Terri Miles, Patch Staff

<b>Email: </b><b>teresa.miles&#64;patch.com</b><b>            <br> Phone 203-200-9283<br> Hometown: Milford            <br> Birthday: March 1</b><br> <b>Bio: </b>My name is Terri Miles. I&#39;m a divorced mother of two adult children. I was born and raised in Milford. I think I was born with a camera in my hands, going from box and brownie cameras to Instamatics and SLRs and finally Digital. I began writing at a young age and always enjoyed both fiction and non-fiction writing. At 18, I dropped out of high school due to a lack of a couple of credit points that would have held me back for at least a half year after my classmates graduated. I went for my GED the following year. After working several factory and retail jobs, I fell into the world of journalism by chance. I was hired by Hometown Publications as a staff writer for the Shelton newspaper and proved my worth. I then became the editor of the Amity Observer where I stayed for 11 years.

In 2009, I faced my most challenging obstacle, a series of strokes and two brain surgeries in a six-month period. Maintenance medications keep me on track and these days I am feeling well.

Patch recruited me out of the blue, when I wasn&#39;t even looking for a job. This job is a perfect fit, it satisfies my need to share news &#34;as it happens&#34; and gives me the resources that I need to cover everything in town. I actually had a choice of Milford, Orange, Bethwood or Stratford, and chose Orange because it is so close to home and I just love working with the people here.

As far as politics, I always listened to the candidates and made my decision based on how they presented themselves and the issues. <br> Like my parents, I am registered as a Republican. When I turned 18,  I followed my parents&#39; lead and never bothered to change. Now, 30&#43; years later, I would say I&#39;m unaffiliated.

My parents raised me in the Roman Catholic faith. I attended a parochial elementary school and attended Laurelton Hall High School for one year. I still have my faith, but I do not attend services anymore.

In Orange, residents are passionate about preserving the town, despite the busy business district, many still like to think of it as a farming town. Open space is an important issue, and personally, I would like to see Orange tread carefully when it comes to development projects. Being a lifelong Milford resident and seeing every ounce of open space disappear, I don&#39;t even feel like it&#39;s my town anymore. I would hate to see the same thing happen in Orange.