POTENTIAL MIDDLE SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION DISCUSSED
Some 40 people turn out tonight at the Pawcatuck Middle School to hear about the future of the building. Stonington education officials are investigating whether the school should be closed, with all of the town’s sixth, seventh, and eighth graders going to the Mystic Middle School. Superintendent Van Riley says student enrollment continues to shrink, and there doesn’t seem to be any change in that trend for the foreseeable future. He says having only one middle school would provide more opportunities for all students, plus offer some cost savings. Riley says no teaching positions would be cut, but there would be some reductions in other areas. Another public forum on the consolidation proposal occurs tomorrow night at 6 at the Mystic Middle School. No final decision by the school board is expected until December.
TRIP LEADER INTRODUCED
The leader of a new state collaborative designed to help foster economic opportunities in southeastern Connecticut has officially begun his new job. David McBride is the executive director of Thames River Innovation Place, better known as TRIP. McBride says he’s looking forward to implementing programs that create jobs and grow the local economy. He is a Saint Bernard graduate who served as director of finance for the Mohegan Tribe for years. He was a major player in the development of the tribe’s non-gaming diversification efforts. McBride was introduced during a press conference today at Thames River Greenery in New London.
STATE POLICE HONORS
FROM COLLARING DANGEROUS SUSPECTS TO PAINSTAKING INVESTIGATIONS, STATE POLICE HANDED OUT AWARDS TO SOME 60 TROOPERS, LOCAL POLICE OFFICERS, FIREFIGHTERS, AND CIVILIANS AT THEIR TRAINING ACADEMY IN MERIDEN TODAY. TROOPER KAYLA MICHONSKI WAS HONORED WITH A “MEDAL FOR OUTSTANDING SERVICE” FOR COMING TO THE AID OF A FOUR-YEAR-OLD BOY WHO HAD WITNESSED HIS FATHER’S KILLING TWO YEARS AGO IN ANDOVER. ALSO HONORED AT THE WEDNESDAY CEREMONY WERE TWO STATE POLICEMEN FROM MONTVILLE’S TROOP E: JOSHUA CHIVERS AND DAVID TRETTER, AS WELL AS THE EASTERN DISTRICT MAJOR CRIME SQUAD.
STATE HOSPITAL FIRE
A building on the old State Hospital property in Norwich collapsed today, the result of a fire which started around 9 this morning. The structure was just off Laurel Hill Avenue in a thicket. It appears the blaze started on the second floor. Fire authorities say it took them about a half hour to knock down most of the flames. The cause of the fire is not yet known.
NEWTOWN GROUP REMEMBERS LAS VEGAS VICTIMS
NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) – An advocacy group formed after the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School has held a vigil for the Las Vegas mass shooting victims outside the National Shooting Sports Foundation in Connecticut. The Newtown Action Alliance on Wednesday urged the community to call on lawmakers to take action on gun control. The 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook in Newtown left six adults and 20 children dead. The group previously held a vigil and rally outside the gun association’s headquarters after the mass shooting at an Orlando gay nightclub. Fifty-nine people were killed and more than 500 injured during the shooting at a country music festival in Las Vegas Sunday. Several remain hospitalized. The National Shooting Sports Foundation tells WFSB-TV “thoughts and prayers” are with the victims of the Sunday shooting.
SUPREME COURT NOMINEES NAMED
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has nominated two judges to serve on the state Supreme Court. The Democratic governor announced Wednesday that his picks were Raheem Mullins, of Cromwell, and Maria Araujo Kahn, of Cheshire. They currently serve on the state Appellate Court and must be confirmed by the legislature. Court system officials said they believe the 39-year-old Mullins is the youngest person ever nominated to the Supreme Court, beating former Justice Joette Katz by about two weeks. Katz served on the court from 1992 to 2011 and is now commissioner of the Department of Children and Families. Mullins would replace Justice Dennis Eveleigh, who reached the mandatory retirement age of 70 on Monday. The 53-year-old Kahn would succeed Justice Carmen Espinosa, who took senior judge status in July.
FLY THE PATRIOTS WAY
WARWICK, R.I. (AP) – The New England Patriots are celebrating the inaugural flight of their very own Boeing 767. The team was at T.F. Green Airport in Rhode Island on Wednesday before taking their customized aircraft to Florida, where they play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday. The plane is painted with the team’s logo amid red-white-and-blue colors. It also has the team’s five Lombardi trophies painted on the tail. In a video posted online , Gillette Stadium Chief Operating Officer Jim Nolan explains the team can now bring all its people and equipment on every trip. He says they’ve installed the widest and largest seats the plane can handle and added five inches of legroom beyond a typical first-class seat. The team has two of the planes and will use one as a backup.
