Monthly Archives: April 2025

Justice Dance Performance Project Presents Staged Reading of ‘With These Hands’

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“With These Hands: Connecting Self, Community, and the Earth” was first performed at York Correctional Institution in 2024 as the culmination of a year-long performance residency overseen by the Justice Dance Performance Project (JDPP). Graphic courtesy of JDPP.

OLD LYME — A staged reading of ‘With These Hands,’ a piece developed by incarcerated individuals at York Correctional Institution, will be performed next month at the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme. 

The free performance will be held at 11:30 a.m. on May 4.  

“With These Hands: Connecting Self, Community, and the Earth” was first performed at York in 2024 as the culmination of a year-long performance residency overseen by the Justice Dance Performance Project (JDPP).

Participants at York created written pieces, dances, and songs, while working with JDPP teaching artists to develop the performance. 

JDPP will bring excerpts from the piece as a staged reading that includes narrative, song, and dance. The cast includes JDPP teaching artists from the project and women who are part of JDPP’s Stepping Out program for returning citizens in the community.

Lyme Board of Finance Proposes $11.37 Million Budget With No Tax Increase

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Despite Increase in D18 Spending, Budget Down Over $1M Primarily due to Reduction in Capital Costs

LYME – The Board of Finance is predicting a flat tax rate after they unanimously approved a proposed $11.37 million 2025-26 spending plan that will go to a public hearing next month. 

The budget proposal is down $1.02 million, or 8.2%, from the current budget. 

The Board of Finance on Tuesday voted to send the proposed budget to a public hearing on May 8. The finance board will then take a vote on sending the spending plan to a Town Meeting preliminarily set for May 22.

If the proposed budget is approved by voters, the finance board said it will set the tax rate at the current 14.5 mills immediately following the town meeting. 

The budget proposal includes town operating and capital expenses, as well as Lyme’s share of the Region 18 education budget. 

Education costs in Lyme’s proposed budget come out to $6.96 million for the town’s estimated 231 students. That’s up $299,504, or 4.5%, from the town’s current share. The increase is driven by debt payments on a multi-building renovation project approved by voters at a cost of $57.5 million. 

The Region 18 budget, which totals $39.7 million for the district covering Lyme and Old Lyme, is set to go to a referendum vote in both towns on May 6.

Lyme’s $10.84 million town operations budget proposal is up $513,372, or 5.0%, over the current budget. Proposed capital spending comes in at $530,400, a decrease of $1.53 million, or 74.3%, from the current budget. 

First Selectman David Lahm in a Tuesday interview at the Town Hall attributed the decrease in capital spending to the completion of bridge projects on Birch Mill Road and Macintosh Road that had driven up the budget in previous years. 

He said the town is looking at a flat tax rate because officials are not extravagant in their budget planning. 

“We take care of what needs to be taken care of, but we understand the difference between ‘I want’ and ‘I need,’” he said. 

Planning for Tomorrow’s Needs Today

The town’s projected general fund balance – referred to informally as a Rainy Day Fund – amounts to $4.14 million in the proposed budget. The figure represents about 33% of total anticipated revenues, which is one of the figures credit agencies look at to gauge a town’s financial health. 

Finance board Chairman Alan Sheiness at this week’s meeting said the bond agent for the school district told him S&P Global Ratings likes to see reserves in the area of at least 19% to secure a AA or AAA credit rating. 

Finance board policy dictates that the town maintain a “target” fund balance equivalent to two months of operating expenses, but Sheiness in a Friday phone interview said two months’ savings is more of a minimum than a target. 

Nearby towns like Old Lyme have debated how much money to keep in the Rainy Day Fund in order to save for emergencies while not overtaxing residents. 

In a phone interview Friday, Sheiness acknowledged the fund balance in Lyme has historically exceeded the two months’ target. But he said the number fluctuates based on big-ticket capital expenses that may be needed in any given year. 

Sheiness said the finance board looks several years ahead when determining how much money should remain in the town’s reserves. 

“I do understand the number is high today for today’s needs, but it’s not too high today for the next few years’ needs,” he said.

Lyme Grange Offers ‘Chick Chat’ Seminar for Poultry Lovers

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On Saturday, May 3, Lyme Grange hosts a ‘Chick Chat’ Seminar for poultry lovers from 1 to 3 p.m.

LYME—On Saturday, May 3, the Lyme Grange will host an expert-led seminar and question-and-answer session on raising backyard chickens. 

Poultry expert Sarah McEachern of Poulin Grain, a producer of animal-nutrition products, will lead the session from 1 to 3 p.m. at The Grange headquarters, 2 Sterling City Rd. 

Grange Secretary Nancy Beebe in a press release said that the seminar is a response to area residents who have asked for expert guidance when it comes to raising small flocks of chickens on their property. 

The free program is sponsored by the Lyme Grange, Shagbark Lumber & Farm Supplies, and the Hamburg Fair Association. Topics include poultry raising, housing, health concerns, nutritional care and predator considerations. 

Registration is requested. Visit this link to sign up.

SECWAC Hosts Talk in Essex on ‘The Militarization of U.S. Foreign Policy’

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Monica Duffy Toft

On Wednesday, May 7, at 5 p.m., the Southeast Connecticut World Affairs Council (SECWAC) hosts acclaimed scholar of international politics Monica Duffy Toft at the Essex Yacht Club for a talk titled “Dying by the Sword: The Militarization of U.S. Foreign Policy.”

Toft is Academic Dean and Professor of International Politics and Director of the Center for Strategic Studies at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. 

Her areas of research include international security, ethnic and religious violence, civil wars, and demography.

Before joining Fletcher, Toft taught at Oxford University’s Blavatnik School of Government and Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. While at Harvard, she directed the Initiative on Religion in International Affairs and was the assistant director of the John M. Olin Institute for Strategic Studies. 

Toft was educated at the University of Chicago, where she received her master’s and doctoral degrees in political science, and at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she graduated summa cum laude with bachelor’s degrees in political science and Slavic languages and literature. 

Before attending college, she spent four years in the United States Army as a Russian linguist. 

Registration is free to members or $20 for non-members. Register at this link.

A reception will begin at 4:30.

Call for Homes: Join the 2025 ‘Homes for the Holidays’ Tour

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OLD LYME – The Old Lyme Children’s Learning Center has announced the return of the Homes for the Holidays Tour – and they’re looking for homeowners on or near Lyme Street who are willing to open their beautifully decorated, holiday-themed homes to visitors.

The popular fundraiser will be held Saturday, Dec. 6 from mid-morning through early afternoon. 

OLCLC Board of Directors President Kristen St. Germain in an email said the center has already secured some homes and is hoping to add more.

“Whether you showcase a few rooms or the whole house, your participation helps bring joy to visitors and raises critical funds to support high-quality childcare for working families in our area,” she said. “This festive event not only celebrates the spirit of the season but also highlights the architecture and warmth of our beautiful community.”

Interested homeowners are asked to email St. Germain at bod.olclc@gmail.com or board member Marie Ryan at mcargr@aol.com.

OLCLC has been providing childcare on Lyme Street for almost 40 years. But a severe leak in 2023 forced the center to close its doors for a complete renovation of the historic home. It reopened last October. 

St. Germain in a separate letter to area homeowners described the closure as a logistical and financial challenge at a time when the center was emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic to find an altered childcare landscape. 

“The need for quality childcare in Connecticut has never been greater,” she said. “Since the pandemic, our state has faced a critical shortage of childcare options, making it even more difficult for working families to balance their careers and their children’s care. OLCLC is committed to being part of the solution, but we need the community’s help to get back on our feet.”

The center will also host a holiday boutique inside the Old Lyme Town Hall as part of the tour.