‘Unite, Participate, Celebrate’

The Theme Of Organizational Meeting

By Nancy K. Crevier

The Stony Hill Four Corners business community and businesses in the Hawleyville section of Newtown would like to work together to realize a common vision. Grassroots community organizer Ann Marie Mitchell and members of the Save Hawleyville Post Office organization called together business owners and residents of those areas, Thursday evening, February 18, for an opportunity to unite.

Held in the dining room of the Homesteads Assisted Living Community on Mt Pleasant Road, an appetizer buffet and wine bar served to give the town hall-style meeting a low key and somewhat festive feel for the nearly three dozen people who spent the evening hearing the voices of town leaders, and networking with fellow business people and neighbors.

The crowd included Dr Robert Grossman, who congratulated “everyone here on what they’ve done,” as well as Bethel dentist Nick Barrello, Santosha Center for Yoga and Health owner Barbara Colber, real estate broker Jim Mable and associates of Bethel, Klickers Hair Studio owner Toni Ribeiro, developer Steve Nicolosi, and Robert Michalik from the office of Congressman Christopher Murphy.

Hawleyville resident Catherine Winkler was there to support the organizers, who have not only successfully preserved the presence of a post office in that section of town, but who have also been the catalyst of the HEAT movement protesting the expansion of the Housatonic Railroad waste transfer station. “I became involved [in HEAT] because of what is going on in our backyard with the Newtown Transload using the railroad as an accommodator, and being largely unregulated,” said Ms Winkler, who added that she is pleased to see the interest of growth in the Hawleyville section of town.

“Hawleyville has doubled the businesses in the area in the past year,” Ms Mitchell announced, prior to her introduction of guest speakers. “People want to do business here,” she said, adding that there is now a “unique opportunity” for the people of Hawleyville to make positive social and environmental impacts. “We are coming together tonight to drive businesses for people willing to do business in Hawleyville,” said Ms Mitchell.

She briefly focused attention on a special guest, Mark Favale, Hawleyville postmaster, thanking him for the services that the small facility, scheduled to reopen in March, has provided to the people of Hawleyville. Mr Favale responded later in the evening, saying, “You should clap for yourselves, and for Terry [Laslo, designer and administrator of the savehawleyvillepo website] the webmaster, and for Ann Marie [Mitchell], the ‘master master,’ and for Steve [Nicolosi, the contractor and developer of the new Hawleyville Post Office on Barnabas Road], my landlord-to-be. I humbly thank every single person here. Nowhere is the post office loved like you people love Hawleyville. We are all truly grateful that you fought to keep us, and now we have this beautiful building that Steve has built for us.”

The Route 25 Hawleyville Post Office, a 165-year institution, was temporarily closed February 14, 2009, following several years of uncertainty as the United States Postal Service debated the renovation, closing, or moving of the facility. A community effort by the Save Hawleyville Post Office organization and the support of Congressman Murphy and local town officials persuaded the USPS to move the post office, for safety and customer satisfaction reasons, to a new facility, rather than close it down.

Local Voices Are Important

Newtown First Selectman Pat Llodra was the first of several speakers to address the attentive crowd Thursday evening, offering three messages to those gathered. “First, local voices are important and powerful in determining the direction of a community,” said Ms Llodra, pointing out Ann Marie Mitchell, Terry Laslo, and Hawleyville residents Tom and Dot Dwyer as being among the neighbors who rallied the community to preserve the post office and speak out against the transfer station expansion. “Each and every one of us, individually and collectively, can make a difference,” emphasized Ms Llodra.

Second, said the selectman, “Stay involved and informed and help us, the government, shape the future of Hawleyville.” Relaying her own experiences as a longtime resident of the Sandy Hook community that has seen great and positive changes in recent years, Ms Llodra reiterated that vocal supporters can be the catalyst for change. “You don’t win every battle,” she cautioned, “but there is a way.”

Her third point dealt with her personal vision for Hawleyville, of a commercial, mixed-use center “that attracts neighbors and visitors. Once that vision for Hawleyville is expressed, make sure that we, the government, stay on task. I look forward to helping Hawleyville move incrementally toward the future.”

Earlier in the week, Ms Llodra said that she hoped the focus of her speech would draw attention to the need of a vision for Hawleyville. “It’s a great concept, with opportunities for people who live there to do business there,” she said. “I think it will be wonderful for Stony Hill and Hawleyville businesses to be collaborative. It’s good for them, and good for Newtown,” said Ms Llodra.

Making Changes

Together

President of the Newtown Chamber of Commerce Ann Marie DeWeese and membership chairman Jim Galalo then addressed the business people present on the benefits of being a Chamber member. “We are very relevant to what you are doing here,” said Ms DeWeese.

“What many people know, is that if you get involved, you can make changes,” Mr Galalo added. “Together, we can accomplish things,” he said.

“I grew up in Hawleyville, so change is sometimes hard for me to see here,” confessed Terry Laslo, a founding member of the Save Hawleyville Post Office organization. “But I’m really happy to be here tonight and see everyone. It’s easy for me to stay under a rock and not get involved, but it has been a fantastic experience [being a part of Save Hawleyville Post Office] and trying to have some control over our future. I cannot wait for the post office to reopen,” she said. Ms Laslo encouraged business owners present to provide a brief description of their businesses and services before leaving the meeting, as well as a link to the business websites, to be included in a web page she will design to market the Hawleyville area. Interested Stony Hill and Hawleyville businesses can contact Ms Laslo at tlc@wingcatwebdesign.com if they would like to be included.

UK Gourmet owners Lisa and Nigel Whitmore spoke of their involvement as organizers, along with Union Savings Bank assistant vice president Madeline Bunt, of the Stony Hill Four Corners Association. The association was formed two years ago under the umbrella of the Bethel Chamber of Commerce, said Ms Whitmore, and comprises many businesses located along Route 6 between Exits 8 and 9 off of I-84. “We hope everyone wants to get together and make our communities stronger. We would love to get more energy and excitement to our area,” said Ms Whitmore.

Erasing Borders

The association is dedicated to “erasing the borders between Bethel and Newtown,” stated Ms Bunt later in the evening. “I think [the collaboration between Hawleyville and Bethel] will be very good. We’ve been here for two years and I think we can [help Hawleyville]. Route 6 is the new ‘golden mile,’” she said.

Paul Mangiafico, former Newtown selectman, built on Ms Llodra’s words when he stood up to speak, noting the importance of a community, when dealing with local government, to have a focus. “It is true, speaking up does count,” said Mr Mangiafico. He also emphasized the importance of an organized presentation of requests when approaching town government, and the desire of small businesses to be treated by town officials with respect, and given simple answers to simple questions.

“Local government can do a lot to help businesses achieve the information that they are looking for,” he said. He restated the value of the collective voice of businesses and residents, saying, “Tonight might be the start of getting a coalition going. The Hawleyville Post Office wouldn’t have survived if people hadn’t given a concentrated effort to make that happen. We can do anything — anything — as long as it is fundamentally correct.”

A follow-up meeting will be scheduled for participation in the grand opening of the Hawleyville Post Office this spring, said Ms Mitchell, as she continued to rally support for the opening, and for the building of the Hawleyville community. A reopening date has not yet been announced by the USPS. “Positive impacts are being felt,” said Ms Mitchell. “Sustainable communities are the wave of the future.”