Author Archives: Hampton Gazette

RD#11 Budget Proposal

The Regional District #11 Board of Education has approved a 2024-2025 budget of $7,248,460, with an increase of $404,049. This is a 5.9% increase in the total cost of educating students at Parish Hill. Driving the increase of $371,369 are the costs of special education and outplaced special education students. This makes up 92% of the budget increase. We have no control over this increase because we are mandated to offer these services. Unfortunately, the current reimbursement rate from the Federal and State governments for these increases is inadequate.

Other items included in the increase:
• New chrome books to boost our technology for our students
• New textbooks/workbooks to continue to provide the best education for our students
• Fully funds all current staff for 2024-2025
• Fully funds our athletic program and co-curricular activities

This budget allows us to continue with the high quality of educational programs provided by Parish Hill High School. U.S. News & World Report 2024 Best Connecticut High Schools has us ranking 28 among the top 100 in the state.

The annual tri-town budget hearing will be held on Monday, May 6 at 7PM, followed by referenda in each of the three towns’ respective polling places on May 7.

James Connelly, Interim Superintendent Jobina Miller, Business Manager

Editor’s Note: Each member town is assessed per student enrollment. Hampton’s assessment for the FY2024-2025 budget proposal represents a $193,000 increase despite a decrease in enrollment from 55 to 54 students. Chaplin’s assessment will increase by $347,329, though their enrollment declined from 123 to 118 students. Only Scotland will realize a decrease in their assessment, by $184,157, due to a drop in enrollment from 76 to 60 students attending Parish Hill Middle/High School.

From the Registrars of Voters

The polls will be open on May 7 from noon to 8PM in the Community Room at Town Hall to decide the question: “Shall the budget of $7,248,460 for the operation and maintenance of the Regional School District 11 public school system (Parish Hill Middle/High School) for the fiscal year July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025 be approved?”

Registered voters and citizens listed on the October 2023 Grand List as owning at least $1000 worth of property are eligible to vote. Absentee ballots are available in the Town Clerk’s Office during regular hours, Tuesdays from 9AM to 4PM and Thursdays from 10AM to 7PM, up until the opening of the polls.

Dayna McDermott-Arriola and Sulema Perez-Pagan

Board of Education Found to Have Violated State Statute

A Report of the Freedom of Information Commission has concluded that the Hampton Elementary School Board of Education violated the Freedom of Information Act after evidence and testimony was presented at a Hearing on January 3, 2024.

The Hearing was conducted in response to a complaint filed on July 10, 2023 by board members Juan Arriola, Diane Gagnon and John Russell, who alleged that the board invited Superintendent Samantha Sarli into an Executive Session at a June 28, 2023 meeting without soliciting the testimony or opinion necessary to permit inclusion of anyone other than a school board member. Connecticut General Statute 1-231 states that: “At an executive session of a public agency, attendance shall be limited to members of said body and persons invited by said body to present testimony or opinion pertinent to matters before said body provided that such persons’ attendance shall be limited to the period for which their presence is necessary to present such testimony or opinion”.

Arriola, Gagnon and Russell alleged that the Superintendent attended the entire executive session without providing any testimony or opinion, which was confirmed at the Hearing by Board of Education Chairman Rose Bisson, member Maryellen Donnelly, and Sarli herself. The Report concluded that “the respondents violated the provisions of CGS1-231(a) when they permitted the superintendent to remain in attendance at the executive session for the entire duration of such executive session, without providing any testimony or opinion during such executive session.” The report recommends that “Henceforth, the respondents shall strictly comply with the executive session provisions of CGS1-231(a).”

At the June 28 meeting, Arriola objected to the superintendent’s inclusion in the executive session, which he has questioned many times, though the Minutes fail to mention this or any other of his objections.

This is the second complaint this year against the Board of Education alleging violations regarding executive sessions. An earlier complaint alleged that the Board of Education failed to post with sufficient specificity an executive session on the Agenda of a June 21, 2023 Special Meeting. The matter was resolved with an October 5, 2023 correspondence to the complainant from Chairman Bisson who acknowledged that the Agenda item of the June 21 executive session “did not meet the requirements of Freedom of Information,” adding that Agenda items “will be more descriptive to allow the public to know why the Board is entering executive session” in the future.

While Arriola represented the three complainants at the January 4 Hearing, the Board of Education was represented by their attorney. An FOI request for the legal expenses incurred has been sent to school officials.

Memorial Day Schedule

Pancake Breakfast at Congregational Church 8 – 9:30AM
Parade 9:30AM from Congregational Church
Grand Marshals—Angelika Hansen and Louise Russell
Ceremony, Speakers and Recognition of our Veterans at Town Hall 10AM
Burnham-Hibbard Museum Open House 11:30AM – 2PM
Chicken BBQ at the Community Center 11:30AM — 2PM
Barstool Diplomats in the Pavilion 11:30 – 2PM
Little River Naval Ceremony at the Hammond Hill Bridge NOON

Thumbs Up – Thumbs Down

Thumbs Up: to all of this month’s accolades! Though we usually reserve this space for one monthly acknowledgement, we have too many things deserving of recognition this month:

to the members of the Mennonite Believers Church who hosted the second (hopefully annual) ‘Soup and Salad’ event for a crowd of 350 very satisfied customers – a perfect bridge between winter’s warming soup, chowder and chili, and the fresh ingredients we look forward to this spring;

to the Fire Department, for maintaining the tradition of the Annual Ham and Bean Dinner on May 11, another of our favorite feasts;

to the dedicated crew of parents and children from Hampton, Brooklyn and neighboring towns who volunteered to clean, rake and till the baseball field at Town Hall – almost as rewarding to watch as the Little League games played there;

to the Memorial Day Committee, comprised of volunteers who have been meeting for months to organize the parade, the ceremonies, and the activities that make our town’s commemoration of Memorial Day memorable every year;

to the Recreation Commission for sponsoring the Annual Arbor Day celebration, this year at the Fletcher Memorial Library; and to the elementary school students who participated with poems and songs;

to the Senior Club for offering multiple programs, such as games and paint classes, after the culmination of the monthly luncheons that delivered scrumptious and nutritious meals and the opportunity of one another’s company;

and last but certainly far from least, to Diane Gagnon and Peter Witkowski, the kitchen wizards who planned, prepared and served luncheons we would expect at four-star restaurants for over five years. Thank you, for the delicious meals and for bringing us all together.

Thumbs Down: to the continual accidents on Route 6, one which recently resulted in a fatality. Please exercise extreme caution along this dangerous corridor.

Our Rural Heritage: The Village Museum The Burnham-Hibbard House

The series this last year has centered on our village’s treasures , our churches, our schools, the General Store, Fletcher Memorial Library, the Little River Grange, and the stately homes which reflect historical and architectural times, from colonial New England to the Victorian era, and have served as residences for ministers and a governor, as year round small farms and summer homes. One of these houses might not be as grand as some of its neighbors, but its importance is in its contents.

The Burnham-Hibbard House is our town’s museum. With the exception of a few donated period pieces, the museum displays items exclusively from Hampton, such as the original Town Clerk’s desk, or with some connection to Hampton. As such, it serves as “Hampton’s Attic.” It is a virtual treasure trove of history, and of generosity.

Our earliest records show that the empty lot where the museum is situated was purchased in 1834 by Charles C. Button. Born in 1788 and admitted as a “freeman” in Hampton in 1814, Mr. Button was a prominent citizen and business man in town. In 1835, Thomas Neff, Jr. built a house on the property for Mr. Button to rent to tenants. Button himself lived in the home across from the Congregational Church which we know as “the parsonage”, remaining in Hampton for the rest of his life and passing away in 1877. The property was rented, and then owned, by Hampton native Joel Searles and his wife Lydia Flint, whose money was principally used to purchase it, from 1853 to 1882. Mr. Searles practiced his trade as a harness maker here, the small building in back of the museum serving as his shop. After the couple’s death, the property passed to their heirs from 1882 to 1897.

Significant changes to the house occurred during the ensuing years and ownership of the Burnham family, starting with Mary Estelle Burnham who owned the property from 1897 to1904. Her estate passed to William H. Burnham, who owned the property from 1904 to 1918. In 1912, the addition on the south side of the house was built to accommodate a dining room for the boarders, the residence serving as a boarding house year round and particularly during the era of “the summer colony”, when Hampton was a summer destination for wealthy families living in cities like Hartford and Providence. Many of the “summer” homes were on Main Street, with its easy access to Bigelow Lake and its recreational activities. The more modest Burnham home housed folks less affluent than the summer visitors who could afford to say at the Chelsea Inn, teachers, for example, and those who worked for the wealthy families.
The property was owned by Mary A. McMahon from 1918 to1945 and by Mildred Burnham Hibbard from 1945 to1974, when she donated it to the Hampton Antiquarian and Historical Society.

The Society itself was organized in 1967 with charter members to include almost everyone in town – Burr, Curry, Davis, Estabrooks, Fuller, Halbach, Loew, Moon, Ostby, Rodriguez, Stone, Teale – the list of members represent the surnames of some of the town’s “founding fathers”, families who still live here, and many people we remember. With the acquisition of the Burnham Hibbard House, the Society was able to expand its mission: “…to bring together those people interested in history, and especially in the history of the Hampton area; to discover and collect any material which may help to establish and illustrate the history of the area, its exploration, settlement, development, and activities in peace and in war; its progress in population, wealth, education, arts, science, agriculture, manufacturing, trade and transportation; to provide for the preservation of such material and for its accessibility, as far as may be feasible, to all who wish to examine and study it…”

The Burnham Hibbard House is a Sturbridge-Village style display. The original home was small and modest. The front room, which serves as an entrance for visitors, would have been the kitchen as evidenced by its fireplace. The walls are beautifully stenciled, based on a design at the Arkell’s house, often referred to as the Jaworski’s, and for the oldest generation, the Burnham’s. The stencil design in this dark red colonial at 131 Main Street represents the right period for the Burnham-Hibbard house. The stenciling could have been the work of an itinerant artist who was boarding there. The southwest room at the rear now presents as a “modern” kitchen with a wood-burning cast iron stove and stone sink, and a pantry with crockery and china.

The two downstairs rooms on the north side of the house represent a parlor, where Mark and Bev Davis serenade visitors at Christmas time, and a bedroom with a rope bed and a quilted banner which was stitched to commemorate the nation’s bi-centennial celebration in 1976. Artist Pat Donahue created the picture of the Pearl Farm on the Little River, and her mother, Alice Dino, selected the material, piecing the cloth together with Jeanne Kavanagh, who transported it to individuals and quilting groups over the course of the year it took to complete; their signatures are embroidered on the back. The banner was part of our 4th of July parade and the State parade, and was displayed at the Willimantic Textile Museum before returning “home”.

The addition on the south was recently redecorated to reflect more accurately the period and its use. Originally displayed as a formal, Victorian parlor, replete with dark, brocade curtains, it has been refurbished to represent its probable appearance in 1912, simple and informal: this is where the boarders dined. Sunday morning breakfast, for example, consisted of “codfish balls and maple syrup”.

The upstairs rooms, which were originally the boarders’ small bedrooms, now contain displays of period clothing and children’s school books and toys. One room is dedicated to paintings of Hampton artists, and the staircase and hallway are lined with old photographs of Hampton and a glass case displaying different exhibits. At Christmas time, for example, the case has contained antique and vintage bells, ornaments, and Santa Clauses on loan from Hampton neighbors. Christmas trees decorated by residents once graced the museum during its annual Open House; now Santa comes to visit every year.

 

Exhibits are not limited to the house. The building which we commonly call “the barn” was actually a carriage house and home to two horses. It is now used to display “domestic industries” — farm equipment, a broom making machine, a threshing machine, spinning wheels, and a recent treasure, a two-hundred-year-old loom, generously donated by Peggy Fox’s daughters, Dorothy and Carolyn. Relocating it required a community effort, and the Society has photographs documenting every step of the process. The loom was originally assembled inside the attic of the home. Stan Crawford and Peter Witkowski painstakingly disassembled the loom, which was held together with wooden pegs instead of nails. Vernon King , Noah Copp and Eric Martin carried it down the narrow staircase, and Stan, Peter, Jo Freeman and Sue Hochstetter put the loom together again in the carriage house.

Both the carriage house and the museum will be open on Memorial Day from 11:30AM to 2PM with curators present. Please visit. Take a moment in our commemorations of veterans and those who lost their lives at war, to step into another facet of Hampton’s past, another example of community, to appreciate the generosity, in the items and the efforts, of our neighbors in their preservations and gifts to us.

May–June Top Shelf Gallery

The May- June Show at the Top Shelf Gallery will be “Natural Beauty” featuring landscapes, florals and figurative pieces by Stacey Gendreau. Gendreau was raised on a dairy farm in Ashford, and has retained a love for the outdoors, which she expresses in both painting and woodworking. She first came to love art through high school art and woodworking classes. Later she received a more formal education, first from Pat Donahue and later from Virginia O’Brien, both local artists.

Although she started out in acrylics, Gendreau now works mostly with oil on canvas and particularly enjoys painting the natural world. She works primarily from her own photographs, carefully considering the base colors and then building layer upon layer to capture images in a photo realistic style.

Gendreau worked for many years at both Windham and Backus Hospitals and has for 27 years been a volunteer EMT for Hampton and Chaplin. She sees attention to detail as key “whether in dealing with a medical emergency or creating a work of art”. As emergency medicine is a high pressure job, she finds peace in art and nature. “For me my small art studio is at times a place to focus on my art and other times a spiritual sanctuary. When in my studio, working on an art project, the stresses and worries of daily life can gradually fade into the background.”

Besides painting, Gendreau builds furniture to her own designs, using many traditional hand tools. She sees both her painting and her furniture as a way to connect to the natural world. “When I paint images of Native Americans and nature,” she says, “I feel a closer bond to Mother Earth, and a more harmonious way of living. Long walks alone in the woods ground me and allow me later on to feel one with the wood when working with it.”

Janice Trecker

JANICE TRECKER: The Fletcher Memorial Library’s Public Relations Powerhouse

Meet Janice Trecker, a dedicated long-term volunteer at the Fletcher Memorial Library who handles 95% of the library’s Public Relations efforts. From creating posters to sending out press releases to various media outlets, Janice ensures that the community is well-informed about library events and services. Her responsibilities also include maintaining the library’s website, which she built, and its social media presence.

Janice’s journey with the library began when Louise Oliver was the librarian. Although Louise assured her this would entail minimal effort, Janice wound up serving as the board’s secretary for nine years. She was also part of the team that affixed barcodes to each book, a necessity for digitizing the library’s collection.

In addition to her volunteer work, Janice is a talented mystery novelist and short story writer, with an impressive 20 plus books to her name. As a newer Hampton resident I found her book: Discovering Hampton—A Connecticut Town, for the Hampton Antiquarian & Historical Society– a very interesting read.

Janice earned a BA in Philosophy from Syracuse University and her doctorate in English Literature from UConn. She was an adjunct in the UConn English Department for 20 years and wrote a number of scholarly papers as well as contemporary fiction and mysteries.
Now that she is retired, Janice can paint, play her violin, garden, and bird watch. She has stopped writing novels, but still publishes short stories and mystery blogs. Writing runs in the family. Her husband Jerry covered sports for the Hartford Courant for fifty years, many of those while teaching high school English. Their son Jamie, currently managing a brewery, has worked as an editor and sports writer and, like his parents, is a published author.

Janice’s move to Hampton 36 years ago was a serendipitous event for the library and the community at large, as her talents and dedication have significantly enhanced the library’s outreach and impact.

The Fletcher Memorial Library board of trustees extends heartfelt gratitude to Janice for her time and talents in promoting the library’s services and programs. She is not just a volunteer; she is a treasured asset to our community.

Andrea Kaye

Arbor Day 2024

Town and school officials and staff, students, parents and residents gathered together to celebrate Arbor Day with the planting of a new tree on the lawn of Fletcher Memorial Library. Amelanchier ‘Canadensis’, also known as “June berry”, “service berry” and “shadblow” is a native tree with snow-flake like flowers in the spring, summer fruits, and brilliant autumn foliage.

Bruce Spaman was once again the “Master of Ceremonies” of a program which included stories and poems from elementary school students, speeches from representatives of Eversource and Goodwin State Forest, and a Proclamation read by Selectmen Bob Grindle and John Tillinghast. Mr. Spaman thanked Fletcher Memorial Library, the Recreation Commission, the boards of Selectmen and Education, the Conservation Commission, and the Department of Public Works for their contributions to the program, and the Willimantic Food Co-op and North Windham Walmart for their donations to the children’s “goodie bags” which contained tree-related items. Each child also left with a Kousa dogwood sapling to plant.

The World We Live In: The Farm Girl

I met Doris a bit over a year ago and was immediately taken by her charm and generosity. A born and bred farm girl, clean through to the bone. A bit on the plump side, her loose limbs would sometimes fly wide from her body as she hustled from task to task on her farm, her purposeful stride giving a certain come hither sway to her hips. Her mouth is slightly narrow with lips perpetually pursed. Her full firm breasts were of the sort that excites the appetite of growing boys at the dinner table. During breaks between her various tasks around her farm she has a habit of preening – she IS, after all, a girl. It matters little if she is the sort that poses by the patio pool or plunges into the pasture pond, a girl is still a girl.

Not just a striking figure, Doris is a disciple of the small independent family farm and possesses a soaring knowledge of diet and nutrition. And when she got started on the subject of duck eggs there was no stopping her.

Ewww. Yuck. Duck eggs.

Not so fast there, Pilgrim, said Doris. We’re not talking about balut here. We’re talking about an egg with a major nutrition and flavor advantage over both commercially produced and organic free-range chicken eggs. I was caught. I just had to get comfortable and let her impromptu lesson take flight:

The first difference you will notice, says Doris, between commercially farmed and free-range eggs is the color and texture of the yoke. Yokes from free-range eggs are thick and have a bright yellow to orange color and are rich in antioxidants. In contrast, waste products in the grains used in commercial farming result in a watery pale yellow yoke with a much lower antioxidant content. How’s that for yuck?

The list of nutritional advantage of free-range over commercial eggs is extensive.

Then consider the fact that duck eggs are nutritionally superior in almost all categories to even organic, free-range chicken eggs– providing nearly three times more iron and Omega-3. Duck eggs are nutritional superstars — true winners. There are few, if any, commercial producers of duck eggs, which means, if you can find duck eggs they are in all likelihood organic free-range. Duck eggs are, in my opinion, a super food available almost exclusively at your local farm stand.

Concerned about cholesterol? Cholesterol only comes from meat. As a rule of thumb every ounce of meat you consume contains 25 milligrams of cholesterol. Red meat, chicken and fish, organ meat, shell fish, and dairy products (full fat) are all significant sources of dietary cholesterol.
Blood cholesterol – the cholesterol your doctor wags his finger at — is produced in the liver and triggered by consumption of saturated fats and transfats. Dietary cholesterol (consumed cholesterol) has very little effect on blood cholesterol levels. The natural way to manage cholesterol is to limit your intake of saturated fats and transfats. Omega 3 is highly unsaturated fat. Omega 3 is also a natural anti-inflammatory. How’s that arthritis doing anyway? If you’re concerned about cholesterol, that porterhouse, not the egg, is you enemy.

“Well,” I asked, “If duck eggs are so awesome, why aren’t they more readily available?”

There are a number of reasons duck eggs fell out of favor after WWII, including the slow decline of the small independent family farm and victory gardens. My favorite, though, is ducks can be an unruly mob with the personalities of sugared-up teenagers. Rather than in a nest, like children and laundry, they are prone to dropping their eggs wherever the mood and convenience strikes them. This creates a contest between the farmer and the fox as to who’s having eggs for breakfast. Perhaps that’s how the tradition of the Easter egg hunt got its start.

As always, use moderation in all things. Variety is the spice of life. Maintain a balanced diet for good health. Excessive consumption of any particular food item is unwise. Likewise avoiding a highly nutritious food item because it sounds icky, well, that just quacks me up.

I don’t think Doris took a single breath through the entire course of her impromptu lesson. Having sat through her lecture I felt duty-bound to at least try one of her sacred eggs. I now love duck eggs. I didn’t know I loved duck eggs until Doris laid down the gauntlet and I tried one last year. I now eat duck eggs on a regular basis when they are available.

I may regret sharing my current source but I get my duck eggs from the same place I get my maple syrup — The farmer in the dell, and a duck named Doris – on the corner of Old Kings Hwy and Hemlock Glen. Better get there early.

Disclaimer: This interview was intended for information only. It is neither dietary nor medical advice. For your particular genetic, metabolic, nutrition and health, issues and questions consult your doctor… unless your doctor is a quack.

Uncle Grumpus