The Day • 10/14/2021

North Stonington to honor Clarks Falls Schoolhouse ahead of affordable housing conversion

North Stonington — Residents are set to celebrate the conversion of the historical Clarks Falls Schoolhouse into affordable housing after an extensive process to salvage the building.

Keeping North Stonington Affordable Inc. and the North Stonington Historical Society will be hosting a celebration of the acquisition on Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Hewitt Farm Pavilion, with a rain date for Sunday at the North Stonington Senior Center.

“This is a win-win for everybody, and so it just felt like a g

The Day • 07/29/2021

Avalonia Land Conservancy acquires North Stonington parcel known as 'granddad’s forest'

North Stonington — When Paulann Sheets turns on her computer in her Shelter Island, N.Y., home, she is greeted by an image of her late husband, Herman, sitting in the grass of the land his family knew as "granddad's forest."

"That's my keepsake," she said of her screensaver.

In 1982, Herman Sheets of Groton purchased an 86-acre parcel on Puttker Road. The established engineer and professor at the University of Rhode Island acquired it as an investment the same year he would marry Paulann.

Unt

The Day • 07/27/2021

North Stonington invests American Rescue Plan funds in community services

North Stonington — The Pawcatuck Neighborhood Center, Ledge Light Health District and North Stonington Volunteer Fire Company are among the beneficiaries of the first allocation of the town's American Rescue Plan funds.

The finance and selectmen boards agreed last week to distribute roughly $220,000 of the more than $768,000 the town is receiving from the rescue plan this year. The second half of the town's $1.5 million in relief will be received in June 2022.

The largest allocation — $165,000

The Day • 07/08/2021

The show must go on: 56th North Stonington Agricultural Fair opens despite storm

North Stonington — From contracting vendors to guaranteeing live entertainment, the North Stonington Agricultural Fair staff is in planning mode year-round. The one thing they couldn’t plan for this year, though, was Mother Nature.

The annual four-day fair kicked off Thursday night with attractions like tractor pulling, fair princess and queen contests, a performance by local rock band Alter Ego and, of course, amusement rides.

With Tropical Storm Elsa forecast to hit southeastern Connecticut

The Day • 06/29/2021

North Stonington budgets passed at second referendum

North Stonington — Residents approved the proposed school and town budgets for 2021-22 at a second referendum Monday.

The budgets totaled $21,081,830, a reduction of $103,878 from the initial budget rejected by voters.

Among the cuts were $934 in government operating costs and $9,500 in capital expenditures. The education budget was also decreased by $92,744 due to staffing changes, bringing the total increase to 1.13% over last year's budget. The Board of Finance previously recommended no mor

The Day • 06/27/2021

Congregational Church of North Stonington celebrates 300th anniversary

North Stonington – A traditional colonial-style service was held Sunday at the Congregational Church of North Stonington to celebrate its 300th anniversary.

The service reflected the practices in place when the church began in 1721. Men and women sat on opposite sides of the house of worship and musical instruments were not used throughout the proceedings. Attendees also dressed in colonial-style attire to recognize the period.

Parishioner Brian Hager served as a tithingman, a position used in

The Day • 06/22/2021

Carlson announces bid for North Stonington First Selectman

North Stonington — Selectman Bob Carlson has announced he will run for first selectman in November as a Republican candidate, with incumbent Mike Urgo not seeking reelection.

Carlson moved to town with his wife, Elizabeth “Bitsy” Carlson, and son Andrew in 2003. The family’s community involvement started shortly thereafter, when Carlson began volunteering as a T-ball coach in 2004. He went on to direct the town’s recreational basketball league for eight years and sat on the School Ad Hoc Commit

The Day • 06/20/2021

North Stonington launches weekly social services program with Pawcatuck Neighborhood Center

North Stonington – The town is partnering with the Pawcatuck Neighborhood Center to bring a new social services program to residents once a week.

The program runs every Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the town hall. A PNC representative is available during these hours to assist residents with questions regarding issues such as food insecurity, rental and mortgage assistance, fuel and energy assistance, SNAP and WIC benefits and senior concerns. The program does not require appointments.

First

The Day • 06/18/2021

Stonington High Class of 2021 ready to make history

Stonington — Spilled milk, WikiHow and cellular respiration were among the notable anecdotes shared Friday at Stonington High School’s commencement for the Class of 2021.

Valedictorian Taylor Donovan elected to address her classmates with cliches, after a stint with writer’s block led her to a Google search turning up a WikiHow article on “How to write a graduation speech.”

“Step two: Avoid cliches,” Donovan recalled. “... Why should I avoid cliches, and why can’t they be inspiring?”

In a tim

The Day • 06/16/2021

Wheeler High senior exemplifies community involvement, overcoming obstacles

North Stonington — Wearing a baseball cap, Carhartt hoodie and threadbare white pants, Hayden Leach unclipped a handheld Motorola pager from his belt.

“It’s 365, 24/7, whenever we get a call,” he explained.

The recent Wheeler High School graduate has been a member of North Stonington’s Volunteer Fire Department since he was 16.

Formerly of Montville, he would have had to wait until he turned 18 and underwent training to become a firefighter there. When his family moved to North Stonington dur

The Day • 06/12/2021

Local organic food brand founder remembered as 'a force of nature'

Carla Bartolucci, founder and CEO of Jovial Foods, a North Stonington-based organic food company, died May 22 at her home in Italy after a brief illness. She was 53.

Bartolucci and her husband, Rodolfo Viola, co-founded Jovial Foods in 2010 after their daughter was diagnosed with a gluten sensitivity. Already professionals in the organic food sector, they began researching possible solutions for their daughter's restricted diet, without compromising flavor and nutrition. They discovered einkorn