WEDNESDAY MORNING UPDATE

ADJUSTING TO THE HEAT

Schools are adjusting athletic practice schedules, adjusting the uniform policy and adding cooling stations due to the extreme heat and humidity. Norwich Free Academy canceled all practices and games on Tuesday when temperatures on the artificial turf were close to 140 degrees. The air quality and Heat Index created an unsafe environment for any level of physical exertion. Conditions will be monitored again today. In Norwich, Superintendent Abby Dolliver said students will stay indoors for recess and be rotated through cooler sections of buildings, and that staff will ensure they stay hydrated. Superintendent Roy Seitsinger in Preston said students and staff are being told to wear light-weight clothing and keep hydrated. Montville’s acting Superintendent Laurie Pallin said recess is likely to be held indoors today.

REBATES OFFERED FOR ELECTRIC CARS

Customers who purchase electric vehicles and charging stations starting in mid-September, will be eligible for a rebate program offered by Norwich Public Utilities. The rebate program will launch at a Ride & Drive event Sept. 15th at the Dodd Stadium. Event organizers said electric vehicles will be available to test drive or ride at the festival. The rebate program will be offered to the buyer of a brand new plug-in hybrid electric – gasoline powered vehicle, an all-electric-powered vehicle and for a used plug-in hybrid, or an all-electric used vehicle, model year 2016 or better. Rebates are also being offered for the home charging stations.

MONTVILLE NEEDS BUS DRIVERS

With a bus driver short­age im­pact­ing the state and hit­ting the town of Montville hard the last cou­ple of years, the dis­trict has faced de­layed routes, forc­ing par­ents to “rush to work.” To help alleviate the short­age,  the dis­trict of­fered $1,000 sign­ing bonuses for driv­ers who main­tain clean records and meet at­ten­dance ex­pec­ta­tions. The Board of Ed­u­ca­tion added an­other in­cen­tive ear­lier this month.  Driv­ers who care for a child or grand­child can now re­quest per­mis­sion for the child to ride the bus dur­ing nor­mal route hours if space is avail­able.

DEBATE DETAILS RELEASED

“The Day” and WTNH will sponsor a gubernatorial debate at the Garde Arts Center in New London at 7 p.m. Sept. 12th between candidates Bob Stefanowski and Ned Lamont. This will be the first face-to-face meeting between Lamont, a Democrat, and Stefanowski, a Republican.  The debate will be televised live on WCTX MyTV9, and streamed live on theday.com . Viewers will be able to submit questions prior to the debate at wtnh.com . Tickets for the debate will be available through each candidate’s respective party.

GRAIN BUILDING COMES DOWN

Three weeks ago, the Stonington Board of Select­men dis­cussed a plan to knock down the re­main­der of the blighted Camp­bell Grain build­ing in down­town Paw­catuck and then cover the cost by plac­ing a $40,000 lien on the prop­erty, owned by Frank DeCiantis of Vir­ginia. But be­fore select­men had a chance to vote on the plan, DeCiantis started work last week to tear down the re­main­ing por­tion of the build­ing and completed it yesterday. Select­man John Prue and other town of­fi­cials hope that re­mov­ing the build­ing will make the par­cel more at­trac­tive to a devel­oper and that the site can be­come part of the re­vi­tal­iza­tion of down­town Paw­catuck.

NL MAY HELP B-PORT

The New London Housing Authority is considering an arrangement to provide administrative services to the Bridgeport Housing Authority’s Section 8 voucher program. Discussions have been ongoing with representatives from Bridgeport and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Housing Authority Board of Commissioners Chairwoman Betsy Gibson said she expects there would be a financial benefit for the New London Housing Authority but said a dollar figure has not been discussed. Two closed-door meetings have been held this month but so far have not led to a consensus or a vote or discussion of the matter in a public meeting. Another meeting is planned with HUD this week.

ST.B RENOVATIONS WARMLY RECEIVED

The Saint Bernard School ren­o­va­tions have stu­dents and par­ents excited.   The over­haul was part of an on­go­ing $3 mil­lion fundrais­ing cam­paign. It was started by Mau­reen Dono­hue Hen­dricks, a 1972 graduate. Over the summer workers re­painted and in­stalled new car­pet, LED light­ing and glass en­try­ways in the main office. Stu­dents re­turn­ing to classes on Tues­day found a cafe­te­ria with new floor­ing and freshly painted yel­low and light-green walls. This year’s up­grades were more no­tice­able be­cause they in­volved the li­brary, me­dia cen­ter, cafe­te­ria and main of­fice, ar­eas stu­dents and staff visit daily.