Moratorium on Non-Hardship Residential Service Disconnections Ends September 15

Eversource says there are plans and programs available to help and prevent service disconnection

BERLIN, Conn. (September 7, 2021) – Eversource is alerting customers that the moratorium on service disconnections for non-payment will end for non-hardship residential customers in Connecticut on September 15, in accordance with state regulations. The energy company suspended disconnection activities at the onset of the pandemic nearly a year and a half ago and the moratorium on service disconnection for residential customers identified as having a financial hardship remains in place. Any customer who needs help with their bill should contact the energy company now to learn about payment assistance options and protections from service disconnection.

Any customer, residential or non-residential, who is having trouble paying their bill should contact us immediately so we can work with them and get them enrolled in one of the many programs we offer. Participating in a payment plan or assistance program will prevent you from being disconnected.”

With Connecticut residential customers using, on average, up to 35% more electricity to keep cool during the hot summer months, it is particularly important that customers are aware of Eversource’s various payment assistance options. The energy company is reminding all customers it has a variety of payment plans and programs available to help and prevent service disconnection, including:

• The Matching Payment Program, for electric or gas heating customers, which offers monthly payments as low as $50. Enrollment for the upcoming heating season begins November 1.
• The New Start program, for electric customers, which forgives overdue balances as on-time monthly budget payments are made.
• Winter Protection, which provides protection from disconnection from November to May.
• Energy Assistance, which provides payments toward a customer’s heating bill.
• The COVID-19 Payment Plan, which all Eversource customers – regardless of financial need,  residential and non-residential – are eligible to sign-up for to pay a past-due balance over a period of up to 24 months with no interest charges and no down payment. Enrollment is open through September 30, or when the State of Connecticut’s public health and civil preparedness emergency ends.

Additional help for overdue bills may be available from Operation Fuel and Unite CT, which provides eligible renters up to $1,500 of past due electric expenses and past or future rent expenses. Customers are also encouraged to take advantage of the energy company’s energy efficiency solutions that can help them better manage their energy use. 

Customers who face disconnection will receive multiple letters in the mail from Eversource letting them know that their service is scheduled to be shut off for non-payment and steps they should take to avoid disconnection. As a reminder, the energy company will never call threatening to shut off power and demanding immediate payment.

To help customers learn more about the payment options and assistance programs available, Eversource is hosting a free webinar Friday, September 10 at 12 p.m. Energy company representatives will outline steps customers can take to prevent service disconnection after the moratorium on those activities expires for non-hardship residential customers on September 15, 2021. Customers must register ahead of time to attend the free session and can do so by visiting Eversource.com/BillHelp.

Customers can also learn more&n

Please bike historic Norfolk to support the Norfolk Rails 2 Trails!

This 13-mile route is a fun recreational ride on a mix of dirt and paved roads. Enjoy views of lakes, meadows, and historic homes before heading into the majestic Great Mountain Forest. Take a break at any—or all—of the 8 info stops along the route loaded with fun facts about the forest and local railroad history.

All ages are welcome! Join in solo, with friends, or plan a family ride – children under 12 are free. Registration begins at 8:30am; Start riding at 10am on Saturday 10/9.

Tickets are $40 for Adults; $20/for Teens. Children 12 and under are Free.      Phone: 860-384-1214

Register on-line or day of the event at 70 Golf Drive, Norfolk, CT 06058

Presented by Norfolk Rails to Trails Committee

Online Registration Deadline: Friday, Oct 8, 2021 at 4:00 PM ET

On Saturday, September 25 at 4PM, the David M. Hunt Library in Falls Village, Connecticut will host outdoor readings under the library’s tent by members of The Writers’ Table who meet regularly at Toymakers Café. The event is curated, mentored and narrated by Falls Village ‘s own Obie winning playwright, Lonnie Carter, who is a member of The Writers Table,

Ann Bidou will share stories of her early life in foster care in Chicago and her travails as a teen with hilarious scenes of young love.

Sheila Schwartz will read excerpts from “Selected Schwartz”, her collection of flash nonfiction pieces that distill love, loss, and other universals of the human condition down to their essences.

In Tiela Garnett’s alternate universe, a socially conscious Dr. Seuss has collaborated with a man-of-the-people P.G. Wodehouse on their version of The Lord of the Rings. The result is Fisbert Fringle and The Phoenix, a hero's journey of comic proportions.

In addition, Patty Ewald will read from her writings.

This event is free and open to the public; donations are welcome. For more information, visit HuntLibrary.org or call 860-824-7424. David M. Hunt Library, 63 Main Street, Falls Village, CT

Sharon Hospital is a 78-bed general hospital located in northwestern Connecticut. Our team is committed to providing compassionate healthcare that meets your individual needs.

We are part of Nuvance Health™, a network of seven hospitals and numerous outpatient facilities in the Hudson Valley and western Connecticut. Our patients benefit from the various multispecialty groups and services across the system.

Through Nuvance Health, you have access to advanced offerings, emerging technologies and a network of leading specialists to help keep your care close to home.

Sharon Hospital provides a full range of services including bariatric surgery, cardiology services, emergency care, neurosciences, orthopedics, stroke care, surgical services and women’s services.

Visitor hours and guidelines

To ensure a healthy and safe environment for our patients, staff and visitors during the COVID-19 pandemic, Nuvance Health has implemented the COVID-19 Temporary Visitor Policy. These guidelines will help you prepare for your next visit to a Sharon Hospital. We will update this section when we can welcome visitors back to our hospital.

On Sept 16 @ 7pm ET, join us for a virtual Cary Science Conversation on the causes and social-ecological consequences of increased wildfire in the western US. A panel of experts will discuss why wildfires are on the rise, the role of climate change, the predicted fate of future forests, and ways that at-risk communities can adapt.

Free Register Here

Across the western US, large wildfires are becoming more frequent and severe. Annual burned forest area has increased by ~1,100% since 1984.In this new Q&A, Cary forest ecologist Winslow Hansen discusses why wildfires are increasing in the western US, how he and his team are projecting future wildfires and forest response, and ways that science can guide management strategies.

Join Cary President Joshua Ginsberg for a virtual Cary Science Conversation on the causes and social-ecological consequences of increased wildfire in the western US. A panel of experts will discuss why wildfires are on the rise, the role of climate change, the predicted fate of future forests, and ways that at-risk communities can adapt.

Large fires are becoming more frequent and severe across the western US. Since 1984, annual burned forest area has increased by about 1,100%. Lives, property, and livelihoods are routinely threatened and burned landscapes can be left ecologically transformed.

What is causing recent trends in fire activity? What will forests of the future look like? How can modeling wildfires and forest response guide adaptation strategies? These are among the questions to be explored. Panelists will also discuss the importance of tailoring fire and forest management to the local context, considering regionally specific factors like forest type, environmental conditions, and the presence of people.

Panelists will include: forest ecologist Winslow Hansen (Cary Institute), fire ecologist Phil Higuera (University of Montana), and natural resource sociologist Catrin Edgeley (Northern Arizona University).

This event will include time for audience Q&A. Free and open to all. Zoom login info will be sent with registration confirmation.

Sponsored in part by Harney & Sons Fine Teas.

Meet the panelists

Catrin Edgeley is an assistant professor of natural resource sociology in the School of Forestry at Northern Arizona University. As a wildfire social scientist, her research focuses on community adaptation to wildfire across diverse local contexts. Edgeley is particularly interested in how communities navigate postfire recovery, and how local experiences with past fire events influence responses to future risk. Edgeley holds a PhD in Natural Resources from the University of Idaho, and both an MSc in Risk and Environmental Hazards and a BSc in Geography from Durham University in the United Kingdom.

Winslow Hansen is a forest and ecosystem ecologist at Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies. Hansen is investigating the changing Earth system by uncovering rules that govern interactions among forests, disturbances, and climate. His current work is focused on how wildfires and forests are changing globally, to predict where fires will pose the greatest threat, and how landscapes will change postfire. Han

Haystack Book Festival in Norfolk, CT Announces Book Festival Program at the Norfolk Library for October 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, 2021

This year’s festival will feature three ways for you to participate:

1.     Live in-person @ the Norfolk Library* with 60 seats available

*Proof of COVID-19 vaccination and masks required to enter.

To register for your preferred viewing mode see below….

Friday evening at 6:00PM, October 1st will kick off the festival with “The Brendan Gill Lecture.”  

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Freedom in Black and White

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The Hidden Lives of Ordinary Things

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I Caught This Morning Morning’s Minion, Kingdom of Daylight’s Dauphin...”

Betsey Monroe, Executive Director

Betsey Monroe joined the WSS staff in January 2016, after a career in ministry and higher education, which also included work with victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. 

Betsey is a native of northwestern Connecticut and is excited to be part of the important work of WSS.   She is committed to excellence in all WSS does and believes the services and support WSS offers clients and our communities can and does change lives for the better.

Women’s Support Services, Inc., (WSS), is a non-profit domestic violence agency serving Northwest Connecticut and the surrounding communities in New York and Massachusetts. The mission of WSS is to create a community free of domestic violence and abuse through intervention, prevention, and education. We work with women, men, teens and children.

Services include: • 24 hour hotline • Emergency shelter • Individual counseling and safety planning • Support groups • Legal advocacy, transportation, resources • Training for local professionals and community groups • Violence Prevention Education Program for pre-school through grade 12

Domestic violence knows no boundaries.

- ALL WSS SERVICES ARE CONFIDENTIAL AND FREE OF CHARGE -

WSS works with women, men, teens and children.

WSS supports those who choose to remain in relationships, and those who choose to leave.

The WSS Office is staffed Monday through Friday between 8:30 am and 4:30 pm.

Geer Village Senior Community is a community of healing professionals whose principal mission is to console, treat, strengthen, and refresh the bodies, minds, and spirits of the elderly and disabled residents of the tri-state area.

Your Destination is

Geer Village Senior Community focuses on what really matters, caring for our friends, family and neighbors in the northwest corner of Connecticut. We have no distant corporate office to report to. Our patients, families, employees, management and board of directors all focus on what is best for life here in our community. That’s our promise.

5952 N Elm Ave.

3 Main Street

13 Main Street – tea – food – specialty items

Railroad Plaza

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51 S Center Street

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