Secretary of State Stephanie Thomas came to Cornwall Thursday, Feb. 13, to present the town with the Democracy Cup for garnering the highest voter turnout in the November 2024 election at 90.46%. From left: Selectman Rocco Botto, Secretary of State Stephanie Thomas, Democratic Registrar of Voters Jayne Ridgway, Republican Registrar of Voters Brittany Mosimann, Selectman Jennifer Markow, State Sen. Stephen Harding, R-30, First Selectman Gordon M. Ridgway and State Rep. Maria Horn, D-64.
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Housatonic volleyball opens season with Torrington scrimmage
Riley Klein
Sep 08, 2026
The HVRHS varsity team celebrates a point.
Riley Klein
TORRINGTON — Housatonic Valley Regional High School’s girls volleyball team traveled to Torrington Monday, Aug. 31, for the first on-court competition of the season.
Torrington High School hosted HVRHS for an afternoon of scrimmages in Cornelius E. Donahue Gymnasium before the start of the regular season. First the junior varsity squads faced off for two sets, then the varsity teams played three sets.
The opening JV sets served as an introduction to the sport for some of the younger players. With the guidance of their coaches and the referees, both teams learned essential volleyball protocols including how to sub on and off the court, how to rotate after a side‑out and the correct positioning rules during serves.
Torrington’s passionate fans fueled momentum in long scoring runs and propelled the home team to 25-15, 25-11 wins in the two JV sets.
The varsity teams then took the court. Both squads featured a core of four seniors:Sydney Howe, Kenzsi Watson, Lydia Fleming and Kellie Esiermann for HVRHS, and Aaliyah Quintero, Jasmile Ruiz, Fiona Ramadani and Kailyn Castillo for Torrington.

HVRHS opened the first varsity set with an 8-3 lead behind a serving run from Howe. Torrington answered when Quintero took over as the server, pushing ahead 15-11. The set tightened at 15, then swung back and forth through seven ties and six lead changes before Torrington edged out a 26-24 win.
Torrington’s football team filed into the stands after concluding an afternoon practice, providing a boost to the crowd.
With the noise behind them, Torrington raced out to a 12-2 lead. Watson steadied HVRHS with a strong serving stretch, but Torrington maintained control and closed out the set 25-11.
The final set was shortened to 15 points, but it still produced a handful of sharp, extended rallies. HVRHS kept pace early, yet Torrington remained consistent and closed out the match with a 15-8 win.
HVRHS was scheduled to start the regular season with a three-stop road stretch in Waterbury Sept. 8, Woodbury Sept. 15 and Terryville Sept. 18. The team’s home opener has been scheduled for Monday, Sept. 21, at 5:15 p.m. against Lakeview High School.
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First Friday music series features Connecticut premiere
Patrick L. Sullivan
Sep 08, 2026
Vocalist Alison Gish Jenkins, who sings in the low contralto range, and pianist Melody Fader performed Samuel Barber’s “Hermit Songs” (1953) and Samuel Butler’s “Stabat Mater” (2025) at the Congregational Church of Salisbury on Friday, Sept. 4.
The performance was part of the church’s First Friday Music series, which presents 30-minute concerts at noon on the first Friday of each month.
The church’s music director, David Baranowski, said it was only the second time Butler’s piece had been performed.
“And it’s the Connecticut premiere,” Jenkins added.
Jenkins, who lives in West Hurley, New York, has performed at the church before. It was Fader’s first visit to Salisbury from her home in Brooklyn.
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Sharon to mark 25th anniversary of Sept. 11 attacks
Christian Murray
Sep 08, 2026
SHARON — Twenty-five years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks killed nearly 3,000 people, the Sharon Fire Department will bring the community together to remember the victims, first responders, and families whose lives were forever changed that day.
The department will hold a community remembrance Friday, Sept. 11, at the Sharon firehouse, 36 West Main St. An open house will begin at 4 p.m. with a firetruck display and activities for children.
The memorial program will begin at 5 p.m. Fire Chief Brian Moore will welcome those attending, followed by a prayer from the Rev. Dr. Anna Crews Camphouse of Sharon United Methodist Church and a recitation of the Fireman’s Prayer.
Former Fire Chief Tom Bartram will lead a two-minute silence. Remarks will be offered by former Fire Chief Todd Anderson and Brian Ross, the veteran investigative journalist who worked at ABC News and is on the LJMN board, which oversees The Lakeville Journal.
Residents have been invited to submit written remembrances of Sept. 11. The Sharon Historical Society will preserve the accounts, creating a local record of how the community remembers the attacks and their immediate aftermath.
The event will be held rain or shine and is open to all.
The Sharon observance is among ceremonies planned across Connecticut to mark the 25th anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and United Airlines Flight 93.
Of the 2,977 people killed in the attacks, 161 lived in or had ties to Connecticut, according to Gov. Ned Lamont’s office. Their names are engraved on the state’s 9/11 memorial at Sherwood Island State Park in Westport.
At least 14 victims had connections to the greater Litchfield County area, according to a 2006 Connecticut Insider retrospective. The publication used a broad regional definition that included current and former residents, part-time residents, graduates of local schools, and people whose families lived in the area.
Among them was James Gadiel, 23, a Kent native and graduate of Kent Center School and Housatonic Valley Regional High School. Gadiel worked for Cantor Fitzgerald on the 103rd floor of the World Trade Center’s North Tower.
A memorial outside Kent Town Hall honors Gadiel and the other victims of the attacks. The town will hold a commemorative service at 8:30 a.m. Sept. 11 at Town Hall, 41 Kent Green Blvd., according to the town’s official calendar.
Christoffer M. Carstanjen, who grew up in Sharon, was also killed. A 1981 graduate of Sharon Center School and a 1985 graduate of Housatonic Valley Regional High School, Carstanjen was working as a computer specialist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst at the time of his death. He was a passenger aboard United Airlines Flight 175, which was hijacked and flown into the World Trade Center’s South Tower.
Susan Getzendanner, 58, a vice president at Fiduciary Trust Co., was a part-time Salisbury resident who spent time at a cottage on Mount Riga. She was killed in the World Trade Center.
Two graduates of The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, David M. Berray, 39, and Todd Pitman, 30, also died at the World Trade Center.
Other victims identified by Connecticut Insider had ties to Goshen, Litchfield, Winsted, and Woodbury.
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Falls Village voters approve school technology funding
Patrick L. Sullivan
Sep 08, 2026
Patrick L. Sullivan
FALLS VILLAGE — Voters approved funding for a technology upgrade at Lee H. Kellogg School and consolidated funding for engineering work on Cobble Road during a 13-minute town meeting Wednesday, Sept. 2.
The school will receive up to $4,879 for a Promethean ActivPanel to replace the pull-down screen and projector currently used for presentations.
School office administrator Laurie Wadsworth said the portable interactive display works with the school’s Chromebooks and will also be available for community use. Voters approved the appropriation unanimously, 13-0.
Voters also agreed to place $55,000 previously budgeted for an engineering study of the small bridge and culvert at Cobble Road and Undermountain Road into the same account as state grant funding for replacement of the larger Cobble Road bridge over the Hollenbeck River near Route 63.
First Selectman Dave Barger said the change would keep all funding for the Cobble Road projects in one place. When moderator Lou Timolat asked whether the request was purely administrative, Barger said it was.
That motion also passed unanimously.
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Let's Hear It - September 10, 2026
Lakeville Journal
Sep 08, 2026
This Week
The annual Litchfield County Housing Affordability Summit, hosted by the Litchfield County Center for Housing Opportunity, brings together local leaders, advocates and housing organizations to share success stories, hear new ideas and learn about the opportunities surrounding affordable housing in the region.
With affordable housing a pressing issue across Litchfield County, we want to hear your ideas.
If you had $1 million to make a meaningful difference in housing affordability in your community, what would you do — whether it’s a new idea, a different approach to something already being tried or a way to make an existing effort work better?
Send your responses to social@lakevillejournal.com by Monday, Sept. 14 at 10 a.m. or comment on Facebook or Instagram.
We’ll publish a selection in next week’s paper.
Last Week’s Question
Should Lime Rock Park be allowed to host an annual drifting event?
“I don’t care for it but that don’t mean they can’t do it.”
— Bob Bloxsom
“Absolutely, LRP does a fantastic job of juggling community concerns while offering a genuine hub for car culture. GridLife brings lots of wonderful visitors to our humble shop. The automotive hobby is dominated by older folks, and GridLife is a great way to engage the young, up and coming automotive hobbyists who will inevitably carry the torch of car enthusiasm for years to come!”
— Autogalerie
“What most people do not understand about racetracks, is that they give a place for people to get their speed fix in a controlled environment. By allowing drift events at Lime Rock Park, it gives the chance to perform in a controlled environment off the streets. If anything there should be more than one event a year, one run by a local club to allow more grassroots people to have fun on a track.”
— William Fish
“Last time they had drifting, the cars speeding on residential streets were crazy.”
— Denice Harrington-Clapper
“As a former employee I will say that keeping the track’s neighbors happy is a high priority. The track closely monitors traffic and noise. It’s literally in a job description. The group that owns the track has roots in the area and are hardly low profile people. Of course there will be rubs, it’s a tricky balance.”
— Ax Pryor
“Yes, absolutely, events at Lime Rock bring so much more than just people to the track. Racers, fans/spectators visit local establishments, spend money at local parts stores, garages, gas stations and restaurants. It benefits the entire northwest corner when there are events at the track. I say let’s let Lime Rock have more events such as this.”
— Jason Zucco
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