The selectmen, First Selectman Jack Rosenthal and David Brown, meeting on Monday night, decided to defer requesting an appropriation of $10,000 from the Legislative Council for a feasibility study on the Congregational Church property for possible town use. The $10,000 figure for the study was more or less a ball park estimate on what it would cost, Mr Rosenthal noted, and Mr Brown took exception, saying he would rather go to the council with a firm figure.

***

Virginia Dolan calls the Hawleyville Post Office “a friendly little place.” There, she says, personal attention is just as important as getting the mail out on time. “We get a lot of transients from Danbury and other towns who don’t want to wait on line,” she said. Mrs Dolan, the office’s newest postmistress, should know. She has been there as clerk, then officer-in-charge, since 1964. Her new job now entails managing the office finances, budgeting hours, and serving boxholders.

***

The fact that this year the school board was able to garner support for an $800,000 budget increase over 1978-79 was evident at Tuesday’s town meeting when voters approved a total town budget of $13,259,048, with $8.8 million of that going toward funding education in Newtown next year.

***

Legislative Council Chairman William A. Honan, Jr, said this week that he doesn’t expect the council to set a mill rate for the fiscal year beginning July 1 when it meets next Wednesday night, in spite of the town meeting approval of a $13,259,048 budget Tuesday. The town charter says the mill rate must be set within eight days after the annual budget meeting or any adjournment approves a budget. Mr Honan pointed out that a referendum is considered an adjournment, so if the council members know Wednesday that there will definitely be a referendum, the mill rate won’t be set that night.

***

Entrants in this year’s Miss Newtown Scholarship Pageant are now rehearing twice each week in anticipation of the evening’s performance on May 12.

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First Selectman Jack Rosenthal announced that the recycling center for cans and bottles at the Newtown landfill was closed Friday, April 20, in preparation for moving it. The first selectman advised that people wanting to recycle material should go to the Connecticut Earth Action Group recycling center off Plumtrees Road in Danbury until the Newtown center reopens.

***

In sports circles, one of the most common questions asked is, “When is the next home game?” If one asked that question with the Newtown High baseball team in mind, he might receive an answer like, “Next April.” The reply would not be facetious. The Newtown High School baseball field is closed for the year. Because of generally poor maintenance through the years and the field’s especially bad condition this season, the facility will be off limits to everyone but workers until next spring.

 

APRIL 30, 1954

Sixty-six members of the second grade of Hawley School will bare an arm May 3 to a hypodermic needle in the hands of one of the town’s doctors to receive their first injections of a vaccine which, it is hoped, will end for all time the threat of polio as an uncontrollable disease. This number of children, out of 87 second graders in the school, will receive the vaccine at the request of their parents or guardians.

***

An opportunity for townspeople to increase their understanding of the United Nations and the movement for world federation will be afforded next Saturday, May 8, at 7 pm when Robert Lee Humber of Greenville, N.C., a joint founder of United World Federalists, Inc, will appear at a dinner meeting in the Congregational Church House. The affair will be sponsored by the Newtown Chapter of the Federalists and is open to all interested persons. Mr Humber will speak on “United Nations, Road to Peace,” and will show a short film entitled “Plan For Peace.”

***

In accordinace with a call by the Board of Selectmen, the electors of Newtown will meet in special town meeting this Friday night, April 30, in Edmond Town Hall gymnasium. The call for the meeting lists five items of business, all pertaining to the acceptance of new roads by the town, and future policy in regard to such acceptance. Four of the items on the agenda call for the acceptance of a total of 13 roads in th Mount Pleasant, Beech Brook, Meadow Ridge Acres, and Taunton Ridge developments.

***

As of this Thursday, approximately 50 tickets are still available for the Rotary Club dinner next Tuesday, May 4, at 7:30 at Yankee Drover Inn honoring Governor John Lodge, who will be guest speaker of the evening. Gov Lodge, who will be accompanied to Newtown by his wife, has announced his subject as “The Problems Confronting Our State Government.”

***

A light bakery truck and a Balantine brewery delivery truck were damaged and the driver of the former suffered possible head and back injuries when they collided and overturned about 10 am Wednesday morning, April 28, on Route 25, the Newtown-Bridgeport Road, at Park Lane.

***

Mrs John Jay of Cherry Street, Sandy Hook, has been nominated to the office of president of the Bridgeport Area Girl Scout Council, on a slate of officers for the election to be held on May 18.

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The Newtown Homemakers will participate in a regional meeting to be held in recognition of Home Demonstration Week, at the First Universalist Church, Danbury, next Thursday, May 6, at 8 pm. The local group is planning to exhibit a collection of hooked rugs made by the members as its part in the regional observance.

 

APRIL 26, 1929

The Maloney Homestead in Mile Hill District, Newtown, has been sold to Mrs C.A. Hillman of Orange, N.J.

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A T.C. Beers of New York City has purchased what is known as the Harriet Northrop farm in Taunton District, Newtown, from Mrs Emily Schwaiger.

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Contractor T.F. Brew will build a barn 24 x 32 for David C. Peck of Mt Pleasant.

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Allen Beardsley is driving a new Wyllis-Knight six sedan, purchased of F.E. Knox of Woodbury.

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Mrs Robert T. Bradley has christened the new tea room at the Hubbell place, “The Gingham Cat,” where nice toothsome homemade sandwiches and luncheons with Mitchell’s Dairy ice cream are on sale.

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An excellent piece of road construction is being done on the road near the residence of Mrs Margaret Ryan in Hanover District. This road has been in frightful condition, all spring, and is now being put in passable condition.

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The wisdom of the establishment of the town Board of Finance will soon have a practical and happy illustration, as the town debt of $38,000 will be entirely wiped out in June, when the accumulation of funds from the 1928 assessment will make it possible.

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James Burr has moved from the Keane tenement to the Birdsey Parsons place on Gas Street, which he has lately bought.

 

APRIL 29, 1904

Road contractor George R. Wilson began work in good earnest last week on the road from Taunton to the Street. He has put the road in first class condition.

***

Wilbur French of Huntingtown has rented the John Kelly farm on Walnut Tree Hill and moved his family last week.

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Mrs Carroll of Sandy Hook is having the ruins of her house, which was burned about a year and a half ago, taken down. This will improve the looks of the street. Josiah Tilson has been doing the work.

***

It is possible Newtown may have a fitting celebration of its 200th anniversary as a town, next year, in the form of an “Old Home Week.” At the meeting of the Men’s Club, last week Thursday night, Rev Otis W. Barker, M.A. Todd, and A.P. Smith were appointed a committee to consider the question and report at the May meeting of the club. If it is undertaken, it will be a movement which will require the cooperation of all the citizens of the town.

***

Sparks from a garden fire on L.C. Morris’ property Saturday caused a fire Sunday on Mrs Aaron Sanford’s property. Had it not been for T.J. Corbett, a hay stack would have been burned and other property destroyed.