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Shopper browse the gallery at Cornwall Library’s Labor Day Art Sale Aug. 29 to 31.
Riley Klein
CORNWALL — The Labor Day Art Sale drew supporters and shoppers to Cornwall Library for unique finds and one-of-a-kinds Aug. 29 to 31.
The library was full of artwork including paintings, drawings, prints, photographs and sculptures. All the art was donated and proceeds benefitted the library.
As pieces sold, the gallery was replenished. By midday on Saturday the supply was running low, and the library had already surpassed its fundraising goal.
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Police Blotter: Troop B
Sep 03, 2025
Police Blotter: Troop B
Police Blotter: Troop B
The following information was provided by the Connecticut State Police at Troop B. All suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Car rolls out of parking lot
On the morning of Aug. 21, Christopher Hewat, 76, of Salisbury parked his Subaru Outback in the Sharon Hospital lot but failed to put the vehicle in park before exiting. The Outback rolled backwards, out of the parking lot and across Hospital Hill Road before stopping in a ditch. Hewat was uninjured, and the vehicle suffered minor cosmetic damage and was able to be driven away. Hewat was issued an infraction for unsafe movement of a stopped, standing or parked motor vehicle.
Reversing fender bender
On the afternoon of Aug. 21, troopers responded to a two-car accident near the railroad tracks on Sand Road in North Canaan. Troopers witnessed damage to the front of a Hyundai Tucson, driven by Marisa Ohler, 69, of Falls Village, and the back of a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van driven by Patrick Piljar, 30, who holds a Canaan P.O. box. No injuries were sustained in the accident, but Piljar was issued a written warning from unsafe backing.
Driver strikes donation bin, flees scene
At about noon on Saturday, Aug, 23, an unknown vehicle struck the Texima clothing donation bin in the Stop & Shop parking lot in North Canaan, destroying it completely. The vehicle then fled the scene. Anybody with information regarding the incident is asked to contact Troop B at 860-626-1820.
Motorcycle accident
On the afternoon of Aug 23, Thomas Cmuchowski, 23, of Torrington, was traveling on Cemetery Hill Road in Cornwall on his motorcycle, a 2006 Suzuki SV650, when he lost control. The machine went off the roadway and up a small embankment, striking a rock and throwing Cmuchowski. He was suspected to have suffered minor injuries and was transported by EMS to St. Mary’s Hospital for treatment.
False alarm call yields arrest
Troopers were dispatched to a Norfolk address on the afternoon of Aug. 23 in response to a call from Regina Lane, 62, of Norfolk. Upon arriving and investigating, troopers arrested her for misuse of emergency 911 (false alarm) and disorderly conduct. She was released on $1,000 non-surety bond and was scheduled to appear at Torrington Superior Court on Aug. 25.
Single-vehicle accident in West Woods
On the morning of Aug. 26, Colby Hickey, 25, of Lakeville was driving his GMC Sierra K1500 on West Woods Road No. 2 in Sharon when he struck a street sign, lost control and hit a tree. He was uninjured, but his vehicle was towed from the scene of the crash. He was issued a misdemeanor summons for evading responsibility in the accident and failure to maintain lane.
Disorderly conduct and assault arrest
Troopers were dispatched to a Cornwall address on the evening of Aug. 26 on the report of a physical altercation. Upon arriving and investigating, troopers arrested Daniel Saed, 23, of Cornwall for disorderly conduct and third-degree assault. He was released on a $5,000 non-surety bond and was scheduled to appear at Torrington Superior Court on Aug. 27.
Arrest on Canaan Valley Road
On Aug. 28, troopers located Edward Humes, 47, of Waterbury at a Canaan Valley Road address in North Canaan. Humes had four outstanding warrants from Torrington Superior Court and was arrested for violating probation and was held on a $50,000 bond. He was scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 29.
The Lakeville Journal will publish the outcome of police charges. Contact us by mail at P.O. Box 1688, Lakeville, CT 06039, Attn: Police Blotter, or send an email, with “police blotter” in subject, to editor@lakevillejournal.com
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Stiltwalkers Abigial Veiovis (left) and Liam Murphy waved the race car drivers into town Thursday, Aug. 28.
Patrick L. Sullivan
FALLS VILLAGE — Downtown Falls Village was full of spectators eager to see the end of the vintage race car parade from Lime Rock Park’s Historic Weekend event on Thursday, Aug. 28.
The cars left the track at 5 p.m., wound their way through Salisbury and Lakeville and then to Falls Village.
Prior to the arrival of the first cars at 5:42 p.m., the crowd was entertained with music by the Wanda Houston Project and the Middletown PBA Pipes and Drums.
Among the cars roaring into town were 15 race cars dating from 1920 and earlier.
Brian Blain of Bisalia, California, was piloting a 1911 National. He said it was raced by Charlie Merz in the first Indianapolis 500 race, also in 1911. Merz placed seventh, he added.
The cars were from the Rag Time Racers, a California-based group of race car enthusiasts specializing in very early vehicles.
Siltwalkers Liam Murphy and Abigail Veiovis from Mortal Beasts and Deities, sporting new costumes from troupe director Mark Alexander, waved the race car drivers into town.
When the hubbub of cars died down the band resumed, doing songs as disparate as “Hit the Road Jack” and “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.”
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Wake Robin Inn is located on Sharon Road in Lakeville.
Photo by John Coston
LAKEVILLE — Noise pollution continues to be a crux of the public hearing to expand the Wake Robin Inn. On Aug. 26, the fifth hearing session of the month and second-to-last in the statutorily defined window, the question arose: is any additional sound permissible at all?
Bennett Brooks, founding sound engineer of Brooks Acoustics Corporation and an expert hired by Wells Hill Road residents William and Angela Cruger in opposition to the project, said no: “I think all the experts agree that the project will be audible and that’s the criterion.”
Attorney Josh Mackey, who has represented the applicant Aradev LLC since its first appearance before the Planning and Zoning Commission last fall, countered Brooks: “The idea that nuisance within the regulations means anything that is audible to neighbors is simply ludicrous.”
He referenced air conditioning units, dogs barking and children playing as inevitable sounds in a residential neighborhood. Herb Singleton, a sound engineer with Cross-Spectrum Acoustics and the Commission’s third-party expert reviewer, agreed with Mackey, explaining that defining nuisance as any sound emission that can be heard by neighbors “gets dangerous very, very quickly” due to those complicating factors. He suggested that nuisance “implies a level of annoyance based on audibility,” rather than audibility itself.
It was the third hearing in a row in which sound took center stage in the discussion, with the focal point being what constitutes “nuisance,” as it appears in the town’s zoning regulation 803.2 for special permit approval: “The use shall not create a nuisance to neighboring properties, whether by noise, air, or water pollution; offensive odors, dust, smoke, vibrations, lighting, or other effects.”
A sound study commissioned by Aradev for its application and Singleton’s third-party review both stated that the noise produced by the redeveloped hotel would be below a nuisance level at the property boundaries. At the Aug. 12 hearing, though, neighbors countered that any additional noise intrusion onto their own properties would be against the regulations, as they are intended to “protect abutters and neighbors” from intrusion beyond what they are used to, as Bill Cruger put it. Brooks argued in his Aug. 26 testimony that “in terms of size and scope, this project is almost identical to the former application,” which Aradev withdrew in December due to a likely denial.
Brooks was one of three experts brought into the Zoom room on Tuesday evening to provide testimony against the proposed hotel development. The Crugers, who were intervenors in the 2024 round of hearings for the first iteration of the Inn redevelopment proposal, decided not to formally intervene again during this cycle. Instead, P&Z Chair Michael Klemens stated that the Commission decided to allow the Crugers’ experts to “engage in a dialogue” during the process, but without formal party status in the proceedings.
The other two presenters, wetland scientist George Logan of Rema Ecological Services and Brian Miller of Miller Planning Group, echoed Brooks in their testimonies that Aradev’s current application has not satisfactorily reduced the scale and intensity of the first proposal. Representatives of Aradev have continued to argue that the current plan, which reduces the total occupancy from 158 to 130 and downscales its build footprint, among other alterations, adequately address scale and intensity concerns raised by the Commission and the public.
Of Tuesday’s three-hour meeting, only 20 minutes were left for public comment, leading to a much-abbreviated session for residential input. Klemens announced that the next hearing session, scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 4, at 6:30 p.m., will prioritize the public’s chance to speak.
Thursday is the last scheduled date for the public hearing, which state law deems must close on Sept. 9.
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