Community Corner

Honoring Fran Sweeney, Back To School (Maybe), And Happy (Snowy) New Year!

Five things to help you plan your week in Waterford, December 30, 2013-January 4, 2014.

1. This week it's out with the old and in with the cold. Monday will be a good as it gets in terms of temperatures, with Weather.compredicting a high of 37 degrees and an overnight low of 19 degrees under mostly cloudy skies. 

That's going to feel balmy compared to the rest of the week, when temperatures will drop to below freezing and stay there. We're likely to see snow showers on Thursday and there's a good chance we'll see significant snowfall on Friday. Here's the outlook for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day: 

  • New Year's Eve: dry, partly cloudy, low temperatures of 33 degrees during the day, 19 degrees overnight.
  • New Year's Day: Partly cloudy with a 10 percent chance of precipitation. Low temperatures 28 degrees by day, 25 degrees by night.  
2. Kids are supposed to back to school in Waterford on January 2 but if the weather comes as predicted, there's a good chance they'll have at least one snow day the first week back. 
  • Thursday, January 2: Weather.com is predicting a 70 percent chance of precipitation, either rain or snow or some combination of both, as temperatures drop to 33 degrees during the day and to 16 degrees overnight. 
  • Friday, January 3: There's a 70 percent chance of snow and we could see a significant amount. Weather.com is predicting four to eight inches. Temperatures will also plummet to new lows, with a high temperature of just 18 degrees during the day and an overnight low of 3 degrees. Add to that northwest winds of up to 22 miles per hour and it's shaping up to be a very wintry day indeed. 
3. A ceremony to rename Waterford High School Field House after longtime athletic director and much loved coach Francis X. Sweeney is planned for this Friday, January 3. The dedication is scheduled to take place at 6:45 p.m. between the girls’ and boys’ basketball games against New London in the Field House at Waterford High School. Given the weather forecast, however, there's a chance this could change. Stay tuned and I'll keep you posted.  

4. The state's strict new gun laws passed in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting are set to take effect on January 1. Under the laws, semiautomatic weapons and high capacity magazines are banned. The passage of the law prompted a buying spree of those items, however, and as part of a compromise with gun owners no one in possession of either a semiautomatic or large-capacity magazine would be required to turn them in. People will, however, have to register both the guns and the ammo. The deadline to do that by is January 1.  

5. State Police are continuing efforts to crack down on drunk driving right through the holiday weekend. Expect to see an increased police presence and be prepared for sobriety check points over New Year's Eve and through the weekend. Here's where you'll find them locally and around the state
  


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