On Saturday, February 10, from 2 to 4 pm, Newtown Woman's Club will hold a meet-the-author tea/book signing at Newtown Country Club.The Library Journal reviewed her first book, Daughter of Australia, ...
Parents and children 3 to 8 years old are invited to a free puppet show on January 27, at 10 am, at Housatonic Valley Waldorf School, 1 Jacklin Road, in the school's lower level of Compass Hall.Womenf...
The Hometown Foundation, Inc, in conjunction with Farmhouse Restaurant, will host a benefit to honor the memory of fallen Navy SEAL Jason Lewis. The event will take place on Monday, March 19, at Farmh...
A break in the cold weather has presented Newtown Forest Association (NFA) with the opportunity to host a guided hike at its Holcombe Hill Preserve this weekend.aaroncoop@gmail.com with any qu...
BETHEL - After meeting in one of Newtown's churches for decades, Friends of Counted Embroidery (FCE)-Laurel chapter will begin meeting in February at a new location.
FCE-Laurel chapter will now meet a...
WATERBURY - Most Americans agree that family comes first. Regardless of where one works or what their home Zip Code is, everyone should be able to welcome a new child, care for an ailing parent, or he...
Orson Welles' controversial masterpiece Citizen Kane will be screened at 2 and 7 pm on Thursday, January 18, at the historic Edmond Town Hall Theatre, 45 Main Street.
Tickets are $3, and for t...
Hearts of Hope Newtown (HOH-Newtown) is ready for 2018, with a look back at the holiday season and an updated schedule.
The 2017 Commemorative Hearts sold well. Created by local artist Kathy Stone, th...
Newtown organizations, groups, and clubs that provide arts opportunities to the community are invited to apply for a $1,000 project grant sponsored by Newtown Cultural Arts Commission (NCAC). Heretofo...
Newtown organizations, groups, and clubs that provide arts opportunities to the community are invited to apply for a $1,000 project grant sponsored by Newtown Cultural Arts Commission (NCAC). Heretofo...
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 :)
