September 29, 1995

Heavy rain and powerful wind knocked down trees and toppled power lines around Connecticut last Friday night, but worked some of its worst damage in Newtown and Ridgefield. Trees were toppled along Mt Pleasant Road (Route 25/6) by bursts of wind meteorologists described as wind shears, knocking out power to 1,096 homes beginning about 7:01 pm. Most of the power was restored by 7:24 am.

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Although the Rowland administration wants to lease out unused state land and buildings at Fairfield Hills, if a suitable tenant or tenants can’t be found for the property, the state may sell portions of the sprawling grounds to raise revenue, state legislators have told members of the town’s Planning & Zoning Commission. In light of the potential for a sale of the property, State Rep Julia Wasserman has urged P&Z members to begin long-range planning to shape possible future land development at the Fairfield Hills grounds... In recent years, the state Department of Mental Health has been pursuing a policy of psychiatric patient “deinstitutionalization” at Fairfield Hills in a move to place patients in community settings. The psychiatric facility at Fairfield Hills is expected to be closed within several months.

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Should Newtown have cluster housing, affordable housing spread throughout town, or maybe a facility for short-term emergency housing? The question will continue to be debated long after many more families are forced to leave town due to financial difficulties... “The affordability gap in Newtown is such that it is difficult for people who [are struggling] to meet any kind of emergency and stay in town at a time when they really need to be around people who know and care about them,” said Barbara Burkert, chairperson for Newtown Local Housing Partnership.

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Planning & Zoning Commission members have turned down a request to re-zone from Residential-1 to Business-1 land at the northern corner of Meadowbrook Road and South Main Street, thus blocking an ambulance company’s proposal to build an ambulance garage there... P&Z members said the requested zone change is incompatible with the town’s land use planning goals... Joseph, Angelo, and Victor DeSimone of Danbury Ambulance Service, Inc, applied for a change of zone... The reason Danbury Ambulance wants a garage to house ambulances in Newtown is because the Newtown Ambulance Corps didn’t want to serve Garner patients... Danbury Ambulance now has a contract with the Department of Correction.

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Officials from the Town of Newtown, Housatonic Recover Resources Authority (HRRA), and Wheelabrator broke ground Thursday, September 28, for a new transfer station to be located on the site of the former landfill on Ethan Allen Road.

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It was cold, it was Bethel, and it was a very special win for the Newtown cross country boys’ team. Newtown took first place in the Bethel Invitational, defeating top area teams Danbury, Brewster, Joel Barlow and powerhouse Fitch. Newtown finished with 85 points, tied Danbury, but earned the victory on the tie-breaking system. It was a key finish by Kyle Trocolla, Newtown’s sixth runner, that gave the Indians the victory.

September 25, 1970

Regal Rosemary and princely Peanuts reign as King and Queen of National Dog Week. Their coronation took place at The Bee Wednesday after they were notified that they had been chosen to rule the dog world. Queen Rosemary received a total of 80 votes... Her palace is the home of Mr and Mrs W.W. Holcombe of Great Hill Road, where she reigns as their queen year round... King Peanuts received 139 votes... He is two years old and was a birthday present to Jamie Pimpinello of Birch Rise Drive when he was only two weeks old and his mother couldn’t take care of him. The vote money, which totals almost $300, will be going to The Little Guild of St Francis in West Cornwall... More money would have gone to The Little Guild, but one dark cloud marred the contest when some person or persons broke into The Bee over the weekend and stole over $18 entry fee money.

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At its meeting Thursday evening, September 22, the Board of Education approved the requests of three community organizations who wish to use school buildings for events at which liquor will be served. The Scholarship Ball on Saturday, October 3, will be first under the Board’s new policy.

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The Newtown Choral Society had its second meeting of the new season last Monday night in the Middle School on Queen Street. During the glorious strains of the “Kyrie” from Haydn’s “Imperial Mass,” the altos suddenly staged a women’s-lib style rebellion. They claimed they were being picked on by Director Joseph Grasso. The tenors, sitting behind the altos, immediately came to their rescue by claiming it was they at fault, and not the fair sex... Mr Grasso does come on rather strong at times, but that’s what makes a good choral group.

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In March Officer John Qubick of the Newtown Police Department made a survey of 50 Newtown roads and made recommendations for speed limits on those roads. The State Traffic Commission has sent a certificate of approval for speed limits on most of those roads and at present the town is posting speed limit signs.

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Help Wanted: Women (3), Part time, Mornings 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. To work in modern pleasant office in Danbury. No typing required. No experience necessary. $2.00 per hour salary. Call Mr Collins 744-3480.

September 21, 1945

The latest and probably most difficult of the campaigns of the United War Fund was initiated in Connecticut on September 15, with a state goal of $2,600,000 and a Newtown quota of $6,000 for the many agencies operating under the United War and Community Funds of Connecticut. Representative George M. Stuart is chairman of the drive and is seeking as quick and generous response from the people of Newtown as during the active fighting.

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Some 15 teachers in Newtown Public Schools have formed a group to join the Blue Cross hospitalization plan. The plan provides the policy holder and every family member enrolled are entitled to 21 days of hospital care and certain services regardless of cost, and to 90 additional days with a 50 per cent benefit

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The 1945 fall football schedule of the Housatonic Valley Schoolmen’s Football League as it stands with the first game of the season between Morris and New Milford at New Milford, scheduled for this Friday afternoon. Coach Harold S. De Groat suggests that if any school finds any particular date unsatisfactory, a better playing time should be arranged between the schools involved... Team captains for Sandy Hook [School] are Andre Maye, Kenneth Berglund, Keith Bresson, and Charles Botsford. William Moore and Ted Smith are captains for the fourth and fifth grades.

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The editor of The Newtown Bee is indebted to Lt Edward C. Krawiecki for a copy of the Fresno Bee, published at Fresno, California. Lt Krawiecki is now stationed at Camp Pinedale. He writes, “I thought you might be interested in ‘our’ local paper so I’m sending along a copy of The Fresno Bee.” Having read it with interest, The Newtown Bee feels that its namesake across the continent is upholding the good name under which both papers are published.

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With a tantalizing combination of rain and sunshine, willing volunteers in Newtown’s scrap paper drive carried on to a successful conclusion last Saturday afternoon, according to figures compiled by William Hunter, Newtown’s salvage chairman. Fully five and one-half tons were salvaged to bolster the country’s serious need for this commodity.

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John Sims, a past president of Danbury Kiwanis Club, was speaker on Monday evening at the Newtown Rotary Club. He discussed the care of our automobiles, and followed his remarks by showing a motion picture, “Under The Hood,” which showed in detail the working of a modern automobile engine.

September 10, 1920

The microfilm containing 1920 Newtown Bee editions is kept at the C.H. Booth Library, which is temporarily closed due to coronavirus health precautions.

Your memories are the ones we want to share! Do you have photographs of people or places in town from a bygone era? The Way We Were is the perfect landing spot so that your photographs can be enjoyed by Newtown Bee readers. Images can be e-mailed as attachments to editor@thebee.com, subject line: Way We Were photo. When submitting photographs, please identify as many people as possible, the location, and the approximate date.