Update on Gas Spill Remediation
More cleanup … more lawyers By Joe Kelly The tanker truck crash last November that sent 8,200 gallons of gasoline cascading past homes, through backyards and into the waterways of central Norfolk also set in motion what’s likely to be a prolonged set of legal actions. About a half-dozen property owners and residents along Route […]
It’s Never Too Cold for the Great Backyard Bird Count
A total of 72 birds identified in one hour in village center By Kelly Kandra Hughes A few minutes before nine o’clock in the morning on Feb. 18, lifelong birder and Norfolk resident Ayreslea Denny discussed with Shelley Harms, co-president of the Norfolk Land Trust, if she should get out her telescope to observe birds […]
Norfolk CTDOT Crew Manages 50 Miles of Roadways
Local team handles the state’s toughest weather By David Beers The state highways of Connecticut are the arteries of its road network. Most drivers use them daily and generally take them for granted. It is not until one is stuck behind a snowplow or delayed by a construction lane drop that any thought goes to […]
NVFD Welcomes Gleaming New (Plastic!) Tanker
By Brian Hutchins In late December 2022, the Norfolk Volunteer Fire Department (NVFD) took delivery of the largest, and some would say the most important, truck in their fleet. Some may have already caught a glimpse of the 25-ton piece of fire apparatus on town roads as the firefighters familiarize themselves with the characteristics of […]
Prepare Now to Combat the Next Spongy Moth Season
Defending Norfolk’s Trees By Susannah Wood Last year an outbreak of spongy moth (Lymantria dispar) caterpillars arrived in the Northwest Corner, defoliating the trees and turning entire hillsides back to early spring again. Norfolk forests suffered significant damage from these exotic pests, formerly known as gypsy moths. Towns to the west were even harder hit. […]
A Norfolk Frog Makes Successful Hop to Sheffield
Out and About By Patricia Platt Longtime Norfolk natives who drive through Sheffield, Mass., might recognize a stylishly dressed frog on a sign outside a new business. Justin Vagliano has named his recently opened farm-to-table restaurant The Frog after a men’s haberdashery in Norfolk once owned by his father. Inside, you can see the original […]
Stone Walls – Built to Last the Test of Times
It’s Only Natural By Jude Mead If stonewalls could talk, they would have centuries of stories to tell and would reveal a wealth of history. According to Susan Allport, author of “Sermons in Stone,” stonewalls date back to the agricultural era of the late 1700s. “Stonewalls have a checkered past in terms of how they […]
Two First-Time Playwrights Explore Lives on Stage
Text by Andra MossPhotos by Adam Heller Two one-act plays, written by Norfolk-based playwrights Sara Heller and Marinell Crippen, will premiere on Feb. 25 at the Norfolk Library. Both women are actors who have trained and worked in New York City, and Crippen is house manager at the Sharon Playhouse. Although neither had ever seriously […]
Norfolk Swimmer Olivia Olsen Changes Lane
High school senior recruited to row for Syracuse University Text by Kelly Kandra HughesPhoto Courtesy of Syracuse University Norfolk’s Olivia Olsen has spent her whole life swimming. Now a high school senior she had planned to swim competitively in college, and the SwimCloud coaching platform has her ranked 82nd in Connecticut in terms of recruitment. […]
Tanker Crash Emergency Ends, But Recovery Stretches On
Cleanup likely to take at least a year Text By Ruth MelvillePhoto Courtesy of Verdantas Over 75 people gathered in Botelle School’s Hall of Flags on Nov. 15 to attend an informational meeting about the current state of cleanup after the gasoline tanker crash on Route 44. Seated behind the long table across the front […]
