Did You Hear … ?

The town received a notice of intent to sue from a New Canaan man injured when his Vespa presumably skidded out on Lambert Road one morning in June. At about 7:04 a.m. on June 12 (a Tuesday), he sustained “permanent injuries” including an ankle fracture and knee sprain, due to “deposits of gravel and/or sand and/or a slippery oil like substance upon Lambert Road which was open to traffic and concerning which no warnings or cautions were posted,” according to a notice filed Aug. 2 by attorney James Hyland, a partner in Hamden-based Mulvey, Oliver, Gould & Crotta. The man was traveling at or below the speed limit, the notice said. ***

The Planning & Zoning Commission on Tuesday voted 8-1 to approve Grace Farms for 12 events at the Lukes Wood Road organization to be auctioned off as fundraising items during its annual benefit in October.

‘A Win-Win for Everyone Involved’: With Generosity and Care, a Plant-Loving Legacy Endures in New Canaan

Dr. Nicholas and Ashley Rutigliano moved to New Canaan last summer from Manhattan’s Upper West Side. A Brooklyn native whose wife hailed from Stamford, Rutigliano said the couple had been pregnant—their daughter Emilia is now nine months old—and began “thinking of where to set our roots.”

They found an apt home on Millport Avenue. The Cape Cod-style house at number 156 had been owned since 1973 by Bruce Pauley, a fourth-generation New Canaanite and owner of the still-active Pauley Tree & Lawn Care Inc. who had stepped down the prior summer as town tree warden. Pauley and his wife Elaine—together with ‘Deputy Tree Warden’ Bheema, his ever-present and handsome young German shepherd dog—set their eyes on retiring to 33 acres in Vermont, and the Rutiglianos closed on the Millport Avenue house last June. The owner of SANO Physical Therapy & Wellness, providing services to patients in their own homes, Nicholas Rutigliano had come to know the Pauleys through purchasing their home and understood on moving in that they’d “taken care of and nurtured” their property to a high degree.

Lack of Growth at Route 123-Side Wildflower Meadow Puzzles Highway Chief

Two summers after a wildflower meadow that bloomed just off of Route 123 generated high praise and frequent stops from passersby, the town worker responsible for it said he’s puzzled by this season’s lack of growth. Mose Saccary, highway superintendent with the New Canaan Department of Public Works, said he’s “a little disappointed” at the no-show flowers at 123 and Parade Hill Road, but willing to “give it some time and hopefully we’ll see some color.”

“I don’t know why” the wildflower meadow hasn’t bloomed, Saccary, a Center School alumnus, told NewCanaanite.com when asked about it. “I used the same seeds, did everything the same.”

The problem might be the acidity levels of the soil, he said. “It also may be that we’re just not giving it enough time,” Saccary said. “We did the work in April so maybe it just needs some time.

PHOTOS: New Canaan Beautification League Thanks Volunteers, DPW Workers at Annual Breakfast

Members of a nonprofit organization dedicated to beautifying New Canaan gathered Monday morning at Mead Park to thank their volunteers and town employees during an annual breakfast. About 25 representatives from the New Canaan Beautification League met at the colonnade with Department of Public Works employees to celebrate their longstanding collaboration to maintain plantings around town. The league’s co-president, Faith Kerchoff, said the organization’s services include creating 207 hanging baskets for the downtown, plantings at 33 traffic triangles in New Canaan and seasonal holiday wreaths, as well as overseeing a public garden off of Chichester Road. The league last week won town approval to demolish a single-family residence at the Lee Memorial Garden and replace it with a potting shed. “We have about 150 members with a core of 30 or 40 that are really ‘in the dirt,’ ” Kerchoff said on a bright, cool morning from the grassy area inside the colonnade, where a table had been laid with coffee cake, muffins and coffee.

Public Works: Short-Term Closures Expected on 10 New Canaan Roads

The Town of New Canaan will be resurfacing the following streets beginning July 9th:

Marvin Ridge Road
White Oak Shade Road
Kimberly Place
Hawks Hill Road
Autumn Lane
Arrowhead Trail
Braeburn Drive
Lone Tree Farm Road
Bridle Path Lane
Carriage Lane

Microsurfacing will be applied to these streets in two passes over two consecutive days (weather permitting); an initial “leveling course” followed by a “wearing course.” Each course will require up to 15 minutes to cure and be ready for traffic. The contractor for this work is SealCoating, Inc.

Their microsurfacing work will be limited to between the hours of 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. each day in order to reduce the impact on residents of the short-term closures waiting for the material to dry. If a potential 15-minute delay in exiting or entering your driveway will adversely affect your scheduled activities, we suggest you make arrangements to park on a neighboring street while your street is being treated. Should you have any questions regarding this project please do not hesitate to contact our Assistant Director of Public Works, Tiger Mann at (203) 594-3056 or Tiger.Mann@newcanaanct.gov, or Highway Superintendent Mose Saccary at (203) 594-3709 mose.saccary@newcanaanct.gov.