Week in Review: Ice Cream, Tapas, and a Revised May Ballot

The Ledyard Animal Shelter has been on the receiving end of some very very good things lately. Boys from Troop 12 came in spruced up the grounds with flowers, they mulched and added a wee fearie and gnome village. Kimlyn Marshall, the ACO, said that since then some very good things have been happening, here’s a photo gallery of their work.

However, it is spring and Marshall will have her hands full with abandoned kittens. She is always taking donations that will help feed the town’s abandoned animals and pay for their medical expenses. One of the easiest ways to donate to the shelter is to drop off your returnable cans and bottles. Check the shelter’s Facebook page and their Petfinder page to see the animals up for adoption.

Saturday was Opening Day in Ledyard and elsewhere and Ledyard parks are looking better than ever. Director of Parks and Recreation Don Grise says many of the fields got a makeover this spring with new fencing and dugouts. 

Alice Acres, home of Cows and Cones, opened for the season Thursday and Gales Ferry residents were ready! Acting manager Lee Ann Gionet says they used the highest quality ice cream, toppings and sauces and the waffle cones are made fresh on site. Rumor has it that there is cinnamon in the cones but the recipe is a secret. The greenhouses, are overflowing with hanging flower baskets and plants of all kinds. Here are some photos from their first day but you should really go see for yourself.

Patch met Eddie Torres, owner of Global Bar and Lounge – a tapas restaurant and bar that opened in March. Torres loves to cook and his tapas bar is a great place for him to explore influences of the many cultures that come through this region, he said. His menu has the fingerprints of Thai, Italian, Mediterranean, Asian, and Southern cuisines but it won’t stop there. Torres’ energy in the kitchen and flair for informed improvisation will keep the food and drink selection fresh. Read more about Eddie Torres and the Global Bar and Lounge here.

The middle school renovation has officially been rescinded from the referendum but the ballot will not be without a building project on it. This May residents will be asked to vote on the proposed new police station, which will be built where the old firehouse was in Ledyard Center. The $6,750,000 project will address and remediate some problems in the Town Hall campus while also adding a two-story police station and parking lot on that site.

Voters will also be asked to vote on the $50,136,531 Town Budget for fiscal year 2013-14, which is comprised of $20,442,567 general government spending plan and a $29,693,964 school budget. Next year’s proposed budget is 1.91 percent or $937,829 more than this year’s spending plan. The lion’s share of increases came from rising health insurance costs and contractual salary increases.

Speaking of the referendum and elections thereafter, Town Clerk Michael Curley has resigned from the position, which he describes as “the best job in town.” By all accounts, Curley has innovated the town Clerk’s office and, in many ways, has ushered it into the 21st Century. Curley said he’ll still be around and we’ll probably see him at the polls and that he has met his replacement (Preston’s Assistant Town Clerk Patricia Riley) and Ledyard can expect some great things from her.