Latest News
Former Region One secretary receives long-delayed tree plaque
Ruth Epstein
Jul 22, 2026
Dolly Spadaccini in front of the tree planted in her honor 10 years ago when she retired as secretary of the Region 1 special education department.
Ruth Epstein
FALLS VILLAGE – A tree planted in the courtyard at Housatonic Valley Regional High School to honor longtime Region One secretary Dolly Spadaccini finally received its commemorative plaque last week, 10 years after it was dedicated.
Organizers joked during the July 14 ceremony that they wanted the redbud tree to grow strong and sturdy before installing the plaque. In reality, they admitted, a little procrastination and a few other circumstances contributed to the decade-long delay.
Former colleagues gathered to make the recognition official.
A Housatonic graduate, Spadaccini began working at the school at age 19, spending her first year in the main office before serving the next 48 years as secretary to the Region One special education department. She worked alongside seven special education directors before retiring in 2016.
Much of the informal ceremony was filled with good-natured jokes about how long it had taken to complete the tribute, but Spadaccini said she was deeply appreciative.
“It’s an honor to have this tree,” she said. “I was pleased to have been at Region One all those years, working with wonderful people.”
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Hula-Hooping for two at the Hunt Library
Mia Dirocco
Jul 22, 2026
Children enjoy a hula-hoop contest hosted by the D.M. Hunt Library Friday, July 17.
Patrick L. Sullivan
FALLS VILLAGE — The David M. Hunt Library hosted an event that evoked a favorite summer pastime, with a hula-hooping contest for children of all ages on Friday, July 17.
“I can do it longer than you!” exclaimed 6-year-old Bearett as he hula-hooped alongside library event coordinator Anna Pattison, more commonly known as “Miss Anna,” at the Hunt Library’s Hula-Hoop Competition. Event attendees included Ariel Odell, and her two children Bearett, 6 and Wesson, 3.
“It’s a great way for the kids to get some energy out,” Odell said. As Falls Village residents, she and her children enjoy many of the library’s programs and events.
The Hunt Library hosts a wide variety of events and programs that are open to both residents and non-residents, often in collaboration with The Center on Main.
For example, on August 6, the library plans to bring Candy Land to life, inviting community members to compete in a larger than life version of the classic board game.
The library also recruited volunteers to help build the Candy Land set on July 21. Crafty community members were invited to put their skills to use.
“It’s a gathering of the creative minds,” said Pattison. “We’re making everything to bring this event to life.”
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Kent after-school program returns with higher fees following months of uncertainty
Alec Linden
Jul 22, 2026
If we adjust pricing to a level which families feel is fair and reasonable, then we can actually make this a self-sustaining program again.
— Claire Love, Parks and Recreation Commission Member
KENT – Parents will pay $35 more per week to enroll their children in the town’s after-school program when it resumes in September, following months of uncertainty about its future.
The weekly rate will increase from $65 to $100. The town also approved a new $25 daily rate, up from $13 last year. Meanwhile, the late fee has been set at$5 for every five minutes.
Families enrolling more than one child will receive a 10% discount for the second child and a 15% discount for the third or more.
The program, held at Kent Center School, offers after-school enrichment activities for children in kindergarten through eighth grade.
The new 2026–27 pricing package also sets the weekly rate for a hybrid option at $125. The option includes sessions at the Kent Curiosity Lab, a local nonprofit that provides extracurricular learning opportunities for schoolchildren.
The fee structure, approved by the Parks and Recreation Commission on July 7, came after months of planning into how to make the program financially sustainable since the Commission nearly removed it from its 2026-2027 budget proposal citing cost.
During the July 7 meeting, Claire Love, a Parks and Recreation Commission member who chairs the After-School Program subcommittee, presented the proposal as community-informed and balanced.
“If we adjust pricing to a level which families feel is fair and reasonable, then we can actually make this a self-sustaining program again,” she said.
She explained that the plan was heavily influenced by a survey that yielded 35 responses from families, including families that currently utilize the program.
She said the survey indicated that most families could absorb the price increase. “What’s interesting is that at the $80-100 mark,” she said, “very few families find that to be too high,” according to the survey.
“My honest to god takeaway is that we’ve been massively underpricing this,” Love said. She added that there will be scholarship opportunities from the Kent Community Fund for low-income families.
Low enrollment and high operating costs caused the Commission to initially remove the after-school program from its fiscal year 2027 spending proposal, but outcry from parents encouraged members to reinstate the funds and program.
Love said the survey indicated more families may enroll next school year, and said that the group will assess the program in December to see if it’s breaking even or better. Last school year, fewer than 10 students were enrolled weekly in the program, with an average of about five students attending per day.
“The proof will be in the pudding of who actually signs up,” she said.
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Let's Hear It - July 23, 2026
Lakeville Journal
Jul 22, 2026
This Week
We want our reporting to reflect the questions people in our communities are asking — including the ones that may not be getting enough attention.
What is one local issue or topic you wish you knew more about?
Send your responses to social@lakevillejournal.com by Monday, July 27 at 10 a.m. or comment on Facebook or Instagram.
We’ll publish a selection in next week’s paper.
Last Week’s Question
What organizations do you volunteer for and why?
“I am the president of North Canaan Ambulance. I’ve been a member here for 26 years and I became a volunteer to help out my community and give back.”
— Matt Devino, North Canaan
“I have been a volunteer firefighter for the town of North Canaan for the last 25 years. I became a firefighter in all honesty because of my brother. I followed in his footsteps because I wanted to be like him, I wanted to do all the things he did and I’m so glad that I did because the pride and the overwhelming feeling of helping someone else in their darkest hour makes you feel really good and to protect the town I’ve grown up in my entire life. To protect my family, to protect my friends and to protect the town of North Canaan is overwhelming, but I’m so glad that I did it.”
— Shanna Pitcher, North Canaan
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Letters to the Editor - July 23, 2026
Lakeville Journal
Jul 22, 2026
Thanks for celebrating 250th with us
Gathering with family and friends, music and hot dogs, sun and swimming; each year the Fourth of July at the Grove celebrates our community as well as the Nation’s founding. On behalf of the Salisbury Association I would like to thank all those who made the festivities for the country’s250th birthday so special:Stacey Dodge and her team at the Grove, the Salisbury Band and their spirited renditions of old and new favorites, the Salisbury Central School eight graders who stepped up at the last minute to sell hot dogs, the boat owners who paraded on Lake Wononscopomuc with flags flying and Lou Bucceri (aka Hemon Allen) for his rousing delivery of the Declaration of Independence.
While the Salisbury Association had to postpone its evening entertainment, the DJ and laser light show have been rescheduled to the first weekend in August.Watch our website and social media for details.We are grateful to all the emergency crews that worked so hard to restore power and communications to town and the Academy Building.
Cynthia Walsh
President
The Salisbury Association
Community happens through recreationDear Falls Village,
There is a saying here that I have come to love.
“You don’t find Falls Village. Falls Village finds you.”
The more time I spend here, the more I think it’s true. Some families have lived here for generations. Others arrived only recently. Some came from the next town over. Others came from across the world. Different stories. Different histories. Different reasons for staying. Yet somehow, this little corner of Connecticut has gathered us together.
Now the question becomes:
“What kind of community do we choose to build together?”
As the new Chair of the Falls Village Recreation Commission, I wanted to introduce myself, not simply as a committee member, but as another person who has fallen in love with this extraordinary place.
One of the things that has always inspired me about small towns is that they only truly work when people choose to participate. Not because they have to, but because they care. I’ve watched neighbours clear fallen trees before anyone asks. I’ve watched roads reopen after storms because people simply arrive with chainsaws and get to work. It’s as if everyone knows their part. I believe that’s community.
I think recreation can work the same way. Our Town Farm, our pool, our trails and gathering spaces aren’t simply facilities. They’re places where community happens. Places where children learn to swim, friends meet on summer afternoons, families gather, visitors discover Falls Village for the first time and neighbours become friends.
And I believe these spaces can become even more.
I’d love to see the Town Farm become something that belongs to us throughout the entire year, not only during pool season. Imagine winter walks, cross-country skiing, community events beneath the new pavilion, seasonal gatherings, opportunities to learn, celebrate and simply spend time together. This is not because bigger is better. Or that we want to become something we’re not. It is because a place that’s loved should be lived in.
None of this happens because one person has good ideas. It happens because many people decide they want to be part of creating something together. That’s why one of my biggest hopes isn’t simply improving our facilities, it’s growing our community around them.
We’re looking for people who have ideas. People who enjoy organising. People who like planting flowers and building things. People to host events. Writers, photographers, historians. People who can teach us to cook and tell us about nature. People who share our love of sports and the outdoors. Or simply people willing to lend a hand every now and then.
If joining the Recreation Commission isn’t for you, that’s perfectly okay. Come to a meeting. Share a suggestion. Visit the pool. Use the Town Farm. Tell us what you’d love to see.
This belongs to all of us.
Over the coming months we’ll also begin sharing regular updates—celebrating projects, introducing members of our Recreation Commission, highlighting local businesses and organisations, and telling the stories that make Falls Village what it is.
Because a community isn’t built only through meetings. It’s built through knowing one another. Through recognising one another. Through creating opportunities for people to connect.
Nature teaches us that healthy ecosystems rely on diversity and that everything has its place. Communities are much the same. Whether your family arrived generations ago or whether Falls Village found you only recently, each of us has something valuable to contribute.
I feel incredibly honoured to help steward this next chapter.
I hope you’ll help write it with us.
Catherine Wales
Chairperson
Falls Village Recreation Commission
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