For the second time in less than a month, the town has encountered difficulty with the owner of the South Road shopping plaza which contains the town-run Enfield Child Development Center.

Following last weekend's blizzard, the plaza management did not clear the snow, as stipulated in its lease agreement with the town. Members of the Enfield public works department had to clear about eight parking spaces and a path for employees and clients to enter the facility, located on the west end of the building.

As of Thursday morning, five days after the snowfall ended, nearly the entire lot remained unplowed to the east of the ECDC. Snowmen had been built in the center of the parking lot.

The plaza is owned by 138 South Road LLC, a limited liability company based in New York City, according to bizapedia.com.

"They are supposed to plow, but on several occasions we have had to do it," Town Manager Matt Coppler said. "When we do any kind of work that they should be doing, we deduct it from our payment."

This is the second incident involving the ECDC since the start of the new year. On Jan. 4, clients were moved to the Alcorn School building for a day due to heating issues.

"The owner had not maintained the heating system and we were afraid the pipes and sprinkler system would freeze, so we moved them to Alcorn for that day," Coppler said.

Coppler said the 10-year lease agreement expires in Sept. 2013. "We are in the process of exploring other options," he said.

In addition to the ECDC, the plaza contains a Chinese restaurant, an amusement center and a pizza restaurant.

The listed member/manager of 138 South Road LLC is Ira Nagel, but no email or telephone information was available for him. 

Two-time All-American Jessica Fontaine of Enfield will be taking her soccer skills to the next level.

The Northwest Catholic standout signed a letter of intent Friday to attend Quinnipiac University in Hamden.

In addition to the All-American honors, Fontaine has been named All-State and All-Conference multiple times, and is a two-time CCC West Player of the Year. She was also All-Academic all four years.

In 2012, Fontaine broke the single season school record for points in a season with 73 (29 goals, 15 assists) and was the team’s 2012 Most Valuable Player. She earned MVP honors in the Class M state championship game, in which the Indians defended their 2011 title by defeating St. Joseph-Trumbull, 4-1.

Over her four seasons at Northwest Catholic, she was part of three state championship soccer teams.

The following public information from the Enfield Police Department is accurate as of Feb. 15, 2013. Items on this list reflect charges filed, not convictions. It is not the policy of Enfield Patch to omit any misdemeanors or felonies from this log.

Feb. 13

Lindsay A. Ingraham, 27, of 28 Bess Rd., Enfield, was charged with 3rd-degree assault and 2nd-degree breach of peace, in connection with a domestic disturbance on Bess Rd., 12:04 a.m.

Donna D. Ingraham, 53, of 28 Bess Rd., Enfield, was charged with 3rd-degree assault and 2nd-degree breach of peace, in connection with a domestic disturbance on Bess Rd., 12:04 a.m.

Ross E. Habernern, 42, of 22 Burnham St., Enfield, was charged with disorderly conduct, in connection with a disorderly conduct call on Burnham St., 3:57 p.m.

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Feb. 14

Robert F. Crane, 40, of 32 Pheasant Hill Dr., Enfield, was charged with 2nd-degree failure to appear, on a 2012 warrant, 6:00 a.m.

Cole S. Strouth, 22, of 175 Shaker Rd., Enfield, was charged with 2nd-degree failure to appear, on a 2012 warrant, 6:30 a.m.

Jody Maney, 36, of 498 Spring St., Windsor Locks, was charged with violation of probation, on an out-of-town warrant, 7:07 a.m.

Ian O. Lewis, 32, of 115 Greenfield St., Hartford, was charged with operating under suspension, operating an unregistered motor vehicle and 2nd-degree failure to appear, in connection with a traffic violation on Harvest Rd. and on an out-of-town warrant, 10:07 a.m.

Richard J. Whollebe, 53, of 26-B Center St., Stafford Springs, was charged with violating restricted substances regulations, in connection with a narcotics violation at Big Y on Palomba Dr., 8:34 p.m.

Shana M. Miller, 30, of 1302 Enfield St., Enfield, was charged with operating under the influence, in connection with a DUI call on Enfield St. and South Rd., 10:18 p.m.

Alicja Farrell, 35, of 41 Gordon Ave., Enfield was charged with 2nd-degree breach of peace and 2nd-degree false incident report, in connection with a domestic disturbance on Gordon Ave., 10:42 p.m.

Enfield thwarted a brief second-half comeback by visiting Stafford, utilizing a 12-0 run to defeat the Bulldogs 69-35 in NCCC boys basketball action Friday night.

Four Raiders scored in double figures, including Sal Spadaro, who hit a trio of three-pointers in the first half en route to a career-high 13 points.

"Sal earned the starting role tonight," Enfield head coach Cory O'Connell said. "He's been doing a great job the last couple weeks in practice. His shot has been struggling all year and we've been waiting for it to finally come into play. He's been positive through it all and working hard on it, and his shot is definitely falling into place."

Paul Lima led all scorers with 16 points, while Ra Preston had 14 and Josh Gaines added 12 for the Raiders.

Trailing 36-15 at halftime, Stafford had a 7-0 spurt after intermission, but could not get closer than 14. The Bulldogs' top scorer, Zach Rollins, was held to just eight points.

Enfield (14-3) hosts Coginchaug Monday at 7 p.m. Stafford (11-8) entertains East Granby Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Many of you may not know this, but there are descriptions and photos of nearly 900 businesses and organizations on Enfield Patch.

Under the "Directory" heading at the top of our home page, you will find everything you need to know about restaurants, stores, civic organizations, churches and numerous other locations around Enfield.

Enfield Patch will feature a different listing daily. We encourage readers to submit reviews or comments; if you are the owner or manager of the business or group, we invite you to claim the listing as your own.

"The Twelve Tribes of Hattie," Ayana Mathis' debut novel, has been a huge hit with the imprimatur of Oprah's Book Club.

Without Oprah's backing, I'm not sure the book would have made the bestseller list, but that doesn't mean it's not worth a look.

The book opens as Hattie arrives in Philadelphia as a young woman who is part of the black migration from the South — in her case, Georgia — during the mid-1920s. After the initial devastating chapter about what befalls Hattie during her first winter in the city, the rest of the book explores her "tribes" or offspring in short-storyish tales that barely overlap or intersect in time or place.

Among Hattie's children are Floyd, a sexually confused musician drifting from town to town in 1948; Six, a newly minted revival tent preacher in 1950 who ends up exploiting his gifts; and Cassie, a mentally ill mother who has to be institutionalized in 1980, leaving an elderly Hattie to raise Cassie's daughter.

Mathis' writing has the noble bearing of a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop. The sentences are polished, sometimes overly so, and deliberate:

"Hattie wanted to give her babies names that weren't already chiseled on a headstone in the family plots in Georgia, so she gave them names of promise and of hope, reaching forward names, not looking back ones."

This novel's message — that Hattie's grief and poverty damaged every one of her children — may resonate with those still struggling with the aftereffects of the Great Recession. It's a bleak outlook, though, so be prepared for living under a thundercloud for as long as it takes to finish the book.

Mathis said in an interview with Oprah that "we do hunger more for suffering characters simply because people, I find, often are hesitant to discuss, air or seek support for the deepest and most painful things in their lives. And so in literature we can find companions and mirrors of [our own suffering]."

While there's some truth to that, I would have enjoyed the book more had Mathis given just one of Hattie's children a little joy and a sense of possibility. As it is, there's not much to stop the expanding circle of poverty and mental illness that Hattie puts in motion.

The dining at these snowsports resorts is getting almost as good as the skiing and riding.

During a recent trip to Mount Snow in West Dover, VT, for an Eastern Ski Writers Association conference, the resort’s restaurants were no shy about showing off its culinary prowess.

1900' Burger, Harriman's Farm to Table and the Go Fish Sushi Bar put together a good old culinary throw-down.
Want to know what I’m talking about? Here’s a look at three dishes from the event:

The Angry Crab, 1,900' Burger: Mountainside Chef Ted Poler just smirked when he was asked what he would recommend.
Um, the Angry Crab was in the house.

The Angry Crab is an all-crab cake from Alaska (the chef is a fan of Deadliest Catch, too) with lemon slaw and a "shot" of hot sauce. The flavors blended nicely and did not smother the crab. The zing of the hot sauce was just enough. It is served on a roll and rivals even the best burger on the menu. (P.S. - Ate four slider-sized Angry Crabs. OK, OK, and three slider-size burger samples.)

The restaurant is located at the base of the mountain near the Bluebird Express chairlift.

Chevre and sweet potato mash, Harriman's Farm to Table: OK, the chefs tend to show off at these snowsports writers functions, but this was the best side dish, ever. It just tasted fantastic and that says more than a fancy description. I had to have an extra side dish of the side dish.

Harriman's is located on the first floor of the Grand Summit Hotel.

Eel and roasted shiitake with avocado and a lime sour cream sauce, Go Fish Sushi Bar: Not a sushi guy, not a sushi guy, not a sushi guy. It was good, it was good, it was good. Must be that seafood lover in me. Went back for seconds. Went back for seconds. Went back for seconds. Or was it thirds?

Go Fish is located in the base lodge and is Mount Snow's newest addition to its food lineup.

Mount Snow is located in about two hours from Hartford. For more on dining at Mount Snow visit http://mountsnow.com/dining/.

This easy-to-make Banana Walnut Cake goes a long way in saying "thanks." I recently make it for the hard-working crew and subcontractors at the Clinton Department of Public Works.

Out of 103 hours since the storm first hit, the town crews worked 90 hours and the subs 50 hours. They definitely needed a treat.

This cake is easy to transport and keeps well.

Banana Walnut Cake

3 or 4 ripe bananas, mashed

1/3 cup melted butter or margarine

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 Tbsp espresso or strong coffee or water

1 tsp. baking soda

Pinch of salt

1 1/2 cups of flour

1 cup chopped walnuts (toasted or raw)

For icing drizzle: 1/3 cup powdered sugar, 1/2 tsp. vanilla, water

No need for a mixer with this recipe.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, eggs, vanilla and espresso or water. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour, mix until it is just incorporated. Fold in the chopped walnuts.

Pour mixture into a greased cake pan. (If you can, cut a sheet of parchment paper and place in the bottom of your cake tin for easy removal of the cake.) 

Bake for 18-24 minutes at 350 degrees. Check for doneness with a toothpick inserted into the center. If it comes out clean, it's done. Cool on a rack.

For the icing, in a small bowl, mix together the powdered sugar and vanilla. In very small amounts, add a tiny bit of water and stir briskly with a spoon. You want the mixture to slowly drip off the edge of your spoon. Drizzle the icing all over the cake in a decorate manner and serve.

Adapted from a SimplyRecipes.com recipe

Many of you may not know this, but there are descriptions and photos of nearly 900 businesses and organizations on Enfield Patch.

Under the "Directory" heading at the top of our home page, you will find everything you need to know about restaurants, stores, civic organizations, churches and numerous other locations around Enfield.

Enfield Patch will feature a different listing daily. We encourage readers to submit reviews or comments; if you are the owner or manager of the business or group, we invite you to claim the listing as your own.

On Presidents' Day, we honor the February birthdays of two of our most notable leaders — George Washington and Abraham Lincoln — as we recognize the others who have served in one of the most difficult offices in the world.

History.com says: "In its modern form, Presidents’ Day is used by many patriotic and historical groups as a date for staging celebrations, reenactments and other events. A number of states also require that their public schools spend the days leading up to Presidents’ Day teaching students about the accomplishments of the presidents, often with a focus on the lives of Washington and Lincoln."

As the accompanying YouTube video reminds us, we're up to 44 presidents now. Which one do you most admire?

Take our poll and tell us in the comments.

The winner of the Valentine's photo contest is Michaela I. Fissel!

You can see the winning photo, chosen in a random drawing, above this article.

Michaela and her sweetie won an overnight stay for two at Mohegan Sun Casino and dinner for two up to $120 at either Bobby Flay's Bar Americain or Todd English's Tuscany.

Thank you to everyone who entered!

Please click here for 2013 giveaway rules.

The following students from Enfield have received dean's list honors from their respective college or university for the fall 2012 semester.

American International College, Springfield, MA - Marie Czarnecki, Conor Ellis, William Garvey, Jeffrey Kraucunas, Dylan LaFerriere, Sean Murray, Uwabunkeonye Ojei, Maureen Richards, Sarah Zachary

Anna Maria College, Paxton, MA - Nicholas Andexler

Assumption College, Worcester, MA - Chelsea Oliva

Clark University, Worcester, MA - Alexandra DeLong

Eastern Connecticut State University, Willimantic, CT - Lindsey Barber, Sarah Bent, Laura Chicorka, Meredith Cooper, Rachel Corso, Christopher Giustina, Grace Hallak, Allison Kaplan, Evan Murray, Katherine Norris, Rachel Osada, Michelle Patenaude, Sarah Pierce, Karen Suleski, Alexander Tracy, Teresa Vacca, Dylan Zimmerman

Mount St. Mary's University, Emmitsburg, MD - Catriona Coppler

Nazareth College, Rochester, NY - Rachel Zeni

Paul Smith's College, Paul Smiths, NY - Alexander Lecheminant

Roger Williams University, Bristol, RI - Sara Cavanaugh

Sacred Heart University, Fairfield, CT - Deena Boucher

Saint Michael's College, Colchester, VT - Robert Hammond, Bey Ney

Springfield College, Springfield, MA - Aric Gates, J'aimee Giaccone, Sarah Gillette, Nzima Sherylle Hutchings, Stephanie Marryat, Hillary Morisset, Nicholas Orefice, Emily Rund, Heather Slavin, Vincent Spanilo, Melissa Urbon

University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH - Erin Mullen

University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI - Abbey Lemeris, Karissa Pelletier

University of Saint Joseph, West Hartford, CT - Tiffany Almeida, Michele Chenard, Antonia Jackson, Michelle Merrill, Chelsea Russell, Jessie Tetreault

University of Vermont, Burlington, VT - Daniel Kraucunas

Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA - Jennifer Coffey, Adam Macsata, Jeffrey Pruden, Kayleigh Shaughnessy

Many of you may not know this, but there are descriptions and photos of nearly 900 businesses and organizations on Enfield Patch.

Under the "Directory" heading at the top of our home page, you will find everything you need to know about restaurants, stores, civic organizations, churches and numerous other locations around Enfield.

Enfield Patch will feature a different listing daily. We encourage readers to submit reviews or comments; if you are the owner or manager of the business or group, we invite you to claim the listing as your own.

On a long train ride back to Vernon recently, U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney tried to put his new career as a movie critic in perspective.

"Guess I'll have to watch the Oscars now," he said.

Who knows if Courtney will be part of the on-stage discussion when the Academy Awards are presented Feb. 24. But he found himself in the middle of a discussion over a Best Picture candidate — "Lincoln"— when he told those who made it that there were historical inaccuracies over the way Connecticut was portrayed in the vote on the 13th Amendment.

So Lincoln is on Courtney's mind this President's Day.

“I am pleased that Mr. Kushner conceded that his ‘Lincoln’ screenplay got it wrong on the Connecticut delegation’s votes for the 13th Amendment," Courtney said. "My effort from the beginning has been to set the record straight on this vote, so people do not leave the theater believing Connecticut’s representatives in the 38th Congress were on the wrong side of history. This is a positive step toward that end, and I still hope a correction can be made in advance of the film’s DVD release."

Courtney was referring to screenwriter Tony Kushner, who has acknowledged that some cinematic license was taken.

“It is true that Connecticut, like all states, had some opposition to President Lincoln and his policies, as well as a conflicted approach to the slavery question," Courtney said. "In a democracy, that is the constant state of being that in many respects Lincoln and the Union cause were defending. Across the Civil War, Connecticut lost more than 4,000 soldiers to disease, poorly-treated wounds and in combat. Their sacrifice emphatically demonstrates Connecticut's fidelity to the struggle to preserve the Union and end slavery, which is represented in ‘Lincoln’ dramatically by the House’s vote on the 13th Amendment. The four members of Connecticut’s delegation reflected that commitment on January 31, 1865, and they deserved a better legacy than the screenplay portrayed.”

Courtney's office produced a response from Kushner.

"Rep. Courtney is correct that the four members of the Connecticut delegation voted for the amendment.  We changed two of the delegation’s votes, and we made up new names for the men casting those votes, so as not to ascribe any actions to actual persons who didn’t perform them. In the movie the voting is also organized by state, which is not the practice in the House. These alterations were made to clarify to the audience the historical reality that the Thirteenth Amendment passed by a very narrow margin that wasn’t determined until the end of the vote. The closeness of that vote and the means by which it came about was the story we wanted to tell. In making changes to the voting sequence, we adhered to time-honored and completely legitimate standards for the creation of historical drama, which is what Lincoln is. I hope nobody is shocked to learn that I also made up dialogue and imagined encounters and invented characters.

"I’m sad to learn that Rep. Courtney feels Connecticut has been defamed. It hasn’t been. The people of Connecticut made the same terrible sacrifices as every other state in the Union, but the state’s political landscape was a complicated affair … I’m sorry if anyone in Connecticut felt insulted by these 15 seconds of the movie, although issuing a Congressional press release startlingly headlined 'Before The Oscars…' seems a rather flamboyant way to make that known."

The following public information from the Enfield Police Department is accurate as of Feb. 18, 2013. Items on this list reflect charges filed, not convictions. It is not the policy of Enfield Patch to omit any misdemeanors or felonies from this log.

Feb. 15

Edger L. Dunkelly, 21, of 66 Malden St., Springfield, MA, was charged with criminal violation of a restraining order and possession of a controlled substance/marijuana, in connection with a domestic disturbance at St. Patrick's Rectory on Pearl St., 2:48 a.m.

Imani R. Perkins, 18, of 51 Laurel Park, Enfield, was charged with disorderly conduct, in connection with a disorderly conduct call on Laurel Park, 3:52 p.m.

Lee Ann M. Ramos, 21, of 51 Laurel Park, Enfield, was charged with disorderly conduct and 3rd-degree assault, in connection with a disorderly conduct call on Laurel Park, 3:52 p.m.

Let Patch save you time. Get great local stories like this delivered right to your inbox or smartphone every day with our free newsletter. Simple, fast sign-up here.

Alex Lindinger, 18, of 147 Sheridan Rd., Enfield, was charged with 3rd-degree burglary and interfering with an officer, in connection with a suspicious person call on Cornell Dr., 3:57 p.m.

Amber L. Dicarlo, 18, of 93 Fox Hill Ln., Enfield, was charged with possession of narcotics and possession/use of drug paraphernalia, in connection with a narcotics violation at Fox Hill Apartments on Fox Hill Ln., 6:33 p.m.

Zachary Lovell, 19, of 40 Elm Meadows, Enfield, was charged with possession of narcotics, in connection with a narcotics violation at Fox Hill Apartments on Fox Hill Ln., 6:33 p.m.

Justin M. Hebert, 29, of 99 Parsons Rd., Enfield, was charged wit 2nd-degree failure to appear, on an out-of-town warrant, 9:06 p.m.

Sarah Ingraham, 28, of 1256 Enfield St., Enfield, was charged with operating under the influence, disobeying signal of officer and passing in a no-passing zone, in connection with a DUI call on Hazard Ave., 10:33 p.m.

Robert J. Rohan, Jr., 58, of 20 Easthampton Rd., Holyoke, MA, was charged with operating under the influence, in connection with a DUI call on Enfield St., 10:53 p.m.

Feb. 16

Carlos C. Cruz, 37, of 180 Pemberton Rd., Willimantic, was charged with operating under the influence and traveling unreasonably fast, in connection with a DUI call on Shaker and Washington Rds., 1:56 a.m.

Christopher Roach, 26, of 241 Wolf Samp Rd., Longmeadow, MA, was charged with operating under the influence, failure to drive upon right, possession of more than a half0ounce but less than four ounces of a controlled substance and possession/use of drug paraphernalia, in connection with a motor vehicle accident on Brainard Rd., 1:55 a.m.

Raymond F. Lee, 31, of 101 Prospect St., Enfield, was charged with 1st-degree criminal trespass, on a 2013 warrant, 5:40 p.m.

Feb. 17

Craig L. Bosley, 30, of 203 Fairway Dr., East Windsor, was charged with violation of probation, on an out-of-town warrant, 12:51 a.m.

Eduardo B. Gonzalez, 18, of 146 Madison St., Hartford, was charged with interfering with an officer, in connection with a criminal call at Bigelow Commons, 1:55 a.m.

Shaun A. Nigro, 30, of 11 Arbor Rd., Enfield, was charged with 3rd-degree assault and disorderly conduct, in connection with a domestic disturbance on Arbor Rd., 3:51 a.m.

Judith Kurtzenacker, 42, of 14 Cottage Green, Enfield, was charged with interfering with an officer and disorderly conduct, in connection with a disorderly conduct call on Cottage Green, 10:16 a.m.

Sean J. Ward, 22, of 829 Center St., Ludlow, MA, was charged with 6th-degree larceny, in connection with a larceny call at Best Buy on Elm St., 12:34 p.m.

Jeffrey Gaston, 53, of 52 South Prospect St., Hartford, was charged with 2nd-degree forgery, possession of narcotics, sale of certain illegal drugs, obtaining a controlled drug via fraud and obtaining a controlled drug via forged prescription, on a 2012 warrant, 5:54 p.m.

Longtime Enfield resident Jay Johnston has been appointed to the Connecticut State Library Board by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.

Board Chairman John N. Barry commented that he is very pleased with Johnston’s selection.

“Based on Jay Johnston’s career and knowledge of libraries and museums, the governor made an excellent choice for this important position," Barry said.

Johnston worked at the Enfield Public Library from 1972 to 1994, including his last six years as director. He has served as director of five different libraries in his four-decade career, and is known as an innovator and leader in library and museum work. 

“I am very excited to have this opportunity to influence the future of libraries and museums in our state during these times of change for our public institutions,” Johnston said.

Farmington Valley and Hartford Area men with base ball experience (yep, it was two words in the 1860s-1880s) are invited to play our nation’s great game the way it was meant to be played.  

Come join the Simsbury Taverneers Vintage Base Ball team.  Play as hard as you can while hampered by 1800's reproduction equipment and historical rules. This is no scripted reenactment.

We play many of the best teams in New England and have a lot of fun with gentlemanly play and tough competition.

We play 8-10 games May through August. We play a mix of home and away games with away games rarely more than a 30-45 minute drive.  

Visit www.simsburytaverneers.com for ballist bios, vintage rules and lingo and past season pics.  Players of grit (rugged determination) and ginger (spirited play) should contact John “Lucky” Lucker at johnlucker@comcast.net  or 860-539-5398 for details. Huzzah!

Submitted by Mike “Stretch” D’Apice, first bag, Simsbury Taverneers Vintage Base Ball Club.