The Daily Five: School Daze, Oswegatchie Hills Development, And Remembering Irene

1. The day could start out with thunderstorms but it will be mostly sunny by this afternoon with a high temperature of 82 degrees. Weather.com is predicting a 50 percent chance of rain during the day but tonight should be clear and cool, with a low temperature of 60 degrees.

2. A year ago today, Tropical Storm Irene struck the shoreline. In case you've blocked those dark days from your memory, . If you've got pictures, add them to the collection!

Speaking of photographs, don't forget to enter our !  

3. It hardly seems fair that kids in Lyme and Old Lyme will be enjoying one more day in the sun while kids in East Lyme are back in the classroom today but then again, life isn't always fair. The local school districts, however, have made a concerted effort this year to try to bring their sometimes disparate schedules more in line with each other.  

"There had been a change to bring all the schools in the area on a similar schedule," said Lyme-Old Lyme Board of Education Chairman James Witkins. "It makes it a lot easier on both parents and children and teachers, who sometimes found themselves with staggered schedules."

4. Different school districts have also working cooperatively on the sports field this year. Despite being arch rivals, the Vikings will be playing a number of their home football games at Waterford High School's new athletic field this fall while the . As the Lancers played a number of their home games at East Lyme High School last year for the same reason, think of it as payback. 

"We have been anticipating all along that we wouldn’t be able to get onto the field for football season," said East Lyme School Superintendent James Lombardo. "It won't affect the schedule it will just affect where we play the games."

5. Sewers tend to be a hot topic around here but tonight's meeting of the East Lyme's Sewer and Water Commission promises to be more heated than usual. A developer who has been trying to get approval for a large housing development in Oswegatchie Hills will be presenting his plan for sewers that will be required for the project before the commission tonight at 6:30 p.m. at East Lyme Town Hall.

and its members are planning to turn out in force for this public hearing. In case you missed the Save the River, Save the Hills recent regatta, here's a link to some really fabulous video taken of the event by Michael Sheridan.