This year was a stellar year for the Newtown community. The summer was packed with annual events such as the Labor Day parade, LobsterFest, and the Friends of the C.H. Booth Library Book Sale. The warmth and strength of this community was hotter than the July sun at some points, and that is what made 2024 so special.

The Borough Celebrates 200 Years

On Thursday, May 16, the Borough Board of Burgesses held a Bicentennial Gala in honor of the Borough reaching a milestone: 200 years. Some readers may know the history of the Borough, but for those who don’t, it was formed in 1824 because the dense, populated area of Main Street needed more resources than the more rural, farm areas of town.

The gala served as an opportunity for residents of the Borough to celebrate the living history of Main Street, and the hard work the burgesses do to keep Main Street looking historic. Some residents were given awards for their dedication, service, and care for the Borough. One of those residents was Betsy Kenyon. Kenyon was a pioneer for sidewalks throughout the Borough. She was the one who pushed for “stamped concrete,” which now gives that added charm to the area.

In its 200th year, the Borough also watched a new footbridge come to life in Ram Pasture — a project funded by the American Rescue Plan Act — and an extension of sidewalks down Sugar Street.

Sue And Jim Shortt: Labor Day Parade Grand Marshals

Sue and Jim Shortt celebrated Labor Day this year serving as the Grand Marshals for the iconic parade after a multi-month-long decision-making process by the parade committee. The official announcement of the Shortt’s parade royalty was in The Newtown Bee’s June 14 edition. The parade stepped off on Monday, September 2.

Sue and Jim Shortt own Shortt’s Farm and Ice Cream in Sandy Hook. The farm is completely organic, and the ice cream comes from The Big Dipper in Prospect. Part of the reason why the Shortts were chosen for this role is because of how much they contribute to the town between the farm and new ice cream addition. The Shortts work with Real Food CT to supply organic fruits and vegetables to the community for folks who are experiencing food insecurity or just need a little more help.

According to Melissa Kopcik, the line of march co-coordinator, the Shortts are “well-known, friendly faces around town. Everything they do is to benefit others.”

The Shortts are hardworking people, and they deserved to be highlighted with the “garden of plenty” theme this year.

LobsterFest

Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue is far more than just a fire company in town, and those who know any of the members know that they love to be a part of the hustle and bustle of Newtown. SHVFR hosts a few annual events, such as the Sandy Hook Christmas Trees (&More!) Sale, which sold out of inventory before the projected close, and, of course, the famous LobsterFest.

This year, the two-day event was hosted on June 7 and 8. Serving over 3,000 people, the fire company passed out 2,040 lobsters and 770 steaks. Deputy Chief Ryan Clark explained it takes around 100 volunteers each night to have the event go smoothly. Most of the help comes from the Ladies Auxiliary, but Clark explained that other departments and friends and family of the department also help.

Clark also noted that “the volume of people that attend has increased significantly since I joined … I’ve been with the fire department for 19 years.”

Chief Anthony Capozziello explained, “A lot of the town residents almost think of it as a big town reunion … I’ve been getting a lot of people that are new to town that went to the LobsterFest and have really enjoyed it and said they’ll definitely be going back next year.”

Both Clark and Capozziello said that as soon as LobsterFest is over, plans are already hatching for the next year.

Orange Trash Bags

An aspect of a great community is the ability to host a discussion with respect for the other side, regardless of understanding. This year, residents had a lot to say regarding the proposed challenge from the Transfer Station.

This summer, around the time of Transfer Station permit renewal, permit holders were handed a roll of 104 orange bags. It was a challenge, proposed by Housatonic Resource Recovery Agency (HRRA), for readers to only use two trash bags a week. The new orange bags coincided with the food scrap recycling program, or composting.

The idea behind the “two-bag-a-week” challenge is that when food scraps are removed from trash, and recyclables are sorted properly, there isn’t a lot of waste that remains. The challenge, as Fred Hurley, director of Public Works, pointed out, is meant as “practice time” because the Transfer Station will be implementing a pay-as-you-throw system.

Jennifer Heaton-Jones, executive director of HRRA, explained, “The characterization study by CT DEEP found that 90% of what’s in the waste stream can be recycled, repurposed, or composted.”

Newtown wants residents to be more conscious about what is being thrown away and put into landfills. The composting facility in town can decompose meat and fish, something that a backyard compost can’t do. For those who didn’t take the challenge this summer, know that the Board of Selectmen, the Board of Finance, and the Legislative Council are going to be voting on it shortly, and need to have it in the budget by the end of January.

2-4-6-8 Riverside Road Development (And Other P&Z Happenings)

As mentioned above, every community has their own challenges and controversies, and one of them sits right in Sandy Hook Center.

For over a month, the Planning & Zoning Commission heard public comment after public comment, and asked questions regarding the proposed development at 2-4-6-8 Riverside Road in Sandy Hook. Ultimately, the project was approved, but not without opposition from the public.

A lot of public concern regarded traffic and how difficult it can be to navigate the four-way intersection of Glen Road, Washington Avenue, Church Hill Road, and Riverside Road. The commissioners pushed the developer to reconsider the aesthetics of the development. Kevin Williams, the developer, traded bright oranges and whites for subdued blues and historic palettes, per the Design Advisory Board requests.

The original development included five buildings in Sandy Hook Center; however, building four was eliminated to make more room for parking spaces. Building one is a residential building with 12 units on two floors. Building two is a mixed-use building, with residential over retail, with nine units in a town house style. Building three is six residential over garage units, and building five is another mixed-use building with four units over retail. Building five would rest where the building on the corner of Riverside Road and Washington Avenue is currently.

During the Thursday, November 21 meeting, the proposal was put to a vote and passed 4-1. Barbara Manville opposed the development, saying, “Personally, I have lived over 30 years within two miles of the proposal at 2-4-6-8 Riverside Road. We raised our boys here, the boys attended Sandy Hook School here … It’s my neighborhood and I’m very passionate about what is and is not developed here … I understand that there really, probably, is nothing zoning wise that will hold back the development, but I just feel like the project is too large and overwhelming as a whole for Sandy Hook Center.”

Planning & Zoning is still debating the affordable housing application proposed for 22 Oakview and 4 Berkshire roads. The public has made their concerns known to the commission and the applicant, Josh Levy. There is extreme opposition for this project, and now there is an intervenor on the application fighting for environmental protection for the delicate Pootatuck River just down the hill from the proposed development.

Eversource Public Benefits Charge

Newtown Bee Reporter Sam Cross met with State Senator Tony Hwang and Senate Minority Leader Stephen Harding on Monday, August 19 to discuss the increase of public benefits charges on ratepayers’ bills. This increased bill sparked outrage across the state. Everyone felt this change directly in their pockets.

Hwang and Harding, along with State Representatives Mitch Bolinsky and Marty Foncello, pushed for a special legislative session to address this 19% hike on the public benefits portion of the bill.

There are many reasons as to why this rate hike was rolled out, one of the reasons being the moratorium on electric bills during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic was hard for a lot of people, as so many were out of jobs and therefore income. Making ends meet wasn’t always an option, so for those who couldn’t afford their electric bills, they didn’t have to pay. A great plan in theory; however, the moratorium lasted four years, two years longer than most states across the country. This resulted in Eversource wanting to recover upwards of $200 million.

Another reason why this increase occurred is due to the Millstone Agreement, an agreement between the Millstone Nuclear Power Plant, Eversource, and United Illuminating that says between the two electric distribution companies, they must purchase 50% of the plant’s output for 10 years. This agreement went into effect in 2019, a few months before legislators put a moratorium in place for COVID relief.

During a town hall meeting at the community center on Thursday, September 19, Hwang explained that when the Russia-Ukraine conflict occurred, the rates for natural gas “spiked,” and the Millstone agreement was saving customers money. Nuclear power was cheaper than natural gas at the time.

“Now, the natural gas prices have dipped down, that cost where the Millstone Nuclear Power Plant has risen and is a big part of the cost that you’re seeing in public benefits,” Hwang noted at the meeting.

Public outrage has quieted, though legislators are preparing for the regular session in January where this topic, no doubt, will be on the agenda.

Friends Of The C.H. Booth Library Sale

Speaking of agendas, the biggest event on the Friends of the C.H. Booth Library’s agenda was the annual Book Sale from Saturday, July 13-Tuesday, July 16. There were over 120,000 items for sale this year, ranging from books to puzzles to CDs to DVDs.

The volunteers with the Friends of the C.H. Booth Library spend all year collecting material for the sale, then organize the books into genres. There is always a list of rare or special books that are highlighted during the sale.

At Reed Intermediate School, there were 206 tables at the start of the sale. By the end of Tuesday, there were about 80 tables left.

Denise Kaiser, the Friends of the C.H. Booth Library Book Sale chairperson, said, “We continue to attract more attendees on Friday towards our cap of 200, and we stopped counting at 400 adults soon after opening on Saturday. Since we don’t issue tickets or charge admission on the remaining three days of the book sale, it’s hard to be exact, but perhaps a couple thousand adults plus children enjoyed the book sale this year.”

Nancy Dvorin, communications director for the Friends, didn’t have exact numbers on how much was raised, but she said, “we are close to where we have been in our best years.”

The funds from the sale directly benefit the C.H. Booth Library in the form of an annual grant that underwrites adult and children’s programs, enhances the library’s book and media collections, funds technology upgrades, and generally supports library services.

EmpowHer Awards

Furthering support and care in the community is Sattie Persaud, owner of HillTop Kitchen and founder of the World Heritage Cultural Center. Persaud hatched the idea to recognize powerful women leaders and allies in the community with the EmpowHer Awards.

There were nine awards: Game Changer Entrepreneur Award, Trailblazer Award, Lifetime Achievement Award, Rising Star Award (ages 12-18), SupportHer Award, and a SupportHer Award for ages 12-18. The SupportHer Award is for men in the community that go above and beyond supporting women and their efforts in the area. There was also: Pillar of the Community Award, Legend Award, and Woman of Inspiration, Power, & Influence Award

The inaugural ceremony took place at HillTop Kitchen on Saturday, August 24, complete with a red-carpet event, dinner, drinks, and of course crowns for the winners.

Among those recognized were Kenneth Miller (SupportHer Award for ages 12-18), Chetranie Daka (Game Changer Entrepreneur Award), Jennifer Chaudhary (Trailblazer Award), Eunice Laverty (Lifetime Achievement Award), Zosia Teraszkiewicz (Rising Star Award), Don Lococo (SupportHer Award), Makbule (Patty) Latifi (Pillar of the Community Award), Elizabeth Guckenheimer (Legend Award), and Professor Nazia Habib (Woman of Inspiration, Power & Influence Award).

Alex Villamil, a member of the EmpowHer Committee, said, “[These people are] the unsung heroes of Newtown.”

Every person recognized puts their kindness forward, and that is why they needed to be recognized, celebrated, and admired.

Persaud shared with the crowd, “At World Heritage Cultural Center, we’ve dedicated ourselves to creating a global platform in the United States and around the world. We use art as our voice to share, to connect, to advocate, to celebrate our shared humanities … We have started a movement growing our portfolio to over 850 cultural groups, fostering an environment that echoes a lifelong commitment, a legacy in the making to gather and have conversations humanity was meant to have. Conversations of love, empathy, respect, and peace. We do global awards … but today we are celebrating individuals in our local community.”

The proceeds from the tickets were put into scholarship funds for graduating high schoolers in the area.

Persaud closed the event by reiterating that, “Our passion is the organization and doing good for humanity … It’s honoring people now, but it’s also paying it forward to the next generation.”

New Tree At Sandy Hook Center

A new tree planted down the hill a short ways from HillTop was celebrated earlier this year. First introduced to the community on a Newtown Forest Association float in the Labor Day Parade, the young white fir was planted on Monday, September 16.

In February, the Sandy Hook “Christmas Tree” was cut down. According to Dan Holmes, owner of Holmes Fine Gardens, the “Forest Association and the town want to see [the tree] back here ... and that’s why we’re here today.” The tree that was cut only lived to about 30 years, but a white fir can live to about 300 years old if taken care of properly.

The tree was planted in September so it would have ample time to take root and start thriving before being strung with Christmas lights for the holiday season.

Rocking The Hook

Across the bridge from the new tree on Saturday, September 28, rock music bled out from the new Heritage Park during the annual Rocking the Hook concert event. Despite the rain, the dedicated Sandy Hookers danced the day away. Children ran around the grass patch behind the new pavilion and enjoyed the music just as much as their parents did.

During an intermission, members of Sandy Hook Organization for Prosperity, or SHOP for short, gathered at the pavilion to host an official ribbon cutting.

SHOP President Michael Burton is incredibly grateful, he said, for the hard work and dedication by everyone to Heritage Park and the SHOP’s vision over the past ten years.

Event Coordinator Maribeth Hemingway said she was thrilled to see everyone enjoying themselves at the concert. She was happy to celebrate “the community of Sandy Hook.”

As Burton cut the ribbon, the crowd erupted with cheers and applause. The next band took the stage and everyone in the audience kept on rocking the Hook as the rain fell.

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Reporter Sam Cross can be reached at sam@thebee.com.