Home Care In Roxbury, CT

The Shepaug Valley Railroad stopped operating in the 1940s, but there’s been a new arrival at the historic Roxbury train station.

The owners of Mine Hill Distillery, who bought four buildings on land there in 2015 to start their distillery business, have opened a tavern/gathering place with a bar and rotating food trucks at their restored train station.

General manager and part owner Ron Neugold hopes it becomes a place for fun, conversation and “healthy debate.”

“I want people to feel when they arrive that they’re like family and friends but we haven’t seen them in awhile,” Neugold said.

Referring to the name, The Crooked Rail, Neugold said, “There’s no such thing as straight in the railroad business or in life.”

For now The Crooked Rail will be open Saturdays and Sundays from 12:30 to 7:30 p.m.

“Our hope is weekends are busy and we expand our hours,” Neugold said.

He said their property sits on the turn of the Shepaug River, hence the playful name of the new hangout.

The Roxbury train station, a historic landmark built in 1872, was once a vital part of the Shepaug Valley Railroad. The railway connected Litchfield County to New York City and New Haven, serving both passenger travel and the transportation of goods such as granite, steel from Mine Hill, lumber, grains from local Roxbury farms, and cigars manufactured locally in what is now the main distillery building for Mine Hill.

The Crooked Rail seats 65-70 inside and 15-20 on the scenic outside with scenic, relaxing views.

He said the “vibe is comfortable, casual, country.”

The original beams of the train station are in place.

They also found an old train schedule indicating, “You could catch a train from New York and be here in three hours,” Neugold said.

“One of the really cool things,” he said, is they preserved an old freight scale. The limit for baggage was 150 pounds, per passenger, he said.

“You definitely know you’re in an old repurposed building,” Neugold said. “Our property has a colorful history.”

He said they now have a liquor license beyond the limited one they have had for their tasting room in another building on the complex.

The Crooked Rail, outfitted with large oak tables and leather seating will serve Mine Hill Distillery bourbon and rye, craft cocktails of all kinds, and craft beer and wine from Connecticut.

Rotating pizza and other food trucks will visit.

The restoration in the buildings onsite, as well as the distillery, tasting room and train station, include leaving a lot original touches such as wood floors scarred and discolored by tobacco leaves when it was a place to wrap cigars years ago.

“It’s a reminder of the history of the building and the role that tobacco played in the states history,” Neugold said.

Since its restoration the train station has been used for weddings, anniversary parties and other events.

The property received an Historic Preservation Award for Connecticut and the Roxbury Station Historic District is also now on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Crooked Rail is decorated with rotating art exhibits by local artists.

Tenured staff at one of Stamford's public elementary schools issued a vote of "no confidence" in Superintendent Dr. Tamu Lucero.

STAMFORD, CT — Teachers at Roxbury Elementary School have issued a vote of "no confidence" in Stamford Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Tamu Lucero, according to an anonymous letter and email sent to Patch and signed by "Roxbury Elementary Tenured Staff."

The letter, dated May 29, cited concerns about administrative appointments and changes as well as class sizes and the district's magnet school lottery process, and claimed that 80 percent of tenured staff voted against Lucero. Eight tenured staff members abstained, and there were no votes in favor of the superintendent, the staff said, noting that some explained they would not participate "in fear of retaliation" from Lucero.

"Given the longstanding exploitation, callousness, and systemic neglect Roxbury Elementary has endured, the faculty of Roxbury Elementary finds it necessary to issue this vote of no confidence in Superintendent Tamu Lucero," the letter said.

There have been several no confidence votes against Lucero in the past, in 2022 and 2024.

SPS spokesperson Kathleen Steinberg pushed back against the latest vote.

"No confidence votes are a popular tactic for expressing disappointment or frustration, but they have no official status and are inherently unreliable," Steinberg said in an emailed statement to Patch. "We learned about the Roxbury vote of no confidence from the media, which suggests this is nothing more than an anonymous expression of frustration intended to generate publicity."

Roxbury staff said they sent the letter about the vote and several grievances to all members of the Stamford Board of Education, Lucero, and Mayor Caroline Simmons.

Steinberg pointed out that Lucero visited Roxbury Elementary School on Monday as part of a regularly-scheduled visit, and "not a single person mentioned the vote of no confidence to her."

In the letter, Roxbury staff cited the loss of longtime Roxbury Principal Mark Bonasera , who was appointed to take over for Sherri Prendergast at Turn of River Middle School last summer.

Prendergast was named director of curriculum, instruction and assessment for the school district.

The reshuffling came two weeks after parents made impassioned pleas to the Stamford Board of Education to improve the climate at TOR following a school year that saw reports of bullying, fighting and threats.

Subsequently, Sandra Ehlers was named interim principal at Roxbury for the 2024-2025 school year. Roxbury staff in their letter said that Ehlers had less than a month to prepare for and assume the role.

This past March, Iuliana Roata was appointed the permanent principal at Roxbury, effective July 1.

"Furthermore, the interview process for the 2025 2026 principal was executed unprofessionally. Roxbury staff questioned the failings of communication and suggested having the process done with the proper notifications. But after investigating themselves, they found no wrongdoing and the process was not redone," Roxbury staff said. "This statement is about the process and in no way implicates any interviewees in a negative light."

Steinberg said the district understands that "a change in leadership can be challenging, but in a district with 22 schools, this is something that happens almost every year in at least one school."

She also noted that during Bonasera's 10-year tenure at Roxbury, 16 of the district's 22 PreK-12 schools changed principals.

For the current school year, Steinberg said there were leadership changes at six schools. For next school year, she said there will be leadership changes in at least three schools.

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School staff also criticized the loss of three full-time teachers next year, and they claimed it would adversely impact fifth grade, which is expected to have at least 24-25 students per class in 2025-2026.

"Because of the reduction in population, maximizing class sizes, and eliminating positions, Dr. Lucero placed further strain on our ability to function by destabilizing teaching cohorts, reducing individualized instruction, and increasing the hardship to staff and students," Roxbury staff said.

The letter claimed "Stamford is suffocating some schools while increasing class sizes to reduce services and staff, so they can disperse and strategically overcrowd others and fill some elementary magnet schools - like Strawberry Hill - to capacity."

Additionally, the letter claimed "Roxbury has had its population segregated and starved by a magnet school lottery. If there are winners in this lottery, what does that make the families and staff at Roxbury Elementary? We think Tamu Lucero is making that clear."

For the current school year, 17 students who were zoned for Roxbury accepted seats at a magnet school - 13 in Kindergarten and four in third grade, according to Steinberg. Of the 13 kindergarteners, four had older siblings already enrolled in the magnet school.

For the 2025-26 school year, 12 students who are zoned for Roxbury have accepted seats at a magnet school: four in Kindergarten, six in fourth grade, and two in fifth grade, Steinberg said.

Of the four kindergarteners, three have older siblings enrolled in the magnet school, Steinberg said, noting that 54 incoming Roxbury Kindergarten students applied to the magnet school lottery.

According to Steinberg, the district adjusts staffing based on projected enrollment and to ensure that class sizes remain within target ranges and at/under contractually-required maximums.

In SPS elementary schools, the target range is 21 to 25 students per classroom, she said, adding that the reduction in K-5 classroom staffing at Roxbury for next year "is comparable to what is happening in other schools across the district and is a function of changes in enrollment from the attendance zone area that feeds into Roxbury."

"Since 2018, elementary enrollment in Stamford Public Schools has decreased by about 10 percent, while overall district enrollment has increased. When staff reductions at elementary schools occur, they are a reflection of this trend," Steinberg said.

Roxbury staff concluded their letter claiming that Lucero "has dismantled our administration, taken our population, eliminated staff, increased obstacles, and suffocated the arts. The children and staff have nothing more to give. Our children are not a financial liability; they are an investment."

Steinberg told Patch that many school and elected officials "have invested considerable energy in securing funding for the new K-8 Roxbury School."

"It defies comprehension that anyone would think that the District is trying to 'dismantle' Roxbury when so much time and effort has been expended to ensure that this school community gets a new, state-of-the-art facility," Steinberg said.

Lucero began her SPS tenure in June 2013 as assistant superintendent - elementary. She was named the superintendent of SPS on April 23, 2019.

A deed from the Roxbury estate of actor Marilyn Monroe and playwright Arthur Miller is going up for auction at Wilton-based auction next month.

The item is one of several items that is part of the University Archives' "Rare Autographs, Books, Lincoln & Space Items" auction, which will be held online on July 16. A total of 461 different lots will be available through the auction with items ranging from a Ray Kroc-signed McDonald's gift certificate from 1974 to a pair of scripts used by Charlie Sheen on "Two and a Half Men."

The item expected to fetch the most at the auction is an authenticated carte de visite signed by President Abraham Lincoln and dated to 1863. The photo is estimated to bring in $100,000 to $150,000. Other items in the auction that are estimated to reach high prices include a printed telegraph message from Jefferson Davis to Robert E. Lee (estimated $20,000 to $30,000), a six-volume set of illustrated books signed by President John F. Kennedy (estimated $15,000 to $20,000) and a Revolutionary War discharge certificate signed by George Washington (estimated $18,000 to $24,000).

As for the deed of Monroe and Miller's Connecticut house, it is expected to fetch between $5,000 and $6,000. The mortgage document, which is issued from the Woodbury Savings Bank, is signed by both Monroe and Miller and dated Dec. 20, 1957.

The couple lived at 232 Tophet Road in the town during their short marriage, which lasted from 1956 to 1961. During their time together, Monroe released some of her most notable film work including "Some Like It Hot" and "Bus Stop."

The deed is one of five Monroe-related items that will be available in the auction including a Hugh Hefner signed "Playboy" photo of the first cover with Monroe and script pages used by Monroe on "The Misfits."

University Auctions has previously offered items related to Monroe including her Connecticut license in 2024.

STAMFORD — The projects to rebuild both Westhill High School and Roxbury Elementary School cleared a major obstacle last week after the state General Assembly reauthorized both with larger budgets.

The authorization, which was included in the state bond act that passed on Wednesday, sets the the maximum state grant reimbursement at $356.8 million for Westhill and $78 million for Roxbury, according to a press release from the office of Stamford Mayor Caroline Simmons. The new Westhill will replace the current high school — the largest in the city — while the Roxbury project will transform the elementary school into a building that serves students from kindergarten to eighth grade.

“This critical state funding is a transformational investment in our ongoing commitment to ensuring all Stamford students, teachers, and staff can learn, work, and thrive in modern, safe facilities,” Simmons said, in the release.

The mayor credited state Sen. Patricia Billie Miller, D-Stamford, for advocating for the extra funding.

"This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reimagine and rebuild our school infrastructure in a way that meets the needs of today’s students and the Stamford school community for decades to come, and we are excited to continue to move these important projects forward," Simmons said.

The plan to rebuild the city's largest high school had previously received state approval in 2022 for an 80% reimbursement rate for eligible costs, meaning the city would be on the hook for the rest. The estimated budget at the time, however, was $301 million.

That amount ballooned to $461 million by 2024, mostly due to inflation.

The most recent estimate for the work — which would tear down the 1971 building and construct a brand new building — is $446 million. The budget was decreased by $15 million due to the size of the project being reduced by roughly 10,000 gross square feet, among other adjustments.

Because of the increased budget, local officials needed to go back to the state for it to be re-approved at the 80% reimbursement rate.

The same was true of the Roxbury project, which was granted a 60% reimbursement rate.

That project was seemingly at risk of not moving forward in late 2024, when the Board of Finance voted against the approval of an owner's representative and an architect for the work due to concerns about approving more school building money with the Westhill budget ballooning.

However, the city's director of legal affairs wrote at the time that city leaders did not need the approval of either the Board of Finance or the Board of Representatives to enter into an agreement with either an owner's representative or an architect to complete a schematic design for the project.

The next step for each project will be seeking approval from local boards for the reauthorized amounts.

If Westhill's budget is approved, it would go out to bid — likely between November and January of 2026 — at which point the city will receive a "guaranteed maximum price," which will need to be approved by both the Board of Finance and Board of Representatives.

Matt Quinones, Stamford's director of operations, said the two projects are slated to begin in 2026. Westhill will be first, likely kicking off in the spring, with the Roxbury project getting underway in the summer.