Conservation Commission and Public Works Team Up Against Invasives

Knotweed, mugwort are priorities By Avice Meehan As a member of Norfolk’s Conservation Commission, Becky Eaton finds herself thinking a great deal about 21st-century road and property maintenance and building relationships with folks like Troy LaMere, the town’s public works supervisor. The motivation is clear: invasive plants like bittersweet kill trees and create roadside hazards […]

Community in Action

Scoville Piece to Join Norfolk Sculpture Trail By Andra Moss Norfolk’s public art collection—made possible through donations from local art supporters to the Norfolk Community Association—is growing. According to Doreen Kelly and Barry Webber, co-presidents of the Norfolk Community Association (NCA), the latest addition to the town’s outdoor sculpture trail, planned to connect Norfolk’s monuments […]

High or Low Tech?

New Strategies Considered for Speed Control in Norfolk By Avice Meehan First Selectman Matt Riiska often ends his monthly Norfolk Now column by asking people to slow down and observe the speed limit. But what exactly is the speed limit on town roads?“It is 25 miles an hour all through the town, on all town […]

Ten Years of Weekend in Norfolk

This year is the 10th annual Weekend in Norfolk (WIN) and it’s bigger and better than ever. From Friday, Aug. 1 through Sunday, Aug. 3, Norfolk opens its doors all over town to host a great variety of activities such as live music, art shows, open houses, hiking trails, bocce, fly-fishing lessons and the best […]

Norfolk in the Civil War

As part of researching the current exhibition at the Norfolk Historical Society, “A New Birth of Freedom: Norfolk in the Civil War,” Norfolk town historians have discovered many additional graves of Civil War soldiers who were part of the Connecticut 29th and 54th regiments. According to Barry Webber, executive director of the historical society, “One […]

Keeping Watch

Lifeguards Train for Tobey Pond By Jude Mead Lifeguarding Tobey Pond requires a sense of responsibility, safety and leadership—along with, quick thinking. Josh DeCerbo, Tobey Pond supervisor for the past several years, said the role teaches important life skills and makes a difference in the community because the job of a lifeguard at a beach […]

Botelle Sixth Graders Have Big Plans for the Future

By Avice Meehan More than a few already had middle school homework on their minds, but the nine students who completed sixth grade at Botelle Elementary School on June 11 are looking to make a major mark on the world. Their goals range from working for NASA to playing major league sports, becoming a chef, […]

Historical Society Explores Norfolk’s Civil War Past

By Andra Moss Norfolk had already been a thriving town for over a century when President Abraham Lincoln issued the call on April 15, 1861, for 75,000 volunteer soldiers to defend the Union after the fall of Fort Sumter at the entrance of Charleston Harbor. The men of Norfolk responded—some immediately, others throughout the four […]

A Different Kind of Beaver Dam

By Colleen Gundlach Beavers, the semiaquatic rodents that often change the structure of waterways with their dams, are seldom known to dam up a roadway. In Norfolk, though, one of these little animals was enough to block traffic in both directions at the Route 44 retaining wall project when it took a stand at about […]

Norfolk Land Trust Earns National Accreditation Renewal

The Norfolk Land Trust (NLT) has achieved accreditation for a third 5-year period from the national Land Trust Accreditation Commission, an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance (LTA). “The Norfolk Land Trust has always striven for excellence,” said Libby Borden, the organization’s co-president. “With the LTA ‘Seal of Approval,’ our members, donors, and everyone […]