It’s not all doom and gloom in Connecticut local media. We would be remiss if we did not applaud Melissa Marinan for starting The Valley Press – a free weekly newspaper that will be delivered to every house in Avon, Burlington, Canton, Farmington and Simsbury, starting Feb. 5.
The Courant highlighted this new venture as well as the importance of local news:
“I’ve said from day one when I was elected four years ago, the most difficult part of the job is getting accurate information out to the taxpayer, and the best vehicle for that is the newspaper,” said Michael Clark, Farmington’s town council chairman. “Any newspaper now that will cover local matters and can get the information out to the public is really welcome.”
I read with horror your article in the May 4th issue of Valley Press what has been allowed to happen to the “Fisher Farm”. Have there been any further articles on the situation? I’ll be over in Farmington during the week of June 22nd and would be happy to meet with your reporter if she has any further questions. I’m very much concerned about what the Town has allowed to happen to the farm since they acquired it in 2002.
Diane Fisher Bell
I worked on the Fisher Farm from June 08 to Jan. 09 and witnessed horrific conditions. I began to see many behaviors that did not seem responsible or humane to the animals. First and foremost was that the animals were not fed properly and were visibly malnourished (i.e. you could easily see their bones sticking out). Slowly, the cows stopped producing milk. Since November 2008, 2 or 3 babies died right after birth they were weak because there mothers were suffering from malnutrition. Many times, the cows were left to lie in their own manure for days.There was little to no sawdust or hay for the cows to stand on or lie on. Many of the cows developed mastitis and were sold for beef. Once, when a baby cow just hours old, kicked Mrs. Simmons, I saw her kick it several times. I had seen her hit others daily. Many baby cows just died because the conditions on the farm were so poor. Their carcasses were tossed out back behind the dairy barn and left to decompose for several weeks.