The Daily Five: Another Debate, Red Tide, Something to Dredge, and One More Reason to Adopt a Dog!

1. It's going to be sunny and windy today, with a WNW wind blowing at 20 to 30 mph. There's just a 10 percent chance of rain during the day and tonight should be clear. Weather.com is predicting a high temperature of 56 degrees and an overnight low of 49 degrees. 

2. The second presidential debate will be held tonight at 9 p.m. and once again, Patch is offering the chance to put your two-cents in as we host another Live Blog. We want to know your opinion!

3. October is Adopt-a-Pet month but if you're looking for a reason to say yup to the pup, the Brousseau family in nearby Portland could give you a really good one. The Brousseau family's rescue dog, Duke, saved their baby's life!

As the family told the story to ABC's Good Morning America yesterday, their normally well-behaved dog jumped on the bed while Jenna Brousseau and her husband were sleeping. Seeing that the dog was shaking all over, they realized something was wrong. They went to check on their 9-week-old baby, Harper, and discovered she'd stopped breathing. Paramedics arrived in time to save Harper's life and the family credits Duke for that just-in-time-911-call.

If you're interested in adopting a pet, the Old Lyme Animal Shelter has lots of lovable cats and dogs looking for forever homes as does the Waterford-East Lyme Animal Shelter, where Luke is still waiting for someone to love. Save a dog and the life you save just might be your own! 

4. Don't be alarmed if you see a red tide at Rocky Neck State Park today. Scientists from EPA’s New England Regional Lab, together with staff from the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) will conduct a dye tracing study on Tuesday, October 16.

The team will inject dye in Bride Brook—which flows into Rocky Neck State Park in East Lyme—at about 11:00 a.m. and will monitor the ebb tide cycle until low tide in an effort to track the flow and dispersion of water in the estuary areas around Rocky Neck State Park.

Portions of the beach at Rocky Neck State Park may turn a reddish color for a brief period in the area of the state park, EPA officials said, but the dye is not harmful to people or the ecosystem. Information from the October 2012 dye study will be used to determine if Bride Brook has an impact on the beaches as well as shellfish waters.

5. While I'm on the topic of natural waterways, there are two in Old Lyme that the Harbor Management Commission says are in need of dredging. Black Hall and Four Mile River have, to the best of anyone's recollection, never been dredged and they're about due.

Though the project is in the nascent stages, last night Old Lyme's Board of Selectmen reported that the Commission has accepted a bid submitted by Coastline Consulting and Development, LLC., of Madison to begin the sampling and analysis needed to lay the groundwork for the project. Coastline's $19,233 bid was the lowest of five that the Harbor Management Commission reviewed. The highest was $41,190. The actual dredging is probably a couple of years down the road yet.  

This Day in History

On October 16, 1834 the British Parliament in London catches fire destroying many historical documents.

Daily Trivia

Whose mask became a symbol of Occupy Wall Street?

Yesterday's Trivia Answer: The only U.S. President to have received the Nobel Peace Prize while not in office was Jimmy Carter, in 2002.

(This Day and Daily Trivia compiled by John Carroll.)