New Canaan Police Chief Leon Krolikowski said that in the past week, officers have investigated two residential burglaries—on Betsy’s Lane and Dabney Road. Other jurisdictions in Fairfield County have seen an increase in daytime burglaries. “Most burglars are not master criminals,” the chief said. “They’re usually looking for an easy opportunity to get into a house without being seen. Burglars love it when you make their job easier for them.” Here are some tips that will help you beat the burglars.
Roger Sherman Inn in February 2014. Credit: Terry Dinan
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Planning & Zoning Commission Chairman John Goodwin said that the hopeful developer of the Roger Sherman Inn property withdrew his application and plans to re-file for the group’s Dec. 20 meeting. We’re hearing the withdrawal was made for strictly procedural reasons. The applicant two weeks ago put in for a new overlay zone in order to make the proposed redevelopment possible.
This sign greets visitors to the Assessor’s Office at Town Hall. Its located just around the corner, temporarily, while a possible mold problem is worked out. Credit: Michael Dinan
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Workers in Town Hall’s assessor’s office have moved temporarily into a conference room, following an unusual smell that emerged last week in their accustomed quarters on the first floor of the renovated public building. Town officials said mold later was detected in the air of the assessor’s office area, on a level with what typically would be found outside. Moving the workers was a precautionary measure, officials said, and after final test results are in, the workers are expected to move back—hopefully this week.
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The New Canaan Police Union is hosting a food, toy and coat drive from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Dec. 10 at the New Canaan Police Department located at 174 South Ave. Come out and meet your local police officers and help them fill their cruisers with nonperishable goods, unopened toys and lightly worn jackets in an effort to help the less fortunate this holiday season. All donations will be given to Vine Cottage of New Canaan.
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The monthly Community Coffee, presented by NewCanaanite.com in partnership with New Canaan Library, is to be held from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. in the library’s Lamb Room. Zumbach’s Gourmet Coffee will be served, courtesy of the Pine Street roaster, during the informal discussion of town matters. Please join us. (And please note the start time is 9:30 a.m., not 8:30 a.m. as it had been listed originally this week—I botched that.)
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BC’s Zach Allen. Credit: Boston College Athletics/John Quackenbos
Congrats to 2015 NCHS grad and current Boston College sophomore Zach Allen as the Eagles defeated Wake Forest on Saturday 17-14, becoming Bowl-eligible for the first time since 2014. Allen—a defensive end for BC—finished the 2016 season with 34 tackles, including 10 tackles for a loss. He also had five sacks on the season, the third-highest total on the team. Allen will be the first NCHS grad to play in a Bowl game since Connor Hanratty (NCHS ’11) appeared in the 2013 Pinstripe Bowl for Notre Dame. BC projects to face Army in the Quicklane Bowl at Ford Field in Detroit on Dec. 26. Selection Day is this Sunday, Dec. 4.
FCIAC Honors NCHS Varsity Soccer Captains. L-R: All East FCIAC team Center Back Chris Harte, All-FCIAC goalkeeper Sam Stoner and All East FCIAC Center Midfielder Hugo Potter. Contributed
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Congrats as well to NCHS soccer players Sam Stoner and Madison Starr and NCHS field hockey player Ellery Baran. The trio was named to their respective sports’ All-FCIAC First Teams for the 2016 fall season.
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The drawing for eight metal ash disposal buckets— courtesy of New Canaan Firefighters and Weed & Duryea—will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 2 at Weed & Duryea. See more information, including entry forms, here.
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New Canaan business owner Caren Forbes is holding a one-day sale of Suzanne Einstein’s Jewelry in a newly opened retail space at 72 Park St. It will be held 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. next Wednesday, Dec. 7. Details here.
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Finally, here’s a gallery spotlighting other bits of news from around New Canaan:
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The Exchange Club of New Canaan has commenced its annual Christmas tree sale at Kiwanis Park. On Friday, November 25, approximately 1,500 trees, 2,000 wreaths and many, many feet of roping were unloaded by volunteers from the club, Pivot Ministries, the Service League of Boys ("SLOB's") and others. While members of the service organization were setting up the tree lot, they made the first sale to John and Simrin Bennett and and their baby. They are newer residents to New Canaan and will be celebrating their first Christmas here in New Canaan with a tree from the Exchange Club, which has been selling trees to benefit local charities for 60 years.
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Sky Mercede, owner of Forever Sweet Bakery, made a special cake for Susan Socci, who retired following Tuesday's NCHS Rams football state quarterfinal after 36 years at the helm of the concessions (now at Dunning Stadium). "She's not only a friend of my family but she's a friend to thousands of other families and she will be truly missed," Mercede told NewCanaanite.com. He presented the cake to her on the morning of last week's Turkey Bowl. Contributed
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DesignDot and The Summer House teamed up to celebrate the grand reopening of The Summer House Boutique as well as the launch of DesignDot's Marketplace Design studio space located within the store! The event was held inside the boutiques new location on 107 Cherry Street where guests were able to mingle amongst the beautiful antiques while enjoying small bites and cocktails provided by Palmers Market. DesignDot was established 6 years ago by Megan Wunderlich as a way to bring her passion for design to clients throughout Fairfield County. Through her work, Megan befriended Margaret Schwartz, owner of The Summer House, and as both of their businesses grew, they decided to create a collaborative experiential design environment. Marketplace Design is a fully stocked design studio staffed by a mixture of both local and New York City based designers affiliated with DesignDot. This rotating schedule of designers are onsite every Thursday and Saturday between 10-2pm to give complimentary design advice to patrons of The Summer House.
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Life Scout Kevin Brunner from Troop 70 recently completed his Eagle Project building and installing a wooden walkway on the Colhoun Meadow property – a New Canaan Land Trust owned property off of Davenport Ridge Road. The project was completed with the help of twenty-four other scouts and the guidance of Land Trust executive director Mike Johnson and former President Chris Schipper. The project spans several sections of the property’s trail that are usually muddy, and covers them with raised wooden boards. This project was done in order to allow better access through the property. According to the project leader, Kevin, “Before the project, this section of trail could get very muddy and wet. The purpose of this project was to create a path on the trail that can be cleanly traversed. However, we didn’t want to just build a bridge straight through the woods. Our goal while building the walkway was to limit our impact on the surroundings and incorporate as much of the natural resources of the woods in order to allow people to walk the trail and enjoy the natural environment around them.” The Colhoun Meadow Property is a former dairy farm that was donated to the New Canaan Land Trust in 1974. At first glance from the road, it does not seem to be very large, but as one walks through the trail they will find it to cover a lot more area than expected. A visitor to the property is greeted by a 2 acre field, and as they follow the trail, they will encounter over 11 acres of woodlands. The property covers 21 acres in total, forming a chair shape perpendicular to Davenport Ridge Road. It may not be particularly well known to the town, but with the efforts of the New Canaan Land Trust, it is hoped that this piece of land can enter into the awareness of the townspeople. Multiple other Eagle Projects are being planned for this piece of land, and with work from the New Canaan Land Trust’s Stewardship Program, this property looks to be further improved and developed, while still maintaining the outdoorsy feel and the natural state of the woods and meadow.