News

Donations Double Dickinson Playground Funds

By Kendra Bobowick

Published: August 16, 2013 12:00 am

Turning a Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) request of $438,000 into a $874,162 project through donated funds from various sources, Recreation Director Amy Mangold said this week that a full scale projec...

IPN Opts To Field No Candidates For Fall Election

By John Voket

Published: August 16, 2013 12:00 am

Following an August 15 caucus, The Independent Party of Newtown announced it would not be fielding any candidates for local office this November. Party Chairman Bruce Walczak issued a brief press rele...

School Bus Route Listings Incomplete

Published: August 16, 2013 12:00 am

The morning and afternoon school bus routes for Newtown High School and Newtown Middle School published in The Bee's Back to School supplement this week were incomplete. Several bus routes were omitte...

Tree Removal Clears Way For Ambulance Garage Construction

By Kendra Bobowick

Published: August 16, 2013 12:00 am

By August 9, a three-man crew from Timber Ridge Tree Service of Newtown took down roughly 18 mature trees to clear the way for a new ambulance garage at Fairfield Hills. Spruce, maple, and willows tre...

Police Reports August 7 - 13, 2013

Published: August 15, 2013 12:00 am

DUI Arrest Police said that at about 11:45 pm on August 8, a 17-year-old boy was driving a Ford Escort auto in the parking lot at the Mobil gas station/convenience store at 62 Church Hill Road. T...

Local Man Dies Following One-Car Accident

By Andrew Gorosko

Published: August 15, 2013 12:00 am

Police report that a local man died early Thursday morning from injuries he received late Wednesday night in a one-car accident that occurred on Brushy Hill Road, about 1,000 feet south of its interse...

Sandy Hook Foundation Responds To Llodra's Concerns About Distribution

By John Voket

Published: August 15, 2013 12:00 am

Dr Charles Herrick, chairman of the Newtown Sandy Hook Community Foundation, responded to a recent letter sent to his panel by First Selectman Pat Llodra. Dr Herrick said he shared the first selectman...

Few Details Released On Police Investigation Of Berkshire Road Home Invasion

By Andrew Gorosko

Published: August 14, 2013 12:00 am

Newtown police on Wednesday continued their probe into a reported “home invasion” on Tuesday morning at a house on Berkshire Road in Sandy Hook, located near the Exit 11 overpasses of Interstate 84. P...

Home Invasion May Have Included Sexual Assault

By Andrew Gorosko

Published: August 14, 2013 12:00 am

On Tuesday, at approximately 8:53 am, Newtown police responded to a report of a home invasion involving a possible sexual assault at 31 Berkshire Road (Route 34). “This is a two-family home [and] one ...

Rock Of Angels Dedicated In Sandy Hook

By Nancy Crevier

Published: August 13, 2013 12:00 am

Organizers for the dedication of the Rock of Angels granite memorial, envisioned by Florida resident Rich Gray and presented to the people of Newtown by craftspeople and residents of Maine, planned a ...

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.

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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Donations Double Dickinson Playground Funds

IPN Opts To Field No Candidates For Fall Election

School Bus Route Listings Incomplete

Tree Removal Clears Way For Ambulance Garage Construction

Police Reports August 7 - 13, 2013

Local Man Dies Following One-Car Accident

Sandy Hook Foundation Responds To Llodra's Concerns About Distribution

Few Details Released On Police Investigation Of Berkshire Road Home Invasion

Home Invasion May Have Included Sexual Assault

Rock Of Angels Dedicated In Sandy Hook