Date: Fri 29-Aug-1997

By DOROTHY EVANS

Published: Aug 11, 1999 12:00 am

Publication: Bee

Author: DOTTIE

Quick Words:

Library-quilt-raffle

Full Text:

"Two Stars For Sarah" Quilt Going, Going, Almost Gone!

(with cuts)

BY DOROTHY EVANS

There is still time - three more days, to be exact - to purchase raffle

tickets for the handmade quilt that is being raffled off by the Friends of the

Library on Monday, September 1, during the Booth Library Annual Labor Day Book

Sale.

"You can still buy tickets for the quilt (at $1 each) right up to the last

minute," said Friends president Marion Wood.

The "last minute" is 4 pm Monday, at which time ticket sales will be closed.

The quilt raffle will be held shortly thereafter and the winner need not be

present for the drawing.

The queen-size quilt was made by members of the Friends group and has been on

display at Shelton House on the Fairfield Hills campus, the temporary quarters

for the Cyrenius H. Booth Library until renovations at that facility are

completed.

The Friends hope to earn more than $3,000 for the library through the quilt

raffle and have already taken in $2,000 toward that goal, according to Friends

representative Ann Marie Ekstrom.

"I think, now, that we might make it," Mrs Ekstrom said Monday, after

accepting a $1,000 check for 1,000 raffle tickets bought this summer by

McLaughlin Vineyards, Inc.

The tickets were given out free of charge as part of the entrance fee to

concertgoers at the vineyard's summer weekend outdoor jazz events.

Vineyard representative Brenda Zimmerman, who assists vineyard owner Morgen

McLaughlin, handed over the check to Mrs Ekstrom as a donation to cover the

cost of those raffle tickets given concertgoers.

Pillows For Sale

A skilled seamstress and former quilt-maker, Mrs Ekstrom had provided all the

fabric materials for the quilt project.

In addition, she used the "scraps," as she called them, to make four quilted

pillows that will be sold separately during the book sale. They will be priced

at $40 each.

The Booth Library Book Sale will be held at Bridgeport Hall on the Fairfield

Hills campus on Saturday, August 30, 10 am to 5 pm; Sunday, August 31, 10 am

to 5 pm; Monday, September 1, 9 am to 4:30 pm; Tuesday, September 2, 2 to 8

pm; and Wednesday, September 3, 10 am to 4pm.

Admission of $5 is charged on Saturday only ($3 for membership of the Friends

group) and numbered tickets go on sale outside the book sale at 7 am Saturday.

On Saturday and Sunday books will be sold at the marked price.

On Monday, books will be sold at half the marked price from 9 am to 2 pm. From

2:30 to 4:30 pm Monday and again on Tuesday, from 2 to 8 pm, books will be $5

per bag.

Leftover books will be free on Wednesday, from 10 am to 4 pm, with donations

accepted.

Refreshments will be available on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, and a juried

craft fair will be held Sunday and Monday on the lawn outside Bridgeport Hall.

All proceeds from the book sale benefit the library.

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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 29-Aug-1997

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