Letter: Old Lyme Land Trust Responds to Beaver Claims

Members of the Old Lyme Land Trust and its Board investigated the claim made by Mr. Berggren, certain Town of Old Lyme officials, and others, that one or more animal obstructions on the Jericho Preserve have restricted the water flow from Black Hall Pond and caused the water level to rise by as much as two feet within the Pond. Several weeks ago, one beaver dam was located on the Jericho Preserve approximately two thousand feet south of Black Hall Pond; this dam, when breached, lowered the water level at Mr. Berggren’s dock by approximately six and one-quarter inches. On

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Letter: Compare New and Old Plans Before Approving Wind Deal for State Pier

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I enjoyed reading Cate Hewitt’s Feb. 8 interview with Alexandra Halvordson, “Halvordson Weighs in on Addition of Offshore Wind to Region’s Submarine Supply Chain,” and appreciate CT Examiner’s continued coverage of State Pier and the Thames River.  Having known Ali since elementary school, I respect how smart and hardworking she is. I am writing to publicly challenge something she said: “You have offshore wind coming, you have two ports in Connecticut that are going to be maxed out with wind, that’s great, how is that not good stuff?” Maxing out State Pier with wind may be good stuff for the Naval and Maritime

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Letter: Old Lyme WPCA Penny Wise and Pound Foolish

“Old Lyme WPCA Hires Consultants, Debates Sewer funding and Costs” (CT Examiner 1/15/2020) makes a few things clear. The WPCA has spent several years trying to find a legal equation to force the 7.4/9.5 mil cost of sewers onto the backs of the working-class SV property owners.  The WPCA now plans to spend additional tax dollars to hire consultants and attorneys to try one more time.   (Probably won’t be the last time.)      The three private beach associations want to run their sewer pipes up down and across the town-owned streets of Swan, Hartford and Portland, to a pump station

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Letter: No Progress on Beaver Flooding in Old Lyme

I have watched from 200 miles away how Old Lyme Selectmen have neglected the law and their responsibility at the expense of an 82-year-old resident.  As detailed in Julia Werth’s article, for 4 years Dave Berggren has watched his home and property be destroyed by beavers who continue to block the Bucky Brook waterway, causing his property to be flooded. With black mold now rampant in his house, the town of Old Lyme is to blame for Mr. Berggren’s nightmare. Neither Former First Selectman Bonnie Reemsnyder nor current First Selectman Tim Griswold have cared enough to take action.  Years ago,

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Letter: Appraisal Estimates Don’t Add Up for Residential Owners in Sound View

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At the conclusion of the December WPCA meeting, Chairman Prendergast made the following statements recorded in WPCA minutes and CT Examiner:  His White Sands property and those of his neighbors had gone up 20 – 30% in the latest appraisal.  “Beach property values generally go up when the rest of the town goes down. When people install sewers, generally the property is worth more” he said.    I have had discussions with the town assessor and with other assessors in neighboring towns.  The professional consensus is that location, condition, and amenities drive price, and that buyers place no additional value

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Letter: Barry Ricci will be hugely missed

Barry Ricci, longtime superintendent of the RI Chariho Regional Schools, was a hero beloved by the children and families of Charlestown and all of us who were privileged to work with him at Town Hall. We mourn his loss and we extend heartfelt condolences to the Ricci family. A quote from Barry when he became assistant superintendent of the Chariho Regional School District hints at how powerfully inspiring he was – his “long held beliefs about the fact that support should be unconditional and that we need to do whatever needs to be done to help a young person to

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Letter: Public Benefits from Werth’s Reporting on Schools

I have been invested in the article the CT Examiner published Few Rules, Little Oversight for 11 Million Open Choice Program as well as the editorial by Gregory Stroud, and the opinion pieces written by Portland Superintendent Phillip O’Reilly and the Board of Education Chair Sharon Peters. I thought the original article raised valid questions and concerns that we, the residents and taxpayers of these towns, should be asking our school boards and superintendents. First, I would like to thank Ms. Werth for shining a light on this topic. I thought it was extremely unprofessional and inappropriate for a superintendent

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Letter: Chair of Portland Board of Education Responds to Open Choice Reporting

I read the article in the CT Examiner entitled Few Rules, Little Oversight for $11 Million Open Choice Program.  I have served as the Chair of the Portland Board of Education since December of 2017 and beg to differ with the inferences and conclusions put forth in this article.  As stated in this article, the State views the Open Choice Grant as an entitlement grant and does not track a district’s expenditures. However, the Portland Board of Education conducts a great deal of oversight regarding all of the District’s financial decisions. We play an active role in formulating the yearly budget and

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Letter: Portland Superintendent Responds to Open Choice Reporting

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I recently read the December 12th article published in the CT Examiner entitled, Few Rules, Little Oversight for 11 Million Open Choice Program.  I was astonished by two assertions raised in this article: First, the suggestion that funding used to supplement limited resources that support teaching and learning is a “slush fund” and not subjected to rigorous accounting procedures and oversight is entirely inaccurate. Second, the suggestion that a program designed to reduce the racial, ethnic, and economic isolation in Connecticut Public Schools is not having a positive influence on student learning is misguided and does not reflect the reality that I know.   The perceptions

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Letter: Day Story a Disservice, Ethics Code Lacks Clear Limits

Thank you, Frank, for spearheading the Sound View’s Summer Concert series for the past six years.  Please know that as newbies to Old Lyme, we laughed long and hard under the SV night sky kicking up sand, showing our grandchildren (to their embarrassment) that Grandpa and Grandma can still do the boogie woogie, and the twist.  “Oh, What a Night!” One we will not forget (nor will our grandchildren!) Section L of the Old Lyme Code of Ethics says “No public employee or public official, or a business with which he/she is associated, or a member of his or her

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