Terry Cowgill

LJ 08.16.07

August 16, 2007 on 3:16 pm | In Local, Media |

News Alert: Sharon Invades Cornwall. More below …

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This turned out to be a better issue than I thought it would be a few days ago, thanks to some late-breaking stories. In fact, the paper is chock-full of news and features this week.

In the realm of Connecticut’s public utilities, we’re all accustomed to keeping an eye out for CL&P, the state’s dominant electric company which has increased its rates so many times that it makes your head spin. But if you’re a water customer of Aquarion, watch your wallet, as Karen Bartomioli reports in this week’s lead story.

Jennifer Kronholm reports Sharon Hospital has opened its new women services center (they used to be called maternity wards). I toured it a few weeks ago and it looks like a four-star hotel. The most amusing part of the story is that each birthing suite contains a trundle bed for … the fathers. After all, what with the profound pain and agony the mothers are going through, we have to accommodate the fathers who pass out just from the stress of witnessing it all.

Cynthia Hochswender also discovers it’s been a great growing season for farmers so far in the Northwest Corner. But the other front-pager is a story I wrote that dominated the local airwaves this morning: because of a foul-up in the petitions, no Salisbury Republicans will be on the ballot in the Nov. 6 local elections.

Marshall & Mike talked about it extensively this morning with Bobby Riva, Peter Oliver and Doug Richardson. I think Jeffrey Garfield, the head of the state Elections Enforcement Office summed it up best:

“It’s an unfortunate series of events and a hard lesson to learn.”

[BTW, Peter. I’ve covered you for 2 1/2 years on the Board of Selectmen. It’s hard to believe you really don’t know how to pronounce my name.]

Nonkin Case

I also had a brief update on the Nonkin case, which (alas) has not been posted online yet. As I told Marshall and Mike this morning, Tuesday’s ZBA hearing illustrates the mismatches I have seen over the years when parties involved in a dispute show up at a public meeting armed with lawyers, while the town has no legal representation present.

Ms. Nonkin had two lawyers from Torrington with her, while the Haubrichs were represented by Mark Capecelatro, one of the finest attorneys in the area and the one man who knows the Salisbury zoning code better than anyone on the planet.

When the lawyers started tussling over the completeness of Nonkin’s appeal application and whether they needed to close the hearing or continue it, it became obvious that Chairman Steve Victory and the rest of the board didn’t know what to do.

Sitting in the audience, P&Z Chairman Jon Higgins was as helpful as he could be. Still, in all my years covering municipal boards and commissions, I’ve never seen a group that needed a lawyer more than the ZBA did Tuesday night. I have a feeling that will change when the hearing continues on Monday at 7:30 p.m. in Town Hall.

In other news: Karen has an interesting piece on Cornwall’s only convenience store; the Route 7 bridge between the towns of Salisbury and Falls Village is of the same design as the one that collapsed earlier this month in Minnesota (see the accompanying editorial on infrastructure penned by yours truly; I’d be interested to get anyone’s take on it, BTW).

And in Compass, Fred Baumgarten pens a review on an Italian film, “Golden Door;” Fred’s wife, Jenny Hansel, reviews dance at Jacob’s Pillow; and Judy Linscott gives her take on an art show in Kent.

Oh, and one more thing: Cornwall’s Louise Levy writes a letter (not posted online) responding to last week’s missive from the Sharonites about the death of poor Chester the guinea hen. It looks like all-out war will break out between the two towns.

Here’s what I’d like to see. Bobby Chatfield should gather some of his friends from Sharon Valley. They could rent some rafts from Clark Outdoors, put them in the Housatonic below the dam in Falls Village and ride them down the whitewater all the way West Cornwall.

Stopping at the covered bridge, they could mount an amphibious assault and invade that little village. They could start with Ingersol’s cabinet shop and then occupy the Wandering Moose Cafe. They could put up a sign in the window there announcing Cornwallians are banned.

Then they could put up larger signs at the bridge entrance and up the hill near the Consolidated School that say, “Entering East Sharon.” What do you say, Bobby?