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‘An Unsung Hero’: New Canaanites Remember Jim Cole 

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Saddened by news of Jim Cole’s passing this week, New Canaanites are remembering the longtime former resident as a dedicated volunteer who served the community quietly and in numerous ways while helping to shape emergency preparedness in town. A former chairman of the New Canaan Police and Fire Commissions who went on to become the town’s director and later deputy director of Emergency Management and served on its Traffic Calming Work Group, Cole died Monday in Florida, according to First Selectman Kevin Moynihan. In calling for a moment of silence at a regular meeting of the Board of Finance on Tuesday night, Moynihan called Cole “a great friend of New Canaan” and “great volunteer” alongside his wife, Nancy Upton. Known for his deep involvement in the Congregational Church of New Canaan, local service organizations and the Community Emergency Response Team, a volunteer group known as ‘CERT,’ Cole was a widely respected expert on emergency response for whom the safety of the community was imperative, according to those who knew him. 

He not only helped plan for emergencies but also rolled up his sleeves to work hard when they struck, according to Mike Handler, New Canaan’s director of emergency management. Handler called Cole “a remarkable guy” who “took community engagement and involvement to a different level” not only as a volunteer but also as a great recruiter who was “fiercely loyal” to those who gave of their time as he did.

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Did You Hear … ?

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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.

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Did You Hear … ?

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The video above was produced by New Canaan High School seniors Sean Manzella and PJ Sensbach as part of their work in the Senior Internship Program. The pair have an internship with the program’s coordinator, Heather Bianco, and are spotlighting participants. More videos can be seen here. ***

NCHS has been ranked No. 7 in Fairfield County and No.

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Did You Hear … ?

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Tuesday saw one of the all-time worst parking jobs on Elm Street. Passersby and downtown workers wandered outside as events unfolded after a motorist parked the nose of a Volvo wagon in the handicapped space in front of Dunkin Donuts. The car was towed. ***

Parks officials said Wednesday that the town received about 230 applications for nonresident family permits to Waveny Pool. The town sold 120 of the permits—the Parks & Recreation Commission recommended they sell for $1,200 apiece—following a May 1 lottery.

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Did You Hear … ?

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Members of the Parking Commission on Thursday night voted to extend to the end of January a deadline for those on waitlists for the three commuter parking lots in New Canaan—Lumberyard, Richmond Hill and Talmadge Hill—to pay a $10 renewal fee. It originally had been due Dec. 29, officials said. The new deadline is absolute, commissioners said, so that those who do not pay the renewal fee will lose their places on the waitlists. ***

In a strange property transaction, the commercial building at 87 Main St.