Southwestern Connecticut commuters could face a chaotic return to work on Monday as the New Haven Line rail collision investigation continues and much of the line remains shut down. Traffic on the Merritt Parkway and Interstate 95 is expected to be more congested than normal because of the thousands rail commuters who might drive to work or to towns with rail service.

The New Haven Line is the busiest commuter rail line in the nation. Each day, approximately 30,000 Metro-North customers use the stations where service has been curtailed. About 125,000 use the New Haven Line as a whole, and its three branches.

Towns like New Canaan, Darien and Stamford will loosen parking restrictions in on Monday for commuters living in areas that won’t have train service after the Metro-North train accident in Fairfield Friday.

• Visit Fairfield-Sun.com for more on the train collision, investigation and commuter information.

Carpooling is being strongly advised for all commuters planning to use the parkway or thruway this week, officials said.

The Trumbull HighSchool Choirs perform at a holiday concert last December, joined by alumni.

Trumbull High School Choirs annual Spring Concert will be held on Wednesday, May 22 at 7:30 p.m., in the Trumbull High School auditorium, 72 Strobel Road.  Tickets are $5 each and are available at the door. Doors will open at 7 p.m.

Choir Director Anne Tornillo will conduct all of the high school choirs in a variety selections, including Renaissance motets, Caribbean spirituals, folk songs and more. The five Trumbull High School choral groups will perform: the Freshman Chorus, the Concert Choir, the Chamber Singers, the Women’s Ensemble and the Men’s Ensemble.

The final performance will be Beethoven’s triumphant Ode to Joy with all of the choral groups joined on stage by chorus alumni from the audience.

For more information, visit the student-created website, Friends of the Trumbull High School Choirs, Inc., at fothsci.org.

The Cadets will play host to sixth-seeded Fairfield Ludlowe Monday at 4:15 p.m.

Trumbull High, the fifth seed, will visit fourth-seeded New Canaan.

The FCIAC semifinals will be held Wednesday, May 22, at Harbor Yard, with games scheduled for 5:15 and 7:30 p.m.

The final will be played at noon, Saturday, May 25 at Harbor Yard.

The Connecticut General Assembly is considering Senate Bill 54 (SB 54), An Act Establishing A Retirement Plan for Low-Income Private Sector Workers. We read every day about significant numbers of Connecticut families struggling to pay for housing, or health care, or even to put food on the table. Affording retirement is likewise a challenge for many Connecticut families.

A bill addressing these financial struggles would be welcomed, but SB 54 does not do so — rather, the bill mandates the automatic enrollment into a state retirement plan of all adult, non-union Connecticut private sector employees who are not eligible for a retirement plan at work. SB 54 thus seeks to establish a state-sponsored or state-run retirement plan that would impact all Connecticut businesses.

A state-sponsored retirement plan is unnecessary. Assertions by proponents that such a plan is needed due to lack of access to affordable savings vehicles are false and ignore the economic realities that impact whether individuals choose (or are able) to contribute to retirement plans, or whether employers choose to offer such a plan.

Employees are often faced with simply making ends meet. This causes retirement contributions to be viewed as a long-term luxury and far from a priority; in fact, individuals often do not save as much as they should for retirement even when they have the resources to do so, and the presence of a state-sponsored retirement plan will not change that dynamic.

There is no evidence that the state has studied this dynamic, or studied the legal implications of a state-sponsored retirement plan relative to the requirements and restrictions of Federal law. It is also very clear that the state has not studied or considered the economic effects this bill would have on Connecticut jobs for those of us in the retirement industry.

Moreover, I, and thousands of other Connecticut taxpayers, work in the retirement services industry. If this bill passes, the state effectively supplants our industry’s client relationships and puts our jobs at risk. I have devoted my career to expanding retirement coverage and to helping people with their long-term financial goals. I have paid my taxes to and have raised my children in this state, only to now have the state propose to threaten my employer’s client relationships and thus threaten my job. Isn’t the state supposed to be encouraging job creation?

This bill is currently being discussed in the State Senate. My hope is that our elected officials can see past politics to address the very real job security concerns of taxpaying constituents.

In these challenging times, the General Assembly should be spending its time, and our money, to promote the economic security of Connecticut families without jeopardizing the economic security of others.

Aaron Friedman

Nathan and his new best friend.

The newest member of the Zack family is still just a few months old, but he has a pretty important job.

Nero, a yellow Labrador service dog from Warren Retrievers, recently arrived at the Trumbull home of the Zack family. Almost a year ago to the day that Nero arrived, 7-year-old Nathan Zack was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Nero is being trained to detect when Nathan’s blood sugar gets low.

The family heard about service dogs for diabetes through a friend on Facebook whose daughter also has type 1 diabetes. The family contacted Warren Retrievers and was put on a waiting list and did some fund raising for Nero.

“It’s been a long road,” Nathan’s mother, Adrienne Zack, said of the process to get the dog. Nero arrived last week and became fast friends with Nathan and his sister.

“It’s nice to see the bond the two of them have already — they sleep in the same bed,” Adrienne Zack said. “It’s a lot of responsibility but Nathan is doing really well.”

Now Nero is learning the ropes and Nathan and his parents are being trained as handlers of the dog. Philip Farris of Warren Retrievers is training the dog and also training the family how to handle him.

“Nathan is the primary handler, but because of his age his father and I are also handlers,” Adrienne Zack said.

How does Nero detect when Nathan’s blood sugar is low? It’s all in the power of the nose, according to Farris.

“The best way to explain it is if you put a spoonful of sugar in a cup of water, you can smell it,” Farris said. “He can smell that spoonful if you put it in an Olympic-sized swimming pool.”

The Zack family.

When Nero completes his training he will be able smell when Nathan’s blood sugar is low and alert someone by nudging or acting up.

Farris will be returning to the family on a fairly regular basis over the next couple of years to monitor Nero’s progress.

“It’s nice that they stay with you through the long haul,” Adrienne Zack said.

Nero and the family stopped by Daniels Farm School last Friday, where Nathan is a student in Mary Schultz’s first grade class. As Nero walked in front of the school building, the little faces of Nathan’s first grade classmates were pressed up against the window to get a look at Nero.

Nero won’t be attending school with Nathan, because of student allergies, but he will be going pretty much everywhere else with Nathan.

“I think it’s wonderful they have the dog and it will help him be more independent, school nurse Marie Ely said. “He’s already been amazing.”

Nathan’s mother said Ely provides great care while Nathan is in school, so they aren’t concerned about leaving Nero home during school. She said they are grateful for all the support they received leading up to Nero’s arrival.

“A lot of people in Trumbull really made this happen for Nathan,” she said.

Outgoing Regent Barbara Wells, Chaplain Lucille Wells, with Trumbull resident, incoming Regent Christy Hendrie.

New officers were elected to lead the Sarah Riggs Humphreys-Mary Silliman Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). The Sarah Riggs Humphreys chapter, organized in October 1893, and the Mary Silliman chapter, organized in January 1894, merged in October 2009 and currently have 79 members. The chapter supports Derby, Shelton, Trumbull, Stratford, Bridgeport, Monroe and other surrounding towns.

Trumbull resident Christy Hendrie was installed as Regent on May 4 at the Oxford home of Laura Wilhelm.

Any woman over 18 who can prove an ancestor served in the American Revolution is a prospective member. For more information on the DAR, visit sarahriggshumphreysDAR.org or call Hendrie at 203-261-2628.

Choir Director Anne Tornillo will conduct all of the high school choirs in a variety selections, including Renaissance motets, Caribbean spirituals, folk songs and more. The five Trumbull High School choral groups will perform: the Freshman Chorus, the Concert Choir, the Chamber Singers, the Women’s Ensemble and the Men’s Ensemble.

The final performance will be Beethoven’s triumphant Ode to Joy with all of the choral groups joined on stage by chorus alumni from the audience.

For more information, visit the student-created website, Friends of the Trumbull High School Choirs, Inc., at fothsci.org.