Eye on Town Government
Town Meeting Approves Higher Borrowing By Avice Meehan Voters at an Oct. 6 special town meeting unanimously approved higher borrowing limits to finance construction of Norfolk’s new fire house, but no formal action on the project will occur until after the new Board of Selectmen is sworn into office in mid-November. First Selectman Matt Riiska, […]
Botelle Beat
The Five Cs Shape Learning at Botelle In the 21st Century By Kevin Case On any given day, when you walk into any of our classrooms at Botelle School, you will observe our students engaged in 21st Century Learning Skills. We call these skills the 5 C’s: Collaboration, Critical Thinking, Creativity, Communication and Compassionate Citizenship. […]
Eye on Town Government
Firehouse Costs, Traffic Calming on Selectmen’s Agenda By Ruth Melville The main topics up for discussion at the Sept. 2 special meeting of the Board of Selectmen were ongoing efforts to reduce the budget for the new firehouse and the possibility of setting up speed cameras in town. First Selectman Matt Riiska began with two […]
Eye on Town Government
Wetlands Approves Path Change By Susan MacEachron Swapping a boardwalk for a gravel path between City Meadow and the proposed new firehouse, elimination of a manmade pond and the installation of a drain pipe without a wetlands permit were the major matters addressed at the Inland Wetlands Agency meeting on Sept. 7. Inland Wetlands had […]
Eye on Town Government
Firehouse Changes Approved; October Hearing Scheduled By Susan MacEachron Long-standing violations at 24 Greenwoods Road West, proposed changes to the firehouse design and bonding the initial landscaping work at 69 Maple Ave. (the Manor House) were on a full agenda at the Sept. 9 meeting of the Planning & Zoning Commission. There may finally be […]
Eye on Town Government
Board of Education Digs into Minutes, Goals School leadership praised for quick response By Avice Meehan The Botelle Board of Education quietly dropped the Pledge of Allegiance from the agenda of its Sept. 9 meeting but took up other housekeeping issues that generated a comparable amount of discussion. These included the amount of information that […]
Eye on Town Government
Change in System Stymies Town By Susan MacEachronThe town’s ongoing struggle to manage a new financial accounting system, the higher than estimated bids for construction of the new firehouse and interim financing for the reconstruction of three bridges were topics addressed by First Selectman Matt Riiska at the Sept. 9 Board of Finance (BoF) meeting. […]
Botelle Beat
Welcome from the School Superintendent By Kevin D. Case The 2025-2026 school year is off to a great start at Botelle School. We began on Aug. 27 with 55 students enrolled in Pre-K through Grade 6. Lauren Valentino, Botelle’s principal; Spark, the school mascot, and I were greeted with smiles as students stepped into their […]
Cook for Goodness Sake!
What Happened to the Trick? By Linda Garrettson October is a month when I rejoice about the fact that my weeds have finally stopped growing. Brilliant bursts of color, orange in particular, dominate the landscape. October also brings scary lawn decorations, shorter days and pumpkins on doorsteps. It culminates with the magic, wonderment, and excitement […]
The Celestial Sphere
Shine on, Harvest Moon By Matthew Johnson “October” comes from “octo,” the Latin word for eight. It was the eighth month in the first, 10-month Roman calendar, but the name stuck after the calendar expanded to 12 months. On Sept. 22, Earth reached the point in its orbit designated as the autumnal equinox. We transitioned […]
