Special Events

By SHANNON HICKS

Published: Oct 31, 2008 12:00 am

Special Events

*Church Hill Spook-A-Tory: Come to 17 Church Hill Spook-A-Tory on Friday, October 31, from 4 to 7 pm. Come and have a spooky Halloween! Younger age appropriate: make your own monster hands, touch oozy brains and eyeballs, and receive a Halloween treat bag.

Family Programs & Events

*Parent Education Program (PEP): âPutting Children Firstâ is a State of Connecticut program required as a prerequisite to granting a divorce. Sessions are designed to help families cope with the effects of divorce on children.

Call 270-4335 for more information.

*Gym Time At Edmond Town Hall: Come spend some quality time with your children while preserving a healthy lifestyle. Gym Time for families are Wednesdays from 9:30 until 11:30 am at the town hall beginning September 17.

Cost is $50 per family. Call Elaine at NYFS for more information.

*âFamily To Familyâ is a 12 week class for caregivers of those with serious mental illness. The class meets Tuesday nights from 7 until 9:30 pm.

Youth Programs & Activities

*Job Bank is accepting applications from qualified 13- to 17-year olds who want employment babysitting, pet sitting, or performing other household chores. Call between 10 am and noon weekdays for an application.

*Middle School Homework Club will be running after school Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

*Reed School Homework Club meets after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

*Rock âN Roll Middle School meets on Wednesdays from 2:30 until 5 pm.

Support Groups

*Alateen meetings are Tuesdays from 7 to 9 pm.

This program is for youth affected by somebody elseâs alcoholism. At meetings members share their personal experiences, and learn to find personal happiness, whether or not the alcoholic in their lives is still drinking.

*An Autism Group, for parents of children with special needs, meets at 7 pm the first Thursday of each month. Call Wendy Suckow, 364-1133, for more information.

The groupâs next meeting will be November 6.

*A Children of Divorce group is also forming. This is a special group to help your child head from the pain caused by separation or divorce.

Meetings are Thursday nights from 5 to 6 pm. A session for children ages 10-14 will begin November 6. Call Jessi to sign up.

*Mommy & Me,Â a support group for first time mothers with children less than a year old, has resumed. The group meets on Tuesdays from 10:30 am until noon. Call Elaine for more information.

*NAMI is Americaâs largest grassroots organization dedicated to improving the lives of persons with serious mental illness.

This group meetings the third Monday of each month, 9 am to noon.

*âReality Bitesâ: Join Stacia Helfand for âReality Bites,â a new weight management group that offers strategies and tips for weight loss. Weekly sessions provide a weigh-in for accountability, nutrition education and peer support. The group is 45 minutes in length and is followed by a peer walking group.

Reality Bites will meet Thursday mornings at 9 at NYFS 17 Church Hill Road. Fee $15 per session or ten sessions for $125. For more information, call Stacia at 203-260-8911.

*A new Sibshop group is forming. Meetings are Wednesday nights from 5 to 6 pm.

This program acknowledges that being the brother or sister of a person with special needs is for some a good thing, for others a not so good thing, and for many, somewhere in-between.

Classes for children ages 10-14 will begin November 5. Call Jessi to sign up.

All programs take place at NYFS, 17 Church Hill Road, unless otherwise noted. For more information or to register call 270-4335.

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The Way We Were

Laura Wildman

It’s important to clarify that while public process matters, so does the right of a property owner to reasonably develop land they legally own—especially when they follow the rules and engage with the town in good faith. The Board of Selectmen (BOS), whether one agrees with their decision or not, did not “give away” anything. The land in question was part of a road that had been unused and undeveloped for generations. There was no public access, no signage, and no infrastructure—just an overgrown path most residents never knew existed. Mr. Ackert calls the discontinuance “illegal,” but state law grants municipalities the authority to discontinue roads, subject to procedural requirements. The fact that this matter is in litigation shows that questions of law are being properly addressed in court—not in letters to the editor. If the court finds procedural flaws, they’ll be corrected. That’s how the legal system works. Real solutions are found through public process and the courts, not through social media outrage. What’s missing from this conversation is a recognition that towns need to balance many interests: history, environment, public access, private property rights, and economic development. And while the newly championed Revolutionary War heritage is important, there are also pressing modern realities: towns need housing, economic vitality, and responsible development. These things don’t happen in a vacuum—they require compromise, planning, and often, yes, change. If residents truly wish to preserve this trail as public space, the appropriate path is through purchase, conservation easement, or formal designation—not by expecting private landowners to bear the burden of public sentiment. If the writer believes so strongly in its value, perhaps they might consider investing in its preservation themselves. We can honor our history without freezing our town in time. Development and preservation aren’t mutually exclusive—but vilifying one side of the conversation only deepens division. Let’s focus on solutions that balance respect for the past with the rights and needs of those who live here now.

Discusses Rochambeau Trail And 6 Commerce Road

Thank you both for running my letter and the excellent editor's note. I deeply appreciate the Bee and what it means to Newtown.

Critical Of Re-Election Announcement

Dan was a real gentleman. I had the honor of knowing him for about 10 years from high school and into early adulthood. He was always upbeat and amiable. His love of golf was boundless. I remember him droning on about the type of wedge this or that professional golfer was playing at any given time. He loved to play also. Dan made the winning putt that clinched a championship for NHS men’s golf in 1984. It was a snaking, downhill putt that few people would have had the nerve or imagination to have holed at such a critical moment. It was magic!! You are a true gem, Dan. May your eternal reward be endless days of long, straight drives and the sound of difficult putts finding the bottom of the hole.

Daniel R. Baker

Congratulations John! This is quite a feat & shows a lot of perseverance, endurance, & commitment while becoming more healthy & having fun! The ultimate achievement! Wishing u a long healthy life!

Run 169 Towns Society Runner John Gonski Completes Race In Every Connecticut Municipality

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” The 1st Amendment does NOT say "except when there's a budget problem, or when some people wish things would quiet down." There is no way a proposed ordinance can be construed as other than singling out RockthisDemocracy, and also no way the town does not get expensively buried in court should it be foolish enough to go down this path.

Assembly Ordinance?

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