Volume 16, Issue 18
Serving Durham, Middlefield and Rockfall
Friday, August 14, 2009
Durham Conservation Commission accepts farm Strummin’ on the old banjo ... easement, with thanks By Sue VanDerzee Town Times Gifts to towns are hard to come by in this tough economy, but the town of Durham received one on Aug. 11 from Maiden Lane resident and farmer Jim Scott. Scott has placed a permanent conservation easement over his 42-acre farm through the Connecticut Farmland Preservation Trust. Elizabeth Moore, representing the Trust, was present at a Durham Conservation Commission meeting to explain the easement and ask the town to partner with Scott by paying his expenses for setting up the trust, including $4,500 in appraisal costs, $7,500 in legal fees and possibly around $7,000 for a survey if that is deemed necessary at any point. “That’s between $12,000 and $19,000 for assuring that 42 acres of prime agricultural land remain agricultural forever,” Moore noted. She added that a unique feature of Scott’s offer is that he wants the land to be available for public access. “That’s very rare,” she said, explaining that most folks who choose this method of preservation are not eager to allow such access. Scott, who was present in the audience, said that he and his family moved to Durham
In this issue ... Calendar............................4 Durham Briefs ...12-14 & 17 DMYFS ............................15 Libraries..........................16 Middlefield Briefs...........18 Mini Pages ..................31-32 Obituary ..........................27 Sports ..........................28-29 Vacation Photos..............40
in 1976, to “the other side of Maiden Lane. In 1979, the farm property became available and we moved there,” he continued. “We (he and his late wife, Louise) raised sheep for 25 years.” Scott’s three children have agreed with his plan. The land now supports cattle, and is about 40 fields and 30 percent each woodlands and wetlands, a typical breakdown, according to Moore. Scott also invited the high school to make use of Ball Brook, a stream on the property, for environmental studies if needed. As a professor of Agrarian Studies at Yale, Scott has considerable background for making such an offer. “I consider this gift a small return on the pleasures of living in Durham for 33 years, and a contribution to the future,” he concluded. Conservation Commission chair Casey Cordes noted the generosity of the gift and stated that there is money in the commission’s reserve account to take care of the expenses Scott will incur. Moore answered several questions from commissioners. Bob Melvin asked why the state Farmland Preservation Program wasn’t utilized, to which Moore replied that the Scott farm would not qualify because of its smaller size. She also pointed out that, not surprisingly, the state’s budget woes are affecting farmland preservation funding. Moore noted that the Connecticut Farmland Preservation Trust, for whom she works, has been in existence for seven years and has “saved” 18 farms in that time, at least one in every Connecticut county except Fairfield. Audience member Deb See Conservation, page 24
In this case, the banjos are new, made by students in the BASREP childcare program housed at Korn School, but the materials are old — or at least, recycled — as part of BASREP’s “Reduce, Recycle and Reuse” week this summer. Above, from left, Carol D’Agostino, Alyssa Lecza and Bryan Lecza show off their banjo technique. More BASREP photos on page 20. Submitted photos
Armed robbery at Durham Valero’s By Chris Coughlin Special to the Town Times An armed robbery took place on Monday, August 10, around 4:30 a.m. at the Valero Gas Station on Main Street in Durham. The suspects, Martin Brown, 27, of Middletown, Robert Cardot, 27, of East Hampton, and Daniel Early, 24, of Middletown, drove to the Valero Gas Station early Monday morning where one of the suspects entered Valero, armed with a gun. The suspects made away with an undisclosed amount of cash, and immediately af-
ter the suspects fled the scene, the cashier at Valero called the police. The cashier’s description of the suspects did not go into much detail as far as how many people there were or any specific identifications on the car, but it was reported that two of the suspects were a white man and a black man. As police searched for the suspects, State Trooper Tory Marsden noticed a car driving through Middlefield in the area of the Post Office whose occupants matched the description given by the Valero cashier.
Trooper Marsden signaled for the suspects to pull over, which they finally did near the area of the Middlefield Community Center (where the Middlefield Police Station is located, ironically). As soon as the suspects’ car came to a stop, one of the suspects fled the car and ran off into the early morning. Police chased the suspect, and with the help of a police dog, were able to apprehend the suspect 30 minutes later near Guida’s Restaurant on Route 66. The suspects also had a gun which they tossed See Valero’s, page 13