January

Valley Regional High School (VRHS) junior Katherine “Kate” Konrad, missing since Dec. 20, 2019, was located in Oklahoma after a traffic stop for a motor vehicle violation. She was taken into police protective custody.

The Regional 4 school district hired Richard Huot as interim business manager, following the resignation of former R4 business manager Kimberly Allen.

The Bushy Hill Nature Center added a new farm classroom, providing educational and office space at the center, thanks in part to a grant from the Denali Foundation.

February

A $7,963,711 budget for the Supervision District of the Regional 4 School District was approved by the Supervision District Committee. It represented a $249,309 or 3.23 percent increase from the 2019–’20 Supervision District Budget of $7,714,403.

Deep River Parks & Recreation’s musical production, The Most Epic Birthday Party Ever, was held in the Deep River Town Hall Auditorium.

The Deep River Board of Selectmen (BOS) reviewed a new compilation of the town’s ordinances, codified in a single indexed and accessible book.

The Town of Deep River voted to move forward with a non-binding letter of support for the Materials Innovation and Recycling Authority (MIRA), with which it has a service agreement, after controversial changes to the state’s garbage collection and disposal system.

March

The BOS unanimously adopted a resolution to become a member of Sustainable CT.

In response to the spread of COVID-19, Governor Ned Lamont declared public health and civil preparedness emergencies throughout the State of Connecticut, and the Town of Deep River declared a local emergency.

Lamont ordered all schools in Connecticut closed, and joined surrounding states in ordering all restaurants, bars, commercial casinos, theaters, and gyms closed to on-premises business.

April

The budget funding operations at VRHS and John Winthrop Middle School (JWMS) was adopted by the Region 4 BOE. At $21,163,741, the budget represented a $591,066 or 2.87 percent increase over the 2019–’20 school year.

Kelly Sterner was named finance director for the Regional 4 school district.

The Deep River Board of Education (BOE) approved a $5,470,471 budget for the 2020–’21 school year. The budget represented a $206,191 or 3.92 percent increase over the $5,264,280 budget for the 2019–’20 school year.

The BOS unanimously approved a lower interest rate tax program for taxes due between April 1 and July 1, for a period of 90 days from the due date of the tax. This was one of two options offered under Lamont’s executive order to help ease financial burdens of the COVID-19 pandemic on taxpayers.

May

The accuracy and reliability of the Regional 4 School District’s accounting practices in fiscal year 2019 was raised as a major issue by an auditor hired by the district at a combined meeting of the Region 4 BOE and the Supervision District Committee.

The Region 4 BOE addressed a $429,729 deficit in its Capital Sinking Fund, revealed in the results of its 2018–’19 (FY 19) audit, by applying $158,215 in unexpended FY 19 funds to the deficit.

An $18,256,938 budget for the Town of Deep River was approved unanimously at a special meeting of the Board of Finance (BOF), held remotely. The grand total represented a 0.19 percent spending decrease from the last fiscal year’s $18,292,202 budget, but results in a 29.99 mill rate, a 0.57 mill or 1.9 percent increase.

A long-term recovery committee, composed of key individuals from the local community, formed in Deep River.

June

The Justice Equity Diversity Inclusion Center hosted a vigil in front of the Deep River Town Hall in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis ignited protests across the nation.

A virtual graduation ceremony and drive-through procession was held for the VRHS’s graduating class of 2020.

July

Due to financial strain, Connecticut (CT) Humanities awarded the Deep River Historical Society a relief grant under the Coronavirus Assistance, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The Shoreline Soup Kitchen & Pantries meal site at the Deep River Congregational Church adapted its operations to serve an increased number of individuals facing food insecurity during the pandemic.

Lauren Feltz was named the new principal of Deep River Elementary School (DRES).

August

Tropical Storm Isaias left fallen trees, property damage, and power outages in Deep River after making its way through the state.

Registered Democrats and Republicans in Deep River cast their votes for their preferred Presidential candidates at the party primaries with candidates Donald J. Trump (R) and Joe Biden (D) easily carrying their party votes. A significantly high number of voters cast their ballot by absentee, an option expanded to all under state law due to the pandemic.

Superintendent of Schools Brian White announced that the Regional 4 School District would employ a hybrid model upon reopening for the 2020–’21 school year, with students attending classes in person two days a week for the first six weeks of school.

The Region 4 BOE voted to retire the mascot and other Native American imagery used to represent any program at VRHS.

September

In-person classes at VRHS resumed after the school building closed earlier in the month to all students and non-essential staff due to two students contracting COVID-19.

Although the Deep River BOE budget had a surplus of $62,363 at the end of last fiscal year 2019-’20 (FY 20), according to Finance Director Kelly Sterner, the need to finance a deficit in the cafeteria fund brought any money that could have been returned to the town to zero, as the BOE voted to transfer the surplus to help cover the cafeteria fund deficit.

At a special meeting of the Supervision District committee, Sterner reported a surplus from FY 20 of approximately $169,272. The main drivers of these savings were attributed to transportation and diesel fuel.

October

Another incidence of COVID-19 at VRHS necessitated the quarantine of 39 members of the school community but did not necessitate a building closure.

Students in the Regional 4 School District started full in-person learning, with three new positive cases of COVID-19 confirmed later in the week.

Kelly Sterner announced her resignation from the position of finance director for the Regional 4 School District.

The Region 4 BOE approved using $220,000 in unexpended funds from FY 20 to help reduce a $366,328 cumulative deficit in the cafeteria fund.

A Water Lantern Celebration at Plattwood Park helped raise funds for the non-profit A Little Compassion, Inc., which operates The Nest Coffee House in Deep River.

November

A high number of registered voters in Deep River cast ballots in this year’s election, with 990 of the 2,902 total ballots being absentee. By a vote of 1,582 to 762, citizens also approved an ordinance to form an Ethics Commission.

The Town of Deep River received $119,000 in Small-Town Economic Assistance Program grant funds for technological enhancements to improve public access as part of an “e-government” project.

The Deep River Elementary School and R4 schools moved to remote learning due to several new cases of COVID-19 that necessitated quarantines, exacerbating staffing shortages in the Regional 4 School District. The move came as an uptick in COVID-19 infections state-wide led Lamont to revert Connecticut from a Phase 3 reopening, to Phase 2.1.

A security project at JWMS makes headway, as the architectural firm hired for the project presented seven design options to the Region 4 BOE. Options ranged from $200,000 to $1.8 million.

The school district’s request that football coach Tim King resign for his participation in an unsanctioned football game that resulted in 19 members of the school community exposed to COVID-19 and landing in quarantine was rescinded after community uproar.

December

Students at DRES and the Region 4 schools returned for in-person classes, after several weeks of remote learning.

A consultant from the New England School Development Council (NESDC) projected a decline in student enrollment, followed by a leveling, for all schools in the Regional 4 School District. A decline of 122 students, or approximately 24 percent, was projected for Deep River’s K-12 population from the ’21 school year to the ’31 school year.

The first shipment of the Pfizer vaccine for COVID-19 arrived in Connecticut, with the Connecticut River Area Health District and those in the first group eligible to receive it, prepared for its distribution.

Robert Grissom was appointed finance director for the Regional 4 School District.