• Work to Resume on Route 44 and New Firehouse

    Warmer temps ensure concrete quality By Avice Meehan Two significant Norfolk projects that were put on hold because of below-zero temperatures this winter are expected to resume by mid-March: Reconstruction of two retaining walls along Route 44 and the construction of a new firehouse for the Norfolk Volunteer Fire Department. Engineers for the state Department […]

  • Richard Byrne Retires as Active Firefighter

    After 58 years, veteran status By Joseph Kelly He was a young Navy veteran, about to be married and ready to start a family in his hometown when, in February 1968, his older brother convinced him to join the Norfolk Volunteer Fire Department (NVFD). For Richard Byrne it was the start of an association that […]

  • Rock ‘n Roll House Party Circus Will Benefit Local Food Banks

    Three Grammy nominees to perform at Infinity Hall By Colleen Gundlach On April 11, Infinity Hall will be the setting for Rock ‘n Roll House Party Circus, a concert that will benefit Stock the Shelves, an outreach of United Way of Northwestern Connecticut. The Rock ‘n Roll House Party Circus will feature three Grammy nominees […]

  • Rom-Com Curling Film Released With Olympics

    To get the ice just right, filmmakers tapped Norfolk expertise By Joseph Kelly The underdogs who battle the odds—the washed-up boxer, the outclassed football team, the aging baseball slugger with one last homerun in him—are all Hollywood standbys. Ronald Reagan may be remembered as much for “win one for the Gipper” as he is for […]

  • How Botelle (Carefully) Uses AI for Learning

    By Avice Meehan For more than three decades, children visited the fictional town of Frog Creek, Penn., home to two children named Jack and Annie. With the help of a magic tree house, the pair are whisked away to distant places where they have adventures, solve problems and, perhaps, learn a thing or two. Like […]

  • Choral Singing Meets Bluegrass

    LCCU welcomes all ages to sing new styles By Andra Moss The Litchfield County Choral Union (LCCU) is entering its 127th concert year with decidedly youthful energy. Under the direction of Music Director Dr. Gabriel Löfvall, the LCCU will convene a youth choral festival in Norfolk in late spring; offer a series of choral seminars […]

  • Winter Weekend In Norfolk

    It was a cold and blustery weekend, but that didn’t stop the hardy from coming out on Feb. 21 and 22 for Winter WIN, the weekend for enjoying all things Norfolk in the winter season. The photos below show a story of a town that came together to strut its stuff for the world to […]

  • From Freeze to Flow: Extreme Temps and the Maple Syrup Season

    Reaching that ideal mix of natural conditions By Jude Mead The extreme cold and heavy snowfall this season has raised some concern among maple syrup producers. Reports of loud, cracking noises in wooded areas have set the stage for a phenomenon called “frost cracking.” During these periods of intense cold, the water and sap inside […]

  • Sit Right Back and You’ll Hear a Tale

    With Jude Mead at the guitar and with great enthusiasm, members of the Isabella Eldridge Club defied a threatened winter storm and entered Battell Chapel on Feb. 10 for a memorable performance of an episode of “Gilligan’s Island,” a daft 1960s television comedy. Despite the best efforts of the Professor (played by Marinell Crippen, left) […]

  • Cook For Goodness Sake

    America The Melting Pot By Linda Garrettson In celebration of the 250th anniversary of our Declaration of Independence, it seems appropriate to dedicate my food column this year to America, who we are, and what we eat. Get ready for some history lessons, and perhaps surprises that might enlighten you to what we call American […]

  • Be Careful, Very Careful

    An expert team from the Glass Source Stained Glass Studio spent nearly six hours in cold mid-January weather care-fully removing a cathedral stained glass window from Battell Chapel at the United Church of Christ before transporting it to their studio in Seymour for restoration. In this photo, Michael Skrtic balances one section of the window […]

  • The Week that Was

    First, frigid temperatures forced the relocation of Norfolk’s valiant Post Office staff to Winsted because of scheduled asbestos remediation, leaving box holders temporarily puzzled. Then, the big snow arrived on Jan. 25 and 26. Estimates vary widely: Russell Russ reported the official tally at the Great Mountain Forest weather station as 15.2 inches, but others […]

Articles

Managing Tranquility: Noise Regulations 101

By Andra Moss The silent days of winter are drawing to a close, and many are anticipating the extended daylight hours and warmer temperatures that will beckon Norfolk’s denizens outdoors for a wide range of amusements. One question that came up at the Jan. 14 public hearing of the Planning and Zoning Commission on the […]

Listen Up: Libraries Reveal What’s Going On “Between the Stacks”

By Andra Moss Sometimes the most mundane exercises can lead to innovative outcomes. Take, for instance, the prosaic activity of small-town budgeting. As the board of the Falls Village David M. Hunt Library prepared to approach their town selectmen for additional funding last year, they asked residents for letters of support. The board hoped that […]

It’s Only Natural

Identifying Trees in Winter Can Be a Challenge By Jude Mead Identifying trees in winter can be a challenge, especially in places where snow covers the ground and deciduous trees stand bare. According to Dr. Mike Zarfos, the executive director of Great Mountain Forest (GMF), most people rely on looking at the leaves during the […]

Measles Kills

By Richard Kessin Editor’s Note: Richard Kessin is Professor Emeritus of Pathology and Cell Biology at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center. This column is adapted from one that appeared in The Lakeville Journal.  In 1962, about 500,000 American kids got measles, with fever and spots made by the immune system reacting with the virus. […]

Learning Together At Botelle

Multi-age Classrooms Spans All Grades By Avice Meehan Picture this: First and second graders clustered in groups of three, working on identifying words to include in a glossary for reports about endangered animals. Their research topics range from bats to elephants, with a few amphibians thrown in for good measure. Primary school teacher Debra Tallon, […]

Norfolk Land Trust Partners to Create Forever-Wild Preserve

South Norfolk land will connect with Dennis Hill By Kelly Kandra Hughes Thanks to a new partnership between the Norfolk Land Trust (NLT) and Northeast Wilderness Trust, more of Norfolk’s woodlands will remain forever wild. Northeast Wilderness Trust, a Vermont-based conservation organization, has established a forever-wild conservation easement on a large block of NLT land […]

New Design Speeds Route 44 Retaining Wall Project

Traffic Signals Updated By Avice Meehan The signals that control access through the retaining wall project on Route 44 now have count-down clocks and the Connecticut Department of Transportation (DOT) has also added a temporary light at Blackberry Street for motorists trying to enter the construction zone. Those improvements—all intended to lower the stress levels […]

Appoint or Elect Town Officials?

Change may be ahead for town clerk’s office By Joe Kelly When local elections are held next year in Norfolk, a familiar office may not be on the ballot: Town Clerk. There is a plan afoot, initiated by First Selectman Matt Riiska, to make the town clerk an appointed position. Riiska argues that the skills […]

Fire Risk Remains High Across Region

Rain, now do not dampen drought By Avice Meehan Weather watchers like Russell Russ, property manager for Great Mountain Forest, greeted the late November rain storm with a sigh of relief. Yet like other experts, he warned that fire risk remains high across heavily forested Litchfield County and neighboring Berkshire County, where the Butternut Fire […]

School Honors: Botelle Named School of Distinction

By Avice Meehan Botelle Elementary School has been named a school of distinction for the 2023-24 academic year for showing great improvement across a range of standards measured by Connecticut’s Department of Education (DOE). Principal Lauren Valentino shared the news at the Nov. 12 meeting of the Board of Education and, in a lighthearted moment, […]

Elementary Conversations

Colebrook, Norfolk Selectmen Seek Collaboration By Avice Meehan The Colebrook and Norfolk Boards of Selectmen held a joint meeting on Thursday, Nov. 14, to “restart the conversation” about how the two communities could find ways to collaborate as elementary school enrollments decline. Originally planned for Colebrook Town Hall, the session was moved to the adjacent […]

Fergus Goes for a Ride

By Andra Moss A community dog parade might seem the ideal sniffing ground for a wannabe dog thief, but it is also a setting filled with folks prepared to spring into action to find a furry friend.  Such was the case during the annual Halloween dog parade on Oct. 26. Norfolk resident Phee Rosnick left […]