E-mail: Tim.Jensen@patch.com
Phone: 860-422-3338
Hometown: currently East Windsor, but an Enfield boy through and through
Birthday: November 9

Tim Jensen is in his fourth decade of reporting news and sports in north central Connecticut. Beginning as sports editor of The Pulse, the monthly newspaper at Enrico Fermi High School in Enfield, he went on to write a weekly scholastic sports column in the Enfield Press from 1982-1983. He served as editor-in-chief of the ACC Activist, the campus newspaper at Asnuntuck Community College, before graduating with a degree in Mass Communication in 1986.

Nearly 20 years later, after a lengthy career on the advertising side of the print industry, Tim returned to his journalistic roots as editor-in-chief of the Enfield Press. As a virtual one man gang, he wrote most of the news and sports stories, took most of the photographs and handled the layout of the publication.

Following a sudden layoff and subsequent successful yearlong battle with cancer, Tim worked as a freelance writer. He penned news and sports stories for the Journal Inquirer, covered the New Britain Rock Cats and local high school sports for Examiner.com, and wrote about local sports for The Sports Department magazine. He was named local editor for Enfield Patch in November 2010.

In addition to his work as a newsman, Tim keeps busy as a disc jockey, playing at private affairs such as weddings, parties and the recent Safe Grad auctions for both Fermi and Enfield High Schools. He hosts a weekly Internet music show called "Legends," featuring music and interviews with members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He is vice chairman of the Enfield Athletic Hall of Fame, and has emceed the annual induction dinner each year since 2003.

Tim has two children, Alex and Mia, both of whom are students at Hazardville Memorial School in Enfield.

My Beliefs

At Patch, we promise always to report the facts as objectively as possible and otherwise adhere to the principles of good journalism. However, we also acknowledge that true impartiality is impossible because human beings have beliefs. So in the spirit of simple honesty, our policy is to encourage our editors to reveal their beliefs to the extent they feel comfortable. We hope that the knowledge that our beliefs are on the record will cause our editors to be ever mindful to write, report and edit in a fair, balanced way. And if you ever see evidence that we failed in this mission, please let us know.

Politics

I am a registered Independent voter. I was formerly a member of the Enfield Republican Town Committee, but never once voted the party line. I have always considered the people and issues to be the determining factors in my selection of candidates, not the capital letter following their name.

Religion

I am non-religious.

Local Hot-Button Issues

The town of Enfield is up in arms about the fate of the school system. The Board of Education voted to close Alcorn and Stowe Elementary Schools at the conclusion of the 2010-11 school year, and to work on a plan to consolidate the town's two high schools. In recent years, residents approved a referendum which added on to every elementary school in town, then a subsequent referendum which led to construction of a pair of multi-million dollar athletic fields at each high school. Disillusioned voters are likely to reject any additional spending for renovation or reconstruction of either high school building.

Thompsonville continues to be an area of concern. While positive steps are being taken to revitalize the village, such as the grassroots efforts of Voices For Thompsonville and the approval of a downtown train station, the area still suffers from a predominance of absentee landlords and below-par living conditions.

Economic development is also a major issue in Enfield. The recent shuttering of Bernie's is the latest in a long line of vacated buildings, though the November opening of a P.C. Richards store in the Stateline Plaza may be an indication that better times are to come.