Recent Stories

Salmon Brook hosts annual rubber duck race

The third annual Granby Grange Rubber Duck Race, sponsored by Lincoln Tech, was held on May 10 at Salmon Brook Park and was a tremendous success. With beautiful cold weather and high spirits, the event drew a lively crowd and community participation. Over $1,400 in prizes were awarded to the top 16 rubber duck winners and the last place winner.

The wrens return

Two years ago, I purchased a bird house thinking how lovely it would look in my tiny garden. I wasn’t sure if birds would ever nest in it, but I followed online instructions on how and where to situate it and a few weeks later I saw twigs sticking out from under the roof. We had a nest in progress—a wren! She’s back this year and another nest was built.

Tree Swallow

Jay Harder’s photo of a tree swallow is one of several by Granby Land Trust members during Spring Migration Walks in Dismal Brook Wildlife Preserve.

Davis painting to hang at country club

On April 23, Susan Regan of the Sylvia Davis Art Foundation presented an oil painting to Dick Zanini, director of history at the Wethersfield Country Club. The painting was completed by Sylvia Davis Patricelli in 1961 and reflects the practice tee at the 1961 ICO championship at the club.

Silver Street Glass at Wadsworth Atheneum

Annukka Ritalahti and Mark Gottlieb were pleased to be invited to the Wadsworth Atheneum’s 42nd Fine Art and Flowers exhibit April 25–27. It was the pair’s second invitation to be part of the display of arts and crafts, paintings and sculptures throughout the museum. Live entertainment, including music, was part of the festivities.

Social Services — June 2025

The focus of the Social Services Department is to coordinate existing federal, state, regional and local services, to increase community awareness of these services and to develop new programs to meet the needs of Granby residents.

News and Notes as of April 22, 2025

As I write this column, it’s the morning after Granby voters approved the FY26 budget.
A direct budget vote on the operation of our town is democracy in action and an important act in the self-governance of our community. Of the more than 8,500 registered voters in Granby, 1,126 exercised their voting privilege.

Town Hall News

Warmer weather is almost here, and the sun is setting at 7 p.m.! Enjoying the longer daylight hours and spending time outdoors is easy to do in our wonderful town. Read on for more information about activities in and around town.

New town manager takes the helm

Mike Walsh may be new to town, but it isn’t taking him long to get to know the staff at town hall and the leaders of the boards and commissions that make up our government. This interview will help all Granby residents to learn a little bit about him.

Please vote at the April 15 budget referendum!

On Monday, April 15 the Town Budget Referendum will be held in the Town Hall Meeting Room in Granby’s Town Hall, 15 North Granby Road. The polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Plan to bring an ID, preferably a photo ID, to be checked off our official voter list.

Meet new Town Manager Mike Walsh

Hello, Granby! Let me take this opportunity to introduce myself. My name is Mike Walsh, and March 4 was my first day of work as your town manager.

From the Granby PD

As clocks move forward and weather gets increasingly warmer, the Granby Police Department extends a kindly reminder to drivers of increased vehicular activity on roads.

Why we need an updated emergency services radio system

his year’s annual budget referendum, town residents will be asked to approve the transfer of $4.6M from the general fund to a special fund for the Town Radio Systems Improvement Project. All the emergency services — Granby Police Department (GPD), Granby Ambulance Association (GAA), Lost Acres Fire Department (LAFD), Granby Department of Public Works (DPW) and the Certified Emergency Response Team (CERT) — are asking for your approval for this critical upgrade to our emergency services infrastructure. If approved, this will start a long-overdue, two-year project.

Town of Granby Meeting Calendar

Check Town of Granby website or call Town Manager’s office to verify date, time, location, and get information on how to participate on Zoom, if needed.

Targeting state legislators during the election season

ate Treasurer Erick Russell recently penned an op-ed in the Hartford Courant calling out Reps. Mark Anderson of Granby, Anne Dauphinais of Killingly, Joe Hoxha of Bristol, Brian Lanoue of Griswold and Donna Veach of Southington for supporting proposed legislation “targeting” transgender children—bills that call for parental notification and maintaining same-sex sports participation.

Code required to open outdoor AEDs

A bit of information has to be added to last month’s article on the town’s new AEDs. The new cabinets installed outdoors have a keypad on them. The user must call 911 to get the code to punch into the keypad to open the cabinet and access the device.

Correction:

In the February issue of The Drummer, the last sentence of the article entitled To Granby, with Love should have read: To Granby, with Love is available from the author at ftsnouthouse@gmail.com

Public Works — April 2024

Transfer Station extended hours: The Transfer Station will be open Wednesday mornings from 8 a.m. until noon beginning Wednesday, April 10th. The extended hours will be in effect through Wednesday, May 22nd.

Scott Hamilton’s Sk8 to Elimin8 Ice Show Returns

On April 26-27, 2024, Scott Hamilton’s Sk8 to Elimin8 Ice Show and Frozen 5k will return to Simsbury’s International Skating Center of Connecticut. Last year’s well-attended event raised $50,000 for cancer research, with a portion of the funds supporting the Connecticut Children’s Hospital.