Latest News
Kent real estate transfers in June
Jul 30, 2025
Situated close to New Preston, the South Kent home at 392 Kent Hollow Road built in 2021 sold for $903,000 – the most expensive property sold in Kent in June.
Christin Bates
KENT — The number of Kent single family homes sold continued to decline in June to an average of only 23 a year while the median price of a single family home in the month of June was $734,000 echoing national trends of lower sales volume and higher prices.
At the end of July, 11 single family homes were listed for sale with only two under a million dollars.
Transactions
76 South Road — 3 bedroom/2.5 bath homes on 1.72 acres sold by Keller Hannah Alley, Andrew J. Keller and Hannah L. Alley to Michael Arden for $565,000.
80 North Main Street, Unit 2 — 2 bedroom/1.5 bath sold by Mark Schulze and Shannon Marshall to Helen MacDonald Degener for $440,000.
392 Kent Hollow Road — 3 bedroom/2.5 bath home on 1.4 acres sold by Alecia Evans to Madeline Krakowsky and Alfred Joseph Dalessandro for $903,000.
13 Kent Cornwall Road — 4 bedroom/3 bath house sold by Lester Bartis to Jianhua Feng for $520,000.
*Town of Kent real estate transfers recorded as sold between June 1 and June 30, 2025, provided by Kent Town Clerk. Transfers without consideration are not included. Current market listings from Smart MLS. Compiled by Christine Bates, Real Estate Salesperson with William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty, Licensed in Connecticut and New York.
Keep ReadingShow less
Police Blotter: Troop B
Jul 30, 2025
Police Blotter: Troop B
John Coston
The following information was provided by the Connecticut State Police at Troop B. All suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Car collides with parked vehicle
On the afternoon of July 21, Emily O’Brien, 40, of Brooklyn, New York was traveling west on West Woods Road #2 in Sharon near the intersection with South Ellsworth Road when her vehicle struck a parked and unoccupied Hino 338 truck. The truck sustained minor damage, but O’Brien’s vehicle, a Kia, suffered disabling damage and had to be towed from the scene. O’Brien was issued a written warning for failure to maintain lane.
Brake failure accident
On the afternoon of July 21, Antonio Grammatico, 18, of Hamden, Connecticut was parked on the side of Ore Hill Road in Salisbury when he put the vehicle in gear to begin driving down the road. After shifting into gear, the Subaru Impreza he was driving experienced sudden brake failure and Grammatico steered off the roadway and into a tree. He was uninjured by the incident, but the vehicle was towed from the scene. He was issued a verbal warning for ineffective brakes.
Cyclist struck in intersection
Around 10 a.m. on July 22, John Holland, 72, of Falls Village was biking north on Belden Street in North Canaan, approaching the intersection with Boinay Hill Road. Upon crossing the intersection, he collided with a Toyota RAV4 XLE that was attempting a left turn. The driver, Marsha Brown, 68, of North Canaan, stated that she did not see the cyclist when making the turn. Holland was found to have sustained injuries to his face and was transported to St. Mary’s Hospital in Waterbury. Brown was issued an infraction for failure to grant right of way to a cyclist at an intersection.
Traffic stop yields controlled substance arrest
Late in the evening on July 22, troopers conducted a vehicle stop on Goshen Road in Torrington. During the stop, troopers identified Brian Dean, 47, of Millerton, New York as a passenger, who was found to have an active warrant for his arrest. Dean was processed for an incident dating to March of 2024 on Hospital Hill Road in Sharon involving the possession of a controlled substance. He was released on a $1,500 non-surety bond and is scheduled to appear at Torrington Superior Court on Aug. 8.
Rear end on Route 44
On June 23, Noelia Salinetti, 19, of Tyringham, Massachusetts was traveling west on Route 44 near the intersection with Salmon Kill Road in Salisbury when she saw a stopped Toyota Tacoma Doublecab, belonging to Mark Duntz, 58, of Winsted directly ahead, stopped in the roadway. The Tacoma sustained mild damage, but Duntz reported minor injuries from the accident, and was transported to Sharon Hospital. Salinetti was uninjured, but the Dodge Caravan she drove was disabled by the accident and was towed from the scene. Salinetti was found at fault for the accident and was issued a written warning for following too closely.
Vehicle strikes tree while rounding curve
On the afternoon of July 25, Virginia Pudvah, 43, of Millerton, New York was driving west on Route 44 in Salisbury in a Honda CRV when she lost control of the vehicle around a curve and struck a tree. Pudvah was extracted from the vehicle by the Lakeville Fire Department and was transported to Sharon Hospital for minor injuries. Pudvah was found at fault for the accident and issued an infraction for travelling too fast for conditions.
Suspect held on million-dollar bond
Around 2 p.m. on July 25, troopers located Christopher Pelgrift, 64, of Salisbury on Ashley Falls Road in North Canaan, bringing him into custody without incident for the charge of failing to appear in the first degree. Pelgrift was held on a $1,000,000 cash bond and was scheduled to appear at Torrington Superior Court on July 28.
The Lakeville Journal will publish the outcome of police charges. Contact us by mail at P.O. Box 1688, Lakeville, CT 06039, Attn: Police Blotter, or send an email, with “police blotter” in subject, to editor@lakevillejournal.com
Keep ReadingShow less
Joanne Borduas, CEO of Community Health and Wellness Center, State Senator Paul Honig (D-8) and Shawn K. Frick, CEO of the nonprofit Community Health Center Association of Connecticut, during a recent legislative reception in Hartford.
Provided
“The fact that we have reached an agreement with the state’s Department of Social Services is a step in the right direction.” — Joanne Borduas, CEO, Community Health and Wellness Center
NORTH CANAAN — A network of 17 Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) in Connecticut, including three in the Northwest Corner towns of North Canaan, Winsted and Torrington, will receive a long-awaited funding boost in Medicaid reimbursement rates to the tune of $80 million over the next three years.
In making the July 16 announcement, Governor Ned Lamont (D) and Connecticut Department of Social Services Commissioner Andrea Barton Reeves unveiled a three-year plan to boost rates for the centers that service 440,000 people across the state each year.
The decision follows more than 18 months of unsuccessful negotiations between an advocacy group representing Federally Qualified Health Centers and the state Department of Social Services (DSS) to boost reimbursement rates.
As a result of the long-standing stalemate, the not-for-profit Community Health Center Association of Connecticut, on behalf of the state’s 17 federally qualified health centers, had filed a Declaratory Ruling Request with DSS in March over its failure to comply with federal law to compensate the health centers appropriately.
That filing has since been withdrawn, reported Joanne Borduas, CEO of Community Health and Wellness Center, which operates facilities in Torrington, Winsted and North Canaan.
“The fact that we have reached an agreement with the state’s Department of Social Services is a step in the right direction,” said Borduas, who also chairs the Connecticut Health Center Association of Connecticut’s board of directors.
The state had a timeline of 90 days to respond to the Declaratory Ruling Request. “The next step could have led to a lawsuit,” noted Borduas. However, since an agreement was reached, the request, she said, was pulled on July 10 and is no longer in effect.
Borduas said the FQHCs serve the largest number of Medicaid patients in the state and Connecticut has had some of the lowest Medicaid rates compared to other states. “The bottom third nationally,” she noted.
“It has been difficult to maintain services and access for our community. Many of us have faced scaling back or eliminating services and have dealt with workforce reductions in an effort to keep our doors open and maintain our commitment to our patients and the communities we serve.”
As a result of the low Medicaid reimbursement rates, CHWC had to make the difficult decision to suspend dental services, said its CEO.
“Now that we understand what the new rates will be, we are able to go back and re-evaluate getting dental services back up and running, though on a smaller scale.”
Dental services, Borduas explained, are one of the highest cost services to run and to recruit for. “We will continue to evaluate business models that will contribute to appropriately addressing patient needs while ensuring financial sustainability.”
The agreement, she said, increases Medicaid rates over the next three years and “gets us to 2023 costs. It begins to close our payment gaps, which will contribute to our long-term financial stability and help us keep our doors open serving nearly 60 percent of the state’s Medicaid patients.”
The deal clarifies the process for these centers to request rate adjustments based on the scope of services they offer and authorizes collaboration between the state and the centers to develop alternative payment models.
“While Republicans in Congress are defunding Medicaid and raising health care costs for all Americans, here in Connecticut we are making key investments in primary care, dental and behavioral health,” said Lamont in making the announcement.
DSS Commissioner Reeves referred to the state’s FQHCs as “essential partners” in delivering high quality, affordable health care to all residents.
The plan, said Borduas, envisions a more systemic approach to future rate hikes to prevent stagnation of reimbursements as has happened in the past.
“Medicaid rates have not been rebased since 2007 for all core services of medical, dental and behavioral health, with the exception of those FQHCs who have submitted rate requests to DSS over the years for adding services that meet the state’s requirements for a rate increase,” she noted.
The new agreement, she said, “will certainly help close our payment gaps and make providing care to our most vulnerable populations, those that are insured by Medicaid in particular, more affordable,” said Borduas.
“We are hopeful that we can continue to work with DSS to ensure our Connecticut FQHCs are able to carry out their missions to create healthier communities for a long time to come,” added Borduas.
The agreement also changes the appeals process for FQHCs to align with other Medicaid providers beginning Jan. 1, 2027.
Shawn K. Frick, CEO of the Community Health Center Association of Connecticut, noted that “patients across the state will benefit from this investment in primary care.”
Keep ReadingShow less
Carter “Carrot Cake” Lindley set off on the AT in Georgia back in March. By mid-July he was hiking through Salisbury.
David Carley
Businesses, locals and thru hikers have formed a sort of symbiosis, a relationship that benefits all parties.
The Appalachian Trail, starting in Springer Mountain in Georgia, spans more than 2,000 miles to Mount Katahdin in Maine. A small portion of the trail runs through Connecticut, connecting to towns like Kent, Cornwall, Salisbury and Norfolk.
There are many locations around the Northwest Corner where it is common to spot hikers on foot, catching their breath or grabbing a bite to eat. In meeting them, one can come to learn that many have “trail names,” or nicknames given to them en route, each with a unique story behind it.
At the benches outside of LaBonne’s Market in Salisbury was Joseph “Tags” Guigliano refueling with a sandwich and pasta salad. Tags, who got his trail name simply by tagging along with another group of hikers, is from New Jersey and started southbound from Bear Mountain State Park in New York a few weeks ago. “I went in there and I restocked on a bunch of stuff. I bought like 10 packs of ramen. Calorie dense things that can be cooked in about one to two minutes is very important,” he shared.
Joseph“Tags” Guigliano said sometimes rain is welcome on the trail, especially when it’s hot.David Carley
Also at LaBonnes was Carter “Carrot Cake” Lindley from Wisconsin who started his journey in mid-March, departing from the trailhead at Springer Mountain and heading north. He had only just received this trail name, which he earned after a week-long craving of carrot cake on the trail.
Carrot Cake was hiking with a non-profit called Warrior Expeditions that sponsors the hike for veterans that have been deployed in a combat zone at some point in their career. He said, “I’ve basically applied to this company and got accepted into the program. They outfit me with all my gear, they provide a monthly stipend for both food and footwear, and basically just help me a bit along the way. That’s what got me interested, was finding this company that was willing to support me.”
The weather this summer, from heat to hail, has proven to be a challenge for hikers. Tags explained he started his journey during a heat wave, which “was pretty rough just going in cold turkey.” Oddly enough, rain can be a saving grace, he said. “It gives you a chance to get wet, wash all the sweat off, cools you down.”
Carrot Cake said the East Coast weather has taken some getting used to for a Midwesterner. “The heat and the humidity has been just absolutely brutal for me. I’m not used to this. I got snow, rain, hail, freezing, fog, a whole bunch of stuff at the beginning of the trip, and this has been really tough.”
Towns like Salisbury provide essentials for restocking a hiker’s pack, but just as necessary are the boosts in quality of life. “I love a good bougie coffee,” admitted Carrot Cake, who recommended the Mountainside Cafe in Falls Village. He said businesses like the Mountainside Cafe “know the drill” when hikers come in, noting they go “above and beyond” for them.
Also in Falls Village is the newly opened Off the Trail Cafe, which is, as the name suggests, popular with hikers.
Hiking gear is a common sight outside the entrance of Off the Trail Cafe in Falls Village.David Carley
Stopping at the cafe in mid-July was Jeff “Bluey” Lewis who said, “Towns are everything. Little cafes and places like this are just a little taste of the real world, something you can eat that’s not dehydrated or coming from a package.”
“The people in the town are always awesome too,” Bluey continued, “Sometimes you need a ride somewhere that’s not on trail and someone will give you a hitch to or from. Sometimes people let us camp in their backyard or let us wash off somewhere. People are really kind, and that’s super important.”
The people Bluey mentioned are ones like Colter Rule, also interviewed at the Off the Trail Cafe, who just came from talking with a group of hikers inside. He described himself as a “trail angel,” someone who offers rides, meals and a place to shower to hikers.
Keep ReadingShow less
loading