Among the first to show up at the tree lighting ceremony in the Ram Pasture last Friday evening was Jack Frost, who froze up the place pretty good while people were waiting for the 7 pm countdown to light the tree. In fact, his enthusiasm got a littl

By KAAREN VALENTA

Published: Dec 12, 2003 12:00 am

Among the first to show up at the tree lighting ceremony in the Ram Pasture last Friday evening was Jack Frost, who froze up the place pretty good while people were waiting for the 7 pm countdown to light the tree. In fact, his enthusiasm got a little out of hand, and the organizers of the event decided to move up the lighting to 6:30 so people could get home sooner and thaw out. Despite the brewing blizzard, everyone seemed to have a great time, as usual.

Not everyone has a great time during the holiday season. Rick Mazzariello of the Newtown Fund says there still are about 19 households, mostly senior citizens or a single parent with a child, that have not been âadoptedâ in the annual Holiday Basket Program. Anyone who would be willing to provide a holiday meal and a gift for one of these local households should call Rick at 270-9190 as soon as possible.

All the snow on Friday night and Saturday discouraged some people from coming out to the annual Family Counseling Center Holiday Festival on Sunday. But those who did were treated to a spectacular afternoon for the house tour and the various events scheduled around the center of town. Mike Snyder got into the spirit of the day. He was spotted well-dressed for the holiday season at the antiques show in Edmond Town Hall on Sunday. Mike was wearing a pair of red slacks decorated all over with green wreaths. Mike says he also has a new blue pair with holly branches to keep the holiday spirit.

Father Bobâs âYou Can Never Have Enough Christmasâ was exactly that this year as the boutique in the St Rose Parish Hall has to be carried over to this Saturday, from 10 am to 7 pm, because it was snowed out last weekend. In addition to all the reasonably priced holiday merchandise, Father Bob now has a well-stocked bargain table and invites everyone to come and buy something ââ please.

Peggy Baiad, who is the boutique chairman, almost forgot to call The Bee about the rescheduling. She was too excited about the news that her first grandchild was born Tuesday night in Savannah, Ga. Peggy and Tonyâs son, Todd, and his wife, Kristen, had a boy, 6 pounds 11 ounces, and named him William Smith Baiad.

The craft fair at the high school, originally part of the holiday festival, also has been rescheduled for this Saturday as was the Spay & Neuter Association of Newtown fair, which will be held in the old courtroom and downstairs meeting room at Edmond Town Hall from 9 am to 2 pm. Author Bernie Ryan will be on hand to sign copies of his book, Tylerâs Titanic, from 10 am to noon at the SNAN fair.

Laura and Ken Lerman welcomed their second grandson Wednesday morning when Henry Malachy Bernstein, 5 pounds 7 ounces, was born to their daughter, Samantha, and son-in-law David, at Greenwich Hospital where David is an anesthesiologist and where Samantha used to work as a registered nurse.

Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Cats! It must be the holiday spirit. People have opened their homes to adopt several of my feline friends that were featured in a story in The Bee on November 14. Lindsay Goodwick, 21, a part-time receptionist at the Mount Pleasant Animal Hospital, has been instrumental in placing five of the eight strays that the hospital had taken in. According to Sarah Goodspeed, another receptionist at the hospital, âLindsay was phenomenal. She put all the catsâ vital statistics on the PetFinders.com website, answered email questions, and coordinated interviews.â Cats that have found loving homes include âEmilyâ the tortoise shell purr-ball, âPunkyâ the Persian, who went all the way to Massachusetts, and âMinnie,â who turned out not to be pregnant after all and was placed in Stratford with one of the hospitalâs clients. The most difficult cats to place were âBitterâ and âAlvinâ who needed to be together in barn environment. A home was found for them both less than a mile from the hospital. âCasparâ the handsome big white male, âDharmaâ who plays exceptionally well with other cats, and âBaileyâ of the beautiful green eyes, are still looking for homes. Anyone interested in adopting any of these last three cats should call Mount Pleasant Animal Hospital at 426-8585.

Let me conclude this week with what has to be the worst gift idea of the year. I recently saw a contraption advertised in a catalog for making âthe perfect snowball.â Give me a break! Frankly, the thing looked a little like a dog pooper-scooper but with two domelike cups at the business end that purportedly produce a perfectly spherical snowball. If anyone had shown up with one of those at a snowball fight when I was a kid, he would have been quickly pelted into oblivion. Whatâs next? A perfect spitball maker?

Speaking of perfection, Iâll be back next week, so be sure toâ¦

Read me again.

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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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Among the first to show up at the tree lighting ceremony in the Ram Pasture last Friday evening was Jack Frost, who froze up the place pretty good while people were waiting for the 7 pm countdown to light the tree. In fact, his enthusiasm got a littl

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