The Manor House and a Tiny House- Two Public Hearings at P&Z
By Susan MacEachron The application by the owners of the Manor House to build a day spa generated a significant number of letters and emails to the Planning & Zoning Commission (P&Z). P&Z decided that the Feb. 11 continuation of the public hearing would be limited to reading all such correspondence into the record with […]
Budget, Road Projects, School Topics for Selectmen
By Ruth Melville The 2025/26 budget season is here, and at the Feb. 5 meeting of the Board of Selectmen First Selectman Matt Riiska reported that about half the departmental budgets have been received, along with several requests from outside organizations that the town supports. The next meeting of the Board of Selectmen,March 5, will […]
Design Changes Bring Firehouses Budget to $8.3 Million
Federal support no longer assured By Joe Kelly Instead of a metal roof, Norfolk’s new firehouse will likely be topped by asphalt shingles. The hose-drying tower won’t be so towering. Stone veneer siding along the base will disappear. Firetrucks will enter and exit through traditional (and less expensive) over-head doors. Carpeting? Furniture? It will be […]
Connecticut Still Counting on Federal Funds for Norfolk Projects
The long game of infrastructure funding By Avice Meehan The nuts and bolts of how the federal government reimburses the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CT-DOT) for road and bridge projects around Litchfield might seem an arcane topic. It might interest a first selectman or the Northwest Hills Council of Governments, but that’s usually all. Yet […]
Norfolk’s January Weather
Seasonal Weather for the New Year By Russell Russ In recent years, it has seemed that winter did not get going until January or even February. This year has been more like the winters of old, when they started by December. This December was not overly wintery, but it was more like winter than autumn. […]
The Celestial Sphere
A Total Eclipse, a Partial Eclipse and the Return of Spring By Matthew Johnson Since the December winter solstice, the frigid weather has continued in the Norfolk Icebox. But the earth’s orbit is carrying us toward the warmer and longer days where we will reach the point in our orbit termed the vernal, or spring […]
A Look Back at Norfolk’s 2024 Weather
By Russell Russ With an average yearly mean temperature of 48.6 degrees, 3.6 degrees above normal, 2024 was Norfolk’s warmest year (by a hair) over the last 93 years. The second warmest was 2012 with 48.5, followed by 1998 and 2023 coming in as tied for third warmest. The coldest year was 1940 at 41.9 […]
The Celestial Sphere
The Days Are Growing Longer By Matthew M. Johnson We have progressed deeper into winter, transitioned into a new White House administration and into a new year since my December/January column for Norfolk Now. And since the Winter Solstice of last December, our days have continued to grow longer if only by a few minutes. […]
Cook for Goodness Sake!
An Apple A Day By Linda Garrettson The best part of writing this food column is finding new inspirations for recipes. There are two months between my issues. Sometimes I get close to the deadline without an epiphany, other times I might have several ideas. For this issue my inspiration came early. The unlikely source […]
Board of Education Hears from Former Consolidation Facilitator
By Avice Meehan Jonathan Costa had one piece of advice for Norfolk as a whole, and specifically for members of the Board of Education and the Board of Selectmen: speed is not your friend. Costa acted as a facilitator in the unsuccessful 2015 effort to bring Botelle Elementary School and the Colebrook Consolidated School into […]
