Anne Christine Monckton, 74, of Fernandina Beach, Fla., passed away peacefully surrounded by family on September 7 after a brief, yet courageous battle with cancer.
After a valiant and heroic 10 years, Thomas Mark Kokoska of Newtown lost his battle with cancer on September 8, 2024. He was the most devoted husband, brother and uncle.
Longtime Newtown resident Mary Karen Merrill, born October 4, 1943, passed away peacefully on August 15, 2024, with her family by her side, leaving behind a legacy of love and creativity.
It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Ada Nancy Giusti who died peacefully on August 31, surrounded by her loving family after a 22-year battle with breast cancer.
Former longtime resident and retired educator Barbara Bigham passed away AUgust 26 in Falmouth, Mass., after a nearly 20-year battle with Parkinson's Disease.
It is with profound sadness that her family announces the passing of Lisabeth Ann Comm, a devoted wife, educator, world traveler, and lover of the arts.
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.
