Did You Hear … ?

A 12-year-old Labradoodle on Wednesday finished its legally required 2-week home confinement after biting a young boy on the leg on Jan. 11, officials said. The Saxe Middle School student stepped onto a private property on Canoe Hill Road after getting off the bus and the dog, a resident there, bit him in the calf, according to a police report. The incident wasn’t reported until the following day, when the boy’s leg began to ache and swell at school, according to the Animal Control section of the New Canaan Police Department.

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Here’s a big ‘Congratulations’ to 2015 New Canaan High School graduate and All-State First Team baseball player Zack Smith on a rare honor achieved as a sophomore at Newport, R.I.-based Salve Regina University: captain of the school’s baseball team. The standout Rams catcher helped lead the Seahawks to their first Commonwealth Coast Championship since 2005, hitting cleanup with a .417 batting average. He earned First Team All-Conference honors as an outfielder, ABCA All-Region and D3Baseball.com All-New England Team, including rookie of the region.

Salve baseball Head Coach Eric Cirella in an interview with NewCanaanite.com said that Smith is the only sophomore to be named a captain, with four seniors and a junior. Cirella said Smith played nearly every day and “did a fantastic job, starting in the weight room with recruits.”

“He does an outstanding job with recruiting, helping with overnight visits, taking kids who are looking at different schools, getting himself in shape and following our program,” Cirella said.

“Actually, he helped me this year with our program, with position players,” the coach said. “The things he is doing are positive for the program and that’s something we talk a lot about as a team, and guys try to do it but Zach just did a really good job and I know for a fact he grabbed a lot from this year and took it to the weight room and helped.” The NCHS alumnus earned so many honors as a rookie last season that Cirella said: “I could coach for another 20 years and not have another one of those.” The coach continued: “He kind of does it on and off the field … Obviously, Zack gets a lot of respect from his teammates and I think it will be a good learning experience for him. He has taken on a big leadership role. He’s up in the office every day: ‘Hey, coach, what do you need? What can I do?’ ”

Smith is to play this summer for the Pittsfield Suns, in the Future Collegiate Baseball League of New England.

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Speaking of the nation’s pastime—registration is currently open for New Canaan Baseball, the town’s youth league. Parents can sign up players between the ages of 5 and 15 at www.newcanaanbbsb.com. Please note, a late fee kicks in after Feb. 13.

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The new Japanese restaurant planned for Forest Street, Hashi Sushi, is on track to open in April, its manager told NewCanaanite.com.

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Here’s a shout-out to 1982 NCHS graduate and Vermont Realtor Joe Karl of “our” New Canaan Karl family (Leo and Steve’s brother), who appeared on HGTV’s “Log Cabin Living.” Season 3, Episode 6 is called “Green Mountains Weekend Cabin,” and Karl—a Realtor with Mary Davis & Associates of Ludlow, Vt.—was featured on the show. Keep an eye out for the next time it airs, and the ‘KARL Chevy’ front license plate on the Chevy Tahoe that appears in the program.

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Police received a report of a mountain lion sighting on Valley and North Wilton Roads last weekend. The report came in on Saturday morning, according to Animal Control. No photo was taken and no other sightings were reported, though there have been reports of mountain lion appearances in neighboring Wilton, officials said.

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A New Canaan interior designer and her home are featured in a recent New York Times article about the longstanding practice of “immurement”—burying or concealing items in the structure of a house as it’s built.

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Some info about a New Canaan enterprise launched three years ago by a pair of town women: Upscale Resale CT is an online consignment business whose “January refresh” items include the Restoration Hardware sofa pictured at right. A “Belgian classic roll arm” with blue-gray toned slipcover it’s built of kiln-dried hardwood with 8-way, hand-tied spring suspension with double-doweled frame. Upscale Resale’s new arrivals are discounted to up to 50 percent off sale prices.

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A resident close to the ongoing dispute between an auto body shop on Main Street and its immediate neighbors on East Maple Street told members of the Police Commission at their Jan. 18 meeting that relations have been improving since NCPD’s involvement.

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Here’s your final reminder about “Smart * Strong * Special”—a mother-daughter workshop from New Canaan-founded nonprofit organization LiveGirl. Featuring author Laurie Wolk, the free workshop (registration is required) is to be held at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 1 in the cafeteria at Saxe Middle School.

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Police at 1:16 p.m. on Jan. 14 were called to Valley Road on a report of an injured goose. By the time officials responded, it flew away, apparently OK.

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Finally, two bits of news about Bankwell. First, middle school students from a Norwalk Housing Authority after-school program have exhibited their work this January at the Silvermine Arts Center under a project made possible by Bankwell, which donated $2,500 to Art Partners, Silvermine’s Outreach Education department directed by Sophia Gevas.

Second, Bankwell Financial Group reported record fourth quarter and annual net income of $3.3 million or 43 cents per share and $12.4 million or $1.62 per share, respectively, declaring a first-quarter dividend.