Health center receives $5 K grant

MIDDLETOWN — Community Health Center, Inc.’s domestic violence services, New Horizons, is pleased to announce the receipt of a $5,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Middlesex County for food and personal supplies for shelter residents.

New Horizons residents and families often come to the shelter without basic necessities like clothes and toiletries due to the urgency of their situation. With this grant New Horizons will be better able to support the needs of victims of domestic violence and their children.

The grant is funded by the Community Foundation of Middlesex County/Sari A. Rosenbaum Fund for Women and Girls, Mary Klaaren Fund for Women & Girls, and the Bee & Missionary Society Fund for Women & Girls.

Chester War Memorial repairs needed

CHESTER — On Route 154 entering Chester are Chester’s War Memorials. Dedicated in 1939, the World War I memorial features a granite doughboy figure atop a monument listing local veterans. In 2004, American Legion Post #97 unveiled an elegant granite monument honoring Chester residents who served in World War II, Korea, Vietnam and post-Vietnam conflicts.

Over the years maintenance and minor repairs have been funded by the Town of Chester, volunteers and American Legion Post #97. But 14 years have taken their toll on the memorial. Post #97 members have identified some issues that need to be addressed, most importantly is the fence on the front perimeter of the memorial. The pressure treated wooden fence is rotting away and needs to be replaced. Plans are to use granite posts and black chain which will be less susceptible to the weather.

Members are asking residents and friends to donate toward the replacement of the fence and ensure the memorial remain a proud focal point. Any contribution, however small, will be welcome. Donors may request to be added to a donor list that will be published in the local paper at the conclusion of our project. The goal is $6,000 for the new fence at the Chester’s War Memorial. If more funds are donated then what covers the price of supplies and installation of the fence, members will use those funds to repair the flagpoles. Donations may be made out to American Legion Post #97 and mailed to PO Box 122, Chester, CT 06412. All donations are tax deductible.

Open House for Net Zero Energy House set

HIGGANUM — Jamie Wolf of Avon-based Wolfworks, awardwinning designers and builders of a number of net zero new homes and deep energy retrofits, will lead an Open Walls Open House workshop on Saturday, May 19 at a net zero home being built in Higganum, where tours and a talk will take place at both 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. This workshop offers a way to see and learn about what makes this possible and what is needed to make homes like this more common. It will highlight how Wolfworks constructs a super-insulated and air-sealed building envelope; the high-performance “net gain” triple-glazed European windows they use; their small but efficient heating and cooling system; and a constant fresh air system with heat recovery. Visit homesthatfit.com to learn more

Middlefield launches solar program

MIDDLEFIELD — The Town of Middlefield is participating in the award-winning residential solar program that makes going solar easy and affordable. Solarize Connecticut has helped thousands of Connecticut residents save money on energy bills by going solar. Solarize Middlefield also offers residents access to financing options that make going solar affordable with no upfront costs.

Solarize Middlefield is a coordinated effort across the community, supported by the Town of Middlefield and managed by the nonprofit organization, SmartPower. Through a competitive selection process, Middlefield has selected Ross Solar as their solar installer. Ross Solar will provide the solar installations in Middlefield at special discount pricing in exchange for outreach and education from the Town.

The Solarize Middlefield program will kick off with a workshop on Thursday from 7 to 8:30 p.m., at the Middlefield Community Center Auditorium, 405 Main Street, Middlefield. Residents can learn about the program, meet their solar installer, learn about financing options, and see if their house is good for solar.

Homeowners who want to find out if their home is good for solar can go directly to Solarizect.com/ Middlefield. Durham residents are welcome to participate in the Solarize Middlefield program. In Connecticut Solarize is managed by SmartPower (www.smartpower.org).

‘Follow the Fibers’ to Bushnell Farm

OLD SAYBROOK — The family that occupied the 1678 Bushnell House in Old Saybrook were weavers as well as farmers. Each spring Bushnell Farm hosts activities that that allow visitors to step back to a time when hand-woven cloth was derived from the family’s own plants and animals.

On Saturday, visitors to this privately-owned 22 acre farm site can witness Warner Lord demonstrate the difficult, multi-step process that turned the flax plan into a thread that could then be woven into linen on the family loom. The Loom House, with weaver Bev Lewis, is one of the six original buildings on the property that will be open to the public.

Sheep owned by Herb and Sherry Clark of Essex, who own the property, will be shorn of their winter wool by Lara Sullivan of East Haddam, who has a busy shearing schedule and she hopes to be at Bushnell Farm around 11:30 a.m. Westbrook’s Gary Noth, a life-long archaeologist and primitive technologist, will be at the wigwam in the Grove at the Farm talking about Indian tool technology and their preparations for spring. In the Bushnell Farm House, one of the five oldest houses in Connecticut, they’ll be turning out the bedbugs from the mattresses; ironing without electricity; and taking advantage of the early fish run. In the barn, we’ll be sharpening the tools for haying and looking over the seeds saved from last year’s crops and getting ready to plant.

Bushnell Farm is an educational site that provides school and public programs devoted to preserving the agricultural and enterprising past in Connecticut through seasonal events and hands-on activities. For information, call 860-767-0674.