These are some of the top stories to hit Connecticut in 2021
From presidential visits to devastating and tragic fires to a slight return back to normal – here are some of the biggest local stories that popped up.
While COVID-19 followed Connecticut into 2021, it wasn’t the only news happening around the state this year.
From presidential visits to devastating and tragic fires to a slight return back to normal – here are some of the biggest local stories that popped up in Connecticut during the last 12 months.
Visits from the White House
As 2021 began, the country still battling the pandemic, President Joe Biden was sworn into office. Unlike in prior inaugurations where people packed into the Washington Mall, thousands of flags took their place this year. It was also a historic day for Vice President Kamala Harris as she became the country’s first female and first biracial vice president in the country’s history.
Both would wind up visiting Connecticut over the course of the year, along with Connecticut-native Dr. Miguel Cardona, who became Biden’s secretary of education.
The first visit came by first lady Jill Biden and Cardona. On March 3, they visited a Meriden elementary school one day after Cardona was sworn in to lead the U.D. Department of Education.
Harris was next to visit the state on March 23. She made the trip alongside Cardona and Senators Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal. The trip was part of the “Help is Here” tour, which was promoting the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill that was passed in February by Congress.
The focus of the trip was to highlight the challenges Connecticut and cities around the country are facing in regard to child poverty and education, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
President Biden then visited Connecticut on May 19 to deliver the keynote address at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London.
There, the president commented on sexual assault in the military while also praising the number of women graduates that year.
Cardona would make more stops throughout the year, including for a 9/11 memorial ceremony in Meriden.
In October, President Biden visited Connecticut once more to help promote his “Build Back Better” agenda. While here, Biden visited a childcare center in Hartford while talking about how the “Build Back Better” proposal would help invest in child care and make it free for lower-income families.
Biden then traveled to Storrs for the dedication of the Dodd Center for Human Rights at UConn.
In early December, the first lady joined Secretary of the Navy Carlos del Toro in Groton where they attended a Christmas party for families of those on the USS Delaware, the submarine for which the first lady serves as a sponsor.
Destructive and Tragic Fires Subtitle here
The last 12 months saw some tragic and fatal fires across the state.
In February, the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp in Ashford went up in flames, destroying one of the main buildings on the camp’s site. The destructive fire gave way to an outpouring of support to help rebuild what was lost.
Just days after the February 12 blaze, donations to help rebuild at the camp that Paul Newman founded in 1988 poured in. Soon after, Newmans’ Own brands donated one million dollars and Travelers matched another one million dollars from private donors. Then, the Travelers Championship raised additional funds.
Connecticut also lost two firefighters in two separate fires over the year as well.
On May 12, 30-year-old Ricardo Torres Jr., a New Haven firefighter, answered the call and ran into a burning home in the Elm City. Sadly, he lost his life.
Officials said he had gotten lost and disoriented and when other firefighters arrived to his location, they found Torres and another firefighter, Lt. Samod Rankins, unconscious.
On August 10, a fire ripped through the historic New Hartford building. The fire was escalated to a 3-alarm blaze as departments from the surrounding area were called in to assist.
Burlington Volunteer Fire Department firefighter and EMT, Colin McFadden, had an acute form of Leukemia which was previously undiagnosed. Sadly, working the fire, he suffered complications and suffered a sudden brain hemorrhage. He was later pronounced dead.
RELATED: 'He will be severely missed' | Fallen Burlington firefighter Colin McFadden laid to rest in Bristol
Tropical Systems hit the Nutmeg State
Connecticut was visited by four tropical systems over the summer: Elsa, Fred, Henri, and Ida.
Elsa came first as a full-fledged tropical storm on July 9. It was a harbinger of a wet and hot summer that the state would have to endure. With the storm came the first bought of flash flooding Connecticut would come to experience with the coming storms.
With Elsa, rivers and streams overflowed their banks and when a week later, thunderstorms rolled through, more flooding damage was caused.
After Elsa came the remnants of Tropical Storm Fred. Fred did not hit the state as a full tropical storm, but its remnants were enough to cause damage.
A tornado was spun up as Fred passed through the state, touching down in Thompson on August 19. Heavy rain also brought headaches for residents and commuters, causing localized flash flooding in areas like West Hartford and Bloomfield.
Tropical Storm Henri four days later on August 23. It came ashore in Westerly, Rhode Island, with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph. With it came more damaging rain and flash floods.
Heavy downpours caused damage in Manchester as it washed away a road by a condominium complex on Ambassador Drive. No injuries were reported. A tree fell onto a home in Canterbury as well due to the winds and the saturated grounds.
Due to the rain from Henri but also the tropical systems before it, health officials urged people to stay out of the water until it could be tested.
When Henri initially approached Connecticut as a category 1 hurricane, Eversource officials said nearly 800,000 people may lose power. However, throughout the day, the total number of outages across the state stayed below 40,000 customers at one time.
While Henri lacked in its severity, the remnants of Ida, which had made landfall in New Orleans as a category 4 storm, brought the final punch and the end to a rainy summer in Connecticut.
Ida, which struck the state on September 2, killed 45 in its path as it took the northeast by surprise.
The storm dumped several inches of rain across the region and including in Connecticut. The storm blindsided places like New York City which found people trapped in their apartments, unable to get out. At least 13 people died in the city with 11 of them unable to get out of their basement apartments in time.
In Connecticut, State Trooper Brian Mohl was swept away in his cruiser as Ida made landfall.
Ida was the final tropical system to pass over the state for the summer season, leaving in its wake a trail of destruction and tragedy.
RELATED: 'He could be counted on to get the job done' | Fallen state police Sgt. Brian Mohl laid to rest
Deadly Plainville Plane Crash
On September 2, four people aboard a Cessna plane were killed after the plane crashed into the Trumpf Inc. building in Plainville.
The plane had departed from Robertson Field Airport in Plainville and was heading to Dare County Regional Airport in Manteo, North Carolina.
The two pilots of the plane were identified as William O’Leary, 55, from Bristol and Mark Morrow, 57, from Danbury. The two passengers have been identified as Dr. Courtney Haviland, 33, and her husband Dr. William Shrauner, 32, from Boston.
A family spokesperson for the Shrauner family had told FOX61 News exclusively that the couple's family and friends are heartbroken and are currently focused on healing.
Boston Medical Center, where the couple worked, released a statement regarding the terrible tragedy:
"We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of one of our cardiology fellows, Dr. Will Shrauner, and his wife, Dr. Courtney Haviland. Will, a second-year fellow at Boston Medical Center, was well known as an outstanding educator, physician, colleague and friend to many. Our thoughts and prayers are with Will and Courtney's family and loved ones."
On September 28, the NTSB released its preliminary report regarding the crash.
The report indicates the aircraft - a Cessna 560XL - was going slower than usual as it took off from the airport runway. The NSTB said the parking brake was left on during the takeoff roll.
Witnesses told investigators they saw a puff of smoke as the plane went down the runway and that it was having trouble gaining altitude.
"Two witnesses observed the takeoff roll with one reporting the airplane was 'going slower' than they had seen during previous takeoffs," the report said. "When the airplane was about 2/3 down the runway, one witness noted a puff of blue-colored smoke from the backside of the airplane. The other witness stated that the nose landing gear was still on the ground as the airplane passed a taxiway intersection near the mid-point of the runway and he said to a friend with him that something was wrong."
Investigators said there were skid marks down the runway.
Four employees at the Trumpf building were also injured following the crash.
The crash itself continues to remain under investigation.
Vaccinations and an Easing of Restrictions
When spring came, the eligibility requirements for vaccinations opened up to everyone in the state who met the criteria for them.
As the vaccinations came, so did a new chapter in the fight against COVID-19. Lines of people throughout the state waited to get their first shots. And after the shots began, so did the easing of certain restrictions put in place at the very beginning of the pandemic.
Connecticut was one of the first states to implement a statewide mask mandate in April 2020. In May 2021, Connecticut started to see the first easing of that mandate but with an exception: Only vaccinated people were allowed to go maskless.
With the easing of restrictions came the return of America’s favorite pastime: baseball. The Hartford Yard Goats lifted their COVID-19 restrictions as well, opening back up to full capacity.
Due to Connecticut’s vaccination rate and relatively low numbers, the Manchester Road Race also returned to an in-person event. Thousands of runners laced up their shoes to take part in the 85th running on Thanksgiving morning, continuing the tradition. In 2020, the race had to be a virtual one due to the pandemic.
Juneteenth
President Joe Biden signed into law on June 17 that Juneteenth, celebrated on June 19, would now be a federally recognized holiday.
Juneteenth, also known as “Freedom Day,” is the commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States.
The end of slavery is often recognized as when the Emancipation Proclamation was signed by Abraham Lincoln in 1863; however, Juneteenth recognizes when the last slaves were actually told about the president's order.
On that day in 1865, Union soldiers – led by Major General Gordon Granger – rode into Galveston, Texas.
It was there that he announced the Civil War had ended and read General Order No. 3., which stated: All enslaved people are free.
While President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation became official on Jan. 1, 1863, those still enslaved in Texas had not yet received that information.
The name Juneteenth comes from a blending of the date. The holiday serves as an opportunity to cherish freedom, but also poignantly acknowledge the history of slavery in the country.
Juneteenth became the country's 12th federal holiday.
In Connecticut specifically, Gov. Ned Lamont officially declared the date as Juneteenth Day in 2020.
Jennifer Glatz is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jglatz@fox61.com.
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