Thank you, WINners!

We, the Weekend in Norfolk Committee, would like to say yet again that we are grateful to be part of this town. We just completed our seventh successful Winter WIN weekend, and are looking forward to the ninth summer WIN on August 2, 3 and 4. What other town has such great things to show off? And what other town would come together the way Norfolk does to put on events that for both visitors and residents to enjoy?

We especially thank the Norfolk Hub for its support; particularly for letting WIN use it as an information center, but also for much more. Christal and Dianna, stand up and take a bow!

Gratefully,
the Weekend in Norfolk Committee: John, Michael, Ned, Sue and Valerie

Bridge Projects in South Norfolk

I am writing to express my concerns about the proposed bridge replacement projects on Smith Road and Old Goshen Road in South Norfolk. One of the proposed bridges crosses through the two halves of my property, at the intersection of Old Goshen Road and Route 272. From the windows of my home I have a unique vantage point from which to witness the many animals who use Old Goshen Road and my property as a walkway to Hall Meadow Brook. I regularly see bears, bobcats, deer, porcupines, turkeys, bald eagles, herons, foxes,  coyotes, and weasels using the old tannery pools on my property just below where the Old Goshen Road bridge collapsed. There are fresh tracks every morning through my front yard, left by animals who come to drink and fish from the brook. 

I am concerned that the state’s plan to rebuild the bridges doesn’t include any environmental remediation to address the pollutants currently lodged in Hall Meadow Brook from last July’s devastating floods. On my property alone, there are enormous chunks of asphalt and concrete, and twisted metal guardrails from the old bridge and from parts of Route 272 sliding into my property, lying in the middle of these crucial pools of water. Not to mention the old rusty barbed wire, railroad ties, wood planks with rusty nails, and other man -made detritus that got washed down into the brook with the floods. 

As I walk my dog along Smith Road, I can see garbage in the brook on my neighbors’ properties as well. Smashed PVC drainage pipes are particularly easy to spot from afar. And as I drive down 272 toward Torrington, more garbage in the brook is clearly visible from the road. In places.  I’m sad to say that Hall Meadow Brook resembles a landfill more than a pristine waterway.

I am told the bridges must be rebuilt, as the fire department needs quick access to the homes on Smith Road and Old Goshen Road. So as much as I love living on a dead end with no traffic to obstruct the daily parade of critters on my property, I know my peace and serenity is short lived. Still, I implore my neighbors in Norfolk to join me at town hearings about the bridge proposal, and to add your voices to the call for a Hall Meadow Brook clean-up effort as part of the reconstruction plan. There has been some discussion at recent EDC meetings of an effort to brand Norfolk as “Connecticut’s Greenest Town.” Let’s clean up our waterways, so we can proudly live up to that claim.

Sloane Klevin
Old Goshen Road