As a recently retired CFO with over 45 years of financial oversight experience, I have learned the qualities needed to be a successful financial leader. I am writing this letter to the voters in Old Lyme to strongly urge you to elect Matt Ward (U) as our Town Treasurer on November 7th.
Matt has all the right in-depth financial expertise and experience to serve Old Lyme in this important role. Matt previously served as Assistant Accounts Manager for the Town of Deep River. He has served as the Second Selectman of Old Lyme since 2021. So Matt is very familiar with the town budget process and financial issues for Old Lyme. Matt helped resolve financial issues with the finance director as our Second Selectman.
Prior to his Selectman role in the Old Lyme Town Hall, Matt had a 20 year career as a Connecticut State Trooper and later a part-time police officer for the Town of Old Lyme. Matt has a B.A. in Accounting from Bryant College and is currently a Staff Accountant at a local firm in Essex.
Matt has lived in Old Lyme for 17 years and his five children are enrolled in the Region 18 school system. Matt is a dedicated volunteer to our town including Lyme-Old Lyme Little League, the LYSB, and has served on Board of Directors for LYSB and the Old Lyme Historical Society.
Matt Ward has consistently shown himself to be a competent and reliable public servant.
Vote for Matt Ward (U) for Town Treasurer.
Sincerely,
John Flick, Old Lyme.
Editor’s Note: Matt Ward is endorsed by the Old Lyme Republican Town Committee as their candidate for Treasurer in the upcoming election.
One of the signs that was defaced in Old Lyme over Saturday night. Photo submitted.
OLD LYME — Five large campaign signs in Old Lyme — three Republican, two Democratic — were vandalized overnight on Saturday with hateful terms, obscene language, and offensive signs.
We asked the respective chairs of the Old Lyme Democratic Town Committee (DTC) and Republican Town Committee (RTC) for their thoughts on the vandalism.
Randy Nixon, RTC Chair, wrote via email, “We are outraged by these heinous acts which meet the legal standard (on our signs) of Hate Crimes. In either party’s signs, this must be condemned by all Old Lyme residents. We are all better than this.”
He added, “This is as sad as it is despicable.”
Mary Jo Nosal, DTC Chair, also responded by email saying, “This past weekend Old Lyme Democratic and Republican campaign signs were vandalized, a direct assault on First Amendment rights. Sadly, the vandalism included trespassing on private property and vulgar and hateful graffiti.”
She noted, “The Old Lyme DTC believes that vandalism and hate speech do not belong in Old Lyme and will cooperate fully with the police investigation.”
in addition, Nosal forwarded the DTC’s public statement regarding the vandalism, which reads as follows: “It has come to our attention that last night, signs supporting both the Democrat and Republican selectmen in town were defaced with spray painted vulgarities and hateful rhetoric. In addition to subverting the democratic process, vandalism is a crime, and we have reported both incidents to the police.
The Old Lyme Democrats oppose any sign theft or vandalism. These signs cost money and are used to inform voters of candidates’ names and remind them to participate on Election Day. They are perhaps the greatest example of our country’s long tradition of free speech in action. Please stand with us in condemning this behavior and respecting BOTH political parties in town. We may disagree on policy issues, but we all agree that this is not what Old Lyme is about.”
Similarly, Nixon sent the RTC’s public statement regarding the incidents, which reads thus: “Last [Saturday] night, signs presenting the candidates for the Board of Selectmen in the November Election were defaced with horrible , indecent words and symbols of hatred.
This occurred on signs for both the Republican and Democrat Candidates. These acts of vandalism are deplorable in all cases.
All Old Lyme Republicans are outraged by these heinous actions and abhor such criminal behavior. We ask everyone in the public to report any eyewitness accounts or other evidence to the Old Lyme Police which might identify the culprits so they can be brought to justice.
There is no place for this kind of filthy behavior and detestation in our town. We have policy differences with the Democrat party in Old Lyme, but those differences are characterized by respectful agreement to disagree. We respect their candidates’ rights to present their positions without defacing of their campaign signs just as expect the same rights for our candidates.
We fully expect the Old Lyme Democrats are in lock step with Old Lyme Republicans in condemning such horrible and hateful behavior.
Old Lyme is better than that. We hope the perpetrators of these crimes will be found and arrested.”
Old Lyme will have a municipal election on November 7 and there’s an elephant in the room. It is the Republican Party. For years that party has conducted a well-organized, effective, national campaign to undo the progress our country has made over the decades in recognizing and protecting each citizen’s rights to equality, autonomy and freedom of thought.
I expect that most Old Lyme voters are appalled at the policies and positions advocated by today’s GOP in Washington and in state legislatures: rejection of women’s rights to bodily autonomy; intolerance for gender nonconformity; disregard of Black citizens’ civil rights; restrictions of minority voting rights; censorship in schools and libraries; manipulation of school curricula and history books; promotion of alternative realities; ardent support for candidates regardless of their criminal and unethical conduct; support for authoritarian government abroad and at home; erosion of support for Ukraine in its fight for the West; and the list goes on.
What’s that got to do with our election? I surely cannot say that everyone on the Republican Town Committee and each of its endorsed candidates share the views listed above. I can say, however, that the Republican agenda generally has infected the local party. Though there is little public expression of (or against) these views, they have been on vivid display recently in the attempts to impose personal viewpoints on the whole community by censoring books in our library and, in 2021, by the Board of Selectmen’s refusal to adopt a statement committing to oppose racism in Old Lyme.
These are scary times. On election day, please vote for the Democratic slate on Row A.
I recommend Howard Margules as an excellent candidate for the Old Lyme Planning Commission. I have worked on several projects with Howard in his capacity as Chair of the Economic Development Commission (EDC) and member of the Halls Road Improvements Committee (HRIC). He is intelligent, thoughtful, and community-minded. He is dedicated to the prosperity and livability of Old Lyme. He does his work and takes his commitments seriously. He will bring to Planning his fine analytical skills, broad experience, and a proper regard for context (the Big Picture).
Howard helped to set up Old Lyme’s Shoreline Gateway Committee and was its Chair early on. He also volunteers in important community services outside of Town government. Throughout, Howard’s concern has been for the economic well-being of our town and its people. In my experience, he never loses sight of that.
Howard has said Planning and Zoning should be merged in Old Lyme, as is done in most local communities of our size. Whatever the merits of that suggestion (and I believe it has some), I know that Howard Margules will be a significant asset to the Planning Commission today in attending to its assigned responsibilities. If you want the Planning Commission to work effectively for Old Lyme, Howard Margules is the right man for the job.
Martin Scorsese combines two of his most iconic, frequent collaborators Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro in performances that are sure to be nominated for award season and will be referenced as part of their overall legacies.
I have nothing but praise for DiCaprio as he fully absorbs his character, Ernest Burkhart, a World War I veteran with a yokel drawl and clenched lip that indicates a lack of overall intelligence.
De Niro portrays William Hale, who, despite being white, is a staple of the local Osage community, and possesses a grandfather-like charm. And yet he is a conniving swindler seeking the Native’s oil fortunes and planning their murders so he and Burkhart can inherit the estates. He makes threats and plans with rhetoric similar to the mobsters he has frequently portrayed throughout the years (just hints, not explicitly commanding crimes.)
And do not get me started on Lily Gladstone, who, despite her quiet demeanor, steals every scene in which she appears as Molly, an Osage woman ,who is married to Ernest. This is in addition to performances by screen legends John Lithgow, Brendan Fraser, and Jesse Plemons, which prove to be the icing on an already delicious cake.
This is not Scorsese’s best film in recent years but still worthy of our attention. Similar to The Irishman, it is a lengthy picture topping at nearly three and a half hours (make sure to hit the bathroom before it begins). But it still contains the trademark features of a Scorsese movie, with tracking crane shots, contemporary pop music soundtrack, and quick cross-cutting.
Much can be said about the Native American themes woven into the film via cultural references and religious rituals, similar to how Scorsese has invoked his Italian heritage and Catholic faith.
The cinematography can also be praised for using shots that appear to come from contemporary still and moving images.
Killers of the Flower Moon properly fits into the zeitgeist of recognizing aspects of American history that have been conveniently swept under the rug for far too long (which also recognizes another silenced moment: the Tulsa Race Riots of 1922).
But it is not just a movie that merely brings the subject to our attention for discussions about society down the road, it has artistic merits in all aspects of critique of film.
I certainly can see the cast and crew receiving countless nominations this coming award season.
About the Author: Though no longer a resident of Lyme, Kevin knows he can never sever his roots to the tree of his identity. When not attending to his job in Boston, he is committed to ensuring a better grasp of current (and past) releases of cinema to his home community as he strives to leave his own mark in the same field that has always been his guide to understanding life. If you enjoy his published reviews here on LymeLine.com, follow him on his website at ‘The City of Cinema‘ and read more of his unique insights into entertainment.
