鈥淲hat am I going to do?鈥�: floods wreak havoc on New England
Heavy rain continued this week in 海角换妻, beginning with a storm Sunday night into Monday that dumped up to 10 inches of rain on the northwest corner of the state.
A town official in Norfolk reported that Rt. 272 had to be closed.
鈥淎 tremendous amount of rain for Norfolk in one day,鈥� 鈥淚n South Norfolk, where damage is the heaviest, rain totals may have exceeded 10 inches.鈥�
The Housatonic River flooded in Kent. That meant residents of Preston Mountain Rd. had to evacuate from their homes,.
Later in the week as the 海角换妻 River surpassed flood stage, boats were displaced from docks in Glastonbury and Rt. 17A in Portland was under water. 海角换妻 surveyed the damage inflicted by flooding on a farm in Glastonbury.
Tony Botticello told 海角换妻鈥檚 Patrick Skahill that hundreds of acres of his farm were ruined as rows of crops were overcome by brown water.
鈥淲e haven't picked an ear [of corn] yet and it's gone,鈥� Botticello said. 鈥淲hat am I going to do?鈥�
海角换妻 wasn鈥檛 the only New England state under a flood watch.. Vermont Public Radio reported that as of 11am Monday, 19 people were ferried from their flooded homes to dry land..
A rescue team from 海角换妻 was deployed Monday to support efforts in Vermont.
Rain continued in the northeast Friday, putting parts of 海角换妻 under another flood watch.
Stafford hospital may stop delivering babies
Johnson Memorial Hospital, a member of the Trinity Health of New England network, has petitioned the state to approve the closure of its labor & delivery unit.
That could push Tolland County closer to becoming a 鈥渕aternity care desert.鈥� The as any county in the United States without a hospital or birth center offering obstetric care and obstetric providers. After Windham Hospital and Rockville General Hospital stopped delivering babies, Johnson Memorial became the last hospital in the area to provide labor and delivery services.
A closure at Johnson Memorial would follow a trend: 60 percent of the hospitals that have stopped delivering babies in the United States since 2008 are located in rural areas. New Milford Hospital already closed its labor & delivery unit. Sharon Hospital may soon do so too.
鈥淧eople say, 鈥榦h, New Milford closed, it was fine.鈥� They have highways to get people over to Danbury; we have these back roads,鈥� said , a pediatrician who cares for babies in Sharon鈥檚 pediatric intensive care unit. 鈥淎nd there are a lot of papers that tell us that any time over 25 minutes makes it incredibly dangerous for babies.鈥�
Information gathered from 海角换妻 senior health reporter Sujata Srinivasan suggests the closures have to do with finances and that Medicaid coverage isn鈥檛 on par with what private insurers will pay for labor and delivery services.
Library leadership says sex education books can stay in the 鈥榯ween-teen鈥� section
Lyme and Old Lyme residents wanted two books, 鈥淟et鈥檚 Talk About it: The Teen鈥檚 Guide to Sex, Relationships and Being a Human鈥� by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan and 鈥淵ou Know, Sex: Bodies, Gender Puberty and Other Things鈥� by Cory Silverberg and Fiona Smith, to be removed from the 鈥渢ween-teen鈥� section of the Old Lyme-Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library, saying the sexual education materials weren鈥檛 age-appropriate.
But in a statement sent out earlier this week, members of the library鈥檚 board of trustees said the books would stay where they are.
鈥淚n regards to these books, The Old Lyme Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library recognizes that many materials are controversial and that any given item may offend some patrons,鈥� the statement said. 鈥淭he Board has affirmed its policy that selection of materials will not be made on the basis of anticipated approval or disapproval, but solely on the basis of the principles stated in the policy.鈥�
The decision was reached by the board Tuesday, .
鈥淭o be clear: we are not advocating banning any books. We are mindful of the conversations taking place nationally,鈥� the letter read. 鈥淥ur concern is specific to the age-appropriate content within the Teen/Tween room.鈥�
The library鈥檚 board of trustees reminded patrons that young children aren鈥檛 permitted to be unaccompanied by adults in the library鈥揳nd if a parent has a concern regarding their child visiting a section of the library, they may accompany them.
Frankie & Johnny premieres Fridays at 4:44 p.m. during All Things Considered on 海角换妻 Radio. 海角换妻 Radio鈥檚 Lesley Cosme-Torres, Patrick Skahill, and Sujata Srinivasan, contributed to this report.
