Faces of New Canaan

Faces of New Canaan: Elizabeth Oei

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Upon first look, Elizabeth Oei might seem to have her hands full. A longtime New Canaan resident, she serves as member of the New Canaan Volunteer Ambulance Corps (NCVAC) and the Pop-Up Park Committee in addition to a full-time nurse consultant job. She also may be most recognized around town for her two beloved dogs, Cosmo and Bean, gentle animals that she describes as her children. After speaking with Oei (full interview transcribed below), however, it became clear that her involvement is a pleasure and it is all these things that flesh out her full personality. We sat down with this very involved woman to discuss her time in New Canaan, her various roles and responsibilities, and of course her dogs.

Faces of New Canaan

Faces of New Canaan: Kara Laviola

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The plan to rebuild with greater density the public housing units “up the hill” at Millport Avenue has gained traction since last November. The New Canaan Housing Authority board has held regular meetings—there’s another one scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday—to discuss and prepare for the physical work, when families that reside there will face a dramatic if temporary change in their lives. Some time soon, these New Canaanites will move into new units built within an expanded footprint at Millport while their homes are razed and rebuilt.

Although this will be adjustment for the residents of Millport, many are excited about the upside of the project, according to New Canaanite Kara Laviola. As a resident there trusted by her neighbors and well-attuned to what’s happening, Laviola has been appointed a resident representative during the project. We spoke to her about the rebuilding and her experience living in New Canaan. Here’s our conversation.

Animal 411

Meet Allyson Halm: New Canaan’s New Animal Control Officer

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New Canaan Animal Control recently brought on a new officer, Allyson Halm. Born and raised in Greenwich, Halm is familiar with the Fairfield County and New Canaan area. Before joining the staff in New Canaan, Halm worked with Greenwich Animal Control for 12 years, then became the CEO of Adopt-A-Dog of Greenwich for seven years. Halm is excited to take on the position at New Canaan’s Animal Control. Here’s our exchange.

Faces of New Canaan

Meet Mackenzie Lewis, NCHS Senior Intern at NewCanaanite.com

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Starting May 18 and for a full month, New Canaan High School senior Mackenzie Lewis will help us report on what’s happening in town through the increasingly popular NCHS Senior Internship Program. An Elon University-bound student-athlete who has been a staffer at the high school paper, the Courant, for two years, Mackenzie is a native New Canaanite who entered NCHS as a sophomore from New Canaan Country School. Over the next four-plus weeks, you’ll see her byline appear as she reports hard news (police, government, schools), spot features downtown and profiles of local residents and businesses. We talked about her interest in journalism and experience at the Courant on a recent afternoon as the first day of the internship approaches. Here’s our conversation:

New Canaanite: What made you want to do the Senior Internship Program?

Faces of New Canaan

‘More Than a Career’: New Canaan’s Buzz Kanter and His Motorcycles

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New Canaan resident Buzz Kanter purchased his first antique motorcycle around 1986—a BSA M20, from a man selling three of the classic World War II bikes in the pit of a racetrack in New Hampshire. Though only in his early-30s at the time, the Stamford native already was a veteran of New England’s motorcycle scene and circuit. A decade earlier, Kanter had walked away from high-speed racing following an accident on a track in Bridgehampton, N.Y.: A fellow racer, who would spend six months in hospital, crashed into him as they headed into a corner at 130 mph. “I finished the season and said, ‘I’m done,’ ” Kanter, 60, recalled Thursday morning from the gallery at Carriage Barn Arts Center, standing near one of the vintage motorcycles he has acquired since that day in 1986. “And I started playing with antique bikes.