Did You Hear … ?

Seven women with direct connections to New Canaan—see the gallery above—will share their leadership experiences and encourage women and girls to pursue their goals in “Being Queen: Thoughts from the Throne,” a panel discussion hosted by NC Women Mean Business that will be held from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at New Canaan Library. Read here for more information to this free, open event.

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A New Canaan woman spotted a bobcat on her Canoe Hill Road property on Saturday morning—the sixth such sighting in one month of the reclusive feline. “I happened to be in the kitchen and turned and looked out the window and saw a bobcat on the front lawn,” Carol Miller said of her sighting at about 4:35 p.m. Saturday. “It meandered across the driveway and headed into the woods, and not a minute later there were six prancing deer that followed it. It was the weirdest thing.” Animal Control officials are seeing a steep rise in reported appearances of bobcats in New Canaan.

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Friends of New Canaan Lacrosse is running a fundraiser on March 4 (purchase tickets here), which will include the collecting of used equipment for Harlem Lacrosse & Leadership. The organization supports New Canaan lacrosse, both girls and boys teams, from youth through high school. The organization is building up a strong alumni network, too, and this year’s Alumni Game is scheduled for June 4.

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Firefighters have responded to calls of some 15 broken water pipes in the past three days, following the severe cold of Sunday and Monday. The calls—on roads that include Holmewood Lane, Oenoke Lane, Millport Avenue, East Maple Street, Rosebrook Road, Ponus Ridge, Crystal Street and Cedar Lane—continued into Tuesday because “when pipes break after freezing it generally doesn’t happen right away,” Fire Chief Jack Hennessey said. “When it gets warm and the ice melts, that’s when a leak starts.” He encouraged residents to make sure that storm drains in front of their houses or in their driveways are clear so that all the water that followed from recent snowfall and rain has somewhere to go.

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Gates Restaurant appears to be nearing the nitty-gritty of its widely anticipated reopening. Here’s a recent Instagram post (looks good):

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Here’s a jarring headline and disconcerting story from the Hartford Courant—“Heroin-Related Overdose Deaths Soar in Connecticut”—especially in the wake of a panel discussion of the rapid rise and dangers of opioid abuse locally.

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Speaking of the very, very cold weather recently, Susan Alberino of The Changing Room on Burtis Avenue—a cold-weather wear boutique from the former owners of Ski & Sport in New Canaan—said the best coat to combat the freezing temps is an “incredibly warm” Italian-made Parajumpers-brand, mid-length coat. We saw her with 14-year-old Pomeranian named Carress at the seasonal shop (see photo at right), which will be open from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thursday-Friday-Saturday (and by appointment) through month’s end.

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Ever hear of the Lee Garden on Chichester Road? It’s one of New Canaan’s best-kept secrets, and Faith Kerchoff, co-president of the New Canaan Beautification League is going to lead a free discussion about it, with plant samples, to be held 9:30 to 11 a.m. on Feb. 29 at Lapham Community Center. Read more about their event here.

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This academic year marks the first in New Canaan in nearly a half-century that a Dinan hasn’t been in one of the elementary schools: Our mom, Shelley, had taught in the schools (in Special Ed and as a speech pathologist) from 1969 to 2004; Terry’s daughter, Gillian, attended South School from 2005 to 2010, and his son Cooper from 2010 through 2015.

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Speaking of South School, students last month participated in Read-A-Thon, a 2-week-long fundraiser that saw participants read for a total of 248,906 minutes and raised a total of $22,503.47. “Funds from this year’s Read-A-Thon will go towards literacy support, visiting author fees, creating reading corners in the library and transforming the school library into digital learning center,” we hear from the school. Nice job!

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Some 120-plus third-graders at another New Canaan elementary school, West School, celebrated Chinese culture last week at their “Brown Bag Theater.” Led by the Hubertus family of Oenoke Ridge Road (we hear from mom, Linda, that an increasing number of Chinese families are moving to town), the event featured a presentation on Chinese history, culture, traditions and New Year’s customs. “Our daughter Angelina Hubertus shared the interesting legend of monster ‘Nian,’ ” she said.

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Click here to read Pillow Talking’s review of the Town Players of New Canaan’s “Other Desert Cities”—which runs through Feb. 20.

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Finally, a New Canaan family will serve as ambassadors for this year’s March for Babies, an event to be held on Saturday, April 23 in Stamford’s Cove Island Park to benefit the March of Dimes. The family includes Lorrie and Roman Ozimek of New Canaan, along with their children, Lauren, 15, Elizabeth, 12, Andrew, 10 and Ryan, 5. “They will share their family’s prematurity journey, thank walkers for their commitment to the March of Dimes mission to give all babies a healthy start, and lead the walk with their team, ‘Team Ryan the Miracle,’ ” we are told.