A Newsier Newsletter 

This week we launch a new feature: short accounts of issues First Selectman Matt Riiska feels important for the town to know. This week he gives us updates on Infinity Hall and the continuing gas spill recovery. We will, of course, continue to list all the community events that make Norfolk so special.
For more about what’s happening, visit norfolkct.org's calendar section, your daily directory to Norfolk living. Help pread the word--forward this newsletter to a friend so they can sign up for a free subscription.

From the Selectman's Desk ... 

The subcommittee dealing with the transfer of Infinity Hall from GoodWorks Entertainment Group to a nonprofit corporation is creating a 501 (c) 3 to allow operation of the facility by a Board of Directors.

"Right now, we're talking to people who could be on the board." Ideas for the building's use include continuing to have GoodWorks/Infinity Hall present  concerts at the venue while opening it up to other events. An operator would be found to manage the restaurant.

GoodWorks/Infinity Hall proposes divesting itself of the property to trim overhead in the aftermath of the Covid crisis. GoodWorks would give the property to the nonprofit and the building would return to its original name of Village  Hall.

"We don’t know the timeframe," Riiska said. "There are a lot of moving parts. It is going to be sporadic for a while, but it will reopen as a nonprofit entertainment venue. It's moving slowly, but in the right direction."

Cleanup from Gas Spill Making Progress 

Work continues to remove contaminated soil from the spill site where a tractor-trailer carrying 8,200 gallons of gas overturned  November 5. First Selectman Matt Riiska reports that Verdantas, which monitors pollution levels, and ESI, which does remediation, continue to work on Route 44 and Maple Avenue, where families were displaced.
Work on Route 44 resumes next week when pipes and contaminated soil will be removed and replaced in the vicinity of 97 and 105 Greenwoods Road, the epicenter of the spill. "It will probably continue for a week-and-a-half, but Route 44 will not be closed," Riiska said."We want to be able to get the family back into Number 97 by December 16th."
The family was relocated to a rental property. Residents who live at Numbers 89 and 93 Greenwoods Road East are staying at Mountain View Inn.
Riiska said the source of gas fumes that plagued a property owner at 58 Maple Avenue were identified and corrected. "An old drainpipe accumulated gas and fumes that went into the basement," Riiska reported.
The town website now has a page dedicated to the cleanup. Click here.

Villaschi Art Show at Library  

Sergio Villaschi will exhibit his photographs at the Norfolk Library in December. A resident of Warren, Villaschi grew up in Italy, where he practiced Surgical Pathology at the University of Rome. After retirement, he revived his interest in photography, playing with light and color to give a depth and texture to his compositions. An artist's reception will be held Sunday from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., hosted by the Norfolk Library Associates.

Calder Trophy Bonspiel Underway 

The Calder Trophy Bonspiel at the Norfolk Curling Club is underway and continues through Sunday at the club's headquarters, 70 Golf Drive. The public is invited to watch. There will be a Sunday finals round. For information, go to [email protected].

Book Group Readies for Winter Read 

The Norfolk Book Group, sponsored by the Norfolk Library and led by Mark Scarbrough, completes its fall reading schedule December 15 with a discussion of Ivan Turgenev's "Virgin Soil." The group meets via Zoom, with morning and evening sessions on select Thursdays. To get an Zoom invitation, click here. The winter reading schedule for Thomas Pynchon’s "Mason & Dixon" is: January 12,  Part One: Latitudes & Departures, episodes 1 to 25;  January 26, Part Two: America, episodes 26 to 54; February 9, Part Two, America, episode 55 to Part Three, Last Transit, episode 78.

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