Cultural Events

Next Saturday Night Open Mic Scheduled

Published: Apr 25, 2014 12:00 AM

Newtown musician and music educator Jim Allyn has announced the date of the next Saturday Night Open Mic For Newtown Youth: May 3. The May event will shift its start time by 30 minutes, beginning at 7...

'I Hate Hamlet' Auditions Announced

Published: Apr 24, 2014 12:00 AM

Town Players of Newtown will host auditions for I Hate Hamlet on Monday and Tuesday, April 28-29. The auditions will rum from 7:30 to 9 pm each night. In Paul Rudnick’s comedy, actor Andrew Rally’s bu...

Lions Announce Date, Prize List For 2014 Great Pootatuck Duck Race

Published: Apr 24, 2014 12:00 AM

The 2014 Great Pootatuck Duck Race will take place on Saturday, May 24, from 10 am until 2:30 pm. This year’s race features a new co-operative arrangement between Newtown Lions Club and the Sandy Hook...

Reconnect With Nature At Family Fun Day

Published: Apr 23, 2014 12:00 AM

Can you build a fire without matches? Do you know which wild plants are safe to eat? Reconnect with nature at the Second Annual Two Coyotes Wilderness School Family Fun Day scheduled for Sunday, May 4...

Wilco's Stirratt & Sansone To Perform At Edmond Town Hall

Published: Apr 23, 2014 12:00 AM

On Friday, June 6, at 6 pm, the Live at the Edmond Town Hall series will spotlight the Autumn Defense. Amanda Bloom and her band will open. Tickets are $20. When they're not on the road with the rock...

Book Donation Day Scheduled At Library

Published: Apr 22, 2014 12:00 AM

The Friends of the C.H. Booth Library counts on donations dropped off to the library for the Annual Book Sale, the biggest fundraiser of the year for the library support organization. With the library...

'Healing, Transformative Gathering' Planned At Adath Israel

Published: Apr 21, 2014 12:00 AM

The public is invited to support Newtown families who created foundations, scholarships, advocacy organizations and other memorials in sacred tribute to their loved ones slain in the Sandy Hook traged...

Art In Residence Curators Thinking 'All About Spring'

Published: Apr 19, 2014 12:00 AM

Art In Residence, a fine art gallery in northern Newtown, will host a special opening weekend reception for “All About Spring” on Saturday and Sunday, April 26-27. To celebrate the season and the gall...

Newtown Antiques Market Adds Garden Antiques, Jewelry & Décor To Its Offerings

Published: Apr 19, 2014 12:00 AM

Barn Star Productions and Newtown Historical Society are broadening plans for the first annual Newtown Antiques Market, adding garden antiques, jewelry and decorations to the offerings. June is the ti...

Celebrated Yale A Cappella Singing Group At Trinity, April 27

Published: Apr 17, 2014 12:00 AM

The Yale Alley Cats, world renowned men’s a cappella singing group from Yale University, will perform in concert at Trinity Episcopal Church, 36 Main Street, on Sunday, April 27, at 5 pm. Established ...

COA Welcomes New Alternate, Discusses Senior Alliance

BOE Recognizes 2026 Profiles In Professionalism Honorees

C.H. Booth Library Hosted Another Successful Volunteer Fair

Fire Reports | April 28-May 4, 2026

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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