Making Hay When the Sun Shines
Rain, drought dictate farming strategies By Jude Mead Hay production is always influenced by weather and this year producers faced a challenging dry season. Drought conditions are known to reduce yields, compromise hay quality and force farmers to make difficult choices about cutting. Duncan Wilbur and Mark Jurgilewicz, two local farmers who cut many of […]
Worried about Drug Costs?
Try Connecticut’s Medication Discount Card By Andra Moss Norfolk residents feeling the pinch of ever-rising prescription drug costs may want to investigate ArrayRx, a free prescription savings card provided by the state to anyone living in Connecticut.The program was created by the legislature through Public Act 23-171 and launched in October 2023 by Gov. Ned […]
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. […]
PURA to Decide if Aquarion Sale Serves the Public Interest
Draft report due in mid-October By Joe Kelly Major announcements are expected in the coming weeks on a contentious and consequential regulatory decision: Is it in the public interest for the Aquarion Water Company—the largest provider of water in Connecticut and one of the largest privately-owned water utilities in the nation—to shed its for-profit status […]
All Aboard for Tacos
By Colleen GundlachHave you wondered what that delicious smell in the air is in Canaan recently? As soon as you pass McDonald’s in Canaan headed west you will notice a distinct change. Suddenly your stomach rumbles with hunger for whatever is creating the amazing smell. As soon as you cross the railroad tracks, your nose will be […]
Work Party Planned for Botelle Invasives
By Avice Meehan Becky Eaton, a member of Norfolk’s Conservation Commission and foe of invasive plants everywhere, appeared before the Board of Education on Sept. 9 to present a problem and a proposed approach to containing rampant knotweed, mugwort, honeysuckle and multi-flora rose growing throughout the Botelle Elementary School grounds. As a result, the commission […]
Cultivating Culture in Norfolk
Could Norfolk—with its summer music festival, rich historical resources and natural beauty—become a state-designated cultural district? That’s what an informal group of Norfolk residents gathered to discuss at the Hub on Sept. 26 with a group of experts and potential advisors, including state Rep. Maria Horn (D). Roughly 40 people attended, and all seemed generally […]
Art Honors
Norfolk Artist Wins Guggenheim By Avice Meehan Conceptual artist and Norfolk resident Tom Burr has received a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to pursue independent work under what the foundation described as “the freest possible conditions.” Burr is undertaking a multi-site project that he says is “loosely inspired” by “Saint […]
Cuts in SNAP Benefits Put Pressure on Food Pantries
Federal reductions will be felt locally By Elizabeth Bailey In the harvest season, food is all around us. From the neat rows of corn filling the fields along Route 44 to backyard gardens bursting with tomatoes and choked with zucchini, many of us can see just where our food comes from. Others are worried that […]
Eversource Bills Under Scrutiny
Outcry over public benefits charge By Joseph Kelly It’s said that death and taxes are the only two certainties in life, but Connecticut residents can count on one more: high electricity rates. Flick on the lights, run a hairdryer, vacuum the carpet—anything requiring electricity costs more in the Nutmeg state. The electricity rates here run […]
