The Daily Five: Lyme's Burglary Spree, School Emergency Drill Update, What East Lyme Does With Old Vehicles

1. Today will be mostly sunny with a high of 41 degrees and an overnight low of 31 degrees, according to weather.com. Expect a few more clouds to roll in this evening, when the chance of rain increases from 10 percent to 20 percent. 

Unless you like snow, the weekend forecast is not looking promising. There's an 80 percent chance of rain and/or snow on Saturday and a 70 percent chance for snow on Sunday. 

2. The recent spate of burglaries in Lyme has left many local residents feeling unsettled and, it turns out, there weren't just two, but three burglaries this month. Another home, this time on Blood Street, was also broken into just a few days before the Joshuatown Road burglary occurred on February 18. 

The MO appears to be the same in each case, with doors forced open while property owners were out. State police are investigating but if you see anything suspicious or have any information, please do call State Police Troop F at (860) 399-2100.

3. East Lyme High School's drill on Tuesday gave emergency responders, school staff, and a few volunteer students a chance to rehearse what they would do if there was a shooter at the school.

About 147 people participated in the test run, including state and local police, East Lyme's fire departments and EMS, school staff and students from the High School's Drama club, and local scouts. "It was a great drill to see," said East Lyme First Selectman Paul Formica. 

In addition to giving everyone a chance to practice, the drill also enabled emergency responders and the school to find potential flaws in their security plans and shore up any weaknesses. 

4. As part of its five-year plan to replace aging town vehicles, East Lyme's public works, police, fire and parks and recreation departments are all asking for funds for new vehicles in the proposed budget.

Typically, the vehicles used by first responders, such as police or fire officials, are driven hard and are the ones that are most often replaced with new vehicles. In this year's proposed budget, for instance, East Lyme's Fire Marshal Richard Morris is next in line for a new SUV. His current vehicle will go to the town's engineering department, because town engineers need a four-wheel drive vehicles to navigate construction sites but no one needs to get anywhere at top speed.  

Vehicles that have reached the end of their useful lifespan aren't scrapped, however. They are usually sold at auction. The town's public works department, for instance, recently auctioned off a 1998 payloader for $16,000.

5. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's budget is causing a lot of anguish at the local level. His proposal to eliminate property taxes on vehicles valued at $20,000 or less and his decision to stop making Payments in Lieu of Taxes to municipalities for state-owned property alone threaten to take a huge chunk of revenue that towns depend on.

With so many municipalities protesting, it remains to be seen whether the Legislature will pass the budget as proposed. For town leaders working on their budgets, however, that's cold comfort.

As East Lyme First Selectman Paul Formica noted, the municipal fiscal year ends before the Legislative session does, so town leaders are all having to prepare budgets without knowing what to expect from the state.