Monthly Archives: December 2023

Lyme-Old Lyme Schools BOE Elects Democrat Kemp as Chairman; Dem’s Take Three of Four Officer Positions

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Jason Kemp is the newly-elected Region 18 Board of Education Chairman. File photo.

OLD LYME — 12/9, 9am: CORRECTION made to clarify that both Alexander Lowry and Laura Dean-Frazier are registered as Unaffiliated, but were endorsed respectively by the Democrats and Republicans.

At their inaugural post-municipal election meeting held Wednesday evening, the first item of business for the new Region 18 Board of Education (BOE) members was to elect their slate of officers.

The municipal election had resulted in a sea-change on the board with three incumbent Republicans failing to keep their seats. This, in turn, resulted in the political make-up of the board changing dramatically pivoting from six Republicans and three Democrats on the previous board to six Democrats and one Unaffiliated member, who was endorsed by the Democrats; and one Republican and one Unaffiliated member, who was endorsed by the Republicans on the new one.

The BOE Officers’ election had the potential to be lively but, in fact, there was a series of unanimous votes in favor of four of the five members, who were board incumbents. They had been not been required to run for re-election since their four-year terms had not expired.

In uncontested votes, Jason Kemp was elected Chairman, Anna James: Vice-Chairman, Chris Staab: Treasurer and Martha Shoemaker: Secretary.

Shoemaker, a Democrat, is now also Old Lyme’s First Selectwoman.

Kemp, James (representing Lyme) and Shoemaker are all Democrats while Staab is one of the two Republicans remaining on the board. Laura Dean-Frazier is Unaffiliated but was endorsed by the Republicans.

Former chairman Steven Wilson and member Suzanne Thompson, both Republicans from Old Lyme, were defeated in the municipal election as was Mary Powell-St. Louis, also a Republican, in Lyme. Incumbent Jennifer Miller (R), representing Old Lyme, opted not to run for re-election.

The newly-seated Old Lyme members are Democrats Susan P. Fogliano and W. Scott Brown, Ph.D; and Alexander ‘Xander’ Lowry, who is Unaffiliated but was endorsed by the Democrats. The new Lyme member is Gavin Lodge, also a Democrat.

Old Lyme EDC Hosts Ribbon-Cutting to Celebrate New Milestone for ‘A Behavioral Approach’

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Cutting the ceremonial ribbon at ‘A Behavioral Approach‘ (ABA) are, from left to right, Old Lyme (OL) Economic Development Commission (EDC) Member Jean Wilczynski, OL First Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker, EDC Chair Cheryl Poirier, ABA Director of Clinical Services Taylor Brinker, ABA Founder Monica Santos, ABA Services Coordinator Amanda King, OL Selectwoman Jude Read, State Representative Devin Carney (R-23rd), and Greyson Vandersloot.

OLD LYME — On Nov. 29, the Old Lyme Economic Development Commission celebrated a new milestone for A Behavioral Approach (ABA) with a ribbon-cutting.

The Old Lyme business, which provides a range of services to students with autism, is being recommended by the Connecticut Board of Education as an Approved Private Special Education Program (APSEP). The CT Commissioner of Education is expected to approve the recommendation in the coming days.

A Behavioral Approach develops and designs innovative and tailor-made Applied Behavior Analysis programs for implementation in a school setting or home, as well as in the community through vocational programs. Its clinical services are provided to children as young as three-years-old.

“Applied Behavior Analysis” is a set of principles that focus on positively changing behavior of children with autism through techniques including natural environment teaching, discrete trial instruction, and reinforcement.

Monica Santos, a certified special education teacher and administrator, founded ABA in 2017. Since that time, the business has continued to outgrow several locations across the region, including its prior location on Halls Rd. Santos purchased the commercial property at 4 Davis Rd. West in 2022 ,where it serves approximately 10 students, who each reside in about a 30-mile radius.

A Behavioral Approach employs 15 staff in Old Lyme.

Gathered to celebrate the certificate presentation by the OL EDC are, from left to right: ABA Director of Clinical Services Taylor Brinker, EDC member Jean Wilczynski, OL First Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker, EDC Chair Cheryl Poirier, ABA Founder Monica Santos, ABA Services Coordinator Amanda King, OL Selectwoman Jude Read, and State Representative Devin Carney (R-23rd). Kneeling in front are Santos’s partner Peter Vandersloot holding Ellie, and Briar Vandersloot holding Luna.

The approval as an APSEP will allow ABA to operate as a special education provider adhering to standards set by the state and contracted by boards of education or other local education agencies to provide schooling. Santos expects to continue to serve about 10 students for the foreseeable future, managing growth of the school setting and eventually hiring an additional special education teacher.

The State of Connecticut lists 84 APSEPs in its directory. 

Santos sought approval as an APSEP primarily because she sees a shortage in the state of these private placement programs for students with autism. “There are many families on waiting lists throughout the State,” she noted.

Exacerbating the existing need for private programming, the 2020 pandemic affected the academic progress of many students, particularly special education students, whose programming was harder to adapt to an online forum; and who have since found it more challenging to progress. 

Family and friends of the ABA staff attended the ribbon-cutting, several of whom have helped with painting and landscaping the building over the past year.

Old Lyme First Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker, second from left, saddresses the assembled group prior to the ribbon-cutting at ‘A Behavioral Approach’ in Old Lyme.

Before Santos and her staff cut the ribbon, Old Lyme First Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker commented, “As a former educator, I can tell you how important your services are, and I know the residents and students of Old Lyme plus the other various districts nearby will benefit greatly from your services. We are so thrilled to have you here.”

Connecticut State Representative Devin Carney (R-23rd) added in his welcome statement, “At the State level I’m sure you know there is a shortage of quality educators for special education, and there are a lot of kids that need this service. I thank you for all you do and for the children you help, because you are making their lives better and more manageable. I’m so glad you are in Old Lyme and helping local families.”

Following the ceremony, Santos and Old Lyme ABA Service Coordinator Amanda King provided a tour of the ABA building including classrooms, play areas, and office space.

Santos shared both her pride in her staff and also how the staff works to collaborate with the greater community. She explained, “We want to always collaborate with others in meeting the needs of our students. We like to share with others what we do, and you never know, the person you just met could have a connection to a new resource.”

In addition to working with a diverse set of businesses that provide vocational opportunities for older students, ABA collaborates with other small businesses including two that currently rent space at 4 Davis Rd., namely Building Skills for Life pediatric occupational therapy, and Elea, a digital care management platform for special needs families and providers.

Death Announced of Ret. Col. John William “Bill” Small, Lived in Old Lyme for 25 Retirement Years

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ROCKY HILL — Ret. Col. John William “Bill” Small passed away peacefully at home in Rocky Hill, Nov. 27, 2023, just a few weeks shy of his 90th birthday. He was predeceased by his loving wife of 63 years, Bess G. Small; and his sister Patricia Small. He is survived by his daughter Janet Fox (Daniel Fox) …

Bill was born Dec. 20, 1933, in Northampton, Mass., to his parents, John and Anna (King) Small. He prided himself on being the eldest of six children and cared deeply for his siblings throughout his life …

Upon Bill’s retirement from the Air Force in 1983, he and Bess settled in Old Lyme for 25 years before moving to a retirement community in Rocky Hill. Always active, Bill worked as a real estate appraiser and volunteered with the Old Lyme Cemetery Association, High Hopes Therapeutic Riding and the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme …

… In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to High Hopes Therapeutic Riding of Old Lyme, CT or Operation Homefront of San Antonio, TX in Bill’s memory. To extend condolences, please visit Farleysullivan.com.

Visit this link to read the full obituary published by ‘The Day.’ on Dec. 3, 2023.

Lyme-Old Lyme Schools Announce Q1 Honor Rolls

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LYME-OLD LYME HIGH SCHOOL HONOR ROLL
Quarter 1    2023-24

HIGH HONORS

Grade 12:
Peighton Andrews, Beatrice Barnett, Emma Bayor, Oliver Berry, Alis Bicic, Elliot Bjornberg, Henry Boller, Drew Brackley, Natalie Buckley, Jackson Bullock, Nicholas Cheesman, Sophia Cheung, Emma Cook, William Coppola, Ava Cummins, Ella Curtiss-Reardon, Macklin Cushman, Eric Dagher, Lucas DaSilva, Sydney Doboe, Eva D’Onofrio, Marcia Geronimo, Ryder Goss, Sydney Goulding, Alexis Grasdock, Justin Green, Douglas Griswold, Katherine Gryk, Abby Hale, Ella Halsey, Jordan Hanes, Sedona Holland, John Holzworth, Mike Huang, Agatha Hunt, Beatrice Hunt, Sabina Jungkeit, Emmerson Kaye, Putt Kongsatt, Grady Lacourciere, Anna McAdams, Griffin McGlinchey, Lucas McMillan, Alexander McPherson, Elaina Morosky, Katherine Mullaney, Delaney Nelson, Isabelle O’Connor, Grace Phaneuf, Jack Porter, Luisa Raby, Haley Shaw, Owen Snurkowski, Hannah Thomas, Kalea VanPelt, Keara Ward, Louisa Warlitz, Mason Wells, Tyler Wells, Summer Wollack, Duohui Yan, Icey Yan, Grace Zembruski

Grade 11:
Christopher Anderson, Ella Austin, Micah Bass, Juana Biagioni, Molly Boardman, Amelie Bod, Mark Burnham, Mason Bussmann, Chase Calderon, Andrew Clougherty, Tabitha Colwell, Gloria Conley, Chloe Datum, Andrea DeBernardo, Caeli Edmed, Abigail Edwards, Anna Eichholz, Davis Fallon, Grace Ferman, Benedict Frazier, Manu Geronimo, Christopher Gibbons, Kaela Hoss, Shyla Jones, Simon Karpinski, Olivia Kelly, Ella Kiem, Skylar Kobelia, Peter Kuhn, Ada LaConti, Brenden Landry, Elise Leonardo, Evan LeQuire, Andrew Liu, Lana Lopes, Abigail O’Brien, Kanon Oharu, Sophie Pennie, Ryan Shapiro, Drea Simler, Morgan Standish, Charlotte Tinniswood, Nicholas Turtoro, Kathleen Walsh, Ava Wood-Muller, Gabriella Ziegler

Grade 10:
Sienna Bari, Zoe Brunza, Trevor Buydos, Tyler Cann, Julia Clark, Maya Cook, Annabelle Coppola, Colman Curtiss-Reardon, Christopher Dagher, Sophia D’Angelo, Rose Dimmock, Gabrielle Field, Chase Gilbert, Alexander Glaras, Benjamin Goulding, Anne-Marie Hinckley, Christopher Kachur, Thomas Kelly, Jayden Livesey, Serena Mazzi, Bridget McAdams, Carter McGlinchey, Samuel McKenzie, Madeline Murphy, Sybil Neary, Ryan Olsen, Quenten Patz, Luca Signora, Charlotte Spiegel, Addison Spooner, Carson St. Louis, Andrew Taylor, Meredith Thompson, Margaret Thuma, Madeleine Trepanier, John Turick, Eve Videll, Elisabeth Viera, Oliver Wyman, Stella Young

Grade 9:
Ceciley Buckley, Morgan Buerger, Brooke Burgess, Anna Bussmann, Lillian Calabrese, Isaac Chartier, Amirah D’Lizarraga, Brady Donovan, Samson Edmed, Edward Fiske, Angeline Gencarella, Antonio Gencarella, Gavin Goulis, Harrison Goulis, Skylar Graybill, Tessa Grethel, Charles Halsey, Owen Holth, Curtiss Johnson, Josephine Kiem, Olivia Lovendale, Matilda Miller, John Morosky, Grace Osborne, Kaitlyn Pannier, Ainsley Rinoski, Cameron Russell, Allegra Schaedler, Owen Shapiro, Nicholas Sokolowski, Milo Stiles, Carli Teixeira, Magdalena Tooker, Ethan Trepanier, Kaylyn Vernon, Ivy Wilson

HONORS

Grade 12:
Bianca Carrion, Sarah Colangelo, Adam Damiano, Amelia Gage, Calla Gilson, Kenneth Gray, Mohamad Hamou, Leland Hine, Parker Holland, Dakota Kotzan, Leo Li, Brodie Lippincott, Kayla O’Leary, Ronald Olin, Ava Roth, Cailin Ruhling, Charles Sahadi, Sydney Siefken, Madeleine Soriano, Jacob Volkerts

Grade 11:
Oliver Avelange, Gavin Biega, Justin Bonatti, Hannah Bonilla, Nathaniel Bradley, Dylan Carnaroli, Dominic Clark, Shane Eastman-Grossel, Zoe Eastman-Grossel, Hoshena Gemme, Marcella Gencarella, Janna Graves, Abigail Greene, Abigail Griffith, Nicolas Hatch, Rowan Hovey, Hannah Johnston, Thomas Kabel, James Lahot Straub, Elizabeth Lopez, Colette Marchant, Andrew Sprankle

Grade 10:
Max Bartlett, Alec Butzer, Makayla Calderon, James Dahlke, Michael DeFiore, Alexa Donovan, Elena Gerardo, Elizaveta Gregoire, Quinn Hadarik, Teagan Iglesias, Ian Maeby, Nayeli Marin Yanza, Ryan Miller, Finch Nichols, Ryan Ortoleva, Marleigh Piacenza, Isabella Presti, Sydney St. Pierre, Lucian Tracano, Connor Vautrain, Gabriel Waldo, Carl Zapatka, Katherine Zhang

Grade 9:
Mohammed Ali, Addison Arndt, Zak Avelange, Phineas Barrett, Zachary Belval, Mia Bonatti, Kacey Cajamarca, Aidan Carpentino, Chase Catalano, Evan Coffee, Johanna Coker, Prestin Dishaw, Elliot Dunn-Sims, Kaedin Gerster, Zachariah Guidi, Marley Iaia, Paul Kuhn, Patrick Lynch, Michael Millerick, Maddux Murphy, Autumn Newbury, Sean Olsen, Mia Palmer, Arthur Riccio, Kevork Shegirian, Madeline Stiles, Caterina Wilson

~~~000~~~

LYME-OLD LYME MIDDLE SCHOOL HONOR ROLL
Quarter 1 2023-24

HIGH HONORS

Grade 8:
Kaitlyn Ackerman, Lillian Acosta, Lauren Belval, Anna Bjornberg, Scarlett Blatter, Vivian Boller, Lana Brunza, Naomi Cameron, Gabrielle Clark, Nathaniel Condon, Colin Discordia, Albert Enman, Katharine Ferman, Jonah Filardi, Cortland Forbes, Avery Goiangos, Frederick Goss, Elaina Graves, Gavin Gray, Sawyer Graybill, Maia Guisti, Colleen Harrington, Fiona Judge, Jillian Kleefeld, Kaedyn Koproski, Henry Kyle, Treyton LaConti, Holden Leonardo, Graham Macadam, Benjamin Mattox, David McAdams, Charles McEwen, William McKeever, Clarissa Mock, Addyson Morosky, Grace Morrissette, Marielle Munster, Gwenevere Osborne, Remi Patz, Jonah Scheckwitz, Audrey Sheehan, Charlotte Thuma, Delilah Tooker, Avery Wesch, Charles Zapatka, Avery Zbierski

Grade 7:
Owen Anderson, Anna Block, Emily Bonatti, Cassidy Buckley, Ewan Cabell, Trent Cameron, Emily Campbell, Reagan Christopher, Emerson Coker, Noah Compton, Benjamin Conrad, Miles Coppola, Riley Dagata, Nadia Daily, Maya Desai, Joshua Evans, Colin Farrell, Parker Fedorich, Jackson Fiske, Parker Forbes, Jared Fulara, Samantha Fulara, Ava Fuller, Olivia Gerardo, Victoria Glaras, Kylie Grethel, Toby Griffis, Olivia Griffith, Cole Haslam, Charles Holth, Quinn Hoss, Mary Kane, Griffin Karpinski, Collin Langley, Zoey Langley, Curran Livesey, Isabel Martel, Harland McKenna, Jack Montmeat, Maxwell Mooney, Sofia Noti, Thomas O’Connor, Kanato Oharu, Giovanni Orlando, John Osborne, Jack Ouellette, Jack Parker, Adrian Raby, Nikolas Reid, Benson Reis, Tristan Reyes, Lillian Reynolds, Beatrix Rubino, Addison Sapia, Juliette Small, Adrianna Squarciafico, Mia Stokes, Natalie Suisman, Cooper Thomas, Olive Vautrain, Teya Vernon, Benson Wang, Reagan Weinstein, Anna William, Samuel Zelek, Lily Zerkowski

Grade 6:
Annalisa Archbald, Sawyer Barreto, Cole Barris, Jackson Basham, Zakary Benedetto, Braydon Boisseau, Conor Buckeridge, Rowan Cantner, Mason Catalano, Jackson Chapps, Ainsley Conroy, Oliver Constantine, Brennon Coyle, Daniel Crisp, Ella Davis, Daphne Eisensmith, Hunter Emma, Kate Ewers, Camryn Fedorich, EstelleHihFilardi, Maureen Geronimo, Jaxson Glantz, Beckett Goss, Delana Green-Oldfield, Aibhlinn Hall, Julia Haslam, Sean Hunter, August Jungkeit, Devon Kiem, Rowan Kilfoil, Eva Levonick, Mary McAdams, Ariana McEwen, Riley McHugh, Jameson McKeever, Finn McLaughlin, Henry Miller, Tristan Montanaro, Ryann Montesanto, Broderick Morris, Isla Morrissette, Maya Munster, Maura Murphy, Avery Olson, Juul Parrott, Quin Parrott, Quinn Quarto, Emily Randak, Charlotte Reynolds, Olivia Rozanski-Rose, Linden Sarnoski, Ari Shegirian, Molly Supersano, Weston Taylor, Brandon Wang, Liam Ward

HONORS

Grade 8:
Alistair Hampton-Dowson, Reese Holland, Sophia Huang, Henrik Hummervoll, Alice Li, Theodore Neary, Nicholas Porto, Avery Spooner, Renee Viera, Ella Ziolkovski

Grade 7:
Josie Arndt, Angelina Bari, Callen Buono, Olivia Chupron, Samuel Dunn-Sims, Cayden Graybill, Ellianna Iaia, Jacob Levin, Jackson Matthews, Grant Maxwell, Maxwell Paonessa, Charlotte Sanford, Sawyer Speirs, Maxwell White

Grade 6:
Ellie Ackerman, Charlotte Anton, Ekaterina Gregoire, Willow Griffis, Thomas Hayes, Callen Hill, Alina Kosecki, Gunnar Palmer, Esmatullah Popal, Jackson Staab, Jack Walter, John Young

Letter to the Editor: New Refugee Family Arrives in Old Lyme, Babysitters & Drivers Needed—Can You Help?

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Editor’s Note: This refugee family arrived safely in Old Lyme Thursday night.

To the Editor:

Our community has time and again displayed its generosity in time, funds and even housing as we continue our mission to help families, who have escaped danger, find safety in Connecticut.

The Lyme-Old Lyme Refugee Resettlement Committee once again needs your help as it welcomes a new refugee family into our community on Nov. 30th.

As they say: It takes a village …

The family of five is from Syria and has three young boys. We have a need for babysitters and drivers to take family members to appointments. All volunteers must be vetted (a simple process) and babysitters must also participate in Child Protection Training. Both of these are designed to protect volunteers as well as our guest family.

To volunteer to be a driver or babysitter, please contact Juliette Meeus at aryashops56@gmail.com

Thank you in advance for helping out. What an amazing few towns we live in!

Sincerely,

Howard Margules,
Old Lyme.