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From the First Selectman's Desk

Posted on: February 16, 2024 - 11:43pm
News from the First Selectman

Snow on Tuesday, blanketed Deep River and seemed to have all taking pause, as cars were cleaned, driveways shoveled, and roads plowed. Walking to work in that winter wonderland scene was so pretty and so quiet. Thank you to all who heeded the parking ban on the town’s roadways; it certainly helped the state highway crews and our own public works department in clearing the sidewalks and roads.

winter street

It was so fun to see the photos sent in of the snowman and snow creations that some of our Deep River families built while home on a snow day.  The Parks and Recreation Department as well as my office received photos. We will try to get them all published in the next town newsletter.

What’s Happening:

Tonight-Java Groove @ Landing and Main @8pm.
Coming Up:
Deep River Historical Society-presents an interesting program called Tories, Spies, and Traitors: Divided Loyalty in Revolutionary Connecticut. March 7th @ 7:00pm.
 
Deep River Chester Little League is holding a Munson candy fundraiser. What a delicious way to support this youth organization serving Deep River and Chester ball players. The sale will run through 3/17/24. Place orders by visiting the web page https://www.munsonschocolates.com/online-fundraising/deep-river-chester-little-leaguect-1/
Orders will be ready around 3/25/24.
 
Deep River Public Library has some exciting programs coming up. Check out their web site for all the details. One coming up next Saturday, 2/24 is a short play performed by the Grove School Children’s Theater Troupe. They will be performing 'The Day The Crayons Quit' @ 10:30am. This is a free program.
 
DRES PTO has a few things in the works. The 6th grade class is raising money with the help of the PTO and the local non-profit, Call to Care Uganda, to bring clean water to many that don’t have access, by helping to fund the drilling of a well. If you would like to help support their cause, of “Kids Helping Kids-DRES Well Project”, please donate through their gofundme page (Helping Kids-DRES Well Project )
 

They also are planning a Tip-A-Teacher night @ Marker 37 on Wednesday March 13th from 5-8 pm. All proceeds will go to two great causes; The Nest Coffee House and the Deep River Fire Department. Save the date and plan to come down for dinner.

DRES is celebrating their school spirit by selling fleece blankets. The patterned picnic blankets are red and black and can be purchased on-line at blankets. They make great gifts and are great to keep you cozy during these winter months.  Show your school spirit.

Out of Town but not too far away….Sunday, from 1-3 pm, head over to down town Chester for the popular Tractor Parade and Chili Sale. It will be a lot of fun and there will be much delicious food to choose from, but make sure you stop by the Chester Hose Company. They will be selling their famous award-winning chili and cornbread. Pick up a bowl or try their pulled pork. It supports a good cause.

Teen Creative Crawl coming to SOMA (South Main Street Art Collective) on Friday, April 19th. This program is offered to teens ages 12 and up. Participants will create fusion glass with River Fire Glass; take a yoga class with River valley dance and make a candle with Shell & Bee Studio. This program is being co-sponsored by Tri Town Youth services as well as Middlesex United way. To register please call 860-322-3986 or email to somadeepriver@gmail.com

Board of Education Happenings: All school information can be found on the Region 4 web site: Home - Regional School District #4 (reg4.k12.ct.us)

  • Public meeting to discuss the expenditure of 5.8 million dollars for cleanup of John Winthrop will be held on Wednesday evening, Feb 21st @ 7:00pm @ Valley Regional in the library/media center. Please plan to come and hear what is planned and offer your voice. JWMS Building Updates (google.com).
  • Joint BOE meeting will be held on Thursday evening, Feb 22nd @ 6:30 pm.
  • Supervision District- Feb 22nd @ 6:00 pm.
  • DRES BOE, Wednesday, February 28th @ 6:00 pm.
The week in review: 
Monday evening, I listened in on a BOE supervision district meeting. They presented their budget and took questions from the audience. Items in that budget include a facilities director, pre-school teachers, and much more. Check out the Region 4 web page for all of the details. Due to the storm, Tuesday was a quiet day here at the Town Hall. We opened at noon, but I was here early and watched as the downtown area came to life after the roads and parking lots were cleared. By about 1:00 pm, the hustle and bustle had returned. The BOS meeting was canceled so a special BOS meeting will be held on 2/20 @ 6pm. Wednesday we held a staff meeting and got updates from each of the department heads. You will notice a change in personnel in the building department as Paula, who serves as the assistant town clerk, will also lend her talents to the building department.

The assessor’s office reported that they will begin to accept applications for the elderly/disabled renters’ rebate program soon. Please call the office for more information or to see if you qualify.  Parks and Recreation reported on some upcoming events and programs. The Spring Egg Hunt will be held before Easter. The date and time will be announced shortly. A bus trip to NYC is being planned as well as a middle school summer camp. Check back often to their web page so you don’t miss a thing. The town clerk mentioned that early voting is being offered this year in CT. It will begin with the presidential preference primary coming up in late March. The registrars are working closely with the Secretary of State’s office to set up early voting here. More information will be announced as we get closer. I finished the week off attending a Regional Emergency Planning team meeting for the State’s DEMHS (Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security) Region 2. DEMHS Region 2 is comprised of 30 towns and cities located in the south-central portion of the state.  

Update from the Animal Control Officer:
I offer these words on behalf of our animal control officer, Caroline Fountain, who has done a remarkable job tending to all of the dogs, and chickens seized from the Bushy Hill kennel a few weeks ago. She wanted me to convey her gratitude for all of the donations that have come in and for all of the interest in adopting a dog or puppy from the pound. The town has now officially taken ownership of the dogs and will begin the adoption process. Please fill out an adoption form on the town of Essex web page and she will be in touch. She will be posting photos of the dogs and descriptions sometime next week. If you called my office and spoke to Tina who put your name on a list, you should have been notified to fill out an application. Everyone interested in adoption, must fill out the application. The ACO has the list, so she will be reaching out to those first. Animal Control | Essex CT

 

Deep River Sustainable Committee: A shout out to the Deep River Sustainable Committee, who has been doing such amazing work to help Deep River implement best practices to move towards being more sustainable. We still are facing a trash crisis here and, in our country, so thank you to all who are doing your part to reduce your trash. Recycle, reuse, donate and compost. The group has started the food scrap program and the collection of thin plastics; by keeping all of this extra weight out of what we haul, saves the town money and helps the planet. The thin plastics are collected by a dedicated group of 5-6 volunteers weekly from 5 locations around town. They weigh it, and then transport it in their personal vehicles down to Stop and Shop in Old Saybrook. For every 500lbs. collected, the town receives a free bench made by Trek. To date, we have received 2 benches; one is here at town hall and the other is at the transfer station. Thank you so much to these ‘thin plastics elves’; your hard work is making a difference. However, this process is not sustainable. The newly formed Transfer Station Advisory Committee will be asked to find a better way to achieve our desired goal of recycling thin plastics without the strain on a few individuals.  Here we see volunteers Tom Groth and Kathy David with a truck load ready to go.

thinplastic

Reminder: The food scraps program continues at the transfer station; all residents should use Bpi compostable bags. As I have stated previously, if you can’t find any locally, my research found some at Home Depot and on Amazon (Amazon.com : bpi compostable bags ) at about 0.21-0.23 cent a bag for the 2-3 gallon size. If you still have some of the ‘free’ green bags that you were given as part of the Pilot program, feel free to use those. However, Please do not use black bags of any size!   

Town Events:
  • Start training for a 5K, so you can “Catch a Leprechaun” running the Region 4 Education Foundation Inc.’s, 5K Run/Walk on March 16th. The race kicks at 10:00 am from the Essex Town Hall. To register and learn more go to https://runsignup.com
  • Remember to purchase your tickets for the Valley Regional High School Musical production of the “Wizard of Oz”.  Performances are 3/15 @ 7 pm; 3/16 1pm & 7pm & 3/17 @ 1pm. Tickets can be purchased at Celebrations and at VRHS. All tickets are $15.00.  

Finally, Jane Moen, Executive Director of The Nest, has announced her retirement. She has done so much for the community by bringing her vision of creating a safe space for neurodiverse youth and young adults to land, to fruition. We wish you all the best Jane, and thank you for enriching our Deep River community.  

Enjoy the weekend. 

Carol