The Newtown Senior Center, located at 8 Simpson Street, has announced it will be starting a free Alzheimer’s Association Caregiver Support Group, for members an...
Occupation: I’m a retired art teacher. I taught for almost 30 years in the public schools. After I retired, I went back to school at Gateway Community Colle...
Stop & Shop patrons, meet Marty the Robot. Newtown Bee reporter Alissa Silber spotted this new piece of technology, decorated on one side with skeleton bones, d...
Although it was mild and sunny, midday Saturday, October 26, was a spooky time in Sandy Hook Center as parents brought seemingly hundreds of small children into...
The Newtown Marching Band & Color Guard hit a high note in its season on Saturday, October 26, when the group earned the title of USBands Connecticut Class IV O...
NOTE (Monday, November 4, 2019): This article has been updated to reflect the correct starting time for the November 9 Flagpole Radio Cafe, along with the t...
To the Editor:
Every two years, elections bring debate about effective leadership in Newtown. I am not running for office this year, this being my second year o...
To The Editor:
I am writing this letter to endorse Judit DeStefano for reelection to the Newtown Legislative Council. Judit has been devoted to serving our comm...
To the Editor:
Dennis Brestovansky, candidate for Board of Education, should be the choice of every Newtown voter. If you care about accountability and value be...
It took two hours for a SWAT team from Danbury to assemble ? Respectfully I ask how long would it have taken for a State Police Team to respond ? As I recall they were present in large numbers very quickly during Sandy Hook.
Sir, I agree in principle with your position but am concerned we are rushing into this. I am not sure (but I am not a lawyer) that the State Constitution allows for fear of a pandemic to be a reason not to appear in person. I don't think we should rush into this and there are many issues to resolve. Legislate in haste, repent at leisure. One issue that was addressed at the Court and they refused to rule, saying voting rules and procedure was properly the province of the Legislature.
To wit. A few years ago, an election north of Hartford resulted in a tie. One candidate refused to go with a coin toss (as was his right). Lo and behold an absentee ballot was found in a Clerks Office. the Clerk said they pulled the ballot because the person had died before election day and the Clerk said you had to be alive on election day to vote. This was litigated up to the State Supreme Court who said it was a matter for the Legislature and they should address it but in the interim it was up to the Registrar/Town Clerk. (The issue then became the identity of the caster of the ballot would be known and anonymity of the ballot is sacrosanct. They contacted the family and lo and behold the voter was not dead and said go ahead and open it, they had voted for neither and a new election was ordered.) To date the Legislature has not addressed it and whether to count it or not is up to each Clerk/Registrar.
I voted absentee in the 2016 election yet my wife was told by the poll person I had been in bright and early and was very pleasant. My name was crossed off. According to the Registrar my absentee ballot would not have been counted.
How long will they count ballots being returned. If one is lost in the mail and comes in at Christmastime will they count it as long as it is postmarked by 8 PM election day ?
These are not insurmountable but to try and do this all in a one day special session is ridiculous. Especially as they are not sure what the rules for a Special Session are going to be.
Sir, a well thought out plan. What bothers me about the one proposed by the State, is separation into small cohorts at school, but unsupervised cramming 60 kids on a bus twice a day for however long a bus route is. And checking temperatures at the school ? Wouldn't it be fore effective to check before boarding the bus ?
Excellent points sir. I too have been following this in the media. Cynically I say the State is looking for a scapegoat for their lack of guidance. Anecdotally a friend of mine hasher mother in a nursing home. they had gone into quarantine over flu (no visiting) two weeks before the State instituted Covid precautions. They had no fatalities and I do not know how many cases they had.
Another person I know works in a senior community (Independent, assisted, skilled and dementia units). Her facility went to PPE for all staff before the state did and kept infections to a minimum.
I read of one facility in Bristol where the owner asked the staff to move into RV's he obtained and have no contact with their family for the duration. He was paying CNA's $15,000 a month and RN's $25.000 a month but he had zero cases or fatalities. (He was profiled on NPR)
After action should not be finger pointing and blaming but a roadmap for future responses.
Something to think about, with the push to limit Qualified Immunity for police and other government officials, since they anticipate an appeal, if their decision is overturned would the Board members and Director of Planning be personally liable for any losses or damages to the plaintiffs ? Would anyone want to serve on a Board if they were liable for the Boards votes and decisions ?
I saw another reader wrote a letter commenting how a very similar proposal was applied for 25 years ago and turned down.
