Owner ,plans to reopen care - Southington Library and Museum

2 rlL O's
-- The Observer, Thursday, August 17, 1989
Aquo Tur! Club not for sale, says owner
bY'staffRlchaxdwztt Qnlnn truth "8o. to end the rumors once club presently has bookings out to did not believe that the pending devel- "We're only waiting for tenants."
ttave you heard these rumors >
"The Aqua Turf Club on Mulberry
Street is for sale."
"Didn't somebody already buy he
place?"
"1 heard that they're going to tear
the place down and put condomini
urns there."
Well. according to Joseph Cal
vanese, who established the Aqua
Turf Club 20 years ago. each of these
rumors is the farthest thing from the
again." said Calvanese. "Aqua Turf
Club has not been sold and Is not for
salel"
And Joseph Calvanese Jr. said he
has no Idea where the rumors originated
The younger Calvanese said he
would like to find out what started
the latest round of rumors, because,
although business is as good as it's
ever been. the rumors are causing
high anxiety for brides-to-be.
According to Calvanese. the Aqua
Turf has hosted over 4,000 weddings
in its 20 years of operation, and the
1993.
"The phone rings off the hook with
nervous brides," Calvanese said. "We
assure them everything is alright, and
their wedding plans are solid, and
then we get another call."
Joseph Calvanese Jr. and his
brother Christopher. who now operate
the Aqua Turf, have been involved in
other real estate ventures, most notably
the pending development of an
18-acre parcel of land adjacent to the
Queen Street and interstate-84 interchange.
Joseph Calvanese Jr. sald he
Families of the mentally ill to receive
support through new group
by Liz Hennessey
staff writer
The diagnosis of mental illness can
be a blg pill for any family to swallow
In Its own way it might seem worse
than tet-minal illness to a family newly
exposed to It.
Yet mental ilh es does not mean
mental death. It me'arm chalienges and
hard work. Btrt -m 'e importantly,
means understanding and patience
Problems faced by families of those
with serious and prolonged mental
hess would vary slightly with the type
of illness, according to Donna Wlldman
of the Community Mental Health Al'flliates
in New Britain.
"But no matter what kind of illness
It is, you still have families coping with
a loved one who has a disability that
they don't have an understanding of
They're really in the dark as to what to
do." she said. Many of these families
are unaware of the support services
and vocational services available
There is also the misconception
that medication will cure the illness.
she sald
Mental illness can strike the old
and the young A person may have
functioned well as a child and then. all
of a sudden, he has a break and the
paretats have to cope with t, Wildman
said The parents go through a grievang
process, because they feel they have
lost the child they raised
"If you have a child whose whole
life gets disrupted, that's what s difficult
for the family to cope with." she
said Sometimes there is the hope that
their son or daughter is oing to get
better soon.
And when the child or spouse does
not get better, they are sometimes
brought to institutions, since the fami
ly might feel there is nothing they. personaliy,
can do for them
"We know that they'ce not lost
causes," Wildman said They Just need
some help galrllng more control over
their lives and networking with other
people, she said.
People with mental illness are able
to function well in a community as
long as they have support systems,
Wlldman said. "Sometimes "they need a
little support "
And usually the family itself needs
some support.
Beginning in mid September. a
support group for families of those
with serious and prolonged mental illness
will be held on 20 consecutive
Monday evenings at the Southington
Visiting Nurse Association on Menden
Avenue The group is limited to 20
people, so those interested must call
Wildman at 224-7234 to register
There will be no charge.
The purpose of the group will be
mostly educational. Wildman said
Films will be shovcn, and articles and
discussions with guest speakers will be
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