The postseason is wrapping up for one sport and getting going for another as wrestling and basketball playoffs continue this weekend.
Newtown High School’s wrestling team, coming off South-West Confer...
Newtown High School’s boys’ basketball team dropped a 55-45 decision to host Joel Barlow of Redding in the South-West Conference Tournament quarterfinals on February 27. The third-seeded Falcons broke...
Newtown High School’s boys’ swimming and diving team defeated Joel Barlow of Redding 95-70 on Senior Night, February 18. The team is now gearing up — really tapering and shaving — for the start of the...
Newtown High School’s boys’ basketball team lost a 46-45 overtime heart-breaker at Stratford High, during Stratford’s Senior Night, in the regular-season finale on February 24.
The end result is that ...
Come-from-behind efforts have become commonplace for Newtown High School’s girls’ basketball team, but the Nighthawks outdid themselves in a pair of thrilling South-West Conference tournament games th...
Two years, two state titles … and a pair of championships in as many weeks for Newtown High School’s wrestling team. The Nighthawks successfully defended their state championship, seven days after cla...
Held to just nine first-half points, Newtown High School’s girls’ basketball team used tenacious defense to generate explosive offense in the third quarter – riding a 21-2 run to a 48-37 win over visi...
The defending Class LL state champion Newtown High School wrestling team has put itself into good position to repeat with 11 of 14 grapplers getting all the way to the semifinal round at Trumbull High...
Newtown High School’s boys’ basketball team earned a big 42-40 win over Weston on Senior Night, February 20. The Nighthawks honored final-year players Charlie Huegi, Jacob Burden, Harry Depuy, Will Da...
The Harlem Wizards are coming back to Newtown for a comedy basketball game on Sunday, February 22. The game will be played at Newtown High School beginning at 3 pm. The Wizards will take on a team of ...
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.
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.
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.
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 :)
