The Daily Five: Garbage on Fire, No Sheep on Mondays, and Public Hearing Rescheduled

1. Weather.com is predicting a mostly cloudy day with a high temperature of 42 degrees and an overnight low of 36 degrees. Expect showers tonight, when there will be a 40 percent chance of rain. 

2. A whole heap of garbage was smoldering behind Big Y in Old Lyme yesterday. According to local police and fire fighters, a garbage truck making the rounds from Old Saybrook caught fire en route.

Some of the burning debris reportedly fell off along Route 9 but the driver of the truck didn't notice he was smokin' hot until he got to Old Lyme. In order to prevent his entire truck from catching fire, he pulled into the lot behind Big Y and dumped the load, at which point Old Lyme Fire Department was called to put it out. 

3. The very important public hearing on the East Lyme School District proposed budget for fiscal year 2012-2013 was postponed along with all the other school board meetings scheduled yesterday due to the weather. The public hearing has been rescheduled for 6 p.m. next Monday, February 4, with the Board of Education meeting on the budget to follow.

4. Restaurant week in East Lyme and Niantic was apparently quite successful, giving local restaurants a much-needed boost in business during the winter doldrums. Still, on a regular week in January and February, restaurants aren't nearly as busy as they are during the peak summer or holiday season.

Accordingly, the Black Sheep in Niantic has now joined the ranks of a number of other downtown restaurants in closing on Mondays until March. The Sheep is open on Tuesdays at 4 p.m., though, because tonight is trivia night! 

5. Now that we're entering budget season in earnest, the town of Old Lyme couldn't be happier to report that it's entering fiscal year 2013-2014 with money in the bank.

At the town's annual business meeting last night, the Board of Finance reported that it had a substantial fund balance resulting from money included in the budget in past years that was not spent. That surplus is important, because it gives the town and the school district the ability to borrow money as needed.