Category Archives: Towns

Lyme-Old Lyme High School Senior Christopher B. Gibbons Awarded National Merit Scholarship

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Christopher Gibbons has been named a National Merit Scholar. He is among 2,500 students with the “strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success” out of 15,000 finalists, according to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. Photo courtesy of Lyme-Old Lyme High School.

OLD LYME–A Lyme-Old Lyme High School senior is among 2,500 National Merit Scholars honored as the most accomplished in their states. 

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation in a press release identified Christopher B. Gibbons, of Old Lyme, as one of 30 honorees from Connecticut to receive a $2,500 scholarship from the corporation.  

The winners were chosen because they showed the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success out of the 15,000 finalists identified nationwide in this year’s contest, the nonprofit corporation said. 

The corporation will continue to announce National Merit Scholars through July.

LOLHS guidance counselor Jo Williams in an email praised Gibbons’ “wonderful, curious mind.” 

She described an intense schedule over the past several years that has helped prepare Gibbons to study linguistics at the University of British Columbia in Canada. 

High school coursework included seven Advanced Placement and college-level classes, including AP Calculus as a sophomore. 

Gibbons speaks Mandarin, Spanish and Polish in addition to English. He attended an ACES International trip to China over the April break that his guidance counselor described as “quite an immersion.” 

Gibbons is a member of the National Honor Society, the Environmental and Community Service Club and the Chinese Honor Society. He volunteers at the Old Lyme Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library and was a Boy Scout from 2018 to 2024, achieving the Star Scout rank. 

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation said the number of winners named in each state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the nation’s graduating high school seniors.

The first group of appproximately 830 Merit Scholars was announced in April, the corporation said. About 360 more students will be announced in June and July.

As part of a years-long process, the corporation said the current swath of National Merit Scholars were first identified beginning in October 2023 as high school juniors taking the PSAT. The highest-scoring participants in each state, representing less than one percent of the nation’s high school seniors, were named semifinalists. More than 16,000 semifinalists had an opportunity to continue in the competition.

Over 15,000 of the semifinalists met the very high academic standards and other requirements to become finalists. 

More than 6,930 finalists by the end of the summer will have earned the Merit Scholar title and received a total of nearly $26 million in college scholarships, the corporation said.

Old Lyme Selectmen Propose Increased Incentives for Volunteer First Responders

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OLD LYME–Volunteer First Responders could see up to $1,000 more per year in incentives over a longer timeframe if voters approve a change to the local law books at the Town Budget Meeting on May 19. 

Proposed amendments to the ordinance affecting members of the Old Lyme Fire Department and Old Lyme Volunteer Ambulance Association would raise the incentive, which is part of efforts to recruit and retain more members, from $1,000 to $2,000 per year for each volunteer. 

The proposed ordinance would also allow volunteers, who served for at least 25 years, to continue receiving the benefit even if they aren’t active volunteers anymore. 

The town meeting on the 2025-26 proposed budget, which comes in at $45.39 million, will give residents and qualified taxpayers the chance to vote on five ordinance proposals in total. Four are revisions and one is new.

Old Lyme Fire Department President Robert McCarthy in an interview at the Town Hall this week said the fire and ambulance companies asked town officials to consider updating the existing ordinance on the volunteer incentive. The proposed amendments were approved unanimously by the Old Lyme Board of Selectmen on March 3.

State law in 2021 was updated to allow cities and towns to expand the incentive program, which had been implemented locally in 2002.

Initially, the ordinance existed to give volunteers a break on their taxes. But McCarthy said the program has evolved along with the town’s retirement fund for volunteer fire and ambulance personnel.

The last major change came in 2018 at a time when federal law looked at property tax reductions received by volunteers as taxable income. McCarthy said town officials addressed the problem by working out a plan to deposit the incentive into the retirement account instead of using it as a tax abatement. He said the plan was vetted by Town Attorney Jack Collins and an attorney with Pension Administrative Services Inc.

Volunteers that year were given the option to continue with the tax abatement or take the money in the retirement account, McCarthy said. Any volunteer who joined the fire department or ambulance association subsequent to the 2018 agreement received the benefit as retirement savings. 

“With this ordinance, we’re trying to revisit it all and see if we can let people have a choice again,” he said. “They’ll be able to get the tax abatement if they desire, or they can still have the money put into a retirement account instead.” 

The town also puts money into the retirement fund each year separate from the incentive authorized through the tax abatement ordinance, according to McCarthy. He said that benefit currently amounts to about $980 per year.  

In the proposed 2025-26 town operations budget, which is also up for a vote at the May 19 Town Meeting, the emergency services retirement line item amounts to $172,000. 

That’s enough money to provide 61 volunteers with the proposed $2,000 incentive, according to budget documents. 

There are currently about 55 fire department and ambulance service volunteers in the retirement plan currently, according to McCarthy. 

Old Lyme Tax Collector Suzanne Thompson said about 20 of those volunteers opted to receive the incentive as a tax abatement. 

McCarthy said using the $2,000 incentive as a tax abatement can be more advantageous for some volunteers than for those whose tax bills don’t amount to $2,000.

“Say we’ve got a young member who owns a car and their taxes are at $400 a year,” he said. “They should let the money go to the incentive plan and get all of it into their retirement account rather than only getting $400.”

He said allowing members to continue receiving the benefit once they are no longer actively responding to calls is an important change. He pointed to members who have been volunteering for more than half a century and are slowing down. 

“And they’re the ones that, under the current abatement, wouldn’t be able to get it for the rest of their lives,” he said. “They’re 70-years-old now and have been doing this for 50, 60 years.”

The 2018 retirement plan states that volunteers are vested after six years of qualified service. Benefits are paid out after members stop serving or they turn 65, whichever comes first. 

He said volunteers over the age of 65 would likely choose the tax abatement option. 

The Annual Town Budget Meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, May 19 in the Town Hall Meeting Room.

Kindergarten Registration Open at Lyme-Old Lyme Schools

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LYME/OLD LYME — Registration for Kindergarten in Lyme-Old Lyme Schools for the fall of 2025 is open at Lyme Consolidated and Mile Creek Schools.

Children who will be five years old on or before Sept. 1, 2025 are eligible to register for the 2025-2026 school year.

If your child is currently enrolled in the Lyme-Old Lyme Schools preschool program, you do not need to register for Kindergarten. 

Registration packets may be picked up at either school. The following are needed for registration:

  • Birth Certificate
  • Three forms proving residency

While you may complete the registration process at either school, your child’s school placement will depend on District attendance zones, which are determined in August.

If you would like additional information, call either school at these numbers:

  • Lyme Consolidated: 860-434-1233
  • Mile Creek: 860-434-2209

Plan Plods On for Two Old Lyme Affordable Houses in Partnership with Habitat for Humanity

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Hikers donned sunglasses and walking sticks for a trek through the McCulloch Family Open Space this past weekend. The ‘Hiker’s Happy Hour,’ a venture of the Old Lyme Open Space Commission and Old Lyme Land Trust, was the first of the season. Photo courtesy of the Old Lyme Land Trust.

Hikers Explore Area Earmarked for Construction, Hike Precedes ‘Happy Hour’ at Old Lyme Inn

OLD LYME–On May 7, a group of local residents gathered for the first hike of the season organized by the Old Lyme Open Space Commission and Old Lyme Land Trust. For many of the walkers, the hike through the McCulloch Family Open Space was their first time visiting the property off Flat Rock Hill Rd. in Old Lyme.

The hike preceded what the hike’s lead organizer Andrea Fenton described as, “a delightful Happy Hour at the Old Lyme Inn.” She emphasized that all are welcome to join these combination hikes and ‘Happy Hours,’ which are organized on a regular basis, stressing that you do not actually need to take the hike in order to enjoy the ‘Happy Hour!’

Affordable Homes Move Closer to Reality

The new, red path that the hikers followed loops around two Affordable Housing lots, which were designated in the original transfer of the property. The process of turning these six acres of the 300-acre McCulloch Family Open Space property into two affordable, single-family homes is moving closer to reality as part of a joint effort between the town and Habitat for Humanity of Eastern Connecticut. 

The Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) on Thursday is set for a public hearing on a request from the Old Lyme Affordable Housing Commission that would allow the two proposed houses to share a driveway with two existing houses on Flat Rock Hill Road. 

The town in 2019 closed on the purchase of approximately 300 acres from the McCulloch family to be preserved in perpetuity. The sale set aside two parcels, totaling about six acres, for the construction of affordable homes. Voters last year authorized the transfer of the land from the town to Habitat for Humanity of Eastern Connecticut, which will build and manage one single-family house on each parcel.

Variance Needed Before Construction Can Begin

A variance to zoning regulations must be granted before the town can move forward with a plan to bring in Habitat for Humanity to start construction, according to Affordable Housing Commission meeting minutes.  

Old Lyme Land Use Coordinator Eric Knapp on Monday said about six acres of land at 130-1 Whippoorwill Road, which were deeded to the town by the McCulloch family for the construction of affordable homes, do not have any direct road frontage. 

“So we’re trying to subdivide them out, but can’t without a variance,” he said. 

Old Lyme Land Trust member Andrea Fenton said many of the hikers at the inaugural Hikers’ Happy Hour were visiting the property for the first time. Photo courtesy of the Old Lyme Land Trust.

The town’s zoning regulations require 25 feet of road frontage per lot to qualify for subdivision. 

The land has deeded rights to a 50-foot wide driveway off Flat Rock Hill Road, according to the ZBA application. 

“It’s kind of a unique situation, and that’s what the ZBA is there for,” Knapp said. 

State law grants the ZBA the power to grant variances if existing regulations create “exceptional difficulty or unusual hardship” when it comes to using the property. 

The other two houses that would share the driveway are on land owned by the nonprofit HOPE Partnership, according to assessor’s records. The houses that sit on the land – built in the 1990s by the Old Lyme Affordable Housing Corp before it merged with HOPE – are sold to low-income households using a community land trust model. The framework limits the profit owners can make if they decide to sell their homes. 

The town paid $500,000 for what is now the McCulloch Family Open Space, and $50,000 each for two three-acre areas off Flat Rock Hill Rd. The Affordable Housing Commission in 2022 received a $150,000 grant from the town using federal pandemic-relief funds to reimburse the town for the original purchase price. 

But the deed transfer from the town to Habitat for Humanity of Eastern Connecticut is pending the creation of a steering committee to guide the process, April Affordable Housing Commission meeting minutes stated. The committee will be formed once variance is granted by the ZBA.

New Owner of Old Lyme’s ‘Hideaway’ Believes Pizza is Recipe for His Family’s Success

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José Plasencia, the new owner of The Hideaway Restaurant Wood-Fired Pizza, has put his own spin on the place while retaining much of the original menu.

OLD LYME–José Plasencia, the new owner of The Hideaway Restaurant Wood-Fired Pizza, lives by two codes: family and pizza. 

The 33-year-old restaurateur forged his focus in Ecuador, where he grew up watching his grandfather, father and mother toss pizza dough into circles. 

It’s a tradition he and his wife, Diana, continue for their 7-year-old daughter, Sydney. 

“Kids like when we float the dough around,” he said. 

This week, Plasencia told his story from a table opposite the restaurant’s new counters built around a wood-fired pizza oven. 

The Hideaway, a Halls Road fixture since 1990, had built its reputation on an extensive menu of American fare. But Plasencia knew right away he had to put his own spin on the place. So he added Wood-Fired Pizza to the restaurant name, which now boasts a menu featuring the savory pies as well as more than half of the traditional Hideaway options. 

One neat pile of wood can bring the temperature in the oven to 950 degrees, according to Plasencia. That’s hot enough to cook a pizza in three minutes. 

They churn out as many as 280 pies on a busy weekend night. 

“That’s my thing,” he said. “Pizza.” 

Plasencia recalled coming to this country when he was 16 years old because Ecuador was not safe. He said the decision to leave his homeland was as much about protecting his mother and sisters from harm as it was about building a prosperous future. 

“It’s all about family,” he said. “That’s one of the codes I have.”

José Plasencia and his wife Diana take a brief break from work.

Plasencia got his first job working for then-Hideway owner Jim Caramante before following his passion for pizza to Mango’s Wood-Fired Pizza Company in Mystic. His brother-in-law, José Luis Marin, worked in the kitchen at The Hideaway for 16 years. 

Now Plasencia is at the helm of Hideaway, while Marin owns The Stumble Inne across Halls Road. 

Both men purchased the businesses from Caramante in March. Caramante ran the Hideaway, which opened in 1990, for over two decades after buying it from original owners Carl and Lois Lutender. He opened The Stumble Inne in 2022. 

“What a small world,” Plasencia said. “After 13 years I’m coming back to the Hideaway, but as the owner.” 

Penny Smyth, a Lyme resident and one of the earliest customers at the new Hideaway, said she heard Plasencia’s story from a coworker in the real estate business, who happened to be the daughter of the original owners. 

She said it touched her heart to hear about Plasencia’s transition from teenaged cook to owner.

But it was the new pizza menu, with its fresh ingredients, that whet her appetite. 

“The wood-fired pizza is really a distinguishing factor that caught my attention after many years of not going to the restaurant,” she said. 

She ordered a Funky Fungi Festa pizza and a vegetarian pizza on her first visit, she said. The first delivered a base layer of mushroom puree made with garlic, mushrooms and wine topped with mozzarella cheese, spinach and blue oyster mushrooms. She upgraded the second pizza to include bacon. 

“I was floored,” she said. “I was so delighted with everything about it.”

She said she began posting about the restaurant on her Facebook page right from the table. 

“I think it’s a personal value of mine to try to support local businesses,” she said. 

José Luis Marin (left) and father-in-law Ruben Plasencia help out at The Hideaway Restaurant Wood-Fired Pizza owned by José Plasencia. Marin, who is José Plasencia’s brother-in-law, is the owner of The Stumble Inne across Halls Road.

Plasencia, who said he works about 70 hours per week at the restaurant, gets help from family members including his father, his mother and Marin. 

“Now, because I own the place, I’ve got to be here seven days a week,” he said. “Trying to spend time with my daughter is a little hard right now.”

But he ekes out time for Sydney while looking toward a future at the restaurant he hopes will feed his family and the Old Lyme community for decades to come. 

“This is my dream,” Plasencia said. “I always want to be a success in the country. I always work hard, hard, hard, doing nothing bad. Just trying to prove myself for the people.”

Plasencia said it was important to him to retain all the staff members employed by Caramante. 

“I want to make sure they have a job for their families,” he said. “The only thing we add is our family.” 

Editor’s Note: The Hideaway Restaurant Wood-Fired Pizza at 19 Halls Road is open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.