Monthly Archives: November 2020

Volunteers Decorate Gillette Castle State Park for the Holidays

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Laura Borg decorates the courtyard around Gillette Castle.

EAST HADDAM, Conn. – Members of the Friends of Gillette Castle State Park spent a recent weekend decorating the grounds and exterior of the late William Gillette’s mansion at 67 River Road.

The group included Jack Hine, the park’s supervisor, and staff member Sarah Lucey, as well as Friends members Laura Borg, Lynn Wilkinson and Dorothy Millen. Borg purchased the decorations and donated them to the effort.

The mansion itself is closed to the public but visitors may stroll about the grounds to view the decorations from 8 a.m. until sunset daily through Jan. 2, 2021.

Harold “Tyke” and Theodora “Teddie” Niver also are expected be on hand Sunday afternoons during the holiday season to greet and entertain visitors while portraying William and Helen Gillette.

The popular tourist destination is nestled atop the “Seventh Sister” hill in the towns of East Haddam and Lyme along the Connecticut River.

The Friends of Gillette Castle State Park is a nonprofit, all-volunteer group dedicated to the preservation, conservation and educational activities of the building and its grounds.

More information may be found at www.gillettecastlefriends.org. 

Region 4 Asks Valley-Old Lyme Co-op Football Coach to Resign

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Action from a Warriors game against Old Saybrook played on the Lyme-Old Lyme Varsity Field in 2016. File photo,

AREAWIDE — The press and social media are currently swirling with articles*, opinion pieces* and comments relating to the requested resignation of the extremely popular Valley Regional High School (VRHS) football coach and gym teacher Tim King by the Region #4 Superintendent Brian White.

Region 4 comprises the middle and high school-age students of Chester, Deep River and Essex; each of the three towns operates their own elementary schools.

Lyme-Old Lyme High School (LOLHS) students play football on the VRHS ‘Warriors’ team in a formalized co-operative arrangement, which has been in place for some 10 years. Lyme-Old Lyme (LOL) Schools Superintendent Ian Neviaser explained, however, that the co-op arrangement does not mean LOL Schools had any involvement in the recent actions of the Region #4 Superintendent.

Neiaser said by email, “In our current cooperative football agreement with Valley Regional, Region #4 employs the head coach. Therefore, any action or proposed action is independent of the Region #18 [Lyme-Old Lyme Schools] Board of Education.”

According to news reports, the issue that prompted White to ask for King’s resignation was King’s presence at an Independent Football League practice held in Lyme, which included players from both VRHS and LOLHS. The League was formed in response to the cancellation of the high school football season by the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference.

Since he is the VRHS/LOLHS football coach, King was not permitted by Region #4 to coach in the Independent Football League. According to numerous reports, King submits he complied with that ruling and many witnesses have substantiated that statement.

Neviaser noted in his email, “Region #18 has no involvement in any independent sports programs that are not a part of our annual budget.”

The captain of the VRHS/LOLHS co-op football team Jack Cox started a petition on change.org, requesting that Tim King should retain his positions at Valley Regional High School. As at 12 a.m., Nov. 23, more than 2,760 people had signed the petition.

Editor’s Note: *Articles and opinions referenced for this article include:
Three local teams to compete in 11-on-11 Independent Football League by Ned Griffen, published Oct. 23, by The Day.

Players, parents upset that Valley/Old Lyme coach King being forced to resign by Ned Griffen, published Nov. 21, by The Day.

Coach asked to resign for involvement in independent football league by Sean Patrick Bowley, published Nov. 21, in the New Haven Register.

Tim King has the community — and the truth — on his side by Mike DiMauro, published Nov. 23, by The Day.

Valley Regional high school coach asked to resign by school district for involvement in independent football league formed during the pandemic in The Courant.

Old Lyme Enters ‘Red Zone’ for COVID Case Rates, Lyme Stays in Gray; OL Has 65 Cases, Lyme 17

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Ninety-six percent of Connecticut, including the Town of Old Lyme, is now in the red zone for Coronavirus infection rates. Source: CT Department of Health.

OLD LYME/LYME — In the Connecticut Department of Health’s map published Thursday (Nov. 19) showing, Average Daily Rate of COVID-19 Cases Among Persons Living in Community Settings per 100,000 Population By Town, Old Lyme is now in the red (highest) zone meaning the case rate is 15 or more cases per 100,000.

The actual rate for Old Lyme reported Nov. 19 is 18.4 per 100,000.

Old Lyme joins 144 other municipalities in the red zone, representing approximately 96 percent of the state. The previous week showed the number of towns in the red zone as 100.

The Town of Lyme, meanwhile, is in the grey (lowest) zone with less than five cases per 100,000.

The actual rate for Lyme reported Nov. 19 is 6.1 per 100,000.

Governor Ned Lamont, who is currently quarantined himself, described the surging virus statistics as, “disturbing,” during a news briefing yesterday. Visit this link for a full report published yesterday about Gov. Lamont’s news briefing by Hugh McQuaid of our LION partner CTNewsJunkie.com. 

Ledge Light Health Department (LLHD) issued their weekly COVID report at 11:41 a.m. today. It shows Old Lyme as having 19 new cases in the past two weeks whereas Lyme had “<5”.

Old Lyme now has a cumulative total of 65 confirmed cases and two fatalities, while Lyme has a cumulative total of 17 confirmed cases and no fatalities. (The state report details the Lyme cases as 15 confirmed and two probable.)

A total of 620 PCR tests were administered to Old Lyme residents in the past two weeks with a positivity rate of 3.7, whereas the respective numbers for Lyme were 108 tests and a 2.8 positivity rate.

Stephen Mansfield, LLHD Director of Health, prefaces the report saying, “Our contact tracers continue to report that they have observed many cases associated with family and social gatherings; this is particularly concerning as we head into the holiday season.”

He adds, “We are also seeing a significant number of cases associated with sporting events, as well as person to person transmission within foodservice establishments; these foodservice cases have been almost exclusively employee to employee, rather than employee to patron.”

Finally, Mansfield notes, “Cases associated with schools and long-term care facilities are increasing as well.”

 

 

Nov. 20 COVID Update: Two New COVID Cases in Old Lyme, No New Cases in Lyme; OL Has 67 Cases, Lyme 17

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Photo by CDC on Unsplash

LYME/OLD LYME — In light of the serious rise in Coronavirus cases, we have started a new daily update reporting confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases in Lyme and Old Lyme. The state is now issuing a COVID-19 metric report daily around 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The state does not give any details of the age of those infected, their gender or the date the case was confirmed.

The Daily Data Report for Connecticut issued Friday afternoon, Nov. 20, (which was issued after the Friday, Nov. 20 weekly Ledge Light Health Department report) shows the following:

OLD LYME now has a cumulative total of 67 confirmed COVID-19 cases.

This represents an increase of two confirmed cases over the 65 cases reported Thursday, Nov. 19.

There have been two fatalities in Old Lyme.

LYME has a cumulative total of 15 confirmed cases and two probable cases.

This represents no change over Thursday’s data.

There have been no fatalities in Lyme.

The COVID-19 metric report is issued by the state once per day, every Monday through Friday. The report that is issued each Monday contains combined data that was collected on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The state will issue its next report Monday, Nov. 23.

Drive-Thru Flu Clinic Scheduled This Morning in Old Lyme

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OLD LYME —11/19 UPDATE (in red below): Ledge Light Health District (LLHD) is hosting a Drive Thru to Beat the Flu clinic Saturday, Nov. 21, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School. The school is located at 53 Lyme St. in Old Lyme.

All participants will be required to wear a mask, stay in their vehicle, and practice social distancing.  Participants are NOT required to be residents of Lyme or Old Lyme.

Regular flu shots or nasal sprays will be provided at no cost to individuals 19 years and older.

A quadrivalent flu shot (not the high dose for seniors) will be given to anyone 19 years and older.

Anyone aged 19 – 49, who is in good health and not pregnant, may have the flu mist nasal spray.

District residents that need the high dose vaccine should contact their pharmacy, medical provider, or the Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) of Southeastern Connecticut.

It is recommended that people wear a tank top, short sleeve shirt or loose-fitting clothes for easy access to the upper arm if receiving the flu shot..

A flu consent form is required for each participant. Forms can be downloaded from www.llhd.org or obtained at the Drive-Thru. Any questions, call 860-448-4882.

This flu clinic is being offered by LLHD in partnership with Old Lyme Emergency Services Department, Lymes’ Youth Service Bureau, Old Lyme Visiting Nurse Association and LLHD MRC.

Ledge Light Health District serves as the local health department for Lyme and Old Lyme, as well as East Lyme, Groton, Ledyard, New London, North Stonington, Stonington and Waterford, Conn.

As a health district, formed under Connecticut General Statutes Section 19a-241, LLHD is a special unit of government, allowing member municipalities to provide comprehensive public health services to residents in a more efficient manner by consolidating the services within one organization.

The Director of Health and staff of LLHD work to promote health and wellness among the more than 151,000 residents that the district serves. By enforcing the Connecticut Public Health Code, conducting health education programs, monitoring disease outbreaks and nurturing our environment, LLHD is focused on promoting healthy communities.

LLHD’s mission statement – to prevent disease, illness and injury; to protect and nurture our environment; and to promote improved health and prosperity for all residents – describes in more detail their slogan of “promoting healthy communities.”