News

'Show Your Glow' At Night-Time Benefit

By Nancy K. Crevier

Published: Oct 28, 2014 12:00 AM

The Paproski family of Castle Hill Farm on Sugar Lane is hosting a “Show Your Glow” fundraiser, Thursday evening, October 30, from 6 to 9 pm, to benefit the Avielle Foundation, supporting community an...

School Board Hears Pitch For More NHS Sports

By Eliza Hallabeck

Published: Oct 27, 2014 12:00 AM

Newtown High School Principal Lorrie Rodrigue and Athletic Director Gregg Simon promoted the benefits of athletics and shared a vision for the future of sports at NHS with the Board of Education durin...

School Board Changes Its Plan For NHS Auditorium Project

By Eliza Hallabeck and John Voket

Published: Oct 27, 2014 12:00 AM

After reviewing new information, the Board of Education, during its meeting on October 21, voted to change its previously approved plans for a proposed Newtown High School auditorium renovation. Durin...

Westbound I-84 Lane Changes Planned in Sandy Hook

By Andrew Gorosko

Published: Oct 27, 2014 12:00 AM

As part of the continuing construction project to replace the dual two-lane Interstate 84 bridges that cross above Center Street in the Riverside section of Sandy Hook, the state plans to make some ph...

Unusual Water Prompts Testing Near Deep Brook

By Kendra Bobowick

Published: Oct 26, 2014 12:00 AM

Sediment, possibly from Fairfield Hills, may have washed into a Deep Brook tributary, Land Use officials learned Monday, October 20. Residents walking through the Deep Brook Preserve — land near where...

Opening Weekend Draws Hundreds To New Ambulance HQ

By John Voket

Published: Oct 25, 2014 12:00 AM

From “ambulance driver” Stuart Smith, who was an active responder in Newtown for more than a half-century, and local community leaders to Danbury Hospital emergency physicians and state officials, inc...

Firehouse Proposal Gains Architectural Endorsement

By Andrew Gorosko

Published: Oct 25, 2014 12:00 AM

Following an architectural review, the Borough of Newtown Historic District Commission on October 16 granted Newtown Hook & Ladder Company, No. 1, a “certificate of appropriateness’ for the new fireho...

Consigli Breaks Ground On Sandy Hook School

Published: Oct 25, 2014 12:00 AM

Consigli Construction Co., Inc has broken ground for Newtown’s new 87,000-square-foot state-of-the-art Sandy Hook Elementary School. With offices in Hartford, Consigli was selected as construction man...

Lake Authority: 'Rake Away From The Lake'

By Kendra Bobowick

Published: Oct 25, 2014 12:00 AM

Making a request of the lakeside community, Candlewood Lake Authority (CLA) members have asked residents to “rake away from the lake this fall.” A recent announcement from CLA states: “While the vast ...

New Poverty Hollow Road Bridge Open To Traffic

By Andrew Gorosko

Published: Oct 25, 2014 12:00 AM

It has been a long time coming, but the new Poverty Hollow Road bridge that spans the Aspetuck River near Centennial Watershed State Forest is now open to traffic. Although detour signs were still pos...

Summer Concert Series, Tuesday Tunes Concerts Details Announced

Travel Talk: Alaska, June 4

Silver Alert Issued By Newtown PD For 17-Month-Old Child

LOF Adaptive Skiers Is Gearing Up For Another Jam-Packed Summer

Snapshot: Jason LynchThis week's Snapshot features Jason Lynch.Family: My wife Robin, and our daughter Charly.How did you meet your wife? I met her on the subway in Brooklyn. I was helping someone with their stroller, and she saw me and handed me her business card.Pets: Two dogs, Jet and Utah.How long have you lived in Newtown? About five years. We used to live in Norwalk, and I used to drive the back roads home all the time. I’d see the antique houses and their plaques, and we’d talk about how unique each one looked and how great it would be to have a house like that someday. We were here for the corn maze, for my brother-in-law’s birthday, and we saw one of the houses on Main Street was for sale so we took a look and fell in love with it.Work: I work at IBM Research, where I am primarily a brand designer — so thinking about the Research brand, different applications, how it appears in digital at events, and also working with some of the emergent technologies as well. It’s incredibly hard but also interesting and fulfilling.Do you have a favorite podcast? I love podcasts. I like StarTalk, which is really interesting, about cosmic queries; The Illustration Department, about different illustrators and designers, which I like to listen to a lot; and I enjoy Freakonomics.What did you want to be when you grew up? A truck driver. I still think it would be an awesome job. We take a lot of road trips to Ohio, and I think about it quite a bit when we’re going through Pennsylvania. When I was a little kid they had that show, BJ and The Bear, and I loved it.What do you enjoy doing in your free time? I really enjoy cooking. I find recipes all the time, so I try to find new and interesting things. It’s hard to find the time to do it, but I enjoy it. During the summer we like to hang out on Lake Zoar. It’s our favorite place to be. It’s peaceful out there. We have a pontoon boat that we dock at Eichler’s Cove, and it’s nice because we can go down there, sometimes after work we’ll go out with dinner or go swimming for just an hour or so.What is the most recent book you’ve read? At home I don’t have a lot of downtime to read, but I love audio books. Right now I’m going through A World of Peers by Michael Pollan, which explores what is consciousness. It was really interesting. Before that it was Sammy Hagar’s autobiography. It varies quite a bit. My commute can be lengthy, so I enjoy audio books and podcasts when I’m going back and forth.What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given? You’re not entitled to the results, you’re entitled to the work.Do you have any pet peeves? It’s silly and it’s a little thing, and I know this, but I cannot stand how paper towels or tape never tear cleanly. It drives me insane.What is something you cannot live without? Family, of course. And dogs. I have to have dogs.What is your favorite thing about Newtown? I like the sense of community we’ve experienced here. I enjoy walking, and I love being able to get groceries everyday — the walkability in the center of town, and seeing people all the time, I really enjoy that. And the homes, of course, which was primarily what drew us here. Do you have a personal credo? The work advice from earlier.

I understand your basic point, but not the numbers. Can you help us understand where your numbers come from? Thanks!

The ‘Me’ Generation

Tom, I appreciate you sharing your perspective. My advocacy isn't about a personal 'vested interest' in a single field; it is about the Standard of Newtown. While you categorize the salt shed and library parking as 'essential' and the turf as an 'upgrade,' I would argue they all fall under the same umbrella of maintaining town assets. The Turf Field ($1.4M): This was a replacement project for a facility used by thousands of youth athletes, not a new 'luxury' add-on. The Salt Shed ($1.2M) & Library Parking ($1.4M): These were passed at almost identical price points. The point isn't to say these items aren't important; it’s to ask why we find the money for infrastructure that serves one demographic while claiming we are too 'fiscally strained' to fund infrastructure for another. When we categorize things we use as 'essential' and things our neighbors' children use as 'extras,' we aren't having an honest discussion about priorities, we are picking winners and losers. The goal of my letter wasn't to be 'unproductive,' but to sound the alarm for the 82% of residents who didn't show up to the polls. We cannot be a community that only thrives in parts. If we want Newtown to remain a place where people want to move and raise families, we have to invest in the next generation with the same urgency we use to fix our parking lots.

The ‘Me’ Generation

Michelle, I am sorry to see that you are also a victim of fabrications. All those rumors that go round that seem so convincing. All so often, those rumors are little more than convenient lies. This has been happening for several years and hopefully we can come together to stop them. Until then, I ask that those of you who have heard disparaging remarks about the candidates take the time to meet with them to ask them directly what you are concerned about. Get to know them better rather than assume. We all will have better representation both locally and state-wide if you do so.

Support For Brandon Moore

He is just another politician, you could see it when he got Bruce Walcz'zzz'k elected. Say whatever it takes to get into office...

This is disappointing because it frames voters who rejected the Treadwell turf replacement as selfish or anti-youth. When I suspect that Katherine's motives were likely because she has some vested interest in those turf fields, which makes it exceptionally selfish. There is a clear difference between maintaining basic town infrastructure and approving an athletic facility upgrade. Library sidewalks, parking access, and a salt storage facility support safety and essential town operations. The turf field may be worthwhile, but it is still a different type of request. Residents can support youth sports and still question the cost, timing, or priority of a specific project. Calling that selfish, or turning it into a generational argument is unfair and unproductive. Newtown is better served by honest discussion about priorities, not by accusing voters of lacking community spirit because they disagreed on one ballot item.

The ‘Me’ Generation

Copyright ©2026 The Newtown Bee / All rights reserved