Pay-To-Participate Debated Tonight

     1.    Snow is expected to continue this morning and turn to rain this afternoon, according to the National Weather Service. The rain should continue until midnight, the service said.   

     2.    There has been some confusion about the expected tax rate increase in the budget, with an inaccurate 6 percent figure being floated around. The board of finance received a budget with a 4.57 percent tax increase, and so far the board has not cut enough to change that percentage. That would increase the tax rate from 18.04 mills to 18.64 mills, Finance Director Rudie Beers said. To put it in perspective, the average homeowner with the average assessed home value in Waterford ($188,000, or 70 percent of the actual value of $268,000) would pay an additional $154 in taxes, according to Beers.

    3.    The board of education meets at 7 at town hall and will have to officially announce which teachers and other staff it is laying off as part of its . The board will also decide whether to install a pay-to-participate program in an effort to keep all sports and activities intact. And third, several parents are upset about the plan to hold high school graduation at Palmer Auditorium at Connecticut College, which has limited seating and allows graduates to bring only four people. Some parents were considering attending the meeting to encourage the board to hold the graduation outside.

    4.    All schools will close early as teachers have a professional development day. Before, teachers would have had additional days of work for professional development, but they gave those up this year after agreeing to two furlough days.

    5.    On this date in 1989, the Exxon Valdez oil tanker struck a reef and spilled at least 11 million gallons of oil into Prince William Sound in Alaska. Later it was found out that the captain and first mate were both recovering from a hangover, leaving the third mate to steer the boat.

Quote of the Day

“Politics is the gentle art of getting votes from the poor and campaign funds from the rich, by promising to protect each from the other.”

-Oscar Ameringer

Trivia of the Day

What is the longest-running television show?

Yesterday’s Answer: Robert DeNiro has died on screen more than any other American actor in major motion pictures, dying 15 times.