Did You Hear … ?

New Canaan Police on Monday investigated a residential, daytime burglary on Birchwood Avenue. Police Chief Leon Krolikowski said that force was used to enter the house, no alarm was set and it’s not yet clear if anything was taken. On Tuesday, police began investigating a similar burglary on Old Stamford Road. The incidents are promoting Krolikowski to urge residents to always set their home and vehicle alarms, lock up, secure all valuables and report suspicious people and vehicles to the police via 9-1-1. Here’s a full list of ways to “Beat the Burglars,” from the chief.

New Canaan Marks Veterans Day in Ceremony at Town Hall

Though the many ways that civilians thank U.S. military veterans are right and appropriate—parades, observances, moments of silence and simple thank-you’s, for example—the most complete ways to honor those who have served must deliver both recognition and lasting empowerment, one active serviceman said Wednesday. The United States currently counts about 50,000 homeless veterans—a group that is susceptible to suicide at a 50 percent higher rate than civilians, according to statistics cited by Lt. Todd Kniffen, who commands an officer candidate company of 100 young men and women in Newport, R.I., and whose mother lives here in New Canaan. “Indeed, more veterans have been lost to suicide than have been killed in combat operations since the global War on Terror began,” Kniffen told more than 100 people (many of them in uniform) gathered in the Town Meeting Room for the community’s annual Veterans Day Ceremony, moved inside from its usual location by the Wayside Cross at God’s Acre due to foul weather. “Raise awareness of these facts, volunteer your time and resources to causes that fight these trends. By doing so I promise that you gain, for the world and for the nation, a person whose core motivation is duty and service.

New Canaan Police Department Promotes Four, Honors Three and Gives K-9 Apollo His ‘Badge’

Newly promoted Sgt. Marc DeFelice of the New Canaan Police Department describes his uncle, Dinny Lapolla, as a man of few words. “So when he talks, he makes his point,” DeFelice told a roomful of fellow officers and their families, town officials and guests on Tuesday night. During a special ceremony that saw DeFelice officially was promoted to the rank of sergeant—his was one of four promotions made on the night, in addition to three special awards given to other officers (see gallery above for information and quotes from honorees)—the New Canaan High School graduate recalled what his uncle, himself a 30-year veteran of the force, told him on getting hired. “He said, ‘Go out there and do the right thing,’ ” DeFelice recalled from a podium in the Douglass Room at Lapham Community Center.

Four Promoted within New Canaan Police Department

New Canaan Police this week promoted two sergeants and two officers, including some who recently had been honored by the department for outstanding performance of their job duties. “We are proud of their accomplishments and excited to see them provide leadership to our officers as they serve our town so well,” Police Chief Leon Krolikowski said in a press release of Sgt. Carol Ogrinc and Sgt. Andrew Walsh, now lieutenants, and Officers Aaron LaTourette and Marc DeFelice, now sergeants. In March, LaTourette received the first-ever Lt. Stephen W. Wood Memorial Officer of the Year Award and also was honored with a Unit Citation together with DeFelice and several other officers.