Play in the dirt at UConn this Saturday

The Connecticut State Museum of Natural History, part of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Connecticut, presents “Playing in the Dirt: Exploring Backyard Microbiology” on June 4.

Kenneth Noll and his team of researchers in the department of molecular and cell biology will lead the program on Saturday, 10 a.m. to noon.

Springtime offers an explosion of new life as the sun warms the soil and buds become blooms.

Many embrace the season by turning over the soil, adding com­post and planting vegetables and flowers. Spring is also a time of blooming for the unseen microbial world in the soil, the compost and even in and on the plants.

Join a team of microbiology researchers from UConn in this exploration of microbial life found in everyone’s backyard.

Bring in soil samples and collect samples from around campus with the team.

Then, laboratory protocols will be used to determine the types of microbes lurking in the samples.

Noll and the other researchers will discuss what the presence of these microbes means to the health of the soil as well as the health of those exposed to it.

The program fee is $30, $25 for museum members. Advance regis­tration is required. This program is for adults and children ages 10 and above. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

For registration information visit http://www.cac.uconn.edu/mnhcurrentcalendar.html or call (860) 486-4460.
Posted 5-21-2011

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Long weekend marred by 4 highway fatalities

State and local police were busy this Memorial Day weekend, with state police responding to more accidents than last year.

Driving under the influence arrests made by state police, how­ever, were down slightly.

State police responded to 260 accidents from midnight on Friday through midnight Monday. Four of those accidents were fatalities and 18 involved injuries.

Last year, troopers responded to 249 accidents, only one of which was a fatality.

They made 70 driving-under­-the- influence arrests and issued 2,013 speeding tickets and 978 tickets to individuals for not wear­ing seatbelts this year.

State Police spokesman Lt. J. Paul Vance said troopers are con­cerned about the increased num­ber of speeding tickets.

In 2010, troopers issued 1,729 speeding tickets. This year, 2,013 were issued.

“We hope this is not a signal of things to come (throughout the summer),” Vance said, noting there was a “spike in traffic” over the holiday weekend.

The four fatalities, he noted, were on I-95 in Groton, Route 85 in Bolton, Route 244 in Pomfret and I-95 in West Haven.

Despite traffic concerns, state police made six fewer DUI arrests, down from 76 last year.

Activity for Willimantic Police was typical of holiday weekends, Willimantic Police Lt. Raymond Evans said this morning.

He said his department respond­ed to approximately 267 com­plaints over a four- day period, beginning Friday and ending Monday. This includes six acci­dents, one of which Evans said was serious. None of the acci­dents was a fatality. Willimantic police also respond­ed to 21 disturbance calls “of a general nature,” five domestic disturbance calls, seven narcot­ics-related calls, two weapons­-related calls and made 19 criminal arrests, Evans said.

The arrests were made for a variety of charges that “run the gamut,” including an assault of a pregnant female, he said. It was an active weekend,” Evans said.

No arrests were made during the weapon-related calls because the department was unable to verify the complaints, he said.

No individuals were harmed in these incidents, one of which involved a knife and the other involved a gun.

Coventry police said they had 18 motor vehicle stops, one DUI, and one accident in which the driver evaded responsibility.

Coventry Police Chief Mark Palmer and Lt. Nancy Thurnauer could not be reached for comment this morning.

Posted 5-31-2011

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