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.

Latest News

Rhys V. Bowen

LAKEVILLE — Rhys V. Bowen, 65, of Foxboro, Massachusetts, died unexpectedly in his sleep on Sept. 15, 2025. Rhys was born in Sharon, Connecticut, on April 9, 1960 to Anne H. Bowen and the late John G. Bowen. His brother, David, died in 1979.

Rhys grew up at The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, where his father taught English. Attending Hotchkiss, Rhys excelled in academics and played soccer, basketball, and baseball. During these years, he also learned the challenges and joys of running, and continued to run at least 50 miles a week, until the day he died.

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Kelsey K. Horton

LAKEVILLE — Kelsey K. Horton, 43, a lifelong area resident, died peacefully on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, at Norwalk Hospital in Norwalk, Connecticut, following a courageous battle with cancer. Kelsey worked as a certified nursing assistant and administrative assistant at Noble Horizons in Salisbury, from 1999 until 2024, where she was a very respected and loved member of their nursing and administrative staff.

Born Oct. 4, 1981, in Sharon, she was the daughter of W. Craig Kellogg of Southern Pines, North Carolina, and JoAnne (Lukens) Tuncy and her husband Donald of Millerton, New York. Kelsey graduated with the class of 1999 from Webutuck High School in Amenia and from BOCES in 1999 with a certificate from the CNA program as well. She was a longtime member of the Lakeville United Methodist Church in Lakeville. On Oct. 11, 2003, in Poughkeepsie, New York, she married James Horton. Jimmy survives at home in Lakeville. Kelsey loved camping every summer at Waubeeka Family Campground in Copake, and she volunteered as a cheer coach for A.R.C. Cheerleading for many years. Kelsey also enjoyed hiking and gardening in her spare time and spending time with her loving family and many dear friends.

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Eliot Warren Brown

SHARON — On Sept. 27, Eliot Warren Brown was shot and killed at age 47 at his home in New Orleans, Louisiana, in a random act of violence by a young man in need of mental health services. Eliot was born and raised in Sharon, Connecticut, and attended Indian Mountain School and Concord Academy in Massachusetts. He graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He and his wife Brooke moved to New Orleans to answer the call for help in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and fell in love with the city.

In addition to his wife Brooke, Eliot leaves behind his parents Malcolm and Louise Brown, his sisters Lucia (Thaddeus) and Carla (Ruairi), three nephews, and extended family and friends spread far and wide.

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Randall Osolin

SHARON — Randall “Randy” Osolin passed away on Sept. 25, 2025, at the age of 74. He was born on Feb. 6, 1951, in Sharon, Connecticut to the late Ramon (Sonny) and Barbara (Sandmeyer) Osolin.

He was a dedicated social worker, a natural athlete, a gentle friend of animals, an abiding parish verger, an inveterate reader, and an estimable friend and neighbor. He was a kind-hearted person whose greatest joy was in helping someone in need and sharing his time with his family and good friends.

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