Author: kathrynwboughton@gmail.com

Residents of Norfolk and Colebrook offered a mix of thoughtful opinions about the possible consolidation of elementary school services during a public forum at Botelle School Thursday night.

There have been two previous failed attempts to merge the schools, which have both experienced declining enrollments over the past two decades. Norfolk has 62 students in kindergarten through grade six, while Colebrook has 64 in six grades. In the last attempt, in 2015, Norfolk voted for merger and Colebrook against.

That balance appears to continue until today. “Colebrook has told us repeatedly that they do not want to send their children to Norfolk,” Norfolk School Superintendent Mary Beth Iacobelli said before the meeting, but municipal leaders in both towns have resumed discussions.

Norfolk First Selectman Matt Riiska said the potential partnership is about expanding social and educational opportunities for “our children and generations to come,” but many members of the audience rejected the idea of closing one or other of the schools. One young girl made an impassioned speech about how much she loves Botelle School. “I don’t want them to close the school because it is very special to us students,” she said. 

Parents echoed her sentiments, offering testimony recounting their happy years at Botelle and the experiences their own children are enjoying there. They decried statements that Botelle does not provide a good education, saying these comments are detrimental to both town and school.

Colebrook residents had similar feelings about their school. One woman who described herself as an educator and coach, said, “The last thing we want to do is close a school. That should be the last priority. Having two schools is beneficial because two second-grade teachers can bounce ideas off each other, but if you have one second grade there is no one to talk to. We all want the best for our kids. What ways can we work to save money?”

Andy Bakulski, educator, parent and Colebrook resident, advocated for consolidation. “If we combined resources, working in one space and not supporting two buildings, we could greatly improve the education and opportunities for our children,” he said. “We’re talking about 120 or so students, so class sizes would still be very manageable. The possibilities are fantastic, but we do need to involve everyone.”

Feelings have run deep each time consolidation or collaboration has been discussed but this time several people suggested gradual steps to combine district tasks. Norfolk school board member Walter Godlewski noted that the two towns are now paying for duplicate services. 

“Our superintendent is resigning, perhaps we could have a joint superintendent,” he suggested. “Perhaps we could have the lower [grades] in one town and the upper grades in the other—maybe we could do that for four or five years. We could get used to having our children go to another town and maybe then we talk about it and decide it’s in our best interest to close one of these schools. I would like to see us think big and long-term, in slow and progressive steps.”

Riiska said the committee would meet sometime in the coming weeks to continue the discussion. A recording of the meeting is online; for a link and the password, click here.

—Newsletter Editor

Mary Beth Iacobelli has submitted her resignation as superintendent of the Norfolk School District, effective June 30. Iacobelli has served the district for 11 years, since 2014.

State statues required each school district to have a superintendent, and the Board of Education will launch a search for a replacement.

It will be the second retirement for the 48-year education veteran, who stepped down as superintendent of the East Haddam public school system in 2014 after 24 years as a teacher, principal, assistant superintendent and superintendent in that town and New Britain.

Iacobelli said after her first retirement she soon found she was not ready for full-time leisure. A resident of Haddam, she applied for part-time superintendent positions in southern Connecticut and, on a whim, in Norfolk. “I never even looked at a map,” she said. “I had no idea where Norfolk was.”

Called to interview, she persuaded her husband to ride along, promising a nice dinner in Litchfield County. “We drove, and drove and drove,” she said. 

The long drive did not dissuade her, however, and she ultimately accepted the job. “The people who interviewed me were a lovely group of people,” she said. “I thought I would take the job for a year or two, but I fell in love with the school and the town.”

Iacobelli looks with satisfaction on the changes that have taken place at Botelle under her leadership. “The whole digital landscape has changed now,” she said. “We have state-of-the-art technology and incredible online resources in the school. We even have 3-D digital headsets that the kids can put on and maybe take a walk through a virtual rainforest.”

She said that over the years the school has economized to keep costs under control despite decreasing student enrollments. She noted that in 2008 there were 158 students in the school and 12.8 full-time equivalent employees (FTEs). Now there are 62 students and only 7.8 FTEs. 

The school countered the decline by establishing multi-age classrooms that allow students to either revisit lessons from a previous year that they did not fully grasp, or to move forward to an older age group if they are precocious. “The multi-age model gives us options,” she said. “We don’t put the kids in little boxes. It evens things out nicely.” 

Looking ahead, she does not envision drastic changes in her own life. A devotee of pickleball and hiking, she anticipates time for her hobbies as well as helping to care for her elderly parents. 

—Newsletter Editor

There will be a special treat for children Sunday from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the Norfolk Hub when Andy Styles invites everyone to join in a sing-along. 

The program, part of the two-day Winter Weekend in Norfolk celebration, will also include 10 animated short films from the Best of the Fest Animation Showcase, a colorful collection that introduces young viewers to furry friends and takes them on adventures appropriate for the whole family. 

Click here [] for information about the films, which are all from the Seattle Children’s Film Festival.

Styles promises a feel-good performance with songs not only for children, but for adults as well. “The goal is to get people involved and just have fun,” he said. “I have songs for the kids to sing along with but also a couple for the adults to join in like ‘This Land is Your Land,’ and ‘Down in the Valley.’”

Styles is a familiar figure on the local music scene, having performed at the Farmers Market and Infinity Hall. He has played guitar, bass and harmonica in various bands over the years in the genres of rock, southern rock, bluegrass, country and folk.

The program at the Hub is just one of the many and varied activities planned for the weekend, a town-wide mixture of music, dance, art, outdoor and indoor sports, history and food for all to enjoy. For a full schedule of events, click here.

—Newsletter Editor

Great Mountain Forest (GMF) has been chosen by the New England Forestry Foundation as a core Connecticut partner to host one-day workshops on practices that promote forest health and resilience.

The workshops, planned for May and September, are designed for landowners managing at least 25 acres of forest as well as land trusts and their forest managers.  As part of the NEFF collaboration, GMF will also demonstrate climate smart practices in the forest and work to have them embraced broadly through outreach programs. During the workshops, eligible landowner participants will learn how to receive incentive funds to implement climate smart practices. 

Mike Zarfos, executive director of GMF, said the broader goal of the collaboration is to help New England forests combat climate change, protect biodiversity and build ecosystem resilience. 

For further details interested attendees are welcome to email info@greatmountainforest.org. Application and registration forms will be available on the Great Mountain Forest website later this month: greatmountainforest.org.

—Newsletter Editor

February serves up several holidays—Groundhog Day for the winter weary, Valentine’s Day for lovers, President’s Day for the patriotic—but Norfolk goes one better by throwing a weekend-long party. Weekend in Norfolk, February 22-23, brings a town-wide mixture of music, dance, art, outdoor and indoor sports, history and food for all to enjoy.

This year’s schedule brings back many old favorites such as the fly-tying workshop, stained glass tours and a maple syrup operation at Great Mountain Forest’s sugarhouse, but there are also new events for the amusement and amazement of visitors.

Like to cook with mushrooms? Take in the mushroom inoculation workshop at Husky Meadows Farm on Saturday and learn to grow your own. A pickleball fan? There’s a tournament at Botelle School. Interested in the environment? There is a conservation talk on “Beaverland, How One Weird Rodent Made America” at the Norfolk Library and a nature hike to a beaver pond on the North Brook Trail.

Another special treat can be found in the return of the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival with a concert Saturday morning, also at the library. Michael Cobb and Seth Hagymasi will provide live music at the Hub in the afternoon the same day. For kids, there will be movies and music at the Hub on Sunday afternoon. Also on Sunday afternoon, Garet&Co. returns to Battell Chapel for a dance performance.

A full schedule of events, with times and locations, can be found here. The WIN information center will be open 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Hub, 2 Station Place.

The winter Weekend in Norfolk celebration brightens a dark, cold February, but it is not the end of the fun this year. The 10th anniversary summer Weekend in Norfolk (weekendinnorfolk.org) is scheduled for August 1, 2 and 3. 

—Newsletter Editor

For more than two hours Tuesday night, Planning & Zoning Commission Chairman Christopher Schaut read letters into the record during the continued public hearing on the Manor House Inn application.

Zoning enforcement officer Stacey Sefcik’s records show 37 letters clearly favored the application and 26 were in opposition, including a package of information from “Neighbors of the Manor House.” Two petition sheets with a total of 11 signatures supported Manor House. 

Two letters neither favored nor supported the application, but rather posed questions or offered suggestions. 

Three Stewards Real Estate, LLC, owner of the Manor House, which is operating as a country inn, has applied for a modification of an existing special permit and an associated site plan modification. The application has attracted strong public interest and the first part of the hearing, held in January, packed the Hall of Flags at Botelle School with people who wished to offer testimony or simply to learn more about the application.

No oral testimony was taken Tuesday. 

The application calls for an addition to the amenities offered by the inn. Before Tuesday’s session, the applicant granted a 21-day continuance via email so the commission could keep the public hearing open until the P&Z’s March 11 meeting.

To view all official documents associated with the application click here.

—Newsletter Editor

A public forum has been set for Thursday, February 20, at 7:00 p.m., at Botelle School to discuss the possible consolidation of the Colebrook and Norfolk elementary schools, supplementing an informational meeting that was held in Colebrook last fall. 

Many from Norfolk were unaware of that meeting.

Both towns have been looking for residents to sit on a preliminary committee whose charge would be to determine if there is enough appetite for consolidation to go forward. If the answer is in the affirmative, a formal committee would then be appointed to explore ways and means.

Consolidation and regionalization efforts have failed in the past, but school populations have continued to fall in the years since.

“There are a lot of things to answer, a lot of questions,” First Selectman Matt Riiska said. 

—Newsletter Editor

A State Trooper is now monitoring traffic on Route 44 Mondays through Fridays while crews work on new retaining walls west of the village center.

Traffic lights allow alternating travel over one lane, but some people have tried to run the light. 

“There have been all kinds of little mishaps” since the lights were installed, said First Selectman Matt Riiska.

Selectman Sandy Evans, ambulance service EMT, noted that if motorists jump the light, it is impossible to see if a car has entered from the other side. “It’s one thing to back up a car,” she said, “but it would be difficult if we had to back an ambulance out of that narrow, bumpy chute.”

Riiska said people who know the area also have been trying to avoid the light by using Ashpohtag and Old Colony Roads. “That will be a concern sooner rather than later,” he said. 

The DOT has altered its plans for reconstructing the section of road, cutting the disruption by more than two years, but it will still be two years more before the work is done. 

—Newsletter Editor

Townspeople are needed to serve on various town boards and commissions.

In Norfolk, as with many small towns, a handful of elected and appointed officials charged with planning and administering town business are supplemented by a dedicated group of residents who donate their time to the important work required. Many times, the same persons serve on multiple municipal bodies, and it is often difficult to find replacements when they resign. 

For example, two members, Chairman Tom Fahsbender and alternate Lisa Read, recently resigned from the Planning & Zoning Commission, leaving two vacancies.

At its Wednesday meeting, the selectmen appointed alternate Steve Landes to full membership. One alternate position was already vacant, so with the loss of Read and the change for Landes, there are now three P&Z alternate vacancies. 

Alternates attend meetings, can listen and comment on issues, but, unlike full members, do not vote unless a regular member is absent and the chair appoints them to temporarily fill that seat. 

Normally, boards and commissions recruit individuals to fill vacancies and then ask the Board of Selectmen to appoint them. If they do not find a volunteer within a certain amount of time (officially 30 days) the task falls to the selectmen. 

First Selectman Matt Riiska recently appealed for Norfolk residents to serve on the many other boards and commissions that have vacancies, including:

Three alternates for the Board of Assessment Appeals

A full member for the Northwest Mental Health Catchment Area Council

A full member for the Comcast Advisory Board

Two full members and one alternate for the Economic Development Commission

A Republican Registrar of Voters 

A full member for the Farmers Market Committee

Three full members for the Energy Advisory Committee

One full member for the Friends of the Meadow Committee

One alternate for the Historic District Commission

One Municipal Agent for Children

One representative for the Northwest Transit District

One full member for the Public Access Initiative (Internet)

Two alternates for the Recreation Committee

One full member and one alternate for the Town Website Committee

Anyone interested in serving in any of these posts should contact the selectmen’s office at 860-542-5829.

—Newsletter Editor

The story of a children’s book that took a 6,000-mile journey across the Atlantic Ocean and back has created quite a stir, according to Norfolk Library Director Ann Havemeyer, who has been interviewed by both BBC radio and NBC-CT.

The book, a copy of “Animal Ark,” was checked out of a library in Swaffham, Norfolk County, England, and was turned in at the Norfolk, Connecticut, library this month. 

The book had been dropped off in the local library’s outside return box and Havemeyer told the BBC that the library staff had no idea who left it and was perplexed about what to do with it until a chance encounter with English visitors provided a solution.

According to Havemeyer, the library workers “almost couldn’t believe it” when only a week after the book was discovered two tourists from Norfolk, England, appeared in the library. After chatting with the librarian, they agreed to transport the little book back to its proper home. “We are very happy it is back in its rightful home,” Havemeyer said.

The English library’s staff was equally delighted with the international odyssey the little volume had taken. “Quite how someone got confused and returned it to the wrong place, we have no idea,” they posted on Facebook. “Swaffham Library is very different to the Norfolk Library. Oh, and there’s the fact it’s literally thousands of miles away and across an entire ocean. But still, it made it there, and it has now made it back!”

—Newsletter Editor