Housatonic FFA store selling trees and poinsettias until Dec. 20
Visitors to the Housatonic FFA Holiday Store Saturday, Dec. 7, were greeted by the tree team of Luca Floridis, Landen Cooper and Nico Bochnovich.
Patrick L. Sullivan
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Brush fire near Burr Pond State Park burns 9 acres, draws multi-agency response
Aly Morrissey
Apr 22, 2026
Emergency crews direct traffic following a nearly nine-acre brush fire near Burr Pond in Torrington, April 14.
Madi Long
TORRINGTON – A brush fire broke out near Burr Pond State Park Tuesday, April 14, burning an estimated 8 to 9 acres and prompting a large, multi-agency emergency response, officials said.
The blaze was first reported shortly before 1 p.m. after a Winchester resident called 911 upon seeing a bright, arc-like flash in the sky that resembled lightning, followed by rising smoke from the wooded area.
“The park is closed, with an 8-to-9 acre brush fire being fought by DEEP and local fire departments,” said Bill Flood, a spokesperson with the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection. He did not say whether there were any injuries.
The fire prompted road closures and power was turned off in parts of the surrounding area, as utility crews and emergency personnel worked to contain the blaze. Burr Mountain Road was closed to traffic, as it was serving as the primary access point for emergency vehicles.
The Winchester resident who reported the fire said he was at the Burr Pond boat launch when he noticed the flash.
“It’s just luck that I saw a flash and happened to see smoke,” he said, declining to give his name. “At first, I didn’t believe what I saw. I was doubting myself.”
He estimated the flash occurred about a mile away and said it looked like lightning but was silent.
“I just called it in and apparently it’s bigger than they thought it was going to be,” he said, adding that he did not lose power at his home.
Smoke from the fire could be smelled in areas adjacent to the park.
Officials had not yet determined the exact cause of the fire as of Tuesday afternoon.
Madi Long and Christian Murray contributed to this article.
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Tennis, pickleball clinics are coming to Kent Commons Park
Alec Linden
Apr 22, 2026
Pickleball players enjoy a game on the courts at Kent Commons Park.
Provided
KENT – Kent will welcome a new racquet sports professional this spring with the debut of a tennis and pickleball clinic program, coordinated by the town’s Parks and Recreation department.
Xavier Proulx, an established coach with an extensive resumé in racquet sports instruction, will be kicking off all-ages, all-skill level sessions in both tennis and pickleball starting Sunday, April 26 on the Kent Commons Park hard courts. The new program was formally authorized by Parks and Recreation during its April 7 meeting, where members voted unanimously for the four-week curriculum, which will run Sundays and Tuesdays through the third week of May, with rain dates scheduled for the following week if needed.
“We really wanted to jump on the opportunity while the iron is hot,” said Parks and Recreation Director Matt Frasher. He said that the townspeople have demonstrated extensive interest in pickleball, with a group of more than 90 players active in the pickleball TeamReach group, the application the department uses to coordinate and schedule events.
Frasher said tennis remains popular as well, and that the timing was right to bring in professional instruction for both sports. “We’re excited to have him here in Kent and expand on what’s being offered,” he said.
Proulx, who is originally from Montreal and currently serves as the director of tennis for the city of Norwalk, said he is also looking forward to a change of scenery. “We all have our strengths as tennis director or head pro,” he said. “For me, my strength is on the court.”
Proulx has served in several directorial roles, including 15 years as the director of racquet sports at the Rolling Hills Country Club in Wilton, Connecticut. His origin and passion, though, are in live coaching, having trained players young and old, novice and experienced across the globe, from France to Spain to the Isleworth Golf & Country Club in Orlando, Florida, where he was the head tennis professional for a star-studded clientele that included golfer Tiger Woods.
His playing career in tennis has also had its highlights, with a top 10 placement in the Canadian junior rankings when he was growing up, and even a number one ranking for the over-40 category in doubles in Florida when he was coaching in the state.
Despite the long commute from Norwalk, Proulx said he’s eager to get started, citing the quietude and natural beauty of the region as good incentive to make the hour-plus drive up Route 7 twice a week. Further, he was impressed by Kent’s embrace of pickleball, a sport which he sees great value in as a coach.
“The main reason pickleball is sweeping the country is it has, literally, a 20-minute learning curve,” Proulx said, meaning that beginners can be playing real matches their first time ever stepping foot on a court. “It’s for any level, any age,” he went on, noting that its accessibility doesn’t mean younger athletes won’t enjoy it any less. “It’s incredible,” he said in summation.
Prospective players can register at Kent’s Parks and Recreation Department’s online registration portal. For further questions or inquiries, email parksandrec@townofkent.gov.
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Kent Farmer’s Market to move downtown
Alec Linden
Apr 22, 2026
The new market location will take place in a shared property near the Kent Welcome Center.
Provided
KENT – Farmers Market shoppers beware: when the beloved fixture of Kent’s summer programming kicks back up on May 22, it won’t be located on the familiar expanse of the Kent Land Trust Field. Instead, head straight to Main Street and park at your convenience, the Chamber of Commerce urges – and grab a coffee or check out some art while you’re at it.
“You park once, and you do everything,” said Chamber President Phil Fox as the rationale for moving the market, which has been a fair-weather fixture on the broad field south of town for four years. The new location is positioned around the Kent Welcome Center off of Railroad Street, and will take place on property spanning several businesses and town entities at the downtown location.
The main impetus for the change is connectivity between the market and the town’s commercial district, Fox explained. “That’s our goal, to bring people into town,” he said. “The idea is to make it part of the buzz that is the center of town on a Friday night.”
Other advantages of the new location include a power supply and public bathrooms, which will enable the addition of live music this summer, Fox added.
Local farmer Spencer Lord took over management duties of the Farmer’s Market this spring, and he said that the response across the community to the change has been enthusiastic. “The vendors are excited, the town is excited, the businesses downtown are excited, the customers are excited,” he said, “so it seems to be gaining momentum already.”
Lord and his fiancé Rebecca Kuczko, both 41, run Oracle Mushroom Company, a farm in South Kent that has recently expanded beyond fungi to pasture-raised poultry as part of its business model. The couple has operated a stall at the Kent market for the previous two years, and Lord said he jumped at the opportunity when the management position opened up.
“We’re very social with all the vendors that we work with at all the farmer’s markets, and we really have tried to promote them as much as possible, even way before I ever stepped into this role,” he said. “The better they do, the better we do.”
Speaking on April 17, Lord said 35 vendors had been secured to show up this season – “and we’re getting approached by new vendors probably every other day.”
Lord said that the scope of vendors will be hyperlocal, drawing from under an hour’s drive from downtown Kent. Some new vendors, like family winery Hopkins Vineyards, will add to a strong lineup of many returners, he reported.
Lord said he expects an average of 30-plus vendors active at the market per week, which he said the site can more than support. Parking, while not as straightforward as at the field, he said, will be plentiful, with Route 7, the Town Hall lots, parking around the Green available, while some businesses have also agreed to allow parking in their lots.
The Kent Land Trust, while no longer the host, will still be involved, Lord reported, running a regular stall all season at the market.
Overall, Lord said that the goal is to create a “symbiotic relationship” between the Farmer’s Market and broader community, and to take advantage of the festive Friday downtown atmosphere. On top of the music, Lord said he encourages local businesses to get in touch with him directly about further programming – “If you have an idea, let me know.”
“I think it will be really fun,” said Kent Land Trust Executive Director Connie Manes of the new location.
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Kent budgets head to May 1 hearing with proposed 3.44% tax increase
Alec Linden
Apr 22, 2026
Kent Town Hall
Leila Hawken
After ordering last-minute cuts to both the municipal and education budget proposals during a special meeting on April 14, the Board of Finance voted to send both to a public hearing.
On May 1, residents will have the opportunity to weigh in on both fiscal year 2027 proposals, which together amount to a mill rate of 17.45, a 0.58 or 3.44% increase from last year. The mill rate is the amount of tax paid per $1,000 of assessed property value.
To help balance the budget, the board also voted to use $250,000 from the town’s unassigned general fund — essentially savings not set aside for a specific purpose.
The Five Year Capital Plan, which was edited extensively during Tuesday’s meeting, will also be subjected to public scrutiny at the May hearing.
Hopes were high at the meeting’s outset to flatline the mill rate from last year, but Treasurer Barbara Herbst’s announcement that that would require a nearly $900,000 reduction caused the BOF to shift its approach.
Ultimately, the Board of Education was asked to pull $30,000 from its bottom line before the May 1 hearing. Currently, it sits at $5,337,470, a 2.69% increase from fiscal year 2026. Along with $2,808,970 allocated towards Kent’s Region One contribution, total education expenditures, before the reduction, total $8,146,440.
The municipal operating budget is proposed at $5,277,965, a 5.08% increase over the current fiscal year.
The only line item changed by the BOF during Tuesday’s meeting was to the town’s contribution towards an aquatic invasive species management plan for Lake Waramaug. The funds are dedicated toward a proposed boat screening facility at the lake that would monitor for hydrilla, a particularly aggressive invasive waterweed.
Board members have previously questioned Kent’s share of the cost, noting that only a small portion of the lake lies within the town. For instance, only three houses and the storefront state park are within town lines.
Originally planned as a 20-40-40 split of a $100,000 project cost among Washington, Warren and Kent, First Selectman Eric Epstein said Tuesday that updated staffing estimates have reduced Kent’s share to $13,000, plus $3,000 in regular annual lake expenses.
BOF members were still unsatisfied with what member Casey Cogut described as a “half-baked plan” that is unfair to Kent taxpayers.
Ultimately, the Board voted to reduce the line to a total of $7,500 from the $16,000 previously allocated. Since $3,000 are dedicated towards other costs related to the lake, only $4,000 remain for the hydrilla prevention project. Washington has proposed $26,000 towards the effort, which Warren is meant to match.
There may be fallout from the decision, Epstein said: “It’s going to strain our relationship with the other two towns, I believe.”
Most of the BOF’s focus during Tuesday’s meeting was directed towards the Five Year Capital Plan.
Portions of funds for several projects that were meant to become taxable this year were pushed back over the line. The Swift House, a long-unused town-owned historic building that has had capital suspended in limbo for years, saw its funding moved back a year due to no clear plan forward for the building. A special town committee that was established in February to outline options for the building is expecting a report before the budget vote in May.
Capital intended to support the installation of amenities at Emery Park, including restrooms, was also moved out of tax position on the plan. The park is planned for a major overhaul in the coming years, but several proposals for the site, such as the rehabilitation of the town swimming pond, have seen recent delays.
The hearing will be held at 6 p.m. on May 1 at Town Hall.
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Kent Library expansion begins
Ruth Epstein
Apr 22, 2026
Groundbreaking for the expansion and renovation of Kent Memorial Library is set for April 25, with a reception to follow at its temporary Landmark Lane location.
Ruth Epstein
Work has begun on the expansion and renovation project of the Kent Memorial Library.
A ceremonial groundbreaking will take place on Saturday, April 25, at noon at the site.
Following the ceremony, a reception with refreshments will be held at the library’s temporary space at 10-12 Landmark Lane.
Register at kmlinfo@biblio.org.
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North Canaan pursues grants to rebuild pool, upgrade athletic fields
Christian Murray
Apr 22, 2026
A summer moment at the North Canaan community pool, a spot officials hope to completely renovate with grant funding.
Madi Long
NORTH CANAAN — Town officials are pursuing a number of grant applications, with a major focus on upgrading North Canaan’s recreation facilities — including a revamped pool and improvements to athletic fields — alongside infrastructure and school projects.
During the April 14 Board of Selectmen meeting, First Selectman Jesse Bunce outlined more than $14 million in grant requests currently under review.
At the center of those efforts is a $2.4 million proposal to overhaul the town’s recreation facilities. Backed by the offices of U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, the request would fund a full rebuild of the town pool, along with renovations to the pool house. The proposal also calls for improvements to the town’s athletic fields and tennis courts, which officials say require upgrades.
Bunce said Murphy’s office contacted the town on April 14, indicating that while the full $2.4 million request may not be funded, some level of funding is likely. “They told us, ‘We’re not sure we can come up with all the money, but we think we can get you some,’” Bunce said, calling it a positive sign.
“We’re trying to go after as many grants as we can,” Bunce added.
Beyond recreation, the town is pursuing several large-scale infrastructure projects. Among them is an $8 million federal grant focused on a townwide resilience effort, including drainage improvements and flood mitigation along Old Turnpike South and the Blackberry River corridor.
The town is also seeking $1.5 million through the congressional appropriations process to replace the middle school roof. Bunce said the application has advanced beyond the initial stage and is now under consideration in Congress with support from U.S. Rep. Jahanna Hayes, D-Conn., whose 5th Congressional District includes North Canaan.
The town has also applied for a $1.85 million grant through the state’s Transportation Rural Improvement Program (TRIP), which helps smaller municipalities fund road and infrastructure projects.
The funds would be used for repaving roads and addressing drainage issues along West Main Street, Pease Street and Bragg Street near the elementary school.
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