LIFE

With moments that ranged from a soul-stirring “Call Him Up” by the Gertrude Banks Gospel Choir to a reflective version of U2’s MLK from Combined Ensembles, Simsbury High School’s Choral Collage was pure musical bliss.

But while wine, yoga, good food and a little self-care isn’t foreign to the Mountain Mommas, this group has spent the last 30 years taking annual trips that involve rugged outdoor adventures such as backpacking, canoeing and cycling – while also developing unbreakable bonds.

The annual Community Celebration, held at First Church of Christ, Simsbury for many years, is particularly poignant for local residents as King came to the town is the summers of 1944 and 1947 with his fellow Morehouse College students to work in tobacco fields.

Riding from Portland, ME to Portland, OR is certainly on the bucket list for many cyclists. Dan and Karen Mastella of Farmington began seriously contemplating such a journey more than a year ago.

In early October, “Ms. Pam,” officially left her post as library services assistant in the children’s department at Simsbury Public Library. It was 1985 during a visit to library in Simsbury with her infant son Michael, to whom she had been reading since he was in the womb, that Pam started on a new journey. At the time, the facility still operated at what is now the Simsbury Free Library.

Luke Roux Memorial event is a night to reflect, take action This story was originally posted on Feb. 20, 2025 By John Fitts Staff Writer Farmington Valley Generals head coach Mike Barone thinks about Luke Roux at every game. It’s during the national anthem, hand over his heart and head bowed, that Barone thinks of both Luke, a 17-year-old Farmington High School graduate whose life was cut short by a drunken driver in June of 2022, and Jack Phelan, the beloved Farmington High

The lasting impact of Dan Negrelli This story was originally posted on June 27, 2025 The late Dan Negrelli, seen here with wife Karen, daughter Keira and dog Maple at Kent Pond in Killington, VT, made the most of his time in this realm. By John Fitts Whether making fresh tracks at Killington, guiding students up Mount Washington, relaxing with family at Burlingame State Park, tailgating at Dead & Company, coordinating a back-yard pergola raising, or parading a tribe of Waldo