Date: Fri 28-Mar-1997

By DOROTHY EVANS

Published: Aug 11, 1999 12:00 am

Publication: Bee

Author: DOTTIE

Quick Words:

spring-photos-

Full Text:

Searching Out Signs of Our Reluctant Spring

Pussy willows are just beginning to pop in Hawleyville.

Looks good, smells terrible: Skunk cabbage grows in the woods behind Budd

Drive.

The ice is melting along Deep Brook.

Snowdrops blooming along Boggs Hill Road show tiny white blossoms.

By July, these day lily shoots near Elm Drive will be showing off their orange

flowers.

It's time to spring clean the bluebird house.

Photos by Dottie Evans

B Y D OROTHY E VANS

Ahh, Spring in New England... that perverse, cantankerous season we've come to

know and love... when we awaken March 20 full of hope.

Yes! we say. It's definitely brighter outside today than it was yesterday. The

days are getting longer and the sun seems stronger - unless, of course, it's

raining. Or snowing.

Time to move those African violets back from the south-facing kitchen window,

or their leaves will get burned.

Time to let out the cat. Lately, she wants to be out more than in, we've

noticed. Prepare to wipe her muddy paw prints off the kitchen counter.

Time to fence the perennial garden. The spaniel is in a frenzy to be digging

in the iris bed, searching out those moles that have started moving

underground. That means more mud - spaniel tracks on the carpets and floors.

When we head out for the morning paper at 6:30 am, the sun is well up. We're

greeted by exuberant bird song, mostly from the cardinals and song sparrows

who've been practicing since the end of February.

It must be spring.

So where's the part we're really waiting for? The blooming daffodils, balmy

breezes, nesting bluebirds and sitting outside in our back yards, drinking our

morning coffee with the warm sun on our backs?

It's coming. And May will see the fulfillment of that promise.

Meanwhile, if it's proof we need, we must hunker down and look for it in the

debris of last year's leaves. Search out a sunny corner of the garden, walk in

the woods, be willing to get our feet wet. Open our windows and listen for the

peepers.

Yes, Spring is here, but it's still only March and we've got to go looking for

it.

The Way We Were

Silver Alert For Blue McGrath Ended

Top Of The Mountain

Cargo Van Driver Taken To Hospital Following Collision With Gas Tanker

Knotweed Initiative Program Planned

Well that is some spin. The Democrats have a super majority on the LC and passed the Education Budget without serious consideration of if the voters could afford the multi million dollar increase. "Was the request justified?" rather than "is this needed?" and "can the voters shoulder yet another large increase?" The voters rightly sent it back. Then for some reason all the discussion around reductions to the increase seemed to be coming from the classroom, rather than administration and overhead costs. Is this a coercive tactic to manipulate parents into supporting the budget like tacit threat of cutting freshman sports was two years ago? Who believes the Democrats did not caucus privately before the meeting and came in with a number already worked out? This is the Dems budget, they own it.

Education Cuts: Who Voted For What

I think it is important that we do not villainize every black box seen around a home, business, farm, or municipal property. A black exterior station does not always mean rat poison is being used. These stations can hold a number of different products, including monitoring blocks, snap traps, non-toxic bait, anti-tick bait stations, organic salt- or cornmeal-based control products, and newer fertility-control approaches intended to reduce rodent populations without traditional poisons. The better conversation, in my opinion, is not simply “black boxes are bad,” but rather: what is inside them, who is maintaining them, and whether the rodent issue is being managed responsibly. Exclusion, sanitation, trapping, habitat reduction, and careful monitoring should all be part of a responsible IPM strategy. To be fair, on my own property I do use rodenticides, including Bromethalin and Bromadiolone, in secured bait stations. But that is a choice I make for my property, based on my circumstances and the risk I am trying to manage. I also believe property owners should understand the tradeoffs and be encouraged to use the least harmful effective method whenever possible. I support protecting Newtown’s wildlife. I also support giving residents accurate information and not assuming that every black box represents reckless or unsafe pest control. The goal should be responsible rodent management, not fear of the box itself.

Discusses Policy Against Rodenticides

Debora, thank you! I accidentally doubled the project prices by adding the bond to the appropriation. Thank you so much for catching that and pointing it out. With the corrected numbers, the voters approved a combined $1.32 million for a salt shed ($600k) and library pavement ($720k), while rejecting the $1.12 million replacement turf. Regarding the 80s, I truly respect the hurdle of 14% mortgage rates. My point is simply that the math has shifted: in 1980, while the rates were higher, the price of a home relative to earnings was significantly lower. We are facing a different, but equally crushing, financial wall. Ultimately, it is disheartening that voters who recognized safe sidewalks and parking lots as essential, dismissed a playing field in the exact same condition. The turf has passed its life cycle and is just as much of a liability as the library’s pavement, the only difference is that this safety concern affects thousands of children who, coincidentally, cannot vote. These are apples-to-apples needs. I was hopeful our community would agree that all Newtown residents deserve safe conditions, regardless of which facility they utilize. Again, I would be remiss not to mention that when 82% of residents don’t show up, we have to deal with the interests of those who did. Hopefully, the next referendum will have a bigger turnout.

The ‘Me’ Generation

Thanks for the reply. I meant the numbers you presented in your letter. I found one place where other numbers were listed: https://www.newtownbee.com/04232026/get-out-and-vote-on-the-2026-27-proposed-municipal-and-school-budgets/?q=\\\%22advisory%20questions\\\%22. In that article, the numbers were cited as: Treadwell field: $1,125,000 Library: $720,000 Salt Storage: $600,000 As one who started out in the early 80's when inflation was double digits, my 1985 mortgage rate was 14%, and child care costs were comparable (in present value), I shared your grief but never considered the voters ironic or shameful. PS. I agree college tuition is ridiculous. Thankfully, universities are offering (or considering) waiving all or most tuition for middle class families (upwards of $200,000 incomes). Hopefully, they'll also reconsider their need for those funds in the first place.

Sure! Child care costs: https://www.ffyf.org/2022/10/13/data-child-care-prices-continue-to-rise-ahead-of-midterm-elections-outpacing-inflation/ (also from 2021-2025 we had 2 children in a local daycare in Newtown and it cost us $3200 a month, so that's a number I am very familiar with) Home price / median price vs income source: https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/home-price-income-ratios Tuition increase vs inflation: https://feed.georgetown.edu/access-affordability/noting-a-decline-in-middle-class-students-colleges-provide-more-aid/ Hope this helps :)

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Date: Fri 28-Mar-1997

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