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KENT — Rain clouds threatened the promotion ceremony at Kent Center School on Tuesday, June 15. At 4 p.m., clouds threatened to bring showers. But right on schedule for the 6 p.m. ceremony, the sun burst through and provided a glorious early evening.
It was perhaps the perfect weather for a celebration of a COVID-19 year, when every day began with just a tinge of anxiety. In the end, it all worked out, and everyone involved got another lesson in perseverance, faith and flexibility.
The exercises were held in the school parking lot, where there was ample and comfortable space for the gathered guests. Officially not a “public” event, the graduates were able to create their own guest list of family members. The families brought colorful placards identifying their eighth grader.
After Principal Michelle Mott welcomed the families, the Class of 2021 entered and seated themselves together, facing their guests.
Essayist Irine Dumitrascu spoke of the upcoming separation of the 17 students, who have grown so close in spite of or perhaps because of the challenges they faced together.
“Graduation is bittersweet,” she said. “But we will all find each other.”
After diplomas were presented, happy students and their families had cheerful moments taking photographs and sharing hugs. Everyone spoke with gratitude about having the ceremony under the relaxing quarantine protocols. An enthusiastic shout was heard: “We are the 21er’s! This is just the start!”
Kent Center School Class of 2021
Zachary Varallo Bezerra, Zaya j. Chillious, Cheyanne Dinneen, Irine Henley Dumitrascu, Brian Thomas Hunt Jr., Aaron Kurze, Kyle Scott McCarron, Terra Wei McGurk, Lola Bay Moerschell, Patrick John Money, Elijah Joseph Pennucci, Mikayla Danielle Pfeifer, Maximillian Ward Posse, Lilyana Eden Raskind, Benjamin Andrew Soule, Evie Terkildsen, JunXin Zhang
2021 Awards
Principal’s Award: JunXin Zhang
Classroom Art: Terra McGurk
Classroom Music: Kyle McCarron
Chorus: Lilyana Raskind
Drama: Irine Dumitrascu
English: Irine Dumitrascu
French: Terra McGurk
Instrumental Music: Patrick Money
Math: Lilyana Raskind
Physical Education: Maximillian Posse
Science: Lola Moerschell
Social Studies: Irine Dumitrascu
Computer Science: Elijah Pennucci
Library: Irine Dumitrascu
PTO Citizenship Award: Zachary Bezerra
Viafore-Samartini artsAlive@KCS Award: Lola Moerschell
Kent Education Association: Zaya Chillious
American Legion Award: Lilyana Raskind
Lions Club Award: Maximillian Posse
Gail Leo Osolin Award: Lilyana Raskind
David Armstrong Art Award: Irine Dumitrascu
DAR Youth Citizenship Award: Elijah Pennucci
DAR History Award: Lola Moerschell
Friends forever, students in the Class of 2021 gathered together for photos before and after the promotion ceremony on Tuesday, June 15. Photo by Lans Christensen
Students in the Kent Center School Class of 2021 processed across the lawn to the parking lot, where this year’s ceremony was held. Photo by Lans Christensen
Friends forever, students in the Class of 2021 gathered together for photos before and after the promotion ceremony on Tuesday, June 15. Photo by Lans Christensen
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Telecom Reg’s Best Kept On the Books
When Connecticut land-use commissions update their regulations, it seems like a no-brainer to jettison old telecommunications regulations adopted decades ago during a short-lived period when municipalities had authority to regulate second generation (2G) transmissions prior to the Connecticut Siting Council (CSC) being ordered by a state court in 2000 to regulate all cell tower infrastructure as “functionally equivalent” services.
It is far better to update those regs instead, especially for macro-towers given new technologies like small cells. Even though only ‘advisory’ to the CSC, the preferences of towns by law must be taken into consideration in CSC decision making. Detailed telecom regs – not just a general wish list -- are evidence that a town has put considerable thought into where they prefer such infrastructure be sited without prohibiting service that many – though not all – citizens want and that first responders rely on for public safety.
Such regs come in handy when egregious tower sites are proposed in sensitive areas, typically on private land. The regs are a town’s first line of defense, especially when cross referenced to plans of conservation and development, P&Z regulations, and wetlands setbacks. They identify how/where the town plans to intersect with the CSC process. They are also a roadmap for service providers regarding preferred sites and sometimes less neighborhood contention. In fact, to have no telecom regs can weaken a town’s rights to protect environmental, scenic, and historic assets, and serve up whole neighborhoods to unnecessary overlapping coverage and corporate overreach. Such regs are unique to every town and should not follow anyone else’s boiler plate, especially industry’s.
Connecticut is the only state that has a centralized siting entity for cell towers. The good news is that applicants must prove need for new tower sites in an evidentiary proceeding and any decisions have the weight of the state behind them. The bad news is that the CSC used to be far less industry-friendly and rote in their reviews, which now resemble a check list. There is an operative assumption at CSC that if an applicant wants a tower, they must need it, otherwise why spend significant money to run the approval gauntlet? This reflects a subtle shift over the years at CSC from sincere willingness to protect the environment toward minimal tweaking of bad applications with minor changes. The bottom line is that towns really cannot rely on the CSC to do all the work for them.
What CSC issues telecom providers is a “certificate of environmental compatibility” after an evidentiary proceeding (not unlike a court case) with intervenors, parties, expert witnesses, and the service provider’s technical pro’s sworn in and subject to cross examination. Service providers get to do the same with any opposition from intervenor/party participants – like towns and citizens -- and their experts. It’s an impressive process whose ultimate goal is the fine balancing between allowing adequate/reliable public services and protecting state ecology with minimal damage to scenic, historic, and recreational values. They unfortunately often fall short of their mandate – like approving cell towers with diesel generators over town aquifers -- evidenced by CSC only rejecting about five cell towers in the past 15-20 years.
The CSC was founded in 1972 and clarified its mission in the 1980’s to prevent the state from being carved up willy-nilly by gas pipelines, high tension corridors, and broadcast towers. With the sudden proliferation of cell towers beginning in late 1990’s, it became the most sued agency in Connecticut by both an arrogant upstart industry if applications were denied and by towns/citizens when bad sites were forced on them. CSC gradually formed a defensive posture that drives their decisions toward industry with deeper pockets and attorneys on retainer.
For citizens, nothing can wreck one’s day like the CSC. It behooves towns to protect what little toolkit they have, and understand the legal parameters of the CSC’s playing field. The CSC is not a “normal” government agency where municipal/citizen redress is based on logic and local support. Their process is largely immune to everything but specific kinds of evidence – like town regs with setbacks/fall zones, radio frequency transmission signal strengths, sensitive areas identified, and detailed wildlife inventory, among others.
There is a current cell tower fight involving two intervening towns -- Washington and Warren; both with good cell tower regs – over a tower site within 1200’ of a Montessori School, near Steep Rock’s nature preserves with comprehensive geology/wildlife databases that include endangered, threatened and special concern flora and fauna, on established federal/state migratory bird flyways, within throwing distance to a historic site capable of being listed on the Underground Railroad, and with an access road on a blind curve entering a state highway that will permanently damage wetlands, vernal pools, and core forests. There are well credentialed environmental experts, including Dr. Michael Klemens, former chair of Salisbury’s P&Z, as well as the former director of migratory bird management at the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and an RF engineer testifying to alternative approaches, plus three attorneys representing intervenors. It is the most professional challenge I have seen at CSC since Falls Village successfully mounted one that protected Robbins Swamps several years ago.
The hearing is ongoing, with uncertain results. To see what it takes today to stop an inappropriate tower siting, see Docket #543 under “Pending Matters” at https://portal.ct.gov/csc before removing local cell tower regs – the lowest hanging fruit that any town can possess in case it’s needed.
B, Blake Levitt is the Communications Director at The Berkshire-Litchfield Environmental Council. She writes about how technology affects biology.