Monthly Archives: December 2020

Dec. 7 COVID Update: Cumulative Total of 95 Confirmed Cases Reported in Old Lyme, 28 in Lyme

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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, which includes current data up to the previous evening.

The Daily Data Report for Connecticut issued by CT DPH Monday afternoon, Dec. 7, for data as at 8:30 p.m. Dec. 6, shows the following:

Both Lyme and Old Lyme remain in the state-identified ‘Red Zone,’ defined as when the Average Daily Rate of COVID-19 Cases Among Persons Living in Community Settings per 100,000 Population By Town exceeds 15. This rate does not include cases or tests among residents of nursing home, assisted living, or correctional facilities.

OLD LYME now has a cumulative total (since the outbreak began) of 95 confirmed COVID-19 cases.

This represents an increase of six confirmed cases over the 89 cases reported Friday, Dec. 4.  No report was issued over the weekend.

The total number of Old Lyme residents tested is 3,297.

There have been two fatalities in Old Lyme.

The Dec. 7 report issued by CT DPH shows that during the two-week reporting period from 11/15 through 11/28, Old Lyme had 14 cases in Week 1 and six in Week 2. This data was updated Dec. 3.

The case rate for 100,000 population is 19.4, reflecting a decrease from the previously reported two-week-rate of 23.3. A case rate of 15 or more cases per 100,000 population places a town in the state’s ‘Red Zone.’

LYME has a cumulative total (since the outbreak began) of 26 confirmed cases and two probable cases, making a total of 28 cases.

This represents an increase of three in the number of confirmed and no change in the number of probable cases over those reported Friday, Dec. 4.

There have been no fatalities in Lyme.

The total number of Lyme residents tested is 759.

The Dec. 7 report issued by CT DPH shows that during the two-week reporting period from11/15 through 11/28, Lyme had seven cases in Week 1 and one in Week 2. This data was updated Dec. 3.

The case rate for 100,000 population is 24.4 reflecting an increase from the previously reported two-week-rate of 21.4.  A case rate of 15 or more cases per 100,000 population places a town in the state’s ‘Red Zone.’

Ledge Light Health Department (LLHD) issued their most recent weekly COVID-19 Report Friday morning, Dec. 4. It shows that in the past two weeks, Old Lyme had 20 new confirmed cases and Lyme eight. It also details that 864 Old Lyme residents had molecular tests and antigen tests while the equivalent number for Lyme residents was 254.

Neither the LLHD nor the Connecticut Department of Health (CT DPH) reports give any details of the age of those infected, their gender, or the date the case was confirmed.

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 Tuesday, Dec. 8.

Rep. Devin Carney Named Ranking Member of Legislature’s Transportation Committee

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State Rep. Devin Carney (R-23rd) File photo.

HARTFORD – State Representative Devin Carney (R-23rd), who was reelected in November to the position he has held since 2015, has received his committee assignments for the 2021 legislative session.

These include being named as the Ranking Member of the Legislature’s Transportation Committee by House Republican Leader-elect Vincent Candelora.

“Whether it’s highway congestion in Fairfield County or a failing bridge in the state’s Quiet Corner, transportation-related issues have and will continue to be a major point of conversation at the capitol,” Candelora said. “Devin understands both the importance of improving our transportation grid and the budgetary challenges that stand in the way.”

Candelora continued, “His ability to see all sides of an issue and understand a proposal’s impact on the people we’re elected to serve make him a perfect fit for this role, and I look forward to working with him as he helps lead discussion on this committee whose work affects so many aspects of life in Connecticut.”

Having been a member of the committee for the past six years, the familiarity of responsibilities that come with this appointment is one Rep. Carney knows well, having served in the same capacity from 2017 to 2018 under former Minority Leader Themis Klarides.

“It’s an honor to have been chosen to serve as the Ranking Member of the Legislature’s Transportation Committee,” Rep. Carney said, continuing, “Serving in this capacity will not only allow me to be a strong voice for our region, but also address issues ranging from the safety of I-95 to wait times at the DMV. I look forward to working with the committee members on these types of issues again next year.”

The Transportation Committee has oversight on all matters relating to the Department of Transportation, including highways and bridges, navigation, aeronautics, mass transit and railroads; and to the State Traffic Commission and the Department of Motor Vehicles.

He will also return as a member of the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee and the Ranking Member of the Transportation Bonding Subcommittee and will begin his first term on the Education Committee. Rep. Carney was also named an Assistant House Republican Leader and chosen, again, to serve on the House Republican Screening Committee.

Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee focuses on issues relating to finance, revenue, capital bonding, fees and taxation. The committee also oversees employer contributions for unemployment compensation and all matters relating to the Department of Revenue Services and the revenue aspects of the Division of Special Revenue.

The Education Committee has cognizance of all matters relating to the Department of Education; local and regional boards of education and the substantive law of collective bargaining covering teachers and professional employees of such boards; vocational rehabilitation; the Commission on the Arts; and libraries, museums and historical and cultural associations.

The House Republican Screening Committee is a select committee that reviews all bill proposals before they reach the floor of the House for a final vote.

Editor’s Notes: i) The 23rd House District includes Lyme, Old Lyme Old Saybrook and part of Westbrook.
ii) This article is based on a press release issued by the House Republican Office of the Connecticut General Assembly.

Obituary: Julia Kathleen Balfour, July 18, 1978 – Nov. 30, 2020

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Watch a tribute video to Julia at this link.

EAST HADDAM — Julia Kathleen Balfour, 42, of East Haddam, passed away on November 30th after a lengthy battle with cancer. A giant personality with an unforgettable laugh, everyone knew when she was in the room. A smile was her default expression, and she was up for anything, at any time. She never said no.

Julia received her BFA from Rhode Island School of Design and MFA from Parsons where she was a teaching fellow and valedictorian of her class. With her extreme creative talent, a magnetic and persuasive personality, innate business acumen, and an ability to work straight through the night, she built her company Julia Balfour LLC into one of the best Creative Agencies in New England. Within just a few years, the company made it into the INC 500 of the fastest growing businesses in the United States. She won too many design awards to count, for which she seldom took credit, usually attributing success to the efforts and skill of her well-trained and very cohesive business team.

For Julia the sky was the limit. Nothing was out of reach and she lived her life that way, an inspiration to everyone who worked for her, worked with her, and all of her friends and family. A devoted yogi, she had an intense spiritual side, and owned a yoga studio that provided free classes to her employees and anyone who couldn’t afford to pay.

The love of her life and the greatest source of Julia’s pride was her son, Cooper. Julia was also the loving daughter to her father Richard Leavitt, and sister to Nicole Weger.

Donations may be made to Long Island Bull Dog Rescue: http://longislandbulldogrescue.org

Despite the Pandemic, Lyme-Old Lyme HS TechnoTicks are Still Tinkering

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The first TechnoTicks meeting of the year held via Zoom.

Tinkering is what happens when you try something you don’t quite know how to do, guided by whim, imagination, and curiosity. When you tinker, there are no instructions—but there are also no failures, no right or wrong ways of doing things. It’s about figuring out how things work and reworking them. Contraptions, machines, wildly mismatched objects working in harmony—this is the stuff of tinkering. Tinkering is, at its most basic, a process that marries play and inquiry. — Massimo Banzi, inventor of the Arduino system.

OLD LYME — Despite the chaos of fall 2020, Lyme-Old Lyme High School’s FIRST Robotics team – TechnoTicks Team 236 —has not been idle. 

TechnoTick students and their mentors have embarked on a modified journey of discovery using readily available resources like 3D design programs TinkerCAD and Onshape, and the Arduino circuit board system along with the collective inquisitive nature of the TechnoTicks. 

Each fall, the mentors and returning students of Team 236 hold a series of training nights to prepare new students for the season. Due to Covid-19, the TechnoTicks have been holding their fall training online through Zoom. 

An Arduino circuit built in TinkerCad set up to control a Red, Yellow, and Green LED.

Each Team 236 student received a TinkerCAD and Onshape account, and their own Arduino kit. Arduino circuit boards can be programmed to interact with many electronics, including Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs), motors, speakers, Global Positioning System (GPS) units, cameras, and even cellphones.

Each week, students and mentors meet via Zoom and discuss a new design problem. They then break out into smaller “rooms” and work to design and program their Arduino board to complete a task.  So far, members of the team have learned to write code that will light up LEDs, use distance sensors, and power motors.

An Arduino circuit programmed to light up as the sensor is activated.

With these weekly meetings on Thursday nights, the team looks forward to advancing their technological inventory and learning more as the season progresses.

In the coming weeks, students will work to advance their programming and Computer Assisted Design (CAD) skills.  While not every attempt will be perfect, tinkering is the goal.

The TechnoTicks say proudly, “We are not yet sure how, or where this path will lead, except that we know it will be challenging and we know it will be fun.”

Isn’t that what learning should be all about?

Editor’s Note: FIRST Robotics Team 236 – the Techno Ticks offers students from Lyme-Old Lyme High School and East Lyme High School a creative way to learn about robotics, design and computer programming. Visit the TechnoTicks website and follow the team on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter to be kept up to date with the latest news.