Government

Town: Demand Rising at New Canaan Food Pantry

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The New Canaan Food Pantry has seen rising use in the past two years and the need appears to be growing, officials say. The number of individual shoppers using the pantry increased by 22% from fiscal year 2023 to 2024 (from 863 to 1,056) and is already at 769 in fiscal year 2025 (which runs through June 30), according to Marcella Rand, director of the Department of Human Services. “Our food pantry participation has really increased,” Rand told members of the Board of Selectmen during a regular meeting held Tuesday at Town Hall and via videoconference. “This year I did year-to-date so you could see where we are and how we think that the use is really going to be increased.”

Here’s a table showing data on food pantry use:

The Food Pantry provides non-perishable items to qualified individuals and families living in New Canaan. It’s open every other Tuesday for two one-hour distribution sessions, where volunteers sort, stock and bag groceries.

News

DUI Charge for 43-Year-Old Man

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Police after midnight Saturday arrested a 43-year-old Stamford man and charged him with driving under the influence. At about 1:33 a.m. on Jan. 18, an officer on patrol saw a car run a flashing red light after exiting the Merritt Parkway’s Exit 36 off-ramp, according to a police report. The vehicle turned up Old Stamford Road and was stopped at Jelliff Mill Road, the report said. During the stop, the officer smelled alcohol on the driver and found other signs of impairment, it said.

Government

‘I Don’t Understand What It Takes’: Selectmen Push Back on Registrar’s Request for Higher Pay

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The Board of Selectmen following a strained discussion at its most recent meeting voted 2-1 to increase the compensation for each of New Canaan’s registrars of voters by 3%, to $41,200. 

The figure is far less than the $52,000 that one of the registrars, Joan McLaughlin, had been seeking. In addressing the selectmen at their Jan. 7 meeting, McLaughlin said her work doubled with the introduction of early voting in Connecticut last year, as well as a recent shakeup of state legislature districts that resulted in three more for New Canaan. McLaughlin, who serves two-year terms as the Republican registrar in New Canaan, said during the meeting that she worked an average of 32 hours per week last year (up from 20 to 22 hours per week in the past) and that the higher figure was due to 14 days of early voting. “I have 14 days of early voting that starts at 10 o’clock in the morning and ends at 6 o’clock at night,” McLaughlin said during the meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference.

Around Town

‘Love Your Enemies’: Community Celebrates the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. During Stirring Ceremony

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John Baluyut, a New Canaan High School senior, once believed that love could only happen between and among close friends and family. Yet after arriving in New Canaan, the ABC House scholar told a crowd of more than 150 people on Monday morning, he “learned that love is more than that.”

“Although the first month of moving here can be overwhelming, being in an environment that fostered love from people that were strangers to me a few weeks ago gave me an experience that I’ve never had before,” Baluyut told those gathered inside the United Methodist Church of New Canaan during a celebration of the life of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

He continued: “It opened my eyes to the fact that love is more than a feeling from family and friends—it is a transformative force capable of mending broken relationships, bridging divides and making enemies turn into friends.”

Baluyut struck a note that would resound throughout the moving ceremony, organized by the Interfaith Council of New Canaan. It featured a welcome from the Rev. Gilbert Burgess of the Community Baptist Church, music from the Men’s Choir at Pivot Ministries, the trio of Khanisha Moore (vocals), Peterson Prime (piano) and Justin Merveille, and Nerva Altino of the Congregational Church of New Canaan, an interfaith prayer for peace led by Jennifer Zonis, president of the Interfaith Council, testimony from Baluyut and NCHS sophomore Dariel Ortiz, an invocation from the Rev. Martha Epsein of UMC, keynote address from the Rev. Richard Williams, pastor of Pivot Ministries, and benediction led by Monsignor Rob Kinnally of St. Aloysius Church. Those in attendance included the full Board of Selectmen—First Selectman Dionna Carlson and Selectmen Steve Karl and Amy Murphy Carroll, as well as other municipal officials, local clergy and representatives from ABC House of New Canaan, including Moore, the organization’s resident director, Executive Director Jamie Boris and Board of Directors President Liz Tuff.

News

South Bald Hill Road Colonial Sells for $1,410,000

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The following property transfer(s) were recorded recently in the Town Clerk’s office. For more information about each property from the assessor, click on the street address. To get the history of a New Canaan street name, click here. ***

Jan. 10

277 South Bald Hill Road

$1,410,000
Brendan Langenus, trustee, to Cassie Gallo

Jan.