• 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

The Importance of Climate Resiliency in Land Preservation

Recent Lecture Highlights the Crucial Role of Land Trusts By Veronica Burns On March 7, Libby Borden, president of the Norfolk Land Trust, welcomed two speakers from the Open Space Institute (OSI) to talk about land conservation at the Norfolk Curling Club. The event was focused on climate change and novel strategies for land protection. […]

Funding Sought for Workforce Training Program

Young people leave the Northwest Corner because there are no jobs. And employers find the qualified workforce pretty thin. A new initiative, endorsed by the Board of Selectmen, would document the workforce skills needed by regional employers and coordinate with high schools, trade schools, community colleges and universities to see that appropriate training is available. […]

Town Starts Repair of Aging Sewer Pipes

The Norfolk Sewer District will reline the sewer pipes along Laurel Way this season. Green Mountain Pipeline Services of Vermont has been picked to perform the work, at a cost of $50–60,000, said Ronald Zanobi, chairman of the Sewer District, at a January 28 meeting. Norfolk’s sewer pipes are among the oldest in Connecticut. The […]

Back to Drawing Board for City Meadow Park

Construction faces at least six-month delay By Christopher Sinclair The project to transform the sunken wetland in Norfolk’s town center into a park and storm-water treatment site has been rebuffed by state and federal permitting authorities, according to Steven Trinkaus, the project’s consulting engineer. The plan received a $500,000 state grant in September 2014. It […]

Canaan Resident’s Salon Helps Women With Hair Loss

Lori Ustico Never Gives Up By Ruth Melville It is a cliché to say that someone “lives her life for others,” but in the case of Canaan resident Lori Ustico, it is the simple truth. Ustico owns Dignity with Style, a salon on Railroad Street in Canaan that specializes in providing wigs and accessories for […]

The Wheels On Whalen’s Buses Will Come to a Stop

Bill Whalen to continue with moving and storage business By Colleen Gundlach An agreement dated “this 14th day of August 1924 by and between J. A. Maloney…and the Town School Committee of said Town of Norfolk” inaugurated a partnership between a family and the town that has endured for more than 90 years. The partnership […]

Hardy Group Holds Outdoor Fitness Classes All Year

By David Beers A group of like-minded fitness and outdoor enthusiasts gets together twice a week in Norfolk to enjoy each other’s company and share in a healthy lifestyle. Their leader is Bill Couch. The Tuesday workout, called “Full Body Fitness,” takes place at the Congregational Church’s Battell Chapel from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. In […]

Landowners Make Clear-Cuts to Benefit Rare Cottontail Rabbit

Norfolk area to create 28 acres of new “rabittat” By Wiley Wood This winter, two separate tracts of forest are being clear-cut in the Norfolk area to make habitat for the rare New England Cottontail. At the corner of Wangum and Canaan Mountain roads, an 18-acre parcel belonging to Great Mountain Forest (GMF), is being […]

News From the Sugarbush

Family Maple Syrup Operation Gears Up for Unpredictable Season By Jude Mead It is maple syrup season again, and people always ask what type of year we are expecting. They believe that a heavy snowfall in winter must mean lots of maple sap in the trees, while a dry winter means less sap. But for […]

It’s All About the Data

Consultant takes hard look at Norfolk market area By Wiley Wood No one opens a business these days—no bank will lend money to start a business—without taking a hard look at the existing demand. “The days of ‘build it and they will come’ are long gone,” says Michael Goman. Which is where the firm of […]

Library Receives $200,000 Grant to Restore Tile Roof

Capital Campaign to Raise Additional Funds Starts February 1 By Ruth Melville Wednesday, January 7, was a red-letter day in the history of the Norfolk Library. At 4:15 p.m., the library’s board of trustees received the good news they were hoping for, their application for a $200,000 grant from the state to help restore the […]

Frank Dooley Ends his Reign as Chairman of Democratic Town Committee

By Janet Gokay Frank Dooley is stepping down this February from his post as chairman of the Norfolk Democratic Town Committee, a position he’s held for over 35 years. It’s been a long run, and by all accounts, an excellent one. “I’ve been very fortunate in my life,” says Dooley. “I’ve been in the right […]