Salisbury selectmen most highly paid in the region

The Northwestern Connecticut Council of Governments (COG) has just released its annual listing of salaries paid to town employees in the region. Towns in the Northwest Corner often refer to the list as they enter into the annual budget planning season. Charts showing all the information can be found at The Lakeville Journal’s website at www.tricornernews.com.The COG is an organization based in Warren, Conn., made up of the first selectmen from nine Litchfield County towns, including all six towns in the Region One school district.Salisbury pays its selectmen the most of all the COG towns, with the first selectman receiving $73,316 and the two selectmen $9,968. North Canaan pays its first selectman $25,000 and the two selectmen $5,000.Falls Village’s first selectman is paid $32,398 and the selectmen $5,335; in Cornwall, the first selectman receives $45,631 and the selectmen $3,320.In Kent the top job is worth $59,081 and the two selectmen get $4,156, and in Sharon the first selectman is paid $54,556 and the selectmen $4,160.Kent’s town clerk leads the salaries for that position at $41,636, with Salisbury right behind at $41,250.The town clerk job in Sharon pays $39,333; in Cornwall, $35,721; in Falls Village, $25,880; and in North Canaan, $6,500 plus a portion of fees collected.The survey chart also shows what the animal control officer, health officer or sanitarian, senior center director, solid waste and recycling coordinator and agent for the elderly are paid annually.In addition to salaries, the survey also shows benefits that town employees receive. Workers in North Canaan, Sharon and Falls Village do not contribute to their premium. Workers in Kent and Cornwall contribute on a sliding scale based on coverage.Workers in Roxbury pay between $500 and $1,000 and town employees in Warren contribute 15 percent while those in Washington do not have to share in their premium cost. Most but not all of the towns have switched to high-deductible and health savings account programs.The chart has information as well on what employees must pay as a co-pay per visit. Health insurance includes dental care for workers in all nine towns except Sharon.The survey also includes information on the number of sick days, personal days and vacation days that employees earn.

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Club baseball at Fuessenich Park

Travel league baseball came to Torrington Thursday, June 26, when the Berkshire Bears Select Team played the Connecticut Moose 18U squad. The Moose won 6-4 in a back-and-forth game. Two players on the Bears play varsity ball at Housatonic Valley Regional High School: shortstop Anthony Foley and first baseman Wes Allyn. Foley went 1-for-3 at bat with an RBI in the game at Fuessenich Park.

 

  Anthony Foley, rising senior at Housatonic Valley Regional High School, went 1-for-3 at bat for the Bears June 26.Photo by Riley Klein 

 
Siglio Press: Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature

Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.

Richard Kraft

Siglio Press is a small, independent publishing house based in Egremont, Massachusetts, known for producing “uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.” Founded and run by editor and publisher Lisa Pearson, Siglio has, since 2008, designed books that challenge conventions of both form and content.

A visit to Pearson’s airy studio suggests uncommon work, to be sure. Each of four very large tables were covered with what looked to be thousands of miniature squares of inkjet-printed, kaleidoscopically colored pieces of paper. Another table was covered with dozens of book/illustration-size, abstracted images of deer, made up of colored dots. For the enchanted and the mystified, Pearson kindly explained that these pieces were to be collaged together as artworks by the artist Richard Kraft (a frequent contributor to the Siglio Press and Pearson’s husband). The works would be accompanied by writings by two poets, Elizabeth Zuba and Monica Torre, in an as-yet-to-be-named book, inspired by a found copy of a worn French children’s book from the 1930s called “Robin de Bois” (Robin Hood).

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Cycling season: A roundup of our region’s rentals and where to ride them

Cyclists head south on the rail trail from Copake Falls.

Alec Linden

After a shaky start, summer has well and truly descended upon the Litchfield, Berkshire and Taconic hills, and there is no better way to get out and enjoy long-awaited good weather than on two wheels. Below, find a brief guide for those who feel the pull of the rail trail, but have yet to purchase their own ten-speed. Temporary rides are available in the tri-corner region, and their purveyors are eager to get residents of all ages, abilities and inclinations out into the open road (or bike path).

For those lucky enough to already possess their own bike, perhaps the routes described will inspire a new way to spend a Sunday afternoon. For more, visit lakevillejournal.com/tag/bike-route to check out two ride-guides from local cyclists that will appeal to enthusiasts of many levels looking for a varied trip through the region’s stunning summer scenery.

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