Housy Juniors baseball drops 9-5 to Barkhamsted

Braeden Duncan started on the mound for the Housy Juniors in the game against Barkhamsted, June 27.
Copey Rollins

Braeden Duncan started on the mound for the Housy Juniors in the game against Barkhamsted, June 27.
SHARON — The Housy Juniors hosted the second game of the Babe Ruth summer baseball league at Veterans’ Field in Sharon on June 27. They fought hard against Barkhamsted, but ultimately fell to their opponent, 9-5.
The Housy team consists of teens from Region One towns: Sharon, Salisbury, Kent, Cornwall, North Canaan, and Falls Village. Players range in age from 13 to 15 and learn from the experienced coaching and invested teammates that summer baseball offers.
Fans surrounded the field on a cool and windy afternoon as Braeden Duncan, a rising sophomore from Housatonic Valley Regional High School, took the mound to start the game. He was able to help Housy keep a tight first inning, letting one run squeeze by.
Only able to get a few players on base, the Juniors had a slow start at bat and were unsuccessful in scoring any runs in the first inning.
At the top of the second, Duncan’s strong pitching locked out their opponents, and then Housy got on the board in the bottom of the inning. The Juniors took a 2-1 lead with runs from both Hunter Conklin and Wes Allyn.
Barkhamsted came out strong at the top of the third and were able to get their first two hitters on base. As the inning progressed, the two athletes slowly made their way around the diamond to score two runs.

A pitching change put Hunter Conklin on the mound for Housy. Barkhamsted was able to sneak in one more run before Conklin struck them out in a key moment with the bases loaded, putting an end to their high-scoring inning.
Barkhamsted kept its momentum, completely blocking out Housy at the bottom of the third. Housy, however, struck back with relief pitcher Wyatt Bayer at the top of the fourth getting a pair of strikeouts before tagging a Barkhamsted player at first base.
Housy was only able to get one run in, by Brooker Cheney, in the bottom of the fourth. However, the Juniors started the fifth inning strong, and with clutch tags on the first two batters at first before striking out a third.
At the bottom of the fifth, Allyn hit a rocket deep in the outfield, and with a sacrifice bunt from Grafton Reilly, Housy was able to score yet another run bringing the game to 6-4 and chipping away at Barkhamsted’s lead. Backed by the motivation from his team, Bayer worked hard at the mound, striking out three Barkhamsted batters again.

Housy was unable to make up any ground at the bottom of the sixth and Barkhamsted had a strong seventh inning, getting three runs off of the fatigued home team.
As the sun started to go down and the field got cooler, Housy got ready to make a big push at the end of the seventh. Barkhamsted pushed harder and was able to close out the game 9-5.
The teams stayed close throughout the whole game with each working hard to prevent the other from gaining any momentum. After the game, Housy coach John Conklin said, “I see growth every single game,” as he looked forward to further honing the team’s skills in their game against Tri Town on Saturday, June 29.
Students of Salisbury Central School watch ski jumpers soar during an assembly with Salisbury Winter Sports Association Wednesday, Dec. 17.
SALISBURY — Representatives of Salisbury Winter Sports Association gave a presentation at Salisbury Central School Wednesday, Dec. 17.
Former U.S. Olympic coach Larry Stone explained the fundamentals of the unique sport of ski jumping and its long history in Salisbury, where he learned to jump.
“When I was growing up here there were actually eight ski jumps just in this town in addition to the three down at Satre Hill,” he said. He noted that this winter will be the 100th year of Jumpfest at Satre Hill, named for the Satre brothers who moved from Norway in the 1920s. “They brought their sport with them and the first ski jump was actually when one of the Satres skied off of a barn roof in the center of Salisbury to show people how to do it.”
Mentioning the upcoming Winter Olympics in Cortina/Milan, Italy, Stone spoke of legendary Salisbury ski jumper Roy Sherwood who competed at Cortina in the 1956 Olympics.

Students at SCS saw videos of ski jumpers training and competing. Stone invited up students who had jumped at Satre Hill and 14 stepped forward.
One student was Aerin Sheil, who was asked what it feels like to jump: “It kind of feels like you’re flying. It’s a really good feeling.”
Gus Tripler, another student, said, “It’s like you’re suspended in the air and can see everything.”
He said his record distance of 18 meters was set in Vermont.
The student remarks gave way to closing comments that emphasized the school’s partnership with the Salisbury Winter Sports Association.
“Our partnership with SWSA is one of the most incredible things about Salisbury Central School,” Principal John Conklin said as he closed the assembly. He encouraged the students to attend Jumpfest Feb. 6 to 8.

The Community Closet at HVRHS is open for students to take clothes for any reason during the school day.
What started with one unexpected donation of clothes has grown into a quietly impactful resource for all students at HVRHS: the Community Closet. Now located in a spacious area above the cafeteria, the closet offers free clothing to any student for any reason.
The idea began a few years ago when a community member reached out to the former superintendent wondering if anyone at the school could benefit from used clothing that would otherwise go to waste. The superintendent then got in contact with Rachel Novak, the school social worker. “Once I had all those bags of clothes in my room, I was like, ‘I should put this in a space,’” Novak said. Her simple idea eventually became a full-sized closet accessible to all students.
From the beginning, Novak envisioned the closet as an inclusive space. “It’s open to anybody, it’s not just based on economic needs,” she said. Sustainability also plays a role. “Thinking about the environment, some students like to thrift and just get clothes that way,” Novak said.
After the initial donation, contributions continued to grow. “I reached out to our staff members and faculty,” Novak said. The most consistent donations come from the faculty at HVRHS and a few community members who learned about the closet. Finding teenage-appropriate clothes has been a challenge. “I get a lot of donations that are nice, but I don’t think teenagers would want to wear them,” Novak said.
Another ongoing obstacle has been awareness. Many students don’t know the closet exists at all. “That’s been the hard part,” Novak said. “Getting it out to the wider community of the school.” Novak is looking for students and staff to spread the word. “It helps because our school nurse knows and other faculty members,” she said. “When they know a student needs something, they just bring them up.”
Looking ahead, she hopes to promote the space more actively. “When we come back from this break, I do plan to … get fliers and all that up and going,” Novak said. There may even be an upcoming expansion — she has discussed the possibility of turning part of the area into a food pantry. “That would be more of a need-based system for students,” she said. “But right now, promoting it is where I’m at.”
The Community Closet is well-stocked currently. “Just because of the amount of clothes I have, I’m not accepting any more donations until I clear some stuff out,” Novak said. She is still willing to make room for more fashionable, teen-friendly items donated by students. “That way I’ll have more teenager approved clothes.”
Above all, she wants students to know that no one is limited to using the space. “Sometimes there’s a stigma around it … like, ‘I don’t need help. I don’t want to take away from anybody else that may need it,’” Novak said. Due to the amount of clothes, students should feel welcome to use the closet for any reason. Some students even grab items last minute for sports and activities. “It’s important for kids to know it’s for everyone.”
Whether a student wants to thrift clothes sustainably, forgot to pack clothes for an after-school practice, or is in need of a new outfit, the Community Closet is a resource for all.
Sophomore Eliana Lang enjoys her Housy Shack cookie.
Now in its second year, the Housy Shack is a hit among students. The special education department-run store that sells warm cookies, drinks and other snacks to students and teachers draws people to a room in the back hallway every time it’s open.
The smell of warm cookies welcomes visitors to the store with snacks, drinks and even Housy merchandise for sale. The cookies are definitely the favorite, sometimes lines go out the door to get one before they sell out.
The cookies are so popular that the store had to increase prices from 50 cents to a dollar and implement a four cookie per person maximum. The Shack sells about 40-100 cookies per day and has about 20-60 HVRHS customers visiting per day.
Julie Browning and Heather Strid, two of the HVRHS faculty members that help run the Shack, said their goal was to create real-world job experiences as well as real-world shopping experiences for students at HVRHS. “Learning the skills to work in the world can be taught in a classroom, but the lessons are more meaningful and valuable when they are applied in real work situations, which is what we create through the school store,” Browning said.
The original purpose for the store seems to be working, as several students are learning important skills. Students said the store taught them skills like counting money, checking inventory and cleanliness along with social skills and customer service that could help in the professional world after high school.

As the store quickly became a hit, organizers were faced with the challenge of finding funding. “When we started planning to start the school store two years ago we needed money to buy equipment, supplies and food to start it up but were not sure how to get it,” Browning said. “Mrs. Strid came up with the idea of applying for a grant from the 21st Century Fund to help us get started and they were so generous.” That grant has been crucial to the success and growth of the school store.
Not only does the Housy Shack benefit the special education department, students said it fosters a sense of community throughout the school. “School store cookies are my favorite thing ever. They brighten up my day,” said Eliana Lang, a sophomore at HVRHS. Dayana, one of the student staffers at the Housy Shack, said her favorite part of working in the school store is when students come in to make purchases. She enjoys talking to them and ringing up their orders on the cash register. The Housy Shack brings people together and offers the opportunity for students to connect with each other.
As the school year continues, the members of the school store look forward to expanding their inventory by creating and selling a variety of Housy merchandise — t-shirts, sweatshirts, water bottles, and more. “I have had several students put in requests for certain hats, key chains, etc. … so there will be more of that to come,” Browning said. Last school year, profits were all invested back into the school store. “This year we are hoping to make more of a profit and will look to use the money that we make for field trips, outings as well as opportunities to donate and give back to the community,” Browning said. They also would like to use the school store to fundraise for other causes. “Right now we are collecting donations for The Little Guild Animal Shelter, so if anyone has pet supplies they would like to donate please drop them off in exchange for a cookie,” Browning said.