Marion Cooper
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Radar gun dispute raises questions about local speed enforcement
Christian Murray
May 06, 2026
Trooper Spencer Bronson
Provided
NORTH CANAAN — Questions about the town’s speed enforcement capabilities emerged after the April Board of Selectmen meeting, where First Selectman Jesse Bunce said the town’s radar gun works — a claim the resident state trooper later contradicted.
The issue was first raised during the April 14 meeting by resident Jenn Crane, who questioned whether the town’s trooper has the equipment needed to address ongoing speeding complaints.
Crane, who is also the chair of the North Canaan Events Committee, pointed to the apparent lack of a functioning radar unit and said it was limiting enforcement and the trooper’s ability to police speeding. She later said safety concerns have been raised about speeding on certain roads, such as West Main Street, North Elm Street and Sand Road.
Bunce responded that the device does function, although he said it is old. Bunce, who took office in November, said he had been told the unit is operational but that the trooper has been hesitant to use it because of its age.
“Our gun does work. It’s just old,” Bunce said, adding the town has been exploring grants or other funding options to replace it.
But in an interview roughly three weeks later, Trooper Spencer Bronson described a different situation.
The radar unit, he said, is about 26 years old and not currently calibrated — a requirement that makes it unusable for law enforcement. He said he did not have records indicating when it was last calibrated and was unsure, given the device’s age, whether it could be recalibrated.
Bronson has served as North Canaan’s resident state trooper since January 2025, having held the role as recently as 2022.
“If it’s not calibrated, I can’t legally use it,” Bronson said.
The radar gun is not the only issue raised in recent weeks.
Both Bunce and Bronson confirmed that the landline to the trooper’s office was down for an extended period — roughly a month to a month and a half — due to a wireless connection failure. During that time, calls went unanswered and messages could not be retrieved, Bunce said.
The issue has since been resolved, with the town now relying primarily on the trooper’s cell phone: 959-228-1779. The town announced that the problem had been rectified on Facebook and limited who could comment on the post.
There is also no active police bicycle program.
While the town has had officers on bicycles in the past, it currently does not have a usable bike, and the resident trooper is not certified to patrol on one.
“We don’t have a bicycle,” Bunce said, adding that certification would likely follow if equipment were available. He said the trooper does not plan to get certified until a bike is in place, something the town is also looking into. He also noted that the town is geographically large and that a bike is generally unnecessary, except perhaps for events.
Bunce said the town funds the resident trooper position — including salary, vehicle and related costs — and that equipment like radar guns has to be provided by the town.
He estimated a replacement radar gun would cost about $3,600 to $3,700 and said the town is exploring options to secure one.
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Legal Notices - May 7, 2026
Lakeville Journal
May 06, 2026
CANAAN FIRE DISTRICT
WARNING
All persons eligible to vote in meetings of the Canaan Fire District are hereby warned that the Annual Budget Meeting of the said District will be held at the North Canaan Town Hall on Tuesday, May 19th, 2026 at 7:00 p.m. to consider and act upon the following items:
1. To approve the District budget proposed for the 2026-2027 fiscal year by the Executive Committee of the District; and
2. To transact any other business proper to come before such meeting.
Dated at North Canaan, Connecticut this 7th day of May, 2026.
Anthony J. Nania
Warden
05-07-26
Legal Notice
The Planning & Zoning Commission of the Town of Salisbury will hold a Public Hearing for a petition to amend the Zoning Regulations, Application #2026-0315 by Lime Rock Park II, LLC for changes to Section 221 “Additional Requirements for Uses in the RE Zone” of the Salisbury Zoning Regulations, including Section 221.1 providing standards for a Track for Racing Motor Vehicles. Proposed changes include but are not limited to modifying the days and hours of operation at the track, frequency of events for muffled and unmuffled racing cars, acoustic monitoring, prohibition of stand-alone drifting events, and control measures. The hearing will be held on Monday, May 18, 2026 at 6:45 PM. There is no physical location for this meeting. This meeting will be held virtually via Zoom where interested persons can listen to & speak on the matter. The application, agenda and meeting instructions will be listed at www.salisburyct.us/agendas/. The application materials will be listed at www.salisburyct.us/planning-zoning-meeting-documents/. Written comments may be submitted to the Land Use Office, Salisbury Town Hall, 27 Main Street, P.O. Box 548, Salisbury, CT or via email to landuse@salisburyct.us. Paper copies of the agenda, meeting instructions, and application materials may be reviewed Monday through Thursday between the hours of 8:00 AM and 3:30 PM at the Land Use Office, Salisbury Town Hall, 27 Main Street, Salisbury CT.
Salisbury Planning & Zoning Commission
Robert Riva, Secretary
05-07-26
05-14-26
NOTICE OF ANNUAL TOWN BUDGET MEETING TOWN OF SALISBURY
WEDNESDAY, MAY 13, 2026 - HYBRID MEETING 7:30P.M.
The electors and others entitled to vote in Town meetings of the Town of Salisbury, Connecticut, are hereby warned that the Annual Budget meeting of said Town will be held in person and via Zoom on Wednesday, May 13, 2026 at 7:30 p.m. at Salisbury Town Hall, 27 Main Street, Salisbury, Connecticut for the following purposes:
1. To act upon the budget and any supplements thereto for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026, which budget has been prepared and recommended by the Board of Finance; said budget is available for inspection at the Town Clerk’s office immediately.
2. To act upon the following items, which are customarily considered at the Annual Budget meeting for approval:
a. To authorize the Board of Selectmen to borrow any sums of money they deem necessary to meet the Town’s indebtedness and current or authorized expenditures, and to execute and deliver the Town’s obligations therefore;
b. To see if the First Selectman will deliver on behalf of the Town all documents that may be necessary for carrying out any of the items in the budget.
c. To see if the Town will authorize the Board of Selectmen to accept and expend any funds allocated to the Town of Salisbury by the Connecticut Department of Transportation for repairs and maintenance of roads and bridges during the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026 and extending to June 30, 2027, as recommended by the Board of Finance; and
d. To authorize the Board of Finance to transfer funds from surplus to cover shortages in various line items in the 2025-2026 budget.
3. To consider and act upon a resolution to set Wednesday, February 17, 2027, as the date for the Annual Town Meeting.
4. To consider and act upon a resolution to set Wednesday, May 12, 2027 as the date for the Annual Budget Meeting
5. To consider and act upon the adoption of an ordinance providing that sealed bidding will not be required for contracts or purchases having a value less than $35,000. A copy of the proposed ordinance will be available for inspection in the Office of the Town Clerk prior to the meeting.
Dated at Salisbury, Connecticut this 24th day of April, 2026. Curtis G. Rand, First Selectman
Barrett Prinz, Selectman Katherine Kiefer, Selectman
Join the webinar: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81009998770?pwd=Zy8dNVm0... Webinar ID: 810 0999 8770
Passcode:200239 Join via audio:
+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)
04-30-26
05-07-26
Notice of Decision
Town of Salisbury
Inland Wetlands & Watercourses Commission
Notice is hereby given that the following actions were taken by the Inland Wetlands & Watercourses Commission of the Town of Salisbury, Connecticut on April 27, 2026:
Deemed Exempt - Application IWWC-26-18 by Mike Pruss for “Prescribed Burn of 15 acres in established upland native grass field (historically farmed for corn and hay) for ecological restoration and agriculture.
and enhance established native grass and wildflower area and increase nectar and pollen production for native pollinators and honey bee Apiary.” The properties are shown on Salisbury Assessor’s map 23 lots 52 and 36 and are known as 70 Beaver Dam Road and 47 Hammertown Road, Salisbury. The owner of the property is Raccard Properties LLC.
Approved - Application IWWC-26-18 by Todd Parsons to “construct an addition to the main house and construct an office above the existing garage.” The property is shown on Salisbury Assessor’s map 64 as lot 06 and is known as 25 Morgan Lane, Salisbury. The owners of the property are Meghna and Brian McDevitt.
Approved-Application IWWC-26-17 by Robert Colabella for “constructing approximately 2100 feet of 5’ wide bituminous concrete sidewalks and appurtenances along Main Street.” The properties are shown on Salisbury Assessor’s map 52 lot 14 and map 11 lot 20 and are known as 166 Main Street and Vincent Preserve, Salisbury. The owners of the properties are James Demmert & Velda Brown and Salisbury Association Land Trust.
Approved - Application IWWC-26-11 by Trudy Kramer for “removing the inlet and outlet from a man-made pond and planting.”The property is shown on Salisbury Assessor’s map 02 as lot 41 and is known as 32 Valley Road, Salisbury. The owners of the property are Trudy & Harry Kramer.
Any aggrieved person may appeal this decision to the Connecticut Superior Court in accordance with the provisions of Connecticut General Statutes §22a-43(a) & §8-8.
Town of Salisbury
Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission
Sally Spillane, Secretary
05-07-26
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
ESTATE OF
CAROL NOEL TROTTA
Late of East Canaan
AKA Carol N. Trotta
AKA Carol Trotta
(26-00151)
The Hon. Jordan M. Richards, Judge of the Court of Probate, District of Litchfield Hills Probate Court, by decree dated March 31, 2026, ordered that all claims must be presented to the fiduciary at the address below. Failure to promptly present any such claim may result in the loss of rights to recover on such claim.
The fiduciary is:
Louis J. Trotta, III
c/o Michael Peter Citrin
Drury, Patz & Citrin, LLP
7 Church Street, PO Box 101
Canaan. CT 06018
Megan M.Foley
Clerk
05-07-26
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
ESTATE OF
EDWARD APARO
Late of Salisbury
(26-00161)
The Hon. Jordan M. Richards, Judge of the Court of Probate, District of Litchfield Hills Probate Court, by decree dated April 21, 2026, ordered that all claims must be presented to the fiduciary at the address below. Failure to promptly present any such claim may result in the loss of rights to recover on such claim.
The fiduciary is:
Jean Aparo
c/o Michael Albert Carrier
Webber Carrier Chace LLP
24 Cedar St., New Britain, CT 06052
Megan M.Foley
Clerk
05-07-26
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
ESTATE OF
GERALD B. BLAKEY
Late of Cornwall
(26-00153)
The Hon. Jordan M. Richards, Judge of the Court of Probate, District of Litchfield Hills Probate Court, by decree dated April 23, 2026, ordered that all claims must be presented to the fiduciary at the address below. Failure to promptly present any such claim may result in the loss of rights to recover on such claim.
The fiduciary is:
Charles R Ebersol
Ebersol, McCormick & Reis
LLC, 9 Mason Street,
PO Box 598, Torrington, CT 06790
Megan M.Foley
Clerk
05-07-26
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
ESTATE OF
PATRICIA A. BLAKEY
Late of Cornwall
AKA Patricia B. Blakey
AKA Patricia Blakey
(26-00154)
The Hon. Jordan M. Richards, Judge of the Court of Probate, District of Litchfield Hills Probate Court, by decree dated April 23, 2023, ordered that all claims must be presented to the fiduciary at the address below. Failure to promptly present any such claim may result in the loss of rights to recover on such claim.
The fiduciary is:
Charles R Ebersol
Ebersol, McCormick & Reis LLC, 9 Mason Street, PO Box 598, Torrington, CT 06790
Megan M.Foley
Clerk
05-07-23
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Classifieds - May 7, 2026
Lakeville Journal
May 06, 2026
Automobiles For Sale
2012 Audi Q5: Original owner, 88,500 miles, no accidents, everything works! always garaged, $7500, OBO! 860-435-2065.
Help Wanted
PART-TIME CARE-GIVER NEEDED: possibly LIVE-IN. Bright private STUDIO on 10 acres. Queen Bed, En-Suite Bathroom, Kitchenette & Garage. SHARON 407-620-7777.
Jay’s Lawn Care is hiring full and Part-time: lawn maintenance employees. Experience operating Scag mowing equipment and ability to drive truck and trailer is needed. Salary dependent on experience. Call 860-824-0053 to schedule an interview.
Wyantenuck Country Club is seeking staff for the 2026 season: Want to work in a beautiful setting with a great team? Full and Part-Time employment available. Positions Available: Bartenders, Dishwashers, Line Cooks, Waitstaff. Please email: brandon@wyantenuck.org or call 413-528-0350.
Wyantenuck Country Club seeks a Sous Chef: Benefits Available. Work in a beautiful setting with a great team. Please email: brandon@wyantenuck.org or call 413-528-0350.
Wyantenuck Country Club is seeking lifeguards: for our upcoming season. Lifeguard position starts end of May/mid June. Please call 413-528-0350 or email: jen@wyantenuck.org
Services Offered
GARDENING: Spring and Fall Cleanup and Stone W alls. 845-444-4492.
Hector Pacay Landscaping and Construction LLC: Fully insured. Renovation, decking, painting; interior exterior, mowing lawn, garden, stone wall, patio, tree work, clean gutters, mowing fields. 845-636-3212.
Real Estate
PUBLISHER’S NOTICE: Equal Housing Opportunity.All real estate advertised in this newspaper is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1966 revised March 12, 1989 which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation, or discriminationbased on race, color religion, sex, handicap or familial status or national origin or intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination. All residential property advertised in the State of Connecticut General Statutes 46a-64c which prohibit the making, printing or publishing or:causing to be made, printed or published any notice, statement or advertisement with respect to the sale or:rental of a dwelling that indicates any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, marital status, age, lawfulsource of income, familial status, physical or mental disability or an intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination.
Houses For Rent
Millerton, rural, newly renovated house: 2 bedroom, split air heat/a/c system, dishwasher, decks, views, pets considered. $2650 plus utilities. Call 518-567-8277.
MT RIGA LAKEFRONT CABIN: Private beach, canoe, kayaks, fishing $1,275 / Week 585-355-5245.
Tag Sales
Ancram, NY
THE BIG DOODLETOWN FARM VINTAGE GARDEN SALE IS BACK!: This weekend May 9 and 10. 177 Doodletown Road, Ancram 12502. 8 am to 4 pm. No early birds. Contents of two 1920s greenhouses including vintage teak, iron and wooden garden furniture, potting shed contents and stylish garden objects. Cast stones statuary, many vintage clay pots, teak daybed, louvered panels, tools, garden chairs, cushions, baskets, vintage linen, iron and wooden benches, harvest tables. Multiple sets of chairs. Vintage garden books. Plus interesting non-garden furniture and items. Everything except plants. All priced to sell.
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Region One voters approve $19.5M budget
Patrick L. Sullivan
May 06, 2026
A sign outside Sharon Town Hall encourages residents to vote for Region One's proposed $19.5M 2026–27 school budget, which passed Tuesday, May 5, by a vote of 333-120.
Aly Morrissey
FALLS VILLAGE – Voters in Region One towns approved the district’s proposed $19.5 million 2026–2027 school budget Tuesday, May 5, by a vote of 333-120.
From noon to 8 p.m., 453 total voters turned out from Cornwall, Falls Village, Kent, North Canaan, Salisbury and Sharon.
The budget passed in every town except Falls Village, where the proposal failed by 12 votes. The vote passed with the highest percentage in Cornwall and Salisbury, with 94% and 91%, respectively.
The budget totals $19,533,640, an increase of $1,048,431, or a 5.67% increase over the current year.
The Region One budget is divided into three components: Housatonic Valley Regional High School (HVRHS), Pupil Services and the Regional Schools Services Center (RSSC), also known as the central office.
Votes by town:
Cornwall: 60 yes, 4 no.
Falls Village: 33 yes, 45 no.
Kent: 69 yes, 11 no.
North Canaan: 46 yes, 39 no.
Salisbury: 94 yes, 9 no.
Sharon: 31 yes, 12 no.
Region One town assessments were also approved, and are based on the number of students each town sends to HVRHS, meaning costs can shift as enrollment changes.
Approved town assessments as of May 5 include:
Cornwall
$2,168,169, an increase of $163,895 or 8.87%.
Falls Village
$1,752,589 an increase of $208,904 or 14.89%.
Kent
$2,783,359, an increase of $171,360 or 7.48%
North Canaan
$6,140,112, an increase of $519,526 or 9.11%.
Salisbury
$4,798,928, an increase of $17,835 or .43%.
Sharon
$1,890,486, a decrease of $33,356 or - 2.07%.
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‘Vulnerable Earth’ opens at the Tremaine Gallery
Natalia Zukerman
Apr 29, 2026
Tremaine Gallery exhibit ‘Vulnerable Earth’ explores climate change in the High Arctic.
Photo by Greg Lock
“Vulnerable Earth,” on view through June 14 at the Tremaine Gallery at Hotchkiss, brings together artists who have traveled to one of the most remote regions on Earth and returned with work shaped by first-hand experience of a fragile, rapidly shifting planet, inviting viewers to sit with the tension between awe and loss, beauty and vulnerability.
Curated by Greg Lock, director of the Photography, Film and Related Media program at The Hotchkiss School, the exhibition centers on participants in The Arctic Circle, an expeditionary residency that sends artists and scientists into the High Arctic aboard a research vessel twice a year. The result is a show documenting their lived experience and what it means to stand in a place where climate change is not theoretical but visible, immediate and accelerating.
That shared experience — weeks spent together navigating the waters around the Svalbard Archipelago —forms the connective tissue of the exhibition. Artists work across video, photography, performance and digital media, but what binds them is proximity: to the landscape, to one another and to the evidence of environmental change.
“The residency is fantastic,” Lock said. “You fly into the most northerly airport on the planet, get on a ship with a bunch of artists and then sail around the archipelago and find a bay or a glacier, get into little rubber boats and go to shore. There are three guides with rifles … and they form a triangle around us to protect us from polar bears, and then you’re just there.”
That immediacy — of risk, of beauty, of isolation — is evident in the work on view. “Everyone is concerned with the environmental shifts that are occurring, and you’re witnessing it out there,” Lock said. “We were cleaning the beach one day and there’s so much trash on this beach in the middle of nowhere … because there’s plastic in the sea. We are witnessing these things firsthand.”
Lock’s own contributions underscore how quickly the landscape is changing. In one piece, two photographs are mounted on a glacier-shaped metal stand. “I went to photograph the glacier, and we were sailing around and because of the map, we knew we were at the glacier, but we couldn’t see it,” he said. Dense fog, created by warming air meeting cold ground, obscured what should have been unmistakable. Only later, in post-production, did the glacier emerge. “In Photoshop, I could extract the glacier, but to the naked eye, it was no longer visible.”
Other changes are even more stark. Lock recalled the reaction of the ship’s captain comparing current conditions to his charts. “His ‘up to date’ map showed that the glacier was 8 kilometers between one side and the other, but we parked at one side, sailed and moored on the other side and it was 1.4 kilometers,” Lock said. “So, it’s just like bam. It’s happening so fast.”
There is a sense of urgency in these images, but the collection also is a testament to process and to the community that forms in such extreme conditions. “There’s quite a nice network of artists who are pretty tight,” Lock said. “We were on a ship together in tight quarters for three weeks, so we got to know each other really well. And I found connections across the work with my own practice.”
Mindful of the environmental stakes embedded in the work itself, Lock made decisions aimed at reducing impact when curating the exhibition. “A lot of this work I printed with their permission to cut down on my carbon footprint,” he said.
And yet, for all its focus on fragility and loss, the Arctic exerts a pull. “It was funny, I’ve been twice,” Lock said. “When I left the last time, I was like, oh, I don’t know if I need to go back. And then I got back, and all I wanted to do was go back.”
The Tremaine Gallery is located on the Hotchkiss campus at 11 Interlaken Road, Lakeville. Gallery hours are Tuesday - Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, 12 noon to 4 p.m.
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Beyond Hammertown: Joan Osofsky designs what comes next
Kerri-Lee Mayland
Apr 29, 2026
Joan Osofsky and Sharon Marston
Provided
Joan Osofsky is closing the doors on Hammertown, one of the region’s most beloved home furnishings and lifestyle destinations, after 40 years, but she is not calling it an ending.
“I put my baby to bed,” she said, describing the decision with clarity and calm. “It felt like the right time.”
At 80, Osofsky is stepping away from the business she built into an institution. Yet her attention is not fixed on what she is leaving behind but on what she calls “Beyond Hammertown,” a phase shaped not by legacy but by intention and possibility.
“Not defined by what I created, but by what I choose next,” she said.
Founded in a barn in Pine Plains in 1985, Hammertown grew into a singular brand with locations in Rhinebeck and Great Barrington, known for its warm, layered aesthetic that blended European and American antiques with rustic textures and modern simplicity. Often credited with helping to define a “modern country” sensibility, the store drew a devoted following from across the region and beyond. But for Osofsky, its success was never a solo effort.
“Hammertown was never just my story,” she said. “It was built alongside my family and colleagues, whose support and talent made everything possible.”
That sense of collaboration traces back to her earlier life as a teacher in New Jersey and Rhode Island. While raising her children in the late 1960s and ’70s, she launched a patchwork quilting business, selling work in shops in New York City and the Berkshires. She went on to work with friends on The Sweet Life Chocolate Engagement Calendar, published in the early 1980s and sold nationally, and led a PTA quilting project that still hangs in her children’s former elementary school.
Those early experiences of building a home, raising a family and creating by hand became the foundation of Hammertown. Even now, that instinct remains unchanged.
“I still love knitting for babies and making scarves for friends,” she said.
As news of the closing spread, Osofsky said she felt both the weight of the decision and the depth of the community it touched.
“I felt its weight and its love when I announced Hammertown was closing,” she said.
Still, her focus returns to what lies ahead. She describes this next phase as open, undefined and deeply personal — a shift away from building a business toward following curiosity wherever it leads. Writing, travel and creative exploration are all part of that vision, along with revisiting ideas once set aside.
Among them is a book she once considered publishing traditionally. Now, she is rethinking that path, reflecting a broader change in how she approaches creativity. No longer tied to a store or a brand but “just for the joy of it,” she said.
That shift also makes room for other parts of her life, including time with her granddaughter, cooking, learning to garden and spending time in France.
“I’ll be at Trade Secrets helping my dear friend Sharon from Marston House,” she said of the annual garden event in May benefiting Project SAGE. “She lives in France most of the year, and I visit her frequently — we shop the markets, share life and walk the French countryside. This has become an important part of my life.”
Other constants remain. Tennis, she said, has long provided not only recreation but connection. She hopes to spend more time on the court, possibly even competitively, while continuing her work with the Northeast Community Center and the Little Guild. These commitments she describes as deeply meaningful and essential to what comes next.
“That has meant a great deal to me beyond Hammertown.”
As she prepares for the transition, Osofsky speaks less about loss than about clarity — a desire for space, a readiness for quiet and the ability to move forward on her own terms. She describes this next phase as rooted in authenticity and an “imperfectly perfect life,” acknowledging that it carries both release and uncertainty.
“I’ll let go, but I’m not sure where I’m being led, and that is OK,” she said.
A year from now, she expects people might see a shift in her — someone lighter, less burdened.
“Still deeply connected to creative beauty,” she said, “just less tied to outcomes and more open to surprise.”
Though many have framed Hammertown’s closing in terms of legacy, Osofsky resists that perspective. For her, the present moment feels far more alive.
“Legacy is something you come to understand later,” she said. “Possibility is something you feel in the present.”
What she hopes people carry forward is not just a memory but a feeling of something less tangible.
“I hope people don’t just remember Hammertown,” she said. “I hope they feel it — that sense of warmth and comfort, like walking into a place that felt like home.”
She sees Beyond Hammertown not as retirement but as the beginning of something new and intentional. There is still more to try, more to learn, more to become. It just might be her most personal design yet.
“And that, more than anything,” she said, “feels right.”
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