Thursday, August 1, 2019
cheshirecitizen.com
Volume 6, Number 42
Officials tour schools as they consider capital spending requests By Michael Gagne Record-Journal staff
The crew prepares to lower the signal mast, July 9, at the Milldale Depot. Clockwise from lower left: Russell Jennings of Cheshire, Bruce Greene of Southington, and Bill Voorvaart, of Coventry, all Milldale Depot Museum volunteers; along with Larry Sima of Sima Drilling.
Local volunteers help restore Milldale Train Depot signal By Joy VanderLek The Cheshire Citizen
Milldale Train Depot volunteers recently took another important step in the ongoing renovations of the historic depot on Canal Street, in the Milldale section of Southington. The depot’s 80year-old signal mast was taken down on Tuesday, July 9. This signal restoration work is being accomplished with a donation of time and materials from volunteers and friends of the Milldale Train
Depot, and is part of the long-term goal to restore the depot to a time when it was operational, said Bob Belletzkie, assistant stationmaster, and a volunteer at the depot. “It will be a great day and bring life back into the 137year-old station and to the Canal line which saw its last train in 1997,” said Belletzkie, adding that he hopes the work might be done by August. “That will be a real celebration.” Volunteers for the signal
mast work include Bruce Greene of Southington, Russell Jennings of Cheshire, Bill Voorvaart of Coventry, all Milldale Depot Museum volunteers, and Larry Sima of Sima Drilling in Cheshire. The Milldale Train Depot was an instrumental part of the New Haven/Northampton Rail Line beginning in 1848. Among the highlights in the depot’s history, the busy station served business and the era’s steel industries. See Depot, A2
Floor fans blew and stacks of boxes lined the hallways of several school buildings as town councilors walked through them Monday night. School officials had requested more than $3.5 million in capital improvements — most of them upgrades for the current fiscal year. Town Manager Sean M. Kimball's pro-
posed townwide capital expenditure plan and budget request reduces that figure somewhat — to $3.395 million. With the council having reviewed other town departments' budget requests, and having made other site visits to those facilities last week, it was the school department's turn. Schools Superintendent Jeffrey Solan, Chief OperSee Capital, A6
Political parties meet to endorse candidates By Michael Gagne Record-Journal staff
The town committees for the Republican and Democratic parties endorsed their slate of candidates for elected office during separate caucuses Tuesday, July 23.
Voters in November will decide the make up of the Town Council, Board of Education, Planning & Zoning Commission, Zoning Board of Appeals, Board of Assessment Appeals, and who will be the See Candidates, A4
Fall Soccer Registration! For children age 4 and up. No prior soccer experience required.
Register Today at CheshireSoccerClub.org
Last Call!