Community News

Both the Democrats and Republicans are seeking poll workers for the upcoming political primaries. The primaries themselves will be held Tuesday, August 11, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., and there are plenty of other opportunities to fill the paid slots during early voting.

Early voting [ will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on August 3, 5, 7 and 8, 9, and from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on August 4 and 6. Various duties are available and all dates need to be staffed. Anyone who is interested may contact Paul Madore at  demregistrar@norfolkct.org or Ron Bombero at repubregistrar@norfolkct.org.

The Foundation for Norfolk Living (FNL) will host a ribbon-cutting celebration and house tour for Haystack Woods, its newly constructed affordable housing complex, on Monday, June 22, at 11:00 a.m. 

Because parking is limited at the site off Old Colony Road, the town will provide transportation for those interested in attending. Two trips will be provided in a 12-seat van, starting at 10:45 a.m., according to Administrative Assistant Barbara Gomez. Carpooling is encouraged for those not taking the offer of transportation.

Three of the 10 newly completed Net Zero affordable homes will be open for tours from 10:30 a.m. to noon. Light refreshments will be served.

Construction of the units is now complete. Seven of the homes have been sold or are under contract, and three, three-bedroom homes remain available for first-time homebuyers earning under 80 percent of the area median income.

These state-of-the-art net-zero homes feature concrete walls, high-performing insulation, shared solar carports and photovoltaic panels—estimated to save homeowners roughly $5,000 in energy costs annually. 

Applications are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis until homes are all sold. Applications forms can be found and submitted at norfolkliving.org.

Late word has been received that Infinity Hall’s Bistro has opened and that Tobey Pond will offer special weekend hours on Saturday and Sunday, June 13 and 14, 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Tobey Pond is slated to begin regular beach hours on June 17, following the end of the school year.

Another sign of the end of winter’s hibernation and the advent of summer activity, is the reopening of the Infinity Hall Bistro. It will be open Wednesdays through Sundays, 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. to provide evening dining in downtown Norfolk.

Not to be outdone, Berkshire Country Store will be open until 6:00 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays until Labor Day. It is open Monday through Thursday, 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, 7:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. and Sundays, 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Thursday evening the Rails to Trails Committee pondered how to proceed with construction of the North Brook Trail now that it has awarded a $774,406 contract to Yield Industries. 

The difficulty lies in Yield President Craig Bothroyd’s desire to begin working in August, and the state’s tardiness in announcing whether the town will receive a second grant for the work. 

The town received a $399,000 state grant in 2023, but that project was delayed by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, which decided that the permit application should come from the state and not the town. The town finally received its general permit in March.

But in the three years that had elapsed, prices had increased and busy beavers had raised the water level so much the boardwalk had to be raised and extended by 100 feet. The committee is seeking an additional state grant of $226,000 to meet increased costs but has yet to hear whether its application has been successful.

Rails to Trails Chairman Robert Gilchrest told committee members that he met with Bothroyd to discuss construction and the current financial shortfall. He said Bothroyd had crunched the numbers and believed that the $399,000 grant would allow construction of the parking lot near Center Cemetery, the trail up to the boardwalk, the boardwalk itself,and clearing a path after that point.

What would be left would be construction of the trail as far as Ashpohtag Road, a concrete crossing for a driveway and gates that would prevent motorized vehicle access to the trail except for state or emergency vehicles.

The state grant would fund 80 percent of the work in the first phase with the town providing 20 percent. Gilchrest originally thought the town could meet the 20 percent obligation through in-kind services and committee secretary Matt Riiska suggested that materials removed by the road crew during road work could be used as fill to help meet this obligation.

But Gilchrest said the contractor is responsible should any portion of the project fail and Bothroyd is reluctant to use sub-par materials. He suggested a fundraising campaign to fill in the financing gap. 

While the town waits for word from the state about the second grant, money will have to be borrowed to pay Yield. A town meeting may be called in late July to authorize a line of credit to pay the contractor before state funds are reimbursed.

The Northwest Resource Recovery Authority continues to meet frequently as the July 1 deadline for assuming control of the Torrington transfer hub nears. 

First Selectman Henry Tirrell said the loss of Torrington, the largest municipality in the newly formed NRRA, won’t affect short-term operation. Torrington, expressing doubts about the ability of the NRRA to operate the transfer station, opted to sign a 10-year contract with USA Waste and Recycling.

“We’re working toward a plan to have the Torrington site in operation for a year and figure out if it is feasible. We hope to take the first six to 12 months to create a long-range game plan,” he said.

But there is a catch-22 in the NRRA’s work. The operator of the transfer station needs a volume of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) to make the business profitable, but because towns pay tipping fees based on the tonnage they transport, local municipalities work to encourage recycling and reduce tonnage.

“It’s a strange game,” Tirrell observed. 

At present, there are six towns in the NRRA, nominally including Torrington. There are 21 towns in the Northwest Hills Council of Governments, which helped originate the NRRA. It is still unclear how many of those municipalities might join.

Even with the setback of losing Torrington’s MSW, tipping fees will be lower this year than they would have been had the state continued to operate it. Fees under the MIRA Dissolution Authority were supposed to be $141 a ton for MSW and no charge for recycling. The NRRA will drop tipping fees to $121 per ton and $12 for recycling. 

The State Property Review Board has yet to transfer ownership of the Torrington transfer station to the NRRA. When that process is complete, the NRRA can accept a $500,000 state grant to help with initial operations.

The steep decline in pollinator populations is endangering our ecosystems’ health. To heighten public awareness, the Norfolk Conservation Commission is hosting two events to commemorate National Pollinator Week at the end of June. 

Roaring Brook Nature Center naturalist Margery Winters, will speak Saturday, June 20, at 4:00 p.m. at the Norfolk Hub about what homeowners can do in their own backyards to support butterflies. 

The following Saturday, June 27, Moth Night will be held at Great Mountain Forest’s House Barn, 200 Canaan Mountain Road in Falls Village. Ray Simpson, a naturalist from the Yale Peabody Museum, will set up a screen and UV lights to attract moths and other night flying insects.  

Norfolk has added used ink cartridges and gas cylinders to the many items residents are encouraged to recycle. Gas cylinders are now being collected at the transfer station while ink cartridges can be recycled by mail. 

The transfer station will accept small non-refillable or refillable cylinders designed for residential use with flammable pressurized gases such as propane, butane, helium or carbon dioxide. Industrial, commercial and institutional cylinders, punctured tanks, fire extinguishers, candle or cigarette lighters, vapes or nitrous oxide cylinders are not accepted. [run in]

Click here to determine which cylinders are accepted.

More than a million used ink cartridges are thrown away every day. But now, Norfolk residents can put four or more cartridges (no toners) in a box, request a free mailing label, and send them off through the mail. To recycle used ink cartridges, click here. 

For general information about the transfer station, click here. [https://norfolkct.org/trash-and-recycling-norfolk-transfer-station/]

Annual transfer station stickers are now available and must be in place by July 1 for the coming year. For more information about stickers, call the Town Clerk’s office, 860-542-5679, or download an application and mail it in with your check.

The Norfolk Library is offering a free summer reading challenge for children of all ages.

The theme, “Unearth a Story,” emphasizes the joys of discovery, deepening the sense that everyone has stories to be uncovered and shared.  Children are asked to complete seven challenges that foster literacy skills. There are prizes for all who complete the goal. 

Additional free programs on Mondays will be linked to the theme. Some of the programs require registration as the artists have requested a limited number of students. For information email Eileen Fitzgibbons. [efitzgibbons@biblio.org ].

The summer reading kick-off, “Dwarfs, Dragons & Giants,” presented by Animal Embassy, is on Monday, June 15, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Attendees can picnic if they wish and the library will provide a summer dessert.

No registration is necessary for the kick-off, but the library does appreciate knowing how many are coming.

Because of the heat advisory that continues through 8:00 p.m. tomorrow, school will dismiss at 1:15 p.m. Friday. Pre-K bus service will not run Friday and Pre-K students are welcome to stay for lunch and recess until the 1:15 p.m. dismissal.

Parents who prefer to pick up their Pre-K child at the normal 11:45 a.m. time, should call the office at 860-542-5286 or send in a written note.

Heat advisories are issued when the combination of heat and humidity is expected to make it feel like it is 95 to 99 degrees for two or more consecutive days, or 100 to 104 degrees for any length of time.

Even as the Northwest Resource Recovery Authority (NRRA) works toward its July 1 deadline to take control of the Torrington-based solid municipal waste transfer station, questions remain about its future operation.

The NRRA, of which Norfolk is a member, was created by the Torrington City Council and the Northwest Hills Council of Governments to operate a transfer station in the region following the dissolution of the Materials Innovation and Recycling Authority (MIRA), a quasi-public agency that managed disposal of municipal solid waste for 72 Connecticut towns and cities. 

But now, Torrington has signed a 10-year contract with USA Waste & Recycling, citing uncertainty about the NRRA’s ability to handle its responsibilities. As the NRRA’s budget and bargaining power depends on the tonnage of waste it receives from member towns, losing its largest municipality is a blow.

The NRRA has sought ownership of the Torrington facility for years, intending to form a public resource recovery agency, based on the successful model of the Housatonic Resource Recovery Authority, which serves 14 municipalities in western Connecticut. 

State legislators waffled over who will operate the facility, however, first promising to transfer it to the NRRA, then accepting a $3.25 million offer from USA, a large private hauler. The General Assembly reversed itself again in Spring 2025, passing legislation that blocked any private sale and in April 2026 agreed to transfer ownership of the four-acre parcel to the NRRA for only the cost of legal and administrative fees. 

It further provided a one-time $500,000 grant to assist with the transition, the funding originating from the MIRA Dissolution Authority account.

Norfolk joined the six-town authority this spring and First Selectmen Henry Tirrell became the town’s representative. Tirrell reported at a Board of Selectmen’s meeting Wednesday that he has been attending special sessions of the NRRA, “trying to figure out a plan for the transfer station.”

He noted the short period of time left before the state’s Department of Administrative Services oversight of the facility ends on June 30.  “It’s a short window of time, but there are a lot of people working on it,” he observed. 

Governor Ned Lamont signed the bill that will transfer the property to the NRRA, but there is still no transfer date. The official transfer is currently pending review by the State Properties Review Board, which has a 30-day window to complete its review.