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THE WAY WE WERE

JULY 13, 1973

The third and possibly the last in this year's series of town meetings to act

on special appropriations for the school system will take place on July 18 and

this time the Newtown Taxpayers Group has announced it will not petition for a

referendum. The meeting will begin at 8 pm in the gym at Edmond Town Hall to

vote on an appropriation of $197,421 to make corrections to, and modifications

in, the heating, ventilating, and air conditioning systems and equipment at

the new high school. The appropriation is to be financed by $43,000 in revenue

sharing funds with the rest in tax anticipation notes over a three-year

period. First Selectman Frank DeLucia has proposed using future allocations of

revenue sharing funds over the next three years to pay off the notes.

Middle School Principal Richard Teller has resigned his position in Newtown to

becomes grades 7-8 principal in Tarrytown. Mr Teller's formal resignation was

accepted "with reluctance and regret" by the Board of Education at its regular

meeting Tuesday evening. Mr Teller, who will be receiving his doctorate within

the next year, said he has enjoyed working in Newtown for the past five years

but he did not see much chance for advancement for him in the Newtown school

system.

A massive chunk of limestone dislodged by a bulldozer crashed through a

century-old water main at the upper end of North Main Street on Tuesday, and

120 customers of the Newtown Water Company in the Mount Pleasant area found

themselves without water for four hours on one of the hottest afternoons of

the year. The accident happened about 1 pm when a contractor clearing the land

for a new house tried to remove a huge boulder. Part of the boulder dropped

off onto the eight-inch cast iron pipe and cracked it open. About 300,000

gallons of water were lost before the break was isolated by shutting off the

main valve at the storage tank at the top of Mount Pleasant. Service was

restored at 5 pm after the water main was repaired.

The Board of Police Commissioners decided Monday night to purchase four new

police cars, two Ford sedans from Colonial Ford in Danbury and two Plymouths

from Amaral Motors in Newtown, to replace older cruisers. When the new

vehicles arrive, three of the older vehicles will go to the town and the

fourth will be scrapped. Chief Louis Marchese said the present cars are in

very bad condition with high mileage and that no car with more than 80,000 or

90,000 miles on the odometer could be considered safe for patrol. Commissioner

Alfred Karcheski cast the only vote against the purchase, explaining that he

felt the cars should be put out for bid.

A Danbury resident, Joseph Haddad, was killed on July 5 when his car crashed

into a stone wall at the intersection of Route 6 and Academy Lane. The impact

hurled stones from the wall through the window of the Edward Boyson home. Mrs

Boyson, who was in the house at the time, had to be taken to Danbury Hospital

and treated for cuts caused by fragmented glass.

Paul S. Smith, long-time editor of The Bee , was chosen by the Newtown

Republican Town Committee on Monday night to fill a temporary seat on the

Zoning Board of Appeals. The position opened when ZBA member John G. Kipp

resigned last month for the remainder of his present term. As far as is known,

Mr Kipp will return to the board next July when his new term begins.

It was another frustrating evening at the Newtown Planning & Zoning Commission

meeting on July 6 for Bill Laws as the commission was forced to reject

subdivision of sections 3 and 4 of Osborn Hill Estates in Sandy Hook. The

commission found that plans for regrading section 3 were acceptable but noted

that a boundary line did not agree with a previously approved map. Plans for

the 11-acre tract of section 4 did not include plans for the drainage system,

which apparently had not been forwarded by the first selectman's office. The

commission decided not to approve either section until more information is

available.

July 16, 1948

The body of Raymond L. Pease, a veteran killed in action at Normandy Beach on

July 8, 1944, has been returned to this country for burial and will arrive in

Danbury on Thursday afternoon. An honor guard of National Guard members will

be on hand to meet the training bearing the body along with representatives of

the Raymond L. Pease Post 163, American Legion, Newtown. Raymond L. Pease was

a resident of Newtown for three years prior to entering the armed services in

October 1943. While here, he was employed at the Fairfield State Hospital

where the local American Legion post was organized, adopting his name. His

family lives in Maine.

A total of 595 Newtown residents received chest X-ray examinations during the

survey conducted July 7-9 under the auspices of the local Visiting Nurse

Association. The State Tuberculosis Commission furnished mobil x-ray equipment

and technical personnel for the project. The films will be processed and

interpreted by the commission personnel. Each person x-rayed will receive an

individual report on the exam by mail within six weeks. If a test is positive,

family doctors also will be notified for follow-up care.

On Wednesday evening the Newtown Combined Fire Companies' annual carnival got

underway at Taylor Field and drew a crowd estimated at between 500 and 600

people. The concensus is that the firemen are giving the public its money's

worth this year. A number of exceptional raffle prizes have been assembled. On

Thursday evening the largest parade on record has been scheduled. Twenty-five

fire units will be represented in it, many with their own bands, all

resplendent in uniforms. A total of 13 trophies will be awarded to the units

judged best as they pass the reviewing stand at the Flagpole Fountain. These

have been on display at Knapp and Trull's store on Main Street for the past

week.

An important innovation went into effect July 1 in the Connecticut State

Police Department with the creation of a Safety Division, the purpose of which

is to promote safety and to create good will on the highways, especially among

out-of-state visitors. The new safety division is made up of two groups, the

Traffic Division and the Water Safety Division. The 10 men in the traffic

division will patrol the roads in a campaign to promote friendly and courteous

relations between police and the motoring public, particularly those who may

be in need of traveling directions, mechanical aid from a nearby garage, or an

explanation of traffic rules in this state. The water safety division, with a

staff of six, will visit state parks and public beaches to promote water

safety through a variety of programs.

Mirah Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star, will hold a picnic on July 21 on the

beach at the home of Mr and Mrs Grover Loveland, Lake Zoar, Stevenson Dam,

Sandy Hook. Members and friends attending are instructed to take a New Haven

bus leaving Newtown center at 10:30 am, 12:30 pm or 1:50 pm. Swimming and

bathing will be among the many activities in which one may participate. All

are requested to bring their own lunch.

Herman R. Geiger presided at a meeting of the Newtown Taxpayers' Association

which was held at the Edmond Town Hall gym on Monday evening. Nominated to

serve on its board of directors for three years were John C. Leavy, Samuel

Nezvesky, and Mrs Vida Van deBogart; for two years, Mrs William A. Bowen,

Raymond T. Connor, and G. Curtis Morgan; for one year, William E. Cutler,

Herman R. Geiger, and Raymond L. Hall. Mr Geiger was elected to serve the

group as president, Mr Hall as vice president and Mr Cutler as

secretary-treasurer.

A fire of undetermined origin burned the interior of a sedan on Tuesday which

was parked at the rear of the Newtown Farm Supply Company building. The car is

owned by Jesse Bailey of Dayton Street, Sandy Hook. Chief Engineer Basil

Bartram responded to the alarm with two pieces of Newtown Fire Company

apparatus.

The Newtown League of Women Voters met on Monday evening and endorsed a

recommendation that the town have a property revaluation done by professional

appraisers. The town has never had a complete revaluation. A sum of $4,500 was

appropriated for this to be done by local assessors in 1940 but town officials

agree that it was spottily done and in fact accomplished nothing. Six members

of the league's tax study group viewed 42 houses listed alphabetically in the

$2,000 classification of the grand list. They agreed that only 16 seemed to be

of the same comparable value, the rest ranging from a well-constructed,

well-painted eight to ten room house on an improved road to a small two-room

cabin with exterior sheet rock for walls and a tar paper roof on a dirt road.