Entering The New Waterford High, On Horseback; The Requiem of Chance

This was a busy week of news this week in Waterford, particularly for police news. But it began with the excitement associated with 60 years of waiting and $67 million of commitment.

On Monday, Waterford High School students spent their first day in the new addition of the high school, which is part of a $67 million renovation to the property. The school went all out for the event, highlighted by a real-life lancer (although admittedly, as several commenters pointed out, he had no lance) leading the students into their new school.

Then, there was the news of two different deaths. On Tuesday, Chance, a dog who had so much mange on his body he looked burnt, died. Chance was from Groton, but a Waterford woman led the charge to save him. Unfortunately, it was unsuccessful.

Also this week, it was revealed that Christopher Gribble, 40, of Westerly, RI, killed himself last month. Gribble allegedly took voyeuristic photos of people in the changing rooms of the Crystal Mall, which he was arrested for in October. He was expected to appear in court this week, but the state’s attorney said he had killed himself last month.

On Thursday, we looked into the arrests of William Stanley III, a 28-year-old Danbury man who has been charged with several burglaries by Waterford police. Stanley was charged last month with burglary, and charges have continued since after police have linked him to other crimes. Stanley was originally arrested after police alleged he was in the middle of burglarizing a Quaker Hill mechanic shop when they saw him and he took off, only to be captured on Boston Post Road.

Also this week, Waterford Police announced they will be holding a press conference on Tuesday to give an update on the investigation into the homicide of Kyle Seidel. Seidel, 34, was murdered in Waterford at the end of December, his body found in the parking lot of Waterford's Family Bowl. Seidel was shot in the neck, police said. 

So far, police have not yet arrested anybody involved in the incident. Police said Seidel's wife, Kate Seidel, will be at the Tuesday press conference. Kyle and Kate Seidel are the parents of three young children.  

In other news, Clark Lane Middle School students got a powerful lesson on the third world, and the school’s honor roll was released, a new report showed that 8.1 percent of Waterford is unemployed, there was controversy on the Waterford Board of Finance and a popular Waterford teacher died at age 83. Oh, and we almost forgot about this bill that would allow people to kill themselves, and how it was scrapped by the state.