Cultural Events

Town & Country Garden Club Members Help Beautify The Town; Plant Sale This Weekend

By Alissa Silber

Published: May 19, 2017 12:00 AM

Members of the Town & Country Garden Club gathered on the Queen Street median at the intersection of Church Hill Road to beautify the area on the morning of Friday, May 12. They planted a variety of a...

Lions Getting Their Ducks In A Row, Firefighters Testing The Ropes

Published: May 19, 2017 12:00 AM

The Great Pootatuck Duck Race and Town Festival, a Sandy Hook tradition sponsored by the Newtown Lions Club, will take place Saturday, May 27, from 10 am until 2:30 pm. Admission is free, and there wi...

Third Annual Catherine's Butterfly Party Coming In June

Published: May 19, 2017 12:00 AM

In a tribute to the life and legacy of a first-grader lost in the Sandy Hook tragedy, the Catherine Violet Hubbard Foundation will host its third annual Catherine's Butterfly Party on Saturday, June 3...

FONS Hosting Benefit 'Exit The Body' Performance Saturday Afternoon At Little Theatre

Published: May 18, 2017 12:00 AM

Friends of Newtown Seniors (FONS) will present its next benefit event this weekend, when it hosts a performance of Fred Carmichael's Exit The Body.Exit The Body is a murder-mystery-comedy about a New ...

'Philadelphia Story' Next Selection In Someday Cinema Series

Published: May 18, 2017 12:00 AM

The Someday Cinema Series will offer two screenings of The Philadelphia Story (1940) at Edmond Town Hall on Thursday, June 1, at 1 and 7 pm. Tickets are $3, and the matinee will be shown with subtitle...

Celebrate Sandy Hook Tat Holler Show Rescheduled

Published: May 17, 2017 12:00 AM

The Sandy Hook Organization for Prosperity (SHOP) has rescheduled its Celebrate Sandy Hook concert on the green with country singer Tat Holler for Sunday, May 21, at 5 pm. This year's fifth annual eve...

Newtown History Camp Offers Children A Blast From The Past; Registration Open

Published: May 15, 2017 12:00 AM

Newtown Historical Society is now accepting applications for its Annual Summer History Camp, to take place this year during the week of July 10-14. Offering children a range of interactive activities ...

'Screenagers' Screening, Panel Discussion, May 18 At ETH

Published: May 14, 2017 12:00 AM

The Avielle Foundation's Spark ProgramÃÂ and The Resiliency Center of Newtown are organizing a special free event for the evening of Thursday, May 18, at Edmond Town Hall, 45 Main Street. A Ã&#x...

Work Underway For Historical Society's Annual Homes & Gardens Tour

Published: May 14, 2017 12:00 AM

Mark your calendar for Sunday, June 25, when Newtown Historical Society presents its annual Homes & Gardens Tour, rain or shine. Ticket holders this year will travel from the Colonial period to modern...

Tat Holler Concert Postponed

Published: May 11, 2017 12:00 AM

Organizers with Sandy Hook Organization for Prosperity (SHOP) are heeding weather predictions of heavy rain for Saturday, May 13, and are postponing the free Tat Holler country concert that was planne...

Track And Field Teams Compete At Masuk

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Reed Intermediate Presents Sold-Out Performances Of 'Willy Wonka Jr'

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.

Education Cuts: Who Voted For What

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.

Discusses Policy Against Rodenticides

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.

The ‘Me’ Generation

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 :)

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Town & Country Garden Club Members Help Beautify The Town; Plant Sale This Weekend

Lions Getting Their Ducks In A Row, Firefighters Testing The Ropes

Third Annual Catherine's Butterfly Party Coming In June

FONS Hosting Benefit 'Exit The Body' Performance Saturday Afternoon At Little Theatre

'Philadelphia Story' Next Selection In Someday Cinema Series

Celebrate Sandy Hook Tat Holler Show Rescheduled

Newtown History Camp Offers Children A Blast From The Past; Registration Open

'Screenagers' Screening, Panel Discussion, May 18 At ETH

Work Underway For Historical Society's Annual Homes & Gardens Tour

Tat Holler Concert Postponed