Senator Richard Blumenthal addresses the audience at Old Lyme Town Hall Monday morning.
In a press conference held Monday morning in Old Lyme’s Memorial Town Hall, congressional, state and local dignitaries celebrated the removal of the controversial Old Saybrook to Kenyon, R.I., by-pass from the Federal Rail Authority’s Record of Decision.
Old Lyme First Selectwoman Bonnie Reemsnyder and State Representative Devin Carney (right) listen to Senator Richard Blumenthal speaking.
Old Lyme First Selectwoman Bonnie Reemsnyder expressed her gratitude to Senator Richard Blumenthal, saying, “I want to thank you very much for your advocacy and for all the time you spent coming to Old Lyme, making sure that the FRA heard our pleas and helping us with this fight,” adding, “We may be a small town but we have a big heart, and this town means a lot to us.”
Senator Richard Blumenthal (D) and State Rep. Devin Carney (R) applaud the efforts of Old Lyme First Selectwoman Bonnie Reemsnyder.
Senator Blumenthal in turn thanked Reemsnyder for her efforts, commenting, “I want to thank Bonnie for her leadership and courage. It shows the power of citizen action; it shows how everything we do can make a difference, because ultimately it was the town halls, in this room, at the schools, the comments and letters and calls, that defeated a hair-brained, half-baked notion”
A number of TV crews were on hand to record the proceedings.
Blumenthal then quipped, “I said from the beginning — I went a little bit out on a limb — that I would tie myself to the tracks if this hair-brained, half-baked plan was ever adopted, and I want to thank the citizens of this town and Eastern Connecticut for sparing me that sacrifice”
After the press conference, key players in the advocacy effort to remove the by-pass from the FRA’s Record of Decision gathered for a celebratory photo outside Old Lyme Town Hall.
