CORNWALL — The Board of Selectmen is discussing a donation for the Housatonic Youth Service Bureau (HYSB) and a swap of land for an easement at Foote Fields. The Youth Service Bureau is a regional nonprofit that offers support and educational programs for students and families. They are now seeking $10,000 from the six regional towns so they can move their offices from the “white house” on the campus of Housatonic Valley Regional High School. The building is slated to be demolished this summer. For now, HYSB will move to a space it will renovate over the garage at the high school. It has been used by the school’s robotics team, which has moved to the new science and technology center. The selectmen are supportive of HYSB and the move, but bumping the town’s budgeted donation up by $5,400 is not something they want to do in a lean year.There is the Gates Bequest, with about $260,000, left to the town by Judy and Larry Gates to be used to benefit the town, especially in their areas of interest: special education, recreation, arts, youth programs and the environment.None of it has been spent yet, after several years, and the plan now is to establish a policy that could include guidelines such as a maximum annual expenditure. “It’s not just a checkbook for the Board of Selectmen,” First Selectman Gordon Ridgway said at a selectmen’s meeting on March18. “It’s for worthy projects that have to be approved at town meetings.”No one will likely notice anything different, but an easement over a private driveway between Foote Fields and a parking lot is sought by the town, just to make regular use of it legal. In exchange, the Besozzi/King family, who live and run a small logging operation off Route 4, beyond the town property, will be given a sliver of land on the eastern boundary of the soccer field. The exchange will cost the town possibly a token dollar, plus an undetermined legal fee.
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Dahlias fill Sharon Historical Society for Best in Bloom festival
Ruth Epstein
Sep 30, 2026
Organizers of the Best in Bloom Dahlia Festival held at the Sharon Historical Society and Museum on Sept. 26 and 27 are, from left: society director Abbey Nova, Allison Chase and Stephanie Chase.
Ruth Epstein
SHARON — Dahlias filled the Sharon Historical Society and Museum for the inaugural Best in Bloom Dahlia Festival on Sept. 26 and 27.
Every room was filled with flowers that featured the brilliance of color, the uniqueness of shape and the sheer beauty of the blossoms.
Abbey Nova, the society’s executive director, came up with the idea for the festival. “I’m a dahlia grower myself and we’re always looking at ways to expand our mission and get people into the building. I was thinking of something other than pumpkins for the fall.”
She was surprised at the response when the call went out to bring dahlias to the festival, where they would be judged and put up for sale. Forty-two participants came forth bearing more than 210 blooms. They were placed in seven categories: dinner plate, ball and pompom, decorative, water lily, cactus and semi-cactus, junior growers and a collection of single, peony flowered, anemone and collarette.
Nova said most entries came from Sharon residents, but the competition did draw growers from other local towns, as well as some who came from a distance.
Helping to organize the event were Allison Chase and Stephanie Chase of Dahlia Daughters. Their late mother, Amanda Chase, had a dahlia business, which they took over upon her death. Allison Chase explained there are a number of varieties. “They are really event flowers used for weddings and parties because there are so many colors, shapes and sizes.”
One tuber can yield a great many flowers and they can also be hybridized. Once the flowers are gone, the tubers are dug up and placed in dark cool places to be ready to plant the next year.
But dahlia growers often have to battle the elements, Chase said, noting one year she was faced with an invasion of Japanese beetles.
She is grateful that this year was a great one for her dahlias, which she sells from a stand outside her home on Amenia Union Road.
Nova said dahlias bloom later in the growing season, often in late July or August. “They like the cool nights and will remain right up until frost.”
A cocktail party took place Saturday evening which filled the museum with hundreds of guests. Steve Ketterer, Allison Chase, Sarah Coon of Paley’s Farm Market and Lynden Miller, noted author and garden designer, were tasked with awarding ribbon winners.
Best in Show went to Betsy Ennis. First place winners in their categories were: Linda Sloane (dinner plate), Juliet and Leila Bell Scimeca (ball and pompom), Kathleen Fanning (decorative), Kathleen Fanning (water lily), Betsy Ennis (cactus and semi-cactus), Myra Plescia (collarette) and Adelaide Lee (junior grower).
On Sunday, local artist Colleen McGuire helped youngsters paint pictures of dahlias, while guests viewed all the submissions and made purchases.
Also on Sunday, the People’s Choice Award was given to Steve Ketterer for his dinner plate entry.
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Salisbury voters to decide how to fund Lakeville station move
Patrick L. Sullivan
Sep 30, 2026
The former Lakeville Train Station on Ethan Allen Street.
Patrick L. Sullivan
SALISBURY — Voters who have already approved moving the Lakeville railroad station building will be asked to vote again, this time on how to pay for the project.
At a Sept. 16 town meeting, voters authorized spending up to $650,000 on the move.
The Board of Finance held a special meeting Tuesday, Sept. 22, to discuss funding for the project.
Comptroller Joe Cleaveland said the town’s debt reduction account has about $725,000 available. He said the balance includes money set aside for a construction project at Salisbury Central School that has not gone ahead.
Cleaveland said a town meeting must approve redirecting those funds to the railroad station project. The meeting is tentatively scheduled for Monday, Oct. 19.
The board also considered tapping the Bauer Fund, created through a bequest from Frederick Bauer in the early 1950s for the purpose of “maintaining a park and recreation center in Salisbury and to further the work of the Salisbury Welfare Association.”
The original Bauer bequest also included funds for the town’s purchase of the Lakeville railroad station, according to the 1950-51 town report.
The Board of Finance controls the fund, which has a current balance of about $3 million. It has been used for the Town Grove, Bauer Park and to support Salisbury Family Services, the successor to the Welfare Association.
Ultimately, the board took the Bauer Fund off the table for the railroad station project. It appointed two members, Michael Voldstad and Emily Vail, to meet with Cleaveland and determine whether the legal language governing the fund needs an update.
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Vote on Swift House’s future expected next year
Alec Linden
Sep 30, 2026
The historic Swift House on Maple Street in Kent. Voters are expected to decide early next year whether the town should keep or sell the building.
Alec Linden
KENT — Voters are expected to decide early next year whether the town should keep the historic Swift House, following a Sept. 15 discussion of the building’s condition, restoration costs and possible sale.
“The time has come to ask the voters to decide on the fate of the property,” First Selectman Eric Epstein said. He proposed holding a vote in the first quarter of 2027, allowing time for legal advice and a possible appraisal.
The town has owned the Maple Street property since 1974. The late 18th-century house has been closed to the public since the COVID-19 pandemic, and officials have spent years debating whether it can be put back into municipal use.
The Swift House Investigative Committee, a seven-member group appointed by the Board of Selectmen in February to study the building’s future, outlined four possible approaches: sell the property, either with or without preservation restrictions; retain it and restore it in phases over five to 10 years; or maintain it while the town considers other options.
The committee recommended placing a preservation easement on the building regardless of which approach the town chooses.
Several committee members, including selectman Lynn Harrington and Kent Historical Society Curator Marge Smith, who spent many years working inside the building when it housed the Society’s offices, were motivated to keep the building under town ownership when the group was established in February.
At the September meeting, however, both said the committee’s research had persuaded them that selling the house to a buyer committed to historic preservation, with restrictions to protect it, would be the best course. Harrington pointed to the extent of the repairs the town would face.
“It’s just a huge, huge undertaking,” said Harrington. “Not just the cost, but just like everything that has to be done. It’s almost like everything has to be fixed.”
Epstein said the boiler needs replacing at an estimated cost of $90,000. Returning the house to public use would also require upgrades to meet Americans with Disabilities Act requirements. Estimates for a full renovation range from $2 million to $4 million.
Smith said that she had grown close to the building over the years.
“I know every inch of that house—I love it so much,” she said, but agreed that a responsible private owner may be a better steward than the town.
The selectmen have yet to set a date for the town vote.
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Kent streetscape project enters second phase
Ruth Epstein
Sep 30, 2026
Kent Town Hall
Leila Hawken
KENT – Phase II of the Kent Village Center Streetscape Improvement project has begun.
Crews could be seen last week installing the pathways near the Swift House on the southern side of Maple Street (Route 341 East).
This initiative follows phase I completed in 2022, which focused mainly on North Main Street between the intersection of routes 7 and 341 northward to the railroad tracks, as well as along Bridge Street (Route 341 West). The purpose of phase II is to expand downtown pedestrian safety and accessibility in a number of areas:
South Main Street (Route 7) – install sidewalks and granite curbing south from the Civil War monument to the Kent Greenhouse and Gardens and South Common Road
Maple Street (Route 341) – install concrete sidewalks on the south side to the front of the Kent Volunteer Fire Department’s firehouse. A crosswalk with electric flashing lights will be placed at the entrance to Swift Lane, which leads to Templeton Farms senior housing.
Maple Street (Route 341) – north side extending to the edge of the railroad tracks
Lane Street – on the south side
The bid of $1.6 million was awarded to Stone Construction of Southbury. Funding is from federal, state and local coffers, with the bulk, about 80%, coming from the federal Transportation Alternatives Program.
Similar to phase I, the old, deteriorating asphalt paths are being fully excavated and replaced to uniform concrete surfaces, ADA-compliant driveway ramps and matching granite curbs.
First Selectman Eric Epstein said this project “reflects an exciting time for Kent that will allow for safer pedestrian passage and a more attractive appearance in the center of town.”
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Brew-Ski Fest returns to Salisbury on Oct. 11 for beer, food, music
Christian Murray
Sep 30, 2026
SALISBURY — The 16th annual Brew-Ski Fest will bring craft drinks, live music and an unique golf ball contest to Satre Hill on Sunday, Oct. 11, from 1 to 4 p.m.
The festival, presented by Stateline Wine and Spirits, raises money for the Salisbury Winter Sports Association. The organization supports young ski jumpers and hosts Jumpfest and the Eastern Ski Jumping Championships at Satre Hill each February.
More than 25 craft breweries, cideries and spirits makers are expected to take part in the tasting event.
The Steve Dunn Band will perform, and “Sunday in the Country Food Drive,” a local charity, will serve brats, burgers and hot dogs. The event will be held rain or shine, with the ski jump towers providing the backdrop.
The festival’s Ski Jump Golf Ball Roll gives visitors a chance to buy a numbered ball and watch it tumble down the ski jump landing hill alongside hundreds of others. The ball that travels farthest wins a prize.
The association’s roots at Satre Hill go back a century. According to the group, Salisbury resident John Satre introduced neighbors to ski jumping in the winter of 1926 by jumping off his shed roof on skis. Residents built a ski run that summer, and the association held its first competition in January 1927.
Brew-Ski Fest will be held at 80 Indian Cave Road. Tickets are $40 in advance through Eventbrite and $45 at the gate.
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Let's Hear It - October 1, 2026
Lakeville Journal
Sep 30, 2026
This Week
With colder weather on the way, households across the region are starting to look ahead to the cost of keeping their homes warm this winter. Home heating oil prices have surged in recent months, with prices reaching record levels in several states. For households that rely on heating oil, those increases could make a significant difference in winter heating bills.
Are rising home heating oil costs a concern for you this year?
Send your responses to social@lakevillejournal.com by Monday, Oct. 5 at 10 a.m. or comment on Facebook or Instagram.
We’ll publish a selection in next week’s paper.
Last Week’s Question
What approach should towns take toward data centers: ban them, regulate them, or allow them under existing zoning rules?
“It seems like not much good comes from the construction of data centers. Between the loss of open space, destruction of habitats, depletion of water sources and noise pollution-Ban them!”
— Johnny Martin, Millerton
“Ban. The noise alone would make me abandon my home.”
— Nat Baker
“Ban. The energy usage, water usage, noise pollution, and environmental damage are unacceptable.”
— Roxann Steinberg Whitaker
Hi. Yeah, I’m in cybersecurity... dont ruin this area. Please. Please do not allow these data centers to be built. I am quite literally begging you guys to be more intelligent than the rest of the country, we need a promise of a complete ban indefinitely. No loopholes, no backdoor, no way to get around it. No data centers!
— Caitlyn Ellis
“Seems the only way is to have them and regulate.”
— Joseph Zerres
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