Animal 411

Ex’s Dog Quarantined After Bite

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An intact male Saint Bernard mix, 3, underwent a 10-day quarantine at the New Canaan Animal Shelter after biting someone, records show. Officers were dispatched at about 7:13 p.m. on Feb. 11 (a Wednesday) to a Valley Road home on a report of a dog bite, according to a case report filed by Officer Austin Malizia and obtained by NewCanaanite.com through a public records request. According to the redacted report, the victim told police that before school that day, wearing “many layers of clothing” because of the cold, they were playing with a dog who then, later, “thought that [the victim] was ‘coming at him’ and ‘jumped up and bit him,’ ” Malizia said in the report. Police documented the victim’s injuries on their right arm, the report said.

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Affordable Housing: 14-Unit Apartment Building Planned for Parade Hill Road

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The town this month received an application to build a 14-unit apartment building on Parade Hill Road under the state’s affordable housing law. All 14 of the two- and three-bedroom units at 30 Parade Hill Road will be “affordable,” under the state’s definition, according to an application filed on behalf of the property’s owner by attorney Amy Souchuns of Hartford-based MacDermid, Reynolds & Glissman, P.C.

A cover letter in the 215-page submission to the Planning & Zoning Commission said the project — sponsored by Stamford-based nonprofit Garden Homes Fund (philanthropic arm of Garden Homes Management) — is designed “to provide housing in New Canaan for low and very low income families with school-aged children.”

Under a section titled “The choice of New Canaan for affordable housing,” the applicant said: “While the need for affordable housing is dire in Connecticut, it is most needed in neighborhoods of high opportunity. Neighborhoods play a central role in upward mobility and are where children experience socioemotional development, form social ties, and access resources and life opportunities. Maps provided by the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA) rate each census tract in the state on a five-point scale ranging from Very High Opportunity to Very Low Opportunity based on factors like school performance, poverty concentration and safety. The mapping is used by CHFA and the Connecticut Department of Housing (DOH) to prioritize funding for affordable housing development in high opportunity areas.

Homepage Top Story

15 NCHS Student-Athletes Sign Letters of Intent To Play Sports in College

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Fifteen New Canaan High School seniors on Wednesday signed commitment letters to play sports in college starting next year. 

NCHS Athletic Director Jay Egan said during the school’s annual ceremony for the student-athletes that the special day is a celebration for the student-athletes, parents and coaches. “A lot of commitment on the part of the athletes, a lot of hard work—same thing with the parents,” Egan said as the ceremony started in the Wagner Room at NCHS. 

He added, “Just one comment on collegiate athletics: It’s a great opportunity. So today, I think what we’re celebrating is how hard you’ve worked to give yourself a great opportunity. High school athletics is a fun time in your life. You get to play with your friends, you’re in your hometown.

Around Town

2nd Annual Waveny Park Arts Festival Set for Oct. 6 [Q&A]

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The second annual Waveny Park Arts Festival is less than two weeks away. Presented Oct. 6 in partnership with the New Canaan Parks & Recreation Department, and with support from the Waveny Park Conservancy, the Carriage Barn Arts Center’s festival features a juried collection from fine artists and artisans across a wide range of media. The Carriage Barn is looking to build on a very successful inaugural event, with live music, family activities, refreshments and food trucks and more—including a new “Young Entrepreneurs Marketplace.”

We put some questions to the organization’s executive director, Hilary Wittmann, ahead of the Oct. 6 festival.

Board of Education

‘Politics Divide School Communities’: Board of Ed Chair Addresses Partisanship at Final Meeting

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New Canaan’s longtime Board of Education chair during her final meeting last week expressed gratitude to the district’s administration, fellow school board members, municipal officials and the wider community while also calling for an end to partisanship. Katrina Parkhill, a school board member for nearly seven years and its chair for the past four—encompassing the entire COVID-19 pandemic—said she had three messages after reflecting on her time on the elected body, starting with “stay the course.”

“I believe that the foundation of our school system’s success is predicated on how we, and so many before us, work together to lead our district forward, maintain a culture of mutual trust and respect, and put students at the center of everything we do,” Parkhill said a final Board meeting for herself and fellow BOE member Bob Naughton, held Nov. 6 in the Wagner Room at New Canaan High School (the eve of Election Day). 

“These are qualities that have defined New Canaan Public Schools for years and we should never take them for granted,” she continued. “As we continue to move through this challenging and transformative period in education and in our nation, we must continue to lean into these qualities and nurture and respect how we got here. Most of our policies and Board practices have been in place for a long time, and they have served us well.