Monroe man named Educator of the Game
Donald M. Casey Jr. of Monroe was recently selected as Educator of the Game by the Hartford Yard Goats minor league professional baseball team.
Casey was profiled on the large outfield screen at Dunkin’ Donuts Stadium in front of a sellout crowd and threw out the first pitch and had his photo taken with Chompers, mascot of the Hartford Yard Goats.
Casey is entering his 34th year as a professional educator at Stepney Elementary School. He is also a member of the Pyramid Shrine Temple Clown Unit.
He and fellow clown Antonio Bello made hundreds of balloons twisting crafts for children at Monroe’s Night at the Park at Wolfe Park last week. During the event, the Pyramid Shriners shared their mission of assisting young people in need of medical care at the Shriner’s Hospital for Children.
Shelton-Monroe Rapids Tryouts
The Shelton-Monroe Rapids, a competitive, year-round swim team for swimmers age 5 to 18, will host tryouts for new members.
Tryouts will be held at Masuk High School from 6 to 6:45 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 27, and another tryout will be at Shelton Community Center on Wednesday, Aug. 28, from 6 to 7 p.m.
Swimmers should attend either session and bring a copy and bring a copy of their birth certificate. All paperwork will be on-site for parents to complete.
For information, email Head Age Group Coach Bill Natlo at [email protected] or visit the team’s website.
Sew-A-Thon fundraiser
Monroe Congregational Church, 34 Church St., is hosting a Sew-a-Thon to benefit Dress A Girl Around the World on Sept. 21, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Dress a Girl Around the World is a campaign under Hope 4 Women International, a nonprofit organization bringing dignity to women around the world since 2006. Hope 4 Women International is a nondenominational independent Christian organization.
“We dream of a world in which every girl has at least one new dress,” the Dress a Girl Around the World website says. “We want girls to know that they are worthy of respect, and that they are loved by God.”
The Sew-a-Thon is the seventh of nine events planned for 2019. All sewers and those who want to help are invited. For information about the Sew-a-Thon or to register, call Liz Skarzynski at (203) 257-7174.
Other churches or organizations interested in hosting an event, should also call Skarzynski.
Those who cannot attend still have several ways to contribute. They can donate cotton fabric to help make the dresses, ask for a dress kit to make one or more at home or send a tax deductible donation to Hope 4 Women International and mail it to P.O. Box 14 Forest City, IA 50436 or visit dressagirlaroundtheworld.com/donate.
Dress A Girl Connecticut has a Facebook page with pictures of the girls receiving their new dresses.
An artist formerly of Monroe
The works of former Monroe resident Beverly Johnson will be on display in an exhibit at Bethany’s Clark Memorial Library through Sept. 6.
Johnson will showcase her functional and sculptural clay work in an exhibit called “Pieces,” named because the two artists in the exhibit shaped or juxtaposed a wide variety of materials to give them a new artistic identity.
The opening reception for the show will be held this Wednesday from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the library.
The exhibit will be in the library’s lower-level meeting room, which is open in Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays this month, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
