News

Green Ribbon Ride Raised $50,000

Kendra Bobowick • News •
Saturday, May 18, 2013

Checks for the approximately $50,000 in funds raised during “the one and only” Sandy Hook Green Ribbon Ride fundraiser and remembrance, held on Sunday, May 5 will soon be in the mail to recipients, according to event co-organizer Anthony Capozziello. Mr Capozz...
Lawmakers Call For Federal Funding For New Sandy Hook School

Nancy Crevier • News •
Thursday, May 16, 2013

US Senators Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal and Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty announced in a conference call Thursday, May 16, that next week they will introduce a bill into the Senate and House of Representatives to amend the School Emergency Response to Violence (SERV) fund, allowing it to provide funding to assist in reconstruction of school buildings.Currently, there is no federal funding available for the building of new schools. Project SERV traditionally funds “short-term and long-term education-related services for local educational agencies (LEAs) and institutions of higher education (IHEs) to help them recover from a violent or traumatic event in which the learning environment has been disrupted,” according to the US Department of Education website, ed.gov.“Since December 14, the community of Newtown has rallied together,” ...
Garner Inmate Arrested After Serious Prison Assault

Andrew Gorosko • News •
Thursday, May 16, 2013

State police report they responded to a serious assault in which one inmate attacked another inmate within Garner Correctional Institution, the state’s high-security prison at 50 Nunnawauk Road. State police said this week that on the afternoon of May 8, they received a call from Garner reporting an assault that had occurred about 1:33 pm. State police said their investigation found that the altercation occurred between inmates Travis Hampton, 34, and Jeffrey Allman, 24.
Police Reports May 6 - 13, 2013

• News •
Thursday, May 16, 2013

Road Rage Police report they received a complaint about 10:45 am on May 12 from a woman concerning a “road rage” incident that had occurred on Queen Street near Lovells Lane. Police said t...
Fire Reports May 9 - 16, 2013

• News •
Thursday, May 16, 2013

The dispatchers at the Newtown Emergency Communications report the following fire calls and the responders: Thursday, May 9: 10:35 am, alarm, 34 Taunton Hill Road, Hawleyville and Dodgingtown responded; 7:40 ...
Finance Board, Council Cover School Security OT Costs

John Voket • News •
Thursday, May 16, 2013

The Board of Finance May 13 and the Legislative Council two days later, decided to delay using a budgeted fund balance allocation to offset some projected police overtime costs for school security. At the same time, the finance board and council approved additional transfers to more than cover overtime expenses accrued since April 1. The Bee reported last week that the Board of Selectmen approved using three sources to cover what Finance Director Robert Tait estimated could be as much as $180,000 in police school security overtime for the fiscal quarter ending June 30.
Public Building Chair Ready For Sandy Hook School Project

John Voket • News •
Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Now that the Sandy Hook School Building Task Force has made its recommendation to construct a new facility on the site of the existing school, Public Building and Site Commission Chairman Robert Mitchell believes he can put himself in the place of many of the task force members as they struggled toward their goal. “A part of me wished they could put off the decision another year,” he told The Bee this week, just days after the task force completed its nearly eight-week process. “But we really can’t wait.”
Town Budget Passes, School Proposal Fails By 52 Votes

John Voket • News •
Tuesday, May 14, 2013 at 9:31 pm

The Legislative Council will be returning to deliberate once again, although this time their task will be singularly focused after the school district budget proposal failed by just 52 votes at referendum May 14. The town side request passed by 246. Council Chairman Jeff Capeci said that the number of voters who responded to the corresponding budget question signaled they wanted to see additional reductions. "It's clear the (request) has to go down, but the vote was much closer today than the first time around," he told The Bee just after the final unofficial numbers were announced by the moderator.
Budget Turnout Up Slightly In Morning Voting

John Voket • News •
Tuesday, May 14, 2013

At noon today, local registrars reported budget voting turnout was slightly higher than at the same time during the first referendum April 23. According to poll officials 1,387 ballots were logged by noon, eight more than at the same time two weeks ago, during the first round of voting on April 23. Town Clerk Debbie Aurelia said absentee voting for this referendum was slightly higher than in April, with 105 ballots issued, and 101 returned as of 9 am today. Voting for the second round budget referendum is today at Newtown Middle School. Qualified residents are invited to cast ballots on separate town and school requests until 8 pm this evening.
Newtown’s Turn To Host: Next HRRA Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day Is Saturday

• News •
Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Housatonic Resources Recovery Authority (HRRA) will conduct a Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day on Saturday, May 18, for residents of Newtown, Bethel, Danbury, New Fairfield, Redding, and Ridgefield. Residents of these towns can drop off items that ...