In 2025, Newtown experienced the natural highs and lows that come with every year.

Borough Happenings Throughout 2025

On Sunday, January 26 at 4:30 pm, a man from Bethel hit the flagpole head-on in a 2021 Nissan Titan. The collision vibrated up the flagpole and caused the finial ball to snap off and crash onto Main Street.

Burgesses John Madzula and Sarah Phillips were both nearby and ran outside to see what happened. Madzula explained he was vacuuming when he saw the flagpole swaying from his window. Phillips said she heard the crash from her home as well.

When the two went outside, they saw the finial ball lying in the middle of Main Street, and they rushed to retrieve it.

Chris Gardner, the keeper of the flag and senior burgess, explained that it would not cost the Borough a penny, and he hoped to get the repairs paid for through the driver’s insurance. This then launched a months-long quest to get a new finial, repaint the pole, and have the finial replaced at the top of the 100-foot pole.

Dan Hern of Valley Restoration was brought in to complete the restorations. He came in on Thursday, August 21, and painted the whole thing from top to bottom, as well as replaced the finial. Gardner hoped the restorations would be complete by the Labor Day Parade, and that wish came true.

Last year, Newtown Village Cemetery Association and the Borough of Newtown used American Relief Plan Act (ARPA) funds to put a footbridge in Ram Pasture to go over the stream that bisects the property. The bridge’s construction was completed in mid-November of 2024. There was no further movement on the bridge until September 13, when Burgess and president of Newtown Village Cemetery Association Maureen Crick Owen dedicated the bridge to The Newtown Bee’s late publisher Scudder Smith.

Crick Owen shared that Scudder always wanted a bridge over the stream in Ram Pasture, but she said that it was “a wish, not a need.” When the ARPA funds came into the Borough, she knew what she had to do, so Crick Owen and Scudder’s grandson, Greg Smith, began to put together a request for the bridge.

Not only did the bridge get built, but the Ram Pasture sign on the corner of South Main Street and Sugar Street was refurbished and restored, and a new, smaller sign that replicates the large one was installed on the corner of Elm Drive and Hawley Road.

Greg said at the ceremony to officially dedicate the bridge to Scudder, “With today’s dedication, Scudder now joins his father in being honored here at the pasture for the same reason. And we’re honoring him because all around us here is land that Scudder really carved out. It was land he intimately knew. He was truly from this dirt … Scudder was, himself, an artist. His medium was gardening, and we are literally standing on his canvas.”

After Crick Owen and Greg’s words were shared, Helen Smith, Scudder’s wife, invited all her great grandchildren to join her on the bridge for the official ribbon cutting. Readers can visit Ram Pasture at any time and read the plaque on the bridge that recognizes Scudder’s contributions to the Newtown community.

Changing Of The Guards

This year, the Newtown community said “goodbye” to a cherished employee who served Newtown for almost 20 years: Carolee Mason. Mason was Newtown’s Municipal Animal Control Officer.

Over her twenty years in charge, she got thousands of animals adopted and helped thousands more. She helped save deer and skunks, and even rounded up cows and horses. Mason was never afraid of getting her hands dirty, and that is probably why her retirement announcement on Facebook was flooded with well wishes, pictures of adopted pets, and many, many thanks.

Mason said that her job “was a little unique,” and that she “did everything.” She was willing to go out and rescue animals in the middle of the night, even venturing out to neighboring towns to save blue herons or bobcats.

“The kind of Animal Control I am, I just pick it up and just do it.” She detailed a story about a bobcat with a broken femur. “I took it to Wildlife in Crisis, and they had it for three weeks in a confined area. They called me up and released it right where it was. It had a limp, but it was fine … They were going to euthanize it right then and there … It’s a fine line [between] euthanize them or you could get them help.”

Mason kept dogs in the Newtown shelter for ten-plus years, taking care of them and ensuring their comfort every day when she went into work.

She told a story about an Akita dog, Misty, who only had three legs. “We had her leg taken off. She was attacked from either a bear or a bobcat … Misty is another story that the guy took her to Newtown Veterinarian, was gonna have her euthanized. The girl at the vet called me up and said, ‘Carolee do you want this dog?’”

“I went there,” Mason continued. “I saw this poor Akita with the leg bandaged up. I took her to Mount Pleasant Animal Hospital and I asked if they could fix her. They looked at her leg and said, ‘No, we have to take the leg off.’ They took her leg off, put her through anesthesia, meanwhile, she was pregnant at the time … We had ten puppies. I slept at the dog pound for two days, on the floor of the shelter … she had [9-10] puppies and three legs,” Mason said with pride.

She said about Misty and her job in general, “It’s not always the law, it’s the heart.” Above all else, Mason shared that “it was the best job [she] could have ever asked for,” and that she was “honored.”

The honoring continued when Newtown Labor Day Parade Committee chose Mason to be this year’s parade grand marshal. Mason was chosen because of her community involvement, selflessness, advocacy, and kindness. The theme fit her perfectly, “Pets on Parade,” and many marchers had a lot of fun creating floats for the town’s tradition.

With long-time employees retiring, the town can always make room for new ones, such as the town’s newest position — Facilities/Project Manager Sean Heslin.

Heslin is a certified building operator with a background in energy efficiency. He said, “I look after, maintain, and just general repairs on all our buildings’ infrastructure, heating, cooling, all that jazz, but I also am in charge of the project piece. A lot of these capital projects that are coming through … the library project, and the HVAC project, and a smattering of other projects that we have throughout the town that got approved this budget season … Anything that’s building, [or] building operation related, is going to fall under my purview.”

Heslin’s job is to oversee larger capital projects, like the HVAC system at C.H. Booth Library and the dehumidification project at Newtown Community Center. Heslin explained that he thinks this position has been “a long, long time coming” for the town. He added that the need for oversight is apparent to him and that capital projects and buildings need a “dedicated servant.” Heslin said that a big part of his job will be to make sure that things are working properly so there are less emergencies that set the town back.

Heslin was very excited to be a part of the Newtown community and explained that he values aesthetics, something that is very central to Newtown residents.

New Beginnings

Among the usual “hustle and bustle” of every-day Newtown life, one group of people was hard at work to get a new community outlet put together and finished for everyone to enjoy. That group would be the hard-working folks at Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary.

CVHAS honors the life of six-year-old Catherine Violet Hubbard, one of the children lost on 12/14, who had a love for all living things. The sanctuary provides free- to low-cost programs focused on education and conservation. It celebrates the profound connection between animals, humans, and nature and strives to ensure all creatures can live and coexist safely.

Though the team at CVHAS started working on this barn in 2024, construction was not fully complete until June. Just days before the 12 year anniversary of 12/14, Jenny Hubbard, president and founder of CVHAS, hosted a formal “barn raising” ceremony, where members of the public took turns hammering pegs into the frame of the barn.

Catherine’s Learning Barn is more than just a barn to the group, however. It is the sanctuary’s first permanent structure, which will allow the group to host events all year, no matter the weather. Before, the group would have to rent spaces and rely on good weather for events. Now that the barn is complete, the sanctuary can host field trips, private events, corporate retreats, and most of all, continue to support the sanctuary’s mission.

The barn features a generous 3,400 square foot event space and two bathrooms, as well as a commercial kitchen. The kitchen was designed to be able to support the entire sanctuary for any event, as the space can host 100 people seated at tables, and 125 for presentation-style seating.

Hubbard said, “I think that what’s important, and especially the work that we do here at the sanctuary, is to make sure that humans are equipped with the tools and the knowledge to care for the creatures and the animals that we share our backyards and our homes with. I believe that when you are equipped with those tools and information, then people absolutely make the right choices, and make the world that they live in softer, kinder, gentler, safer.”

As a result of the small team’s hard work, American Business Association presented CVHAS with a Gold Stevie Award for “Nonprofit of the Year” on June 10.

Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps As Busy As Ever

Newtown has volunteer fire companies and ambulance corps, but that does not mean there is any lack of service or care in the EMTs’ responses.

Take a look at Karsen Pirone and Janet Zamary, two volunteer EMTs who responded to a call on May 12. Pirone came in early for her volunteer shift, and it was a good thing she did. With two ambulances already out on other calls, a third came through radio waves reporting a possible seizure at Edmond Town Hall.

It was not a seizure, however, it was cardiac arrest, and the man’s name is Andrew Stubbs. A 57-year old man playing basketball with his friends in the gym suddenly collapsed. His friends called out for help, and started performing CPR on Stubbs.

NVAC Chief Michelle Greenspan said, “Karsen and Janet were first on scene … Karsen quickly identified it as cardiac arrest and advised the bystanders to continue that high-quality CPR and she initiated the BVM ventilations … and set up the AED and administered that first defibrillatory shock which got your pulse back.” BVM, or bag-valve-mask ventilation, allows for oxygenation and ventilation of patients until a more definitive airway can be established.

NVAC hosted a ceremony to officially recognize Pirone’s and Zamary’s life-saving efforts, where former First Selectman Jeff Capeci presented the two women with proclamations that recognized their hard work and dedication to volunteerism.

Outside the ceremony, Stubbs proudly showed off his incision where his new defibrillator sits in his chest, and wrapped Pirone and Zamary in an embrace that left many bystanders in tears.

During the ceremony, Stubbs spoke, “I got such great care from this wonderful institution.” He added that when he found out Pirone was the woman who deployed the AED, he really wanted to meet her.

Stubbs said he thinks everybody needs to be trained on CPR and AED use. He also said the company he works for just bought an AED and is “threatening to put it right next to [his] desk.”

After Stubbs addressed the crowd, his wife Kelly also thanked the crew of volunteers.

“You saved a father of four. He’s 57. He’s in good health, you don’t expect him to have cardiac arrest,” she said. “It’s amazing what you did. We celebrated our 28th wedding anniversary the weekend after he got out of the hospital.”

As Stubbs was leaving the ceremony, he told The Newtown Bee that he wants people to know that the entire crew are volunteers.

“They don’t get paid for this,” Stubbs said as he left the NVAC headquarters that night.

As part of NVAC’s life-saving efforts, the volunteers are actively working to “standardize” their fleet. On September 27, NVAC received a shiny new ambulance, equipped with a LifePak35. A LifePak35 can read blood pressure and oxygen levels, and perform a 12 lead EKG. After taking these vital signs, the machine can then transmit that information to hospital staff so the emergency department can prepare a cardiac team before the ambulance even arrives.

This machine, as member at large Gavin Arneth said, is a “big game changer” for NVAC. With open communication between EMTs and doctors through LifePak35, NVAC members can work with hospital staff and provide extra care to patients.

The new ambulance not only looks nice, but it is a smoother ride for patients, allows more space to work with patients, and includes a radio in the back so EMTs can easily call into dispatch.

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Reporter Sam Cross can be reached at sam@thebee.com.