The Week That Was, The Week That Will Be

    1. A slight alteration to the weekly five; as I’m going to start with a week in review. Here is a summary of the major events that happened in Waterford this week:

By far the most popular story, judging by reader comments, really wasn’t much of a story at all. It was a list of the . Nine of the 10 were police officers, which created a massive debate on the site. As of Saturday evening, there were 134 comments. That is the most comments on any story in the history of Waterford Patch.

In other news, the board of finance ended its budget hearings and presented the Representative Town Meeting with a spending plan that will increase taxes . Despite the increase, the school will have 15.5 fewer certified positions next year, and the general government will have seven fewer full-time employees. Simply put, largely because of astronomical rises in retirement and health insurance costs, taxpayers will pay more and get less.

On a much different note, a peculiar and ultimately uplifting story came out of Clark Lane Middle School when Principal Michael Lovetere opened a UPS box Tuesday afternoon and . On Monday, I finally put together the video for “,” which proved to be a popular story throughout the week.

In other news, a happened at the Waterford-New London line; last year’s flood was and Police Chief Murray Pendleton issued a public . Also a Waterford resident’s band received , Mr. Blue Thumb gave some suggestions to and real estate cotinued to sell at .

    2.    Enough about the week that was; let's look forward to the week that will be. First, the weather: It should be warmer this week, with a high in the 50s every day. Today, for example, it should be sunny all day with a high of 52. Rain is expected tonight, though; and may continue into Tuesday until about 1 p.m. Expect cloudy and dry on Wednesday and Thursday, although the rain should start back up again Friday. Saturday should be nice again, with a high of 51. All information in this report is courtesy of the National Weather Service.

    3.    There is a full week of school, with no early dismissals within the district. Waterford High will be fairly routine, as practice began to get ready for games that count to start. At Clark Lane, there is a bowling event for families at 2:35 p.m. on Tuesday, and then a PTO meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. In the younger grades, Great Neck Elementary School will hold its spring concert at 1:45 p.m. and at 7 p.m. on Wednesday. Also, the spring book fair runs at the school on Monday and Tuesday.  

   4.    This week in government. It should be a fairly slow week. Since the board of finance finished its budget hearings, it should be silent for a month until the Representative Town Meeting does its final budget deliberations in May.
However, the RTM will meet Monday for what should be a fairly routine meeting. The group’s biggest decisions will be whether to spend more money on repairing roads damaged during last year’s flood (much of which will be refunded by FEMA) and to accept a conservation easement for the Coca-Cola building at 150 Parkway South. The building should be open by the middle of May, at the absolute latest.

Perhaps the most interesting municipal news this week will come out of the RTM’s legislation and administration subcommittee. The group is charged with defining the role of the new position of , which will have more power and more authority than the current fire administrator. The other big decision will be whether to just hire current fire administrator Bruce Miller for the position, or if the town should interview other candidates.   

    5.    This week in events. Tryouts are today for Waterford’s . Tuesday and Wednesday, story time is at the library at 10 and 10:30 a.m., per usual. Friday, the Red Cross will sponsor a in town hall. And Saturday, at Stash's Café in New London, the bar will host a from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., with all the proceeds going to the American Red Cross, which is currently trying to help the people of Japan.

Quote of the Week

"When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one that has opened for us."

-Alexander Graham Bell

Trivia of the Day

Who was the first black man to win an Oscar for best actor, and for what movie?

Friday’s Answer: Wal-Mart is the country's largest employer. Second is the United States Post Office.