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 […]
Community News
Wayne Jenkins to Exhibit Paintings at Library A self-taught oil painter of landscape and wildlife, Wayne Jenkins returns to the Norfolk Library with an exhibition of paintings that reflect his love of the natural world. Beginning with hunting and fishing as a young man and later raising cattle, he became fascinated by forms and colors found […]
Next step for firehouse: federal funding
town waits approval of $1.5 million By Joe Kelly Before a vote on the new firehouse gets scheduled, the town is waiting to ensure that a promised allocation of $1.5 million in federal funds actually becomes available. The funds are already included in the federal government’s 2025 spending plan for the 2025 fiscal year, which […]
Firehouse Cost Estimated at $9.35 Million
Preliminary report sees price tag of $788 a square foot By Joseph Kelly Norfolk could spend as much as $9.35 million on a new firehouse according to a preliminary budget projection, but First Selectman Matt Riiska is pushing back on the numbers, expressing confidence that the actual cost will be hundreds of thousands dollars less. […]
Special Tree to Honor Local Veterans
Raising funds for veteran’s issues A very special tree will be growing inside the Norfolk Hub, starting Oct. 1. The Veteran Remembrance Tree offers an opportunity for townspeople to honor and remember our veterans. This initiative is sponsored by the Norfolk Volunteer Fire Department (NVFD) as a way to bring the community together for those […]
town vote on firehouse likely in early november
Norfolk’s First Selectman Matt Riiska is planning a town vote on the new firehouse for early November. If approved, the town would then immediately solicit bids from construction companies with the hope of breaking ground in the Spring of 2025. “The earlier we can get on their schedules the better off we will be,” said […]
Norfolk’s Firefighters get $186K in federal grant money
New air packs on the way By Joe Kelly Norfolk’s volunteer firefighters are getting state-of-the-art air packs thanks to a federal grant the department won by teaming up with Winsted. The air packs—officially referred to as self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA)— supply clean air so firefighters can breathe inside a building or in an area with […]
Questions raised about the new firehouse
Could costs be cut by sharing with EMS? Other towns? By Joe Kelly While plans are being developed for Norfolk to replace its current firehouse on Sheperd Road with a new building, Norfolk Now has invited readers to submit questions about this very significant project. Questions that have come up have revolved around cost savings […]
Why Such a big Firehouse?
Plans call for a near tripling of space By Joe Kelly As plans for a new Norfolk firehouse advance through the design and budgeting phases—and ultimately a town vote—one question comes up repeatedly: Why is the proposed firehouse, at 10,700 square feet, so much larger than the current one, which is just 3,800 square feet? […]
Firehouse Plans Buffeted by High Construction Costs
By Joe Kelly As it undertakes one of the largest and most significant public works projects in the town’s history—a new firehouse—Norfolk is also battling historically high construction costs. Since the onset of the Covid epidemic in 2020, construction materials have undergone price increases averaging 19 percent across the board, according to a report from […]
