News

Police Remind Residents Of Wintertime Snow & Ice Control Laws

Published: January 03, 2014 12:00 am

With the arrival of winter weather, town police are reminding local residents and commercial snow removal personnel of multiple laws that pertain to snow and ice control. Sergeant Aaron Bahamonde, who...

NH&L Looking Forward To New Firehouse

By Andrew Gorosko

Published: January 03, 2014 12:00 am

As 2014 opened, members of Newtown Hook & Ladder Company were looking forward hopefully, as their plans for a new firehouse in the borough finally were starting to take shape. The project will enable ...

State Facing $273.3 Million Budget Surplus

Published: January 03, 2014 12:00 am

HARTFORD (AP) — Comptroller Kevin Lembo says the state of Connecticut is on track to end this fiscal year with a $273.3 million budget surplus. In a letter to Governor Dannel P. Malloy, released on ...

Newtown Public Schools Closed Friday

Published: January 02, 2014 12:00 am

Due to the anticipated weather, the Newtown Public Schools will be closed Friday, January 3.

Town Officials: Be Prepared For The Upcoming Storm

By Shannon Hicks

Published: January 02, 2014 12:00 am

This story has been updated to include information from Governor Dannel Malloy’s office. The Office of the First Selectman has issued an announcement, urging all residents to be prepared for a sn...

Town Announces Warming Centers In Anticipation Of Snowstorm

By Shannon Hicks

Published: January 02, 2014 12:00 am

A snow storm that has yet to fully reach Newtown as of late Thursday afternoon has town officials planning on locations for residents who may need to seek shelter should their homes lose electricity, ...

Weapons Laws, Rail Fare Hikes Among New State Laws

By Shannon Hicks

Published: January 02, 2014 12:00 am

HARTFORD — A requirement for state public safety officials to create a registry of people convicted of offenses involving a deadly weapon is one of a host of new laws that took effect in Connecticut a...

Newtown Public Schools To Dismiss Early Thursday, No Afternoon Preschool

Published: January 02, 2014 12:00 am

Due to the weather, the Newtown Public Schools will have an early dismissal, Thursday, January 2, and there will be no afternoon preschool.

Fire Extensively Damages Thunder Ridge Road House

By Andrew Gorosko

Published: January 02, 2014 12:00 am

Firefighters from eight volunteer fire companies responded about 1:07 pm on Thursday to a report of house fire in Sandy Hook which extensively damaged the wood-frame structure amid frigid conditions. ...

Officials Flag Student Enrollment Decline As Significant Taxpayer Concern

By John Voket

Published: December 31, 2013 12:00 am

A growing number of officials believe that helping residents better understand the relationship between declining student enrollment and the amount school leaders will ask taxpayers to underwrite next...

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

Theater Review: No Weak Links In Farnol’s Gripping, Fast-Paced ‘King Lear’

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.

The ‘Me’ Generation

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 :)

The ‘Me’ Generation

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