Community

This week’s front page showcases stories about how the citizens of the Northwest Corner are making it a better place to live. Debra Aleksinas details efforts to protect environmentally and aesthetically sensitive land in the Salmon Kill River Valley. Natalia Zukerman profiles a crusader for social justice and women’s health.

In Compass, in the third part of a series about the healing power of theater, Lee Davies writes about how The Sharon Playhouse has been instrumental in bringing invigorating, in-person experiences to us.

These stories remind us how our friends and neighbors are making a difference.

More than 170 people raised $800,000 so that the Salisbury Association Land Trust could purchase 14 acres of farmland property in the Salmon Kill Valley. The valley and the creek itself have long been considered some of the most beautiful and ecologically valuable resources in Connecticut, Aleksinas writes. As Jeanette Weber, president of the Salisbury Association says, “We are very grateful to have received donations from so many people in the community.”

From many to one. Our community also needs to appreciate what one woman has done for many. Betsey Mauro, the departing executive director of Project SAGE, leaves behind a strong, community-based organization that supports, advocates for, guides and educates the victims of relationship violence through services and outreach programs in the Northwest Corner. When Mauro began in 2016, the organization was called Women’s Support Services. It has since changed its name to Project SAGE. Mauro expanded the organization and created a network that reaches far beyond Lakeville. “Whether I’m in a church or I’ve been in this role here, it’s all about how we lift up people and also challenge the systems that are unfair, that keep people from accessing their full selves,” Mauro says.

In Part III of Davies’ series on the role of theater in a community, Lee writes about how the Sharon Playhouse is partnering with local support groups, including Project Sage on the 2023 production of “Oliver!” Last fall, The Sharon Playhouse teamed up with The Salisbury Forum and this newspaper to co-sponsor a panel discussion about its production of “Lifespan of a Fact” on the hot issue of truth in journalism. It also worked with the Hotchkiss Library of Sharon to make its “Little Women” community read a success. During the 2023 season, Davies reports that The Sharon Playhouse provided jobs for 250 professional theater artists, actors, technicians, musicians and educators; welcomed 16,000 patrons; and offered over 95 live performances of 22 theater productions.

The hard work people put in matters. It makes the Northwest Corner a wonderful place to live. We are grateful for all their many efforts.