Madison News Roundup

FRIDAY
3-6 p.m., Town Green — The Madison Farmers’ Market, begun in 2007, runs every Friday from May 1 to October 23. This beautiful and diverse market is centrally located in Madison, CT, on the Historic Town Green. The farmers/vendors who make up this bustling market offer a wide array of CT Grown/produced items, which are beautifully presented.
5 p.m., RJ Julia — Meet Shannon Hale, award winning author of Princess Academy, presents her latest book and the follow up to Goose Girl, Forest Born. Join us for an afternoon of magic and plot twists that will leave you buzzing all weekend long.
7 p.m., Scranton Library — Audrey Niffenegger (The Time Traveler’s Wife) presents her spectacularly compelling and haunting second novel, Her Fearful Symmetry. Hosted at the Scranton Memorial Library. Tickets are $10; $5 may go towards the purchase of the book.
7 p.m., Sheehan HS, Wallingford — Daniel Hand HS varsity football, away game. Shaeehan HS, 142 Hope Hill Rd., Wallingford, CT 06492.

SATURDAY
8-10:30 a.m., Hammonasset — The 23rd Annual Fall Bird Walk series at Hammonasset State Park and Beach is conducted each Saturday from September 12 to November 21. Participants will see migratory shorebirds, songbirds, and birds of prey at one of the premier birding areas in Connecticut. Participants meet at The Audubon Shop, at 7:50 a.m. and carpool to the park. There is a $4 charge per person. For more information, call 203-245-9056, or visit the Audubon Shop website.
10 a.m.-5 p.m., Hammonasset — The Hammonasset Festival, honoring Native American lifestyles and the environment, runs Saturday and Sunday, rain or shine. Featuring Native American dancing, drumming, environmental education, Peabody Museum, Sierra Club, Inst. of American Indian Studies, falconry, Joseph FireCrow, Nichole Frechette, McGeepa Project, and much more (including pony rides!)

SUNDAY
10 a.m.-5 p.m., Hammonasset — The Hammonasset Festival, honoring Native American lifestyles and the environment, runs Saturday and Sunday, rain or shine. Featuring Native American dancing, drumming, environmental education, Peabody Museum, Sierra Club, Inst. of American Indian Studies, falconry, Joseph FireCrow, Nichole Frechette, McGeepa Project, and much more (including pony rides!)

For more Madison, CT events listings, visit our new Madison Events Calendar. Please let us know if you would like your organization’s events added to the calendar.

After years of debate and legal challenges, the town of Madison, CT has reached an agreement to purchase the 42-acre site of the former Griswold Airport on the eastern edge of town. The agreement, which was to be officially announced at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday morning, was broadcast in an email and on the Web on Tuesday.

Rumors had begun percolating for months that the Trust for Public Land (TPL) was negotiating to buy the parcel, which the Leyland Alliance purchased for $4 million. Leyland had planned to build Madison Landing, a 127-unit active adult condominium community, on the site. However, because the site abuts one of the state’s largest remaining salt water estuaries, the plan was meant with strong opposition from conservationists, who feared the development would pollute the property, which is located adjacent to Hammonasset Beach State Park, the Hammonasset River, and the tidal marshes of Long Island Sound.

No details were available Tuesday on the town’s plans for the site.

Alice Eve Cohen’s memoir, What I Thought I Knew, tops the autumn reading list compiled by Roxanne Coady of RJ Julia Booksellers in Madison, CT. Coady describes the book as “an adventure of personal exploration that challenged Cohen to reassess how she saw herself, what she thought she was about and what she thought she was capable of.” Other books on the list, appearing on the Women on the Web website, include The Brass Verdict, by Michael Connelly; The Wasted Vigil, by Nadeem Aslam; and Olive Kitteridge, by Elizabeth Strout. See more of Coady’s selections at the RJ Julia website.

Residents of Madison, CT (and Guilford, Branford, and North Branford) are invited to bring their household hazardous wastes for disposal from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, September 26, 2009 at Hammonasset State Park. The pickup is being conducted by Household Hazwaste Central in conjunction with the Madison Health Department and assisted by the volunteer efforts of the North Madison Volunteer Fire Company. Among the items that can be disposed of are chemicals, paints, oils, pesticides, etc., with no need to drive to New Haven. Residents are asked to not bring latex paint, propane tanks, crankcase oil, antifreeze or car batteries. For more information on what to bring and what not to bring, see the brochures at Town Campus, Scranton Library, The Depot, and various other locations in Madison, visit the Water Authority website at www.rwater.com/hazwaste. For more detailed information, call 401-2712 or email ask.hazwaste@rwater.com.

Madison, CT voters are being asked to attend a special town meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday, September 30, in the Polson School Auditorium, to vote on the proposed land swap between the town of Madison and Madison Beach Hotel LLC. In order to cast your vote, please bring your license or other proof of residency. The auditorium doors will open at 6:15 p.m. According to the town’s “key information” page, the town would be gaining a property containing 11,648 square feet (including buildings) with 102 feet of direct waterfront and an appraised value of $1.4 million. The Town would be giving up a parcel of land containing 10,716 square feet with approximately a 40 foot wide strip of beachfront and an estimated appraised value of $54,000. However, the net yearly loss in revenue to the Town would be approximately $17,000.00. The swap would increase the eastern beach area of West Wharf to a total of 202 feet of waterfront property. The town says that new uses would include, but are not limited to, a new sheltered swimming area, expanded beach to handle more residents, and expanded parking (for 32 additional vehicles). The swap is supported by the Beach and Recreation Commission.

The Madison Land Conservation Trust will sponsor its 15th annual Autumn Moonlight Walk on Sunday, October 4. Durant McCurley will play the bagpipes for walkers, who will follow the Garvan Trail at the Madison Surf Club. Walkers should gather at Garvan Point at 6:45 p.m. After the walk, refreshments will be served in the Surf Club building, where members of the New Haven Astronomical Society will set up telescopes for viewing the moon, planets, and stars in the nighttime sky. The event is free. The following Wednesday, October 7, there will be a guided hike on the southern portion of the Bailey Trail along the Hammonasset River — one of the Land Trust’s most popular trails — starting at 10 a.m. Read more of Joan O’Neill’s account at the Courant.com

Amateur and seasoned archaeologists didn’t find all that they hoped for during a dig this week in four test pits at Old Route 79 and Yankee Peddler Path. They did, however, unearth a pottery fragment believed to have been used by Native Americans who once roamed the area. The dig was prompted by the discovery 22 years ago of more than two dozen ancient spearheads. Read Amanda Pinto’s story in the Register.

DNA evidence used to solve a crime in Madison, CT? Not exactly the norm for our quiet little town. But then again, neither was the July 2008 armed robbery of five people at Paul C. Lirot Jewelers on Wall Street in which the robbers made off with at least $100,000 in merchandise. The Connecticut State Police Major Crime Squad, who assisted local police, took DNA samples from the scene and from a vehicle that was recovered later. Madison police say they are hoping for a breakthrough soon. Read Amanda Pinto’s story in the Register.

What should the town of Madison, CT do about the Academy School, or the public works garage, or Memorial Town Hall? An architectural firm has completed its review of the buildings, and now the town wants to hears residents’ views on what should be done with the structures. The Joint Facilities Review Committee has scheduled three public workshop sessions, with the first slated for 7-8:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, in Memorial Town Hall. Read Marianne Sullivan’s account in The Source.

The Connecticut Water Company (CWC) announced today that it has acquired the Legend Hill water system in Madison, Connecticut. The purpose of the acquisition is to enable CWC to solve water quality issues in the system and at two public schools in Madison.

The level of uranium in the Legend Hill system and at wells serving the neighboring Ryerson Elementary and Brown Middle schools in Madison had been higher than allowed by drinking water standards. Last November, when the uranium issue at the schools was announced in the news media, CWC, which already serves a portion of Madison, began looking for a solution to the uranium issue for the condominiums and the schools.

According to Eric W. Thornburg, President and CEO of CWC, a creative solution was forged through the cooperation of local and state health officials, the Board of Education, town and state government leaders and the Legend Hill Condominium Association. Mr. Thornburg states, “CWC was able to purchase the Legend Hill system for one dollar, install a treatment system to address the uranium issue and then connect the Ryerson and Brown schools to the treated water supply. This project highlights the company’s commitment to finding cost-effective solutions to water quality problems in our communities. The fact that we were able to solve this issue in about nine months from start to finish is a testament to the dedication of all parties involved.” The uranium treatment system and piping to the schools were operational by the start of the school year.