Volume 19, Number 2
www.southingtoncitizen.com
Friday, January 14, 2022
Business continues to grow at Factory Square
Families welcome snow at sledding spots
By Devin Leith-Yessian Record-Journal staff
By Devin Leith-Yessian Record-Journal staff
With only a few inches of flat ground to work with, Andrew Izzo lined up his son’s GT Snow Racer at the top of Wesley Izzo, 9, rides his GT Snow Racer downhill Friday, Jan. 7 at Panthorn the Panthorn Park hill and gave him a Park. The 8 to 12 inches the town got was the first substantial snowfall of push to launch him down the slope, the season. Photos by Devin Leith-Yessian but took a step too far and went tumbling down after him. Nathan Wright walks down the hill at Panthorn Park, a popular sledding spot in Southington, with his 2-yearold daughter, Emme Wright.
“I used to come here as a kid,” Izzo said. “This is the only place we would go.” One of the most popular sledding spots in town, the hill at Panthorn Park had dozens of children and adults enjoying a snow day on its slopes last Friday. Starting early Jan. 7, between eight and 12 inches of snow fell in the Southington area before the weather shifted to sunny skies, making conditions ideal to enSee Snow day, A2
The latest business to open in Factory Square, Paul Gregory’s Bistro Cafe, occupies the former Coil Pro building facing lower Center Street, continuing owner Florian Properties’ vision for the historic industrial complex. Positioned between the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail and the restaurants downtown, Factory Square is becoming a conduit for pedestrian traffic through entertainment and shops that complement the local culinary scene, owner Mat Florian Jr. said. Since Florian Properties purchased the site under the leadership of his father, the late Mathew Florian Sr., bringing in experience type attractions where groups could meet before or after going out for a meal has been central to that plan. See Square, A3
Quantum Biopower is end point for new organic waste program By Jessica Simms Special to the Record-Journal
MERIDEN — The city of Meriden is partnering with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to launch a pilot program, Making Meriden Green. The program will enroll 1,000 Meriden households for four months to test a new way of separating organic material from other forms of waste.
“We see this as a very important project, one that will hopefully pave the way for many other municipalities to come up with a better strategy for managing organics,” said Robert Isner, director of the waste engineering and enforcement division of DEEP.
color-coded bags for food scraps and other organic waste. The participants will be customers of HQ Dumpsters, which is based in Southington.
“The customers will be given essentially a four month supply of trash bags and asked to separate their The program, which is funded through a $40,000 DEEP Save Money food scraps from their trash and and Reduce Trash grant, will provide then just throw the bags in their
trash cans to be collected like they normally would,” said Howard Weissberg, director of public works. HQ Dumpsters has been working with a consultant from the South Central Regional Council of Governments. Once the organic waste is collected, it will be transported to Quantum Biopower in Southington, See Organic, A2