Daily Five: Is TAG Good After School?

1. There is a chance of showers today, with thunderstorms possible in the afternoon and night, according to the National Weather Service. The high will reach 77 with a  low of 63, according to the service.

2. Friday, Patch spoke with Michael O’Farrell, public relations director of Lawrence & Memorial Hospital, about the in Waterford. O’Farrell said talks of anything other than a new cancer treatment center being put on the 100 acre property are merely “speculation,” and the hospital is very excited about the new 45,000-square-foot building.

“Is it an exciting time?” O’Farrell said. “Absolutely. There is absolutely a need for it. There has been a need for it. And we continue to address the need.”

Currently, the hospital has a cancer treatment center on site. This will replace that, although O’Farrell said it is “undetermined” what would fill the space in the New London location.

New London County has one of the highest cancer rates in Connecticut, and there is a huge need for a cancer treatment center. This Waterford location, at 475 Boston Post Road, was selected because of its close proximity to the highway, O’Farrell said (despite the address, the entrance will actually be on Parkway South, right near I-95).

O’Farrell did not provide a definite timeline for construction, although he said the groundbreaking would probably happen in the middle of 2012. As more information becomes available, L&M will let the public know, he said.

The cancer center will not have patients overnight. The project is part of L&M getting a “presence to the West,” O’Farrell said.

3. Well, people have not given up fighting for the TAG program at Clark Lane.

The TAG program to be cut this year, but a strong push by students in the program pushed school officials , hence the after-school plan. It costs the district nothing, while adding it to the school day would have a cost, according to school officials during the spring’s budget hearings.

In response, parent Suzanne Sturm attended the most recent board of education meeting and said this during public comment:

“I think that teaching TAG after school is not the right place for it. I know that many former TAG students will not participate due to conflicts with sports, drama, music, whatever. My daughter is juggling cross country and TAG and it’s a struggle also for the teacher (Robin Shine), because she is going to have kids absent here and there. And she’s bending over backward to accommodate that, and I applaud her for that.

“I think it’s going to be difficult because the content she is covering is complex. And I think it’s a difficult decision for our kids to make, the after-school programs that they attend are a necessary outlet, whether they are physical or musical or dramatic. So I’m here to ask you proactively for next year if you could reconsider the options for TAG, to get it back in the school day.”

She also argued for homogeneous grouping, saying it was the most fair for the teachers and the parents. Sturm has five children, three in Waterford public schools.

4. Some quick hits:

-Town Zoning Official Michael Glidden is slated to give a report today to the ad-hoc animal shelter facility study committee if the new shelter can fit at the current location, behind the police station

-Today's sports: Waterford High School junior varsity football, Waterford High School boy’s soccer.

5. On this date in 1960, the first televised presidential debate happens between candidates John Kennedy and Richard Nixon. In polls, people who listened to the debate on radio thought Nixon won. However, those who saw it on TV said the handsome Kennedy won.

Quote of the Day

“I’m undaunted in my quest to amuse myself by constantly changing my hair.”

-Hillary Clinton

Trivia of the Day

Who did George H.W. Bush accuse of being a “card-carrying member of the ACLU”?

Yesterday’s Answer: Phil Donahue wore a dress while hosting a show on transvestites in 1988.