Daily Five: Wrapping Up ‘Oscar Madness’ in Groton

1.  Today is Friday, Feb. 22.  The National Weather Service predicts increasing clouds and a high temperature of 38 degrees. The low will fall to 32 degrees tonight.

2.  Groton Public Library wraps up “Oscar Madness Contest and Film Festival” with a party at 2 p.m. on Saturday including screening of the movie that won Best Picture for 2012.  There will be popcorn! The library has also been holding a contest on its website at www.grotonpl.org to guess the winners of Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Actress. Those who guess correctly will be part of a drawing for free movie tickets.

3.  The Groton Board of Education’s Committee of the Whole will hold a special meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Monday in the school administration building to discuss the budget for the coming fiscal year.  The board is grappling with how to cut a proposed $76.6 million education budget for the coming fiscal year, a 5.54 percent increase over last year's spending plan. To get the budget to a zero increase, it needs to find about $4 million in cuts.

4.  Fitch High School will showcase its academic programs, extra-curricular and athletic offerings to eighth grade students and their parents during an open house from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. on Feb. 28 in the school gymnasiums. Administrators and school staff will be on hand to answer questions, and all eighth graders are encouraged to attend.

5.  The Mystic Hoxie Firehouse family-style pasta is hosting a dinner to benefit Cindy Grant, an emergency dispatcher who needs a stem cell transplant. The event has limited seating of 400 people, so tickets must be purchased in advance.

The dinner will be held from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. on March 4 at the firehouse at 34 Broadway Avenue in Mystic. Tickets are $10 and available at Groton Emergency Dispatch, the Poquonnock Bridge Fire Department and the Mystic Fire Department.

Although tickets will not be sold at the door due to space, all donations are appreciated; checks man be made out to ‘The Cindy Grant Fund’.  A special 501c3 account has been established.