The Lyme Tree Woman’s Exchange Awards Grants to Three Non-Profits

The three recipients of $1,000 grants from The Lyme Tree A Woman’s Exchange in Old Lyme,(from left to right) Kathy Allen of Thames River Community Service, Inc., Kathy Zall of the New London Homeless Hospitality Center, and Robert Wilkins of Dance With Wood, gather for a photo at last Tuesday’s ceremony.  All photos by Jacob Ballachino.

A short ceremony was held Tuesday at The Lyme Tree Woman’s Exchange of Old Lyme when grants of $1,000 each were presented to representatives of three local non-profit organizations.  The Woman’s Exchange, a non-profit gift shop featuring mostly hand crafted and artisan items made by consignors, as well as jewelry, baby and children’s clothing, antiques and collectables, donates all of its proceeds to other charities.

The three recipient organizations on Tuesday were the New London Homeless Hospitality Center, Thames River Community Service, Inc., and Dance With Wood.

Kathy Zall, Executive Director of the New London Homeless Hospitality Center (third from left) accepts a grant check as she stands with (from left to right) Hilde Reichenbach, Sandy Dowley, and Joan Culbertson, all of The Lyme Tree, A Woman’s Exchange..

The New London Homeless Hospitality Center provides basic necessities such as underwear, socks and toiletries as well as shelter to the homeless.

Kathy Allen of Thames River Community Service, Inc. (second from left) receives her check from The Lyme Tree A Woman’s Exchange.

Thames River Community Service, Inc., supports individuals and families, particularly single mothers, who are moving from shelters into more permanent quarters providing them with start-up packages of dishes, kitchen items, bedding, linens, and so forth.

Robert Wilkins accepts a grant on behalf of Dances with Wood, presented by (from left to right) Hilde Reichenbach, Sandy Dowley, and Joan Culbertson.

Dances with Wood provides wooden kits to seriously ill children in hospitals; the kits include all the parts, tools, and instructions to make boats, boxes, barns, trucks and cars with the aim to empower creativity within hospitalized children.

Welcome to Our Summer Intern, Jacob Ballachino

Jacob Ballachino

We are delighted to introduce our newest intern, Jacob Ballachino, to our readers.  Jacob, who lives with his family in Old Lyme, has completed two years at UMass Amherst where he is a communications and journalism major. He is going to be working for LymeLine.com throughout the summer covering news and events in Lyme and Old Lyme.

Jacob is especially interested in sports and entertainment and so hopes to be writing some stories for us focused on those areas.  He’s already written a couple of great pieces for us, one about the Tour de Lyme and the other about A Woman’s Exchange, and we think he’s off to a flying start!

Asked why he wanted to intern for LymeLine.com, Jacob responded, “I hope to gain first-hand experience in reporting and also to build personal connections with a diverse group of local community members.”

If you have any news tips or story suggestions for Jacob, you can contact him directly at jballachino@umass.edu and if you see him around town, make sure to say hi to him.

Finally,  welcome on board, Jacob — we’re so pleased you’ve joined our team!

SECWAC Presentation Tonight Explores Unexpected Partnership Between US, Russia in Arctic


The Southeast Connecticut World Affairs Council (SECWAC) hosts its next meeting Thursday, May 25, at 6 p.m. at the Crozier Hall (Student Center, second floor) at Connecticut College, Mohegan Ave, New London.  A reception at 5:30 p.m. will precede the 6 p.m. presentation.

Lieutenant Commander Jeremy McKenzie, United States Coast Guard Academy (USCGA), will give a presentation at 6 p.m. titled, The Bering Strait: Reducing Risk Through International Cooperation and Capability Improvements, about unexpected partnerships and how the U.S. Coast Guard cooperates with Russia in the Arctic.  McKenzie is the Public Policy Instructor – Department of Humanities, and Researcher – Center for Arctic Study and Policy, at the USCGA.

Following the presentation, join McKenzie, guests, and fellow members for a meal at Connecticut College. Tickets for the meal are $35/person.

A reservation is required to attend the dinner; call 860-912-5718 or email info@secwac.org to make your reservation (vegetarian option available if reserved in advance). Checks payable to SECWAC (or credit card payment) are accepted before the meeting by Courtney Assad.

Serving as the sole connection between the Pacific and Arctic Oceans, the Bering Strait is seeing increased maritime activity and risk due to environmental changes that are opening the Arctic. The increased activity in the Bering Strait region poses cross-border management challenges that are complicated by diplomatic tension between the U.S. and Russia. McKenzie will explore these management challenges through the following questions:

  1. How effectively are international and bilateral agreements governing maritime activity in the Bering Strait region being implemented at the “street level” by responsible agencies on either side of the border?
  2. Are there gaps in existing agreements that prevent effective bilateral collaboration?

The recommendations from research (interviews and other data) include decoupling the Arctic from other aspects of the U.S. and Russian bilateral relationship, the immediate resumption of bilateral oil spill and search, and search and rescue (SAR) exercises, and the establishment of a joint maritime domain awareness center (MDAC) to maintain situational awareness and implement maritime traffic control measures.

Join SECWAC on June 6 for their final meeting of the season, “A Turbulent China Takes on the World,” with author and The Daily Beast columnist Gordon G. Chang. This presentation will be held at Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School in Old Lyme.

Learn more about SECWAC’s 2017 season programs at secwac.org

Hartford Ave. in Soundview Closed Through 7pm Today for Paving

5/22, 8:30am UPDATE: Due to Monday’s rain, the paving planned for Monday has been postponed until today.

Hartford Avenue will be closed to traffic from Bocce Ln. to Pond Rd. on Tuesday and Wednesday (May 23 and 24), starting at 7 a.m., for milling and paving.

A parking ban will be in effect from 6:30 a.m. Tuesday, May 23, through 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 24.

Local residents can park on Martino Avenue or north of Bocce Lane during this time.

Town officials apologize for any inconvenience.

Residents are asked to be aware that in approximately two to three weeks, permanent epoxy street markings will be applied between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. While this is not generally a noisy process, the equipment and process, including lighting, may be distracting.

Once the date is confirmed, we sill publish it on LymeLine.com.