The Week That Was, That Week That Will Be

1. The Week That Was: Well, this week was dedicated largely to Irene coverage, and I’m sure few of you are interested in revisiting the updates on that, as they are no longer timely or useful. Instead, we’ll focus on what was not Irene-related, which wasn’t much.

First, and most interestingly, there is a in Waterford Commons: Books-A-Million, a chain bookstore. Patch will look into the opening date, as well as if the store will retain the staff from Borders.

Also, Jerome Belair dressed in conductors hat and wielded a bell to welcome . The first day of school is Tuesday, and Patch will have both a school-by-school preview of what’s new this year and cute pictures of children in their first day of school clothes.

Also, houses continued to , and food guru Michael Costanza found in the region. Also, on Sunday there was a rumor of a tropical storm blowing in. Despite having just , it meant massive outages for . Yet despite the storm, some about Waterford would be , the with an open wallet and we even got the chance to .

2. This Week In Weather: It could be a wet week. Today should be cloudy, with a high of 78. Then, there is a chance of rain and thunderstorms Monday through Friday before finally clearing up on Saturday. Highs for the week hover in the low to mid-70s.

*All information used in this report is from the National Weather Service.

3. This Week In Schools: The first day of school is Tuesday for all Waterford Public Schools. As mentioned, there will be both a school-by-school preview Tuesday morning and photos later.

Also, the school building committee meets Tuesday night to again continue to add work to the high school project as part of the new “.” The biggest item on the agenda is a $44,000 bid to move a manhole cover that wound up landing right in the middle of the expanded track. The agenda does not note who has to pay, the architect, JCJ Architecture, or the town.

The town would have to pay if the drain was not on the drawings it gave to JCJ. JCJ would have to pay if it was on the drawings and the company forgot about it. The manhole cover has since been buried over and was underneath the old bleachers.

4. This Week In Government: A very slow week in town government. The board of selectmen meet, but nothing noteworthy is on the agenda.

The conservation commission meets, and again the news might be no news. Ten months since it , Kobyluck has not resubmitted anything for a quarry at 28 Industrial Drive. And while this might take some time, possibly until next summer, has yet to submit any plans for Seaside. Patch remains very curious what the Farmington developer plans to do with the historic property.

5. This week in events: First off, Sunday is the tenth anniversary of 9/11, which for me at least, remains the most dramatic news event of my lifetime.

One of Waterford’s sons, James Greenleaf Jr., was killed in the attacks, as he was in the Twin Towers. Greenleaf’s friends and family continue to honor his legacy, stronger now than ever, with the James Greenleaf Jr. Memorial Scholarship Fund. The town also has an unrelated event at Harkness Park to remember  the victims of the attack.

Also Sunday, a ceremony will be held at Congregation Beth El in New London in partnership with Waterford’s Temple Emanu-El. While 9/11 was obviously terrible for everybody, in many ways the attacks are particularly personal to Jewish people, as Al-Qaeda has said publicly many times it wishes death to every Jew.

Also, on the lighter side, for those who want a complete list of family-centered events, check Patch every Wednesday at 2 p.m. for the week planner, and for those adults who are looking for something fun this weekend, check every Thursday at 2 p.m. for that planner. Both are excellent.

Quote of the Day

“Live out you imagination, not your history.”

-Stephen Covey

Trivia of the Day

Who wrote “Walden”?

Friday’s Answer: We actually had to correct what we originally though the answer was to this one. Junrey Balawig of the Philippines, who officially broke the record when he turned 18 in January (you have to be at least 18 to qualify), is just 23.6 inches tall. And he is adorable.