The spirit of young Bob Johnson and Chris Chemero in cleaning up Edmond Town Hall is exactly what the Newtown Beautification Committee and Richard F. Howe are looking for during Cleanup Week, April 21–28. The beautification committee is now organizing volunteers to help pick up trash throughout the town during the week. Mrs Douglas Schlicher can be called at 426-3593 for information. Richard F. Howe of Taunton Ridge Road, the town’s temporary zoning officer, has also arranged for town trucks to travel every road from April 23 to 27 to pick up trash cleaned up from yards or roadsides.

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When the Legislative Council takes up final consideration of the Board of Education budget for 1979-80 next Tuesday night, it will hear from a group of residents who are interested in seeing to it that the education budget has around a 3.2 percent hike this year. Four men: Ernest Gismondi of Currituck Road, Ted Haynos of Jangling Plain Road, Edwin Baumer of Main Street, and Shepherd Stigman of Appleblossom Lane, are mounting an attempt to “reasonably” reduce the Board of Education’s request this year of $9.1 million. “Fourteen percent increase is just too much and beyond Presidential guidelines,” Mr Gismondi told The Bee.

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Triplet calves were recently born to a holstein cow owned by Charles Ferris, Jr. Each calf weighed about 55 pounds at birth. All were male and were perfectly formed in a natural delivery. According to Dr Kennett of Sherman Hill Animal Hospital in Woodbury, the chances are one in a million for live, normal triplets.

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With world consumption of oil now exceeding production, state and federal officials are making plans for the day when there won’t be enough to go around. President Carter has proposed standby energy conservation and rationing plans, and hearings were conducted across the state this week to get public reaction to the federal plan. There are four parts to the plan: emergency weekend gasoline sales restrictions; emergency building restrictions which could affect heating, cooling, and hot water temperatures for non-residential buildings; advertising lighting restrictions; and, as a last resort gasoline rationing.

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Following his final report to the Board of Education on the completion of the high school repairs, Public Building Committee Chairman Joseph Borst turned to his role as private citizen and taxpayer and let the board know just what he thought about the vandalism that goes on at the high school. In no uncertain terms he told the board that what he has seen done at the school is deplorable. “It is very frustrating and appalling to see the damage to repairs which have already been done,” he commented. He pointed out some examples: masonry joints to new support columns have been kicked out. Replaced ceiling tiles in the corridor to gym 4 have been broken by kids throwing sneakers up at them. An air vent in gym 4 has been ripped out, posing a serious fire hazard. “The marshal could close the school because of it,” he warned, noting if a fire were to start this open vent could cause it to spread rapidly.

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Steven Kellogg, author and illustrator of many children’s books, was one of the featured speakers at the Rhode Island Educational Media Association’s annual conference held March 26 and 27 in Providence. Mr Kellogg’s presentation, “The Art of the Picture Book,” explained his philosophy of illustrating children’s books to an audience of librarians and educational media personnel.

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It seems that one of the largest problems the Board of Education faces these days is keeping a roof over the heads of the system’s school children. No sooner than the board on Tuesday had heard a final report from the Public Building Committee about the completion of the repair project to the high school roof, it received the bad news that there were serious problems with the Sandy Hook elementary school roof.

APRIL 2, 1954

Elementary School Building Needs will be the subject under discussion Tuesday evening, April 6, at a regular meeting of the Newtown Parent Teachers Association in Newtown High School cafeteria. This important and timely subject will be introduced by a panel discussion in which Carl A. LeGrow, superintendent of schools, Frederick Parr, principal of Hawley School, and School Board members Raymond Hall and Miles Harris will participate.

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The Newtown Rotary Club will play host to Governor and Mrs Lodge at a dinner meeting on Tuesday evening, May 4, at the Yankee Drover Inn, according to State Representative George M. Stuart, chairman of the committee on arrangements.

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Farmers of the future are being made at Newtown High School under the program of vocational agriculture training being carried on there. A total of 28 students of the two high school classes are engaged in a four-year study of farming in a course in which a liberal application of practical experience is mixed with theory to train boys in the practices and responsibilities of farming. To Vincent Gaffney of Botsford Hill Road, Newtown, vo-ag instructor for 18 years, is entrusted the training of the boys in such diverse subjects as the raising of field crops, care of stock, care and repair of farm machinery, and many other phases of the business of farming. Headquarters is the well-equipped shop with adjoining class room at the rear of the high school.

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The third-grade students of Hawley School will be included in the nationwide test of the new polio vaccine this spring, according to plans which were announced this week. On the request of parents, a series of three innoculations will be given each participating child beginning May 3, using the vaccine developed by Dr Jonas E. Salk of the University of Pittsburgh. Dr Waldo F. Desmond, town health officers, will have charge of the program of innoculations in Newtown.

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The Misses Chrissy Mayer, Holly Wheeler, Jill and Mary Hyde were co-hostesses at a square dance for a group of Newtown and out-of-town friends on Friday evening, March 19, in the Alexandria Room of the Edmond Town Hall.

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Candlewood Lake has been closed to all fishing until the opening of the trout season, Friday, April 16, at 6 am. The action, taken by the State Board of Fisheries and Game, followed the suspension of fishing on ten state ponds, including Balls Pond, New Fairfield, until the trout season opens on Good Friday. The board said its action was based on several arrests of fishermen who were taking trout illegally.

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A creditable showing by the workers in the annual membership drive of the Newtown Branch of the American Red Cross was reported this Thursday morning by Mrs Frank L. Johnson and Mrs Paul S. Smith, co-chairmen. A total of $2,634, amounting to 68 percent of the town quota of $3,900, was computed as being received up to press time.

MARCH 29, 1929

Stephen Budd, while riding one of his horses, a jumper, was thrown from the horse as it attempted to vault a fence on the Mt Pleasant hill Friday afternoon. Mr Budd sustained a fracture of the leg below the knee, extending into the knee joint. Mr Budd’s groom was with him, who stopped a passing wagon and put Mr Budd in it and drove down street. At the liberty pole they fortunately met Dr W.F. Desmond, who had Mr Budd carried to the Parker House, where Dr Desmond put on temporary splints and later carried him to the Danbury Hospital where the leg was put into a plaster cast.

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Sunday Walter Dean and his team of horses were kept busy pulling out autos that became stuck in the treacherous mud hole by Edgar Northrop’s barn. Eight cars were caught in this sink hole that is as bad or worse than any spot on Queen Street, and the selectmen should have it filled with stones and gravel now when the ground is soft and pliable.

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John E. Grindrod motored to New York last week to attend the annual flower show held in Madison Square Garden.

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Joseph Chevenasky, an employee of the H. Wales Lines Company on the new Edmond Town Hall, fell a distance of 20 feet from one of the foundation walls, Friday, injuring himself quite severely.

APRIL 1, 1904

Attorney William J. Beecher has presented to the Newtown Library a shelf of books as a memorial to his son, Glover Beecher.

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Dr A.L. Schuyler attended a meeting of the Danbury Medical Society at Dr Wile’s in Danbury Monday night.

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Ernest Hawley of Hawleyville has fitted up the old blacksmith shop for a store, where he will carry on business until Selectman S.A. Blackman rebuilds the store, which was destroyed by fire.

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H.M. Lattin, who has charge of Snake Rock Farm, keeps about 200 hens and last Saturday they yielded him between 12 and 13 dozen eggs.

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Dr R.S. Todd of New Milford was in town Sunday to prescribe for a horse belonging to Frank Wetmore of Hanover. He passed Sunday night at the Grand Central Motel.

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Dr Walter H. Kiernan of Danbury has bought out the practice of the late Dr J. W. Gordon of Sandy Hook, and will enter upon his work here April 1 in the same offices occupied by the late Dr Gordon.

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P.F. Crowe had a new water wheel put in at Keane’s button shop last week. E.J. Botsford did the work.

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F.J. Naramore has a fine new black stepper.