Fans who attend Newtown High School sporting events are consistently treated to announcements of goals, player check-ins, statistics, and more detail courtesy of public address announcer Jason “J” Edwards. A big part of making this happen is the effort of team managers.
The 27th Annual Jack Friel Memorial Golf Scramble, sponsored by Newtown Scholarship Association (NSA), was held at two courses, Newtown Country Club and Rock Ridge Country Club on June 17.
The Mad Dash Adventure Race, Newtown's Mud Run, will take place at Fairfield Hills on Saturday, June 29. The Elite and Superhero/ Team races (4.3 miles) begin at 8:30 am; the Mini Dash (seven mini stations finishing in the mud) is at 9:45 am; and the Open Course race (1.7 miles) is at 10 am.
Justin Halmose won another race, and a neck-and-neck battle produced a close finish among the top women in the 5K, as Lyndsey Fregoe was the top female in the Rooster Run race on June 15.
The game of balls and strikes, America’s Pastime, has predominately been a boys’ and man’s game. But while the underhand pitch game of softball is the route most girls take for competition, there are some who prefer throwing fastballs overhand style.
The CH Booth Library’s 10th Anniversary Turkey Trot Celebration Committee has announced a new layout for this year’s racecourse. The milestone event will take place on Thanksgiving morning, November 28.
The Nighthawks Summer Baseball Camp, led by Ian Thoesen, coach of the Newtown High School baseball team, and other instructors, has several sessions in June, July, and August.
Bobby Pattison, coach of the Newtown High School football team, invites youth football players who will enter into grades 2-8 in the fall, to attend the Second Annual Nighthawk Football Camp.
The Newtown Open tennis tournament will be held the weekend of June 22 and 23, at Dickinson Park check-in and main site) as well as Treadwell Park and Newtown High School.
The 45th Annual Rooster Run, to benefit Newtown Scholarship Association, will take place on Saturday, June 15, beginning at 8 am, on the campus of Fairfield Hills.
With the publication of installment No. 26, Trump’s Triumphs has now consumed enough broadsheet paper—approximately 3.6 miles—to stretch from the center of Newtown, past the dump, and nearly to Sand Hill Plaza. That is the amount of paper used to print these 26 installments alone. Do you think they will stop before we get to Monroe? If Trump becomes 48 in 28 then we would make the sound for sure!
Dave, you are right that only those in the Borough signed onto the law suits, as it was made clear during the Borough meetings that signers had to be residents of the Borough. However, as you know, there was a concerted effort by the Newtown Conservation Coalition to organize people (throughout town) and to orchestrate actions intended to foil the overall development.
If one searches the Bee for “Newtown Conservation Coalition” one will find many articles and editorials that cite the coalition. More that 18 of those articles and editorials, from March 2024 through February 2025, are about the Castle Hill Development and include direct quotes from the NCC head/founder including, e.g.,:
1) Newtown Conservation Coalition founder Dave Ackert has sagely urged his fellow NCC members to “stick to the relevant regulations issues and concerns in your testimony,” as “general opinions and concerns will not be considered when making their decision." [https://www.newtownbee.com/08292024/borough-zoning-to-begin-20-60-castle-hill-public-hearing." [https://www.newtownbee.com/08292024/borough-zoning-to-begin-20-60-castle-hill-public-hearing]
2) “We’re being sold a lot of things,” said Ackert. “The developer said he is going above and beyond in preserving open space, but the only part [of the plan] that doesn’t have houses are the steep slopes. He’s not avoiding buildable land, he’s using every buildable inch.” [https://www.newtownbee.com/09272024/borough-zoning-hears-perspectives-on-castle-hill-development]
In addition to the articles and editorials, you (Dave) also wrote over 8 letters related to the development, in essence speaking for the residents, e.g., saying “On behalf of hundreds of concerned residents living within 500 feet who signed protest petitions, and residents downstream who’s property and finances could also be negatively impacted, I ask the BOS to rescind the discontinuance decision now.” [https://www.newtownbee.com/07102025/discusses-rochambeau-trail-and-6-commerce-road]
The main tools for the Newtown Conservation Coalition are FOI complaints and legal action. These actions have increased the amount both the Town and the Borough have had to pay for legal counsel over the last few years. The cost is shared by all households and businesses for Town actions. Unfortunately, it is shared by very few, relatively speaking, for Borough actions. This year’s Borough costs are $58,000 to date. There were FOIA/legal actions in 2024 and 2025 too. Eventually, we will all see if that was money well spent. My sense is that the answer is no.
my concern is not limited to this single FOIA request or this one case. It is the broader pattern of obstructionism, fear-mongering, and personal nastiness reflected in your Facebook page and other public commentary.
You routinely call people to action by presenting only one side of complicated issues, assigning the worst possible motives to those who disagree with you, and giving little consideration to the legitimate concerns or perspectives on the other side. That may generate outrage and attention, but it does not make you a constructive participant in Newtown’s civic affairs.
You are entitled to question public officials and pursue whatever legal remedies are available to you. But you should not pretend that your own conduct, rhetoric, and repeated escalation of disputes have played no role in the hostility and expense surrounding these matters.
Newtown would be a nicer and more productive community with less of this kind of divisive behavior.
