Tree lighting and giving

The weather outside was awful Friday night, so we moved part of our tree lighting celebration inside the toasty town hall.  This year we have a new tree and children in town can watch it grow tall from year to year…making it a new tradition. Our old tree was damaged by too many storms, but will be fondly remembered for the many years it brought joy and beauty to the town.

    The tree lighting ceremony, led by our First Selectman George R. Temple was magical. The ceremony featured carols performed by the Great Oak Middle School and the Oxford Center School choirs. The tree lighting was followed by refreshments and a visit from Santa. I can ‘t think of a nicer event for the children in our town and it was all made possible by Debbie Gatto, our parks &  recreation director, her staff and the commission, who even stayed late to clean up. I must say they did a tremendous job.

  Oxford truly is a great place to bring up a family and people here really do care about others. Not only have we been collecting (thanks to Kelly Weymer)  diapers to give to the Connecticut Partnership for Children Inc.,  we have set up a “Giving Tree’’ in the foyer of Town Hall to raise funds for 10-year-old Chelsea Wheeler who will need a small bowel transplant. The tree will be up until Jan. 1 and people can donate $5 for a white paper dove that will be placed on the tree. Circular paper icons can also be purchased for any amount donated and are being displayed on the windows inside town hall.

    This is such a worthy cause and Chelsea is such a wonderful girl who has been through more than 30 surgeries. Her friends and family are trying to raise an estimated $65,000 to pay for transplant-related expenses. If you need more information call Lesley Nappi at 203-3058489 or Lesley.chelseaw@gmail.com.