Anniversary of Norfolk Now to focus on next decade 
By Lloyd Garrison

The editors of Norfolk Now will mark the paper’s tenth anniversary in October by inviting the town to attend NORFOLK 2023!, an event that will begin with entertaining presentations followed by a serious exploration  of  how residents would like the town to develop over the coming decade.
Dan Hincks has offered Norfolk Now the use of Infinity Hall on Saturday morning, October 5, with only his costs passed on to the paper. After the event, a buffet lunch will be served gratis to those attending the presentation upstairs.
John Dankosky, host of WNPR’s morning call-in show, “Where We Live,” has signed up as host and moderator. Ann Havemeyer will produce and narrate a visual history of how Norfolk coped with critical changes in the past and Infinity Hall’s big screen will show the most important changes covered by Norfolk Now over the past decade. A mixed panel of residents and experts in small town development will then tackle the often thorny questions about the town’s future. The audience will be encouraged to join the conversation.
In laying the groundwork for the panel discussion, the paper’s editors have solicited opinions from various Norfolk groups including the selectmen, members of the Lions Club, Norfolk Ambulance, Norfolk Volunteer Fire Department, Library Associates, Parents Teachers Association (PTO) and Recreation Committee. Additional meetings are scheduled for June, and an ad appearing elsewhere in this issue solicits ideas from individuals.
The meetings have produced a variety of responses. A single mother at the PTO’s May meeting spoke angrily at what she perceived as the odds against finding a decent job and affordable housing in a stagnant local economy. This same economy tends to drive children from Norfolk after high school.
Norfolk residents are eager to be heard. Problems and solutions come up in every meeting. Citing both the need for children’s programs and activities for the elderly prompted one proposal urging the town to invest in a community center open to both young and old.
The editors have also heard concerns about imperfect cell phone coverage and lack of broadband internet access. There are fears of rising taxes, and some residents are anxious about rising gas prices making commuting to low wage jobs elsewhere increasingly uneconomic. Job creation and affordable housing have emerged as top priorities.
“We want as many townspeople as possible to have a hand in shaping NORFOLK 2023!” says Rosanna Trestman, a co-founder of the paper. “Our first inclination for a ten-year birthday celebration was, of course, to have a party. Then we were hit with the obvious: It is all about the next decade, not the past.”
Partial funding for NORFOLK 2023! has come from a generous grant by the Garside family as a tribute to the late Grenville Garside for his contributions to launching the paper in 2003.