February 12, 1993

BEE SEEKS COURT REMEDY; PRIME PUBLISHERS CHARGED WITH BREACH OF CONTRACT: In a complaint filed last week in Danbury Superior Court, The Bee Publishing Company is charging Prime Publishers and its owner Rudolph Mazurosky with breach of contract in connection with the sale last October of two community newspapers, The Weekly Star and The Town Times. The complaint maintains that Mr Mazurosky and Prime Publishers have not complied with terms of the agreement that require a payment of $40,000 due on January 1. According to the complaint, Mr Mazurosky has also failed to secure his obligation to The Bee Publishing Company with an encumbrance on a house and condominium he owns, as required by the agreement. The complaint also charges that "The representation of the defendants as to the equity in the real property offered at the time of the agreement does not appear sufficient to support the obligation to the plaintiff, which are in the approximate amount of $400,000. The complainant also maintains that the defendant has given The Bee Publishing Company reason to believe that they intend to breach the entire agreement for the sale of the newspapers. The Bee Publishing Company seeks damages for its losses and a court injunction requiring Mr Mazurosky to place a mortgage on his property having sufficient equity to meet his obligation under the contract." R. Scudder Smith, Bee Publishing Company president, said Wednesday, "We are sorry that this matter had to end up in legal proceedings, but I am confident after a fair consideration, of all issues involved with the sale to Prime Publishers, the dispute will be resolved to our complete satisfaction."

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For the fourth time in ten years the Borough Board of Burgesses intends to try to establish a historic district in Newtown. At its meeting Tuesday night, the board announced it has appointed a Historic District Study Committee to update information gathered by previous study committees. "There was an excellent turnout of interested people at the organizational meeting in December," said Borough Warden Joan Crick. "We've tried to get everyone involved who has shown an interest." Three unsuccessful attempts were made during the 80s to establish a historic district. "In 1989 the proposal lost by one-fourth of a vote," said Burgess Stan Verry. "The ironic thing was that the day after the referendums, an affirmative ballot came in the mail, but it was too late."

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OVER THE BACK FENCE: Nature hurled some of her worst weather at us in the past week. Suddenly hats, overcoats, mufflers, mittens, ear muffs, and other heavy clothing, which hasn't been much out of mothballs this winter, appeared. Most people went out only if necessary over the past weekend, and it was a hearty soul who tried out the nearby ski trails. "Chippy" came out of his winter retreat and ran around, gathering a few seeds from under the bird feeder. He drank long and steadily from the water dish and then went back to his den and his winter nap. -Jean Loveland

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Blithe Dotson was sworn in February 2 as assistant town clerk. She is replacing Connie Geason who is retiring after 12 years. Mrs Geason will continue work with Mrs Dotson through February 26 to help her learn the job. In this office, Mrs Dotson joins Sue Shpunt, who also is an assistant town clerk; and Town Clerk Cindy Curtis.

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SNET CHANGES ITS MIND ON MAIN STREET PAY PHONE: A public pay telephone will be installed outside Edmond Town Hall within the next three weeks, according to chairman of The Borough Board of Burgesses Joan Crick. At the board's meeting Tuesday night, Mrs Crick said Southern New England Telephone had agreed to put a pay phone outside the town hall to accommodate movie-goers and others who need to use a telephone at hours when the town hall and Newtown General Store are closed. Betty Lou Osborne, Board of Managers chairman, wrote to the telephone company on January 20 and reaffirmed the need for a phone after Mrs Crick had been told by SNET representatives that the location would not get enough use to warrant a phone. The phone will be installed on the north side of the entrance driveway, across from the mailbox.

February 16, 1968

In the referendum Tuesday, Newtown approved by 35 votes the use of town equipment for snow removal and sanding on private roads. There were 639 Yes votes to 604 Nos. While the total number of 1,243 voters is reasonably large for a referendum here, it represents only one out of four of the town's more than 5,000 registered voters. Wednesday morning First Selectman Francis J. Hiney said that Road Foreman Stanley Killian was starting a survey of Newtown's 19 miles of private roads to determine their condition and the number of occupied homes. The resolution which was approved limits the private roads to be plowed to those on which there are three or more occupied homes and to those whose condition would not create a hazard to town equipment.

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In a decision dated February 14, The Borough of Newtown Zoning Commission has adopted an amendment to the borough zoning regulations, rezoning about 8 acres on the south side of Church Hill Road from one-half acre residential to business. The zone change is effective May 10, 1968. Property owners Martin Sealander, J. Benton Egee, Gladys Egee, Marion Macomber, and Mary Louise DeMayo brought the zone change application. A public hearing on the changes took place December 27. Attorney Harold Schwartz emphasized the property's unsuitability to residential use and pointed out that the sale of Mr Sealander's five acres to George Cladis was contingent on zone change approval. Mr Cladis proposed to build a Colonial style shopping center. He has also offered to build, at his own expense, the first sections of the proposed Queen Street Loop, some 650 feet of it from Church Hill Road across the Sealander property.

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Announcement is made by several Newtown physicians that they are planning to construct a medical building on Route 6, Newtown, on land adjacent to the Knights of Columbus building. The building will have accommodations for about 12 physicians and will include an independent X-ray facility. There will be a medical laboratory which will be a branch of the Danbury Hospital laboratory. Preliminary plans are being drawn for the Colonial building. Occupancy is planned for the late fall. This construction is the culmination of several years of discussion between interested physicians and townspeople.

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The Newtown Little League will meet on February 21 at 8 pm at the Edmond Town Hall downstairs room at the former bowling alley. There is a need for managers and umpires. Anyone interested in Little League is invited to attend.

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"Land use in the Housatonic River Valley, Past, Present, Future" will be the topic of the Connecticut Forest and Park Association's annual at the Stratfield Motor Inn in Bridgeport on March 20 at 10:30 am Program and registration forms may be obtained from the association office at 15 Lewis Street, Hartford.

February 19, 1943

For the past several weeks, The Bee has been privileged to carry a series of articles written from Washington D.C. by Philip R. Dillon of Redding, who is spending the winter there. In case there are readers who do not know, Mr Dillon is editor-emeritus of Editor and Publisher and a man who for many years has been a highly respected leader in the publishing field. We wish to thank him for the splendid articles which he is so generously contributing to our paper. To say that our friends, the dailies, envy us in the opportunity to carry Mr Dillon's work, is putting it mildly. We know our readers are enjoying the fruits of his pen.

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Residents will be pleased to know that plans are being made by a local committee headed by Dr Benjamin S. Winchester, for the observance of Brotherhood Week in Newtown from February 19 to 28. This committee met at the Edmond Town Hall last Friday afternoon and started arrangements for a community mass meeting, which will be held at the Edmond Town Hall theatre on Friday evening, Feb. 26, at 8 o'clock. Brotherhood Week was first inaugurated by the National Conference of Christians and Jews in 1934 and has been observed across the country every year for the past nine years.

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The editor of The Bee is indebted to Private Steve Simek, who is now stationed at Fort Jackson, S.C., for a copy of the Columbia Register of Columbia, S.C. Steve is continuing to enjoy Army life.

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It is estimated that 20,000,000 Victory Gardens will be planted in the United States this year. Among the various organizations supporting this movement is the National Grange, America's oldest farm organization. Many farm women are making inquiry as to whether they will be permitted to sell to city consumers the products they are planning to can in their kitchens. The answer is yes. The more food that can be put up in farm kitchens, the better.

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Did you ever stop to think about an old-fashioned winter? What we "mean" by an old-fashioned winter and what one "is" are two different things. Sir Francis Bacon once said that we always count our hits but never our misses. How true! If we say that it looks like snow and it snows, we are quick to remind ourselves that we were right.

February 15, 1918

FORMER FIRST SELECTMAN DICKINSON ASSAULTED BY HUGE BULL; INFURIATED ANIMAL KNOCKS HIS VICTIM OUT OF THE PEN: On Saturday afternoon, while moving a large bull from one barn to another, Lee S. Dickinson of Roxbury, a prominent dairyman, was attacked by the animal. The bull finally threw Mr Dickinson out of the pen, which saved his life. The men came into the barn and found him on the floor and carried him to the house. Dr Benjamin Bostwisk of New Milford was immediately summoned. The latest news from his bedside is reassuring and it is believed he will recover.

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A greatly regrettable accident took place on Monday afternoon in Sandy Hook when Master Kenneth Haugh, the 6-year-old son of Mr and Mrs John Haugh, coasted into the rear of his father's auto. An examination disclosed a fracture of the skull near the left temple. Just before the accident John Haugh had gone into the house for dinner. The lad was enjoying sliding and went up the incline above the house for just one more slide. At the hospital the lad was taken in charge and operated upon. He is progressing favorably, and the symptoms are bright for a recovery.

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There is one thing Dodgingtown can do and that is to get up a show that is worthwhile, with such an actor in all lines as Al Bevans. The performance last Friday proves it and the rest of the town can take off their hats to so clever an artist. This is no slur to the other performers for they all did their bit for making the show a success. The night opened with a musical comedy. Al Bevans and a chorus of young dames was very funny, but when he came to his chalk talks there is no better operator along that line. How he can do it without more preparation is a mystery.

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All who bought food dishes at the sale for the French orphan fund last week are required to return the dishes to Trinity Guild room or to the Red Cross Rooms in the Congregational Church.

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Miss May Condon, the popular Huntingtown School teacher, is confined to her home in Ansonia from a fall she sustained on the ice Sunday morning. She is suffering from a badly sprained knee.Please consider sharing your old photographs of people and places from Newtown or Sandy Hook with readers. Images can be e-mailed to , or brought to the office at 5 Church Hill Road to be scanned. When submitting photographs, please identify as many people as possible, the location, and the approximate date.kendra@thebee.com

[naviga:img class="aligncenter wp-image-305121" src="https://newtownbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/way-we-were-Feb.-9-2018-WATERMARKED.jpg" alt="way we were - Feb. 9, 2018 WATERMARKED" width="799" height="491" /]

Without a name or date as a hint to when this photo took place, handwriting on the back says only: "An afternoon gathering. Sixteen members of the Newtown Woman's Club..." Please contact us (kendra@thebee.com) if you recognize yourself or any of the women in this photo. We'd love to know who they are and what they were up to. 

-Bee file photo