Our Home, Our Future

Ian Strever, principal, Housatonic Valley Regional High School
Photo by Mary Close Oppenheimer
“Children are the world’s most valuable resource and its best hope for the future.” —John F. Kennedy
A good education is critical for children to develop their potential and thrive in our knowledge-based economy.
With skyrocketing housing costs, many families who would like to take advantage of the quality education our schools offer cannot afford to live here. The cost of housing is also a serious challenge for teachers and other workers needed to run our schools.
This has been a long-running issue exacerbated by Covid. The increase in part-time residents who make up approximately 50% of our households has reduced housing stock available for full-time residents.
An increase in short-term rentals such as Airbnbs and very expensive seasonal rentals has put more homes out of reach. According to the Litchfield County Board of Realtors, between 2018 and 2022 the area historical median housing prices increased in Salisbury 59.6%. The increase in Sharon was 79.7%, Canaan 173.6%, North Canaan 67.4%, and Cornwall 148.1%.
High housing costs have had a huge impact on families with school-age children.
The student population at our local public schools has been declining for years.
The number of students has declined at Housatonic Valley Regional High School (HVRHS) from 613 in 2005 to 300. Fortunately Salisbury Central School’s population has increased slightly since 2015 thanks in part to a stable population of private school faculty’s children who get free housing and a bump from families moving into town during Covid. In the past 10 years Sharon Central School’s population declined from 177 to 100.
Ian Strever, principal of HVRHS, said he recently purchased a home in Falls Village. He says, “At the time I was looking in Salisbury, the lowest-priced piece of real estate was $890,000. There is nothing remotely realistic in Salisbury on a public school teacher (or administrator) salary. Unlike in the past when teachers were part of the community, new teachers can’t afford to live here. Almost all live outside of the district in towns that have more diverse housing stock and options like condos, smaller homes and rentals. There is a waiting list of about 100 people for Sarum Village and the rare affordable free-market rental or small home here are quickly snapped up by local people who hear of the opportunity through word of mouth. If a teacher is new to the area they don’t have that network. It makes attracting and retaining qualified staff very difficult.”
Recognizing the challenge of attracting teachers to the state, Connecticut has established CHFA, a Teachers Mortgage Assistance Program that is designed to attract more teachers with below market interest rates and down payment assistance. In January of 2020 science teacher Kurt Johnson came here with his wife and son. He struggled to find a home he could afford and found that housing costs in Salisbury and Sharon were too high to qualify for the CHFA $325,000 cap.
After a lengthy and intensive search he ended up buying a home in Canaan.
While this is considered a wealthy area, 30% of the students at HVRHS qualify for free or reduced-price lunches. When our young people finish school where will they live? Where will they go when they want to move out of their parents’ homes and begin independent lives? Even traditionally affordable neighboring towns have become prohibitively expensive. There are no starter homes available for young people so they can remain in the community they love and where they grew up.
They are our future workforce and our town’s future.
LAKEVILLE — Barbara Meyers DelPrete, 84, passed away Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, at her home. She was the beloved wife of George R. DelPrete for 62 years.
Mrs. DelPrete was born in Burlington, Iowa, on May 31, 1941, daughter of the late George and Judy Meyers. She lived in California for a time and had been a Lakeville resident for the past 55 years.
Survivors, in addition to her husband, George, include son, George R. DelPrete II, daughter, Jena DelPrete Allee, and son Stephen P. DelPrete. Grandchildren; Trey, Cassidy, and Meredith DelPrete, Jack, Will and Finn Allee, and Ali and Nicholas DelPrete.
A Funeral Mass was held at St. Mary’s Church, Lakeville, on Saturday, Oct. 4. May she Rest in Peace.
Ryan Funeral Home, 255 Main St., Lakeville, is in care of arrangements.
To offer an online condolence, please visit ryanfhct.com
SHARON — Shirley Anne Wilbur Perotti, daughter of George and Mabel (Johnson) Wilbur, the first girl born into the Wilbur family in 65 years, passed away on Oct. 5, 2025, at Noble Horizons.
Shirley was born on Aug. 19, 1948 at Sharon Hospital.
She was raised on her parents’ poultry farm (Odge’s Eggs, Inc.).
After graduating from Housatonic Valley Regional High School, she worked at Litchfield County National Bank and Colonial Bank.
She married the love of her life, John, on Aug. 16, 1969, and they lived on Sharon Mountain for more than 50 years.
Shirley enjoyed creating the annual family Christmas card, which was a coveted keepsake.She also enjoyed having lunch once a month with her best friends, Betty Kowalski, Kathy Ducillo, and Paula Weir.
In addition to John, she is survived by her three children and their families; Sarah Medeiros, her husband, Geoff, and their sons, Nick and Andrew, of Longmeadow, Massachusetts, Shelby Diorio, her husband, Mike, and their daughters, Addie, Lainey and Lyla, of East Canaan, Connecticut,Jeffrey Perotti, his wife, Melissa, and their daughters, Annie, Lucy and Winnie, of East Canaan. Shirley also leaves her two brothers, Edward Wilbur and his wife Joan, and David Wilbur; two nieces, three nephews, and several cousins.
At Shirley’s request, services will be private.
Donations in her memory may be made to the Sharon Woman’s Club Scholarship Fund, PO Box 283, Sharon, CT 06069.
The Kenny Funeral Home has care of arrangements.
MILLERTON — Veronica Lee “Ronnie” Silvernale, 78, a lifelong area resident died Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025, at Sharon Hospital in Sharon, Connecticut. Mrs. Silvernale had a long career at Noble Horizons in Salisbury, where she served as a respected team leader in housekeeping and laundry services for over eighteen years. She retired in 2012.
Born Oct. 19, 1946, at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, she was the daughter of the late Bradley C. and Sophie (Debrew) Hosier, Sr. Following her graduation from high school and attending college, she married Jack Gerard Silvernale on June 15, 1983 in Millerton, New York. Their marriage lasted thirty-five years until Jack’s passing on July 28, 2018.
Ronnie is survived by her daughter, Jaime Silvernale (Wm. MacDaniel, Sr.) of Millerton, her beloved grandson, Wm. MacDaniel, Jr.; two special nieces, Shannon and Rebecca and a special nephew Sean Hosier. In addition to her parents and husband, she was predeceased by her brother, Bradley C. Hosier, Jr. and her dear friend Ruth Fullerton of Millerton.
Visitation was private. A celebration of Ronnie’s life will be held in the future. Arrangements have been entrusted to the Scott D. Conklin Funeral Home, 37 Park Avenue, Millerton, NY 12546. To send an online condolence to the family or to plant a tree in Ronnie’s memory, please visit www.conklinfuneralhome.com
Christine Gevert, Crescendo’s artistic director, is delighted to announce the start of this musical organization’s 22nd year of operation. The group’s first concert of the season will feature Latin American early chamber music, performed Oct. 18 and 19, on indigenous Andean instruments as well as the virginal, flute, viola and percussion. Gevert will perform at the keyboard, joined by Chilean musicians Gonzalo Cortes and Carlos Boltes on wind and stringed instruments.
This concert, the first in a series of nine, will be held on Oct. 18 at Saint James Place in Great Barrington, and Oct. 19 at Trinity Church in Lakeville.
For those unfamiliar with Crescendo, the award-winning organization was founded in 2003 and brings lesser-known works from the Renaissance and Baroque periods — along with contemporary fusion pieces — to new life. Its performances often blend classical composition with nontraditional instrumentation for a refreshing new take on an established body of work.
Gevert, who is German, Chilean and American, is a conductor, keyboardist and musical scholar. As the multi-national, multi-lingual (German, Spanish and English) creative director, she is a veritable whirlwind of talent, professionalism and inspiration who conceives of new musical treats for her audiences. She also hires and nourishes local talent, sources internationally known vocal and instrumental professionals, and provides her audiences with well-researched program notes for each concert, packaged in lush, full-color programs that resemble illuminated manuscripts.
“It is the excitement about and dedication to the music, along with the prerequisite vocal and instrumental talent, that characterizes a Crescendo member,” said Gevert. “I don’t care about things like how old or young you are or where you’re from — it’s all about bringing these performers together to provide unforgettable musical experiences for its audiences.”
“Traditional audiences for classical music performances tend to skew older,” Gevert continued. “For that reason, I’ve embarked on an effort to reach younger listeners, and have done things like taken a Crescendo choral group to perform at Housatonic Regional High School. I’ve also launched an effort to recruit and train young singers in Baroque singing techniques so they can perform with our existing choral group.”
The upcoming 2025-26 season includes, among other performances, a solo recital and benefit concert on Nov. 22 by the international Baroque opera star and countertenor Nicholas Tamagna. The curated program will include works by Handel, Vivaldi, and Monteverdi.
Two dazzling Christmas concerts follow: on Dec. 6 and 7, Crescendo presents J.S. Bach’s “Sweet Comfort” cantata and Mass in G minor, featuring the full chorus and soloists with a period instrument orchestra. On Dec. 21, the annual Holiday Concert will be presented: “A Tapestry of Traditions: Unraveling the History of Christmas Carols,” with the entire Crescendo vocal ensemble and Gevert on organ.
For the full schedule, concerts details and ticket information, visit: www.crescendomusic.org