This is an expanded version of a story that appears in the July 17, 2015 print edition of The Newtown Bee.
Criticism about the traffic effects and the size of a 74-unit condominium complex ...
SOUTHBURY — An off-duty Newtown police officer was involved in a one-car accident on Main Street South early on the morning of July 11.
Southbury police said that Michael McGowan, 42, was driving a 20...
The Board of Finance on July 13 approved spending a $2.6 million state grant to complete a Toddy Hill Road bridge replacement and re-engineering of the intersection at Berkshire Road (Route 34). While...
First Selectman Pat Llodra is seeking residents to fill several opening on local appointed boards and commissions. In some cases the appointments are required to be affiliated with a specific politica...
Town police have received approval for a $23,800 grant from the state, with that money to be used for police overtime pay for speed enforcement and for the acquisition of speed-detection radar equipme...
The Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC) is reviewing the environmental protection aspects of a proposal to construct an approximately 4,400-square-foot retail center on an undeveloped 1.12-acre site at 1...
NEW HAVEN — A member of the Easton Police Commission has been charged in an ongoing federal steroid and prescription narcotics distribution investigation.
In a statement, Deirdre M. Daly, US Attorney ...
In a lawsuit filed in federal court, a former Newtown police sergeant is seeking money damages, charging that she was the victim of a pervasive pattern of sexual harassment by members of the Newtown P...
Doors opened for the Friends of the C. H. Booth Library’s 40th Anniversary Annual Book Sale on Saturday, July 11, as volunteers welcomed event goers.
The book sale is running through Wednesday, July 1...
Tom, I appreciate you sharing your perspective. My advocacy isn't about a personal 'vested interest' in a single field; it is about the Standard of Newtown.
While you categorize the salt shed and library parking as 'essential' and the turf as an 'upgrade,' I would argue they all fall under the same umbrella of maintaining town assets.
The Turf Field ($1.4M): This was a replacement project for a facility used by thousands of youth athletes, not a new 'luxury' add-on.
The Salt Shed ($1.2M) & Library Parking ($1.4M): These were passed at almost identical price points.
The point isn't to say these items aren't important; it’s to ask why we find the money for infrastructure that serves one demographic while claiming we are too 'fiscally strained' to fund infrastructure for another. When we categorize things we use as 'essential' and things our neighbors' children use as 'extras,' we aren't having an honest discussion about priorities, we are picking winners and losers.
The goal of my letter wasn't to be 'unproductive,' but to sound the alarm for the 82% of residents who didn't show up to the polls. We cannot be a community that only thrives in parts. If we want Newtown to remain a place where people want to move and raise families, we have to invest in the next generation with the same urgency we use to fix our parking lots.
Michelle, I am sorry to see that you are also a victim of fabrications. All those rumors that go round that seem so convincing. All so often, those rumors are little more than convenient lies. This has been happening for several years and hopefully we can come together to stop them.
Until then, I ask that those of you who have heard disparaging remarks about the candidates take the time to meet with them to ask them directly what you are concerned about. Get to know them better rather than assume. We all will have better representation both locally and state-wide if you do so.
This is disappointing because it frames voters who rejected the Treadwell turf replacement as selfish or anti-youth. When I suspect that Katherine's motives were likely because she has some vested interest in those turf fields, which makes it exceptionally selfish.
There is a clear difference between maintaining basic town infrastructure and approving an athletic facility upgrade. Library sidewalks, parking access, and a salt storage facility support safety and essential town operations. The turf field may be worthwhile, but it is still a different type of request.
Residents can support youth sports and still question the cost, timing, or priority of a specific project. Calling that selfish, or turning it into a generational argument is unfair and unproductive.
Newtown is better served by honest discussion about priorities, not by accusing voters of lacking community spirit because they disagreed on one ballot item.
