As the performance dates for Newtown High School’s spring musical, Mary Poppins, approach, students are working hard to bring the production’s magic to the school’s auditorium stage.
After the entire school community read a book about a dog and his best human friend, Sandy Hook Elementary School students celebrated by attending an assembly on February 22 that included humans and dogs.
Newtown Middle School eighth grade art enrichment students spent the entire school day on February 28 making mobiles inspired by the American sculptor Alexander Calder’s body of work.
Newtown Middle School Student Council members hosted events in the school’s cafeteria called “Fantastic Fun Fridays” throughout February, with the final concluding event held on March 1.
Following a special education self-study, the superintendent presented action steps to address recommendations to the Board of Education at its meeting on March 5.
The Newtown Education Foundation (NEF) Evening of Comedy, held at Edmond Town Hall on March 1, was filled with laughs in honor of raising funds for education in Newtown.
Dear Alyssa, Kelela, and Brandon,
We send our sincere sympathy to you and your family. We will also keep you in our prayers asking our Lord to grant you comfort and peace.
With love,
Vince and Sandy Venitelli
Bruce, your advice that voters should “read, listen, and engage” would be much more persuasive if you practiced it yourself.
You campaigned on openness and responsiveness. You declared that “evasive answers or silence are unacceptable in government” and promised to answer constituent inquiries within two days. Yet you never answered my straightforward public question about Main Street demonstrations, traffic disruption, pedestrian safety, and the effects on local businesses.
After taking office, meaningful public engagement has largely been replaced by “Brews with Bruce” at the Senior Center—requiring reservations and, for some residents, a day pass. That is not accessible, townwide engagement. Previous first selectmen held open coffee hours and walk-and-talk sessions that any resident could attend.
Then came the failed storm communications, your apology, and another promise to communicate better—followed shortly afterward by more silence while multiple police agencies conducted a significant search near Saw Mill Road.
You now tell voters to examine what candidates say and “how they say it.” I would suggest going one step further: compare what politicians promise while seeking office with what they actually do after winning.
Your record presents a stark contrast. You told voters exactly what they wanted to hear to get the job, then failed to live by those promises. Whether that is dishonesty or simply indifference, it is the same familiar, two-faced politics you once claimed you would replace.
Nothing says “I care about Newtown homeowners” quite like lining Main Street with plywood campaign billboards—apparently built just inches below the size at which officials say they can take action. At this rate, we’ll need property-tax relief just to offset the loss in curb appeal.
