Full Text:

THE WAY WE WERE

MARCH 29, 1974

On Monday, April 1, the third referendum on the Boyle property for a school

site will take place. All voting will be in the gymnasium of Edmond Town Hall

from 6 am-8 pm, and those eligible to vote are any registered voters 18 years

or older or those who are property owners in Newtown. Two questions will

appear on the machines: 1. Do you favor the town retaining the Boyle property

as a school site?" 2. "If the voters vote not to retain the Boyle property,

should the Selectmen be authorized to return the title to the former owners?"

A sample ballot of how the questions will appear on the machine appears

elsewhere in The Bee this week. It is very important that BOTH questions be

answered. Moderator of the meeting will be James Smith. If anyone has any

questions, they should be asked of him prior to entering the voting booth.

The proposed Route 25 expressway if built would both increase air pollution

and ease it, said Greg Wight, director of air quality review of the Department

of Environmental Protection at the Route 25 Impact Study Committee meeting on

March 26. Pollution on the road would increase as more and more vehicles came

to use it. Yet, on the other hand, the emissions from individual cars of the

crucial pollutant, carbon monoxide, would decrease as speeds went up and

congestion went down. What the net result of the two trends would be, Mr Wight

was not able to say.

During the past two weeks the fire whistles have been sounding throughout town

at a frequency which is alarming. A few of the calls into the switchboard were

actually for fires, but a great many of them were for false alarms or bomb

threats. These calls are ones which cost the taxpayer money and also present a

danger. The Board of Fire Commissioners told The Bee that last year it cost

the town $311.75 every time the fire bell was hit and the equipment had to

roll. This year, because of higher fuel and oil costs, the figure would be an

even higher one. Figured into the cost of each run are trucks, man hours, gas,

and maintenance of firehouses.

Carnival Night "Highlighted" the March 19 Cub Scout Pack meeting at Middlegate

School, with Vic Reilly, Cubmaster, presiding over the meeting. Each den

provided a form of entertainment charging from 2 to 5 cents for each game.

After the opening ceremonies, awards were presented to Jay Smith and Jeff

Smith, who both earned their Wolf awards plus their Silver and Gold Arrow.

Paul and Robert Haroldsen, and Larry Oliver were awarded their Gold Arrow.

Bill Wilkinson and Rusty Sanuik earned a Webelos Activity award.

The voters will be going to a special Town Meeting on Thursday evening, April

11, to vote on a special appropriation in the amount of $133,382 to pay for

the additional teachers' salaries, which were agreed upon for 1973-74. The pay

owed the teachers is retroactive as of September 1, 1973, and although the

appropriation has not yet been voted upon, the teachers will receive the

additional amount Friday, March 29.

As The Bee went to press this week, word was received that a star has been

born in Sandy Hook. Seven-year-old Jessica Dorman, daughter of Mr and Mrs

Daniel Dorman, of Berkshire Road, has tied for a second prize in a national

young filmmakers festival. The firm, called "Outer Limits," is an animated

abstract production of the youngster, and won first prize for six to ten year

olds in a state-wide contest sponsored by Connecticut Public Television

earlier this year. The film has been shown several times on Channel 49.

In the fall of 1970, with the opening of the new high school, double sessions

for Newtown school children came to an end. Now, four years later it looks as

though double sessions will begin again, at least for students in grades 5-8.

The Board of Education met on Tuesday evening, March 26, and taking up most of

the discussion was what to do to meet Middle School space needs. Upon request

of the Board, Superintendent of Schools Dr Albert Brinkman outlined

suggestions of how to solve the problem of handling 1,500 students in a school

with a slate rated capacity of 1,340 and a space rated capacity of 1,390

(including present portable classrooms).

During the March 26 Board of Education meeting, Dr Albert Brinkman,

superintendent of schools, presented to the Board the following statement

concerning the impact of delay in new school construction. Every year's delay

in building a new elementary school adds at least 10 per cent to the original

cost estimate projected four years ago. A 700-pupil elementary school under

construction today for an estimated $2.3 million could have been built and

equipped in 1970 for a figure well under $2 million. Delay in construction has

cost the taxpayer an estimated two to three mills on his tax rate annually.

APRIL 1, 1949

Raymond J. Trimpert, vice president of the Newtown Lions Club, was the speaker

at the club's meeting at Hawley Manor, on Wednesday evening of last week, with

George W. Trull, president, presiding. Mr Trimpert gave the members some

interesting facts and illustrations of the part that chemistry plays in the

manufacture of hats and credited the late Frank H. Lee, Danbury hat

manufacturer, and Dr Fabian with having eliminated through their efforts the

mercury poison hazard from the hatting industry.

More than 300 persons crowded into the Senate Chamber of the State Capitol

building, Hartford, on Wednesday afternoon, when proponents and opponents of

Regional High School District 3 presented their cases for and against general

and special legislation concerning the district before the Assembly's Joint

Education Committee. More than 50 persons from Newtown were in attendance at

the hearing, which lasted nearly two and a half hours and many of them spoke

in support of one of the four bills up for consideration. Proponents of

District 3, which includes the towns of Newtown, Woodbury, Southbury and

Bethlehem, supported the companion bills HB 239, presented by Rep Robert C.

Mitchell of Southbury and SB 475, introduced by Sen Garret Burkitt of Ansonia,

both of which provide general legislation for dissolution or withdrawal from

the district only by unanimous consent of the four member towns.

The Newtown Parent Teacher Association has planned a varied program for its

next meeting, which will be held on Tuesday, April 5th, at Hawley School at 8

pm. A major event is to be a play called "Amelia in Reverse," presented by

Frederick Parr's seventh grade pupils. Members of the cast, in the order of

their appearance, are Phyllis O'Dell, Margaret Sherman, Kathleen McMahon,

Kenny Berglund, Brian Vecchiolla and Donald Crouch. The stage manager is

George Kozak.

Now that spring is here, the Newtown firemen are being kept busy by the many

grass and brush fires, which are usually more prevalent during this season

than any other. This past week the Newtown and Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire

companies were called to Glen Road in Sandy Hook to extinguish a brush fire on

the Philip Britton property where a large tract of land, east of the Plastic

Molding company's plant, was burned over. They also quelled a blaze earlier

this week on the Convent property.

The trustees of the Cyrenius H. Booth Library have announced that in the

campaign that was undertaken last fall and winter for funds to supplement the

income of the library, $2,606 was raised, which was contributed by 288 donors.

The library is supported by a trust fund of $250,000 established by Miss

Hawley of which The Travelers' Bank and Trust Company of Hartford is the

trustee. Over the years, due to a lower yield on investments, the annual

income from this fund has decreased, until today it is in the neighborhood of

$8,500.

On Thursday, April 7th, the first of the two well child conferences, which are

scheduled for this month, will be held. This clinic will undertake

examinations of eyes, ears and teeth of pre-school children, and will provide

fluorine treatment where needed and desired.

MARCH 1924

March 21: Motor vehicle accidents in Connecticut reached a total of 969 during

January, according to a compilation of reports made public today, at the state

Motor Vehicle Department.

On Thursday afternoon, March 27, at 2 o'clock, Mrs O.S. Stoddard will give a

thimble party for the P.T.A. at her home in Newtown. Every friend of the

school is invited. Bring your work and come prepared to tell a funny story.

Refreshments will be served and a silver collection, nothing more than 25 c

will be taken up.

March 28: Senator Platt and Representative Morris have received positive

assurance that Highway Commissioner McDonald will start work on the Sandy

Hook-Stevenson road as soon as the ground is ready to work.

Hurd and Lillis have a Chevrolet touring car bought through the Woodbury Sales

Company.

Joseph Kentry of Sandy Hook has a new Chevrolet touring car, bought through

F.E. Knox of Woodbury.