Around Town

Did You Hear … ?

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The bagels are back in town: Upper Crust Bakery & Café opens Thursday morning in the former Brueggers space on South Avenue downtown. ***

Currently, 843 people belong to Spencer’s Run, New Canaan’s dog park at Waveny, and slightly more than half of those are nonresidents, Parks & Recreation Commissioner Rona Siegel reported on Wednesday night during the commission’s regular meeting. ***

The Board of Selectmen by a 2-0 vote Tuesday approved a $938,000 contract with FGB Construction to repave and otherwise improve the following town roads (First Selectman Kevin Moynihan and Selectman Kit Devereaux cast votes, as Selectman Nick Williams was absent):

Huckleberry Road from Valley Road to the town line
Jonathan Road
Mill Road
Pepper Lane
Sagamore Trail
Siwanoy Lane
Summer Street from Lakeview to East Avenue and from Cross Street to Locust Avenue
Turning Mill Lane

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The photo gallery above features the newest aerial photos of the sports fields and track at New Canaan High School. ***

Town officials broke ground with Eversource on Wednesday for the company’s $25 million natural gas project. It will start with the installation of 4.7 miles of underground pipeline, making the fuel available to more than 500 homes and businesses.

Around Town

Did You Hear … ?

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The Cedar Knolls, N.J.-based company that brings in coaches from the United Kingdom to instruct youth soccer players in New Canaan hit a snag in immigration this year that’s limited its ability to bring back most of its coaches from last fall. The matter is being addressed head-on with parents by the New Canaan Football Club. The contracted company, UK Elite, has accelerated its search to bring in replacement coaches for the NCFC’s Travel and Academy teams this spring. ***

Police received a report at about 10:22 a.m. Sunday about a distressed dog in a car at the Acme (Food Emporium) lot on Elm Street. The owner turned up and left the with dog, according to Officer Allyson Halm of the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control section.

Government

Mill Pond To Get Dredge After April 16 Fishing Derby

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Town officials this week approved funds to dredge Mill Pond in the weeks following a popular annual event there that long has marked the start of spring for many New Canaanites: the fishing derby. Called the ‘George Cogswell Memorial Fishing Derby’ after a former New Canaan Police officer, this year’s event will be held 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday, April 16 (registration starts at 8:30 a.m. on site). Sponsored by the New Canaan Recreation Department with assistance from the Department of Public Works and local merchants, the derby sees Mill Pond stocked with hundreds of pounds of rainbow trout, drawing hordes of fishing rod-toting to the water’s edge. It’s open to children ages 15 and younger—ages 10 and younger must be accompanied by an adult—and the budding sportsmen compete for special prizes awarded in several categories such the first boy and first girl to catch a fish, and the largest fish caught. Town officials are eyeing a June date for the regular, biennial maintenance dredging of Mill Pond, according to Tiger Mann, assistant director of DPW.

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The Den at Mill Pond: History of the Lions Club in New Canaan

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Helen Belluschi recalls skating on Mill Pond as a young girl. And growing up on Marshall Ridge Road, she could down and skate every day at Mead Park that the activity was available. “There was the rink in Norwalk, but for the most part you did not go to the private rinks. Where you skated was Mill or Mead or way out on Ponus… You skated every day it was available,” Belluschi recalled on a recent afternoon. “Snow plows would even get on the ice and plow it, because the ice was that thick.”

The 72 year-old treasurer for the New Canaan Lions Club stands atop the footbridge overlooking the pond on a sunny summer day.

Around Town

Fishing Derby Set for Saturday, April 18; Financial Support Needed for Popular Event

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Organizers have set Saturday, April 18 as the date for one of New Canaan’s most cherished annual, kid-friendly and accessible events. The George Cogswell Memorial Fishing Derby at Mill Pond will run 9 to 11 a.m., and its organizers are seeking support from the community to ensure it continues. Held at Mill Pond since it was launched in the 1970s, the event sees the pond stocked with trout and prizes awarded to the boy and girl who catch the biggest fish. The derby’s upper age limit is 15 and entry is free. Its Fish Management Fund is running out and donations are needed, said Tiger Mann, assistant director of the Department of Public Works, which joins local merchants in helping the Recreation Department sponsor the event.