Athens residents give consent to Sunday alcohol sales

Residents by a 38-to-20 vote passed a referendum Friday to allow businesses to sell alcohol on Sundays, according to Town Clerk Tracey Rotondi.

Voters also reelected Charles Rotondi and Guy Anton as selectmen, and Tracey Rotondi as tax collector and town clerk. Andrew Linkletter and Chad Steward were both voted in for seats on the Athens Community School board of directors. All candidates were unopposed.

The town held its annual Town Meeting on Saturday and approved the roughly $700,000 annual town budget. All articles passed as written, Selectman Mark Munn said, and the budget represents about a $3,000 decrease from last year.

However, it is not clear what the impact will be on property taxes, as town officials will have to wait for the adoption of the county and school budgets later this year before adjusting the tax rate.

The meeting itself was “pretty cut and dry,” Munn said, and it only took about half an hour.

Voters in Smithfield approve all 66 articles on warrant 

Voters on Saturday at the annual Town Meeting reelected First Selectman Richard Moore and elected a new person to the board to succeed Molly Chapman, who chose not to seek another term.

Moore defeated challenger Virginia Anderson by a vote of 99 to 81, and Laurie Landry defeated Melissa Bartlett-Anderson for the second selectperson’s seat, in a 93 to 86 vote, according to Town Clerk Meredyth Tuttle.

Tuttle said Monday that voters approved all 66 articles on the warrant.

“There are no new, big purchases on this warrant; no new items,” she said.

She said the town will not know if the tax rate of $16.80 per $1,000 worth of valuation will change until the school and county budgets are known.

Tuttle noted that an announcement was made Saturday that the Smithfield Fire Department received a Safety and Health Award for Public Employees from the state Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Standards Workplace Safety and Health Division. The SHAPE Award recognizes public sector employees striving to provide a safe and healthful workplace, and is given only to exemplary public sector employees after a thorough review and inspection, according to a letter from the state.