Kent transforms into gingerbread village
Florence’s “ Duomo” by Susan Allen, at Heron Shop.
Lans Christensen
Gingerbread House at 45 On Main.Lans Christensen
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Police Blotter: Troop B
Jul 02, 2025
Police Blotter: Troop B
Police Blotter: Troop B
The following information was provided by the Connecticut State Police at Troop B. All suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Driver flees vehicle after guardrail collision
On the evening of June 21, John Naula, 24, of Bethel was travelling north on Route 63 in Cornwall near the intersection with Cornwall Hollow Road when he struck the metal guardrail, causing disabling damage to the passenger side. Naula abandoned the vehicle, a Toyota Corolla Matrix, and was later found uninjured at the Shell gas station in Goshen. Naula was issued a misdemeanor summons for evading responsibility and failure to maintain lane. He was scheduled to appear at Torrington Superior Court on July 2.
Near head-on on Route 4
August Farina, 51, of Torrington was driving with two passengers on Route 4 in Cornwall on the morning of June 22 when a Mercedes-Benz ML350, driven by Claudia Proenca-Silva, 51, of Poughkeepsie, New York, crossed the center double-yellow lines and collided with the passenger side of Farina’s Subaru Legacy Sport. Farina’s vehicle veered off the roadway and came to a rest in the embankment, while Proenca-Silva’s car came to a stop in the roadway. All were transported to Sharon Hospital for possible injuries. Proenca-Silva was issued an infraction for failure to maintain lane.
Stop sign mishap
On the morning of June 24, Joseph Hall, 53, of Taconic was driving with his family on Route 41 in Salisbury in a Subaru Outback when a Ford F350 Super Duty, driven by Leon McLain, 65, of Lakeville collided with the left side of his vehicle. McLain stated he was attempting to cross Route 41 on Farnum Road and thought Hall’s blinker was on, so attempted to move on from the stop sign but instead hit the Outback, disabling it. His own vehicle received functional damage and needed no tow. No injuries were reported from the accident, and McLain was issued an infraction for failure to obey a stop sign.
The Lakeville Journal will publish the outcome of police charges. Contact us by mail at P.O. Box 1688, Lakeville, CT 06039, Attn: Police Blotter, or send an email, with “police blotter” in subject, to editor@lakevillejournal.com
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Fourth of July events nearby
Jul 02, 2025
Independence Day festivities have been planned in several locations to celebrate the nation’s 249th birthday, Friday, July 4.
Early in the day, the Salisbury Association will host a live reading of the Declaration of Independence, read by Lou Buccerri in colonial outfit. The reenactment will be also accompanied by a performance from the Salisbury Band from 12 to 2 p.m. at the Salisbury Town Grove.
For fireworks at night, there will be shows at Lake Waramaug and Amenia’s Four Brothers Drive-In.
Lake Waramaug, at the border of Kent, New Preston and Warren, will host a lakefront firework display. “Rim-the-Lake with Flares” begins at 9 p.m., and flares can be purchased at area shops including County Wine and Spirits, The Smithy Cafe at 9 Main, Hopkins Inn and at various locations around the lake. The fireworks begin at 9:30 p.m.
At Four Brothers Drive-In, live music will begin at 6:30 p.m. A double feature will play with a fireworks show in between the movies. “Jurassic World Rebirth” is scheduled to begin at 8:50 p.m., followed by fireworks, and then “F1 The Movie” starts at 11:15 p.m.
There will be no Independence Day fireworks show at Lime Rock Park this year.
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Residents overflowed Kent Town Hall Friday, June 27, forcing the vote to ban wakesurfing on Lake Waramaug to be rescheduled.
David Carley
KENT — Residents arrived in droves to a town meeting on the evening of June 27 to vote on a controversial ordinance that would ban wakesurfing on Lake Waramaug — so many that it forced First Selectman Marty Lindenmayer to disband the meeting before a vote could be held, citing public safety and fairness concerns.
Would-be attendees were still flooding into the line outside the doors when Lindenmayer announced to the already packed room that the meeting would be postponed until the town could find a way to fairly and safely account for the vote of each resident who wished to cast a ballot. Fire Marshall Timothy Limbos determined the building would breach maximum capacity and could not accommodate the crowd.
The major ticket item of the evening was a vote on a highly polemic ordinance that would effectively ban wakesurfing on the lake, a sport that requires boats to produce wakes large enough that the surfer is able to ride the wave under its own power. An ordinance regarding the regulation of open burning and another regulating fire alarm systems were also meant to be voted on at the meeting.
Many residents expressed they had never seen such a throng at Town Hall votes — “even for a presidential,” said Richard Welsh as he waited in line before Lindenmayer made the call.
Lindenmayer said previous meeting turnout on the issue in Kent led him to believe the meeting room at Town Hall could handle the numbers. A public hearing held on June 17 had only filled about half the seats, and Lindenmayer said they had set out even more chairs for the vote. Still, the room was far from able to host the masses that turned out.
Several locals said the high turnout should have been anticipated given the buzz surrounding the highly contentious topic. For the past several weeks, yard signs have been popping up beside Kent streets urging residents to vote either yes or no on the ordinance.
One sign campaign in favor of the proposed ordinance features the phrase “Big Waves = ...” followed by one of a number of possible risks associated with the activity: “Choppy Water Skiing,” “Swamped Boats,” “Dangerous Docks” and “Harm to our Lake.” Issues of public safety and the ecological health of the lake have been key talking points in previous public meetings surrounding the proposed regulation of the sport.
Other signs are against the ban, arguing for other restrictive measures that don’t go as far as a full-on ban. “Wave Restrictions Work,” reads one. Another sign echoes a “freedom of recreation” sentiment expressed by many who have opposed banning the sport: “Share the Lake.”
The opinion of the energized crowd on Friday evening was difficult to determine without a vote, however, many residents were vocal in their desire to see the ordinance passed. Welsh, who enjoys fishing on Lake Waramaug, said that he felt the lake is simply too small, and too shallow, for the sport.
“They’re absolutely going to affect the lake bottom,” he said of the large waves generated while wakesurfing. A disruption of the sediment at the lake’s bottom, which is said to contain phosphates that may cause potentially harmful algal blooms if disturbed, has been widely posited as a reason to limit large wakes on the lake.
Several other attendees, however, who wished to remain anonymous, felt that the town leadership was overstepping by regulating the sport.
After Lindenmayer ordered the postponement, he said that the Board of Selectmen would discuss on Tuesday, June 31 how to best organize the vote so that each resident who wishes to participate may do so fairly and safely. He said that changing the venue to the higher-capacity Community Center or Kent Center School were viable options, as was calling for a referendum.
As the crowd dispersed outside Town Hall, the atmosphere grew tense. New Preston resident John Amster approached Lindenmayer and the two traded harsh words regarding the ban and Amster’s ability to vote on it. Amster, who spoke against the ordinance at the June 17 hearing, pays taxes in Kent through property owned by a trust, which Kent does not consider adequate voter criteria.
After a heated exchange, the two men separated and the masses began to fizzle in earnest, holding their votes for another day. No new date had been set as of June 30.
In order to take effect, the ordinance must be approved by Kent, Warren and Washington residents, as the lake is situated at the border of the three towns.
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Green crab arancini, with crab provided by Wulf’s Fish and napa cabbage from Rock Cobble Farm.
Allison Mitchell
KENT — Kent’s New American tavern Swyft had an unusual addition to its menu of locally-sourced, elevated fare last week – the European green crab, an invasive crustacean that has wreaked havoc on New England’s fisheries and coastal ecosystems, but which also happens to be very tasty.
“People just don’t know that they’re delicious,” Executive Chef Ryan Carbone said during a moment of respite between the Friday, June 27, lunch and dinner rushes. “They can be eaten and we can do our part to control the population to a degree.”
What brought this unlikely ingredient into Swyft’s kitchen was an initiative called Green Crab Week, which took place from June 20-29. The yearly event is an exposition in which gastronome-meets-sustainability nonprofit GreenCrab.Org partners with restaurants, fishmongers, fisherman and other seafood-oriented organizations to demonstrate the culinary versatility of this small but ecologically devastating crab.
Native to the eastern North Atlantic, the green crab was introduced to New England waters in the early 19th century, likely brought over in the ballasts of European merchant ships. Since then, it has established itself along the coast from South Carolina to Newfoundland, severely impacting eelgrass habitat and shellfish populations throughout its new range. It has also found a footing on North America’s west coast, Australia and South Africa, and is expected to push even further afield as climate change alters ocean temperatures and ecosystems.
Swyft was one of three Connecticut restaurants — and the only in the interior — to participate in Green Crab Week out of more than 75 businesses along the East Coast. Other partnering establishments were BLDG, in New Haven, and The Shipwright’s Daughter in Mystic. Oakville, Connecticut’s seafood purveyor To The Gills also joined in.
Carbone said David Standridge, founder and executive chef at the sustainable seafood-focused Shipwright’s Daughter, embraced the green crab at his restaurant early on. Carbone cited Standridge, alongside a Boston-based fish wholesaler he uses called Wulf’s Fish that regularly stocks the crab, as his inspiration for taking part in this year’s Green Crab Week.
“I just wanted to do our part in the Northwest Corner,” he said.
While it’s Swyft’s first foray into Green Crab Week, Carbone affirmed that sustainability and environmental consciousness fit firmly into the restaurant’s ethos, which it shares with its hyperlocal tasting-menu restaurant next door, Ore Hill. Protecting the land that provides the food, and the livelihoods of those who harvest it, is central to a responsible and respectful chef’s mission, he said.
And when it comes to seafood, it’s personal: “It’s my favorite thing to cook. It’s my favorite thing to eat. And all the things we love to eat in New England — the lobsters, the clams, what have you —are affected by this green crab population.”
Carbone said he hopes a sustaining green crab fishery develops in the region, not only to keep their numbers in check but also because they’re simply a great addition to the kitchen.
For Swyft’s crab week menu, Carbone opted to make a stock to act as a risotto base – a method which uses the entire animal and doesn’t require the wasteful and time-consuming process of picking meat from the small crustaceans.
Carbone’s stock crushed the meat and shells together in a boil flavored with aromatics like onion and garlic alongside “a couple kinds of seaweed to reinforce that ocean flavor.”
The result was a “really, really aromatic, flavorful stock” that was used to cook the risotto that would be deep fried into arancini for an appetizer or shared plate. The fried risotto balls were served on a bed of seaweed aioli and vinegar-chili dressed napa cabbage sourced from the Ore Hill & Swyft-owned Rock Cobble Farm just several miles down the road in South Kent.
The experience wasn’t only gastronomic — servers chatted with guests about the species and GreenCrab.Org’s work. At the meal’s end, informational cards prepared by the nonprofit were dropped with the bill so that diners returned home with more than just a sated palate.
While Green Crab Week is over, Carbone said his time with the invasive has just begun: “It’s a versatile ingredient, and I’m really excited to dig in after this week and start to use it and incorporate it into more of my food.”
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