After reviewing the projected weather conditions in anticipation of hurricane Earl, it has been decided to call for an early dismissal for all schools tomorrow – Friday, September 3, 2010.

This early dismissal is being called as a precautionary measure to ensure that all children and staff are home safely in the event the projected weather conditions for our area worsen.

The early dismissal schedules for each school are as follows:

Haddam-Killingworth High School:
Half Day: Start time: 7:25 a.m. End time: 11:55 a.m.

Haddam-Killingworth Middle School
Half Day: Start time: 8:05 a.m. End time: 12:35 p.m.

Elementary Schools: Haddam, Killingworth, Burr
Half Day: Grades K-4: Start time: 8:40 a.m. End time: 1:05 p.m.

In the event of early dismissal there will be no afternoon preschool.

In the next few days, you will receive a data mailer from the Killingworth assessor’s office, asking for information about the physical features of your home. These mailers are the first step in a revaluation of town property mandated by the State of Connecticut. All property must be revalued for the October 1, 2011 Grand List (and thus for taxes due and payable in July 2012).

The data is being collected for the town by eQuality Valuation services, in Waterbury, Connecticut. The mailers will show you the information that the town currently has on file for your house, including such specifics as the number of bathrooms or the existence of a finished basement, and ask you to confirm or correct that information. The mailers will not include any values.

When you receive the data mailer, please carefully review the information. Make any corrections by drawing a line through an item and printing the correction.

Whether or not you make any corrections, please sign and date the form where indicated and send it back in the return envelope as soon as possible.

Returning the data mailer may eliminate the need to physically inspect your property. However, your property will still have to be inspected if it sold between October 1, 2009 and October 1, 2011; if there are outstanding building permits; or if it is randomly selected for quality control purposes.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Killingworth, although largely undeveloped, is currently under attack.

Town residents greatly enjoy the native plants and animals that thrive in our undisturbed woodlands. Yet those plants and animals are threatened by an alien species that will displace them.

JAPANESE STILTGRASS is a non-native, invasive plant species that grows in sprawling populations of dense stands. (The same weed is sometimes called Nepalese Browntop.) The growth of this invasive plant alters soil chemistry, killing native species. The impact of Japanese Stiltgrass on the natural habitat of songbirds, wild turkey, butterflies, honeybees and other animals is always harmful. In Killingworth, Japanese Stiltgrass is already established on roadsides, from which it will spread to waterways and the forest understory, where it can do severe damage.

It was used as packing material in the early 20th century, and thus introduced to North America. It is now established in most of the eastern states, including Connecticut. Because our native insects and animals do not eat it, it grows out of control and prevents the growth of native species, including wildflowers and new trees, which are needed to maintain forest productivity, biodiversity and carbon dioxide absorption. Fortunately, homeowners can eliminate this plant right in their own backyards with a lawn mower or weed whacker. Here’s how to identify it:
     · alternately-arranged lance-shaped leaves
     · more lime-green than other local grasses
     · leaves have a light shiny stripe of hairs down the middle
     · can grow one to three feet high
     · has a somewhat weak stem

During the summer, the plant has spikes of numerous quarter-inch trapezoid-shaped flat flowers. In fall, the plant has a purplish tinge.

Japanese Stiltgrass is an annual, and as such it cannot maintain and expand its populations without seed production, which happens typically in late summer in southern New England.

Therefore, use a mower or weed-whacker to cut down all the Japanese Stiltgrass on your property and road frontage around Labor Day, which is after the plant has matured but before it produces seed. You can also hand-pull the grass from the ground. It is vitally important to eradicate the plant from the banks of brooks and streams, as waterways spread the seeds quickly over large distances.

Encourage your neighbors to cut down Stiltgrass on their property as well. The current populations grow from seed banks in the soil, which can last several years. So it will be important to keep checking the area you cut every year to ensure it dies off completely.

Eradicating this alien species is not especially difficult. But if we do nothing, Japanese Stiltgrass will win. And our native plants and animals will lose.

If you need more information, you can contact Dave Gumbart via email: dgumbart@tnc.org.

Are you getting ready to head to school? Don’t forget to register to vote and/or request your absentee ballot for this November’s election. Simply stop by the Town Clerk’s office between 8 am and 4 pm, Monday through Friday, and fill out two brief forms. Then, your absentee ballot will be mailed directly to you at school as soon as it is available. Get involved and exercise your right to vote!