Around Town

Camp LiveGirl Empowers, Inspires Fairfield County Middle School Girls

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“I am smart, I am strong, I am special,” chanted 100 passionate girls at Camp LiveGirl, which recently concluded its second summer camp session at New Canaan High School. Camp LiveGirl brought together a diverse group of middle school girls from all over Fairfield County for a week of leadership development and empowerment. I had the opportunity to attend Camp LiveGirl and was amazed by the impact that a week of leadership development and empowerment had on the girls. I witnessed transformations from shy, hesitant girls to bubbly, confident girls. I believe the magic ingredient is how LiveGirl facilitates team bonding through hands-on leadership activities, sports, and musical theatre games.

Around Town

Local Nonprofits Receive Grant Allocations from Kiwanis Club of New Canaan

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Thanks to the Kiwanis Club of New Canaan, 24 local organizations on Friday received a boost to their funding. The international nonprofit, whose mission is “Serving the children of the world,” handed out checks to local organizations that address youth during its annual allocations breakfast. This year, the Kiwanis Club allocated a total of $9,620 which comes almost entirely from fundraising events—mainly the Zerbini Family Circus, which also benefits the New Canaan YMCA and will be held Saturday, June 18. Beth Jones, head of the Kiwanis Allocations Committee, said nonprofits seeking support undergo a multi-step process. “We start by looking at how much money we have to give away,” Jones said during the breakfast, held at the Y. “Once we get all the applications in, we sit down, they usually come to my house for lunch, and we go through all of the applications and eliminate the ones that do not fit our mission of helping children of the world.”

Once the Allocations Committee prioritizes which groups they want to allocate funds to, Jones and the rest of the committee, “presents it to the entire Kiwanis Club, we vote on it, and then we give the final list to the treasurer.”

“It is usually very amicable process,” Jones said.

Government

Selectmen Approve Installation of New Sound Barrier for Chillers at Town Hall

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The Board of Selectmen at its most recent meeting unanimously approved a request from the Department of Public Works that ultimately will reduce the noise levels created by the chiller sound barriers on the south side of Town Hall. New Canaan will enter contracts with Hoover Treated Wood Products and Gannon Rustic Fences at a total cost of $18,191. The sound barrier closes the loop on an ongoing dispute between the town and next-door neighbor Cody Real Estate. When Town Hall was renovated and expanded, the chillers were placed on the south side of the building, adjacent to commercial buildings owned by Cody. The company said that the noisiness of the chillers were prohibitively loud, especially if the commercial properties were to be developed to include second-floor residential units.

News

New York Man Cited for Pot Possession, Distracted Driving

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A police officer on Monday morning cited a 23-year-old Mahopac, N.Y. man for minor drug charges during a traffic stop. At approximately 9:16 a.m. on June 6, the officer pulled over the motorist on Old Stamford Road for holding a cellphone to his ear while driving. Upon approaching the vehicle, officer detected the odor of marijuana, according to a police report. During a search of the vehicle, the officer found two marijuana pipes, both with marijuana residue, and a marijuana grinder, the report said. The first infraction summons was issued for operating a vehicle while using a cell phone.

News

‘A Significant Achievement’: New Canaan Students’ Test Scores in Latin Exceed National Average

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In his 21 years of teaching Latin at New Canaan High School, Dave Harvey has never had a regular level class beat the national average on the National Latin Exam. Until now. This year, Harvey’s Latin II class of 23 underclassmen scored 5.2 percent above the national average which is a 26 out of 40 or a 65 percent. “All Latin students in New Canaan Public Schools take the exam starting in at least seventh grade and it progresses in difficulty from year to year,” Harvey said from amid fiesta-style decorations and a Mexican food feast in his classroom, Room 114, during a party to mark the achievement. As Harvey pared his class for the exam over a 12-week period, he proposed a challenge: if the students’ average is above the national average, then he would throw his class a party.