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GOVERNOR LAMONT AND COMMISSIONER RUSSELL-TUCKER ANNOUNCE RELEASE OF $11.5 MILLION TO 46 SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO BOOST HIGH-DOSAGE TUTORING
Governor Lamont and Commissioner Russell-Tucker announced the launchof the Connecticut High-Dosage Tutoring Program in March 2023 to target students in Grades 6 to 9 with a primary focus on enhancing mathematics proficiency. The Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) initially allocated $10 from American Rescue Plan Elementary Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) funding for this program. In light of the high interest from districts during the application period, CSDE increased its commitment to $11.5 million.
Following an application period, a rigorous review process culminated in the allocation of funding to 46 districts, which are collectively expected to serve nearly 11,000 students. Among these districts, 26 have been identified by CSDE ashigh-needs districts, where at least 43% of students qualified for free or reduced-price meals between 2014 and 2022.
This strategic investment in mathematics education follows recent data released by CSDE, revealing that while there have been improvements in mathematics proficiency across nearly all grades and student groups over the past year, the state is still striving to exceed pre-pandemic performance levels. Research indicates that in-person, in-school tutoring is the most effective means of addressing learning gaps. As a result, more than 40 districts in the state have committed to using the funding to integrate or expand in-person tutoring during regular school hours.
Scheduled to begin by January 2024, the Connecticut High-Dosage Tutoring Program will allocate funding to schools for 2023-24 and the first half of the 2024-25 school year.
Greater Hartford Mobility Study
For more information on the study and how to have your voice heard click on the link below
For most of his 72 years, Clark Coe’s life typified that of the hardscrabble Connecticut Yankee farmer. He eked out a living for his family on a 100 acre plot in Killingworth that was as much stone as it was soil, supplementing farm income through woodworking – making baskets and producing axe handles for a New Haven manufacturer. In 1900, however, Coe took on a new role. He transformed himself into a folk artist, creating scrappy assemblages of wood, cloth, metal and paint into animated figures that became known as the “Killingworth Images.” These became a tourist attraction in his own lifetime, and prized posessions of major museums, including the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, after his death – which occurred today in 1919.
Leslie and Frank Morse, two of the grandchildren for whom Coe created the Killingworth images, seen here before an “Images” tableaus. Photo Courtesy of Tom Linsky, great, great grandson of Clark Coe.
What Coe began as a whimsical project to amuse his grandchildren quickly took on a life of its own. Using scraps of baskets, barrels, and tree branches, supplemented with paint, nails, old clothes, and makeshift hair, Clark began creating life-size figures of characters in well-known roles and whimsical situations: a preacher waving his arms; a man riding a hog, a bandmaster waving a baton, another playing a lute; and a series of mini-figures riding a Ferris wheel. All Coe’s characters – whose names (such as the Rev. Will E. Scram, “Clown Head,” “Moses in Canoe,” “Man on a Hog” ) reflected the humorous intent of their creation – were animated by a millwheel powered with water Coe had diverted from a nearby stream to a purpose-built dam and sluiceway.
“Man with a lute, “Photo by Gavin Ashworth, Museum of American Folk Art
In Coe’s waterpowered fantasy- world, folk-art wrestlers wrestled without wearying (except during droughts and freezes), sawyers sawed tirelessly, a mother rocked her baby’s cradle endlessly, the preacher preached without pause, and a naughty child was perpetually spanked, all while twenty-two smaller but no less whimsical figures enjoyed an unending ride on a Ferris wheel.
Coe’s creations caused an immediate sensation, and brought a steady stream of visitors on horseback and in carriages to see the “Killingworth Images.” First a local, then statewide attraction, the images soon received notice nationwide. To inform would-be visitors they had reached the right location, Coe built a wooden manbell figure near the roadside entrance that continuously tapped a cowbell with one hand. He added a visitor book, which drew thousands of signatures, and set up a securely padlocked box with a slot for collecting small change, to accept voluntary contributions. A Salt Lake City, Utah newspaper reported in 1916 that it had “gathered in a snug sum for the creator of the odd attraction.” When asked how he drew visitors to the site, Coe told the reporter the show advertised itself, and as the power to run the figures cost nothing, the donations he received were all “velvet.”
Sadly, despite the intrinsic humor of “the Images,” Coe’s life was marked by tragedy. His wife, Harriet, who had helped clothe the figures, died in 1915. His only son, Charles, died the following year, and in 1917, his married daughter Minnie Morse died suddenly, leaving five young children behind. Morse’s husband, an alcoholic, was not able to care for the children and they were sent to live with relatives. Minnie’s oldest boys, Leslie and Frank, seen in the photograph above, came to live with Coe in Killingworth. Coe himself died only two years later, on October 26, 1919.
“Ol Joe” By Clark Coe (1847-1919), Killingworth, Connecticut, Early 20th Century Adele Earnest, Folk Art in America, A Perosnal View (Exton, PA, 1984),
After Coe’s death, the new owner of the property, David Parmalee, continued to use “the Images” as an attraction. Some sources say it closed down the following year, others that it continued in operation till 1926, and others that it remained a thriving enterprise into the mid 1930s. All agree, however, that once the site fell into disuse, souvenir hunters took some of the images, others fell into disrepair, and the handful (five or six) that remained intact were exhibited at a folk art center on Long Island in the 1960s.
By then, Coe’s work was recognized as an extraordinary exemplar of American folk art. The Museum of American Folk Art in New York City says of Coe’s “Man with a lute,”for example, that “It displays an exquisite economy of carving; the large head and small generalized features are reminiscent of a simple frontal carving style found in many ancient cultures.”
The original site of “the Killingworth images” can be seen on Green Hill Road across from the Cow Hill intersection in Killingworth; surviving examples of the images themselves can be seen at the Killingworth Historical Society, the Killingworth Library, the Museum of American Folk Art, the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, and in a few private collections.
An early 20th century photograph of the Killingworth Images. Courtesy Tom Linsky.
Please arrive early to be in line for 9 am as the truck leaves promptly at 9:30 am. Open to the public--bring a sturdy grocery bag! This program is made possible by Foodshare and Winn Residential - Resident Service Program. For more information call 860-646-1280.
Squire Village, 48 Spencer Street, 06040 (1st parking lot off Imperial Drive #78)
Tuesday, November 7, 2023| 09:00 AM - 09:30 AM
Tuesday, November 21, 2023 | 09:00 AM - 09:30 AM
Tuesday, December 05, 2023 | 09:00 AM - 09:30 AM
Get mobile pantry updates in your area by texting the word Foodshare to 85511.
For voter registration application and important election date details, please visit the Registrar's Primary and Election Informationpage.
For details on absentee ballot voting, sample ballot, and other election information, please visit the Town Clerk's Election Informationpage.
Voting Location Information:
All 10 Polling places will be open from 6:00 am to 8:00 pm. Quickly find your Manchester polling location by using the Polling Lookup Tool.
*Keeney Voters - District 7: Because of school construction at Keeney School, your temporary polling place has been moved to Manchester Regional Academy at 665 Wetherell Street.
Important Location Reminders:
The Registrars of VotersJim Stevenson and Tim Becker urge all voters to confirm their voting location by checking the Registrar's webpageor call 860-647-3025.
The last day for mail-in and online registration for new voters is October 31, 2023.
The last day for in-person registration at the Registrars of Voters Office for new voters is October 31, 2023 8:00 am - 8:00pm.
Proof of residency is required. Call the Registrars of Voters Office 860-647-3025 for further information.
Free Shred Event
Don't miss out on this free opportunity to declutter your space! All documents will be securely shredded on-site. The event will be held 8AM - 12PM or until full on November 4th at the Public Works parking lot (321 Olcott Street).
Manchester Road Race
On November 23, 2023 10am
For more information on the race and activities click on the link below
Each fall, the Town receives many inquiries from residents regarding the leaf collection program. The following information may be useful in understanding the Leaf Collection Program
As part of the Town's continuing effort to improve efficiency and maintain the safest operation possible, it is possible that leaves on one side of a street will be collected up to two or three days in advance of the other side of the street.
Residents are reminded that once vacuum collection has been completed on your street, leaf disposal must be either in paper yard waste bags set out at the curb on your normal trash collection day, or dropped off at the Manchester Transfer Station at 311 Olcott St.
For more information on the collection schedule and to see which area your road is located in, follow link below:
Manchester has launched planning efforts for its 2023 Bicentennial Celebration. This year long celebration will consist of a variety of opportunities to remember the past, celebrate the present, and dream about the future. Festivities will include historical and educational programs, special events, and commemorative projects.
East Hartford residents are invited to join us for a FREE Trick or Treat Trail event on the Town Green, 1021 Main Street on Sunday, October 29th from 1:00pm – 3:00pm.
This event is for East Hartford children ages 10 and younger, and their accompanying parent/guardian.
No registration is required.
Participants will head down the trail in our festively decorated park to various stations, sponsored by local organizations and businesses, for candy, treats and giveaways. Each participating organization and business will have representatives and costumed characters distributing goodies.
Each child should bring their own bag or basket to collect treats. Please dress appropriately for the weather. Halloween costumes are encouraged! This event will be held rain or shine.
For more information, please call East Hartford Parks and Recreation Department at 860-291-7160
East Hartford to Celebrate Small Businesses
with a Passport Contest
The Town of East Hartford has partnered with East Hartford Development Department and local Main Street businesses to offer a fun contest in celebration of Small Business Saturday coming up in November.
Individuals who wish to participate will be asked to collect stickers from at least 5 participating businesses for a chance to win a $100 gift card to one of them.
How to participate?
Pick up a contest passport at any of the participating businesses starting October 24, 2023.
Passports will be available at the following locations:
Community Cultural Center – 50 Chapman Place, East Hartford
Raymond Library – 840 Main Street, East Hartford
Wickham Library – 656 Burnside Avenue, East Hartford
Fill out the required information in the passport book, including your name, email, and phone number.
Visit at least five of the participating businesses and ask for a passport sticker. Purchases are encouraged, but not required!
Drop off your filled out passport in the designated boxes at the Community Cultural Center or either branch of the East Hartford Public Library by Wednesday, November 22. Only one entry is allowed per person.
On Small Business Saturday, November 25, 2023 three winners will be selected at random from passports that have at least five stamps.
Winners will receive a $100 gift card from one of the participating businesses. The contest is open to both East Hartford residents and visitors. Remember to support East Hartford small businesses this Small Business Saturday and every day!
Leaf Collection Program
October 30, 2023
East Hartford, CT— The Town of East Hartford will begin the annual curbside leaf collection program on Monday, October 30, 2023. The program will feature a continuous vacuuming of leaves placed in piles on a tree belt. Leaves will be vacuumed Monday through Saturday starting October 30th continuously through December 9, 2023.
The leaf collection program will commence on roads in the northwest corner of town in the area of Pitkin Street and then proceed north and east through the Burnham and Goodwin Street areas. Leaves will be vacuumed along each street, weather permitting. Collection will proceed in a clockwise direction around town. There will be no leaf collection on two (2) Town-observed holidays—Veterans Day, November 10, 2023 and Thanksgiving Day, November 23, 2023.
The schedule for leaf pickup can be found on the Department of Public Works Weekly Advisory Map, that will be live for October 30, 2023, and on the Facebook page. The map will show completed areas as well as the areas where leaf collection is anticipated the following week. Residents should note that the map is tentative and dependent on the weather and the speed of collection and should not be considered a set collection schedule. Progress of the collection is weather-dependent and will be affected by rain or snow. Snowfall before mid-December may cause a suspension or cancelation of leaf collection. The map will be updated with address-specific collection information, such as whether collection has been completed or is anticipated by close of business on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Residents, please look for leaf program lawn signs! Leaf collection lawn signs will be posted in neighborhoods to notify residents that curbside leaf pickup is coming, and to encourage raking to the curb and paper leaf bag collection.
This information will also be communicated via our EH Alert platform as a text, call or email to those subscribed to “town services.” To receive those notifications, please select "Town Services" during registration in the drop down menu.
Residents also have two (2) additional options for leaf disposal:
OPTION 1: Curbside Brown Bag Collection for six (6) weeks
Town crews will pick up leaves placed in biodegradable brown paper bags beginning October 30, 2023 through December 9, 2023 on your regular waste collection day, weather permitting. Leaves, in biodegradable brown paper bags only. No grass clippings, branches or other waste items can be placed in the paper bags nor will the Town collect leaves in plastic bags.
OPTION 2: Resident Transport to The Transfer Station for FREE Disposal
Residents may also bring their leaves to the Transfer Station on Ecology Drive between 8 AM to 1:45 PM on the following days:
Every Saturday in November
First three Saturdays in December
Transfer Station will be open on November 11 & 25 for leaves only.
The Map will show your property- click on it to pull up the anticipated collection week.
To find out if the leaf collection has already been completed in your area, please click on the road centerline, which will indicate if the street has been completed.
For any additional information, please call Public Works Administration, 860-291-7374.
First Time Homeownership Info Session
East Hartford Works! invites all individuals who are new homeowners or are about to purchase their first home, to an information session on homeownership! The first-time homeownership info session will be held Wednesday, November 8 from 6 to 7 PM at the East Hartford Public Library, located at 840 Main Street. Attendees will hear from experts about the necessary steps in the home-buying process and get valuable advice on lending and real estate.
East Hartford Partners with East Hartford Tennis Club
to Offer Indoor Pickleball
The Town of East Hartford once again partnered with the East Hartford Tennis Club to offer indoor pickleball for local senior residents 55 years of age and older.
The program will be held at the East Hartford Tennis Club, 151 Roberts Street on Tuesday & Thursday from 1:00pm – 3:00pm, at a cost of $5.00 each day.
The program will run through March 2024.
This will be another positive boost to a very popular program for seniors as the town has opened up six new first-class concrete courts located at Hockanum Park on High Street.
Please contact the Tennis Club can be contact with any questions (860) 528-9251.
My office is always open if you or your family are in need of assistance. Please do not hesitate to contact me by email atJason.Rojas@cga.ct.govor by phone at 860-240-8541.
