Monthly Archives: January 2022

Death Announced of John Thayer Talbott, Former Curate of Saint Ann’s Church in Old Lyme

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John Thayer Talbott died peacefully at his home on November 30, 2021. He was born in New York City in 1939, the son of Harold E. Talbott Jr. and Margaret Thayer Talbott …

After his studies at Sewanee University, he was ordained in the Episcopal Church. He served as rector of the Church of the Redeemer in Shelbyville, Tennessee, and St. Augustine’s Church in Washington, D.C., before retiring to Connecticut where he continued his pastoral care and service as Curate at St. Ann’s Church, Old Lyme, and as an interim and supply priest throughout the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut …

While in Washington, D. C., John had the great honor to participate in the memorial service for Justice Thurgood Marshall.  The prayer he wrote to honor Justice Marshall’s impact and life’s work is shared annually throughout the Anglican Communion as part of the Episcopal Church Liturgical Calendar …

Visit this link to read the full obituary published Jan. 2, 2022 on FishersIsland.net

American Rescue Plan Committee Presents Initial Findings From Survey to Old Lyme BOS

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OLD LYME — On Tuesday, Jan. 18, towards the end of a very lengthy Old Lyme (OL) Board of Selectmen (BOS)’s meeting, the agenda item of a ‘Project Update from the OL American Rescue Plan (ARP) Committee’ was finally reached.

In view of the time — the meeting had already been running three hours — and the fact another meeting was waiting to convene in the Meeting Room, Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker handed a copy of a summary of the initial results of the committee’s survey to her BOS colleagues and proposed they should discuss it at their next meeting on Monday, Feb. 7.

The summary read as follows:

The purpose of this brief summary is to provide the Board of Selectmen and the residents of Old Lyme an update on the recent survey of Old Lyme residents, businesses, and organizations by the American Recovery Plan Committee. The survey was designed to help the committee recommend a strategy to the Board of Selectman for using the designated federal funds under the American Recovery Plan Act. The survey was open from December 9 through January 7, 2022. The committee has the initial findings of the survey and is working now to complete their analysis of the results.

The survey resulted in 896 completed electronic responses and 4 handwritten responses. The total includes 704 residents who consider Old Lyme their primary residence including 67 who also run a business or organization in town; 168 property owners (that includes seasonal residents); and 28 business owners who do not also live in Old Lyme. This indicates roughly 10% of the Old Lyme population participated in the survey. The ARPA Committee is pleased with the number of participants.

Old Lyme residents, business owners, and organization leaders were asked how the pandemic affected their lives, as well as their preferences for how the Town spends its ARPA funds. Respondents could also include additional comments if they wished.

The Committee strives to operate in a transparent and objective manner, and looks forward to sharing with the public the complete findings as they are compiled and analyzed.

The first set of findings ready to share regards a question asked of all survey takers. The survey asked participants for their input regarding how the money should be allocated across 11 categories. These categories were chosen because they are deemed appropriate and legal uses of the funds by the US Treasury Department. The committee has reviewed respondents’ beliefs of how important each of the categories are in the distribution of funds. The categories are listed below in ranked order from most to least important.

  1. Investment in current and future infrastructure challenges such as clean water and sewer/waste treatment: – 68.99%
  2. Investment in Old Lyme post-pandemic small business recovery – 67.37%
  3. Financial assistance to Nonprofit Organizations that provided relief and services to Old Lyme residents during the pandemic – 67.12%
  4. Investment in Mental Health Services or other Public Health Services to assist Old Lyme residents – 65.97%
  5. Reinvestment in Old Lyme government services that were deemed essential during the pandemic (such as Emergency Services) to ensure preparedness for future services – 63.77%
  6. Investment in town-wide broadband (internet) improvements and/or cell services for potentially recurring needs such as remote work, remote schooling, and Telehealth services – 60.62%
  7. Grant premium pay to Old Lyme front line essential workers who were at heightened risk due to the character of their work during the public health emergency – 57.86%
  8. Financial assistance to Old Lyme families and households having difficulty recovering from pandemic losses (noting there are funds available now for Old Lyme families through a fund administered by LYSB) – 54.3%
  9. Investment in early childhood care and education – 54.1%
  10. Investment in bringing visitors to our Old Lyme attractions, restaurants, shops, and accommodations – 41.92%
  11. Investment in affordable housing to meet the needs of those working and living in Old Lyme. – 38.55%

The Committee members have divided into groups to further process the results and survey comments. These groups will report to the ARP Committee on January 19th.

  • Public Safety – Mary Jo Nosal and Dave Roberge
  • Arts / Entertainment and Hospitality – Cheryl Poirier
  • Mental Health / Social Services – Mary Seidner and Jen Datum
  • Infrastructure – Phil Parcak and Martha Shoemaker
  • Business / Industry – Rick Stout and Dennis Powers

Asked for a comment on the initial findings, Richard Stout, who serves as chairman of the ARP Committee’s Survey Sub-Committee told LymeLine by e-mail, “The committee meetings are open to the public, include a public comment agenda item and minutes of committee meetings are available here: https://www.oldlyme-ct.gov/node/35311/minutes.”

He continued, “The committee membership and invited presenters reflect a wide range of the Town’s stakeholders, and the committee is working through the survey responses to formulate its recommendations to the BOS and BOF [Old Lyme Board of Finance] in keeping with its Mission Statement (printed below).

Finally, he noted, “Minutes from the 1/19/2022 meeting include a succinct overview of the survey update provide by the committee.”

The next meeting of the ARP Committee is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 2, at 12 p.m. in the Meeting hall at Old Lyme Town Hall. Selectwoman Shoemaker told LymeLine via email, “Our next step is to come up with an official application and a process for the requests.”

Editor’s Note: The Mission Statement of the Old Lyme American Rescue Plan Committee reads: ‘The ARPC will develop and recommend a strategy to the Board of Selectmen for the allocation of ARP funds that benefits the Old Lyme community, which has been impacted by the COVID pandemic. The Committee will strive to operate in a transparent and objective manner and consider input from the community at large. The group’s goal is that their recommendation for fund deployment will, when carried out, maximize benefits for those living and working in Old Lyme. The ARPC will provide regular updates to the Board of Selectmen and Board of Finance with a goal of submitting final recommendations prior to June 30, 2022.’

Death Announced of Mildred “Maggie” Adamson Taylor of Old Lyme, Former Owner of ‘The Chocolate Shell’

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OLD LYME — Mildred “Maggie” Adamson Taylor, mother, grandmother, small businesswoman, and friend to many, died peacefully on Christmas Day, 2021. She was 92 …

A resident of Old Lyme then Lyme since 1960 …

It was while working as a receptionist at R. R. Donnelley that she met Douglas Taylor. They were married in 1983 …

Doug helped Maggie achieve her dream of becoming an entrepreneur, opening coffeehouse Seashell Cafe in Old Saybrook in 1984, way ahead of the expresso drink curve, and later running the Chocolate Shell sweet shop in Old Lyme. Her dear Doug died in 1992. …

Visit this link to read the full obituary published Jan. 2, 2022 in The Day.

Jan. 28 Daily COVID Update: State’s Trends Positive Overall; Locally, Seven New Cases in Old Lyme Take Cumulative Total to 956, Lyme’s Total Rises to 237 with Two New Cases

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Photo by CDC on Unsplash.

LYME-OLD LYME — The Daily Data Report issued Friday, Jan. 28, 2022, around 4 p.m. by the Connecticut Department of Health(CT DPH) shows seven new, confirmed COVID-19 cases in Old Lyme taking the town’s total of cumulative cases from 949 to 956.

Two new cases were reported in Lyme, taking that town’s cumulative total from 235 to 237. 

The next Daily Data Report will be issued by the state Monday, Jan. 31, around 4 p.m.

Statewide Data

On Jan.  28, Alex Putterman stated in an article in the Hartford Courant, “Connecticut reported its fewest new COVID-19 cases in a given day since mid-December on Friday, as the state’s test positivity rate hit its lowest level in a month. Though Connecticut continues to see far more coronavirus cases and hospitalizations than it did most of last year, before the arrival of the omicron variant, the state’s trends remain encouraging.”

As we reported in our Thursday, Jan. 27  COVID-19 Daily Data Report, the total number of towns in the Red (highest) Zone for case rates remains at 168, leaving only one town in the state — Canaan — not in the Red Zone. This number of 168 is equivalent to 99.4 percent of towns in the state.

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

Old Lyme is in the Red (highest) Zone for the 10th consecutive week: prior to this, the last time Old Lyme was in the Red Zone was Sept. 30, 2021.

Lyme is in the Red Zone for the 8th week in succession.

The state’s COVID-19 Daily Positivity Rate on Friday, Jan. 28, held at 9.73% , the same number that was recorded on Jan. 27, and COVID-related hospitalizations also decreased by 78 to 1,192. The positivity rate represents a new low for this month.

Of those hospitalized, 653 (representing 54.8%) are not fully vaccinated.

The total number of COVID-related deaths in Connecticut rose to 9,985. (Source: NYTimes.com)

The CT DPH will issue an updated map of the zones Thursday, Feb. 3 — the map is updated weekly on Thursdays.

Extracts from the Jan. 27, 2022 CT DPH report

As of Jan. 26, 2022: (the number in parentheses is from Jan. 19, 2022)

  • Number of cases of COVID-19 among fully vaccinated persons in Connecticut: 150,141 (115,021)
  • Number of fully vaccinated persons in Connecticut: 2,569,296 (2,540,829)
  • Percent of fully vaccinated persons, who have contracted COVID-19: 5.84% (4.53%)

For the week beginning Jan. 16, 2022: (the number in parentheses is from Jan. 09, 2021)

  • Risk of unvaccinated persons testing positive for COVID-19 as compared to fully vaccinated persons: 3.1x greater (3.4x greater)
  • Risk of unvaccinated persons dying from COVID-19 as compared to fully vaccinated persons: 12.9x greater (18.6x greater)

Increase in Cases in Lyme & Old Lyme Since August 2021

The cumulative total of confirmed cases for Old Lyme has now increased by 513 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 584 new cases there since that date. Meanwhile, Lyme’s cumulative total on Aug. 26 was 114 indicating 123 new cases have also been confirmed there during the same period.

Ledge Light Health District Update

All the towns in the Ledge Light Health District (LLHD), of which both Lyme and Old Lyme are members, are in the Red Zone.

In an email sent Friday, Jan. 28, regarding the latest COVID-19 data, Ledge Light Health District (LLHD) Director of Health Stephen Mansfield states, “Although the number of new cases and hospitalizations continues to decrease, we are still experiencing high average daily case rates and a continued focus on preventing transmission is important.

He continues, “Ledge Light Health District advises all businesses and community members take direct steps to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission in your business, home, and place of work. We encourage all businesses within our communities to adopt masking policies for employees and customers, regardless of vaccination status.”

Finally, he states, “LLHD continues to focus our vaccination efforts on homebound populations and providing initial vaccinations and boosters to individuals who were vaccinated previously. Information about vaccination opportunities can be found at https://llhd.org/coronavirus-covid-19-situation/covid-19-vaccine/.”

COVID testing opportunities can be found at COVID-19 Testing | Ledge Light Health District (llhd.org)

The following link provides centralized access to Connecticut COVID data: https://data.ct.gov/stories/s/COVID-19-data/wa3g-tfvc/

The next Ledge Light update is due Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022.

Lyme-Old Lyme Schools Update

Under new state protocols for schools, Lyme-Old Lyme (LOL) Schools are no longer required to carry out contact tracing , but LOL Schools Superintendent Ian Neviaser said in a Jan. 4 email to the school community that he, “… will continue to notify the school community of any positive cases of COVID-19 that impact the schools.”

A full listing of all LOL Schools-related cases during 2022 is given below. On Sunday, Jan. 30, one new case was reported and on Friday, Jan. 28, three new cases were reported in LOL Schools.

Lyme-Old Lyme Schools closed Dec. 23, 2021 and reopened Monday, Jan. 3, 2022 after the winter break meaning no new cases were reported by the schools during that period. We are no longer including positive cases impacting LOL schools between Aug 26, 2021 (the first day of the 2021-22 academic school year) and Dec. 23, 2021 (the last day of school before winter break began), in this report. During that period contact tracing was still required.

View the full listing of cases during that period (8/26/21 – 12/23/21) at this link.

The listing below 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.

The following abbreviations are used in the list below: LOLHS: Lyme-Old Lyme High School, LOLMS: Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School, CS: MC: Mile Creek School, and Center School Pre-Kindergarten.

Sunday, Jan. 30
Total: 1
Lyme: 1

Friday, Jan. 28
Total: 3
LOLHS: 1, LOLMS: 1, MC: 1

Thursday, Jan. 27
Total: 3
LOLHS: 1, Lyme: 2

Wednesday, Jan. 26
Total: 3
LOLHS: 1, MC: 2

Tuesday, Jan. 25
Total: 4
LOLMS: 2, MC: 2

Monday, Jan. 24
Total: 9
LOLHS: 2, LOLMS: 1, Lyme: 1, MC: 4, CS: 1

Sunday, Jan. 23
Total: 3:
LOLMS: 1, Lyme: 2

Friday, Jan. 21
Total: 8
LOLHS: 4, LOLMS: 2, MC: 2

Thursday, Jan. 20
Total: 5
LOLMS: 1, MC: 1, Lyme: 3

Wednesday, Jan.19
Total: 7
LOLHS: 2, LOLMS: 4, CS: 1

Tuesday, Jan. 18
Total: 7
LOLHS: 3, LOLMS: 2, MC: 2

Monday, Jan. 17
Total: 6
Lyme: 4, MC: 2

Friday, Jan. 14
Total: 3
MC: 2, LOLHS: 1

Wednesday, Jan. 12
Total: 3
MC: 2, LOLMS: 1

Monday, Jan. 10
Total: 3
CS: 1, Lyme: 2

Sunday, Jan. 9
Total: 2
MC: 1, Lyme: 1

Friday, Jan. 7
Total: 1
MC: 1

Thursday, Jan. 6
Total: 7
LOLHS: 5, Lyme: 1, CS: 1

Wednesday, Jan. 5
Total: 14
LOLHS: 6, MC: 1, Lyme: 3, CS: 4

Tuesday, Jan. 4
Total: 5
LOLHS: 4, CS: 1

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.