NORWICH MELEE
Four adults and a teenager are facing charges after Norwich police say they turned on a woman and attacked her, then smashed her car windows with an 18-month-old child in the back seat. It happened after the woman intervened as the men were attacking someone in the middle of Boswell Avenue early Monday morning. The child was not injured. Police said the man the group had been attacking ran away and has not been identified.
MORE TROUBLE
A 43-year-old Lisbon man has been charged with new crimes, including violation of probation, as a result of a drunken-driving crash in Durham a year ago. Jason MacLean recently served a 10-year manslaughter sentence for dragging a woman to her death with his car in downtown Norwich in 2002. The state claims MacLean violated the conditions of his probation by using alcohol or drugs, accruing several traffic violations, and failing to complete community service.
PATH ACADEMY
Following a state investigation, the Path Academy alternative high school in Windham has surrendered its state charter voluntarily. The school was cited for failing to provide adequate records of 128 students in the past two academy years. Eight Norwich students attended classes at the unauthorized Norwich satellite location at the Our Piece of the Pie facility on Otrobando Avenue. Seven of those Norwich students were part-time students, which is a violation of the charter. The state had paid $1.5 million dollars in charter tuition payments — $11,000 per student in each year.
GROTON SAVINGS
An effort to reduce Groton greenhouse gas emissions by 20-percent in two years has received a boost. It’s all because of a decision to convert around 1,500 of the town-owned streetlights to LED lights. Since switching to LED streetlights 17 months ago, Groton has seen a 67-percent reduction in energy use and greenhouse gas emissions related to its streetlights. Officials say it amounts to a savings of about $100,000 a year.
