Latest News
The label bearing the hotly disputed “Gulf of America” designation was changed via an order by LaBonne’s Markets to its wholesaler.
SALISBURY — Within a day of Salisbury shoppers complaining about a frozen shrimp label bearing the federally-mandated “Gulf of America” place name, LaBonne’s Markets had already had it changed.
Rob LaBonne III, president of the four-location grocery store chain, said the label alteration had actually been ordered long before complaints began in town.
“As a grocery store, we have to be everything to everybody,” LaBonne said. “We have people from all walks of life and political backgrounds who work for us, shop with us.”
LaBonne explained that although a flood of emails and calls – about 20, he reported — came in on Monday, Sept. 22 to complain about the packaging, the store had actually ordered the label to be changed about a month prior in response to a complaint from a customer at the Prospect location, one of the grocery store’s three other locations in Connecticut.
The concentrated outcry in Salisbury came as the result of Sharon resident and political organizer Jill Drew writing about the shrimp label in her twice-per-week email blast “Today’s Action,” which reaches hundreds of subscribers across the region. The outrage stems from President Trump’s January executive order to rename the body of water, which has been referred to as the Gulf of Mexico for more than 400 years and is not owned by any one nation. Only federal agencies within the U.S. are legally bound to use the title.
LaBonne said that while the response was intense, he called back everyone who reached out and found that they quickly appreciated the misunderstanding.
“Everyone I talked to was like, ‘no, we knew you guys wouldn’t do this,’” he said. “We don’t want to get mixed up with people thinking we’re making a political statement with bagged shrimp,” he added, reiterating that the company had acted on the issue well before the Sept. 22 complaints came in.
He explained that the label, which had actually been on the shelves since June, was not LaBonne’s doing but the result of the distributor following Google Maps’ usage of the title as well as an attempt to indicate that the shrimp were harvested in the U.S. rather than abroad. LaBonne said that the store requested the label change immediately after the complaint at the Prospect location, but that the distributor had to sell through the remaining stock bearing the “Gulf of America” label.
Even so, the day that the complaints came in, the store had the distributor print blank labels to cover the ones still in the aisle. The new labels, which are circulating now, eliminate the “Gulf of America” title and simply say “Product of the USA” to indicate their origin.
Salisbury resident Amy Lake, who was the first to bring the issue to Drew’s attention, said she was surprised to see what she saw as nationalist overreach showing up in LaBonne’s, which is a cherished community business.
Lake said that she was “kind of shaken by what [she] saw as jingoism in the aisle,” and was moved to act. She emphasized that the residential voice, and consumer choice, are the “tools of democracy.”
“It’s an act of courage to speak out as a public citizen and say this doesn’t fly here,” she said, expressing her gratitude for all the other shoppers who made their opinions known.
She also thanked the grocery store for its quick action. “I just have to credit LaBonne’s responsiveness to the community… within 24 hours they had addressed our complaint.”
Drew similarly praised the store’s handling of the issue and lauded its affirmation that “politics doesn’t belong in the grocery aisle,” in her words.
“I appreciate that he personally called members of the community who complained,” said Drew. “We didn’t have an argument; we had a conversation. Our country needs more of these conversations across many issues.”
LaBonne said the personal conversations are what makes LaBonne’s the community store that it is. “I encourage people to either reply or give us a call,” he said.
“We’re happy to hear everybody out. We never turn anyone away, and we want to always be better and make sure people feel comfortable shopping with us.”
Judy Jacobs, President of the Falls Village-Canaan Historical Society, and Bill Beebe, Beebe Hill Schoolhouse Curator, led a group of about twenty people this Saturday on a walk from the Falls Village Historical Society to historic sites along the Housatonic River. The 1851 stone support wall shown here was built to contain water diverted from Great Falls to the north, and was part of a canal system, never completed, meant to bring water from the Housatonic to local mills.
FALLS VILLAGE — Saturday afternoon, Oct. 4, was a good day for a walk from the Falls Village-Canaan Historical Society at 44 Railroad Street in Falls Village down to the Amesville Bridge.
The walk, led by Judy Jacobs, president of the historical society, and Bill Beebe, society curator, stopped at six points along the way to discuss the history of Falls Village.
The walk focused on an unfinished canal meant to bring water from the Housatonic to local mills.
The first stop was the orange caboose from the New Haven Railroad which Jacobs said was restored by her husband Denny and Beebe.
Continuing down the hill on Railroad Street in the direction of the river, the twenty or so people on the tour next stopped at the intersection of Railroad and Water Street. Beebe said that this was where a hotel, The Arch, once stood.
It was named for the arched stone underpass beneath the railroad tracks, which was replaced by the current, plainer one. The hotel and stone arch were torn down in 1944.
He commented that the town had been known as Canaan Falls but gained the nickname of “Little Village by the Falls,” which became Falls Village.
At the next stop, through the underpass and further down the hill to the right, a yellow gate now bars a pathway. This is where, said Beebe, a section of the canal was to be built.
The original idea, proposed in 1822, was to build a canal to transport iron and other items more quickly to the tidewater. This plan fizzled out.
Another canal was proposed in 1845 when Lee Canfield and Samuel Robbins, iron manufacturers, formed “The Water Company” and began a three-level canal which would give power to mills and factories.
Beebe said, “They built the wall with stone. There was a big fanfare. They opened the gates. Water rushed in and …it leaked.” This was because they’d decided to “use no cement or binder.”
Beebe commented, “It never worked. It is still here, unfinished.1,900 feet is used by the power company.”The walk continued to where water rushes down the hill from the part of the canal that is in use.
Opposite the nearby Amesville Bridge, Beebe continued, there was a store and, on the Amesville side, a tavern. Jacobs contributed, “This area was really, really busy. Only the power plant has survived.”
On the Amesville side of the river there were iron works, including a blast furnace, and mills: a sawmill, a textile mill, a paper mill, and grist mills.
Beebe said, “The canal was to make the town, but that didn’t work out.”
The last stop was the old fairground on the way back up the hill past the power plant. A portion of the Appalachian trail led to a field. “All the towns had fairgrounds which included a track for horse racing,” said Jacobs.
The walk concluded with a trek back to the interesting showcases in the historical society.
For more information visit www.fallsvillage-canaanhistoricalsociety.org
Author Brian Donahue, right, was in conversation with Mike Zarfos Oct. 5 during the Haystack Book Festival in Norfolk.
NORFOLK —Brian Donahue and his wife built a house in rural Gill, Massachusetts using wood from their own land and local artisans, loggers and foresters.
From this experience Donahue wrote a book, “Slow Wood: Greener Building from Local Forests.”
Donahue was interviewed by Great Mountain Forest executive director Mike Zarfos at the Norfolk Library Sunday, Oct. 5, as part of the Haystack Book Festival.
Donahue is professor emeritus of American Environmental Studies at Brandeis University.
Zarfos started by asking why he left the Boston area.
“The plan was always to leave,” he said, adding that it took a lot longer than he anticipated.
“It was a series of five-year plans.”
The Donahues, with some friends, chipped in and bought a substantial property in Gill, of which 50 acres of grassland is devoted to beef cattle and produce.
The friends took over the existing farmhouse and the Donahues started from scratch.
The goal (and end result) was a timber frame house made from the trees on the property.
Freely acknowledging he is not a forester nor a carpenter, Donahue said he relied on local talent to decide which trees to cut and how to cut them.
Everything that could be done locally was done locally. Donahue described a chain of loggers, carpenters, sawmill operators and assorted artisans who had a hand in the building of the house.
This was by design as well.
Donahue said that by following his path, development in New England can proceed in a way that is ecologically responsible and that provides employment.
“If you have the resources,” he added.
Donahue talked about “ecological forestry.”
“It’s the current term of art,” he said. The idea is that as trees are cut, the primary consideration is the ecological value of the activity, not the bottom line financially.
So while the white pine on the property was more valuable, other less prized species such as hemlock were excellent for building purposes.
“So we sold the pine.”
There are drawbacks to this approach to forest management and home building, he said. On the forestry side, the total amount of product is not as large, and the returns don’t come in as fast.
And on the building side, it is more expensive than using lumber trucked in from Canada or the southeastern U.S.
But if someone wants to be a good steward of the forest, then it is a way to get things done, slowly, on a small scale, while protecting the environment and helping the local economy.
Legal Notices - October 9, 2025
Legal Notice
The Zoning Board of Appeals of the Town of Salisbury will hold a Public Hearing on Application #2025-0299 by Lowell Goss for a request for variance to maximum building coverage in the LA Zone on the basis of reduction in nonconforming impervious surface at 26 Ethan Allen Street, Lakeville, Map 46, Lot 04, relating to Section 300.2 of the Salisbury Zoning Regulations. The owners of the property are Lowell Goss and Kristen Culp. The hearing will be held on Tuesday, October 14, 2025 at 5:00 PM. There is no physical location for this meeting. This meeting will be held virtually via Zoom where interested persons can listen to & speak on the matter. The application, agenda and meeting instructions will be listed at www.salisburyct.us/agendas/. The application materials will be listed at www.salisburyct.us/zoning-board-of-appeals-meeting.... Written comments may be submitted to the Land Use Office, Salisbury Town Hall, 27 Main Street, P.O. Box 548, Salisbury, CT or via email to landuse@salisburyct.us. Paper copies of the agenda, meeting instructions, and application materials may be reviewed Monday through Thursday between the hours of 8:00 AM and 3:30 PM at the Land Use Office, Salisbury Town Hall, 27 Main Street, Salisbury CT.
Salisbury Zoning
Board of Appeals
Lee Greenhouse, Secretary
10-02-25
10-09-25
Legal Notice
The Zoning Board of Appeals of the Town of Salisbury will hold a Public Hearing on Application #2025-0300 by owner Anne Fredericks for a request for variance to maximum impervious surface coverage in the Lake Protection Overlay District on the basis of reduction in nonconforming impervious surface at 29 Morgan Lane, Salisbury, Map 64, Lot 07, relating to Section 404.5 of the Salisbury Zoning Regulations. The hearing will be held on Tuesday, October 14, 2025 at 5:00 PM. There is no physical location for this meeting. This meeting will be held virtually via Zoom where interested persons can listen to & speak on the matter. The application, agenda and meeting instructions will be listed at www.salisburyct.us/agendas/. The application materials will be listed at www.salisburyct.us/zoning-board-of-appeals-meeting.... Written comments may be submitted to the Land Use Office, Salisbury Town Hall, 27 Main Street, P.O. Box 548, Salisbury, CT or via email to landuse@salisburyct.us. Paper copies of the agenda, meeting instructions, and application materials may be reviewed Monday through Thursday between the hours of 8:00 AM and 3:30 PM at the Land Use Office, Salisbury Town Hall, 27 Main Street, Salisbury CT.
Salisbury Zoning
Board of Appeals
Lee Greenhouse, Secretary
10-02-25
10-09-25
LEGAL NOTICE
TOWN OF
SALISBURY, CT
WARNING OF
TOWN ELECTION
In accordance with Section 9-226 of the General Statutes of Connecticut and Public Act 23-5, The legal voters of the Town of Salisbury are hereby warned to meet at the Salisbury Town Hall, 27 Main Street, Salisbury, CT on Tuesday, November 4, 2025 for the purpose of electing Town Officials. The polls will be open from 6a.m. to 8p.m. Absentee ballots are available in the Town Clerk’s office, Monday through Friday from 9a.m. to 12:30p.m. and 1:30p.m. to 3:30p.m. During the 14-day early voting period before said election the location of early voting is Salisbury Town Hall, 27 Main Street, Salisbury, CT the hours are October 20th-27th, 29th, 31st, November 1st and 2nd are 10a.m to 6p.m. and October 28th and 30th 8a.m. to 8.pm. Dated at Salisbury, this 9th day of October 2025.
Kristine M Simmons
Salisbury Town Clerk
10-09-25
Notice of Decision
Town of Salisbury
Inland Wetlands & Watercourses Commission
Notice is hereby given that the following actions were taken by the Inland Wetlands & Watercourses Commission of the Town of Salisbury, Connecticut on September 29, 2025:
Exempt - Application IWWC-25-70 by Gregory Murphy for “A 10 x 20 run in shed on the horse field for the horses.” The property is shown on Salisbury Assessor’s map 03 lot 06 3 and is known as 157 Lime Rock Road, Lakeville. The owner of the property is Gregory R Murphy.
Approved subject to final Town Consulting Engineer review - Application IWWC-25-68 by Dawn Marti to “Replace failed septic systems including failed curtain drain at 500 & 508 Twin Lakes Road.” The property is shown on Salisbury Assessor’s map 69 lot 18 1 and is known as 500 Twin Lakes Road, Salisbury. The owner of the property is Salisbury School Incorporated.
Any aggrieved person may appeal this decision to the Connecticut Superior Court in accordance with the provisions of Connecticut General Statutes §22a-43(a) & §8-8.
Town of Salisbury
Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission
Sally Spillane, Secretary
10-09-25
TAX COLLECTOR TOWN OF
SALISBURY CT
LEGAL NOTICE
Pursuant to Sec. 12-145 of the Connecticut Statutes, the taxpayers of the Town of Salisbury are hereby notified that the second installment on the Grand List of October 1, 2024 is due and payable on October 1, 2025. Payments must be received or postmarked by November 3, 2025. If said Real Estate and Personal Property taxes are not paid on or before November 3, 2025 interest at the rate of 1 (18% per year) will be added for each month or a fraction thereof which elapses from the time when such tax becomes due and payable until the same is paid. Minimum interest charge is $2.00.
Taxes can be paid by mail addressed to: Tax Collector, P.O. BOX 338, Salisbury CT 06068 or Town Hall, 27 Main Street, Salisbury CT. There is a drop box in the vestibule of the Town Hall available 9am-4pm, Monday-Friday or the 24-hour drop box on the back side of the building off Factory Street. Tax Office is open Mon, Wed, Fri, 9am-4pm, closed 12:30pm-1:30pm. The Town is urging taxpayers to use the option to pay by credit card or e-check. Please go to the Town website salisburyct.us, View/PayTaxes Tab. Dated at Salisbury, CT this 9th day of September, 2025.
Jean F. Bell
CCMC Tax Collector
09-18-25
10-09-25
10-23-25
LEGAL NOTICE TOWN
OF SHARON, CT
WARNING OF TOWN
ELECTION
In accordance with Section 9-226 of the General Statutes of Connecticut and Public Act 23-5, the Electors of the Town of Sharon are hereby warned to meet at their respective polling place in said town on Tuesday, November 4, 2025, for the following purposes:
To cast their votes in the Municipal Election for Town Offices.
Notice is hereby given that the location of the polling places on Election Day is as follows:
Election Day Voting and Absentee Ballot counting 63 Main Street, Sharon, CT 06069
Voting tabulators will be used. The polls will be opened at six o'clock in the morning (6:00 am) and will remain open until eight o'clock in the evening (8:00 pm).
During the 14-day early voting period before said election, the hours and location of early voting will be as indicated below. Each early voting location will also offer Same-Day Registration (SDR).
Early Voting Day and Hours/Early Voting / SDR Location
October 20-27 & 29, 2025: 10 am-6 pm, Sharon Town Hall, 63 Main St, Sharon, CT
October 28 & 30, 2025: 8 am-8 pm, Sharon Town Hall, 63 Main St, Sharon, CT
October 31-November 2, 2025: 10 am-6 pm, Sharon Town Hall, 63 Main St, Sharon, CT
On Election Day, the hours and location of SDR will be as follows:
Election Day Hours SDR Location November 4, 2025: 6 am-8 pmSharon Town Hall, 63 Main St, Sharon, CT Dated at Sharon, Connecticut, this 9th day of October 2025.
Linda R. Amerighi - CCTC, Sharon Town Clerk, Sharon, CT 06069
19-09-25
