Sometimes it’s hard to find the “click” with a new singer, one whose work isn’t presented to you on a platter by the radio, or a streaming channel or your kids or a friend or… And without someone to help you make a link to a song or a performer, sometimes you never find your way in.
So I don’t feel guilty about first being attracted to the singer-songwriter A.J. Croce because he is the son of Jim Croce because who of a certain age didn’t love Jim Croce? The answer is no one. Jim Croce was the greatest.
And while most people of my generation don’t agree on much, all of us at some time in our lives have thought, “Gee, I wish Jim Croce hadn’t died in that plane crash in 1973 in Louisiana.”
There were so many songs by him to love. But really you can only play them over and over again so many times.
And so it was a happy revelation to learn that his son, A.J. Croce, is coming out with an album this month that’s called “By Request.”
By a fluke, which I’ll explain in a minute, it is all covers of songs from the second half of the 20th century. They’re songs, he said in an interview, that his friends always ask him to play when he sits down at the piano or picks up a guitar.
It’s interesting to note that none of the songs was written by his father.
He does cover a song by his father’s good friend Randy Newman. He does “Nothing from Nothing,” made popular by Billy Preston; he’s got Neil Young’s “Only Love Can Break Your Heart;” he’s got “Ooh Child” by the Stairsteps, ubiquitous on the radio for so many years.
They’re all good. He’s a great guitar player and has a flexible voice that can be folk-y, ballad-y or have a deep bluesy growl.
I’ll confess though that even though I enjoyed every song by him on Spotify the first time I heard it, what will send me back to his music is the way he sings his father’s songs.
You have to search around a little to find a Croce cover of Croce. Mostly you can see them on YouTube. A.J. has had a long career in the music business, and for most of it he has not played his father’s music.
But when he does, it lights up a special nostalgia pleasure center of your brain. His voice sounds much like his father’s voice. But curiously, A.J. Croce’s life has been so full of tragedy that his renditions of his father’s very moving songs is grittier, bluesier and more soulful.
Croce has had a hard life. It’s not just that his father died when he was about 2. He also lost his sight when he was 4, either because of physical abuse by his mother’s boyfriend or because of brain tumors, depending on whose version of the story you hear (he did regain vision in his left eye many years later).
When he was a teen, the home he’d lived in with his mother for a decade and a half burned down.
Two years ago, his wife of 24 years died from a heart virus. That happened at a time when he was preparing this new album; he found he just couldn’t get himself to sit and write new songs, and so he decided to do an album of all cover songs, all performed live with a band of his friends (all experienced blues musicians).
This is a man who has a right to sing the blues, and he does it beautifully. Go to YouTube and find the unplugged version of Croce and a friend singing his father’s “Time in a Bottle,” out in the backyard (a song that his father wrote when he learned his wife was pregnant with A.J.). You might never go back to the original version.
Or find the YouTube video of him performing his father’s “I’ve Got a Name.” It’s about living the dream that his daddy kept hid, as he moves on down the highway, past all the tragedy that time has tossed at him.
These performances stand alone, but they touch me more profoundly because they’re songs I’ve heard a thousand times, and now they sound new again to me. The voice is almost the same, but has more patina.
If the videos move and intrigue you, or if you want a different access point to A.J. Croce, watch two live performances hosted by The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington, Mass., on March 18 and 25.
The first concert is a debut outing for the new album, “By Request,” which is scheduled for release by Compass Records on Feb. 27.
The second Mahaiwe show, on March 25, will be Croce and his band playing songs from the 10 albums he’s released in the past 30 years. He does blues, jazz, soul and rock ‘n’ roll, but in his hands really everything has a bluesy quality.
Tickets for the two Mahaiwe online shows are $15 for a single performance or $25 for both. To order, go to www.mahaiwe.org.
Christian Murray
Caleb Shpur, a former Housatonic Valley Regional High School standout from East Canaan, has signed with the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball.
Shpur, an outfielder who played at Endicott College before finishing his college career at the University of Connecticut, said the opportunity came unexpectedly earlier this month.
“Out of nowhere, honestly,” Shpur, 24, said. “I was up in New Hampshire and my advisor called me and said the Tigers still had interest. The next day, they said they wanted to get me down for a physical.”
Within days, Shpur was in Florida at the Tigers’ training complex in Lakeland. After completing his physical, he was assigned to the Lakeland Flying Tigers, the organization’s Single-A affiliate.
His signing didn’t surprise his former coach.
“You could tell right away he had a feel for baseball,” said longtime Housatonic coach Darryl Morhardt, who coached Shpur for four years. “He wasn’t big as a freshman, but he just understood the game.”
Shpur didn’t start on varsity as a freshman, but by his sophomore year, he had earned a key role on a strong Housatonic varsity team that made a run in the state tournament.
“Caleb was ready,” Morhardt said. “He was hitting cleanup for us as a sophomore on a team that went to the semifinals.”
That season proved pivotal.
“My sophomore year, we made the semifinals for states, and that really pushed me to want to play in college,” Shpur said. “It lit a fire under me. I wanted to get back to that feeling of high-pressure baseball.”
By his senior year, Shpur had developed into a strong player. He hit over .400, stole 34 bases and committed just two errors all season, according to his coach.
“He just got better every year,” Morhardt said. “Every part of his game improved — hitting, defense, baserunning.”
After graduating, Shpur attended Endicott College in Massachusetts, where he emerged as one of the top players at the Division III level before transferring to the University of Connecticut.
At UConn, he elevated his game against Division I competition, hitting .358 with a .426 on-base percentage in his final year in 2025.
Despite that performance, Shpur went undrafted. As the months passed after college ended, he wasn’t sure another opportunity would come.
“I talked to the Tigers a lot during the draft process, but nothing really worked out,” he said.
Still, he stayed ready. He was working at a baseball training facility in New Hampshire, which made it easier for him to stay in shape. Now in Lakeland, Shpur is beginning to adjust to professional baseball.
“I’ve only played a couple games so far. Got my first hit, which was nice,” he said. “There’s a long way to go — still adjusting to high-level pitching.”
Shpur credits his time at Housatonic for shaping both his development and his love of the game.
“Having Coach Morhardt and that whole experience was awesome and really continued my love of baseball,” he said.
Now, he said his focus is simple.
“Just keep grinding,” Shpur said. “Take it day by day and hopefully do enough for them to see the potential and keep moving up.”
His family played a key role along the way.
“We put a lot of miles on the car, but it was worth it,” said his mother, Alicia Simonetti-Shpur, a teacher at Cornwall Consolidated School, where Caleb attended.
She recalled his early dedication to the sport, often playing on multiple teams at once — including Cornwall Consolidated, North Canaan Little League and a club team in Thomaston — and spending hours practicing at home.
“He would constantly throw the wiffle ball against the house with his brother; he would do it again and again,” she said.
Ruth Epstein
Housatonic Valley Regional High School students participate in the Troutbeck Symposium, April 23.
AMENIA – History came alive during the fifth annual Troutbeck Symposium on Thursday, April 23, as local middle and high school students showcased original projects, many highlighting Indigenous and Black history rooted in their communities. The event drew a large audience and participants from the Northwest Corner and neighboring New York.
Robin Starr, a Black Revolutionary War veteran with roots in the Northwest Corner, was the focus of several projects. Students from Housatonic Valley Regional High School (HVRHS) presented a video about Starr titled “The Cost of Liberty,” while seventh graders from Cornwall Consolidated School (CCS) presented findings from their study, “Who We Choose to Remember.”
Yarosh Semenov, a student from CCS, said, “We choose to remember Robin Starr and his family because their contributions were essential to securing the freedom we hold so dear.”
CCS students believe Starr is buried in Cornwall’s Calhoun Cemetery in an unmarked grave alongside his son Abel and grandson Josiah, both of whom have aging gravestones. Starr’s wife and son Jack are also buried there, but without stone markers, students said. Students have been working with several adults to make three additional stones a reality.
Students also approached Cornwall town officials about designating Feb. 8 as Robin Starr Day to commemorate the day of his death and legacy. They will share their story at the Memorial Day celebration , and a board depicting their work will be displayed at the Cornwall Historical Society.
While Starr’s legacy anchored several presentations, students also examined a wider range of topics linking local history to broader themes of race, identity and education.
Among several entries from Hotchkiss School students was one exploring the connection between the private preparatory school and Hampton University, one of the nation’s historically Black colleges and universities in Virginia. Hotchkiss students have donated money to the college to support its work examining Black education.
A Berkshire School student spoke about a controversial issue in her hometown of Great Barrington, Mass., where residents held differing views about a street named Squaw Peak Road. In 2022, the town voted to rename it Woodland Hill Road after concerns that the original name was a racist and sexist slur against Indigenous people.
A long-held belief was challenged in a video produced by HVRHS students titled “Searching for Chief Waramaug,” which examines local Native American legends, including that of Princess Lillinonah.
The story recounts the legend of Princess Lillinonah, who in the 1700s fell in love with a white man. He stayed with her in New Milford until winter, then left, promising to return. When he did not, her father arranged for her to marry within the tribe. Before the wedding, Lillinonah set out in a canoe toward the Great Falls to take her own life. At the last moment, her lover returned and leapt into the water so they would perish together.
“It never happened,” declared Darlene Kascak, education director at the American Institute of American Indian Studies. “It was fabricated. It was a Romeo and Juliet story; a way white colonizers depicted Native Americans. They romanticized Indigenous people who endured racism in order to impose Western standards.”
HVRHS students also shared a video about the two summers Martin Luther King Jr. spent in Simsbury working on a tobacco farm. He was there in 1944 and 1947 and later credited that time with planting the seed for a career in divinity. He was invited to sing in a church choir and was amazed that he, as a Black person, was welcomed into a white congregation.
Salisbury School students submitted a video on midwifery and one about Austin Reed, a Black indentured servant who spent most of his life in prison. Reed wrote a memoir in the 1850s that is considered to be the earliest known prison memoir by an African-American writer.
An expert panel of educators – including Hasan Kwame Jeffries, associate professor of history at The Ohio State University and brother of Hakeem Jeffries; Christina Proenza-Cole, lecturer for American Studies at the University of Virginia; and Wunneanatsu Lamb-Cason, assistant director of Native American and Indigenous Studies Initiative at Brown University – discussed the highlights of each presentation.
Troutbeck is historic in its own right – a 45-acre estate and hotel built in 1765. Originally a private home, it became a retreat for literary figures such as Emerson and Thoreau. Under Col. Joel Spingarn, it evolved into a gathering space for civil rights activists including W. E.B. Du Bois, Sinclair Lewis and Langston Hughes.
Aly Morrissey
The Sharon Playhouse is alerting theatergoers to purchase tickets directly through its website or box office, as the venue responds to a rise in third-party scams.
SHARON — The Sharon Playhouse is warning theatergoers ahead of its 2026 season to avoid third-party ticket sellers after scams surfaced during last year’s record-breaking run.
Officials said tickets for MainStage and YouthStage shows are only available through the Sharon Playhouse website or box office and will not cost more than $55.
The issue extends beyond Sharon. Regional venues, including the Warner Theater in Torrington and Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, report similar problems with third-party sellers inflating prices or distributing fraudulent tickets.
Scams have typically taken two forms, Playhouse officials said, including legitimate tickets resold at inflated prices – sometimes up to five times the face value – and entirely fake tickets.
“We’re on the radar now,” joked Artistic Director Carl Andress, pointing to the theater’s surge in attendance in recent years. The Playhouse saw the highest overall attendance in its history last year, a factor leaders believe is contributing to scam activity.
Michael Baldwin, the Playhouse’s Education and Community Director, said the consequences fall hardest on customers.
“We’re thrilled that we are selling more tickets – and even selling out,” Baldwin said. “But if someone purchased a fraudulent ticket last year, there were times when we didn’t have another ticket to offer them.”
To combat the issue, the Playhouse will begin scanning tickets for the first time in its history. Previously, ushers looked at tickets and directed people to their seats.
The problem is exacerbated by third-party ticket sellers with larger marketing budgets, often dominating online search results through paid ads.
“It’s a constant challenge we’re working on from a marketing standpoint,” said Lynette Shy of Confluence Arts Solutions, the Playhouse’s marketing partner. She noted that patrons frequently believe they are purchasing directly from a venue when they are not.
Despite efforts to counter misleading listings, the Playhouse said its budget simply can’t keep up.
“These people have a lot more resources than nonprofit performing arts groups,” Shy said.
Some resellers purchase tickets in bulk and relist them at higher prices, she said, adding that efforts to monitor suspicious sales are ongoing but scammers are “getting smarter and smarter.”
At Bushnell, Chief Operating Officer and Vice President of Marketing Stephanie Fried said the impact can deter audiences entirely.
When theatergoers see prices inflated far beyond what they should be, Fried said, many simply walk away without realizing affordable tickets are available directly from the venue. In some cases, she said, seasoned scammers use tactics like countdown clocks or misleading inventory lists to create a sense of urgency.
“In every one of these scenarios, the patron trusted a process, acted in good faith, and was harmed,” Fried said. “Every Connecticut consumer deserves honest, transparent access to tickets for the events they want to attend.”
Early signs suggest the problem is continuing into the upcoming Sharon Playhouse season, prompting staff to get ahead of the problem. Warnings are being posted on the Sharon Playhouse website, e-mail communications and social media.
“We want to keep selling out,” Andress said. “But we want our customers to have the best experience and pay the prices that we actually charge.”
Tickets for the 2026 season can be purchased at sharonplayhouse.org or in person at the box office.
Sharon Playhouse 2026 Season
The Playhouse has aligned its 2026 MainStage programming to coincide with America’s 250th anniversary.
“The 2026 season reflects the heart of America,” Andress said. “Stories of hope in hard times, generosity in moments of crisis, and joy created through music, laughter, and community.”
The season kicks off with the high-energy star-spangled musical hit, Swingtime Canteen on June 19, followed by the ultimate Broadway fairytale, 42nd Street, and continues with the Tony Award–winning musical Come From Away through September 27.
The theater’s YouthStage lineup is not to be missed, with dozens of local children and familiar faces taking the stage in Pooh’s Parade, Matilda, Jr., Big Bad, Shrek Kids, and Zombie Prom, the second annual pre-professional Launchpad Company production featuring local teens.
Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.
Lakeville Journal
Legal Notice
The Planning & Zoning Commission of the Town of Salisbury will hold a Public Hearing on Special Permit Application #2026-0312 by owner Claudia Pacicco Remley for detached apartment on a single-family residential lot at 80 Rocky Lane, Salisbury, Map 66, Lot 28 per Section 208 of the Salisbury Zoning Regulations. The hearing will be held on Monday, May 4, 2026 at 6:45 PM. There is no physical location for this meeting. This meeting will be held virtually via Zoom where interested persons can listen to & speak on the matter. The application, agenda and meeting instructions will be listed at www.salisburyct.us/agendas/. The application materials will be listed at www.salisburyct.us/planning-zoning-meeting-documents/. Written comments may be submitted to the Land Use Office, Salisbury Town Hall, 27 Main Street, P.O. Box 548, Salisbury, CT or via email to landuse@salisburyct.us. Paper copies of the agenda, meeting instructions, and application materials may be reviewed Monday through Thursday between the hours of 8:00 AM and 3:30 PM at the Land Use Office, Salisbury Town Hall, 27 Main Street, Salisbury CT.
Salisbury Planning & Zoning Commission
Robert Riva, Secretary
04-23-26
04-30-26
NOTICE OF ANNUAL TOWN BUDGET MEETING TOWN OF SALISBURY
WEDNESDAY, MAY 13, 2026 - HYBRID MEETING 7:30P.M.
The electors and others entitled to vote in Town meetings of the Town of Salisbury, Connecticut, are hereby warned that the Annual Budget meeting of said Town will be held in person and via Zoom on Wednesday, May 13, 2026 at 7:30 p.m. at Salisbury Town Hall, 27 Main Street, Salisbury, Connecticut for the following purposes:
1. To act upon the budget and any supplements thereto for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026, which budget has been prepared and recommended by the Board of Finance; said budget is available for inspection at the Town Clerk’s office immediately.
2. To act upon the following items, which are customarily considered at the Annual Budget meeting for approval:
a. To authorize the Board of Selectmen to borrow any sums of money they deem necessary to meet the Town’s indebtedness and current or authorized expenditures, and to execute and deliver the Town’s obligations therefore;
b. To see if the First Selectman will deliver on behalf of the Town all documents that may be necessary for carrying out any of the items in the budget.
c. To see if the Town will authorize the Board of Selectmen to accept and expend any funds allocated to the Town of Salisbury by the Connecticut Department of Transportation for repairs and maintenance of roads and bridges during the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026 and extending to June 30, 2027, as recommended by the Board of Finance; and
d. To authorize the Board of Finance to transfer funds from surplus to cover shortages in various line items in the 2025-2026 budget.
3. To consider and act upon a resolution to set Wednesday, February 17, 2027, as the date for the Annual Town Meeting.
4. To consider and act upon a resolution to set Wednesday, May 12, 2027 as the date for the Annual Budget Meeting
5. To consider and act upon the adoption of an ordinance providing that sealed bidding will not be required for contracts or purchases having a value less than $35,000. A copy of the proposed ordinance will be available for inspection in the Office of the Town Clerk prior to the meeting.
Dated at Salisbury, Connecticut this 24th day of April, 2026. Curtis G. Rand, First Selectman
Barrett Prinz, Selectman Katherine Kiefer, Selectman
Join the webinar: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81009998770?pwd=Zy8dNVm0... Webinar ID: 810 0999 8770
Passcode:200239 Join via audio:
+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)
04-30-26
05-07-26
NOTICE OF ORDINANCE
TOWN OF SHARON
The Town of Sharon at Town Meeting held on April 16 th, 2026, voted to adopt the Ordinance pertaining to join the Northwest Resource Recovery Authority.
The full text of this ordinance is on file with the Sharon Town Clerk, where a copy can be obtained.
This document is prepared for the benefit of the public, solely for the purposes of information, summarization and explanation. This document does not represent the intent of the legislative body of the Town of Sharon for any purpose. (CGS - 157).
This change to take effect fifteen days from publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the Town of Sharon. 04-22-26
Submitted by:
Bianca DelTufo
Sharon Town Clerk
04-30-26
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
ESTATE OF IVAN POLLAK
Late of Cornwall
(26-00132)
The Hon. Jordan M. Richards, Judge of the Court of Probate, District of Litchfield Hills Probate Court, by decree dated April 7, 2026, ordered that all claims must be presented to the fiduciary at the address below. Failure to promptly present any such claim may result in the loss of rights to recover on such claim.
The fiduciary is:
Susan Linder
c/o Tatiana Michelle Fonsec Dasil VA, Cohen and Wolf, P.C., 1115 Broad Street, Bridgeport, CT 06604
Megan M.Foley
Clerk
04-30-26
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
ESTATE OF
JOSEPH H. ELLIS
Late of Cornwall
(26-00050)
The Hon. Jordan M. Richards, Judge of the Court of Probate, District of Litchfield Hills Probate Court, by decree dated April 7, 2026, ordered that all claims must be presented to the fiduciary at the address below. Failure to promptly present any such claim may result in the loss of rights to recover on such claim.
The fiduciary is:
Matthew J. Allain
c/o Leo Wealth, LLC
379 Thomall Street
Floor 9, Suite 9
Edison, NJ 08837
Megan M.Foley
Clerk
04-30-26
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
ESTATE OF
AUSTIN HOWARD BARNEY
Late of Sharon
(26-00031)
The Hon. Jordan M. Richards, Judge of the Court of Probate, District of Litchfield Hills Probate Court, by decree dated April 9, 2026, ordered that all claims must be presented to the fiduciary at the address below. Failure to promptly present any such claim may result in the loss of rights to recover on such claim.
The fiduciaries are:
Darlene Melody Harzdog
c/o Edward G Mcananey
Mcananey & Mcananey
219 Suffield Villge
Suffield, CT 06078
Margaret Ann Gdovin
c/o Edward G Mcananey
Mcananey & Mcananey
219 Suffield Villge
Suffield, CT 06078
Megan M.Foley
Clerk
04-30-26
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
ESTATE OF
GRACE M. MILLER
Late of North Canaan
(26-00175)
The Hon. Jordan M. Richards, Judge of the Court of Probate, District of Litchfield Hills Probate Court, by decree dated April 16, 2026, ordered that all claims must be presented to the fiduciary at the address below. Failure to promptly present any such claim may result in the loss of rights to recover on such claim.
The fiduciary is:
Richard E. Miller
c/o Linda M Patz
Drury, Patz & Citrin, LLP
7 Church Street
P.O. Box 101
Canaan, CT 06018
Megan M.Foley
Clerk
04-30-26
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
ESTATE OF
RALPH H. STANTON, JR
Late of North Canaan
(26-00120)
The Hon. Jordan M. Richards, Judge of the Court of Probate, District of Litchfield Hills Probate Court, by decree dated April 16, 2026, ordered that all claims must be presented to the fiduciary at the address below. Failure to promptly present any such claim may result in the loss of rights to recover on such claim.
The fiduciary is:
Patricia G. Stanton
c/o Emily D Vail
Vail & Vail, LLC
5 Academy Street
PO Box 568
Salisbury, CT 06068
Megan M.Foley
Clerk
04-30-26
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
ESTATE OF
CHARLES J. LEMMEN
Late of North Canaan
AKA Charles Jerome Lemmen
(26-00092)
The Hon. Jordan M. Richards, Judge of the Court of Probate, District of Litchfield Hills Probate Court, by decree dated April 14, 2026, ordered that all claims must be presented to the fiduciary at the address below. Failure to promptly present any such claim may result in the loss of rights to recover on such claim.
The fiduciary is:
Nicola Whitley
c/o Stephen K Gellman
Shipman & Goodwin LLP,
One Constitution Plaza
Hartford, CT 06103
Megan M.Foley
Clerk
04-30-26
WARNING
ANNUAL TOWN MEETING - TOWN OF SHARON
MAY 8, 2026
The legal voters of the Town of Sharon and those entitled to vote in meetings of said Town are hereby warned and notified that the Annual Town Meeting concerning the budget and other items of said Town, will be held at the Sharon Town Hall, 63 Main Street, on Friday, May 8, 2026 at 6:00 PM for the following purposes:
1. To see what action the Town will take for the fiscal year commencing July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027, regarding the following, as approved by the Board of Finance:
a. To adopt the annual budget of the Town of Sharon. Copies are available at Town Hall and on the Website
2. To see what action the Town will take for the fiscal year commencing July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027 regarding the following as approved by the Board of Finance:
a. To authorize the acceptance and expenditure of TOWN AID ROAD funds for the maintenance, construction and reconstruction of our Town roads and bridges.
b. To authorize expenditures of up to $31,120.00 from the Sharon Cemetery Fund.
c. To authorize the acceptance and expenditure of any state, federal or other funds or grants for educational purposes.
d. To authorize the expenditure of up to $1,000.00 in interest from the Virginia Brown Fund for Nature’s Classroom.
e. To authorize the acceptance and expenditure of any funds or grants for general municipal purposes.
f. To authorize the expenditures of up to $5,000.00 from the 67 Main Street Account for general maintenance of that building.
g. To authorize the expenditures of up to $349,455.00 from the Equipment Replacement Account for a John Deere Backhoe ($157,776); Ford F-600 ($118,299); Ford-150 ($49,120); Utility Trailer ($10,820); Landscape Trailer ($5,095); and Snow Plow ($8,345).
3. To see what action the Town will take to adopt the proposed Five-Year Capital Improvement Plan, as approved by the Board of Finance. Copies are available at the Town Hall and on the Website.
Dated at Sharon, Connecticut this 28th of April 2026.
SELECTMEN OF THE TOWN OF SHARON
Casey T. Flanagan
Lynn S. Kearcher
John G. Brett
04-30-26
Lakeville Journal
2012 Audi Q5: Original owner, 88,500 miles, no accidents, everything works! always garaged, $7500, OBO! 860-435-2065.
PART-TIME CARE-GIVER NEEDED: possibly LIVE-IN. Bright private STUDIO on 10 acres. Queen Bed, En-Suite Bathroom, Kitchenette & Garage. SHARON 407-620-7777.
Jay’s Lawn Care is hiring full and Part-time: lawn maintenance employees. Experience operating Scag mowing equipment and ability to drive truck and trailer is needed. Salary dependent on experience. Call 860-824-0053 to schedule an interview.
Town of Cornwall Hiring: The Town of Cornwall has a fulltime job opening for Highway Department Maintainer. For more details and to apply, contact first Selectmen’s office 860-672-4959.
TOWN OF SHARON HELP WANTED: Land Use Administrator - Full-time, salary range of $57,020-$71,275, depending on experience, plus benefits (some starting after one year). Responsible for coordinating,managing, and processing all proposals for land development in the town. Qualifications: High school diploma or GED (Associates Degree Preferred) with 4 years increasingly responsible work experience preferably in administrative work, public contact, field of land use and municipal government, or any equivalent combination and experience. For full job description, see the Town of Sharon Website (sharonct.gov) or contact the Selectmen’s Office at 860-364-5789. Applications and resumes are to be received in the Selectmen’s Office, P. O. Box 385, Sharon, CT 06069 by 4:00PM May 8, 2026. The Town of Sharon is an equal opportunity employer.
Wyantenuck Country Club seeks a Sous Chef: Benefits Available. Work in a beautiful setting with a great team. Please email brandon@wyantenuck.org or call 413-528-0350.
TOWN OF SHARON HELP WANTED: Building Official - Full-time, salary range of $72,000-$90,000, depending on experience, plus benefits (starting after one year). Responsible for administering and enforcing the State of CT Building Code in the town. Qualifications: Associates Degree or Advanced Technical Courses related to building construction and/or design and over five years increasingly responsible experience in supervising the construction or design of buildings or any equivalent combination of education, training and experience to meet the State Certification requirements. Required to have or obtain State Certified Building Official License. For full job description, see the Town of Sharon Website (sharonct.gov) or contact the Selectmen’s Office at 860-364-5789. Applications and resumes are to be received in the Selectmen’s Office, P. O. Box 385, Sharon, CT 06069 by 4:00PM May 8, 2026. The Town of Sharon is an equal opportunity employer.
TOWN OF SHARON HELP WANTED: Fire Marshal - Part-time, salary range of $20,000-$25,000, depending on experience. Responsible for the fire code enforcement, fire investigation, inspections, permitting and public safety education in the town. Qualifications: Associates Degree or Advanced Technical Courses, and over five years increasingly responsible experience in a fire department or related inspection experience. Required to have or obtain State Fire Marshal Certification. For full job description, see the Town of Sharon Website (sharonct.gov) or contact the Selectmen’s Office at 860-364-5789. Applications and resumes are to be received in the Selectmen’s Office, P. O. Box 385, Sharon, CT 06069 by 4:00 PM May 8, 2026. The Town of Sharon is an equal opportunity employer.
Wyantenuck Country Club is seeking staff for the 2026 season: Want to work in a beautiful setting with a great team? Full and Part-Time employment available. Positions Available: Bartenders, Dishwashers, Line Cooks, Waitstaff. Please email brandon@wyantenuck.org or call 413-528-0350.
GARDENING: Spring and Fall Cleanup and Stone W alls. 845-444-4492.
Highly Skilled Caretaker/Gardener: Available. Mature, experienced manager of estates and small farms seeks a position with housing on a local property in Sharon-Lakeville-Salisbury area. Extensive background in horticulture-able to operate all types of machinery. Well versed in all aspects of building and property maintenance and care. Able to work without supervision-honest and reliable. Please call Martin at 646- 599-0773. Thanks.
Hector Pacay Landscaping and Construction LLC: Fully insured. Renovation, decking, painting; interior exterior, mowing lawn, garden, stone wall, patio, tree work, clean gutters, mowing fields. 845-636-3212.
PUBLISHER’S NOTICE: Equal Housing Opportunity.All real estate advertised in this newspaper is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1966 revised March 12, 1989 which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation, or discriminationbased on race, color religion, sex, handicap or familial status or national origin or intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination. All residential property advertised in the State of Connecticut General Statutes 46a-64c which prohibit the making, printing or publishing or::causing to be made, printed or published any notice, statement or advertisement with respect to the sale or:rental of a dwelling that indicates any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, marital status, age, lawfulsource of income, familial status, physical or mental disability or an intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination.
Gorgeous 1300 sq ft 2 bedroom apartment: on Main St. in Sheffield MA. Vaulted ceilings power skylights marble bathroom with jacuzzi tub cherry oak and tile floors rear deck. $2700 per month includes heat electric and high speed internet. Call 413-429-7477.
Millerton, rural, newly renovated house: 2 bedroom, split air heat/a/c system, dishwasher,decks, views, pets considered. $2650 plus utilities. Call 518-567-8277.
Alec Linden
Sharon resident Veronica Betts posts flyers around Sharon to raise support for Sharon Center School.
SHARON – In a last-ditch effort to avoid a proposed $70,000 cut to the Sharon Center School’s 2026-27 budget, local parents are mobilizing – packing meetings, posting flyers and warning that reductions could undermine the school’s future. Sharon resident Veronica Betts plastered the town with posters earlier this week, urging residents to attend town meetings to voice support for the Board of Education, which determines the SCS budget.
“We shouldn’t be talking about defunding the school,” said Betts, who has a young daughter en- rolled in Sharon Daycare, part of SCS. “These are kids, this is so short-sighted and ridiculous.” The cuts, if adopted, could affect the staff salary line, supplies and even the cafeteria, which would require premade lunches to be delivered from HVRHS.
With a daughter at Sharon Daycare, Betts said her hope is to stay in the public school, but if support isn’t given to SCS, she and her family are considering a move to Indian Mountain School, the Lakeville-based pre-kindergarten through ninth grade private school where tuition ranges from $31,250 to $88,385.
Meghan Kenny, whose children are fourth-generation students at SCS, said she worries about the future of the school. An avid supporter of SCS, Kenny said she has seen some improvements between the BOE and the parent-teacher organization, but noted, “these proposed cuts represent a step in the wrong direction.”
She said the proposed 0% budget increase has driven her to start looking for property in nearby Salisbury to send her children to a different school. Kenny and Betts also spoke out at a packed Town Hall on Friday night, April 24, where local parents voiced nearly unified support for more funding in the elementary school budget.
The meeting was intended as the hearing for both the school and municipal budgets, but its nearly two-hour runtime was almost entirely dedicated to reviewing the BOE’s 2026-27 spending plan, which was subject to a last minute cut of $70,000 by the BOF to keep the bottom line flat from last year. If approved, it will be the fifth straight year of zero increase to the BOE’s budget.
Due to a state law known as the minimum budget requirement or MBR, towns in Connecticut are not allowed to spend less on education than any previous year. The BOF has repeatedly stated the rationale for keeping the bottom line flat is to keep the MBR stable. BOF member John Hecht defended the cuts during Friday’s hearing stating that the per pupil amount, totaling some $48,000, is the highest in the state and third highest in the country.
Still, residents were not swayed.
“Who cares,” said William Betts of the per pupil costs, affirming that his motivation as a taxpayer is to invest in education. He advocated to put funding back into arts and school supplies lines which had been cut, saying the arts are often the first to go when budgets are trimmed. “I think we have to rethink that,” he said.
BOE Chair Phillip O’Reilly and BOE member Peter Birnbaum said that the reality of the school’s student body and environment is not reflected by the per pupil costs, which don’t account for tuition students, of which there are projected to be 14 next year, or the 60 daycare students that use the school’s facilities. “We need to understand that Sharon Center School is more than K-8 – we have a daycare,” O’Reilly said.
SCS Principal Carol Tomkalski, who pushed back on the cuts, said students’ needs are “broad” and “complex,” which also accounts for the high per pupil cost, noting that approximately 18-20% of students have disabilities. Further, “we support our students as whole children,” she said, noting that the cost “is not inefficiency, it is investment.”
Still, both Tomalski and O’Reilly stated that they are confident that students will receive the education and services they need with the proposed budget. Parents remained wary, though, and many spoke out in favor of reinvesting funds into the budget and bringing it back above the MBR.
Community activist Jill Drew has been openly outspoken in past years about raising the budget beyond the flatline, and reaffirmed that opinion Friday evening. “We have a very special school and the costs are high,” she said, saying that with rising operational costs across the region, a flat budget for next year doesn’t make sense. She requested the BOF to allow the BOE to return to its budget before the required $70,000 cut.
The vast majority of the public testimony followed a similar sentiment. “I haven’t heard a rationale for why [the budget increase] is zero,” said Nancy Birnbaum. “It seems like everyone who’s spoken wants an increase,” she said.
Several days after the hearing, BOF Chair Thomas Bartram said that while he understands the concerns of parents and residents and appreciated the public engagement, many who spoke on Friday night seemed to lack context on the BOF’s decision to flatline the MBR.
“Several years ago, we put capital expenditures for the school building in the Board of Education budget, which was in essence a mistake on our part,” he said.
Since then, the BOE has been operating on an “inflated” budget due to that capital that was included, and the MBR which doesn’t allow the removal of funds from the previous year’s education budget. He said that the tone of Friday’s hearing departed from previous years, where residents this year have been more scrutinizing of education spending and SCS’s per pupil costs. The BOF’s goal was to account for what it thought was taxpayer concerns while supporting an operable budget for the school.
“It is the belief of the majority of the Board of Finance that the budget they presented is what they can run on,” he said.
The Board of Finance is expected to review whether there is any feasible way to shift available funding into the Board of Education operating budget, including tuition revenue currently included in the Board of Selectmen budget or savings from the regional school assessment, which is lower than last year’s.
Bartram said that while he awaits the outcome, both options are essentially “not spendable” money under normal circumstances as they come in the form of credit or grants that don’t impact bottom lines.
He said that the conversation of where tuition funding goes is a worthy one moving forward, though, as the school accepts more non-resident students. In previous years, he said, the number was much lower than this year’s proposed $41,000, or even zero.
Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.
Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.
