A multiphase plan for the Columbia Community Garden which is now entering its second season. (Image from the community garden brochure.)

Love to garden? Interested in growing your own food? Looking for a way to spend more time with your children?

For these and many other reasons, you may be interested in renting a plot in the Columbia Community Garden that has been created at the Szegda Farm.

There are several kinds of plots available this year, including

• individual plots ranging from 10-by-20 feet to 25-by-20 feet
• 50-by-50 “cooperative” plots that are worked together by four families or gardeners
• a “cooperative berry patch”
• and a Peace Garden plot

There is a modest fee that varies with the kind of plot you choose to lease, starting at $25.

You can learn more about how this community garden works, what the rules are, and more by picking up an information packet in the recreation office (860-228-8513) at Columbia Town Hall.

Don’t procrastinate, because space is limited and the deadline to submit your application is April 1 - and applications will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis. (A waiting list will also be kept on file.)

The fee for the size plot you would like must be paid at the time of registration.

An application form is available on the Columbia town Web site at http://www.columbiact.org

After buying this open space parcel from the Szegda family, in 2008 voters accepted a Szegda Farm Management Plan that defines three main goals:

• to conserve and enhance the farm’s diverse natural resources;
• to maintain the cultural history of the property;
• and to allow for recreational opportunities for the general public.

A community garden meets these goals - and it can be used to as an educational resource to learn new backyard gardening and farming techniques, as well as make new connections with other town residents… and put some wholesome food on the table.

Bob Ulkus, a resident of Columbia, is the volunteer coordinator of the Columbia Community Garden. He sets the opening date of the garden each spring based on weather and site conditions and stakes out the garden plots after the spring tilling has taken place.

He can be reached via email at columbiactgarden@gmail.com

This is the second season for the Columbia Community Garden. It currently can accommodate up to 8 garden plots (minimum size of 10-by-20 feet per plot) for individual gardeners, a cooperative plot for approximately 4 families and 2 senior partners, as well as a cooperative berry patch.

Options for a cooperative perennial bed and a Peace Garden for community giving will be made available to participating gardeners.

Posted March 18, 2010

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Donnell Leahy and Natalie MacMaster are 'Masters of the Fiddle' at Jorgensent Center for the Performing Arts on March 19-20. Photo courtesy of MacMaster and Leahy

Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy, two of the world’s most celebrated fiddlers, also happen to be married. Together, these Masters of the Fiddle will create a whirlwind of Celtic music, dance, and song at 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, March 19 and 20 at Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts on the UConn campus.

The foot-tapping rave-ups, heart-wrenching ballads, and world-class step dancing of this Celtic collaboration will leave you breathless.

In the blood

Donnell Leahy is eldest of the eight musically talented siblings of the Canadian powerhouse that bears the family name.

Each of the Leahy children learned to play fiddle from their father. Their mother, a champion step-dancer, taught them to sing, dance and play piano in their rural Ontario home.

Donnell’s Irish background is evident in his fiddling, which is also mixed with influences from Quebec and Cape Breton.

Natalie MacMaster’s impressive musical lineage includes her uncle, prodigy Buddy MacMaster, and the great Canadian folk icon John Allan Cameron, and she is firmly grounded in the Cape Breton style.

However, she began to forge her own sound with a concert debut at age nine-and-a-half.

Together, MacMaster and Leahy’s music combines the influence of their Irish and Scottish roots with their inherent desire for new sounds.

Cabaret seating

The concert is presented cabaret-style with light dinner fare and dessert ($3-$10; cash bar), and the best entertainment around in a candlelit nightclub setting.

Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets are $34, $38 and $45.

For more information, call the Box Office between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday at 860.486.4226. You can also order online at jorgensen.uconn.edu. Enjoy free parking across the street in the North Garage.

Posted March 17, 2010

Tea Party supporters Marilyn Alden from Hebron, Lisa Napolitano from Columbia and George Alden, Marilyn Alden’s husband, standing at the intersection of Jackson and Main streets in Willimantic. Al Malpa photo

Tea party demonstrators Marilyn Alden from Hebron, Lisa Napolitano from Columbia and George Alden, Marilyn Alden’s husband, standing at the intersection of Jackson and Main streets in Willimantic Tuesday afternoon [March 16]  waving at passersby.

They said they were getting plenty of honks and waves.

The Aldens went to the Tea Party Rally in Washington, D.C., in September and plan to go to another rally in Norwich with Napolitano April 15.

They said they don’t support any particular candidate, but just want people to be informed about issues and choices.

Posted March 17, 2010

Have something to say? A photo to share? Address a Letter to the Editor and send reader photos - along with phone number - to Brenda Sullivan, HTNP.com Editor at eheditor@htnp.com

The cost for tickets that are purchased in advance is $4.50 each for adults, $4 for seniors and $2.50 for children. Tickets bought at the door will cost 50 cents more.

As an extra treat, there will also be a silent auction with numerous items donated by local businesses.

For tickets or information, call (860) 228-0650.

Posted March 17, 2010

Got news? Want to publicize an event? Send your information to Brenda Sullivan at eheditor@htnp.com at least two days before the event.

Emergency workers respond to the crash that occurred at Route 32 and 207 on March 16. Photo by Al Malpa

No one was injured in a two-car accident at the intersection of routes 32 and 207 on Tuesday, March 16.

The accident occurred just before 5 p.m., when a Chrysler 300M traveling northbound along Route 32 struck a Ford Focus heading south.

Elsie Spoust, 77, of Lebanon, who driving the Chrysler and Richard R. Napolitano, 49, and Lisa Napolitano, 47, both from Columbia and in the Ford, were not injured.

Posted March 17, 2010

When asked how he felt, the 11-year-old Max Moore said, “I feel happy.”
Winning didn’t matter. He was already a winner.

That was a common theme heard Saturday with Max Moore being one of 180 athletes participating in the 31st annual Windham Special Olympics Invitational Swim Meet at Windham High School.

Max Moore was one of more than 20 athletes on the Wellesley STARS, one of three teams from Massachusetts participating in the meet.

His father, one of the team’s coaches, said Max has been swimming since the age of 3 and competing for two years. “He’s a water baby,” Curtis Moore said.
Moore’s team practices every Sunday night for a little more than an hour and started practicing in January.

“It’s incredible, as much challenges as they have, putting them in the water,” Curtis Moore said. “It’s just a different world.”

Curtis Moore, who has been coaching his team for two years, said the toughest event for the Special Olympians is the backstroke.

“They don’t like the idea of hitting the wall when you can’t see it,” he said.
In addition to traditional events, Special Olympians competed in events designed for athletes with physical limitations, including walking and flotation races.

“Those are some of the most exciting events we have,” said Charles Wynn, director of the meet.

Athletes from ages 8 to 65 participated in the swim meet. In addition, 20 of the athletes at the meet didn’t swim, but participated in the sports clinics.

Regardless of their activity, all were delighted to be a part of the experience.

“It’s only one day to us, but to them, it’s the biggest thing in the world,” said Geri White, on-site coordinator and one of the co-founders of the event.

“You could feel the joy rising from them.”

Otto Plank, 12, of Weston, Mass., was another athlete seen enjoying the festivities. Plank was dancing in the gymnasium with some of the other athletes and volunteers.

“He loves to dance,” said Janie Plank, Otto’s mother.

Plank, one of Moore’s teammates on the Wellesley STARS, participated in three swimming events: the 50-meter freestyle, 50-meter backstroke and the freestyle relay.

Plank placed second in the 50-meter freestyle and has participated in state competitions before. Despite his success as a competitive swimmer, Plank isn’t concerned with winning.

“He said, ‘It’s not about winning. It’s about doing your best,’” Janie Plank said.
Janie Plank said her son wears a bathing cap like Olympic hero Michael Phelps, which is unusual for male swimmers.

“He wants to be like Michael Phelps or a Navy Seal,” Plank said.

As usual, there was overwhelming support from the community at this year’s event.

White said at least 360 volunteers confirmed by phone and they had to close the event to walk-ins.

“It’s encouraging to see so many volunteers,” said Denise Rzeznikiewicz of Killingly, who has been volunteering at the event so long, she couldn’t even specify how many years it had been.

Rzeznikiewicz and her granddaughter, Rachell Basley, were in charge of timing the swimming events.

Basley, participating in the event for the second time, got involved through her grandmother and found the experience to be “very rewarding.”

This year’s event was dedicated to Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who founded the precursor to the Special Olympics in 1962 and died last August at the age of 88.

“It doesn’t happen just because of one person,” said U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, one of many honored guests who attended the swim meet. “It focuses on so many lives and changes.”

Although local public works employees have been responding to downed tree limbs and other debris blocking roadways, the southwest corner of the state was hit hardest by the storm.

The Connecticut Chapter of the American Red Cross has responded to waterlogged Fairfield County residents without power by opening warming centers and emergency shelters.

Centers and shelters have been opened in Greenwich, New Canaan, Norwalk, Stamford and Westport.

Despite the worst parts of the storm, local residents still faced torrential downpours and reported wind gusts of nearly 35 piles per hour. The wind was greater in southwest Connecticut, with near hurricane-level gusts reported.

Route 32 in Willington was closed between Plain Road and Village Road early Sunday morning due to a tree on power lines, said state Department of Transportation officials.

The DOT advised residents to drive cautiously and attentively because of poor weather and road conditions.

DOT officials said the storm is causing “unfavorable driving conditions.”

A man, who did not identify himself in the Mansfield public works garage, said this morning crews have cleared a few down branches, but there has not been too much damage.

“There are a few down,” he said this morning. “Nothing really important.”

Connecticut Light & Power and DOT officials have been working to restore power and clear roadways since the storm calmed.

As of 8 this morning, more than 55,000 CL&P customers were reported without power. These estimates are down from the nearly 85,000 people who reported power outages through Sunday evening.

Some of those customers include local residents in Ashford, Andover, Columbia, Coventry, Hebron, Lebanon, Mansfield and Willington.

Approximately 211 residents in those towns were still without power this morning, according to CL&P’s web site this morning.

CL&P officials said it may take several days to restore power across the state, but it has been working hard to address these outages.

“As we are in the process of determining the full magnitude of storm damage due to the significant rain and damaging high winds, we are not providing exact restoration projections,” said CL&P officials in a press release.

The Task 9 Search & Rescue dogs are among the favorites returning for the 20th annual Hebron Maple Festival - now scheduled for March 20-21. File photo © by Brenda Sullivan – Hebron Maple Festival 2009.

The number of times the Hebron Maple Fest has been canceled due to bad weather can be counted on one hand - or maybe even just a few fingers. One winter, the event was called by the State Police who feared the roads were too slippery - and after all the vendors and civic groups had packed up to go home, the sun came out and everything melted.

This year, the 20^th annual Hebron Maple Fest has been postponed from March 13-14 to March 20-21 because of forecasts of heavy rains and wind gust of up to 50 mph.

This enormously popular festival normally draws thousands of people not only from around the state, but from as far as Massachusetts, Rhode Island and even that state famous for its own maple syrup, Vermont.

It is an old-fashioned, down home event where you can buy a box of Girl Scout cookies, enjoy a cheeseburger cooked over a flaming grill by a red-faced and smiling member of the American Legion accompanied by a bowl of chili made by volunteers from the VFW Post 8776.

You can catch up on your reading at the book sale sponsored by the Friends of the Douglas Library, and then begin your tour of the more than 40 events on the two-day schedule.

Of course, at the center of the whole event is the self-guided tour of the sugar shacks where visitors can see how it’s done, and if they like, purchase a supply of locally “brewed” maple syrup. Some of the sugar shack owners also will share their tips on cooking with the sweet brown stuff.

And there will be plenty of maple-this and maple-that to eat, from maple cotton candy to homemade maple cake with ice cream.

Among those events that regulars look forward to will be the Shack Out Back chainsaw carver, the Siberian Husky dogs, the quilt show at the Hebron Historical Society (the old town hall, next to the Douglas Library), the Task 9 Search & Rescue dogs, (as well as the greyhound rescue and the Fidelco Guide Dogs), the child ID program, the blacksmith demonstration at Country Carpenters and the ice cream-eating contest.

Local art studios also open their doors for tours.

New this year are free H1N1 vaccinations, “Intro to African Rhythm” presented by AHM Youth Services, a “buy-a-brick” scavenger hunt, a demonstration of “letterboxing” (another kind of scavenger hunt very popular with hikers), and a tour of historic churches.

A complete listing of events for both Saturday and Sunday, as well as a map and directions, can be downloaded from the Hebron Maple Festival Web site at http://www.hebronmaplefest.com/

Proceeds are used for program scholarships. Last year, three to summer theater programs and three to the Hebron Park & Recreation summer camp.

Posted March 13, 2010

It is a true story penned by Ronald Winter, of Hebron, who will launch hold a book-signing on Saturday, March 13 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Douglas Library in Hebron.

Winter’s mother, Ella, was admitted to a hospital in New York in 2008 because she was dehydrated, feverish and suffering a potassium deficiency that affected her mental state.

Two other family members used that false diagnosis to try to commit Ella Winter to an Alzheimer’s facility and have themselves named as guardians of her assets, although she didn’t actually have the disease.

Ronald Winter offered his mother his own home. A month after she arrived, both she and her son were served a summons to appear at the New York Supreme Court. Winter and his mother eventually prevailed after a year of legal wrangling.

Winter is making his story public to highlight what he calls a “growing national phenomenon” of family members institutionalizing older relatives to control their assets.

Winter is a communications professor at the University of Hartford.

His book is available online through www.ronaldwinterbooks.com or www.nightengalepress.com .

Posted March 13, 2010 as edited by HTNP.com Editor Brenda Sullivan

The talent show will benefit Our Companions Domestic Animal Sanctuary. Photo of “Luther” © by Brenda Sullivan.

Four young girls are hosting a fund-raising variety show at 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 13 at Columbia Town Hall.

Participants will include some favorites from the Hebron Harvest Fair Rising Star Competition and Summit Studios in Manchester.

The show will feature many local talents of all ages from surrounding towns and benefit Our Companions Domestic Animal Sanctuary in Ashford.

The event is being organized by Horace W. Porter School 6^th-graders Sarah Schatz, Katrina McGlynn, Jessica Rand and Carly Weston who have dubbed themselves “Friendz Making a Difference.”

Some of the local and professional performers will be students from C.A.S.T.

Artists are coming from a far as Mystic and Oxford and as near as Columbia, Hebron, Lebanon and Glastonbury.

Merchandise and baked goods will be offered for sale at the performance and there will be many door prizes donated by local businesses.

The Town of Columbia has waived the rental fee of the 300-seat hall to help support the cause.

Tickets are $10 and are available at the Landmark Natural Foods in the center of Columbia, as well as the Saxton B. Little Free Library at 319 Route 87 in Columbia.

Or to have tickets reserved at the door, contact “Friendz Making a Difference” at friendzmkingdiff@ aol.com or call Deidre McGlynn ( 860) 228-8759.

Posted March 13, 2010