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THE WAY WE WERE

SEPTEMBER 14, 1973

The complex of problems created for Newtown by the state's plan for extending

the Route 25 expressway through the town to I-84 was formally dropped in the

lap of a special study committee Tuesday evening by First Selectman Frank

DeLucia and Selectman Gerald Frawley. Mr DeLucia asked the committee to get

the facts and make some recommendations, and to report not just to the Board

of Selectmen but to the town as a whole. The task is not just to determine

which of two proposed routes for the expressway would serve the town best, but

also to determine whether the town wants the expressway built at all. Joseph

Turnauer was named temporary chairman of the committee, Harvey Hubble,

temporary vice chairman.

Nearly 400 parents attended the Board of Education meeting this week to voice

concern over the cutback in school transportation because of the $30,000 cut

in the school budget. Twenty-nine parents spoke at the meeting and not one

mentioned the increase in the walking distance for students. Instead, all said

they were concerned with the safety of students who would have to walk along

such roads as Toddy Hill, Route 25 and Route 34. They cited speeding drivers,

accidents, walking in the dark, and walking in snow and other inclement

weather. At the end of the meeting, the school board agreed to ask the

superintendent to develop a transportation program which would have expanded

service operational not later than September 25.

Newtown has a temporary dog pound to replace the old pound on Mt Pleasant Road

which was shut down two weeks ago by the state because it was unfit for

occupancy. The temporary site, owned by Mr and Mrs David Johnson, is the

Copper Devil Kennels on Hattertown Road, which will be used until the town

builds its new pound at the landfill. A town crew and Sgt Michael Fekete spent

last weekend fixing the kennels up for use by the town, pulling weeds,

repairing the new fencing for the runs, repairing a ruptured water pipe and

putting the heating system into working order. The state approved the site for

use on Friday and Newtown sanitation officer Jack Goett gave his approval on

Tuesday. The town began using the kennels on Monday and by Wednesday there

were two strays in occupancy.

A first step toward the improvement of Newtown's rocky and rutted private

roads was taken on Wednesday evening at a meeting of more than 100 residents

with the Board of Selectmen and Town Counsel Robert Hall. The meeting was the

result of protests by Irma Shreders of Pootatuck Park that the road she lives

on was becoming impassable and the town was doing nothing about it. Most of

the residents attending said they would prefer that their roads be accepted as

town roads. They said the cost of bringing the roads up to standard should be

shared on some basis by the residents and the town, and that the residents'

share should be assessed over a number of years. Many residents also said it

should not be necessary to bring the roads up to the current town standards

which require a 50-foot right of way and a bituminous concrete surface. First

Selectman said that if a compromise can be worked out with Planning & Zoning

and accepted by the town, there might be progress. He said he will prepare

recommendations for a town meeting on the subject.

The Sandy Hook Fire Company wants a new firehouse and the Planning & Zoning

Commission is concerned about what size the structure might be and its effect

on people living in the area where it would be constructed. The company plans

to build the station on six acres of land adjacent to Sandy Hook Elementary

School. Kenneth Casey, president of the company, told P&Z Friday night that

because of the cost involved, the station would not be as large as originally

proposed. Mr Casey said the building will be approximately 40 by 90 feet with

a floor space of 3,600 feet. One third of the second floor will be used for

kitchen and storage space and restrooms. The company would like to have five

bays for trucks on the main floor, but this depends on the cost and financing.

A proposal to use the six-acre parcel of town-owned land for a firehouse will

go to a town meeting for a vote in the near future.

On Tuesday evening, the Board of Education voted unanimously to sign a

three-year contract for Dr Albert Brinkman, the new superintendent of schools.

Under the terms of the contract, Dr Brinkman's starting salary will be

$32,000, with yearly increases of $1,500. He also will receive term life

insurance and all fringe benefits which the present administrators are

getting. Also, all reasonable moving expenses will be paid when he and his

family move to Newtown from Glen Cove, N.Y.

Edmond Town Hall will be without electric power all day on Friday, September

21, while new transformers are installed to give the building more power in

the future. All town offices will be open for business, although no electrical

equipment will be in operation. Emergency generators will power the police and

fire communications systems.

The Newtown Indians football team opens up its defense of last year's Western

Connecticut Conference co-championship on Saturday with a 1:30 pm kickoff

scheduled as they host Brookfield High School. Brookfield, which enters its

second year of varsity play, had a solid 4-4 record in its first season last

fall and will face a veteran Newtown eleven. Newtown finished last year with a

7-1 record and was one of the state's top teams. The starting lineup includes

eight seniors and three juniors. Seniors include quarterback Mike Newman, who

was conference all-star last season, and fullback Tom Saint in the backfield.

Up front are ends Curt Geerer and Bill Sphunt. Dave Conklin at left tackle,

200-pound tackle Tom Cavanaugh and Jack Whittle at right guard are senior

linemen, along with center Bill Mullins who is Indians co-captain along with

Newman. Juniors on the starting team will be Wally Randall and Gordon Scott in

the backfield and left guard Paul Wagner up front.

SEPTEMBER 17, 1948

Evidence that the Regional High School continues to be an issue in Newtown was

shown last Friday evening in both party caucuses, when two members of the

local Board of Education were defeated for renomination, Robert J. Clark, for

a member of the local board and chairman of the regional board, losing to

Winford Carmody in the Democratic caucus by a 3-to-1 margin and Mrs Mary

Boyle, secretary of the local board, losing to Raymond L. Hall, a former

member of the board and one of the leading opponents of the regional school,

in the Republican caucus by a 44-vote margin. There were a total vote of 342

ballots cast. The Republican caucus in the gym at town hall proved to be one

of the largest ever held in Newtown, with an attendance of close to 400.

Last Thursday evening the Newtown Orchestral Society under Mario Di Cecco's

direction presented the final concert of the summer series at Edmond Town Hall

before the largest and most enthusiastic audience of the season. The

enthusiasm was undoubtedly not only for the music of the evening but also in

the nature of a final seasonal tribute to this group of players who for many

years have been contributing so much to the pleasure of Newtown.

A barn dance was enjoyed last Friday evening at the barn of Dr Alexander T.

Martin in the Palestine district, when a group of young people were guests of

the Boyle, DeGraff and McGraw families. Hal Brundage furnished his usually

popular music for the occasion.

More than 100 firemen attended a fire drill which was held Sunday afternoon in

Hawleyville. The men present were members of the Newtown, Sandy Hook,

Hawleyville and Dodgingtown volunteer fire companies, which comprise the

Newtown Fire Department. The drill, which was considered a success by the

officers in charge, consisted of demonstrations and testing of equipment. Each

apparatus was tested individually and nearly 2,000 feet of hose was laid under

the direction of the chiefs, and tandem pumping demonstrated. Five pieces of

motor equipment also were tested. The drill was under the direction of Deputy

Fire Marshall John Sedor, who substituted for Fire Marshall Walter L. Glover,

who was ill. Chief Fred Mayer of the Newtown company, Hiram Hanlon of Sandy

Hook, Peter Feli of Hawleyville, and Harold Dunleavy of Dodgingtown were in

charge of the men of their companies.

Gould Curtis and Carroll Johnson were the winners of the second annual

member-guest tournament which was held at the Newtown Country Club on Saturday

and Sunday. More than 120 participated in the event, the largest tournament of

the year.

Mr and Mrs Eric DeGroat and sons, Eric Jr and Stephen, left by car and trailer

for Raleigh, N.C., on Monday morning after spending the summer with Coach and

Mrs Harold S. DeGroat on South Main Street. Eric Sr spent the summer studying

at New York University's camp at Lake Sebago, near Bear Mt Park, and at the

Washington Square Graduate School for the last three weeks of the summer term.

He is an instructor in the physical education department of North Carolina

State College. The housing conditions in Raleigh forced them to live in one of

the three trailer camps at the college last year and they will start again,

along with hundreds of the other GI's who are at the college.

When you are on a New Haven Railroad train bound into New England and suddenly

remember that you left the gas burning under the water heater at home, you no

longer have to fret and stew about it until you get off the train. Or if

something happens at the office that demands the immediate attention of Mr

Businessman who is route, there no longer will be a need to wait until he gets

to Boston to call him. In either case, a telephone call will quickly solve the

problem. Starting this month, the New Haven Railroad will be the first New

England route to institute radio-telephone service. It will be started on four

trains, the east- and west-bound Merchants Limited and the east- and

west-bound Yankee Clipper. Calls may be placed or received just as from home

or office telephone, not only to anywhere in the United STates and Canada but

also to South America and points overseas.

Close to 75 people attended the public hearing of the Board of Finance Tuesday

evening in the Alexandria Room of Edmond Town Hall to consider the requested

appropriations for the town's 1948-49 fiscal year. Consideration was given to

the Selectman's requested budget of $187,160.02. Considerable discussion took

place on the item of $8,000 for property revaluation. Individual items in the

Board of Education budget also were considered, particularly transportation

and the road condition over Walnut Tree Hill Road. The poor road makes it

necessary for children in the area to walk a considerable distance because the

school board will not allow a bus to travel over it. The Board of Finance must

meet in executive session to prepare the final budget figures for

consideration at the annual town meeting on October 4.