Recent Stories

And the winner is …

Scott Rhoades, of Storrs, won the Marty and Don Wilmot Award for his acrylic painting, Kindred Spirits. The work depicting the giant moose and tiny turtle amid reflected autumnal glory earned the top prize at the 2025 Celebrating New England’s Natural Beauty Art Show hosted by the Granby Land Trust and the Granby Artists Association at Lost Acres Vineyard.

2026 Plan of Conservation and Development Committee formed

An 11-member committee appointed by the planning and zoning commission is working on updating the town’s Plan of Conservation and Development, more commonly referred to as the “POCD.” The POCD is a guiding document used by town government and the public, that outlines policies, goals and standards for the physical and economic development of the town.

How Granby prioritizes and funds infrastructure improvements

Granby is a town that practices “direct democracy.” What does that mean? It means you, the voters, through the ballot box, choose your elected officials every other November, you approve the town’s annual budget in April and, periodically, you are asked to go to the polls to approve spending and funding for large infrastructure (capital) improvements.

Social Services — Nov. 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.

Painting Patriotism, Healing Wounds: The Art of Col. John Trumbull

The Farmington Valley CT Heritage Network is pleased to present a timely and engaging lecture with Walter Woodward, Painting Patriotism, Healing Wounds: The Art of Col. John Trumbull. This richly illustrated talk discusses the lifelong struggle of John Trumbull to earn respect for his art by creating a series of American history paintings, many of the Revolutionary War, of which he was a veteran.

Town unveils FY26 Departmental Work Plans

Each year after the budget is approved, department heads prepare work plans for the initiatives they plan to complete with the approved funds. Departmental work plans focus on initiatives over and above daily operations with the overarching goal to “move the town forward”.

The budget—managing the beast

Board of finance members often hear, “why does the mill rate seem to always go up while in most years rates don’t change for federal and state income taxes? From the revenue perspective, this reflects that the income base to which state and federal tax rates apply generally increases annually as income levels and taxable population steadily rise.

Minutes for Town Meetings

This issue of the Drummer does not have Highlights of the various Granby board and  commission meetings.

For those interested in reading the full minutes, please visit the Granby town website, granby-ct.gov, and click on the green Agendas and Minutes button.

Granby Food Bank

We currently need: Jarred spaghetti sauce, Canned meat ravioli, Canned chicken/chili, Knorr rice/pasta sides, Brownie/cake/cookie mixes, Applesauce/pineapple, Progresso soups, Bar soap/dishwashing soap, Tea/coffee

Environmental policy deserves facts, not spin

Last month, an opinion piece criticized my record on environmental issues. I agree with the writer on one important point, protecting our environment is essential—future generations depend on it. But her piece misrepresented my voting record. Legislators should be scrutinized, but that scrutiny should be based on facts, not selective scoring or political spin.