Full Text:

THE WAY WE WERE FOR FEBRUARY 19, 1999

FEBRUARY 22, 1974

When the Board of Selectmen decided, on January 4, that the December 11, 1973,

referendum on the Boyle site was invalid because the Planning and Zoning

Commission had not been given the opportunity to study and report on whether

the 30-acre site should be used for a new elementary school, a word was

spoken: "cooperation." The cooperation desired by the selectmen was that the

divergent groups - the Board of Education and its supporters; the former

owners of the Boyle site, the Boggs Hill Group; and elements of the Newtown

Taxpayers Group - would agree to abide by the results of another town meeting

and referendum on whether or not the Board of Education should continue with

its efforts to obtain the Boyle site by condemnation. The December 11

referendum was a loss for the Board of Education and a win for the Boggs Hill

and taxpayers groups as Newtowners decided, by 127 votes, that the Board

should abandon its efforts and that title to the land be returned to its

former owners. Since January 4, however, events have proved that the

Selectmen's hope for cooperation was founded on sand, and the latest wrinkle

in the long and complex case surfaced this week. An application for a

temporary injunction seeking to restrain the Town of Newtown from holding a

town meeting or a referendum on the Boyle site was filed on February 14, and

the Town has been summoned to appear in Fairfield County Superior Court in

Bridgeport on Thursday, February 28, at 10 am, to show cause why town meeting

plans should be allowed to proceed. The plaintiffs must show cause why they

should be stopped.

A source of funds for elderly housing in Newtown which appears to be

acceptable to the various town groups surfaced over the past week. First

Selectman Frank DeLucia, Stanley Main of Newtown Housing for the Elderly and

Arthur Scherer, who has been studying site locations for elderly housing, went

to Suffield and Granby last Thursday to talk with officials of the Farmers

Home Administration and to view a housing project financed by FHA loans, under

the US Department of Agriculture. What they learned is that Newtown can

qualify for a loan of up to $750,000 to build a project, and they were quite

impressed with the type of project which can result.

As of Monday, February 25, the Newtown road crew could be unionized depending

on the results of the scheduled meeting between town officials, a union

negotiator, a representative from the State Labor Board and a member of the

road crew. The union negotiator, who prefers not to have his name published,

represents the National Association of Government Employees, the same union to

which Newtown's police belong. First Selectman Frank DeLucia and Highway

Superintendent Ed Napier will be speaking for the town.

Parents and students are reminded that when Newtown schools open on Monday,

February 25, they will be returning to the regular time schedule which had

been moved up one hour because of dark mornings when Daylight Saving Time went

into effect. Also, starting Monday, the price of milk will be six cents. The

lowering of the price is because the town is again eligible for the Federal

Milk Subsidy.

For the past several months The Bee has been in the chaotic state of

remodeling and redecorating, and it has been quite a task for the staff to try

to publish a paper each week amidst the buzzing of saws, banging of hammers

and drips of paint. However, things are beginning to shape up nicely, and in a

few weeks this newspaper should have a smart new look about it. In order to

show off our new brightness and also to give residents an idea of how their

local paper is put together each week, we are planning an open house on

Sunday, March 24, from 2-5 pm. Stop in and have a cup of coffee and a tour.

Staff members from all departments will be around, willing to answer any

questions and explain the processes of newspaper work.

The next meeting of the Newtown Bicentennial Committee will be Tuesday,

February 26, at 8 pm in the Alexandria Room of the Edmond Town Hall. Edwin

Storrs, a member of the Newtown Historical Society, will address the

Committee. Mr Storrs will speak on the organization and activities of

Newtown's Bicentennial celebration, 1705-1905.

Do you have an opinion about Newtown? Some people in town do, and they took

time to mark down their comments in a space provided by the Selectmen's

questionnaire which was distributed throughout town recently. There were 4,000

questionnaires which went out to homes in town, but of those only 300 were

returned, and about 250 of those carried written comments. For this reason no

factual statistical report can be given as to how people feel about their

town, but the comments do make for interesting reading and show a diversity of

ideas concerning Newtown are in people's minds. What follows is a small

selection of the comments. Except for Route 25 problem, Newtown has no great

problems uncommon to normal growth. It's too rapid, unplanned growth which

threatens to destroy the former pristine beauty of the town. Newtown is trying

to remain the quaint, small New England town in an ever-changing society, for

this reason and many more, Newtown has got to change its zoning laws and also

admit more industry into the town to cut and help finance costs. Get started

on open space purchasing soon. Inability to except change of any worth without

a big commotion.

After thanking members of FISH of Newtown, Inc for their help in setting up a

feeding program in Town Hall during the December ice storm, First Selectman

Frank DeLucia discussed Newtown's housing problems at a meeting of the group's

steering committee on February 18 in Trinity Church Undercroft. He described a

small rental housing development built in Granby and financed through the loan

program of the Farmer's Home Administration of the US Department of

Agriculture, and urged members of FISH to visit the units which are located

behind the Granby Town Hall.

FEBRUARY 25, 1949

When school reconvenes on Monday morning, February 28th, after a week's

vacation, elementary grades, long housed in the outlying district one-room

schoolhouses, will occupy space in the recently completed Hawley School

addition. As a curtain-raiser to the move, the Newtown Board of Education and

the School Building Committee have cordially invited parents and all those

interested to come to the new building this Sunday afternoon between the hours

of 2 and 5 o'clock when an open house and tour of inspection will be staged.

The new addition, which is joined to the present structure and is modern in

every detail, consists of 10 classrooms. Nine classes will for the moment be

housed in this additional space, classes formerly conducted at Flat Swamp,

Land's End, Huntingtown, St Rose and Sandy Hook. A tenth classroom will be

occupied in the very near future when the first grade is further divided

because of the overcrowded conditions of the present two sections.

Much distinction has come to H.C. Honegger of New York City and Walnut Tree

Hill, Sandy Hook, for his effective work as president of the Pestalozzi

Foundation, on behalf of the war-stricken children of Europe. A letter has

just reached Mr Honegger from Henri Bonnet, French Ambassador in the United

States, informing him that he has been nominated "Chevalier" in the French

National Order of the Legion of Honor.

The League of Women Voters of Connecticut has urged that the Newtown League

continue its local program of "Know Your Town" with a survey of education in

Newtown. Each league is required to make such a survey and present a report to

the State and National leagues. The League of Women Voters of Newtown feels

that it should begin such a study at this time, in view of the various bills

on education in the present Legislature, plus the need for more civic

understanding of education and its basic principles. This will be an objective

study and no attempt will be made by the League of Women Voters of Newtown to

foster one opinion or defend another concerning the pros and cons of a

Regional high school.

On Monday evening, February 28, the Newtown Rotary Club will celebrate its

tenth anniversary at a regular meeting to be held at the Parker House at 6:15.

Sponsors of the club and charter members will be present at the event which is

also open to the ladies. Appearing as guest speaker will be Dr James H.

Halsey, president of the University of Bridgeport, who will discuss "Private

Enterprise in Higher Education." The Newtown Rotary Club was sponsored in 1939

by the Bridgeport Rotary Club and had as its first president, George M.

Stuart. Other charter members and officers of the club that first year were Dr

Clifford D. Moore, vice president, Dr J. Benton Egee, secretary, Joseph H.

Ringers, treasurer, Paul V. Cavanaugh, Edward W. Troy and Nelson G. Curtis,

directors, John Anderson, Stanley J. Blackman, Dr. Lawrence I. Chasko, Edward

R. Hampton, Carl A. LeGrow, Arthur J. Smith, Jr., Dr Russell F. Strawburger,

Dr Earl P. Lasher, Milton F. Hull and Dr. Waldo F. Desmond.

Andra C. McLaughlin, 15-year-old American skating star, placed sixth in the

World's Figure Skating Competition held in Paris on February 15, 16, 17 and

18. The daughter of Mr and Mrs Charles H. McLaughlin of New York, Colorado and

Newtown, the young skater is well known in Newtown and is the niece of Mrs

Alexander McQuillan. Her grandparents lived for many years in Hanover

district. Before sailing for home on the Queen Elizabeth, March 2nd, Miss

McLaughlin will give exhibitions in Oslo, Copenhagen, Stockholm and Vienna.

Although the winner of the 1948 Silver Skates intermediate Speed Derby at New

York placed sixth in the International Figure skating competition, a Paris

newspaper reported Andra as being "the most sensational skater in the women's

division."

In other years, when winter has been severe and the snows heavy. The Bee has

urged its readers at this season to befriend the hungry birds. But this year

of balmy weather is quite a different story. Miss Elsa Endemann of Currituck

Road, for instance, who is a real bird lover, tells us that during the past

three weeks she has had many early spring visitors at her homes -- all of whom

enjoy being fed but none of them exactly starving. Her visitors have included

robins, bluebirds, four pine siskins, two myrtle warblers, and the mourning

doves who arrived on Tuesday afternoon.

On Thursday evening, April 7th, the senior class of Hawley School will present

"The Red Spider" by Hubert Hayes, a mystery comedy in three acts. The play

will be held in the Edmond Town Hall theatre at 8:30 o'clock and the admission

will be 60 cents. Charles Allen Reed directs. The cast of characters is as

follows: Valerie McHarge, Doris Pully; Ralph Graves, John Lorenzo; Josephine

Glover, Virginia DiVesta; Dr McHarge, Franklin Miller; Tony, Jack Bresson;

Mamie Hannah, Juanita Reed; Miss Pinney, Elinor Crouch; Mrs Stecher, Joan

Weeks; Jack Mayo, Michael Keogh; and Deb O'Kelly, Paul Allen.

Motorists are reminded that midnight February 28th is the deadline for

switching over to 1949 registration plates. The use of last year's license

plates after that date will probably result in something unpleasant, most

likely arrest.