LANTERN HILL RESCUE
A hiker on Lantern Hill in North Stonington is believed to have suffered a broken ankle, after having fallen on the snow-covered terrain at around 11:15 this morning. Rescue officials had to use a basket and a UTV to rescue the male, who was in his 50’s. He’s in stable condition. Crews from North Stonington, Ledyard, and the Mashantucket-Pequot reservation handled the rescue operation, which took about two hours.
MORE METHADONE AT YORK
Connecticut Corrections officials are looking to expand methadone treatment programs at four of their facilities, including the York Women’s prison in Niantic. Spokesman, Doctor Kathleen Maurer, says the expansion is expected to get licensed at York within the next couple of weeks. Currently, only pregnant women, or those who are expected to be in jail for a short period of time receive treatment. Methadone is an opioid which helps those on drugs go through withdrawal. Recent studies show inmates receiving such treatment are less likely to have disciplinary problems while in prison, and also less likely to be re-arrested upon release. Methadone expansion is also being planned at prisons in Hartford, New Haven , and Bridgeport.
MORE CASINO WRANGLING
MGM resorts is offering its legal opinion regarding a lawsuit filed by the state of Connecticut and the Mashantucket-Pequot and Mohegan Tribes against the Department of the Interior. The two parties claim the Interior Department has to act on proposed gaming amendments that could eventually lead to the construction of a jointly-run tribal casino in East Windsor, aimed at blunting the impact of an MGM casino to open this Fall in Springfield, Massachusetts. MGM is siding with the Interior Department’s claim that it s doesn’t have to act on the amendments because the Mashantuckets never signed a gaming compact with the state. MGM is not a party to the lawsuit.
ANOTHER PEDIATRIC FLU DEATH IN CT
NORWALK, Conn. (AP) – A 6-year-old Norwalk girl has died of complications from the flu. The principal of Columbus Magnet School says Emma Splan, a first grader, died over the weekend. Principal Medard Thomas says counselors will be available at the school when it reopens Tuesday. A friend of the family says the little girl had her flu shot, and was brought to the doctor right away, but that her condition deteriorated quickly over the weekend. She remembered Splan as always looking out for others. Health officials said Thursday that 77 people have died related to flu this season, the highest number in five years. Splan is thought to be the second child to die of flu-related illness in Connecticut this season.
ANTI-DOMESTIC VIOLENCE MEETING PLANNED
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – The Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence is hoping to work with Connecticut employers to enact workplace policies that support victims of domestic violence. Karen Jarmoc, the group’s CEO, says plans are underway to convene a meeting this spring with companies to have a conversation “around culture and workplace policy.” She says some employers already have model policies, which she hopes will be replicated. She points to Bank of America, which provides employees experiencing abuse with counseling, paid sick days and an employee relief fund. Jarmoc says work may be the only place where a domestic abuse victim feels safe and employers have the opportunity to create policies to help those workers. Nearly 40,000 individuals seek help from one of Connecticut’s 18 domestic violence organizations annually.
RI SENATOR ACCUSED OF EXTORTING SEX FROM PAGE
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – An unsealed grand jury indictment accuses a Republican state senator of extorting sex from a page in the Rhode Island Senate page program. The indictment was unsealed Monday as Senate Minority Whip Nicholas Kettle was arraigned on two counts of extortion in Providence Superior Court. Kettle pleaded not guilty. Kettle, of Coventry, was indicted last week. State police separately charged him with video voyeurism for allegedly sending pictures of his ex-girlfriend’s “private parts.”
The indictment says Kettle coerced a male page into sex on two occasions in 2011. Democratic Senate President Dominick Ruggerio says he is horrified and disgusted. He says if Kettle won’t resign, he will pursue Kettle’s expulsion. He says he has asked legal counsel to review the page program, and says his thoughts are with the victims.
TEEN ARRESTED FOR GUN POST
TRUMBULL, Conn. (AP) – A 13-year-old Connecticut boy has been arrested after police say he posted a photo of himself holding a handgun in a group text on social media. Trumbull Police announced the arrest Sunday, a day after he made the posting. They say a parent of one of the other students alerted them to the post after they saw it on their child’s cell phone. Police say they determined there was no threat to the public. They say it turns out he was holding a BB gun and had cropped out the gun’s red tip when he took the picture. The boy, who was not identified by police, was charged with disorderly conduct and was scheduled to appear in court March 3.
MONTVILLE DOG PARK GETTING READY
Montville’s dog park is expected to be open before the summer hits. Project organizer Chris Lawton says the site near the Camp Oakdale tennis courts on Route 163 has been cleared away and fenced-in, and grass seed has been spread. Signage and benches will be installed. The one-acre park has been in the planning stages for more than 10 years, with almost 15-thousand dollars raised. No taxpayer money was used for the park, although municipal workers did donate their time. The town council will hold hearings on proposed ordinance changes that would allow dogs to roam free within the park. The first hearing is March 12th at 6:30 pm at Town Hall.
