North Stonington Weekly Update 3-19-2021- Military Family Survey, World Water Day Monday, Highway Updates and More!
Another busy week comes to a close here in North Stonington.
Budget discussions continue as the Board of Finance will deliberate on the budgets presented to them by the Board of Education and Selectmen. Feel free to join any upcoming meetings where the budgets are discussed to let your voice be heard.
Speaking of meetings, the first meetings of our two newest sub-committees will take place this coming week. The Education Center subcommittee and Traffic Commission subcommittee will be holding their first meetings. The meetings will be posted as all meetings are on the town website. If you are interested in attending we encourage you to do-so.
This week the Highway crew was busy as usual. We cut trees on Fowler, Raven Wood, Hewitt, and Ryder roads. Millings were dug up at the transfer station and debris piles were pushed back. The transfer station bulky waste pile was filled with dirt and covered with millings for a clear dumping area. A parking post was fixed at the rec area. Sanders were washed and put away. Wooden guard posts were replaced on Chester Main and Princess Lane. Crack sealing began at the transfer station. Truck 42’s coolant leak was repaired. Next week the crew will continue to cut trees and clear water ways. Damaged catch basin tops throughout town will be repaired. Crack sealing will continue on needed roads. The electrical malfunction with the roller will be repaired. Truck 8’s filters will be replaced. Street sweeping will begin around town next week as well.
On Sunday March 21, 2021 starting at 9AM cleanup of the Hale # 70, Brown-Randall Cemetery will take place to remove brush and debris. If you are interested in helping with this effort, please contact Diane Preston - email - djdpreston16@gmail.com , text. 860-961-2580, or home phone 860-599-1832 or David Fede 860-535-0009. Gloves, hand tools, and tick spray are recommended.
The Chamber of Commerce of Eastern CT, in conjunction with our Military Affairs Council, is partnering with Association of Defense Communities (ADC’s) nationwide initiative, One Military, One Community to conduct a survey to better understand current sentiments about racial equality from the local military community. As a community with a proud tradition of supporting our military bases and institutions, it is important to understand local sentiments regarding Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and consider how we might advance our efforts in that regard. To gain important information, we are asking groups affiliated with the region’s military community to take this survey, which is open through March 26. The following audiences are being asked to take the survey: Military service members (Active duty, Reserves, National Guard), dependents, spouses, domestic partners, veterans, and Department of Defense civilians. We will be sharing the survey information with the local news media, local family readiness groups, military spouse networks, and other professional associations. Respondents are also encouraged to share this opportunity with anyone in their community or network as described above. To access a link to the online survey, visit ChamberECT.com/chamber-blog for “Survey gathers sentiments on racial equality in defense communities.” Survey respondents are encouraged to share this opportunity with anyone in the audience described above. Results of the survey will be compiled by ADC with the pro bono technical support of Booz Allen Hamilton and will be used to foster a healthy dialogue across the region on this relevant topic and also to form the basis for a subsequent community listening/discussion session(s).
Vaccine availability continues to expand as do the eligibility requirements for those who can receive the vaccine. In addition, there are new changes in capacity limits. For more information, please visit https://portal.ct.gov/coronavirus. We are hoping to start getting close to the end of this pandemic. Please continue to wear masks and keep distance to make sure we stop the spread as we reach the finish line.
Monday is World Water Day! Water is our most precious resource. There is a zoom meeting being held hosted by a variety of environmental groups at noon Monday. Please feel free to register to attend this event by clicking here.
Monday there will be a “drop in” at Hewitt Farm from 10:30-11:30am at the Pavilion for anyone who wants to chat with the First Selectman. Wear a coat and feel free to bring a chair if you would like. There are picnic tables on site. This will be a great opportunity to share feedback and discuss whatever you’d like to about our town.
That's it for today. Have a great week!