LOCAL | A3
SPORTS | B1
TRAVEL FINES IN EFFECT
SPRING FOOTBALL SEASON?
State issues first fines to travelers that violated the rules
New plan from CIAC may move season
norwichbulletin.com Wednesday, August 12, 2020
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C O R O N AV I R U S PA N D E M I C
Inmates could expose communities Elizabeth Murray
Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility guards prepare to inspect the last of three buses bringing 150 Hawaiian prisoners from Arizona facilities as it enters the unloading area Tuesday, May 18, 2004, in Tutwiler, Miss. [AP PHOTO/
Burlington Free Press;
Tom Mooney Providence Journal;
Karen Dandurant seacoastonline.com;
Jack Spillane New Bedford Standard-Times;
and Norman Miller MetroWest Daily News
Six inmates got off a bus in Vermont late last month after a long drive back from Mississippi — a COVID-19 hotspot — and were immediately whisked into quarantine to undergo testing for the virus.
CLARKSDALE PRESS REGISTER/TROY CATCHINGS]
About 24 hours later, results from the nose swab tests showed that all six men had unknowingly brought COVID-19 back to Vermont — a state with one of the lowest infection rates in the nation. One other Vermont inmate still at the Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility in Tutwiler, Mississippi, had tested positive for the virus one week prior. Vermont corrections officials directed the privately-run facility in Mississippi to test the rest of the inmates from the Green Mountain State, revealing a previously undetected
Virus, Isaias make for unusual election day By John Penney
[email protected] (860) 857-6965
Ballot-casting was fairly slow in the parts of the region on Tuesday for a primary election marked by new safety measures, an emphasis on absentee voting and some lingering storm-related complications. The election, the first in the wake of a pandemic crisis that has upended so many facets of normality, was preceded by the mailing of more than 300,000 absentee ballots to registered Republican and Democratic voters, part of an expanded mail-in initiative aimed at providing some peace of mind to skittish residents. But voters still walked into polling places across Eastern Connecticut where social distancing markers and face shields were in use. Beth Potter, 31, was in line at the Plainfield Town Hall polling station by 8:30 a.m. expecting to wait hours to cast her ballot. “But it turns out I was only the fifteenth person to come See ELECTION, A5
outbreak. As of Aug. 5, results showed that about two-thirds of Vermont’s 219 inmates imprisoned out-of-state tested positive for the virus. The outbreak highlights the potential danger of importing and exporting inmates during a global pandemic, especially in New England, where virus mitigation has been largely effective. However, the outbreak among transferred Vermont prisoners appears to be an anomaly in New England at this point. See INMATES, A2
Power outages lead to wastewater issues By John Penney
[email protected] (860) 857-6965
Shannon Lougee, with her daughter, Abigail, 8, gives her name to checker Zach Weimert Tuesday before casting her primary vote at the Rose City Senior Center in Norwich. See video and more photos at NorwichBulletin.com [JOHN SHISHMANIAN/ NORWICHBULLETIN.COM]
PLAINFIELD — A 50-year-old Plainfield pump station generator finally failed after running non-stop for a week to ensure wastewater continued to flow properly and not lead to a repeat of a backflow issue that recently dumped more than 100,000 gallons of partially treated water into nearby waterways. Town officials said the continued lack of power to the South Walnut pump station in Wauregan is due to Eversource crews not repairing downed trees and wires in the area despite the issue being put on the energy company’s radar days ago. “That generator is from the 1970s and the pump station is right near the Quinebaug River,” said Emergency Management Director Paul Yellen. “A mechanic once every day was going in and re-filling the generator fuel. We do have a back-up generator on a trailer, but neither option is ideal.” See POWER, A6
Connecticut removes Rhode Island from travel advisory By Emily Brindley Hartford Courant
Connecticut updated its travel advisory list Tuesday, removing neighboring Rhode Island from the list of travelrestricted places. In total, Connecticut on Tuesday removed four states — Alaska, New Mexico, Ohio and Rhode Island — from the list, but added Hawaii, South Dakota and the Virgin Islands. There are now 32 states and two territories on the list. Under the advisory, which was crafted in conjunction
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with New Jersey and New York, travelers are required to fill out a travel form upon arriving in Connecticut from any of the listed hotspot areas. After arriving in Connecticut, travelers are then required to self-quarantine for 14 days. Last week, Connecticut broke into new territory by adding neighboring Rhode Island to the advisory list. That state had seen a spike in coronavirus cases, but its numbers have come back down in recent days. The newly updated advisory list comes one day after
Business........................B8 Classified..................... B6 Comics.........................B7
“This is for real. We need people to follow these rules. If not, there will be consequences.” Connecticut’s chief operating officer, Josh Geballe
the state issued its first coronavirus-related fines. On Monday, Gov. Ned Lamont announced that two people had been issued $1,000 fines for violating the rules of the travel advisory. The state’s chief operating officer, Josh Geballe, said
Nation’s Health............. B4 Obituaries.................... A4 Opinion....................... A7
Monday that there are other ongoing investigations into possible violations. “This is for real. We need people to follow these rules,” Geballe said. “If not, there will be consequences.” Lamont first implemented the travel advisory in on June 25, through an executive order. But at the end of July, Lamont gave teeth to the advisory by issuing a second executive order that allows the state Department of Public Health to fine people who violate the advisory. See TRAVEL, A2
N AT I O N | A 5
107 YEAR-OLD SURVIVES COVID-19, SPANISH INFLUENZA
