Kent pursues grant for Swift House

KENT — The Board of Selectmen accepted a resolution for a grant application to Connecticut’s State Historic Preservation to initiate the process of placing the Swift House on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).

The grant, which is for $15,000, would fund the payroll for a contracted architectural historian to survey the property and produce a “historic designation report.” This report would then support the town’s application to enroll the Swift House, which is owned by the town, with the NRHP. The resolution also includes the BOS’s consent to apply for admission to the NRHP as the town’s elected officials.

The selectmen discussed potential uses for the property, including future workforce housing. BOS administrative assistant Joyce Kearns pointed out that redevelopment of any kind will be difficult due to the many restrictions that will be placed upon the structure due to its candidacy as a historic site.

New EDC in talks

The BOS discussed forming a new Economic Development Committee, following the example of other Northwest towns such as Washington, Cornwall, and Salisbury.

First Selectman Marty Lindenmayer cited an injection of energy and activity into the region as a driving factor for developing the new committee.

In the ten years he’s been a full-time resident, “[the town] has changed,” he said, positing that a specified committee on economic development could help streamline the positive effects of that change. With the prospect of affordable housing options in town, Lindenmayer said now is the perfect time to stimulate the town’s economy.

“We play an interesting role in the state,” said Lindenmayer, citing the town’s natural beauty, recreational opportunities, quality of life, and picturesque downtown. Selectwoman Lynn Worthington added that the town’s many art galleries and creative opportunities are an additional draw.

Latest News

Angela Derrico Carabine

SHARON — Angela Derrick Carabine, 74, died May 16, 2025, at Vassar Hospital in Poughkeepsie, New York. She was the wife of Michael Carabine and mother of Caitlin Carabine McLean.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated on June 6 at 11:00 a.m. at Saint Katri (St Bernards Church) Church. Burial will follow at St. Bernards Cemetery. A complete obituary can be found on the website of the Kenny Funeral home kennyfuneralhomes.com.

Revisiting ‘The Killing Fields’ with Sam Waterston

Sam Waterston

Jennifer Almquist

On June 7 at 3 p.m., the Triplex Cinema in Great Barrington will host a benefit screening of “The Killing Fields,” Roland Joffé’s 1984 drama about the Khmer Rouge and the two journalists, Cambodian Dith Pran and New York Times correspondent Sydney Schanberg, whose story carried the weight of a nation’s tragedy.

The film, which earned three Academy Awards and seven nominations — including one for Best Actor for Sam Waterston — will be followed by a rare conversation between Waterston and his longtime collaborator and acclaimed television and theater director Matthew Penn.

Keep ReadingShow less
The art of place: maps by Scott Reinhard

Scott Reinhard, graphic designer, cartographer, former Graphics Editor at the New York Times, took time out from setting up his show “Here, Here, Here, Here- Maps as Art” to explain his process of working.Here he explains one of the “Heres”, the Hunt Library’s location on earth (the orange dot below his hand).

obin Roraback

Map lovers know that as well as providing the vital functions of location and guidance, maps can also be works of art.With an exhibition titled “Here, Here, Here, Here — Maps as Art,” Scott Reinhard, graphic designer and cartographer, shows this to be true. The exhibition opens on June 7 at the David M. Hunt Library at 63 Main St., Falls Village, and will be the first solo exhibition for Reinhard.

Reinhard explained how he came to be a mapmaker. “Mapping as a part of my career was somewhat unexpected.I took an introduction to geographic information systems (GIS), the technological side of mapmaking, when I was in graduate school for graphic design at North Carolina State.GIS opened up a whole new world, new tools, and data as a medium to play with.”

Keep ReadingShow less