NORTH CANAAN — Residents of the town of North Canaan gathered at Town Hall on April 26 for a special town meeting to vote on the future of their resident trooper. After a contentious discussion, the 55 residents in attendance voted 37 to 18 in favor of keeping the program for another year.
The special town meeting was called following a $30,000 increase in the resident trooper’s budget for North Canaan next year. Keeping the resident trooper would cost $158,000 in 2023-24, up from $128,000 in 2022-23.
Lieutenant Cori Swift and Trooper First Class Jeremy Ribadeneyra (current resident trooper in North Canaan) from the State Police Troop B barracks presented their case for why North Canaan should keep the program in place.
“North Canaan’s a very busy town. For instance, last year, 2022, we made 56 arrests in the town of North Canaan. Salisbury is twice the size and has more people. They made 18,” said Ribadeneyra. “Of all the towns in Troop B’s jurisdiction, the town of New Hartford is the only town that creates more case numbers.”
“There is a lot that goes on in this town behind the scenes that people don’t know about. Jeremy’s here in the middle of the night trying to catch drug dealers that are on the street,” said Swift. “Him being here is great. To me, it’s irreplaceable.”
Supporters and opponents aired their position and asked questions of the troopers.
“It’s a wonderful story but the bottom line is our taxes are through the roof and we’re paying now for this when the barracks is right down the street,” said resident Stacey Dodge.
“There’s much better ways the money can be spent,” said resident John Considine as he noted that the town could benefit from services like a grant writer or a town planner. “We’re a town of 3,400 people in a rural community. I don’t see it as a high-crime district.”
Resident Penny Terry, who worked in the barracks for 27 years, said, “Just because the building is there does not mean there’s anyone in it who’s going to be able to get from that building to our school in a matter of minutes.” She added, “This is the busiest town next to New Hartford. That’s the gospel truth.”
Towns rely on Troop B for local police services.
As the discussion heated up, moderator Brian Allyn slammed the gavel.
“This is getting out of hand. We’re going to vote,” said Allyn.
Second Selectman Craig Whiting called the question and the residents then voted by paper ballot. Once the ballots were tallied, Allyn announced that North Canaan would keep its resident trooper for another year.
“It’s a service to the town in an area where police resources are scarce as it is,” said Ribadeneyra after the hearing the result. “I’m glad the town is getting another year of it.”
North Canaan’s resident trooper Jeremy Ribadeneyra (in rear) answered questions from residents before they voted on whether to keep the resident trooper program in North Canaan during a special town meeting on April 26. Photo by Riley Klein
The Haystack Book Festival, a program of the Norfolk Hub, brings renowned writers and thinkers to Norfolk for conversation. Celebrating its fifth season this fall, the festival will gather 18 writers for discussions at the Norfolk Library on Sept. 20 and Oct. 3 through 5.
Jerome A. Cohen, author of the memoir “Eastward, Westward: A Lifein Law.”Haystack Book Festival
For example, “Never Take the Rule of Law for Granted: China and the Dissident,” will be held Saturday, Sept. 20, at 4 p.m. at the Norfolk Library. It brings together Jerome A. Cohen, author of “Eastward, Westward: A Life in Law,” and Mark Clifford, author of “The Troublemaker: How Jimmy Lai Became a Billionaire, Hong King’s Greatest Dissident, and China’s Most Feared Critic” in dialogue with journalist Richard Hornik to discuss the rule of law and China.
The Council on Foreign Relations stated, “Few Americans have done more than Jerome A. Cohen to advance the rule of law in East Asia. He established the study of Chinese law in the United States. An advocate for human rights, Cohen has been a scholar, teacher, lawyer, and activist for sixty years.”
Cohen, a professor at New York University School of Law and director of its U.S.-Asia Law Institute, revealed his long view on China: “We are now witnessing another extreme in the pendulum’s swing toward repression. Xi Jinping is likely to outlive me but ‘no life lives forever.’ There will eventually be another profound reaction to the current totalitarian era.”
Mark Clifford, author of “The Troublemaker: How Jimmy Lai Became a Billionaire, Hong Kong’s Greatest Dissident, and China’s Most Feared Critic.”Haystack Book Festival
In “The Troublemaker,” Clifford chronicles Lai’s life from child refugee to pro-democracy billionaire to his current imprisonment by the Chinese Communist Party. Clifford is president of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, a Walter Bagehot Fellow at Columbia University, and holds a PhD in history from the University of Hong Kong. He was the former editor-in-chief of the South China Morning Post and The Standard (Hong Kong and Seoul).
Journalist Richard Hornik, adjunct senior fellow at the East-West Center in Honolulu.Haystack Book Festival
Richard Hornik, adjunct senior fellow at the East-West Center, will moderate the discussion. Hornik is the former executive editor of AsiaWeek, news service director of Time magazine, and former Time bureau chief in Warsaw, Boston, Beijing and Hong Kong.
Betsy Lerner, author of “Shred Sisters,” is giving the 2025 Brendan Gill lecture at the Haystack Book Festival.Haystack Book Festival
The Brendan Gill Lecture is a highlight of the festival honoring longtime Norfolk resident Brendan Gill, who died in1997. Gill wrote for The New Yorker magazine for fifty years. Betsy Lerner, New York Times-recognized author of “Shred Sisters,” will deliver this year’s lecture on Friday, Oct. 3, at 6 p.m. at the Norfolk Library.
Visit haystackbookfestival.org to register. Admission is free.
