Volume 18, Issue 3
Serving Durham, Middlefield and Rockfall
Friday, April 29, 2011
On the way to Easter... It’s a season both somber and festive, sacred and secular. For Christians and Jews, Passover and Easter represent both some of their bleakest times (slavery in Egypt for the Jews, the crucifiction of Jesus Christ for the Christians) and their most joyful triumphs (the Passover which spared Jewish children and the subsequent Exodus and journey to their own land for Jews and the resurrection of Jesus for Christians). Below, a large group traces the Way of the Cross on Good Friday on Main Street in Durham. At right, young people enjoy the traditional Easter Egg hunt sponsored by the Durham Rec Committee. More on page 23.
Below, Rev. Elven Riggles, Tim Hayes and Will Conroy playing trumpets during the 6:30 a.m. ecumenical sunrise service on Easter Sunday at Lyman Orchards.
Please vote!
In this issue ...
Voters in Durham and Middlefield are reminded to vote in the referendum on the District 13 budget on Tuesday, May 3, from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. in their usual polling places.
Calendar ......................4 Durham Briefs...........12 Middlefield Briefs .....13 Libraries......................18 Spotlight....................24
Durham BOF considers options for mowing/plowing at the DAC By Chuck Corley Special to the Town Times The Board of Finance held a special meeting on April 25th to finalize the budget for the May 9 annual budget meeting. They devoted much of the meeting to discussing the mowing and plowing performed by the town at the Durham Activity Center. Based on past complaints about the town offering these services to the property, the board contemplated removing them in exchange for paying a higher rent to the landlord. This cost would amount to $600 per month, which Finance Director Maryjane Malavasi found to be roughly equivalent in val-
ue to the estimated 295 hours of work currently performed by the town. Board member Laurie Stevens noted that if the town eliminates mowing and plowing on the property that the town likely won’t reduce the number of hours the highway department works. As the town would pay more rent on the property and not reduce the highway department’s hours, she said, “So we’re adding an expense. I don’t feel that we’re doing our job.” While the possibility of sharing the cost of mowing and plowing with other tenants in the building came up, First Selectman Laura Francis reminded
See Durham BOF, page 17