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Cameras at Waveny: Town Approves Contract for Security Upgrade

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In a major step forward for the grassroots push to install security cameras at Waveny, town officials last week approved a contract with a Shelton-based company that specializes in areas that include video surveillance and network infrastructure. The Board of Selectmen at its regular meeting Aug. 4 voted 3-0 in favor of the $57,222 contract with Advanced Security Technologies, Inc.

“We have committed improve security,” First Selectman Kevin Moynihan said at the meeting, held via videoconference. “This is one piece of that—creating a backbone and capability to expand more easily with more modern technology.”

Security systems at New Canaan’s municipal buildings and town-owned properties have been developed piecemeal. The planned upgrades will see cloud-based systems for Waveny park, as well as Waveny Pool, Town Hall, Waveny House and municipal parking lots all connected to the New Canaan Police Department, officials have said.

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Moynihan: Former Emergency Management Director ‘Told Us He Didn’t Have’ Access to OEM Facebook Page

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New Canaan’s highest elected official said Thursday that the town had asked its former emergency management director “for weeks” for access to a Facebook page dedicated to the Office of Emergency Management. Yet the former director—Mike Handler, who resigned June 3 at First Selectman Kevin Moynihan’s request—“told us he didn’t have it,” according to Moynihan. “And [Wednesday] night we learned that, in fact, his wife had it and has been operating Facebook for him,” Moynihan said during a press briefing held via videoconference. “So we finally had got the credentials to operate the Facebook page.”

Moynihan added, “He was asked for it early early weeks of July he said he didn’t have it.”

Reached by NewCanaanite.com, Handler said in an email, “I have always done my best to help New Canaan in every way possible and always will.” The OEM Facebook page had been an effective tool in the past for communicating with residents in real-time during weather-related emergencies, as well as the first several weeks of COVID-19.

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New Canaan Fire Marshal Issues Generator Safety Tips

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As we deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Isaias, it is a good time to review generator safety.  

The New Canaan Fire Department has already responded to at least four instances of carbon monoxide in homes caused by generators.  

Past experiences show that many residents have generators at their homes that if not installed and used properly they can pose a serious threat. The primary hazard is CO poisoning from the toxic engine exhaust.  

Following is a list of do’s and don’ts for portable and stationary generator use and installation:

Make sure that a building permit has been obtained from the Building Department for the installation of a standby generator.

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Police: Domestic Incident on Main Street Results in Arrest of Man, 25

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Police on Monday morning arrested a 25-year-old South Salem, N.Y. man by warrant and charged him with second-degree breach of peace. 

The charge stems from a domestic incident between the arrested man and victim on Main Street, according to a police report. It isn’t clear when the incident occurred, whether it was downtown, whether the parties are related, whether the arrested man assaulted the victim or used obscene language or gestures in public, or what those might have been. Police withheld details, saying it’s a domestic matter. Under state law, second-degree breach of peace occurs when a person “engages in fighting or in violent, tumultuous or threatening behavior in a public place,” “assaults or strikes another,” “threatens to commit any crime against another person or such other person’s property” or uses “abusive or obscene language or makes an obscene gesture.”

The man turned himself in at about 7:14 a.m. on Aug. 3.

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New Canaan Police Hire 27-Year-Old Area Resident as Newest Officer

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New Canaan Police announced Monday that they’ve hired a 27-year-old area resident as the department’s newest officer. Nicholas A. Rienzi, of Pound Ridge, N.Y., worked most recently for six years for the Burlington Police Department in Vermont, according to a press release issued by Lt. Jason Ferraro, NCPD’s public information officer. A graduate of Fox Lane High School in Bedford, N.Y., Rienzi earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Vermont, and he’s a member of the Pound Ridge Volunteer Fire Department, the press release said. “Nicholas participated in the winter 2020 recruitment process for Entry Level Police Officer with the New Canaan Police Department,” the release said. “He was one of over 100 candidates who submitted eligible applications for employment.