The Daily Five: FEMA in Old Lyme, Grinding in East Lyme, Powerball Madness, and a Butterfingers Angel

1. Today will be sunny and tonight should be clear, with a high temperature of 42 degrees and an overnight low of 30 degrees, according to weather.com.

2. The beach communities in Old Lyme had plenty of digging out to do after Storm Sandy. At last count, 268 homes in Old Lyme were deemed uninhabitable, about 60 were "unsafe" due to structural concerns, and at least four need to be demolished. 

A number of people have been calling Old Lyme Emergency Management asking advice as they work on restoring their property. To help answer questions, the town is sponsoring an “Evening with FEMA” for individuals and homeowners with storm-related questions at Old Lyme Memorial Town Hall tonight from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Federal representatives from the FEMA Individual Assistance Program, Small Business Administration, National Flood Insurance Program and Hazard Mitigation Programs will be available to answer questions and provide guidance. All town residents, including renters, and property and business owners who were affected by Storm Sandy are encouraged to attend.  

3. East Lyme High School students were featured on WFSB Channel 3 news yesterday complaining about the school's rules banning dirty dancing after grinding at school dances last year generated complaints from parents and students who felt the moves were, shall we say, "inappropriate." The issue came up for the first time this year at the Homecoming dance.  

4. A lot of churches offer presentations of the Christmas story around the holidays but Niantic Community Church is taking a slightly irreverent approach this year with a production of by CBC Productions.

The show was written by Tony-award winner William Gibson and features Mary as a single mom who has sworn off men and the idea of marriage, a slightly flustered angel, a sultry jazz-singing Christmas tree, and a donkey with a lot of personality.  

The show, which promises plenty of holiday cheer, is directed by the Rev. Dr. John A. Nelson who was a director and lighting and set designer in the 1970s before he became a pastor. He is ably assisted by music director is Jeff Barnhart.

“Music and laughter is a great way to begin the Christmas season in a non-commercial way,” says Pastor Nelson.

The show opens tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m., and will be presented again December 1 at 7:30 p.m. and on Sunday, December 2 at 4:00 p.m. at Niantic Community Church, 170 Pennsylvania Avenue, Niantic.

Clearly, this is not your average Christmas pageant!

Speaking of shows, Broadway Kids & Company in Niantic is holding auditions for its spring show, Beauty and the Beast. Auditions will be held this evening at the studio at 12 Pennsylvania Avenue starting at 6:30 p.m. Boys are strongly encouraged to try out for roles in this production!  

5. The Powerball Jackpot reached a record $550 million for yesterday's drawing and the winning numbers were 5, 16, 22, 23, 29 and 6 (the power ball number). Although you've got a better chance of having conjoined twins, being struck by lightning, or being attacked by a shark than you have of winning the lottery, that didn't stop millions of people from buying tickets for the grand prize yesterday.

Then again, someone's got to win it, right? And it can happen here. Just yesterday, a Waterford couple stepped forward to claim their roughly $3 million share of the $45 million jackpot of Connecticut Lottery's Classic Lotto! As the state lottery never tires of telling us, you can't win if you don't play.