Government/Town

PARKS & REC NEWS

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Get ready for a fun winter! It is time to register for winter programs offered by the Parks and Recreation Department.

Organizations

Berries and Cones and Pines, Oh My!

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The Suffield Garden Club will hold a monthly meeting on Monday, December 2 at 11:45 a.m. at the Second Baptist Church, Fellowship Hall. Coffee, tea, a light luncheon and a short business meeting are followed by a guest speaker at 1 p.m.

Suffield Garden Club

Lawn Care

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Small lawns can be dethatched using a specialized, hand-held dethatching rake or an iron rake. Or, use a dethatcher that attaches to a sit-down mower (see photo in Part 1 of 2).

Library

Work of Longmeadow Artist Featured at KML

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A bright collection of original watercolor paintings is featured in December at the William Pinney Gallery of the Kent Memorial Library in Suffield. Featured is the work of Phyllis Taylor of Longmeadow, an award-winning artist, whose work is found in public and private collections throughout New England. Her vivid images depict portraits, landscapes, and still life. Ms. Taylor’s work reflects her dynamic style, developed over many years. She is an active, long-time member of the Tobacco Valley Artists Association.

Farming/Nature

Keeping Warm in Winter

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Some people just know how to beat the cold. My friend in high school was one of them. She had kinfolk from Vermont, which definitely gave her the edge in the sub-zero department. And, I suspect there was some Nordic blood coursing through her veins, as she and her siblings were tow heads, sauna aficionados and, built like Sonja Henie or Ole Einar Bjørndalen, definitely prepared to go the distance. I never willingly would sign up to race any of them up or down any hill in town, snow covered or otherwise. 

At any rate, my friend had an arsenal of tricks developed over the years to beat the winter weather.

Library

Art Show Helped

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Local artist Barbara Coffin, left, discusses one of her paintings with a visitor during the well-attended opening reception on November 1 for her month-long exhibit in the Gallery at Kent Memorial Library, the first exhibit since the library reopened.

Food for Thought

Food For Thought

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National Cookie Day 

 December 3

 “Friend something better than chocolate ice cream…maybe friend somebody you give up last cookie for.”

             – Cookie Monster

Human Rights Day 

December 10

“Wherever men and women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must – at that moment – become the center of the universe.” 

                       – Elie Wiesel

 “Literacy is a bridge from misery to hope. It is a tool for daily life in modern society. It is a bulwark against poverty, and a building block of development, an essential complement to investments in roads, dams, clinics and factories. Literacy is a platform for democratization, and a vehicle for the promotion of cultural and national identity. Especially for girls and women, it is an agent of family health and nutrition.

Director’s Corner

The Gift

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The holidays are upon us and with it the promise of gifts. Lewis Hyde in his book The Gift, first published in 1983, and never out of print, offers a thoughtful exploration on gifts. Gift giving and gratitude for the gift are  common human activities. A gift can be as simple as holding a door open or as opulent as a potlatch, a ceremonial feast of Indians living on our northwest coast, where possessions are given away. Gifts are part of the culture of Christmas, Halloween, Día de los Muertos, Hanukkah, Diwali and many other holidays.

Government/Town

Six Towns Share Haz Waste Disposal

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Suffield has joined with five other towns to support periodic disposal of household hazardous waste, and our first participation took place on Saturday, November 9, at the Simsbury public works facility on Town Forest Road in that town.The set-up there turned out to be very satisfactory and easy to find, though it did take this reporter about 45 minutes and over 16 miles to drive there from Suffield Center. Just like previous disposal events in Suffield, the first stop was for information and ID verification. Then two queues led to drive-through lanes in a giant, sixteen-truck parking garage, emptied for the occasion, where hazardous waste was unloaded. The rest of the building was filled with sorting and crating spaces. The tractor-trailers of MXI, the main disposal company present, were parked nearby.

Library

Local Author Entertains

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Mike Chase, Suffield native and author of the book How to Become a Federal Criminal: an Illustrated Handbook for the Aspiring Offender, spoke to an appreciative audience at Kent Memorial Library on Thursday, November 7. The talk was sponsored by Suffield Public Library Foundation as part of their yearly speaker’s event. Mel Chafetz, president of the Foundation and one of Mike’s former school principals, introduced Mike, and Carl Casinghino, another Foundation member and one of Mike’s former teachers, made further introductions along with some personal comments about their connections both at Suffield High School and since Mike graduated. “Mike spends his days as a white-collar criminal defense lawyer. He is also the legal humorist behind the @CrimeADay Twitter feed, where he offers up a daily dose of his extensive research into the curious, intriguing and often amusing history of America’s expansive criminal laws.