
The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series will make its debut at Lime Rock Park this summer.
Provided
The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series will make its debut at Lime Rock Park this summer.
SALISBURY — Robert Jacopino, vice president of operations at Lime Rock Park, was visiting the Big E in West Springfield, Massachusetts, last fall when a “lightbulb moment” struck.
“I saw cars parked on people’s lawns throughout the neighborhoods and thought, we can have that at Lime Rock Park,” he recalled during a meeting with about a dozen neighboring property owners at the Lakeville venue’s infield chalet on Thursday, Feb. 27.
The hour long forum’s purpose was to gauge neighbors’ interests in hosting, and profiting from, patron parking on private property when the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series rolls into town the weekend of June 27, drawing what park officials have described as “the biggest event in Lime Rock Park’s history,” with expected attendance between 12,000 and 15,000 guests.
The event, said Jacopino, will be nationally televised on the FOX network.
“We are looking to share the prosperity with our neighbors,” said Jacopino, who in late January sent out a notice to Lime Rock Park neighbors inviting them to profit by parking cars on their property and inviting them to the Feb. 27 informational meeting.
Not only is the plan mutually beneficial to the park and to residents, he said, but “this will be a great economic opportunity for the immediate area, the Northwest Corner and beyond,” including restaurants, hotels and shopkeepers.
Some signed up, others undecided
Jacopino was joined by Tom Burke, director of track operations, as they answered questions, addressed concerns and handed out a generic parking plan with suggestions on how to delineate spaces, travel lanes, entrances and exits.
As of last week’s meeting, about a half dozen neighbors indicated interest in hosting off-site parking, and a handful of others said they had not yet decided but were weighing the option and had additional questions.
Jacopino estimated that 120 cars can fit on an average acre of land, and that the parking fee will range from $20 per car within a half mile of the track to $10 per car outside of a half mile.
“It’s going to be totally your revenue. We don’t want any part of it,” said Jacopino.
Lime Rock Park plans to supply each off-site location with a 2-foot by 2-foot official NASCAR parking sign and provide shuttle service for sites not within walking distance to the event, said Jacopino.“And we checked with the town, nobody needs a special permit to park cars in their yards,” he noted in response to a question from the group.
The park’s use of off-site parking is nothing new, as the nearby Trinity Church and other large-acreage fields have offered supplemental parking during large events, said park officials.
In addition to several private property owners, representatives from local businesses including the park’s neighbor, Heather Bloom Farm on White Hollow Road, and Housatonic Valley Regional High School, offered to park cars at their sites.
In addition, said Jacopino, local Boy Scouts have offered to assist with parking as a public service.
Robert Jacopino, vice president of operations at Lime Rock Park, met with about a dozen neighbors last week at the venue’s infield chalet to explain how they could benefit financially by parking cars on their property during the upcoming 2025 NASCARCraftsman Truck Series/ARCA event on June 27 and 28.Debra A. Aleksinas
HVRHS to offer paved parking option
Among attendees at the meeting were Melissa and Randy Dean, who said they were representing the owner of nearby While Hollow Farm and Vineyard and seeking details on the parking plan.
Jeffrey Tripp, class advisor at HVRHS, and Jeff Lloyd, facility manager, noted that the school’s parking lot would be an ideal alternative for patrons who arrive in “really nice cars” and prefer to park on a paved surface instead of fields.
They further noted that students have volunteered to assist with the parking flow.
Lloyd asked if they should plan on opening the parking area for both Friday and Saturday of the weekend event, or just Saturday.
Burke explained that Friday is traditionally the slower day for weekend events and that Saturday will lure the biggest crowds.
“Saturday is definitely the full monty,” Jacopino said.
In response to questions about parking and safety issues, Burke said State Police will provide full security, and that Lifestar “will be on the ground” both at the park and at the high school’s athletic fields in the event of a mass casualty incident.
Park officials noted that “No Parking” signs will be posted along Route 112, and along roads where off-site paid parking is being offered, and that all of the private parking areas are set back from the main roads.
“Tom has made leaps and bounds over the past two years getting the State Police involved so that there will be fewer parking jams,” said Jacopino.
Concerns about dogs, rain and litter
Dugway Road residents Linda and Thomas Walko were are “on the fence” as to whether they plan to offer their 11 acre property with an expansive, open meadow as an off-site parking location.
Linda Walko asked how to handle a situation where a patron arrives with a dog in their car, to which Lime Rock Park officials suggested they be turned away, as dogs are not allowed in the park or to remain in parked cars.
Thomas Walko, who races at Lime Rock, expressed concern that inclement weather could become an issue. “I can park a couple hundred of cars there, but if it rains, it will rip my place up.”
He also raised concerns about his fields being littered with beer cans and other trash, to which Jacopino suggested placing several visibly marked, large trash cans throughout the parking area.
The Lime Rock vice president said he has received a few calls from residents concerned about noise and traffic, but most of the feedback to the parking plan have been positive. He explained that all of the sites on private property will be “away from other people’s homes,” and on large parcels of land tucked back from main roads.
One meeting attendee asked: “Do the patrons coming aware that this is a small, New England town where there is not a lot of infrastructure?”
The Cooper family on Lime Rock Road is counting the days to the big NASCAR event, when parking will become a family affair.
Erica and Ryan Cooper said they plan to park about 200 cars on their two-and-a-half acre property. “Our three boys are pretty excited” about helping out, said Ryan.
‘Biggest event in Lime Rock Park’s history’
Lime Rock has a long history of hosting NASCAR events, having held 20 races over a 19-year span from 1993 to 2011.
After a 14-year hiatus, NASCAR will once again race at Lime Rock Park as the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series makes its debut at the Lakeville venue the last weekend in June.
In preparation for the event, the historic park is undergoing several updates during the off-season, including an extension to pit lane and additional safety features.
“To say that we are excited about this announcement is a major understatement, as this will surely be the biggest event in Lime Rock Park’s history,” said Dicky Riegel, the racetrack’s CEO.
“The combination of the NASCAR fan base in New England with the spectacular beauty of Lime Rock will create motorsports magic in Connecticut.”
NORTH CANAAN — The new federally qualified health center in North Canaan has treated more than 1,000 patients since opening its doors last summer to strong demand in the Northwest Corner. However, operators of that facility, and others like it in Connecticut, said they are facing a “serious financial crisis” because Medicaid reimbursements have failed for decades to cover the actual costs of providing essential services.
In response to the longstanding problem, the not-for-profit Community Health Center Association of Connecticut has filed a Declaratory Ruling Request with the state Department of Social Services regarding that agency’s legal obligations for setting and revising Medicaid reimbursement rates for the state’s federally qualified health centers, also referred to as FQHC’s.
The legal action follows more than 18 months of administrative rate requests and unsuccessful negotiations with DSS, according to a statement issued by the association on March 11, which noted:
“After great effort made by the FQHC’s to work with DSS and reach resolution, the offer made by DSS offers inadequate rate adjustments, failing to address the FQHCs’ financial concerns, and requires them to surrender their due process rights under the law.”
Joanne Borduas, who chairs the association’s board of directors, said DSS’s offer was for “less than reasonable costs and came with unacceptable policy stipulations that we would be made to agree to in order to get the grossly inadequate proposed rate rebasing, which would be paid over a four-year schedule.”
“Our request to DSS was clear,” said Borduas, who also serves as CEO of Community Health and Wellness Center of Greater Torrington which also has centers in North Canaan and Winsted.
“We want DSS to follow the Federal law and compensate us accordingly so we can continue to care for our most vulnerable populations, and we need that to happen now because our 440,000 patients, 264,000 of whom are enrolled in Medicaid across our FQHC network, need us.”
Borduas noted that the decision to move forward comes after years of CHC/ACT and health centers making “good faith efforts” to get this important process changed to comply with federal law.
She said the financial strain on the state’s health centers has reached a point where vital services are at severe risk, including those under the umbrella of Community Health and Wellness Center.
“As of now we continue to operate without additional cuts or layoffs, however, it is difficult to fill vacant positions. It is difficult to recruit in this environment. We need to stay competitive with workforce wages in order to recruit providers, and that is difficult to do.”
She added that “We cannot provide raises for our staff who are extremely valuable, care about our mission and the people we serve and who work hard every day, and we cannot think of expanding services to meet community needs because there is an associated cost.”
In response to Declaratory Ruling Request filed with the state Department of Social services, that agency’s spokesperson, Christine Stuart reported on March 13 that the department acknowledges receipt of the request and “shall be analyzing and responding in due course and in compliance with statutes pertaining to petitions of state agencies for a declaratory ruling.”
In 2024, the Department of Social Services issued a “final report” into the state’s Medicaid program which found the state’s operating methods to be “cost-effective and high-performing, while identifying some areas where further improvements can be made.”
The analysis, which was conducted by Accenture and Manatt at the request of the state, evaluated the current program’s cost efficiency, quality and access, “while also exploring whether other models of operations could be an improvement over the current system, which operates through an administrative services organization model.”
The report found that Connecticut’s program “stands out as a model of cost-efficiency, with per capita spending 14% lower than the average of most northeastern states, and administrative costs significantly lower than managed care states (3.8% vs. 9.4%).”
The DSS “final report” further noted: “It also shows that the state is meeting national benchmarks to provide reliable service delivery while maintaining fiscal responsibility and is performing above the median on approximately 70% of national adult and child quality measures,” and suggests other states “could benefit from reviewing Connecticut’s program as a blueprint to achieve similar results.”
The Community Health Center Association of Connecticut is not convinced.
It maintains that as the state’s health centers begin to “suspend vital services, freeze hiring and deplete their cash reserves,” they have been left with no choice other than to pursue legal remedies. “They are not seeking special treatment, but simply asking DSS to follow the law as written.”
Speaking to her experience as CEO of Community Health and Wellness Center of Greater Torrington, Borduas explained that adjusted rates for medical and mental health were received by the state Department of Social Services for adding the North Canaan Health Center.
“Medical rates per our 2024 cost per Medicaid patient leaves a $122.48 gap between reimbursement and cost per patient. This difference,” she noted, “is what we lose for every patient enrolled in Medicaid that we care for.”
Behavior health is better compensated, said Borduas, but dental, which was offered at Community Health and Wellness Center’s Torrington and Winsted locations, is compensated $137.15 below 2024 costs and as a result, “CHWC has had to unfortunately suspend our dental services having incurred $350,000 in losses for restorative care in 2024.”
That included services like dentures, bridges, crowns and root canals, and an analysis of full services is in process and will likely yield greater losses, said Borduas. “The low Medicaid reimbursement that applies to 60% of our patients, the large gaps in payments are simply not sustainable.”
Connecticut’s federally qualified health centers provide critical medical, dental and behavioral healthcare to more than 440,000 of the state’s neediest and most marginalized residents.
On average, 60% of patients at the statewide centers have Medicaid coverage, where their care cannot be denied, according to the association.
“The FQHC’s need a rate-setting process that makes sense and follows the law, to ensure that all Connecticut residents, regardless of their income or background, can continue to access the care they need,” added Borduas.
Shawn K. Frick, CEO of the Community Health Care Association of Connecticut, noted that “The Connecticut legislature has been consistently supportive of our work, but our attempts to address this issue through the legislative process have been consistently opposed by the administration.”
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North Canaan Town Hall
NORTH CANAAN — “If you’re not coming to work, why would you get paid?”
Selectman Craig Whiting asked his fellow selectmen this pointed question during a special meeting of the Board on March 12 discussing Town Clerk Jean Jacquier, who has been absent from work for more than a month. She was not present at the meeting.
“There’s been no reasoning, no explanation, no anything as to why you’re not here,” said Whiting.
Jacquier has worked in Town Hall since 1993 and was first elected town clerk in 2017. Conflict arose in 2023 when several complaints of misconduct were lodged against Jacquier.
First Selectman Brian Ohler filed the complaints to the Attorney General’s office, which included, among others, improper security of the vault, posting candidate campaign material in Town Hall and untimely stamping documents. The subsequent investigation found misconduct on the part of Jacquier in each of these three areas but took no punitive action.
Jacquier filed suit against the Town of North Canaan to recoup $15,000 in legal fees accrued during the investigation. The town motioned to strike the case, which was granted by Hon. Walter Menjivar at Torrington Superior Court on Jan. 28, 2025.
Ohler said Jacquier stopped coming to work after that ruling and has not been in contact since Feb. 4. During her absence, she continued to receive pay checks.
Assistant Town Clerk Marilisa Camardi had been filling in part time but was away the first week of March. To keep the office open, Executive Assistant Paul Mattingly was appointed assistant town clerk by the Board of Selectmen at its March 3 meeting. The two will work together until the next election or until Jacquier returns.
“It’s an essential function of the town to have that office open,” said Whiting.
Last week, Jacquier told The Lakeville Journal her recent absence is due to harassment and antagonism in Town Hall, which is taking a toll on her health.
Jacquier’s attorney, Jeffrey Mirman, communicated with the selectmen to request the meeting regarding her salary be open to the public as opposed to executive session. The selectmen complied.
Selectman Jesse Bunce said he has been in contact with Jacquier and he presented a letter from her to his fellow selectmen during the March 12 meeting. Ohler stated he could not verify the source of the letter, but he would forward it to the town attorney. The letter was not read into the record.
Ohler made a motion to suspend Jacquier’s salary until she returns to work. Whiting seconded. The motion passed 2-0 with Bunce abstaining.
“Every picture begins with just a collection of good shapes,” said painter and illustrator Dan Howe, standing amid his paintings and drawings at the Kearcher-Monsell Gallery at Housatonic Valley Regional High School. The exhibit, which opened on Friday, March 7, and runs through April 10, spans decades and influences, from magazine illustration to portrait commissions to imagined worlds pulled from childhood nostalgia. The works — some luminous and grand, others intimate and quiet — show an artist whose technique is steeped in history, but whose sensibility is wholly his own.
Born in Madison, Wisconsin, and trained at the American Academy of Art in Chicago, Howe’s artistic foundation was built on rigorous, old-school principles. “Back then, art school was like boot camp,” he recalled. “You took figure drawing five days a week, three hours a day. They tried to weed people out, but it was good training.” That discipline led him to study under Tom Lovell, a renowned illustrator from the golden age of magazine art. “Lovell always said, ‘No amount of detail can save a picture that’s commonplace in design.’”
Training led to work. Early on, while still a graduate assistant at Syracuse University, Howe began painting portraits — chancellors, deans, and, later, an endless roster of chairmen and medical executives. It paid well, but Howe found that the job of a portraitist, even a highly skilled one, is ultimately limited. “They’re just the same thing, you know, just a guy in a suit. Later, maybe it was a girl in a suit,” said Howe.
Between commissions, he painted for himself. This show is a gathering of those moments — studies of his wife and daughters, mythic scenes painted for libraries, and Star Wars covers from his time living near Dark Horse Comics in Oregon.A large painting, originally commissioned for a library, shows a girl in an attic opening a trunk, imagination spilling into the room. The library remodeled and sent the painting back. Now it anchors a wall in the show.
Dan Howe’s work reflects the Brandywine School’s devotion to craftsmanship, narrative depth, and a luminous, almost nostalgic realism. Like Howard Pyle and N.C. Wyeth before him, Howe builds scenes using light and composition to evoke mood and meaning. His meticulous brushwork and layering techniques nod to the tradition of classical illustration, yet his work diverges in its contemporary stillness. Of Norman Rockwell, Howe said, “He’s of my era, and our styles are similar. Of course Rockwell is Rockwell. I’ve got a little more painterly, Sargent-esque stuff running through mine.” The influence is there, not as mimicry, but as a quiet echo, refined through his own aesthetic language. “I’m an anachronism,” he said, without regret. His influences form a lineage of illustrators whose work once filled the pages of The Saturday Evening Post and Collier’s. They understood, as Howe does, that a painting must be more than accurate.“Mood is everything,” said Howe, drawing a comparison between two paintings in the show — a couple by a fire — to an old Star Wars concept painting. “Same color scheme. Different world. Mood is everything.”
Teaching remains a passion for Howe. When he and his family moved to the east coast from Chicago, Howe taught a series at the Norman Rockwell Museum called “Painting Like Rockwell,” something he hopes to revive. “I like beginners,” he said. “They don’t have bad habits yet.”
Howe also runs a summer figure drawing workshop at HVRHS with an old-school approach. “You’ve just walked into a time machine — this is art school, 1965. Three hours of drawing in the morning, three in the afternoon. No cell phones.” His methods may be antiquated but the results are living proof that some things are worth preserving. “Maybe this stuff is so old it’s new again,” he mused.
As he hung his pieces for this show, Howe said teachers stopped by, connecting his images to their own memories. “That’s a success,” he said. “If a picture makes someone feel something, then it’s done its job.”