Did You Hear … ?

The aerial photos in the gallery above show the new turf being laid at the Water Tower Turf field at New Canaan High School and the final stages of drainage and grading for the NCHS track. Both projects are moving forward on schedule, and officials expect completion of the first turf field midweek next week and paving of the track by the end of next week. The project, estimated to cost $5.8 million is a public-private partnership between the town and New Canaan Athletic Foundation.

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Town officials last month received an after-the-fact application to add a full bathroom in the basement of a New Canaan home. The bathroom at 31 Shady Knoll Lane went in “many years ago” and the job cost approximately $5,000, according to a building permit application received Sept. 25 at Town Hall. “I do not know why my contactor did not get the permit,” the applicant said. The house is under contract to close Oct. 13, according to the application.

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Congratulations to the following four New Canaan High School athletes on earning inaugural “Athlete of the Month” recognition from the school for September. The program recognizes an outstanding athlete from each grade:

• Grade 9 —Doyle Catlin (Boys Soccer)
• Grade 10 —Emily Knight (Field Hockey)
• Grade 11 —Garrett Braden (Football)
• Grade 12—Carson Allsteadt (Volleyball)

Nominated by the head coaches of the their sports and selected by a committee of NCHS coaches, the athletes meet criteria that include exemplary contributions to the team both on and off the field/court; putting the needs of the team before themselves; displaying a positive attitude and enthusiasm; and exemplifying the Athletic Department’s core values of responsibility, accountability, motivation and strength of character, according to NCHS Athletic Director Jay Egan. “It should be noted that the Athlete of the Month may or may not be the star player, but is always a team member who sets a good example for others and is a player whom everyone would want associated with their team, he said.

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Federal health officials cited Waveny Care Center for a single minor deficiency during an unannounced inspection in May, according to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services records. It had to do with improper chemical concentration levels in a sanitizer solution.

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At Bankwell’s “VIP Party” Wednesday night at Wee Burn Beach Club in Rowayton, attendees celebrated the bank’s milestone of being named one of the 100 best performing banks nationwide by S&P—the only one in Connecticut.]

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A New Canaan man faces a misdemeanor failure to appear charge after he apparently failed to pay or plead to an infraction summons issued May 10 for failure to license a dog. New Canaan Police on Tuesday at about 8:15 p.m. charged the man after traveling to his residence to serve a paperless re-arrest warrant. He has addresses on both Laurel and Heritage Hill Roads.

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A GoFundMe page has been established here to aid the New Canaan family displaced by a major house fire on Silver Ridge Road on Saturday.

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Police last Friday night cited two 17-year-old New Canaan boys for possession of alcohol by a minor after breaking up an underage drinking party on Heritage Hill Road. On arriving at the home around 10:38 p.m. on Sept. 29, officers saw “multiple youths” running away, and then found several liquor bottles and beer cans inside, the report said. One of the teens additionally was cited for failure to halt possession.

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We hear from Steve Benko, New Canaan’s longtime recreation director and a town native, that the concrete stanchion at Lapham and Old Stamford Roads that was the subject of a news article on NewCanaanite.com this week may have originally been located at Main Street and East Avenue. The state may have had the town remove it some time in the 1960s to improve traffic flow downtown when traffic lights were installed there. It was moved to the highway garage first, and then relocated to 106 and Lapham to help delineate the busy intersection, Benko said. “There was a grass island there previously and I believe that they needed to clean up the intersection and the concrete stanchion found a new home,” he said.

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The New Canaan Farmers Market on this Saturday will hold a food drive for Norwalk-based Open Door Shelter’s food pantry and kitchen. The market runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Center School Lot off of Maple Street downtown and on Oct. 7 volunteers from Open Door will be on-site accepting fresh produce and non-perishable food items as well as monetary donations.

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Bankwell is the presenting sponsor, in partnership with WEBE 108 and WICC 600, of the 20^th Anniversary 5K Run for Home & Workboot Challenge that will take place Saturday, Oct. 7, 2017 at Seaside Park in Bridgeport beginning at 9 am. Bankwell donated $5,000 to the cause, and proceeds raised from this year’s run will help finish the construction of a new Habitat home for a family in need of decent, affordable housing in coastal Fairfield County. For more information on the run or to register, interested parties can go here online.

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Finally, three new commercial lenders have joined the Bankwell lending team:

Scott Davis joined the Company as Vice President, Commercial Lender. Prior to joining Bankwell, he spent four years as a Vice President for EverBank, where he lent on single tenant investment and owner occupied properties. Prior to that, Scott spent over 10 years as commercial real estate lender at GE Real Estate. A resident of Trumbull, Mr. Davis earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Lehigh University and an MBA from the University of Illinois.

Damon Ralph has been named Assistant Vice President, Commercial Lender, at Bankwell. Damon brings 18 years of experience in the commercial banking industry to Bankwell. As a Senior Business Relationship Manager at Wells Fargo for the last six years, Damon was responsible for sourcing, developing and closing a wide range of transactions from commercial mortgages to business acquisitions to operating lines of credit and equipment loans. A resident of Milford, Damon teaches and competes in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Frank Coppola has joined Bankwell as a Commercial Lender following a career in both retail banking and lending. Frank brings an expertise to Bankwell in SBA lending, and has experience in closing a varied amount of loans from acquisitions, owner occupied CRE, leveraged buy outs and startups. Frank attended Southern Connecticut State University, where he majored in Business Administration. He resides in Wallingford, with his wife and daughter.