NORTH CANAAN — It is often cause for concern when a landmark in a town goes up for sale. But the new listing of the North Canaan Union Station train depot is not necessarily a bad thing, and in many ways is a really great thing.
The depot had long been central to life in North Canaan, first as a train station (built in 1872) and later as a commercial plaza with a popular restaurant.
Most of the building was destroyed by a fire inadvertently set by some area youths, only days after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Volunteer firefighters who had gone to New York City to help in the aftermath of the attacks on the World Trade Center returned home to help put out a fire that was similarly traumatic, albeit on a smaller scale, for this small community.
After the blaze was finally extinguished, there was only a skeleton of the formerly sprawling structure.
It wasn’t only town residents who felt the loss of the depot; it was also the many train buffs in the area, who would often make pilgrimages to a spot that brought history to life for them. Everyone agreed that the rebuild of the historic building couldn’t happen fast enough.
Miles of red tape
Unfortunately, fast was not a word one could use to describe the process of getting state and federal funding, beginning the renovation and then completing it. It all took years and years longer than was hoped or expected.
The building had been owned privately at the time of the fire. The only way to get the federal funds (through a transportation grant) was for ownership to be transferred to a nonprofit, with funds administered by the town government.
The property was transferred to the Connecticut Railroad Historical Association, whose chairman is former First Selectman Doug Humes. The other three trustees on the society’s board at that time were Bob Gandolfo, Robyn Walsh and Leroy Riva (whose son Bob took his place after Leroy passed away).
Many town residents and officials took on the task of trying to get the work completed over the years, including Selectman Charlie Perotti, who was one of the first firefighters on the scene on that October night in 2001 and who is now the town’s first selectman.
The official groundbreaking for the restoration was in September 2016. But even then, one delay followed another. What was expected to take 240 days from start to finish took more than a year.
A solid tenant
in place
Work was finally completed, for the most part, in 2018. The first commercial tenant in the building was Chris Tripler’s Great Falls Brewery, which has settled nicely into the space and has developed a devoted clientele, despite the pandemic and the quarantine.
The brewery still has a 10-year lease, according to John Harney Jr., who is the listing broker for the property, representing William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty.
There are other rental spaces in the building, Harney said, including a second floor space that could be a rental residence.
Harney, who grew up in the Northwest Corner, understands the history and importance of this anchor of the town. He credits Gandolfo, Riva and the many others who never gave up and who helped get the property rebuilt and ready for new tenants and a new owner.
“When I see what they have done, it is amazing, a testament to civic pride in North Canaan,” Harney said. “And the grit it took, to see it through over the many years it took to complete the project. They spent more than $3 million on the renovation, which can easily be seen in the quality of the workmanship and the attention given to restoring a historic building.”
Listed by Sotheby’s
The depot is being offered for sale for $1.2 million.
According to the online listing for the property at (www.williampitt.com, 75 North Main St. in North Canaan, Conn.), it is on a little less than a full acre. “The restored depot is a mixed-use building incorporating a railroad museum, a brewery and a number of available office or retail spaces.”
At the center of the building, connecting the two wings, is the Connecticut Railroad Historical Association’s railroad history museum, on two floors.
The online listing promises that, “The site is improved with wrought-iron fencing, teardrop lamp post lighting, and a concrete and stone masonry walkway which gently inclines to the front entrance of the building improvements.
“Landscaping at the site consists of manicured lawns, shrubs around the building, planting beds with flowering plants and interspersed trees.
“It is evident that much time, money and community effort and pride has gone into this project.”
As for Perotti, who put in so much effort himself on the property, he said he’s sad to see it go up for sale, but feels it’s necessary. The Railroad Historical Association took ownership simply to shepherd it through the renovation process.
Doug Humes was also there on the night of the fire and has coaxed the project through to this point. He said the restoration of the depot has always had two main goals:
“To preserve history and to revitalize downtown North Canaan.”
To be part of that process and to learn more about the property, call John Harney Jr. at 860-921-7910 or email him at jharney@wpsir.com.
Patrick L. Sullivan
SALISBURY — At a special meeting Thursday, March 26, the Board of Finance voted to send the proposed spending plans for 2026-27 to a public hearing Monday, April 27, at 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall.
Salisbury Central School principal Stephanie Magyar said “this is the easiest update I’ve ever given.” She said the final number came in some $23,000 less than the initial presentation, bringing the increase down from$339,528 (4.92%) to $316,367 (4.59%) for a total budget of $7,213,515.
First Selectman Curtis Rand said the town budget proposal’s bottom line is the same, but he and Comptroller Joe Cleaveland made some changes, most notably for an employee pension fund.
“We ended up in the same place, but just shifted things around,” Rand said.
The selectmen’s budget proposal is $9,617,825, an increase of $412,723 or 4.40%.
The town and school budgets are developed separately but together determine the overall tax impact on residents.
Alec Linden
SHARON — Residents will be asked at a town meeting on April 16 to decide whether to join a nascent regional waste authority, as towns across the Northwest Corner consider a coordinated response to uncertainty over the future of a key disposal facility.
The proposal centers on the Torrington Transfer Station, where Sharon and other municipalities send household waste for consolidation and shipment to disposal sites.
The Northwest Regional Recovery Authority was formed in 2025 by the city of Torrington in anticipation of a change in oversight at the facility, as the state Department of Administrative Services prepares to end its temporary management of operations at the end of June.
While Sharon has a contract through June 2027 at the transfer station, it is not yet clear who will operate the facility after the state steps back, or whether existing arrangements will continue unchanged under new management.
“There’s a lot of gray area with the Torrington Transfer Station, so this gives us hopefully another option come July 1,” First Selectman Casey Flanagan said.
Regional response
The NRRA, supported by the Northwest Hills Council of Governments, is seeking legislative approval in Hartford to transfer ownership of the facility to a multi-town public authority that would oversee and operate the site on behalf of participating municipalities.
Supporters say the structure would allow towns to retain public control over a facility that serves as a regional hub for municipal solid waste, while providing more stability in pricing and long-term planning.
Salisbury, Goshen and Torrington have already joined the group, while other towns in the Northwest Hills region are weighing similar action. Cornwall is scheduled to vote on its own ordinance to join on April 17, one day after Sharon’s meeting.
Town finances
Also on the April 16 agenda is a proposal to establish a $7 million financing arrangement to support projects in Sharon’s 10-year capital plan.
The financing would function as a flexible line of credit, allowing the town to borrow funds as needed for infrastructure projects.
First Selectman Casey Flanagan said the structure would give the town more flexibility in timing expenditures while maintaining access to favorable interest rates.
The town reached out to four banks and selected NBT Bank, which the town already has a relationship with.The proposal still requires approval from the Board of Finance and a town vote before it can take effect.
The Selectmen will also ask voters to approve the use of state Local Capital Improvement Program (LoCIP) funds for several projects.
That includes $20,000 to support updates to the town’s Plan of Conservation and Development, a state-required long-range planning document that guides zoning and land use.
An additional $99,998 in LoCIP funding would be used to complete resurfacing work on Boland Road and West Woods Road No. 1, where base paving was completed last year.
Voters will also be asked on April 16 to approve the town’s audited financial statements for fiscal year 2025.
Patrick L. Sullivan
Crystal Palmer Andrade, left, is congratulated on her induction to the Sigma Theta Tau honor society by Lori Martone-Roberts, professor of the practice of nursing at Wheaton College.
FALLS VILLAGE — Crystal Palmer Andrade of Falls Village, a member of the Class of 2027 at Wheaton College in Massachusetts, has been inducted into the college’s chapter of Sigma Theta Tau, the international honor society recognizing excellence in nursing.
Palmer Andrade, who is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, earned membership in the honor society through outstanding academic achievement and a demonstrated commitment to the nursing profession.
Sigma Theta Tau International honors students who have shown superior academic performance, leadership potential, and a dedication to advancing health care. Membership is by invitation and is among the highest forms of recognition for nursing students.
Wheaton’s nursing program combines a strong liberal arts foundation with hands-on clinical experience, preparing graduates to deliver compassionate, evidence-based care.
Students also benefit from the college’s state-of-the-art simulation center and opportunities for experiential learning in a variety of health care settings.
“Being inducted into Sigma Theta Tau reflects both academic excellence, leadership, and a deep commitment to caring for others,” said Colette Diejuste Ph.D., RN, Dean of Nursing at Wheaton College. “We are proud of Crystal for achieving this distinction.”
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Patrick L. Sullivan
From left, Peter Vermilyea, Russell Shorto and Rhonan Mokriski on March 27.
FALLS VILLAGE — Russell Shorto, author of “Revolution Song,” said his goal in writing the book was to tell the stories of the “lived experience” of six individuals from marginalized groups in the context of the American Revolution.
Shorto appeared with history teachers and fellow authors Peter Vermilyea of Housatonic Valley Regional High School and Rhonan Mokriski of Salisbury School at the Salisbury Forum on Friday, March 27, at HVRHS.
In picking the six subjects, Shorto said, “I sort of auditioned dozens.”
He wanted a diverse group, including an African and a Native American.
What he did not want were wealthy “white men wearing wigs.”
Finding primary source material on such people was a challenge. In the case of one of the subjects, Venture Smith, there was an autobiography, as told to a white newspaper editor and published in 1798 as “A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Venture, a Native of Africa: But Resident above Sixty Years in the United States of America.”
Shorto said Smith “was all about money.” Having purchased his own freedom, he then set about earning enough to buy the freedom of his wife and sons.
Smith also bought slaves of his own, and was dismayed when they ran away.
Vermilyea noted the complexity of Smith’s story. For example, at one point, Smith had to decide whether to buy his wife or his children out of slavery.
Shorto said he thought Smith was above all a pragmatist, determined to make the best of the situation.
Another character in “Revolution Song” is Abraham Yates, a white shoemaker, entrepreneur and politician from Albany, New York. Shorto said Yates was influenced by Enlightenment philosopher John Locke and was an early proponent of the colonies breaking from Great Britain.
“Then they win, and he immediately turns.”
Yates was an anti-Federalist, backing the rights of New York state against a central government, and opposed the ratification of the Constitution.
And luckily for Shorto, there was a lot of material available on Yates.
Shorto said he wanted to avoid a history that concentrated on figures who are heroes in the popular imagination.
And he thought it important to tell the entire life stories of the six subjects, even allowing for inevitable gaps in the historical record.
“I wanted the whole life because the Revolution was a big event, but maybe not the biggest.”
Asked about the title, Shorto said he wanted to keep it short and punchy, having run into problems with a previous book, “The Island at the Center of the World,” about the period when New York was New Amsterdam and controlled by the Dutch.
“People kept coming up to me and saying they loved the book, what was it, The Center Island or the World of the Island or…” he said to laughter from the audience.
Shorto’s appearance was the result of a collaboration between the Scoville Memorial Library, the Salisbury Association, the Salisbury Forum, and Troutbeck Symposium, plus the Salisbury Commemorates 250 committee–in connection with Connecticut 250- all dedicated to observing and celebrating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
Ruth Epstein
NORTH CANAAN — Following a “Zoom bombing” incident during the March 23 special meeting of the Board of Selectmen, the town of North Canaan has launched a new official YouTube channel for posting meetings and other public content.
Town Clerk Krysti Segalla announced the change in a townwide message explaining that an unauthorized participant shared inappropriate content during the Zoom meeting, an incident she said had occurred in other towns but was a first for North Canaan.
“This led to our content being flagged and our account being terminated immediately,” Segalla said. “Because of ongoing difficulties with security and other login issues, it created challenges in accessing and resolving the issue quickly.”
To address the problem, the town has moved to a new YouTube account with multiple authorized administrators. Segalla said the new setup “will help protect the channel, prevent future access issues, and allow us to continue sharing important town information without interruption.”
She said the affected meeting video has been reviewed, edited to remove the disruption and republished. Segalla also said she plans to upload past meetings to the new channel to maintain continuity.
First Selectman Jesse Bunce described the video content as “gross,” calling the incident unfortunate. He noted that many local Boy Scouts listen to Board of Selectmen meetings as part of badge-related civic engagement.
Bunce said Ayrslea Odell, who works in the Town Clerk’s office, spotted the inappropriate content quickly and shut it down, though not before a brief snippet was recorded.
He said he then turned the video over to Resident State Trooper Spencer Bronson, who forwarded it to the Connecticut State Police cybercrime division.
“If people want to do this, they should be held responsible,” Bunce said.
Alec Linden
KENT – The Board of Education presented its 2026-2027 budget proposal to the Board of Finance on Wednesday, March 25, showing a bottom line of combined expenditures for Kent Central School and Region One contributions at $8,146,440, a 4.32% increase from the previous year.
“While no one wants to cheer for any kind of budget increase, we’re pretty happy with that,” said Kate Symonds, chair of the BOE’s budget committee. “Percentage increases in the region have been significantly higher than that, as we’ve heard, so that number is pretty good,” she explained.
As of the current Region One budget draft, the bottom line is up over 6% from last year. While speaking to the Salisbury BOF earlier in the month, Region One Business Manager Sam Herrick said that it’s the biggest budget increase he’s seen in his 26 years working for the district.
BOE Chair Heather Brand said that Kent’s figures mark the “second lowest or the lowest” of Region One towns for this budget season.
Spending for Kent Center School sits at a total of $5,337,470, an increase of 2.69% over last year and markedly lower than increases in recent fiscal years. The number is subject to change as the BOE and BOF negotiate for a final proposal to send to a town hearing.
The town’s Region One costs are likely to total $2,808,970, 7.55% more than 2025-2026.
The Region One budget committee is set to meet for another budget review on April 6 before presenting a final proposal for public hearing on April 9.
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