First round of grant money awarded for high-speed internet

Map of locations to be served by recent grants.
portal.ct.gov/deep
Map of locations to be served by recent grants.
Several towns in the Northwest Corner are poised to receive a boost to their broadband infrastructure due to a recent set of grants administered by the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP).
In a joint press release on Oct. 11, Governor Ned Lamont (D) and DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes announced that $28 million in funds will be allocated to 88 municipalities under the first round of the state’s ConneCTed Communities Grant Program.
Because award money will be distributed to internet service providers (ISPs) and not the towns themselves, towns had to partner with providers to be eligible for the grants. Locations in Norfolk, Salisbury and Falls Village are set to benefit from Comcast Communications’ awarded funds, while Frontier Communications was granted $954,909 to install fiber optic cable to 148 locations in Sharon, with some abutting the Cornwall town line.
“The expansion of broadband infrastructure will make Connecticut’s towns and cities stronger, more resilient, and better positioned to engage in today’s increasingly digitized world,” Governor Lamont stated in the press release.
Sharon
While Jill Drew, co-chair of the Sharon Connect Task Force (SCTF), was pleased to see money allocated towards improving her town’s high-speed internet, she was surprised that Sharon’s application was denied to reimburse most of the $1.6 million the town spent on its own project to bring broadband to unserved residents.
“We are disappointed that the state chose to put off the decision of whether to reimburse the town,” Drew said in a statement.
Of the $40.8 million in the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Capital Project Fund, $12.8 million remains, which DEEP will administer for a second round of grants on a first come, first serve basis. Drew maintained that Sharon will quickly resubmit.
After hearing stories about Sharon residents suffering from lacking high-speed internet, such as a school teacher teaching zoom classes during the pandemic from a parked car outside J.P. Gifford in Sharon, the SCTF dedicated itself to bringing “universal access to people who lived in Sharon who otherwise it would make no business sense for a company to pay to connect them.”
“That’s why we need government funding,” Drew added.
In 2023, Sharon partnered with Comcast to “provide high-speed internet connections to 272 homes along 28.5 miles of Sharon roads that had previously not had broadband access,” according to the SCTF. By the time the ConneCTed Communities grants applications were open, the project was largely complete, which is why Sharon’s application was denied in the first round, Drew explained. While there are no guarantees, she said, she hopes for better results in the second round.
As for Frontier’s fiber optic project, she is excited about the prospect of competition between providers in town, which will bring better service, she said. On the other hand, though, she hopes that Frontier’s award doesn’t “box out the town receiving funding for its own successful project getting everybody connected.”
“The Town of Sharon welcomes competition so our residents can decide which internet provider has the best service at the best price,” said Casey Flanagan, Sharon’s First Selectman, though he also maintained he is hopeful the new application for reimbursement will be accepted.
Drew noted that Frontier owns all the copper wire landlines in the state, and she’s wary of the ISP using the project to try and edge out telephone landlines in favor of fiber optic cable.
“Frontier will need to keep its copper wire for rural residents,” said Drew, citing the need for alternative communications measures in households without reliable cellular service.
Kent
Other town leaders found themselves looking at these grants from the sidelines. Lynn Worthington, selectman and chair of the Kent Broadband and Mobile Communication Working Group, pointed out that the funding opportunities have “rules [that] make it difficult for municipalities to apply.”
In Kent’s case, Spectrum and Frontier have been unresponsive, so the town has been ineligible to apply for the ConneCTed Communities grants. Worthington said that Spectrum has always been difficult to reach, as has Frontier since a merger was announced with Verizon.
Another funding pathway, called the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, has been held up during a data review by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.
“Basically, nothing has happened with BEAD since July,” remarked Worthington.
To engage the public, the Kent group will focus its efforts on outreach strategies to educate residents on the costs of being left behind. “Fiber optic is the future,” Worthington said. “The existing service isn’t going to be adequate in four to five years.”
Overall, Worthington believes that discourse between towns and across the state is paramount to a better connected future: “We could all learn from each other,” she said.
LAKEVILLE — Rhys V. Bowen, 65, of Foxboro, Massachusetts, died unexpectedly in his sleep on Sept. 15, 2025. Rhys was born in Sharon, Connecticut, on April 9, 1960 to Anne H. Bowen and the late John G. Bowen. His brother, David, died in 1979.
Rhys grew up at The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, where his father taught English. Attending Hotchkiss, Rhys excelled in academics and played soccer, basketball, and baseball. During these years, he also learned the challenges and joys of running, and continued to run at least 50 miles a week, until the day he died.
In 1982 after graduating summa cum laude from Harvard College, Rhys returned to Hotchkiss to teach biology, where he met his wife of 35 years, Rebecca (Becky) Snow. After two years of teaching, he worked at a research field site in Borneo, then went on to the University of California, Davis where he earned a PhD in Animal Behavior in 1995.
Rather than follow an academic tenure track, Rhys preferred the solitary focus of field ornithology, and he spent several decades researching the ecology of bird species in California and on Cape Cod and the Islands. Rhys believed passionately in supporting biodiversity through habitat preservation. His proudest achievements, therefore, came through his work for the Lakes Region Conservation Trust, in New Hampshire, where he served on committees and the Board of Trustees for twenty years, including three years as Chair.
Deeply intellectual and curious, Rhys learned Homeric Greek so he could read The Odyssey and The Iliad in their original language. An amateur Melville scholar, he would wax poetic about reading Moby-Dick for the umpteenth time.Rhys’s spirit was filled by the performing arts. Concerts by the Handel and Haydn Society and Boston Early Music Festival often brought tears to his eyes, while Boston Bluegrass Union shows delivered toe-tapping fidgetiness.
Rhys will be missed by his wife, Becky Snow, his mother, Anne Bowen, extended family, friends, and anyone who had the pleasure of knowing him.
A service will be held at The Hotchkiss School chapel on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025 at 1 p.m..
In honor of Rhys’s memory, donations can be made to the Lakes Region Conservation Trust.
LAKEVILLE — Kelsey K. Horton, 43, a lifelong area resident, died peacefully on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, at Norwalk Hospital in Norwalk, Connecticut, following a courageous battle with cancer. Kelsey worked as a certified nursing assistant and administrative assistant at Noble Horizons in Salisbury, from 1999 until 2024, where she was a very respected and loved member of their nursing and administrative staff.
Born Oct. 4, 1981, in Sharon, she was the daughter of W. Craig Kellogg of Southern Pines, North Carolina, and JoAnne (Lukens) Tuncy and her husband Donald of Millerton, New York. Kelsey graduated with the class of 1999 from Webutuck High School in Amenia and from BOCES in 1999 with a certificate from the CNA program as well. She was a longtime member of the Lakeville United Methodist Church in Lakeville. On Oct. 11, 2003, in Poughkeepsie, New York, she married James Horton. Jimmy survives at home in Lakeville. Kelsey loved camping every summer at Waubeeka Family Campground in Copake, and she volunteered as a cheer coach for A.R.C. Cheerleading for many years. Kelsey also enjoyed hiking and gardening in her spare time and spending time with her loving family and many dear friends.
In addition to her husband and parents, Kelsey is survived by her two beloved children, Hunter Horton and Aryanna Horton, both of Lakeville; a step-brother, Jason Tuncy of East Hartford, Connecticut; her mother-in-law, Frances “Fran” Horton and her brother-in-law, Benjamin D. Horton III and his wife Penny of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, and their son, Alec, and several aunts, uncles, cousins and many dear friends. She was predeceased by her father-in-law, Benjamin D. Horton, Jr. in 2017.
There are no calling hours. A Celebration of Life will take place on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, from 11 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Millerton American Legion Post # 178, Route 44, Millerton, NY 12546. A time to celebrate Kelsey and share stories and memories. Memorial contributions may be made to The Jane Lloyd Fund. Please make checks payable to Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation (please note in memo line, The Jane Lloyd Fund) and mail to: Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, 800 N. Main Street, Sheffield, MA 01257.
To send an online condolence to the family, flowers to the service or to plant a tree in Kelsey’s memory, please visit www.conklinfuneralhome.com
Arrangements have been entrusted to the Scott D. Conklin Funeral Home, 37 Park Avenue, Millerton, NY 12546.
SHARON — On Sept. 27, Eliot Warren Brown was shot and killed at age 47 at his home in New Orleans, Louisiana, in a random act of violence by a young man in need of mental health services. Eliot was born and raised in Sharon, Connecticut, and attended Indian Mountain School and Concord Academy in Massachusetts. He graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He and his wife Brooke moved to New Orleans to answer the call for help in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and fell in love with the city.
In addition to his wife Brooke, Eliot leaves behind his parents Malcolm and Louise Brown, his sisters Lucia (Thaddeus) and Carla (Ruairi), three nephews, and extended family and friends spread far and wide.
Normally at this point one might list some interests, but in Eliot’s case, it’s easier to list what he wasn’t interested in: watching sports.
Eliot made a living as a fine craftsman and carpenter, but at heart he was an artist. He was well versed in music, painting, literature, biking, travel, Mardi Gras costumes, poker, pranks, street performance and on and on and on.Having previously hiked the entire Camino de Santiago in Spain and Portugal, he recently achieved another dream of summiting the highest stratovolcano in North America.
Eliot’s creative ability was astounding. His creations were designed to bring joy to others. He didn’t seek recognition or praise, and a large part of his work was anonymous. Pieces of art would appear in the community, encouraging people to think, connect and enjoy.
From the precociously funny and determinedly defiant boy that grew up in the Northwest corner of Connecticut, Eliot grew into a brilliant, gentle souled, boundlessly creative, ever mischievous, perpetually scraggly, and astoundingly wise and caring man who made an indelible impact on those who were lucky to have him in their lives.
In honor of Eliot, please consider making donations to organizations that work to end gun violence, support the arts, or provide mental health services. A service will be held at the Congregational Church in Salisbury on Sunday Oct. 26 at 2 p.m.
SHARON — Randall “Randy” Osolin passed away on Sept. 25, 2025, at the age of 74. He was born on Feb. 6, 1951, in Sharon, Connecticut to the late Ramon (Sonny) and Barbara (Sandmeyer) Osolin.
He was a dedicated social worker, a natural athlete, a gentle friend of animals, an abiding parish verger, an inveterate reader, and an estimable friend and neighbor. He was a kind-hearted person whose greatest joy was in helping someone in need and sharing his time with his family and good friends.
He was the beloved husband of Karen LaChance Osolin; the loving brother of Bruce Osolin and the late Gail Osolin Leo; the devoted uncle of Kyle and Andrew Osolin and Taylor LaChance; the brother-in-law of Debra LaChance; and the cousin of Brenda Curran, Jay Pickering and Audra Salazar.
To honor Randy’s memory, do a good deed for another or send a donation to the Little Guild, 258 Sharon-Goshen Road, West Cornwall, CT 06796. The Kenny Funeral Home has care of arrangements.