GOODWIN STATE FOREST October 3 Mountain Bike Tours of Goodwin Forest 9 – 11AM NEMBA will lead two guided adult mountain bike rides through the forest’s trails. October 3 Goodwin State Forest History Hike 2 – 3PM Join us for a narrated tour through the forest to learn the history of Pine Acres Farm. October 9 Beginner Nature Photography 4 – 5PM Please bring your camera to this class on photographing nature. October 17 Paddle on Pine Acres Lake 2 – 4PM Families are invited to an afternoon canoeing on Pine Acres Lake. TRAIL WOOD October 21 Bird Walk 8AM VOLUME XLIII, No. 9 Bring binoculars for this bird-watching expedition. Register at [email protected]. OCTOBER 2020 The Hampton Gazette THUMBS UP: To Stonehurst for providing a venue for the seniors to safely meet. The owners have offered the seniors their place several times, but this was especially VOLUME XLIII, No. 9 OCTOBER 2020 appreciated as we haven’t gathered to share lunch and conversation since March. EDITOR The weather was lovely, the food delicious, the view spectacular. Thank you! Dayna McDermott-Arriola BOARD OF DIRECTORS THUMBS DOWN: to the drought! Several residents have reported empty wells, including Juan Arriola, Chair one of our farms. Though not as devastating as the tornadoes and hurricanes, fires and Peter Witkowski, Treasurer floods, destroying other parts of our country, it is, nevertheless, debilitating to be Sulema Perez-Pagan, Secretary Angela Fichter without water. Hopefully, October will bring replenishing rains. Diane Gagnon Delphine Newell TO THE EDITOR: Laura McCabe About a week after Tropical Storm Isaias blew through the state and the lights finally PRODUCTION came back on, the ripple effects continued as anyone living among the trees knows. Mary Oliver, Art Direction The Hampton Gazette is published monthly, Branches continued to shake loose and the tell-tale crrr-a-a-a-ack and bang meant and as a non-profit 501(c)(3) venture, it is Mother Nature finished what Isaias had started. That was the case early one Saturday registered with the State of Connecticut and morning when a section of an oak tree fell across my road, miraculously missing all IRS, and is supported by advertising revenues and donations. All contributions are tax- the power lines. The power might have been on but the road was totally blocked. deductible. I texted First Selectman Allan Cahill just after sun-up and his reply was immediate, CONTACT INFORMATION Editorials, “Getting my chain saw. On my way.” And he was. In short order Allan arrived, fired articles, calendar or event information, press up his chain saw, cut up the branches and cleared the road. All this on an early releases or questions: please email to Saturday morning before even one car had driven by and probably while many were [email protected] in Word format still asleep. We may be a small town but public safety is a big deal. I’m grateful that (not pdf) or to Editor, Hampton Gazette, PO Box 101, Hampton, CT 06247, by the 15th Allan made quick work of a potentially dangerous situation. of each month. All submissions to the Gazette Donna Tommelleo are subject to editing. The Gazette reserves the right not to accept submissions. CIRCULATION The Hampton Gazette is available online at hamptongazette.com, and TO THE EDITOR: in print by request, free of charge, to every Lisa Thomas, Democratic home in Hampton. Domestic subscriptions candidate for Connecticut's 35th are available by requests at cost; international State Senate district, is driven to may be charged extra postage. To subscribe, or receive email notification of the current protect all aspects of Eastern Connecticut's environment. During her time living, issue on the Web, contact the Editor at raising a family, and serving in Coventry, she has been a problem solver who hamptongazette.com understands the value of Eastern Connecticut’s natural resources. Thomas has already ADVERTISING Please contact us by email led my hometown of Coventry in efforts to increase alternative energy reliance, as for advertising policies and rates. Payments should be mailed to PO Box 101, Hampton, well as aided in halting invasive species overgrowth in Coventry Lake. Exemplifying CT 06247 her pride for environmental justice and critical thinking skills, Thomas holds dearly PHOTOS the creation of the Coventry Lake Advisory and Monitoring Committee, proposed (jpg high resolution, please) may be emailed to by the Future Problem Solving Program which she coached. In addition to her work [email protected] on Coventry Lake, I am so appreciative of Thomas’s support for the Last Green Valley which spans a majority of the district. As an avid outdoors explorer, I am proud to support a candidate who has our region's natural rich history and rural landscape in EDITORIAL POLICIES mind. Her support for this non-profit has helped with land conservation, education, Each letter to the Gazette must be signed and include and address & telephone contact for land appreciation, and more! With Thomas advocating for our region in Hartford, verification. Signing all correspondence to the I have no doubt that she will fight for our forests, rivers, and more. It is my hope that Gazette is encouraged, but at the request of others in the district will recognize her passion and how valuable this work is for us, the writer, a signature may be withheld. Letters written on behalf of an organization require in our rural location with many outdoors loving folks. the signature of an authorized spokesperson. Megan Lung All letters submitted to the Gazette are subject to editing and the Gazette reserves the right to The Town of Hampton continues to take the CoViD-19 situation seriously. Public meetings are noticed reject any or all letters. Readers should be online at hamptonct.org and through the Gazette. Public Officials continue to have hours at the Town Hall aware that the opinions of individual writers and are available on Tuesday and Thursday. Groups and organizations also continue to meet online via are not necessarily those of the Gazette. The Zoom or other electronic platforms. To remain up-to-date on Hampton Happenings, please visit our Town Gazette will not print letters it regards as libel- online to see the Events Calendar at hamptonct.org ous. Photographs and articles published here are the property of the individual photogra- ISSUE CONTRIBUTORS: India Arriola, Bobbi Harrison Blair, Pat Boss, Susan Hochstetter, Marcia Kilpatrick, pher or writer and may not be reproduced Lisa LaBelle, Perry Mandanis, Michelle Mlyniec, Kelli Postemski, Jean Romano, and Janice Trecker, without express permission of the contributor. PHOTOS: Cover, Pete Vertefeuille; page 8, Juan Arriola; page 11, Michelle Mlyniec; page 12, Steve Broderick. 3 FROM THE REGISTRARS OF VOTERS By this time, registered voters should have received an application for an absentee ballot from the Office of the Secretary of State for the Novem- ber 3 Presidential Election. These can be mailed to the Town Clerk, or placed in the secured deposit box at the top of the ramp at Town Hall. Absentee ballots will be mailed by the Town Clerk directly to those who have submitted their applications. Hampton Antiquarian & Historical Society Residents who registered to vote after the Secretary of State’s mailing (August 25, 2020) will be sent applications for absentee ballots by the ANNUAL Town Clerk. The Registrars of Voters will provide the Town Clerk with a list of residents who have recently registered to vote here. Absentee MEETING ballots will be mailed 48 hours after receipt of the applications. If you have not received an absentee ballot application, or subsequently, an absentee ballot, please call the Office of the Town Clerk at 860.455.9132 x1. You may also obtain an application on the Secretary of State’s website, which provides general information on the absentee ballot process. Absentee ballots will be available on October 2. Please follow all the accompanying directions and mail them to the Town Clerk or place them in the secured deposit box at the top of the ramp at Town Hall. If you have cast an absentee ballot, but in retrospect prefer to vote at the polling place, you may contact the Town Clerk and withdraw your absentee ballot up until 5PM on November 2. You may not attempt to vote at the polls on Election Day; this is not legal. Voters may check to make sure their absentee ballots have been received by contacting the Town Clerk or the Registrars of Voters. Saturday, October 17 The Registrars of Voters will hold a final registry session on October 27 6:00PM from 9AM to 8PM in their Office at Town Hall which will be open for the purpose of registering voters who appear in person. The deadline Meeting will be held at the for mail-in applications is also October 27. Hand-delivered mail-in new PAVILION at TOWN HALL. registration applications must be received by the Registrars, or a Voter Registration Agency such as the Department of Motor Vehicle, A Western Line Dance on this date, and mail-in registration applications must be post-marked demonstration follows the by this date, in order for applicants to be entitled to participate in the meeting. Agenda includes November 3 Presidential Election. Only those whose qualifications as review of the year, election of to age, citizenship, or residence mature after the October 27 deadline Board of Directors. Please bring may register to vote up until November 2, when the Registrars will hold a limited registration session at their Office at Town Hall a mask and chair and your from 9AM to 5PM. ideas for the future! If you have any questions, please contact the Registrars of Voters at (860.455.9132 ext.