It’s not getting easier yet

It was the second week in March when Connecticut, and the country, went into a state of emergency in response to the pandemic that had worked its way across the globe to the United States. At that time, businesses deemed nonessential were closed. And when schools and some businesses began their systems of working remotely, it seems likely that few thought those systems would need to work as longterm as they have and will continue to do. The strain on both those still working, remotely or as they always have done, and those who are struggling to face the challenges of not having a steady income, is increasing in ways we all need to acknowledge and accept if we are to get through this time of COVID-19.

Of course, the worst effects from the disease have been felt by those who have contracted it, and by their loved ones who,  if the symptoms are severe enough to require hospitalization, are separated from them at the time they most want to be there for them. The medical professionals and all who work in the health care setting see these repercussions daily. Their willingness to offer hope, care and support to those who are ill should inspire all of us.  

Many of us are finding ways to volunteer now, doing things like helping neighbors and friends who are at risk to bring in groceries and keep their households going. How else to help when physical distancing is mandated? Area food banks have seen an upsurge in demand, and need donations of cleaning supplies, canned goods, pasta and other pantry items. Could you not only donate, but also help organize and deliver those items to help feed those in need? If so, contact the food bank in your community and see how you can help.

This week, The Lakeville Journal and Millerton News have a special banner section where local businesses and organizations show gratitude to medical professionals and all who are serving through this crisis. Sharon Hospital will receive 10% of the revenues from that section in support of their COVID-19 work. Next week it will be the Salisbury Visiting Nurse Association, the next the Sunday in the Country Food Drive.

Keeping focused through this time of across-the-board societal upheaval does not become easier as time goes on, but all of us at this newspaper will do all  we can to communicate information to our readers that will help them deal with it all. Please let us know anything we have missed that you need to know. You are our inspiration to keep this 123-year-old local community journalism project going. 

During the pandemic, we continue to report, and all subscriptions are still being mailed through the post office and our website is available. In order to keep to a minimum our drivers’ contact with others each week, we have cut back our number of single copy sale dealers. In each town there is one large dealer being maintained, the most likely place where our readers still visit during the pandemic (in Lakeville, Patco; in Salisbury, LaBonne’s; in Sharon, Sharon Pharmacy; the full list is online at www.tricornernews.com/where-to-buy.) But if you want a print newspaper and haven’t been able to get one, please let us know at publisher@lakevillejournal.com or 860-435-9873, ext. 201, and we will help you with a subscription or increase a dealer in towns where there appears to be a demand for that. Thank you for reading.

Latest News

South Kent School’s unofficial March reunion

Elmarko Jackson was named a 2023 McDonald’s All American in his senior year at South Kent School. He helped lead the Cardinals to a New England Prep School Athletic Conference (NEPSAC) AAA title victory and was recruited to play at the University of Kansas. This March he will play point guard for the Jayhawks when they enter the tournament as a No. 4 seed against (13) Samford University.

Riley Klein

SOUTH KENT — March Madness will feature seven former South Kent Cardinals who now play on Division 1 NCAA teams.

The top-tier high school basketball program will be well represented with graduates from each of the past three years heading to “The Big Dance.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Hotchkiss grads dancing with Yale

Nick Townsend helped Yale win the Ivy League.

Screenshot from ESPN+ Broadcast

LAKEVILLE — Yale University advanced to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament after a buzzer-beater win over Brown University in the Ivy League championship game Sunday, March 17.

On Yale’s roster this year are two graduates of The Hotchkiss School: Nick Townsend, class of ‘22, and Jack Molloy, class of ‘21. Townsend wears No. 42 and Molloy wears No. 33.

Keep ReadingShow less
Handbells of St. Andrew’s to ring out Easter morning

Anne Everett and Bonnie Rosborough wait their turn to sound notes as bell ringers practicing to take part in the Easter morning service at St. Andrew’s Church.

Kathryn Boughton

KENT—There will be a joyful noise in St. Andrew’s Church Easter morning when a set of handbells donated to the church some 40 years ago are used for the first time by a choir currently rehearsing with music director Susan Guse.

Guse said that the church got the valuable three-octave set when Harlem Valley Psychiatric Center closed in the late 1980s and the bells were donated to the church. “The center used the bells for music therapy for younger patients. Our priest then was chaplain there and when the center closed, he brought the bells here,” she explained.

Keep ReadingShow less
Picasso’s American debut was a financial flop
Picasso’s American debut was a financial flop
Penguin Random House

‘Picasso’s War” by Foreign Affairs senior editor Hugh Eakin, who has written about the art world for publications like The New York Review of Books, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker and The New York Times, is not about Pablo Picasso’s time in Nazi-occupied Paris and being harassed by the Gestapo, nor about his 1937 oil painting “Guernica,” in response to the aerial bombing of civilians in the Basque town during the Spanish Civil War.

Instead, the Penguin Random House book’s subtitle makes a clearer statement of intent: “How Modern Art Came To America.” This war was not between military forces but a cultural war combating America’s distaste for the emerging modernism that had flourished in Europe in the early decades of the 20th century.

Keep ReadingShow less