Community News

Corner Club resumes on Wednesday, January 28, at the Norfolk Library when special effects artist Tyler Green offers his Dinosaur Activity Kit workshop, allowing attendees to mold their own dinosaur claw.

Green, a renowned special effects makeup artist, maintains a studio in Winsted.

Every student will get a free kit to work on at the library. This workshop is limited to 12 students and registration with the library is required by calling the circulation desk at 860-542-5075, ext. 2.

The monthly Corner Club programs are free and open to all area children.  All students going from school for this program will need a permission slip to get on the school bus.

Contractors installed a modular house at 7 Haystack Woods Road last Friday, one of 10 affordable homes being constructed under the auspices of the Litchfield County Center for Housing Opportunity at locations throughout the county. 

The house is located near the ten-unit Haystack Woods affordable housing complex being developed by the Foundation for Norfolk Living but is being funded by a separate agency and is not one of the highly energy efficient homes in that complex.

The three-bedroom Cape-style house is being developed in collaboration with the Foundation for Norfolk Living, however. 

The sale price ranges between $250,000 and $280,000, including a forgivable downpayment assistance loan of approximately $25,000. Persons making up to 100 percent of Litchfield County’s median income are eligible to apply for ownership. For information about the house and the application process click here.

On Tuesday night the Planning and Zoning Commission opened and ultimately continued a hearing on an application to modify a special permit at 330 Greenwoods Road East until February

The application seeks permission to construct an additional 50-foot-by-80-foot storage building in which to temporarily house vehicles towed to the premises, to provide outside parking for 10 vehicles and to permit the lease of a newly created parking space for a third-party tractor trailer.

Michael Halloran represented the applicant, George Auclair, owner of George’s Norfolk Garage. 

Halloran said the additional uses would be in keeping with orderly development of the commercial zone and cited the lack of places for commercial activity in the town.  

P&Z Chairman Christopher Schaut wanted to ensure that the uses proposed for the site are precisely defined. “I want to make sure this application is fully understood,” he stated. “I don’t want any gray areas.”

He particularly questioned how leasing a parking space for a tractor trailer fits in the town’s zoning regulations as an accessory or incidental use for the automotive garage across the street. “The applicant has to make a case that it’s within the regulations,” he said.

Halloran said there are vehicles parked in violation of the regulations in other parts of town because of the dearth of commercial zoning. “This is nothing new,” he asserted. “We’re hoping the concept of one vehicle in a commercial zone can go forward.”

“I get that there could be other violations, but we are just talking about the application in front of us,” said Schaut, adding that the town could change its regulations to allow the use if needed.

P&Z members debated how to define the use for the lot—whether it would be a primary or accessory use, whether the use of the new building should be designated “cold storage” (which could be interpreted as refrigerated by a future owner) or “unheated storage”, what kinds of vehicles could be stored in the building and the like.

Halloran was asked to come back in February with a written list of precisely what is being proposed. “I’m not saying yea or nay, I just want it one hundred percent clear,” said Schaut.

Struggling with the cost of food and strong demand, the Norfolk Food Pantry has come up with a new way for donors to give by choosing items directly from its online wish list. Once selected and paid for, the items are delivered directly to the Pantry.

The Pantry, which is housed on the lower level of Battell Chapel, still welcomes donations of actual foodstuffs as well as money. Non-perishable food donations can be brought to the chapel when the pantry is open or placed in the collection boxes at the Berkshire Country Store, library, Immaculate Conception Church or in the blue bin outside the Food Pantry entrance. Checks can be mailed to the church office, PO Box 582, Norfolk CT 06058.

Hours are from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, serving residents of Norfolk, Winsted, Winchester, Canaan, Falls Village and Colebrook.

Norfolk residents can also receive food through Fishes & Loaves in Canaan.

The South Norfolk residents who have been waiting for three years for the bridge at the end of Old Goshen Road where it meets Route 272 to be replaced may see some progress in 2027—or maybe not.

First Selectman Henry Tirrell told his board Wednesday afternoon that the state hopes to start construction of the replacement next year, but that the timetable depends on how the state categorizes the replacement.

“As they briefly described it to me, there are two versions,” said Tirrell. “One of them would require more permitting. Even the guys from the state didn’t know when it would happen.”

The previous bridge was washed out by a flash flood in July 2023, along with a bridge on Smith Road now temporarily replaced by the town. 

There is more immediate action on the replacement of a bridge on Mountain Road. “They hope to start construction in April,” Tirrell reported.

In other business, the Selectmen appointed Martina Gago Ageitos to fill a vacancy on the City Meadow Committee, formerly known as the Friends of the Meadow Committee. 

The Norfolk Pub, a local gathering place for the past half century, is closing its doors January 31 in the wake of the sale of the historic Royal Arcanum Building on Station Place. 

The building, which had been owned by the Norfolk Hub since 2021, was sold last September to American Folk & Heritage, LLC, a non-profit focused on preserving American craft and handwork, for $1.4 million. The buyers reportedly plan to use the space to support their mission of preserving American crafts.

Proceeds of the sale will be used by the Norfolk Hub, formerly the Norfolk Foundation, to benefit local initiatives such as affordable housing and the new firehouse.

In a Facebook posting, Norfolk Pub bartender Lindsey Prevuznak said that as the restaurant works toward its closing date only cash payments will be accepted. She noted that there is an ATM nearby at the National Iron Bank.

None of the principals for this story could be reached at press time although members of the Economic Development Commission expressed dismay Thursday night about the loss of the restaurant.

“it’s imminent and it’s happening,” said EDC Chairman Brett Robbins, adding that he had reached out to one of the new owners, Dev Aujla. “I would really love to find ways to cooperate with them but the feedback that I got was they are still in the midst of renovation, permitting and all those steps.”

He expects there will be no further movement about a pub until the renovation is completed. “Losing the pub feels like a really big hit when we think about supporting businesses downtown,” he said. “We need to think of how we can make sure that a pub shows back up, but there is no action for now.”

A landmark designed in 1904 by architect Alfredo Taylor, the building originally served Royal Arcanum Insurance and the local fire department and has since seen a variety of commercial tenants within its walls. Five apartments were on the second floor.

The Botelle Elementary PTO will hold auditions for its winter production of “Moana Jr.” on January 12, 13, 15 and 16 in the school’s Hall of Flags. Botelle and Colebrook Consolidated School students between the third and sixth grades can participate.

Appointments are necessary for the 10- to 15-minute auditions and parents should plan on waiting for their children to complete their auditions. The children can leave after the auditions and will be notified if needed for a call-back. Every child who auditions will receive a role.

Rehearsals start January 26 and performances will take place the first weekend in May.

For more information and to make an appointment, click here.

Young thespians who have advanced to Northwestern Regional School No. 7 have an opportunity to perform as well. Norfolk resident Ann DeCerbo is directing the production of “The Addams Family Musical.” Rehearsals started this week and the show will be staged March 27 through 29.

Students in Botelle School’s upper intermediate class are raising salmon this winter, planning to release them into the Farmington River come spring. 

Tom Stanton of the Connecticut River Salmon Association (CRSA) delivered 300 Atlantic salmon eggs to Botelle School Thursday in an environmental education program, Salmon in Schools. 

CRSA operates its program in approximately 65 Connecticut public schools. Students participate actively in all phases of the program, from rearing salmon eggs in the classroom to stocking the river. CRSA provides guidance and teacher education, technical assistance and materials, as well as links to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

The eggs are harvested from salmon that have previously returned to the Connecticut River. They will hatch about mid-February as alevin, small fish about one to one-and-a-half inches long that are supported by a yolk sac on their stomachs. The yolk sac is their sole food source. 

By the end of April or early May, these creatures reach the stage where the sac has been absorbed and the fish look like a small minnow.

A specialized incubation tank was set up at the school for their arrival and students will monitor the eggs on a daily basis as they develop. When the salmon reach the stage where they can no longer remain in the tank they will be released into the cool waters of the Farmington River.

The tank is set up in math specialist Shilo Garceau’s room and she will help the students monitor temperatures and growth every day.

The Farmington River is a crucial part of the Atlantic salmon restoration effort in the Connecticut River watershed, offering significant spawning habitat. Although wild populations are still recovering, biologists have found salmon nests and eggs in the Farmington, indicating a return of its former populations.

After her car was burgled in Salisbury on December 31, a Norfolk woman (who wishes to remain anonymous) wants to alert other residents to a mini crime spree that took place that day so they can be vigilant about their own security.

She reports that a burglar or burglars struck in two towns, breaking into victims’ cars and stealing wallets, checkbooks and other personal items. 

Her locked vehicle was parked in Salisbury at the time of the incident. The thief or thieves attempted to use her personal identification to cash checks at different branches of her bank but the bank had immediately enacted its security protocols and no money was lost. 

The thieves reportedly broke into cars in Goshen and Salisbury (including at a hiking trail in the Lakeville section of town). They attempted to cash checks in Washington, Cornwall and Sharon.

The police have yet to issue a report on the incidents.

Hate Mondays? Now there is a reason to look forward to them. The Norfolk Library invites everyone to come and enjoy the warmth of a blazing fire Monday nights during January. The fireplace in the Great Hall will be lighted from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. creating a convivial environment for visiting or reading.