Dining with Biden at The Woodland

Former President Joe Biden and his family dined at The Woodland in Lakeville Thursday, May 22.
Photo provided

Former President Joe Biden and his family dined at The Woodland in Lakeville Thursday, May 22.
LAKEVILLE — A fleet of black SUVs maintained a watchful perimeter outside The Woodland Thursday, May 22, as a former president dined inside.
After attending his grandson’s graduation at Salisbury School, Joe Biden and his family shared a meal at the Lakeville eatery.
Brandon Scimeca, owner of The Woodland, said the reservation was made a few days in advance. The day of the dinner, Secret Service agents arrived in the afternoon to review a security plan with Scimeca.
“They told me where he would enter and exit from, where he would sit, where Jill would sit,” said Scimeca. Later that evening, he said, 10 agents were stationed inside the restaurant with about 15 more outside.
Scimeca said Biden “treated the busboy as nice as the waiter. He was so nice to everyone.”
He ordered a hamburger well done with extra tomatoes and a cola.
Other patrons, able to avoid Secret Service, snapped selfies when Biden got up to go to the restroom, but for most of the meal he and his family quietly enjoyed their dinner.
That is, until dessert arrived at the table next to him.
Billy Sheil, who was dining with his wife and three of his four children, said Biden raised his fork and gestured at the arrival of sweets, “suggesting he wanted to sit with us or come over and take a bite,” Sheil explained.
Sheil scooted to make room in the booth and waved him over. “No fanfare. He just introduced himself and started chatting as a regular guy.”
Biden had a bite of ice cream from Sheil’s daughter Islay’s plate and chatted for about 15 minutes.
Sheil said he shared wisdom, spoke of family, the importance of siblings and the role his sister played throughout his political career.
“He spent real time with us, asking thoughtful questions and sharing in our evening like a grandfather would,” recalled Sheil. “We told him and Jill that we have four kids too — just like them — and mentioned that our second, Quin, was ironically in Washington, D.C., on a school trip. I told them, ‘He’s going to be bummed when he hears what he missed tonight!’”
The family took a photo with the former president before parting ways. Sheil noted, “When we got in the car afterward, Aerin turned to me and said, ‘Dad… was that a dream?’ It kind of felt like one.”

The HVRHS boys rejoice around Jackson McAvoy after he scored the game-winning goal against Shepaug with just two minutes left to play.
WASHINGTON — Housatonic Valley Regional High School’s boys varsity soccer team advanced to the Berkshire League tournament final after a 1-0 win over Shepaug Valley High School in the semifinal game on Friday, Oct. 24.
Jackson McAvoy scored the game-winning goal with just two minutes remaining.
The victory marked HVRHS boys soccer’s first victory over Shepaug since 2020.
“Finally,” said HVRHS Coach Adolfo Portillo after the game.
HVRHS will play top-ranked Nonnewaug High School in the BL final. Nonnewaug advanced to the title game by beating Northwestern Regional High School in penalty kicks (4-3) after a 1-1 draw in regulation time.
The championship game will be played at Nonnewaug beginning at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 28.

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Students dressed in neon lined the soccer field for senior night under the lights on Thursday, Oct. 16. The game against Lakeview was the last in a series of competitions Thursday night in celebration of Homecoming 2025.
As homecoming week reaches its end and fall sports finish out the season, an air of school spirit and student participation seems to be on the rise across Housatonic Valley Regional High School.
But what can be attributed to this sudden peak of student interest? That’s largely due to SGA. Also known as the Student Government Association, SGA has dedicated itself to creating events to bring the entire student body together. This year, they decided to change some traditions.
Spirit week from Oct. 14-17 was unlike those of the previous years. From wearing Housatonic merch to Boomer vs Baby day, this year’s spirit week held a little friendly competition to see which grade could participate the most.
“I think that students are bored of the same old activities and events, so it’s good to switch things up even slightly to incentivize interest within students,” said SGA president and senior Mollie Ford. “Plus the point system is super beneficial because it gives students a reason to participate.”
The school spirit sentiment can be seen outside of just the school. Senior Simon Markow is known for his photography throughout the community, and has dedicated time to help Housy sports teams’ social media posts.
“Since I’ve started photography, I think school attendance [at sports games] has gone up,” Markow said. “I feel this year, students will be more aware of games and are more likely to be at the games.”
Whether it’s a pink-out volleyball game or an under the lights soccer match, it’s likely you’ll see some familiar faces.
Social media has played a large role in this over the years. Almost every student organization at Housatonic has an Instagram account, and it’s helped reach students more efficiently than a poster or email would.
“The increase of social media use, with the help from me but as well as the teams themselves has definitely increased student interest,” Markow said. “With Housy teams posting more about their upcoming games, and my help showing the cool goals, spikes, or touchdowns, it’s enlightened students to watch the games themselves.”
In a small school, promoting pride has proven to be a challenge. But this year’s senior class has made some adjustments in the hopes to change that.
“The SGA community has spent the last few years really focusing on student participation, because we think it’s the students who contribute to a better climate,” Ford said. While Housatonic’s student body may be small in size, it seems they certainly aren’t small in spirit.