Holiday Hours

By SHANNON HICKS

Published: Dec 31, 2004 12:00 am

Holiday Hours

C.H. Booth Library will be closed Friday, December 31, through Sunday, January 2.

Regular hours will resume on Monday, January 3.

Young Adults

*Budding Theatrical Writers Wanted! The Playstages 2005 Playwriting Contest has been announced.

Students in grades 3-9 can submit scripts as individuals or teams. This national contest awards two Grand Prizes of $500 each and recognizes many other scripts as well. Submission deadline is February 15.

*Scrabble Club continues on Sunday afternoons with informal play for all ages in the Young Adult area. Drop in and have some fun with this classic word game from 1 to 5 pm. Check out games at the main desk for play in the library.

Players can play the classic version or Scrabble Junior, whichever theyâre more comfortable with.

*Creative Writing: A fiction writing workshop will be offered for young people in grade 6 and up beginning January 24. This is the second creative writing program of the 2004-05 year, and will be led by professional writer and teacher Wally Wood, a Newtown resident.

Meetings will be on alternate Monday evenings from 6-8 pm on the following dates: January 24, February 7 and 28, and March 14 and 28.

Participants are expected to attend all five session meetings. There is no fee, but the program is limited to 15 participants.Â Sign up at the Main Floor Circulation Desk or call the library.

*Find full details of all YA programs on the YA Webspot, www.biblio.org/yawebspot, and in the YA area at the library.

Adult Programs

*Non-Fiction Book Group: On Tuesday, January 4, at 1 pm, the Non-Fiction Book Group will meet to discuss the National Geographic article from June 2004 on âCheap Oil.â Â Please call the library at 426-4533 for more details.

*4th Annual Holiday Concert: On Friday, January 7, at 8 pm, Newtown resident Richard Serbagi will conduct the Concert Society of Putman and Northern Westchester at Trinity Episcopal Church, 36 Main Street. A reception will follow the performance.

The 4th annual Holiday Concert will feature John Hanulik, playing the oboe dâamore, and a work written by Connecticut composer Joseph Russo in memory of 9/11. Back by acclamation is soprano Maria Ferrante singing selected arias from Messiah.

Violinist Eric Lewis will be the soloist as Maestro Serbagi conducts Vivaldiâs The Four Seasons.

Tickets can be purchased at C.H. Booth Library or Newtown Savings Bank. No tickets will be sold at the door. All proceeds of the performance will purchase non-fiction books for the libraryâs Childrenâs Department of the library.

*Daytime Book Group: The next meeting of the Daytime Book Group will be Monday, January 10, at 1 pm.

The group will be discussing Tracy Chevalierâs The Virgin Blue. Newcomers are always welcome.

C.H. Booth Library, at 25 Main Street, can be reached at 426-4533. Winter hours have returned: The library is now open Monday through Thursday from 10 am to 8 pm, Friday from noon to 5 pm, Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm, and Sunday from 1 to 5 pm.

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To be clear, there are different types of open space designations in the State of CT. The "Open Space or Recreation" designation simply means that the open space is open to the public for passive recreational activities (e.g., Hiking, Fishing, Horseback Riding, etc.), as opposed to the types of open space that are closed to the public. I'm confident that our terrific Conservation Commission will fulfill their responsibilities associates with Open Space land, as outlined by the town Charter, including the recommendation of specific rules on what's allowed and what's not for the Board of Selectmen to approve. Also, make no mistake, the final language of the law is completely aligned with the resolution passed by a vote of 2-1 at the 10/7/24 BOS meeting. That resolution reads "....the Board of Selectmen will request that state legislators designate 6 Commerce Road as Town Open Space and request the economic development restriction be removed from the 6 Commerce Rd. deed....." Interestingly, on November 1st, the First Selectman wrote a letter to Mitch Bolinsky and Tony Hwang saying "....Following a resolution adopted by the Board of Selectmen on October 7th, and subsequently endorsed by the Legislative Countil on October 23rd, we seek to enact legislation that would remove the economic development stipulation from the deed of 6 Commerce Drive." Not only did he change the name from 6 Commerce Road to 6 Commerce Drive, but he also changed the request to suit his desire for the property instead of what was voted on, by omitting the part about designating it as open space! Thankfully, he attached the 10/7/24 BOS meeting minutes to his letter, where our state reps were able to reference the actual accurate resolution language, which again, matches the final language of Special Act 25-15. The only clarification needed, is why the First Selectman changed the wording of his Nov. 1st letter, from what the BOS approved on October 7th.

It’s Done: 6 Commerce Can Be Open Space

I am feeling like Mr. Ackert's quest/request for greater transparency of our town's governance is disingenuous. First off, I cannot imagine how a "town-wide policy to provide greater transparency" could possibly be worded, and I think that Mr. Capeci was just being polite in agreeing that we should have one. Secondly, Mr. Ackert is accusatory, as if he believes something nefarious is behind the lack of transparency, where it exists, while I do not believe this at all. Third: The time, effort, and upkeep to have absolutely every town meeting interactively live, recorded, and fully documented, would obviously NOT save the town money, and I doubt that other towns of our type "implemented these policies long ago." And lastly, after having witnessed the town meeting behaviors of the anti-development faction, I am certain that we should not facilitate their ability to sit at home and harangue the poor people who work so hard IN PERSON, to make our town a better place.

Calls For Policies To Create Greater Transparency

The devil is in the details, what constitutes recreation, a ice skating arena. A tennis club?

The language “any purpose other than open space or recreation, the parcel shall revert to the state of Connecticut” is a bit concerning and warrants clarification. Would the existing infrastructure be violative of this language?

It’s disappointing to see Newtown move forward with the so-called “Save-As-You-Throw” program—let’s be honest, it’s really Pay-As-You-Throw. Most families will end up paying more just to throw out their trash, despite the high taxes we already pay. While the swap shop and free bulky waste disposal are nice ideas, they don’t offset the added cost and inconvenience of having to buy special blue bags—up to $4.40 each. It’s especially frustrating to see threats of $500 fines and policeenforcement tied to something that used to be a basic service. This isn’t about sustainability—it’s about shifting more costs onto residents. I hope the town will reconsider and find a more reasonable and affordable approach. I have already heard discussions about purchasing backyard incinerators as a work around. What's next, is the town going to discontinue curb side recycling?

Save-As-You-Throw Program Coming To Transfer Station July 1

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