Letters to the Editor - The Lakeville Journal - 7-21-22

Gratitude for a 50-year partnership

Noble Horizons was founded as a nonprofit in Salisbury in 1972 to provide a continuum of care for seniors so “that they might live out their lives in comfort and dignity.” Fifty years later, on July 12, Noble Horizons had the honor of celebrating its 50th anniversary with hundreds of friends, families, current and former staff members, volunteers, and benefactors whose visionary leadership and unflagging support have established Noble Horizons as the area’s premier senior living and health care community.  

We are indebted to Sharon Hospital/Nuvance for its generous sponsorship of our 50th-anniversary community picnic, to our donors Harney Tea, Jay’s Lawn Care, Salisbury Wines, and Stateline Wine and Spirits; our supporters Lakeville Wine and Spirits, Wheeler Wine Merchants, and Moore and More Printing and to the Noble Horizons Auxiliary volunteers whose spirit, dedication and financial contributions have fortified Noble Horizons for almost half a century.  

We are especially grateful to the hardworking 50th Anniversary Planning Committee: Mary Barton, Susan Gallaway, Judy McKernon, and Trish Walsh. Our heartfelt thanks also go to the Lakeville Hose Company for the sensational BBQ chicken feast it prepared, the Salisbury Band for its festive music and Salisbury Selectman Curtis Rand and State Representative Maria Horn whose gracious comments truly enhanced our celebration.  

Noble was deeply honored to have received a general assembly citation signed by State Sen. Craig Miner, R-Litchfield, and State Rep. Maria Horn (whose mother lived at Noble) and an official congratulatory statement from Gov. Ned Lamont. We hope to welcome you in October to the Salisbury Association’s multi-media exhibit celebrating Noble’s 50-year partnership with the community. 

In closing, no recognition of Noble’s first half-century is possible without saluting its team members who are the heart and soul of Noble Horizons. They have served with distinction, commitment and expertise every day for 50 years, ensuring that compassion, dedication, and love have been the abiding centerpiece of Noble living. 

In closing, Noble Horizons thanks you for the honor of serving the Tri-state region over the last half-century and looks forward to our continued collaborations in the years ahead. 

Caroline Burchfield 

Noble Horizons 

Salisbury

 

Farewell to Lakeville Journal Co.

From the internship that first fueled my calling to the career I fostered in writing for The Millerton News, it has been my privilege to work as a reporter for The Lakeville Journal Co. and its newspapers over the last five years.

I can remember the details of the first time I told someone I wanted to be a journalist right down to what I was having for dinner. I was sitting with Tom eating a steak dinner in his apartment when I admitted I’d been thinking about a career in journalism. It’s been eight years since that night and I can still remember that light bulb moment.

And I couldn’t have found a better place to set this idea in motion than at The Lakeville Journal, the same newspaper my family had been reading for years and that I looked forward to reading every Thursday. Through the mentoring of the company’s seasoned reporters, editors, publisher and other key players, my college epiphany soon evolved into a career I was proud to build.

Little did I know that, almost two years after my internship with The Lakeville Journal, I’d find myself working for the company again — this time as a staff reporter with The Millerton News. I will always consider myself lucky that, while I was job-searching, my mom clipped The Millerton News’ job ad for a staff reporter position. 

Through the encouragement and education I received from the paper’s editor and reporters, I grew into the reporter I hoped to become and found myself part of a tight-knit community of passionate writers.

Whether I was uncovering the hidden histories behind the region’s landmark businesses, spotlighting incoming businesses or writing about the local organizations that have dedicated their efforts to addressing their community’s needs, I’ve considered it an honor to write about the communities that fell under the paper’s coverage area. To those of you that have reached out to keep the paper informed of what’s happening in your communities and within your organizations, thank you for your stories.

Mixing in with my excitement to begin a new chapter at a different newspaper is the sadness that comes with saying goodbye to the wonderful friends and colleagues that have encouraged me, challenged me and inspired me over the years. Choosing the right words to say exactly what we mean plays a vital role in the work we do. That being said, I hope these words will be strong enough to convey my gratitude for your work and my time working with you.

Kaitlin Lyle

Recently resigned reporter, The Millerton News

Sharon

 

If not siblings, at least first cousins

The letter in the July 7 issue of The Lakeville Journal objecting that daylilies are unrelated to “true” lilies like the native Canada lily is only half right.  As a matter of botanical classification, both are in fact members of the lily family Liliaceae, although they are subclassified in different genera. The difference of genus does not mean that they are unrelated to one another. To draw an analogy to human relationships, while they may not be siblings, they are at least first cousins. 

The implication that lily family members that are not classed in the genus Lilium should not be referred to as “lilies” is, unfortunately perhaps, a thoroughly lost cause.  There are many dozens of other examples of this besides daylilies, including lily-of-the-valley, trout lily, checkered lily, butterfly lily and plantain lily.

Quite aside from issues of botanical nomenclature, I confess that I very much look forward to the late June explosion of roadside orange that the common daylilies bring each year, as well as to the wide range of wonderful hues that hybridized daylilies bring to flower gardens and borders somewhat later in July and August. And the foragers among us know that the unopened buds of the common ones are nutritious and quite tasty when picked and cooked as a fresh vegetable. 

Daphne Drury

North Canaan

Ed. note: Do not eat any wild plants if you are not very familiar with them yourself.

 

Residents are road repair weary

Over the past year, we have witnessed the patchy and repetitive road work done on different sections of Route 4 between Sharon and Cornwall Bridge with increasing irritation, and want an explanation for the rationale. Some rough non-contiguous section sere resurfaced last summer, but some bad sections with potholes were left unrepaired. Then this spring, it became clear some of the resurfaced section shad begun to deteriorate. Now, new resurfacing efforts (once again in an incomplete pattern) are being started, along with the installment of drains.

It’s almost as though this has become a school for road repair training. What’s the rationale? Is this how money from the ARPA is going to be spent?

Jonathan Friedlaender

Sharon

Latest News

Tuning up two passions under one roof

The Webb Family in the workshop. From left: Phyllis, Dale, Ben and Josh Webb, and project manager Hannah Schiffer.

Natalia Zukerman

Magic Fluke Ukulele Shop and True Wheels Bicycle Shop are not only under the same roof in a beautiful solar powered building on Route 7 in Sheffield, but they are also both run by the Webb family, telling a tale of familial passion, innovation and a steadfast commitment to sustainability.

In the late ‘90s, Dale Webb was working in engineering and product design at a corporate job. “I took up instrument manufacturing as a fun challenge,” said Dale. After an exhibit at The National Association of Music Merchants in Anaheim, California, in 1999, The Magic Fluke company was born. “We were casting finger boards and gluing these things together in our basement in New Hartford and it just took off,” Dale explained. “It was really a wild ride, it kind of had a life of its own.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Robert Cray’s soulful blues coming to Infinity Hall

Robert Cray

Photo provided

Blues legend Robert Cray will be bringing his stinging, funky guitar and soulful singing to Infinity Hall Norfolk on Friday, March 29.

A five-time Grammy winner, Cray has been inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame and earned The Americana Music Awards Lifetime Achievement for Performance. He has played with blues and rock icons including Albert Collins, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, The Rolling Stones, Tina Turner, Eric Clapton and many more.

Keep ReadingShow less