1. If cleanup day at the Dog Park was any indication, a lot of people in Waterford own dogs. But though dog owners were supposed to renew their dog licenses in June, as of last week, only 1,158 dogs in Waterford were street legal. “Compliance is less than a third,” says Officer Robert Yuchniuk, officer for Waterford and East Lyme.
Think it’s not important? If a dog gets loose and ends up at the pound, Yuchniuk uses dog tags to track down the owners. The eight bucks (make that $9 with the late fee) that it costs to get a dog license is considerably cheaper than the cost of an implanted tracking device!
A license is also a useful reminder of when your dog is due for that rabies shot, because you need proof that your dog is up-to-date with rabies shots before you can get a license. And as Yuchniuk notes, “There’s a lot of rabies around.”
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Some people think a dog license is just another excuse for the state to pick their pocket but, if you’re a dog lover, it might please you to know that the money collected from dog licenses is used to fund Connecticut’s animal population control program. It’s returned in the form of vouchers to help offset the cost of spaying, neutering, and vaccinating dogs that are put up for adoption.
Finally, if none this is persuades you to renew your dog license, consider this: the fine for not having one is $85.
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2. Now the kids have been off school for a few weeks, the hours between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. might be dragging. Just in the nick of time, is offering 360 Degree Art: Art from Nature, a one-week camp for third graders on up, designed to fill those hours with art projects made from materials found in nature. The camp, which includes two field trips, runs from July 11 to July 15 and costs $25.
3. The state’s high unemployment rates make it difficult for anyone to find a job these days, but it’s even tougher for teens with no work experience to land a summer job. That doesn’t mean they can’t find something useful to do, however.
Waterford Youth Services offers students grades 6 to 12 the chance to get valuable experience and to give something back too by volunteering for organizations such as the American Red Cross, the Special Olympics, the Pediatric Unit of L&M Hospital, Waterford Senior Services, and the Waterford/East Lyme Animal Shelter. The program runs every Tuesday from July 12 to August 9, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
To find out more about these and other programs offered by Youth Services, call (860) 444-5848.
4. It’s going to be hot today, with a high of 85 degrees and an overnight low of 71. The forecast is for partly cloudy skies that bring with them a 20 percent chance of precipitation and possibly isolated thunderstorms overnight.
5. On this day in 1804, Vice President Aaron Burr shot longtime political enemy, Federalist Alexander Hamilton, in a duel at Weehawken, New Jersey. And you thought politics today was tough!
Quote of the Day
“Oh, you hate your job? Why didn’t you say so? There’s a support group for that. It’s called Everybody and they meet at the bar.
--Drew Carey
Trivia of the Day
President Andrew Jackson was involved in many duels (some sources say more than 30!) but in 1806, he was wounded in one against Charles Dickinson. The bullet got stuck so close to Jackson’s heart that it could not be removed. Jackson carried it with him until his dying day. That day came much later for Jackson than it did for Dickinson, however, who was fatally shot by Jackson during the duel. Here’s the question: What was the reason for that particular duel?
Yesterday’s trivia answer: The young science teacher from Dayton, Tenn., whose teaching of evolution became the subject of the 1927 “Monkey Trial,” was John Thomas Scopes.
