The Suffield Observer (https://thesuffieldobserver.com/page/233/)
Trees have both common and scientific names, such as Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus).
The Suffield Volunteer Ambulance Association (SVAA) has been recognized on the national stage as the 2026 EMS Agency of the Year by the National EMS Management Association.
For a week in early August, Suffield was the focus of a substantial party of international tourists. Fr. Mark Jette of Sacred Heart and St. Joseph advised the Observer that he had arranged for a team of young athletes from the town of Wicklow, in County Wicklow, Ireland, to come and visit.
“Winning decathlon was a big goal this season, and just doing my best,” explained Jared Sharp when I asked him what he wanted to accomplish at the start of the 2019 Outdoor Track and Field season.
The new Suffield Public Schools Superintendent, Timothy Van Tasel, has been a Connecticut educator for over 20 years. He brings extensive leadership experience and a student-focused philosophy to our district, and he’s hit the ground running. He has already posted his “Theory of Action” on the Suffield Public Schools website at https://www.suffield.org/page.cfm?p=505. Aside from the expected references to the district, school, and students, the most common keywords he uses are “community,” “action,” “goals” and “leadership.” He very clearly states his “core beliefs are based on the key premise that all students can be successful.”
In addition, the Board of Education (BoE) and Superintendent Van Tasel have mapped and shared a set of goals for the district. A common, coherent set of goals provides a clear vision for all parties.
Finally! On June 29, as First Selectman Melissa Mack had announced earlier in June, Kent Memorial Library opened the doors of its renovated and remediated home on Main Street.
Don’t miss our “Caring for Self & Others Health & Flu Shot Fair”: Get your flu shot and take advantage of free health screenings and information all in one place.
With work under way even during this photo on a mid-August Sunday, the production equipment of the Broad Brook Brewing Company on South Street begins to shape up.
The plan for moving the town highway garage to South Street and allow apartments on its old Ffyler Place location has hit something of a speed bump, but continues to surge forward. It’s been a complicated administrative process, involving many Town boards and commissions, all of which have shown strong, though not entirely unanimous support. By mid-August, the effort had paused to await the outcome of a certified engineering evaluation of whether the existing building at 1160 South Street, with promised repairs and adaptations, would be satisfactory for its proposed use as the relocated garage. In a straw vote on May 28, the Board of Finance had voted 5 – 1 to support sending the plan to a Town Meeting. After considerable discussion on June 10, they authorized the acquisition of the South Street property for $2.4M and the transfer of the old garage, conditioned on its evaluated suitability and final approval by the Selectmen, the Finance Board again, and a Town Meeting.
Ninety-nine-year old Sue Fuller shared a jubilant smile in the photo on her memorial program at Second Baptist Church, August 15. She also shared a jubilant message.
Anyone who lives or has lived in Suffield knows that Suffield is a town that draws people together to help and give support in any kind of crisis. When someone is facing hardship, it is never faced alone. Scott Flanagan of Suffield learned at the beginning of June that he has aggressive, diffuse large cell B Non-Hodgkins stage 4 Lymphona (involving bone, lymph nodes and viscera). Scott had been working as a Physical Therapist but had to go on family leave, which ended his compensation. The family is taking one day at a time, with their strong faith in God and family, hoping for the best.
Tom Senecal, President and CEO of PeoplesBank, has announced the appointment of Jacquelyn Guzie as Assistant Vice President and Regional Manager for First Suffield Bank, a division of PeoplesBank.
The Suffield Fire Department Auxiliary will host the return of their Annual Harvest Crafts Fair on Saturday, November 2 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Center Firehouse, 73 Mountain Road (Route 168), Suffield, Conn.
The Suffield Historical Society will meet on Wednesday, October 2, at 1:00 pm at the King House Museum, 232 South Main Street, Suffield.
In 1918 during the First World War, the student body at what was briefly called Suffield, a Military School for Boys, engages in rifle drill.
Selected from the pages of the Windsor Locks Journal and lightly annotated by Wendy Taylor of Kent Memorial Library.
Veterans of any declared war period and current active duty military having not previously filed for an exemption must provide an original or certified copy of their Honorable Discharge or current orders or affidavit to the Suffield Town Clerk by September 30 to be eligible for a minimum exemption of $3,000 deducted from the assessed value of real estate or a motor vehicle.
Tom Carr, pastor of Second Baptist Church in Suffield, 100 N. Main St. will be leading a series of 90 minute exploratory presentations about humanity’s “New Story.”
Suffield’s First Congregational Church is moving forward with the “public phase” of its Lifting Up Our Community Capital Campaign and the related construction at the church’s building on High Street. The church’s congregation voted to undertake this three-year Capital Campaign and related work to address accessibility issues that have limited the full use of that building. First Church has been a centerpiece of the Suffield community since the Town’s founding nearly 350 years ago. The church regularly makes its space available to non-profit organizations, local government agencies, and other community groups and citizens who provide services in and around Suffield. Groups recently using First Church’s facility include a preschool that serves over 30 families and has been using the church’s facilities for approximately 40 years, four addiction recovery groups, a guide dog training group, tutoring programs, the Cub Scouts, a preschool music class, and students and teachers attending AP testing programs. The church hosts the Music on High concert series.
Several events are happening in September at First Church, An Open and Affirming Church, to welcome in the new church year. Worship is held every Sunday beginning on September 8 at 10 a.m.
Welcome Sunday will be September 15. Our children will help lead worship. We will be blessing backpacks and resuming church school during worship. There will be food and fun activities after worship. We are a welcoming Christian community.