Did You Hear … ?

Those seeking to force a referendum vote on the Town Council’s $10 million grant to New Canaan Library for its building project have until Oct. 1 to get 689 registered voters’ signatures, or 5% of qualified New Canaan electors as of the most recent voter list, according to the Town Clerk’s office. If those signatures are obtained, the vote would have to be scheduled by the Town Council within 30 days, and the last possible day to hold the referendum vote would be Oct. 31, officials say. At that point, in order to succeed, the referendum would have to see more people voting in favor of the petitioners’ goal and those voting in favor would have to be at least 15% of of the total electorate.

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New Canaan Police at 12:56 a.m. Sunday received a report of youths knocking on doors on South Avenue and leaving on skateboards. Police found two male juveniles, notified their parents and brought them home.

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One of the new townhouses at 42 Forest St. sold last week for $2.2 million, according to a property transfer recorded Sept. 16 in the Town Clerk’s office. And another condo at The Vue at Park and Maple Streets, formerly known as Merritt Village, sold for $2,650,000, according to a transfer recorded Sept. 14.

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The Waveny Park Conservancy is hiring an executive director, First Selectman Kevin Moynihan said during Tuesday’s Board of Selectmen meeting.

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A six-foot teak bench commemorating Phil Ives for his advocacy of birding in New Canaan was unveiled last week at Bristow Park. “Phil has been a tireless proponent for restoring Bristow, our nation’s third-oldest bird sanctuary,” Chris Schipper, chair of the Conservation Commission, said in an email. The Bristow Park Bird Sanctuary and Wildwood Preserve Centennial will be in 2024.

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The Children’s School Open House will be held 5 to 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 1 (118 Scofieldtown Road, Stamford).

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On Tuesday, Superintendent Dr. Bryan Luizzi and West School Principal Jan Murphy held a ribbon-cutting to open the new Outdoor Learning Center at West School. The multi-functional space includes an outdoor classroom, performance stage, reading circle, and a meditative labyrinth with a custom Westy-whale sculpture by artist and West School dad Paul Balmer. The project began as an idea in 2018 to revitalize an untapped interior courtyard at West.

It was recently completed and funded by $250,000 in donations from West School families. The space was designed by noted designer and West dad, Michael Canoro.

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Coming up next Monday from The Glass House:

• Breuer’s Bohemia (September 27 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm)

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An iPhone found around 1:50 p.m. Sunday on Fable Farm Road was placed into New Canaan Police property management.

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New Canaan’s Joe LaViola will be at Elm Street Books to sell and sign copies of his new cookbook from 2 to 4 p.m. on Oct. 2. LaViola grew up on Grove Street and now lives in Schoolhouse Apartments on South Avenue with his aunt, Rose LaViola (who turned 100 this year). He created Ninetta and Dom’s Ristorante in Norwalk, named for his parents, and recently published his cookbook under the same name at age 78. It sells for $33 and can be purchased via Venmo (venmo@joe-laviola-2) or by check to Joe LaViola, 156 South Ave., New Canaan CT 06840. He will ship directly through either payment method.

Here’s a video of LaViola talking about his book:

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New Canaan’s Cathy Kangas, founder of the cruelty-free brand PRAI Beauty and the Cathy Kangas Foundation for Animals, will be honored by Adopt-A-Dog of Armonk, N.Y. with its first annual “Coming to the Rescue Lifetime Achievement Award.” The award will be given at Adopt-A-Dog’s Puttin’ on the Dog Event to be held 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday at Roger Sherman Baldwin Park in Greenwich. The event will feature adoptable dogs, competitions, a silent auction, vendors, food trucks and more.

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The building department on Sept. 17 issued a roof permit for the Gores Pavilion in Irwin Park. The estimated $100,000 job will be done by Alden Bailey Restoration Corp. of Ridgefield, the permit said.

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Dozens of New Canaan residents, sports figures and families packed the south patio at Waveny to honor the 2021 New Canaan Old Timers honorees last Sunday. The perfect weather, great food and a memorable program emceed by Terry Dinan cemented the event as one of New Canaan’s most popular celebrations.

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News from local churches:

• First Presbyterian Church of New Canaan posted on its website the starting Sunday, “in accordance with CDC guidelines, masks inside the building will be optional for those who have been vaccinated. Masks will still be required for the unvaccinated and during any singing during worship or elsewhere.”
• United Methodist Church of New Canaan is holding Sunday services at 10 a.m.;
• The Congregational Church of New Canaan’s Youth Groups serve all in grades K-12. Here’s a listing of youth programs. Here’s info on the church’s “Nurturing Nest” programs for very young children.
• The “Blessing of the Animals,” in observation of the Feast of St. Francis, will be held 3 at 5 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 3 at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church under the Arcade. Dogs and cats, and birds and horses and critters of all shapes and sizes are welcome.

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A motorist passed a stop school bus in the area of Route 123 at Brushy Ridge Road, according to a report filed with police at 10 a.m. Monday.

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Volunteers from the Exchange Club of New Canaan and Congregational Church of New Canaan over the past two Saturdays pitched in to help revitalize the homes of two Norwalk households at no cost to the recipients. Local nonprofit organization HomeFront provided N-95 dust masks, rubber gloves, goggles, work gloves and hand sanitizers for all volunteers, and a special grant from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving underwrote all of the personal protective equipment.

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The town on Tuesday received an application for a $5 million renovation at 50 Pine St., the former Beval Saddlery building. The work will see 47 new rooms and offices created in the building, and the contractor on the job is Turner Construction Co. of Shelton, the application said.

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The New Canaan Community Foundation has opened registration for its Young Philanthropists Program to all high-school aged town residents. In it, participants learn about the role of nonprofit organizations in addressing community needs. To register, fill out this form. Send questions to NCCF Community Engagement Officer Nicole Kolenberg at nkolenberg@newcanaancf.org.

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Finally, NewCanaanite.com is excited to remind readers that Sept. 30 is the final day to submit/publish endorsement letters for the 2021 municipal election.