The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Oct. is Domestic violence awareness month
TORRINGTON — October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Domestic violence is a pervasive and life-threatening crime affecting millions of individuals across the nation, regardless of age, economic status, race, religion or education.
From 2000 to 2015, there were 222 intimate-partner homicides in the state, with an average of 14 per year. In that same time frame there were 3,600 occurrences of intimate partner violence with serious or near-fatal injuries.
Last year, the Torringtonbased Susan B. Anthony Project provided safe housing for 68 women and 45 children in its shelter and transitional housing programs. The organization helped 1,562 men, women, and children in crisis. Domestic violence not only impacts victims, but entire communities. SBAP also provided prevention education programs to 4,653 school-age children, and 2,090 adult community members.
During October, Susan B. Anthony Project will host a variety of events to raise awareness.
The annual candlelight vigil is set for 6 p.m. Oct. 25 at Coe Park in Torrington. At the vigil, attendees will remember victims of domestic violence and celebrate those who have survived.
Susan B. Anthony Project will honor community members who have collaborated with and supported its work throughout the year.
The “Clothesline Project” will be displayed at Thomaston Public Library and at Northwestern Community College in Winsted, as well as on the Susan B. Anthony Project Facebook page, facebook.com/sbaproject. The Clothesline Project breaks the silence about violence against women and children by giving a voice to survivors and victims.
The display features T-shirts designed by survivors of domestic violence and those who have lost loved ones to domestic violence. Visit the Thomaston Public Library through October to see the display.
DANBURY — Two additional bodies were found Sunday afternoon after a fatal plane crash in New York that killed a Waterbury man.
The plane that crashed off the Long Island Coast Saturday morning had stopped in Danbury earlier that day after taking off from Waterbury-Oxford Airport.
One passenger, 41-yearold Munidat “Raj” Persaud of Waterbury, was found dead in the water.
The remains of two other passengers were found Sunday afternoon, according to U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Steve Strohmaier, as was the fuselage of the plane.
The Coast Guard has closed the case, Strohmaier said. The National Transportation Safety Bureau will be investigating the matter, he said.
Mike Safranek, Danbury’s assistant airport administrator, said the airport is cooperating with the investigation.
“We are working with federal authorities to help in any way we can,” he said.
Safranek declined to comment further, citing the seriousness of the crash.
New York State Police identified Persaud on Sunday as one the passengers killed in the crash.
Persaud is the founder of Oxford Flight Training, a company that aims to teach students how to fly, as well as provides maintenance for aircrafts. He started the company in 2004.
He was a former airline flight engineer and worked for several airlines, including Pan American World Airways, as a technical representative and avionics tech, according to the company’s website. He was also a commercial pilot and FAA certified maintenance inspector and technician.
A woman who answered the phone at Oxford Flight Training did not wish to comment.
The plane had been headed to Charleston Executive Airport in South Carolina when it went down about three miles southeast of Francis S. Gabreski Airport in Westhampton Beach, N.Y., the Federal Aviation Administration said.
The Coast Guard and several agencies searched Sunday for the fuselage and the other passengers. Several pieces of debris were found.
Marine and police aviation units from Suffolk county, Southampton Bay Constables and Quogue Village Police were among the groups involved in the search.
The Federal Aviation Administration did not have any updated information on Sunday.