News

East School Rebounds with Perfect Score on Health Inspection After Failing in the Fall

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After failing a health inspection the fall, the food services staff at East School earned a perfect score following the most recent unannounced visit from a town sanitarian. The school on Sept. 16 had been cited by the New Canaan Health Department for a major violation—the first such problem found there through dozens of inspections in 10 years. Specifically, a health inspector discovered chlorine sanitizer in a wiping cloth bucket to be at a toxic level of 200 parts per million, according to records obtained by NewCanaanite.com. A correction plan outlined by the sanitarian included remaking the mixture at 50 to 100 ppm and training staff members.

Around Town

Did You Hear … ?

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The owners of the Roger Sherman Inn said late Wednesday that the restaurant isn’t closed for good after all. After announcing last month that Jan. 2 would be the Oenoke Ridge Road restaurant’s final day, an email blast shared on social media and signed by Nes Jaffre said “we’re extending our stay.” It isn’t clear how long it will be open or what’s the reason for the extension—the property is to be redeveloped by a Norwalk man, pending approval from the town. The Roger Sherman will serve in its bar and on its heated porch, and the dining room is available by request, according to the bulletin.

Faces of New Canaan

Faces of New Canaan: Amer Salloum

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In this installment of “Faces of New Canaan,” we interview a town resident known for nearly two decades to scores of locals through the New Canaan YMCA as well as his own business. Amer Salloum, a licensed massage therapist, lives on Millport Avenue with his wife and three kids, and has been a New Canaanite for some 11 years. Given that Salloum’s story of hard work, opportunity and optimism—from non-English-speaking and, for a time, homeless, to family, profession and community—captures perhaps what many of us associate with this nation at its best, we feel it’s fitting to headline our Independence Day newsletter with this profile. We met Salloum in a recent afternoon at Kaahve coffee chop on Main Street. What follows is a transcription of our exchange.

Government

School Cafeterias Score High in Health Inspections; ‘Risk Factor’ Violations at NCHS, Saxe and West

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Each of New Canaan’s six public school cafeterias scored at least 95 points out of a possible 100 in recent unannounced inspections by the New Canaan Health Department. Three of the cafs were cited for more serious “risk factor” violations during inspections conducted by Sanitarian and Restaurant/Food Inspector Carla DeLucia—one each at the high school, middle school and West School. East School earned a perfect 100. The overall scores were:

East: 100
South: 99
West: 97
Saxe: 98
NCHS: 95

Here are the details, noted by the sanitarian, at the most recent inspection for each school—risk factor violations are noted with an asterisk:

East (Jan. 11)—zero violations

South (Jan.

News

East School Parents Fund $35,000 in New Playground Equipment for Kindergarten, First Grade

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Thanks to the generosity of East School parents, kindergarteners and first-graders on Little Brook Road as soon as April will enjoy new playground equipment that’s designed both to provide fun and stimulate the senses. The Board of Education at its regular meeting Monday night voted 8-0 to accept a $35,000 gift from the East School PTC that will go toward a rollerslide, grab bar, hand hold/leg lift and other equipment from Delano, Minn.-based playground design firm Landscape Structures. The figure includes the relocation in the playground of a popular “fire truck” and introduction of new woodchips that will be needed for the site, according to PTC Co-President Patty Zoccolillo and East School Principal Kris Woleck. Weather-permitting, the new gear will go in over April Break, Zoccolillo said. “I just wanted to mention once again the incredible generosity of our parent body,” she told the school board at the meeting, held in the Wagner Room at New Canaan High School.