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WAY WE WERE FOR JUNE 27, 1997

JUNE 30, 1972

Newtown voters went to the polls on June 28 and elected Frank R. DeLucia as

their first selectman. The vote tally, including absentee ballots, was 2,641

for Mr DeLucia and 1,984 for his Democratic opponent, James M. Costello, a 3-2

margin of victory. The special election had been petitioned for by the

Democratic party following Mr DeLucia's appointment as interim first selectman

following the death of First Selectman Timothy B. Treadwell in February. Mr

DeLucia had first received the endorsement of the Republican Town Committee

and then was elected by the elected officials of his party. He will serve

until May 3, 1973, the time for Newtown's regular elections.

Rain postponed graduation exercises for Newtown High School seniors and also

caused the ceremonies to be moved into the auditorium when they were finally

held on Friday evening, June 23. Dan W. Lufkin, commissioner of the state

Department of Environmental Protection, gave the commencement address,

comparing the work ahead for the seniors to the six mythical labors of

Hercules. Paul Shierloh was the valedictorian, Garry Ober was salutatorian and

Ruth Lawrence was class president.

Two meetings in succession Monday evening dealt with the transfers normally

required just before the end of the fiscal year. The Board of Selectmen met at

7 pm in the selectmen's office followed by a meeting of the Board of Finance

at 8 pm in the Mary Hawley Room at Edmond Town Hall. Both boards approved the

transfer of funds to pay for a new braking system for Hook & Ladder's Engine

11 and the truck should be on its way to Massachusetts for the work by the end

of this week. The discussion prompted W.W. Holcombe, finance board chairman,

to ask Fire Marshall Jim Cavanagh which fire district he, Mr Holcombe, lived

in. It seems that Mr Holcombe had been solicited for contributions by both the

Dodgingtown and Hawleyville districts. Mr Holcombe was urged to contribute to

both, although he lives in Dodgingtown. Most of the discussion was in jest,

referring to the fact that generations ago, residents of the Dodgingtown

district were said to claim Newtown residence when the Bethel tax collector

turned up, and Bethel residence when the Newtown tax collector arrived - hence

the area came to be called Dodgingtown.

At its meeting on Tuesday evening the Board of Education voted on budget cuts

and announced them to the public. The cuts amount to $115,000, an amount

designated by the town meeting of May 31. The proposed new position of plant

manager for the district schools will not be filled. Activities required for

this job will be handled by the business manager and the maintenance

supervisor. The vacant post of administrative assistant at the high school

will be filled by a counselor instead. Media responsibilities in the middle

school will be assigned to the librarian, freeing a teacher to return to

classroom duty. Two new library clerks were eliminated. There were also cuts

in department chairmen fees, special education stipends, teacher tuition,

adult education, educational supplies and testing.

The state Department of Transportation has again raised the possibility of a

rest area on I-84 within Newtown. This time the proposed site is only on the

westbound side in an area near the Brookfield line and Old Hawleyville Road.

This is an area proposed by the late First Selectman Timothy B. Treadwell

after the state announced plans to build a rest area on Currituck Road which

included a large section of the Andrew Sedor farm, and another similar rest

area on the eastbound side. More than 250 people attended a public hearing in

May 1970 to object to the plan. The new plan, for a rest area on the westbound

side only, would include parking for 54 cars and 15 trucks and would be

significantly smaller than the original proposal which would have accommodated

84 cars, 16 campers, 42 trucks, picnic tables, grills, an information building

and sanitary facilities.

JUNE 27, 1947

The Charles Howard Peck Post No 308, Veterans of Foreign Wars, this week

announced plans to erect a building on property now owned by the post directly

across Newtown-Bridgeport Road (Route 25) from the country club. Since the

post was founded in 1939, meetings have been held in various public and

private buildings in town. The VFW plans to erect this building in memory of

the Newtown servicemen who died in World War II.

Arthur Godfrey of early morning radio fame gave The Newtown Bee a "plug" one

morning last week and Mrs Bowen's "Hawley Manor Notes" got a laugh. In the

usual rush of writing the column, Mrs Bowen told of the Hadley's recent move

from the Manor into their remodeled home "which has been excessively

remodeled." She meant extensively remodeled, of course. In this week's "Notes"

Miss Sarah Drake and Mrs George Mently were the first occupants of the new

addition at the inn. The new connecting corridor on the second floor proved

itself welcome in the recent rainfall, allowing annex residents to go from one

building to another without stepping outdoors.

Mr and Mrs John J. Craffey of Boston announced the engagement of their

daughter, Jeanne Marguerite, to William A. Honan, Jr, son of Mr and Mrs

William A. Honan of Main Street. Miss Craffey graduated from St Gregory's High

School and is with the John Hancock Insurance Company. Mr Honan is an alumnus

of Providence College and is now doing graduate work with the New England

Institute of Anatomy and Embalming in Boston. He is a veteran of World War II,

having served 33 months with the US Navy. The wedding is expected to take

place in the late summer.

At a special town meeting at Edmond Town Hall last Friday night a motion was

passed to rescind the power given to the Permanent School Building Committee

in regard to the proposed addition and alterations to Hawley School because

the powers were considered too restrictive to enable the committee to do its

job properly. The committee now has the power and authority to draw on a sum

of $30,967 which is the accumulated unexpended balance of the town

appropriations. About 70 voters and tax payers attended the meeting.

The second annual Firemen's Carnival will begin next Monday night at the

Taylor Field behind Hawley School and continue through Saturday, July 5.

Besides nightly concerts by the Sandy Hook Fife, Drum & Bugle Corps, there

will be at least a dozen brilliantly lighted booths with games of skill and

chance. This year's committee reminds residents that the proceeds from the

carnival are the only funds to maintain much of the town's firefighting

apparatus and to equip its personnel. Improvements to Newtown's firefighting

facilities this year have included purchase of a new fire truck at Newtown

[Hook & Ladder] and the purchase and remodeling of Glover Hall for the Sandy

Hook fire company.