Incumbent Jahana Hayes, left, and Republican challenger George Logan appear for the Fifth Congressional District debate at Central Connecticut State University Oct. 20, 2022.
Mark Mirko/CT Public
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The “Bio Blitz” at the Scoville Memorial Library sent local youngsters into a creek, jars in hand, to collect butterflies, hellgrammites and water spiders.
Photo by Patrick Sullivan
SALISBURY — Youngsters attending a “Bio Blitz” event at the Scoville Memorial Library Saturday, July 20, came up with an impressive haul of animals found on the library grounds.
The children worked under the guidance of Bethany Sheffer, naturalist at the Sharon Audubon Center.
Speaking to the group, which ranged in age from about six or seven years old to 12 or 13, she said the Bio Blitz is an attempt to catalog as many different species as possible in a one hour window.
Less than an hour, actually, when the introduction and subsequent debrief is factored in.
Cut loose by Sheffer, the participants headed straight for the Wachocastinook stream, which runs behind the library.
There they found, in no particular order: butterflies, hellgrammites, water spiders and stoneflies.
August Schaufelberger, age 11, had a moment of triumph when he coaxed a two-lined salamander into a specimen jar. Not to be outdone, his 7-year-old sister Anna fearlessly turned over a rock and picked off a couple of cased caddis flies.
Afterward, the group discussed their findings. Sheffer explained that the presence of things like the hellgrammite indicates the water quality is good, an encouraging sign for the overall health of the local ecosystem.
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Maria Bulson spoke about staying busy in retirement in the latest Falls Village video by Eric Veden.
Photo provided by Eric Veden
FALLS VILLAGE — Eric Veden’s 33rd installment of video about Falls Village kicks off at the Lime Rock Station Road home of Jim and Louise March, whose home used to be the quarters for the teamsters who worked for the railroad.
Jim Marsh explains that “every room had major destruction.”
“We did one room a year.”
The video shows a photo of Louise March in the pre-rehab kitchen, and cuts to her in the modern kitchen, which is now some 20 years old.
Veteran educator Maria Bulson speaks about keeping busy in retirement. She “retired” after six and a half years as principal at the Lee H. Kellogg School but remained involved, working in different school districts in a variety of positions, from substitute teacher to vice principal in charge of discipline, before she retired for good.
The experiences “helped me come down from all my years in education.”
She describes retirement as “wonderful” but stressed the importance of staying active. Her husband fishes year-round, so she took up gardening for the warmer months and quilting for the winter.
The next segment features Daniel Karp, a photography teacher at Bard College of Simon’s Rock delivering an overview of the changes in photography from the early 20th century to the present.
The talk was given prior to the reception for “From the Great Falls to the Hilltops: Early 20th Century Photography from the Falls Village-Canaan Historical Society” at the David M. Hunt Library Saturday, March 16.
He quoted author Arthur C. Clarke: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
The final segment starts with Michelle Hansen and Andrea Downs making a quick pitch for the 100th anniversary activities of the Falls Village Volunteer Fire Department, one of which was a talk about strokes and heart attacks from Melissa Braislin of Nuvance Health.
Another fire department-sponsored event was a talk on arson investigation by veteran investigator Laura Billon.
The event was not captured on video, so Veden had this reporter, sitting in the back of his Subaru amidst fly-fishing paraphernalia, summarize the talk.
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Sarah Martinez discussed art techniques with Robert Cronin at the Hunt Library Saturday, July 20.
Photo by Patrick L. Sullivan
FALLS VILLAGE — The David M. Hunt Library hosted a reception for artists Sarah Martinez and Ali Gibbons Saturday, July 20. The artists’ show, “Serial Works on Paper and Canvas” runs through Aug. 16 at the library.
Gibbons and husband (and fellow artist) Scott Reinhardt split their time evenly between Sharon and Brooklyn. Martinez, with husband Brook and family, lives up the street from the library.
Gibbons will give a talk Thursday, July 25 at 5:30 p.m. and Martinez will run a workshop Saturday, July 27 at 10 a.m. (please RSVP). Both events are at the library.
For more information go to www.huntlibrary.org or call 860-824-7424.
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Lee Sohl and therapy dog Freddie.
Photo by Mia Barnes
SHARON — Whether volunteering at schools, visiting prisons, or at her home in Kent, Lee Sohl can almost always be found with a dog.
For the past 32 years Sohl has served as animal control officer in Kent. She has since added on three other towns serving as the ACO in Sharon for 10 years, Salisbury for seven, and most recently Cornwall.
Her and her husband, Jim Sohl, who is also ACO certified, live with 14 dogs of their own.
Originally from Westchester County, New York, Sohl fostered her love of animals from a young age. Dogs became the subject of her artwork and she said, “By age 12 I had read every dog book in the Chappaqua Public Library.
As she gained more experience, the number of animals in her care grew. She revealed that at one point there were 50 animals in her house, ranging from llamas and pigs to ferrets and chinchillas.
Sohl was asked by the First Selectman in 1991 to take over as the town dog warden, and having had experience working at the Kent pound, she agreed. For the past three decades she has been fielding calls, answering questions, and searching for dogs while also balancing her full-time job as a reading interventionist and assistant principal at Kent Center School.
The work of an ACO, though seemingly animal centered, involves a significant amount of human interaction. Aside from dogs that Sohl herself finds roaming, the majority of the reports come from community members.
Most cases fall under one of two categories, nuisance (biting or barking) and roaming. The ways in which Sohl responds vary from case to case.
Above all her goal is to educate the owners, whether that be through a reminder of the licensing mandates or tips on how to handle disobedient behavior. “The people here are animal lovers,” emphasized Sohl after stating that she tries to limit her ticketing to “frequent flyers” and formal complaints.
“Social media has made a big difference,” said Sohl when asked about how reports are generated. When Sohl started the job, she had 60 dogs in the pound in one year just for Kent; last year there were 20 dogs across all four towns.
When a dog is reported as roaming, all efforts are focused on identification and reunification. If an animal is licensed or is microchipped, they are almost always guaranteed to return home. In other cases, Sohl takes to the newspaper and various social media platforms. During that time, the dog will stay in the pound in which town they were found for a week before being able to be placed in a new home.
“The pound can be a traumatizing place for most dogs” remarked Sohl when describing the urgency of her work. “Though the job is part-time, I am working 24/7.”
In the past two years she has increased outreach efforts by bringing her 3 therapy dogs to schools, libraries, nursing homes and most recently prisons.
“Students have a much easier time reading to a dog than a teacher or parent,” noted Sohl. “It takes a lot of the stress off.”
While reflecting on her time as an ACO she stated, “This is a great life with animals and because of them my world has been opened up to new opportunities.”
In the past year she has written, illustrated, and self-published 6 books — each one focusing on one of her 14 dogs. She has already started the creative process for the next book.
“There’s been so many fun experiences,” Sohl reflected. “I get to help these animals while also meeting great people.”
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