Stephen A. White, 57 passed away Monday, July 13, after suffering a severe stroke and battling many cases of pneumonia for more than a year.
Steve was a loving father to his three children, Brian, 27,...
August 16, 1934 - June 30, 2020
Joseph Rocco Grimardi, of Bradenton, Fla., died on June 30 in his home with his family, after a long and courageous battle with cancer. He was the son of the late John ...
Sharon Christina Rich (formerly Negrelli), 70, of Winter Street, Farmington, N.H., passed away suddenly on Monday, July 6, at Portsmouth Regional Hospital.
She was born on July 1, 1950, in Norwalk, th...
Sigrid Nauen Hewitt died on May 3 at age 93. Daughter of the late Carl Ernest Nauen and Gertrude Wefers Nauen. Born in Krefeld, Germany, Sigrid Hewitt was a graduate of the Foxhollow School and Welles...
Albert Imre Klucsik, of Newtown, went to be with the Lord on Sunday, July 5. He was 75 years old. Albert was the son of Sandor Klucsik and Anna Horvath of Budapest, Hungary. Albert emigrated from Hung...
After a long illness, Brian Bancroft-Billings passed away on July 3 in Newtown, his home of 55 years. He was born in Bridgeport, on August 7, 1934, and was raised in Monroe. Brian was the son of Frank...
May 18, 1933 - July 2, 2020
Richard George Seibert, 87, of Newtown, died peacefully at home, after a long illness, surrounded by family. Born in Callicoon, N.Y., he was married to the love of his life...
Jerome “Jerry” Alexander Rekart passed peacefully in his sleep on Tuesday, June 30, at his home in Newtown. He was 80 years old. Jerry was the son of the late Alexander Edward and Laura Ann Rekart.
Af...
Hyman “Hy” Jack Elias, 95, of Newtown, passed away peacefully on Saturday, June 27, 2020, at his home at Maplewood at Newtown. He was the beloved husband of Jean (Pearlman) Elias, whom he married on F...
Margaret “Peggy” O’Connor died peacefully at the ripe old age of 89 in Newtown Rehabilitation Center, with family at her side.
She was loved by many and is survived by her son Michael and his wife, De...
CT primaries are closed to voters not registered with the party's designation. Dems can't vote in Rep. primaries and, vice versa. Unaffiliated and Independent voters cannot vote in them. Keep primaries closed!
Bruce, welcome to the conversation.
Your recent statement after the storm — admitting that you should have communicated “faster, more completely, and more personally” — was fine as far as it went. But this is not just about one storm. It is about a pattern. You ran on openness, responsiveness, and transparency, even saying that “evasive answers or silence are unacceptable in government.”
The problem is that Newtown residents have been dealing with exactly that silence from you since you were elected.
Newtown’s Emergency Management page says the town, together with the Office of the First Selectman, provides “critical public information and warning” during emergencies. The town also rolled out CodeRED cellphone registration on March 24, 2022 so residents could receive emergency information directly.
So where were you when police were searching for missing 23-year-old Kateri Doty in January? Where were you during the brush fires near the Newtown town line in April? Where were you on April 22, when state police and Newtown police were searching for two people who fled an I-84 crash and a canine search moved into the Church Hill Road area?
Residents should not be hearing about a missing person, wildfire conditions, or police tracking dogs moving through backyards from Facebook, neighbors, or kids in town. They should be hearing from their town government.
This is not really about whether you personally press the CodeRED button. Or how many task forces you have created. It is about leadership. You are the First Selectman. You are responsible for making sure the town communicates clearly, quickly, and visibly when public safety is involved.
So yes, it is nice that you have finally acknowledged the problem. But the public did not need this storm to figure it out. We have been saying it for a long time.
Bruce, you were missing when the town needed to hear from you. The question now is whether this storm finally woke you up, or whether this is just another late apology followed by more silence.
The topic may be the same but the narratives every other week differ and I appreciate the installments. Rebuttals on factual content rather than focusing on form would improve the discourse.
Congrats to all the 275 graduates.
For context...class of 2005 had 360 students, the number of graduating seniors seemed to cap out in the late 2000's in the low 400's.
