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Volume 15, Number 22
Students headed to college face new experience
CIAC pauses fall sports, consults officials
WOODS ‘N’ WATER
By Michael Gagne Record-Journal staff
By Greg Lederer Record-Journal staff
Trevor Messina’s career as a University of Connecticut student started Monday; move in day. Messina, who just graduated from Southington High School, will not have a roommate, due to COVID-19 restrictions. Nor will he start classes right away. He and other UConn freshmen will start their studies with a two-week quarantine period. Many classes will be online. Messina is majoring in music education. His French horn lessons — at least for the first semester — will be conducted over video conference. Like many other incoming college students, he has been told it’s not going to be the college experience he is expecting. He is quick to counter: “I’ve never been to college. I’ve only heard it from stories. So I don’t have an expectation of what it’s going to be. “I’m going to college. And whatever my experience is there, it is going to be my first experience so I’m not aware of what I’m missing out on,” he added. Whether area students continue their studies at campuses that are less than a day trip away, or hundreds or even See College, A2
Friday, August 21, 2020
The state’s black bear population is growing, with an estimated 800 now calling Connecticut home. Rick Bowmer, Associated Press file photo
A local presence that ‘bears’ close watching By Mike Roberts
With all the attention being paid to COVID-19, many things in our outdoor world are going unnoticed. You know about checking yourself for ticks. And recently there was a report of the first mosquito that tested positive for West Nile virus. But there is another outdoor critter that has been popping up on the news every once in a while: the black bear. And, YES, we have some living right here in the Meriden area and surrounding communities.
calling Connecticut home. I have had reports of black bear sightings in the Meriden/Middlefield area, West Peak, the Chamberlain Highway and some in Cheshire. Should you be afraid to go in the woods? No, but if you do have a run-in with a black bear, remember they are not the cartoon characters Yogi Bear and Boo Boo. Black bears are powerful creatures and can cause great bodily harm and, in the worst-case scenario, they could take your life. Over the years, in my time in the outdoors, I have seen a couple of black bears up close and personal and have the greatest respect for them.
One of the biggest problems with black Overall, the state’s black bear population bears is their numbers are growing and is growing, with an estimated 800 now See Roberts, A4
On Friday, the road toward bringing back high school fall sports took another turn. A day after receiving a letter from the Connecticut Department of Public Health, the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference Board of Control had a meeting and announced that they would be pausing all in-person fall sports activities through Aug. 24. Coaches are allowed to promote virtual contact and conditioning. “During next week, we will take additional time to review and understand all of the recommendations made by DPH,” said CIAC Executive Director Glenn Lungarini. “We have invited DPH to meet with us next Thursday (Aug. 20), along with our medical advisors to insure that we have a full understanding of their recommendations and the COVID metrics and science that led to them.” On Wednesday, Aug. 13, the CIAC Board of Control voted 17-0 to move forward with all of their fall sports, but in the three-page letter addressed to Lungarini, DPH said that sports and extracurricular activities should be postponed for at least two weeks after the reopening of See CIAC, A2