FULL STEAM AHEAD
Plans are moving ahead for Norwich’s two newest magnet schools. Prinicipals from the Kelly Middle School and the Teachers Memorial Sixth Grade Academy updated the city’s school board last night on the plan to have both schools convert to magnet school curiculums by next September. Budgets have been finalized for both facilities, and now numerous meetings are planned regarding curiculum, staffing, and student recruitment. Superintendent Abby Dolliver says existing staff are now determining where they’ll fit in in the new arrangement. Both magnets will be open to only Norwich students in grades six through eight, with the conversion being funded by federal grants. A curiculum night explaining current and new options for Teachers Memorial students and their parents will be held tonight at 6 at the school, preceded by an unveiling of the school’s refurbished planetarium. A curiculum night at the Kelly School occurs tomorrow night at 6. The Kelly Magnet School will emphasize science, technology, and the arts, while Teachers will focus on global studies.
FATAL WRECK LEADS TO PLEA
A Swansea, Massachusetts man will be sentenced Jan. 23rd to up to nine months in prison followed by three years of probation after pleading guilty Tuesday in New London Superior Court to three counts of negligent homicide and reckless driving. Gerard Dube was the driver of a tractor-trailer involved in an October 2014 highway crash in Waterford that killed a 26-year-old man and two young children. Lawsuits alleging negligence and carelessness filed against Dube for driving with inadequate or defective brakes, speeding, driving when his alertness was impaired by fatigue and not leaving enough distance between vehicles were settled confidentially.
SITE BOUGHT FOR SAIL
William Vogel, chairman of the USS Groton Sail Foundation board of directors, told the Groton Town Council on Tuesday that the foundation has signed a letter of intent to buy land on Bridge Street for a memorial to display the sail of the town’s namesake nuclear attack submarine. Several councilors said they were unhappy with how that decision was made. The town initially owned the land where the sail would be placed, but after the Gold Star Memorial Bridge was built, the town turned it over to a private owner. The foundation is now buying the land back. Mayor Bruce Flax said he understands why the decision was made and he supports the final plan. But he doesn’t like how it played out. Flax said the town gave the private owner the land for free and he’s now selling it back to the town. The asking price was not immediately available.
INVASION DIDN’T HAPPEN
Stonington Police say reports of a home invasion in Mystic in September never happened. Following an investigation, police obtained a warrant to arrest Nicole Fustini of 171 Hewitt Road and have charged her with falsely reporting an incident and second-degree making a false statement. Police did not release any other details about Fustini’s motivation for reporting the home invasion. She was released on a promise to appear in court Nov. 22nd.
