News

New Construction Coming to Douglas Road

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The New Canaan Building Department last week issued a permit for a 4,200-square-foot house on Douglas Road. The five-bedroom home at 90 Douglas Road will include four full bathrooms, one half-bath, two fireplaces, and an unfinished basement and attic, according to a building permit issued Oct. 14. It will cost $872,160 to build, the application said. The contractor on the job is Michael J. Rychlik of Stamford, the architect Norwalk-based Geoffrey Craig Williams.

The .34-acre property was purchased for $$1,262,500 in July 2023, tax records show.

News

Elizabeth “Libby” Ann Butterworth

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June 2, 1945 – October 18, 2026

Elizabeth Ann Butterworth, known to everyone as Libby, passed away peacefully on October 18, 2026, at Bristol Hospital in Bristol, CT, surrounded by her family. She was 81 and had been living with Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia. Libby was born on June 2, 1945, in Mineola, NY, to Joseph and Dorothy Burrows, and grew up in Manhasset, NY. She worked as a fashion model and later as fashion director for a major department store into the early 1970s, but always said her greatest accomplishment was being a mother to her five children and a grandmother to her nine grandchildren.  

She raised her family in her beloved New Canaan with her husband Tom, the love of her life. She was an active member of the New Canaan Beautification League and made her home in the oldest house in New Canaan, 453 Carter Street (New Canaan Now & Then: Mansion House | NewCanaanite.com).

News

Alexander John Szymanowski, 72

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Alexander John Szymanowski was born on April 19th, 1954 and passed away unexpectedly at home on October 14th, 2026. Alex was raised in Stamford, CT and attended Stamford Catholic High School, graduating in 1972. While attending Stamford Catholic, Alex attained the rank of Eagle Scout by organizing a clean-up of the Rippowam River. He graduated Bryant College in 1976 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Law Enforcement and earned a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from The University of New Haven in 2001. Before attending Bryant College, Alex planned to major in accounting before finding his passion for law enforcement.

News

‘Cancer Definitely Messed with the Wrong Girls’: Gracie Soap Box Derby Draws Hundreds

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An estimated 300-plus people gathered at New Canaan Country School on Sunday afternoon for an old-fashioned soap box derby in support of children and families facing pediatric cancer. Launched by New Canaan’s Falsetta family when Grace Falsetta was diagnosed with leukemia in middle school (she is cancer-free today), the Gracie Fund for Pediatric Cancer is a nonprofit organization that works to improve the lives of children facing life-threatening cancer by supporting the people, programs, and organizations that care for them. On a picture-perfect fall afternoon, the first-ever Gracie Soap Box Derby saw kids race 20-plus cars along a haybale-lined track, cheered on by dozens of families who enjoyed music, bouncy play structure, face-painting, food trucks and community connection. 

“I could not be more excited,” dad Chris Falsetta said moments before the races got underway. “We have such a crowd. We have 20 cars, we have tons of kids.

Government

Parks & Rec To Propose New Fee for Out-of-Towner Use of Lapham Center

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Saying there’s wide support among adults who use Lapham Community Center, recreation officials are proposing a new fee category for nonresidents who use the facility and avail themselves of some programs there. Officially, the one-story building in Waveny Park is set up to serve New Canaan adults, offering a wide range of education courses, health and exercise programs and special events. 

Yet for many years, “there’s been a number of out-of-towners” who also use it, according to Parks & Recreation Director John Howe. “We’re looking at a policy to allow out-of-towners to come to Lapham,” he told members of the Parks & Recreation Commission at their regular meeting, held Oct. 14 at Lapham and via videoconference. Howe continued: “Most likely, there’ll be a yearly fee for an out-of-towner to use, but residents don’t have to pay, and there’d be an extra charge on any program that does cost where they could do that.