Government/Town

Kinship & Respite Grants

By |

Probate Judge David Baram reminds court-appointed guardians to apply for grants for school supplies. Probate Courts have been awarding grants from the state Kinship Fund and Respite Fund to court-appointed guardians for more than a decade. Eligibility for the grants was expanded beyond relatives serving as guardians to all those appointed by the Probate Courts who meet low-income guidelines. A guardianship case typically arises in the Tobacco Valley Probate Court when parents are unable to care for their children due to mental illness, substance abuse or incarceration. Probate Courts appoint a grandparent or other relative to care for the children.

Editorial

Pay to Play

By |

With the incoming school year commencing August 29, Suffield High School students will be forced to make some financial adjustments. That is, if they want to continue and/or take up playing a sport. This year, the high school has brought on the seemingly sudden change of enforcing a pay-to-play rule, where students must pay a fee of $75 each time they enroll in a sport, with a cap of $225 per year. This fee does not include the gear that is required to play sports, such as padding, shoes, and helmets, all of which the players pay for out of their own (or their parents’) pockets. Indeed, the ability to pay for helmets can make all the difference in a player’s safety.

Organizations

Packard Tournament Continues

By |

Jack Muska, in back, advises Jim Muska from St. Louis, as Paul Muska holds the flag watching the putt. The golfers are part of the 28th Annual Glenn T. Packard Tournament at Oak Ridge Country Club sponsored by Suffield Rotary Club.

Churches

Second Baptist Vacation Bible School

By |

Second Baptist Church will be hosting our community Vacation Bible School July 8-12. Our program begins at 9 a.m. each morning and ends at noon. Our time includes music, drama (the good kind), crafts, snacks, games and lots of good Bible teaching. Children in PreK – sixth grade are invited to join us. Kids in seventh grade through adults can help.

Organizations

Suffield Teen is CEO-Ready

By |

Emily Brydges, 14, recently completed the winter session of an after-school entrepreneurship academy called Girls With Impact. She plans now to go into business with the program she developed. She participated in the 12-week program through 50-minute online classes at home, in audio and visual contact with local and global classmates and their coaches.  In a final online meeting, the students presented the business plans they had developed.  Emily’s virtual company was No Loose Ends, which would sell multi-colored shoe laces to runners, with all proceeds going to support Campaign for Female Education. In a statement prepared for the program, Emily said, “Prior to joining Girls with Impact, I did not have the courage or resources to take my passion and make it into something real. Now, having completed Girls with Impact, I can use my knowledge and experience to make a difference.” She plans to bring her company into reality this summer. 

Suffield 350th Golf Fundraiser

By |

They say “Third Time’s the Charm,” well Friday, October 11, will actually be the fourth time that the Suffield 350th Anniversary Committee has scheduled our golf fundraiser. Rainy weather and soggy course conditions have been our nemesis, but October can also be great time of year to play golf! Our golf event, to be held at the Suffield Country Club, is a major fundraiser for the 350th Committee. Proceeds will be used to pay for events, projects and programs celebrating our town’s big anniversary in 2020. Registration and lunch for the 18-hole scramble format golf tournament will begin at noon.

Schools/Sports

SHS Trivia Night

By |

Each school year the Suffield High School Chick-fil-A Leader Academy is challenged with completing an “Impact Project” to benefit the community and to practice their leadership skills. This year the group, made up of 30 sophomores and juniors, decided to put on a Trivia Night to benefit the Dustin L. Doyon Memorial and the Brianna Mailloux Scholarship funds. It was an incredibly successful night. The Trivia Night was held Friday, May 17 at 6 p.m. on the Suffield High School grounds. Twenty-one teams of six to eight people each consisted of mostly high school students, their parents, and three teacher teams – one from Suffield High School, one from Suffield Middle School and one from McAlister Intermediate School.