Readying for any contingency

CORNWALL — The Board of Selectmen approved appointment of Diane Beebe to serve as the town’s Emergency Medical Services director at its Tuesday, Oct. 2, meeting.

For most of her professional life, Beebe has worked in civil emergency preparedness, said First Selectman Gordon Ridgway, adding that she has been involved with the Cornwall volunteer fire department for the past eight years. She has also worked in emergency animal rescue programs.

“We are lucky,” Selectwoman Priscilla Pavel said in endorsing the choice. As an added advantage, the selectmen noted that Beebe lives only a stone’s throw from Town Hall.

A proposal to store a piece of sand-and-gravel screening equipment in town was discussed by the selectmen, and will be explored further in advance of the annual town meeting, when the proposal will be presented to voters. The machine is currently stored in Torrington, but it is frequently used in Cornwall; of all area towns, Cornwall is the single largest user.

Ridgway explained that the town uses the machine 20 days of the year at a rental rate of $400 per day, paid to the Northwest Hills Council of Governments.

If the town were to store and maintain (not repair) the machine, the rental rate would reduce to $300 per day of usage. The town would still not be responsible for repairs. 

Ridgway explained that because the town has an ample supply of sand and gravel available, less winter road salt needs to be purchased. The town spends only $40,000 to $50,000 annually on road salt, less than other towns in the region.

The screening equipment is a sieve-like conveyor belt. As the material passes along the belt, the sand drops through for collection below.

Despite the rain, the selectmen praised the enthusiastic turnout for the Women’s Support Services rally on Oct. 2, held indoors at the Town Hall just before the selectmen’s meeting (see story, Page A1). The rally is held in a different area town each year.

“It’s good to know that people needing help have somewhere to turn,” Ridgway said, praising the vitally important services offered by that organization.

Reflecting on the successful completion of work on the West Cornwall Covered Bridge, the selectmen declared the bridge to be “open for business.”

“The workmen could not have been nicer,” Pavel commented.

Work on the other two bridge projects in town is progressing well, Ridgway reported, referring to repair and replacement work on the Smith Place bridge and the Gravel Bank bridge.