Author: Kathryn Boughton

Norfolk residents needing emergency medical care will be even safer because of a paramedic “flycar”—an expanded service being provided through Hartford Healthcare.

A flycar is a rapid-response emergency vehicle, typically an SUV, driven by a paramedic. The Winsted area flycar will now carry whole blood products, allowing paramedics to administer transfusions in the field.

Pre-hospital transfusions require specialized equipment as well as the ability to manage a critical patient’s other needs while establishing a successful transfusion. Previously, the response vehicles carried only saline and other fluids.

“Hartford Healthcare provides our paramedic service, and it had the opportunity to increase its level of service,” said Jon Barbagallo, point-of-information officer for emergency services in Norfolk. “It allows for quicker and better treatments, especially for trauma patients. This is a considerable step forward.” 

Barbagallo said there will be no increase in costs because of the new treatment.

—Kathryn Boughton

The brutal cold that has blanketed the area since before Christmas has delayed construction at the new firehouse to the point that financial analysis shows it could cost the town less money to stop work and wait until the weather improves.

For example, with shorter days and cold nights, it takes longer to get equipment warmed up, which reduces productivity and raises costs.

But the larger problem has to do with pouring cement for footings and foundations. When poured, cement is largely water and prone to freezing before it fully hardens, causing defects that are not noticeable now but can lead to cracked foundations and costly repairs later.

Construction manager Newfield Construction and the Fire House Building Committee had hoped work could continue through the cold by using insulated blankets and additives that make cement harden faster. But when extreme cold set in December and did not moderate, followed by a huge snowstorm on January 26th, Newfield concluded that it would be better financially to stop work.

“We are looking at the numbers, and it seems like it makes sense to hold off until the worst of the winter passes,” said First Selectman Henry Tirrell. “We believe it makes more sense to stop now and resume in mid-March.”

Tirrell said that the bond anticipation note for the project is in a short-term investment fund and is earning interest. The first interest payment on it will be due in September and town officials will then decide whether to renew it or bond the project.

Looking at the state’s project to replace the wall along Route 44 west of town, Tirrell said that also has been halted because of the snow and cold and its effect on pouring cement. He said he does not expect the state to push construction back past the promised September finish date.

—Kathryn Boughton

Any good championship game is decided in the final minutes and the Seahawks and the
Patriots, this year’s Super Bowl opponents, have been battling it out at Botelle School for days
now.
Each year, the school holds its “Souper Bowl,” during which the student council sets up boxes
for each team and students are invited to bring non-perishable food items such as soup, pasta,
tuna, mac ‘n’ cheese, peanut butter, coffee and juice boxes to fill their favorite team’s box.
The food will be donated to the Norfolk Food Pantry as soon as a delivery time can be decided.
The competition ends today (Friday) and school secretary Mary Pat Lasko said it has been nip-
and-tuck as to which team will win. “The Seahawks have been slightly ahead,” she revealed,
“but this morning there was more food brought in for the Patriot’s box.”
Each morning, Student Council members count the donations and announce the results to the
student body. As of Wednesday, students and staff had donated 361 items for the Food Pantry
and the Seahawks enjoyed only a five-item advantage.

—Kathryn Boughton

The Rails to Trails Committee hopes to have word in February whether it will be issued a general permit by the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) for the construction of the North Brook Trail.

The town submitted its design to construct the trail to DEEP in 2024 but a change in direction at the state level drastically slowed things down. “This is on state land,” committee chairman Robert Gilchrest explained. “It is being revised internally to come from the state and not the town.”

The trails committee, which was formed in 2015, has “yet to build a trail,” said Gilchrest, who confessed to being “extremely frustrated.” 

The committee received a $399,000 grant in 2023 for construction of the trail but so much time had elapsed by June 2025 that beaver activity had raised the water level and the 150-foot boardwalk designed to span the pools had to be increased to 275 feet in length. Portions of the bridge and the trail also had to be raised.

Gilchrest drafted revised plans and resubmitted them last summer. 

“Since we started materiel costs have gone up,” he said, “and the status of the beaver activity has changed the scope to the point where the [original] grant won’t cover the cost. It was recommended by the state that we put in for another grant to cover the additional costs.”

An application for an additional $226,000 was submitted last fall to be included in the latest round of grants to accommodate the increases. The state will make an announcement sometime in March and the committee is feeling very positive about receiving the additional funding.

“Our goal is to go out to bid this summer,” Gilchrest said. “Once a general permit is released, we’re ready to pull the trigger.” 

If the committee goes out to bid this summer, the work is expected to consume about four months.

The multi-use, handicap-accessible trail would eventually follow portions of the abandoned CNE railroad bed to connect Canaan, Norfolk center and Winchester.

Gilchrest said he has reached out to Norfolk’s representatives for help in moving the application forward. “I’m sure it is on someone’s desk,” he said. “I have cc’d all the [DEEP] departments, and I have an email thread 30 pages long.”

When the committee finally completes the North Brook Trail, it plans to move on to the proposed Woodcreek Trail, which will run from North Brook Trail south towards Shepard Road and the town center.

—Kathryn Boughton

With the preservation of its historic steeple successfully completed, Church of Christ Congregational has resumed its effort to restore and preserve the stained glass windows in Battell Chapel and behind the meetinghouse sanctuary. Its goal is to raise $300,000.

The windows, notable for their beauty and the artists who created them—Maitland Armstrong and Louis Comfort Tiffany—have been the subject of a restoration process that started in 2017. Work was paused when attention was drawn to the perilous condition of the 1813 steeple, which needed immediate and costly repairs.

Although all five Tiffany windows have been repaired and protected, as well as three of the Armstrong windows, work remains to be done on the remaining side altar windows in the chapel and the altar window at the west end of the meetinghouse.

Checks may be made payable to Church of Christ Stained Glass Window Campaign and sent to PO Box 582, Norfolk CT 06058. [https://norfolkucc.org/giving/] Gifts may also be made online. 

Questions about the windows or the fundraising effort can be directed to Marie Civco at Marie.Civco@gmail.com.

—Kathryn Boughton

Rumors have circulated in recent months that the Norfolk Post Office could be closed, but the current closure, which occurred Monday, January 26, is only temporary.

“We should be back next week,” said postal clerk Kathy Bascetta. 

The office is closed because workers are replacing flooring for asbestos abatement. “The flooring has been ripped up, they’ve ground everything down and now all they have to do is lay the new floors,” Bascetta reported. 

At present, Norfolk residents must use the Winsted Post Office, 328 Main Street, where Norfolk postal workers Bascetta and Jenna Brown have been provided quarters. Window service hours are Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

“Everyone is handling it fine,” said Bascetta. “They have created a nice little corner for us, and it won’t be for long.”

Barbara Gomez at Town Hall said that employees there are cooperating by having one worker pick up deliveries to all three town mailboxes. “It’s inconvenient, but we’re making it work,” she said.

Residents picking up mail in Winsted must present proper photo identification. 

Initially, it was believed that a temporary office would be established in Norfolk, but last weekend’s massive snowstorm and space considerations made that impossible.

Whether the local post office’s future is actually in peril remains an unanswered question. 

The decreased volume of mail and plummeting revenues resulting from email and social media caused the USPS to create its 10-year Delivering for America Plan in 2021. Its goal is 95 percent on-time, six-day mail delivery and seven-day package delivery, consolidation of hundreds of local processing centers into 60 regional distribution centers, and reduction of part-time workers by 50 percent, replacing them with full-time career workers. 

As it attempts to consolidate and streamline, rural post offices are often targeted. 

In Norfolk, the Economic Development Commission has worked to boost usage of the town’s post office.. Volume is a factor considered by the USPS in deciding which post offices to close.

Delivery goals dropped from 93 percent for two-day delivery to 87 percent in 2025 and three-to-five-day delivery targets for mail fell from 90 percent to 80 percent. 

—Kathryn Boughton

The Norfolk Historical Society will have a special exhibit this winter to kick off the town’s observance of the nation’s 250th anniversary.

On February 14, it will unveil “The Romance of Worth: The Eldridge Sisters and the Centennial,” which focuses on two stunning bespoke gowns probably worn by Isabella and Alice Eldridge during their visit to the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia.

“One is a ballgown and the other would have been worn to a dinner,” museum director Barry Webber said. “It’s quite amazing to think these two ladies from Norfolk were out buying the latest fashions from Paris.”

Webber said the Eldridges toured Europe in 1875 and their dresses came from the renowned Paris atelier of Charles Frederick Worth, who many fashion historians consider to be the father of haute couture. The two gowns are being exhibited for the first time.

“What I find fascinating is that we have textiles from that family spanning 200 years,” he said, adding that, although other items will be shown, the Worth dresses will be the stars.

The exhibition opens with a member’s reception on February 14 at 4:30 p.m. and will be on view February 15 and on Weekend in Norfolk, February 21 and 22.

Webber will also give a gallery talk on Sunday, February 22, describing how he restored the Worth dresses so they could go on display. 

—Kathryn Boughton

A snowy, cold winter is wearing on the town crew and the town’s reserves of sand and salt.

“The road crew was out every single day last weekend rather than having a three-day holiday,” First Selectman Henry Tirrell reported. “Now we are gearing up for a big storm Sunday and Monday. Right now, the weather reports are calling for 12 to 18 inches of snow.”

The road crews have been out almost continuously to maintain roads as a series of small storms have passed through and the town has been conserving its salt. Some towns in the state are reporting shortages and delays in getting new shipments. Bigger towns like North Haven are laying in extra supplies, a practice that led to a significant shortage in Norfolk last February.

Even residents and private contractors could find it difficult to purchase salt for drives and walks. At least one store in the region has been told it cannot reorder regular salt until February (salt that is safe for pets is available).

“We’ve heard about it, and that is another reason to conserve,” Tirrell said. “We’ve been cutting our salt with sand when feasible. We do have salt at the garage, and we’re anticipating that the big storm this weekend won’t require a lot of material.”

He explained that the rapid snow accumulation expected with the coming storm will not require plowing until it is over and then salt will be applied to prevent freezing. 

He is doing what he can to allow the crew to rest despite storms arriving back-to-back. “Of course they’re paid for the hours, but they also have to be safe,” he observed.

The best solution this weekend is for everyone to stay home unless travel is absolutely necessary, Tirrell pointed out, “It helps everything if people will stay off the roads.”

—Kathryn Boughton

Intermediate students at Botelle School were surprised last week by a visit from Bob Maxon, NBC 30 meteorologist. 

The children are studying extreme weather—an apt subject in a winter that has brought weeks of snow and frigid temperatures and promises still more for this weekend. 

Maxon came to the school at the invitation of teacher Nicole Partyka, where he spent more than an hour explaining weather concepts, answering students’ questions and showing them how meteorologists observe and interpret weather data. 

He shared stories from his childhood in Oswego, N.Y., including memories of historic snowstorms, and even ventured a prediction of whether the children would have school on Friday. (They did.)

The children were familiar with Maxon because each morning they watch and discuss his daily weather forecast, a routine that Partyka began two years ago for her unit on weather. She said the students are noticeably disappointed when Maxon has a day off.

Partyka uses the weather unit to blend reading, writing and science studies for her combined third- and fourth-grade class. Throughout the unit, students research questions about weather by reading grade-level texts, identifying main ideas, key details and vocabulary. They then use their notes to write short compositions. At the end of the unit, each student publishes a “book” focused on a specific weather phenomenon, bringing together everything they have learned. 

Following the visit, the students were featured in a segment on Maxon’s morning forecast. He termed his time in Norfolk “awesome” and commented, “Norfolk is small, you know, and the school is the center of warmth for the community.”

—Kathryn Boughton

All children born on or before September 1, 2022, are eligible for enrollment in Botelle School’s pre-kindergarten program for the 2026 -2027 school year.

Norfolk parents should contact the school office to make sure their child is included on the school’s roster for that school year. Invitations to screening and registration forms will be mailed out in April.

Contact the school at 860-542-5286, ext. 200, or email laskom@botelleschool.org for more information.

—Kathryn Boughton