Peter Cipkala, 82, of Stratford, beloved husband of Mary Jean Maksimowicz Cipkala, died April 24, in his home. He was born in Torysky, Czechoslovakia, on January 1, 1936 to the late Maria (Klotz) and ...
Tyler Alden Hoffman, 24, of Sandy Hook, died unexpectedly April 28. He was born in Danbury on March 11, 1994, and was a son of Theodore Hoffman of Woodbury and Catherine Kean of Sandy Hook.
Mr Hoffman...
Christopher Robert "Chris" Etes, 36, of Sandy Hook died unexpectedly April 24, as the result of a car accident. Born in Norwalk on June 5, 1981, he was the beloved son of Robert Etes of Hamden and Lou...
Albert C. Verrillo, 89, of Fairfield, beloved husband of the late Patricia Ciacia Verrillo for 54 years, died peacefully April 20. Born in Southport, he had been a Fairfield resident for most of his l...
Roger Lee Streeter, 87, of Bow, N.H., died peacefully April 21, after declining health. He was born in Brattleboro, Vt., to the late Pearl and Franklin Streeter. He grew up in New Salem, Mass., and la...
Nancy Elizabeth Nightingale, 79, formerly of Garden City, N.Y., and recently of Newtown, died April 22. She was the widow of Jack Ernest Nightingale, Sr. She was the daughter of Anna and Charles Ottma...
Barbra Jean (Preteska) O'Neill, 78, of Sandy Hook, died April 20, with her family beside her in Bridgeport Hospital. She was the wife of the late Edward C. O'Neill. She was born in Swoyersville, Penn....
James H. "Jim" Symes, 97, of Sequim, Wash., and formerly Peekskill, N.Y., and Newtown, died peacefully February 21 at Sherwood Assisted Living in Sequim. He was born on November 7, 1920, in Butte, Mon...
Nufer Bolan Bolmer, 88, of Maine, formerly of Newtown, died peacefully April 17 in his home. He was born in Greenwich, the son of Marion (Kaechele) and George R. Bolmer, Sr.
Mr Bolmer grew up in Fairf...
John J. "Sean" Kelly, 69, of Bethel, died April 13, in Danbury. He was born in Tarrytown, N.Y., on January 9, 1949, son of Eileen (Small) and Bernard Kelly.
His wife of 43 years, Essie; daughters, Ker...
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.
