News

Prevention Council Guest Speaker To Address Nature, Mentors & Community

By Kendra Bobowick

Published: Apr 19, 2014 12:00 AM

Community, nature, and mentoring all play key roles in raising healthy children, said Two Coyotes Wilderness School Executive Director Justin Pegnataro. He will present the talk “It Takes A Village To...

State Police Dispatching Procedures Modified

Published: Apr 19, 2014 12:00 AM

MIDDLETOWN — The Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP) commissioner said April 16 that she has completed her preliminary review of consolidated state police radio dispatching ...

I-84 Bridge Work At Center Street About Half Done

By Andrew Gorosko

Published: Apr 18, 2014 12:00 AM

An ongoing $6 million state project to replace two Interstate-84 bridges, which cross above Center Street in the Riverside section of Sandy Hook, is about half complete, according to a state Departmen...

Local Savings Bank Officials, BBB Warn Internet Users About 'Heartbleed'

By John Voket

Published: Apr 18, 2014 12:00 AM

Local businesses including Newtown Savings Bank and the Connecticut Better Business Bureau have been busy alerting business owners about the “Heartbleed” security flaw that targets computer servers ru...

Council Chair Clarifies Misinformation In Letter, Social Network Posts

By John Voket

Published: Apr 18, 2014 12:00 AM

Shortly after reviewing a letter to the editor in this week’s pre-budget vote edition of The Newtown Bee, Legislative Council Chair Mary Ann Jacob reached out hoping to clarify what she believes is a...

Renovation Project Announced: Glen Road 'Silver Bridge' To Be Silver Again

By Andrew Gorosko

Published: Apr 18, 2014 12:00 AM

What locally has long been known as “The Silver Bridge” will regain its argentine luster after the state completes an estimated $5 million renovation project intended to physically rehabilitate the st...

Officials Brief Seniors On Proposed Tax Relief Program Updates

By John Voket

Published: Apr 18, 2014 12:00 AM

Nearly three dozen local seniors turned out Wednesday evening to learn about the details and ask questions on the proposed updates to a senior tax relief initiative currently being tapped by more than...

'Zero Increase' Budget Backers Call For Taxpayers To Turnout, Vote Yes

By John Voket

Published: Apr 18, 2014 12:00 AM

A growing number of elected leaders representing the Legislative Council, and the Boards of Education, Selectmen, and Finance are calling for taxpayers to turn out April 22 and vote Yes on both the to...

Accident Snarls I-84 Traffic For Hours

By Andrew Gorosko

Published: Apr 17, 2014 12:00 AM

Several accidents occurred in Newtown on Interstate 84 on Monday, April 14, resulting in extensive traffic backups on I-84’s westbound and eastbound lanes, causing motorists to seek alternate routes o...

Brownfields Grant Will Aid FFH Hazmat Assessments

By John Voket

Published: Apr 17, 2014 12:00 AM

Newtown was notified April 16 that it is the recipient of a $200,000 grant, which Director of Economic and Community Development Director Elizabeth Stocker said will be applied to assessing nine remai...

The Way We Were

Silver Alert For Blue McGrath Ended

Top Of The Mountain

Cargo Van Driver Taken To Hospital Following Collision With Gas Tanker

Knotweed Initiative Program Planned

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.

The ‘Me’ Generation

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 :)

The ‘Me’ Generation

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