FREE SHELTOLifeN COMMUNITY & BUSINESS NEWS DECEMBER 2017 VOLUME 24, ISSUE 3 DECEMBER ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS 2 Belden Cultural Center 10 History Center 21 Riverfront Update 3 Paugussett Trail 11 Housatonic Valley Association 27 Four Names, One Town 5 Shelton High School 17 Muskrat Breach 31 5K Road Race SHELTON COMMUNITY & BUSINESS NEWS Welcome from the Editor Dear Shelton Residents and Businesses: We are pleased to present another edition of The Shelton Life our Shelton Life newsletter. This citywide publica- newletter was first pub- tion continues to be a terrific source of up-to-date lished in this format in business and city news delivered free of charge to January 2002. Over these our residents and businesses. This edition has a last 15 years, we have wonderful blend of articles focusing on business been introduced to many success, health & wellness, natural resources, and wonderful friends and arts & education, as well as a variety of commu- written about many amazing accom- nity news that will surely interest our readers. plishments by local residents, commu- One such newsworthy event took place on September 24, 2017, as nity groups and businesses. Sometimes the City of Shelton formally dedicated the Lafayette School on Grove it is hard to fathom the stories that Street as the Richard O. Belden Cultural Center. It was a wonderful have touched all of our lives. day and a long time coming as town leaders, friends and family cel- With some good luck and hard ebrated the legacy of our longtime friend. Richard O. Belden served work, we can continue this effort well our community as a CT State Representative for more than 23 years into the future. Have a wonderful advocating important topics such as economic development, educa- Holiday Season and may 2018 be your tion, environmental conservation, and recycling. The cultural center best year ever. Fred Ruggio now serves as home to many of the non-profits that Rep. Belden sup- Editor ported throughout his life. The City’s brownfields redevelopment program continues to Cover Photo courtesy of Fairview Tree Farm located at produce dividends as two major industrial buildings were demol- Two Saw Mill City Road in Shelton ished in 2017, two other properties are being developed to support housing, a restaurant and commercial offices, all the while the city Shelton Life continues to extend public infrastructure improvements to support Community & Business News the continued growth along Canal Street. In addition, the City has received two new $200,000 grants, one from the CT Department Volume 24, Issue 3 December 2017 of Economic and Community Development and the other from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Both of these grants Published by: Economic Development Commission will enable the City to initiate the Phase IV of the Canal Street Fred Ruggio, Chairman Revitalization Program. c/o Shelton Economic Development Corporation 475 Howe Avenue, Suite 202 Finally, as this year concludes let us embrace all of those things we Shelton, CT 06484, (203) 924-2521 hold dear; our families, friends and loved ones while we look forward [email protected] • sheltonedc.com www.cityofshelton.org to a wonderful future. Please share this information with your family and friends to Editor Fred Ruggio, Chairman keep them informed of our activities. Recent editions of Shelton Life Economic Development Commission can be found on the City of Shelton website www.cityofshelton.org. Associate Editors Many thanks to the Shelton Life editorial team for their continued Aleta Miner, SEDC standard of excellence. Kate Marks Karen McGovern Sincerely, Pat Carey Doug Dempsey In Memory Fred Musante, Sr., (1922-2009) Design & Layout Mark A. Lauretti Q Company Communication, Shelton, CT Mayor, City of Shelton The Balanced Plan for Shelton’s Future Vision to See, Faith to Believe, Courage to Do… © Michael Connelly, “The Closers” 1 SHELTOLifeN COMMUNITY NEWS Richard O. Belden Cultural Center Honoring a Lifelong Dedication to Public Service On Sunday, September 24, 2017, the City of Shelton dedicat- ed the former Lafayette School located on Grove Street as the Richard O. Belden Cultural Center in honor of the late Richard “Dick” O. Belden. Over 140 people were in attendance on a warm fall afternoon. Richard O. Belden was a CT State Representative for over 23 years serving as the Deputy Speaker and the Deputy Minority Leader Mrs. Bertha Belden (the “Bonus”) in the State of CT House of Representatives. State Representative Belden participated in many activi- ties in downtown Shelton, the Shelton Riverwalk being just one. He was also responsible for the fund- ing which created the Cornell Scott Hill – Richard O. Belden Dental Clinic in Derby, Connecticut. On August 20, 2007, Richard Belden passed away. The city and the state lost a great friend. Lafayette School was built in 1911 and served as an elementary school until its closing in 2010. Many children passed through its doors. After the school closed, the City began to transform the building into a home for local non-profits such as the Valley United Way and Center Stage Theatre along with the relocation of the city’s Registrar of Voters offices. On October 8, 2015 Shelton’s Board of Aldermen The Belden Family voted to rename the school the Richard O. Belden Cultural Center in honor of all his great accom- plishments. A formal dedication ceremony was held with Shelton’s President of the Board of Aldermen, John F. Anglace, Jr., officiating. A reception followed inviting guests to tour the building and view the showcase of memorabilia. The Mayor, along with the Belden family and House of Representative’s Minority Leader Themis Klarides, State Representative Jason Perillo, and State Representative Ben McGorty were part of this dedication. F 2 SHELTON COMMUNITY & BUSINESS NEWS COMMUNITY NEWS 1,000 Hours Building a Better Paugussett Shelton’s “Blue Dot” Trail Improved Volunteers spent more than 1,000 hours over the Indian Well Reroute past year improving the Paugussett Trail, much of The trail near the falls at Indian Well State Park it in the form of exhausting physical labor. They included a short road walk, and then a steep climb up showed up in clean clothes and left tired and muddy, a rock face to an overgrown vista with seasonal views. but with a sense of pride and accomplishment. Some While going uphill was strenuous, going downhill was were local while others drove across the state to work hazardous and the trail was badly eroded. on one of Connecticut’s renowned “Blue-Blazed CFPA staff came up with an ambitious solution: Trails.” A new section of trail half a mile long would be dug The 75-year-old Paugussett Trail runs through into the side of the hill, gently following the con- Monroe and Shelton for 13.5 miles, much of it tours below the rocky cliff, then gradually rising with through difficult terrain and along steep hillsides a switchback to bring the trail to the top of the ridge prone to erosion. The trail is managed by the near the overlook. Trees were cleared at the overlook Connecticut Forest and Park Association (CFPA), a to reveal the Housatonic River 350 feet below. non-profit group that maintains Connecticut’s 825- CFPA organized several work parties to begin “side mile Blue-Blazed Trails system, with help from local hilling” the trail, starting with a crew from the new volunteers. REI store in Milford. This effort was followed up by a crew from UnitedHealthcare and then Boy Scout Troop 34 from Bridgeport. CFPA staff and interns fin- ished the project. To eliminate the walk on Indian Well Road, the CFPA “Rock Stars” used ropes and pulleys to arrange flat boulders into stepping stones across Indian Hole Brook. If the river is flooded, hikers can revert to the road bridge. Meanwhile, a massive set of timber steps began to rise slowly from the beach area, a popular access point. The steps grew all summer and fall until more than 50 steps were built, each step averaging about 2.5 hours of volunteer time. Due to these efforts at Indian Well State Park, the trail is now a pleasure to walk and much safer. A total of 58 volunteers plus CFPA staff and interns contributed. 3 SHELTOLifeN COMMUNITY NEWS Constitution Reroute Future Improvements Another major reroute was spearheaded by the Trail improvements also began in the so-called Shelton Trails Committee with the help of pro- “Poet Section” of Shelton off of Thoreau Drive. Stairs spective Eagle Scout Joe Singh from Troop 18. The were rebuilt, blazes freshened, and the trail was Paugussett was moved off of the utility road and benched into the side of hill in places by the local the hayfields north of the high school and into the trail managers for the section. This part of the trail is nearby woods, a route possible due to the acquisi- used mostly by hikers trying to reach Monroe’s Webb tion of the new Maybeck open space. Eversource Mountain Park from Shelton’s Birchbank Mountain. had placed ankle-twisting cobblestones on the utility Further improvements are planned for the spring of road, and the meadow path was always a challenge 2018 with the help of students from Shelton High to keep clear during the growing season. The most School. F difficult part of the reroute was a vast, impenetrable stand of thorny Japanese Barberry the trail needed to go through. For more information on Connecticut’s Blue-Blazed Trails, visit CFPA’s website at ctwoodlands.org. Trail maps are published in the Connecticut Walk Book, available at bookstores and at CFPA’s website. The Walk Book contains maps, descriptions and mileage of the entire blue-blazed trail system.