“This program offers youth an opportunity to experience firsthand the power of advocating for change by interacting with local government.”
— Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation
SALISBURY — This spring, the Salisbury-Sharon Transfer Station will host a bright, blue collection bin where residents can dispose of their empty, non-recyclable prescription pill bottles destined for developing nations where methods for distributing medications to those in need are primitive.
Meanwhile, in North Canaan, members of that town’s volunteer fire department have been trained on how to utilize a newly donated high-tech drone that will aid firefighters not only during search and rescue missions but also when responding to structure fires.
The community projects were conceptualized and initiated by two Housatonic Valley Regional High School students and made possible through a region-wide initiative known as the Youth in Democracy Fellowship program, administered through the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation to promote youth involvement in local government.
Participants are selected based on their passion and commitment to active participation in community building to support their project.
Last fall the foundation partnered with the 21st Century Fund at Housatonic Valley Regional High School and Bard College in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. As a result, two HVRHS students, sophomore Daniel Moran and junior Alex Wilbur, have been working with a mentor from Bard and town officials on their respective year-long projects.
Moran developed and initiated the drone assistance program and training sessions for the North Canaan Fire Company and Wilbur is spearheading the pill bottle collection project at the Salisbury-Sharon Transfer Station.
Firefighters’ new drone
Moran, who has been intrigued by drones from a very young age, initially contacted Brian Ohler, North Canaan’s first selectman, and pitched the idea to supply the North Canaan Fire Company with a new drone and training to go along with it.
Moran and Ohler, who is also a long-time drone enthusiast, then presented the idea to Patrick McGuire, the fire department’s assistant chief, and the rest, as they say, is history.
“It’s rare for a young man to do what he did,” said McGuire of the student’s success in obtaining a $2,500 grant for the drone and then training members of his department on the technology.
“We haven’t used it yet,” due to fire department training, noted the assistant fire chief, “but we are hoping to get out there in the spring” and give it some airtime, said the assistant fire chief.
McGuire said the remote-controlled drone will help firefighters identify potential nearby water sources when battling structure fires in remote areas and also assist with search and rescue operations for people and animals.
“It could also fly above buildings and provide an aerial view of a burning structure,” enhancing safety for the volunteer firefighters arriving on scene, he said, noting that his department is extremely thankful for the gift.
Moran, 15, recalled that his infatuation with drones started at an early age and continued into high school, where he started a small drone program through the school’s agricultural education program and has assisted with training his peers.
“I’ve always been into drones,” the teen said during a recent Sunday morning meeting at the firehouse with Ohler, McGuire and his dad, David Moran, chair of the Agricultural Education Department at HVRHS.
Ohler praised Moran for identifying the community need and navigating the complex process.
“Daniel is very methodical. There were multiple steps, going back to the foundation, presenting all the data. I was very impressed. It’s really making, in a way, such a technological advancement to the capabilities of the fire department.”
Another bonus to the volunteer fire department’s new drone equipment, said Ohler, is that it may help lure young recruits.
“It shows them that there is more to firefighting than just putting out fires.”
Daniel Moran, second from right, with the drone the HVRHS sophomore donated to the North Canaan Fire Company as part of his Youth in Democracy project.Moran is shown here with the town’s first selectman, Brian Ohler, right, Assistant Fire Chief Patrick McGuire, center, and David Moran, Agricultural Education Department Chair at the high school, left. Debra A. Aleksinas
Pilot program targets discarded pill bottles
Sixteen-year-old Alex Wilbur is passionate about her Youth in Democracy project, and over the past several months has been laying the groundwork for a pilot program to collect prescription pill bottles at the transfer station and have them distributed to developing nations.
The teenager met up with Brian Bartram, manager of the Salisbury-Sharon Transfer Station, last Saturday morning to discuss progress, which includes creating labels for the blue bin and distributing newsletters throughout the community.
“I am happy to be the facilitator, but the program is being administered by Alex,” noted Bartram, who plans to place a bright, blue plastic collection bin outside the transfer station’s office door. It will occupy space next to the Boy Scouts’ red, white and blue wooden collection box filled to the brim with torn and tattered American flags.
“They will be the leaders in a few years,” Bartram said, praising the youth initiatives.
Currently, most people dispose of prescription pill bottles with recyclables, but the problem with that, said the transfer station manager, is that due to their small size, pill bottles often end up mixing with recycled glass.
Removing them from the process, he said, helps the environment and the recycling process.
Wilbur is currently awaiting receipt of a $1,500 stipend for needed supplies, and once the collection bin is in place, the next step is to educate the public.
Most people take for granted that their medications come in resealable, clean containers, Wilbur said.However, in some parts of the world, medications are distributed in whatever health care providers or clinics have available, which could be something as basic as a folded scrap of paper.
“I am compiling a final budget and will start printing out labels and newsletters which I plan to hang up around the community,” explained the HVRHS senior, who also plans to be at the transfer station during the project launch to spread word to residents about the new initiative.
Once the bin is full, the pill bottles will be collected by Wilbur and her mom, Mary, and delivered to Ed O’Toole, leader of Berkshire Amistad in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, whose organization supplies Honduras with medical equipment and supplies.
“He goes to South America once every few months and has agreed to work with me and bring the pill bottles from here with him,” Wilbur explained.
A significant senior population
Jean Saliter, gate-keeper at the transfer station on Fridays and Saturdays, praised the teenager’s initiative, which is something she had tried to pitch years ago after hearing about a similar program started by a parish in the Chicago area where people were collecting, cleaning and shipping pill bottles “so that they could do good work in third world countries.”
The idea, however, was short lived, Saliter recalled, because the labels needed to be removed entirely from the plastic bottles, a task that turned out to be extremely labor intensive.
Under Wilbur’s proposal, only names need to be blacked out on the label.
“I’m thrilled,” about Wilbur’s project, Saliter said, noting that both Salisbury and Sharon have a significant senior population that generates countless empty pill containers.
A resident of the Noble Horizons, Saliter suggested it would make sense to start a collection among residents there and throughout the towns’ senior living communities, which can be delivered in bulk by volunteers to the transfer station.
The Norfolk Pub, the town’s only restaurant and bar, will close at the end of the month, prompting concern among residents about the future of the Royal Arcanum building.
The Royal Arcanum, a large Arts and Crafts-style brick building, was built in 1904 by architect Alfredo Taylor as a home for the Norfolk Fire Department and several other town groups. Today, it houses the bookstore Les Renards & Co.; audiovisual consulting firm Boyce Nemec Designs, which has occupied a ground-floor office since the 1970s; Ruthann Olsson Interior Arts and Design; and the Pub. One of the commercial tenants, who requested anonymity, said their lease runs through Dec. 31, 2026.
The building also has contained additional office space and several residential apartments. According to a source close to the building, none of the residences were occupied at the time of the sale in September.
Local nonprofit the Norfolk Hub, which executed the sale, originally acquired the building in 2021 for $950,000 with assistance from a gift from the William and Mary Greve Foundation. In an Oct. 4 release, the group announced that $300,000 of the September sale proceeds had been allocated to the Foundation for Norfolk Living, a local affordable housing nonprofit, to support future housing projects.
An additional $500,000 was directed toward supporting the proposed firehouse project, according to the release.
The building’s new ownership — comprised of clothing designer Emily Adams Bode Aujla, her husband Aaron Aujla, an interior designer, and his brother Dev Aujla, CEO of Bode — has yet to announce plans for the Royal Arcanum, leaving many in town to speculate about what will occupy the vast structure.
Residents have been particularly concerned about the loss of the village’s only restaurant and bar, which has operated in the same location for decades under various names and owners.
Larry Hannafin and Sally Carr, both lifelong Norfolk residents with generations of family history in town, organized a petition in late December protesting the closure. “The pub is far more than a business,” the petition reads. “It is a vital gathering place, an economic anchor, a significant employer and a cornerstone of our town’s character.”
During an interview in late December with The Lakeville Journal, Hannafin and Carr expressed dismay at what they described as the loss of critical community infrastructure. “To live in a town that you can’t take a friend to supper with!” Carr exclaimed with exasperation.
“When I grew up there were five restaurants and five grocery stores,” Carr added.
Hannafin said he sent the signed petitions — which he last counted at 295 — to American Folk & Heritage on Wednesday. As of Friday, he said he had not received a response.
Dev Aujla said in a late December email to The Lakeville Journal that the closure followed a “conversation” between the new ownership and Norfolk Pub owner Heidi Forler. He did not elaborate and has not responded to follow-up requests for clarification. Forler declined to comment.
Norfolk Public Information Officer Jon Barbagallo said in late December that the town fire marshal was not involved, responding to circulating rumors that suggested otherwise. “This is strictly between the owners of the new building and the proprietors of the restaurant.”
Despite the imminent closure, the bar is maintaining its lively programming, with its popular trivia night returning on Wednesday, Jan. 14, followed by live music the following night.
Still, residents have begun mourning the loss of the town’s only watering hole and evening eatery, while looking anxiously toward the future.
A regular patron sitting at the bar Thursday evening praised the restaurant’s communal atmosphere. “Everyone knows everyone – it’s so great.” She described the closure as “tragic.”
First Selectman Henry Tirrell said Friday that the establishment has been a fixture his entire life and that he even spent the evening of his wedding day there. “It’s a sad thing to see it going away,” he said. “I certainly hope something can be restored there.”
Meanwhile, Lindsey Prevuznak, who has worked as a bartender at the Pub for a decade, announced the closure in a Facebook post Wednesday. Speaking with The Lakeville Journal on Friday, she reflected on the deep ties the establishment has with the community, describing its loss as “a heart break for entire community whose lives we enriched and touched.”
“I’m deeply grateful and humbled to have shared moments with such remarkable people.”
A notice posted on the door of the Norfolk Pub informs patrons that the establishment will accept cash only as it prepares to close at the end of the month. By Alec Linden
Bryan Monge Orellana and Janneth Maribel Panjon Guallpa of Amenia are the parents of Ethan Nicolas Monge Panjon, Sharon Hospital’s first baby of 2026.
Later that morning, twins were born to Belinde and Erick Garcia of New Milford. Gabriella Garcia arrived at 8:17 a.m., weighing 5 pounds, 14 ounces and measuring 19 inches. One minute later, at 8:18 a.m., Isabella Garcia was born weighing 5 pounds, 8 ounces and measuring 18.5 inches.
Belinde and Erick Garcia, of New Milford, are the parents of twins Gabriella and Isabella, who were the second and third babies born in Sharon Hospital in 2026. Their older siblings, Matthew, 6, and Melanie, 3, are pictured. Photo provided
Area ambulance squad members and several first selectmen attend a Jan. 5 meeting hosted by Nuvance/Northwell to discuss emergency service providers.
“We haven’t missed a beat; we’re still taking calls,” said Andrea Downs, president of the Falls Village Volunteer Fire Department and an employee of NDP, speaking at the meeting, which was attended by ambulance squad members, first selectmen and representatives of Sharon Hospital.
Sharon Hospital announced Dec. 11 that it would not renew its annual agreement with NDP, ending a 28-year relationship and initially stating that service would cease Jan. 1. Hospital President and CEO Christina McCulloch said the decision was based on compliance concerns tied to the hospital’s role as sponsor.
“Being a sponsor is a big deal,” McCulloch said. “Our concerns were big enough that we couldn’t sign. It was a difficult decision.”
She said the hospital had discussed the issues with NDP representatives and cited unmet state requirements.
Without a sponsoring hospital, NDP could not operate in Connecticut. That issue was resolved when NDP finalized an agreement with Stamford Hospital, allowing it to continue providing services in the Northwest Corner.
At the same time, Sharon Hospital is establishing a hospital-based paramedic service through Nuvance/Northwell, owner of the hospital. Under the current model, the service consists of a single paramedic, who begins the day at New Milford Hospital before traveling to Sharon, prompting concerns from some volunteer ambulance crews about response times while that paramedic is in transit.
Addressing those concerns, hospital officials said while the new paramedic service covers a wide area, so too does NDP, which is based out of Rhinebeck. Some volunteer ambulance crews also said their concerns relate to the transition to two providers, with Sharon Hospital’s service still being built out and not yet fully stationed in Sharon.
Falls Village First Selectman David Barger asked whether more than one paramedic service could operate in the region.
“There could be more than one,” McCulloch said.
Matt Cassavechia, director of emergency services for Sharon Hospital, said Litchfield County Dispatch, which handles all ambulance and fire dispatching for the region, will call whichever paramedic service is available at the time of an emergency.
He acknowledged that the current arrangement could be improved and said the hospital hopes to expand on-site paramedic coverage in Sharon. Doing so would require state approval through a need-for-service application, which Cassavechia said would benefit from letters of support from the community and area first selectmen.
Several volunteer ambulance representatives expressed concern about how changes could affect basic life support services and volunteer operations. Cassavechia said the hospital does not intend to replace volunteer squads.
“We’re not snapping up patients,” he said. “That’s not what we do. We are deliberate and purposeful. We have zero intent of putting volunteers out of business.”
Questions were also raised about possible delays in transferring patients from Sharon Hospital to other facilities. McCulloch said the hospital has been experiencing high emergency room and inpatient volumes but has not seen unusual wait times.
Michelle Hansen of the Falls Village ambulance squad cited a recent case involving a cancer patient who needed to be transported to Yale New Haven Hospital and was reportedly told by Nuvance that there would be an upfront cost of $2,000. NDP ultimately completed the transport.
“That is certainly not our practice,” said Thomas Horkan, Sharon Hospital’s EMS coordinator. “As soon as we were made aware, we took corrective action. It was human error. I listened to the tape. It was unfortunate.”
State Rep. Maria Horn, D-64, attended the meeting to assess how the changes might affect patient care and costs. Cassavechia said billing practices vary among ambulance providers and that clearer rules of engagement would need to be established with local squads.
After the discussion, Sharon First Selectman Casey Flanagan said the outcome appeared reassuring.
“It seems we’re going to have bonus coverage,” he said. “So, I’m OK with this.”
Nuvance/Northwell employees host a Jan. 5 meeting on emergency service providers. From left: Matt Cassavechia, Sharon Hospital director of emergency services; Christina McCulloch, Sharon Hospital president and CEO; Thomas Horkan, Sharon Hospital EMS coordinator; and Dr. Ron Santos, Sharon Hospital emergency room director.By Ruth Epstein
