Week in Review: Gym Dedication, New Lifts for Ambulance Service and Marine Corps Boot Camp Graduation

The Ledyard High School gymnasium was re-named and dedicated to two beloved teachers and coaches in a ceremony they both would have appreciated, not for the honor, but because it took place before the girls’ varsity basketball game – a program they both had a strong hand in shaping.

Judith Dowe Standish was a teacher and coach at Ledyard High School from 1963-1997. She was integral in establishing the gymnastics program and she was a long-time coach of girls basketball, girls outdoor track and cheerleading.

Robert Arsenault started the girl’s basketball program and served as the varsity coach from 1975 to 1982, during which he compiled a record of 99-71. Arsenalt was also the coach for boy’s basketball, boy’s cross country.

“He would be so please that he and Judy were honored together,” said Patricia Arsenault, of her late husband.

And the town this year is and has a tax rate of nearly 28 mills. The town this year saw a small bump in state and federal funding, which is only 32 percent of the budget, according to Finance Director Marcia Hancock. The bump in state funding is counter to the what most municipalities around the state are seeing.

The Town Council moved to participate in a free program that offers discounts on prescription drugs to Ledyard residents. The which offers an average savings of about 45% off retail prices will begin in five to seven weeks, according to Mayor John Rodolico. When the program is ready to launch, Ledyard residents will receive the card in the mail, although Rodolico said Town Hall may receive a small amount to hand out upon request.

And, the Finance Committee approved funds for two new stretchers for the Ledyard Volunteer Emergency Squad but these are no ordinary stretchers.

The Stryker Power Load lift system is a battery-operated lift system that lifts and rolls a stretcher into the ambulance and "basically saves us from killing our backs lifting people who are heavier,” said LVES Director Jake Troy.

“We’re really looking forward to this,” said Troy. “They basically lift the patient automatically into the ambulance without us having to lift the patient.”

There are currently 65 Stryker Power Load lift systems installed in ambulances around the state of Connecticut and the LVES membership voted unanimously to buy the stretchers, which are becoming an industry standard, according to Troy.

A Patch user posted an announcement to let us know that 18, of Ledyard, son of William and Holly Gagnon, graduated from U.S. Marine Corps boot camp at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina on January 11, 2013.

Pvt. Gagnon successfully completed 13 weeks of intensive basic training as one of approximately 400 recruits in the 3rd Battalion LIMA Company and 67 recruits in Training Platoon 3002. While in basic training, Pvt. Gagnon qualified as an expert rifleman and scored a 100 percent on his Combat Fitness Test (CFT), Practical Application Test (PAT) and Personal Fitness Test (PFT).