Salisbury welcomes Simmons as Clerk

Salisbury welcomes Simmons as Clerk

Kristine Simmons

Patrick L. Sullivan

SALISBURY — It’s official. Kristine Simmons is the town clerk in Salisbury.

She took over in December following the retirement of Patty Williams, who served as town clerk for 21 years.

A Lakeville Journal reporter stopped by Town Hall before the holidays.

Simmons and the new assistant town clerk, Jada Wilson, were running a little late returning from lunch because of an accident on Route 44.

They were accompanied by Levi Simmons, who had a half day at school, and Tito Wilson, a German Shepherd puppy with photogenically floppy ears.

Simmons is a native of North Canaan and her brother is North Canaan Selectman Craig Whiting.

She graduated from Housatonic Valley Regional High School in 1997, where she was prominent in the Housatonic FFA chapter.

“I loved the FFA program,” she said. “It got me through high school.”

Simmons subsequently studied to be a surgical veterinary technician at the State University of New York at Cobleskill and at Northwestern Connecticut Community College, and spent 24 years in that field.

Simmons said she loved the work but as her children got older, she felt she needed a regular work schedule.

So she came on board as assistant town clerk in Salisbury in 2021 when Rachel Lamb retired, and has now taken over for Williams, who retired last month.

Jada Wilson is the new assistant town clerk in Salisbury. And Tito is the assistant to the assistant town clerk.Patrick L. Sullivan

Wilson graduated from HVRHS in 2018 and was also an FFA stalwart. She studied Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Connecticut.

She started training to be the assistant town clerk in September of this year.

Asked for the most interesting or challenging aspects to the job thus far (and not counting the recent election), Simmons thought for a moment and settled on requests for information on properties when the caller doesn’t have a lot of information to start with.

She said a recent inquiry was trying to track down a property once owned by a relative but the only real clue — the name of the road the property was on — had been changed.

With only that to go on, Simmons and Wilson puzzled it out.

“We might not get it right away but we do get back to them,” said Simmons.

Latest News

Cornwall board approves purchase of two new fire trucks following CVFD recommendation
CVFD reaches fundraising goal for new fire trucks
Provided

CORNWALL — At the recommendation of the Cornwall Volunteer Fire Department, on Jan. 20 the Board of Selectmen voted to move forward with the purchase of two new trucks.

Greenwood Emergency Vehicles, located in North Attleboro, Massachusetts, was chosen as the manufacturer. Of the three bids received, Greenwood was the lowest bidder on the desired mini pumper and a rescue pumper.

Keep ReadingShow less
Robin Lee Roy

FALLS VILLAGE — Robin Lee Roy, 62, of Zephyrhills, Florida, passed away Jan. 14, 2026.

She was a longtime CNA, serving others with compassion for more than 20 years before retiring from Heartland in Florida.

Keep ReadingShow less
Marjorie A. Vreeland

SALISBURY — Marjorie A. Vreeland, 98, passed away peacefully at Noble Horizons, on Jan. 10, 2026.She was surrounded by her two loving children, Richard and Nancy.She was born in Bronxville, New York,on Aug. 9, 1927, to Alice (Meyer) and Joseph Casey, both of whom were deceased by the time she was 14. She attended public schools in the area and graduated from Eastchester High School in Tuckahoe and, in 1946 she graduated from The Wood School of Business in New York City.

At 19 years old, she married Everett W. Vreeland of White Plains, New York and for a few years they lived in Ithaca, New York, where Everett was studying to become a veterinarian at Cornell. After a short stint in Coos Bay, Oregon (Mike couldn’t stand the cloudy, rainy weather!) they moved back east to Middletown, Connecticut for three years where Dr. Vreeland worked for Dr. Pieper’s veterinary practice.In Aug. of 1955, Dr. and Mrs. Vreeland moved to North Kent, Connecticut with their children and started Dr. Vreeland’s Veterinary practice. In Sept. of 1968 Marjorie, or “Mike” as she wished to be called, took a “part-time job” at the South Kent School.She retired from South Kent 23 years later on Sept. 1, 1991.Aside from office help and bookkeeping she was secretary to the Headmaster and also taught Public Speaking and Typing.In other times she worked as an assistant to the Town Clerk in Kent, an office worker and receptionist at Ewald Instruments Corp. and as a volunteer at the Kent Library.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rafael A. Porro

SALISBURY -— Rafael A. Porro, 88, of 4 Undermountain Road, passed away Jan. 6, 2026, at Sharon Hospital. Rafael was born on April 19, 1937 in Camaguey, Cuba the son of Jose Rafael Porro and Clemencia Molina de Porro. He graduated from the Englewood School for Boys in Englewood, New Jersey and attended Columbia University School of General Studies. Rafael retired as a law library clerk from the law firm of Curtis, Mallet Prevost in 2002 and came to live in Salisbury to be nearer to his sister, Chany Wells.

Rafael is survived by his sister, Chany Wells, his nephew Conrad Wells (Gillian), and by numerous cousins in North Carolina, Florida, Wyoming, Arizona, Cuba and Canada. He was the eldest of the cousins and acknowledged family historian. He will be greatly missed.

Keep ReadingShow less