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A Mad Scientist, Police Dogs at Waterford High and Pardoned Witches

A look at the week that was.

It was another busy week of news in Waterford, with a wide variety of stories.

It began with our profile of the Patch-proclaimed “mad scientist of Waterford,” Derek Shepard, a man whose Boston Post Road home is the draw of the neighborhood every Halloween and Christmas. Shepard decorates his house for both holidays with his own creative theme, with it always featuring a different Volkswagen as the centerpiece.

Then, there was a bunch of news about the alleged Crystal Mall peeping Tom. On Monday, Rhode Island’s Christopher Gribble was arrested for voyeurism after allegedly spying on people while they changed at the Crystal Mall. And on Saturday we had the full story on Gribble, with him allegedly admitting to police that he covertly takes pictures of approximately three people a month and then downloads the photos to his computer.

The two most discussed stories of the week both ran Friday. The first was about the first-ever planned although unannounced a new method approved by the Board of Education to discourage students from bringing in drugs to school. Waterford Patch users had mixed feelings about it, with some saying it was a good deterrent and others saying it was turning the town into a police state.

The second talker that day was about what the Waterford High School signs should look like. Unlike the previous story, Waterford Patch users seemed unified, agreeing they preferred the blue lettering with the Waterford on top and High School on bottom.

On Thursday, we had a story about the Utility Commission saying it would no longer need a 6.28 percent sewer rate increase for this year. That came jut two weeks after the sewer commission tried to get a rate increase approved by the Waterford Representative Town Meeting.

In other news, East Lyme sent a letter complaining about Waterford’s nuclear waste, congressional candidate Paul Formica campaigned through Waterford, we had a photo tour of Waterford High School’s new addition and activists are looking for Connecticut to pardon witches. And most importantly, if you didn’t see this video yet and vote for it, do both. It is great.

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Just a short thought to get the word out quickly about anything in your neighborhood.
Share something with your neighbors. Write a new post... What's up? Make an announcement, speak your mind, or sell something
Ivy's Simply Homemade
nascarblue May 17, 2013 at 08:05 am
happy happy anniversary, i love your food, you can tell when a business takes pride in what they do.Read More wishing you many many more years, i will definatly be back, along with my friends, we love your food.
Naty Bush May 18, 2013 at 11:44 am
Where will the meeting take place? I might be able to go to say why it shouldn't be demolished.
Kate May 15, 2013 at 06:36 pm
There are two state agencies that are involved. Both of them are historical preservation societies,Read More and this is what they do, help communities find viable purposes for historic buildings. While the building has been treated as more or less an inconvenience for the town, it is important to remember it is an historic site. It matters. Every town, every city, must look carefully at it's historic buildings and sites with an eye toward preservation, or, you end up with a community full of houses and walmarts. Cohanzie is a unique building for it's architectural style, for it's historic quarry site, and it's importance as a community hub, not to mention the thousands of citizens that passed through. An old building like Cohanzie is built to last. We won't ever see buildings built like that again. We can always build another Walmart. You raise a good question. Maybe once we hear about what could be done with the building, we need a town referendum to find out how the people of Waterford want to proceed. Many historic buildings are saved at the last minute by people who decide history matters. Will Waterford do the same. I don't know the answer.
Maggie L. May 15, 2013 at 01:56 pm
Do you have any proposals for the use of the building? If the town were to keep the building it mostRead More likely will have to be staffed. Do you believe that most town residents would be willing to see an increase in the town budget to allow for additional staff? I'm just tossing out questions because I haven't heard any concrete proposals for the use of the building
Liz May 12, 2013 at 09:06 pm
Mr. Steiner wants to build 72 three story homes on 32 acres in addition to the 60 condos in the twoRead More large buildings. That is more than two individual units per acre or if you include the 60 condos - that is MORE than 4 units per acre! The area around the property for new building is zoned 3 acres per unit. The average of currently built housing abutting the property is about one acre per unit. That is not in keeping with the neighborhood character.
Daniella Ruiz May 12, 2013 at 05:36 pm
Mr Steiner may be the last hope for this decrepit place. The neighbors need to move along, or buyRead More the place themselves. Change might help the stonewalling attitude that has become evident in nearly the entire town, revolving around exclusive entitled old farts with nothing better to do than remember their glory days of Seaside. Its gone, & it's not going to revert back to a pasture either. (too many complaints about that cow smell and so forth). My advice is to listen carefully and try to work something out, get over your own selfish grandious dreams of Pelham Manor style estates and do SOMETHING before it simply falls apart like Norwich Hospital, the countless thread/manufacturing mills, and every other historic building that has been left to rot.
Daniella Ruiz May 14, 2013 at 08:53 am
mary m>> common sense? heee hee. in this day and age? lawyers have made every attempt toRead More eradicate that concept from our every life activity. write it into some law, that can be thence used as future gurantee of use of, by and for their own existence? it's like job security for that entire group, keep the general public at a disadvantage, unable to apply common sense (whats left of it they havent entombed in laws) and uneasy about acting on their own. John Y has the right attitude, heave the cra.pp on the peoples lawn, and hope it doesn't lay there for days as well!
John Yannacci, Sr. May 13, 2013 at 10:09 am
Mary May, I don't know the legality of posting signs on telephone poles. But, take a ride aroundRead More Waterford on Saturday mornings and you'll see signs on anything that is verticle. Take a ride around the same neighborhoods on Wednesday and half the signs will still be there. I wonder if the folks who have had the same yard sale sign at the corner of Great Neck and Rope Ferry Rds. for two and a half weeks wonder why cars are still stopping at their house every Saturday morning.
Mary May May 13, 2013 at 09:53 am
Um I believe it is ILLEGAl to post ANY sign on a telephone pole ANYWAY but free standing signsRead More should be removed after sale is over ! Really a state law just COMMON SENSE we have lost along the way !