All the solar power you can use, for a buck. Sounds too good to be true, but that’s the deal offered by DCS Energy. Officials from 10 towns, one as far away as Wilton, left a workshop in Cornwall Town Hall April 13 with lots of questions answered, but still wondering if there is a catch. There is an edge to the whole process because decisions have to be made soon. The offer for this round of the DCS Energy Town and Not-for-Profit Solar Lease Program is tied in with federal stimulus incentives and is only good through November, or until funding and tax credits run out.With a PowerPoint presentation not working, Bob Oberle of DCS gave a short explanation and responded to lots of questions. Some town representatives, from Kent, North Canaan, Colebrook , Barkhamsted and beyond, were just getting the details. Others had read the contract ahead of time and researched potential related costs.The deal is this: for $1, due at the end of a five-year lease, a town or nonprofit can get a solar voltaic system installed on as many buildings as it owns. Each system would be either a 4kW or 9kW system; the energy produced can not exceed electricity use per meter. The systems are estimated to save $80 and $180 per month, respectively. Once the lease is paid, the building owner owns the system.Buildings that could qualify include town halls, schools, libraries, churches, firehouses, ambulance facilities, highway department garages, police stations, senior centers and bus garages.Oberle said DCS handles all the paperwork involved with the tax and energy credits. The credits are what they get out of it. There is also an anonymous investor. Oberle said he does not know who the investor is, only that it is someone who is hedging that renewable energy credits will increase in value.“You get free panels, free energy, and someone else does all the paperwork,” Oberle said. There were two potential installation-associated costs identified by people in the audience.Rooftop installations are a priority. Flat or pitched is fine. No metal, because it may become a conductivity issue; no tile or slate, which could be damaged. Oberle said his company will need assurances a roof can handle the added load. That will likely require an inspection by an engineer. Norfolk First Selectman Susan Dyer said she had already gotten a $500 quote. Where a roof cannot be used, a ground installation will be considered. Oberle said that could require a town or nonprofit to pay for trenching.Currently, 14 towns have signed on or have completed installations. Most are in the eastern part of the state, close to the South Glastonbury-based DCS Energy.News stories about a Lebanon, Conn., solar installation quote town officials there saying it did indeed end up being no cost to the town.Hartland Town Manager Richard Johnson said they started the process with DCS last fall and about three months ago, a system was installed on their firehouse roof. Structural determinations were made by experts in-house and there were no expenses.His advice was to read the contract carefully, ask questions and make any changes specific to a situation. Unlike grants, with their set-in-stone specifics towns are used to working with, Johnson said this works like a business contract.“We had the same first reaction, that it sounds too good to be true,” Johnson said. “But we spent the time working through it. We made sure the changes in the agreement were in writing before we signed the contract and it all worked out just fine.”Hartland has experience with other solar energy projects, including using Connecticut Clean Energy Fund grants and purchase power agreements, where they provide a location for an installation in return for discounted energy.Towns or nonprofits also have to supply proof of liability insurance. Existing policies may or may not cover a new solar panel installation, Oberle said. There is also a $100 interconnect fee charged by Connecticut Light & Power Co. for 9kW or smaller systems. Cornwall First Selectman Gordon Ridgway asked about applying for buildings planned for construction during the offer’s timeframe. Cornwall plans summer construction of a new storage garage at the highway department facility. Oberle told him to give it a try.Can the program be used to expand an existing solar energy system? It was a question Oberle said he had not heard before, “Which means to me there’s not enough solar out there.” Again, he advised towns to apply and see what happens.Oberle assured participants they use a qualified and insured contractor, Right Way Roofing, and that the panels are high quality. They stopped buying panels from a company in China and now use a Texas company that allows for tighter control on quality and local buying.Oberle urged town officials to contact him by email with further questions.
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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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