Residents, including youth sports families with kids whose practices and camps already are underway, are returning to New Canaan from the Cape, the Jersey shore and further afield.
Saxe MIddle School. Credit: Michael Dinan
The first day of school is just a few days away, and for now the town is suspended in a relaxing equilibrium—neighbors and friends are greeting each other in town with a feeling of vacation still lingering, even as Labor Day approaches with not just the academic year but municipal government reconvenes.
The Board of Education kickstarted this academic year’s meetings with a peek at higher-than-anticipated (by an outside organization) enrollment projections—here’s a table that was distributed at Monday’s meeting, article continues below:
New Canaan Public Schools: 2014-15 Enrollment Projections—Elementary
| Grade | East | South | West | 2014-15 | 2013-14 | (Diff) | (NESDEC 2014-15 Projections) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 567 | 547 | 560 | 1,674 | 1,602 | 72 | 1612 |
| Pre-K | 42 | 42 | 41 | 1 | 42 | ||
| K | 108 | 91 | 111 | 310 | 270 | 40 | 258 |
| 1 | 90 | 110 | 89 | 289 | 331 | -42 | 295 |
| 2 | 129 | 105 | 123 | 357 | 302 | 55 | 346 |
| 3 | 117 | 122 | 81 | 320 | 347 | -27 | 315 |
| 4 | 123 | 119 | 114 | 356 | 311 | 45 | 356 |
*Grades K-3: 16 to 20 pupils
*Grade 4: 20 to 24 pupils
The South School windows project is on schedule and budget, and we got word from New Canaan’s police chief that the department not only would conduct targeted enforcement around schools, but also a great list of tips for students who are college-bound, and their parents.
Lauren (L) and Megan Palladino, co-owners of The Candy Scoop on Elm Street, with U.S. Rep. Jim Himes. Credit: Michael Dinan
This past week saw one of New Canaan’s highest elected officials undergo the popular ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, and extend that challenge to a colleague, while a very cool new exhibition opened at the New Canaan Library gallery and one of New Canaan’s delegates in Washington, D.C. (who is up for re-election this and every even-numbered year) dropped by The Candy Scoop, New Canaan Music and New Canaan Olive Oil, among other local businesses.
Here’s the Week in Review.
Town Talker
We got some strong feedback on our Facebook page when we posted this article about how New Canaan firefighters, on returning to the station, fear for their lives after dismounting from vehicles prior to backing them into the Main Street garage.
New Canaan Fire Chief Jack Hennessey at the Fire House on Aug. 20, 2014. Credit: Michael Dinan
Whether the fire trucks are approaching the station from the north or south, Fire Chief Jack Hennessey told us, “guys dismount the truck and try to stop traffic and as they are doing that, people will try to drive around the truck.”
Perhaps newly designated Community Impact Officer Roy Adams will make a difference in motorist behavior there as well as in other areas downtown.
Business
Speaking of whom, Adams is slated to start in his new role next week.
As CIO, the 13-year New Canaan Police veteran will work directly with merchants, forging relationships with them and working on security, while keeping an eye on motorists who violate distracted driving and other laws, as well as parking offenders and others.
Other news from our downtown this week was the very successful Taste of the Town Stroll, a “food raiser” for the New Canaan Food Pantry that also serves merchants and customers in New Canaan by opening up new lines between them. The organizing agency, the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce, put the value on non-perishables raised for the increasingly important pantry at about $6,000.
[acx_slideshow name=”2014 New Canaan Taste of the Town Stroll”]
Land Use
A long sought-after strip of land that open space advocates have coveted for years, in order to create a new walk-able “greenway” in New Canaan, popped up as a conservation easement in the proposed subdivision of a Weed Street property.
Detail of the “Classified Open Space” map from the South Western Regional Planning Agency (http://bit.ly/1nQG3dO). The striped property on the left is Irwin. Catty-corner are two pieces of open space, the northern one of which is just about 425 feet from the corner of the shoehorn-shaped property, which is comprised of both New Canaan Land Trust and New Canaan Nature Center property. If connected, a person could safely and legally walk from downtown New Canaan, up past God’s Acre, along Oenoke to the Nature Center and then through the woods to Weed and Irwin. Credit: SWRPA
If granted (and made traversable), the strip of land on the northern edge of the Weed Street property, located near the intersection at Wahackme, would complete a new “loop” in town between Irwin Park and, through the woods and including some New Canaan Land Trust property, the New Canaan Nature Center.
A public hearing for a proposed accessway that would run to the three lots where one now stands on the 9-acre property is scheduled for Oct. 20.
In other land use news, New Canaan will see another teardown on South Avenue, as number 386 makes way for planned new construction.
Youth Sports
One of this week’s major stories is Bo Hickey’s retirement from New Canaan High School boys’ varsity ice hockey coach after 20 years in the post.
NCHS varsity hockey coach Bo Hickey looks on as New Canaan stuns Darien in March to win the FCIAC hockey crown. Credit: Terry Dinan
Hickey, a hugely successful coach who also is deeply respected and even beloved with ice hockey and varsity athletics circles, received some nice words in this send-off video, including from NCHS athletes and coaches.
Meanwhile, New Canaan’s youth athletes are back in town and training on our fields, both on school grounds (which are not treated with pesticides) and public parks (which often are, such as Conner, Mead and Waveny). Recently, we’ve heard news bubble up in other parts of the state that fields that have gone untreated are being wrecked, and even made unsafe, by ruts, bumps and divots that potentially could injure athletes who use them. New Canaan’s parks superintendent said all fields are safe.
Our Animals
Finally, we released a pair of animal-related videos this past week. One shows NCPD Animal Control Officer Diane Apicelli removing a large bird of prey—experts are calling it a red-tailed hawk—from a screened porch in town:
And we introduced Randy, a brindle Chihuahua found roaming on Carter Street last month, who is up for adoption through the NCPD Animal Control shelter: