AIR Gallery/Art With A Heart is planning its next exhibition to double as a benefit for Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps. “The Art of Living” will be on view at Avance Day Spa May 1-July 31. All are invited to a benefit champagne brunch reception planned for Sunday, May 5, from 11 am until 2 pm.
The Newtown High School classes of 1961, 1962, 1963, and 1964 have scheduled a multi-class reunion for June 28, from 6 to 10 pm, at Michael’s At The Grove, 42 Vail Road, Bethel.
The Garden Club of Newtown will host “Climate Change and Hope” on Tuesday, April 23.
The public is invited to this free presentation by Jack Kozuchowski. The program will begin at 1 pm and will be hel...
Coinciding with Earth Day weekend, the Newtown Environmental Action Team is holding its next litter pickup on Saturday, April 20, from 9 to 11 am, at the Exit 9 commuter parking lot. The location is one of several litter “hot spots” it has identified following a town-wide survey.
Newtown Congregational Church will host a sew-a-thon to support Dress A Girl Around the World on Saturday, April 27, from 10 am until 3 pm. The event will be presented by Liz Skarzynski, coordinator of the Monroe Dress A Girl Around the World group.
Barnum Museum Director Kathleen Maher and her team eagerly awaited the March 29 release of Disney’s motion picture Dumbo, excited that another Hollywood blockbuster has a PT Barnum connection.
The next Hearts of Hope-Newtown Paint With A Purpose event is scheduled for Wednesday, April 10. HOH-Newtown organizers had announced months ago that the April gathering would have suicide prevention awareness as its focus. They have since announced that this week’s event will be in memory of Jeremy Richman.
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.
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.
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.
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 :)
