Millions of dollars in transportation grant funds could be coming into the area early next year. They would be used to upgrade the rail line and crossings in North Canaan, Cornwall and Kent.Colin Pease, vice president of special projects for the North Canaan-based Housatonic Railroad Company (HRR), said there will be a lot of competition for the funding, with about 200 applicants expected. His company plans to apply for $10-12 million, based on average awards in an initial grant round.The Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Discretionary Grant program was aimed at investing more than $2 billion in transportation infrastructure, including roads, public transit, ports and rail lines.This second round, or TIGER II, program has nearly $527 million available for capital projects that are multi-jurisdictional, offer multiple benefits and are difficult to fund under existing programs. Of that, $140 million is earmarked for rural areas. Grants would cover 80 percent of costs.Pease and HRR President John Hanlon came to the Aug. 1 Board of Selectmen meeting in North Canaan to offer an overview of plans, and seek the assistance of the town’s Streetscape Committee, which has plans that would apply to the proposed railroad project, such as moving utility poles in the town center.The application has to be submitted by a town or government agency. Pease said they believe the Northwestern Connecticut Council of Governments (COG), which represents nine towns, is the best applicant. Housatonic believes it has a leg up on several fronts.It had already laid the groundwork for major rail line improvements in its effort toward re-establishing passenger service on the Berkshire line. A marketing survey was conducted with very positive results. It would improve access to rail shipping for the region’s two largest shippers and employers.It would complete drainage issues the state has long attempted to successfully address.It would conceivably enhance the interface between the railroad and the towns it impacts.HRR plans to contribute six miles of new rail, worth about $1 million, to the project. The need is certainly there, with some of the rails dating back to the railroad’s beginnings in the 1870s.All of the work would take place on property owned by the state, which HRR leases.“[North] Canaan would be the focal point for a comprehensive improvement project that would extend into Cornwall and Kent,” Pease said. “We see this as a rail improvement/community development type project.”Plan specifics include a complete rebuilding of three miles — rails, ties and surfacing — in North Canaan, as well as two passing sidings and the oldest rail — the spur to Specialty Minerals.Ten crossings will get new or upgraded warning gates and lights, resulting in all surface crossings on town and state roads having that highest level of protection. Surfacing at those crossings will be renewed.Drainage work would be done not only in the center of North Canaan but along the corridor, along with sightline improvements.The project would address street lighting and sidewalks near rail crossings in North Canaan, and install a retaining wall behind Railroad Street businesses. Traffic flow into Canaan Union Station will be redesigned. These areas are where the Streetscape Committee can offer valuable advice.In Cornwall, four miles of welded rail, ties and surfacing will be installed. Another two miles will be installed in Kent.All of the rail upgrades will meet passenger service standards.“On the engineering side,” Hanlon said, “all the crossings, because of their close proximity to each other, have to communicate with each other. There is a real synergy for us in doing it comprehensively.”The application deadline is Oct. 3. The selection process is expected to take about three months; it is a relatively quick process. State and federal authorities have until the end of October to complete an initial review of applications.North Canaan First Selectman Doug Humes noted a TIGER grant applied for through COG was used for the recent improvements to a bridge on Lower Road. “You’re shovel-ready as far as moving utility poles and upgrading the crossings,” Humes said.An upgrade to the traffic signals to coordinate with the planned installation of gates and lights at the North Canaan main crossing has already been completed by the state Department of Transportation in conjunction with the Streetscape project. The town is putting $1 million (received in two grants) toward a wide variety of projects.Hanlon agreed that having projects predesigned is a critical advantage in getting a grant.“This would all benefit our plans for passenger service. It is a subset of what we’ve already done. We’re way up on the learning curve.”
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One systemic consequence of slavery is the loss and obscuring of the histories of those who were enslaved. Records were often not kept about where Africans had been stolen from or who they were related to. Families were torn apart, leaving nothing but the faintest traces of the past. The delineation point, where genealogists can no longer trace histories back, is refered to this as the “document wall.”
Today, 250 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence and more than 160 years since the Emancipation Proclamation, there is a growing effort to restore some of the history stripped from enslaved people and their descendants. Among the leaders of these efforts is Mills, president of the Alex Breanne Corporation, a nonprofit organization that works to identify previously anonymous Black Americans from history and connect them with their living relatives.
The work began with Mills’ sister, who started digging into their family’s past in the 1990’s and introduced him to this emerging world of genealogy. Through that process, the Mills family discovered their great-great-grandfather, Ned Mills, who had been enslaved in Texas. His last name came from his final enslaver and remains the family surname. Through their research, they found that the document wall directly affected their ancestor, who learned of his liberation on June 19, 1865, now commemorated as Juneteenth.
“For the first time,” Mills writes on his website, “American slavery wasn’t something that had happened to anonymous people in a history book. It had happened to my family.”
The discovery gave Mills a familial pride he had been missing for years. That pride fueled his desire to help others find their own history. In 2023, Mills received his certificate in genealogical research from Boston University. He has used his expertise to help descendants of enslaved people uncover histories they never dreamed of learning.
To do this, he uses a process called “reverse genealogy,” identifying a person from the past and working forward to discover their descendants. Along the way, Mills has found some remarkable people who fought for freedom on American soil, some of whom were never freed.
Pay Bill for Robin Starr’s service in the Continental Army.Courtesy the Alex Breanne Corporation
At the Cornwall Historical Society event, Mills will present the stories of four Connecticut families: Job Lathrop of Norwich, the son of Pirmus Armes, about whom Mills has published a book; Prince Mortimer of Middletown, also the subject of a book by Mills;, the three sons of London Wallace of Simsbury; and Robert “Robin” Starr of Danbury, who later lived in Cornwall and Sharon.
A few years ago, Cornwall Consolidated School social studies teacher Will Vincent reached out to Mills for research guidance on a local history project his students were undertaking. Together, they learned about Naomi Freeman of Cornwall. After purchasing an acre of land on Great Hollow Road in 1828, Naomi Freeman became the first Black female landowner in Cornwall.
The students petitioned the town to rename a road after the historic Cornwall resident In April 2025, Great Hollow Road was officially renamed Naomi Freeman Historic Road. U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes joined Mills and the Cornwall Consildated School students for a presentation of their research.
Since then, Mills has guided the students in their quest to learn more about Starr’s story. Starr was a Revolutionary War soldier who joined the Continental Army to earn enough money to buy his own freedom, receiving the Badge of Merit in the process. The stories of his descendents’ services are equally worthy of their own books.
In recognition of Mills and the students’ work, First Selectman Gordon Ridgway proclaimed Feb. 8 as Robin Starr Day.
Preregistration is required for the event at the Cornwall Historical Society. To learn more about Mills’ work, visit
alexbreanne.org.
John Mills speaking at Quinnipiac University.Courtesy the Alex Breanne Corporation
Stephanie Saetta runs Charlie Chicken Bones, a sanctuary in Salisbury.
Dogs have been at the center of Saetta’s life since childhood. She remembers going to the library to research different breeds and trying to convince her parents the family needed a dog. She had her heart set on an Irish Wolfhound, but she was more than happy when her mom brought home a West Highland terrier.
After college, she adopted Charlie as a puppy from a rescue on Long Island. He was a hound-shepherd-Rottweiler mix who suffered from intense seizures. Some veterinarians recommended euthanasia, but Saetta wasn’t ready to give up on him.
When Charlie would have an episode, she would sit with him, nose to nose, talking him through it. She learned to look for the moment he began to come around — when he could smell her again and his tail started to wag.
“You only get one or two of these soul connection dogs, so I do this in his honor,” Saetta said. “I like to think that all the dogs that come through are going to have that person that they connect with just the same.”
Through a network of women working to rescue animals in Texas, she learned about the desperate situations facing many dogs.
With limited space, some public pounds euthanize even healthy animals to make room. Limited access to veterinary care leaves sick dogs or unvaccinated puppies especially vulnerable.
Saetta saw that reality firsthand with a puppy named Gus, a Labrador mix she fostered who has since been adopted. Gus and his sisters had been dumped beside a road, where they were living under an abandoned car. People would leave food for them, but no one would take them to the pound.
“Even the people who rescue animals down there were like, ‘sadly, the best place for them to be is on the side of the road,’” she said. “That’s safer. Someone might actually help them that way.”
Saetta knows that there are far more dogs than any one person can save, but she also knows that helping one dog means one fewer on the street.
Stephanie Saetta,with her rescue dog George and Blue (left), a shepherd mix awaiting his forever home.Madi Long
Charlie Chicken Bone Sanctuary operates entirely through foster homes, a model that Saetta believes is best for the dogs and the humans hoping to adopt them.
Rather than moving directly from a difficult environment into a permanent home, the dogs have a chance to settle into a quieter setting. They can learn what it’s like to live with a family, sleep somewhere comfortable and receive affection without fighting for attention. Fostering also allows the rescue to really get to know each dog.
“As fosters, we’re honest,” said Saetta. We’ll tell you everything that’s been bad, everything that’s been good. What their temperament is and how they’ve responded to all the things they’ve experienced.”
A successful adoption is not just about finding a dog a home; it’s about finding the right home where the dog and family can thrive together.
Saetta is looking for more people willing to open their homes to foster dogs. She understands that the thought of growing attached and eventually saying goodbye can feel daunting. But she sees that goodbye a little differently.
Fostering means being part of a dog’s journey, even if only for a short time. It gives dogs a safe place to rest, the chance to trust again and the love they have gone without for much of their lives. And when the time comes for them to leave, it is not really a loss. It is the reward of knowing they are moving on to a forever home.
Blue, Saetta’s current foster, is hoping to find his perfect home.
Blue, a 7 year-old Shepard mix, is waiting for his forever home. Madi Long
Now around 7 years old, Blue spent most of his life wandering the streets of Texas. People sometimes left food out for him, but his mangy, dirty coat kept them from stopping to pet him. Today, he has a chance to experience something different.
Blue is still waiting for his forever home. Saetta believes he would do best as the only dog in a household or alongside another senior dog. He will need someone willing to continue working with him on his training and understand that a dog with his history needs patience.
But what he gives in return is a whole lot of love.
“He’s so enthusiastic, he’s so excited for life, he’s so friendly, and he’s got such a good heart, and he loves to cuddle,” Saetta said. “He’s a good, good, good dog.”
For more information on adopting Blue or how to foster, visit ccbsanctuary.org.
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