Connecticut
Picture Connecticut: A Sculptor Who Certainly Left His Mark
WEST HARTFORD, CT — This week’s Hidden Gem kind of makes you go “whoa,” not only because of a prominent statue, but who carved it and his lasting impact nationwide.
OK … let’s set the stage. You’re shopping in the Blue Back Square commercial district in West Hartford. You’re at roughly 20 Main St. and gaze toward a set of red brick, traditional New England buildings.
Poof … there’s Noah Webster.
Most of us know the contributions of Mr. Webster. After all, he essentially taught us how to understand words before we use them. Aside from the statue, his West Hartford home also serves as a testament to his legacy.
Back to the statue …
To Webster’s left is a monument to Korczak Ziolkowsky, a professional artist who lived from 1908 to 1982.
Ziolkowsky was Born is Boston and was self-taught. He moved to West Hartford and began selling his works throughout New England and, in 1932, gifted the 13-and-a-half-foot Webster statue to the town, a two-year-project.
Then, in 1939, he was living large in South Dakota and assisted Gutzon Borglum with caving Mount Rushmore.
He then returned to South Dakota and initiated the carving of the Crazy Horse Monument that measures 563-feet high and 641-feet long.
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Picture Connecticut is a weekly series that features images of the state, past and present.
Here are past images:
2024
- The Cirque, Hartford
- The Amerbelle Spillway, Rockville
- The ECSU Gallery, Willimantic
- Great Captain Island, Greenwich
- Bobblehead Madness, Storrs
- Bobby Sands/Hunger Strike Memorial, Hartford
- Mr. Jonathan Goes To Hartford, Hartford
- The Latest Discount Airline, New Haven
- State Groundhog Gets Arrested, Manchester
- Historic Wartime Sutures, Willington
- Big Business Week In CT, statewide
- The Marketplace at Guilford Food Center Guilford
- Main Street at night, Middletown
- The Hide-and-Seek Bear, Tolland
- The MLK Mural, Manchester
- The Mount Southington Summit, Southington
2023
- All Faiths Gather At Town Park, Vernon
- Riverside Igloos, Milford
- The TPC Pro Shop, Cromwell
- The Santa House, North Pole, er, Northern Connecticut
- Mile 4 Funnel, Manchester Road Race, Manchester
- UConn Lacrosse Giving Back, Connecticut River Valley
- The Capitol Grounds Tour, Part 3, Hartford
- The Capitol Grounds Tour, Part 2, Hartford
- The Capitol Grounds Tour, Part 1, Hartford
- The Doughboy, East Hartford
- The Walt Whitman Stone, West Hartford
- The indoor bush plane, Hartford County
- The Big Pink Chair, Ellington
- The Notch, Granby
- The CT 9/11 Monument, Westport
- Vintage Gas Pump, Somers
- Tobacco Harvest, East Windsor
- Late Afternoon, Lakeside, Coventry
- Fogarea, New Haven County
- Judy Black Memorial Park and Gardens, Washington Depot
- Connecticut River Police Boat, Rocky Hill
- The first dentist, Windsor
- The Frog Bridge, Willimantic
- The World War Bridge Rapids, Putnam
- The Peeking Cow, Tolland County
- The Ivy Lacrosse Tournament, New Canaan
- The Bradley International Airport runway, Windsor Locks
- The Underground Railroad, Unionville
- The cow carousel, Ellington
- Charles Island, Milford
- State Veterans Cemetery, Middletown
- Glastonbury-Rocky Hill Ferry, Glastonbury/Rocky Hill
- The Old County Jailhouse, Tolland
- Agent Orange Monument, Andover
- The Sunken Garden, Farmington
- Lafayette Tour Monument, Vernon
- The Pinchot Sycamore, Simsbury
- Bob’s Discount Furniture Studios, Manchester
Connecticut
Man killed in Glastonbury crash
A man is dead after a crash in Glastonbury on Tuesday afternoon, police said.
The crash happened around 2:45 p.m. in the area of Hebron Avenue and Glenwood Road. First responders were called in response to the report of a crash with injuries.
When police arrived at the scene, they found an 84-year-old man driving one of the vehicles. He was unconscious and was rushed to an area hospital. A passenger in the same vehicle was also taken to the hospital for evaluation.
Police said that, according to an investigation, the 84-year-old driver was traveling east on Hebron Avenue when he turned left onto Glenwood Road. As he turned, he drove into the path of an oncoming vehicle.
The crash redirected the 84-year-old’s vehicle into a third vehicle.
Police said the man later died at the hospital. He hasn’t been identified at this time.
Connecticut
‘Changed everything:’ Double knee replacement transforms quality of life for Connecticut woman
MILFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — A Connecticut woman dealt with debilitating knee pain for years before she said she found a surgeon who listened to her needs and successfully replaced both of her joints.
“I was totally incapacitated,” Gail Rogers Hopkins told News 8.
Going up and down stairs was impossible for her just a couple of years ago.
“I could hardly move because the pain was just that excruciating,” she explained.
Before the pain consumed her, however, she shared her knees just weren’t her top priority.
“You just push it away because there’s kids to take care of and husbands to take care of and houses and work,” she said.
Rogers Hopkins tried all sorts of remedies like cortisone and CBD before exploring surgery.
“Finding the right doctor was key. I fired four orthopedists before I got to Dr. Lahav, because they, because of my weight, they did not want to do the surgery, and they dismissed me.”
The “right” doctor, she said, is orthopedic surgeon Dr. Amit Lahav at Bridgeport Hospital’s Milford Campus.
“Somebody was actually listening to me and that’s, you know, that was the start of it and so I did everything I was told,” Rogers Hopkins explained while fighting back tears.
Lahav helped her develop a weight loss plan in preparation for surgery. Her first knee was replaced in April and the second in June of last year.
Just about a year later, she said, “I didn’t feel like I had a life prior to this, you know, having the surgery done was just incredible, it just has changed everything.”
Lahav is familiar with Rogers Hopkins’ path to surgery, saying, “functional impairments or mechanical symptoms such as arthritis sometimes takes a backseat.”
While he doesn’t discount a hip or knee replacement being major surgery, he added, “a lot of the total joint replacement you do now are same day, you go home, same day, you’re walking just a couple of hours after surgery, full weight-bearing.”
Lahav also emphasizes that recovery isn’t one size fits all.
“It’s a new joint, it does take some work on there, but if you get that work done earlier on and you maximize where you can get, especially over the first few weeks, you can be walking into my office at two weeks saying, I already feel a difference,” Lahav said.
To those struggling with pain like Rogers Hopkins’, she said, “don’t give up.”
She wants others to know, “it was worth the wait.”
Lahav said consider all your options for joint pain, both surgical and non-surgical. If surgery is the option you choose, make sure you understand the process from prep to post-surgery and prioritize quality communication with your medical team.
Connecticut
Body recovered from Connecticut River identified as missing Massachusetts man
LYME, Conn. (WTNH) — A body found in the Connecticut River earlier this month has been positively identified as a missing Massachusetts man, according to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP).
Somebody had reported seeing a body in the Connecticut River near the Chester-Lyme Ferry on May 9 around 12:23 p.m., according to DEEP.
Fire crews and police were able to recover the body, where the man was pronounced dead.
Environmental Conservation Police (EnCon) investigators were able to match known records to 63-year-old Donald Plasse, of Holyoke, Massachusetts, who was reported missing on Jan. 13.
According to DEEP, his disappearance followed an incident near the Connecticut River in South Hadley, Massachusetts.
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