NewCanaanite.com (https://newcanaanite.com/category/new-canaan-news/around-new-canaan)
This is our New Canaan news catch-all category—stories about traffic calming, public parks, local weather, human services efforts and other quality of life matters facing New Canaanites.
New Canaan Police at 5:44 p.m. on April 11 received a report of a smash-and-grab from a vehicle parked at Waveny. A purse and other items were stolen. The investigation is ongoing. ***
The New Canaan Farmers Market opens for the season on Saturday morning. It will run 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays through Dec.
The New Canaan YMCA’s “Hands for Life” training—a free event presented in partnership with New Canaan EMS and CERT—will be held 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, April 28 at the Y.
Open to all and with no advance registration required, the life-saving skills of hands-only CPR and AED use takes just 20 minutes. It was last offered in 2013, where more than 900 people were trained. We put some questions about the event to Margaret Riley, executive director at the New Canaan YMCA, and Amy Kennedy, chief of New Canaan EMS.
Here’s our exchange. ***
New Canaanite: What is Hands for Life New Canaan? Margaret Riley: Hands for Life New Canaan 2024 is being held on Sunday, April 28, and is an opportunity for every member of our community to become confident in their ability to administer Hands-Only CPR and use an AED (Automated External Defibrillator).
Edith Linger, 103, thought she was attending a regular meeting of the Hannah Benedict Carter Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution last Thursday. It’s an organization her own daughter, Patty Beyer, had joined in October. Except this was a special gathering of the nonprofit organization, designed to surprise and honor Linger and especially her service during World War II as a member of the Women’s Army Corps or “WAC,” the first New Canaanite to do so. “I’m surprised—I didn’t know anything about all this, but I’m glad there’s some of us left in New Canaan,” Linger, a 1938 New Canaan High School graduate and resident of Canaan Parish, said from beside a table and easel featuring articles, photos and memorabilia from her time in the service. “I think I’m about the last one of a native of New Canaan that’s left.
About 15 years ago, Public Works Director Tiger Mann recalls, the annual Fishing Derby in New Canaan had to be halted because Mill Pond desperately needed to be dredged.
Once that was done, it was Mose Saccary, the town’s highway superintendent, who called on municipal workers to resurrect the beloved family-friendly event. “This thing wouldn’t happen without him,” Mann said of the Fishing Derby, to be held Saturday at Mill Pond. Anglers can register online or starting at 8 a.m. on April 20 at the pond, the derby starts at 8:30 a.m. (Emails used to register will not be used to sign people up for town email blasts or other unwanted subscriptions, officials confirmed). A Center School alumnus and 1978 New Canaan High School graduate, Saccary “has been working here his entire life in various capacities for the Highway Department,” Mann said. “And I don’t think anybody cares more to be quite honest,” he continued, by way of nominating Saccary for the “Quiet Heroes” series.
Fifty years ago, Waveny Care Center served 70 patients per day in one program. Today, Waveny LifeCare Network serves nearly 1,000 patients, residents and clients across 23 distinct service lines, according to the organization’s president and CEO, Russ Barksdale, Jr.
“Our journey speaks volumes about our dedication to quality and adaptability,” Barksdale told an estimated 70 community leaders last week, gathered to help celebrate the organization’s 50th anniversary this year. “Waveny LifeCare Network will and must continue to evolve to meet the dynamic and changing healthcare needs of our communities and our constituents,” Barksdale continued at the ceremony, held April 9. “It is in our DNA. Looking ahead, I’d like to take a moment to discuss our next phase and seek your active engagement and support.