Monthly Archives: December 2021

Tonight, Duck River Garden Club Invites Community to Holiday Wreath-Making Event; Wreaths to be Displayed Around Town

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OLD LYME — The Duck River Garden Club (DRGC) of Old Lyme is planning to create around 50 wreaths this year to display around the community.

Anne Brandenburg, who is a DRGC member, told LymeLine by email, “That is a lofty number, and hard to trim down when you know town folks appreciate the work and see the charm adding a wreath here and there does for our quaint town.”

She goes on to explain, “That said, we could use some help.”

The Club is therefore opening up this year’s Wreath-Making Night to the public.

All are welcome to join DRGC members at the Roger’s Lake Community Building just off Town Woods Road Wednesday, Dec. 8, at 6 p.m. It is suggested that attendees dress warmly and bring:

  • (roughly) a trash bag full of gathered greens (if possible)
  • gloves and clippers
  • your Old Lyme Holiday Cheer!

Joining this fun evening will enable you to spend time with community members and learn a little about the work of the DRGC both within and outside our community.

Death Announced of Angela (Lopedota) Boulanger, Mother of Scott Boulanger of Old Lyme

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Angela (Lopedota) Boulanger, 87, of Newington, passed away on December 1, 2021. Born in Hartford, she moved to Elmwood as a child …

She will be greatly missed by her devoted daughter, Rev. Denise Cassella of South Windsor, her son, Scott Boulanger and his wife Kathy of Old Lyme, her two grandchildren and two great grandchildren …

Visit this link to read the full obituary published Dec. 5 in the Hartford Courant.

Lyme-Old Lyme High School, Middle School Announce Honor Rolls

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Scroll down for Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School Honor Roll.

Lyme-Old Lyme High School
Quarter 1 Honor Roll   2021-22

High Honors
Grade 12:

Emily Almada, John Almy, Grace Arnold, Dylan Avelange, Hannah Britt, Ryan Clark, John Conley, James Creagan, Elise DeBernardo, Cheikh Diagne, Elizabeth Duddy, Eleanor Dushin, Lauren Enright, Aiden Goiangos, Shawn Grenier, Nicolette Hallahan, Austin Halsey, Jackson Harris, Daniel Hoblin, Fiona Hufford, Julia Johnston, Nevin Joshy, Kian Kardestuncer, Cora Kern, Robyn King, Felse Kyle, William Larson, Reese Maguire, Abigail Manthous, Stephanie Mauro, Elle Myers, Emily Nickerson, Bella Orlando, Isabel Prentice, Jacob Ritchie, Alexander Roth, Olivia Schaedler, Calvin Scheiber, McLean Signora, Abby Speckhals, Drew St.Louis, Nikolai Stephens-Zumbaum, Victoria Stout, Madison Thompson, John Videll, Evan Visgilio, Aidan Ward, Melanie Warren, Ellie Wells, Mary Wholean, Paige Winchell, Avery Wyman, Jerry Zhang

Grade 11:

Olivia Alpha, William Barry, Callie Bass, Livie Bass, Sarah Birkmeyer, Jamie Bucior, Gretchen Burgess, Sarah Burnham, Hayley Cann, Liam Celic, Grace Colwell, William Danes, Anna Davis, Jacob Derynioski, John Eichholz, Matthew Grammatico, Angus Griffin, Willa Hoerauf, Arber Hoxha, Phoebe Lampos, Yanza Lata, Jonah Lathrop, Ford Macadam, Marielle Mather, Madalyn McCulloch, Madeleine Morgado, Cooper Munson, Alexander Olsen, Alain Pecher-Kohout, Izzadora Reynolds, Benjamin Roth, Eli Ryan, Anders Silberberg, Ned Smith, Alyssa Spooner, Tova Toriello, Gesami Vazquez, Kaitlyn Ward, Harry Whitten, George Williams

Grade 10:

Beatrice Barnett, Emma Bayor, Oliver Berry, Alis Bicic, Elliot Bjornberg, Henry Boller, Drew Brackley, Natalie Buckley, Jackson Bullock, Ava Cummins, Ella Curtiss-Reardon, Macklin Cushman, Eric Dagher, Sydney Doboe, Amelia Gage, Dominic Gerardo, Marcia Geronimo, Calla Gilson, Ryder Goss, Sydney Goulding, Alexis Grasdock, Justin Green, Abby Hale, Ella Halsey, Agatha Hunt, Beatrice Hunt, Sabina Jungkeit, Grady Lacourciere, Griffin McGlinchey, Delaney Nelson, Isabelle O’Connor, Ronald Olin, Grace Phaneuf, Jack Porter, Luisa Raby, Hannah Thomas, Keara Ward, Louisa Warlitz, Mason Wells, Tyler Wells, Duohui Yan, Grace Zembruski

Grade 9:

Quinn Arico, Molly Boardman, Mark Burnham, Mason Bussmann, Andrew Clougherty, Gloria Conley, Chloe Datum, Zoe Eastman-Grossel, Caeli Edmed, Anna Eichholz, Grace Ferman, Benedict Frazier, Hoshena Gemme, Manu Geronimo, Ava Gilbert, Nicolas Hatch, Kaela Hoss, Shyla Jones, Thomas Kabel, Simon Karpinski, Aven Kellert, Olivia Kelly, Ella Kiem, Peter Kuhn, Ada LaConti, Elise Leonardo, Andrew Liu, Kanon Oharu, Sophie Pennie, Ryan Shapiro, Kelly Sheehan, Drea Simler, Nicholas Turtoro, Kathleen Walsh, Gabriella Ziegler

Honors
Grade 12:

Andrew Bennett, Nihad Bicic, Mackenzie Bussolotti, Evan Clark, Grace Coverdale, Lauren Creagan, Michael DeGaetano, Victoria Gage, Delaney Gagnon, Samantha Geshel, Meyer Goldberg, Liam Grethel, Andrew Hedberg, Lillian Herrera, Michael Klier, Zachery Lodi, Grace McAdams, Emily Mesham, Jacob Meyers, Samuel Mullaney, Brendan O’Brien, Michael O’Donnell, Adeline Riccio, Margaret Rommel, Aidan Russell, Frank Sablone, Abigail Sicuranza, Parker Sprankle, Alexandra Tinniswood, Olivia Turtoro, Jenna Woods, Ryan Zbierski

Grade 11:

Elsie Arafeh-Hudson, Whitney Barbour, Cooper Bowman, Gillian Bradley, Ava Brinkerhoff, Jennifer Cajamarca, Ava Catalano, Luke Celic, Alexander Chrysoulakis, Nicholas Cox, Bridget Donovan, Zachary Eichholz, Alexis Fenton, Ethan Hale, Clarence Hinckley, Karissa Huang, Owen Ingersoll-Bonsack, Charlotte Judge, Madison Krol, Caden Monte, Kelsey Pryor, Jaden Reyes, Rhyleigh Russell, Stefan Ryer, Alden Sarnoski, Jenna Schauder, Mary Surprenant, Samantha Tan

Grade 10:

Peighton Andrews, Alexis Antonellis, Jedidiah Arico, Morgan Bell, Sarah Colangelo, Lucas DaSilva, Eva D’Onofrio, Douglas Griswold, Katherine Gryk, Mohamad Hamou, Jordan Hanes, Sedona Holland, John Holzworth, Dakota Kotzan, Brodie Lippincott, Anna McAdams, Alexander McPherson, Elaina Morosky, Katherine Mullaney, Ava Roth, Charles Sahadi, Noah Sanford, Sydney Siefken, Madeleine Soriano, Gabriel Tooker, Kalea VanPelt, Summer Wollack

Grade 9:

Christopher Anderson, Oliver Avelange, Justin Bonatti, Hannah Bonilla, Chase Calderon, Dylan Carnaroli, Dominic Clark, Tabitha Colwell, Andrea DeBernardo, Ella Evans, Parker Holland, Rowan Hovey, Kyle Ingersoll-Bonsack, Colette Marchant, Abigail O’Brien, Shea Quashie, Trinity Rando, Ysabel Rodriguez, Cajamarca Salazar, Nola Slubowski, Charlotte Tinniswood, Ava Wood-Muller

Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School
Quarter 1 Honor Roll   2021-22

High Honors
Grade 8:

Ilona Binch, Zoe Brunza, Alec Butzer, Trevor Buydos, Makayla Calderon, Tyler Cann, Jack Conroy, Colman Curtiss-Reardon, Christopher Dagher, James Dahlke, Sophia D’Angelo, Rose Dimmock, Alexa Donovan, Gabrielle Field, Chase Gilbert, Alexander Glaras, Benjamin Goulding, Scarlette Graybill, Christopher Kachur, Thomas Kelly, Katherine King, Harrison Kleefeld, Jade Lawton, Maya LeQuire, Jayden Livesey, Emily Looney, Elise Marchant, Samuel Masanz, Bridget McAdams, Carter McGlinchey, Ryan Miller, Nina Nichols, Ryan Olsen, Ryan Ortoleva, Marleigh Piacenza, Jacob Prokopets, Taylor Quintin, Jenna Salpietro, Sophia Shaposhnikova, Luca Signora, Emma Singleton, Addison Spooner, Carson St.Louis, Andrew Taylor, Meredith Thompson, Margaret Thuma, Lucian Tracano, Madeleine Trepanier, John Turick, Connor Vautrain, Eve Videll, Elisabeth Viera, Warren Volles, Oliver Wyman, Stella Young, Carl Zapatka

Grade 7:

Lucia Arico, Addison Arndt, Zak Avelange, Phineas Barrett, Zachary Belval, Mia Bonatti, Ceciley Buckley, Morgan Buerger, Marla Bulas, Reagan Bullock, Brooke Burgess, William Burgess, Anna Bussmann, Brennan Butzer, Lillian Calabrese, Aidan Carpentino, Chase Catalano, Isaac Chartier, Sophia D’Amico, Amirah D’Lizarraga, Brady Donovan, Samson Edmed, Edward Fiske, Lauren Fulara, Angeline Gencarella, Antonio Gencarella, Kaedin Gerster, Samuel Gilbert, Gavin Goulis, Harrison Goulis, Tessa Grethel, Charles Halsey, Owen Holth, Marley Iaia, Elsa Jungkeit, William Kabel, Josephine Kiem, Paul Kuhn, Alexa Legein, Olivia Lovendale, Matilda Miller, John Morosky, Emelia Munster, Grace Osborne, Mia Palmer, Arthur Riccio, Ainsley Rinoski, Cameron Russell, Owen Shapiro, Kevork Shegirian, Nicholas Sokolowski, Madeline Stiles, Magdalena Tooker, Ethan Trepanier, Bowen Turick, Kaylyn Vernon, Ivy Wilson

Grade 6:

Kaitlyn Ackerman, Lillian Acosta, Lauren Belval, Scarlett Blatter, Vivian Boller, Noah Brant, Lana Brunza, Payton Burr, Gabrielle Clark, John Comstock, Madeline Cummins, Colin Discordia, Ashlynn Edwards, Katharine Ferman, Jonah Filardi, Avery Goiangos, Frederick Goss, Elaina Graves, Gavin Gray, Sawyer Graybill, Alistair Grenier, Aiden Guidi, Alistair Hampton-Dowson, Colleen Harrington, Morgan Harris, Ryan Hill, Fiona Judge, Jillian Kleefeld, Kaedyn Koproski, Henry Kyle, Treyton LaConti, Holden Leonardo, Graham Macadam, Benjamin Mattox, Rowan McCormick, Charles McEwen, Caitlyn McHugh, William McKeever, Clarissa Mock, Addyson Morosky, Grace Morrissette, Marielle Munster, Theodore Neary, Remi Patz, Jonah Scheckwitz, Audrey Sheehan, Abigail Singleton, Avery Spooner, Charlotte Thuma, Delilah Tooker, Jonathan Toriello, Renee Viera, Ashlynn Ward, Avery Wesch, Charles Zapatka, Avery Zbierski, Ella Ziolkovski

Honors
Grade 8:

Julia Clark, Michael DeFiore, William Donnelly, Jonathan Farrell, Elena Gerardo, Ian Maeby, Nayeli MarinYanza, Eiley Montanaro, Isabella Presti, Tanner Snurkowski, Pierre St., Katherine Zhang

Grade 7:

Collin Anderson, Johanna Coker, Taiyo Gemme, Skylar Graybill, Zachariah Guidi, Marley Igersheimer, Curtiss Johnson, Callahan Lacourciere, Eva Oulahan-Smith, Carli Teixeira, Charles Zelek

Grade 6:

Albert Enman, Warner Grenier, Reese Holland, David McAdams, Judah Waldo

Lyme Academy Welcomes Community to Enchanted Afternoon of Seasonal Celebrations

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Photo by Suzanne Thompson.

OLD LYME — There were smiles everywhere on Saturday afternoon when Lyme Academy of Fine Arts opened its doors and grounds to the community to celebrate the season.

There was plenty of activity at the firepits where ‘smores galore were toasted. Photo by Lyme Academy of Fine Arts.

Asked after the event how she felt this inaugural event had worked out, Mora Rowe, Executive Director of Lyme Academy told LymeLine, “Our first annual tree lighting was the picture of holiday cheer, with families and friends of all ages gathered on the Academy grounds. Hands were warmed around a bonfire, perfect for homemade s’mores, and hearts were made merry through the festive sounds of caroling and local bands.

Photo by Lyme Academy of Fine Arts.

Michael Duffy, chairman of the Lyme Academy Board of Trustees, addressed the large crowd from the steps of the Sill House (above).  State Representative Devin Carney (R-23rd) to his left followed suit …

Photo by Suzanne Thompson.

The Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School Band cheerfully played …

Photo by Lyme Academy of Fine Arts.

Many local non-profit organizations participated and the Duck River Garden Club (DRGC) was an especially popular stand …

Photo by Suzanne Thompson.

… where people spent time enjoying their ‘Tussie Mussie’ handiwork …

Photo by Suzanne Thompson.

… and the ladies working behind the stand were clearly enjoying themselves too!

Photo by Suzanne Thompson.

Pollinate Old Lyme! was kept busy educating folks on the importance of pollinators and selling beautiful medallions …

Rowe continued, “Our arts and crafts stations ensured that gift-able goodies would find their way under the tree – thank you to our own Academy students and faculty for their creativity and help with that!”

Photo by Lyme Academy of Fine Arts.

Old Lyme First Selectman Timothy Griswold (center in blue baseball hat) and newly-elected Region 18 Board of Education Chairman Steven Wilson (second from left facing camera with dark-colored jacket) were two of the hundreds of local residents enjoying the festivities …

Photo by Suzanne Thompson.

… as were these DRGC ladies and their ‘customers.’

Photo by State Rep. Devin Carney.

These three local dignitaries, Michael Duffy (Lyme Academy Board Chairman), Tim Griswold (Old Lyme First Selectman) and Devin Carney (R- 23rd District State Representative) took a few moments out from all the fun to take a smiling selfie.

Photo by Lyme Academy of Fine Arts.

The Lyme Academy Cafe did a brisk business in Apple Cider Donuts and hot chocolate …

Photo by State Rep. Devin Carney.

A sparkling Christmas tree was lit, carols were sung, and a thoroughly good time was had by all.

Rowe summed up the whole event with these words, “The afternoon was a reflection of the wonderful community we have here in Old Lyme and surrounds, and was the jolliest and most special way to begin the holiday season,” adding enthusiastically, “May all days be so merry and bright!”

Dec. 6 COVID-19 Update: Old Lyme Has 18 New Cases, Highest Daily Number Since Records Began; OL Cumulative Total Increases to 513, One New Case Takes Lyme’s to 137

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LYME-OLD LYME — The Daily Data Report issued Monday, Dec. 6, at 4 p.m. by the Connecticut Department of Health (CT DPH) shows 18 new, confirmed COVID-19 cases in Old Lyme taking that town’s total of cumulative cases to 513.

Our records indicate that this is the highest single-day increase in Old Lyme since the first case was recorded in town on March 31, 2020.

The previous highest number was 17, which was recorded Nov. 6, 2020.

Last week, between the state’s reporting days of Monday, Nov. 29, and Friday, Dec. 3, a total of 20 new cases were reported in Old Lyme. It should be noted that the state does not issue reports over the weekend nor on public holidays.

One new case was reported in Lyme, taking that town’s cumulative total to 137.

Lyme-Old Lyme (LOL) Schools Superintendent Ian Neviaser informed the school community Monday, Dec. 6, that a positive case of COVID-19 impacting Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School had been reported. (See below for a full listing of all LOL Schools-related cases.)

As we reported in our Thursday, Dec. 2 COVID-19 Update, Old Lyme remains in the Red Zone in the weekly COVID-19 Average Daily Case Rate Report issued by the state on that day. Lyme remained in the Gray (lowest) Zone, where it has been since Sept. 30, 2021. The CT DPH will issue an updated map of the zones Thursday, Dec. 9 — the mao is updated weekly on Thursdays.

The number of towns statewide in the Red Zone has increased dramatically in the past two weeks with 110 towns in it last week and 135 this week. To give a further indication of the significance of the increase, the number of towns in the Red Zone on Oct. 7, 2021 was down to 37.

All the towns in the Ledge Light Health District (LLHD) are in the Red Zone, except Lyme.

Prior to Monday, Nov. 22, when two new cases were reported, Lyme had previously gone 35 days in succession without reporting a single new case.

The cumulative total of confirmed cases for Old Lyme has now increased by 70 since Wednesday, Nov. 10, when the total stood at 443 — that number had stood unchanged for a week since the previous Thursday, Nov. 4.

On Aug. 26 — which was the day Lyme-Old Lyme Schools started the new academic year — Old Lyme’s cumulative case total stood at 372, meaning there have now been 141 new cases there since that date. Meanwhile, Lyme’s cumulative total on Aug. 26 was 114 indicating 23 new cases have also been confirmed there during the same period.

In an email sent Thursday, Dec. 2, regarding the latest COVID-19 data, Ledge Light Health District (LLHD) Director of Health Steven Mansfield stated, “The number of new COVID cases within our jurisdiction continues to increase, which is consistent with an increase in COVID cases statewide, according to DPH data. Unfortunately, we expect this trend to continue as we move into the holiday season.”

He continued, “LLHD continues to focus our vaccination efforts on homebound populations and providing initial vaccinations, and boosters to individuals who were vaccinated previously.”

The next report from CT DPH will be issued Tuesday, Dec. 7, at around 4 p.m.

COVID-19 Cases in Lyme-Old Lyme Schools

This is the latest information that we have with the most recent cases first — there may have been further updates, however, which we have not yet received.

On Monday, Dec. 6, Lyme-Old Lyme (LOL) Schools Superintendent Ian Neviaser informed the school community that a positive case of COVID-19 impacting Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School (LOLMS) had been reported.

On Friday, Dec. 3, Neviaser informed the school community that a positive case of COVID-19 impacting Center School had been reported.

On Thursday, Dec. 2, Lyme-Old Lyme Schools Superintendent Ian Neviaser informed the school community that two separate positive cases of COVID-19 impacting Lyme-Old Lyme High School (LOLHS) had been reported.

On Monday, Nov. 30, Neviaser informed the school community that a positive case of COVID-19 impacting Lyme-Old Lyme High School (LOLHS) had been reported.

On Monday, Nov. 29, Neviaser informed the school community that a positive case of COVID-19 impacting Mile Creek School had been reported.

On Tuesday, Nov. 23, Neviaser informed the school community that a positive case of COVID-19 impacting LOLHS had been reported.

On Monday, Nov. 22, Neviaser informed the school community that a positive case of COVID-19 impacting Mile Creek School had been reported.

On Thursday, Nov. 18, Neviaser informed the school community that a positive case of COVID-19 impacting LOLHS had been reported.

On Wednesday, Nov. 17, Neviaser informed the school community that a positive case of COVID-19 impacting LOLHS had been reported.

On Sunday, Nov. 14, Neviaser informed the school community that over the weekend a positive case of COVID-19 impacting LOLHS had been reported.

On Wednesday, Oct. 20, Neviaser informed the school community that a positive case of COVID-19 impacting LOLHS had been reported.

On Wednesday, Oct. 5, Neviaser informed the school community that a positive case of COVID-19 impacting LOLHS had been reported the previous evening.

On Thursday, Oct. 23, Neviaser informed the school community of two intrafamilial positive cases of COVID-19 impacting LOLMS. He stated, “We were able to complete our contact tracing and the one individual who must quarantine has been notified.”

On Thursday, Sept. 23, Neviaser informed the school community of two intrafamilial positive cases of COVID-19 impacting LOLMS. He noted, “We were able to complete our contact tracing and the one individual who must quarantine has been notified.”

On Wednesday, Sept. 22, Neviaser informed the school community of a positive case of COVID-19 impacting LOLHS.

On Thursday, Sept. 16, Neviaser informed the school community that a previously reported positive case of COVID-19 is now impacting Mile Creek School and Center School.

On Monday, Sept. 13, Neviaser informed the school community that a positive case of COVID-19,  which had been reported the previous day, was impacting LOLMS.

On Wednesday, Sept. 1, Neviaser informed the school community that a positive case of COVID-19 was impacting Mile Creek School.

On Tuesday, Aug. 31, Neviaser informed the school community that late on Monday, Aug. 30, a positive case of COVID-19 impacting LOLHS had been reported.

On Saturday, Aug. 28, Neviaser informed the school community that late on Friday, Aug. 27, a positive case of COVID-19 impacting Lyme School had been reported.

In all cases, contact tracing was completed and those individuals who needed to quarantine were notified. They will be able to return to school following their quarantine period. All other students and staff will continue to attend school as scheduled.

Fatalities Due to COVID-19 in Lyme, Old Lyme

There has been one COVID-related fatality of a Lyme resident: a 57-year-old male passed away Nov. 16, 2021. On Nov. 30, the state finally included this fatality in its data

Three COVID-related fatalities have been reported in Old Lyme. The first two fatalities from Old Lyme, which were reported in 2020, were a 61-year-old female and an 82-year-old male.

Details of the third, which was reported in 2021, have not been made available.