NewHartfordPlus.com

The Salisbury Winter Sports Association in Salisbury held its 85th annual Jumpfest Weekend this past weekend – a weekend packed with winter fun including several ski jumping events, an ice carving contest, food, and more. New Hartford photographer Neil Tolhurst photographed Saturday’s festivities, including the ice Salisbury Invitational Championships.

To see Neil’s complete album please visit CTPhotoJunkie.com, part of CTNewsJunkie.com, one of our partners in the Independent Media Network.

18-year-old Zach Daniels from Lake Placid, New York and Andover, New Hampshire flies high above the crowd during Salisbury's Jumpfest Weekend. Photo: Neil Tolhurst

By: Maria Moore

Bullying is an age-old problem, and the effects that bullies have on their victims can be devastating as they live under the threat of psychological and sometimes physical abuse. A difficult cycle of behavior to break, but one which the Rec Department is eager to take on. “You see bullying behavior even in young kids at camp.” Rec Director Dennis Minor told our reporter. And so he has developed a two-step program for children from Kindergarten through 6th grade to take on this difficult topic.

The first step, a discussion panel, “A Conversation About Bullying,” is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. this coming Thursday, February 10 in Berkshire Hall at Brodie Park. The panel, moderated by Rec Director Dennis Minor, brings together community members with a wide range of expertise on the topic including Christine Sloman, School Nurse, New Hartford Elementary, Jen Zenuh, New Hartford Board of Education, Roger Pearl, Hartford Police Officer, Sam Hartzell, Canton High School Student, and Recreational Therapist Lee Ann Taylor. Panel members will discuss bullying – how it occurs, why it occurs and how to effectively deal with it. They will also answer questions and consider input from the members of the public present. The panel discussion is free and all are welcome to attend.

Following up on the discussion panel, the Rec Department will offer a 6-week site based Mentoring program at Berkshire Hall. The program will provide students with an individual mentor/mentee match as well as group activities. Both adult and peer mentoring opportunities will be available. Matches will spend time playing board games or computer games, playing in the playground, working on homework, or just talking. The mentoring program is not a tutoring program; research has shown that children matched with a mentor in a site based setting show academic improvement over time, as well as exhibiting higher levels of self-confidence and a better attitude towards school. These are all factors that are important in nurturing resilience and reducing the risk and impact of bullying. The on site mentoring program costs $50 for the 6-week session (on going until end of school) and includes snacks. The sessions will be on Wednesday afternoons, from 3:30 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. A limited number of scholarships are available – please ask for details.

For more information about either the “Conversation About Bullying” discussion panel or the 6-week on site mentoring program, please call the Rec Office at 860-379-3877. Or better still, plan to attend the discussion panel at 6:00 p.m. this Thursday, February 10 and speak with the Rec staff directly. There will also be information available about the mentoring program.

Take the first step to end bullying: Attend the discussion panel and learn about this important topic.

Definitions of bullying: A bully (noun) = A person who is habitually cruel or overbearing, especially to smaller or weaker people. To bully (verb) = to treat abusively, to affect by means of force or coercion.

By: Maria Moore

With the record amount of snow – 59.8 inches in the state so far this month – the town crew is having a harder time than usual to keep ahead of clearing the snow. One of the things that’s been hindering their work is a number of cars that have been parked behind Town Hall and haven’t been moved in a while. Just such a car is the one pictured here. Officer Lynn Sheffield said that the car is currently unregistered and the owner who lives in Canton hasn’t responded to attempts to contact them so the car is being towed by a truck from Collinsville Auto Parts whose owner, Lynn added, is a New Hartford resident.

The matter of how to handle those types of vehicles that are now hindering snow removal efforts was brought up in a letter to the town’s selectmen at their meeting this past Tuesday, January 25. The selectmen decided to look into existing ordinances before deciding on a course of action.

In the meantime: Please don’t park your vehicle where it will hinder snow removal by the town or state crews. And if you have left your vehicle long-term in a public parking area, please be responsible and remove it. Or it may be removed for you.

If you have a questions regarding parking in town, please call the First Selectman’s Office at 860-379-3389. You may also call the New Hartford Police Office at 860-379-8621 (non-emergency number).

The car was buried in the snow that's fallen so far this season.

One of the cars in the Town Hall parking lot tagged for towing.

Constable Lynn Sheffield looks on while a car that has been parked in the Town Hall parking lot is being readied for towing. Photo: Maria Moore