Open art studio tours offered in town

The event will feature eight East Hampton artists, who will be opening their studios to the public.

EAST HAMPTON >> The East Hampton Arts & Culture Commission Open Studio Tour will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 29. The event will feature eight East Hampton artists, who will be opening their studios to the public.

An exhibit of work by area artists will also be held at Old Bank Flowers & Greenery/ Marketplace, 64 Main St., East Hampton. Maps of the studios will be available the day of the event at The Space, 64 Main St. (one of the featured studios), Old Bank Flowers & Greenery/ Marketplace and on EHACC’s new website www.artsforeasthamptonct.org.

For information, email arts@easthamptonct.org or call Melissa Pionzio at 860993-5311.

Private well owners invited to event

HADDAM >> The Connecticut River Area Health District (CRAHD) will host a Private Well Water Fair from 3 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 2, at the Middlesex Cooperative Extension Center.

The Connecticut Department of Public Health (CT DPH) will distribute free testing kits, which will allow homeowners to collect a sample from private wells that will be analyzed for two naturally occurring metals: arsenic and uranium. The samples will be analyzed by the CT DPH Laboratory.

“Arsenic and uranium are found in groundwater around Connecticut due to their presence in bedrock,” said DPH Epidemiologist Brian Toal, in a written statement. “These metals have no taste or odor so the only way to know if either toxic metal is present is to have your well water tested.”

Private well owners can bring a photo of their well cap as well as any past water testing and have our professionals examine them for possible problems. Do not bring your own water sample to the session. Sampling containers for arsenic/uranium will be provided on a first come, first serve basis. CRAHD will provide a follow up report with an explanation of the test results to all participants.

The water fair will take place in the Annex Room of the Middlesex Cooperative Extension Center, 1066 Saybrook Road, Haddam. For more information, call the Connecticut River Area Health District at 860-661-3300 or the CT DPH Private Well Program at 860509-7296.

Liberty Bank, Rotary Clubs hosts turkey drives

MIDDLETOWN >> Liberty Bank and 42 local Rotary Clubs are teaming up to “Bring On the Turkey!” for our neighbors in central, eastern, and shoreline Connecticut.

Donations to the drive can be made at any Liberty Bank’s 55 branch offices or online at www.MiddlesexUnitedWay.org/ThanksgivingDrive through Saturday, Nov. 19.

Every dollar donated will be matched with 25 cents from the Liberty Bank Foundation.

On Nov. 21, the Rotary Clubs will withdraw the funds and either purchase and deliver food for needy families, or donate the funds to a local human services agency that provides Thanksgiving food.

Since it began in 2004, the Liberty Bank/Rotary Club Thanksgiving Dinner Drive has raised more than $1.4 million to supply holiday meals to residents of the towns served by the bank. Last year’s drive raised almost $214,000 and was matched with more than $53,000 from the Liberty Bank Foundation.

“Our slogan this year is ‘Bring on the turkey!’” said Sue Murphy, Executive Director of the Liberty Bank Foundation. “We’re delighted to have added seven new Rotary Clubs in the Naugatuck Valley to this year’s drive. That should help us get to our goal of raising $325,000 to put turkey on the table this Thanksgiving.”

The following Rotary Clubs are participating in the 2016 Liberty Bank/Rotary Club Thanksgiving Dinner Drive:

Ansonia, Beacon Falls, Branford, Bristol, Cheshire, Chester, Clinton, Colchester, Deep River, Derby/Shelton, East Hampton, Essex, Glastonbury, Groton, Haddam/Killingworth, Hamden, Kensington/Berlin, Madison, Meriden, Middletown, Mystic, Naugatuck, New Britain/Berlin, New Haven, New London, Newington, Niantic, North Haven, Norwich, Norwich Sunrise, Old Saybrook, Plainville, Seymour/Oxford, Southington, Stoningtons, Tribury of Woodbury/Southbury/Mid-dlebury, Wallingford, Waterbury, Waterford, West Hartford, Wethersfield/Rocky Hill, and Willimantic.

The Liberty Bank/Rotary Club Thanksgiving Dinner Drive was conceived by the Middletown Rotary Club, which for several years conducted its own drive to provide food for needy families on Thanksgiving. In 2004, the club asked Liberty if it would be interested in a partnership to enlarge the drive. The bank responded that it would support the drive if it could be expanded throughout its entire service area. Members of the Middletown Rotary reached out to fellow Rotarians in other towns, with the result that 42 clubs are now involved, covering every town where Liberty has an office.