tank fills.

Residents may also qualify for heating shut-off protections, become eligible to sign up for a payment plan to reduce primary utility heating costs, and receive free heating equipment replacement and/or repairs.

The program is administered by Connecticut’s Department of Social Services in partnership with local Community Action Agencies (CAAs) throughout the state.

In Bristol, CEAP applications are available at HRA, 55 South St., (860) 356-2000. Email: energyapp@hranbct.org.

Connecticut residents that meet the following may be eligible: already receive food stamps (SNAP), SSI, TANF or other benefits from the Department of Social Services and have an annual household income falls at or below 60 percent of the state’s median income.

Fall leaf bag collection to begin mid-October

Fall Leaf Bag Collection will begin Monday, Oct. 16, and will run through Friday, Dec. 1., Public Works announced earlier this week.

The release asks residents to bring leaf bags curbside as soon as they are filled and to leave them curbside until collected. Leaf bag collection is available to all city residences eligible for curbside rubbish and recycling services.

Leaves are only collected in brown, recyclable, paper leaf bags that are available at most home and garden stores. There is no maximum limit to leaf bag collection at a residence.

Leaf bags containing dirt, sand, rocks, sod, or materials other than leaves will not be collected.

Leaf bags must be placed curbside and not within the residence’s property for proper collection. Loose leaf piles will not be collected.

City begins inspections of residential properties for 2027 revaluation

Tyler Technologies has been chosen to inspect Bristol properties in preparation for the 2027 revaluation, the city announced recently.

The inspections are scheduled to begin on or around Sept. 1 with completion by late spring 2026.

All field personnel shall have visible clip-on identification cards, which shall include an up-to-date photograph. In addition, all field personnel shall carry a “Letter of Introduction” signed by the City’s Assessor Thomas DeNoto.

The list of properties includes approximately 20,600 parcels and data from the inspections will be posted in the city’s 2022 Live Vision 8 revaluation database.

Connecticut law requires assessors to revalue all property at least once every five years and specifies the processes and methods they must follow. The last reevaluation was October 2022.

Affordable internet access through national connectivity program

Earlier this summer, over 300 local and national organizations joined Civic Nation and the U.S. Department of Education to launch Online for All, a campaign that provides internet access, affordability, and equity for students, families, across the country.

To see requirements and apply, go to the Online for All site and follow the screen instructions. Click here. Or go directly to the FFC’S Affordable Connectivity Program website, to find out qualifications for reduced or free high-speed internet. Click here.

An estimated 28 million households in the U.S. do not have high-speed internet at home, and two-thirds of these households are offline because they need help affording an available internet connection, according to the release on the U.S. Dept. of Education website.