Monthly Archives: May 2017

A Pet Holiday

In a recent visit to the veterinarians office was the brochure “101 Things You didn’t know could harm your pet.”

In the good weather pets spend more time outside with and without us humans directly by their side watching and controlling their every movement.

Outside the house some of the dangers listed were algae, burns from fire pits and grills, wounds from fences and gates, eating of cocoa mulch and compost, pesticides, fertilizers, and ingesting chemicals when drinking from fountains, pools and hot tubs.
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Broken wiffle ball pieces can tear the stomach or intestine lining when eaten. The calmest and most trusting of pets may be frightened by the sounds of fireworks and run off to hide and get lost or may run out into traffic.

Different types of chocolate have different levels of toxicity but its not the only danger to pets and wildlife at a picnic. Grapes and raisins, avocados, onions, garlic, coffee, alcoholic beverages, spoiled foods and fatty foods are all dangerous and encouraging animals to eat them may result in very costly veterinarian bills for treatment.

When you choose to eat outdoors bring a few special treats for your pet so they can feel a part of the festivities while staying safe. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper. Use a small melon baller to create mini-canned food balls and freeze them overnight. In the morning empty the frozen balls into a plastic bag for convenient dog treats in hot weather. Freeze filled water balloons. Use the balloons to keep your food cold and then remove the plastic and let the animals enjoy the cold water or frozen ball. My cats loved their kibble fresh from the freezer too.

Pets are just like us. Just because we like it, doesn’t mean that it is good for us. Demonstrate your love for your pets and wildlife by keeping their health and well-being in mind by spending time with them and supplying them with healthy treats that are good for them.

Happy Memorial Day!

Thank you for reading and sharing my blog freely with your family or friends or anyone you think might be interested or in a position to take on some of the suggested projects. Don’t hesitate to contact me for further information. I am happy to pass along anything I can. Together we can make a difference. Email comments on this blog to berylfishbone@yahoo.com View my past columns at http://www.norwichbulletin.com/section/blogs.

Good place to be?

Norwich, CT is indeed a great place to be from if you were raised, lived or worked here from the 1950’s through the 1970’s. There were stores, good schools, manufacturing, parks and recreation programs for all ages and interests, an accessible library you weren’t afraid to send children by themselves and a YMCA that had two pools. Then something happened.

An adjustment of the world economy descended on eastern CT and Norwich, CT. It hit harder than other places and we have never recovered. Norwich, CT is now not only a not so great place to be from but it is a not so great place to be now.

I can’t change the past. I can’t change the actions of the past to make the present different. However, I can change the present to make the future different. I cannot make the future what Norwich, CT was in the past but together we can work to make Norwich, CT a better place to be now and in the future.

Taftville is sprucing itself up for the Fireman’s Parade in September. Personally I think it is a shame no group in Taftville wanted to take on the project of painting their fire hydrants like Greeneville did. But with the work being done on the mill Taftville will still look awesome when all the Fire Departments of the State of CT come to visit.

Greeneville is having a growth spurt with new stores opening and one of the best parks in the city for all ages and likes basketball, grass to play on, swings and slides, a mini-library and a gazebo.

East Great Plains has some new retail places getting ready to open and has become an area mecca for lovers of fast food. Have you eaten some of the slower foods available downtown? Yeah. Downtown. There is parking close-by and some decidedly tasty treats from around the world.

Did you realize there are three different restaurants at the Stop & Shop Center? Three! A sandwich shop, a Chinese restaurant and an American food shop as well as a yogurt shop for anyone looking for sweet snack or dessert.

The biggest promoters of Norwich, CT souvenirs are our drug stores. Have you ever checked out what is available at the Uncas Pharmacy? I guarantee you will find the perfect Norwich, CT postcard or gift.

I am working on getting the Highway signs on route 395 to say that Norwich, CT has FIVE active art galleries. FIVE! How many have you been to? Four of them participate in a year long project called First Friday. The galleries are open late from 6 PM – 9 PM the First Friday of every month. All twelve of them. Rain or shine. Start with dinner at one of the eateries and then enjoy the galleries before attending a live theater or music show. Yes. The very same night. The galleries are free and the shows have very reasonable rates. Now if we could just get a coffee, tea, hot cocoa and sweet shop to be open late for the after the show crowd.

Employment is plentiful in medicine, law, and retail. Our business park has room for more businesses that need extended square footage. You can rent part of a building until you are ready to expand. For anyone just starting out for a very reasonable rate you can become a member of a business incubator located in the old Norwich Bulletin building downtown. Not one, but two Chambers of Commerce will encourage you to join them as they promote the area within the region. We have some beautiful solid and roomy old mills on the Shetucket River that are perfect for manufacturing too.

Humph. Maybe I was wrong and Norwich, CT is not such a bad place to be now.

Opinion of Modern Woman

Modern women are loud and proud about what they can and can’t do and so are some of the modern males. Both are acting as if the abilities of women were never before appreciated at any time in history. Not exactly the case as this article from the Norwich Packet of October 24, 1797 titled the Rights of Woman demonstrates. I wonder when precisely the opinion of woman fell out of favor. What caused the change. How do we as a modern progressive society keep it from happening again?

“At the late election in this town the FEMALES asserted the privilege granted them by the laws of this state, and gave in their votes for members to represent them in the State-legislature.
Though it is a general opinion that females ought not to intermeddle in political affairs, yet the Emperor of Java never employed any but women in his embassies, and those are generally widows. The court of Java is persuaded that women are better calculated than men for negotiation, that they are more accustomed to dissimulation and constraint, that they have more address and ascendancy, and that they possess greater resources of a creative fancy, as well as servility in expedience.

A Correspondent asks – Is it not probable that we should have obtained better terms in a certain treaty, had some WIDOW been appointed to negotiate it, instead of an extraordinary MALE minister.”
I was just wondering who this very public barb was aimed at.

Norwich Posters

Soon we will be shopping for holiday and other occasional gifts and I am still looking for the made in Norwich, CT items and especially the posters.

The reprinting of the photographs is old tired and boring. Especially when there are no people, no time period and so many of the pictures are of buildings ready to be torn down or my favorite, after a fire or other disaster has taken them down. I am more interested in seeing the beauty and life of the area.

Where are the photo’s of pride? The photo’s of the ribbon cuttings? The passing of the gavels? The beautiful brides and the handsome grooms, graduates of the many area schools in full regalia, and more importantly where are the photos of the inventors of Norwich, CT with their inventions and their patents. Certainly there are a few of those around somewhere? Norwich, CT residents had hundreds of the early patents. Why are we not seeing their drawings or renderings on our walls?

Connecticut was once a center of creativity, manufacturing, and the arts. I did a small search of the records of the United States Patent Office. There were thousands of patents originating from Norwich and then there were few. Times and circumstances changed. The paperwork and lengths of time to obtain a patent changed. But where there was once curiosity, drive to discovery, and vision is now blanket acceptance of whatever is handed to us.

As a community, as a city, as a state we need to be visually reminded of how we created what we envisioned. It is time for Norwich to be a leader. Let our past be our leader.

Posters have an ability to communicate the pride of community and the ‘can-do’ attitude to our students and entrepreneurs that need some encouragement. Posters can show not just what was done before but posters can encourage what can be done starting today, for tomorrow.

I would like to see these posters framed on the walls of city hall, in the hallways of our schools, and wherever people gather. It is time for the residents of Norwich to take back the City of Norwich, to make suggestions and to once more be loud and proud about the community we live in.

Saying what’s right

In October of 2013 I wrote with great hope the following blog all about marketing to the residents of Norwich all the reasons why Norwich, CT is a great place to live. “The American Planning Association had named Norwich, CT as one of the top ten cities in the country. That’s nice. But what does it mean? 40 years ago some well-meaning citizens placed an inventory of the downtown buildings on record. More recently we, the voters approved a bond. Now we are being rewarded with a nice title. But what does it mean?

By itself this new award means little. But if it were combined to be displayed with some reminders of some past awards there is a chance that it could be – useful.

I would like to see the marketers of Norwich make a list of the prestigious titles and awards Norwich has been awarded in the past 30 years. Then I would like them to choose the top 15 and create a display or a billboard that reminds visitors and residents of these honors. A visual reminder of the good things about Norwich.

I would like to see a series of well written articles about how these various awards are individual pieces that lend support to one another creating a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.

We as residents need reminders because we have lost focus of the good bits. Speaking for myself I am inundated with all that is wrong with Norwich, all that makes me sad, and unhappy and angry. I have not seen one article, one advertisement, one commercial that demonstrates the positives of our community.

It is time that we see that. That we, the residents, be reminded of what is right with Norwich. Reminded of what we have to be proud of. The successful marketing of Norwich is not what we do on the outside but the successful marketing of Norwich will begin on the inside. The successful marketing of Norwich must begin with us.”

Our elected, appointed and very well paid marketers of Norwich, CT have still not made this a priority. The only thing that is a priority in Norwich, CT as well as many other local Connecticut communities is raising the taxes, fees, charges and everything else so that things can remain the same. I don’t want things to remain the same in any community of Connecticut. I want things, people, places and circumstances to improve, to get better. I don’t need ribbons, certificates or awards. I need actions to be taken. I need attitudes to change that will make me feel better about the state I have made my home. I need to have others besides myself to have pride in the place we call home. I need those in charge to stop telling me how they can’t do their job because they don’t have the funding (tax dollars) they think they need but to use their funding more judiciously, effectively and in some cases to work with others for the greater good. Let’s take back our City of Norwich CT from this so-called experienced leadership and do what needs to be done ourselves. Let’s start concentrating on saying what is right with Norwich, CT

Gift a Garden

Sunday, May 14,2017 is the traditional Mother’s Day in America. But if you are looking to give Mom a non-traditional gift, consider giving her a wild flower garden that she can enjoy but does not have to tend. With some help from your local garden center choose some plants and seeds that celebrate her heritage. You will also be helping the bird, bee and other helpful critter populations.

For example – An Irish Wild flower garden might have a mix of poppies, sweetpea, wild viola, cornflower, calendula, nasturtiums, baby blue-eyes, maiden pinks, forget-me-nots, snapdragons, clarkia, and baby breath.

Every motorway in Germany has been sewn with a meadow mix of poppies, corn flowers, daisies, yellow rattle, pink nettle, phacelia, roses and red orach.

Lawns are meadows in Poland filled with hay, ox-eyed daisies, meadow buttercups, ragged robin, St. Johns Wort, field poppies, marigolds, dark mullion, and scabious.

Canada is not so far away and so the possibilities are an endless mix of familiar annuals and perennials. Lupin, brown-eyed susans, coreopsis, golden Alexander, New England asters, Wild Indigo Blue, milkweed, Smooth Penstemon, Gay Feather, Eastern Columbine, anything that blooms in red, white, blue, yellow, pink or lavender.

A Harry Potter fan I loved learning the names of the blooms in the gardens and meadows of Scotland that change with each season. Yarrow, wild thyme, wild strawberries, marjoram, giant bellflower, slender St Johnswort, Devils Bilscabious, cornflower, foxglove, white campion, toad flax, seapink thrift, teasel, tansy, vipers bugloss, water avens, violets, sneeze wort, selfheal, primrose, bluebells, burdock, common knapweed and burdock.

Italian gardens are labor intensive geometric topiaries and shaped greens with few flowers. The hedges are shaped into balls, cones and other shapes that bring interest. If it’s not a hedge there are trees and plants will grow to a huge size in giant container pots. Pergolas will be smothered with fragrant climbers such as wisteria, jasmine, and roses. Around the hedges or perhaps in the center of the perfectly coifed hedge will be lavender or rosemary.

Red geraniums are often the only flower to contrast the green. You will see Bear’s Breeches, Boxwood, Italian Cypress, Eucriphia, Holly, Myrtle, and Yew.

Domestic window boxes are filled with green herbs and the flowers are left to be decorations for the markets. So maybe a small dish garden of herbs might be a great gift that keeps giving throughout the year?

Make Mohegan Park Better

How can Mohegan Park in Norwich, CT be made to appear more user friendly? Much of the park has been left in its natural state on purpose. The park is a tribute to the past. For the residents and visitors to see what was and can marvel at how far civilization has progressed. I can follow a mostly paved path around Spaulding Pond or I can select to follow more natural paths through the woods. There are age appropriate play grounds, swimming in the summer, picnic areas all year round, basketball courts, tennis courts nearby, soccer fields and ball fields and fishing too.

But what would you like to see in Mohegan Park? How can it be made to appear friendlier to visitors? What signs would you like to see? How can the wording be changed to be more positive? What would be useful to you? What are your concerns about the park? How do you use the park? Do you drive there? Take the bus? Walk? Go only with a group for an annual picnic? Are you worried there is a charge? Do you understand the signs? Would you be interested in guided tours of the flowers? Wild herbs? The geology of the park? Are you a cross country runner ? What are your interests?

If no one says anything, then nothing will change. Complaining in generalities won’t get anything changed because the people who can make changes can’t set priorities of what needs to get done first so that momentum can be built and momentum is important.

Speaking up and speaking out does not need to be rude or angry. An example of a helpful suggestion might be “Better marking of the trails.” Or “Add colors to the Welcome to Mohegan Park signs.” Or “Update the bathrooms. They are smelly and dark.”
Would your family, group or organization be willing to take on a project at Mohegan Park? Your choice of project. Your choice of date, time and place. All ages are encouraged to participate. All help is appreciated. Together, we can be the leaders that make Norwich, CT a better place to live and work.

Norwich Memorial Rose Garden Notes

On the 5th of May 2017 I had the privilege of performing a wedding service at the Norwich Memorial Rose Garden. I wandered around a bit and found the “Cinco de Mayo Rose.” Do you know where to find those particular rose bushes? The hedge bushes are going to be gorgeous toward the end of June. The flowers will be a blend of lavender and a rusty orange-red with a bright yellow center button. The leaves are a deep glossy green that hold up well throughout the summer and deep into the fall.

Does anyone else recall the concerts at the Rose Garden? It has been a long time since the sound of music echoed back from the hill behind the Gazebo. Parking is always a challenge but the evening was so worth an extra few steps. How I wish we could bring back a few of those concerts. Some places are forced to build a band shell but in Norwich, CT our natural setting goes to waste. Next time you are there, imagine the sounds without electronic intervention of a Spanish guitar, or a trumpet, hear a string quartet whisper their songs, or how a harp might sound with the bird songs in the background.

If you need a break from the storytellers of the many historical walks of Norwich, CT wander the pathways of the Rose Garden and read the memorials to those who walked the aisles before. Is there interest in learning the back stories of these people?

Indulge me as I list a few (who you may not know) with the personal hope that they somehow know they were thought of today with blessings and gratitude – – Mary was remembered by her son, 1952. Mildred Chapman, recalled by the Trinity Church Parish, 1957. George F. Chase, 1892-1974, William A Norten, for 25 years as Secretary of the Park Board. Henry D. Johnson 1872-1956 Park Commissioner 1920-1949. Walter Adamcewicz 1921-2003. Ebenezer Learned, 1950. Margaret Taber, 1888-1976. Lucille Howard Batchelder, 1940. Cosmo J Quercia, 1915-1974. Dr. Glen R. Urquhart, 1949. E. Arnold Smith, Jr., Herb – How much we miss you. Edna O. Gilman. In memory of Elmer Rose. Matthew E Zawacki, Cox USN, 1928-1945. 22 years old WWII. Antonia Rozance Matteson 1892-1976. Myrtle Buteau Stanley, 1904-1979. Wilbert Perkins, 1945-1977. Wilbert Perkins, 1945-1977. Alexander Winn Abbott, 1952. Robert Mankowski, 1911-1977. Robert E Ennis Jr, MM1/C USN, USS Corvina SS 226, 1922-1943. Dr C G Thompson, 1889-1955. Catherine P. Shea, 1905-1975. Thomas W. Dutton. Rose Curran. Alexander G. Rygielski, 1928-1977. Eva Annie Freeman. Leroy E Saunders. Janet A Beattie and Thomas J Dorset, 1956-1973.

NPU Budget

My apologies. My apologies to each and every one of my fellow Norwich, CT taxpayers and Norwich Public Utilities rate payers. I did not take advantage of the public hearings to openly discuss the now adopted Norwich Public Utilities Budget.

I did not follow up on the questions I had when I reviewed a draft copy of the NPU budget. Draft copies of the budget were available to the public at the Customer Service Office if you spoke very firmly. If you just asked nicely, there were no copies available. It was not posted to the website. At the meeting to adopt the budget, the Commissioners were quick to say that they already had their questions answered. I wonder if theirs were the same as my unanswered questions.

To look at the 18 page is daunting. It is 18 pages of numbers. The numbers are in five columns titled 2017 Budget, 2017 Forecast, 2018 Proposed and Difference to Forecast (It’s the proposed number minus the Forecast Number).Revenues have a note “(minus interest inc).” Inc? Then its broken down to Gas, Electric, Water, Sewer, Gas and Electric Supply, Payroll and Benefits, Operations and Maintenance, General and Administration Summary, and again by division and finally there is a Debt Service Schedule.

There is no mention of what specific fiscal year is being planned for. No descriptions, highlights, definitions, budget formats, planning approaches or processes or glossary. No budget review schedule. No executive summary, receipt highlights, capital improvements, operating expenditures, and independent financial statements. No statements of cash flows, economic assumptions, key financial ratios. Capital Projects are not explained or even enumerated. Would it be too much to show the budget year amount and the Total Project Cost? Fund Balance Summaries? The list goes on.

This excuse for a budget should not have been accepted until each and every entry was explained, in detail. I looked on line at eight other public utility companies throughout the country and not one just handed out pages of numbers as their draft budget. Some of them had other problems but they were still closer in format to the Fiscal Budgets most of us are used to seeing even perhaps a bit overwhelming in the amounts of information they contain.

It is time Norwich, CT residents stop being complacent and trusting of our public officials. Look at everything and do not be afraid to question anything. It is your wallet that they are emptying.

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