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Thanks to Cahill for his service to Sharon Ed.
Before the recent municipal elections get too far in the rear-view mirror, I wanted to say a word of thanks to retiring Sharon Board of Education chair, Doug Cahill. Doug served for 12 years with unfailing diligence, judgment, integrity and good humor, as I can attest from having served for eight of those years with him.
There is one achievement from his tenure on the Board which is often overlooked: if you look at the last eight years of actual spending — the years covered by the budgets available on the town website — you will see that Sharon Center School’s spending has been virtually flat. This year’s budget of $4.166 million is up only 1.5% from actual spending of $4.103 million in 2017-18. By contrast, the Consumer Price Index has risen 32%. Even more remarkably, the school is up to date on all major maintenance: new roof, new boilers, air handling system, paving, etc.
But most impressive is that his primary concern has always been squarely where it should be: making sure that Sharon school students receive the quality education mandated by the state and the supports they need to prepare for a healthy, productive life. It is a fitting coda to his time on the board (and kudos to Sharon teachers, administrators and staff) that the school recently received Connecticut “School of Distinction” status based on performance and progress.
A huge vote of thanks to Doug for his years of dedication to the children of Sharon.
Anne Vance
Sharon
We are North Canaan
I would like to offer my most meaningful and sincere appreciation to Rosemary and Patricia Keilty (Registrars of Voters), as well as to the highly dedicated group of election staff who were able to assemble for North Canaan’s recount. Their collective resolve to ensure that each ballot was meticulously vetted and accounted for was obvious with each step that was taken. I fully accept the results as they have been presented.
I would like to congratulate Jesse Bunce on his victory, and I wish him all of the very best as he prepares to lead us through the 2025-27 term. I now look forward to serving as your Second Selectman, alongside Melissa Pinardi-Brown, who will begin serving as Third Selectman.
Having served in a variety of political positions since 2015, I have had the honor of taking on a host of different roles, all with varying levels of responsibility. Each role, no matter the title or scope, has been a profound privilege of mine, creating opportunity after opportunity to serve you. That is what has been the one common denominator that has guided me through all of these selfless experiences. Service. An act performed by someone who values the greater good, while seeking to help and provide assistance to all, regardless of the effort or will it will take to complete such an act. In just two years, we changed the landscape of North Canaan for the better. In just two years, we transformed our municipal government so that it was more accessible, affordable, transparent, and operationally more efficient. We did all of this together. For that, I am so proud of the changes that we were able to make and the solid foundation that has been set in place so that we can continue along this pathway of progress.
The future of North Canaan is bright. No matter how you may have voted in this election, I hope you all are able to find some comfort in knowing that each board and commission will continue to take on their respective missions, knowing that they are all charged with serving the amazing people of our beloved town. It is also my hope, now and forever, that our differences will be rooted in a soil that has the nutrients needed to balance out any tensions or tribulations. May any perceived red wave or blue wave eventually evaporate up into a cloud of collegial consensus, which will then fall back down upon us as a unifying and healing purple rain. This is my hope and this is my promise. Now is not the time to wish failure or misstep upon any elected official. We will all serve each other and our town, just as your votes intended them to do. It has been an immense honor to serve as your First Selectman. I look forward to all of the wonderful accomplishments that we are able to continue achieving together. We are North Canaan.
Brian M. Ohler
North Canaan
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Markow concludes time as selectman
Nov 19, 2025
Jennifer Markow receives a farewell vase during the Cornwall Board of Selectman meeting Nov. 4. Markow did not seek re-election, while fellow board members Gordon Ridgway, center, and Rocco Botto were each elected to another term.
Photo from Zoom meeting
CORNWALL — Jennifer Hurlburt Markow was honored with flowers and a ceramic vase during her final meeting as a member of the Cornwall Board of Selectmen on Tuesday, Nov. 4.
Markow, who served one term on the board, said she plans to remain involved in the community in other ways. “It’s been a good experience being selectman,” she said. “Now I can focus on different areas.”
Markow remains an active member of the Parks and Recreation team and helps at Cornwall Consolidated School.
Looking back on her time with the Board, she said the role “kind of gives you a totally different view of the town. I definitely recommend everybody be a selectman at least once.”
“It’s an acquired taste,” responded First Selectman Gordon Ridgway, who was elected to his 18th term on the board that day. “Thank you for your continued service.”
“It’s been really great serving on the Board with you,” said Selectman Rocco Botto, who was also re-elected. “We had a great team.”
John Brown was elected to fill Markow’s seat. It will be his first term as a selectman.
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Babs Perkins, right and the Hunt Library’s Meg Sher prepare cheese sample plates for an overflow audience at the library Saturday, Nov. 15.
Patrick L. Sullivan
FALLS VILLAGE — Photographer and cheese researcher Babs Perkins gave an unusual presentation at The David M. Hunt Library Saturday, Nov. 15.
There was a slide show, and plenty of information, as per usual.
What made it unusual was the samples of cheese — not just any cheese, but a rare cheese made by a few people in the former Yugoslavia.
“In Search of the Whey: Tracking down a Balkan cheese on the verge of extinction and why it matters to us in Northwest Connecticut” featured photographs taken by Perkins in what she described as “10 years in the field,” tracking down the makers of traditional cheeses in the Balkans.
The cheese in question is called “Sir iz Mijeha.” There are variations on this name, depending on where you are in the Balkans and who you are talking to.
Perkins explained that the countries that make up the former Yugoslavia are defined by religious, ethnic and political divisions that are difficult for outsiders to penetrate.
Economic and demographic forces are combining in the region in such a way that traditional cheeses “are on the verge of extinction.”
When Yugoslavia ceased to function as a Communist federation in 1989, and the country broke into its constituent republics, there followed a 10-year period of civil wars based on ethnic and religious differences.
Perkins said one big problem for the traditional cheese industry is that the civil war period killed a lot of men. She pointed out that women outnumbered men in her photos, and that almost everyone involved was elderly.
The reason the cheeses are going extinct is because of the loss of generational knowledge, teaching and tradition, or “intangible cultural heritage” (as opposed to tangible cultural heritage, such as archaeological sites).
Perkins took the audience through a visual tour, in both video and still photographs, of the cheese being made in stone buildings, with wood-fired stoves, in remote, high-elevation settings.
Then it was time for the taste test. Everybody got a small plate with four pieces of cheese and a couple of pieces of bread as a palate cleanser. A mark in the upper left-hand corner of the plate indicated where to start.
Some of the cheeses were made from cow’s milk, some from sheep’s milk, and some were a combination. Perkins said cows produce much more milk than sheep, so if a cheese maker is aiming at volume, a cow is more efficient.
The taste test was very popular with the audience.
Perkins said that despite the economic and demographic headwinds, there are signs that the traditional cheese industry is making a comeback.
She told the story of one youngish man who left the farm, went to university and earned two master’s degrees, yet could not find a job.
So he returned to the farm to make a go of it.
This is what Perkins is most interested in.
“For me, the intangible cultural heritage is the bedrock of the culture. It’s a tool for social cohesion, community building, peace building.”
How does this translate to Northwest Connecticut?
Perkins said if Connecticut consumers make the effort to find the local farmers who are growing heritage tomatoes (for instance), they will be using the same process of maintaining intangible cultural heritage elements as the Balkan cheese makers.
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SHARON — After more than two decades in business, Shear Illusions in Sharon will close its doors in late December. Owner Rebecca Welsh will be cutting hair at Kent Hair Studio going forward.
“I’m sorry to be closing the doors, I just feel like it’s time for a change,” Welsh said.
Shear Illusions opened in May 2005 in the Sharon Plaza, where it operated for 12 years. Welsh moved the business into its current location on West Main Street in 2017.
Welsh has been cutting hair for 35 years. After getting her cosmetician license in Poughkeepsie, New York, Welsh’s first haircutting job was in Millerton at Main Street Hair. Following subsequent employment in Millbrook, Welsh moved to California where she continued her career.
After a few years, Welsh returned to the area and worked at Kent Hair Studio before purchasing Shear Illusions.
Now, she will be returning to Kent Hair Studio, currently run by Debbie Row.
“It’s bittersweet, but I just feel like it’s time to move forward, and putting in 20 years… that’s a lot.” Welsh said. “I hope you all join me at Kent Hair Studio.”
Although she is only moving one town over, Welsh was thankful for her time in Sharon and was hopeful that any clients who still want her services would know where to find her going forward.
Welsh can be reached in Sharon at 860-364-5111 until the end of the year. The number for Kent Hair Studio is 860-927-3342.
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