Death Announced of Robert Charles Meyer of Lyme; Successful Builder, Accomplished Pilot, Avid Yachtsman

Robert Charles Meyer

LYME, CT – Robert Charles Meyer, 94, passed away peacefully February 1st, 2022, at home after a short illness with his family by his side. He was born in 1927 in Belleville, NJ. He is predeceased by his beloved wife Doreen, as they shared 66 wonderful years together. 

Robert served with the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II and was a graduate of Farleigh Dickinson. Upon graduating college, Robert worked for Walter Kidde where he met his wife, Doreen. Following employment at U.S. Gypson he became a successful builder and developer having built over 800 homes, numerous medical and office buildings in Morris County and the surrounding area in New Jersey.

Robert was also an accomplished pilot having attained his private and commercial licenses and instrument rating in addition to being an avid yachtsman. A master “griller,” Robert excelled at all he took interest in. 

Robert was a devoted husband, father and grandfather who always made time for his family. He was a warm, kindhearted man with a great sense of humor. He captivated those who were blessed to have heard his wonderful stories of his youth and life experiences. 

Robert will forever be remembered and loved by his daughters, Kim Morgan and Heidi Meyer, 6 grandchildren, Devon Rust, Lindsey Morgan, Meredith Chapman, Ryan Meyer, Madeleine Meyer Schumacher, Olivia Meyer Schumacher; 4 great-grandchildren, Levi Morgan, Wyatt Rust, Andy Rust and Tristan Meyer as well as many nieces, nephews and friends. Robert was predeceased by his wife, Doreen Meyer and by his son, Keith Meyer. All whom loved and touched deeply. He will be greatly missed by all who were fortunate to know him.

Forever in our hearts.

A private memorial gathering will be held in the warm summer months, Robert’s favorite time of year.

Ruth Ann Heller Music Foundation Announces Scholarships to Lyme-Old Lyme Music Students

Photo by Marius Masalar on Unsplash.

LYME-OLD LYME — UPDATED 2/3/22 with revised information sent by the Ruth Ann Heller Music Foundation:
The Ruth Ann Heller Music Foundation Board of Trustees has announced its awards for private study music scholarships for 2020-21 to students from Lyme-Old Lyme (LOL) High School and LOL Middle School.

Award recipients from LOL High School are:
Ava Gilbert Gr 9 Flute
Andrew Liu Gr 9 Bari Sax
Natalie Buckley Gr 10 Flute
Jacob Derynioski Gr 10 Percussion
Phoebe Lampos Gr 11 Oboe/English Horn
Marielle Mather Gr 11 Clarinet
Nikolai Stephens-Zumbaum Gr 12 Percussion
Avery Wyman Grade 12 percussion

Award recipients from LOL Middle School are:
Jonah Filardi Gr 6 Saxophone
Gavin Gray Gr 6 Alto Sax
Sophia Huang Gr 6 Percussion
Avery Zbierski Gr 6 Flute
Ceciley Buckley Gr 7 Clarinet
Morgan Buerger Gr 7 Saxophone
Gavin Goulis Gr 7 Trumpet
Harrison Goulis Gr 7 Trombone
Arthur Riccio Gr 7 Trumpet
Warren Volles Gr 8 Trumpet
Oliver Wyman Gr 8 French Horn
CJ Zapatka Gr 8 Trombone

As a supporting organization for LOL Schools, the Ruth Ann Heller Music Foundation awards scholarships to be used for private music instruction to students participating in LOL Middle and High Schools band programs.

The 501(c)(3) non-profit foundation was formed in 1999 after the retirement of Ruth Ann (King) Heller from LOL High School, with a mission to strengthen and improve the instrumental music program in LOL Schools.

Donations to the foundation in any amount are gratefully accepted. The mailing address is: Ruth Ann Heller Music Foundation, PO Box 298, Old Lyme, CT 06371, or alternatively, donations may be made through PayPal at http://www.rahmf.org/#donate.

Editor’s Note: This article is based on a press release issued by the Ruth Ann Heller Music Foundation.

Feb. 2 Daily COVID Update: Four New Cases in Each Town Take Cumulative Totals to 238 in Lyme, 964 in Old Lyme

Photo by CDC on Unsplash,

LYME-OLD LYME — The Daily Data Report issued Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022, around 4 p.m. by the Connecticut Department of Health(CT DPH) shows four new, confirmed COVID-19 cases in Old Lyme taking the town’s cumulative case total from 964 to 968.

There were also four new cases in Lyme raising the cumulative total of cases there from 238 to 242.

The next Daily Data Report will be issued by the state Thursday, Feb. 3, around 4 p.m.

Statewide Data

The state’s COVID-19 Daily Positivity Rate on Wednesday, Feb. 2, fell to 7.43% from Tuesday’s number of 8.68% and COVID-related hospitalizations decreased by 60 to 935.

Of those hospitalized, 501 (representing 53.6%) are not fully vaccinated.

The total number of COVID-related deaths in Connecticut has risen to 10,083. (Source: NYTimes.com) In an article by Susan Haigh of the Associated Press and published Feb. 1, in the Hartford Courant Dr. David Emmel, chairman of the Connecticut Medical Society’s legislative committee is quoted as saying that breaking the 10,000 total number of deaths in the state is a, “very sad statistic” [and] “what’s even more discouraging is that people are continuing to die when they don’t have to because most of them, almost all them, are people who are unvaccinated.”

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

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.

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 525 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 596 new cases there since that date. Meanwhile, Lyme’s cumulative total on Aug. 26 was 114 indicating 128 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 Wednesday, Feb. 2, 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.

Wednesday, Feb. 2
Total: 3,
MC: 3

Tuesday, Feb. 1
Total: 1,
MC: 1

Monday, Jan. 31
Total: 2,
LOLMS: 1, Lyme: 1

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.

Feb. 1 Daily COVID Update: Encouraging News for LOL; One New Case in Old Lyme Takes Cumulative Total to 964, Lyme Holds at 238 with No New Cases

Photo by CDC on Unsplash.

LYME-OLD LYME — The Daily Data Report issued Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022, around 4 p.m. by the Connecticut Department of Health(CT DPH) shows encouraging news for Lyme and Old Lyme with only one new, confirmed COVID-19 cases in Old Lyme and none in Lyme.

The single case in Old Lyme takes the town’s total of cumulative cases from 963 to 964. Lyme‘s cumulative total holds steady at 238. 

The next Daily Data Report will be issued by the state Wednesday, Feb. 2, around 4 p.m.

Statewide Data

The state’s COVID-19 Daily Positivity Rate on Monday, Jan. 31, rose to 8.68% from Friday’s number of 7.33% but COVID-related hospitalizations decreased by 56 to 995. This is the first time this month that hospitalizations have fallen below 1,000.

Of those hospitalized, 538 (representing 54.1%) are not fully vaccinated.

The total number of COVID-related deaths in Connecticut continued its upward trend rising to 10,076. (Source: NYTimes.com) In an article by Susan Haigh of the Associated Press and published Feb. 1, in the Hartford Courant Dr. David Emmel, chairman of the Connecticut Medical Society’s legislative committee is quoted as saying that breaking the 10,000 total number of deaths in the state is a, “very sad statistic” [and] “what’s even more discouraging is that people are continuing to die when they don’t have to because most of them, almost all them, are people who are unvaccinated.”

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

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.

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. 9, 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 521 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 592 new cases there since that date. Meanwhile, Lyme’s cumulative total on Aug. 26 was 114 indicating 124 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 Tuesday, Feb. 1, one new case was 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.

Tuesday, Feb. 1
Total: 1
MC: 1

Monday, Jan. 31
Total: 2
LOLMS: 1, Lyme: 1

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.

Lyme Library Racial Equity Book Club Hosts ‘Meet the Author’ Special Event, Tonight

LYME — Lyme Public Library hosts best-selling author Kate Clifford Larson via Zoom this evening, Wednesday, Feb. 2, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

She will discuss her new book Walk with Me: A Biography of Fannie Lou Hamer, which explores the life and work of Fannie Lou Hamer, who rose from humble beginnings in the Mississippi Delta to become one of the most powerful voices in the American civil rights movement.

The special event is co-sponsored with the Bigelow Library in Clinton, Mass. Register to receive the Zoom meeting invitation at programreg@lymepl.org