Around Town

Did You Hear … ?

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Police have told an out-of-town man to keep his 5-year-old female golden-doodle out of the dog park at Waveny until he gets the animal spayed. The dog (her name is Amber) is in heat and on a recent weekday evening her owner upset other Spencer’s Run users when he got angry about male dogs in the park trying to mount her. We’re hearing that the man grabbed the male dogs and yanked them off of his fetching female, as though it was their fault. Officials say that if the out-of-towner returns with the dog un-spayed, he’ll be ticketed and his PIN number to enter Spencer’s Run revoked. ***

Though the property owner at the Bank of America building on Elm Street could not be reached for comment after town officials blasted the condition of the planters out front, he appears to have taken at least one major step toward addressing the problem. Within days of a meeting of the Plan of Conservation & Development Implementation Committee that saw some members refer to the area as a “non-garden,” a crew appeared in the morning to install new flowers, topsoil, gravel and plants there.

Government

With Wide Community Support, Tree Warden Re-Posts Norway Maple at Town Hall for Removal

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Saying he’s “overwhelmed” by the community support for his original decision to remove a brittle Norway maple from the front of Town Hall and replace it with sugar maples on either side of the main walkway up to the renovated building, New Canaan Tree Warden Bruce Pauley on Tuesday afternoon re-posted the tree for removal. When news spread that a resident’s complaint had prompted Pauley to “un-post” the non-native tree—in other words, leave it be, instead of planting what he called the “quintessential New England tree” instead—locals in comment threads on New Canaanite and on Facebook voiced support for the tree warden. At first, Pauley said, he was surprised by the response, “but the more I thought about it, the less surprised I am, because I know how strongly people feel about trees in New Canaan.”

“And I am happy for that,” said the tree warden, a fourth-generation New Canaanite and 1964 NCHS graduate. “But I was overwhelmed with the amount of support that I saw. Secondly, it was very gratifying to see people who I have worked for over the years and to hear their comments.

Government

Tree Warden on Norway Maple at Town Hall: ‘When Is the Right Thing the Right Thing?’

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First, I would like to express my gratitude to the readers who spoke out in support of removing the Norway maple in favor of two matched sugar maples. This would be the right thing to do for the town of New Canaan—you would think. The Norway maple was introduced years ago in hope it would be a suitable replacement for the American elm that was becoming practically extinct because of Dutch elm disease. Why a maple? They were groping and certainly were unaware of the inherent problems associated with the N. maple.

Government

Tree Warden’s Plan for ‘Quintessential New England’ Sugar Maples at Town Hall Thwarted

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Despite his reservations about the appropriateness of a Norway maple that’s breaking apart in front of Town Hall, the tree warden reluctantly is allowing the large tree to remain after a resident complained about its being tagged for removal. Tree Warden Bruce Pauley had intended to plant a pair of matching, six-inch caliber sugar maples on either side of the walkway up in front of Town Hall—the “quintessential New England tree,” he said. “I would have spaced them out so they have plenty of room to grow, without interfering with anything,” Pauley, a fourth-generation New Canaanite, told NewCanaanite.com. “They have a fantastic color in the fall, they are strong and vibrant and I would want them out there.”

Yet town resident Andrea Sandor, on seeing that the Norway maple had been tagged for removal, objected strenuously to Pauley and other officials. In emails, Sandor called the Norway maple “an important” and “legacy tree” that “provides an anchor for the rural nature of the town.”

The tree is highly visible, Sandor said in her emails, offers shade and “is in a great location to be nurtured.” Sandor said the Norway maple has been poorly pruned and objected to the tree’s being tagged for removal while construction fencing had obstructed her view of the tag and, consequently, her ability to call for a hearing on it.

Government

Town Buys 30 Pine Trees to Screen Old Kings Highway Homes from Landfill

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Town officials this week approved a $6,750 contract with a Newtown-based nursery for 30 white pine trees that will be planted to screen Old Kings Highway homes from the Transfer Station. The trees from Planter’s Choice Nursery will be planted along the top of the landfill, Department of Public Works Assistant Director Tiger Mann said at the Board of Selectmen meeting Tuesday. “We have been receiving quite a number of complaints from the people on Old Kings Highway about their view across the top of the landfill,” Mann said during the meeting, held in the Training Room at the New Canaan Police Department. “Especially when we have got snow removal and other work going on there. Many can see straight down into the transfer station workings from there, so they asked for some screening in the upper area.”

Three properties appear to overlook the Transfer Station complex off of the eastern side of Old Kings Highway, though the homes themselves are located across the street.