Changes to P&Z Regs Considered
By Susan MacEachron The Planning & Zoning meeting on March 10 was dedicated to a discussion of potential changes to regulations governing accessory dwelling units (ADUs), and family compounds and camps. P&Z also considered a new regulation addressing blight. There were no decisions. P&Z commissioner Jordan Stern has suggested revisions to Norfolk’s ADU regulations at […]
Wetlands Weighs New Fees
By Susan MacEachron An in-depth discussion of the appropriate fees to charge for a wetlands permit consumed most of the Inland Wetlands Agency meeting on March 2. Wetlands Enforcement Officer Stacy Sefcik reported that a site meeting had been held to discuss tree removal on Mountain Road related to the upcoming bridge replacement and that […]
Baffling Budget Move Needed
By Avice Meehan Norfolk voters will likely see an unusual item on the agenda for this year’s annual town meeting in May: A request to appropriate $58,366 for Botelle Elementary School for the current fiscal year. The action will ensure that Norfolk remains in compliance with a nearly 40-year-old state statute that sets out minimum […]
Regional Budget Vote Is May 4
The referendum on the Northwestern Regional School District No. 7 budget has been set for May 4 in Norfolk, Colebrook, Barkhamsted and New Hartford. If approved, the district budget would be $25.25 million for the 2026-27 school year, an increase of 1.74 percent over the current year. Norfolk’s assessment, based on the town’s anticipated enrollment, […]
Envisioning Botelle’s Future
The Board of Education and Superintendent Kevin Case will hold a series of community conversations beginning April 1 to help inform the future of elementary education in Norfolk. Additional conversations will be held on April 22 and May 20. All are from 7 to 9 p.m. at Botelle School. The project grew out of discussion […]
NORFOLK WEATHER
February 2026: Cold and Snowy By Russell Russ The strong winter of 2025-26 continued through February. Deep freeze conditions are defined by periods when the daily high temperature does not exceed 32 degrees for 10 consecutive days. Norfolk was under those conditions for 18 consecutive days between Jan. 23 and Feb. 9. A high of […]
THE CELESTIAL SPHERE
Asteroid Comes to Earth, Artemis Takes to the Sky By Matthew Johnson The last two weeks of March witnessed exceptional astronomical events. At 9 a.m. on March 17, a meteor sped across the Cleveland, Ohio, sky at 45,000 miles per hour before splitting apart in a thunderous boom that shocked and frightened residents. NASA stated […]
BOTELLE BEAT
Building Our School Budget By Kevin D. Case, Superintendent of Schools Each year, Norfolk trusts us with two of its most valuable resources: its children and its tax dollars. Developing the annual school budget is one of the most important responsibilities we have as a school district. I would like to let you know how […]
Botelle Fine Tunes at Mid-Year
By Avice Meehan The Board of Education received a mid-year snapshot of student performance and growth from Botelle Principal Lauren Valentino at its Feb. 24 meeting as part of a packed agenda that also included reports on completion of elevator repairs and praise for the “Blizzard of Fun” program during Weekend in Norfolk. Staff and […]
The Celestial Sphere
March Skies and the Vernal Equinox By Matthew Johnson It has been an unusually cold winter, even by Norfolk standards. The constellations of Orion, and Canis Major, the great hunter and his dog, must have struggled during those frigid nights to rise in the east and traverse the southern meridian to set in the west […]
