David Saville has never put on the pads for Clemson, but he is an integral part of the college football powerhouse.

In the same week his Tigers won their second national championship in three years, Saville was in New Haven to accept the Walter Camp Football Foundation American Hero Award.

“When I was growing up, I always had to work twice as hard as my friends, but I never knew the difference. I knew I could do almost anything,” Saville said during his speech Saturday night at the Walter Camp awards dinner at Yale University.

Saville’s week began at the College Football Playoff National Championship in Santa Clara, California where Clemson dominated Alabama 44-16.

“Oh man it was so fun, it was so fun,” said Saville, the team’s longtime equipment manager.

Saville celebrated on the confetti-covered field after the game and told NBC Connecticut seeing Coach Dabo Swinney hoist the trophy was one of his favorite moments.

“David’s always been positive, he never has a bad day,” David’s dad Bob Saville said.

Saville’s unlimited positive is why he may be the most popular member of the Clemson football team.

“The team benefits from David being there just like David benefits from them,” Bob said.

Born with Down syndrome, David Saville is a graduate of ClemsonLIFE, a postsecondary program that provides job training and prepares young men & women with intellectual disabilities to live on their own.

He also just finished his eighth season as the football team’s equipment manager.

“When the coaches were down recruiting at his high school, they found David,” Bob said.

Saville graduated from Norcross High School near Atlanta. In addition to being named Homecoming King in 2008 and participating in Special Olympics, he was twice the “Football Manager of the Year.”

During Walter Camp weekend, Saville met patients at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in Hartford. It was a special visit for a young man who had heart surgery when he was 11-months old.

“He’s been very healthy all this time and God has blessed him,” Bob said.

Saville is the fifth recipient of the Walter Camp American Hero Award.

“I can tell you Coach Swinney was just ecstatic when he found out David got the honor, and he actually texted him on the way up, told him how proud he was of him,” Bob told NBC Connecticut.

“This is an amazing award,” David said. “It was so special to me.”

To accept the award, Saville had to skip the Clemson championship parade.

“He’ll miss that,” Bob said, but we think this is worth it to be here.”

On Saturday night, Saville was wearing his 2016 national championship ring as he posed for pictures with the other award winners next to Archie Manning.

“I’m so happy to be here with you tonight because football has been a big part of my life,” Saville said when he took the stage.

He stole the show, ending his speech with this message that was met with a standing ovation.

“Remember what Coach Swinney said, the only disability in life is a bad attitude,” Saville said. Go Tigers!”

Hartford Public Schools and the teacher's union are closing in on an agreement, but that didn't stop teachers from coming out and giving the Board of Education an earful.

"I can't even remember the last time I got a raise. I'm so angry. I can't even express how angry I am," said one teacher when she went to the podium during public comment.

For the last two years Hartford teachers say they've had a pay freeze. The Hartford Federation of Teachers says HPS proposed another two-year pay freeze as well as reducing the number of sick days and changing the health care coverage for all teachers.

Negotiations collapsed and were sent to arbitration. That led to teachers rallying outside a special BOE meeting last week. They weren't allowed inside because the meeting went into executive session as previously planned.

But this week, a change.

"I feel like [the BOE] listened to teachers. We really felt heartened that they were willing to listen to us, that we were able to unite and have that conversation," said Hartford teacher Tiffany Moyer-Washington.

The union sent a letter to members saying they're in the final stages of completing a deal for a collective bargaining agreement.

The letter reads in part: "We believe the BOE will be informed at its January 15, 2019 meeting that there is a deal in place that will be presented to the arbitration panel.

As you know, the HFT and BOE are presently in the arbitration process. Any agreement reached by the HFT and the BOE will be submitted to the arbitration panel and then become a stipulated arbitration award. We expect to finalize an agreement with the BOE in the next day or two and will forward that agreement to the panel. Once the arbitration panel renders its stipulated award, we will present it to you."

"We don't know exactly the details of that [agreement] and teachers are still concerned that we don't lose a lot of the benefits that we had," said Hartford teacher Carol Gale.

Last week the union had put out a call to action for teachers to come out to the BOE meeting on Tuesday, but with the announcement that they were closing in on a deal, union leadership canceled that action. Still, some teachers wanted to come out and speak to the BOE.

"For a while we have been concerned over high turnover, high absenteeism with teachers because of stress, because there's not enough supplies, because we're not getting the curriculum materials we need, because we aren't given the time to prepare. And we're asked to do more and more for less and less," said Gale.

"I think this was an opportunity for teachers to stand up and say, 'Hey, you need to listen to us because we're the voice of the students,'" said Moyer-Washington.

Some teachers say they've had to take a second job to make ends meet.

The BOE Chair Craig Stallings said at the meeting on Tuesday that he fully supports teachers and that all the positive things in the district should be credited to teachers.

"There is no school system without you. There is no us without you. There are no students without you, and we recognize that," said Stallings.

Spokesperson for the school district John Fergus released a statement saying "We have maintained the integrity of the negotiation process with respect to this contract. From the outset, we have held the fidelity of this process in the highest regard and have continuously negotiated in good faith.

"The district has followed the required negotiation timelines throughout these discussions. It’s important to note that, at no time during this process did HPS walk away from the negotiating table. Information that has been reported and shared regarding the negotiation process and specific contract proposals has been inaccurate.

"As of today, HPS/BOE and the HFT are in the final stages of developing a joint agreement, which will be submitted to the arbitration panel, per the TNA (Teacher Negotiation Act) to be rendered as an arbitration award."

A final agreement would need to go before the arbitration panel for their approval. Following that, teachers would find out exactly what's in the contract. We're told that's expected to happen within a week.

A chef at a Brooklyn restaurant died after a man with a hammer burst into the business and attacked him and two others in what police say was a random attack. 

The hammer-wielding man burst into Seaport Buffet Tuesday evening, randomly attacking the 60-year-old owner, a 34-year-old chef and a 50-year-old worker, police said. 

The suspect walked into the buffet near Emmons Avenue and East 19th Street in Sheepshead Bay just after 5 p.m., first attacking the owner at the front of the restaurant, then going to the back where he hit the chef and worker, according to police. 

All three victims were taken to Lutheran Hospital in critical condition, and it was there where the chef, later identified as Fufai Pun of Brooklyn, was pronounced dead. 

Samantha Randazzo, the owner of Randazzo's Clam Bar next door, said a worker from the buffet came running in to warn them about the tool-wielding suspect. 

"A couple of people, customers from the restaurant, came in here, and we let them in and they said a guy came in crazy with a hammer and started hammering certain people, random people," Randazzo said. 

"The guy said he was just screaming crazy words, like 'I'm killing everybody, world is hell,'" she said. "Just screaming crazy things." 

She said workers inside the clam bar locked their doors in fear. 

"We tried helping people who were trying to come in, customers, but we were scared to even walk out," she said. "We didn't know where he was." 

Witnesses said they saw the suspect running toward a garage behind the restaurant. An officer arrested him a few blocks away. 

The motive behind the violent evening outburst was unclear. Police were interviewing the 34-year-old suspect at a local station. Charges are pending.

As the federal government shutdown drags on, more workers in Connecticut are concerned about how they’re going to make ends meet.

“We don’t care if there’s a wall or not a wall at this point. Now it’s just hey can you pay us or figure this out on somebody else’s time and not ours,” said Shaun Boylan of Danbury.

Boylan is a federal prison employee and patience for the government shutdown is wearing thin.

“Everybody’s worried about what are they going to do?” Boylan said. “I’ve seen some of the people I work with literally selling their couches.”

Boylan joined thousands of other essential workers nationwide who weren’t paid last week. His missing paycheck is now creating a strain – he has five kids, including one in college. Bills are still due and his creditors want payment.

“Student loans, they’re not pushing those back for us. Car payments, both of my lenders aren’t pushing us back. They’re not pushing those back. It’s like your bill is your bill,” Boylan said.

With each day Washington lawmakers fail to reach a deal, concern grows about how he’ll provide for his family.

“What’s going to happen is that in the evenings when I’m not working, I’m going to have to find another job,” he said.

Boylan’s wife’s salary won’t cover all the family expenses, and they’ve had to tell their kids because of the shutdown, some things will have to wait.

“My birthday’s coming up. They might not have money by the time that comes up. They’re just going to have to postpone it until they can,” his son Adam explained.

On Tuesday Gov. Ned Lamont announced relief was coming for some federal workers in the form of no-interest loans, being offered through a partnership with the state and Webster Bank. Boylan said while he’s grateful for the opportunity to apply, it’s still unclear how soon he and other essential workers could get that cash in hand.

Boylan said he’ll keep going to work every day because it’s what right. But he worries for himself and for people like him who might not be able to keep clocking in for free.

“ If these people stop coming to work, this is a prison. It might be a low security, but there are some dangerous individuals back there. If these people can’t come to work because they can’t afford to get here, what happens?”

Kids are causing trouble and a community that’s had enough of it.

People in New Britain believe something needs to be done about teens breaking into cars or stealing them.

The problem has become rampant there, as well as elsewhere in the state.

Eric Serrano says crooks hit his wife’s car just a couple of weeks ago when it was parked on Commonwealth Avenue.

“The frustration of getting the window fixed but also knowing that my car wasn’t safe on a street like this,” said Serrano.

Serrano’s concerns, along with others, caught the attention of Mayor Erin Stewart.

“It’s definitely a growing problem. And it’s not just New Britain. It’s communities all across the state of Connecticut,” said Mayor Stewart.

Stewart says the problem is being fueled by juveniles who face few consequences if they’re caught.

In a letter fired off to area legislators, Stewart, as well as the police chief and dozens of crime victims, wrote in part: “The current system does not effectively stop, or even slow down the behavior.”

“We want to know why? This is running rampant through our towns and our cities and something has to be done about it,” Stewart said.

The letter calls for a serious look at the entire Juvenile Criminal Justice System, and raises the question of what to do with repeat offenders who don’t appear to be helped by quick stays at detention centers.

Concerned neighbors agree it’s time for action.

“We have to put something in place where the kids are getting some kind of consequence for it,” said Serrano.

Stewart believes part of the solution is tougher punishments for teenagers, who sometimes are just issued a ticket.

Route 74 in Ashford is closed at the Willington town line after a crash. 

No additional information was immediately available.

A man who police said fled from officers and was shot during a police-involved shooting in New Haven last week has been arrested and charged.

Police said 22-year-old Marcus Rivera, 22, of New Haven, was released from Yale-New Haven Hospital at 10:15 a.m. Tuesday, turned over to State Police and charged with carrying a pistol without a permit.

The incident that led to the arrest happened on Jan. 8.

State police said undercover officers saw Rivera in the Lamberton Street area at 5:44 p.m. and identified him as someone with an outstanding warrant.

Rivera ran, according to police, then fought free from officers who tried to detain him and there was an exchange of gunfire, according to state police. Rivera was shot in the pelvis area and was treated at the hospital.

State police major crimes detectives are investigating whether the use of force was justified in the shooting.

Bond for Rivera was set at $150,000 and police said more charges are pending. 

Internal affairs for the New Haven Police Department will conduct its parallel investigation into the police shooting.

Three men are accused of stealing more than $3,000 worth of items from a Walgreens store in Hamden and police said most of what they took was for cold and flu. 

Police responded to the Walgreens at 1191 Dixwell Ave. last Wednesday to investigate reports of a shoplifting and store staff told them that three men stole 134 items valued at $3,089.66 and most of the products were for cold and flu, according to police. 

Anyone with information is asked to call Officer Justin Martin of the Hamden Police Department Patrol Division at (203) 230-4030.

Karen Pence, the wife of Vice President Mike Pence, said Tuesday she would return to teaching art at a northern Virginia elementary school that explicitly bars its employees from engaging in or condoning “homosexual or lesbian sexual activity” and “transgender identity,” NBC News reported.

The employment application for the Immanuel Christian School, which was first reported on by HuffPost, asks applicants to initial a passage stating they will "live a personal life of moral purity." The application also defines moral misconduct as including premarital sex. 

Pence previously worked at the school for 12 years. When asked by NBC News about the northern Virginia school’s policies regarding LGBTQ people, Pence’s communications director stated, “It's absurd that her decision to teach art to children at a Christian school, and the school's religious beliefs, are under attack.”

A New Canaan woman charged with animal cruelty after several dead dogs were found in her former Fairfield home has turned herself in, according to Fairfield Police.

Heidi Lueders, 31, turned herself in at the Fairfield police station on Tuesday and has been charged with five counts of cruelty to animals and criminal damage to landlord’s property by a tenant in the first degree, according to police.

The investigation began when officers responded to a home on Prince Street in Fairfield on Nov. 11 to investigate a report of animal cruelty and found several dog carcasses in crates, according to police. 

Fairfield animal control officers, patrol officers and detectives responded to the house to investigate and removed the dogs’ remains after a search warrant.

Lueders was released after posting $50,000 bond and is due in Bridgeport Superior Court on Jan. 29.

A 70-year-old woman who was found on the ground near a church in Manchester on Wednesday morning appears to have died of natural causes, according to police.

The woman, a resident of Manchester, was discovered on the ground around 8:15 a.m. in the area of Main and Center streets, near the Center Congregational Church.

Police said she appears to have died of natural causes and the office of the chief medical examiner is assisting with the investigation.

Police have not released the woman’s name.

Anyone with information is asked to call Manchester Police at 860-654-5500.

We continue to track two storms that will lead to impacts here in Connecticut. The first storm arrives on Friday with a second much bigger storm arriving Saturday night and continuing into Sunday. 

STORM 1 - FRIDAY MORNING

Snow will begin to overspread late Thursday night and continue into the early morning hours. Most of it will fall as snow however some light mixing will likely occur along the shoreline. 

This will not result in a lot of snow in fact we are only forecasting a coating to two inches statewide. 

As we have experienced in the past it's not about the amount of snow it's all about the timing. Unfortunately the snow will be present during the morning commute which could cause some issues on the roads and result in school delays. 

STORM 2 - SATURDAY NIGHT & SUNDAY

The second storm will be more powerful and could result in major impacts here in Connecticut. 

The latest model guidance indicates that snow will develop statewide on Saturday night with a transition to a wintry mix during the overnight hours and eventually over to plain rain for most of the state.

There is some indication that the majority of the storm will stay wintry for the northern third of Connecticut with a freezing rain accretting on tree limbs and power lines. 

Let's talk about the two scenarios that are possible.

Scenario 1

This storm track would be the coldest scenario with the center of lower pressure tracking along the Connecticut shoreline. This would result in mostly snow for the hills town, snow to and ice in for interior Connecticut, and Snow to Mix to plain rain along the shoreline. Right now it appears this scenario is less likely. 

Scenario 2

If the center of low pressure system tracks to the northwest of Connecticut it would result in a mostly ice/rain scenario (a warmer solution). This track would result in snow to a wintry mix to plain rain in the hills with snow quickly transitioning to plain rain along the shoreline. 

Right now it appears that we will be somewhere in the middle of these two scenarios with rain along the shoreline and a nasty wintry mix for parts of interior Connecticut and especially the northwest corner. 

One thing we are certain of is a cold blast of air will arrive right after the precipitation ends Sunday night and some very cold temperatures are expected Monday morning. This will cause a flash freeze, any untreated surfaces will become very icy and we expect slick travel Monday morning with temperatures of 0 to 10 degrees. 

State police are investigating a fire at an abandoned building on the Southbury Training School property Tuesday night and said the fire was intentionally set. 

Crews were alerted to the fire on Village Road at 5:53 p.m. after a school employee saw a glow from the fire. 

State police said troopers and the State Police Fire and Explosive Investigative Unit responded and Troop A, along with the fire marshal’s unit, are investigating. 

Anyone with information is urged to call the Connecticut arson hotline at 1-800-84-Arson.

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A rare pygmy sperm whale carcass that disappeared after washing ashore in Stratford in December has been found.

A letter from the town’s Conservation Administrator Christina Senft-Batoh said the whale was first discovered in early December on Russian Beach. After a major storm, the whale was spotted further along the beach, near Lordship Road. Officials believe at some point on Dec. 30 the carcass was removed from the beach, possibly with a cart or ATV.

After the whale disappeared, Stratford officials learned the Yale Peabody Museum was looking to obtain permits to collect the rare whale. Officials said there are few, if any, accounts of the species being found in the Long Island Sound. The town is now searching for the whale in hopes of giving the museum a chance to research it.

A news release posted on the town of Stratford’s website Tuesday says the specimen has been recovered and representatives of the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History worked with staff from CT DEEP’s Wildlife Division and the Town of Stratford’s Department of Public Works to retrieve the 8-foot-lomg whale.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries division, pygmy sperm whales have protected status. In the U.S., they live off the coasts of Hawaii, the Pacific Northwest, the North Atlantic, and the northern Gulf of Mexico. Because they avoid vessels and planes, and only surface when the seas are very calm, scientists rarely see them and there is limited information available about the species.

East Hartford police are warning residents to be on alert for solicitors posing as Eversource employees.

Police said they are looking into reports of people using “aggressive marketing tactics” and claiming association with Eversource. Police said Eversource employees never go door-to-door to discuss bills or energy options.

Residents are encouraged to report any suspicious behavior to Eversource at 800-286-2000 and police.

It is common for scammers to pose as utility workers to get into homes. Police caution residents to think before opening the door to an unknown person, especially if they don’t have an appointment.

Chris Hansen, the former host of NBC’s “To Catch a Predator,” has been accused of bouncing checks and failing to pay for thousands of dollars worth of marketing material, according to police in Connecticut.

Stamford Police Sgt. Sean Scanlan confirms Hansen, 59, was charged Monday with issuing a bad check and for failing to pay $13,000 worth of marketing materials he received from a local vendor.

Scanlan says Hansen was released after signing a written promise to appear in court.

Police say Hansen agreed to make a statement at the Stamford police station, but never showed up.

It was not immediately clear if Hansen retained an attorney who could comment on the accusations.

News 4’s attempts to contact Hansen were unsuccessful.

A good Samaritan gave chase to a purse snatcher in New London Tuesday and helped police track down the suspect, according to New London police.

Police said the victim was walking in the area of 70 State St. around 5:15 p.m. when she was approached by a man who stole her purse. A witness called police and chased after the suspect, giving police a description of the suspect as he followed.

Officers found the suspect, identified as 39-year-old New London resident Michael Albert, behind 7 Gov. Winthrop Boulevard. The victim identified Albert as the suspect and got her purse back, police said.

Albert was arrested and charged with third-degree robbery, second-degree larceny and breach of peace.

Waterbury police have arrested two suspects in the burglary at a pizza shop and arrest warrants say Watertown police spoke with the two men in regard to a homicide under investigation there.

Waterbury police have charged 49-year-old Paul Crampton and 48-year-old William Bayarinas with third-degree burglary and sixth-degree larceny in connection with a burglary at Edgewood Pizza on Jan. 9.

During that burglary, $200 worth of deli meat, bacon and vegetables, $100 worth of pasta and $100 worth of takeout containers were taken from the pizza place, according to police.

The arrest warrants for both men say video surveillance that captured the burglary at Edgewood Pizza shows the suspects leave in a light-colored Chrysler PT Cruiser.

On the same day, Watertown police had broadcast a “pickup” for a Chrysler PT Cruiser that might be connected to a homicide in their town, according to the arrest warrant for Crampton.

The PT Cruiser Watertown police were looking for was later located near Lit Lounge on West Main Street in Waterbury.

Watertown police previously said it belonged to 70-year-old Maryann Kibbe-Stanisz, who was found dead in her home on Bushnell Avenue in Watertown on Wednesday, Jan. 9. The car was missing from the driveway when officers responded to the house to investigate her death.

Kibbe-Stanisz died of blunt impact injuries to the head and neck and police said her death is the first homicide in more than six years.

No arrests have been made in the case.

On Jan. 12, the Watertown homicide investigation police to another address on West Main Street, where they found produce believed to be have been stolen from Edgewood Pizza, according to the arrest warrant Waterbury police obtained for Crampton.

Two days later, Watertown police contacted Waterbury police and told them they were speaking with Bayarinas and Crampton “in regards to a homicide investigation they were conducting,” and Crampton told them he’d been involved in a burglary with Bayarinas, according to the Waterbury arrest warrant for Crampton.

When Waterbury police interviewed Crampton, he told them “Bill,” a man he knew from prison, had picked him up in a silver car, they had stolen bed sheets from Macy’s, sold them, bought heroin, took items from the cooler at the pizza place, sold the bacon to someone and drove to the parking lot of Lit bar, where parked the car, walked to an abandoned building behind Walgreens and went to sleep, according to an arrest warrant.

Watertown police said by email Wednesday that they have no information about the homicide in Oakville, the investigation is active and they can’t comment on it.

Connecticut State Colleges and Universities have suspended tuition payments for federal workers affected by the shutdown and their dependents, according to a letter from the CSCU president.

CSCU President Mark Ojakian directed colleges and universities to temporarily suspend tuition payments as long as the shutdown lasts. Students will have to sign a document confirming their financial impact and that they will pay when the government reopens.

“We must recognize that the federal shutdown has potential to cause real pain for our some of our students, our staff and their families, and we as educational leaders must do everything in our power to help wherever we can. And above all, we must treat those harmed with compassion and respect,” Ojakian wrote.

Ojakian also said in the letter that while CSCU has seen only limited impact from the shutdown, he is concerned both for those federal employees and families affected by missed paychecks, and also for students who may not be able to confirm their eligibility for federal financial aid options during the shutdown.

The CSCU system is made up of four regional universities and 12 community colleges and as of Fall 2018 served more than 140,000 students.

Hundreds of thousands in public dollars were spent on people who shouldn't be using a school district health insurance plan, according to an audit of Hartford Public Schools.

Last year Hartford Public Schools discovered an ex-husband of one of its employees ran up health care bills approaching $700,000 over a 15-year stretch. 

The school district and Hartford auditors got an outside firm named Secova to investigate.

Auditors learned Secova found at least another 17 former spouses on the district health care plan.

They passed that information onto police. Those former spouses could now face criminal charges, or be taken to civil court to pay back the district.

"This was a mess that needed to be cleaned up, there was lack of vetting," Hartford Internal Audit Commission member Bruce Rubenstein told NBC Connecticut.

Hartford Public Schools is self-insured, so it pays out these health care claims.

Secova estimates its audit could save the district a $500,000 per year.

The district says it will hold any employees who took advantage of the plan accountable, and send out annual reminders that any family status change must be updated within 30 days.