EAST LYME—On July 10, a bat found on Boston Post Rd. in East Lyme was tested and found to be positive for rabies on July 10.
A press release issued by Ledge Light Health District the same day urges people to refrain 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 Ledge Light Health District at 860-448-4882 or the Waterford/East Lyme Animal Control at 860-442-9451.
The hall designated for Women’s Clothing was packed with eager shoppers throughout both days. Photos courtesy of Eileen Mueller, except where indicated.
This Year’s Gross Sales Exceed 2024 Record By “At Least 10 Percent”
A cheery Eileen Mueller of Old Lyme proudly wears her signature, red volunteer apron while serving customers.
OLD LYME — The weather was great for this year’s White Elephant Sale (WES) at the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme … unlike last year when the heavens opened and rain dampened everything … except the financial results.
So, here at LymeLine, we wondered how things went in this year’s sale, which, as always, drew huge crowds, and sparked that unique community spirit for which is is renowned.
We asked WES Chairman Bob Davis that question and he replied by email saying, in a nutshell, it was the, “Best sale ever — again!!!! That is two years in a row, rain or shine”
He added, “Early numbers show [financial results] at least 10% bigger than last year,” and this was despite many departments thinking they did not have sufficient goods to sell!
He remarked that they may have been literally “flooded” in 2024, “but set a record anyways.” This year he noted, “The weather was much better and the customers came out in a steady stream after the initial Friday rush.”
Sporting Goods offered a fine array of bikes for sale and, under the tent in the background, the department set out a huge array of sports equipment and more at bargain prices.
Davis said that the Sale ran very smoothly and, “All had great time with full a compliment of volunteers.”
All the proceeds from the Sale are distributed by the church’s Benevolent Society to support a great variety of charities both locally, statewide, nationally and internationally, as well as the church itself.
Bob Davis, WES Chairman, gave a debrief on the WES at the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme Sunday’s service. Photo courtesy of FCCOL.
Davis, who has been chairing the WES for more years than he can remember, said the organizing committee is already thinking about improvements for next year and welcomes hearing any thoughts from the community.
Finally, he noted in a brief presentation at yesterday’s FCCOL morning service that the WES sale dates for 2026 are July 10 and 11 … so Save Those Dates!
The line to pay for women’s clothing never seemed to get any shorter!
Editor’s Note: i) We offer hearty congratulations to all those involved in pulling off this amazing sale. Bob Davis obviously plays a leading role and his efforts must be especially appreciated, but he is joined by a multitude of loyal volunteers year after year— and new ones too. Many thanks to you all.
LYME/OLD LYME—We are pleased to publish news about local students who have achieved academic honors or reached important milestones. These announcements are sent to us by the various colleges and in no way are intended to represent a comprehensive list.
Please feel free to submit additional college news of local students to editor@LymeLine.com.
Congratulations to these local college students who graduated in May:
Eastern Connecticut State University
Marley Elmoznino, Lyme, received a Bachelor of Science degree in environmental earth science
Francette Donato, Old Lyme, received a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology and a Bachelor of Science degree in early childhood education
Ciara Klimaszewski, Old Lyme, received a Bachelor of Arts degree in criminology
Fairfield University, Connecticut
Benjamin Kelly
Plymouth State University, New Hampshire
Emma McCulloch, Old Lyme
Congratulations to these students who made the spring 2025 Dean’s List:
Members of VFW Post 1467 gather for a photo. Post Membership Chairman Ed Shilosky stands in second row at left, Post Trustee and former Commander David Griswold stands at right. Photo submitted.
LYME/OLD LYME–For this Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post with no bar and no building, the focus remains on helping veterans wherever they can be found.
VFW Post 1467 trustee and former commander David Griswold said the group has helped 142 veterans since an anonymous donor handed him a check for $10,000 over a cup of coffee back in 2012.
Griswold, a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, whose service included a year in Vietnam as a company commander, recounted the exchange during an interview last week at the Old Lyme Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library. He said the donor had two requests—that his name remain anonymous and that the money be used to help veterans.
“You can’t go out and buy a pool table or have a beer party,” Griswold recalled the man saying.
It was an easy commitment for an organization that had long eschewed the smoky, wood-paneled VFW canteens popularized in the post-World War II era. Instead, they’ve met predominantly at the Lymes’ Senior Center.
“And not having a bar has really helped us,” Griswold said. “These bars, they sprung to life after the war in the 50s, 60s. They’re old buildings, a lot of them. They’re beat up. They’re a horrible expense to keep up. Insurance is terrible.”
Post 1467 Membership Chairman Ed Shilosky, who is credited with the “No Bar, No Building, Just Good Works” motto, said not having to worry about building upkeep has allowed them to put more resources toward helping veterans in need and helped draw more members.
Shilosky, who was in the Army for 23 years, served on active duty in Vietnam and then in the reserves.
“The main reason people join us now is they want to get away from VFWs that don’t do anything, either for the community or for veterans, because they’re weighed down by other expenses,” Shilosky said.
Griswold pointed to changing societal attitudes that have made the group’s ethos all the more relevant.
“Back after World War II, going out and drinking heavy was kind of expected, but it’s not now,” he said. “And let’s say you have a young person that gets back from Iraq or Afghanistan, maybe he has some drinking issues. Saying, ‘Let’s join the VFW, you can get drunk every day’ isn’t helping the person.”
The post’s membership roster of roughly 80 people includes veterans from Lyme, Old Lyme and beyond. The only membership requirement is honorable, verifiable service in a combat zone.
The Vets in Need program, which Shilosky said has grown out of that unexpected donation to fund about $105,000 in one-time needs, covers expenses including food, rent, utilities, home and car repairs, travel and accessibility upgrades.
The program helped pay for three funerals. Used cars, most of them provided at cost by All Pro Automotive in Old Lyme, add up to 10. Thirteen veterans received specialized equipment or furniture to accommodate their medical needs.
The group has also given more than $60,000 to statewide initiatives administered through Connecticut Veterans Affairs.
The first veteran to benefit from the Vets in Need program was an elderly man living in a converted garage with a bucket as a chamber pot, according to Shilosky. Another needed help relocating to Las Vegas to live with a daughter when his wife got sick. One struggling veteran whose paintings lined his apartment ended up with an art show at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Essex after Post 1467 got involved.
“Those are the kinds of things that are so gratifying,” Shilosky said.
Griswold said the group’s strength is its ability to react quickly when emergencies arise. In the case of veterans who cannot afford utility payments during the winter, Post 1467 members can get the furnace restarted and two months of heating bills paid before state and federal resources can be secured for a more long-term solution.
Each case needs sign-off from the post’s service officer, trustees and membership, he said.
He likened the group’s role to that of a military medic.
“We’re running out there and getting an immediate fix,” he said. “And then it can be turned over to other organizations.”
Former Old Lyme First Selectman Tim Griswold, a previous commander of the VFW post and cousin of David Griswold, said the group has expanded its outreach beyond Lyme and Old Lyme.
“It was apparent that there were other individuals not within our border that had needs,” he said. “And so we’re willing to help people regardless.”
If that sometimes means stepping outside of their jurisdiction into the realm of other VFW posts, Tim Griswold wasn’t too worried about it. He said any lingering concerns were assuaged by a visit from a national VFW commander a couple years ago.
“He was very well pleased with us, saying, ‘This is how a post should be,’” he recalled. “You don’t necessarily have to have little fiefdoms. You can help veterans that are in need, and that’s a good thing.”
The three men said the communities of Lyme and Old Lyme are uniquely situated to give back to veterans.
David Griswold recognized the area at the confluence of the Connecticut River and the Long Island Sound as a place where some very accomplished people from all over the world have landed.
“And a lot of them have done well financially and are very generous,” he said. “I’ve heard people say, ‘Well, they can afford it.’ But that doesn’t mean they’re going to do it. I know some wealthy people, who wouldn’t give you a dime.”
For Shilosky, it all goes back to an overarching sense of service and gratitude that comes from veterans who look outward together – and the community who supports them.
He said the Post 1467 mantra has grown from “Small but Mighty” to the oft-repeated “No Bar, No Building, Just Good Works.”
“And I think we’ve lived up to that,” he said.
Editor’s Note: Lyme-Old Lyme (LOL) VFW Post 1467 reminds all local Veterans and Veteran families in need that they can reach out to the Post to request a great variety of types of assistance. All that is required is the Veteran’s DDForm214 Record of Military Service and a call to Services Officer, Navy Rtd. Captain Larry Olsen at 607-220-7137. The Services Officer will then respond, assess the need, and assist as appropriate.
Sorry. You’re too late. You missed your chance: the deadline has passed for offering “public comment” on the upcoming fare hikes on Metro-North.
Not that anything you might have said would have made a difference to the inevitable: a 5% fare hike on September 1st of this year and another 5% jump in July of 2026. But don’t blame the railroad or CDOT.
You should really blame the legislature. The budget they wrote this year practically required a fare increase as they under-funded the CDOT’s operating budget requests for our trains … Metro-North, Shore Line East and The Hartford Line.
So these recent hearings on a “proposed” fare increase were really for show, required by law, but mostly “political theater” (as I described it 12 years ago).
I’ve been through this charade before, attending and testifying at many, many such hearings over the past 25 years… all with the same outcome: what was proposed was always what happened. This round, I didn’t even bother.
So why does the agency even go to the time and expense of this exercise when we know the inevitable?
Why do they prepare a 25-page Service Equity Analysis (in two languages) explaining the impact of the increased ticket costs on the poor and minorities?
Why does a team of CDOT managers travel across the state, holding these fare hearings in-person and online, basically signaling to the few people who show up to testify that they’ve wasted their time … that anything they might say can’t stop what’s coming down the track?
That seems like such a waste of the agency’s talents. These CDOT managers want to run a good railroad but aren’t adequately funded by lawmakers. The railroad takes the heat but shouldn’t take the blame as they were given no real choice but to raise the fares.
Sure, alternatively, they could cut service, but nobody wants that.
While the CDOT staff did not share any analysis of the effect of higher fares on ridership, they did remind us that in the last seven years fares have only gone up 14% while inflation has hit us with a 28% jump.
If fares must go up, what riders would really want would be more service and faster trains, maybe even a Quiet Car. But the CDOT can’t deliver on those dreams.
The problem is that fares don’t even come close to covering the cost of running a railroad. Pre-pandemic Metro-North boasted a 70+% “farebox return”, meaning that most of the operating costs for the trains were covered by ticket revenue.
But we all know what happened to ridership in the past five years. And while it is slowly building back up (it’s up 6% in the past six months since congestion pricing began), the farebox return today is only about 38%. Someone has to make up the difference: us riders.
And those millions of dollars being collected in tolls from drivers in midtown Manhattan? Those can only be spent on capital improvements, not subsidies for operating costs, i.e. lowering fares.
For NYC-bound commuters, there’s little choice. They’re a captive audience of 23,000 daily riders dealing with a monopoly that can raise prices without really losing customers.
Driving isn’t an option, especially with an additional $9 toll now added to your daily drive into Manhattan. And work from home was great, while it lasted. But now you have to show up at the office in person at least a few days a week.
The CDOT now will analyze the testimony from the hearings and issue a final recommendation to the Commissioner, who will make the fare hike official.
So when your ticket price jumps, don’t blame the conductor. Blame your elected officials for under-funding this crucial transportation resource.
Editor’s Notes:i) Jim Cameron is the founder of the Commuter Action Group and advocates for Connecticut rail riders. He writes a weekly column called ‘Talking Transportation,’ which is published by a number of publications in the state. ii) ”Talking Transportation” recently won first place in the general column/commentary category in the Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists Excellence in Journalism Contest.
