SALISBURY — The time to make a decision on whether to enter into a contract with the Connecticut Resource Recovery Authority (CRRA) is drawing near and other options are being discussed. CRRA takes the town’s garbage from the transfer station the town pays a fee per pound.As part of that process, the Transfer Station and Recycling Advisory Committee (which oversees the current Salisbury-Sharon transfer station) is now looking at how the two towns stack up in recycling compared to other municipalities.At a Transfer Station and Recycling Advisory Committee (TRAC) meeting March 17, transfer station manager Brian Bartram and committee member Bob Palmer had statistics that show Salisbury-Sharon has recycling rates that compare favorably to larger towns and to towns that have adopted a Pay As You Throw (PAYT) model.In terms of fiber (paper, cardboard), the Pay As You Throw towns of Mansfield (pop. 25,000), Stonington (pop. 11,300), and Stafford (pop. 18,000) all have lower recycling rates than Salisbury and Sharon, which have a combined population of about 6,400. In pounds per capita, Mansfield recycles 241 pounds, Stonington 256 and Stafford 116. Salisbury-Sharon comes in at 275 pounds per capita.Likewise in the bottles and cans category: Mansfield recycles 97 pounds per capita, Stafford 59, Salisbury 109. (Data from Stonington was unavailable.)Adding West Hartford, a densely populated suburban area that is not PAYT, to the mix, and looking at scrap metal recycling, Salisbury handles 75 pounds per capita, and West Hartford just 12.In electronic waste — obsolete computers, etc. — Salisbury again is far ahead with 27 pounds per capita, compared to Stonington’s six pounds and West Hartford’s two.On the other hand, Salisbury-Sharon recycles far less yard waste (leaves) than other, more urban towns, by design. Palmer said that residents are not encouraged to bring leaves and yard waste to the transfer station. “We want it in the woods.” Looking to the future, the building of a new transfer station, and the CRRA contract, the question emerges: Should Salisbury-Sharon try selling more recyclables?Palmer said it would be prudent to start thinking about this now, rather than after a CRRA contract is signed.Pros include enhanced recycling rates and generating enough revenue to lower user fees; cons include costs of specialized equipment and, possibly, additional manpower, and the volatility of markets for recyclables.Salisbury First Selectman Curtis Rand said it would be interesting to get a consultant’s take on the matter, but wondered if there was enough time before finalizing the CRRA contract, probably in June.
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Greg Fricke and James Boehmer, co-owners of Peggy Mercury in Kent, recently launched their first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts.”
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Fricke and Boehmer are not there to stock their shelves with the same products customers find at standard makeup retailers. They’re there to help customers find what works for them. That usually means asking customers about themselves and learning about their beauty habits, skin, style and the way they like to present themselves. Fricke and Boehmer believe it’s their job to help customers bring out the qualities that suit them and determine what works best for their look.
So much of the Peggy Mercury world is about emboldening people to become more creative, and possibly bolder, versions of themselves. Some of this comes through the store’s creative collaborations with artists, designers and stylists.
It’s part of an ethos that encourages them and their friends to use the shop as a kind of laboratory, trying out new creative experiments without knowing how they might turn out. Whether in fashion, painting, fiber arts or photography, the projects almost always turn out marvelously.
A line of sterling silver charms they sell started as a small project by their friend Nolan Percival. In the beginning, the pieces were for close friends and loved ones. But Boehmer and Fricke encouraged Percival to get a little more serious about the project and create a whole line for the store. Today, it’s one of their top-selling collections.
Classic styles, bold colors, and creative concerts make up the “Imaginary Concerts” line at Peggy Mercury.Provided
“Imaginary Concerts” has the duo taking their own advice.
The project started as a way for Boehmer to connect with his mother, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Taking old concert shirts from his own collection, Boehmer and his mother began cutting out the graphics with the idea that they would make a quilt together. Unfortunately, she died before they could complete the project in 2025. The pieces, which were ready for production, were put on the back burner as Boehmer and Fricke dealt with their loss and the whirlwind of projects that never seemed to cease at Peggy Mercury.
But the harsh winter of 2026 presented an opportunity to take some time and focus on themselves. Part of that meant revisiting and redefining the concert T-shirt project. This time, instead of looking to the warmth and comfort of a quilt, they turned to another passion — fashion.
Taking a page from their own book, they wanted to create something that felt comfortable to them. They took two disparate loves — one rooted in simple preppy style, with clean lines and classic silhouettes, and the other in the nitty gritty worlds of punk rock and pop — and blended them together to create something entirely new. Pulling from the staples of vintage Brooks Brothers and Charvet collections, they applied the graphic elements with bold stitching reminiscent of punk jackets of the ‘70s and ‘80s, but with a much more sophisticated air.
But the remixing isn’t just the pairing of prep and punk. The pieces are not canon. They take liberties with the realities of concert tours, combining one band’s dates with another band’s logos, mixing them all up until the reality is lost and imagination is the only truth.
Shirts from Peggy Mercury’s first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts,” hang on display.Provided
Adding to the mix is an element of perpetual creativity. Art can be messy, both figuratively and literally, and many of Fricke and Boehmer’s artist friends carry evidence of their work on them at all times. As a nod to these tireless creatives, the duo added haphazard splashes of bright color, giving the line an even more distinctive feel.
For them, “Imaginary Concerts” passes the “Peggy Test.” The mythical Peggy Mercury is a fictional figurehead for the company, a character who thrives on creativity and change. The name, much like the clothing line, is a mixture of interests: Mercury is a planet, a deity and an elusive, transformative element, while Peggy is the wonderfully stylish and boundary-pushing Peggy Guggenheim.
Everything Fricke and Boehmer put in their store has to pass this test: Would Peggy Mercury approve? For their first collection, the answer is a resounding yes.
Peggy Mercury is at 9 Maple St., Unit 2, Kent.
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