Date: Fri 25-Oct-1996

By Previous Employees

Published: Aug 11, 1999 12:00 am

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDREA

Quick Words:

film-educational-Katcher

Full Text:

It's A Reel Production -

Learning About City, Country, and Suburban Life

B Y A NDREA Z IMMERMANN

When Kate Katcher caught sight of the sheep and horses in the front pastures

of Stoneledge Hollow Farm on Huntington Road, she knew it would be the perfect

location to film a segment of the educational video, Where Do You Live? So she

knocked on the door of the farm house and asked Jan Perkins if she could bring

film crews to shoot indoor and outdoor scenes on October 22.

The film, produced by Jacoby/Storm Productions for Rainbow Educational Media,

focuses on the similarities and differences between three kids, one of whom

lives in the city, one in the suburbs, and one in the country. The young

actors talk about daily life in their environs and the responsibilities they

have at home.

Although there are many contrasts, the children find they have similarities -

all have brothers, and all have pets (albeit, ones suited to their living

situations: gerbil, dog, horse).

The film, aimed at elementary grades 2 through 4, is designed to help young

children see there are other ways to live - "without saying any one is better

than the other," added Mrs Katcher, the production manager for the film.

"I grew up in Brooklyn and didn't discover Connecticut until I was an adult,"

said Mrs Katcher, who now lives in Newtown and spotted the farm while driving

her son to Hebrew school. "The idea that you could live anywhere else was

foreign to me."

Mrs Perkins, whose family was also originally from New York, agreed. "When you

went somewhere on vacation, you thought of it as a place to vacation, not

necessarily another way of living."

One scene was shot in a bedroom of the farm house, and the rest of the country

scenes took place outdoors. The film crew placed blue paper inside the doorway

of the barn, which, on video tape, will appear "invisible." This allows an

image to be overlaid in that space during the editing process. A city scene

will be inserted in the barn doorway as a lead into the city segment,

according to director Jeff Jacoby.

"We do nine educational films a year which are distributed nationwide," said

Mr Jacoby, who is director for the film. His family has been producing

educational, industrial, and arts films in Fairfield County for 30 years.

The rest of Where Do You Live? will be filmed in the suburb of Ridgefield and

the City of Bridgeport. The film, scheduled to run about 20 minutes, will be

available to schools in January through educational video catalogues.

Nighthawk Track And Field Teams Host Meet

New Heights Vacation Bible School Returning

Next HRRA Household Hazardous Waste Drop-Off Event Scheduled In Newtown

Genealogy Club's Next Program To Dig Into 'Dissecting A Civil War Pension Record'

Choral Society Planning ‘Voices Of America’ Performance

The editorial took no position on the budget going up or down so you're reading things into the editorial that simply aren't there. The turnout is tied to the lack of passage, in that people who came out to vote last time did not this time, indicating a lack of support on their part. Perhaps it wasn't spelled out clearly enough, but that's what the editorial was driving at, people showing lack of support by not casting a vote. The editorial did address likely concerns among voters that may have led to lack of support and lack of turnout. This lower turnout also follows increasing turnout over the past four referendums in three years (meaning it is an aberration from that), and increased turnout is something that I do push for regularly in editorials. Any disappointment you might be seeing is at the break in that trend, not at whether the budget passed or not. I'd rather see more people come out and vote "no" then not vote at all.

Lower Turnout Results In Two Budget Defeats

Clearly, property owners no longer want to bear the burden of expenses while the state does not meet it’s responsibilities. Rising costs must be addressed by actions that do not include yearly increases of property owners’ taxes. The state of CT must meet its share of the educational costs, and other costs.

Town And School Budgets Fail At Referendum

This feels like an oddly misleading headline and narrative, particularly coming from the Editorial Board. The headline "Lower Turnout Results in Two Budget Defeats" pushes a misleading narrative regarding voter turnout, and then seeks to tie the outcome of the referendum to that misleading narrative. Sure, voter turn out for this year's referendum, 18%, was lower than last year's. However, last year's turnout, 25.4%, represented the highest turnout in the most recent 10 budget referendums. If you take the time to examine turnout percentages between 2017 and 2026 (2017: 19.9, 2018: 15.7, 2019: 17, 2020: 0, 2021: 8.98, 2022: 7.7, 2023: 8.8, 2024: 15.1/17.49, 2025: 25.4, 2026: 18), this year's turnout was actually the third highest in the past 10 cycles. Perhaps the headline of this article should say "Lower Voter Turnout Than Last Year", which is more accurate, rather than creating an impression that this year's turnout is some type of aberration - a narrative that the turnout numbers, in all their binary glory, simply do not support. Further, the headline of this article appears to tie the "lower turnout" to the defeated budgets. Sure, that could be true. But, perhaps, its more likely that Newtown residents are feeling the squeeze of multiple economic influences. In Newtown, we've experienced property revaluations and increased municipal spending. Eversource continues to raise rates. The state legislature gives PURA the authority to impose Public Benefit charges that benefit a tiny percentage of the public (and subsequently burdening the rest of us). At the national level, inflation has run rampant for years and many of those costs remain high to this day. In short, the data tells a far less dramatic—and far more honest—story than the headline suggests. This wasn’t an electorate vanishing in apathy; it was a fairly typical turnout delivering an verdict that, perhaps, some at the Editorial Board didn't like. At some point, it’s worth considering that residents aren’t confused, disengaged, or misled by turnout; they’re simply doing math at their kitchen tables and concluding that “no” is the only responsible answer left.

Enjoyed the forum which only confirmed my support for Brandon Moore as the Democratic candidate to run for the state representative position. Brandon Moore did not waiver about his duty to all the people, if elected, when an issue presents itself that requires that he voice a difference of opinion for the wellbeing of Newtown residents. If Michelle Ku’s 16 years have led to her loyalty being to other elected officials, as she implied, then Newtown is going to continue to witness actions that do not protect its residents. She could not unseat republican, Mitch Bolinsky, during a Blue Wave, and once again, will not do it now. Winning that seat is critical for all. That explains why her previous campaign committee now campaigns for Brandon Moore. It explains all the endorsements he has received from local elected democratic officials. It’s why we need Brandon Moore to be the democratic candidate to run for state representative.

Second Newtown DTC, League Of Women Voters Candidates Event Planned

Appreciated the opportunity to hear from both candidates as we were present for the College Dems forum but only heard from Brandon Moore. It was an opportunity to see who can unseat the Republican incumbent and there is no doubt that Brandon Moore should be the Democratic candidate. One concerned parent posed a question about discrimination unaddressed by the school district and interestingly enough, Michelle Ku, who proudly speaks of her Board membership years, said little, while Brandon Moore passionately addressed the issue along with his experience as an Apache Helicopter Commander. This family is supporting Brandon Moore. We need change and someone who is not afraid to disagree, especially about the rising costs of living in Newtown.

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Date: Fri 25-Oct-1996

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