Over the past twenty-five years the Observer has covered many stories about local people, events and businesses. We thought it might be interesting each month to highlight some of the front-page news to remind us what was happening in town. The following are some of the headline stories from our April issues over the past 25 years.
Front page news included several issues highlighting the upcoming Town and school budget processes. The Town heard proposals on the prison (2001), there was a roadside cleanup day (2002), Zak grants benefitted Suffield (2003), Suffield Village created a new space for seniors (2003), the Fireman’s Association purchased an American flag for the SHS gym, the Town revaluation impact was explained (2004), the SFES event was very successful (2004), ACES High won the New England Regional First Robotics competition (2006), Loaves and Fishes fed the hungry (2007), Second Baptist volunteers helped build homes with Habitat for Humanity after Hurricane Katrina (2007), planning for a new library continued (2008), Spaulding and McAlister students raised over $6,000 for Heifer International (2008), the SMS band played at the Hartford St. Patrick’s Day parade (2009), the Rotary proposed building a concession stand with a grant from the Hartford Foundation (2010) and bonding plans for road repair, new fire trucks, Town Hall renovation and a new library moved to referendum (2011). Interior renovations to the library moved forward (2012), the Girl Scouts celebrated 100 years (2012), the Observer started to print in color (2013), the BOS approved seeking an ADA grant (2013), the Parks & Rec Commission recommended redevelopment of Bridge Street School and property (2015), the Fireman’s Carnival was cancelled (2015), the new Mary Anne Zak entrance was ready to open soon (2016), the police were concerned about a growing regional drug trend (2017), the PMC ride was planned (2017), a fiber optic project linked Town departments (2017), there was a walkout at SHS in remembrance of the Parkland shooting (2018), visiting educators from China came to SPS (2018), the town rallied to find a home for an abandoned dog (2019), KML managed during COVID (2021), the Town’s pandemic year was reviewed (2021) and the St. Joseph Church plan was not approved (2023).
The Observer often highlighted people as well on the front page. Some people reported on over the past 25 years included local cartoonist Rick Stromoski (2000), the Markowski family (2002), musician Vivian Roode (2004), farm family Vi and Walter Carney (2006), Ted Beneski and his donation of Beneski Field (2008), Bill and Katherine Hill and family (2009), 8th grader Mason Bieter, winner of a national video contest (2011), elementary music teacher Wyn Jesperson (2011), Tami Zawistowski and Pete Hill, candidates for State Representative (2014), Oscar winner Greg Butler (2014), Emmy award winner Jim Chapdelaine (2014), musician and composer Steve Katz (2016), local author Jamie Deenihan (2019), remembrances of Mary Anne Zak and Joanne Sullivan (2022) and World Challenge marathoner Dan McCoy (2023).
We hope you’ve enjoyed a look into the past years, month by month, as we remembered some of the front-page highlights.