Home Care In West Granby, CT

Joining Industries – an advanced manufacturing enterprise with 30-year-old roots – recently paid $3 million for the East Granby building in which it is located.

“Our businesses are doing very well,” said David Hudson, CEO of Joining Industries. “They are growing. The building has a lot of value, and the seller was ready.”

Hudson said the purchase of the 45,110-square-foot building at 17 Connecticut South Drive gives his company greater ability to make improvements on its schedule.

JTI Realty LLC. -- created by Joining Industries – bought the 45,110-square-foot, metal-sided building from GSL Newgate One LLC, in a deal logged by the town on April 7.

The 1987-vintage building sits on 5.7 acres. It had once housed Advanced Vacuum Resources, a company headed by GSL Newgate One principal Gary James Lachapelle, of West Granby.

Hudson said the building had about seven tenants when Joining Technologies moved in 20 years ago. Jointing Technologies leased additional space as other tenants moved out over time. Today, the building hosts Joining Technologies and JT Automation LLC and their parent company, Joining Industries. A daycare also leases about 14% of the building.

Hudson said his company is happy to continue hosting the daycare.

Michael Francoeur, chairman of Joining Industries’ board of directors, launched the business in 1992, opening Cheshire-based Energy Beam Labs Inc., a provider of electron beam welding services. Over the following decade, the company expanded into laser welding and relocated to East Granby, changing its name to Joining Technologies.

Today, the company specializes in laser and electron-beam welding, making components for medical, aerospace, automotive, semiconductor and other industries.

Joining Technologies Automation LLC was formed in 2016 to build automated work cells for larger equipment manufacturers like Raytheon Technologies and Honeywell, allowing them to bring laser welding, laser cladding and other processes in-house, Hudson said.

Joining Technologies’ laser cladding department was spun off into American Cladding Technologies Inc. in 2017. Today, it operates out of about 26,000 square feet of leased space at 15 International Drive in East Granby. The company uses lasers to apply metal coatings to metal parts, making them more durable and corrosion resistant.

Joining Industries launched in 2017 to serve as a parent company binding Joining Technologies, Joining Technologies Automation and American Cladding Technologies.

Energy Beam Labs got its start in 1992 with six employees. Today, Joining Industries and its subsidiaries employ just over 100, and is growing.

“We will probably be looking for another building in the next couple of years,” Hudson said.

Practice's co-founder Dr. Collin Sanford retires, relocates

Community Contributor

Avon Family Dentistry has said good-bye to a co-founder and hello to a new doctor. Long-time Avon resident Dr. Collin Sanford, who founded the practice with Dr. Sheldon Hausman in 1990 when they merged their individual practices, has retired and relocated with wife Mary to Chicago, home to one of their three sons.

“The move was primarily to be closer to grandchildren, otherwise I don't think I would have ever left our hometown,” Sanford said.

The practice, which includes Dr. A. Liam Doran of Avon and Dr. Eric Ruiz of West Simsbury, wasn’t without a fourth dentist for long. Dr. Griffin Udelson, who lives in West Granby with her pediatric dentist husband and adopted greyhound Charlie, joined the team in January.

Udelson received her dental degree from the University of Connecticut in 2014, receiving the Academy of Osseointegration Outstanding Student in Implant Dentistry Award as well as the Kohrman Award for Excellence in Complete Dentures. She previously graduated cum laude from the University of Miami in Coral Gables while competing as a Division I volleyball player.

Following dental school, Udelson pursued a General Practice Residency at Danbury Hospital to obtain advanced training in fields including endodontics, oral surgery, and prosthodontics.

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“Griffin has well-rounded experience,” Avon resident Hausman said. “We felt she was prepared to meet our standards at Avon Family Dentistry.”

Udelson said she was working for another group when a colleague from UConn told her about the opening and set them up. “I asked around about the practice and heard they have a wonderful reputation,” she said. “We met and clicked.”

Her male colleagues agree having a female dentist is an advantage because some patients feel more comfortable with a woman.

“I interviewed Griffin for a residency and wanted to hire her,” Ruiz said. “That didn’t happen so I’m glad I finally get to work with her.”

Like Hausman and Sanford before him, Ruiz was on the faculty of the UConn School of Dental Medicine. Ruiz joined the practice in 2017 and Doran in 2004 after completion of his residency.

“Having four dentists, we can be available six days a week with early morning and evening appointments, and for families, we can get them all done at the same time,” Doran said.

“Some of our support staff have been with us more than 20 years, even before Collin and I merged,” Hausman said.

Asked what it’s like to be without his original partner, he said there are mixed feelings. “We’ve known each other since dental school, for over 40 years,” Hausman said. “I feel the absence.”

Sanford agrees that leaving the practice has been sad in many ways. “Shelly and I are at the same point in our lives and he has been a great friend,” Sanford said.

Avon Family Dentistry, Inc., located at 44 Dale Road, provides a full range of dental care to patients of all ages. For information, call 860-677-6405 or visit www.avonfamilydentistry.net.

Top academic achievers for the first quarter of 2016-17 are recognized.

GRANBY, CT — The following students have been named to the honor roll at Granby Memorial Middle School for the first marking period of the 2016-17 school year.

GRADE 8

High Honors

James Accetura, Dina Alfarone, Olivia Ashe, Spencer Bennett, Zachary Brewer, Caroline Burnett, William Caley, Aniela Cashman, Ashley Coon, Jenna Cox, Jack DeGray, Riley Dehner, Ty delosReyes, Ashlyn Dixon, Sean Dowd, Daniel Ennis, Angela Everett, Addy Fede, Ryan Fett, Madeline Gilmore, Alyssa Goldman, Aidan Goodrow, Meggie Hennessey, Jacob Ivanov, Aiden Kaczka, Eleanor Karabetsos, Madison Kennedy, Emma Kirkpatrick, Isabella Krumm, Grace Lemoine, Hanna Lloyd, Anna Lombardo, Tyler Mackowski, Abigail Maher, Kaitlynn Mandeville, Chase McGee, Mark McWhirter, Alexis Nichols, Zachary Orluk, William Pagliaro, Veronica Papile, Elliot Plourde, Katherine Psutka, Mya Rivard, Eliza Rowland, Lauren Roy, McKenna Ryan, Peyton Sandridge, Natalie Schock, Riley Shelansky, Ryan Stone, Krisjin Thompson, Laura Tickey, Megan Wassick, Kylie Williams, Clay Willis-Swan, Anna Wix, Sophie Zacchera.

Honors

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Nathan Abrahamson, Samuel Askew, Julia Badeau, Michelle Blake, Owen Bogli, Sophie Bolton, Nicholas Boyd, Tara Briggs, Evelyn Brooke, Avery Bryanton, Madeline Buchman, Haylie Cramer, Owen Danke, Kameron Dear, Thomas Dlugolenski, Laila Dowou, Benjamin Evasius, Devin Flagg, Carter Frith, Jordyn Garcia, Jonathon Gervais, Cameron Gravlin, Gianna Grimaldi, Ethan Henebry, Maeve Hogan, Max Hollister, Grady Kelly, Abigail Kidd, Eric Kinsley, Alexis Klein, Olivia Kollmorgen, Patrick Leydon, Tanner Lupoli, Tomas Macasaet, Spencer Malley, Brayden Mandeville, Jonathan Marlor, Simon Mathews, Hailee May, Sarah McTeague, Alexis Meier, Colby Milbrandt, Amber Murdock, Susan Newman, Ana’el Nicholas, Thomas Nigri, Nina Nolan, Shannon O’Charek, Lee Owen, Jonathan Platti, Cameron Rathke, Jake Rivard, Carmello Roberts, Elliot Rogers, Krystal Rupram, Rhys Samalus, Gabryiella Santiago, Holly Shine, Elena Speliopoulos, Leon Totten, Wyatt Truntz, Harlem Van Cole, Gabriella Vargas-Blanchard.

GRADE 7

High Honors

Brian Austin, Lauren Badorek, Alexa Bajek, Alexa Becker, John Bell, Katherine Benoit, Isabelle Brooke, Tyler Brown, Kaitlyn Capano, Griffin Carey, Brianna Cassin, Ashlyn Clapprood, Troy Crockett, Amelia Davis, Kayla Davis, Carly DeMartino, Maeve Dingley, Kylie Downs, Natalie Ehrenwerth, Isabella Garbeck, Andrew Giuliano, Jessica Gnesda, Benjamin Gottsche, Madeline Green, Alyssa Groneman, Emma Hansen, Alexandra Hassett, Trent Hieber, Kate Hollister, Alec Jedamanov, Timothy Jennings, Kevin Jones, Haley Kaczka, Ryan Kollmorgen, Noah Kroninger, Makayla LaTorreGronningsater, Juliette Marzo, Isabella Mattson, Katrina McCord, Aniella McGovern, Julia McHugh, Katelyn Murach, Dillon Murphy, Erin Panella-Malley, James Phillips, Ashley Puglise, Natalie Scanlon, Jacob Scotto, Kira Sharp, Morgan Siegel, Bennett Simpson, Natalie Smyth, Jessie Talasco, Margaret Thrall, Catherine Utzinger, Juliana Utzinger, Alyssa Wilson, Ryan Ziskin.

Honors

Subreen Ahmad, Katarina Anderson, Frederic Baker, Samuel Banever, Grace Bennett, Pearce Boit, Matthew Boock, Skylar Boucher, Ashley Bristol, Jason Brown, Russell Brown, Alexandra Camilleri, Courtney Cassin, Laci Cyr, Kevin Davis, Eli Dehner, Calvin Diaz, Kylee Disabella, Luke Dlugolenski, Troy Duffy, Mary-Alice Dyer, Margaret Ellis, Madison Ellrod, Griffin Fairchild, Lily Fetridge, Peter Fulwider, Gerasimos Galiatsatos, Alynne Gallion, Aaron Galuska, Devin Galuska, Jayson Gates, Eleanor Gies, Theodore Godard, Nathan Hallgren, Trevor Hazard, Liam Heinze, Claire Herbert, David Hitchiner, Caelum Janski, Devyn Jennings, Katherine Kaczkowski, Madelyn Karadimas, Joshua King, Molly Laird, Pippa Large, Rachel Larson, Sarah Maher, Anthony Mazzucco, Ally McDonald, Ryan McHugh, Dustin Mintell, Ethan Morton, Ryan Mowry, Seth Mowry, Hayden Mueller, Chelsea Newton, Steven Peterson, Mckenzie Provost, John-David Rainwater, Gage Robertson, Ralph Rossi, Madelyn Samplatsky, Joshua Sears, Joshua Selander, David Sessions, Alan Siedlecki, Mairead Spellacy, Jack Steele, Natalie Taylor, Lauren Thompson, Autumn Tirillo, Amber Tomasino, Julianne Troiano, Ethan Vowles, Kaitlyn White, Jacob Wimble, Grace Yoder.

GRADE 6

High Honors

Megan Allshouse, Nolan Banever, Cooper Boyd, Frances Caley, Makenna Cassin, Kylie Coxon, Thomas Cramer, Christian Cusano, Evelyn Danke, Grace Darling, Zachary Ehmann, Veronica Felie, Gabrielle Fisher, Grace Flagg, Samantha Gervais, Isabel Gravlin, Delaney Grimaldi, Taylor Henry, Elliot Hosack, Femke Jansen, Phoebe Jones, Natalie Kalva, Tyler Kroninger, Lukas Morawiec, Eepsitha Muppasani, Cecelia Nigri, Gwendolyn Ockerbloom, Lindsey Perry, Galen Platt, Jason Platti, Owen Roy, Patrick Sayers, Jacob Shine, Lilly Stanley, Edgelynn Venuti, Allison Wassick, Weston Winbourne.

Honors

Jack Accetura, Andre Araujo, Charles Attianese, Tess Bajek, Avery Becker, Audrey Bennett, Blake Berberian, Amelia Bielawiec, Atticus Bogli, Samuel Boyd, Elijah Brown, Caroline Bystrowski, Gabriela Caraballo, Abigail Caruso, Allison Christensen, Hannah Council, Liam Cramer, Alice Crotty, Alessandro Daniele, Rebecca Evasius, Ryan Frith, Morgan Fyfe, Cassidy Gemme, Jack Gianinoto, Hudson Gillis, Katherine Gilmore, Collin Glynn, Hannah Gottsche, Isaac Henry, Collin Holness, Ezra Holt, Charlotte Kampfmann, Molly Katzman, Bryce Kubas, Joshua Lang, Mason Levy, Camdyn Lupoli, Nathan Lynch, Laney Mack, Chester Malley, Taylor Matheos, William Migliaccio, Brayden Milbrandt, Collin Mountain, Eekansh Muppasani, Ava Myers, Daniel Owen, Ethan Pagliaro, Everett Paine, Will Peverly, Kalym Richards, Amy Rogers, Joell Roque, Alyssa Rossi, Chance Selker, Nicholas Speliopoulos, Luke Staples, Natalie Stewart, Allyson Thibodeau, Jacqueline Thibodeau, Talin Tran, Cameron Truntz, Ariel Turnberg, Sofia Vargas-Blanchard, Madysen Walker, Abbigail Weber, LilyGrace Xayachak, Jane Zacchera.

Photo credit: Granby Memorial Middle School

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There is no shortage of hate toward the Nutmeg State from its residents. (At least if the comments on our Facebook page are any indication.)

So much so, that a recent survey from InformCT revealed that nearly half of Connecticut residents say they plan to leave the state in next five years.

So we hit the streets to challenge residents to say three nice things about Connecticut. Here’s what they came up with:

Barbara Butterworth has lived in Avon for the last seven years. From Cincinnati, Butterworth spent 17 years living in Florida and said she felt like she had “moved to heaven” when she moved here to Connecticut. As a hiker, she said she loves the state parks. “In this Farmington Valley area, we have so many beautiful state parks with hills and shade at any time of year,” Butterworth said. She also said she enjoys the culture that is offered here. Butterworth’s third favorite thing is the close proximity to the Long Island Sound and having “the rest of New England at our doorstep” here in Connecticut.

1. The state parks.

2. Arts and culture.

3. The proximity to the Long Island Sound and the rest of New England’s states.

For Evelyn Cordero, of Meriden, getting to participate in outdoor activities from festivals to hiking is what she likes most about Connecticut.

1. Hiking in Hubbard Park.

2. Enjoying the free festivals in Bushnell Park.

3. Spending time at the New Haven Green.

Originally from Missouri, Christina Thompson now resides in Torrington. For her, it’s about the scenery. “It’s just beautiful here,” Thompson said.

1. The libraries.

2. The “big rocks.”

3. The scenery as a whole.

Middletown residents JR & Faraneh Carnegie-Hargreaves say they love Connecticut for a few reasons, but most of those reasons have to do with its location.

1. Connecticut’s centrally located.

2. Its convenience to the Long Island Sound, Hammonnasset Beach State Park and Westerly, Rhode Island.

3. Sunken Garden Poetry offered by the Hill-Stead Museum in Farmington.

Granby resident Mark Piwonski’s favorite things about Connecticut have a lot to do with nature and being outdoors. Piwonski said 20 years ago it was nearly impossible to find a dog park, but now he enjoys spending time at the dog park in Granby’s Salmon Brook Park. “I don’t spend that much time inside,” he said.

1. Natural areas for hiking.

2. The dog parks.

3. Clean water efforts.

Windsor resident Tammie Parker works in Hartford and said she loves being close to Bushnell Park and all it has to offer. Parker also said she is discovering that Connecticut has “nice beaches” and she enjoys the vast food scene.

1. Working near Bushnell Park.

2. Connecticut’s beaches.

3. The state’s food scene.

West Suffield resident Steve Grobe said he is glad to see more events being hosted in Connecticut, including concerts at Xfinity, Mohegan Sun and more off-beat events, like the “Big Bounce America Tour” that came to Granby recently.

1. More events being hosted throughout the state.

2. The wilderness, woods and nature.

3. The four seasons.

Originally from New Jersey, Paul Mark came to the Hartford area in 1999. For Mark, #HartfordHasIt.

1. Downtown Hartford’s scenery.

2. The energy of Hartford.

3. The convenience of living in the city.

Originally from Portland, Maine, Melissa Brady and her family moved to Avon seven years ago. Brady and her daughter Reese, 6, gave a shoutout to Connecticut’s schools. “I would say one of the top reasons we moved here was for the schools, so that’s probably a big one for why we love Avon and Connecticut.”

1. The schools in Avon.

2. The library and the pool.

3. Easy access to local goods, including meals at farm-to-table restaurants.

Originally from Massachusetts, Kim Dufrane came to Connecticut about 35 years ago. The now-West Granby resident likes the state’s beauty. “It’s just a beautiful state, it really is,” Dufrane said. She said she enjoys spending time with her two-year-old black lab, Tank, at the dog park at Salmon Brook Park in Granby, she said “[Tank] likes the state forests here, too, that he can run around in.”

1. The architecture.

2. The state parks.

3. The stonewalls and forests.

Hartford-area resident Andrew Carrington said Hartford offers a great food scene, particularly the West Indian food. Carrington said he also likes that the state has “a lot of hidden history and a lot of quirky facts.”

1. Great food.

2. Hidden history.

3. Different cultures and diversity.

Like many other residents we spoke to, Deborah Camp, of East Haddam, is about the beaches, food and the arts scene.

1. Old Saybrook and the beaches.

2. The restaurants in Middletown.

3. Shows at Hartford Stage.

GRANBY — There were angry shouts and frequent interruptions from community members Wednesday night in the town hall's meeting room. Multiple times, a public official had to bang a gavel just to bring a heated public hearing to order.

An Inland Wetlands and Water Commission meeting may not seem like the place for such tension, but with a a 48-unit, multi-family building on the agenda, that's exactly what commission members were faced with.

Developments proposed by Vessel have sparked outrage in other towns in the Farmington Valley, including in Simsbury, where residents have pushed back against a proposed affordable housing development at similar heated public hearings. Some Simsbury residents are also attempting to appeal the Simsbury Inland Wetlands and Water Commission’s decision to approve a wetlands permit with a lawsuit.

The proposed development at 37 Hartford Ave. in Granby would include a four-story building with one-bedroom apartments, said Vessel's attorney Andrea Gomes as she gave an overview of the proposal. The Vessel spokespeople did not specify at the Aug. 9 meeting if any of the units would be designated affordable.

“The development is being proposed in accordance with general statutes 8-30g,” according to Vessel's permit application. The set-aside developments under 8-30g consist of projects in which 30 percent of units are designated for low-income renters.

Located on the southwest side of Hartford Avenue, the entire site is just over 2.5 acres, according to the application. It consists of approximately 932 square feet of wetlands.

James Sipperly, the soil and wetlands scientist who conducted a site evaluation on June 15, told the Commission that he determined there would be no adverse impacts on the wetlands or watercourses due to the project's construction.

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The conditions would even be improved, he said, because Vessel's project includes treating previously untreated stormwater runoff.

The proposed layout for site development is similar to what was approved in 2007 for the construction of a 45-foot-tall office building, said Seamus Moran, the site engineer. “We’re essentially developing what was already developed,” he said.

But many of the residents who spoke at the public hearing said that a 48-unit apartment building and an office space were not the same.

“I am no expert in wetlands, I’m no expert in architecture and I’m no expert in the sewer system,” said Jennifer Christensen at the meeting, who lives across the street from the site. “But it’s clear to me that an approval for a office building has a much lower impact on wetlands, the environment, the neighborhood.”

The property slopes in a general east to west direction toward the west branch of the Salmon Brook, which lies off-site, approximately one quarter mile to the west of the subject property, according to the application.

Other residents that spoke at the podium talked about multiple issues, including stormwater drainage, trash pollution, impact on fishing in the nearby brook, traffic, septic system, snow removal plan and how it would affect the farm road at the edge of the site.

Commission Chairman David Tolli had to repeatedly specify that this commission only had jurisdiction over the wetlands regulations, so community members should save their other comments about the development for the Planning and Zoning Commission.

The Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission is in charge of reviewing and granting wetlands permits and making declaratory rulings regarding development activities within designated wetlands or within a 100-foot buffer zone of the wetlands, according to the town website.

At one point, Tolli and an audience member standing at the back of the room were going back and forth about whether some of the resident’s comments were relevant to the wetlands commission.

Community members also said they were concerned about people damaging the wetlands by attempting to reach the nearby stream.

And after more frustrated comments from the public, Gomes addressed the commission again, emphasizing that concerns about the use of the property was beyond the commission’s purview. One commissioner interrupted her by saying, “You don’t have to lecture us, thanks.”

Sipperly then went back up to the podium to reassure the commission that people couldn’t damage the surrounding area by trying to access the nearby stream because the land was so steep and the vegetation so thick, and more angry disagreement followed, including residents shouting, “That’s your opinion!”

A chorus of more comments throughout the room followed, leading Tolli to use his gavel to quiet the residents down.

After almost two hours, the commission decided to continue the public hearing to the next meeting.