Monthly Archives: February 2021

Learn Your Insects in Duck River Garden Club’s Virtual Program, Tonight; All Welcome

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Duck River Garden Club hosts a program all about insects, Feb. 22. Photo by Dorothea Oldani on Unsplash.

OLD LYME — Old Lyme’s Duck River Garden Club (DRGC) continues to hold virtual presentations and meetings on Zoom while COVID restrictions are in place. These DRGC presentations are open to the public and require advance registration.

Virtual socials take place at 6:30 p.m., presentations at 7 p.m., followed by a business meeting for members.

Katherine Dugas is the speaker at the DRGC meeting, Feb. 22.

Join DRGC on Monday, Feb. 22, via Zoom to hear Katherine Dugas, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES) research technician, discuss current insect and plant disease conditions in Connecticut, including latest known migration of invasive Spotted Lanternfly, Emerald Ash Borer and Southern Pine Beetle.

Brush up on your insect ID skills, learn about the latest threats to our environment and what you can do to help.

Katherine is daughter of Albert and Denise Dugas of Old Lyme.

Dugas earned her Bachelors Degree from Connecticut College in 2005 and Master’s Degree from URI in 2008. She works in the Insect Information and Plant Disease Information Offices of CAES.

To register for this free program, call or email Karen Geisler, DRGC president, 860-434-5321, karengr007@gmail.com. One needs to have free Zoom app to see this virtual program, phone call-in also available.

Check DRGC’s website and the club’s public Duck River Garden Club of Old Lyme Facebook page for any changes to planned programs.

DRGC welcomes new members, who can join via the membership form on the website. For further information on membership, contact Karen Geisler. Attendance at DRGC virtual programs counts toward the required two meetings for prospective club members.

Death Announced of Lifelong Democrat David Woolley, He “Devoted Himself to Performing Public Service”

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David B. Woolley. File photo.

OLD LYME — It is with deep sadness that we report the death of David B. Woolley on Jan. 30, 2021.

After service in the Navy and a long, exemplary career in banking, he became a permanent resident of Old Lyme in 1989 when he moved into what had been his summer home at Old Lyme Shores.

To quote from his obituary, “During his entire adult life, David devoted himself to performing public service,” which included serving continuously as a member of the Old Lyme Board of Finance from 1995 through 2019. During that time, he was designated as a board of finance specialist to the Old Lyme Volunteer Fire Department.

His obituary states, “Mr. Woolley was a lifelong, dedicated member of the Democratic Party. He became a member of the Old Lyme Democratic Town Committee in 1994, was elected chairman in 2002, then served in that capacity continuously until 2018. He remained an extremely active member of the committee until the present time.”

It continues, “During that time, he oversaw a substantial increase in the Democratic party registration in the Town of Old Lyme, and the successful election of important town offices from the Democratic Party during this period,” adding, “He ran numerous fundraisers for the Party, including the beloved “Lobster Fest”. ”

The obituary notes, “David’s primary interest in life involved dedication of time and activities with his family and friends, and his many hours spent performing public service. He greatly enjoyed his political activities as a highly respected and loved member and chairman of the local Democratic Political Party.” He also served as President of the Old Lyme Shores Beach Association for many years.

Asked her reaction to hearing of Mr. Woolley’s passing, former Old Lyme Selectwoman Bonnie Reemsnyder said, “It is sad news about Dave. He was a true gentleman, cared deeply about Old Lyme, the beach communities and his fellow Democrats.”

She continued, “And he was always an advocate for me and other democrats who ran for office. In 2003 and 2005, we ran together for Selectman and First Selectman and he was so loyal, hardworking and determined. He will be greatly missed by many in Old Lyme.”

She concluded, “My heart goes out to his sister, Pat Cronin, who cared for him in his last days.”

Old Lyme Selectwoman Mary Jo Nosal offered similar sentiments, saying, “Dave Woolley was a gentleman to the core. He was a mentor to me and to many on the Old Lyme Democratic Town Committee. Dave was kind, fair and engaging. He was a good listener, thoughtful, a strategic thinker, and he always put Old Lyme and our residents first.”

She ended with the words, “I will miss him very much. My condolences to his family and many friends.”

We too, here at LymeLine, extend our sincere sympathies to Dave’s family and friends. He was a good and genuine man, who served his community endlessly. He will be deeply missed by many.

Feb. 19 COVID-19 Update: Cumulative Cases in Both Lyme, Old Lyme Hold at Previous Day’s Number

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Photo by CDC on Unsplash

LYME/OLD LYME — The Daily Data Report for Connecticut issued Friday, Feb. 19, by the Connecticut Department of Public Health (CT DPH) for data as at 8:30 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 18, shows that cumulative cases (confirmed and probable) since the pandemic began are the same as those reported the previous day in both Lyme at 84 and Old Lyme at 277.

Old Lyme – No Change in Confirmed Cases 

Old Lyme now has a cumulative total (since the outbreak began) of 270 confirmed COVID-19 cases and SEVEN probable cases, making a TOTAL of 277 cases.

This represents NO CHANGE in the number of in the cumulative number of confirmed or probable cases reported Thursday, Feb. 18.

The total number of Old Lyme residents tested is 4,607, up 17 from the previous day’s number.

Lyme – No Change in Confirmed Cases 

Lyme now has a cumulative total (since the outbreak began) of 77 confirmed cases and SEVEN probable cases, making a TOTAL of 84 cases.

This represents NO CHANGE in the cumulative number of confirmed or probable cases reported Thursday, Feb. 18.

The total number of Lyme residents tested is 1,232, an increase of seven over the previous day’s number.

Old Lyme Moves Down into Orange (Second Highest) Zone for Two-Week New Case Rate, Lyme Moves Back into (Highest) Red

The report issued Thursday, Feb. 18, by the CT DPH for the average daily rate of new cases of COVID-19 by town during the past two weeks shows that Old Lyme has finally moved into the (second highest) Orange Zone — down from the state-identified Red Zone, where it has been since early December 2020. Unfortunately, Lyme has moved back into the ‘Red Zone’ with the highest rate of new cases.

Overall, the report contains good news with 10 towns now in the Gray Zone, four in the Yellow Zone and 16 in the Orange Zone.  This is a far cry from the map we published back in November when every town in the state was in the Red Zone.

As of the Feb. 18 report, Old Lyme now joins 16 other towns — Essex, Deep River, Kent, Sherman, Goshen, Granby, Winchester, New Hartford, Canton, Farmington, Portland, Haddam, Hebron, Lebanon, Bethany and Southbury — in the Orange Zone.

Redding, Woodbury, Pomfret and Salisbury are in the Yellow Zone.

The Gray Zone includes Bridgewater, Canaan, Cornwall,  Norfolk, Scotland, Hartland, Barkamsted, Eastford, Franklin and Warren.

  • The gray category is defined as when the Average Daily Rate of COVID-19 Cases Among Persons Living in Community Settings per 100,000 Population By Town is less than five or less than five reported cases.
  • The yellow category is defined as when the Average Daily Rate of COVID-19 Cases Among Persons Living in Community Settings per 100,000 Population By Town is between five and nine reported cases.
  • The orange category is defined as when the Average Daily Rate of COVID-19 Cases Among Persons Living in Community Settings per 100,000 Population By Town is between 10 and 14.
  • The red category is 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.

In all cases, this rate does not include cases or tests among residents of nursing home, assisted living, or correctional facilities.

Three Fatalities in Old Lyme Since Pandemic Began, None in Lyme

According to the report mentioned above, there have now been THREE fatalities in Old Lyme. Asked Tuesday, Feb. 9, for details of this third fatality, Ledge Light Health Department Director of Health Stephen Mansfield responded, “We have not been notified of any recent deaths in Old Lyme. Keep in mind that that report is compiled by the Connecticut Department of Public Health; deaths are not reportable to local health districts.”

He added, “I can’t speak for their data sources.”

The two fatalities from Old Lyme previously reported in 2020 were a 61-year-old female and an 82-year-old male.

No fatalities have been reported in Lyme.

More Detail on Two-Week Case Rates

On Thursday, Feb. 18, Ledge Light Health District (LLHD) also issued their latest two-week  report of COVID data for the municipalities within their District. Ledge Light Director of Health Stephen Mansfield prefaces the report with the comment, “We are encouraged to see a moderate decrease in cases for the 4th consecutive reporting period, and are hopeful that this trend will continue.”

The latest two-week case rate announced Thursday, Feb. 18, for the period 1/31 to 2/13 per 100,000 population (compared with the previous two-week case rate for 1/24 to 2/06) has fallen in Old Lyme but increased in Lyme.

The two-week case rates are as follows:

  • Old Lyme from 25.2 to 11.6
  • Lyme from 12.2 to 21.4

The same report shows that the number of cases in Week 1 and Week 2 recorded for the period 1/31 to 2/13 (compared with the previous two-week case rate for 1/24 to 2/06 shown in parentheses) are as follows:

  • Lyme had 2 (2) cases in Week 1 and 5 (2) in Week 2
  • Old Lyme had 9 (17) cases in Week 1 and 3 (9) in Week 2

This data was updated Feb. 18, 2021.

Connecticut Hospital Occupancy

At the request of several readers, we are adding a new report today showing the respective rates of hospital occupancy at local hospitals. The data for this report is obtained from the Connecticut Hospital Occupancy Report published weekly by the CT DPH and extracted from the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) facility-level data for hospital utilization aggregated on a weekly basis (Friday to Thursday).

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Editor’s Note: The state issues a COVID-19 metric report daily around 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, which includes current data up to the previous evening. In light of the serious rise in Coronavirus cases, we publish a new weekday update reporting confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases in Lyme and Old Lyme. The next CT DPH Daily Data Report for Connecticut will be issued in the afternoon of Monday, Feb. 22.

Basketball: Old Lyme Girls Storm to Another Victory

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LYME/OLD LYME — The Old Lyme girls continued their winning ways Saturday with a convincing 58-29 away win over Hale-Ray. Don Bugbee’s varsity team has now won three games in succession taking the Wildcats to a 3-1 record, while Hale-Ray falls to 1-2.

Senior Sam Gray had an outstanding game, draining 18 points, taking six rebounds and contributing three assists. Fellow senior Emily DeRoehn also had a big game in which she notched 12 points, seven rebounds, four steals and three assists while senior Emma McCulloch was not far behind with 10 points, eight rebounds and two blocks.

Junior Megan Loflin was another key contributor with 10 points, four rebounds and three steals.

Coach Bugbee commented to LymeLine after the game, “This was a solid team win in a game that also provided the younger kids opportunities to play,” adding, “Going forward, we need everyone to contribute, whether at practice or in a game, in order to be successful each day.”

Old Lyme girls play perennial Shoreline rival Old Saybrook Monday, Feb. 22, with a 5:30 p.m. tip-off in Old Lyme and then Haddam-Killingworth, also in Old Lyme, Thursday, Feb. 25, with another 5:30 p.m. tip-off.

The Old Lyme boy’s game against Coginchaug scheduled for Saturday were cancelled.

Old Lyme Visiting Nurse Association Launches New Website  

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OLD LYME — The Old Lyme Visiting Nurse Association has announced the launch of its new website at this link. 

Holly Lyman, OLVNA President, told LymeLine.com exclusively, “We owe many thanks to our splendid website committee led by Carol Ridgway.  The site contains a wealth of historical information, thanks to Patsy McCook, Sarah Gleason, and our town’s indefatigable librarians.”

She added, “The site also links to local coronavirus initiatives, Town Nurse information and other health news.”

Noting, “I could write on and on about all the riches in our newest community resource, but this beautiful work speaks best for itself, she concluded with a chuckle, “We may be 99-years-old but we’re pretty hip!”