LYME/OLD LYME—Lyme-Old Lyme Public Schools has announced its policy for determining eligibility of children who may receive free or reduced-price meals served under the National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs.
For income guidelines for determining eligibility of participants for free and reduced price meals, contact Lyme-Old Lyme Public Schools.
Information can be found at https://www.region18.org/parents/lunch-menus
EAST LYME—Eastern Connecticut Ballet (ECB), one of Connecticut’s premier ballet schools drawing from towns including both Lyme and Old Lyme, has selected a renowned, decades-long principal dancer as its new executive director.
The school in a press release welcomed Ashley Bouder, a former principal ballerina of the New York City Ballet for 20 years.
Eastern Connecticut Ballet founder Lise Reardon touted Bouder’s success on the world stage and her personal achievements.
“Ashley possesses a generous, creative and entrepreneurial spirit,” Reardon said. “She will bring fresh eyes and energy to an organization that is committed to developing young dancers and the future of ballet. Her commitment to building upon ECB’s legacy of excellence will continue to help the school flourish and propel it into the future.”
Bouder replaces Krystin Dixon, who will remain with the school as its director of management.
Bouder on social media said she looks forward to working closely with Dixon and legendary Balanchine ballerina Gloria Govrin, who serves as the school’s artistic director, “to form a fierce female leadership team” to guide the school into a new era.
“This school already has so much prestige and accolades, it is truly thrilling to be able to take the reins and fly higher,” she wrote.
Bouder’s biography on the school website identifies her as the founder and artistic director of the Ashley Bouder Project, where she works to promote gender equality, diversity and inclusion in creative leadership roles within the dance world.
Trained in the Balanchine, neo-classical style of ballet at the School of American Ballet and Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, she has also performed with Bayerisches Staats Ballet, Mariinsky Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, and Rome Opera Ballet, and distinguished ballet galas around the world.
Awards include the Benois de la Dance, often referred to as the Oscars of ballet, for best female dancer in 2019; the Mae L. Wien Award for Outstanding Promise in 2000; and Janice Levin Dancer Honoree from 2002-2003.
Bouder has produced and choreographed 15 productions and recently served as the training program director for Regional Dance America, where she developed and designed training sessions for pre-professional dancers.
The new executive director on social media expressed gratitude for the opportunity.
“I also owe a huge thank you to ECB founder Lise Reardon for our years long conversations that ended in this happy moment. And to our board chair Kevin Buchanan for his insight and acceptance of my proposals and ‘style,'” Bouder said. “We are all a big positive community. It is something to treasure.”
Unless you are a devoted fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), The Fantastic Four: First Steps is not worth seeing.
Recruiting the latest phenomenon of actors (Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn) and maintaining their distinguished action-packed sequences will not make up for the empty writing. At multiple points during the screening, I felt like leaving.
While I managed to convince myself to stay for the sake of this review, I wasn’t interested in sticking around for the two signature credit scenes that preview the next installments in the Marvel movies.
Superhero movies always require a suspension of disbelief. The viewer knows anything in these movies is possible if there is room plausible deniability.
But even after years of watching Tony Stark and Peter Parker assemble new suits out of thin air, I had a hard time “believing” the scientific research of Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic.
While I am aware that the MCU has extensively developed their multiverse-setting, I went into this movie expecting a proper origin story for the Fantastic Four and the beginning of the MCU. It is totally reasonable when the costumes, set design, and titles are imitating the aesthetics of the 1960s. It turns out this is just another earth set in the future that appears to be our past.
Another disappointment came through the humor.
Marvel movies have made an impression on the world that wasn’t solely the result of top-notch special effects and marketing, but through relatable and likable characters. That is mostly the result of great chemistry between the performers and a sense of humor.
But I didn’t find myself laughing in this Marvel movie. In fact, the jokes were predictable and hackneyed. It’s more than the jokes; it’s the entire story. There also came a moment when Sue Storm/Invisible Woman attempted to rally and inspire everyone, and it made no sense. When it came to the consequential moment that resolved the conflict, I found it to be along the lines of a Deus ex machina.
But, since it’s a Marvel movie, it does deliver with action sequences that are captivating enough to believe that our heroes are exploiting the gravity of a neutron star to propel themselves back home. And the music certainly amplifies those entertaining sequences.
But I can’t praise it entirely, especially with the antagonist, the Silver Surfer. The effects aren’t bad, they’re good — they’re too good. But this isn’t something to praise, it felt like a trip into the Uncanny Valley (when fake human appearances end up more disturbing than endearing). Devoted MCU fans will find a way to see this.
But for the rest of us movie-goers? We’re not missing anything if we decide to do something else. I would not place The Fantastic Four high on a list of prioritized movies of 2025.
About the Author: Having lived in Old Lyme and Lyme since the age of three, Kevin Ganey has always had a passion for movies that is beyond simply watching, but understanding the craft of cinema and and experiencing films as if they were a musical album. Kevin also has his own website devoted to movie analysis, CityOfCinema.com, and also co-hosts a podcast, Moviehouse Mystics, with Koda Uhl (available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.)
LYME/OLD LYME–UPDATED 8/16 with new photo of driveway (above.) Superintendent of Lyme-Old Lyme Schools Ian Neviaser on Thursday said he’s more confident than ever that schools will reopen on time now that an intensive summertime push is winding down on the $57.5 million renovation project affecting four of the district’s five buildings.
Neviaser in a phone interview said crews overseen by Downes Construction were working double shifts this summer to ensure Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School, Mile Creek School, Lyme Consolidated School and Center School would be ready for the first day of school on Aug. 27.
Work at three of the schools will shift to the night once school starts, he said. For Mile Creek, where the most extensive upgrades are occurring, daytime work will continue.
Last week, Neviaser during a regular meeting of the Region 18 Board of Education acknowledged concerns around Lyme and Old Lyme that the district wouldn’t be able to welcome students as scheduled.
“I know there’s been some questions out there about whether or not we’ll be able to open school on time, especially if you drive by Mile Creek and you see that they have not paved the new parking lot or entranceway yet,” Neviaser told school board members.
But he reported being assured by project officials that the schools would be ready.
The prediction was bolstered by the completion of paving at Mile Creek this week, the superintendent said over the phone.
“As we get closer, I’m even more confident,” he said.
Center, Mile Creek and Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School closed June 23, with Lyme-Old Lyme High School absorbing displaced staff members as well as campers in the Old Lyme Park and Recreation Department’s summer program. At Lyme Consolidated, staff members were relocated within the building.
HVAC on Track
The renovation project involves Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) and security upgrades in the four buildings, plus an addition and an expanded parking area at Mile Creek School. Voters in late 2022 authorized spending up to $57.5 million on the project, though the district will save about $17 million due to grant funding and lower than expected interest rates.
Neviaser said the buildings will be ready for teachers when they arrive for three days of professional development on Aug. 22. The majority of security upgrades to the building’s front vestibules should be done by the time students get there at the end of the month.
He said work on the HVAC system will shift to the nighttime at Center, Lyme Consolidated and Lyme-Old Lyme Middle Schools, with “substantial completion” expected by the end of this year.
“When we walk into school on August 27th, there will still be ceiling tiles down,” he said. “There will still be ductwork going on.”
Mile Creek Construction
While students will be welcomed on schedule at Mile Creek, Neviaser described the overall timeline there as “a little bit of a different story.” That’s because six classrooms are being added currently, with the pickup and dropoff area to be reconfigured next summer.
“While the majority of that project, too, was focused on HVAC – and they have continued to work on that – their intent this summer was to really try to get a lot done on the addition,” he said.
He estimated the new classrooms could be ready by January, giving administrators the space to move some other classrooms around while work on the heating and cooling system continues in the rest of the building.
The Mile Creek project likely won’t be complete until midway through the 2026-27 school year, he said.
Neviaser expressed gratitude to the neighbors of the four buildings for their patience over the summer.
He noted some construction crews this summer had to come out on Saturdays to keep the project on track at Mile Creek as they removed rock from the site.
“I know there was a lot of noise coming from the construction sites, and people were very understanding of the noise,” he said. “And we, like them, hope that it will be done soon.”
HARTFORD–A national pet advocacy organization is applauding Governor Ned Lamont for proclaiming August No-Kill Shelter Month, a move meant to bolster the group’s efforts to achieve “no-kill” status in Connecticut before the end of this year.
The proclamation underlines a commitment to end the unnecessary killing of dogs and cats throughout the state’s shelters, according to a press release from the national pet advocacy organization Best Friends Animal Society.
Julie Castle, Best Friends Animal Society CEO, states, “With less than 200 pets needing to be saved for Connecticut to become no-kill, we’re calling on Connecticut residents to choose to adopt pets from shelters and rescue groups instead of purchasing from breeders or stores.”
The group cited data showing 83 of the state’s 94 animal shelters last year maintained or achieved no-kill status. Nationally, nearly two out of three U.S. shelters are considered no-kill.
Statistics from the organization identify the Old Lyme Animal Control department as a no-kill shelter. Dogs currently up for adoption can be found at this link.
The 11 remaining shelters in the state yet to earn the no-kill designation need to save about 200 more pets combined, according to the organization.
Best Friends Animal Society CEO Julie Castle in the release said the state is poised to join the nation’s current no-kill states: Delaware, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
“With less than 200 pets needing to be saved for Connecticut to become no-kill, we’re calling on Connecticut residents to choose to adopt pets from shelters and rescue groups instead of purchasing from breeders or stores,” Castle said.
The “no-kill” designation applies to states in which 90% of animals entering a shelter can be saved. The figure accounts for the estimated 10% of pets with irreparable medical or behavioral issues that compromise their quality of life and prevent them from being rehomed, the release said.
The governor’s proclamation encourages Connecticut residents to work together to make a positive difference in the lives of the state’s pets by adopting, fostering, volunteering, educating, and generating awareness for these pets in need throughout their communities.
The no-kill movement is not without critics in the animal advocacy community. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) argues that focusing on no-kill policies can lead shelters to “warehouse” animals for prolonged periods, place animals in unsafe homes, and turn away animals. It also does not address the root problem, the group said on its website.
“Finding a home for one dog may save one life, but sterilizing one dog will save hundreds, if not thousands, of dogs’ lives by preventing generations of potentially homeless puppies from being born. Getting a spay/neuter law passed saves even more lives. Stopping the problem at its source is where our time, energy, and funds are needed most. That is how we can drastically reduce—and hopefully end—the homeless-animal crisis and the need for euthanasia.”