A chipmunk has been darting into New Canaan Olive Oil this week when the door near Elm Street’s 50-yard-line is propped open. The staff at the shop has successfully ushered the small animal back out again.
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New Canaan Police will enforce seatbelt use among local motorists with the department’s “Click It or Ticket” campaign, to run May 22 to June 4 at random checkpoints in town.
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The New Canaan Land Trust has room for two more paid interns to work for the organization this summer. The Land Trust is looking for rising sophomores and juniors and pays $100 per week (for four days a week) for a 5-week summer resetting stonewalls, removing invasive plants, blazing trails, building wildlife habitat, doing research and learning about the land. Contact Executive Director Mike Johnson if interested, at mikejohnsonnclt@gmail.com.
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Dog Days New Canaan is coming 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday in the area outside Pet Pantry Warehouse on Grove Street. A benefit for Adopt-A-Dog and Strays & Others, Dog Days will feature “a full afternoon of fun activities, K9 demonstrations, as well as some entertaining pet activities to raise money for local animal adoption groups that have a serious need for funding,” said Pet Pantry Executive Vice President Adam Jacobson. Purchase tickets here.
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Police on Wednesday night cited a 22-year-old Darien man for minor drug violations after finding a small amount of marijuana and smoking pipe in his car, parked after-hours in Waveny in violation of local ordinance.
Sue Teoli of GoGo Fit, a fitness studio located at 162 Main St. Credit: Michael Dinan
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Sue Teoli’s GoGo Fit on Main Street in New Canaan has launched a “Shredding for the Wedding” offer for brides-to-be and their bridesmaids. The “Bridal Bootcamp” is four weeks long. Here’s more info on Sue and her fitness studio downtown.
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The Board of Selectmen during a special meeting scheduled for 8 a.m. Monday will vote on forming a “Fields Building Committee” to help oversee major upgrades to athletic fields. It will include Mike Benevento, Amy Bennett, Bob Spangler, Scott Werneburg and Nick Williams. Ex officio, non-voting members will include Steve Benko, Jay Egan, John Howe and Tiger Mann.
David Gusitsch
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District officials say they’ve hired a new assistant principal at New Canaan High School. David Gusitsch will succeed Dr. Veronica LeDuc, who is retiring. Gusitsch has more than one decade of experience serving as an educator and administrator in Westport, including serving one year as an interim assistant principal at Coleytown Middle School. He also has served as department chair, taught Health and Physical Education classes at Staples High School and assistant-coached several high school teams, including varsity football and varsity boys and girls swim teams. He earned a degree in educational leadership from Sacred Heart University, a master’s degree in sports management from Western Illinois University and a bachelor’s degree in health and physical education with coaching from Central Connecticut State University.
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A favorite annual fundraiser and dance party, “Books & Beats,” is coming to New Canaan Library on Saturday, June 3.
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The New Canaan Republican Town Committee will hold its caucus for the upcoming municipal elections at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 18 at New Canaan High School. GOP candidates will be on November’s ballot for first selectman (one seat), selectman (one seat), town clerk (one seat), town treasurer (one seat), Board of Education (three seats), Board of Assessment Appeals (two seats), Town Council (four seats) and constable (our seats). Prospective candidates for endorsement by the RTC must be registered New Canaan Republicans and are to submit their petitions signed by at least 25 registered New Canaan Republicans by hand-delivering them to Town Clerk Claudia Weber at New Canaan Town Hall, 77 Main Street, New Canaan, Connecticut no later than 4:30 p.m. on Friday, June 16.
Waveny members enjoy a hot July 2016 day in the pool. Credit: Emma Nolan
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The New Canaan Recreation Department on Tuesday received selectmen approval to hire about 70 part-time and seasonal employees for the summer, including lifeguards, camp counselors, tennis court attendants and supervisors for Waveny Pool.
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Police after midnight Thursday cited a 19-year-old Darien man for a minor drug violation after coming upon him in a car parked at a Main Street business. The vehicle’s headlights were on but the teen got himself out of sight of the officer who approached it. Police later found a glass pipe and marijuana grinder.
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The NCPD’s Youth Safety Day is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 28 at the high school. It’s for children ages 5 to 12, and the event will include a bicycle course and inspections, bicycle helmet giveaway, state police crash simulator demo and fire engine for viewing. All participants should bring bikes and helmets.
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Finally, here are a few newsworthy items from around town:
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On Saturday May 6th the Cub Scout Pack 70 - New Canaan participated in a Waveny Park trash cleanup. Over 20 Scouts and parents participated (see photo). Each year Scouts need to complete a service project to achieve their rank advancement. Additionally, all Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts follow the Outdoor Code: “As an American, I will do my best to be clean in my outdoor manners, be careful with fire, be considerate in the outdoors and be conservation minded.” This year, the Wolf Den (2nd graders) of Pack 70 proposed the idea of a Waveny Park cleanup after seeing one of the sports field sidelines and parking lots littered with trash over the winter. The approval process was a great learning experience for our Wolves. First, the Wolf Den had to agree on the service project idea. Then they presented their idea to the Pack 70 Committee (the Pack’s adult volunteers) where the leadership of the Pack asked the boys questions. On April 19th, the Wolves presented the cleanup project to the Town of New Canaan Parks and Recreation Commission at its regular scheduled meeting (see photo) and received their endorsement of the project. I’m sure everyone in New Canaan can agree that we have fabulous parks. There is a new walking trail at Waveny around the sports fields that was recently built and a new sidewalk connecting town to Irwin Park. The Town and private organizations continue to improve in our parks. During our cleanup at Waveny, in less than one hour our group collected 8 bags of litter that was left around the fields and trails. One of the boys asked me why people leave trash at our parks. All of us can do a better job maintaining our parks. Please remember to discard your own trash and dog waste so others don’t have to do it for you. Greg Ethridge, Wolf Den Leader, Pack 70 – New Canaan **New Canaan Cub Scout Pack 70 is chartered by the St. Mark's Episcopal Church and has nearly 50 families in its cub program. If you are interested in learning more about our program, please contact Steve Prostor (sprostor@me.com) or visit our website (https://newcanaan70.mypack.us/). Our next meeting is an open meeting/ recruiting event to be held at Irwin Park in New Canaan on June 8th from 7-8pm.**
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The Kiwanis Club of New Canaan welcomed New Canaan Postmaster Stephen Williamson to a recent Kiwanis luncheon at South End. Mr. Williamson shared news about new mailing options such as the Automated Postal Center (APC ) which is in the lobby and is available 24/7, and other product offerings such as Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) which is great for anyone with a business looking to grow revenue. “I’ve been with the New Canaan post office since July, 29th 1989, and was there until 2013,” he said. “I then spent 3 years at the 90 Main Street branch off and on, and was also at other offices supervising and training other employees” he continued. “And, I plan to be here for many, many years to come.” For questions pertaining to the New Canaan Post Office services please contact Steve at 203.966.1659.
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Scottish Sunday was held recently at the First Presbyterian Church. After a service, everyone gathered in the Community Room for a pot luck luncheon and were treated to a theatrical recitation of "Address to a Haggis" by Dougal Munro who spoke Robert Burns traditional words as he sliced open a homemade steaming haggis that was for all to partake who wished to. Contributed
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New Canaan Country School Third Graders Retrace Steps of Immigrants at Ellis Island Maddie Barto ran the length of the American Immigrant Wall of Honor followed closely by her friend, Gray Mathews. She was scanning the 700,000 inscribed names, looking for that of her great grandfather, Vincenzo Biocca, an Italian Immigrant. Success! Maddie and Gray were thrilled with their discovery! Maddie, Gray and their New Canaan Country School third grade classmates, were visiting Ellis Island, May 11, as a culmination of their year-long “Peopling of America” inquiry. The social studies unit had used a wide variety of hands-on, experiential methods to teach the students about the different groups that came to America and how they contributed to the fabric of our nation. The students had spent time researching their own ancestry and cultural identities, interviewing family members and reporting their findings. Teachers had also introduced them to poetry, literature and personal narratives such as the story of Annie Moore, a teen from Ireland, who was the first person to pass through federal immigrant inspection at the Ellis Island station where they now stood. In the weeks leading up to the field trip, they had been studying the period 1892-1924, learning about conditions in Europe that led to emigration, the journey itself, what happened to families as they arrived on Ellis Island and how they built a new life in America. They had even staged a complete recreation of the Great Hall immigration experience, assuming the identities of specific immigrants and dressing in clothes of that period and culture. Teachers and school administrators played the roles of immigration officers and health inspectors, speaking in a wide variety of foreign languages to recreate the perplexing and chaotic atmosphere of arriving in a strange land. The student “immigrants” were asked a series of interview questions and underwent mock health and mental examinations as part of the re-enactment. “We purposely made the experience disorienting,” said Grade 3 Teacher Michal Speck of the totally immersive experience. “We wanted to give the students a small taste of the challenges that immigrants faced as they entered the country.” Back at Ellis Island, students walked through the very rooms that thousands of immigrants had passed through before them. They browsed exhibits of objects and photographs and listened to audio recordings of personal stories and recollections. Looking around them, Maddie and Gray took it all in. “We are retracing the actual steps of all those people who came before us,” marveled Gray. “That’s pretty amazing.”