CT Challenge Bike Ride: New Canaanites Ride for Cancer Survivors

The NewCanaanite.com Summer Internship Program is sponsored by Baskin-Robbins, Connecticut Sandwich Co., Joe’s Pizza and Mackenzie’s. The first CT Challenge bike ride for cancer survivors took place one decade ago, and New Canaan’s own John Murphy—who participates in honor of his sister, nephew and many friends—has been involved since its inception. Mr. Murphy, current captain of the New Canaan Riders for Survivors bike team that participates every year in the ride, credited his teammates with doing “an incredible job” in raising more than $23,000 to date for the special ride. “Many of the team members are Road Warriors (riders who commit to raising a minimum of $3,000),” Mr. Murphy told NewCanaanite.com. “Everyone rides for family and friends who are struggling with cancer, and they are true spokespersons for the groundbreaking support CT Challenge provides.”

A fundraiser for services and grants that support cancer survivors, the race begins at the Interlaken Inn way up in Lakeville and ends in Fairfield after miles of picturesque Connecticut countryside. This year’s ride will take place across two days (July 25 and 26) and up to 100 miles (or however far participants choose to ride). There also are options for more leisurely Saturday-only rides of 10, 25, 50, 75, or 100 miles, as well.

What Rising New Canaan High School Seniors Are Doing This Summer

The NewCanaanite.com Summer Internship Program is sponsored by Baskin-Robbins, Connecticut Sandwich Co., Joe’s Pizza and Mackenzie’s. With the next school year starting up in just over a month, NewCanaanite talked with four rising seniors to hear about how they are spending their final summers as high school students. Here’s what they had to say:

Mike Schulte, ’15

From Mike in an e-mail:

“I am taking part in an internship at Albert Einstein School of Medicine in the Bronx this summer. I work in the cardiology lab and focus primarily on the genetic components responsible for various cardiac diseases including Long QT syndrome. I enjoy spending my time off with family and friends.

Sidewalk Sale Sneak Preview: What to Expect This Saturday

The NewCanaanite.com Summer Internship Program is sponsored by Baskin-Robbins, Connecticut Sandwich Co., Joe’s Pizza and Mackenzie’s. In advance of Saturday’s annual Village Fair & Sidewalk Sale (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.), NewCanaanite.com ventured to different shops throughout downtown New Canaan to get some insights into what to expect to see at the different booths this year. One such store is New Canaan Olive Oil located on Elm Street across from the New Canaan Playhouse. The store’s owner, Heidi Burrows, told us that her store will be giving out samples of a variety of products and will offer deals on certain items. “We’ll be doing sales on all of our local jams, all of our sea salts will be on sale for $5, we’re doing gift boxes like a bread-dipper gift box, a salad dressing gift box for $15, and then we’re also doing a buy one get 25 percent off any oil or vinegar,” Ms. Burrows said. New Canaan Olive Oil is not the only local store that will be joining in on the festivities.

Cooling Off: New Canaan Residents Gather at Waveny Pool to Escape the Heat

The NewCanaanite.com Summer Internship Program is sponsored by Baskin-Robbins, Connecticut Sandwich Co., Joe’s Pizza and Mackenzie’s. On a beautiful beginning to the month of July, NewCanaanite.com headed down to the Waveny Pool to see what makes this venue a hotspot for cooling off from the summer heat. After a swim meet between the Lake Club Swim Team and the local Waveny Gators finished up, we sat down and talked with a New Canaan resident keeping cool in the shade. Gary Cavanagh, who has been a member at the Waveny Pool for three years, praised the pool’s safety and enjoyability for people of all ages. “It’s safe, something special for the little guys over there—they won’t get in trouble, they got the big umbrellas for those who need to avoid the sun like me, and kids have a great time,” Cavanagh said.

Meet Northern Ireland Native Damien Sheerin, New Canaan’s Newest Firefighter

The NewCanaanite.com Summer Internship Program is sponsored by Baskin-Robbins, Connecticut Sandwich Co., Joe’s Pizza and Mackenzie’s. On a humid recent morning, NewCanaanite.com sat down with newly hired Lateral Firefighter Damien Sheerin inside the New Canaan Firehouse after his return from a call in New Canaan. New Canaan may seem a long way from Sheerin’s hometown of Foreglen, Northern Ireland, located in the northernmost county (Derry) of Northern Ireland, but Sheerin says that he is driven to learn as much as he can and build a living for himself in his new country. Having left his school in Northern Ireland at the age of only 16 to pursue work as a carpenter of sheet rock and metal framing, Sheerin came to the United States in January of 2006 to work as a construction worker and bartender in Queens, N.Y.

Through his move to Connecticut after earning his EMS to become an EMT, and eventual joining of a volunteer fire fighting force and Danbury Ambulance, he met his future wife and the two of them now live together in Ridgefield. The couple also have two children: a 16-month-old daughter named Lylah and a 7-week-old son named Dylan.