WILLI FIRE UNDER CONTROL
WILLIMANTIC, Conn. (AP) – A day after a massive fire broke out at a Connecticut waste and recycling plant, the blaze has been declared under control. Windham Fire Chief Marc Scrivner says the fire that destroyed a 100,000 square foot building at the Willimantic Waste Paper Company continued to smolder Monday, but is not expected to grow. Local public schools and Eastern Connecticut State University were closed on Monday because of the smoke. The fire broke out just after 10 a.m. Sunday with a plume that could be seen on local weather radar. About 200 firefighters from 14 fire companies battled the flames at the fire’s peak. Nobody was injured. Scrivner says one firefighter and a company employee were treated for exhaustion. The cause of the fire is being investigated. Route 32 in the area has been re-opened to traffic.
POLICE OFFICER CHARGED
A New London police officer has been charged with hitting a man in the face while he was in the back of a cruiser being handcuffed. 50-year old Deanna Nott is accused by the Chief State’s Attorney with one count of third-degree assault. The warrant affidavit says Nott struck Adonis Smith with her fist in June, 2016, after Smith was arrested for beating up another man on Grand Street. Officer Nott is out on a written promise to appear in court this Thursday. She was suspended from the police force for seven days last month.
FATAL OVERDOSE IN NL
Police say an unresponsive male found this morning at the Thames River apartments in New London suffered a fatal drug overdose. Emergency responders located the victim in a stairway at around 9:50 AM, where they administered the opioid antidote Narcan. He was then taken to Lawrence and Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead. The victim’s identity hasn’t been released. Police are investigating. Anyone with information is asked to contact police detectives at 860-447-1481.
TOLLS MAY BE RETURNING
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – State lawmakers are pitching the idea of introducing electronic tolls on Connecticut’s interstate highways. Neighboring states all have tolls and lawmakers who spoke at a news conference Monday said they are needed locally to help pay for transportation projects. Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has stepped up warnings about the looming insolvency of the state’s main transportation fund. Democratic state Rep. Tony Guerrera, House chair of the Transportation Committee, said tolls would help to address the poor state of many roads and bridges. Tolls were eliminated in Connecticut following a crash in Stratford that killed seven people in 1983.
NEW LEADER AT QUINNIPIAC
HAMDEN, Conn. (AP) – A dean from UCLA has been appointed the next president of Quinnipiac University in Hamden. Judy Olian, who currently serves as dean of UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, will become Quinnipiac’s first female president when she takes over from John Lahey, who will retire at the end of June. Lahey has led the school since 1987 as it grew from a small college into a university of nearly 10,000 students on three campuses. Olian’s appointment was announced Monday by William Weldon, the chairman of the private school’s Board of Trustees, nine months after it launched a nationwide search. In addition to her academic duties directing UCLA’s graduate business school, Olien also has written a weekly syndicated newspaper column and hosted a monthly television show on current topics in business.
FATAL STABBING IN WESTERLY
WESTERLY, R.I. (AP) – One man is dead and another man is facing a murder charge after a weekend stabbing in Westerly. Authorities say 50-year-old Nelson Dearce is expected to be arraigned Monday. Police responded to Dearce’s home at about 11 p.m. Saturday and found a man suffering from what appeared to be multiple stab wounds. The victim was taken to Westerly Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Dearce was also treated at the hospital for minor injuries before being released to police. The victim’s name has not been released. Police Chief Richard Silva says the men knew each other and the incident is not considered to be random. It could not immediately be determined of Dearce had a lawyer.
NO NUKE ATTACK PLAN IN RI
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – Rhode Island officials say they do not have specific planning or training in place for the prospect of a nuclear missile attack. The director of the state’s Emergency Management Agency, Peter Gaynor, tells The Providence Journal a nuclear attack is still too unlikely for the state. The 21 hazards the agency has identified as priorities include tropical storms, technological failures and terrorism. In the event of a nuclear attack, Rhode Island residents would receive messages to shelter in place from emergency alert systems. Gaynor says the agency has safeguards in place to prevent a false alarm similar to the one sent to residents in Hawaii. Messages from the state’s emergency ops center would instruct residents to close their windows and listen for evacuation routes and temporary shelters.
