The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-03-07
BEDDING
Special to The Tinles1

S17,00O more than it's predecessor. Sol 1 dier and other fixed exemptions 1 amounted to s19.oS5. The board of re- | lief made additions or s7.75o for resi- dents and $2 563 for nou-Tesidents l The reductions were Ss.S61 for resi- dents and $l,235 for nOn-resideuts some of the principal additions were. Contracting firm of Osborn G Barnes. $LOo0 OH two motor trucks: Fred Wood. Slooo on land and S4oo on house. Included iu the redu. tons were $2700 to Commodore Iuttgen on buildings, S2,490 on land and S1O0 on sheep; estate ef Seth Todd. S1 GOO on land; Christopher Loveley, S2SO on land; Redding Ridge, S450 Several of those who appealed from the S15 rate on lower grade land received corces- Slons and in the case of Mir Wood the board decided that the S5b rate on some of his meadow land Was insufff- "lent to raise the figures. The spe- cal town meeting which will fix the tax rate for the present year is to be held on the afternoon of March 29. A u rn1l levy on tho grand list vii! yield S23,5lJ. Provision must .,e made Tor taking care of $g OO0 town bonds which mature during the year and the method adopted will probably be a renewal of the obligation in some form
 Mrs. Martha Osborn, widow of Henry S. Osborn, was at last accounts in precarious condition at Wash 1ngton, D. C., where she has been living for several months in companv with her stepdaughter Miss Eleanor the latter holding clerical war wors position in one of the Eovernmeu. departments. Mrs. Osborn was taken last Friday with a slight shock which affected one side of her body but left consciousness and power of speech normal On Sunday there came a second attack which brought unc0u- sciousness and caused the gravest ao- prehensions. Meanwhile H. Sanford Osborn had gone to Washington from his home on the Ridge to be near the patient. On Monday Mrs Os- born regaIned consciousness and there was otherwise a slight improve ment in Ter condition. The attend Ing physicians, however. hold out only slight hope of her recovery. She is a sister of Probate Judge J. B. San ford and about 60 years of age
 At the meeting of the town school committee on Tuesday there was sub mitted a proposition that the Ridge school be closed and the pupils trans ported to the Center school for in struction. The plan has the sane ton Of both Secretary IIine, of the State Board, and School Supervisor Morris whose district includes this town In its favor 1t was urged thai the Center building had sufficient room for the east side children and that inasmuch as no additional teach CTS would be needed the measure was one of economy To D. s. and ". nfn~d a eg1 of the committed tho propose q change was an entire surprise. The latter said that the Ridge school now represented three former districts and that to transport the children to the Center would require Ut least another team. The long distance from the remoter points os the east side terri tory constituted @ serious objection on grounds of general rracttcalty and there was also 10 be taken Into ac- count the danger to the health of the children especially in winter. Al the close of the discussion Nr. san ford's motion that the matter be tabled was carried thereby killing the scheme for the present at least. The State Board representatives and the local boards are plainly a odds on the question.
 Unless there comes another hard freeze there will be a considerable ice shortage on the east side the coming summer. George $. Banks has been inc main puryeyor for those who dc not put up their own supply and both his large storage houses are quite bare. He delayed harvesting in the hope Of Eettius ice more than six inches thick and Is likely to have none whatever. JF. Sanford Osborn, Fl. g Barnes, T.. Q, Peck and Commodore Luttgeu are others who also waited too long.
 The divorce suit brought by Mar. garet Todd against John Todd on the grounds of cruelty and intemperance will, it is reported, be Withdrawn a. the result of a compromise by whfcf the deGenant agrees to provide an al lowanCe fo the wife's support She also asks the custody of their two children. In her petition the plain tiff seeks alimOny and in counectior with the claim alleges that Todd fs worth S30, coo. lie is adoptive grand son of the late John Todd, wealthy lime manufacturer and was bequeath- ed by the latter the homestead prop. erty in West Bedding subject to the life use of the widow, who still sur wives. The property is worth per haps SIP, ,OQO or S15.OOO and Todd ha! no present other means dltnOuCh nj! father was the principal heir to tht lime makers estate. The plaintiff il the pending divorce suit is youns Todd's second wife, he having parted company with her predecessor by dt vorce process While the second courtship was in progress Todd acci dentaly shot his present wife, ther Miss Gilbert, by the discharge of ; fowling piece through his careless handling of the weapon.
 The work of blasting out the higI ledge which borders each side of tho narrow roadway on the Center-Ridgt hill just east of the Methodist churcl has been started by Selectman War ner It is one of the four pernanen improvement jobs arranged for las fall and when finished will remove conditions highly dangerous for aut, travel.
 The [. s. Treasury Department ha. appointed John Muennich chairman o the Bedding committee on the sale o War Savings Stamps for the cam paign of 1919. He will soon name hi asso-ciateS and get under way a cam