Friday, March 6, 2020
www.northhavencitizen.com
Volume 12, Number 50
EDC addresses major retailer, brownfields By Everett Bishop The Citizen
Connecticut State Archaeologist Nicholas Bellantoni speaks about the ongoing research into four skeletons found beneath a Ridgefield home. Radiologists at Quinnipiac University's North Haven campus, where Bellantoni spoke on March 2, are using X-ray technology to image the bones, which are believed to be the remains of Revolutionary War soldiers buried in a mass grave after the 1777 Battle of Ridgefield. Photos by Devin Leith-Yessian, Record-Journal
Remains believed to be those of Revolutionary War soldiers By Devin Leith-Yessian Record-Journal staff
NORTH HAVEN — Four skeletons found underneath a Ridgefield home late last year are increasingly believed to be those of Revolutionary War soldiers.
The skeletons were found in
In an Economic Development Commission meeting on Thursday, Feb. 27, Freda said the plan was to have the new retailer move into the vacancy left by Toys R Us and Ulta Beauty by August or September. Freda also said that the representatives from the retailer would be “flying in from California sometime in March” to meet with him and perhaps sign the lease for the property. If that plays out,
Chairman of the EDC, Richard LoPresti, also provided updates since North Haven joined the Connecticut Brownfields Initiative. “I took the interns from the Connecticut Brownfields program on a tour … and they were very engaged and I’m looking forward to see what they come up with,” LoPresti said. A current list of properties the interns are looking into include: 222 McDermott Road, 1000 Universal Drive and the property in front of the Amazon Fulfillment Center.
Earth Day Celebration returns for year No. 12
“We've still got a lot of forensic work to do, but the fact is that they're fitting the hypothesis very well,” said State Archaeologist Nicholas Bellantoni. Bellantoni gave an update on the investigation at Quinnipiac Unversity’s North Haven campus on Monday. He was joined by radiology experts from the university’s Bioanthropology Research Institute. The researchers and Quinnipiac students are using X-ray technology to study the skeletons.
First Selectman Michael Freda has been hinting at a “major 80,000 square foot retailer” on Universal Drive, and it seems that some news might finally be coming to light.
Freda is hoping the retailer will be able to make an announcement at the EDC’s spring breakfast on April 21.
Tania Grgurich, a clinical associate professor of diagnostic imaging with Quinnipiac University, speaks with radiology students after performing a CT scan of a skull found beneath a Ridgefield home in November 2019.
late November as the owners of the home, which was built in 1790 and expanded over the burial site in 1984, were preparing to install a concrete floor in the dirt-
floor basement. After the skeletons were determined to be historical, Bellantoni exhumed the remains. See Remains, A14
activities that will appeal to children of all ages. The event will feature creative art and science projects produced by North Haven students, a face painter, free giveaways, reptiles and animals from Meigs Point Nature Center, owls, hawks, Sponsored by the North Haven Conservation Com- and other birds rescued by A Place Called Hope, bees mission, this celebration and baby goats, and recyof the environment and ongoing efforts to protect it will feature numerous See Earth Day, A10 The town’s 12th annual Earth Day celebration will be held Saturday, April 4, 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., at North Haven High School, 221 Elm St. Admission is free. Food trucks will be available for lunch.