2024 was a year unlike any other in Norfolk

NORFOLK — Weather wise Norfolk and Litchfield county experienced beyond average rainfall in July and August and historic drought in the fall. Great Mountain Forest property manager Russell Russ reported September and October as being the driest on record.

Extremely dry conditions in Litchfield County prompted a no burn fire warning from Public Information Officer and fireman Jon Barbagallo.

Sadly, a tree fell on a passing vehicle on Route 44 Friday, Oct. 25 killed two passengers and ignited a brush fire due to the extremely dry conditions. Norfolk Volunteer Fire Department and other area fire departments were able to contain the fire. Further north, the Butternut Fire in Great Barrington resulted in over 1,670 acres burned. Rain and snow helped extinguish the fire and were greatly welcome.

Drivers passing through Norfolk experienced delays on Greenwoods Road West below the Catholic Church due to Connecticut Department of Transportation’s (DOT) work replacing existing retaining walls to stabilize the slope along the north side of the road, a project that is expected to take five years.

On a brighter note, a five-megawatt, 13-acre solar array was established at the Norfolk Transfer Station. The project takes advantage of land deemed unusable for other purposes and is designed to reduce carbon debt. The project is the result of an agreement between Norfolk and Lodestar Energy, now owned by New Jersey Resources (NJR). Norfolk should receive $42,000 per year, bringing much needed revenue to town.

Norfolk saw a summer full of music, art, and literary culture for which the town is well known. The Haystack Book Festival brought together authors and readers for “book talks” in late September and early October. Highlights included author Susan Seidleman who presented her book “Desperately Seeking Something” with a moderated conversation and screening of the film “Desperately Seeking Susan” at the Norfolk Library.

The Norfolk Library held its ever popular annual book from August 27-29th raising funds for library programs and providing the public great prices. A cultural hub, the Norfolk Library presents concerts year round.

The first weekend of August featured music on Robertson Plaza, nature walk, tours of historic buildings, and more as part of WIN - A Weekend in Norfolk, which celebrates the town’s creativity and natural beauty. Classical music was also on offer at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival with concerts at the “Shed” as well as rock, folk, and other musical styling at Infinity Hall Norfolk.

Located at the highest elevation in Connecticut, Norfolk gets some of the coldest temperatures and deepest snowfall in the state and is lovingly known as the “icebox”. Embracing the name, The Icebox Cafe opened its doors mid December after two years of delays. Owners Peter and Marinelle Crippen bring years of restaurant experience and offer home baked goods, breakfast sandwiches, and coffee in the historic train depot in downtown Norfolk.

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Angela Derrico Carabine

SHARON — Angela Derrick Carabine, 74, died May 16, 2025, at Vassar Hospital in Poughkeepsie, New York. She was the wife of Michael Carabine and mother of Caitlin Carabine McLean.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated on June 6 at 11:00 a.m. at Saint Katri (St Bernards Church) Church. Burial will follow at St. Bernards Cemetery. A complete obituary can be found on the website of the Kenny Funeral home kennyfuneralhomes.com.

Revisiting ‘The Killing Fields’ with Sam Waterston

Sam Waterston

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On June 7 at 3 p.m., the Triplex Cinema in Great Barrington will host a benefit screening of “The Killing Fields,” Roland Joffé’s 1984 drama about the Khmer Rouge and the two journalists, Cambodian Dith Pran and New York Times correspondent Sydney Schanberg, whose story carried the weight of a nation’s tragedy.

The film, which earned three Academy Awards and seven nominations — including one for Best Actor for Sam Waterston — will be followed by a rare conversation between Waterston and his longtime collaborator and acclaimed television and theater director Matthew Penn.

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The art of place: maps by Scott Reinhard

Scott Reinhard, graphic designer, cartographer, former Graphics Editor at the New York Times, took time out from setting up his show “Here, Here, Here, Here- Maps as Art” to explain his process of working.Here he explains one of the “Heres”, the Hunt Library’s location on earth (the orange dot below his hand).

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Map lovers know that as well as providing the vital functions of location and guidance, maps can also be works of art.With an exhibition titled “Here, Here, Here, Here — Maps as Art,” Scott Reinhard, graphic designer and cartographer, shows this to be true. The exhibition opens on June 7 at the David M. Hunt Library at 63 Main St., Falls Village, and will be the first solo exhibition for Reinhard.

Reinhard explained how he came to be a mapmaker. “Mapping as a part of my career was somewhat unexpected.I took an introduction to geographic information systems (GIS), the technological side of mapmaking, when I was in graduate school for graphic design at North Carolina State.GIS opened up a whole new world, new tools, and data as a medium to play with.”

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