Egan exudes excellence in all facets of life at Loyola
Loyola senior swimmer and education major Cara Egan reflects on all of her accomplishments as a Greyhound.
Congratulations to 2012 New Canaan grad Cara Egan, a record-breaking swimmer at Loyola University Maryland whose educational, athletic and civic accomplishments are celebrated in the Patriot League Network YouTube channel video above. They include what officials are calling the highest student-leader honor that can be bestowed at Loyola, the Diane Geppi-Aikens Service Award. We heard about the video from NCHS teacher and swim coach David Fine, whose Y Nationals-qualifying 1,650-yard freestyle swim in 1991 in the Payne-Whitney Gymnasium at Yale University remains an essential part of New Canaan Y swimming lore.
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Officials never did find a raccoon that was behaving erratically, perhaps because it was sick, on Feb. 3 on Adams Lane. The animal was bouncing off of trees and circling, Animal Control officials said.
Sheri and Olivia West of New Canaan. Contributed
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New Canaan-founded and –operated nonprofit organization LiveGirl will hold its inaugural major fundraiser at New Canaan Library on Tuesday, March 8. “Raising Resilient Girls In the Digital Age” is being billed as a parent education event that will feature Girls Leadership Institute founder and director Simone Marean. Tickets are $70—register here and learn more about LiveGirl here.
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Congratulations to New Canaan’s Caroline Murray, a standout soccer player at the University of New Hampshire. The school reports that she has signed a contract to play professionally in Finland—the first UNH Wildcat to do so. Amazing! Read more here.
Pictured left to right: Katie Marciano, Kim La Du, Kate McMahon and Catherine Granito. Contributed
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The 14th annual New Canaan High School Prom Fashion Show will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 26 in the high school auditorium. Hosted by the class of 2016, it’s a fundraiser for the Post Prom Party which will take place immediately following the Senior Prom. This year’s theme is “A Night at the Oscars” and more than 135 models from the class of 2016 will be strutting the runway wearing outfits from local vendors. In addition, local retailers have contributed fabulous door prizes in support of the Prom Fashion Show, including Kim La Du, owner of Manfredi Jewelers, who is making a diamond necklace donation. NCHS Prom Fashion Show Tickets are available via this PayPal link. Pricing is as follows: students are $10 in advance and $20 at the door, adults $20 and families $55.
The Park & Recreation Commission at the group’s Feb. 10, 2016 meeting, held in the Douglass Room at Lapham Community Center. Credit: Michael Dinan
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The Park & Recreation Commission on Wednesday night voted 8-0 to re-elect Sally Campbell as chairman and Francesca Segalas as secretary of the group. First Selectman Rob Mallozzi during an organizational portion of the commission’s regular meeting complimented the volunteers on their effective work, noting the success of the Waveny Pool and special events. “We are always indebted to your ability to volunteer your time to do this,” the first selectman said.
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New Canaan Police received town officials’ approval this week to designate Matthew Blank as the newest entry-level police officer in the department. Known to many locals, Blank worked for six years in the drama department at Saxe Middle School and has connected with the community in other ways. A member of the U.S. Army National Guard and a fitness instructor, Blank has impressed all of those who have met him during the hiring process, Police Chief Leon Krolikowski told the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday.
Andrea Peterson at her final New Canaan Park & Recreation Commission meeting, on Feb. 10, 2016. Credit: Michael Dinan
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Longtime Park & Rec Commissioner Andrea Peterson is stepping down from the group, Chairman Sally Campbell announced Wednesday. Peterson and her husband are moving to Texas. Campbell thanked Peterson for all of her hard work in the commission. Peterson said, “I really think we need to remember this: Organized sports are organized, just by definition, and as the Park and Recreation Commission—and in a lot of towns they’re two separate groups—but since in our town they’re together, organized sports come and talk to us and they’re organized and they have their point of view. But people who just walk in the park are not organized and they don’t have the same mechanism. So I think as the commission, we really need to be extra aware of that. I think this is such a wonderful group and a pretty harmonious group, and I think we all do pretty good things and I will miss you terribly.”
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Connecticut Department of Transportation and MTA officials have approved New Canaan’s request to install additional cameras at the train station downtown, following a nasty incident involving feces and some other unpleasantness in recent months.
Sumner Orr with a “method grab” this past weekend. Contributed
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This past weekend, New Canaan’s Sumner Orr (of the beekeeping Orrs) placed second in a Boarder Cross competition. The East School fourth-grader is currently ranked sixth in the nation in his age group for the sport. Sumner will travel to Copper Mountain, Col., next month for the USA Snowboard & Free Ski Association Nationals competition, having earned multiple medals already this season in slalom, giant slalom, boarder cross and slopestyle events. The son of New Canaan’s Shawn and Michelle Orr, he rides for Okemo Mountain School in Ludlow, Vt.
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The New Canaan Field Club, with its own pool pavilion expansion in full swing, offered to donate 70 lounge chairs to the town for use at one of its recreational facilities. The Park & Recreation Commission and Recreation Director Steve Benko will place 50 of them at Kiwanis Park this coming summer.
Future 5 Board members: sitting L-R: Clif McFeely, Future 5 founder & executive director, Andrew Ashforth. Front L-R: Christopher Wright, Cindy Ziegler, Tom Turrentine, Frank Lyon, Kim DePra, Board Chairman Polly Perkins Johnson, David Schirmer. Back L-R: Tom Beusse, Jamere Jackson, Jack Loop, Jessica Lee.
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New Canaan-founded nonprofit organization Future 5 has added three new board members, including Christopher Wright, a town resident. Partner with Pilgrim Capital, a private-equity firm in Fairfield, Wright resides in New Canaan with his wife, Lisa, and their two sons. Other new board members include Jamere Jackson of Nielsen and Jessica Lee of PricewaterhouseCoopers. Founded in 2009, Future 5 serves highly motivated, low-income high school kids in Stamford, helping them with career and college preparation, among other skills. It has served 369 students and overall has a 98 percent high school graduation rate. For the 2015-2016 school year, Future 5expects to serve approximately 150 students. The nonprofit has a staff of five, 60+ coaches and volunteers and an annual budget of about $600,000.