ARGUMENTS CONCLUDE ON BK PROJECT
It’s now up to the Commission on the City Plan to decide whether a Burger King restaurant will be built in Norwichtown. The panel last night heard from attorneys representing the developer, and the city’s historical society, which is opposing the Town Street construction, as it would be next to the Norwichtown Colonial Cemetery. Bill Sweeney says there’s no indication there are any remains on the proposed Burger King site, however he says the developer will make sure of that. Sweeney says site work will require no blasting or topography changes, and the 20-foot buffer between the back of the building and the cemetery would include a line of evergreens, pending city approval. The historical society’s legal representative, Mark Kepple, believes some site changes could make the buffer bigger. The Commission is deciding whether a drive-through window can be allowed on the property, the only part of the project that needs city approval. A decision is expected October 16th.
HERBST HIRED BY GUN RANGE OPPONENTS
The Friends of Pachaug Forest, trying to stop a gun range from being built in Griswold, has hired a former gubernatorial candidate to help in the fight. The group announced last night that they’ve hired Cohen and Wolf . The lead attorney will be Tim Herbst, who lost the Republican gubernatorial primary this summer. Group chairperson Pam Patalano says Herbst will be looking specifically at the purchase and sale agreement as well as the official process that the state has said they have followed to the letter, which Friends of Pachaug Forest are questioning.
STONINGTON LOSES AGAIN
Stonington loses again in court on the decision to suspend a highway supervisor. A judge has rejected the town’s appeal of an arbitrator’s decision that overturned a five day suspension for Louis DiCesare. He was not allowed union representation at his hearing. The town claimed DiCesare had been insubordinate and made expensive mistakes on some projects. The town argued the arbitrator did not take other matters into consideration when reversing the suspension.
GOLD STAR FAMILIES HONORED
An event yesterday at the submarine base in Groton honored 28 Gold Star families. Those are families who lost loved ones during active military duty. Similar ceremonies were held at Navy bases across the country yesterday. All 28 names were read aloud.
