In the Wake of a Natural Disaster
Lending a Hand After the Cameras Are Gone By Tom Hodgkin Hurricane Harvey. Hurricane Irma. Hurricane Maria. Wildfires in California. A string of natural disasters erupted onto the national stage in 2017. Hourly television, radio, newspaper and social media coverage preoccupied the news media—until it didn’t. Months later, the news cycle had moved on: […]
New Section of Rail Trail to Be Opened for Winter WIN
By Wiley Wood One of the groups hosting an event when the town celebrates Winter Weekend in Norfolk on Feb. 24 and 25 is the Norfolk Rails to Trails Committee, which has created a new trail on the north side of Haystack State Park and is inviting the public to come try it out. […]
Consolini & Tonan: Planting Gardens, Building Community
By Ruth Melville Marc Tonan and Marialisa Consolini, the co-owners of Consolini & Tonan Landscape Design, have been working together, on and off, for over 25 years. Both gardeners got an early start on their future careers. When he was only 11 years old, Tonan was hired by Fred and Mary Ann McGourty to […]
Norfolk Knitting Group Delivers
Lucy Baldwin, supervisor of volunteers at the Gathering Place in downtown Torrington, accepts a delivery of hand-knitted items from the Norfolk Knitters. The Gathering Place is a drop-in day center for homeless individuals, families and veterans. Since December, the knitters have taken several bags of hats, scarves and mittens to the center. Thanks to the […]
An Open Invitation
The response program in Big Pine Key (see “Lending a Hand After the Cameras Are Gone” in this issue) is a wonderful example of what a group of dedicated citizens can do to help a community on the path to recovery. At All Hands and Hearts, we believe there is a real value to providing […]
School Costs Rise, but Board of Finance Unmoved
Plea for small increase meets with little sympathy By Wiley Wood In an early skirmish of the town budget wars, the Board of Finance delivered strong messages to the Regional No. 7 Board of Education and to the Norfolk Board of Education that this was not a year for budget increases. School Superintendant Mary […]
Expansion of Transportation Service
The first selectman’s office has announced an expansion of the Rural Independent Transportation Service, a program that provides free transportation to the elderly and disabled for non-emergency medical trips. Anyone over 60, or of any age and disabled, who needs a ride from Norfolk to a medical facility for scheduled treatment (for example, dialysis, radiation, […]
State Biologists Call on Public to Report Bobcat Sightings
By Jude Mead Have you seen a bobcat lately? Have you spotted a footprint of one in the snow? If so, then Jason Hawley, a wildlife biologist with the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), would like to know. Hawley said the state is conducting a bobcat study to evaluate the habitat and […]
It’s a Farm Brewery, But Not Just Beer Is on Tap
Outdoor activity for all seasons at Norbrook Farm Brewery By Colleen Gundlach Excitement has been mounting around town for the much-anticipated opening of Norbrook Farm Brewery, expected to begin operations later this year. This new business in town, owned by brothers John and Randy Auclair, promises to be much more than a place to […]
Rep. Brian Ohler Looks Back on His First Year
After a bad session for the environment, Ohler gets thumbs up from League of Conservation Voters By Susannah Wood State Representative Brian Ohler (R, 64th Dist.) was pleased, when we spoke in November, to have been recently named an Environmental Champion by the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters. The League credits him with being […]
