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Police Blotter: Troop B
Apr 03, 2024
John Coston
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.
Evading responsibility
On Saturday, March 23, at approximately 1 p.m., Jesse Morey, 42, of Salisbury, turned himself in to Troop B on an active arrest warrant for an incident that occurred on Dec. 12, 2023. He was arrested for evading responsibility of a motor vehicle accident and failure to drive upon right and was scheduled to appear in Connecticut Superior Court.
McDonald’s stop arrest
On Sunday, March 24, at approximately 8:30 a.m., Troop B personnel were investigating a motor vehicle stop in the parking lot of McDonald’s in North Canaan. During the investigation it was discovered that the operator, Taylor Charles Wilson, 34, of Canaan, had an active warrant issued for failure to appear in the second degree. Wilson was taken into custody with bond set at $5,000, of which 10 percent was paid, and was scheduled to appear at a later date.
Disorderly conduct arrest
On Wednesday, March 27, at approximately 10:50 p.m., Troopers from Troop B were dispatched to Main Street in North Canaan for a disturbance. A subsequent investigation led to the arrest of Kenneth Considine, 67, of North Canaan, on a disorderly conduct charge. Considine was issued a $1,500 non-surety bond.
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 the subject line, to johnc@
lakevillejournal.com
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Karin Gerstel
After months of intensive planning and training, election officials across the Northwest Corner were staffed and ready to launch early in-person voting on Tuesday, March 26 for the April 2 Presidential Preference Primary.
Patriotic “Early Voting Today” signs beckoned residents. New equipment and procedures were in place. The voters trickled in.
Despite tepid voter response during the early voting rollout, which poll workers attributed to lack of a strong contest on either the Republican or Democratic ballot, they welcomed the time to work out glitches and meet with and educate voters.
The jury was still out as to whether the expense to staff four early voting days, designed to take pressure off long lines on Election Day and give more flexibility to voters, exceeds the need in the smaller communities.
The Lakeville Journal visited the polling sites of all six Region One towns during early voting launch last week.
The early voting dates for this election were modified to reflect the Good Friday holiday and Easter Sunday. Early voting was held Tuesday, March 26 through Thursday, March 28 and Saturday, March 30. Presidential Preference Primary Day was Tuesday, April 2.
Here are snapshots of how the towns fared:
Cornwall
“Slow. Slow’s the word,” is how Scott Cady, moderator at Cornwall’s town hall voting site, described voter response during the first two hours of the historic first day of early voting on March 26.
Jean Bouteiller, the town’s tax collector, had cast the town’s historic first early ballot. “We had seven total by noon,” noted Republican Registrar Brittany Mosimann. The next day the pace was even slower with seven ballots cast by 3 p.m.
“But everything is working,” said an optimistic Cady, who noted that it was a good test of logistics. “When the fall comes, we don’t want to be learning.”
Registrar Jayne Ridgway noted that each town received $10,500 in state grant funding to offset the costs of training, staffing and equipment including a label maker, scanner and new laptops. But once those funds dry up, she said, the town will be footing the bill.
“If we have an August primary, even a little town like us, will use up our $10,000,” explained Ridgway, who predicted a “60% increase in our budget as a result of early voting.”
“We are very part-time,” noted Mosimann. “We had to spend many hours training in Zoom meetings, which is not typically the time we are in the office.”
“We, the registrars, feel that it will not specifically increase turnout. It will help a few voters who do shift work with lots of extra hours, such as workers at hospitals with 12-hour shifts who get out late, or people who travel a lot,” said Ridgway.
“October early voting will be indicative of voters’ interest, so a little early to gauge now.”
North Canaan
“It’s been a bit slow, but we love doing this. It’s the first day of early voting in Connecticut,” noted poll worker Betsy Devino, who along with Diane Cieslowski, were eager awaiting voters on Thursday, March 28.
As she spoke, North Canaan resident Bunny McGuire stepped up to the table, flashed her ID, claimed her envelope and ballot, and became the town’s fifth early voter at around 11:30 a.m.
Democratic Registrar Patricia Keilty said most of those who voted were either in the building already for town hall business or were reminded of early voting and the Presidential Preference Primary by posts on the Northwest Chatter Facebook page.
She had encouraged as many people as she could to show up and vote so that any glitches in the system could be identified. The strategy paid off, she said. So far, so good.
In an update on Saturday evening, March 30, Keilty reported that a total of 29 electors cast early votes between Tuesday and Saturday.
The town has 1,960 registered voters.
Kent
Long-time Kent resident Rob Gerowe was driving by town hall on Thursday, March 28, when he noticed the early voting sign.
He explained that while his job at the University of Bridgeport allows him flexibility of working some days from home and others on campus, he has an out-of-state, UB alumni reunion coming up which conflicts with the April 2 Presidential Primary.
Gerowe said he had intended to fill out an absentee ballot but was so busy at work that it got put on the back burner. “I was just passing by and decided to vote today to make it easy,” he said. He was the second voter to show up by midday.
According to Registrar Therese Duncan, 13 people voted on Tuesday; 10 on Wednesday and up until Gerowe’s vote on Thursday, only one other vote had been cast.
“Statistically, it has the opportunity to be about 30 percent of the voters who will use early voting,” noted Duncan.
On a bright note, said Deputy Registrar Judy Sheridan, the slow pace allows election officials time to fix hiccups, like one of the registrars’ two computers that went down and a broken label printer.
“We’re very glad we’re doing it now, and not during the presidential election. It’s a good run-through.”
Sharon
The first three days of early voting drew a total of 41 voters to Sharon Town Hall, according to registrar Patricia Chamberlain. “We were pretty happy.”
“We are hoping the state will shrink the number of days for the early ballot, maybe only three days of early voting will be needed. That’s a distinct possibility,” noted registrar Marel Rogers.
“All of us normally work two hours a week, so during early voting it’s like a month’s salary.”
Small towns like Sharon, with limited staff and volunteers, face an unfair cost burden, Rogers noted. “Cities have staff there five days a week, so doing early voting is not going to be so expensive. They are already paying those people.”
Educating residents is another challenge that will hopefully come with time, said BZ Coords, Republican Registrar of Voters. “One person came in to say ‘Nice sign! What are we voting for?’”
Falls Village
“Very stressful, as is any new experience,” is how Falls Village registrar Susan Kelsey, described the new process. The first day’s turnout was seven voters, six the second day and roughly the same number by mid-day on Thursday, March 28.
“By and large, most people wonder why we don’t have no-excuse absentee voting instead,” noted Kelsey. For a small town, this is not cost effective at all. A minimum of four days, eight hours a day at this point …for 19 votes.”
Election officials in Falls Village and elsewhere expressed concern about finding and training enough staff, traditionally retirees, to man the polls for the general election in the fall, which allows 14 days of early voting.
Salisbury
Fifty-eight voters cast their ballots on the first day of early voting in Salisbury, 20 of which did so before lunchtime.
“Early voting is going smoothly as we were well prepared,” reported registrar Jenny Law.
The first person to cast a ballot was Lisa Sheble, and the historic moment was captured in a photograph taken by poll worker Karin Gerstel.
“I think people were curious. But we also made a point of spreading the word. We told people we would love the practice, and contacted both town committees to spread the word,” said Law.
Law noted that on April 4 an early voting debrief via Zoom is planned for of all the registrars in the state, followed by a gathering of the state registrar of voters, legislators and the secretary of state’s office “to see what kind of modifications they are going to make.”
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Salisbury Housing Committee
SALISBURY — The Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) voted unanimously to approve a special permit for the Dresser Woods affordable housing development after the third installment of a public hearing on Monday, April 1.
The April 1 continued hearing concentrated on two topics: lighting and parking.
The initial plan from the applicant, the Salisbury Housing Committee (SHC) called for 31 parking spaces (10 in an overflow area) for an average of 1.5 parking spaces per unit, more than required by zoning regulations and similar to other affordable housing complexes in Salisbury and other towns.
The approved plan calls for a total of 36 spaces, for an average of 1.8 spaces per unit. The SHC added five spaces in response to concerns from the public and the commission about a lack of parking for residents with more than one vehicle and for visitors.
The SHC also revised the lighting plan, making the light poles 12 feet tall (as opposed to 20 feet in the earlier version). This was in response to concerns from neighbors about light spilling over into neighboring properties.
The applicant and commission also agreed to a “phantom parking” area where cars might park on the grass if necessary. The applicant’s lighting consultant, David Mainville, noted that if the phantom spaces are actually built, they will require lighting.
Referring to earlier discussion about closet space and other interior layout features, P&Z chair Michael Klemens opened the April 1 continued hearing by stating that previous discussions about interior layout (closets, space for washers and dryers) were beyond the commission’s purview.
The hearing opened Feb 20 and was continued on March 18.
On March 18, in response to comments from the Feb. 20 meeting, the SHC agreed to extend wildlife exclusion and privacy fencing.
The SHC’s Jocelyn Ayer said that adding full basements would be too expensive and would require more intrusive site work.
The plan for Dresser Woods, named for Jim Dresser, who donated the land to the SHC, has 20 rental units in nine buildings of one and two levels at 37 Railroad St. in Salisbury village.
There are six one-bedroom units, 10 two-bedroom units, and four three-bedroom units. Three are Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant.
The SHC currently owns and manages 39 affordable housing units (one, two and three bedrooms) at Faith House and Sarum Village I and II in Salisbury, and Lakeview Apartments in Lakeville.
Sarum Village III, on Cobble Road, is under construction. The new construction will add 10 units of affordable housing.
And the SHC is working on raising funds for the 12-unit Holley Place development on Main Street (Route 44).
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Changing the food waste narrative
Apr 03, 2024
Photo provided
An apple stored in a refrigerator stays fresh several days longer than an apple in a bowl of fruit on your counter — particularly if that bowl has a banana or an avocado in it.
Bananas, by the way, are the fruit most frequently thrown away uneaten, due to the perception that the discoloration and softness means “icky” or “inedible.” (Tip: make banana bread, or store in your freezer for a smoothie.)
Bearing in mind that close to 40% of all food produced in the U.S. goes uneaten, and that one third of all garbage is food waste, it is good to know what one can do about reducing food waste.
This week is Food Waste Prevention Week (April 1 to 7), and many communities across the country engage in activities that promote awareness of wasted food. Why does it matter?
There are several reasons. For one, it saves money. Every year Americans lose more than $218 billion on wasted food. Individual households are responsible for most of that wasted food.
Second, when wasted food is thrown away in Connecticut, it goes either to a landfill as far away as eastern Pennsylvania (as it does for Salisbury and Sharon garbage), or to a Waste to Energy plant (as it does in other parts of the state).
In landfills, decomposing food waste emits methane gas, a potent greenhouse gas. At Waste to Energy plants, the wet and heavy food waste stresses already outdated equipment.
Wasted food includes scraps created in preparing meals and snacks, plate scrapings, prepared but uneaten foods, and spoiled foods. Much of this wasted food can be composted in a backyard system and all can be composted in a commercial composting facility. Many households already compost food scraps. That is a good thing. But, preventing food waste in the first place (upstream solutions) means that more food can go to hungry people, or if not suitable for human consumption, to farm animals.
Americans would save money and resources by learning how best to store produce, meats, and other groceries; how to use leftovers resourcefully; how to maximize the refrigerator’s different zones of cooling; how to use the freezer and other methods to preserve food; and how to change shopping habits.
The Salisbury/Sharon Transfer Station Recycling Advisory Committee (TRAC) and the transfer station Manager learned of Food Waste Prevention Week in a late-February webinar, which left little time for organizing outreach events, but, nonetheless, a few activities have been planned and some have already taken place. At Indian Mountain School, Tom Stewart, the Director of Sustainability Programming and Initiatives, reported that in addition to regularly talking about food waste, the school presented a food waste awareness quiz, and plans to have a series of announcements based on materials from the website for Food Waste Prevention Week. The Corner Food Pantry posted Spanish-language signs and offered handouts about how best to avoid wasting food. The children’s librarian at Scoville Library read books about composting and food waste (and children observed a worm-composting bin). The Hotchkiss children’s librarian will display similar books.
Salisbury Central School will have a food drive later in April. At Sharon Center School, the students will learn about Food Waste Prevention and brainstorm solutions during STEM class in the month of April. The STEM teacher at Sharon Center hopes to make room for a trivia quiz or other activity, also later in April. The Fairfield Farm at Hotchkiss School will present a kitchen class about using foods that are over peak freshness, or ugly, or past the “best by” date.
For more information about wasted food, go to: www.foodwastepreventionweek.com
Barbara Bettigole is chair of the Salisbury/Sharon Transfer Station Recycling Advisory Committee (TRAC).
Click here for tips on proper food storage in your refrigerator and freezer.
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