Struggle to Maintain Town’s Aging Roadways Continues

Major Repaving of State Highways Last Summer Helped By Kurt Steele Every day most Norfolk residents drive on some part of Norfolk’s nearly 60 miles of roads—43 miles of it maintained by the town and 16 by the state. They are joined a little less often by Norfolk’s many part-time residents. Having enough money to […]

Library Awarded Five-Star Status Yet Again

For its size, the Norfolk Library is one of the best in the world—this is no secret to Norfolk residents. But it has also been recognized for the umpteenth year in a row by The Library Journal’s Index of Public Library Service, which rates libraries according to an arcane, complex and highly accurate metric. Director […]

Election Day: A Strong Show at the Polls

By Colleen Gundlach Election Day 2014 in Norfolk was an amazingly beautiful autumn day, which may have contributed to the very good voter turnout. A healthy 72 percent of voters, or 738 people out of a total of 1,033 who registered to vote, cast ballots on November 4. Of these, 45 were absentee votes and […]

State Grant Aims at Revitalizing Town Centers in the Northwest Corner

New Economic Development Professional to Advise Local Businesses By Kurt Steele A promising new chapter in Norfolk’s planning and development is about to open. The Northwest Hills Council of Governments (NHCOG), through its Northwest Connecticut Regional Planning Collaborative, has recently received a $249,000 grant from the state to fund “village center vitality” initiatives in the […]

New Director Appointed at Great Mountain Forest

Seeing the Forest and the Trees By Veronica Burns Newcomers to this rural town are often asked, “What brought you to Norfolk?” In the case of Hans Carlson, the recently appointed director of Great Mountain Forest (GMF), it was to work with local canoe builder Schuyler Thomson in 1987. Carlson, who was born and raised […]

Norfolk and Colebrook Selectmen Extend Life of Regionalization Study Group

State Department of Education to Propose Legislative Amendments By Wiley Wood The Norfolk-Colebrook Study Group, formed in the wake of town referendums in December 2012, is nearing its second anniversary. State statutes give the group two years to propose a plan for regionalizing the towns’ primary schools, renewable for a second two years. The boards […]

Colebrook Store to Reopen

By Ruth Melville Jodi Marinelli has signed a lease with the Colebrook Preservation Society to reopen the Colebrook Store, which closed last March. Marinelli, who has been working at the Riverton General Store, hopes to reopen the store in December. Marinelli has a lot of experience in the food business. Her family has run a […]

Amendment to State Constitution Goes Before Connecticut Voters

Norfolk residents will cast their ballots on election day, Tuesday, November 4, for state-wide positions including governor and attorney general, and for local ones including Norfolk’s representative in the U.S. Congress and its state senator and state representative. Also on the ballot is an amendment to the State of Connecticut’s constitution, which currently requires anyone […]

Norfolk Firefighters and Soccer Players Wear Pink

For their last game of the season, the kids on the Botelle fifth and sixth grade soccer team were proud to sport brand-new pink t-shirts. To show their support for the fight against breast cancer during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, firefighters across the United States and Canada wore pink t-shirts in October. The International Association […]

Fran Keeping Retires From Meadowbrook After 23 Years

End of an era By Ruth Melville Fran Keeping has retired as manager at Norfolk’s Meadowbrook Apartments after 23 years on the job. When she started at Meadowbrook, Keeping says, “I did everything. I was responsible for all the jobs, from maintenance to collecting rental payments to helping residents move in and out.” Meadowbrook, which […]