Ruth Wilson Cann died peacefully after a long illness on March 15th, 2024 in Baltimore, MD. at the age of 92. Born in Boston, MA. on August 3, 1931, she was the daughter of Robert G. Wilson Jr and Florence Ruth (Purcell) Wilson. A graduate of Garland Junior College, she married her husband Norton W. Cann in 1951 and had two children, Deborah C. Westcott and David N. Cann …
Donations in her name can be made to the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme, CT., the American Cancer Society and Gilchrist Hospice Care in Hunt Valley, MD.
A memorial service will be held July 18th, 2024 at the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme. Ruth will be laid to rest beside her beloved husband at the Duck River Cemetery in Old Lyme.
Celebrating the opening of Rand Automotive are, from left to right, Old Lyme (OL) Economic Development Commission (EDC) member Scott Smith, OL Selectwoman Jude Read, State Rep. Devin Carney (R-23rd), Steve Rand, Jessica Rand and children, OL EDC Chair Cheryl Poirier, OL Selectman Jim Lampos, Shoreline Gateway Committee Co-Chair Michaelle Pearson, OL EDC member Joe Camean, and Shoreline Gateway Committee member Scott Boulanger. Photo by John Stratton
OLD LYME — Friends, family, and town officials joined Steve and Jessica Rand in a ribbon-cutting celebrating the opening of Rand Automotive at 214 Shore Rd. in Old Lyme. The Old Lyme (OL) Economic Development Commission hosted the event, which also included the OL Board of Selectmen and the Shoreline Gateway Committee.
The ribbon-cutting took place after Rand Automotive’s soft opening the previous week, which had been followed by a full schedule of general automotive repairs for new customers of the business.
Proprietor Steve Rand has worked as a mechanic for 20 years and has considered opening his own business for about a decade. His wife Jessica shared that Steve, “Got the bug,” for the work when learning auto-mechanics in the Lyme-Old Lyme High School (LOLHS) shop class of technical education teacher Jon Goss. Steve was then given his start by the Graybill family when he worked at Tire Country and then All-Pro Automotive.
Both Steve and Jessica graduated from LOLHS. The Rands are now Old Lyme residents and have two young children. Jessica Rand is also a Lieutenant in the Old Lyme Fire Department.
Rand Automotive is located at what has been known as the former Gulf Station on Shore Road, a property that has been vacant for a number of years. In the recent past, a new owner updated the building and the Rands saw it as a perfect location for the family business.
Jessica said, “We have been waiting for the right thing to come along and we really lucked out with the location.” The gas pumps have been removed by the property owners and the new business will only perform general automotive repair, and not sell gasoline or do body work.
During the ribbon-cutting, OL Selectwoman Jude Read represented the board of selectmen, saying, “It’s wonderful to have Steve and Jess open their business in this end of Old Lyme, but most importantly in Old Lyme. I have known several generations of their family and they’re a wonderful asset and make a wonderful contribution to our community.”
Connecticut State Representative Devin Carney (R-23rd) presented Rand Automotive with a Connecticut General Assembly Official Citation that read in part, “The Connecticut General Assembly hereby offers its sincerest congratulations to Rand Automotive in recognition of the grand opening of Rand Automotive …We welcome your commitment to local needs and thank you for investing in our community.”
Carney also added, “I’m excited to have Rand Automotive here investing in the community and helping clean up a spot that has been vacant for so long. It’s really fantastic for the community and brightens up the area.”
Steve thanked the attendees at the ribbon-cutting and, after moving to the grill to cook burgers and hot dogs for the crowd, added, “I just want to thank everyone for coming and supporting us. I am looking forward to being here in town and helping people out.”
Sean Kennedy has been appointed Assistant Principal at Mile Creek Elementary School in Old Lyme.
OLD LYME—Lyme-Old Lyme Schools have announced the hiring of Sean Kennedy to fill the newly-created, part-time Assistant Principal position at Mile Creek Elementary School. Kennedy will start in his new role on July 1.
Kennedy, a resident of Niantic, is currently serving as the Interim Athletic Director for Branford Public Schools where he is responsible for 37 different programs including the evaluation of 70 coaches. In Branford, he has also served as the elementary summer enrichment co-coordinator and the after-school enrichment coordinator. He has taught health and physical education at both the middle and elementary school levels, the latter of which was a position he held for the past six years.
Kennedy has a Sixth Year Certificate in Educational Leadership from Southern Connecticut State University, a M.S. in Teacher Leadership from Quinnipiac University, and earned his B.S. from Central Connecticut State University.
“We are pleased to have Mr. Kennedy join our team in this newly-created position,” said Ian Neviaser, Superintendent of Lyme-Old Lyme Schools. “His commitment to students, demonstrated leadership, and professionalism will be an asset at this growing school.”
The selection process began in February and yielded more than 40 applicants. A selection committee comprising more than 20 people conducted several rounds of interviews.
Pictured left to right at the check presentation from the Rockfall Foundation (RF) to the Town of Old Lyme (OL) are Sharon Lewis, RF Board Member, Marilyn Ozols, RF Board President, OL Open Space Chair, Greg Futoma, Tony Marino, Rockfall Foundation Executive Director, Martha Shoemaker, OL First Selectwoman, Jude Read, OL Selectwoman, and Jim Lampos, OL Selectman.
OLD LYME—On March 18, the Rockfall Foundation presented the Town of Old Lyme (OL) with a grant for $1,700 to support a “Coastal Forest and Marshland Conservation and Education” program on the town’s Horseneck Creek Landing. The program will be administered by the OL Open Space Commission.
Martha Shoemaker, OL First Selectwoman, and other town officials accepted a check from Rockfall Foundation representatives prior to the 3/18 OL Board of Selectman meeting.
The three-acre property offers excellent examples of coastal forest and salt marsh, both under serious threat. Horseneck Creek’s forest includes black, red and white oak, highbush blueberry, northern bayberry, black huckleberry, eastern red cedar, big-tooth aspen and big-leaf marsh elder, among other trees.
Saltmarsh habitats are described as “blue carbon” for their ability to capture significant amounts carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and to store it in grasses and soils, mitigating climate change.
Horseneck Creek Landing also offers wonderful opportunities to see osprey, egrets, cormorants, and great blue herons during the summer, and in colder months, brant and various ducks, including brightly colored hooded mergansers. Bald eagles may also be spotted, and the State of Connecticut reports that seaside sparrow and saltmarsh sharp-tailed sparrows, state-listed birds, may be in the area.
The grant program will complement the existing trail with a virtual guide. A botanist or biologist will collaborate to highlight featured flora. In addition, an interpretative weather and vandal-proof color sign will be produced and installed for visitor information.
Offsite conservation will include sponsorship of a local lecture on coastal forests and salt marshes to encourage their protection. A simple fact sheet will memorialize the message and be physically distributed and be posted for download.
A split-rail barrier fence has been constructed to preserve marshland. While the fence is not within the project scope, it will be part of the program’s friendly message explaining that simply walking on fragile flora can be damaging.
The Open Space Commission looks forward to partnering with Audubon to promote the property as a birding site. Visitors will be introduced to birding apps such as Merlin ID, and an eBird Hotspot has been created.
Greg Futoma, Open Space Commission Chair, added, “As the Harbor Management Commission works to establish a kayak/canoe launch on site, Open Space looks forward to working cooperatively with its fellow commission to make this beautiful property a treasure for residents and visitors.”
The Rockfall Foundation is one of Connecticut’s oldest non-profit organizations committed to promoting natural resource conservation, sustainable development and environmental education in the Lower Connecticut River Valley.
OLD LYME – On Friday, April 5, at 10:30 a.m., the public is invited to the Town of Old Lyme’s flag-raising ceremony kicking off National Donate Life Month at Old Lyme’s Memorial Town Hall. The Donate Life flag will fly at the town hall through April to raise awareness of the critical need for organ donors.
First Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker sees the National Donate Life Month as a great time to register as organ and tissue donors. “As a young adult, I indicated my wish to become a donor both on my driver’s license and by sharing my wishes with my family,” Shoemaker said. “If you wish to be considered for organ donation at the end of life, you simply add that to your driver’s license during renewal time with the Department of Motor Vehicles. It’s a very simple process,” she added.
The annual National Donate Life Month honors those who have given the gift of life through organ and tissue donation, either as a living donor or at the end of life. For those whose lives have been saved or healed as a recipient of a transplant, National Donate Life Month provides a chance to share their stories and encourage more people to register as donors and learn about living donor opportunities.
In 2017, Old Lyme witnessed town residents Rob Wallace and Ryan Lee create a lifelong bond through Lee’s donation of a section of his liver to Wallace. Wallace was in dire need of a liver transplant due to liver cancer, and Lee stepped forward to donate once learning about Rob’s journey.
Gathered together in this file photo are Rob Wallace (third from right) and his wife Lori (second from left) and their three children.
“This June 28th, I will be celebrating my seventh-year cancer-free,” Rob Wallace noted, continuing, “It saved my life! Having a ‘liver giver’ is God’s gift. I feel amazing. I was blessed!”
Living donations are possible for livers, which slowly regrow to nearly their full original volume about a year after a partial liver donation, and for kidneys, since donors can live well with just one of their two kidneys.
Wallace’s liver donor Lee commented, “Helping a neighbor in need as a living donor is one of the most rewarding things, I’ve ever been a part of – I wish I could do it again!” Since then, Wallace and Lee have both been active in promoting living donations and in spreading the word for others who are now searching for a donor to save their life.
According to the National Institutes of Health, while 95 percent of Americans are in favor of being a donor, only 58 percent of the U.S. adult population are registered organ and tissue donors. However, the number of people in need of transplants continues to outpace the number of organs donated.
According to OrganDonor.gov, as of September 2023, about 108,000 people in the US wait for a matching organ transplant and a second chance at life. On average, 17 people die each day because a matching organ is not donated in time. Shoemaker says registering your decision to become a donor is the most effective way to save lives through donation and is a sign of support to those who continue to wait.
Donate Life Connecticut Executive Director Lindsay Vigue is a living donor of a kidney. She said, “I have been able to see how donation impacts not only the life and health of a singular person, but their family and community. There are too many people waiting on the transplant list. In this life, if we are able to help another with the gift of life, while we are here or after we are gone, that is one of the most powerful legacies we can leave.”
In addition to organ donation, tissue donations help over one million individuals each year. Heart valve, bone and skin donations give recipients a new chance at a healthy life; the recovery of tendons and ligaments can help heal a severe sports injury, while cornea donations give the gift of sight.
For more information about becoming a potential organ or tissue donor, and/or learning how to indicate your wishes via the Department of Motor Vehicles, visit DonateLifeCT.org.
