Danbury | featured news

The National Weather Service has canceled a flood watch for the southern part of the state as rain is expected to end this morning.

Moderate to heavy rainfall that was orgininally expected in the area is now forecast as periods of light rain, NWS reported around 7 a.m. Temperatures are expected to stay above freezing, meaning snow will continue to melt.

But, the threat of “ice jam flooding” has diminished in the area and the official watch is canceled.

The latest rainfall totals reported by NWS Friday night show 1.36 inches in Danbury and Westport.

REDDING — The Metro-North Danbury Branch was partially shut down after an unoccupied car was struck by a train late Friday night, Metro-North officials said.

The accident occurred around 11:24 p.m. just north of the Branchville station when a train hit a car abandoned on Topstone Road in Redding. There were no injuries reported in the accident, Metro-North officials said.

Due to the accident, the Danbury Branch Line north of Redding was suspended until about 2 a.m. Saturday. The line has seen resumed service and is running without delays.

DANBURY - Firefighters with the assistance of a local tree company pulled a construction worker to safety Thursday after the man received a head injury while working inside the basement of the structure.

The home on Forty Acre Mountain Road was under construction when a worker was hit in the head “due to the malfunction of a concrete pump truck’s boom,” authorities said.

Because the man was located inside the basement of the unfinished structure and due to steep slopes along the property, firefighters had to use a variety of rescue technics to bring the man to safety.

BROOKFIELD - Argo, the Brookfield Police Department K9, will soon be getting something new to wear: body armor.

Argo’s bullet and stab protective vest is thanks to a charitable donation from the nonprofit organization Vested Interest in K9s, Inc.

K9 Argo’s vest is sponsored by a fundraiser hosted by Protectors of Animals of East Hartford.

BETHEL - A Danbury man was arrested at a motel after police responded to reports of a person in distress.

Police said they received several reports early Sunday morning about an argument in one of the rooms at the Best Western on Stony Hill Roadand that a male voice was heard threatening that he was going to kill someone. A female could also be heard yelling in the room, police said, and witnesses reported hearing a loud “thump.”

Officers who responded broke open the door and found one person in the room, Thomas Dellorso, 41, of Williams Street, and several damaged items.

HARTFORD — Gov. Dannel P., Malloy on Monday nominated a former Stamford corporation council to be Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court. Justice Andrew J. McDonald, a current Supreme Court Associate Justice and former state representative from Stamford, was placed on the court in 2013. "Justice McDonald has proven himself to be a consummate, revered jurist who has an exceptional ability to understand, analyze, research, and evaluate legal issues," Malloy said.

HARTFORD - The General Assembly on Monday easily passed a temporary fix to restore full Medicare benefits for more than 90,000 elderly and disabled residents who rely on the money for office visits and other procedures.

The House first passed the bill by a veto-proof margin on 130-3 and the Senate followed with a resounding vote of 32-1

"Our seniors are just too critical a part of our population or us to turn our backs on them," said state Sen. Carlos Leone, D-Stamford.

RIGEFIELD - Police are looking for a man who authorities say passed several counterfeit $100 bills at retail establishments over the weekend.

Police said there were five separate incidents recently of counterfeit bills being passed at businesses located on Main Street, Governor Street, Bailey Avenue and Catoonah Street. All of the incidents took place on Friday, Jan. 5 between 4:30 and 5:30 p.m.

Police said the suspect used counterfeit $100 bills to purchase items that cost around $30 on average.

RIDGEFIELD — The Planning and Zoning Commission made slight changes to its “accessory apartment” regulation this week, with the hope the revisions will allow more properties to take advantage of the option.

Officials decided to remove the minimum half-acre requirement for properties served by the town sewer line and clarify that detached accessory apartments do not need to mimic the exterior style of the main house.

Candlewood Lake officials are reminding residents to watch out for ice on the lake during the winter.

The Candlewood Lake Authority, FirstLight Power Resources and the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection offered tips for staying safe when using the lake in the cold weather.

Officials said to remember that no ice is 100 percent safe and that ice conditions can significantly change the strength of ice from one spot to another. Ice on Candlewood does not freeze in uniform thickness and can vary drastically in as little as a few feet of distance, the tips said.