Amy Murphy Carroll

‘If We Lose This Pool, We Will Never Get It Back’: Selectmen Weigh in on New Canaan Y’s Valles Pool

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New Canaan’s top elected officials are weighing in on a widely discussed community issue involving a venerable local nonprofit organization. The CEO of the New Canaan YMCA has said that the South Avenue facility’s 46-year-old Valles Pool must close by the end of this year due to required repairs. It faces one to two years of construction, she said, and the Y’s Board of Directors has established a committee to examine the problem and weigh the cost-benefit of restoring the pool versus reimagining the space to serve swimming as well as non-swimming needs. On Tuesday, Selectman Amy Murphy Carroll called for New Canaanites to “pay attention” to a “potential major change in the Y.”

“Their board has been reviewing their facilities and what to do, and there has been some discussion about taking the main diving pool and swim pool, the Valles Pool, offline permanently, potentially with perhaps needs for more dry land,” Murphy Carroll said during the Board of Selectmen’s regular meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. She continued: “It’s all proposal stage.

Animal 411

New Canaan Dog Bites Local Woman

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A local dog is undergoing a 10-day quarantine after biting its owner’s girlfriend during a walk in New Canaan, police records show. The dog—a brindle male Dutch shepherd type canine—bit the woman after becoming “reactive against another dog” during a walk on June 5 (a Friday), according to a case report filed by Officer Sean Godejohn, head of the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control section. Godejohn traveled to the New Canaan Fire Department to respond to the dog bite report. There, the victim already was in an ambulance being treated for the bite while “a bystander was holding the dog on leash” for her, he said in the case report, obtained by NewCanaanite.com through a public records request. “This officer took the dog immediately from the bystander once this officer established that she was not the dog owner,” the report said.

Around Town

‘A Shining Light Where Every Person Is Seen’: New Inclusive Playground Opens at Waveny

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More than 50 New Canaan parents, kids, municipal government officials and parks and public works employees on Friday attended the formal opening of the new Waveny Playground. Gathered outside the roomy, inclusive play space near the Orchard Field on a clear, warm morning, the crowd heard from Parks & Recreation Director John Howe, Superintendent of Parks Ryan Restivo and First Selectman Dionna Carlson—a trio that cut a ceremonial ribbon before throngs of little kids funneled onto the playground’s Poured-In-Place rubber surface to climb, swing, slide and otherwise enjoy brand-new play structures. “As we celebrate the opening of this wonderful new playground, before we officially dedicate this space, I would like to thank everyone who played a role in bringing this project to fruition,” Howe said from a podium placed on the playground’s “donor walk” as passersby joined the large crowd. 

He continued: “It took the efforts of many people over many years to turn an idea into what we see before us today. While there are many individuals deserving of recognition, I would like to take a moment to recognize someone whose vision, dedication, perseverance helped make this project a reality: our Superintendent of Parks, Ryan Restivo. This journey began nearly five years ago when Ryan— then a young member of our staff, attended one of the very first meetings to discuss the possibility of building a playground here at Waveny Park.

Around Town

Did You Hear … ?

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New Canaan Police at 12:32 p.m. Sunday received a report of a vehicle stolen from Ponus Ridge. The investigation is active. ***

Happy Pride Month. Show your support for our LGBT+ friends and neighbors with a New Canaan Pride sign. Email New Canaan’s Hilary Ormond for purchase and pickup details: hritter@gmail.com. 

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On May 5, the Canaan Parish chapter of National Charity League gathered at the Roger Sherman Inn to celebrate a successful year of volunteering, leadership, learning and connection.

Homepage Featured

Superintendent: Saxe Undergoes 30 Minutes of ‘Sheltering In Place’ Wednesday Morning

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Saxe Middle School underwent about 30 minutes of “sheltering in place” Wednesday morning after the Farm Road facility “received a non-credible, anonymous communication,” according to the superintendent of schools. The incident triggered “a brief safety protocol,” Dr. Bryan Luizzi said in an email sent around 11:30 a.m. to the New Canaan Public Schools community. “Following our established security procedures and operating out of an abundance of caution, administration immediately initiated a ‘shelter in place’ protocol for all students and staff in the building,” Luizzi said in the email. “The situation lasted for approximately 30 minutes before normal operations resumed.”

Under the district’s safety procedures, sheltering in place is triggered “when a problem occurs outside the school or a non-crisis event inside of the school (i.e. medical emergency).” When sheltering, all exterior doors are locked, no one is allowed in or out of the building and regular classroom instruction continues. The school day was “minimally interrupted, and students are safely continuing with their regular schedules,” Luizzi said.