I have been involved with The Suffield Observer for many years. During that time, it’s not unusual to hear comments from people working on the paper, as well as from citizens in town, saying the paper is too liberal; I wish the paper would be more middle of the road or conservative.
ByBeth Chafetz, Co-editor in Chief/Co-editor of the Month |
For years, Suffield has worked at trying to build a community center in Suffield. As early as 1995, the town studied how this might be done. In 2002, the town created the Community Center Steering Committee, chaired at that time by Tim Reynolds, to plan and implement the construction of a new indoor recreational facility. Over time, committees were created, studies were made and proposals were presented to the town both in 2003 and then again in 2014, but nothing ever stuck until 2015, when the town finally voted to convert Bridge Street School to a community center. The expectation, of course, was that this project would see fruition.
Members of the Suffield Garden Club are especially busy at this time preparing for their annual May Market to be held at the Hatheway Barn in Suffield. The date for this event is May 16, the weekend after Mother’s Day. Members will be making unique items for gardens and gardeners. A variety of potted plants from their own perennial gardens will be offered as well as teacup floral arrangements, hanging floral baskets and gift items for that special person. Unexpected treasures can be found at our Collectible Booths.
For several years, the bridge that carries Remington Street over Stony Brook has been considered by the State to be functionally obsolete. It was not structurally inadequate, but by modern standards it seemed too narrow and requiring too sharp a curve in the west side approach. The bridge has an interesting history, as it was constructed without a special appropriation about 40 years ago when First Selectman Earl Waterman, serving as supervisor of the Town Highway Department, chose to save money by having his crew set four large box culverts in the brook, side by side, each staggered a bit to accommodate his new bridge’s skewed alignment over the brook. The three spots where the culverts met created three piers, which were troublesome when tree limbs and other debris lodged against them, causing some upstream flooding during high brook flow. But for many years, Town crews cleared the blockages and the bridge survived increasing complaints about its width and poor visibility around the curve.
The Assessor’s Office would like to remind elderly and disabled homeowners that the filing period for the state and local benefit program will end on Friday, May 15.
On the fourth weekend of February the walls of Suffield Middle School’s Sisson Auditorium bulged with delighted applause and laughter as a great bunch of enthusiastic students presented Peter Pan, Jr.
Included in this issue, you will see a Letter to the Editor from Michael Stevens, regarding his perception, undoubtedly shared by others, that too many articles, editorials and cartoons demonstrate a negative tone, particularly in respect to our First Selectman.
Sustainable Suffield, a teacher- and student-led grassroots organization dedicated to bringing attention to our role in solving the world’s most challenging climate-related issues, and Suffield High School are proud to announce Walk to the Hart of Climate Change, a three-day event featuring National Geographic Explorer Dr. John Francis and organized by 2018 Grosvenor Teacher Fellow and National Geographic Certified Educator Justin Kaput.
Back in the summer when I was 18, my parents were really cramping my style. I couldn’t wait to cut the apron strings and head off to college. They were spoiling my relaxation vibe with things like summer jobs, curfews and chores I was supposed to do around the house. So after we packed up the station wagon and pulled into my dorm parking lot one late August afternoon, like Sherpas, they unloaded my stuff and beat a hasty retreat. I was pretty happy about that as I was planning on reinventing myself and lurking parents were not part of that picture.
A few weeks ago Suffield’s intrepid PMC rider Chris Nikolis was delighted to adjust his report on last year’s Kids Ride up a few thousand as final returns came in, bringing Suffield’s eight-year total to $317,000!
The Suffield Garden Club will once again continue the tradition of giving each fourth grade student a young tree to plant. The Arbor Day Program will take place Friday, April 24 at McAlister School where students will showcase their knowledge of trees with poems, songs and recitations. They will leave school with a young sapling to plant, typically in their own yard or somewhere in our beautiful town of Suffield. This program is made possible through the Memorial Fund of the Suffield Garden Club with the financial help of Val Galivan, a former member, beginning in 1965. The Garden Club extends their thanks to Bartlett Tree Experts for securing these trees for this annual program.
Following the annual tag sale on April 4, the West Suffield Village Improvement Association will open Academy Hall for rental as usual. The Hall can accommodate small groups of up to 50 in our downstairs space or larger groups up to 100 upstairs.
The West Suffield Village Improvement Association will hold its annual tag sale Saturday, April 4 from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. at Academy Hall, 1499 Mountain Road. Donations may be dropped off the mornings of March 28, April 2 and 3.