Animal 411

Black Bear Sighting on Smith Ridge Road

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A black bear was spotted Sunday afternoon on Smith Ridge Road up near Grace Farms, officials say. While unusual this deep into the winter, the Feb. 13 sighting follows some unseasonably warm days last week that likely roused the bear from its slumber, according to Animal Control Officer Allyson Halm. When that happens, the bears are in a “torpor” state which is similar to a restless sleep, and will go back to hibernating, though not before searching for food, Halm said. “The concern I would have is, what is the food source?” Halm said.

Around Town

Did You Hear … ?

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New Canaan Police at about 4:25 p.m. Monday received a report of a larceny at 16 South Ave., according to a call log. That’s the street address of the Mobil gas station. Asked about the incident, police said it involves a juvenile and is being worked out between the business owner and family. 

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A Stamford-based company, Case Study Brands, on Thursday presented a plan for Waveny House to the Board of Selectmen during a regular meeting. The company provided a broad sketch whereby Waveny gets a “luxury brand reflective of both its heritage and crown jewel positioning with the community,” with a new website and promotional materials, larger events and a staff “house director” whose responsibilities would include “concierge services.” The current online information for Waveny House lives in the Recreation Department’s area of the municipal website and “doesn’t feel glamorous” for what a bride is looking for,” officials from the company said. “It’s a little bit lacking in the glamour” compared to competitors such as the Roger Sherman Inn and Philip Johnson Glass House, they said.

Animal 411

‘This Was My Cue’: New Canaan Woman Adopts Two of Pregnant Stray’s Kittens

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After losing her beloved cat Mimi at nearly 15 years old last March, Marian Murphy knew her house needed cats. She’d had cats since moving to New Canaan more than 40 years ago, but planned to travel overseas in 2021 and wanted to wait to find her next one. Then the delta variant of COVID-19 virus emerged, making travel difficult.
Murphy read about a pregnant stray cat in New Canaan that gave birth to five healthy kittens—a feline named “Elsa,” since she was discovered on Cross Street at the time the tropical storm of that name that struck Connecticut—and “knew this was my cue.”

“Not only would I be able to get two kittens back to New Canaan where they were conceived but more importantly, my mother’s name had been Elsa also,” Murphy told NewCanaanite.com in an email. “She had passed away in April 2019 and I have not had a chance to see the family since then. Thus in my mind, Elsa’s kittens would create a bridge between my life here and what I had left behind.”

She contacted Warren-based Sophia L’Orange Kitten Rescue, which had taken in Elsa, and for several weeks kept track of the growing litter, eventually adopting a male (whom she named Tigger) and a female (Piccola).

Around Town

Top-10 Most-Read Articles of 2021

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The 10 most-read articles of 2021 cover a wide range of local news. The first full year of the COVID-19 pandemic saw traffic on New Canaanite exceed 2.2 million views, up more than 5.5% from 2020. 

Here they are, headlines and ledes:

10. Health Director: New Canaan Woman’s COVID-19 Complaint About Local Restaurant Unfounded (Jan. 3) “Municipal health officials said a New Canaan woman’s complaint last month that a restaurant downtown had been violating COVID-19-related rules was determined to be unfounded. According to a complaint that Tucker Murphy lodged with New Canaan’s highest elected official, the White Buffalo bar and restaurant  was ‘not following the Sector Rules’ on the night of Friday, Dec.

Animal 411

Police Cite Canoe Hill Road Woman After Two Dog-Biting Incidents

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Police last month cited a Canoe Hill Road woman for two counts of nuisance dog after her Australian cattle dogs bit a UPS deliveryman multiple times on the arms, sending him to an urgent care facility. One of the dogs, a two-year-old named “George” (the other one is “Lenny”) already had bitten a passing neighbor the month before, after his vaccination for rabies had expired, according to police reports obtained by NewCanaanite.com through public records requests. The dogs first came on the radar of police Sept. 2, when a Canoe Hill Road neighbor phoned police that she found a dog roaming her property and “acting aggressively toward her,” according to an incident report from Animal Control Officer Allyson Halm. The neighbor heard a someone calling out “George” and at that time the dog left, the report said.