Around Town

‘You Will Walk Out with a Game Plan’: Panel Discussion on ‘Building Family Resilience’ To Be Held Feb. 8 at Town Hall

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Most everyone is affected in some way by problematic behaviors such as substance use or abuse, anxiety or depression, according to one local expert, and adolescence is in and of itself a period of developing an identity. During that time, adolescents move away from their parents as guides to who they are “and look more to their peers for that feedback and developing their role,” according to Tracey Masella, manager of the adolescent transitional living program at Silver Hill Hospital. “That creates a lot of dissonance in a family. Some parents are not ready for that and often, adolescents in this process of identity formation will try out a lot of behaviors that are risky, to see what fits. It’s a time of great confusion for families as they try to navigate their kids moving away from them—as they have to do, and should do—but sometimes that creates a lot of stress and anxiety.”

As part of a panel to be held next Wednesday, Masella will offer tools and strategies for parents and adolescents seeking to get through this difficult period.

Government

League of Women Voters, Charter Revision Commission Hold Info Session at Town Hall

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The most widely discussed suggested change to New Canaan’s major governing document that voters will face on Election Day came as a result of careful study of several neighbors and deliberate consideration of the town’s municipal structure, officials said Tuesday night. In recommending that New Canaan remove the first selectman from the role of chairing the Board of Finance, the volunteer panel charged with studying the Town Charter looked around and found that the funding body was elected, rather than appointed, in nearby towns, members of the Charter Revision Commission said during a League of Women Voters of New Canaan information session. “And so what we tried to do was find the best check and balance for the system that we have,” commissioner Kate Hurlock said during the session, held at Town Hall. “Because for all of the interviews that we did, it was overwhelmingly clear that the people that we spoke to wanted to keep the Board of Finance appointed and for reasons of the complexity of our budget and the size of our town and the talent in our town, it made sense to preserve that. So preserving that, how could we ensure a check and balance in that environment?

Around Town

Did You Hear … ?

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Studio Elan, an established business on Burtis Avenue, is moving into the former Candy Scoop space on Elm Street, up the alley by Chef Luis and next to New Canaan Music. ***

New Canaan Public Schools cafeterias recently earned the No. 1 “Best Food Ranking” from Niche.com. Here’s a peek at the top-10 (Darien is No. 23—nanny nanny boo boo):

New Canaan
Middlefield
Weston
Westport
Wilton
Chester
Killingly
Waterford
Simsbury
Glastonbury

***

Police responded to a call at 1:28 p.m. last Saturday that a dog near Forest Street and Locust Avenue was “going crazy in a car.” The dog’s owner, who was inside the nearby New Canaan Diner, paid her bill and left the restaurant to take care of the barking animal.

Around Town

Did You Hear … ?

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It’s Election Day, and the League of Women Voters of New Canaan created this one-page Web guide for local constituents, including a Voters’ Guide to the Candidates, New Canaan 2015 Sample Ballot, Voting District Map and Absentee Ballot Information. ***

We’re hearing the Gridiron Club made another outstanding choice for this year’s “Fall Guy.” It’s New Canaan’s own Keith Simpson, noted local landscape architect and civic-minded volunteer, who currently serves with the New Canaan Beautification League, Waveny Park Conservancy, Pop Up Park Committee and Plan of Conservation & Development Implementation Committee, among other groups. ***

Police received a report last week of a distressed animal at Whiffle Tree Lane. At about 10:13 a.m. on Oct. 27, the police department’s Animal Control section arrived at the residence to find a small animal caught in an elbow of a gutter.

Government

‘I Don’t Operate That Way’: Abramowitz Resigns as Nowacki Campaign Treasurer

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Saying he was uncomfortable with the negativity, outbursts and lawsuit threats from a petitioning candidate for first selectman, the New Canaan resident and CPA who has served as treasurer for the campaign resigned from that role Monday. Roy Abramowitz said that he initially had offered his assistance to petitioning candidate Michael Nowacki “to help the guy out.”

“I’ve done and said things in the past to bring things to light and make the town better, not to sue people,” Abramowitz told NewCanaanite.com. “I don’t operate that way. It’s just not my way of carrying on. I like positive energy.