The Sullivan Farm in New Milford will hold its open house maple festival March 12 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and March 13 from noon to 4 p.m. Patrons can visit a working sugar house and learn the history of maple syrup through guided tours. For more information to the 140 Park Lane site, call 860-354-0047 or go to www.sullivanfarmnm.org.

Maple fest set at Sullivan Farm The Sullivan Farm in New Milford will hold its open house maple festival March 12 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and March 13 from noon to 4 p.m. Patrons can visit a working sugar house and learn the history of maple syrup through guided tours. For more information to the 140 Park Lane site, call 860-354-0047 or go to www.sullivanfarmnm.org.

The SustiNet proposal grew out of legislation passed in 2009 by the General Assembly, which formed the board and tasked it with creating a plan that would increase the quality of health care, improve access and rein in health care costs. In addition to expanding HUSKY coverage, the SustiNet plan will implement a variety of payment reforms and changes to health care delivery that will, according to its proposal, "move toward a more coordinated, patient-centered, evidence-based approach to health care." The proposal comes at a time when state lawmakers are facing a $3.5 billion budget deficit and when a newly elected Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives is pressing ahead with efforts to repeal federal health care reform. Though the SustiNet legislation was passed before Congress approved -- and now is undertaking efforts to repeal -- the federal health care reform package, both reforms are aimed at fixing what advocates see as broken health care systems, said Stan Dorn, senior fellow at the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C. and one of the consultants who helped the SustiNet board create the recommendations. According to the SustiNet report, if recent trends continue, nearly 390,000 people in the state will be uninsured by the end of the decade and private employers will spending $14.8 billion a year on insurance premiums. [...] Gottlieb said, the implementation of reform measures would likely make competition for physicians fiercer, and could drive even more traffic to free clinics like AmeriCares.

In 1865, a developer named Melville Mead purchased eight acres on the road for $3,500, and subdivided them to make room for two dozen building lots, according to Historical Society documents. In 1872, Mead rented out full trains and brought in prospective buyers from Stamford and Norwalk to view the lots; the day-long excursions also featured music on the green and a banquet, according to documents. There's the 1868 dress that represents the lady of 23 Prospect Ave.; the 1876 dress that would be worn by a woman residing in 19 Prospect Ave.; the 1890 dress for 20 Prospect Ave.; the 1898 gown for 30 Prospect Ave.; the 1901 piece for 3 Prospect Ave.; and the crown jewel of the exhibit, the 1867 dress that represents the mistress of 5 Prospect Ave. The lavender dress is the only of the seven to feature the hoop skirt, which was the style at the time, before the variations of bustles seen elsewhere in the exhibit came into fashion. The women have to do a lot of tweaking with the mannequins, stuffing the dresses to represent the way a woman's body would have looked in that particular style. There's the S-curve stuffing for the 1901 dress, and fixing others to show the way a woman's figure would have curved and filled out different bustles and corsets, White said. Once the fabrics and other materials are gathered, there's the challenge of adding them to the dresses or replacing pieces in a way that doesn't compromise the historical integrity of the garment.

Some people test their physical limits by opting for an extra set of pushups at the gym, running a marathon or holding their breath just a little bit longer as they push through their morning swim. Others test their limits with barbed wire, 5-gallon buckets of pennies and chowing down onions by the pound. The competition was set to begin at 4 a.m. on June 26, but the race's organizers surprised participants by beginning the first challenge at 8 p.m. the evening before instead. The 5-gallon buckets were filled with $50 in pennies, which weighed about 30 pounds. After putting the bridges down, participants had to continue carrying the pennies as they completed a laundry list of tasks, including several more hikes up and down the mountain, splitting wood, diving into murky water to retrieve bags of money and dirt and eating a pound of onions. [...] they did finish, after surviving more than one round of onion eating, diving through frigid water for more than an hour and of course a pop quiz -- in Greek. After descending the mountain again ... we had to hike another mile to the next task point where we were told to stand in this cold and murky lake. In that hour, in the freezing water, I didn't have a brain cell left, he said. [...] the duo moved on to yet another challenge, with the help of their friend Jim Pardo, another Darienite who aided them via radio throughout the ordeal. Frustration is the thing that's going to get you down and people who are successful in this race stay positive, have smiles on their faces and that's what we try to do. [...] that they have an idea of just what to expect, the two men are planning to make the trip again next year to participate in the fifth annual Death Race -- and next time they will be keeping pace to finish toward the beginning of the pack.

According to data provided by the real estate firm, it's part of a larger trend within town. [...] the sale price of Darien homes in May 2010 was up 30.6 percent over last May. "[The owners] wanted to feel like they were part of the environment, part of the coastline," said Becky Munro, the agent representing the home for Halstead Property as she stood near the outdoor pool, looking out over the bay. It boasts walk-in closets, providing plenty of room for dancing shoes, which the owners utilize in the lower level, where they have a dance floor set up near the exercise room and wine cellar. [...] while there's plenty of room to play in the five-bedroom home, there's also a lot of workspace, with a full office on the main floor, a family computer lounge on the top floor, and another office near the kitchen, which Munro and the owner jokingly refer to as the "Mominator" -- the room where all the domestic organization is handled. Each of the six full bathrooms were inspired by a stay in a foreign land, including the two full baths in both the owners' son and daughter's rooms, which were modeled after bathrooms in Parisian hotels.

Take a peek at the Darienites featured in the paper this June in part of our monthly online feature, `Neighbors in the News.' Click on a picture at left to launch the slideshow.

"For me, when I wasn't competing any more, this was a great way to continue on with the sport," he said Sunday as he stood in front of one of the 16 obstacles he had constructed for the Ox Ridge Grand Prix. According to Ox Ridge Hunt Club board member Susan Knapp, the goal is to have about 20 percent of riders in the event score a "clean" run, in which they do not knock down any rails or boards. [...] it was two-time Olympic gold medalist McClain Ward who took home the coveted blue ribbon, by posting the fastest clean jump-off run. [...] it's a great experience for the young horses to get out on the grass. Joseph has been training at Ox Ridge Hunt Club for eight years, commuting from New York City to ride on the weekends and throughout the summers. Ox Ridge riders and staff members sat with fingers crossed as they watched the teen and her horse, Renaldo, navigate through the course.

There's the rich leather of saddles and bridles, the scent of horses padding by and the hay and grain left out to feed the four-legged athletes. The history here is why a lot of people come, and it's nice to have grass for a variety, said Debi Jaynes, a representative from the United States Equestrian Federation who traveled from her home in Marco Island, Fla., to work at the show. Horses padding around on green grass is just one of the traditions that sets the 80-year-old show apart from others around the country. There's so many people who rode here as children and have had their children and grandchildren learn to ride here. Theresa Bowling and her 7-year-old daughter Avery are both competing in this year's show. [...] I guess she was negative 6 months, because I kept riding for a while when I was pregnant. According to Katherine Joseph, 18, that's a bond that cannot be broken. "Right now I'm feeling a mixture of exhilaration and fear," said the recent high school graduate. Flavia Callari, head of the horse show committee, said she plans to "scream like crazy" for Joseph as she competes in the competition's main event. [...] while there are dozens of riders that have stayed with the club for decades, young riders like Joseph and Bowling are important to the club's future, said Griffin, who works as Joseph's trainer.

[...] instead of strapping on a pair of slingbacks, these guests will be sporting horseshoes. Thousands two-legged spectators, as well as two- and four-legged participants, will make their way to town for the event, which culminates next Sunday with the $25,000 Ox Ridge Grand Prix. The club is converting one of its training rings into stalls to house the visiting horses. [...] while the show is a high-caliber equestrian event, it's also a great way to spend a day -- even if you don't know the difference between a canter and a gallop. Point tallies at the end of the season determine regional and national awards; points form the Grand Prix determine placement on the U.S. Equestrian Team.