January

The new year started with excitement in the town of Chester as the tax collector’s office buzzed with business during the busy tax time. Residents were greeted by a new face in the office: Susan Shrack.

Valley Regional High School students took a virtual trip to Mars thanks to the donation of $12,995 from UTC Aerospace System to the Region 4 School District to provide funding for the purchase of 32 virtual reality equipment for classroom instruction. The equipment came with accompanying lesson plans and content for STEM focused programs used in the science, tech-ed, math, and engineering classrooms.

Newly elected State Representative Christine Palm (D-36) was sworn into office.

February

After 13 years in the district, Superintendent of Region 4 Schools Dr. Ruth Levy announced her retirement.

Palm scheduled listening sessions in Chester to let constituents share their concerns and learn what she faced in Hartford.

The town made the choice to shorten its extra-long ballot and voted on changing service on the Water Pollution Control Authority, Zoning Board of Appeals, and Inland Wetlands Commission to appointed rather than elected.

The annual Chester Winter Chili Cook Off was held for the first time in the auditorium at Masonicare at Chester Village West.

March

After the news of Levy’s retirement in February, a request for proposals from search consulting firms to help locate a new leader were put out in March.

Chester adopted a new stormwater ordinance, to regulate discharges to the town’s storm drainage system. The ordinance established methods for controlling the introduction of pollutants into the storm drainage system in order to comply with requirements of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit process.

After 30 years of dedicated work, Linda Hall and Donna May, who helped provide kids in Chester, Deep River, and Essex with a solid foundation at the CDE Preschool, announced their retirement and the close of CDE.

A new animal control officer started in Chester, Deep River, and Essex: Caitlyn Sikora.

The Region 4 Board of Education selected a new principal for John Winthrop Middle School: Matthew Espinosa, who was the principal at Tuttle Elementary School in East Haven.

The Town of Chester Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD) 2019-’29 was officially approved. The 53-page POCD is the town’s detailed plan outlined how the town will strengthen its economy while protecting its character. It is used as a guide for all land use and economic development efforts.

April

Whelen Engineering was presented with the Employer Spotlight Award from Chapel Haven at an April 3, ceremony held at Whelen’s Chester Location.

May

The third annual Chester Land Trust Huckleberry Finn Recycled Raft Race ran the rapids of the Pattaconk.

Voters in Chester, Deep River, and Essex made it to the polls to vote on the 2019-’20 Region 4 Board of Education budget and of the 814 ballots cast, 460 were “Yes,” with 354 “No” votes. While the measure was supported in Deep River and Essex, it drew strong opposition in Chester, where larger enrollment means a larger part of the Region 4 bill.

In Essex, 231 of the town’s 5,233 registered voters (4.4 percent) voted on the Region 4 budget, with 203 “Yes” votes and 28 “No” votes. In Deep River, 239 of the 3,268 registered voters (7.3 percent) voted, with 128 “Yes” votes and 111 “No” votes. Registered voters (12.9 percent) voted, with 129 “Yes” votes and 215 “No” votes. Even though Chester voted down the Region 4 budget, the overall count from all three towns voted “Yes,” so the $20,572,675 budget, which represents a $519,994 or 2.59 percent increase over the previous year, was approved. This is the first time in more than 10 years that Chester voters voted against the Region 4 budget. The average daily membership (ADM) in the three towns shows an increase in Chester of 1.33 percent over the previous year, an increase of 1.34 percent in Deep River, and a decrease of 2.67 percent in Essex, which decreases the Essex portion of the total budget. The Chester portion of the approved budget is $4,857,242, an increase of $387,661 or 8.67 percent. The Deep River contribution is $7,131,407, an increase of $447,829 or 6.70 percent. In Essex, the contribution will be $8,334,539, a decrease of $315,496 or 3.65 percent. Salaries and benefits account for the largest slice of the budget pie at $12,662,478 or 61 percent of the total budget, with fixed costs of $7,144,646 accounting for 35 percent of the budget.

The 26th annual town-wide tag sale took place.

At a special Town Meeting, the standing-room-only crowd endured downpours outside and a delay inside, ultimately voting by paper ballot to pass the $14,379,720 2019-’20 budget with 120 “Yes” votes and 79 “No” votes. Immediately following the meeting, the Board of Finance met and set the 2019-’20 mill rate at 28.79, up 0.68 mills or 2.5 percent from the previous mill rate of 27.11. The town budget, which includes both town and school debt, rose $64,287 or 1.40 percent to $4,653,159 and the education budget, which contains the $4,857,584 Region 4 budget, itself carrying a $388,003 or 8.68 percent increase, is $9,726,561. The total schools budget had a $593,431 or 6.50 percent increase driven largely by increased enrollment.

June

The famed Chester Sunday Markets returned to town.

The Special Olympics Torch Run lit off from Whelen Engineering.

Solar panels on the elementary school were celebrated.

Palm wrapped up her first legislative year.

After a decade’s hiatus, cheerleading was officially back at Valley Regional High School.

A round of applause erupted as the Chester, Deep River, Essex, and Region 4 Boards of Education appointed Brian White as their new superintendent of schools.

Levy gave her final graduation speech as superintendent of schools at Valley Regional High School’s graduation and seniors united one last time as the Class of 2019.

July

With a zoning special exception granted by the Chester Planning & Zoning Commission (PZC), Paul Grabek moved forward with a new distillery in town.

August

A renovation project was announced at Camp Hazen YMCA on Cedar Lake, including the building of a new 30 x 90-foot, timber frame pavilion at the entrance of the north side of the camp; a redesign of the current parking lot, roadways, and walkways; and removal of old and dying trees.

The latest phase of a Main Street Improvement Project was moved forward. The Main Street Project Committee informed residents and merchants about Phase Three of the project, which will bring granite curbing, new catch basins and sidewalks, cast-iron-post LED lighting, removable bollards, and some stair grades.

It wouldn’t be August in Chester without the annual lights, sounds, smells, and pig races of the Chester Fair.

Mosquitoes trapped in Chester tested positive for eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) and West Nile virus.

September

Due to declining enrollment and fewer kids in the tri-town area, cub scout programs in Chester, Deep River, and Essex decided to join together and become a single cub scout pack: Tri-Town Cub Scouts Pack 13.

Two confirmed cases of eastern equine encephalitis (EEE), including one fatality in East Lyme, resulted in the modification of sports and other activities at the John Winthrop Middle School and Valley Regional High School.

To clear up confusion about a discrepancy of more than $300,000 in the Region 4 Board of Education (BOE) accounts, the board held a workshop on the subject. The discrepancy was described as the result of improper bookkeeping rather than improper spending; public questions remained.

October

Judge Constance Baker Motley’s summer home on Cedar Lake in Chester was dedicated as a historic site on the Connecticut Freedom Trail. Motley helped to change the trajectory of civil rights in the United States.

Tri-Town Youth Services and Connecticut State Trooper Kate Cummins offered a free informational presentation to parents on social media trends and problematic adolescent online behaviors.

Construction at Camp Hazen began, leaving the popular summer camp with a new look.

The Region 4 Board of Education Regional Supervision District Committee unanimously voted to create a Capital Reserve Fund to ensure that funds are managed in accordance with applicable state statutes.

Robert Galbraith made a run for Chester first selectman as a write-in candidate against incumbent Lauren Gister.

November

Chester residents and designers Janet Cummings and Peter Good were celebrated for the past 50 years of their mark on Chester history.

Chester Elementary School was ranked first out of 21 public elementary schools in Middlesex County, according to the website niche.com.

Incumbent Democratic First Selectman Lauren Gister was re-elected with 781 votes. Her competitor, Rob Galbraith, an unaffiliated write-in candidate, received 89 votes. A total of 1,091 of the town’s registered 2,725 voters showed up on election day.

Residents of Chester unanimously voted to authorize the expenditure of $102,000 from the Capital Fund for the replacement of the Meeting House floor.

Kate Sandmann was voted as Region 4 Board of Education new chairman.

December

Sunday mornings in downtown once again buzzed with energy as the holiday market returned to Main Street.

Controversy erupted over Valley Regional High School, former Warriors’ logo of a Native American profile. A call to remove the Warriors name, as well as the prominent vestiges of the former logo, was met with a call by some to return the discontinued logo to the schools’ football helmets.

Grano Arso was named Connecticut Restaurant Association’s Restaurant of the Year 2019.