CORNWALL — The annual town budget meeting, scheduled for May 20, promises to be about much more than the budget. There are four additional spending proposals that could ultimately add to costs for the town in the coming fiscal year, which begins July 1.A vote on the combined town and school budgets is at the top of the agenda. That number will be somewhere around $4.1 million. Still up for debate is whether or not Town Hall employees will get raises and, if so, how much. The issue has been debated in meetings and around town for weeks. The Board of Finance heard more on the topic at the April 29 budget public hearing. The finance board members planned to consider that additional input at the board’s regular meeting May 19 (after The Lakeville Journal went to press), where they would approve a final budget proposal to send to town meeting.At the meeting, voters can change the proposed bottom line — but from that point on it can only be decreased, not increased. Also on the agenda is a request for approval from voters to transfer an insurance payment of $48,564.80. The money is being paid to the town for a 50-year-old steel equipment shed that was destroyed over the winter when heavy snow and ice caused the roof trusses to twist. The insurance money has arrived, and now the board has recommended it be moved to the capital line account so it can be used to pay for a new shed at the town garage. The plan is to build a similar 40-by-70-foot building with some improvements over the old one. The estimated cost is $60,000.A new Small Town Economic Assistance Program (STEAP) grant has been approved for Cornwall by the state Department of Economic and Community Development. Voters will be asked to approve a $150,000 appropriation from the municipal reserve fund. Expended funds will be reimbursed from the grant. As a similar grant was used recently, most of the funding will go toward facade improvements to businesses. Efforts at slowing traffic through town centers are slated for the remainder. A final appropriation would be $275,000 from municipal reserves for the reimbursable portion of phase two of the Great Hollow and Great Hill roads improvement project. The town will be reimbursed for 80 percent of the project.This is a change to what was originally posted as the meeting agenda. First Selectman Gordon Ridgway said this week the matter will likely be tabled until town officials are sure they have the proper numbers from the state. This is an extension of the same project, which includes repaving and guardrails, that began in 2009 with a $150,000 appropriation. Funding is through the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, or stimulus funding. The town was offered additional funds that were unused elsewhere. The second project is officially the Great Hill Road Pavement Preservation Project. The roads qualified because they are feeder roads, in this case, leading from Cornwall to Milton, a section of Litchfield that was once the county seat.Last on the agenda: The Board of Selectmen and town treasurer will offer a report on the Gates Bequest. More than $251,000 was left by Judy Gates, who died in 2009, to be used for the benefit of the town, at its discretion. Her husband, Larry, died in 1996.She was an English teacher at Housatonic Valley Regional High School. He was an actor, best known for his Emmy-winning role on “The Guiding Light.” Their dedication to the town included founding the Park and Recreation Commission. As was discussed a year ago at the town budget meeting, the principal will be invested, and the earnings, last estimated at about $10,000 per year, will be spent annually. Suggestions entertained at that meeting centered on scholarship programs. There was also talk of building a Babe Ruth League ballfield and buying radar signs to slow traffic through town centers.The town meeting is set for 7:30 p.m. in the Cornwall Consolidated School Gathering Room.
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One systemic consequence of slavery is the loss and obscuring of the histories of those who were enslaved. Records were often not kept about where Africans had been stolen from or who they were related to. Families were torn apart, leaving nothing but the faintest traces of the past. The delineation point, where genealogists can no longer trace histories back, is refered to this as the “document wall.”
Today, 250 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence and more than 160 years since the Emancipation Proclamation, there is a growing effort to restore some of the history stripped from enslaved people and their descendants. Among the leaders of these efforts is Mills, president of the Alex Breanne Corporation, a nonprofit organization that works to identify previously anonymous Black Americans from history and connect them with their living relatives.
The work began with Mills’ sister, who started digging into their family’s past in the 1990’s and introduced him to this emerging world of genealogy. Through that process, the Mills family discovered their great-great-grandfather, Ned Mills, who had been enslaved in Texas. His last name came from his final enslaver and remains the family surname. Through their research, they found that the document wall directly affected their ancestor, who learned of his liberation on June 19, 1865, now commemorated as Juneteenth.
“For the first time,” Mills writes on his website, “American slavery wasn’t something that had happened to anonymous people in a history book. It had happened to my family.”
The discovery gave Mills a familial pride he had been missing for years. That pride fueled his desire to help others find their own history. In 2023, Mills received his certificate in genealogical research from Boston University. He has used his expertise to help descendants of enslaved people uncover histories they never dreamed of learning.
To do this, he uses a process called “reverse genealogy,” identifying a person from the past and working forward to discover their descendants. Along the way, Mills has found some remarkable people who fought for freedom on American soil, some of whom were never freed.
Pay Bill for Robin Starr’s service in the Continental Army.Courtesy the Alex Breanne Corporation
At the Cornwall Historical Society event, Mills will present the stories of four Connecticut families: Job Lathrop of Norwich, the son of Pirmus Armes, about whom Mills has published a book; Prince Mortimer of Middletown, also the subject of a book by Mills;, the three sons of London Wallace of Simsbury; and Robert “Robin” Starr of Danbury, who later lived in Cornwall and Sharon.
A few years ago, Cornwall Consolidated School social studies teacher Will Vincent reached out to Mills for research guidance on a local history project his students were undertaking. Together, they learned about Naomi Freeman of Cornwall. After purchasing an acre of land on Great Hollow Road in 1828, Naomi Freeman became the first Black female landowner in Cornwall.
The students petitioned the town to rename a road after the historic Cornwall resident In April 2025, Great Hollow Road was officially renamed Naomi Freeman Historic Road. U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes joined Mills and the Cornwall Consildated School students for a presentation of their research.
Since then, Mills has guided the students in their quest to learn more about Starr’s story. Starr was a Revolutionary War soldier who joined the Continental Army to earn enough money to buy his own freedom, receiving the Badge of Merit in the process. The stories of his descendents’ services are equally worthy of their own books.
In recognition of Mills and the students’ work, First Selectman Gordon Ridgway proclaimed Feb. 8 as Robin Starr Day.
Preregistration is required for the event at the Cornwall Historical Society. To learn more about Mills’ work, visit
alexbreanne.org.
John Mills speaking at Quinnipiac University.Courtesy the Alex Breanne Corporation
Stephanie Saetta runs Charlie Chicken Bones, a sanctuary in Salisbury.
Dogs have been at the center of Saetta’s life since childhood. She remembers going to the library to research different breeds and trying to convince her parents the family needed a dog. She had her heart set on an Irish Wolfhound, but she was more than happy when her mom brought home a West Highland terrier.
After college, she adopted Charlie as a puppy from a rescue on Long Island. He was a hound-shepherd-Rottweiler mix who suffered from intense seizures. Some veterinarians recommended euthanasia, but Saetta wasn’t ready to give up on him.
When Charlie would have an episode, she would sit with him, nose to nose, talking him through it. She learned to look for the moment he began to come around — when he could smell her again and his tail started to wag.
“You only get one or two of these soul connection dogs, so I do this in his honor,” Saetta said. “I like to think that all the dogs that come through are going to have that person that they connect with just the same.”
Through a network of women working to rescue animals in Texas, she learned about the desperate situations facing many dogs.
With limited space, some public pounds euthanize even healthy animals to make room. Limited access to veterinary care leaves sick dogs or unvaccinated puppies especially vulnerable.
Saetta saw that reality firsthand with a puppy named Gus, a Labrador mix she fostered who has since been adopted. Gus and his sisters had been dumped beside a road, where they were living under an abandoned car. People would leave food for them, but no one would take them to the pound.
“Even the people who rescue animals down there were like, ‘sadly, the best place for them to be is on the side of the road,’” she said. “That’s safer. Someone might actually help them that way.”
Saetta knows that there are far more dogs than any one person can save, but she also knows that helping one dog means one fewer on the street.
Stephanie Saetta,with her rescue dog George and Blue (left), a shepherd mix awaiting his forever home.Madi Long
Charlie Chicken Bone Sanctuary operates entirely through foster homes, a model that Saetta believes is best for the dogs and the humans hoping to adopt them.
Rather than moving directly from a difficult environment into a permanent home, the dogs have a chance to settle into a quieter setting. They can learn what it’s like to live with a family, sleep somewhere comfortable and receive affection without fighting for attention. Fostering also allows the rescue to really get to know each dog.
“As fosters, we’re honest,” said Saetta. We’ll tell you everything that’s been bad, everything that’s been good. What their temperament is and how they’ve responded to all the things they’ve experienced.”
A successful adoption is not just about finding a dog a home; it’s about finding the right home where the dog and family can thrive together.
Saetta is looking for more people willing to open their homes to foster dogs. She understands that the thought of growing attached and eventually saying goodbye can feel daunting. But she sees that goodbye a little differently.
Fostering means being part of a dog’s journey, even if only for a short time. It gives dogs a safe place to rest, the chance to trust again and the love they have gone without for much of their lives. And when the time comes for them to leave, it is not really a loss. It is the reward of knowing they are moving on to a forever home.
Blue, Saetta’s current foster, is hoping to find his perfect home.
Blue, a 7 year-old Shepard mix, is waiting for his forever home. Madi Long
Now around 7 years old, Blue spent most of his life wandering the streets of Texas. People sometimes left food out for him, but his mangy, dirty coat kept them from stopping to pet him. Today, he has a chance to experience something different.
Blue is still waiting for his forever home. Saetta believes he would do best as the only dog in a household or alongside another senior dog. He will need someone willing to continue working with him on his training and understand that a dog with his history needs patience.
But what he gives in return is a whole lot of love.
“He’s so enthusiastic, he’s so excited for life, he’s so friendly, and he’s got such a good heart, and he loves to cuddle,” Saetta said. “He’s a good, good, good dog.”
For more information on adopting Blue or how to foster, visit ccbsanctuary.org.
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