Listen Up: Libraries Reveal What’s Going On “Between the Stacks”
By Andra Moss Sometimes the most mundane exercises can lead to innovative outcomes. Take, for instance, the prosaic activity of small-town budgeting. As the board of the Falls Village David M. Hunt Library prepared to approach their town selectmen for additional funding last year, they asked residents for letters of support. The board hoped that […]
It’s Only Natural
Identifying Trees in Winter Can Be a Challenge By Jude Mead Identifying trees in winter can be a challenge, especially in places where snow covers the ground and deciduous trees stand bare. According to Dr. Mike Zarfos, the executive director of Great Mountain Forest (GMF), most people rely on looking at the leaves during the […]
Measles Kills
By Richard Kessin Editor’s Note: Richard Kessin is Professor Emeritus of Pathology and Cell Biology at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center. This column is adapted from one that appeared in The Lakeville Journal. In 1962, about 500,000 American kids got measles, with fever and spots made by the immune system reacting with the virus. […]
Learning Together At Botelle
Multi-age Classrooms Spans All Grades By Avice Meehan Picture this: First and second graders clustered in groups of three, working on identifying words to include in a glossary for reports about endangered animals. Their research topics range from bats to elephants, with a few amphibians thrown in for good measure. Primary school teacher Debra Tallon, […]
Norfolk Land Trust Partners to Create Forever-Wild Preserve
South Norfolk land will connect with Dennis Hill By Kelly Kandra Hughes Thanks to a new partnership between the Norfolk Land Trust (NLT) and Northeast Wilderness Trust, more of Norfolk’s woodlands will remain forever wild. Northeast Wilderness Trust, a Vermont-based conservation organization, has established a forever-wild conservation easement on a large block of NLT land […]
New Design Speeds Route 44 Retaining Wall Project
Traffic Signals Updated By Avice Meehan The signals that control access through the retaining wall project on Route 44 now have count-down clocks and the Connecticut Department of Transportation (DOT) has also added a temporary light at Blackberry Street for motorists trying to enter the construction zone. Those improvements—all intended to lower the stress levels […]
Appoint or Elect Town Officials?
Change may be ahead for town clerk’s office By Joe Kelly When local elections are held next year in Norfolk, a familiar office may not be on the ballot: Town Clerk. There is a plan afoot, initiated by First Selectman Matt Riiska, to make the town clerk an appointed position. Riiska argues that the skills […]
Fire Risk Remains High Across Region
Rain, now do not dampen drought By Avice Meehan Weather watchers like Russell Russ, property manager for Great Mountain Forest, greeted the late November rain storm with a sigh of relief. Yet like other experts, he warned that fire risk remains high across heavily forested Litchfield County and neighboring Berkshire County, where the Butternut Fire […]
School Honors: Botelle Named School of Distinction
By Avice Meehan Botelle Elementary School has been named a school of distinction for the 2023-24 academic year for showing great improvement across a range of standards measured by Connecticut’s Department of Education (DOE). Principal Lauren Valentino shared the news at the Nov. 12 meeting of the Board of Education and, in a lighthearted moment, […]
Elementary Conversations
Colebrook, Norfolk Selectmen Seek Collaboration By Avice Meehan The Colebrook and Norfolk Boards of Selectmen held a joint meeting on Thursday, Nov. 14, to “restart the conversation” about how the two communities could find ways to collaborate as elementary school enrollments decline. Originally planned for Colebrook Town Hall, the session was moved to the adjacent […]
