Summer Reading Volunteers

By SHANNON HICKS

Published: May 29, 2009 12:00 am

Summer Reading Volunteers

Summer reading kicks off on Monday, June 29.

Every year young adults volunteer to help with our independent summer reading program by listening to younger readers talk about the books they are reading. You must be entering sixth grade or older to be a library volunteer.

Training and information sessions will be held on Monday, June 1, and Thursday, June 4, at 4 pm. If you have never volunteered for our summer program, you must attend one of these sessions.

Applications will be available on June 1 and must be turned in by June 10. Applications received after that date will go on the sub list.Â Summer reading ends on August 15.

Young Adults

*Chess Club News: Â As a reminder, the final intermediate chess lesson for the current group of students will be held on Saturday, May 30. All students should try to be present at this lesson to receive a gift.

*Fifth graders, do you love to write?

We have a creative writing program for young people that weâd like to tell you about.Â Itâs a peer group for young writers who enjoy sharing their work with each other.

Join us Monday evening, June 15, from 6:30Â to 7:30, in the Antiques Room on the third floor. Meet the leaders and assistants and hear from students in the program. We will have complete information on the Creative Writing Summer Camp and the year round program groups in poetry, fiction, and mystery.

Feel free to sign up online or just drop in with a parent. For more information contact Young Adult Librarian Margaret Brown.

*For full details and signups for YA programs, see the YA Webspot at biblio.org/YAWebspot.

Program signups can also be made through the library calendar on the libraryâs home page, CHBoothLibrary.org. Go to the program or the date that a series of programs begins.

Families And Adults

Â *An Authorsâ Talk for Book Lovers: Meet authors Nancy and Lawrence Goldstone on Tuesday, June 2, at 1 pm.

Their talk will focus on three titles they co-wrote: Used and Rare: Travels in the Book World, Warmly Inscribed: The New England Forger and Other Book Tales and Slightly Chipped: Footnotes in Booklore.

The Goldstones will talk about why they became interested in collecting books and describe the interesting people they have met in the course of their collecting. Refreshments will be served.

*ReferenceUSA for Job Hunters: A representative from the ReferenceUSA database will be here to show how this powerful business database can be used for job searching on Thursday, June 4, from 9 to 11 am, and again in the evening beginning at 7 pm.

Registration is requested and can be done online or over the phone.

*Book Groups: The Daytime Book Group will discuss The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson on Monday, June 8, at 1 pm; and The Evening Book Group will talk about Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortensen on Thursday, June 18, at 7:30 pm.

*A Virtual Tour of American History: What can you learn about American history from visiting the New Britain Museum of Art?

Find out on Monday, June 8, at 7:30 pm, when Newtown Historical Society hosts a virtual tour of the museum with museum docent (and Sandy Hook resident) Alma Kearns.

Hereâs a chance to view American history through the artistsâ eyes. From Colonial portraiture â which offered the rich a chance to establish their immortality in a pre-photographic age, to artistsâ perceptions of 9/11, great moments in history â and many lesser moments â have been fitting subjects for an artistâs pen, brush, engraver or chisel.

We tend to think of historical paintings as the monumental depiction of Revolutionary War events that helped us establish our national identity in the early republic, but what would our development have been had we not had the sublime vistas of the Hudson River School or the biting commentary of an editorial cartoonist?

Art styles change as well as the events and these changes will be reflected in the works of art to be shown, including a bequest from Newtownâs own Olga Knoepke.

*Play Ball! Julie Stern will lead a three part summer book series on Americaâs favorite past time, baseball. This discussion series is for both baseball fans and those who love a good story. Programs are Tuesday evenings beginning at 7:30 pm.

Discussions will feature Wait Til Next Year by Doris Kearns Goodwin on June 16, The Natural by Bernard Malamud on June 30, and Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella on July 14.

Multiple copies of each book are available at the circulation desk.

C.H. Booth Library is at 25 Main Street in Newtown. Call 426-4533 or visit CHBoothLibrary.org for information on these and future programs and offerings.

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It’s important to clarify the tone and context of Derek Pisani’s remarks, particularly the satirical line about suing Newtown for "Gross Stupidity." This was clearly a tongue-in-cheek jab at the exhausting culture of legal threats that’s become a staple on the local Facebook Group forums. It was a reflection of frustration over endless regulatory hurdles and obstructionism, and the desire to avoid common sense solutions not an insult aimed at residents. Satire, is meant to provoke thought and highlight the absurdities. If we are unable to distinguish between satire and literal threats, perhaps the comment hit closer to the truth than we’d like to admit. Rather than focusing on Pisanis style, we should be discussing the substance of what he’s pointing out: that Newtown’s progress is being routinely blocked by a small but vocal contingent who seem intent on saying “no” at every turn. They are saying no to any development, no to common sense solutions to crowd control, etc. Newtown deserves leaders who are willing to call things as they see them, even if their language ruffles feathers. That doesn’t mean they lack respect for constituents—it means they care enough to challenge the Mob and push for solutions. Isn't that what we elect people to do? I applaud Pisani's dedication, he certainly has earned my vote. Regardless, let’s not reduce conversation to tone-policing and outrage. Let’s focus on the issues that matter.

Who is Calling Newtowners Stupid?

Thank you for pointing out the trail access provisions included in the BOS motion—it’s an important clarification that deserves more attention in this conversation. If the development is, in fact, required to provide permanent free public access and commit to ongoing maintenance of this section of the Rochambeau Trail, that is a remarkably beneficial outcome for the town. oIt’s not every day that a private project shoulders the long-term burden of preserving and caring for a public historical corridor at no taxpayer cost—especially one that previously had no formal access, upkeep, or visibility. Let’s be honest: the idea that the only way to protect history is by preventing any development nearby is a rigid and unworkable standard. What’s being proposed here appears to strike a rare balance—historic preservation, public access, and smart development all rolled into one. That’s not a loss its a win. So rather than allowing a handful of voices to derail progress under the banner of “historic purity,” maybe it’s time to acknowledge the reality: this trail is better off with structured stewardship and visibility than remaining an overgrown ghost on old maps. Let’s move forward. Bring in the easement, bring in the public access—and yes, bring in the bulldozers!!! Progress and preservation can coexist. Let’s not let the NIMBY use fear or nostalgia keep us stuck in the past.

Discusses Rochambeau Trail And 6 Commerce Road

I've heard that several people are under the impression that the public might be banned from the Rochambeau Trail. Points 2 and 3 from the BOS motion (included in full below) make it clear that public access to the trail is part of the requirements for the developer. From what I understand, it requires free public access to the trail in perpetuity. Technically, this could be argued to be a "payment-in-kind," that attempts to balance public good with overall town growth. We can argue about weather that balance is acceptable and how the trail may be affected, but with the understanding that the trail is expected to be maintained as a publicly accessible trail regardless. July 15, 2024 Board of Selectmen approved motion: Discontinuance of Reservoir Road: Selectman Cruson moved the resolution: Resolved, that the Newtown Board of Selectmen, in accordance with Section 2-115(d)(8) of the Town Charter and Conn. Gen. Stat. §13a-49, and subject to the conditions set forth below, hereby discontinues an unimproved portion of Reservoir Road described as “Portion of Reservoir Road to be Discontinued “on that certain survey map which will be recorded on the Newtown Land Records titled “Map Showing Portion of Reservoir Road to be Discontinued” dated August, 2023 and revised September 15, 2023, and certified substantially correct by Gregory Szyszowski of SLR (the “Survey Map”), said discontinuance contingent and effective only upon the completion of the following: 1. The approval of an application for the development of land in the manner described in a letter from Attorney Thomas W. Beecher to First Selectman A. Jeffrey Capeci and Members of the Board of Selectmen dated May 30, 2024, pursuant to the “Residential Open Space Development” regulations of the Borough of Newtown by the Borough of Newtown Zoning Commission, and construction of that approval project within the timeframes required for special exception approval; 2. The inclusion of the discontinued portion of the road as part of the final Declaration of Conservation Restriction; 3. The conveyance of a mutually agreeable public easement to the Town of Newtown for pedestrian, bicycling, equestrian, and all other passive recreational uses (to exclude the use of motorized vehicles except as may be necessary by the Town or its designee to effectuate the purpose of the easement), and for municipal utility purposes; Be it further resolved, that Castle Hill Real Estate Holdings, LLC., its successors and assigns, shall not use any portion of the discontinued road as a vehicular road or access way to and from any developed portions of the property. Be it further finally resolved, that should any of the foregoing contingencies not occur, then the discontinuance contemplated herein shall not become effective and this resolution will become null and void. From: https://www.newtown-ct.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif12216/f/minutes/bos_7-15-24_min-_att_final.pdf

Is this paper road (roads that only exist on paper map but not in reality) even owned by the Town? Many roads that predate the Town's road standards are privately owned and were never accepted by the Town, such as many of the nonconforming roads around the lake communities where the property owners own right to the center line. That is something we had to deal with when working on the Roads Ordinance a few years back. We also had to deal with a private road to run the utilities to the new SHS.

For anyone who wants to know, I cant post a link here, but Housatonic Resources Recovery Authority has an entire website. Look up "HRRA whats in whats out"

I Get It!

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