In the week that saw New Canaan decide how much (and just where) taxpayer money will be spent starting July 1—and that amid scores of residents challenging real property assessments in the course of a town-wide revaluation—the theme of this Week in Review is spending money.
Melanie Kelly holds a packet of seeds in the area where New Canaan Library plans this month to install a "seed library" for residents.
While New Canaan looked to the state Bonding Commission for funds to improve playground equipment at Kiwanis and Mead Parks (and for some capital upgrades at New Canaan Library, whose seed exchange will launch this month), we spotlighted a pair of local women who are dedicating themselves newly to fundraising (and lots of leg work) for a year-round program that will help keep kids in neighboring Stamford fed on weekends.
We saw a New Canaan man involved in purchasing a Greenwich waterfront estate that, when it hit the market last year, was listed at more money ($190 million) than any single residential property in the United States (it went for a cool $120 million).
Waveny Pool, photographed April 9, 2014.
And even closer to home, we got an update from our volunteer Park & Recreation Commission on the divisive question of whether to sell family passes to nonresidents for Waveny Pool this summer. In keeping with our theme, finances lies at the heart of the matter: The facility must self-sustain, and that means we’ll need revenue from out-of-town families ($1,000 per pass) if the pool’s plaster lining requires immediate replacement. (Note: We nearly designated this item as our “Town Talker” for the Week in Review, as a handful of thoughtful comments came in via our Facebook post on the matter, but we found something that may resonate even more …)
Town Talker
While our parks officials wait to make a decision on selling those Waveny Pool passes, our public schools are waiting to set the 2015 academic calendar. Why? Because there’s something called the Regional Uniform Calendar, a state-mandated initiative that’d see New Canaan operate under stricter rules in an identical academic (and vacation) calendar to nearly all other Fairfield County districts. At stake is the town’s longstanding tradition of taking three separate weeks for holidays: breaks in December, February and April. More to come at the Board of Education’s April 21 meeting.
Terry this week for his New Canaan history feature, “0684-Old,” looked into the history of a South Avenue home that every townie will surely know.
Meg Marciano, owner of 299 South Ave.
The beautiful home at the corner of Brooks Road served as a tuberculosis hospital, “Brooks Sanatorium,” in the early 1900s (and had later lives as an inn). We catch up with the current, preservation-minded owner of the historic home and get some great anecdotes about past residents, as well as a nice history of the standout property.
Though we had no new canine profiles this week, three New Canaan dogs made headlines:
First, we checked in with the nurturing staff at New Canaan Veterinary Hospital to get an update on their pal, called ‘Señor Friend.’ The approximately 6-month-old Chihuaua was found, malnourished and with a non-contagious form of mange, in a crate outside CVS about 3.5 weeks ago.
He’s coming along nicely, and as you can see from this video with Dr. Paul Potenza above, he’s worked his way into the hearts of staff members at the vet.
We also learned of a dog that was spotted by a concerned individual inside a closed car as outside temps reached the upper-50s. Police responded but found the animal in no danger, thankfully. Two summers ago, two dogs died of heat exposure in cars in New Canaan.
Finally, the owners of a people-loving chocolate Labrador retriever vow to put up a physical fence at home as the dog three times in just a couple of days got off-property and roamed the area of White Oak Shade Road near the Merritt Parkway, raising serious concerns for Animal Control here.
New Canaan lacrosse captains (l-r) Harry Stanton, Seth Neeleman, Trent Nader and Teddy Bossidy.
Following the break between the winter and spring sports seasons—as our fields dry out and youth baseball and lacrosse get underway, among other sports—we preview the very strong varsity lacrosse team at New Canaan High School. They’re poised for a three-peat.
And speaking of domination, the state champion varsity baseball team is back, and so is one standout player who (like former Bridgeport Bluefish manager Tommy John) has recovered from elbow surgery. We’re there for our own local Opening Day on the diamond.
Ali Reilly at 1B and Molly Rochlin at 2B.
And not just the baseball diamond. Our softball team at New Canaan High School may have dropped a pair to start the season (1-0 to Ludlowe and 9-5 to Greenwich), but there’s plenty to look forward to.
Finally, how about a round of applause for some of the highest-achieving athletes to train here in New Canaan, our swimmers at the YMCA’s nationally competitive U.S.S. program. In case you haven’t heard, part of the team that represented the Y recently at one of the major national meets for the sport not only broke seven team records (including one that’s 17 years old), but also broke a pair of state records for relays.
Bob Watters has owned Forest Street Deli for nearly 22 years. He's closing his doors April 18, as construction gets underway on a new mixed retail-and-residential complex. It's unclear whether he'll reopen in it.
Bob Watters’ popular Forest Street Deli will close its doors Friday as the building there, formerly Lindner Motorcycles, will come down with a new retail-and-residential mixed space goes up, starting this summer.
While that happens, a new business and one of the town’s most well-established are teaming up to launch New Canaan’s only formal cycling club. New Canaan Bicycles and Walter Stewart’s are joining forces to promote the activity for all levels, as well as healthy living.
Coming Up
Some local happenings worth bookmarking on our calendars:
National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day: NewCanaanite.com recently ran a three-part series on heroin here in town, and experts including from New Canaan’s Silver Hill Hospital agree that the problem most often starts when opioids such as prescription painkillers are available for experimenting youth in their parents’ unlocked medicine cabinets. Two Saturdays from now, April 26, New Canaan Police and Walgreens down on Pine Street are participating in a DEA-led effort to preempt the problem. Here’s some information about National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day from NCPD:
“On Saturday, April 26th from 10am-2pm, potentially dangerous, expired, unused, and unwanted prescription and over the counter medications will be collected for destruction at Walgreens located at 36 Pine Street, New Canaan. The service is free and anonymous. Prescription and over the counter medications will be accepted. Intra-venous solutions, injectables and needles will NOT be accepted. Illicit substances such as marijuana or methamphetamine are not part of this initiative. As some are aware, the New Canaan Police Department has a medication drop box located in in the lobby of the police department. This drop box is available to the community throughout the year, 24/7.”
The Outback to host Red Cross Blood Drive: The blood drive will be held at The Outback, 71 Main Street in New Canaan, on Saturday, May 3, 2014, from 8:00am-12:45pm. All walk-ins are welcome, however appointments can be made by calling 1-800-733-2767, or logging onto redcrossblood.org.
AAUW New Canaan Branch Luncheon Committee members, L-R: Cynde Lahey, Branch President; Dorcas Hills, Dorie Pease, Sue Scannell and Vicki LeBris, Chairman. Contributed photo
New Canaan Library to Celebrate Earth Day: On Wednesday, April 23 at 7 p.m. in the Library’s Adrian Lamb Room, geologist and conservationist G. Warfield “Skip” Hobbs will deliver his lecture, “The Future of Planet Earth.” In it, the library says, Hobbs will “discuss how the earth’s biosphere is transforming; the importance of sustainability in natural resource extraction; climate change and the human factor; and how we, as responsible citizens, can handle and mitigate these changes. In his work towards raising environmental awareness Hobbs has delivered The Future of Planet Earth to several local community groups, and will deliver the talk at the Yale School of Forestry in April.
Finally, the AAUW New Canaan Chapter’s annual Book & Author luncheon is coming up April 24. Though the deadline for registration has passed, it’s still possible to get tickets if you reach out directly to the AAUW now. Here’s more information on the event and a Q&A with event chair Vicki LeBris.