In just nine years, the Kent Gingerbread Festival in Kent, Conn., has gone from being just fun to being quite a big deal. It’s one of the biggest gingerbread festivals in the region and has become a big draw to town, even in years when there’s a pandemic quarantine. This year, to make it easier to access the houses, the festival organizers used space in a retail area in the center of town owned by Rocco and Candi Valeri, that was converted for the holiday season to Gingerbread Station.
The cookie creations were on display for the month of December. Awards were announced Jan. 1; the judging this year was by state Rep. Maria Horn (D-64) and Jill Owens Zinzi, of Kent Coffee and Chocolate Co., described as “the mother of the Kent Gingerbread Festival herself.”
The grand prize winner this year was Brittany Hrabcsak, who has been an award winner in the festival for several years in a row now (for her first foray into gingerbread decoration she was young enough to qualify for the Youth Award). This year, Hrabcsak created Whoville from Dr. Seuss’ holiday tale, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”
Sue Hanneman won second place for her recreation of Rapunzel in her castle tower.
Third place was awarded to the Swyft restaurant team.
The people’s choice award went to Denise Howard, Teddie Miner, Cat Heidel, Karen Heuvel, and Janette Ireland.
“Social Media’s most loved creation” went to Isabel Carrington and Emily Creighton, whose post of their gingerbread Warner Theatre reached 19,200 followers and elicited 3,100 comments.
The Youth Award was won this year by Jordana Berman, Abby Berman and Alexander Berman, who recreated the Kent train station (now home to the Kent Station Pharmacy).
The prize for Most Realistic creation went to Tom Doyle, for building a fully edible cookie version of the exterior AND interior of Foreign Cargo.
Just starting out this year, the Salisbury, Conn., gingerbread festival and holiday decorating competition announced two winners at the end of December. Heidi Hoeller and Wanda Hoeller won the gingerbread contest with their Gingerville Ski Chalet; and the Hussey Family of Lakeville won first place in the Light Up Salisbury contest. Both contests were sponsored by the Salisbury Volunteer Ambulance and Salisbury Recreation.
Isabel Carrington and Emily Creighton not only know how to bake and decorate like pros, they also collected tens of thousands of views on social media for their cookie version of the Warner Theatre in Torrington, Conn. Photo by Melissa Roth Chernisk
Rapunzel and her tower were captured in cookies by Sue Hanneman, whose baking and decorating efforts won her second place in the Kent, Conn., Gingerbread Festival. Photo by Melissa Roth Chernisk
Farmland in the Northwest Corner, where family farms rely on Public Act 490 to keep land in agricultural use
The 2025 revised land-use values were compiled by the state Office of Policy and Management, in coordination with the Connecticut Department of Agriculture, using landowner survey data collected as part of the five-year update process — a methodology farmers and assessors later said produced distorted results because of low participation and uneven data.
Lamont’s action followed a Jan. 15 press conference at the State Capitol organized by Connecticut Senate Republicans, where lawmakers stood alongside farmers to call attention to sharp valuation increases proposed under the state’s farmland tax program.
Senate Minority Leader Stephen Harding, R-30, whose district includes much of the Northwest Corner, played a leading role in bringing the issue to the forefront, warning that the reassessment threatened the economic viability of family farms across rural Connecticut.
Following pressure from Harding, local farmers, and a petition with more than 20,000 signatures, the governor agreed to pause the new, higher valuations and revert to 2020 levels.
At the press conference, Harding said farmers in his district and across the state were facing projected assessment increases of hundreds — and in some cases thousands — of percent under new land-use values developed by the state.
“This isn’t about tax avoidance,” Harding said at the time. “This is about whether family farms can survive when the rules change overnight.”
Farmers attending the event echoed those concerns, saying sudden jumps in assessed values could translate into tax bills they could not absorb while continuing to operate.
State Sen. Stephen Harding, R-30, visited South Farms in Morris to speak with fourth-generation farmer Ben Paletsky, who is concerned about Connecticut farmland tax hikes and the state’s methodology for assessing farmland.Photo by Debra A. Aleksinas
The most controversial proposal would have increased the value of swamp land from $40 an acre to $970 an acre. That increase was later eliminated following public outcry, although other land categories in the new revaluation remained subject to significant tax hikes.
“Unforeseen lack of data” to blame
Lamont said in a statement, “Due to an unforeseen lack of data in establishing assessment values for these lands as required, significant increases in valuations occurred for the tax years beginning with the 2025 grand list.”
Only about 4% of the state’s farmers contributed survey data for the revaluation, according to state officials.
To address the problem, the governor directed OPM, in consultation with the Connecticut Department of Agriculture, to revoke the 2025 Recommended Land Use Values and Best Practices for farmland, forestland, open space and maritime heritage land, and reinstate the 2020 recommended land use values for these categories.
The governor also ordered immediate notification to all municipal tax assessors of the revocation and reinstatement, and mandated that a working group be convened in collaboration with the state department of agriculture, including representation from agricultural organizations, farmers, municipal leaders and assessors.
What triggered the concern?
The dispute centers on Public Act 490, the state law that allows farmland, forestland, and open space to be assessed for property tax purposes based on its current use rather than its fair-market value.
The law is intended to reduce pressure on landowners to sell to developers and to keep working landscapes intact.
Every five years, the state develops recommended land-use values that municipalities may use when setting assessments. In late 2025, updated values released by the Department of Agriculture and OPM would have significantly increased assessments in several farmland categories, prompting alarm from farmers and assessors alike.
Although the state revised the figures earlier this month after hearing concerns, many landowners said the updated numbers still represented dramatic increases.
In the Northwest Corner — where farms are often land-rich but cash-poor — farmers warned that higher assessments could limit reinvestment, complicate succession planning or push land toward subdivision or other non-agricultural uses.
Benjamin Freund of East Canaan said the proposed changes would have had a direct and immediate impact on his family’s farming operation, which comprises 455 acres enrolled under Connecticut’s farmland tax program.
“It would have impacted us, as we have all of our acres — minus the houses — under PA 490,” Freund said. “We have every land classification, from tillable acres to swamp and woodlands. PA 490 is a critical tax relief program that allows us to farm large tracts and be taxed according to the use. We could not afford to plant corn and have the same property tax as a house lot.”
Freund said his family has operated for decades under PA 490 and described the program as essential to keeping farmland in production in Connecticut.
“We could not farm in Connecticut without it.”
He said landowners are periodically surveyed to provide the raw data used to determine updated land values, but said low participation contributed to distorted results in the most recent valuation cycle.
“The Connecticut Farm Bureau recognized the issue and worked with the Department of Agriculture to address the concern.”
The third-generation Freund Farm, operated by Ben and Matt Freund, rents land and barns to Canaan View Dairy, operated by Ethan Arsenault, who owns the cows and grows the crops.
Jennifer Dubray, assessor for North Canaan, Kent and Sharon, said the governor’s action will not require changes to the current grand lists in those towns.
“The PA 490 values in those towns were all established using the latest values provided by the Office of Policy and Management at the time of their respective revaluations,” Dubray said. “In North Canaan, the revaluation took place in 2022 and utilized the 2020 values. For Kent and Sharon, the revaluations occurred in 2023, so the 2020 values were also used.”
“Consequently,” she said, “it will not be necessary to make any changes to the 2025 Grand List for these towns.”
Farmers’ input sought
In addition to directing OPM to immediately notify municipal assessors that the 2020 land-use values are back in effect, Lamont also ordered the creation of a working group that will include farmers, municipal officials, assessors, and state agencies to review the valuation process and recommend improvements before the next five-year reassessment cycle.
Harding said the governor’s action was an important first step but emphasized that longer-term reforms may be needed to ensure transparency and predictability.
“This pause gives farmers breathing room,” Harding said. “Now we need to make sure the system going forward reflects real-world farming conditions.
The Salisbury town crew out plowing and salting Monday morning.
Schools, municipal offices, churches and numerous community events were canceled or postponed through Monday as plowing operations continued and temperatures dropped into the single digits overnight.
Despite the severity of the storm, local officials said preparation efforts helped keep roads passable and emergency services operating — though many towns acknowledged the financial toll of repeated storms this winter.
“In December, we had seen as much snow as all of winter last year,” North Canaan First Selectman Jesse Bunce said Friday, before the storm arrived, citing conversations with his highway crew. “Our salt budget is getting thin, and costs like this are tough. But we have to do it no matter what happens. Public safety comes first.”
Bunce said the town had likely exceeded its snow-removal budget even before the weekend storm. Crews logged nearly 30 hours during the Jan. 17–18 weekend alone, he said, after back-to-back storms required repeated plowing and salting.
“A typical snowstorm might mean a four-hour route for our crews — three or four inches that stops overnight, allowing them to head out early in the morning,” Bunce said. “But when storms drag out, it really lengthens the work.”
North Canaan employs four full-time highway workers, with an additional employee on call for larger storms. Bunce said the town has some reserve funds and expects to shift money within the budget to cover overruns.
Falls Village First Selectman Dave Barger said his town is facing similar pressures.
“We will be over budget,” Barger said Friday. “We have used more salt this season than we used all last year — and we’re only halfway through the winter.”
Several officials pointed to a recent rain-to-freeze cycle as particularly costly, turning snow into inches of ice that required heavier treatment. Some towns adjusted their salt usage by mixing materials to conserve supplies. North Canaan, for example, has used a blend of roughly two-thirds salt and one-third sand, Bunce said. Salt currently costs about $120 per ton, compared to roughly $20 per ton for sand.
Kent First Selectman Eric Epstein said his town entered the storm well stocked and operationally ready. “The highway department has been busy and has gone through a lot of material this year,” Epstein said Friday. “We’ve had deliveries, we’re well stocked, and the trucks are in good shape. There has been an increase in costs, but so far, it’s within the budget. We’ll see if this pattern continues.”
Richard Tietjen, a sexton at the Salisbury Congregational Church, shoveled some 16 inches of snow from the church's front steps Monday morning, Jan. 26.By Patrick L Sullivan
Salisbury First Selectman Curtis Rand said Thursday that highway crews were prepared, while Sharon First Selectman Casey Flanagan also reported that his town had taken steps to be ready for prolonged snowfall and extreme cold.
Beyond road conditions, the storm triggered broader cold-weather planning at the state level.
On Wednesday, Jan. 21, Lamont’s office announced that Connecticut’s Cold Weather Protocol would go into effect ahead of the storm’s arrival, activating coordination between state agencies and municipalities.
The protocol is designed to protect vulnerable populations during periods of life-threatening cold, including arranging transportation to warming centers and shelters when needed. Residents seeking shelter were urged to visit 211ct.org or call 2-1-1 for assistance.
Municipalities also reached out directly to residents. The Town of Cornwall circulated an advisory email urging people to check on neighbors and vulnerable residents and reminding them of the town’s Storm Safety Check-In program, which provides advance notice of major weather events and wellness checks when necessary.
As crews continued plowing into Monday, local leaders said the storm underscored both the importance — and the growing cost — of winter preparedness.
"A year like this, with so much activity, it’s inevitable,” Bunce said. “We anticipate going over budget. But we’ll take it as it comes and keep the roads safe.”
With additional reporting by Patrick L Sullivan
