Michael Ramos of Trumbull Avenue was arrested May 20 in connection with an armed robbery at a Payless shoe store at 51 Boston Ave. Police were dispatched there just after 5 p.m. on a report of a masked man who held up the business at knifepoint.

In speaking to witnesses, Officer Stacey Lyons was able to get descriptions of both the vehicle, a brown Honda, and suspect and put the descriptions out over the police radio. Det. Michael Fiumidinski then radioed that a similar vehicle was used in several other armed robberies in Bridgeport and Stratford and he was able to provide key additional information.

Patrol officers still were interviewing witnesses when they heard a radio dispatch that other officers had located the getaway car unoccupied on Willow Street and that they were watching a man on a payphone who matched the robber’s description nearby.

Officers Juan Hernandez and Michael Salemme kept a distance until the man walked back to the Honda and started driving away. They then conducted a motor vehicle stop.

Witnesses from the Payless robbery subsequently identified him as the robber.

Fiumidinski and Det. Christopher Barona already had been following strong leads in the previous robbery and linked Ramos to a robbery last week at the Wireless Wizard in Bridgeport and another similar incident in Stratford.

Ramos is being held on $500,000 bond in connection with the two Bridgeport robberies and detectives here are working with Stratford police investigators in their case.

“This was an outstanding collaborative effort by both patrol and the detective bureau,” Police Capt. James Viadero said.

U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, right, recently toured Kennedy Employment Services in Trumbull with Martin D. Schwartz, The Kennedy Center president and chief executive officer. They are pictured with Kennedy Center client Frankie Amaro of Bridgeport, who is employed in Kennedy Employment Services. As part of the tour, Himes learned about state and federal funding shortfalls for these job creation programs that produce tax payers and not tax users.

Lifeguards monitor activities in designated areas to provide assistance to swimmers and attempt to prevent accidents; caution swimmers regarding unsafe areas; maintain order in swimming areas; rescue swimmer in danger of drowning; administer first aid and/or cardiopulmonary resuscitation as required; instruct patrons in water safety; participate in physical and rescue skills training; perform general maintenance tasks including beach cleaning; and perform related duties as required.

The parks looking for applicants are:

• Black Rock State Park, Watertown;

• Indian Well, Shelton;

• Mt. Tom, Litchfield;

• Silver Sands State Park, Milford;

• Sherwood Island State Park, Westport;

• Wadsworth Falls State Park, Middletown;

• Wharton Brook State Park, Wallingford.

Qualified applicants must possess a valid American Red Cross Lifeguard certification which includes CPR for the Professional Rescuer and Basic First Aid. Those applicants that do not already possess the waterfront skills module will be required to attend and successfully complete the prerequisites for it. All certifications must be valid through the last day of employment.

Dates of employment are from Memorial Day through Labor Day. The normal work week is 40 hours, including weekends and holidays. Pay ranges from $9.60-$13 per hour, depending upon years of experience and qualifications.

Parties should visit the DEEP website at www.ct.gov/deep/lifeguards for more information, including an application. Information on lifeguarding in a Connecticut state park is also available on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CTStateParkLifeguards.

The new priests are Fr. Juan Acosta of Westport, Fr. John Connaughton of Trumbull, Fr. Joseph Gill of Bethel, Fr. Matthew Krankall of Monroe, Fr. Krzysztof Kuczynski of Monroe, Fr. Damian Pielesz of Brookfield and Fr. Ralph Segura of Norwalk.

Among the men to be ordained are an attorney, a former medical student and assistant pathologies, a Polish TV broadcaster, truck driver and Eagle Scout and musician.

“It takes a long time to prepare and form a priest,” said Msgr. Kevin Royal, diocesan director of clergy personnel. “But from their earliest days in seminary, we knew these men came to us with a strong sense that the Lord was calling them. They will be a great blessing in the parishes for the people they’ll serve.”

Next month, the diocese will see five men ordained to the transitional diaconate, the last step before priestly ordination.

Firefighters from Ladder Co. 5, Ladder Co. 10 and Engine Co. 1 are among firefighters who will be honored for their life-saving work. They responded on Sept. 7, 2012, for a confined space rescue in an electrical vault and revived and rescued Cook.

“Our firefighters truly put their lives on the line every day to protect the citizens of Bridgeport,” Fire Chief Brian Rooney said. “This is a time to publicly recognize them for these acts of bravery.”

Among the awards given were Firefighter of the Year, Unit Citations, Meritorious Citations and the Medal of Merit and the Medal of Valor (the department’s second highest award). Five newly-appointed captains and one newly-appointed assistant chief were also sworn in.

This was the first awards ceremony the department has held since 2008.

“This is another tool in cleaning up our neighborhoods by shutting down businesses that repeatedly engage in illegal activity,” said Grogins, who last year championed a new law that resulted in the closing of 11 illegal massage parlors in Bridgeport. “This is a serious quality of life issue for many of our residents and that is what this legislation addresses.”

The bill, co-sponsored by state Sen. Andres Ayala, would give prosecutors the authority to shut down a business or evict a tenant that has been arrested or cited three or more times for illegal activity on the premises for crimes such as drug dealing, firearm offenses or excessive noise on commercial properties.

The bill will now be sent to the Senate for action before the end of the legislative session on June 5.

Friday’s derailment and collision marked the first accident involving the new M8 rail cars,built to a new safety standards. Officials will be interested to see how the cars held up, Gov. Dannel. P. Malloy said Monday, May 20. (John Kovach Photo)

Metro-North is planning to resume limited service to and from New Haven starting at 3 PM Tuesday, May 21, the railroad announced Tuesday. It had initially planned to resume service on the whole line on Wednesday morning.

This will be the first time trains have run to and from New Haven since the Friday evening, May 17, derailment and train collision. Since Friday, service was not running east of Westport.

To New Haven: Regular train service from Grand Central Terminal to South Norwalk station, with limited service to New Haven Station (representing 50% of regular service). The first train is the 3:07 PM train leaving Grand Central and arriving in New Haven at 5 PM.

To Grand Central:  Regular train service from New Haven Station to Grand Central Terminal. The first train is the 4:23 PM train leaving New Haven and arriving in New York City at 6:17 PM.

Customers should expect delays. For train information and the Special New Haven Line schedule see bit.ly/eGUVR

Regular train service continues on the branch lines, including New Canaan, which was not directly impacted by the collision except for anyone wishing to take trains east from Stamford or those who commute to New Canaan by train.

For Wednesday, May 22, regular train service will resume on the New Haven Line.

S4 is an area leader in providing study-skills workshops and coaching to middle, high school, and pre-college students.

The book, which is written for middle and high school students, provides accessible strategies for preparing to take a variety of tests. Strategies are outlined for specific content areas such as English, math, science, social studies and foreign language, as well as specific test types, including multiple choice, short answer, essay and open book.

The strategies are adapted from S4’s study-skills workshops, which will run in July and August in Connecticut and Westchester County, N.Y. The workshops offer a more in-depth approach to studying, note-taking, time management, project management and self-advocacy. For more information about the workshops, visit s4studyskills.com/Upcoming_Workshops.html.

The e-book will be available for download at S4StudySkills.com/Test_Prep_Study_Tips.html through June 10.

Harding High School students Ibrahim Adetona, left, and Kimberly Cardona, right, both 15, talk to AmeriCorps volunteer Samantha Higgins, center, about service learning projects.

For the past year, AmeriCorps volunteers Samantha Higgins, 22, of Stratford, Jake Scholz, 23, of Shelton, and Ourida Victorin, 22, of West Haven, taught informative programs about job opportunities in the medical and health fields at local inner-city high schools.

In partnership with the Southwestern Area Health Center (AHEC), they led service learning projects as part of the Youth Health Service Corps (YHSC), for high school students in Bridgeport, Stratford and New Haven that included hands-on activities and guest speakers working in the health and allied health professions.

“We’re targeting at-risk students to provide them with the skills and information they need as they continue their education and enter the workforce in the 21st Century,” said Meredith Ferraro, executive director of Southwestern AHEC.

Although AmeriCorps volunteers follow a specific curriculum outlined as part of the YHSC, they are also encouraged to develop their own service learning projects based upon the high school students’ interests and abilities.

Utilizing concepts from Stephen Covey’s “7 Habits for Highly Successful People,”  Scholz organized a leadership program for students at Bunnell High School, which featured a variety of interactive activities.

Working alongside Harding High School teachers Kyla Kenny and Tara Cohen, Higgins taught a class about the adverse effects of smoking. Based upon the American Lung Association’s T.A.T.U. (Teens Against Tobacco Use) Program, the Harding students  then shared this information with middle school students at St. Ambrose School in Bridgeport using age-appropriate games and visual devices.

Harding freshman Kimberly Cardona, 15, of Bridgeport, a student in Kenny’s class, said she was surprised to learn that there are approximately 600 ingredients in cigarettes, including formaldehyde, butane, arsenic and ammonia. When burned, they create more than 4,000 chemicals. At least 50 of these chemicals are known to cause cancer and many are poisonous.

“This made me realize we have to spread the word to other people and encourage them not to smoke,” Kimberly said.

Kimberly said she enjoyed the service learning projects presented by Ms. Higgins during their class discussions. Through Southwestern AHEC’s program, Harding students researched and developed presentations about eating disorders, teenage pregnancy and driving while distracted or intoxicated.

“Samantha did a great job in encouraging the kids to go above and beyond what we learn in class,” Kenny said. “Her projects gave them a different perspective about the topics we’ve studied. For example, instead of just hearing facts about the respiratory system, they were able through the T.A.T.U. Program to look at the effects that smoking has on this vital part of our body.”

In developing their presentations for the middle school students, Kenny said the high school students also learned skills in research, public speaking, working cohesively as a group, engaging with the community and written communication.

For more information about the AmeriCorps/Youth Health Service Corps Program, contact Southwestern AHEC’s Program Director Joan Lane at 203-372-5503 or jlane@swctahec.org.

For information about T.A.T.U., contact Ruth Perry, T.A.T.U. Program Coordinator for the American Lung Association of New England, at 860-838-4365 or rperry@lungne.org.

“Take Heart” is an opportunity for women to get to know their own hearts a little better. There will be free cholesterol, blood sugar, blood pressure and vital sign screenings, body composition evaluation and nutrition assessment, as well as fitness assessment, lifestyle changes and appropriate formulation of an action plan through goal setting.

Women will also have access to Framingham Risk scores, which help to determine their potential development of heart disease in the next 10 years.

The Take Heart lecture will also feature cardiologist Dr. Kathleen Harper, who will be discussing TAVR, “A New Way to Replace the Aortic Valve.”

The event and parking are free. Healthy refreshments will be served.

Women should be sure to fast for a complete cholesterol profile and blood sugar testing.

Space is limited. Appointments are necessary; call St. Vincent’s at 203-576-6119. For more information, visit stvincents.org/takeheart.