PLYMOUTH – Superintendent Martin J. Semmel has presented Board of Education members with the first draft of a proposed $24.2 million budget for the 2018-19 fiscal year that would increase spending by $12,205 over 2017-18. In the school board’s first…

BEACON FALLS – The town is considering three bids for a new fire truck, the most expensive purchase the town has made in a decade. Taxpayers approved $850,000 for the project a year and a half ago. But when the…

MIDDLEBURY – Hundreds of dead ash trees pose a threat of falling onto pedestrians, vehicular traffic and even some houses. “We knew about this problem for a while and it’s about time we do something about it,” said Public Works…

SALISBURY Housatonic Camera Club’s annual show and sale at Noble Horizons always allows viewers the opportunity see and learn why the photographers choose their diverse subjects. Among those exhibiting was Brian Wilcox, a well-known Sharon photographer who has branched out…

The Torrington and Region 7 school districts and the Botelle School in Norfolk have already announced they will be closed tomorrow because of tonight’s forecasted snowstorm. Meteorologists have predicted the region to receive between 5 and 10 inches of snow…

TORRINGTON — Dissatisfied with special education in the city, resident Keith Hudak has started a petition to oust Superintendent Denise L. Clemons. “Under the direction of this superintendent, we have seen the special education department neglected and mismanaged to the…

HARTFORD – Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is receiving regular briefings on the flooding in Kent, where town officials have declared a local state of emergency. The Housatonic River spilled over its banks Saturday, flooding homes, forcing some residents to evacuate,…

WINSTED — Police identified the victim in a fatal crash Sunday night as Richard Halsted Jr., 37, of Colebrook Road in Winsted. The circumstances of the evening crash remain under investigation by a crash investigation team. Police say Halsted was…

KENT – Town officials declared a state of emergency Monday due to flooding and ice jams in the Housatonic River and they anticipated more problems in the coming days. The declaration is designed to “open an uninterrupted line of communication…

WATERBURY – The city has implemented a parking ban starting at midnight Tuesday due to the impending snowstorm. In addition to all currently posted “snow zones,” there will be no parking on the odd-numbered side of all city streets. Residents…

WATERBURY – Pine Street is closed between Willow and Cliff streets due to a gas leak Tuesday morning. Early Tuesday, a passerby smelled a strong odor of natural gas and contacted authorities. Police blocked off the road and Eversource and…

WATERBURY Pieces of the once-grand Howland-Hughes Department Store are finding their way into some of today’s most popular television productions, including one that just picked up two Golden Globes. In two decades since the closure of Howland-Hughes Department Store, Hank…

WATERBURY – An armed robber fired off a gunshot into a cooler near a store clerk during a holdup of a North Main Market on Sunday night. There were no injuries during the gunfire at Cindy’s Market in the 700…

WINSTED – A driver died of injuries he suffered after crashing in front of the Department of Motor Vehicles on Torrington Road Sunday evening. Police received a 911 call at 8:22 p.m. about the one-car accident. Police said the vehicle…

SOUTHBURY – A gray morph screech owl flew into a window to the right of the Loft entrance at Southbury Green shopping center on Dec. 18. Animal Control Officer Bob Harrison wrapped the injured bird in a towel, then met…

TORRINGTON – It has been four months since Torrington Health and Rehabilitation Center closed its doors following a bankruptcy but there could be new life for the building involving seniors. Commercial real estate agent Vance Taylor said there has been…

WINSTED – Recent standardized test scores for Gilbert School students indicate somewhat mixed results, but school officials are happy with the progress made in certain areas. Gilbert Director of Curriculum Debra Lewis made a presentation to the Board of Education…

WOLCOTT – The Town Council meeting tonight could feature discussion on two hot-button topics: the 2018-22 teachers contract and a possible 1.57 mill supplemented tax. The teachers contract, which pays out an average annual raise of 2.4 percent, was less…

WINSTED – The following are results for Gilbert School students who took the Smarter Balance Achievement Consortium (SBAC) test from 2014 to 2016. In 2014, 40 percent of seventh-graders met the state goal on the English test, 33 percent were…

WATERBURY – Monday’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day program was an emotional roller coaster for many, with a rousing sermon, contemplative prayers, a bit of humor, and a tearful recognition of Vietnam veteran Samuel K. Beamon, who has been fighting…