Did You Hear … ?

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.

SLIDESHOW: 20 Things You Only Know If You Shop and Dine in New Canaan

New Canaanites have plenty of reasons to shop and dine locally, and those reasons go far beyond the fact that the village center has scores of independent businesspeople—retailers, restaurateurs, service providers—who work here and have had a tough go with the weather these past few weeks. Our owners-on-site specialize in their fields and offer a wide range of expertise. They support most every community event that locals associate with the town—fishing derby, Waveny summer concerts, Santa’s visit, little league, Holiday Stroll, ice cream social, Halloween Parade. It’s hard to find two important community events in a row in New Canaan that aren’t sponsored in some way by Walter Stewart’s, Karl Chevy or both. Because familiarity breeds conversation and rapport, we can come to know our local small business owners and workers better than we may at, say, out-of-town chains. The slideshow above is a testament to that strong connection—click through to learn more about some of those who make up the economic lifeblood of the business district.

New Canaan’s First Annual ‘Pink Stroll’

On Thursday October 9th over fifteen New Canaan stores will be hosting an inaugural “Pink Stroll.” The Stroll is designed as a way to celebrate Breast Cancer Survivors and raise awareness as well as funds for critical breast cancer services for residents of Connecticut and research. The event is a joint effort between The Chamber of Commerce, local merchants and Susan G. Komen Connecticut. The New Canaan Chamber partnered with Komen Connecticut as all funds donated support research and local breast cancer education, screening and treatment programs for women in Connecticut. Seventy-five percent of the money donated to Komen Connecticut goes to fund critical breast cancer services in Connecticut. The remaining 25 percent goes to fund national research programs. This is especially important as Connecticut has the highest incidence of breast cancer in the United States, with New Canaan being one of the top twenty towns in the state with the highest rates breast cancer.