UTILITY OFFICIALS IN VIOLATION
The Groton Board of Ethics has found three Groton Utilities officials violated the city ethics code when they attended a 2016 trip to the Kentucky Derby. The Board of Ethics recommended that Groton Utilities Commissioner Edward DeMuzzio resign or be removed from his position, along with his position on the Bozrah Utilities Commission by Dec 31st. The board also recommended that DeMuzzio and GU General Manager of Utility Finance David Collard pay a $100 fine to the City of Groton, pay $7,500 to a nonprofit by Dec. 31, and that a letter of reprimand be placed in their personal files. The board recommended that Collard remain in his job. The board advised that GU Director Ronald Gaudet, who attended the trip but only for one day, be fined $100 to the City of Groton and pay $3,250 to a nonprofit by Dec. 31, and that a letter of reprimand be placed in his file but he remain in his position. The recommendations now go to the Groton City Council for action.
SHAKE-Up AT BACKUS
The William W. Backus and Windham hospitals are getting a new president amid a leadership shakeup at Hartford HeathCare, the company that runs both hospitals. Donna Handley, a vice president at Hartford HealthCare’s Cancer Institute, will take over as the president of the hospital network’s East Region, which includes Backus and Windham. She will replace Bimal Patel, who will become the president of Hartford Hospital. Handley began her career as a nurse specializing in thoracic surgical oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital.
REMEMBERING 9/11
First responders joined local government, religious, and civic leaders last night in Jewett City to note the 16th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks. Father Ted Tumicki of Saint Mary’s Church in the borough says the outpouring of support following the 2001 tragedy shows how people can come together and forget their differences. More than 100 people turned out for the memorial ceremony at Veterans Park, which not only remembered those who perished on 9-Eleven, but also gave thanks to emergency personnel who sacrifice their lives while in the line of duty. Members of four local volunteer fire departments, as well as the V-F-W, American Ambulance, Three Rivers Young Marines, and local boy and girl scout troops participated in the ceremony.
NS CONSIDERS JOINING LEDGE LIGHT
The town of North Stonington will hold a public hearing tonight in the New Town Hall Meeting Room at 7 o’clock on potentially joining Ledge Light Health District. The town currently has a part-time municipal health district. A town meeting on the topic has been scheduled for Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. at North Stonington Elementary School in the multipurpose room.
MYSTERY SOLVED
Over the weekend, a cat-themed sculpture was placed in front of the New London Judicial District Courthouse. Another sculpture also appeared over the weekend in Williams Park and people began to suspect that Bill Bendig was behind the installations. Bendig has been working with the city to place sculptures on public properties, and art work has been approved for several city parks. Bendig fessed up but said he was told by a state official that he would have to remove the cat piece from courthouse property. Bendig plans to return to the courthouse today and remove the sculpture, if he can find someone to help him.
FACELIFT FOR ARTS CENTER
After engineers found cracks in the bricks and around the corbels that serve as support for The Norwich Arts Center, the downtown building will undergo a face lift. A major concern was water would seep into the existing cracks and cause more damage over the winter. The work is expected to take three weeks but the center will be open on its regular hours and all scheduled events will take place. Work was scheduled to start yesterday.
WORKER FALLS THROUGH ROOF
Plainfield authorities say a worker was transported to William Backus Hospital with a serious head injury around 4:30 Monday afternoon after a roof gave way under him at the former Staples warehouse on Moosup Pond Road. The man fell about 22 feet onto a concrete slab, while on a job at the site. The victim was identified as Eusebio Ortiz of New Jersey. His condition was not released.
