• Early Morning Fire Guts Norfolk Barn

    Forty firefighters respond from five towns By Avice Meehan Adair Mali often sleeps with earplugs but dispensed with them on the night of Aug. 18, tired after a night at Tanglewood with her husband, Antonio Guindon, and another couple. Thank goodness she did. At about 4:20 a.m. Mali awoke to a “loud crackling noise” and […]

  • Litchfield County Choral Union Closes 2026 Season

    Celebrating America’s 250th birthday By Jude Mead The Litchfield County Choral Union (LCCU) brought its 2026 summer season to a stirring close on Sunday, Aug. 2, with “From Roots to Promise: Singing America at 250,” an ambitious program that celebrated the country’s musical traditions while looking toward its future. The concert featured the LCCU anthem […]

  • Haystack Book Festival Returns to Norfolk

    Nationally recognized authors offer conversation and insights By Ann DeCerbo Book lovers, curious minds and anyone who enjoys a lively conversation about ideas have plenty to look forward to next month when the Haystack Book Festival returns to Norfolk Oct. 2–4 with events at Infinity Hall, the Norfolk Library and Great Mountain Forest. A program […]

  • Fire and Circus Arts on the Green

    By Jude Mead Matica Circus, a professional performing group based in Harwinton, Conn., brought an unforgettable combination of fire, acrobatics and circus arts to the Norfolk Village Green for the grand finale of the season of the Friday Nights on the Green summer concert series. The high-energy performance captivated the crowd with dramatic fire spinning, […]

  • Botelle Ushers in a New Year

    The first day of school dawned cool and cloudy, but no one seemed to notice. Students arrived at Botelle Elementary School on Aug. 26 via bus, car and firetruck (complete with siren). Some students, like Daphne Rutolo who walked her older sister to the bus, will have to wait for the start of the pre-Kindergarten […]

  • A New Year, New Pathways

    Northwestern Regional 7 expands opportunities for students By Virginia Coleman-Prisco As students and staff return to Northwestern Regional School District No. 7 (NWR7) middle and high schools for the 2026-27 school year, district leaders say the focus will be on strengthening student opportunities, preparing young people for an evolving workforce and building an even stronger […]

  • When Is a Check Really in the Mail?

    By Joseph Kelly The United States Postal Service (USPS), longtime target of many complaints and butt of numerous jokes, may seem an unlikely source of metaphysical speculation. But this year the USPS added a new wrinkle to an age-old question: When can it truly and truthfully be said that “a check is in the mail?” […]

  • Steady as She Goes

    Crews working on Norfolk’s new firehouse hoisted the “final” truss in place on Saturday, Aug. 29, as members of the Norfolk Volunteer Fire Department, town officials and representatives of Newfield Construction watched from the sidelines. The truss, signed by key players in the major project, marks a symbolic milestone toward completion of the building. NVFD […]

  • Caring for Forests: Ethan Tapper’s Message of Stewardship

    By Jude Mead Ethan Tapper recently spoke at the Church of Christ Congregational on the green about his work as a forester, author and advocate for the natural world. The evening centered on his 2024 book, “How to Love a Forest: The Bittersweet Work of Tending a Changing World,” which explores how forests function and […]

  • IT’ S ONLY NATURAL: Putting the Brakes on Bittersweet: a September Strategy

    by Susannah Wood Over the last couple of years, Oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus) has increasingly taken hold on Norfolk’s roadsides. Anyone who has driven back and forth to New York City over the years has seen how, unchecked, the vines can envelope trees, girdle and kill them, and leave behind a wrecked woodland. A member […]

  • Woodman Spare that Tree—Or Don’t

    The somewhat lopsided Japanese Zelkova tree that once stood near the entrance to Nor-folk’s Post Office on Station Place is no more. Likely planted some 30 years ago during Ar-thur Rosenblatt’s tenure as first selectman, the hardy tree fell victim to progress and the need to replace the adjacent sidewalk. The planned removal of the […]

  • Norfolk Then…

    In the early 20th century, the Mountain Road bridge over Norfolk Brook had a rustic-style guard rail bordering the road and sidewalk. Characterized by the use of twigs, branches, and bark, the rustic style had been used in formal English gardens in the 1700’s and in this country was very popular in the second half […]

Articles

Town Garage Crew Has Its Act Together

A Well-Oiled Team By David Beers Tucked away between Haystack Mountain and Center Cemetery is our town garage at 36 Old Colony Road. It is from this base of operations that the town’s six-person crew maintains our town’s public infrastructure. Troy LaMere is the supervisor.  Tommy Gorski has been the crew foreman for over 20 […]

Unacceptable Response Time by Eversource to Car Accident

Power not shut off for over an hour By Jonathan Barbagallo On a quiet Tuesday afternoon on Jan. 17 at 2:45 p.m., a local Norfolk husband and wife were headed back to town after grocery shopping and lunch.  The rest of their day was shattered when their car struck a telephone pole at the driveway […]

Frontier Proposal to Provide High Speed Internet Under Consideration

Town wants assurances that all residents will be covered By Ruth Melville Discussions with Frontier Communications about wiring Norfolk with fiber optic cable are ongoing. Frontier has already begun installing fiber optic cable in several towns in the Northwest Corner, including Barkhamsted, Winsted, Norfolk, Torrington, Harwinton, New Hartford and Falls Village. In Barkhamsted and Winsted, […]

Norfolk Resident’s Organization, Wise Humanity, Offers Courses and Retreats

Supporting Personal Transformation By Kelly Kandra Hughes Norfolk resident Elisabeth Sperling will never forget her first day of kindergarten. Even though it was decades ago, one pivotal moment sparked a passion in Sperling that is still ignited today. On that day, the teacher greeted Sperling with a “hello” and then told her there was a […]

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 […]

Norfolk Salutes Its Volunteers: Spotlight on Norfolk Volunteer Fire Department

Thalia Byrne I volunteer with the Norfolk Volunteer Fire Department (NVFD.) I love being part of a group that is innovative and forward thinking. I want   people in our town to know that the fire department allows any person to bring their own skills to the table without limits. Each person has something to […]

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 […]

Irish Music Makes a Return to the Norfolk Library

Text By Jude MeadPhoto Courtesy of Teada  To celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, the Norfolk Library will open its Great Hall to welcome the well-known Irish band Teada. This group was first recognized in Ireland in 2001 when they made an appearance on the television series, Flosc. Since then, they appeared as a frequent headliner at major music festivals […]

Brett Ellis Strives to Care for the Land and the Community

New Famer at Husky Meadows By Tracy Hayhurst Husky Meadows Farm is getting ready for the upcoming growing season with their new farmer Brett Ellis. He comes to Norfolk with his wife Rebecca and baby Andre from The French Laundry, an award-winning French restaurant in Napa, Calif., where he was the grower for their four […]

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 […]

Ralph Nader Champions Revival of Winsted Newspaper

The Winsted Citizen to publish first issue Feb. 3 Text By Colleen GundlachPhoto Courtesy of American Tort Law Museum More than 100 people turned out on the evening of Jan. 24 to hear plans for Winsted’s new monthly print newspaper, The Winsted Citizen.  At a reception held at the American Museum of Tort Law on […]