September 21, 1990

A handful of Borough residents expressed resistance to the idea of building sewers here and anxiety about the $113 million cost at an informational meeting hosted by the Burgesses Wednesday night. The meeting was a mixture of complaints and questions from 10 residents about cost and whether a sewer system is the only acceptable solution to groundwater contamination and a state order to correct it. Alternatives and “second looks” are not possible for two reasons. Completing a townwide survey would not change existing results and could add problem areas… Second, the state Department of Environmental Protection’s mandate to clean contaminated groundwater did not originally require sewers as a solution. But when Newtown rejected a study recommending sewers the new study by CEE was allowed only under consent order. A consent order binds the town to implement what the study recommends. CEE is recommending sewers.

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Renovations to the Newtown Meeting House have been proceeding on schedule. The project, which is under the auspices of the Heritage Preservation Trust of Newtown, Inc, is scheduled to be completed some time next month. Work on the front of the building is nearly done. New insulation, plywood and siding have been installed and paint removed from parts of the building that will remain. It is expected that the whole building will be painted beginning the last week of September. Also, it has been decided to purchase new shutters for the building.

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The Newtown Forest Association, Inc has accepted 11 acres of open space along Limekiln Brook in Dodgingtown area. These acres form a green belt along the brook, through meadows and woods which eventually will become a link in a townwide trail system, an association spokesperson said. For many years the Buckeye Farm owned by Mr and Mrs Bertram Stroock included this strip of land, now dedicated to the Forest Association’s plan for open space. Access to the new open space area is directly off of Hattertown Road and an accessway from Flat Swamp Road.

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Burglars swept through the Newtown area Tuesday, September 18, breaking into two homes and attempting to break into a third. The last of the three attempts was discovered at the home of an Aunt Park Lane resident who called Newtown Police Department at 5:10 pm. According to Officer Robert Haas, the incident occurred when a person forced open a storm window screen and stole a VCR tape player, two jewelry boxes and jewelry. The second burglary was discovered at a home on Jeremiah Road. The first incident occurred when two unknown males attempted to gain access into a home on Hundred Acres Road. The homeowner was inside the house and apparently scared the two men off.

September 24, 1965

If you should, in your sorties to the Town Dump, see some fairly respectable members of the community scrounging through the debris, don’t send for Sergeant Shriver for Poverty Program funds… it’s just the production crew for Town Players “A Thousand Clowns” looking for set decorations for the current play. The main character lives in an unbelievably cluttered New York apartment. This intriguing set is being designed by Harrie Wood, who has never failed to produce on Town Players’ stage his own peculiar magic. Harrie is assisted by Doris Gorton, and Helen and Ford Cordial, who are busily collecting the set props.

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Zoning Voted Out, 783-619 In Southbury New Set-Up Then Voted In: Heritage Village Started On Monday: The bulldozer, manned by Otto Paparazzo, knocked down the first trees and turned the earth for the first time on the site of the future Heritage Village on Monday morning. Thus were the first steps taken to bring into being the retirement village over which there has been so much controversy in the Town of Southbury. Last Saturday, 1,414 Southbury voters went to the polls to vote “yes” or “no” on “Do you vote to repeal planning and zoning?” It actually took less than 15 minutes to discover that the “yes” total was 783 and “no” 619. Zoning and planning were no longer in effect in Southbury.

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In keeping with recent recommendations… The Newtown Board of Education has authorized the installation of a modern mathematics program, kindergarten through grade eight. This modern mathematics series is based upon the idea of emphasizing relationships, such as of the parts to the whole. The student is led to discover facts for himself. Problems are to be solved on the basis of reasoning. Being introduced this year to the Newtown schools are the “phonetic keys to reading,” and “words in color.” Both are programs designed to improve reading during the elementary years.

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Newtown welcomes Ivan Sorvall, Inc to the growing list of companies moving here. The new plant on Peck’s Lane is a real show place. Sorvall products are in use around the world in hospitals, and university and research centers. Not quite a year ago, on October 13, 1964, ground was broken for the new Newtown plant of Ivan Sorvall, Inc, manufacturers of laboratory instruments. In Norwalk for the past eight years, the rapidly expanding company had outgrown its site. On Sunday, September 26, an open house will show off the building to employees and their families, business friends and to new Newtown friends of the company.

 

September 20, 1940

The Newtown Bowling League will open its season on Monday evening, September 30, rather than on the tentative date of September 23, as previously planned. A meeting of captains will be held this Monday evening to approve teams and members. Members are also welcome to attend as the season’s activities will be discussed and arranged.

E. Chauncey Anderson of Newtown is a member of the American Committee for the Defense of British Homes to collect gifts of privately owned rifles, revolvers, pistols, shotguns and binoculars for the protection of the homes of the British civilian population. Arrangements have been made to forward all contributed material direct to a Civilian Committee for the Protection of Homes, with headquarters in London. The British Committee is a wholly civilian organization and will distribute the arms and ammunition direct to the civilian population in all parts of the country.

 

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Announcement is made by Miss Alice P. Hancock, librarian, that an exhibit of work by patients at the Fairfield State Hospital will open on Monday, September 23, at the Cyrenius H. Booth Library for a period of two weeks. Occupational Therapy holds a prominent place in the treatment and cure of patients a the Fairfield State Hospital. The work included rug making, book-binding, embroidery, leather and metal work, weaving, posters and paintings. There is also a small library of 1,200 volumes at the hospital, most of the binding of the books having been done by the patients. Samples of each type of work will be included in the exhibit.

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Friday evening’s special town meeting drew an attendance of more than 200 taxpayers and voters, who in a short space of time and without argument, went on record as favoring a paid police department in Newtown, and then went about setting in motion the necessary machinery to obtain it. R.H.F. Halsey then presented a resolution calling for a committee of five tax payers to prepare a definite plan for a paid police department. The resolution stipulated that the cost should not exceed a tax of one mill on the present grand list. A motion was passed that the Board of Selectmen be instructed to increase their requested appropriation for paid police from $3,000 to a sum equal to one mill on the grand list, thus providing funds up to that amount for whatever plan is finally adopted.

September 24, 1915

Attorney Charles G. Morris has been drawing some charts of Newtown expenditures and income in the form which is used by many business houses to show the relation of income to expenditure in their operations. He had the charts copied by a draughtsman, so that they can be seen nearly half way across the town hall. His expectation is to bring them out a the town meeting and explain so that our people can get a definite idea of what the town has been doing in a business way for the last 20 years.

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Dog Agent Gannon, who has spent considerable time traveling about town trying to induce delinquent dog owners to register their pets, has decided to use more strenuous means. The first to feel the effect was an old offender in the person of Mrs Jerome Platt of the Flat Swamp district, who has owned the same dog for 14 year and has registered the animal once or twice. A warrant was placed in the hands of Constable William Gower for Mrs Platt’s arrest. It became necessary for him to telephone Justice McCarthy for help, as Mrs Platt decided that she would not come on that day as she was very busy. Constable Blakeman and Carlson were soon on the way, but met Mrs Platt coming with her husband. Mrs Platt seemed to think the whole thing a huge joke. Justice McCarthy ruled that if she paid last year’s tax and the costs, she might depart. This Mrs Platt refused to do. Her husband tried to smooth things over and acted very decently. After some arguments, she told the justice that she would pay up if given time. Justice McCarthy continued the case until October 18 in order to give her the time desired.

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On Wednesday night Newton Curtis picked the last of his marketable peaches, and the season is ended at his great orchard. Mr Curtis has marketed in the vicinity of 8,000 baskets. He feared a glut in the market at the opening of the season, owing to the good crop generally. An increasing number of people came direct to the orchards, this year. Mr Curtis has not set men at the task of apple picking.

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While William A. Canfield was coming down “Ben Sherman Hill” last Sunday afternoon in his auto, a pin on the shaft gave way, causing Mr Canfield to lose control of the machine. The car gained great speed in a very short space. Mr Canfield, realizing that the only chance of escaping a bad accident was to ditch the car, which he did. Fortunately, the car remained upright, and the occupants of the car, Mrs Wheeler, Mrs Canfield, and Miss Pearl Canfield, all escaped with a severe shaking up. It was a narrow escape for all concerned, as this hill is about a mile long with some dangerous corners.