www.towntimes.com
Volume 24, Number 18
Friday, October 12, 2018
‘Race the Ridge’ bike event returns By Bailey Wright Town Times
Timothy Krippner
Pianist stopping at Gastler Farm The Kalmia Garden Fall Farmhouse Concert is scheduled for the weekend of Oct. 19-21 at the Gastler Farm, 159 Middlefield Road, Durham. Pianist Timothy Krippner returns to the venue to perform works by Bach, Prokofiev, Liszt, Chopin and Rachmaninoff. Krippner has won top awards in competitions inSee Pianist, A2
Dozens are expected to “Race the Ridge” at this year’s annual mountain bike racing competition at Powder Ridge Park on Saturday. The race trail takes riders through the bunny ski-trail and has a big jump at the end as it comes out at the base of the mountain. Terrain manager Chad Snyder said some racers have finished it in as fast as 1 minute and 45 seconds. “It can get intense,” Snyder said, depending on the type of crowd that comes out to watch. “Especially with a big jump at the bottom, it’s kind of cool to see everyone finish.” Anyone can enter the race, keeping in mind the course might be difficult for beginners. Riders will be separated by gender and in groups by age, those 15 years old and younger and those older than 16.
Powder Ridge Mountain Park.
but any bike with some kind of suspension can be used.
Powder Ridge has hosted “Race the Ridge” for the last three years and usually has about 20 to 40 riders and Riders must wear a helmet and can rent everything they need – bikes, hel- a bunch of people coming out to watch, Snyder said. mets, pads – at Powder Ridge. Full suspension bikes are recommended,
Richie Rathsack, Record-Journal
The race trail will be open from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday for warm-ups and from 3 to 6:30 p.m. Friday for riders to check out the terrain. Races will start at noon on Saturday and be over around 1:30 or 2 p.m. bwright@record-journal.com 203-317-2316 Twitter: @baileyfaywright
Environmental group slams Suzio over voting record By Matthew Zabierek Record-Journal staff
The selection is based on a 2018 “environmental scorecard” grade given by the orgaMERIDEN — An environmen- nization's Connecticut chaptal advocacy group plans to ter. spend $21,000 opposing state Sen. Len Suzio, calling his vot- “Suzio’s voting record sunk to ing record “anti-environmen- a failing 46 percent in 2018 — the lowest score of any state tal.” senator,” the Connecticut The National League of ConLeague of Conservation Voters servation Voters recently said in a press release. CLCV named Suzio, R-Meriden, to criticized Suzio for lobbying its “Dirty Dozen in the States,” “hard against bans to toxic tire a nationwide list of state polit- mulch in school playgrounds ical candidates that it claims and carcinogenic flame retarare “some of the worst offend- dants in children’s clothes.” ers in the nation when it Suzio, who is seeking re-eleccomes to undermining protion in the 13th Senate Distections for clean water, carbon emissions, public health, trict, responded in a statement saying the organization and more.”
is “cherry picking (votes) to seriously mislead people about my pro-environment record.”
list. Every other candidate named has also been a Republican.
Suzio also questioned the organization's integrity because he says it refuses to facSuzio tor in his past perfect scores when calculating its “lifetime grade.” “They seem to be pushing an agenda other than the envi“Would an honest organizaronment,” Suzio said. “Even tion promote a ‘lifetime’ scorecard, but deliberately exafter a perfect voting record, they didn't give me their enclude half of a legislator’s lifedorsement.” time votes on legislation the League uses to compute the The National League of Con‘lifetime’ scorecard?” Suzio servation Voters has ansaid in the statement. nounced seven of its 12 selections for the “Dirty Dozen” “Candidates who make Dirty After Suzio earned a perfect score from the group in 2011 and 2012, the organization didn’t endorse him.
Dozen in the States have a long record of siding with polluters over public health, and Senator Suzio is no exception,” said Pete Maysmith, CLCV Victory Fund senior vice president for campaigns. CLCV endorsed Suzio’s opponent in the 13th Senate District, Democrat Mary Daugherty Abrams and said “defeating Suzio could flip the chamber to a pro-environment majority.” CLCV has endorsed 11 Democrats and two Republicans in Senate races. The Senate is now split 18-18 and both Republicans and Democrats see the 13th District as a key race for gaining a majority.