Volume 4, Number 11
Cheshire’s Hometown Newspaper
www.cheshirecitizen.com
Thursday, December 3, 2015
Over 100 acres added to town’s open space By Jesse Buchanan
the purchase helps create a green belt on the west side of town. In early 2013, Gov. DanThe Town Council has ac- nel P. Malloy announced $9 cepted a state grant for the million in land preservation purchase of more than 100 grants for 35 towns and cities acres of open land on the including Cheshire. The town received $200,000 from the Cheshire-Prospect border. Other open space parcels state, about half of the propsurround the mountainous erty purchase cost, according property. Town officials say to Town Council Chairman Special to The Citizen
Celebrating Kensett, unique talent and native son By Agnes Wnuk Artsplace and The Cheshire Historical Society have teamed up with other town organizations to celebrate artist John Frederick Kensett’s upcoming 200th anniversary birthday. A variety of events is being planned and the public is welcome to participate. Any town organization or individual is invited to join in the effort of remembering this historic Cheshire resident’s life and work. The celebrations will continue throughout the entire year. But who was Kensett and what is his connection to Cheshire? Although renowned as a
Hudson River Artist, with paintings gracing the walls of museums in every state and around the world, John Frederick Kensett is still not a household name in town and he should be. Born in Cheshire 200 years ago Kensett was an important landscape artist and an urbane, talented and generous man. Artsplace director, Joan Pilarczyk, has long considered that this native son should have a place of honor in town, and along with the Cheshire Historical Society president Diane Calabro, is planning town-wide events to showcase Kensett, and his art. Pilarczyk said, “With his See Kensett / Page 7
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Tim Slocum. The land is known as the Puchalski property, after the owners. According to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, the Puchalski property totals 109 acres on the ridgeline along the Cheshire-Prospect town line. “Ownership will protect the
ridgeline and its diverse wildlife, forests, and wetlands,” the department said in a statement announcing the grant. The Puchalski property borders the Roaring Brook open space property to the south and the Ben’s Homestead property to the north. The town placed a kiosk with information about the prop-
erty at the intersection of Mountain and Higgins roads, Slocum said. The land includes cliff face and other rocky features that See Open / Page 4
See a map of the open space on Page 4.
Learning to live safely with bears By Joy VanderLek The Cheshire Citizen
Ellen Amato, of Cheshire, knew something was up when she saw the backyard bird feeder in her South Brooksvale Road yard bent at an incredibly weird angle. Her husband guessed, “It’s probably a bear.” Neighbors soon confirmed black bears had made their way through the neighborhood yards, leaving several bird feeders in disrepair. At a recent program, “Bear Realities,” held at the Cheshire Public Library in November, Amato had the chance to exchange bear stories with others. The See Bears / Page 8
Master Certified Wildlife Conservationist Felicia Ortner with a black bear cub.
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