FEDERAL AGENT IN DILLON STADIUM PROBE ARRESTED IN CHILD SEX STING OPERATION

Special Agent Kevin Millen of the IRS Criminal Investigations division, one of the Federal Government's lead investigators in the Dillon Stadium investigation, has been arrested by the Guilford, CT Police Department.

Millen's arrest stems from an on-line "sting" operation conducted by the Guilford Police Department to apprehend on-line predators targeting under age children. Between January 12 and January 14, 2018, the Guilford Police Department, in cooperation with the New Haven County States Attorney's Office and the Veterans 4 Child Rescue Foundation conducted operation "Not in My Town", a multi jurisdictional effort to identify and apprehend on-line predators using various on line social media platforms to arrange sexual liaisons with children.

According to sources, Millen was attempting to arrange a sexual rendezvous with a 12 year old girl while her step mother would watch. Unbeknownst to him, the conversation was being monitored by Law Enforcement officials, who eventually initiated Millen's arrest

A press release from the Guilford Police Department detailing the operation is below.

In a letter obtained by "We the People"  Connecticut's US Attorney John Durham details the arrest and the involvement of Agent Millen and the charges he is facing  . The authenticity of this letter has been confirmed by the US Attorney's Office. That letter is also below.

Us Attorney Durham Duckett Letter on Scribd

Guilford Pd Press Release on Scribd

HPD MAKES ARREST IN FATAL HIT AND RUN ACCIDENT

Responding officers located an unoccupied Volvo SUV in the roadway south of 61 Edgewood Street. The vehicle had flat front and rear driver side tires and other damage consistent with having been involved in the crash. Additionally, a witness was interviewed who informed officer that she observed the operator exit the vehicle and flee the scene. A K-9 track was conducted from the vehicle with negative results.

On Sunday, January 14, 2018, at approximately 1505 hours, the victim succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced deceased by Dr. Shapiro at Saint Francis Hospital.

The at-scene crash investigation indicated that the vehicle was traveling southbound on Edgewood St. The vehicle left the roadway and entered the front yard of 61 Edgewood St. The victim was on the sidewalk in front of 61 Edgewood St. when she was struck. The vehicle continued into the yard of 61 Edgewood, striking the front porch. The vehicle continued through the front yard, exiting into the street through the driveway. The vehicle's two driver side tires were flat and the operator abandoned the vehicle, fleeing on foot. Shortly after the incident, the Volvo SUV was reported stolen by its owner.

During the investigation, CSD Detectives received numerous tips from the community,  interviewed witnesses, examined video footage and collected/processed numerous items of physical evidence.

On Monday, January 22, 2018, CSD Detectives followed-up on a tip received regarding the fatal crash. A potential suspect was developed who was later interviewed. During the interview, the juvenile suspect admitted to stealing the Volvo SUV from Mansfield St. and to being the operator of the SUV when it struck and killed Ms. Garcia.

On January 30, 2018, an arrest warrant was applied for and issued by the Superior Court for Juvenile Matters, charging a 15 year old City of Hartford resident with the following charges related to the crash:

Manslaughter 2nd, 53a-56

Evading Responsibility w/Death, 14-224(a)

Reckless Driving, 14-222(a)

Larceny 3rd, 53a-124

Criminal Trover 2nd, 53a-126b

Operating a Motor Vehicle w/o License, 14-36(a)

The 15 year old juvenile was taken into custody at approximately 1245 hours without incident at his home. He was transported to the Hartford Police Special Investigations Division for processing then brought to the Hartford Juvenile Detention Center where he is held without bond.

WHERE IS DEIDRE GRAY'S "SECOND CHANCE"?

HPD Video of the fatal accident caused by "Second Chancer" Patrick Milner last night

You are probably asking yourself "who is Deidre Gray?". The answer to that is simple. Diedre Gray is the young, 32 year old mother who, as recently as yesterday was enjoying life in the company of her 12 year old son.

That life came to an abrupt and violent end last night a little before 8:00PM. Today, Diedre Gray is in a refrigerated drawer at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiners Office in Farmington after her autopsy, her son is recovering from his injuries after he was released from CCMC.

Dierdre Gray was killed last night by one of the stellar recipients of Connecticut's "Second Chance" society, Patrick Milner, 24 of Hartford.

Milner was driving recklessly in his car, possibly high on heroin or other drugs with stolen guns in his possession at a high rate of speed on Westland Street. He struck Gray's vehicle and killed her in his reckless state and injured her son. The physical injuries to Deidre's son will hopefully heal quickly, the emotional scars of watching his mother die probably never will.

All of this act was perpetrated by a thug who should not be on our streets. Patrick Milner, who was no stranger to HPD had already been arrested on 10/30/2016 for carrying a pistol without a permit and later in 2016 on drug charges. Connecticut's liberal courts gave him a slap on the wrist and put him back on the streets with his "second chance"  to go out and make the world a better place.

He killed Deidre Gray last night with his "second chance". He killed the hopes of Deidre Gray to watch her 12 year old son grow up. He killed the chance of Deidre's son to share his life in the company of a loving, nurturing mother.

People make mistakes and some people actually do deserve a chance to get on the right path after their mistakes. Patrick Milner is not one of them. Especially when you consider that the charges that he faces from last night, minus the vehicular homicide charges which haven't been lodged yet, are almost identical to the original charges from his first arrest which labeled him a convicted felon.

Some people can be rehabilitated, others can not. Patrick Milner appears to be one of the "can not's"

Instead of closing Prisons and claiming that crime is down because of the "second chance" smoke screen, we need to face the fact that some people just should not be on our streets.

Will any of the second chance "supporters" have the nerve to show up at the wake and funeral of Deidre Gray and express their condolences. Will Mike Lawlor or Dan Malloy admit that not everyone can be rehabilitated, or is the carnage on our streets part of the program we just have to accept?

Patrick Milner got his "second chance" and wasted it. How does Deirdre Gray and her family get their second chance?

SAINT PATRICK'S DAY PARADE FUNDRAISER THIS SUNDAY

FOR YOUR REVIEW, TAKE A MINUTE , TAKE A LOOK

Here are the Residency forms submitted by City of Hartford employees to affirm their residency.

Take a moment to review them, and if you find anything unusual or know information to be different than what is listed, feel free to contact me with any additional information. 

You can contact me by e-mail or if you wish to contact me anonymously you can do that through the contacts and preface your comment with "please don't post, FYI".

 Thanks

Residency Requirement Review Results October 2016  on Scribd

THE BRONIN SCAM CONTINUES

Some people run for political office to serve the public, others run to achieve their political goals and aspirations on the backs of the people they are supposed to serve.

Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin is the latter, or should I say "ladder" as in the next rung on his political ladder. I would fully expect the sense of entitlement and the arrogance of the Bronin's they see themselves in the White House someday (Hey, we all know now that crazy things can happen there)

The term "lying Luke" has started making the rounds on social media. I have been reluctant to start using it because I think we still have to show some respect for the Office, even if we don't respect the person in it. ( I am starting to sense a theme here).

But enough is enough, so lets talk about Lying Luke. Where do I begin. Let me start with Lying Lukes performance at HPD's Public Compstat Thursday night. In full campaign mode . Lying Luke stood up and professed his love and admiration for the men and women of the Hartford Police Department. I was waiting for someone who knew better to stand up and start handing out barf bags to everyone there who knew the truth..

This is the same Mayor who has allowed the numbers of Officers at HPD to drop to dangerously low levels. The same Mayor who refused to indemnify Hartford Police Officers sued over their good faith efforts in the performance of their duties. The same Mayor who has repeatedly refused the requests of Hartford's Police Chief for necessary promotions if Sergeants and Detectives, even just to keep pace with retirements and attrition.

And while I'm on the subject of crime, does anyone remember during the Mayoral campaign Lying Luke making the rounds to shooting victims and the families of Homicide victims with the TV cameras in tow? Did that sympathy end after the election or do we only show compassion when it means votes from the gullible?

I have my own issues with Lying Luke, but I won't rehash them all, but you can read it here.https://wethepeoplehartford.blogspot.com/2017/05/mayor-bronin-you-cant-handle-truth.html

Ok, now let me ask a couple more questions. In all seriousness, do you know where you live?  Do you know where you pay your car taxes? Have you ever had to lie about where you live or set up a phony job because you couldn't get a job anywhere else without lying about your place of residence?

Apparently that residency integrity is an issue with Lying Luke and the "good" people he has chosen to surround himself with.

It started with Hartford's, now former, Economic Development Director Sean Fitzpatrick. I first raised the question and began looking into his claims of residency, which eventually turned out to be bogus. Once Fitzpatrick realized the game was up he resigned before the Internal Audit Commission had the chance to fully expose his "alleged" fraud. You can read the full story here  https://wethepeoplehartford.blogspot.com/2017/12/hartfords-economic-development-and.html

How much time do you think Lying Luke spent socializing with his Economic Development Director sitting in Room 6 at the Town and County Club, the location Fitzpatrick claimed as his "residence". I would venture to say the Bronin's probably spent more time with the Fitzpatrick's at their Simsbury home than they did in Room 6.

I find it inconceivable that Lying Luke is unaware  as to where his key people actually live. Fitzpatrick is not the only questionable person  possibly perpetrating frauds on the taxpayers of Hartford.

Take for example Bronin's Chief of Staff , Chief Operating Officer and interim Finance Director and who knows what else, Thea Montanez. (Bronin isn't big on staff retention)

In September of 2016, Montanez signed the "affirmation of Residency " Form required by the City. Montanez signed the form that she was a Hartford resident and that her cars were registered, and therefore taxed in the City of Hartford. Apparently Montanez forgot to tell anyone else, including the Town of Bloomfield as well as the Hartford Tax Collector. As recently as July 29th , of 2017 Montanez was still paying her motor vehicle taxers in her town of residence, Bloomfield Connecticut, listed to her residence at 27 Norman Drive, Bloomfield, as evidence by the documents below.

And Montanez and Fitzpatrick aren't the only 2  allegedly engaging in the game of deception , I will be posting more documents and proof over the next couple days. It seems hard to comprehend that someone that wishes to be Governor would be so clueless as to what is going on around him or is it more likely that he was well aware and just condoned the frauds. Only Lying Luke will know, or just maybe we all will know eventually as more comes out.

UPDATE: I just received a call from Thea Montanez informing me that she was getting calls about this post. Thea claims it was a glitch with DMV that didn't transfer her taxes over from Bloomfield to Hartford. I informed her that I had been advised that she was in the Tax Office at City Hall Wednesday trying to change her taxes to Hartford, she admitted that was true and she also stated that she did pay her taxes in Bloomfield as I posted. I agree mistakes can happen and Thea has said she will send me confirming documents, Out of fairness, I will post those when I receive them. I also stated that she has been in City Hall for two years already and it is just being addressed now. While typing this I just received a text message showing that she has actually started paying her taxes in Hartford as of 1/11/2018

And so not to keep you in suspense, here is a hint as to who is next.

(you can delete things on Facebook, but the screen shots live on forever)

Montanez Affirmation of Residency Form by Kevin Brookman on Scribd

Montanez Bloomfield Taxes by Kevin Brookman on Scribd

DREW DROPS OUT

At least one Connecticut Mayor is doing the right thing.

Dear Kevin, We have spent the past year getting to know the people of Connecticut and listening to them. In nearly every town and city in every county, we met people who believe in Connecticut. It has been a tremendous honor to do so. After discussions between us and with our families, we have decided to end our campaigns for Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut. Ultimately it became very difficult to raise the required funds to qualify for public financing. Other campaigns are on their way, and we look forward to supporting the Democratic team. Most of all, we want to thank you so much for your support. Hundreds of volunteers came forward. The people made more than 4,000 contributions, and we raised $280,000 since the start of Dan’s exploratory committee in January of 2017. We have appreciated that grassroots support so much. On a personal note we want to thank our spouses and children. Campaigning is a major commitment, and they were incredibly supportive throughout. We are proud of running an issues-based campaign focused on middle class economic equality, working people’s rights, and creating more opportunity for the people of Connecticut. We believe in that future because we believe in the people of Connecticut. We believe that our best days are ahead of us and that we should all be proud to fight for a society that understands that healthcare is a right, that the middle class shouldn't be paying more in taxes than the wealthy, that our air & water should be clean, and that education should be wonderful for every child. While some people will denigrate anyone who fights for those things, we will stand with you and proudly proclaim those values. We’ll continue to work for a society that protects people who need it, provides opportunity, and that doesn’t exploit the vulnerable. It’s been an honor to pursue that goal. We will be by your side in pursuing it in the future. To you who supported us, thank you. It means more than we can ever express. Respectfully, Dan Drew & Liz Linehan

MARKETING GENIUS

Here's a post for the lighter side.

Ask your neighbors who has a dual pole doppler radar and you will probably get a blank stare.

Ask who has the Snow Monster and you will probably get a growl and "NBC Connecticut" yelled right back at you.

I don't think I can recall a marketing gimmick that has caught on as quickly or as strongly as the fur lined Snow Monster. Hopefully those 9 HD cameras never record the snow monster on its back.

I prefer accurate weather forecasts over blue fur lined seat covers, but if you can get both and attract a broad audience, that's a home run for the marketing people.

And I have always been partial to the cookie monster but the tricked out jeep will do, and I hear it likes visiting Birthday parties.

WHO IS BUYING LUKE

The first round of campaign filings for the Governor's race are in. It is an interesting list of donors for Hartford's mayor Luke Bronin.

Apparently Bronin will attempt to buy the Governor's Office the same as he did in purchasing the Mayor's Office in Hartford in 2016.

Not surprisingly, very little of Bronin's monetary support is coming from his Hartford constituents, but rather seems to be based in Fairfield County and out of State. Much of his donations are coming from New York City and as far west as San Francisco.

And on the Democratic side, if donations are any indication of viability, things look good for West Hartford's Jonathan Harris who has reportedly raised almost double Bronin's amount. Harris's campaign  reported  raising$232,745 to Bronin's $113,710. Even Susan Bysiewicz's low key exploratory run has out raised Bronin. "Friends of Susan" reported raising  at $140,745.

Middletown's Mayor Dan Drew is a distant third at $91,111.

It makes me wonder where the checkbooks of those "hundred's of people" Luke claimed calling him urging him to get into the race are.

To view the list, click the link below
https://seec.ct.gov/eCrisReporting/Data/Attachment/Unassigned/SEEC30_January_10_Filing_53535.PDF

PUBLIC COMPSTAT TOMORROW AT HPD

FROM HPD



Our next public Comstat is on Thursday January 11, 2018 at 5:30pm,at the Hartford Police

 Department 

 Our meeting will take place in the Hartford Police Department Comstat room at 5:30 pm.
 We feel strongly about sharing our information with our community. We are opening our doors

for you to see what current crime trends our city is experiencing, along with our predictive

and preventative efforts. Our Comstat program is a dynamic and informative presentation 

and discussion. Your ideas, questions and energy are welcomed. Community conversations are
 encouraged.




We are always seeking public input. Please take this opportunity to assist us in our

 efforts to better serve and protect our city. Please consider attending.
WHAT:                 HPD Comstat open to the public
WHEN:                 Thursday January 11, 2018 at 5:30pm

There is plenty of parking in the vicinity. Officers will be on sight to assist 
and escort you inside HPD.
WHERE:               Hartford Police Department, 253 High St. Hartford CT.

LIAR, LIAR PANTS ON FIRE

Sean Fitzpatrick's Simsbury Home, Great Pond Road

Sorry for that title, I just had to use it

Hartford's lying Economic Development Director Sean Fitzpatrick has resigned today, with January 31, 2018 effectively being his last day..http://wethepeoplehartford.blogspot.com/2017/12/hartfords-economic-development-and.html

The heat was apparently getting too much for Fitzpatrick as he, Mayor Bronin and Corporation Counsel Howard Rifkin all tried to cover for Fitzpatrick's phony residence at the Town and County Club at 22 Woodland Street.

Fitzpatrick , as a City Department head, was required to comply with the City's residency ordinance. Instead, Fitzpatrick decided , allegedly, to set up a fraudulent residence listed as the woman's social club.

This was first discovered and reported here on "We the People". This is most likely not the end of this story as I look into other issues with the phony address, such as voter registration fraud and civil penalties for falsely registering a motor vehicle with DMV.

And there are other Department heads perpetrating similar frauds on the taxpayers of Hartford.

I guess now I don't need to keep looking for the Fitzpatrick cars on Woodland Street at night, I haven't been able to find them at all yet anyway

TIME FOR SOME CHANGES

Ever since this blog became somewhat popular, I have realized that many of the visitors here don't necessarily come hear to red my writings, the comments also draw many people in.

The comments also have been the source of a lot of valuable information and tips. Many of my readers send in comments  anonymously because they fear retaliation in their employment with the City, but they have valuable information they want to divulge/

I get that, and I appreciate it. Many times I get comments sent in saying "Please don't post this, but here is some information for you" and then I go to work trying to verify the info.

This weekend it seemed to reach the boiling point.

Many of the comments were directed and high ranking officers of HPD. It is particularly bothersome to see allegations against someone like Chief Rovella, who has served this City and HPD with dignity and distinction as Police Chief. I probably shouldn't even call them allegations but more like someone airing their sour grapes publicly and anonymously.

I always wonder if the people who air their differences anonymously here have taken the time to approach the other side like adult men and women do, and voice their concerns or opinions, Probably not.

I know the comments are a popular part of this bog, but the time has come to start to try to reign them in. I am not at the point of requiring a valid e-mail or some sort of sign in to register, but comments going forward must be pertinent to the topic they are posted under. If it is a posting about a gun buy back at HPD, comments about the Superintendent of schools or an associated tirade can be e-mailed to me, but they won't be randomly posted as anonymous comments.

Any other suggestions on moderating comments would be appreciated.

Thank you and keep reading

IS THERE ANY INTEGRITY LEFT IN POLITICS?

I don't typically venture much outside Hartford's City limits in my critique of dirty politics, but this one seems pretty clear to me.

A special Election is planned for next week in Bloomfield to elect a replacement State Representative  in the 15th District for the current Stet Rep who was elected locally as the Probate Judge.

The candidate endorsed by the Bloomfield Democratic Town Committee , by his own recent actions , has shown he may not be the right person for the job. and in my opinion  definitely not a proper role model to represent the District, and that says a lot for me coming from Hartford.

Bobby Gibson was supported as the endorsed candidate, beating out long time Bloomfield resident Joseph Suggs. According to sources familiar with the process, Suggs lost out, apparently, because he supported a challenge slate of new politicians that were breaking out of the political mold and promised to bring new ideas to the Bloomfield Town Council. The challenge slate eventually prevailed in the election and dethroned the long time Council.

Apparently Suggs support was not appreciated by the Democratic loyalists who were not thrilled over losing their stranglehold on local power. Suggs reportedly needed to be taught a lesson by his local Democratic Town Committee and was punished for supporting the challenge slate, thus the endorsement of Gibson.

Now typically, the local endorsement pretty much guarantees a win to the endorsed candidate. Unless of course that candidate goes out and gets himself arrested on a DUI charge in the same town he wishes to represent in the Legislature, while driving at almost twice the legal limit. Compound that with the fact that the allegedly intoxicated driver is also a schoolteacher dealing with children and his credibility would normally be called into question under those circumstances.

Add to the top of everything, the allegedly Drunk Driver giving a phony address of residence to Police at the time of his arrest. I can imagine too much alcohol does different things to people, but not remembering where you live, or was it more of an effort to avoid detection of your deeds with an election coming up.

Joe Suggs has served the people of Bloomfield and the State of Connecticut with honor and distinction for years. In 1989 Mr. Suggs was elected as the first African-American  Mayor of Bloomfield and eventually went on to become the Treasurer of the State of Connecticut. All without any questions of his character or allegations of any improprieties. Now that's a role model worthy of representing Bloomfield in the Legislature.

The document below is the information Gibson gave to Police at the time of his arrest, even though he actually lives in Bloomfield . The address he gave is a Hartford rental unit he apparently owns, but is not his residence. And he ran for office previously using his Bloomfield address.

Integrity needs to be restored to our political system. Positions of public trust can not be awarded based on dirty deals and underhanded backroom politics. Actions like this only undermine our Democracy more and do nothing to encourage voters confidence in the system.

Gibson False Residence Address by  on Scribd

IS THIS THE RECORD LUKE BRONIN PLANS TO CAMPAIGN ON?

Well , this didn't take long. Only 4 days into the New Year and Hartford has its first homicide. A 36 Year old man murdered while shoveling snow on Bushnell Street. Shot 4 times from a moving vehicle.

 I don't want to politicize a mans death, but facts are facts. Maybe Mayor Bronin should focus on HPD and crime, instead of cancelling all overtime and cancelling much needed promotions for Sergeants and Detectives at HPD while he is busy running around the State campaigning for Governor.

 Especially after he promised the people of Hartford he was running for Mayor and would serve a full term trying to get Hartford back on track

SOME POOR JUDGEMENT AT HPD

SIMILAR TO THE AR-15 PURCHASED UNDER THE TABLE BY A HPD SERGEANT AT A RECENT GUN BUY BACK

Several sources are confirming that a Hartford Police Sergeant assigned to the gun squad, known as VRT , the Violence Reduction Team ( formerly STF, the Shooting Task Force) is under Internal Affairs investigation  after his actions to purchase an assault rifle from a recent gun buy back.

According to at least four sources familiar with the incident who have verified that Sergeant Andrew Rodney is under investigation for his actions at a recent gun buy back.  Rodney was apparently outside the building when a woman approached to turn in an AR-15 assault rifle . Rodney stopped the woman and allegedly offered her the same amount in cash as she would have received from inside for turning in the gun. Rodney paid her $250./00 in cash and took possession of the assault rifle.

The woman then reportedly returned home. Her husband, I am told, asked for the $250.00 gift card and she told him that she had received cash for the AR15 assault rifle. The husband apparently became upset and said the reason he wanted to turn it in was to make sure the gun was destroyed and "off the streets".

The husband then promptly called HPD to file a complaint with IAD. It is unclear if any criminal charges are pending or will eventually be filed, but one source told me that the Attorney General's Office gave a tentative ruling to prosecutors that a loophole in the law may have made Rodney's actions legal. If so, that loophole needs to be tightened up by the Legislature ASAP

At the very least it would seem  that even if there is no criminality, the charge could be made that Sergeant Rodney used his position for personal gain to acquire the Assault Rifle at a drastically reduced price, not much different than a police officer putting the squeeze on a business owner to get services for free or at a reduced rate, I think that is called "conduct unbecoming"

HPD Internal Affairs Investigators were able to recover the Assault Rifle, so essentially it is "off the streets" and Sergeant Rodney is reportedly out his $250.00 cash for his improper deed.

Hopefully Rodney's actions will not undermine the confidence and trust of Hartford residents cooperating with the gun buy back program or the Community partners who fund and work to make the program successful

WHEN AND WHERE DO WE DRAW THE LINE?

Whether it is Senator Al Franken being pressured to resign from the Senate or Matt Lauer being terminated from the TODAY show, it seems pretty clear that the times are changing in relation to Sexual harassment  and the way it is dealt with.

Even on a local level, Hartford City Council President TJ Clarke is facing fallout for words, some would call banter, between him and a female Council Assistant.

But what is the standard we are supposed to follow? When is improper language and behavior offensive? Is it all the time, every time? Does it depend on the person making the statements and who they are? Is it only offensive when it is a male directing the act at a female? Or can females be also accused of offensive behavior and sexual harassment? Is it only offensive if your comments are directed at someone who is actually likeable and OK if the person them self might be offensive to your beliefs?

 I would have to say wrong is wrong in all of the above circumstances.

Today, Suzanne Hopgood posted the following "Tweet" from her Twitter account.. What if a male asked her to expose female body parts to gauge her influence as a female and assigned her more power or credibility depending on certain measurements?

I venture to say the male would be severely criticized and if we apply the same standard to those comments that Mayor Bronin subjected TJ Clarke's behavior to, I guess we would have to say that "male" was incapable of being in a leadership role. Will that same standard be applied to Ms. Hopgood? Trump is wrong in his behavior but that doesn't make Hopgood's any more acceptable, no matter what her justification may be.

SOME COLD WEATHER TIPS

This cold weather seems to be here for a while. Until the weather breaks, try to remember a few things.

Number one is protect your pets, try to avoid prolonged exposure to these extreme cold temperatures as well as avoid extended exposure of their paws to the subfreezing ground and chemicals and salt put down for the ice.

Try to keep areas around pipes open allowing the heat to circulate. In many cases it helps to open the doors under kitchen cabinets around sinks and under bathroom vanities to allow heat to reach pipes and keep them from freezing.Pipes on outside walls are especially vulnerable to freezing,

Make sure your outside water faucets are turned off in your basement. Once they are turned off, open the faucet outside to let any standing water drain out to avoid freezing and splitting of the pipes

In case of a "worst case scenario" , familiarize yourself with the location of your water shutoff. In case a pipe should burst, shut off the valve from the street, normally in your basement near the water meter, to stop the water flow and avoid additional damage.

DO NOT ever use your oven or a grill to add additional heat to your home. It is dangerous and electric appliances can over heat and gas appliances and grills produce carbon monoxide. If you feel nauseous or have a headache move outside to an area with fresh air and notify the fire department. They can check for the presence of Carbon Monoxide and check the CO levels inside your home. Consider purchasing a battery operated CO Detector for everyday protection in your home. They are relatively inexpensive and a variety of models are available in Home Improvement stores.

Avoid the use of electric space heaters. Of you do use a heater, make sure it has the automatic shut off if the hater is knocked over, Don't ever leave a space heater unattended and don't use an extension cord to plug it in, The extension cord can over heat and cause a fire. Keep areas around your furnace or boiler clear to avoid fires from unsafely stored items, your furnace is working overtime and generating more heat than usual.

Check on your elderly neighbors. Make sure they are staying warm and have items they need such as medications and food. They may not want to venture outside in the cold and a little neighborly kindness can be very helpful.

And don't forget your car. If you haven't checked the protection level of your antifreeze, have your mechanic test it and make sure your radiator is protected in these low temperatures to avoid freezing and damage to your engine.

An finally, keeps those sidewalks and fire hydrants clear when we do get snow

A SPECIAL PLACE IN HELL

There has to be a special place reserved in Hell for anyone that would leave a dog tied outside in this weather to eventually freeze to death. What kind of person would do that? Even to leave the dog in a basement would be more protection than leaving the dog outside with just an old sweatshirt to lay on as  protection from the cold.

No excuse for this treatment.