FREE Build a Butterfly Box Workshop for Adult-Child pairs

Butterfly Museum Deerfield, Ma

Wednesday, February 23rd from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Windsor Locks Town Hall.
Windsor Locks youth should be currently in 5th to 8th grade.
Adult can be a parent/guardian, grandparent, aunt, uncle, etc. The adult-child pairs will build a woodworking project using high quality hand tools in this fun workshop. Youth learn how to follow a plan, measure a board, lay out square lines, cut with a handsaw, drill holes, fasten with nails and screws - and more, all while hand crafting a useful wooden project to take home.

Space is limited. Please register with Windsor Locks Youth Services.
Contact Kate Barnard at kbarnard@wlocks.com or 860-627-1482.

Winter in Windsor Locks 2011

Windsor Locks residents say coyotes near dump a threat

By Harlan Levy

Journal Inquirer

Published: Saturday, February 5, 2011 2:06 AM EST

WINDSOR LOCKS — A half-dozen residents of the Fox Hollow Road area near the town leaf compost dump have reported seeing and hearing a gang of coyotes apparently residing in the nearby woods.

“Every night, two or three times a night we hear howling which goes on for two, three, four, or five minutes at a time,” resident Dennis Touchette said.

A few weeks ago Touchette said he was walking his two cocker spaniels around 7 p.m. when he came close to some of the animals. “I saw three of them only 30 yards away,” he said. “They jumped over a snow bank, and they took off in the opposite direction.”

The animals are the size of German shepherds, Sandra Touchette said, “and they have now started to come out in the daytime. We are now having to carry baseball bats or golf clubs to protect our own pets on their walks.”


Dennis Touchette said he carries a golf club when he walks his dogs. Two female residents carry small baseball bats, and another man carries a large baseball bat.

A sign has been posted on the bulletin board next to the compost dump warning residents to beware of coyotes.

Several residents have contacted the town animal control official, the state Department of Environmental Protection, and police.

“DEP only wanted to give us the history of coyotes starting back in the early 1900s,” Sandra Touchette said. “I realize the storms have been a big problem and safe driving conditions are most important, but as a neighborhood we are not only afraid for our pets’ safety but our own safety as well.”

The police have no jurisdiction over wildlife. DEP does. Police Chief John Suchocki has called DEP on the matter at the beginning of the week and on Friday and was assured that an official would contact the Touchettes.

“Unfortunately we don’t have jurisdiction over wildlife unless there’s an immediate danger,” Suchocki said. “But if there’s an immediate danger to a resident or an animal, residents should call us.”

The police number is 860-627-1461.Windsor Locks residents say coyotes near dump a threat

Snow pushes WLocks to new overtime record

By Harlan Levy

Journal Inquirer

Published: Thursday, February 3, 2011 1:06 PM EST

WINDSOR LOCKS — With Wednesday’s snowstorm, the Department of Public Works has set a record for overtime hours, and it has exceeded the winter’s $60,000 snow removal budget by $11,300.

“Typically we have about 42 inches of snowfall in an average year, and we are at 82 inches right now,” Public Works Director Scott Lappen said.

The record is 115 inches set in 1995.

The department has logged 1,600 overtime hours to date, a record for the last 10 years, Lappen said. Last year the total was 1,072 overtime hours, costing the town $48,000.


Lappen has asked the Finance Board for more money for snow removal. The board will have to decide whether to allocate a certain amount “or let the account continue to run in the red and reconcile it at the end of the season,” Lappen said.

“Unfortunately, we’re only halfway through the winter,” he said.

Public works crews have responded to 20 different snow incidents, including snow and freezing rain, this season, Lappen said. The Tuesday and Wednesday storm dumped 4 inches of snow, followed by sleet and freezing rain all day Wednesday.

After getting a new shipment of salt, the department has approximately 200 tons and 1,000 cubic yards of sand and salt at its disposal, which will be mixed in a 50-50 ratio. The public works shed is about half full of those materials.

“To date, we’ve used about 470 cubic yards of sand and 483 tons of salt,” Lappen said.

Usually, there are nine workers on the road. Four others are located in the municipal buildings, plowing the parking lots and keeping the sidewalks clear during the day and assisting on the road when they finish clearing the parking lots, Lappen said.

“Although they’re exhausted, the crews are continuing to make the roadways safe and passable,” he said, “and my administrative assistant, Amy Whalen, deserves credit for handling an extraordinary number of phone calls regarding sight line issues and damaged mail boxes.”

WL Winterfest 2011- Canceled

The 2011 Winterfest Events at the Windsor Locks Town


Hall & Windsor Locks Senior Center that were scheduled


to take place on Saturday have been canceled.