Candidates for Connecticut's 30th Senate District debated Friday, Oct. 19. Incumbent Republican Stephen Harding (left) is running for his second term as state senator. Challenger Justin Potter (right) aims to be the first Democrat to win the 30th seat since 1979.
LITCHFIELD — Incumbent State Senator Stephen Harding (R-30) and challenger Justin Potter (D) went toe-to-toe for approximately 90 minutes Friday, Oct. 18.
The debate was hosted and moderated by the League of Women Voters of Litchfield County and was held at Lakeview High School. Questions were submitted by the audience in advance.
The candidates spoke to the crowd throughout the evening and rarely directly addressed each other. Potter took a few jabs at Harding’s voting record, which Harding disputed, but otherwise the debate was cordial.
Overall, the two candidates held relatively similar stances on the majority of topics, which included energy costs, illegal immigrant services, abortion, election security, energy solutions, taxes, the environment, agriculture, small businesses and transgender athletes.
Affordable housing was a notable exception to their consensus. Harding recognized a lack of affordable housing options but stated opposition to General Statute 8-30G and the mandate on each town to designate 10% housing stock as affordable. He felt Hartford should not dictate local zoning policy. Potter supports increased state funding for housing solutions, including accessory dwelling unit (ADU) incentives.
On energy, both opposed the Millstone nuclear power plant and the Brookfield natural gas compressor station. They both agreed that neither project would directly benefit the Northwest Corner. Potter pointed to testimony that Harding gave in support of natural gas expansion and said Republicans supported the Millstone project. Harding stated he voted against Millstone and, while he does not support the Brookfield project, he remains open to natural gas as an energy resource.
They agreed managing energy costs is a top priority. Potter suggested the state should begin stabilizing utility rates with regulatory authority. Harding said state energy subsidies should be paid by the state budget instead of added to residential electric bills.
Each candidate felt small businesses are the cornerstone of the Northwest Corner’s community. Harding supports reducing energy rates, taxes and overall spending to benefit business owners. Potter said he wants to cut back on “the hurdles, the costs, the paperwork, the headaches.”
Both candidates expressed support for amending the state constitution to guarantee a woman's right to an abortion and reproductive choices.
Both supported financial aid to agricultural businesses through tax incentives.
Both advocated for increased funding to childcare and early childhood education.
Both felt school sports should be segregated by biological sexual orientation.
Both stated Connecticut’s election process is secure and trustworthy.
Both said it is time for Connecticut to implement a hunting season for black bears to control the growing population.
Both supported compassionate care of undocumented immigrants as members of the community, but Harding stated immigration policy should be left to the federal government while Potter wanted to continue “reasonable policy” in Connecticut.
In closing statements, both candidates advocated for bipartisanship and expressed goals of creating a viable future for the Northwest Corner’s next generation. Both men are fathers of children younger than 10.
“I believe [children] should be able to aspire to be police officers, teachers, nurses, artists or farmers and see a path to independence, raising up a family and retiring comfortably right here in Northwestern Connecticut,” said Potter. “I’m looking forward to getting to Hartford to create a more affordable and sustainable future for all of us.”
“What’s important to me is what goes on with our neighbors right here at home,” said Harding. “I believe in bipartisan solutions. I don’t care if it’s a Republican or Democrat idea or constituent. I will always take your issue with the utmost importance regardless of party affiliation because you’re a neighbor of mine and that’s why I do my job.”
Harding was elected state senator in 2022 and is running for his second term. Potter would be the first Democrat to win the 30th Senate District since Joseph Ruggiero in 1979.
In post-debate discussions with audience members, three Democrats shared their takeaways.
“Harding is the most honest politician I’ve ever met,” said one self-proclaimed lifelong Democrat. He felt Harding won the debate for being more articulate in his answers.
Another Democrat found Harding's opposition of G.S. 8-30G to be problematic. She supported Potter's stance on increased state funding to grow affordable housing stock in the Northwest Corner.
A third said she went in with an open mind and wondered if Harding would convince her to vote red. Afterwards she was still undecided and wanted to do more research on the nuanced issues.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5. Polling stations will open across the state for 14 days of early voting beginning Monday, Oct. 21.
FALLS VILLAGE — Indian Mountain School took home first place in the third annual Housatonic JV Boys Basketball Jamboree Feb. 1.
Hosted at Housatonic Valley Regional High School, the interconference tournament featured the junior varsity squads from HVRHS and Mt. Everett Regional School in Sheffield, Massachusetts plus the varsity team from IMS, which goes up to grade nine.
Each game was played with two 16-minute halves and a running clock. All three teams matched against each other once for a fast-paced afternoon of basketball.
Indian Mountain School is located in Salisbury, Connecticut. Mt. Everett Regional School is located in Sheffield, Massachusetts.Photo by Riley Klein
In game one, IMS defeated HVRHS 52-46. Housatonic got out to a hot start and led 28-20 at halftime. IMS locked down the Mountaineers in the second half and capitalized offensively to take the lead and go up 1-0 to start the day.
IMS faced Mt. Everett next and led from start to finish. Mt. Everett closed the gap in the second half but IMS held on to win 39-36.
After soundly defeating both JV teams, IMS was declared the winner of the Jamboree.
For the silver medal game, HVRHS played Mt. Everett. Housatonic’s forwards Simon Markow and Ryan Segalla dominated the paint and HVRHS won 38-30 to earn second place.
CANAAN — Robert G. Grandell, 81, of Canaan, passed away peacefully on Jan. 29, 2025.
Robert was born in Waterbury, on Aug. 29, 1943, the son of Isabella (Brickett) and Art Perkins. He married Janet (Van Deusen) on June 27, 1964.
Bob worked at various factories throughout his career, retiring from Electric Motion Co., Winsted, in 2005. He enjoyed coaching Little League baseball and junior bowling. He also liked to watch the UConn Women’s Basketball team and the Green Bay Packers.
He and Janet liked to go on bus trips and vacation in Lake George, New York.
Bob is survived by two sons; Gary and his wife Laurie of Canaan, Dennis and his wife Carolyn of New Hartford, one sister; Anna Mae MacNeil of Arizona, one brother; Bill Perkins and his wife Candace of Torrington, and six grandchildren.
Bob is predeceased by his parents and two sisters, Joan Parsons and Eleanor Gurney.
Calling hours will be held on Sunday, Feb. 2 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at The Kenny Funeral Home, Sharon. All other services are private.
Memorial contributions may be made to the North Canaan Ambulance, 15 East Main St., Canaan, CT 06018 or to the North Canaan Volunteer Fire Department, 4 East Main St., Canaan, CT 06018.
The Kenny Funeral Home has care of arrangements.
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The Lakeville Journal
Hot-tub style approach with a sledge-hammer assist at the lake.
While the chill of recent weeks has driven many Northwest Corner residents inside and their energy bills up, others have taken advantage of the extended cold by practicing some of our region’s most treasured — and increasingly rare — pastimes: ice sports.
I am one of those who goes out rather than in when the mercury drops: a one-time Peewee and Bantam league hockey player turned pond hockey enthusiast turned general ice lover. In the winter, my 12 year-old hockey skates never leave my trunk, on the chance I’ll pass some gleaming stretch of black ice on a roadside pond.
Last winter, when ice was hard to come by, was a massive disappointment for me, as it was for the other ice-obsessed among us. I was delighted, then, when I arrived at Lake Wononscopomuc on a comparatively balmy (26°F) Saturday afternoon to find recreators strolling, skating, fishing and fat-biking across the frozen expanse of its surface.
Grabbing my camera and stepping out onto the ice with the intention of chatting with some of the merry-makers, I gauged the uneven — but passable — surface below my feet and decided to run to the car and switch my boots with skates.
The going was rough at times, contending with intermittent snow layers and slush crusts, but even so the skates were vastly more efficient than my boots as I made my way from group to group.
I stopped to chat with David Bain, who was just starting to set up his fishing station after getting a late start. I asked him the depth under the hole he had just drilled, and he said it was about five feet, despite being 200 yards from shore on the deepest natural lake in Connecticut.
He explained that he had situated himself over a weed bed, and was hoping to catch some brown trout lurking off its shelf. A Norfolk resident, he said he was glad the ice was back after a season or two without it. He said the last time he had fished out on Wononscopomuc’s ice – 2023, he reckoned — he had caught two sizeable brown trout (about 10 and 8 pounds) within 15 minutes of each other at a spot just yards away from this one. I wished him luck for a similar outcome, and skated off to some distant figures hunkered over their ice drills.
I found Kyle Carso of Glastonbury and Andy Sabetta of Berlin, who are long time fishing friends, huddling over their holes as they hoped for a bite. They had been moving around the lake since 7 a.m., and had only pulled up a couple of perch so far, Carso said. Echoing Bain, Carso told me that Wononscopomuc is known for big brown trout though, and the duo had proof: Sabetta had caught a 14-pounder in June.
Carso said he was grateful for the ice conditions this season, which have been difficult to come by in several recent years. He said the ice was generally solid, about eight inches in most places, but encouraged caution as they had found some variability in the holes they drilled, with some spots thinner than others.
Brothers Eamon and John McNiff, who I found with beers in hand just offshore of Eamon’s lakefront property, similarly urged caution for those looking to explore the ice. He said that the frozen lake provides a valuable wealth of recreation, made more special by its seasonal transience – “as long as you’re being smart about it.” With the right caution, though, he said time spent on the ice is “magical.”
The kids get to skate around the lake – close to shore, he specified – and for the adults? “There’s nothing better than an ice beer.”
His brother John had just fat biked — essentially a mountain bike with huge, deeply treaded tires for traction on snow and ice — across the lake from his own property on the other side. Upon arriving at Eamon’s house, he slipped out and sprawled on the ice, pulling a muscle in the process. He said he was better now, though, enjoying a “recuperation beer” provided by his brother.
My final stop of the afternoon found a different type of cold-weather health practice — hanging out hot-tub style in a sledge-hammered hole in the ice. Danny Tieger and Tyler Spofford, both local to the area, are avid cold water swimmers they explained, and try to submerge themselves a few times a week during the winter months.
Tieger said that taking regular cold dips has been transformational after starting about five years ago: “It changed my relationship with my health and brain.”
The two stayed in the water, with apparent calm, for a remarkably long time. Spofford said that once you get over the shock, the water can actually feel a bit warmer than the air, because it actually is at about 34°F compared to the air temperature in the mid 20s.
As they finally climbed out and did some post-dip exercises, I looked out over the lake, dim silhouettes of anglers and fat bikers speckling the white expanse in the soft blue light of the late afternoon. Pulling off my skates for the day with numb and fumbling fingers, I felt grateful for the ice and the unique joy it brings to an oft-maligned season.
With cold weather growing less consistent with each passing winter, days like these can feel a little melancholic and fragile, as if those of us who take to the ice are salvaging for something already almost in the past. Perhaps we are, but it comforted me to be in good company as I scanned the lake’s surface for the last few hold-outs as the clock neared five. If it freezes, we will come.
Any lake ice recreation is inherently dangerous as the ice can be inconsistent. Anyone venturing out onto the ice must consult experts before doing so and follow town guidance.
