All hands on deck at FFA store | The Lakeville Journal

Thank you!

Your support is sustaining the future of local news in our communities.

Local Matters

For everyone in the community. Can you help us sustain our momentum?

Local publications are the lifeblood of small towns. In the past decade, more than 2,000 communities across the country lost an essential institution when their newspapers closed. Help us preserve civic participation, community cohesion, and the “bulletin board” that supports local economies.

Click here for Jubilee Underwriting

FALLS VILLAGE — Wednesday, Nov. 30, was the first of two production nights for the Housatonic Valley FFA chapter at Housatonic Valley Regional High School.

FFA members plus faculty and parents (often FFA alums) turned out to make wreaths for sale in the FFA holiday store.

Tim Downs gave Mumyn Aiuba a tutorial on how to trim greens so they can be bunched together and then assembled into wreaths.

Aiuba, a junior and an exchange student from Mozambique, is staying with the Downs family in Falls Village.

Jennifer Markow ‘93 and son Simon were busy wrapping bunches of greens with green wire.

Mackenzie Casey joined them, and between wraps gave a quick rundown of what the FFA does with the proceeds from the sale of trees, wreaths, poinsettas and sundries.

The holiday store proceeds represent a significant chunk of the organization’s budget.

The money goes to events such as the FFA national convention, to cover travel and lodging.

Other uses include an alumni dinner, scholarships, donations to food banks, and field trips.

A second production night is scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 8, at 7 p.m.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Lakeville Journal Company (@lakevillejournal)

FFA members past and present trimmed greens and made wreaths. Photo by Patrick L. Sullivan

FFA members past and present trimmed greens and made wreaths. Photo by Patrick L. Sullivan

FFA members past and present trimmed greens and made wreaths. Photo by Patrick L. Sullivan

FFA members past and present trimmed greens and made wreaths. Photo by Patrick L. Sullivan

FFA members past and present trimmed greens and made wreaths. Photo by Patrick L. Sullivan

Related Articles Around the Web

Multimedia ›

Patrick L. Sullivan

Senior Reporter

Patrick Sullivan has been a reporter for The Lakeville Journal since 2004, covering everything from town meetings to local characters and the outdoors. He grew up in Northern Virginia but spent summers on Mount Riga in Salisbury, giving him a lifelong connection to the Northwest Corner. A graduate of Denison University, Patrick is also the author of Tangled Lines, the newspapers’ popular fly-fishing column—making The Lakeville Journal, as far as anyone knows, the only newspaper in Connecticut with a regular fly-fishing columnist. He once received a fan letter from England, which he considers sufficient evidence that his work has achieved international acclaim.

Latest News

Letters to the Editor - September 17, 2026

Letters to the Editor - September 17, 2026

Put $1M to work for housing affordability

If I had $1 million to improve housing affordability in Litchfield County, I would create a revolving Housing Opportunity Fund. Instead of spending the entire amount on one or two homes, I would use it to help local housing trusts acquire land or properties, provide down-payment assistance for qualified buyers, convert appropriate existing buildings into housing, and help cover some of the upfront costs that can prevent good housing projects from ever getting started.

Keep ReadingShow less

google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

Voices from our community about the housing we need for a healthy, vibrant future

Voices from our community about the housing we need for a healthy, vibrant future

Jordan Seibert and Riley Bossi

Shelly Dinelle

There’s a reason people say, “It takes a village to raise a child.” To thrive, a child needs a safe, stable place to call home. That’s the bedrock for health, dignity, and the chance to build a bright future. What kind of “village” does it take to create these homes?

Motivated by compassion and a drive to make housing more accessible, it took the Foundation for Norfolk Living years of hard work to create ten affordable homes at Haystack Woods. The “village” turned out to be a patchwork of support that included financial help from the DOH, a construction mortgage through Northwest Community Bank, and a Community Development Block Grant to purchase the property and pay for the road and infrastructure. The result? Two- and three-bedroom homes reserved for first-time homebuyers earning 60-80% of Litchfield County’s median income, and selling for $159,000 to $261,000. The condominium homes are deed-restricted and net-zero thanks to energy-efficient construction, solar panels, and battery storage, meaning the homebuyers will have no energy costs! Curious? Just Google “Haystack Woods” to learn more. It’s a remarkable accomplishment.

Keep ReadingShow less

our housing needs

google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

Regional News