Volume 20, Number 29
Serving Durham, Middlefield and Rockfall
www.TownTimes.com
Friday, December 11, 2015
Groundwater Ordinance going to town meeting By Mark Dionne
it terms the “Groundwater Management Zone” to connect to public water to be Durham will hold a Town piped in from Middletown Meeting on Monday, Dec. and abandon private wells. According to the ordinance, 14, at 8 p.m. at Coginchaug Regional High School to the purpose is “to prevent the vote on the passage of a use of and public exposure to long-discussed Groundwater contaminated groundwater drawn from the GMZ, and to Ordinance. The ordinance will re- prevent further expansion of quire properties within what the contaminated groundwaTown Times
ter plume.” The GMZ is centered on Main Street in Durham and bordered on the north by Talcott Lane and on the south by the Durham Fairgrounds and Fowler Avenue. The GMZ includes both east and west sides of Maple Avenue and the District 13 school campus. The GMZ covers Durham’s Su p e rf u n d s i te, wh e re
groundwater contaminated by industrial waste had delivered toxins like 1,4-Dioxane, Trichloroethylene, and others into private drinking water. Over 50 wells have been discovered with some level of contamination in the area. The GMZ contains over 100 properties. Ed Hathaway, project manager with the EPA, called this a “layering of
protection” around the plume of contaminated water, which can move. According to EPA and Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection officials, mandatory public water and abandonment of wells in the zone will prevent purposeful or See Ordinance / Page 14
Jellyfish living in Lyman lobby By Mark Dionne Town Times
Coalition, a coalition promoting healthy decisions and drug-free living for youth. “The Core Ethical Values fit perfectly in our mission,” said Stephanie Moran, Prevention Coordinator for the Local Wellness Coalition, at the start of the month. After Mindfulness Month, Moran said, “I am happy with how the community came together and embraced the month. Everyone we asked to help did not hesitate to put up
Lori Martin, District 13 outdoor education teacher wellknown for her enthusiasm, brought three new creatures to John Lyman Elementary School this year. The creatures are moon jellies, a type of jellyfish, and Martin is characteristically enthusiastic about them. “It’s such a unique welcome,” Martin said. “And it looks neat.” The Lyman first and second graders are doing their marine unit this year and Martin said that the “jellies,” as she usually calls them, present many opportunities. The tank is in the lobby at Lyman, accompanied by a changing light to illuminate the jellyfish, calm mood music, and student artwork with jellyfish subjects. Martin has kept sea horses in the past and still has fish in the district but this is the first time for jellies. The idea came out of a yearly conference of educators Martin helped run in Newport, Rhode Island. She had looked into keeping jellyfish before but the prices were too high.
See Mindfulness / Page 21
See Jellyfish / Page 20
Older students in District 13 have grown up with both the Core Ethical Values and the Community Round Up. | Mark Dionne / Town Times
Mindfulness Month lead-in to Round Up By Mark Dionne Town Times
A month that saw schools, town officials, civic organizations, churches, and businesses promote the school district’s Core Ethical Values —respect, responsibility, kindness, honesty, and courage — led fittingly into the 10th annual Community Round Up on Saturday, Dec. 5. The promotion, called Mindfulness Month, was spearheaded by the Durham Middlefield Local Wellness
Above, members of John Lyman Elementary School’s Peanut Butter and Jellyfish Team, from left: Keirra Sartor, Addie Buckheit, Jane Waterman, Kate Roraback, Hope Giammatteo, Brooke Jacobson, Leah Atwell, and Kaelyn Connell. They are responsible for taking care of Lyman’s newest creatures, moon jellies. | Mark Dionne / Town Times
Changing lights help make the floating moon jellies more visible in the lobby display, which is decorated with both an ocean look and student artwork. | Mark Dionne / Town Times