News

VFW To Host Memorial Day Program

Published: May 22, 2015 12:00 am

The public is invited to attend a Memorial Day Commemoration Ceremony on Monday, May 25, at 11 am, at VFW Post 308, Freedom Defenders Way (formerly 18 Tinkerfield Road, off of Mile Hill Road). The pro...

Residents Sought For Commission Posts

Published: May 22, 2015 12:00 am

First Selectman Pat Llodra is seeking residents to fill several openings on local appointed boards and commissions. In some cases the appointments are required to be affiliated with a specific politic...

After $6M In Reported Losses, Town Retaining Pension Consultant

By John Voket

Published: May 22, 2015 12:00 am

It was not lost on local officials that in a 20-year window, Newtown’s pension investments have met a benchmark goal set by local policies. It was the last five years that have prompted a call for hir...

Eminent Domain Action Secures Utility Right-Of-Way For SHES

By John Voket

Published: May 22, 2015 12:00 am

After failing to reach an acceptable settlement with the owner of a private residential road adjacent to Sandy Hook Elementary School, the town has sought and received court authorization to take an u...

Avielle Foundation Pitches Collaboration With School District

By Eliza Hallabeck

Published: May 22, 2015 12:00 am

Jeremy Richman introduced himself to the Board of Education during its meeting on Tuesday, May 19, before he explained an interest in a collaboration between The Avielle Foundation and the school dist...

With Minor Modifications, Newtown's Dancing Traffic Agent Cleared To Dance Again

By John Voket

Published: May 22, 2015 12:00 am

NOTE: This is an extended version of a story published on May 19, with comments from Kathy Ballwig Holick. “Dancing Traffic Agent” Kathy Ballwig Holick said she tried to convey everything w...

Board Awards Former Policeman Long-Term Disability Pay

By Andrew Gorosko

Published: May 21, 2015 12:00 am

The State Board of Mediation and Arbitration has awarded long-term disability pay to a former Newtown police officer, who left his job after the December 2012 shooting incident at Sandy Hook Elementar...

Emergency Dispatch Bill Could Force Local Centers To Regionalize Or Pay

By John Voket

Published: May 21, 2015 12:00 am

It appears while a Connecticut State Police pilot program attempting to regionalize related dispatching operations is being scrapped (see related story, “State Police Call-Taking/Dispatching To Return...

Town's Net Liability In Police Officer Settlement Will Be About $31K

By John Voket

Published: May 21, 2015 12:00 am

The award of approximately $380,000 reached in settlement between former Newtown Police Officer Thomas Bean and the Town following a State Board of Mediation and Arbitration ruling will be reduced sub...

12/14 Aftermath: Former Police Officer Wins Arbitration Award On Disability Pay

By Andrew Gorosko

Published: May 21, 2015 12:00 am

This story has been updated from the original version posted at 1:43 pm to include additional details from the arbitration document, and comments from Newtown Police Union President Scott Ruszczyk...

Silver Alert Issued By Newtown PD For 17-Month-Old Child

LOF Adaptive Skiers Is Gearing Up For Another Jam-Packed Summer

Snapshot: Jason LynchThis week's Snapshot features Jason Lynch.Family: My wife Robin, and our daughter Charly.How did you meet your wife? I met her on the subway in Brooklyn. I was helping someone with their stroller, and she saw me and handed me her business card.Pets: Two dogs, Jet and Utah.How long have you lived in Newtown? About five years. We used to live in Norwalk, and I used to drive the back roads home all the time. I’d see the antique houses and their plaques, and we’d talk about how unique each one looked and how great it would be to have a house like that someday. We were here for the corn maze, for my brother-in-law’s birthday, and we saw one of the houses on Main Street was for sale so we took a look and fell in love with it.Work: I work at IBM Research, where I am primarily a brand designer — so thinking about the Research brand, different applications, how it appears in digital at events, and also working with some of the emergent technologies as well. It’s incredibly hard but also interesting and fulfilling.Do you have a favorite podcast? I love podcasts. I like StarTalk, which is really interesting, about cosmic queries; The Illustration Department, about different illustrators and designers, which I like to listen to a lot; and I enjoy Freakonomics.What did you want to be when you grew up? A truck driver. I still think it would be an awesome job. We take a lot of road trips to Ohio, and I think about it quite a bit when we’re going through Pennsylvania. When I was a little kid they had that show, BJ and The Bear, and I loved it.What do you enjoy doing in your free time? I really enjoy cooking. I find recipes all the time, so I try to find new and interesting things. It’s hard to find the time to do it, but I enjoy it. During the summer we like to hang out on Lake Zoar. It’s our favorite place to be. It’s peaceful out there. We have a pontoon boat that we dock at Eichler’s Cove, and it’s nice because we can go down there, sometimes after work we’ll go out with dinner or go swimming for just an hour or so.What is the most recent book you’ve read? At home I don’t have a lot of downtime to read, but I love audio books. Right now I’m going through A World of Peers by Michael Pollan, which explores what is consciousness. It was really interesting. Before that it was Sammy Hagar’s autobiography. It varies quite a bit. My commute can be lengthy, so I enjoy audio books and podcasts when I’m going back and forth.What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given? You’re not entitled to the results, you’re entitled to the work.Do you have any pet peeves? It’s silly and it’s a little thing, and I know this, but I cannot stand how paper towels or tape never tear cleanly. It drives me insane.What is something you cannot live without? Family, of course. And dogs. I have to have dogs.What is your favorite thing about Newtown? I like the sense of community we’ve experienced here. I enjoy walking, and I love being able to get groceries everyday — the walkability in the center of town, and seeing people all the time, I really enjoy that. And the homes, of course, which was primarily what drew us here. Do you have a personal credo? The work advice from earlier.

Financial Foundations: Expanding Access To Homeownership: Innovative Mortgage Programs

Head O'Meadow Students Cast Votes For Books

I understand your basic point, but not the numbers. Can you help us understand where your numbers come from? Thanks!

The ‘Me’ Generation

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.

Support For Brandon Moore

He is just another politician, you could see it when he got Bruce Walcz'zzz'k elected. Say whatever it takes to get into office...

Two Questions

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.

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VFW To Host Memorial Day Program

Residents Sought For Commission Posts

After $6M In Reported Losses, Town Retaining Pension Consultant

Eminent Domain Action Secures Utility Right-Of-Way For SHES

Avielle Foundation Pitches Collaboration With School District

With Minor Modifications, Newtown's Dancing Traffic Agent Cleared To Dance Again

Board Awards Former Policeman Long-Term Disability Pay

Emergency Dispatch Bill Could Force Local Centers To Regionalize Or Pay

Town's Net Liability In Police Officer Settlement Will Be About $31K

12/14 Aftermath: Former Police Officer Wins Arbitration Award On Disability Pay