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OLD LYME — UPDATED 6/25: On Friday, June 23, Katie Huffman, who serves as the Old Lyme Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library Director, released a statement regarding concerns raised by “a group of community members” about some specific books in the library’s collection.

The statement concludes that during the period when, “the Library’s Collection Development Policy and established process” is being pursued, the books in question, “will remain in circulation and are available to request via the Library’s catalog.”

We are publishing the statement in its entirety at this time for the benefit of our readers. We will follow up in more detail on this matter next week.

The statement reads:

“It may have come to your attention that a group of community members are (sic ) concerned about several books in the Library’s collection.

We have received requests to review You Know, Sex: Bodies, Gender, Puberty, and Other Things by Cory Silverberg and Fiona Smyth and Let’s Talk About It: The Teen’s Guide to Sex, Relationships, and Being a Human by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan.

[Members of t]he Board of Trustees are currently reviewing these titles per the Library’s Collection Development Policy and established process.

In the meantime, these titles will remain in circulation and are available to request via the Library’s catalog.”

OLD LYME — UPDATED 6/23: It was a night for the ages.

The weather was perfect, the music was engaging and hundreds of people came out to enjoy ‘Make Music Old Lyme.’

People slowly strolled Lyme Street in Old Lyme stopping on some occasions to chat with friends and on others to listen to a variety of bands and solo artists playing a range of different genres of music.

It was an evening that not only emanated joy and laughter but was also devoid of any pressure to make purchases.

Refreshments were cheerfully served in front of Center School by the Lyme-Old Lyme Lions and also available at both the Old Lyme Ice Cream Shoppe and a van hosted by Gather.

The finale of the event was a well-attended and enthusiastic Make Music Jam Session at Studio 80 + Sculpture Grounds.

It seemed all agreed that it was indeed a warm and wonderful night.

OLD LYME — Tuesday’s in-person vote at Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School on whether to approve $4,158,407 for Old Lyme’s share of the anticipated total costs for the planning, design and construction of an expansion of the Lymes’ Senior Center saw an overwhelming majority support the proposal. The results were as follows:

YES: 385
NO: 54

The Yes vote represented 87.7% of the total vote.

Vote Registrar Mike Aurelia noted, “It was busier than expected … the vote brought out more voters than the recent school budget vote.”

Asked how he felt after the result was announced, Old Lyme First Selectman Timothy Griswold said, “I think Old Lyme really wants the Center to have an improved Center. The [building] committee did an admirable job of bringing the needs of the Center to the attention of the voters.” He added enthusiastically, “Onward to construction!”

On hearing the result, Jeri Baker, Chair of the Lymes’ Senior Center Building Committee, gave a whoop of delight. Asked her immediate reaction, she said firmly, “Gratified. Totally gratified to see the support for this project.”

She commented, “I am so grateful for this building committee. They are the best group I have ever worked with.”

Baker concluded, “Now we are going to soldier on [with the next stage of the project] and hopefully break ground in the fall.”

The Resolution that was passed Tuesday calls for the Town of Lyme to pay 25 percent of the proposed costs at $1,386,136 with the Town of Old Lyme responsible for the balance. That latter amount was approved by Tuesday’s vote.

The Town of Lyme has already included their share of the costs in the 2023-24 Lyme Town Budget.

OLD LYME — As it heads into the summer season, Connecticut Water announced on June 14, that it has addressed water quality concerns in the Miami Beach water system in Old Lyme that existed when it acquired that system in September 2022. The system serves approximately 120 customers, who represent a mix of year-round and seasonal residents.

The Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) had identified significant deficiencies in a 2016 sanitary survey of the water system that had not been resolved at the time Connecticut Water took over the water system in 2022.

“Our team worked diligently to resolve the issues at Miami Beach because we know that high-quality drinking water is essential for all of our customers,” stated Rose Gavrilovic, P.E., Connecticut Water’s vice president of service delivery.

The company resolved the issues identified cited by DPH by piping water from Miami Beach’s groundwater wells directly to Connecticut Water’s nearby Sound View water treatment facility. There, the water is treated to drinking water standards before it enters the water mains that serve most of the company’s customers in Old Lyme.

Gavrilovic added, “Addressing the sanitary issues was our highest priority and we successfully navigated the challenges associated with making the required improvements prior to the summer 2023 season when water usage is higher. In less than nine months Connecticut Water has brought the Miami Beach water system into full compliance with state and federal drinking water quality standards.”

She added that work in the Miami Beach water system will continue with the installation of new water mains in the coming years to improve reliability and reduce the amount of water lost to underground leaks, which conserves a precious natural resources and is good for the environment.

Connecticut Water is a public water and wastewater utility regulated by the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority that provides water service to more than 350,000 people in 60 Connecticut communities and wastewater service to 10,000 people in Southbury, Connecticut.

Editor’s Notes: i) Miami Beach water customers who would like to know more about the quality of their water from the Sound View water treatment facility, can view the latest water quality report at www.ctwater.com/waterquality.

ii) The towns served by Connecticut Water in addition to Old Lyme are Ashford, Avon, Beacon Falls, Bethany, Bolton, Brooklyn, Burlington, Canton, Chester, Clinton, Colchester, Columbia, Coventry, Deep River, Durham, East Granby, East Haddam, East Hampton, East Windsor, Ellington, Enfield, Essex, Farmington, Griswold, Guilford, Haddam, Hebron, Killingly, Killingworth, Lebanon, Madison, Manchester, Mansfield, Marlborough, Middlebury, Naugatuck, Old Saybrook, Oxford, Plainfield, Plymouth, Portland, Prospect, Simsbury, Somers, South Windsor, Southbury, Stafford, Stonington, Suffield, Thomaston, Thompson, Tolland, Vernon, Voluntown, Waterbury, Westbrook, Willington, Windsor Locks and Woodstock.

iii) This article is based on a press release issued by Connecticut Water.