Volume 18, Issue 11
Serving Durham, Middlefield and Rockfall
Utilizing sun power at Lyman and Memorial By Mark Dionne Special to the Town Times The side of the strip mall at the corner of Strickland and Route 147/157 is painted with a child-like depiction of Middlefield residents enjoying the outdoors and utilizing wind and solar power in environmentally responsi-
Hundreds laced up for second annual Go Far, Go Fast race at fairgrounds
praised the administrative team in the district for their foresight and openness to new ideas. The systems have approximately 250 panels each, with Memorial’s being slightly larger than Lyman’s, and can produce as much as 58,000 watts of DC power. An inverter about the size of a
The solar panels visible on top of Memorial school have been providing electricity and savings to the school since April. Photo by Mark Dionne ble ways. That idealistic scene became at least partially a reality recently with the installation of state-ofthe-art solar photovoltaic systems at John Lyman and Memorial schools. On Monday, June 20, a small group was given a tour of the technology by Erik Bartone and Gary Lane, owners of DBS Energy. The new solar panels should save the district money, reduce its carbon footprint and provide an educational opportunity for the students. Bartone said that the new metal roofs, large southern exposures, single story construction and protection from wind created “really the ideal situation” at the schools. Bartone also
Friday, June 24, 2011
large refrigerator is the only part of the system on the ground. The inverter converts the DC power into useable AC power for the school and connects to the school’s regular electrical supply. Decades ago, racks of batteries accompanied solar panels to store the extra power produced when the panels See Solar, page 20
In this issue ... Calendar/Libraries..........4 Durham Briefs................11 Middlefield Briefs...........12 Sports ..........................23-27
Coming soon: e-mail news alerts from Town Times. Sign up today at www.towntimes.com.
Tot runners excitedly burst from the starting line at last Saturday’s Go Far, Go Fast race at the Durham Fairgrounds, ready to run like the wind. See more photos on page 19. Photo by Cheri Kelley
Local woman rides for MS Daria Vander Veer, of Middlefield, pictured far left (in photo at right), poses in rain gear with fellow riders under threatening skies before embarking on a 30mile ride in the Bike MS: bkm/Steelcase Ride on June 12 at Sherwood Island State Park in Westport. To date, Daria leads the pack with $965 raised, while the others have each raised more than $125. Funds raised through events, such as Bike MS, benefit the National MS Society, Connecticut Chapter, and the more than 6,000 Connecticut residents it serves. For more information on the Bike MS: bkm/Steelcase Ride, presented by Louis Dreyfus Commodities, or to donate to Vander Veer, Ward, Carlton, Davis or Franzen, please visit www.ctfightsMS.org. Submitted by Karen Bulter