The Suffield Observer (https://thesuffieldobserver.com/author/lester-smith/page/19/)
For a number of years, the Town highway crew has maintained many of the town’s private roads as a matter of public service and safety, particularly those around the Congamond Ponds. The effort has regularly included snow plowing and local patching.
This year’s public production of the customary spring musical at Suffield High School was cancelled at almost the last minute by the Town’s bold, understandable response to the national emergency – among other closings, the COVID-19 pandemic had silenced The Sound of Music.
The manner of financing the planned renovations to the Suffield Town Hall has been under study by the Town administration. As reported in last month’s issue, part of the $5.13 million voted by the Town in 2015 has been spent in architectural studies and other pre-construction payments.
Aces High, Team 176, our local team in the FIRST Robotics Competition, has been a great competitor ever since they were organized at Windsor Locks High School in 1995. Suffield joined in 1998, and the team won the National Championship in Florida the following year.
The “NO” signs soon followed. This one was across from the West Suffield Post Office.
The Permanent Building Committee (PBC), often with the direct participation of First Selectman Melissa Mack, have been planning the renovation of Suffield’s Town Hall for several years, working with two different architects, EDM and QA&M. As reported by the Observer last month, in January the selected general contractor, Gilbane Building, advised that the cost would be close to $800,000 greater than had been thought.
Troop 260 honored two new Eagle Scouts on January 7 in their traditional Eagle Scout Court of Honor at Second Baptist Church’s Fellowship Hall. For their Eagle Scout rank, the highest advancement level in Scouting, each planned, gathered funding and assembled the required work crew for an approved community service project.
This year, eight Cub Scouts of Pack 266 successfully completed their multi-year program of activities and learning, advancing to become Arrow of Light Cubs and cross over to become Boy Scouts. The Blue and Gold Banquet with its Arrow of Light ceremony and Boy Scout welcome was held in Father Ted Hall at Sacred Heart Church.
After John Gloria retired from Hamilton Standard in 1999, he volunteered to work in the restoration crew at the New England Air Museum, where he encountered an old friend. It was a surprise reunion, one that probably hadn’t happened before at the museum.
As reported in the First Selectman’s updates to the Board of Selectmen, the project to renovate Suffield’s 58-year-old Town Hall seemed to be moving forward smoothly with expected costs still within the budget authorized. Now Project Manager Gilbane Building has received construction drawings from architects QA&M and has received guaranteed maximum price bids from sub-contractors.