“On August 3 in Perris, California – a Riverside County city located about 70 miles east of Los Angeles Lincoln Cooper and Fortunate Hove Cooper handed out free backpacks full of school supplies and hand sanitizers to struggling families during a triple-digit heat wave.
On Aug. 3 in Perris, California – a Riverside County city located about 70 miles east of Los Angeles Lincoln Cooper and Fortunate Hove Cooper handed out free backpacks full of school supplies and hand sanitizers to struggling families during a triple-digit heat wave. They were joined by a handful of volunteers that included representatives from the Moreno Valley School District.
STERLING - It’s been a rough few months for the town of Sterling.
In September, amid a pandemic that upended everyday life and largely forced the closure of town hall, Selectman John Firlik Jr., a longtime resident active in local politics, died.
Months later in January, Russell Gray, the town’s long-serving first selectman who after years in office was preparing to say good-bye to the job, also died suddenly.
On Monday, a group of town hall staff will gather with invited members of Gray’s and Firlik’s families to honor the two men inside the municipal complex gym, First Selectman Lincoln Cooper said.
Another Eastern Connecticut town has become part of the four-year election club.
Pomfret residents on Monday during a special town meeting voted to approve an ordinance extending the terms of office for first selectman, selectmen and treasurer from two years to four.
The change, effective this election cycle, means the town joins Killingly and Sterling as municipalities whose top elected officials will serve for four-year terms.
First Selectwoman Maureen Nicholson said the discussion on extending term limits began about a year-and-a-half ago, but COVID-19 restrictions prevented the item from coming up before public scrutiny prior to this week.
“I think a four-year term better serves a smaller town like Pomfret and offers better continuity, both to residents and town hall workers,” she said. “It gives a first selectman and selectmen a longer grip on the position and enables those people to keep their eyes on long-term planning.”
STERLING - Russell Gray, the long-serving first selectman of Sterling, died today, town officials said.
Gray, a former dairy farmer-turned-local politician, died this afternoon at approximately 2 p.m. at The William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich after a brief illness, Selectman Lincoln Cooper said. He was 76.
“He was stubborn and loyal – he loved this town,” Cooper said. “He was a self-made man whose stubbornness led him to make good decisions for Sterling. If he liked you, you knew it, just like if he didn’t like you, you knew that, too.”
Gray was in his fourth four-year term as first selectman, a job he loved, but was more than ready to leave behind.