Volume 14, Number 44
cheshirecitizen.com
Thursday, November 2, 2023
Candidates differ on the issues at Chamber forum
A BEAR OF A TIME
By Peter Prohaska Herald Staff
On Oct. 18, the Cheshire Chamber of Commerce hosted a Candidate Forum for those seeking election to the Town Council. Currently, the Council is controlled, 7-2, by the Republicans, so the event offered Democrats a chance to highlight recent controversies, such as the flag-flying policy and the proposal to leave Chesprocott Health District, while the Republicans pointed to a record that they claim shows their competence and responsibility. It was a collegial affair on the whole, with widespread agreement on most topics. The event was broken up
into roughly hour-long AtLarge and District sessions, but a major theme for both was the $166.6 million referendum item passed by voters last year that will see two new elementary schools constructed in Cheshire.
David Nastri, a Republican who is running in the Fourth District, mentioned being part of Highland’s first graduating class and a member of the Cheshire High School Hall of Fame, and drew one of the rare laughs of the event when he joked that Darcey and Chapman Schools could be turned into pickleball facilities once the new schools are ready. In response to a question about creating more “inclusion” See Election, A7
“Mast year” likely underway in New England, experts say By Joy VanderLek Special to The Citizen
It’s a familiar sound in Autumn — the clink, thump and ding on the hood of your car, the roof of your house or on your noggin. Jocelyn Otero and her husband were looking out the window to their backyard off Percival Drive on Wednesday, Oct. 25, when they saw a large black bear roaming around. As quickly as he wandered in, he wandered away without causing any damage. No word on whether he returned in costume for some trick-or-treating on Tuesday. Photo courtesy of Jocelyn Otero
It’s the annual phenomenon of falling acorns and nuts. Many times, it can be a sign that a mast year is underway. What exactly is a mast year? Gen-
erally, it refers to an overabundance of mast, or fruit, produced by trees. In some years excessive nuts cover the ground and make walking precarious at times. It seems to be a big mast year for oaks and other species from the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic states, according to various See Weather, A10