Demolition planned for ‘great old’ Grange Hall

NORTH CANAAN — For about a decade now, the town has owned the old Laurel Grange Hall on Route 44 in East Canaan. It was given to the town after the grange disbanded. Boy Scout Troop 22 has used it since, mostly for storage. A major problem there is the lack of a bathroom, or enough land to install a septic system. The lot is barely bigger than the footprint of the building, and it backs up against a steep hill. Those using the building have to park along the Route 44 shoulder and climb steep, crumbling steps to the front door. The property itself could not support even a small home under current building and zoning codes.The hall was described as “a great old building,” by the selectmen at their meeting Jan. 3, but one that has outlived its usefulness and that needs a lot of work. There seems to be no option other than demolition.The three abutting property owners have been contacted. The board said it would likely offer the property to one of them for $1, with the cost of demolishing the building their responsibility.Paul Vernali was the only one to express an interest. “It’s probably in our best interest and his to sell it to him. He would pay for the cost of demolition, if he decides to do that,” First Selectman Douglas Humes said.

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State intervenes in sale of Torrington Transfer Station

State intervenes in sale of Torrington Transfer Station

The entrance to Torrington Transfer Station.

Photo by Jennifer Almquist

TORRINGTON — Municipalities holding out for a public solid waste solution in the Northwest Corner have new hope.

An amendment to House Bill No. 7287, known as the Implementor Bill, signed by Governor Ned Lamont, has put the $3.25 million sale of the Torrington Transfer Station to USA Waste & Recycling on hold.

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Juneteenth and Mumbet’s legacy

Juneteenth and Mumbet’s legacy
Sheffield resident, singer Wanda Houston will play Mumbet in "1781" on June 19 at 7 p.m. at The Center on Main, Falls Village.
Jeffery Serratt

In August of 1781, after spending thirty years as an enslaved woman in the household of Colonel John Ashley in Sheffield, Massachusetts, Elizabeth Freeman, also known as Mumbet, was the first enslaved person to sue for her freedom in court. At the time of her trial there were 5,000 enslaved people in the state. MumBet’s legal victory set a precedent for the abolition of slavery in Massachusetts in 1790, the first in the nation. She took the name Elizabeth Freeman.

Local playwrights Lonnie Carter and Linda Rossi will tell her story in a staged reading of “1781” to celebrate Juneteenth, ay 7 p.m. at The Center on Main in Falls Village, Connecticut.Singer Wanda Houston will play MumBet, joined by actors Chantell McCulloch, Tarik Shah, Kim Canning, Sherie Berk, Howard Platt, Gloria Parker and Ruby Cameron Miller. Musical composer Donald Sosin added, “MumBet is an American hero whose story deserves to be known much more widely.”

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A sweet collaboration with students in Torrington

A sweet collaboration with students in Torrington

The new mural painted by students at Saint John Paul The Great Academy in Torrington, Connecticut.

Photo by Kristy Barto, owner of The Nutmeg Fudge Company

Thanks to a unique collaboration between The Nutmeg Fudge Company, local artist Gerald Incandela, and Saint John Paul The Great Academy in Torrington, Connecticut a mural — designed and painted entirely by students — now graces the interior of the fudge company.

The Nutmeg Fudge Company owner Kristy Barto was looking to brighten her party space with a mural that celebrated both old and new Torrington. She worked with school board member Susan Cook and Incandela to reach out to the Academy’s art teacher, Rachael Martinelli.

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