DOCUMENT RELEASED
Two days before the state Freedom of Information Commission was to act on a recommendation by its hearing officer that the town of Stonington be ordered to release a consultant’s report on town operations to “The Day,” Stonington First Selectman Rob Simmons released the document. The town had argued that the report was a “draft” and therefore exempt from disclosure. A review of the report revealed Simmons had removed some of the criticism of the town’s Highway Department as well as the naming of three “struggling” department heads before the town released the report in April. Simmons said that he made some deletions after he found some of the comments to be inaccurate, exceeded his instructions to the consultant, named specific employees or looked back instead of forward. The report concluded the town is well managed.
MILLSTONE TESTING TODAY
Staff at the Millstone Power Station in Waterford are training today at the southern end of Millstone Point between 10 a.m. and noon to practice the safe firing of emergency, hand-held and aerial signal flares. The flares are a safety requirement on board Dominion Energy vessels in boating emergencies and are required by the U.S. Coast Guard. Anyone with questions can contact Millstone spokesman Ken Holt at 860-440-0132
STOP THE FARM
A small group of Ledyard residents are hoping to intervene before a local developer breaks ground on a 29-lot housing subdivision this spring. A development company bought the former 54.5 acre Watrous Farm in 2009 and applied to the town’s planning and zoning commission to create the town’s first open-space subdivision . The town’s Planning and Zoning Commission approved the subdivision in 2016. Two neighbors of the property appealed the commission’s decision last spring but it was dismissed. Now a group called Friends of Watrous Farm are hoping for a last-minute buyer or conservation effort after they say their efforts to persuade local conservation groups and the federal government have not been successful.
MAN CHOKES WOMAN
East Lyme police say an unidentified woman told them a man pulled her to the ground by the wired earphones she was wearing then put his foot and hand around her neck. The assault left visible injuries including marks around her neck. Police say Keith Rochefort has been charged with third-degree assault, third-degree strangulation, unlawful restraint and violation of a protective order. He is being held on $2,500 cash bond and is scheduled to appear in New London Superior Court today.
FIGHT CAUSED CRASH
Stonington police are investigating a vehicle crash into a utility pole around 5 o’clock Tuesday afternoon on Lantern Hill Road. Police say it appears the couple in the van were having a domestic dispute. They escaped serious injury. Police say the woman grabbed the steering wheel, causing the car to go off the road, snapping the utility pole in half. Both occupants were transported to Lawrence and Memorial with only minor injuries. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
