Monthly Archives: June 2020

It’s Graduation Day! Lyme-Old Lyme HS Seniors to Have ‘Drive-In,’ Live-Streamed Ceremony, Followed by Celebratory Car Parade

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Old Lyme Memorial Town Hall celebrates the LOLHS Class of 2020. Photo by M. Hayes.


OLD LYME — The Lyme-Old Lyme High School (LOLHS) Class of 2020 will be the first class in recent memory – and perhaps ever – not able to enjoy the pomp and ceremony of a full commencement event in the company of their peers on their graduation day, which is today, June 12. The ceremony will be live-streamed at this link.

Faced with the twin challenges of schools being closed due to the coronavirus pandemic and social distancing rules still in effect, not only have Lyme-Old Lyme (LOL) Schools found a unique way to give the senior class a memorable graduation while still adhering to social distancing protocols, but also a group of parents of LOLHS  seniors have come up with an inspired opportunity for the community as a whole to celebrate the graduates.

Although the Governor decided late last week that outdoor graduation ceremonies could take place from July 6 and henceforward, Lyme-Old Lyme Schools retained their planned date of June 12 since another of the governor’s stipulations was that ceremonies could only be for up to  150 people including the graduates. Since LOLHS will be graduating 127 students, a single ceremony was not an option.

The Graduation Ceremony

Follow a live-stream of the ceremony at this link.

Lyme-Old Lyme Schools will host a meticulously planned “Drive-in Graduation” event from 10 a.m. through 5 p.m. for students and their families only during which each graduating student will be able to drive up to the school at a specified time, hear their name read over the Public Announcement system, walk up onto the stage, and receive their High School Diploma from LOLHS Principal James Wygonik.

Caps and gowns — and masks — will be worn throughout and there will even be a moment allowed after the student receives his/her diploma for each family to take some photos. At that point, students — standing alone — may briefly remove their masks. Strict rules will be in place governing who can attend, the number of cars permitted per family and numerous other details.

A list of the graduating seniors will be added here later this morning.

Here is a link to the LOLHS Class of 2020 Senior Slide Show, which was produced by Class Historian Chandler Munson.

Here is a link to a video, which features every single LOLHS Class of 2020 graduate with their names. The video was made by Vicki Griffin and her son Tanner, who is a senior at LOLHS.

A video is being produced after the event that will include all the speeches — these have been pre-recorded — as well as the graduating “moment” for each senior. We will provide a link to it as soon as it is released.

The Celebratory Parade

On the evening of June 12, starting at 6:30 p.m., the students will form a parade of their personally-decorated cars in Town Woods Park. The parade will proceed from there to Boston Post Rd. and then follow that to Lyme Street continuing to the foot of the McCurdy.  The Old Lyme Resident State Trooper will supervise the parade and the Old Lyme Fire Department will also be participating.

The hope is that the townspeople will line the route to celebrate the graduates with cheering, waving signs, honking horns and generally making a supportive noise.  All those celebrating along the route are urged to follow social distancing guidelines at all times.

The parade is anticipated to last until 7 p.m.

The parade organizers, Teri Lewis, Katie Balocca,  Dottie Wells, Teri Arias and Linda Hamilton, are all parents of graduating seniors. Lewis explained in a text how the idea of a parade came about  saying, “We really wanted to give them [the graduating seniors] something to look forward to… [after] everything these kids have had to deal with.”

She commented that the First Selectman’s Office, the Lyme-Old Lyme Chamber of Commerce, the Old Lyme Resident Trooper and Police Department, and the Old Lyme Fire Department “have all been amazing” in helping to formulate the plans for the parade. Lewis summed up the process of turning the original idea of the parade into reality in the words, “Everyone has been extremely supportive.”  Plans are still in the works for precise details of the parade and more information will be forthcoming in due course.

Lewis added enthusiastically “I think this will not only be wonderful for our seniors, but the whole town needs this.”

Op-Ed: Old Lyme EDC Completes Fact-Finding Stage of ‘Smart Growth’ Development Plan, Seeks Additional Public Input to Move Forward

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Editor’s Note: The authors, Justin Fuller and Howard Margules, are the Co-Chairs of the Old Lyme Economic Development Commission.

The Old Lyme Economic Development Commission (EDC) launched three initiatives as its first step in crafting a “smart growth” economic development strategy for Old Lyme focused on maintaining the small-town character and charm of our unique town.

We realized the success of the plan depended upon providing opportunities for the public’s voice to be heard. Therefore, we designed the project with this in mind.

The three studies are now complete, and we are pleased to share the results with you.

We believe the findings in these reports will provide essential insights for not only the mission of the EDC but also will provide valuable information for the town’s other boards, commissions, and stakeholders.

The EDC has two main goals: first, attracting new businesses that fit the character of Old Lyme, and second, supporting existing businesses. These studies provided information essential in meeting these goals.

We were delighted by the community’s high level of participation, and we sincerely thank those who participated in completing the survey and to the SWOT attendees who gave up a portion of their free time to share their ideas with the commission.

We are committed to turning these findings into recommendations aimed at enhancing our town’s future.

Our efforts were greatly assisted by Advance CT (formerly known as the Connecticut Economic Resource Center, CERC) in crafting these three reports. They provide a comprehensive sound foundation to build upon, but will require adjustments for the impact of COVID-19.

We recognize the business and economic landscape will be altered, which will require adjustments to our future plans. We believe we are in a better position to confront the “new normal” that will result from the impact of the virus by having the results from these projects as a baseline to work with.

We invited all residents and all businesses to complete an Economic Development Survey, which provided the entire community an opportunity to weigh in on a variety of issues that will help shape the future of Old Lyme.

The response was overwhelming and the results of the Survey are contained in the report at this link.  Seven hundred and thirty surveys were completed (we anticipated 150 responses), the largest percentage response of any of the approximate 80 municipalities Advance CT has surveyed.

We conducted two economic Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) workshops designed to obtain feedback from a broad cross-section of town stakeholders, including a variety of businesses, residents, town leaders, nonprofit organizations, and clergy. The SWOT workshops gave additional opportunities for these stakeholders to dive deeper into critical issues.

The Old Lyme Economic Development Study provided valuable data and expert analysis of current economic conditions and recommendations for the future economic development of Old Lyme. It generated professional analysis and recommendations that will aid us in examining business opportunities that are both realistic and are a good fit for Old Lyme.

in carrying out our two EDC goals of both providing support to existing businesses, and attracting new business, while being mindful of maintaining the charm and character of our beautiful town.

Looking to the future, we will be discussing a game plan at our next meeting and the initiatives we have described here, which have already been implemented, will play a vital role as we move forward. In a nutshell, the EDC is now transitioning from gathering information to generating recommendations for a “smart growth” economic development strategy,

Our goal will be to come up with a specific recommendations for economic development keeping in mind our two EDC  goals of supporting existing business and attracting new businesses while being mindful of maintaining the charm and character of our beautiful town.

We will recommend that we include a vision statement that includes defining  both “the character” of Old Lyme and our sense of community.

We encourage you to review the results of all three reports. We welcome your questions, comments, and suggestions. Please feel free to email us at edc@oldlyme-ct.gov. We look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks again for your participation and interest in the future of the Old Lyme, a town we all treasure.

Talking Transportation: Is Commuting Dead?

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Jim Cameron

These columns run in some publications under the title “Getting There.” Am I going to have to change that name to “NOT Getting There”?

That’s what Governor Lamont says. Post-COVID he predicts the end of daily commuting as we know it.  Lamont told Bloomberg that his New York business buddies tell him they’re saving so much money by having people work from their homes they may cut office space in the city by 30 percent.

“The old idea of the commuter going into New York City five days a week may be an idea that’s behind us,” Lamont said. “Maybe you have a great job that seems to be geographically located in New York City, you can do it two-thirds of the time from your home in Stamford.”

Or maybe you don’t need to ever go into the city.  Twitter has told its tech workers they can work from home forever, assuming they can stand it.

That means more time with the family and a lot less time and money spent on the train.  If you add up monthly train tickets and station parking, you’re looking at least $500 to $600 a month in savings.

Not only does that leave Metro-North looking at a huge deficit, but also the towns and cities that rely on parking revenue.  And as we are discovering now, during budget-writing time, belts are getting pulled tighter and tighter.

To save money, Stamford residents may have to bag their own leaves for collection this fall.  Oh, the humanity of it all!  And Darien is looking to use empty parking lots as tented al fresco dining areas.

But wait ‘til the evacuating New Yorkers hit Fairfield County.  Our media-centric governor told CNBC that “the phones are ringing off the hook at real estate offices in Southern Connecticut.”  More families means more kids in our local schools further straining already-cut budgets.

But what if your New York jobs tells you to come back, even a few days a week.  How are you going to commute?

Probably not by train and subway.  A recent survey showed that 48 percent of respondents said they would totally avoid mass transit after NY’ers are allowed to leave their homes.  

The New York Stock Exchange says it hopes to reopen its trading floor, but only to traders and employees who did not arrive on Wall Street by mass transit.  Good luck with that traffic nightmare.

Transitioning to biking or walking to work may be viable if you live in Manhattan, but not if you’re coming from Connecticut. The best (or only other) option will be your car.

So it’s not surprising that a local car wash chain (reopened May 20) is offering a proprietary 15-minute “No-Vid Fogger Disinfection” treatment for only $54.99, “EPA certified to kill 99.99 percent of the emerging pathogens in your car”.  Yes, you too can stay in the safety bubble of your own car on your drive to work, however long it may take.

You think rush hour on the Merritt or I-95 was bad in the pre-COVID days?  Wait til we see the newly “disinfected” post-COVID commute-by-car crowd hit the roads.  Those highways are already getting crowded and we still haven’t officially fully re-opened yet.

PS:  If your New York City boss tells you to come back to the office, ask if he’ll also cover your tolls and Manhattan parking costs (about $50 a day).

Posted with permission of Hearst CT Media

About the author: Jim Cameron is founder of The Commuter Action Group, and a member of the Darien RTM. The opinions expressed in this column are only his own.You can reach him at CommuterActionGroup@gmail.com For a full collection of  “Talking Transportation” columns, visit www.talkingtransportation.blogspot.com.

Op-Ed: We Are Suffocating From Racism, But There is Hope for Resuscitation

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Rev. David W. Good, Minister Emeritus of the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme

Editor’s Note: The author, Rev. David W. Good, is the Minister Emeritus of the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme.

When I was a senior in high school in 1967, our social studies teacher and debate coach, determined to teach us the importance of being engaged in the great struggle for human rights, taught us about Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks and a student, Ruby Bridges. Daily our teacher would ask us the same question raised by the ancient Greek philosopher, Thucydides, “When will there be justice in Athens?” The answer: “When those who are not injured are as indignant as those that are.”

The message was clear. There is such a thing as “White Privilege,” and those of us who are white have a moral responsibility to work for a “more perfect union” — to listen to people of color, to acknowledge our own complicity in racial injustice, and together with those who are injured work to transform our society.

Sadly, here in 2020, we are still dealing with the same racial injustices, police brutality, economic inequity, environmental travesties, failure of political leadership and the passivity of far too many that has characterized our nation for much too long. If we want there to be justice in our cities and towns, now is the time for those “not injured to be as indignant as those who are.”

For those of us who are Christian, we must show righteous indignation for a U.S. president who would defile our sacred spaces and use the Bible not only as a prop but as a weapon. For centuries, the Bible has been used in such a way. Bigots have held up the Bible to establish racist systems of slavery, Jim Crow and Apartheid. Biblical illiteracy has been used to articulate theologies of entitlement that have red lined Jews, people of color, women, Muslims, Native Americans and those of different sexual identities.

If President Trump would only open the Bible, he might read the prophetic indignation of Amos, “Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream” or the lyrical vision of Isaiah, “they shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain” or the teachings of Jesus and the primacy of love. Not love in general but love in great specificity, love “for those who are hungry and homeless.”

Sadly, we are led by a president who doesn’t listen to the wisdom of the prophets and has proven himself to be neither Republican nor Democrat, neither conservative nor liberal. Our collective voices, those of all political persuasions, need to rise in indignation against the creeping fascism of our president and those who would enable it.

The body of George Floyd should serve as a tragic metaphor for the broken body of our nation. We are suffocating from racism.

But, thankfully, there is hope for resuscitation.

In one of her books, Arundhati Roy writes,

“We must tell stories that are different from the ones we’re being brainwashed to believe… Not only is another world possible; she is on her way. On a quiet day I can hear her breathing.”

I can hear her breathing when I see police officers put down their batons and shields and, with tears in their eyes, hug people of color in the streets of our cities.

I can hear her breathing when I see the number of young people — white and black and brown — standing up against gun violence.

I can hear her breathing in soldiers “who more than life their country love” and so break their silence for the human rights violations they have witnessed.

I can hear her breathing in health care workers who love “mercy more than life.”

I could hear her breathing when I took part in a peaceful march for justice in Old Saybrook, led by Maryam Elahi, a longtime human rights activist and teacher in our communities.

I can hear her breathing in the people of war-torn Syria who, despite their own tragedies, have created memorials to George Floyd.

I can hear her breathing in the strident, indignant testimony of Greta Thunberg who has quickened the conscience of those who struggle for environmental justice.

I can hear her breathing in our precious teachers who keep alive the ancient wisdom of those such as Thucidides.

To honor the tragic death of George Floyd and so many others who have died, we all need to do what we can to breathe life into the body of our nation.

 

Lyme-Old Lyme BOE Meeting Honors Six Long-Serving Retirees; Hears Reports on Staff Hiring, Plans for Fall Schooling

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LYME/OLD LYME — At its final meeting of the academic year, which was held virtually June 3, the Lyme-Old Lyme (LOL) Schools Board of Education (BOE) said farewell to six long-serving teachers with a combined service of over 150 years. Each of the teachers was leaving to start their retirement. 

Nancy Sparaco

Mile Creek Principal Kelly Enoch said Nancy Sparaco’s 35-year teaching career had been “a calm and soothing presence” in both of the schools — Mile Creek and Center — in which she’d worked, adding, “The students adore Nancy.” In reply, Sparaco commented that she was grateful to have spent “all 35 years ” in Lyme-old Lyme Schools, noting she was going to miss, “each fantastic, elastic brain ” of her students.

Introducing Connie Price, Lyme School Principal Jim Cavalieri said she was consistently “a worker bee” throughout her 34-year-career and noted she had deservedly been named Teacher of the Year back in 2001. Noting that “she didn’t raise the bar … she set the bar,” he wished price well in her new life in

Connie Price

Ohio. Price responded that she felt “honored and privileged to teach at Lyme Consolidated,” and that she had “learned so much”

Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School (LOLMS) Principal Mark Ambruso commented that World Language teacher Pam Russell “has not looked back in her 30 years” at LOLMS while “she has taught literally thousands of students French and Spanish.” Mentioning the numerous foreign trips on which she has taken students, Ambruso noted Russell is a, “warm demander … and her legacy will live on.” Russell responded saying it was “bitter-sweet to leave’ and noting that, “since March has been the biggest learning experience in my career.”

Myra Gipsteinl

Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School Assistant Principal Noah Ventola spoke about School Psychologist Myra Gipstein, who has been with LOL Schools for 20 years. He said, “a thread of kindness, compassion and sensitivity” followed her everywhere and that her “dedication was exceptional.” Gipstein said effusively, “I have never worked with such amazing people … this place was just what I was looking for. I will miss you all.”

 

 

Wendy Zito

Enoch spoke again, this time about Wendy Zito, who she described as having given her students over her 24 years teaching in Mile Creek, “a sense of wonder in the world around them,” and that, “she treats them with such respect.” On a personal note, Enoch added, “I have really appreciated how often she has made me laugh.” Zito replied, “They [the students] teach me. I just give them the tools to be the best that they can be.” She added, “It has been a privilege working with such dear, supportive colleagues … and now the next adventure begins!”

Finally, LOLHS Principal James Wygonik introduced John McGannon noting he had taught at the high school for 17 years and was chair of the World Language Department. He mentioned that

John McGannon

Mcgannon had taken students on “multiple trips to faraway locations” and had also brought the Amnesty International Club to the school with a personal passion that had successfully, “provided students with a voice.” Sporting a broad smile, Wygonik said, “The Lyme-Old Lyme family is losing its favorite crazy uncle!”

McGannon responded, “It’s been a great 17 years. No two days have been the same. It’s been a real honor,” adding, “There’s a buzz about this place.”  Describing the LOL Schools system as a whole, he said, “It’s a family … I’ll miss you.”

“I want to thank all of you [the retirees] for what you have brought to our school,” said board chair Diane Linderman. “You have truly made Lyme-Old Lyme what it is. We appreciate and applaud the dedication you all have to our schools; we will miss you and wish you the best.” 

Alongside congratulating the retirees, the BOE also took a moment to honor this year’s Connecticut Association of Boards of Education (CABE) Student Leadership Awards presented to two students from the high school. These awards are given every year to high school students throughout the state, who are recognized as having excellent leadership skills, inside and outside of the classroom. Principal Wygonik congratulated Ray Doll and Emily Balocca as the students selected to receive these awards and listed their respective numerous achievements. 

In the wake of the recent retirees, Superintendent Ian Neviaser reported there has been significant progress in hiring. The BOE has recently hired a new kindergarten teacher and first grade teacher at Mile Creek School, third and fourth grade teachers for Lyme Consolidated, a world language teacher at the middle school, and new math and world language teachers at the high school. 

In terms of getting back to school in the fall, Neviaser also mentioned that he is currently creating a Distant Learning Committee: a mixture of both staff, students and teachers to help create a plan for when school is back in session this fall. The committee will work on creating a plan for both distant online learning as well as in-person schooling. 

Neviaser noted that the BOE was recently denied a reimbursement for funding for the high school gymnasium’s refinishing project but that things will still move smoothly with a projection to finish by late September of this year. 

Lastly, the BOE unanimously approved a proposed resolution to help phase out the use of fossil fuels within the schools. 

This resolution, although not a mandatory ruling, is in line with the school’s plan to become a greener school by 2030. The district has already started making strides by installing solar panels and promoting recycling initiatives as well as using LED lighting.

“Climate change unites all of us,” said Rebecca Waldo, a member of the Sustainability Committee. “The 2030 100 percent Clean Energy Resolution is achievable: a guiding principle for being the kind of change we want to see in the world, for thinking globally and locally, and for protecting the planet for next generations.”