Granby Drummer (https://granbydrummer.com/author/shirley-murtha/page/4/)
Madeleine Ayotte and Zainab Zafar are the 2025-26 student representatives to the board of selectmen. They are well-rounded in their school and personal lives and are enthusiastic reporters of all things going on at Granby Memorial High School. They’re also not hesitant to ask questions or offer opinions when asked to do so.
For possibly up to 50 years, a beautiful ginkgo biloba graced the Granby Town Green. A stately tree that has been growing on our planet since the dinosaurs roamed, there is but the one species, biloba.
How would Granby officials respond to a town-wide emergency? Imagine an extended drought where brush fires were popping up all over town and the fire department was stretched thin. What if homes, businesses and a school burned? What if water was in short supply and wells were running dry? What if Granby needed to open and run shelters for those displaced by the fires?
Raised in Westfield, Mass., in the late 50s/early 60s, Martha Kane knew instinctively from early childhood that things were not going well for many of the planet’s plants and animals. Environmentalists were few and far between and politicians had not yet instituted Earth Day, so most people were unaware of any serious problems with the way humans were interacting with the natural world. Young Martha decided she would become a scientist and do her best to help nature.
Town Manager Mike Walsh, Board of Education IT person Frank Melanson and Town of Granby IT person Tristen Grouten attended a cybersecurity program on May 28. The Town of Simsbury invited Avon, Canton, East Granby, Farmington and Granby to join in assessing how each town handles the occurrence of a cyber incident.
By the time you read this, Chris Fisher’s photography exhibit at Lost Acres Vineyard will probably be closed, so you will have to go to the libraries in East Granby (September), Simsbury (October) or Avon (November) to experience it, but it will be well worth the drive. He started taking pictures on a seven-week summer Eurail trip in 1971 and hasn’t stopped since!
In 2023 when Gabrielle Galiatsatos decided to expand her flower-growing hobby to better serve the community, she told her neighbor Michelle Neidermeyer, part owner of Lost Acres Vineyard with her husband Kevin Riggott, about her “crazy idea.” Neidermeyer enthusiastically offered the use of a segment of the Vineyard property and within a week, wood was delivered for the raised beds and a massive tulip bulb order was placed.
Rose-breasted grosbeaks are beautiful birds that return to New England from their winter homes in Central and South America to enjoy the fruits and berries that our summer vegetation provides.
The late Jerry Dickerson started a program 26 years ago that has helped countless Granby residents prepare their taxes.
After career paths in nursing, insurance and Simsbury government, Jen Espinal has found that being the town clerk in Granby suits her just fine.