News

Superintendent's Letter Anticipates 12/14 Report Release

Published: November 21, 2013 12:00 am

Interim Superintendent of Schools John Reed sent a letter home to district parents on Tuesday, November 19, in advance of an anticipated release of an investigatory report on the shootings of 12/14 at...

School Board Hears Financial Report

By Eliza Hallabeck

Published: November 21, 2013 12:00 am

When delivering his monthly financial report, school district Business Director Ron Bienkowski recommended the Board of Education approve an emergency replacement for a district truck during the board...

Police Reports | November 8-18, 2013

Published: November 21, 2013 12:00 am

Truck Hits Tree Police report that truck driver Tyler Fairchild 25, of Northfield was driving an International 4300 box truck northeastward on Pond Brook Road, near Lake George Road, about 12:48 ...

Halstead Named FCFCA Fireman Of The Year

Published: November 21, 2013 12:00 am

Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue Chief Bill Halstead has been named Fireman of the Year by Fairfield County Fire Chiefs Association. The group announced and presented the award to Chief Halstead dur...

Chinese Nursing School Interested In Fairfield Hills

By Kendra Bobowick

Published: November 21, 2013 12:00 am

Chinese delegates wish to “start right away” with plans for a nursing school to occupy several Fairfield Hills buildings, said Liping Wang, a realtor from Property World in Milford, and speaking on th...

Fire Reports, November 14 - 20, 2013

Published: November 21, 2013 12:00 am

The dispatchers at the Newtown Emergency Communications Center at 3 Main Street report the following fire calls and the responders: Thursday, November 14: 3:27 pm, motor vehicle accident, near 182 Be...

12/14 Crime Report Release Due Monday

By Andrew Gorosko

Published: November 21, 2013 12:00 am

The long-awaited investigatory report on the 12/14 shootings at Sandy Hook School, in which 20 first-graders and six adults died, is expected to be released on Monday, November 25, according to notifi...

Fire Reports, November 14 - 20, 2013

Published: November 21, 2013 12:00 am

Parent Together: A Promise For The Future

By Nancy K. Crevier

Published: November 21, 2013 12:00 am

Parent. It is a noun, and it is a verb, pointed out Sandy Hook Promise (SHP) Communications Director Nicole Hockley and Advocacy Director Mark Barden, and it is the action form of that verb that is th...

ASPCA Honors Catherine Hubbard As Animal Sanctuary Plans Take Shape

By Nancy K. Crevier

Published: November 20, 2013 12:00 am

Jenny and Matthew Hubbard and their son Freddy are traveling to New York City Thursday, November 21, to accept the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) Tommy P. Monahan Ki...

The Way We Were

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

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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Superintendent's Letter Anticipates 12/14 Report Release

School Board Hears Financial Report

Police Reports | November 8-18, 2013

Halstead Named FCFCA Fireman Of The Year

Chinese Nursing School Interested In Fairfield Hills

Fire Reports, November 14 - 20, 2013

12/14 Crime Report Release Due Monday

Fire Reports, November 14 - 20, 2013

Parent Together: A Promise For The Future

ASPCA Honors Catherine Hubbard As Animal Sanctuary Plans Take Shape