The most popular stories of 2011 were not necessarily the stories that focused on events with the most impact, though yes, there was some cross-over.
Here are the events with the biggest impact in Montville in 2011, and the stories about them.
The weather
Pretty much everyone agrees that the weather was the biggest story of the year in Montville.
We had about a million snowstorms, including:
- A 4- or 5-inch snowstorm on Jan. 8,
- A major storm on Jan. 11 that dropped more than a foot of snow, and included a spate of thunder snow.Montville and other New London County towns received FEMA help for this storm
- An ice and slush storm on Jan. 17-18
- A storm with freezing temperatures around Jan. 21
- Another major storm Jan. 26 that had state police saying the "whole area is bad."
- The snow continued into February, with a major storm predicted for Feb. 3
- Another storm hit Feb. 17
And on it went.
The storms caused headaches for the Department of Public Works, and strained the department's budget. It caused a series of school cancellations, forced the state to relax snow-dumping regulations and generally made everyone pretty sick of winter.
The very last bit of snow in Montville didn't vanish until April 19!
After the winter, many Connecticut towns were hit by floods. In Montville, the water ran high, but we had no real spring flooding.
In addition to snow, of course, we had Tropical Storm Irene, whose torrential rain and tremendous wind and caused a power outage that lasted for days, wrecking cars and buildings, closing roads and delaying the opening of school.
One afternoon, the meteorologically rare mammatus clouds appeared over Montville.
And at the end of October, a freak snowstorm blanketed the town.
The Election
AES Thames
Montville lost its biggest taxpayer at the end of the year.
A Stand Against Bullying
Montville High School Principal Chad Ellis is heading an anti-bullying campaign that is addressing the issue in a variety of ways, and at a variety of levels. Already, students have signed a pledge not to bully, and Rachel’s Challenge has come to the school.
Police on Facebook
Montville Police Officer Gregg Jacobson, along with former Resident State Trooper Michael Collins, started a Montville Watch page that has already gotten the community more involved in reporting crime and criminal activity. Click here to go to the Montville Watch Facebook page.
Sex-offender Facility
An experimental sex-offender facility is being built on the grounds of the Corrigan-Radgowski Correctional Facility. One hopes that this will have no impact on the town, but its potential is undeniable.
Public Safety Building
The citizens of Montville voted to build a new public safety building, across the street from the Corrigan-Radgowski Correctional Facility, and the building is going up now. The plan is that it will house not only the Montville Police Department, but also will provide a home for a regional dispatch center.
