The Daily Five: More Snow, All Talk, No Action On Noise Ordinance, Scallops, And Baseball!

1. Yesterday heralded the first day of spring but today's weather is decidedly wintry. There's a 60 percent chance of snow today and a 30 percent chance that we'll see more of it this evening, mostly flurries ending by midnight, according to weather.com.

In between, it's going to be cloudy, with a predicted high temperature of 37 degrees and an overnight low of 28 degrees. The snow probably won't be enough to cancel school, though, with just an inch of slush predicted today.

2. After numerous meetings and a public hearing on the proposed noise ordinance for East Lyme, the Board of Selectmen once again decided to postpone making any decision.

The town's resident state trooper, Sgt. Wilfred Blanchett, weighed in on the issue for the first time last night. Though he said that an ordinance could give local police an additional tool to use in the battle against noise complaints, he was concerned that the ordinance might not have the teeth it needed to enforce the issue.

The penalty proposed would be a "noise ticket," issued by the town and adjudicated by a hearing officer appointed by the first selectman. Town Attorney Edward O'Connell said that the town has a similar system in place for parking violations and for inland-wetlands violations. However, East Lyme police rarely use this system, preferring instead to use state statutes that don't let people off the hook if they decide not to pay a ticket.

East Lyme Selectman Kevin Seery, who is the resident state trooper for Salem, said that police can write tickets for violations of town ordinances under state statutes. The board opted to ask for a revision in the proposed ordinance that would change the wording accordingly. The board of selectmen will take up the matter again, and most likely for the last time, at its next meeting.    

3. It's spring and for many people that means just one thing: spring training! Baseball season is fast approaching but in East Lyme, there's concern over whether the high school's ball field will be ready in time.

The new field was installed last year but it's been having drainage issues. First Selectman Paul Formica suggested that, rather than paying for a contractor to fix the problem, the best solution might be to have the town's Parks and Recreation Department install a drain close to the short stop.

"It's a bit of a mess," Formica conceded. However, if the Board of Education agreed to pay for the drain itself, he noted, it would probably cost less for the town to install it and that would take care of the problem in time for the season. 

4. Southeastern Area Transit, better known as SEAT, has now been taken over by the Connecticut Department of Transportation. This is good news for the nine towns—East Lyme, Montville, Waterford, Griswold, Groton, New London, Ledyard, Norwich, Stonington—that make up the members and board of directors of SEAT, as not only has the state assumed all the debt but it also assumed all liability for a 2010 fuel spill at the bus company's headquarters in Preston.

5. Scallop season ends in March but keep your fingers and toes crossed because next year could be good. The East Lyme shellfish commission seeded 18,000 scallops in Niantic.