Don Lowe First Selectman Column 09/28/2026
Once again Sherman is dealing with an all-too-frequent storm event that threatens power outages and road closures. These are always stressful for residents and town emergency services alike. As I write this on Sunday afternoon, the state is dealing with nearly 25,000 power outages remaining. More than 122,000 outages have been restored in the last 2 days, so you can see how extensive this storm event is. Sherman fared pretty well until the end of the storm (Sunday). Just as things were thought to have simmered down, we experienced 104 outages and two bad road blockages. Hopefully they will be restored quickly. I want to thank Jim Reilly, our Emergency Services Manager, for his stalwart diligence. He is the middleman between outage and road blockage call-ins and keeping Eversource informed of them. I also want to thank Kris Fazzone and his public works crew for going above and beyond to keep our roads clear. They cleared many road areas of fallen trees and debris, some of which were other entity’s jurisdiction and responsibility. Also want to thank our excellent Town resident trooper, Wayne Tate, who is always there for us and connects us to the State DOT.
I hear comments from time to time as to why we aren’t managing our tree work better. First off, Sherman is a tree-filled community with the majority of our forested area populated with middle to old-growth trees. The Town public works crew and I do our very best at identifying problem trees, trees with the potential of blowing over and affecting wires, but that’s only part of the duty. The other part is getting them removed and the sheer number of potentially outage-causing trees is overwhelming. In conjunction with the town’s own budgeted tree work, the State DOT, and Eversource, we do our best and will keep trying. But I could take you on a drive on our local roads and identify 100 problematic trees every 15 minutes. We have been doing the very best we can on this front and will continue to fight the battle.
The other factor in all of this, of course, is the weather which, as far as I know, we have no control of. These storm events have been coming along more frequently, and we have had one significant storm per month since June. One can only hope that Sherman has had its limit this year.
This coming Saturday, October 3, is a busy one in Sherman. The Annual Softball Tournament at Veterans Field kicks off at 8:30am and features friendly competition, fun camaraderie, hotdogs, and good sportsmanship. The tournament is also a fundraiser and this year the dollars are going to the Sherman Veterans Association. Drop by and watch the men and women of Sherman relive their glory days as athletes.
Also on Saturday, Oct. 3 is Farm Day up at Happy Acres from 11am to 3pm. The day features tractor hayrides, live music, food, and art along with a chance to tour Happy Acres and relax in the rural environs of our farm. Say “hello” to David Jellen, our farm manager. He does an excellent job of keeping things together up at the farm.
One last note: this is the last week of Inherit the Wind at the Sherman Playhouse. This is a powerhouse production of a very important play. The last show is Sunday, October 4. Don’t miss it!
