More than $35,000 has been raised toward a $50,000 goal to support the 5-year-old daughter of Michelle Pavia, who died Jan. 25 in a Maine snowmobiling accident. Pavia is the niece of former New Canaan High School Principal Tony Pavia and also the niece of town resident Mary Ellen Guarnieri. The GoFundMe page “Making It Happen for Mia” is here. Nearly 300 individuals donations have come in so far.
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The New Canaan Building Department on Feb. 6 issued a demolition permit for the fire-damaged home at 322 Dan’s Highway. The cost of demolition is $30,000, the permit said.
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The NCHS Scholarship Foundation’s Fourth Annual NC Color Run is to be held at 9 a.m. on April 25. The fundraiser offers participants a Kids’ Color Dash, .8 mile, or the NC Color Run, 5K. “April + Kelly of William Raveis Real Estate have generously committed to sponsor the start/finish line and the pink color station for the NC Color Run,” organizers said in a press release. Online registration opens April 1.
Rob Mallozzi. Contributed
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Rob Mallozzi, senior vice president and director of business development & government affairs at Bankwell, has joined the Board of Directors of STAR Inc., a nonprofit organization serving individuals with developmental disabilities and their families.
The former first selectman of New Canaan, Mallozzi has served as chair of the New Canaan Board of Finance, Fairfield County CEO Representative to the Connecticut Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, vice chairman of the South Western Regional Metropolitan Planning Organization, and charter member of the representative of the Western Connecticut Council of Governments. The husband and father of two earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Vermont.
This greenhouse at the Nature Center is to be demolished.
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The greenhouse that the New Canaan Nature Center applied Jan. 29 to demolish is not the large one by the Visitors Center and rear parking lot of the Oenoke Ridge facility, but a derelict 1900-built structure.
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New Canaan Police at 7:39 p.m. on Feb. 3 cited an 18-year-old Stamford man for marijuana and motor vehicle infractions after stopping him for speeding on Ponus Ridge. At about five hours later, police cited two Norwalk men for pot-related infractions after stopping their vehicle on Route 123 for a defective headlight.
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Happy birthday (Feb. 14) to 2018 New Canaan High School graduate Molly Cioffi.
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New Canaan-founded nonprofit Filling in the Blanks recently received a $15,000 grant from the Fairfield County Community Foundation to support its Weekend Meal Program.
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There’s no school on Friday, Feb. 14 as it’s a professional learning day for district faculty. Next week is February break for New Canaan Public Schools.
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Drinking water for the main building at St. Lukes School tested at 3.9 mg/L of nitrate, according to testing conducted Jan. 30 by Newtown-based Aqua Environmental Lab. The applicable drinking water standard for nitrate is within 10 mg/L, according to Connecticut Department of Public Health records.
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The following food service establishments in New Canaan aced recent surprise inspections by the local Health Department, notching these scores out of 100 possible points:
- Fjord Fish Market—97 (Feb. 10)
- Dunkin Donuts—97 (Feb. 4)
- Farmers Table—96 (Feb. 4)
- Locali—94 (Feb. 12)
- Grace Farms—100 (Jan. 31)
- Chef Prasad—95 (Feb. 5)
- Pinocchio Pizza—96 (Feb. 3)
- Starbucks—100 (Feb. 3)
- CVS—98 (Feb. 4)
Colleen Hann of New Canaan, NCHS ’92.
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New Canaan’s Colleen Hann is 89% toward her $11,000 goal in raising money for the Walk To End Lupus Now, to be held May 2. Here’s her official page on the Lupus Foundation of America website.
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The Adirondack Store, which is to open in the former Family Britches space at 39 Elm St., on Jan. 30 applied to the town for a building permit to do $63,000 of work at the building, including some interior demolition and installation of a coffee bar.
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Feb. 14 is the League of Women Voters’ National Day of Action in celebration of the League’s official 100th birthday the League of Women Voters of New Canaan will participate by staffing a Voter Registration table at New Canaan Library from 2 to 5 p.m.
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A project from New Canaan-based design firm Cobble Court Interiors Inc. has been featured in Architectural Digest.
New Canaan Police Department award recipients during a Feb. 12, 2020 ceremony. Contributed
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The New Canaan Police Department on Wednesday night honored officers during a special awards ceremony held at NCHS. In some cases, individuals received multiple awards. Congratulations to all, and to two NCPD officers who received honorary plaques—Investigative Commander Lt. Jason Ferraro for more than 20 years of dedicated service to NCPD, and Youth Officer Sgt. Joseph Farenga who recently marked 20 years. Recipients of awards included:
2019 Lt. Steven W. Wood Officer of the Year Award:
- Officer Tom Patten
Meritorious Police Duty Award:
- Sgt. Peter Condos
- Sgt. Joseph Farenga
- Sgt. Scott Romano
- Officer Tom Patten
- Lt. Carol Ogrinc
- Officer Daniel Gulino
- Officer Thomas Dewey
- Officer Thomas Callinan
- Officer Shane Gibson
- Officer Annamaria Ceci
- Off. Clinton Jarvis
Medical Service/Life Saving Award:
- Sgt. Peter Condos
- Off. Thomas Patten
- Sgt. Aaron LaTourette
- Officer Michael O’Sullivan
- Officer Ron Bentley
- Officer Jeffrey Pollock
- Officer Matthew Blank
- Officer Bryan Connolly
Civilian Service Award:
- Mr. Perkin
- Robin Foley
- Kiersha Wheeler
- Sue Morse
Commissioners’ Shoot
- Sgt. Aaron LaTourette
- Sgt. Scott Romano
Gates Owner Jay Luther (left) presents a check to longtime New Canaan resident and Future 5 Founder Clif McFeely. Credit: Diane Knetzger
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Following weeks of competition, four finalist bands battled it out at Gates on Feb. 1 for a “Battle of the Bands” finale included The Extras, Ask Your Mom, Suck’r Punch and the winning band, All Night Thing. Gates donated nearly $3,000 in tips and proceeds from the event to Future 5, a not-for-profit that helps motivated, low-income Stamford High School students reach their full potential by connecting them to coaches, college, the community, career opportunities, and most importantly, their own character.
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Bookmark these events in your calendar:
- Women Rock the Vote—doors open 6 p.m on Saturday, Feb. 29 at Carriage Barn in Waveny. Presented by the League of Women Voters of New Canaan;
- ‘Leonardo at the Library’ Photo Exhibition—Cocktail reception & lecture at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 29, exhibition running Feb. 29 to March 30 at New Canaan Library;
- Step Into Summer—6 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, June 6 at the New Canaan Museum & Historical Society.
Elena Westhaver. Contributed
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Elena Westhaver on Feb. 19 will hold a ribbon-cutting for newly launched non-medical homecare agency Silvermine at Home, which has opened in New Canaan. A certified nursing aide, Westhaver worked most recently as director of Waveny at Home, Waveny LifeCare Network’s non-medical homecare division.
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Finally, here’s an update from Lisa Platt on two Saxe Middle School squash teams that competed at the US Middle School Team Championships at Yale recently:
Saxe Squash A Team plays in US Middle School Championships at Yale. Contributed
“The tournament saw a record number of 96 teams participate across all boys and girls divisions. After a great season, the Saxe A team, consisting of Eddie Li, Sahil Teredesai, Alex Benevento, Jack Sheffield, Owen Lydon, Augusto Baldini and Andrew Reed, was seeded 16th in Division 1, which is the first time a Saxe team has made a Division 1 appearance. The team faced the defending champion and #1 seed Haverford. Although Saxe put up a strong fight, they fell 5-0 to the eventual tournament winner. In the first round of the consolation, Saxe beat #11 seed Shipley 4-1, which marks the first time a Saxe squash team has won a Division 1 match, which is quite an accomplishment. Saxe fell 4-1 to #9 seed Rye Country Day in the consolation semifinals, with Sheffield’s exciting 3-2 win the round’s bright spot. In their last match, the team beat #12 seed The University School of Ohio 3-2, with wins from Benevento, Sheffield and Lydon. Ohio was actually the team that beat Saxe A last year in the first round of the tournament so it was great to play them again and come out on top this time. Based on the team’s incredible performance this weekend, Saxe A ended their season 11th overall in the tournament and finished as the 2nd best public middle school team in the nation.
Saxe Squash B Team plays in US Middle School Championships at Yale. Contributed
“The Saxe B team of Lucas Alvarez, Ike Morales, William Hanover, Ashton Baker, Luke Zinczenko and Jake Donohue, was seeded 12th in Division 3. They lost their first match 5-0 to a strong Hackley squad, who was seeded #6 and was the eventual winner of Division 3. The team turned it around in the first round of the consolation by blanking #14 seed SquashSmarts Boys of PA 5-0, which included an exciting 3-2 victory for Baker. Saxe B continued their run with a 3-2 win over New Haven B in the consolation semifinals with victories from Morales, Hanover and Zinczenko. The consolation finals pitted Saxe against local rival St. Luke’s. The individual matches were incredibly close and although Alvarez came up with a great 3-2 win and Hanover and Baker both stretched to 5 games, Saxe fell 4-1 in the end. In the end, Saxe B placed 10th in Division 3, two spots better than their #12 seeding.”