Needleman Wins 33rd Senate District After Recount, This Time by 83 Votes

State Senator-Elect Norm Needleman

UPDATED 11/20, 8:50AM — Essex First Selectman Norm Needleman has been declared the winner of the 33rd State Senate District by 83 votes after a nail-biting recount involving all the towns in the district, which include Lyme.

He was originally announced as the victor by 303 votes but a subsequent correction in Essex’s vote count reduced the margin of victory to a number that requires a recount by Connecticut law.

Asked his reaction to the recount result, Needleman responded, “I welcomed the recount, because it assured everyone that every vote cast was counted. I am grateful to the election workers throughout the district who worked so hard to make the recount fair and accurate. We can now move on to the task of being the credible advocate the towns in our district badly need in Hartford.”

OLD LYME DEFEAT IMMACULATE 2-1! State Soccer Champs for 4th Year in a Row

STATE CHAMPIONS 2018!  Photo by B. Butler Danes.

Things weren’t looking good for Old Lyme five minutes into their championship game against Immaculate when their opponent scored off a penalty.  But (Paul) Gleason’s girls aren’t ones for getting despondent or worse still, giving up. No, Mya Johnson went on to score her 100th and 101st girls to lead the Wildcats to a 2-1 victory over their arch nemesis.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE GIRLS, COACHES AND PARENTS!

Old Lyme Wildcats Meet Immaculate in Class S State Final Today in Middletown

The Wildcats celebrate their 3-1 victory over East Hampton in traditional style. Photo by Jennifer Alexander.

11/16 UPDATE:  Due to the anticipated inclement weather Saturday, the CIAC Class S state final has now been rescheduled to Sunday, Nov. 18, at 5:30 p.m at Middletown High School.

11/15 UPDATE: The final will be played Saturday at Middletown High School at 3 p.m. 

Mya Johnson put the ball in the net three times last night in Old Lyme’s Class S CIAC semifinal against East Hampton. Her hat-trick takes Paul Gleason’s girls into the state final for the fourth time in as many years.

Gleason’s girls respond to the thrill of the final whistle!

The final against Immaculate will be played on Saturday at a location and time to be announced.

GO WILDCATS!!!  The whole LOL community is rooting for you …

Editor’s Note: Read a full report by The Day’s Vickie Fulkerson, which was published  Monday evening, at this link.

After Thursday’s Snow, Opening Reception for Cooley Gallery’s ‘Holiday Sale of Art in All Sizes’ Continues Today

Editor’s Note: We hear from our friends at The Cooley Gallery that they will be staying open tomorrow (Saturday) until 7 p.m. to welcome all the folk who were unable to attend their Opening Reception Thursday due to the inclement weather.

‘Winter Afternoon’ by Alfred T. Bricher (1837-1908) is featured in The Cooley Gallery Annual Holiday Sale opening Thursday.

The Cooley Gallery ‘s annual holiday sale featuring historic and contemporary art in all sizes opens with a celebration of the season on Thursday, Nov. 15, from 5 to 7 p.m., at 25 Lyme Street in Old Lyme. All are welcome.

In this holiday sale The Cooley Gallery will exhibit newly discovered paintings by Old Lyme colony artists Louis Cohen (1857-1915), William S. Robinson (1861-1945), Wilson Irvine (1869-1936), and Charles Ebert (1873-1959) and Connecticut artist Charles Foster (1850-1931) as well as exquisite watercolors and drawings by numerous Connecticut artists.

“The prices will be commensurate with the spirit of the season,” says Jeff Cooley, owner of the gallery. Also featured are colored woodcuts – as seen on the invitation, by Gertrude Nason (1890-1969), an accomplished painter and printmaker who lived in Greenwich Village and summered in Lyme.

A select group of contemporary artists will be included in the show.

Curly Lieber’s delicate and exquisite botanical drawings are among the highlights of The Cooley Gallery’s Holiday Show opening Thursday.

Botanical artist Curly Lieber has works in the exhibition, which also includes paintings of New York City by Michael Budden and Walter Rane, intimate still-lifes by realist Barbara Kacicek, abstract works by Helen Cantrell, and landscapes by Al Barker.

Small works by trompe l’oeil painter extraordinaire Michael Theise will be exhibited near the watercolor abstractions by Pat Smith among so many more.

The Cooley Gallery is proud to introduce the works of three new artists for the gallery: Jac Lahav, a figurative painter who will have a solo exhibition at The Florence Griswold Museum in 2019, Jeanine Pennell, a ceramic artist whose sympathetic characters are sure to delight, and Ed Bishop, whose hyper-realist paintings will please the most discerning art lover.

Don’t miss the The Cooley Gallery’s opening reception, Thursday, November 15th, from 5-7 p.m.; a great gathering to launch the holiday season. This exhibition runs through Jan. 6, 2019.

Located in the beautiful little village of Old Lyme, The Cooley Gallery is an ideal spot to enjoy among the best of American art while celebrating the season with a great New England tradition. 

Founded in 1981 and located in the heart of historic Old Lyme, the Cooley Gallery specializes in fine American paintings from the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries, including the Hudson River School, American Impressionism, and select contemporary artists.

Gallery hours: Thursday through Saturday 12 – 5 and Sunday 12 – 4 or online anytime at www.cooleygallery.com

Win Tickets to ‘Hamilton,’ Four Other Shows in Cappella Cantorum’s Holiday Raffle

Cappella Cantorum offers an opportunity to win two tickets to the Broadway smash hit “Hamilton” when it plays at The Bushnell in Hartford in December. Through its Holiday Happenings Raffle Fundraiser, participants may win two seats to “Hamilton” as well as tickets to four other theater productions over the holidays.

The four other prizes include a family four-pack of tickets to the “Wizard of Oz” at the Shubert Theatre in New Haven, a gift certificate for two to attend the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, four tickets to “A Christmas Hour” at the Ivoryton Playhouse featuring Broadway star David Pittsinger and Patricia Schuman, and tickets to “A Connecticut Christmas Carol” at the Norma Terris Theatre in Chester. Raffle tickets are $40.

The raffle will run now through Monday, Nov. 19, and tickets will be sold by Cappella members or on-line at CappellaCantorum.org. Only 500 tickets will be sold, so odds for winning are much better than for any lottery. Drawing will be Sunday, Nov. 25, 6 p.m. at the Ivory Pub and Restaurant, 1 Kirtland St., Deep River. Winners need not be present at the drawing.

Cappella Cantorum is the valley-shore’s premier community chorus and has been performing great classical choral works with a professional orchestra for 49 years. Simon Holt is the music director.

Its upcoming concert on Sunday, Dec. 2, will feature Puccini’s “Messa di Gloria” and Saint-Saens’ “Christmas Oratorio” and will inspire a holiday spirit. Check CappellaCantorum.org for details.

For more information, call 860-526-1038.