News

Community Input On Library's Future Runs The Gamut

By Nancy Crevier

Published: September 21, 2013 12:00 am

In an interview granted to The Newtown Bee prior to his resignation Monday, September 16, former C.H. Booth Library Director Shawn Fields shared comments he had received from the public regarding ...

Police News, September 6 - 15, 2013

Published: September 20, 2013 12:00 am

Berkshire DUI Police said they responded to a report of an auto having driven off the roadway near 51 Berkshire Road at about 11:46 pm on September 12. Police said their investigation determined ...

Town, Public School District Schedule Pre-Referendum Informational Meetings

Published: September 20, 2013 12:00 am

The Town of Newtown and the Newtown Public School District have partnered to offer a series of informational meetings for the public to answer questions about the referendum scheduled for Saturday, Oc...

Ceremony Welcomes Saint Michael, Honors Baro

By Kendra Bobowick

Published: September 20, 2013 12:00 am

A bittersweet ceremony Thursday afternoon bid farewell to K-9 officer Baro, and welcomed Saint Michael, a nearly all black German shepherd, to the Newtown Police Department. Chief Michael Kehoe starte...

Fire Reports, September 12 - 19, 2013

Published: September 20, 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, September 12: 7:24 pm, burning odor indoors, 33...

BOE Votes To Move Forward With SHS Asset Reclamation Efforts

By Eliza Hallabeck

Published: September 20, 2013 12:00 am

With the October 5 referendum on the town accepting state financial assistance to demolish the Sandy Hook School building and to design and build a new facility, the Board of Education took up a few r...

At One Year Mark Animal Control Panel Reviews Ongoing Concerns

By John Voket

Published: September 19, 2013 12:00 am

Two members of a panel charged with overseeing the town’s new animal control facility spent most of their presentation to the Board of Selectmen on September 16 detailing design and construction issue...

A Long Walk Toward Peace

Published: September 19, 2013 12:00 am

He joked that he has been walking since he was a year old, but Stamford resident Al Forte’s most recent journey began August 31, at Old North Church in Boston, and will end at Ground Zero in New York ...

Police, Family Continue Search For Hoagland, Probate Hearing Set

By Andrew Gorosko

Published: September 19, 2013 12:00 am

Newtown police this week continued their probe into the whereabouts of Robert Hoagland, 50, of Glen Road in Sandy Hook, who disappeared from his property on Sunday, July 28. “He is still missing and w...

Newtown To Welcome Saint Michael, Bid Farewell To Baro

By Kendra Bobowick

Published: September 19, 2013 12:00 am

Both a welcoming and a farewell, Newtown Police Department had a ceremony scheduled for Thursday, September 19, to pay tribute to the late K-9 officer Baro. The ceremony’s second purpose was to offici...

Fire Reports | April 28-May 4, 2026

Just Over The Border: Southeast Kitchen And Bath’s New Showroom

Police Reports | April 27-May 3, 2026

Silent Auction To Coincide With Garden Club Standard Flower Show

BOE CFF Discusses Itemized Estimates, Summer CIP Projects

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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