Year in review: Progress and milestones in Salisbury

SALISBURY — Salisbury expanded its affordable housing stock in 2025 with the addition of four new three-bedroom homes developed by the Salisbury Housing Trust. Two of the homes were built at 26 and 28 Undermountain Rd, with another two constructed at the top of Perry Street in Lakeville.

Motorists and students from The Hotchkiss School will soon benefit from a new sidewalk along Sharon Road (Route 41) connecting the school to Lakeville village. In November, Salisbury was awarded $800,000 in state funding to construct the sidewalk along the southbound side of the road, linking it to the existing sidewalk between Main Street and Wells Hill Road.

Residents of Salisbury and Sharon will also see changes to how household waste is handled. On Oct. 29, the governor’s office announced that the Salisbury/Sharon Transfer Station had received a state grant to implement a unit-based pricing system — commonly known as “pay as you throw” — and to expand composting operations.

The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) awarded the transfer station $266,692 through its Sustainable Materials Management grant program. The funds will support a gradual, three-phase transition to a pay-per-bag model to replace the current $150 flat fee paid by households. Both the Salisbury and Sharon selectmen endorsed the application when it was submitted in June.

After a sustained three-year effort, the highly invasive hydrilla plant appears to be gone from East Twin Lake. “The good news is, the hydrilla is pretty much gone. We have not found anything,” George Knoecklein of Northeast Aquatic Research (NEAR), the Twin Lakes Association’s limnologist, reported during an Oct. 8 meeting of local, state and federal scientists, environmentalists and stakeholders at O’Hara’s Landing Marina.

But the town and the Lake Wononscopomuc Association will keep a ban on outside boats in effect at Lake Wononscopomuc, also known as Lakeville Lake, for the third year.

The lake has not been affected by hydrilla, and to keep it that way the boat launch is closed to watercraft from anywhere else. To make up for this, the town Grove boat launch has paddle boards, kayaks, canoes and row boats, plus trolling motors for anglers, available for rent.

Water also featured prominently in local achievements, as Salisbury’s Phoebe Conklin, 14, competed at the YMCA National Long Course Swimming Championships in Ocala, Florida. Conklin qualified for nationals in the 50-meter freestyle, 100-meter freestyle and 100-meter butterfly.

New around town: The Grassland Dessert Cafe and Lakeville Books and Stationery opened for business in Lakeville.

Meanwhile, Craig Davis and Keavy Bedell opened East Mountain House in Lakeville, an end-of-life care facility designed to accommodate up to two guests at a time. The facility welcomed its first guest in mid-September.

The Rev. Heidi Truax retired after 16 years at the helm of Trinity Episcopal Church in Lime Rock.By Patrick L. Sullivan

In August, Rev. Johan Johnson assumed leadership at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Salisbury. Johnson is also the chaplain at Salisbury School.

And in June, Rev. Heidi Truax retired from Trinity Episcopal Church in Lime Rock at the end of June after 16 years.

Before saying farewell, Truax gave the pre-race invocation June 29 when NASCAR returned to Lime Rock Park for the first time since 2011. It was billed as the largest event in modern track history with an estimated 20,000 fans attending for the weekend of pro racing.

A few months later, on Saturday, Sept. 20, a small aircraft carrying two people crashed at Lime Rock Park after making an emergency landing due to a reported mechanical failure. The area was closed while officials investigated the incident and contained a small fuel leak.

Lime Rock’s Emergency Services team was the first to respond, and director Keith Byrne said the pilot was uninjured while the passenger may have sustained minor injuries.

“It was a huge relief once we saw them getting out the plane with nothing on fire,” Byrne said of arriving on the scene.

Saturday mornings on the town Green near the White Hart have long been the time and place for political activism. This has become supercharged since the start of the second Trump administration, with “No Kings” protesters turning out in significant numbers.

The summer reading program at the Scoville Memorial Library wrapped up Aug. 23 with an emphasis on bubbles. Lots of bubbles.By Patrick L. Sullivan

The Scoville Memorial Library maintained a busy schedule of programs throughout the year, often in partnership with organizations such as the Salisbury Association. A brief and necessarily selective sampling included a June 12 presentation by Michael LaScaleia, a scientist with the Arnold Arboretum in Boston, who guided audiences through the strange and often surprising world of caterpillars and invasive plants.

Ornithologist George E. Wallace highlighted recent conservation efforts directed at bird species in Hawaii during a presentation on March 13.

And leading up to the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the library bought multiple copies of Russell Shorto’s “Revolution Song: The Story of America’s Founding in Six Remarkable Lives” and gave them out to complement a series of Revolution-centered activities and events.

Meanwhile, the normally placid confines of the Salisbury post office were briefly disrupted when patrons arrived to find the building closed on Monday, March 17, with a notice on the locked door warning of asbestos abatement.

Postal customers were directed to the Lakeville post office for their mail.

Salisbury Postmaster Lisa Hoage said the floor of the Salisbury facility had been in poor condition for some time. The matter was dealt with quickly and the post office was back up and running in a matter of days.