Lyme-Old Lyme Schools Host ‘Invention Convention’ for Grades 5, 7

The cheerful inventors gather for a group photo part way through the event.

OLD LYME — Inventors from Grade 5 (20 inventors) and Grade 7 (14 Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School inventors) participated in the District-Wide Invention Convention last Thursday, Jan. 29, when their inventions were displayed at Old Lyme’s Memorial Town Hall.

Inventors learned about the engineering and design process, created display boards and gave speeches to pitch their invention ideas.

Kylie Grethel stands with her invention “Pedal 4 Prizes,” which now advances to the statewide contest.

Thirteen judges from Lyme and Old Lyme including Mentor Corps for Community Development members, Lyme’s Youth Service Bureau staff, Town Hall employees and Region 18 Board of Education members, volunteered their time to judge the inventions in four different categories:

  • purpose and practicality of the invention
  • attention to detail related to the invention
  • presentation skills of the inventor
  • quality of the display board detailing the invention

We are extremely proud of all the inventors for the time, commitment, and hard work they have put into this project as they have been working on this project since September.

Lyme-Old Lyme Schools Superintendent Ian Neviaser asks Annie Gingras a question about her invention, the “Tangle Tamer 2000.” This entry also advanced to the state competition.

Students advancing to the “virtual” state competition to be hosted by UConn during April and May will be:

From Lyme Consolidated:
Griffin Karpinski with his invention “Hive Alive”
Lillian Reynolds with her invention “Scoli-Cool”
Jack Montmeat with his invention “The Blanketing”

From Mile Creek:
Annie Gingras with her invention “Tangle Tamer 2000”
Victoria Glaras with her invention “Hen He​lper”
Kylie Grethel with her invention “Pedal 4 Prizes”

From Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School:
Lucy Arico with her invention “Sea Cow Saver”
Vinny Pietrowicz with his invention “Flex Tube”
Ainsley Rinoski with her invention “Wrist Guard”

Lyme-Old Lyme Schools Host Public Forum on ’22-’23 Budget, Tonight

OLD LYME — A Special Board of Education Meeting will be held Wednesday, Feb. 2, starting at 6:30 p.m. in the Board of Education Conference Room at Center School. The purpose of the meeting is to host a Public Forum on the proposed 2022-23 budget for Lyme-Old Lyme Schools.

A live stream of the meeting will be available at this link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF2_W7yYtFwx067Ici9776Q/live

While in person public comment is still acceptable, those wishing to make public comment virtually may use the following Zoom link: https://region18.zoom.us/j/87635839590; Meeting ID: 876 3583 9590;
+16465588656,,83527766795# US (New York).

Those choosing this option will be required to follow the same expectations for those making public comment in person. After being recognized by the chairperson, participants must state their name and place of residence before making their comments to the Board.

Basketball Update: Old Lyme Girls Secure Two Wins, One Overtime Loss in Past Week

Senior Ali Kyle dribbles the ball in the game against Coginchaug.

LYME-OLD LYME — The Old Lyme girls have played three games since last Thursday and came way with two wins and one loss in overtime.

On Thursday, Jan. 27, Old Lyme defeated East Lyme 44-40. Senior Megan Loflin scored 17 points and took 16 rebounds while Junior Alexis Fenton notched 12 points and  7 steals. Freshman Kate Walsh added 6 points.

After the game, Coach Don Bugbee said, “The girls played well, especially in the second half, against a very good East Lyme team. We had solid contributions from all players. Playing good defense, making fouls shots, and protecting the ball on Offense were the key components in securing the win.”

Freshman Kelly Sheehan defends against a Coginchaug opponent.

A day later on Friday, Jan. 28, Old Lyme lost to East Hampton 42-39 in overtime. Senior Megan Loflin again led the scoring with 11 points and Junior Alexis Fenton put up 10. Freshman Kate Walsh, sophomore Ava Roth and Senior Ali Kyle added7, 6 and 5 points respectively.

Coach Bugbee commented, “It was a hard-fought battle throughout the game versus a very good East Hampton Team, with solid efforts from everyone.”

Senior Megan Loflin rebounds in the game against Coginchaug.

Yesterday evening, Old Lyme defeated Coginchaug 45-42 in a real nail-biter. Junior Alexis Fenton had an outstanding game scoring 20 points and Senior Megan Loflin added 15.

Coach Bugbee said after the game, “We were in control of the game through three quarters and hung on for the win after a strong fourth quarter from Coginchaug.”

Junior Alexis Fenton dribbles behind while playing Coginchaug.

Old Lyme’s record is now 7-6.

The girls now face St Bernard away on Wednesday, Feb. 2, and Portland, also away, on Friday, Feb. 4.

Jan. 31 Daily COVID Update: CT Positivity Rate Falls to New Low, But COVID-Deaths Break 10K; Seven New Cases in Old Lyme Take Cumulative Total to 963, Lyme’s Total Rises to 238 with One New Case

Photo by CDC on Unsplash,

LYME-OLD LYME — The Daily Data Report issued Monday, Jan. 31, 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 956 to 963.

One new case was reported in Lyme, taking that town’s cumulative total from 237 to 238. 

The next Daily Data Report will be issued by the state Tuesday, Feb. 1, 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, fell to 7.33% and COVID-related hospitalizations also decreased by 141 to 1,051. The positivity rate represents an all-time low for January.

Of those hospitalized, 568 (representing 54.0%) are not fully vaccinated.

The total number of COVID-related deaths in Connecticut broke 10,000 for the first time rising to 10,010. (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 520 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 591 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 Monday, Jan. 31, two 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.

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.

Death Announced of John Charles Petersen of Old Lyme, 73; He “Cherished Every Minute on the Road”

OLD LYME — 1949-2022: John Charles Petersen, age 73, of Old Lyme, passed away peacefully at home on Wednesday, January 19, 2022, surrounded by family and loved ones, after fiercely battling cancer. John was born and raised in Connecticut, where he lived throughout his life …

In 2020, John retired from the State of CT Judicial Branch, after a career in mental health services that spanned more than 50 years …

In the last decade of his life, he drove from Connecticut to Alaska, rode horses through African plains, traveled across China, and ice-trekked through Antarctica; he experienced it all and cherished every minute on the road …

John is survived by children Judy, Becky, and Chris, brother Jim, sister Sandy, grandchildren Kristen, Kimberly, Eva, Vivian, John, and Jake, and nephew Dylan …

Visit this link to read the full obituary published Jan. 27, 2022 in the Hartford Courant.