Lyme-Old Lyme Schools Superintendent Ian Neviaser commented, “This is an amazing accomplishment by these young men and women. They have worked incredibly hard. We are so excited for them.”
Winning the state championship has earned the LOLHS team the honor of representing Connecticut at the National Mock Trial Competition in Wilmington, Del. in early May.
The team’s coach, Laura Nelson, has started a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds to send the team and its coaches to Wilmington to compete.
Nelson states on the GoFundMe page, ” Please consider donating to our trip fund to help them realize their goal and represent Lyme-Old Lyme and the State of Connecticut at the highest level..”
EAST LYME—Ledge Light Health District (LLHD) has announced in a press release that on April 19, a raccoon found on Joyce Ct. in the Niantic section of East Lyme was tested and found to be positive for rabies. The public should rtherefore efrain from feeding or approaching any wild or stray animals.
Rabies is a deadly disease caused by a virus that can infect all warm-blooded animals, including people. It is spread mostly by wild animals, but stray cats and dogs may also become infected and spread the virus. The rabies virus lives in the saliva and brain tissue of infected animals. Rabies can be spread by scratches from infected animals or when infected saliva comes into contact with open wounds, breaks in the skin or mucous membranes (eyes, nose, mouth, etc.)
If you have any questions or concerns, contact LLHD at 860-448-4882 or East Lyme Animal Controlat 860-739-3419.
Ledge Light Health District serves as the local health department for Lyme and Old Lyme, along with East Lyme, Groton, Ledyard, New London, North Stonington, Stonington and Waterford, Conn. As a health district, formed under Connecticut General Statutes Section 19a-241, LLHD is a special unit of government, allowing member municipalities to provide comprehensive public health services to residents in a more efficient manner by consolidating the services within one organization.
LYME/OLD LYME—The memorial service for the Reverend David W. Good will be held Sunday, April 21, at 2 p.m. at the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme (FCCOL.) It will be broadcast live via YouTube—the video link will be posted on the FCCOL website.
David William Good, 74, died peacefully in his home in Lyme, Connecticut on April 2, 2024, from complications of advanced leukemia. He was born on April 26,1949 in Indianapolis, Indiana to Edward Albin Good and Gladys Mae Cissna Good. He received a bachelor’s degree in literature and philosophy from Purdue University in 1971 and a M. Divinity from Yale Divinity School in 1975. He married Corinne Hogg on March 27, 1973, in Liverpool, England, in Corinne’s home church.
In December of 1975, David began to serve as Senior Minister at The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme, a position he would hold for 37 years. The breadth of his ministry is astonishing, both for its prescience and for its imaginative sweep. Prescient in that David anticipated many of the justice issues that we are still contending with today. Imaginative in that he used the symbols of the Christian tradition to connect with those of other peoples and cultures, demonstrating that as human beings, we all belong to the same common family.
In 1985, David led the first visit to Green Grass, South Dakota, initiating a partnership with the Lakota people of the Cheyenne River Reservation that continues to exist some 40 years later. A few years after that, prompted by the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, David journeyed to that country to foster another set of relationships with those in the Township of Soweto, and with the Methodist Churches of Southern Africa. Later still, he forged a bond with the Koinonia community outside of Americus, Georgia, an anti-racist experiment in communal living that helped to birth Habitat for Humanity.
One of David’s greatest contributions, however, emerged in the days and months following the
9/11 attacks. Almost immediately, he reached out to the Muslim community and the Jewish Federation of Southeastern Connecticut, doing whatever he could to counter the fear and paranoia generated by that event, while also helping everyone within his orbit to both appreciate and celebrate the vast wisdom of the three Abrahamic faith traditions. An interfaith journey to the Holy Land with Christian, Muslim and Jewish participants soon followed. That first trip led to the formation of the Tree of Life ministry, dedicated to the pursuit of human rights in Palestine and in Israel. For more than twenty years, groups of travelers from FCCOL, the Berlin Mosque, and many other places of origin have journeyed together to the Middle East to learn about the profound human rights challenges facing Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, in East Jerusalem, the Golan Heights, and in Israel proper, while also learning from many Israeli voices of conscience who are seeking to build just and humane alternatives in that region. Even as US based travelers journeyed to the Middle East, David organized groups of Palestinian and Israeli justice advocates to visit the United States every year, to educate US audiences on the realities faced by Palestinians every day. The importance of that work becomes more evident with each passing day. It is a legacy that will continue to grow, as we find new ways to support the work of that Tree, “whose branches shall be for the healing of the nations.”
David’s global outreach scarcely touches all the ways he gave of himself to individuals within the FCCOL community and to Old Lyme and the Connecticut Shoreline more broadly. Week after week, he delivered learned, impassioned, and inspiring sermons. He accompanied many people through their final days, and he helped family members to come to terms with their own losses. He steered committees and task forces. Through his leadership, the Fellowship Hall and Sunday School wing was added to FCCOL. A Food Pantry was housed at FCCOL because of David’s vision, and in his later years, he organized PARJE (Public Art for Racial Justice and Equality). He married countless people, counseled countless people, and helped everyone, each in their own way, to trust that there was a gracious and loving Presence in the world on whom they could depend. He inspired and impacted many lives, and his memory will endure for many years to come.
David is survived by his wife Corinne Good in Lyme, CT, two sisters, Sharon Lyons of Tennessee and Linda Gettings of South Carolina, and his brother, Edward Good of Texas.
A celebration of David Good’s life will be held on Sunday, April 21, at 2 p.m. at the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme, located at the corner 4 Lyme Street and 2 Ferry Road in Old Lyme.
Memorial gifts in honor of David Good’s life may be made to the Tree of Life Educational Fund (TOLEF) P.O. Box 968, Old Lyme, CT 06371, and The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme, 2 Ferry Road, Old Lyme. Please mark on each check “David Good Memorial.”
LYME/OLD LYME— UPDATED 4/18 with voting numbers and quote from Lymes’ Senior Center Building Committee Chair: On Monday evening, Lyme and Old Lyme residents overwhelmingly passed motions to approve supplemental budget appropriations for the renovation of the Lymes’ Senior Center. Both votes were held initially by voice and so convincing—only one ‘No’ was heard at either location—that no paper vote was requested.
Eighty-three Lyme voters approved an amount of $220,000 at their Special Town Meeting held starting at 6 p.m. at Lyme Town Hall and around 175 Old Lyme residents approved $660,000 at their meeting held in the Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School auditorium beginning at 7:30 p.m. the same evening.
With these budget appropriations totaling $880,000 approved by the towns, the Lymes’ Senior Center Building Committee now has all the approvals necessary to accept the trade bids opened Feb. 6 of this year so the project can move forward and construction can begin. Those bids expired May 6, and so the timing of this vote was critical.
Asked by LymeLine what her reaction to the vote was,Lymes’ Senior Center Building Committee Chair Jeri Baker said via email, “I am so grateful that the confidence is there to move us forward.”
The initial $1.33 million overrun on the approximately $5.46 million project, which was identified when the trade bids were opened, had already been reduced through approximately $602,000 in construction savings.
Meanwhile, contingency funds for the project had been increased by nearly $65,000 to cover any unforeseen circumstances. Those two moves reduced the initial $1.33 million overage to $800,000.
An additional appropriation of $80,000 to cover the kitchen upgrades was requested by the towns, taking the total value of the supplemental budget appropriation for both towns combined to $880,000.
As of last night, that amount has now been approved and Building Committee Chair Jeri Baker says that—once construction begins—the committee anticipates a 10-month schedule for the completion of the project, barring any unforeseen circumstances.
Lyme residents had approved an initial appropriation of $1,315,886 at last year’s Town Budget Meeting and Old Lyme residents had similarly approved an initial appropriation of $4,158,407 at a Town Referendum held June 20, 2023. Since that time, through efforts of the towns and the committee, the project has been awarded $1 million in grants from the state.
When the renovations are completed, the Senior Center will offer:
An additional 3,265 square feet of interior space (for a total of 8,737 square feet of interior space) that will enable the center to accommodate more members and activities.
Motorized room partitions that allow for multiple room configurations so programs and activities can take place simultaneously.
An enlarged kitchen space with multiple kitchen upgrades that allows for greater center luncheon attendance.
A quiet library room where members can relax and/or read.
A greeting area that is separate from the activities area.
A public entrance that can accommodate the arrival and departure of buses and emergency vehicles.
Redesigned entryway and hallways, improved door thresholds and additional shelving and storage space.
A new roof, porch, cupola, windows, walkways and landscaping.
ESSEX, CT—David Preston, age 90, of Essex, Connecticut, died peacefully in Essex on March 26th, 2024. Dave was born on November 17, 1933, in Boston, Massachusetts, a son of Roger and Anita Preston of Waban, Massachusetts. He was predeceased by his brothers, Peter, Fred, and Phil.
Dave is survived by his beloved wife of sixty years, Barbara Biddulph Preston, his son, Christopher Preston, his daughter Elizabeth Preston Miramon, and their spouses Elizabeth Valalik and Peter Miramon, and three grandchildren Carly and Emily Preston and Benjamin Miramon …
He was a member of the Old Lyme Beach Club, Old Lyme Country Club, and the Essex Yacht Club …
The date for the memorial service, a celebration of Dave’s life, will be forthcoming. Instead of flowers, please consider a memorial gift in Dave’s name to the Essex Meadows Employee Appreciation Fund or the Squam Lakes Conservation Society.
