June 7, 1996

Opponents of the high school and Hawley School expansion projects have begun to circulate petitions to force a referendum on the $29 million expenditure approved by voters at Monday night’s town meeting. “The town meeting was packed full of special interest groups,” said David Ruscoe of Steck Lane. “...450 people shouldn’t be putting us into this significant amount of debt.” Mr Ruscoe says he has a list of people who have agreed to collect the 579 signatures needed to force a referendum.

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Federal law states that once a student turns 18, he or she may assume all rights and responsibilities regarding his or her education... Kenneth and Laura Lerman recently received their son’s grades from Newtown High School. They believe that because the school sent the grades home without the written permission of their 18-year-old son, it violates the 1974 Privacy Act... The Lermans also point out that the law gives rights to the student at age 18 with no action required on the part of the student... Dr Reed said that if the NHS policy is “not in alignment with the letter of the law” it would be changed.

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The Police Commission is conducting job interviews in its search for a new police chief... The panel has apparently dropped from consideration Newtown Selectman James Mooney, a retired state police captain, who is now security chief at the University of Bridgeport... Mr Mooney took issue with the Police Commission’s requirement that applicants for the police chief’s post have a bachelor’s degree. Mr Mooney doesn’t have a bachelor’s degree, but he does have a lengthy resume in the law enforcement field.

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The sun went down and a slight breeze crept in, and for a few hours, the grapes were left on the vines. Families, couples, groups of friends... music lovers of all ages and backgrounds converged on the sprawling front lawn of McLaughlin Vineyards in Sandy Hook on Saturday evening for the first of this year’s Jazz Under The Stars concert. The musicians of the McLaughlin series are the same threesome who provide music weekly at Sand Hill Plaza’s pavilion and the Olde Newtown Tavern — Peter Concilio on bass, Dane Hassen on drums, and pianist Nick Berralick — along with a guest musician for each show at the vineyard.

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One out of every four underground home heating oil tanks that have been dug up in Newtown since 1993 have been leaking, contaminating the surrounding soil and sometimes even water supplies... At this point no one knows how many homes were built in Newtown with underground heating oil tanks, but the number is probably in the thousands, according to town officials. The lifespan of an underground tank is considered to be 15-20 years... Cleaning up contamination caused by a leaking tank can be expensive... Generally it costs about $2,400 to remove and dispose of a tank and install a new one... While insurance protects the homeowner financially, it doesn’t protect the environment and drinking water supply. So the ordinance committee members are considering whether to enact an ordinance like many other Connecticut towns have done.

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Students in Michelle Barker’s first grade class are still shaking their heads trying to figure out why someone would have stolen two of the plants they had planted at the Church Hill Road elementary school. The students planted two azaleas and two rhododendrons in the corner of the parking lot as a surprise to Hawley Principal Linda Siciliano, Friday, May 24, but when they came back to school the following Tuesday, two of the shrubs had been removed.

June 4, 1971

The Newtown Board of Police Commissioners was once again appointed Tuesday evening, June 1, this time at a regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen. The re-appointment was on the Selectmen’s agenda as a result of a letter from Robert Hayes, secretary to the Police Commission. The re-appointment, the letter said, was asked unanimously by the Commission since the legality of the previous appointment had been questioned.

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The Ladies Auxiliary to the Dodgingtown Volunteer Fire Company has been very busy with a project that will make a part of Newtown a little prettier. They have cut and cleared the little triangular green at the intersection of Route 202, Hattertown, and Dodgingtown Roads and eventually hope to plant flowers, shrubs and flowering trees in the green. At noon on a very rainy Sunday, members of the Auxiliary, Dodgingtown Fire Company, Boy Scouts, and the First Selectman were present for a flag raising.

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The Garden Club of Newtown’s flower show, “Arts and Flowers,” will take place Friday, June 11, from 2-8 pm, at Heise Bourdon, South Main Street, Newtown. The garden club members are indebted to Otto Heise for allowing them to use the new wing of his building, which includes the observatory, designed by John Gill of Newtown.

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Fairfield Hills Hospital this week opened a geriatric service in the Cochrane House for those 65 and older. When in full operation the service will accommodate 400 patients. The move into the new facility was begun last week from the geographic units. However, the age of the patient will not be the determining factor, but rather the need for geriatric as well as psychiatric treatment.

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On Sunday, June 6, the Jaycees will conduct a Teen-Age Auto Road-E-O at the Newtown High School parking lot, at 1 pm. Any Newtown teenager under the age of 19 with a valid driver’s license is invited to participate in the skill-driving competition, with an emphasis on practical driving skill, knowledge, and effective automotive handling.

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Lumia is a “theater of light” on Route 34 in Sandy Hook. It was created by W. Christian Sidenius who also built and designed the multitudinous and complex equipment and performs the sequences live for his weekend audiences. The result is a combination movie, painting, exploration of color, shape and movement, experiment in distortion, perception, and perspective.

May 31, 1946

You can’t miss at Newtown’s great Gala, the Mardi Gras in the streets of New Orleans at the Edmond Town Hall Gym, this Friday and Saturday, May 31st and June 1st. Greatest entertainment in years and all for the benefit of the Congregational Church’s Sunday School addition. Come and buy a shingle for the roof with your name on it!

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Plans for the coming summer playgrounds and swimming instruction were taken up in the Spring meeting of the Newtown Recreation committee. The recommendations to the School Board suggest that swings and teeters and a horizontal ladder be purchased and erected on the Sandy Hook school grounds. Members of the committee felt sure that the $200 for this new project can be raised by popular subscription through the school children.

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On Tuesday evening, May 28th, at the Fairfield Hills Hospital in Newtown, an American Legion Post was organized by returned Veterans-Employees of World War II, and also veterans of World War I. The post has been named the Raymond L. Pease Post... Pease, who originally came from Maine, was an employee at the hospital for about three years before entering the service. He was killed in the invasion of France on D-Day.

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Word has been received that Mr and Mrs Robert Raynolds of Newtown have “adopted” Erwin Bagner, a nine-year-old boy of unknown nationality, through the Foster Parents Plan for War Children, making this the fourth child to be adopted thus far by Newtown residents under the plan... The boy was found in a Children’s Camp in Prague when the allied armies liberated Czechoslovakia... A photograph accompanying the release shows him now to be strong, healthy and happy... The foster parent receives a photograph and a brief history of the child and pays $15 a month for its support. Correspondence between the foster parents and children is encouraged.

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Hawley High dropped a very tight game to League-leading New Milford by a 1-0 score Wednesday afternoon at Taylor Field. The visitors won the game on an unearned run in the top half of the 7th. Pitch hitter Yarnish was hit with a pitched ball, and after swinging at two wide ones, was sacrificed to second and reached third on the next play... He came home on a wild pitch.

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One of Newtown’s growing businesses, Anderson’s Dry Cleaners, located on Main Street, Sandy Hook, has added another store, the former Troy building, located on Glen Road, to take care of their increasing business... The Glen Road store will be given over entirely to carpet and rug shampooing, moth proofing, reconditioning Venetian blinds and other work of this type.

May 20, 1921

The final chapter in the cases of Roach and Kranz, who have been held in the Fairfield county jail at Bridgeport since last November, charged wit the murder of Arthur V. Donahue of the New York American, had a somber setting in the Criminal court at Bridgeport, Friday morning, when Judge Maltbie sentenced Roach to life imprisonment and Max Kranz, his wicked associate, to from two to five years in state’s prison... The shooting of Arthur V. Donahue was uncalled for and a cold-blooded piece of business and was one of the most deplorable crimes ever committed in this section.

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The Prune club, to the number of 60 people, came to the home of Mr and Mrs Charles Jackson in Hawleyville, Wednesday evening. Stratton & Olson furnished the music for the dancing. At midnight a choice luncheon was served. Mr Hipton, president of the Prune club, presented the musicians with two boxes of cigars. The members departed with thanks to Mr and Mrs Jackson for their hospitality.

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The Jewish citizens of Newtown, Botsford and Stepney are to organize a Sick and Benevolent association. A public meeting will be held on Sunday, May 23, at 1 pm, at the Huntingtown Synagogue. Several speakers will be present from Bridgeport and New York. Jewish farmers in the local vicionage are requested to be present.

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Specials for this weekend at Davey’s: New grass butter 35 cents; cheese 29 cents; pure lard 15 cents, 3-lb new onions, 20 cents, Kirkmans’ Naphtha and Ozone soaps 2 bars for 13 cents, 10 lbs of sugar 75 cents, Pillsbury and Hecker’s flour, $1.29 a bag, bananas 29 cents/dozen, oranges and lemons.

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Investigation has convinced officials of the Central New England Railroad company that a fire which destroyed the railroad station at Brewster, N.Y., late Saturday night, was cause by the aurora borealis, and if their theory in this respect is correct, the occurrence is one of the most remarkable that has been reported in connection with the phenomenon.

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The Sandy Hook A.C. defeated the Western Union team of Oxford at Pine Grove Park, last Sunday, the score standing 20 to 7. The Sandy Hook A.C. would like to hear from that fast Oxford team, that have defeated all comers except John McGraw’s Giants. The Sandy Hook nine are ready to take a fall out of them as soon as they will come to terms.

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