Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) visits People’s State Forest to celebrate two decades of the federal Highlands Conservation Act. Seated from left to right are DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes, FWS Reg. Dept. Director Kyla Hastie, and HVA Conservation Director Tim Abbott.
BARKHAMSTED — U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT), visited the People’s State Forest in Barkhamsted Thursday, June 27, to celebrate 20 years of the federal Highlands Conservation Act, one of the most important sources of public funding for land protection in northwest Connecticut. The event was hosted by Housatonic Valley Association.
Designed to support thousands of local jobs, preserve historic sites, and protect clean water supply for 20 million people, The Highlands Conservation Act allows states to access matching federal funding for projects to promote conservation, tourism, and recreation in the region.
The Highlands Region of the Northeastern United States consists of forested mountains and hills stretching from Connecticut, through New York and New Jersey, to Pennsylvania. It also gives these four states resources to conserve land and natural resources, in particular a clean water supply essential for serving more than 20 million people.
Other speakers at the Barkhamsted event included USFWS Deputy Regional Director Kyla Hastie and the Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection or her designee. Tim Abbott, Conservation Director at the Housatonic Valley Association, welcomed guests and moderated the event.
“$105 million in Highlands grant funding has been administered through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service which has protected 16,226 acres. Connecticut has led the way, with 5,893 acres conserved to date, leveraging the federal investment with state, municipal and private funding,” Abbott explained.
Highlands transactions in Connecticut typically combine Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition grants from DEEP to land trusts and municipalities with easements partially funded with a Highlands grant requiring a 1:1 non-federal match. Many land trusts and several towns in northwestern Connecticut have received as much as 90% of the funding needed to purchase and conserve important places in their communities.
“Senator Murphy has been a strong supporter of the Highlands Conservation Act, both in his role on the Senate Appropriations Committee which has helped fully fund the Highlands grant program since through multiple sessions of Congress, and as the Senate Sponsor of the successful reauthorization of the Highlands Conservation Act through FY28,” Abbott stated.
“The reauthorization helps expand Highlands’ eligibility to other communities beyond the current 26 Town Highlands Region in Connecticut, and eleven more have formally expressed their desire to be included. The act also allows public entities at the county or municipal level to receive Highlands funds directly to hold conservation interest, rather than just DEEP,” Abbott added.
The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) administers the Highlands program, in close partnership with the Housatonic Valley Association which is represented with DEEP on the four-state Highlands Steering Committee. HVA provides maps, data, staff and transaction support to DEEP and our land trust partners to successfully secure and deploy Highlands funding in our region.
“Two very large Highlands projects totaling nearly 1,800 acres are scheduled to close this summer in Colebrook and Winchester, and others are anticipated in Salisbury, Sharon, and Warren, Connecticut among other communities in the coming year,” Abbott explained.
Falls Village – Amelia Rosalie (Betti) Wright, 91, of Falls Village died September 30, 2024 at her home surrounded by her loving family. She was the wife of the late Robert Kenneth Wright.
Amelia was born September 6, 1933 in Torrington, CT, daughter of the late Benjamin and Mary Eliza (Passini) Betti. Amelia worked at Camp Isabella Freedman as the Head Housekeeper. She was employed there for 35 years. She attended the Falls Village Congregational Church and had been very active at the Senior Center in Falls Village. She enjoyed collecting. She also enjoyed the craft classes offered by Adult Ed at the Housatonic Valley Regional High School. She enjoyed traveling, especially to the Cape, Vermont and New Hampshire. An avid flower person, Amelia had traveled to the major flower shows in both Boston and Philadelphia.
She is survived by her daughter, Susan Osborn and her husband David of Falls Village, her son, Robert H. Wright of Falls Village and her son, Donald Wright and his wife Kate of Millbrook, NY; her sister, MaryAnn Betti of Falls Village; her grandchildren, Benjamin and Katie Osborn and Jacob Wright. Amelia is also survived by her great grandson, Gunner Osborn. Amelia was predeceased by her brother, Donald Betti.
Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 5, 2024 in the Mountain View Cemetery, Sand Road, North Canaan, CT. Calling hours will be held at the Newkirk-Palmer Funeral Home, 118 Main Street, North Canaan, CT 06018 on Friday, October 4, 2024 from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Memorial donations may be sent to the Falls Village Volunteer Ambulance Association, 188 US-7 South, Falls Village, CT. 06031
State Representative Maria Horn (D-64) gave brief remarks Monday, Sept. 30 before she picked up the big scissors and cut the ribbon on a new group of affordable housing units built in Sarum Village in Salisbury.
SALISBURY — The third group of affordable housing units at Sarum Village is complete. There was a ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday afternoon, Sept 30.
Sarum Village is owned by the private Salisbury Housing Committee, Inc. SHC Vice-President Jocelyn Ayer set the stage, noting that there are 204 households in Salisbury who pay 50% or more of their income for housing.
The median price of a home in Salisbury is $900,000, she continued, and 40% of the town’s housing stock consists of second homes.
Ayer said there were between 60 and 70 applications for the 10 new units.
She said the demand for affordable housing in Salisbury outstrips the supply.
State Department of Housing Commissioner Seila Mosquera-Bruno praised the effort that went into building the new housing, and thanked U.S.Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who was standing nearby, for his help in securing federal funds.
The commissioner added that there is about $10 million in funding for affordable housing statewide.
Blumenthal said “You are making a statement in favor of a diverse and inclusive community,” and praised Mosquera-Bruno and Governor Ned Lamont (D) for being “aggressive” on housing issues.
State Representative Maria Horn (D-64), who handled the big scissors, said because there are so many local people involved, the new housing represents “the beating heart of Salisbury.”
Tom Barret shows off some Rummage Sale finds.
On Saturday, Sept. 28, the Cornwall Woman’s Society hosted its 100th anniversary celebration at Mohawk Mountain ski lodge.
“This celebration is to thank the people of Cornwall for their support and to celebrate the 100 years that the Woman’s Society has contributed to Cornwall and to needs near and far,” said Nancy Barr, co-chair of the Cornwall Woman’s Society (CWS).
There was food and beverages, even several cakes with wonderful decorations proclaiming the 100th year, but the main part of the event was a fashion show. Cornwall residents modeled outfits that they purchased at the Woman’s Society Rummage Sale, the annual CWS fundraiser held by each July.
The majority of the rummage sale proceeds go to support Cornwall’s high school graduates who plan to continue their education and the many important local organizations that serve education, health/nutrition, social services, and emergency needs.
The history of the society was highlighted by member Susan Hellmann who created a wonderful and informative history display. All guests were also handed a pamphlet containing the history of the society upon entering the ski lodge. The Woman’s Society of the First Congregational Church was formed in 1924 when 26 women from the First Congregational Church gathered at the Manse in West Cornwall to support missions and strengthen their community. They organized fundraisers like tea parties, fairs, and a 1932 “25-cent supper” for 140 people. Over the years, they expanded their efforts, helping with everything from Ellis Island clothing drives to local church improvements.
In 1956, CWS member and reporter Bessie W. Blake wrote an article in The Lakeville Journal titled “A Big Light from a Small Candle,” showcasing the incredible impact of this small group.
In 2006, the women separated from the church and became the Cornwall Woman’s Society. Their famous Rummage Sale, which started in 1955, now funds over 20 local causes, scholarships, and holiday cheer. They still meet on the second Thursday of every month at the UCC in Cornwall Village.
The fashion show was filled with hilarity, hoots and hollers of support, and some very funny antics. Said Cornwall Selectman Gordon Ridgway, in a short speech to present an award to the CWS, “The rummage sale takes recycling to new heights and even saves tax payer dollars.” Ridgway highlighted the many programs that CWS supports and ended by saying, “Seeing value in what others throw away is a great New England trait.”
Now in its sixth year, the Haystack Book Festival brings together writers and thinkers in unmoderated conversation. Produced in conjunction with the Norfolk Foundation, whose mission is “to contribute to the vitality and sustainability of Norfolk, particularly in relation to the town’s natural setting and multiple artistic and cultural attractions,” the Haystack Book Festival takes place at the Norfolk Library. On Sunday, Oct. 6 at 1:30 p.m. the festival will have an event for middle grade readers at The HUB featuring Sarah Maslin Nir.
“We’re excited to be celebrating the sixth year of the festival. This year we have a great program discussing topics as wide ranging as ballet, interpreting the landscape, and looking at the horse as a treasured companion throughout history, along with other ideas that will be discussed on our stage,” says Michael Selleck co-director of the Haystack Book Festival.
On Friday, Oct. 4 the festival kicks off with Marina Harss, author of “The Boy from Kyiv: Alexei Ratmansky’s Life in Ballet,” speaking with Mindy Aloff, author of “Why Dance Matters,” in a conversation called “Out of Steps” at 3:30 p.m.
At 5:30 p.m. Gillian Linden, granddaughter of Brendan Gill and author of “Negative Space: A Novel,” leads the “Brendan Gill Lecture.” Linden’s latest novel follows a week in the life of an English teacher at a New York private school. Linden received her MFA from Columbia University. She is a 2011 winner of the Henfield Prize for fiction. Her previous book — “Remember How I Told You I Love You?” — is a collection of short stories. An open reception will follow at The Manor House on 69 Maple Ave.
On Saturday, Oct. 5 at 10:30 a.m., best selling author Michael Korda, whose book “Muse of Fire: WWI as Seen Through the Lives of the Soldier Poets,” speaks with Simon Winchester, author of “Knowing What We Know: The Transmission of Knowledge: From Ancient Wisdom to Modern Magic,” in a talk called “A Conversation About Wisdom and Memory.”
William Egginton, author of “The Rigor of Angels: Borges, Heisenberg, Kant, and the Ultimate Nature of Reality,” and Samuel Moyn, author of “Liberalism Against Itself: Cold War Intellectuals and the Making of Our Times,” will be in a conversation called “Institutions and Ideas” at 1 p.m.
At 3 p.m., “Reading the Landscape: How Trees Tell a Story” features Mike Zarfos, Executive Director of Great Mountain Forest, speaking with conservation biologist Noah Charney, author of “These Trees Tell a Story: The Art of Reading Landscapes.”
“A Haystack Evening at the Art Barn” is a ticketed event Saturday from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. that allows patrons the opportunity to mingle with authors and friends while enjoying cocktails and hors d’oeuvres with live music. Tickets are available online at www.norfolkfoundation.net/book-talks
Sunday, Oct. 6, at 8 a.m., attendees can take a walk in Great Mountain Forest with Noah Charney and Mike Zarfos. Attendance is limited to 20 people and registration is required. Location: TBA. Registrants will be notified.
Back at the Norfolk Library at 11 a.m., “Horses and Us: Treasured Companions and Engines of Power” is a conversation between David Chaffetz, author of “Raiders, Rulers, and Traders: The Horse and the Rise of Empire,” and Pulitzer Prize–nominated New York Times reporter Sarah Maslin Nir, the author of “Horse Crazy: The Story of a Woman and a World in Love with an Animal.”
At 1:30 p.m., kids can meet Sarah Maslin Nir at The Norfolk HUB, where she will talk to young readers about her series “Once Upon a Horse.” Nir will be giving out free copies of her latest novel in the series titled “The Star Horse.”
Together with co-director Steve Melville, former publishing executive Selleck and their hardworking committees are involved with selecting authors and putting the program together to make the Haystack Book Festival rich and intellectually stimulating.
“It’s about bringing great writers to Norfolk and exposing people to their work. We’re trying to create great conversations at the festival,” Selleck says.
The Haystack Book Festival is supported with donations from friends, sponsors, and partners including the Norfolk Foundation. For more information, see their website: www.norfolkfoundation.net
