Former Mayor Stretch Norton on the mend

After a day of worry, reporter Jackie Majerus wrote this piece of welcome news:

Former Mayor Stretch Norton is hospitalized, but is expected to be discharged Friday, his wife said this evening.
Carolyn Norton said Thursday that her husband has been in Bristol Hospital suffering from multiple infections, but that he was significantly better.
Doctors told her that her husband had improved enough that he could be released to a nursing home, she said.
She said she expects him to be relocated to the Farmington Rehabilitation Center sometime today.
Norton, 86, who served many terms as a city councilor in addition to being mayor, is a beloved stalwart of the local Republican Party.
In public and private life, he has devoted himself to everything from saving the Hoppers to taking care of the Lake Avenue cemetery to issues involving the public works board. He carries a passion for history, antique carousels and Big Band music, among other interests.
His family founded and ran Lake Compounce for many years, and he saw the amusement park through its heyday in the Big Band era to the time the family eventually sold it in 1985.
Carolyn Norton said a highlight of her husband's summer this year was a trip to Lake Compounce to spend an afternoon in the park.
She said he would welcome cards and letters from friends and well-wishers at the nursing home, but that visits are not allowed for the time being.
"Cards are welcome," she said.
Greetings can be sent to: Stretch Norton, c/o Farmington Rehabilitation Center, 416 Colt Highway, Farmington, CT 06032.
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com