PUERTO RICANS COMING
Connecticut is preparing for an influx of Puerto Rican evacuees coming to live here from the hurricane-ravaged island, which faces a long rebuilding process. Gov. Dannel Malloy has said that he easily sees the state’s Puerto Rican population expanding, possibly doubling in the coming weeks and months. Many areas of the island are still without power. Malloy says state agencies and local nonprofits are working so that proper resources are in place to help any new arrivals.
PRESTON VOTE TOMORROW
Preston voters will go to the polls Tuesday to vote whether to approve or reject $3.84 million in proposed capital spending items at a referendum. Voting will take place at Town Hall between noon and 8 p.m. Residents have been told capital spending would be almost evenly spread between town and education projects.
GET GLIMPSE OF UNCAS LEAP
The Uncas Leap Steering Committee will present an overview of a draft plan to create the Uncas Leap Heritage Park in Norwich. The 6:30 public meeting tomorrow night in Slater Auditorium at Norwich Free Academy allows residents to provide input about the park. The plans were put together from numerous comments and small-group work sessions. The proposed master plan incorporates key popular elements sought by residents, while rejecting other proposals that either were deemed too costly or incompatible with the scenic, rustic setting. The park would be located on property owned by the city on Yantic Street on the north bank of the Yantic River.
SUNDAY SERVICES INTERUPTED
Police arrested a Voluntown man Sunday after they say he walked through the front doors of the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses on Route 184, in North Stonington, around 11:30 a.m. carrying wire cutters, interrupted a service and attempted to cut the wires on the sound system. Several members of the church stopped him and called police. Witnesses say Paul Johnson was intoxicated, “belligerent, threatening and caused alarm to the members in attendance.” Johnson was charged with first-degree criminal trespass, breach of peace and threatening. No injuries were reported. Johnson was taken to the William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich.
STONINGTON HIGH RE-ACCREDITED
Stonington High school has been approved for re-acreditation. The New England Association of Schools and Colleges issued a 105-page report that commends the school for the things it is doing well while recommending improvements in other areas. The decision follows an 18-month process that involved an extensive self-study and a four-day visit to the school in March by a 16-member NEASC team that sat in on classes, examined student work, met with school board members and interviewed teachers, administrators, students and residents. The re-accreditation process takes place every 10 years.