Selectmen Criticize Effectiveness, Aesthetics of Pedestrian-Activated Flashing Beacons

The Board of Selectmen at its most recent meeting approved a contract with a Newtown-based company for pedestrian-activated flashing beacons on Gower Road at South School and Elm Street at Kimberly Place. Motorists are “not necessarily paying attention to the students in the crosswalk” or crossing guards and monitors at South School trying to ensure their safety, according to Public Works Director Tiger Mann. “We put in additional ‘no parking’ signs to try to free up the area and we’re still having a problem,” Mann told the selectmen at their March 5 meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. There also are many people on Kimberly Place who seek to cross Elm Street at the intersection, he said. “It’s been a longstanding request,” Mann said.

Commission Approves ‘Cornhole Area’ at Park for Eagle Scout Project

The Parks & Recreation Commission on Wednesday night voted unanimously in favor of an Eagle Scout project to install a cornhole area in a local park. Troop 70 Life Scout James Generalis told members of the Commission that in designing his Eagle Scout project he “wanted to do something that really impacted the community that a lot of members could use.”

Just which park would take the new cornhole area is not yet settled, he said. “It could either be Kiwanis, it could be Mead, it could be Irwin,” Generalis told the Commission at its regular meeting, held in Lapham Community Center and via videoconference. “It would be ultimately up to you guys to decide where to put it. But you can see I sketched out what I envision the area to look like and the dimensions of the cornhole boards, as well as the [Rams] design we’ll put on the cornhole boards.