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John Fisher Polhemus
DOVER PLAINS — John Fisher Polhemus, 86, of Coventry, beloved husband of the late Gayle (Cronin) Polhemus, passed away Sunday, April 7, 2024, at home surrounded by his loving family. He was born July 30, 1937, in Sharon, the son of the late John A. and Gertrude (Fisher) Polhemus.
He grew up in Dover Plains, where he excelled in sports and academics. His mother, Gertrude, was his 3rd grade teacher and he couldn’t get away with anything. He loved to hike with his dad and brother Dick to the Stone Church and through the hills around Dover Plains. He graduated Dover High School and went to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, graduating with a degree in Aerospace Engineering.
He moved his young family to Vernon, Connecticut, where he worked for Pratt and Whitney for 30 years, traveling to Austria, Switzerland, South Korea, Taiwan and China. He loved gardening and gathering wildflowers for his yard, Lady Slippers, especially. He enjoyed coaching his kids and others in youth track and field. He was passionate about genealogy and his family tree. After retiring, he and Gayle moved to Calabash, North Carolina.He enjoyed golfing, gardening and traveling with Gayle to visit family. He loved researching history and wrote two books with his brother, Dick.
After Gayle’s death in 2005, John moved back to Connecticut to be with family. He lived his last 9 years with his son and family in Coventry. He cherished all his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. He was a fan of golf, baseball, and football. He was a loving son, brother, husband, father, grandfather, “ggpa” and friend. He will be missed.
John is survived by his brother, Richard Polhemus and Maria of New York, first wife and friend, Claudette Polhemus of Connecticut. Children; John Polhemus and Mercy of Maine, Jeff Polhemus and Kathleen of Connecticut, Michelle Johnson and Peter of Vermont, Martha Hagerty of New Jersey, Amy Nearine of New Jersey, Luke Nearine of Connecticut and Sheryl Nearine of the District of Columbia; fifteen grandchildren and thirteen great grandchildren.
Funeral services will be private at the convenience of the family. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in his memory may be made to Town of Dover Historical Society, PO Box 767, Dover Plains, NY and/or Kent Historical Society, PO Box 651, Kent, CT 06757. For online condolences, please visit: www.pietrasfuneralhome.com
Nicholas Warner McClelland
CORNWALL — Nicholas Warner McClelland, 78, died peacefully in hospice care on Feb. 25, 2024, surrounded by his family. Nick was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, on April 29, 1945, to the late Mary (Sharpless) McClelland and David C. McClelland. Nick was a graduate of the Cambridge School of Weston and Boston University.
After spending his formative years in Middletown Connecticut, Nick moved to Cambridge Massachusetts with his family. He spent many summers in Cornwall, later living in the greater Boston area and ultimately moving to Marblehead, Massachusetts, where he resided until his death.
A visionary in his field, Nick established AV Design Associates, a company specializing in designing innovative multimedia installations and exhibits. His creative endeavors extended as far as Venezuela, where many of his creations found their place.
He also worked at various audio-visual companies in the Boston area which involved AV installations at Harvard, Boston University and other large institutions.
Beyond his professional achievements, Nick found joy in traveling with his family, cherishing his adventures and nurturing a passion for competing in the annual “Opera House Cup” sailboat race in Nantucket, Massachusetts.
Nick is survived by his wife of 37 years, Christine Zerbo McClelland, his son Brandon and wife Bo, his siblings; Duncan, and wife Alexandra, Sarah and husband Mike McMullen, Jabez and wife Cathy, sisters Katie, Mira and husband Alex, Usha and husband Nick. Also, he is survived by his step-mother, Marian, and her husband Tom, as well as many nieces and nephews.
Fire investigator Laura Billon gives an overview of her work to the Falls Village Volunteer Fire Department.
FALLS VILLAGE — Laura Billon, a veteran fire investigator and educator from southern California, gave a detailed overview of fire investigation practices to an audience of firefighters and fire marshals at the Emergency Services Center in Falls Village on Saturday, April 20.
The event was part of the Falls Village Volunteer Fire Departments 100th anniversary celebration.
Billon started off by saying that the common thread in all fire investigations is “Safety First.”
“Be a risk evaluator, not a risk taker.”
The next item she hammered home at several points in the presentation.
“Absence of evidence is not evidence of its absence.”
Fires involve high temperatures and the release of gases. “Things disappear or are unrecognizable.”
That doesn’t mean the truth cannot be teased out of what remains.
It does mean that investigations must use the scientific method, proceed carefully and systematically, and document everything.
Billon said advances in forensic science mean that fire investigations are more carefully scrutinized than they were 40 or 50 years ago.
And if a case does get to court, investigators need to be able to refer to their case files and now immediately how they reached a conclusion.
This can happen weeks, months or even years after the event. Billon recalled receiving a subpoena eight years after a fire.
The systematic approach to a fire investigation looks like this:
Start with the exterior and move to the interior.
Move from the area of least damage to the area of most damage.
Make sure the fire scene documentation is consistent among investigators.
Use the same method every time, regardless of the size or type of fire.
“A dumpster fire or a large factory — the approach is the same.”
Investigators should always consider the following items:
The weather at the time of the fire.
Is the building vacant?
Have there been previous alarms at the location?
Are people and/or vehicles leaving the area?
Are there familiar faces among the onlookers?
And “Do you see something that’s aberrational?”
Other considerations include the color of the smoke and/or flames, how big or how fast the fire is moving, unusual odors such as gasoline or kerosene.
Sometimes fires occur in buildings that are zoned for one purpose and used for another.
Fire investigators are law enforcement officers, and sometimes other agencies need help.
Billon used the example of a building that housed a legitimate (if seedy) internet pornography operation.
Billon got a call from an FBI agent who asked if he and a colleague could tag along on a surprise fire inspection, posing as fire investigators.
While Billon did her inspection, the agents slipped away and planted small cameras in the facility.
Turned out the porno business was a front for a massive methamphetamine operation.
A big part of fire investigations doesn’t involve poking around in smoldering rubble.
Interviews (not interrogations, Billon was quick to add) are essential in finding the truth about a fire.
She cited the “80/20 Rule,” where 20% of the evidence at the scene is forensic and 80% is from interviews.
Billon emphasized that “arson” is a legal term. To charge a suspect with arson, prosecutors need to prove “willful, malicious or reckless intent.”
This is easier said than done. Billon said that about 25% of fires can be proven to be arson.
These cases typically break down like this:
Vandalism, attempts to conceal a crime, excitement or thrill-seeking, revenge, profit, and extremism/terrorism.
She gave an example of a fire set for profit.
Speaking as a budding arsonist: “Hello, insurance company? I need as much fire insurance as I can get, and I need it by Saturday.”
Speaking as herself: “That is what we call a clue.”
From left, Rotarians Randy Chapell, director; Bill Spalding, president; Bill Pond, president nominee; Duane Estes, member and Jerry Baldwin, Paul Harris Fellow, gathered following the April 9 meeting of the Salisbury Rotary Club, which is celebrating its 75th Anniversary this year.
SALISBURY — Chartered on Jan. 25, 1949, the Rotary Club of Salisbury is celebrating 75 years of service to the community, a milestone which will be capped by a gala anniversary celebration in the fall and numerous activities throughout 2024.
“We have so much on our plate over the next two to three months, all are exciting, and all are necessary,” club president Bill Spalding told the dozen or so members during the group’s weekly meeting at Noble Horizons on Tuesday, April 9.
“Every event we do will be loaded with Rotarians,” Spalding announced.
The small but dedicated club of about 35 members, which meets at the Noble Horizons Community Room every Tuesday at noon, serves not only Salisbury, but also Falls Village, Canaan, Sharon and Cornwall.
Since its inception, the local club, which is part of Rotary District 7890 comprising 55 clubs in northern Connecticut and western Massachusetts, has sponsored or generously supported a wide range of local and international projects.
Locally, Salisbury Rotary Club has awarded annual scholarships to deserving high school students, and volunteers have rolled up their sleeves to assist local nonprofits, including Chore Services, Salisbury Association, the Canaan Child Care Center and local food banks, among other nonprofits. Members have also supported and participated in myriad community events and activities, including fairs, festivals and parades.
Internationally, Salisbury Rotary, which has a personal connection to Tulum Rotary in Mexico, has helped that club with funding water fountains and computers for schools, assisted with water-related projects in Ecuador and has backed the international effort to eradicate polio worldwide.
“Our biggest shining star is what we’re doing to eradicate polio,” said club director Randy Chapell who with his wife, Fran, also a Rotarian and executive director of the Canaan Child Care Center, have traveled internationally on behalf of the Salisbury club.
He noted that Rotary International, along with its partners, have helped immunize more than 2.5 billion children against polio in 122 countries, reducing polio cases by 99.9 percent worldwide.
“We’re down to 9 to 10 cases in two countries, Afghanistan and Pakistan,” Chapell noted.
Jerry Baldwin, a retired banker, joined the Rotary in 1976 and served as the local chapter president from 2005 to 2006.
“I’ve been a Rotarian for 48 years this month,” he proudly revealed.
During that time, he was recognized for his community service as a Paul Harris Fellow, the club’s highest honor, named after the founder of Rotary International.
Over the years, Baldwin had worked tirelessly for the Winter Sports Association, sponsor of annual ski jumps at Satre Hill in Salisbury, and served on numerous community boards and associations.
“I was brought up that you can’t just take, you have to give,” said Baldwin. “This is not work, it is an honor and a pleasure. We love the community, it’s a wonderful place to live, and I just feel the need to give back and help others.”
Baldwin said one of the most significant changes he has seen over the years is the club’s dwindling active membership. Dues-paying members, he noted, stood at 78 when he joined, and it’s about half that now.
Today’s younger generations, he explained, keep very busy with activities, but tend to be less civic minded. “It used to be that the next generation believed in a sense of service.”
Rotarian Duane Estes, who coaches baseball at Salisbury School, noted that membership has been declining since the 1980’s.
“Look around the room, it’s not hard to see that we’re an older club, age-wise. We have the same problem and challenges that other organizations do” in terms of recruiting new blood, he said. “Affordable housing fits into it. There are not as many young people as when we moved out here 24 years ago.”
Club members said one of their main goals is to find new recruits.
“We will try to get the values of the organization out there and explain the reasons it’s important,” said Bill Pond, the club’s president nominee and administrator of Noble Horizons, which donates space to Rotary for its weekly meeting.
Rotary provides services to others, promotes integrity and advances world understanding, goodwill and peace through its fellowship of business, professional and community leaders. Rotarians pledge to uphold the organization’s mantra, “Service Above Self.”
Membership dues, at $150 annually, are the club’s major source of income, supplemented by fundraising events throughout the year.
“It’s not our goal to have a huge savings account. As our account builds, we try to reallocate it back into the community,” Pond explained.
Among upcoming activities is the club’s popular Kentucky Derby Social on Saturday, May 4 from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at Noble Horizons. The event, one of its largest and most popular fundraisers, was on hiatus for two years due to the pandemic, but as of last year it is back on track, said organizers.
The event, sponsored by more than a dozen individuals and businesses, features a silent and live auction, and attendees are invited to bet on the horses. Tickets are $25 and doors open at 4:30 p.m.
Then, on May 18, Salisbury Rotary will hold a Day of Service during which members and volunteers will perform clean-up and gardening tasks for the Salisbury Association, partnering with volunteers from the Canaan Day Care Center, including parents and children.
Among other events planned for later this year is the Rotary Club’s annual July 4 fireworks display at Lime Rock Park, and its 75th Anniversary Gala in the fall, the dates and details of which have yet to be finalized.
Referring to Salisbury Rotary Club’s milestone anniversary, Spalding noted, “This will be a good year for us. We’re excited and looking forward to it.”
