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SPECIAL NOTICE
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This notice is for one of our own Billy Palladino, Staples H.S. graduate, class of 1968. He was diagnosed with throat cancer in November of 2009 and has been hospitalized since Feb. 6, when complications from throat cancer surgery in November robbed him of his ability to speak. He had an operation where they removed his epiglottis, the flap that covers the trachea during swallowing so that food does not enter the lungs. He had a Tracheotomy and now is unable to speak. He is presently in Danbury Hospital and is receiving Chemotherapy and Radiation and hoping to go home soon.
With all this going on for Bill, another tragedy struck his family. His wife, Janice Ann McClenathan Palladino, age 45, passed away from a massive heart attack on February 11, 2010 at her home in Sandy Hook, CT. She was also a Staples High School Graduate, class of 1983. Not only did his wife meticulously prepare meals that were injected through the feeding tube Bill had implanted after his surgery and monitor his medications, her full-time job at a small manufacturing company in Oxford provided the health insurance that covered the bulk of his medical bills.
Now there is no income for family and they don't know how long the insurance from Janice's job will cover Billy's medical bills. They have 2 daughters, Michelle and Sarah Palladino who are both in college.
We want to let you know that a trust fund has been set up for Billy and his family at:
Newtown Savings Bank
30 Main Street
Danbury CT 06810
Phone: (203) 205-0080
For those of you that want to contact him or send get well cards to, his home contact information is:
Bill Palladino
7 Overlook Knoll
Sandy Hook CT 06482
(203) 426-8960
Here are some links for more information:
Article on Billy in the Danbury News Times, Feb. 21, 2010.
Obituary from the Westport News on Janice Ann McClenathan Palladino.
Please help out where you can. Collectively we can all make a difference for Billy and his family, no matter what the $ amount is. Words of support are also needed if you can't make a donation during these hard times.
Thank you, Shelby Goodlett Pike
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Bedford Junior High/Middle School Bulletin Board
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I just recently had the pleasure of seeing Carol DiGisi at CVS and a few days later Coach Chacho at Stew's. It was really good to see them and they both looked great! Has anybody seen Miss Higgins?
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Anthony Luciano
1975
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Thursday, 10/01/2009
18:38:25
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BJHS...These were special years. Mr. Judge, the Digisi Sisters, Coach Chacho, Mr. Hanf, Miss Kirkley and Mr. Barrett, just to name a few. Good ol Dr. Hightower, the only guy I knew who could smile while scolding you! And the dreaded Mr. Byteck! I remember them all fondly, and appreciate their caring guidance.
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Don Kellogg
1975
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Wednesday, 05/20/2009
21:32:47
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My name is Ron Caselnova. I left Westport in August,'65. I attended King's Highway Elementary (4th grade,Ms.Micklaus (spelling's off!). Ms.Powers, 3rd Grade, etc. I remember a lot of the kids as well as the faculty at King's. Can anyone tell me whatever became of Greg Farno or Chris Watts? I know they also went to B.J.H.S. as well. These are only 2 of my old grammar school friends I remember. Hey,Ezra. I remember your name as well. You played in the Westport LL.
Hope all is well. If anyone has any info regarding Greg or Chris, please contact me. Thank you.
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Ron Caselnova
guest
view posts
Thursday, 02/26/2009
18:10:12
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Coach Hall and the Digisi sisters- well remembered by me also.
I was in last class which attended "OLD " Staples Bldg, my math classes in trailers & spent half the year on "1/2 days" at Coleytown while Bedford jr was rebuilt. Mr Judge was my homeroom and shop teacher & we made a jewelry box made for Mom---wood-working remains a hobby to this day (thanks Mr Judge!).My parents didn't dig the 1/2 daydeal so off I went to St.Lukes in New Canaan...that sucked = >1hr bus ride and we had to wear suits to school?!?!?
Greatest memory: while in 7th grade, I "out-wrestled" a 9th grader and Saul Pollack wanted me to wrestle for the team, but I was not focused & spent winters skiing in Vt.
On occas a few of us snuck out to go to Westbank for candy and then back to school.
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Ezra Bowen
1972
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Tuesday, 12/16/2008
09:27:54
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How about Coach Hall and the Digisi sisters!! I remember i got caught smoking in 9th grade by that Spanish teacher who wore a lot of make up. She cried more than i did when she turned me in!!! Mr. Kroc reminds me of Drew Carey! Ahh the memories. Who else....Mr. Puterbaugh, Coach Chacho...umm my memory is failing me!!
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Vicky Wallace
1981
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Thursday, 11/06/2008
02:54:10
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I remember Mr. Kroc, my homeroom/math teacher. He was a very good math teacher. He had a crew-cut and a plastic pocket protector for his pens/pencils. I remember being in "Fiddler on the Roof" and singing "matchmaker" I remember being on the basketball team and the track team all the great kids at Bedford.
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Michelle Cremona Walker
1981
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Wednesday, 09/10/2008
07:09:48
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Karen, you are bringing back memories. I got sent to the principal's office in fifth grade and for some reason my memory keeps thinking it was Dr. Hightower. Am I too young for senility? LOL. Dr. Hightower went to our church and was friends with my mom. I didn't dare get in trouble!
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Deborah Bensen Shields
1981
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Thursday, 08/07/2008
07:08:07
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Debbie, just so you know, Mr. Ammundson (sp?) was the principal at Saugatuck. Dr. Hightower was definately at BJHS. I remember being scared of his very low booming voice. Remember Mrs Candee the Choral teacher. She was a goof.
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Karen Champagne Rieger
1981
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Thursday, 07/31/2008
06:07:39
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Actually, Meredith, I finally found my old yearbooks. Yup, that's Dr. Hightower. Must have had a senior moment, LOL. Not that I'm old enough mind you... But thanks for the info. It's kind of neat that he was still there. I guess he's retired by now.
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Deborah Bensen Shields
1981
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Wednesday, 07/30/2008
04:07:44
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Dr. Hightower was the principal at Bedford when I was there, 1987-1990. And he had already been the principal there for several years before. Just to give you some info Deborah Shields...
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Meredith Hamilton
1995
view posts
Monday, 07/28/2008
11:07:19
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I thought Dr. Hightower was the principal at Saugatuck. Did he move?
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Deborah Bensen Shields
1981
view posts
Wednesday, 06/11/2008
01:06:22
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I used to skip my classes by just going down and sitting in the office. When my teachers asked where I was I told them. If anyone in the office asked if I was waiting for whoever I said yes. Only Ms. Marino would see me and then call me into her office.
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Ellen Gluckman Gonnet
1973
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Wednesday, 06/04/2008
07:06:37
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Hi, Chip...I remember those dances! I also remember Dr. Hightower - scared the bejeepers out of me!
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Patti Murphy
1973
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Wednesday, 05/21/2008
11:05:59
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Ah yes, the Bedford years- we had many interesting happenings from 1967 to the year my class graduated, 1969. Royce Taylor rowed to school across the river, Woodstock,we had the "modular" system the last 8 weeks of 1968, someone's experiment in free choice education, Maxwell Hahn used to consume a few pages of rolled up notebook paper in his dad's spanish class- frog's jumping out of lockers, Miss Aselin's music class in the annex building, 2 Donna's duking it out in the cafeteria, the apple machine. We did, however, manage to get a good education, to go on to Staples, graduate and get on with life- would love to hear other people's mamories of Bedford.
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Alison Ackerman Healy
1973
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Friday, 05/16/2008
02:05:59
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Ah, the hallowed halls of Bedford. My cousin, who was a greaser there along with my 4 brothers, teased my hair up high for my first day of 7th grade so I would find her old crowd. And I did at first. Patty Dillon, where are you? I couldn't keep my hair or clothes up so I ended up hanging with the regular kids there. Letha and Sally were my buddies that I still remember with fondness. My old buddies from Coleytown El like Larry, Steve, and Chou Chou (remember the crush on Dave Glass?) The teachers seemed so huge to me. I remember Mr. Mac and Jim Mason getting into a physical altercation where Mr. Mac actually punched Jim on the arm..wow..have times changed or what? Mr. Zwilling told me I had better not be anything like my brother Joe, and Mr. Flint seemed so authoritarian. Remember Mrs. White the Black Music teacher? She called me out of French Class to accuse me of writing "hi" in pencil on my newly covered music book in front of her music class..I didn't do it, Mrs. White. That old Staples building was so old and you took your life into your hands climbing those stairs. The walk to town with buddies was a breeze from Bedford and we hung out at Bill's smoke shop and Ben Franklins and Thompson's drug store with the cool, older kids. Undoubtedly one of my brothers or my cousins would see me and I would be whisked off to home before dark. Who remembers split session with the Bedford kids at Coleytown during the renovations at Bedford? Coleytowners got to see old Bedford friends if we stayed late enough. Their entire school went to Coleytown for the second half of the day after we went home.
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Mary Palmieri Gai
1970
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Monday, 08/28/2000
07:48:20
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My brief encounter with BJHS was due to the fact that I, like Stephen Wall, was locked into the crest of the baby boom wave. The town was frantically trying to complete Coleytown Junior High (aka "the space ship") and every classroom in town was packed in the 5th/6th/7th grade. Nerdwise I believe Steve had me beat, but then again my mother (Marian Bailey, who is still recognized by former Coleytown students to this day) knew that a bow tie was the kiss of death. My father on the other hand, insisted that Saturday am haircuts at the barber shop underneath Remarkable be "down to the wood" so I couldn't even manage a crew cut. I also joined the Chess Club, and began a lifelong obsession for film/AV by becoming a card-carrying member of the Projectionist's Local. I recall being able to melt into the woodwork at will to prevent Vinnie and the gang from exacting justice -- an entire year spent in fear. I also remember classes in the old Staples High building, which by that time had become so decrepit we were not even allowed into the gym, complete w/ ancient elevated running track. Well boys will..and that's as close to suspension as I got that year. I think teacher's kids had a special pass...
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John Bailey
1970
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Monday, 08/28/2000
02:05:24
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I remember riding my bike to school. Now that old bike was not an "English" bike with a gear shifter and hand brakes, like some of the kids started to have after the war. It was an old Wester Auto bike with long horn handle bars and it was heavy as heck. We lived on the Wilton road so it was about a mile and a half to BJH. When I started the seventh grade I would go down Riverside Drive to the road by the Catholic Church and up the hill to school. Going home I would take the Post Road and pretend that bike was a P-51 or Corsair as I went down the hill full tilt doing wifferdils and weaving back and forth as the traffic allowed. Going up that hill was a diferent matter. When I first attempted to climb that hill I got about a third of the way up. I was persistent and by about April or May of '47 I was finallly able to pedal all the way up that hill. We had about three or four "Sock" hops in the Gym every winter. I remember wearing slacks with white socks and 'penny' loafers. The Staples basket ball games were played in our gym. Mostly they were in the afternoon during the week and we would crowd along the side lines to watch. Mr. Flint was the principal and I remember spending a lot of time in the office for various breachs of good order. Miss Testa was my home room teacher and she did not tolerate what she used to call rowdyism.
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Donnell Miller
1953
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Monday, 08/28/2000
18:30:36
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My fondest memory of Bedford Junior High was when my guidance counselor Mrs. Marino introduced me to a new student who started mid-semister, Sarah Berlew. Thirty years later we are still in touch by way of phone calls, visits and even two years of living in the same town (Portland, Maine)in the mid 80's. Thank you Mrs. Marino where ever you are.
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Jennifer Chittick
1976
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Monday, 08/28/2000
12:53:50
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As a hall monitor, I caught Norm Wilcox smoking in the boys' room and got him suspended. Everyone told me I was going to die, given the fact that he was a member of "Downshifters" and had a lot of large, tough, mean friends who ate people like me for lunch. Well, I was scared shitless throughout the rest of my tenure at Bedford. Fortunately, Norm was actually quite a nice guy and ate well at home. Therefore, he didn't have the appetite for a geek from the suburbs of Philadelphia. He would've preferred a cheese steak, anyway.
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Jonathan Gailmor
1966
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Monday, 08/28/2000
02:48:46
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BJHS-- Scared 7th grader. Hated looking like a little kid and wearing glasses. Wanted to dress like a teenager. Mr. Paganni.. scaring me to death when he climbed the black board when I tried to describe using my hands what a plateau looked like. Corky (Carl) MacKesson a good friend from Saugatuck Elem was there to be my friend and study partner. Yale Experimental Math. Looking at 9th grade boys, who paid no attention to me. Loved my homeroom teacher Mrs. White. Mr Hurd my violin teacher passed away from a brain tumor that year. missed him dearly. 8th Grade. Adjusting. Grades came back up. The year of Mr. Riccio. Sitting in the front. Doing well. Was glad that my friends Janice Cooper and Robin Switzer were in the class. We thought we had the ideal way to do our homework. I hated vocubulary, she liked it, She hated grammar, I like it and Robin hated everything, so Janice did the vocabulary and copied my grammar homework, I did the grammar homework and I copied Janice's vocabulary and Robin copied both of our homework. Funny thing, only Janice and I got caught. Probably because we sat together while Robin sat on the other side of the room. Never cheated again.. too humilating. (and I still can't spell) I met and became good friends with Gisela Schormann that year, and I remember writing notes to her in my classes. What fun it was passing notes with our friends. Mr. Patterson's social Studies class. I remember when the New Kid, Tony Singer challeged Mr. Patterson, and learned who was in charge.. But my most important memory is of Mr. Diamond, my guidence counselor, who told me that I was smart and was capable of doing anything I wanted to do if I put my mind to it. 9th Grade. Don't remember much about 9th grade except for Mr VanZandt's Civic's class, 9th grade chorus with Mrs. White, and violin lessons, orchestra, and string quartet with Mr. Genualdi in the basement of Old Staples. Also loved working on the Yearbook. As a result of Mr. VanZandt's teaching, I became very aware politically of what was going on in the early sixties. I remember inviting, at Mr. VanZandt's urging, Mr. Nolan president of the local chapter of SANE to speak to our class about an intergrated housing development he built in Norwalk, and finding out two days before he was do to speak that the John Birch Society had protested his last speaking assignment. Fortunately, they didn't show up at Bedford. To conclude, I grew up at Bedford. The encouragement from Mr. Diamond, gave me the strength I needed to face the future challenges in my life, and the political awareness that Mr. VanZandt gave me really helped to make me the person I am today. I wonder what my friends Carl MacKesson and Janice Cooper are doing today, and I am happy that through this site Gisela and I have connected again.
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Sharon McArthur
1965
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Monday, 08/28/2000
15:20:42
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