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Bears entering Cornwall homes
Jun 25, 2025
CORNWALL — “Bears are back,” said First Selectman Gordon Ridgway at the start of a selectmen’s meeting Tuesday, June 17. “Since we last met [June 3] we’ve had three homes in Cornwall broken into on Cherry Hill, Whitcomb Hill and Town Street.”
Homeowners were present during two of the incidents, but no injuries were reported. Ridgway noted the distance between impacted homes would suggest it was not the same bear.
On Town Street, the bear opened the refrigerator for a snack before ransacking the house and leaving. The next day, Transfer Station Coordinator Ted Larson was present to scare away the bear when it returned for seconds.
Troop B and the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection were called to respond and reportedly tagged one of the bears.
A fourth bear was hit by a car on Route 4 June 21. Ridgway said the injured bear wandered away from the scene, resting near a tree before disappearing into the woods. Department of Energy and Environmental Protection responded to the incident approximately four hours after the fact.
Bear sightings have been common in Cornwall this spring. Ridgway said he saw a mother with four cubs in his driveway recently.
“It’s a problem,” said Ridgway, encouraging people to report encounters to Town Hall. “If they have a real emergency, of course, call 9-1-1. But if you want to report damage, report it to the selectmen’s office. We are keeping track.”
Cornwall submitted 45 pages of bear incident reports to the state from last year, but “the environment committee did not send a bear bill out,” said Ridgway. “It seems to be a western Connecticut problem... they’re not paying attention to what’s happening here.”
Ridgway heard from residents who have grown fearful to leave their homes. “I think it really is a public safety issue,” he said.
ZEO retiring
Zoning Enforcement Office Karen Nelson will be stepping down at the end of June.
Spencer Musselman, of Goshen, has been hired to fill the role effective July 1. Musselman also serves as the land use administrator of Litchfield.
Ridgway said after the interview process, “We were all very impressed by his resume, his references and his knowledge of the field.”
A farewell party was planned for Nelson, to be held at Cornwall Library June 24.
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Goshen’s May real estate sales
Jun 25, 2025
This 2,205 square foot home at 50 Shelbourne Drive near the entrance to Woodridge Lake sold over asking price ($675,000) for $695,000 after only two days on the market.
Christine Bates
GOSHEN — In May, Goshen had four transfers, three of them within the confines of Woodridge Lake, with eight sales pending on Jun 21, 2025.
Goshen median sales prices continued their steady rise up to $645,000, established in May.
The Town of Goshen has a healthy inventory of properties listed for sale at the end of June including 13 single family homes with eight under a million dollars and 13 pieces of land.
Transactions
225 West Hyerdale Drive — Woodridge Lake Lot 65 — 3 bedroom/4 bath home sold by Sudan F. Taussig Revocable Trust to Judith B. Fradin Revocable Trust for $2,350,000 recorded on May 9.
50 Shelbourne Drive — Woodridge Lake Lot 220 - 3 bedroom/2 bath home sold by Barbara A. and Daniel Pappalardo to Brian E. and Donna M. Mattiello for $695,000 recorded on May 18.
Dresden Circle — Woodridge Lake lot 608 - 0.8 acres of land sold by Ed & AJ Building and Remodeling LLC to Martin and Janice C. Connor for $25,000 recorded on May 16.
160 Hageman Shean Road — 4 bedroom/3 bath home sold by Hageman Hill LLC to Anthony and Lisa Debany for $956,000 recorded on May 30.
* Town of Goshen real estate transfers recorded as sold between May 1 and May 31, 2025, provided by Goshen Town Clerk. Transfers without consideration are not included. Current market listings from Smart MLS. Note that recorded transfers frequently lag sales by a number of days. Compiled by Christine Bates, Real Estate Salesperson with William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty, Licensed in Connecticut and New York States.
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Police Blotter: Troop B
Jun 25, 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.
Driveway fender bender
On the evening of June 18, Jeffrey Livingston of New York, New York was attempting to turn into a driveway on Main Street in Salisbury when his Toyota Avalon collided with a Ford F350 driven by Connor McGuire of North Canaan. Both vehicles were still operable after the crash, though Livingston was found at fault for the accident and was issued a written warning for “failure to grant right of way at private road or driveway.”
Arrest on warrant for vehicle burglary
On June 19, Joseph Mollo, 19, of Hewlett, New York was arrested on a warrant for an incident dated Jan. 22, 2025, reported from Ashpohtag Road in Norfolk. Mollo was taken into custody and processed for first degree larceny, third degree burglary and larceny of a motor vehicle. Mollo was unable to post a $15,000 cash bond and was set to appear at Torrington Superior Court on June 20.
Sneeze causes head-on collision
On the afternoon of June 2020, Shannon Hutchinson, 32, of North Canaan was traveling south on Canaan Valley Road when she collided head on with a Honda HRV driven by Chystene Curtis, 82, also of North Canaan. Curtis reported that she sneezed and closed her eyes briefly, and Hutchinson said that Curtis’ vehicle swerved into her lane. Curtis’ HRV was disabled, as was Hutchinson’s Subaru Forester, but both drivers were uninjured in the accident. Curtis was issued a citation for “failure to maintain proper lane.”
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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Ethan Arsenault, operator of Canaan View Dairy in East Canaan, oversees hundreds of dairy cows.
Simon Markow
NORTH CANAAN — The Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy marked the second round of its “Building Resiliency Through Innovation” grants by bringing leaders in agriculture and land protection to Canaan Valley for demonstrations by two of the Northwest Corner’s most forward-thinking agricultural projects.
Under a low sky on the morning of June 18, attendants turned off Route 44, slid behind the homey storefront of Freund’s Farm Market & Bakery and pulled up to an elegant canopy tent setup where they dug into coffee, frittatas, and eventually strawberry shortcakes, all provided by Freund’s.
On either side of the tent were the facilities of the day’s featured businesses: Canaan View Dairy, which was a recipient of the land trust’s funding, and CowPots, the Freund-family founded and operated biodegradable planting pot enterprise, which was recently featured on the reality television show “Shark Tank.”
Amanda Branson, the NCLC’s director of operations and finance, emphasized the importance of thinking creatively to find ways to make agriculture more sustainable, more resilient against climate change, and more profitable for farmers. “Through the grant program, lots of really exciting projects are happening at farms across the region,” she said – including at Canaan View Dairy.
Farmer Ethan Arsenault, who took over the large dairy barn from the Freund family in 2022 along with Lloyd and Amy Vail, told the crowd that the money was being put to good use. It entirely funded the purchase of a manure-spreading system known as a dribble bar, which is an efficient way to “maintain no-till philosophies,” said Arsenault.
The bar, which is also known as a “drag line” system, drops manure at low pressure over a large area, decreasing soil compaction, crop disturbance and runoff. Arsenault maintained that it helps improve soil health, save fuel and reduce emissions from the farm.
When Bryan Hulburt, commissioner of Connecticut’s Department of Agriculture, offered his own remarks, he gestured to the tractor sporting the bar just outside the tent, framed dramatically by Canaan Mountain rising into the mist in the background. “When you’re reviewing grant applications, you don’t see that,” he said, noting the gratification of seeing the grants turn into real impact.
Hulburt said teaming up with the NCLC, which was awarded state money that it then dispersed through the resiliency program, was essential in getting the funds into the right hands. NCLC is the largest land trust in the state and has granted $517,000 through the program to 47 farms covering over 6,000 acres.
“These are one-time investments that will live on well beyond the Climate Smart Agriculture and Forestry Program,” Hulburt said, referring to the title of DOAG’s funding initiative.
Arsenault emphasized that the dribble bar is not the only forward-thinking aspect of the farm. “This farm exemplifies resilience on a multitude of levels,” he said, which was illustrated by a detailed tour of the “robotic facility” of the cow barn.
Arsenault showed the wowed audience an entirely automated robotic arm that milks the cows while they feed. The group erupted into astonished laughter when the device, after a series of sci-fi-esque whirrs, clicks and lasers, latched on to the udder of a cow enjoying its grain and immediately began pulling milk through a clear tube.
“That computer,” he said while gesturing into a control room, “is the heart of this.”
Arsenault explained that with much of the labor taken care of by robots, he and the other staff have much more time to focus on the wellbeing of the cows.
“Happy, comfortable cows make the most milk; milk is what I make my money on,” he said.
CowPots, while not a direct recipient of this grant, sources manure from Canaan View Dairy and shares many operational aspects. Father-daughter team Matthew and Amanda Freund led a tour of their self-designed “type-two pulp molding facility” where they turn cow manure into planting pots.
“There’s no shortage of manure,” the elder Freund said, explaining that the idea developed when they saw how much more manure their herd produced than was used for fertilization.
The duo envisioned more opportunities for this highly versatile and plentiful byproduct of dairy farming and are hoping to expand the business into other fibrous container-like products, such as packaging.
They demonstrated a prototype of a manure-based wine shipper as an example.
The facility is zero-waste, they explained. “The only things that leave are the finished product and water vapor,” said Mr. Freund. Even the defective products aren’t thrown away – they become cow bedding.
The Freunds said that manure could hold a much bigger role in modern industrialism. Peat, an organic compound used as a fuel source that also happens to be a major well for carbon that would otherwise pollute the atmosphere, is being phased out in many countries. Manure, the duo explained, is a viable, more sustainable alternative.
For now, though, CowPots is staying equally focused on streamlining internal production strategies. Mr. Freund has a succinct vision for the future of their manufacturing process: “The cow backs up to the machine and out comes a flowerpot.”
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