Home Care In Southington, CT

SOUTHINGTON — It had been a tough loss Monday night in Berlin for the Southington girls basketball team. They were about to learn it meant nothing compared to the sudden death of their assistant coach, Bill Queen, just as practice began Tuesday.

Head coach Howie Hewitt woke up in the wee hours Tuesday morning, couldn’t fall back to sleep, so he watched the game film of Southington's 47-40 loss to Berlin and did the stats.

He emailed those stats to Queen, who replied that he wanted to show the girls some film clips before the start of that day’s practice at 12:30 p.m., earlier-than-normal due to exams going on at school.

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The Blue Knights stretched, then gathered in a classroom just off the gym. Queen fired up the video and pointed out — in a gentle, positive way Hewitt said he'd come to admire, — where corrections and improvements could be made.

“Coach, what do you think?” Queen called out.

“Let’s go practice!” Hewitt replied with gusto from where he was seated in the back of the room.

The players rose and headed back to the gym.

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By the time Hewitt got to the front of the classroom, however, Queen was experiencing what Hewitt called a 'medical emergency' that ultimately would claim his life later that afternoon at age 59.

While Monday night was tough, Tuesday’s became unfathomable for a family, a team and a town that had been Queen’s home for all but a decade of his life.

“???????You just wake up and you hope you dreamt it last night and it was just a bad dream,” Hewitt said Wednesday. “But the kids, we’re going to stick together."

The Blue Knights were supposed to play Thursday at South Windsor. That game has been postponed. A makeup date has not been announced.

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Instead, Hewitt said his team will meet for a light practice in the afternoon, grab something to eat, then go watch the boys home game Thursday night. There will be a moment of silence for Queen before tip-off.

The Blue Knights will get back to more structured work on Friday, Hewitt said, and they will decide on how to honor Queen as they complete the rest of the season without him.

So, too, was a Southington community Queen had been a member of all his life.

“There are a lot of broken hearts out there,” said Chris Buck, who coordinates the Southington Community Services holiday food drive for which Hewitt, Queen and the girls basketball team served as volunteers last month.

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Like so many Southington residents who are mourning his sudden passing, Buck had known Queen since childhood.

“It really leaves you reeling,” she said. “Just so many positive, complimentary accolades to give to Billy: a gem, a gentleman, a sweetheart, just so kind. It makes it hurt so much more. You have somebody here who is just top notch.”

While Queen’s sons Billy and Alex flew home from Chicago on Tuesday night to be with their mother, Patricia, Hewitt reconvened with his players and their parents at the high school.

While the players had not witnessed the episode, they were dismissed early from practice and were aware something had happened to their assistant coach. After the team was notified of Queen’s death, Superintendent of Schools Steve Madancy sent out a email to all families in the school district.

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“I’m glad we got together, the parents and the kids,” Hewitt said. “Many people contributed stories. It started out and it won’t end. There were plenty of tears.

"He brought so much positive energy and joy to every situation he was in. ... There are so many great things to say about him they roll right off your lips. He’s in your head, in your heart. As soon as you meet him, he’s always with you.”

Queen grew up in Southington, played basketball at Southington High School, graduated in 1982 and went on to have a four-year career playing basketball at Wesleyan University. He parlayed a degree in Mathematics and Economics into a successful career in the insurance industry.

With his expertise in basketball, Queen coached his sons as they came up through the ranks of the Southington Youth Basketball Association.

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Queen continued to volunteer in the town's youth league even as his boys passed on to the high school program. When Mike DeFeo, the director of SYBA, was short of coaches for the girls teams, Queen stepped in.

“He’s meant a lot to our program, for sure,” said DeFeo. “Just a good man, a generous human being, a guy who loved basketball and gave a lot back — and unnoticeable, quiet, behind the scenes.

“It was a sad day yesterday. We lost a good person.”

Hewitt and Queen were only in their second season coaching together, yet had developed a good synergy. Queen was a terrific listener, Hewitt said, and was effective at giving players and fellow coaches advice — even hard advice — through patience and tact.

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“(There was) a lot of one-on-one (instruction)," Hewitt said. “He would get you to a spot to make you feel comfortable enough to say what was on your mind, even if you weren’t that kind of person. He’d get you there and then let you go.

“I can’t tell you how many times he did the same thing for me. I should have been thinking about things differently and he would never say, “Howie, are you stupid? What are you thinking?’ He would always prompt me to tell him what I was thinking and he would always help get me to understand there was a better way to make a decision. He didn’t just do it for me. He did it for everybody.”

SOUTHINGTON —The well-known, family-owned-and-operated trash hauler CWPM of Plainville will now be handling much of the town’s waste and recycling needs as the company recently acquired HQ Dumpsters & Recycling.

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“We’re excited about this,” said Jason Manafort, CWPM president. “It took a little while and was a lot of work to get the deal done, but I think the effort was worth it. And hopefully it’s a positive for the employees and the customers.”

While conversations about a potential sale have taken place over the past few years, Jack Perry, operations manager for CWPM and former co-owner of HQ, said the acquisition happened relatively quickly over about a month or two.

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“We don’t only look at it as buying their business," Manafort said, "but to have a new group with us as well that will add value to us. It was a good deal for us and a good deal for them.”

CWPM officially took over on Jan. 1.

Purchasing HQ fit well with CWPM’s strategy for expansion, the company's roots and overall what the hauler is trying to do, Manafort said. HQ services residential customers in Southington, Wallingford, Middletown, Portland and Glastonbury.

“HQ had a line of business with the residential services they provided; it was not a line of business that we had in those areas,” Manafort said. “We have them in other parts of the state, but not up here where they are operating. They also have a permitted waste facility in Southington that we looked at as a future expansion for us. Our facility in Berlin is a busy operation so we were looking to expand and be able to use their facility in addition to what we already have going on. And Jack and his family built a nice business there and we’re happy to have them with us.”

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Perry said other companies have inquired about purchasing HQ over the years, but he did not explore a sale because he was still young, eager to grow the company and liked the industry.

Circumstances then brought HQ and CWPM together.

“When CWMP had a fire in their Berlin transfer station they needed somewhere to dump their trucks that was relatively close to them and our station here in Southington was able to help them out,” said Perry, who also serves on the Southington Town Council. “So we’ve had a working relationship I guess you can say over the past three years and Jason’s approach was a little bit different; when we talked more, looked at the details, we realized it was something that was best for everyone.”

The deal allows HQ co-owners Kurt Holyst, Perry’s father, and Ralph Holyst, Perry’s uncle, to retire. And while it wasn’t stipulated in the sales agreement, Perry will remain with the company and says he plans to stay indefinitely.

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“But it wasn't just about how much are you going to pay for our company, how can we squeeze every penny out, that was never our thing," Perry said. "Our concern was our customers, employees and our community. And they’ve made a commitment to keep all of our employees, continue to stay active in the community and just pick up where HQ left off.”

CWPM plans to keep the HQ Southington location, phone number and all the current services the same and continue to invest in the community, Manafort said.

“We purchased the properties as well as the trucks, business, contracts etc.” Manafort said. “We’re committed to staying in Southington. They did have a separate office in Plantsville that we’re going to be moving a few people up to the office on Triano Drive.”

Perry says CWPM brings a wealth of experience and resources to help HQ internally and continue its mission of service to customers. CWPM has over 50 years of experience in the waste industry and has made a number of acquisitions.

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“When you’re a little bit of a bigger company you can offer more benefits to employees and things like that so you’ll have longer standing employees who will look at us as more of a career than just a job," Manafort said. "And when you have good long-term employees you have less turnover and are able to give the best service to your customers and the best quality product to offer."

Manafort added that the combined companies will have more options for waste disposal at transfer stations in Berlin and Bozrah that use the railroad to ship material which could also help stabilize pricing a bit.

This may also address concerns regarding truck traffic in and out of the HQ transfer station on Triano Drive off Lazy Lane, company officials said.

“Unfortunately Southington doesn’t have any rail in this area that kind of works for an operation like this," Perry said, "So that’s where we send things out with tractor trailers. I do know that there is a permit modification trying to continue the same thing we were doing with putting in a baler to be able to reduce the waste and bale it and obviously send it out through that method to try to reduce truck traffic."

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Rate impact

Since Covid, HQ has had to increase its rates several times, and there may still be some costs passed along to customers due to increases in disposal rates and the cost of garbage trucks.

“I don’t like raising rates. We've done it the past few years because we had to,” Perry said. “The first new truck I purchased back in 2012/2013 was $225,000 and now they’re $500,000.”

Perry is hoping that as a bigger operation CWPM can reduce some of the operating expenses that were higher for HQ.

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“Things are going really well," Manafort said. "I think generally (the staff) was happy it was us. People knew us already and knew who we were and we have a good reputation. It's a family business that’s been around a long time. Nobody likes change and initially they were a little surprised and wary, but once things calmed down everything was good.”

CWPM services customers throughout Connecticut and Rhode Island. According to its website, the company has a team of over 300 workers with more than 200 years of experience and industry knowledge. CWPM operates a fleet of over 250 vehicles and owns four state licensed transfer stations in Berlin, Bozrah, Plainville and New London.

In 2007, Manafort pleaded guilty to destroying a computer in order to prevent federal authorities from seizing it as part of a trash-industry racketeering probe and served one month in prison.

“That was a long time ago and those issues are behind us,” Manafort said Friday. “Our business' reputation kind of speaks for itself.”

The Plainville location off Interstate 84 is relatively close to Farmington, Southington, Bristol and New Britain.

Patch Staff

|Updated Fri, Jan 26, 2024 at 5:02 pm ET

PLAINVILLE, CT — A prominent shopping plaza in Plainville will have a major hole filled in the form of an international grocery chain coming to town.

That's because an Aldi supermarket is planned for the Connecticut Commons plaza at 282 New Britain Ave., Plainville. There are currently 31 Aldi's in Connecticut.

The store was announced earlier this month by the real estate broker involved with the deal, Fairfield-based True Commercial Real Estate LLC.

True said the deal was finalized by representatives Tyler Lyman and Jason Wuchiski for the store, which is expected to be 21,070 square feet.

In a statement, Lyman said the location is perfect for the area, given its proximity to a major highway in the area.

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“Connecticut Commons is a regional center, drawing customers from a large territory due to its proximity to I-84," Lyman said.

"The one glaring missing piece was the fact that there was no grocer in the project. We made that use a priority and are excited to add ALDI to the tenant mix.”

The Plainville location off I-84 is surrounded by Farmington, Southington, Bristol and New Britain.

ALDI was represented by Tim McNamara & Kevin Daly of Cushman & Wakefield, while Tyler Lyman and Jason Wuchiski represented the landlord — Site Centers.

True has brokered 13 deals with Site Centers, according to True officials.

The site has been vacant since 2019, when an A.C. Moore crafts retailer shuttered.

The project now goes before town land-use boards for final approval before the store can be built and open.

Aldi is based in Essen, Germany, and has made significant gains in recent years in the U.S. and Connecticut.

The store offers off-brand and brand grocery items at significant discounts and is popular for people on a budget.

For more information on True Commercial Real Estate LLC out of Fairfield, click on this link.

For more information on Aldi, click on this link.

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MANCHESTER — The Manchester football team's first appearance in the CIAC Class LL playoffs in 30 years lasted a bit less than three hours.

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Rashard Williams scored five touchdowns — three on passes from CJ DiBenedetto, one on a run, one on a kickoff return — Tuesday as No. 5 Southington downed the fourth-seeded Red Hawks 47-20 in a quarterfinal game at Memorial Field.

"This group here, we fought to the end and I love them," Manchester coach Roy Roberts said. "That's what it's about. We played against a good football team and when you play against a good football team you can't turn the ball over as many times as we did.

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"But at the end of the day our guys did a great job and they did a great thing for this school. We plan on being back."

The Blue Knights (7-4) will play No. 1 Staples at Paul Lane Field in Westport in the semifinals Sunday at 12:30 p.m.

Manchester (7-4) was playing in its first postseason game in 10,951 days, since a loss to Naugatuck in the 1993 Class LL final. But thre Red Hawks fell into an early hole Tuesday and faced an uphill battle the rest of the way.

Southington scored on its first two possessions, driving 67 and 55 yards, for a 14-0 lead in the opening 8:08. DiBenedetto found Williams on a 13-yard score and the senior then hit Evan Anderson for 13 yards.

Manchester responded by going 75 yards capped by a Julian Henderson three-yard run, set up by a 49-yard pass from Emanuel Sampel to Jayden Kennedy to cut the gap in half. But the Red Hawks turned the ball over on their next three possessions and the Blue Knights took advantage of the third one.

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Three plays after Williams' interception gave Southington the ball at the Manchester 27 with 1:40 left in the half, DiBenedetto hit Williams in the corner of the end zone for 21 yards and a 21-7 lead that Southington took to halftime.

Henderson's six-yard run got Manchester back in it but Williams had an answer with a 77-yard kickoff return. Chad Agosto responded with an 81-yard kickoff return for a score for Manchester, but on the next play DiBendetto found Williams for 53 yards and the game's fourth touchdown in a 1:24 span for a 40-20 lead.

"Rashard had a huge game," Southington coach Mike Drury said. "We got him going early with some quick stuff and turned them to big plays. It was a big night. He's a dynamic player. When he has games like that it's pretty electric."

DiBenedetto finished 15-for-25 passing for 220 yards with four touchdown passes.

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Staples defeated Southington 34-27 on Sept. 22.

"We played Staples before and we get to play them again," DiBenedetto said. "We take it game by game and they're another team on the list."

Player of the game

Rashard Williams, Southington: Caught three touchdowns passes, rushed for a touchdown, returned a kickoff for a touchdown, and added two interceptions.

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Quotable

"We've had a lot of ups and downs this season and Southington hasn't won a first-round game for a few years. We've been able to persevere and keep working hard every day." -- Wiilliams.

Southington 47, Manchester 20

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SOUTHINGTON, CT — The time has come to put another year in the books and look ahead to a new one.

And in Southington, there are options both in town and nearby to celebrate the calendar switch from 2023 to 2024.

Here is a look at some additional events happening in the Southington area:

• The largest New Year's Eve celebration in the state is First Night Hartford, which takes place downtown at Hartford's Bushnell Park.

It will feature two fireworks shows: one at 6 p.m. for younger families and a traditional one at midnight.

Find out what's happening in Southingtonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In addition, First Night will have various, multicultural activities, events and music performances in and around Bushnell Park.

For more information on First Night Hartford, click on this link.

• The Southington area also features various celebrations of differing sorts at local clubs, restaurants, and civic groups.

For more information on a variety of Southington events, click on this link.

National traditions

In the United States, one of the most popular New Year’s Eve traditions is the dropping of the giant ball in New York City’s Times Square. Other U.S. cities have adopted iterations of the ball drop — the Chick Drop in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and the giant Potato Drop in Boise, Idaho, for example.

The end of one year and beginning of another is often celebrated with the singing of “Auld Lang Syne,” a Scottish folk song whose title roughly translates to “days gone by,” according to Encyclopedia Britannica and History.com.

The history of New Year’s resolutions dates back 8,000 years to ancient Babylonians, who would make promises to return borrowed objects and pay outstanding debts at the beginning of the new year, in mid-March when they planted their crops.

According to legend, if they kept their word, pagan gods would grant them favor in the coming year. If they broke the promise, they would fall out of God’s favor, according to a history of New Year’s resolutions compiled by North Hampton Community College New Center in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Many secular New Year’s resolutions focus on imagining new, improved versions of ourselves.

The failure rate of New Year’s resolutions is about 80 percent, according to U.S. News & World Report. There are myriad reasons, but a big one is they’re made out of remorse — for gaining weight, for example — and aren’t accompanied by a shift in attitude and a plan to meet the stress and discomfort of changing a habit or condition.