Week In Review: Groundbreaking And Happy Fishing Season

The dump trucks have been digging since Monday, at least, but the . State Rep. Tom Reynolds, D-Ledyard, Mayor John Rodolico, Town Council Chairman Sean Sullivan, Zoning Commission Chairman Eric Treaster, Economic Development Commission member Dick Tashea, former mayor Fred Allyn, Jr., and representatives from CVS took golden shovel to dirt and commemorated the project.

Mayor John Rodolico introduced the eight shovel-bearers as representatives of "a lot of people involved in the project," which began as a plan approximately three years ago.

Speaking of town business, was another round of budget meetings this week, which culminated in a attended by 16 people, 14 of which were town employees or volunteers. Both the finance committee chair people, Michael France for the town and Michelle Hinton for the school board, presented their respective budgets for the audience who may have tuned in via the Internet.

Stephanie Calhoun thanked the Town Council for a zero-increase budget and asked if there was a plan in place to get the town moving in the direction of sustainability with regard to revenue. Calhoun voiced the concern that many taxpayers, including town councilor Sharon Wadecki, have about cutting services and reserve funds in order to balance the budget and avoid taxes.

Ledyard Patch blogger Haley Hinton was one of the two audience members at the public hearing who wasn’t a volunteer or employee of the town. Hinton posted two blogs this week, one gives us the real scoop on beauty pageants, which is that they can help a young lady gain confidence and make friends from all over the country. And, in her second blog post, Hinton threw off the tiara and dug out a wide-brimmed canvas hat sparkling with fish hooks and lures, so to speak as she shared her tried and true tips for how to make the most of the first day of fishing season.

Building committees, the mayor’s office and town councilors have begun stirring about where to . Talk about moving the police department has begun in earnest since repairs are needed and the town does not want to reinvest in the current building. The mayor has asked for $100,000 from the sale of property to CVS to do something about with the building, but the item was tabled at this week’s finance committee meeting.

The building committee re-referred the question of a $20,000 architectural study at Ledyard Middle School back to the Town Council. Initially the request was tabled and referred to the building committee to see if the project is necessary. The project calls for adding a wing to the middle school so that the school district can move sixth graders there. The building committee referred the issue back to the Town Council because they said they oversee building projects in progress, rather than determine the necessity of each project.

Principal the day students left for April vacation and Patch had a chance to sit down with her Monday before her schedule was hijacked by end-of-the-year obligations.

Byers has been with the Ledyard school district for four years but recently accepted a position as principal at Deep River Elementary School, which is about a four minute commute from her home and also where she, her mother and grandfather went to school.

She said,  “I’ll miss the close collaborative staff here. If you have a problem you’re stuck on and if you share that with people, they’ll be so forthcoming with solutions.”

Byers said the students’ parents and the school's PTO have been incredibly supportive and have placed a strong emphasis on the educational piece of the school community, “not just the fluff.”

And, she said, “there are kids I’ve known for four years. I’ll miss seeing them grow up and seeing what they become.”

Byers will be missed by her co-workers and school parents and it sounds like the new principal will have big shoes to fill but Byers had some advice for the incoming administrator: “This is a fantastic staff that truly work for the best interest of the students,” she said. “Listen to them.”

New officers at the were elected, they are: Chief Tony Saccone was elected for another 2-year term, the rest of the appointments are 1-year terms: Ted Day is deputy chief, Stephen Holyfield is assistant chief, Jeff Erhart is captain, Jeffery Smith is first lieutenant, Jeremy Lessard is second lieutenant, Branden Cummings is chief engineer, Larry Lafamme is captain of fire police and Thomas Guilfoil is fire police lieutenant, Doug Hoge as foreman, Bob Heal as assistant foreman, Tom McCarthy as treasurer, Shannon McGuckin as secretary, Bill Pinckney as chairman of executive committee, Heidi Holyfield as member of executive committee, and Amy Renczkowski as member of executive committee.