www.southingtoncitizen.com
Volume 20, Number 31
Friday, August 4, 2023
Local farms spared from the worst of seasonal weather By Christian Metzger Record-Journal staff
In this photo from January 2022, Meriden Public Schools director of facilities David Paul carries high-rating MERV 13 filters used in one of several air handlers at Platt High School in Meriden. Dave Zajac, Record-Journal
Schools on front line in fight against asthma By Cris Villalonga-Vivoni Record-Journal staff
Although asthma prevalence in Connecticut has been decreasing over the years, the state still ranked among the top 15 in the nation for percentage of asthmatic adults in 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Public school systems are microcosms of these high rates, with an estimated one in eight students under 18 years old living with asthma, reported the state Department of Public Health. Meriden schools have had a particularly high prevalence of asthma cases — 21.2% of
students in 2020-21, according to DPH’s Connecticut School-based Asthma Surveillance Report. That was higher than Bridgeport (18.5%), Hartford (17.1%), Middletown (15.3%) and New Haven (14.3%) school districts. See Asthma, A8
SOUTHINGTON — Farms in the local community have been spared the worst of the state’s recent weather. Recent rainfall has exceeded 423% of the average for July, causing significant flooding across the state, damaging farms and destroying an entire season's worth of crops.
and Sen. Richard Blumenthal have filed a request with the Department of Agriculture for a disaster declaration in all eight of the state’s counties. Between the flooding and a flash freeze that occurred earlier this year in May, the Connecticut Department of Agriculture assessed that 1,500 acres have been impacted with a cumulative $29.4 million projected to have been lost
Both Gov. Ned Lamont
See Farms, A12
Plainville woman opens ice cream shop in honor of grandfather By Nicole Zappone Record-Journal staff
Plainville’s newest ice cream shop, Lacroix’s Homemade Ice Cream, offers a sweet spot for a cool treat on these hot summer days.
flavors, from white chocolate raspberry to peanut butter cup to orange pineapple. Lauren Minty and Sean Williston, the shop’s owners, are eager to get people to try flavors they had never tried before.
The shop offers a variety of
See Lacroix, A6
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