The Week That Was, The Week That Will Be; And A Response To Response

1.     A response to responses: I want to take a moment to address some of the comments made toward me, and some Waterford officials, regarding a story asking if New London and Waterford-East Lyme can . In the article, the differences between the animal populations of New London and Waterford-East Lyme were dissected. Somehow, this turned into accusations of Patch, along with Waterford officials, being racist.

Normally, I welcome all criticism of my writing. I think criticizing the press is as fundamentally important to a democracy as criticizing the government. However, I take great exception to these allegations.

There is a difference between the animal populations of Waterford-East Lyme and New London. This is well-documented. Take, for example, that New London, despite having fewer people then Waterford-East Lyme, has to care for many more stray dogs. Also, New London euthanizes more animals than Waterford-East Lyme, either because it has more dangerous animals, it has limited space in its current animal shelter or it has a different philosophy than Waterford-East Lyme (or probably a mix of all three).

I write that not because I hate New London (it is where I live), or because I am an elitist, or because I want to rile up Kathleen Mitchell, but because it is the truth. That is my job, to report the truth. A world where the truth becomes politically incorrect is not a world that Patch will ever take part in.

2.     The rest of the week that was: Unlike last week, which was dominated by the budget, this week had a healthy variety of stories, with no major event hogging all the headlines.

The second-most-read story of the week, and one I found to be particularly interesting/sad, was about the mysterious death of Waterford resident and Navy solider . Rourke was found with a bullet in his head in Mississippi four months ago, yet still, the police have no clear idea of what exactly happened.

Speaking of deaths, the top-read story of the week was about the death of Waterford resident , who was killed in a car accident on Route 9. King taught at Canton High School, and by all accounts was very well-liked.

In not-so-morbid news, town officials reacted to a new boat the police want, Patch took a look at Quaker Hill Elementary School’s , a little girl got her mother a very nice and an angry builder’s were revealed. Also, Sunset Ribs is offering a , a list of all the farmers markets and local farms and property sales .

3.     The week in weather: This could be a wet week, with a chance to rain every single day.

Today, showers and thunderstorms are expected after 7 a.m., and continue into the night. Monday through Saturday, amazingly, all have the exact same weather report: about a 50 percent chance of rain, with a high in the mid-60s.

Also, there is more pollen in the air than usual, even for this time of year. So good luck if you have allergies.

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

4. This week in schools: A five-day week this week for all Waterford schools. However, on Thursday all district schools will have an early dismissal so teachers can have a development day.

Also, there are no board of education meetings this week (although there is a board of education building committee meeting on Tuesday). Here is some news, school-by-school:

Waterford High School: The excellence awards dinner is Thursday at 6 p.m. And tickets for prom ($50 each) will be sold all week during lunch.

Clark Lane Middle School: The promotion ceremony has been set for Tuesday, June 21, at 7 p.m. on the green at Connecticut College. If it rains, it will be moved inside to Palmer Auditorium, where seating will be limited to four guests per student (just like the high school graduation).

Also, the school is looking for an eighth-grader to speak at the ceremony. Students must submit their written speech, which should be around four to five minutes, by Wednesday, June 1.

Great Neck Elementary School: On Tuesday, there is a staff appreciation luncheon at the school. On Wednesday, at 2:30 there is a recorder and string concert.

Also, just a heads up: the last three days of school (June 20-22) at all three elementary schools are shortened days, with dismissals at 1:10 p.m.

Oswegatchie Elementary School: Every day this week, students and staff will walk for 10 minutes during afternoon recess to raise money for the Oswegatchie School Organization. To donate, click here.

Quaker Hill Elementary School: The girls in Fit Club are running in the Quaker Hill 5K today, so good luck to them.

Also, most fourth-graders are going to the Connecticut Science Center Tuesday.

5.     This week in government: It's a  pretty active week in government.

Tuesday, the board of selectmen will meet to hear more information about the police department’s new boat. Then, at 6:30, there will be a public hearing on a community development block grant program. to help build a 54-unit low-income senior housing facility at the former Cohanzie School.

Also Tuesday, the board of education’s building committee meets. The group is currently having issues with , which is doing all the excavation for the Waterford High School renovation. A stop order has been placed on Fucci for not complying with building regulations, and Fucci has taken exception to this.

On Wednesday, the board of finance will hear the police department’s presentation on its new boat. Some board of finance members have questioned the decision to buy a bigger, more .

Quote of the Week

"Do or do not. There is no try."

-Yoda

Trivia of the Day

What part of the body has the smallest bones?

Friday’s Answer: All right, nobody got the impossible baseball quiz. The first nine guys to win back-to-back MVP awards (ironically at all nine positions) are:

Jimmie Foxx, first base (1932, '33)

Hal Newhouser, pitcher (1944, '45)

Yogi Berra, catcher (1954, '55)

Mickey Mantle, center fielder (1956, '57)

Ernie Banks, shortstop (1958, '59)

Roger Maris, right field (1960, '61)

Joe Morgan, second base (1975, '76)

Mike Schmidt, third base(1980, '81)

Dale Murphy, outfield (1982, '83)

Since, left fielder Barry Bonds (1992-'93, 2001-'04), first baseman/dh Frank Thomas (1993-'94) and first baseman Albert Pujols (2008, '09) have won back-to-back MVPs.