August 06, 2005
Compo Music
Musical entertainment at Westport's Compo Beach today was provided by Buddy Valiante and Irena Makarchuk. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Stephen Rubin for WestportNow.com
"Eye for the Natural" Opens at Westport Arts Center
"Eye for the Natural" opened Friday night at the Westport Arts Center. The show is the fourth of five successive exhibitions throughout the summer featuring the work of Arts Center members. The more than 100 works – all looking to the natural world for their inspiration – are on view through Aug. 23. For more information call (203)222-7070 or visit the Arts Center Web site. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Erin Hauber for WestportNow.com
America's Cup 12 Meter Visits Longshore Sailing School
If you thought you spotted an America's Cup 12-meter sailing in Long Island Sound near Westport this week, you were right. America II paused in its journey from Newport, R.I., to New York City to enjoy a sunset sail with some of the staff from the Longshore Sailing School. America II was a contender in the defender eliminations in the 1987 America's Cup campaign. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) John Kantor for WestportNow.com
Saturday, Aug. 6, 2005
4 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. - Westport Country Playhouse - "The Member of the Wedding"
8 p.m. - Levitt Pavilion - The Shrdlu Band, danceable swing, Irish fiddle and steamy swamp music mixed with jazz, blues and rock standards spanning the decades
August 05, 2005
Surfin' at the Levitt
The Beach Boys performed in a sell-out concert tonight at Westport's Levitt Pavilion. The benefit performance's proceeds go toward providing 52 nights of free entertainment at the Levitt. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo
Gala Dinner on Jesup Green
Gala Dinner guests dined under a tent on Jesup Green before tonight's Levitt Pavilion Beach Boys concert. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Jonathan Thrope for WestportNow.com
Swaying Crowd at the Levitt
The Beach Boys had the crowd swaying at tonight's concert at Westport's Levitt Paviilion. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo
Getting into the Act
Westport First Selectwoman Diane G. Farrell welcomed the crowd to tonight's Beach Boys concert at the Levitt and then joined Bruce Johnston, one of the original Beach Boys, for a number. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Jonathan Thrope for WestportNow.com
They're Originals
Mike Love (center, white hat) and Bruce Johnston, two of the original Beach Boys, were among those performing in tonight's Beach Boys concert at the Levitt Pavilion. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Jonathan Thrope for WestportNow.com
Heavy Thunderstorm Eases Power Demand, Causes Some Failures
A heavy thunderstorm moved through the Westport area late today, easing a heavy power demand that threatened more blackouts. But accompanying lightning caused new scattered outages, a utility official said.
"Within the hour, with the heavy downpours, we have seen electric loads drop by 10 to 15 percent in town, and this should mean we are beyond the extreme loads seen from yesterday through mid-afternoon today," said Christopher Swan, director of municipal relations for Northeast Utilities, parent company of Connecticut Light & Power Co.
But the storm caused new problems. As of 5 p.m., there were 24,000 customers out of power state-wide, due primarily to lightning, with approximately 500 in Westport, also lightning-related, Swan said.
"Last night, we had little relief, due to the high humidity and very warm overnight low temperatures, giving our equipment little rest," he said.
CL&P in mid-afternoon issued yet another telephone appeal to Westporters to turn off non-essential appliances. The utility issued similar appeals following outages on Tuesday and Wednesday caused by a transformer problem at the Green's Farms substation on Post Road East.
The transformer was returned to service today with a mobile transformer on standby, Swan said.
He said workers were awaiting the outcome of the late afternoon lightning storm, "but it appears, for the time being, that our 'heat' storm has ended with these thundershowers and downpours."
Former Bedford Teacher Ordered Jailed
A retired Westport teacher was ordered jailed and placed on suicide watch today, two days after investigators said they found thousands of pornographic images of children in his home, the AP reported.
Paul Held: "apologies for being so stupid." BMS photo
Paul Held, 67, was arrested at his North Avenue home in Westport Tuesday after he inadvertently left a CD full of child pornography, including what appeared to be lewd pictures of schoolchildren, in a computer he borrowed from a neighbor, federal investigators said.
"My apologies for being so stupid," Held told family members who attended today's hearing in Bridgeport.
He is charged with posession and distribution of child pornography. Held has not yet entered a plea in the case and his lawyer, William Westcott, quickly told him not to say such things in court today.
Held, who appeared in court wearing khaki prison pants and a white T-shirt, agreed not to fight a government request that he be impprisoned while he awaits trial. Wescott said Held is suffering from depression.
A former teacher at Bedford Middle School, Held left thousands of sexual images of children as young as 2 years old on a laptop he borrowed last fall from a neighbor who lived near Held's second home in Danby, Vt., according to court documents unsealed Wednesday.
"Some of the photographs also appeared to have been taken underneath school desks of unsuspecting female adolescents who were wearing skirts and dresses," Jolinda L. Wnuk, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, wrote in an affidavit.
Westcott said today he had not seen any evidence in the case and did not know whether Held's former students were allegedly photographed.
Investigators said Held admitted taking some explicit pictures of children at his home but did not say whether Held is suspected of photographing his students.
Investigators were reviewing thousands of other pornographic items seized from Held's house and have said additional charges were possible. Had Held not agreed to be jailed, prosecutors were ready to argue today that he was a flight risk and a danger to the community.
Held retired from teaching after 2003, according to court records.
Six Locals Set for World Rowing Championships
Six locals are among the 2005 U.S. National Team roster for the world rowing championships in Japan beginning later this month.
In total, 19 crews will represent the United States at the 2005 FISA World Rowing Championships scheduled to run Aug. 28 to Sept. 4 in Gifu, Japan.
Among the athletes named to the team are six athletes with local ties, all of them having trained with the OARS Elite Development Program under Head Coach James Mangan at Saugatuck Rowing Club in Westport.
Sloan DuRoss, Mike Blomquist and Ken Jurkowski have been named to the men's squad, rowing in the men's double sculls, the men's eight and the men's quad, respectively.
Sharon Kriz has been named to the women’s team, rowing in the women's eight.
Additionally, Jennifer Kaido and Nicole Sylvester have been named to the team as alternates, and will also make the trip to Japan.
The OARS Program is a non-profit organization, founded by Saugatuck Rowing Club members, to benefit and advance the interests of young athletes looking to bridge the gap between scholastic rowing and National Team opportunities.
In addition to the six athletes named to the 2005 U.S. National Team, OARS Program alum Sean Casey, a former fitness trainer at Saugatuck, will represent his native Ireland.
Going Down: 21 Woods Grove Road
The house at 21 Woods Grove Road, off of Canal Street, came down today. Featured as the WestportNow teardown of the day June 6, 2005, the 0.28-acre property changed hands in April for $700,000. The house was built in 1947. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com
Westport Country Playhouse Announces Fall Musical, "The Immigrant"
The Westport Country Playhouse, newly renovated and serving as a year-round performing arts center, has announced the title of its fall production – a new musical, "The Immigrant." It will run from Oct. 27 through Nov. 12.
The play will be directed by stage and opera director and playwright Tazewell Thompson, who will succeed Joanne Woodward as the Playhouse's artistic director on Jan. 1.
Nominated for two Drama Desk Awards, "The Immigrant" is the true story of Haskell Harelik, a young Jewish immigrant who flees Czarist Russia in 1909 and peddles his pushcart into the tiny Baptist community of Hamilton, Texas.
"The Immigrant" is the first theatrical production in a series of three scheduled from autumn through spring at the Playhouse.
Reflecting the additional programming beyond the summer season as well as a succession in artistic leadership, the period is dubbed the "Season of Change."
Previously announced "Season of Change" productions are Charles Dickens' "David Copperfield," playing Dec. 1 - 17. The family holiday classic is adapted by Giles Havergal, and co-directed by Joanne Woodward, artistic director, and Anne Keefe, associate artistic director.
"On the Verge or The Geography of Yearning" by Eric Overmeyer will play March 9 through March 25, 2006. Co-produced with Washington, D.C.'s Arena Stage, Thompson will direct.
Foggy Summer Morning
It was a foggy early morning today on Westport's Ruth Steinkraus Cohen Bridge in the town's center. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Miggs Burroughs for WestportNow.com
Friday, Aug. 5, 2005
8 p.m. - Westport Country Playhouse - "The Member of the Wedding"
8 p.m. - Levitt Pavilion - The Beach Boys benefit concert
August 04, 2005
Update: CL&P Making Progress on Green’s Farms Substation Repair
A transformer that failed at the Connecticut Light & Power Co. Green’s Farms substation causing blackouts and prompting appeals to conserve energy has been repaired and is ready to be placed back on line, a utility company official said tonight.
Christopher Swan, director of municipal relations for CL&P parent company Northeast Utilities, said the transformer has been thoroughly tested and will be returned to service Friday.
He spoke hours after CL&P issued another telephone appeal to Westporters to conserve energy to avoid blackouts such as occurred over much of the eastern part of town on Tuesday and Wednesday as temperatures soared into the 90s. The outages were caused by transformer problems at the Green’s Farms substation.
Swan said a backup mobile transformer would remain at the substation on Post Road East through early next week. “Pending successful transition and problem-free operation, we would then remove the mobile transformer and return it to our central warehouse,” he said.
Swan. who lives in Westport, said the weather forecast calls for the heat wave to end Friday evening with a cool front moving into the area.
“With less heat and traditionally lower loads on the weekends, along with lower temperatures forecast through next Thursday, we hope this problem is now behind us,” he said.
Small Fire Damages Basement Ceiling of Westport Home
A small fire in a basement ceiling kept Westport firefighters busy for several hours today as they took apart the ceiling to get at the flames and extinguish them.
Because of the extreme heat and humidity, crews had to be rotated frequently at the scene of the blaze on Daniel Court, off of Sturges Highway, said Assistant Chief Larry Conklin.
The alarm came in at 2:10 p.m. with a resident reporting smoke in the basement of the home.
"A fire was found between the basement ceiling joists and caused moderate damage to the basement ceiling and the underside of the kitchen floor," Conklin said.
Firefighters had to remove the sheetrock ceiling in the basement ceiling to extinguish the fire and check for any fire extension. The fire was confined to the area between the ceiling joists and did not extend past the room of origin, Conklin said.
There was smoke damage to the finished basement and first floor of the residence. Water damage was held to a minimum, according to the fire official.
One firefighter suffered a sprained ankle while fighting the fire but did not require immediate medical attention, Conklin said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, he said.
The Westport Fire Department responded to the call with four engines, the ladder truck, command car and a fire inspector. The Fairfield Fire Department covered Westport fire headquarters with an engine company for the duration of the call.
Firefighters remained on the scene until 4:10 p.m.
CL&P Renews Appeal to Conserve Energy in Westport
The Connecticut Light & Power Co., in an automated telephone message to its Westport customers, today renewed its urgent appeal for energy conservation to avoid more blackouts.
The utility said a transformer problem at its Green's Farms substation that resulted in blackouts Tuesday and Wednesday was continuing.
"While we have installed a portable unit, we are having difficulty managing customer demand for power," the message said.
"If you could shut off non-critical electric load today it will help ensure we won't suffer another failure until we can make permanent repairs."
Christopher Swan, a Westporter who is director of municipal relations for CL&P parent company Northeast Utilities, said the utility was maintaining a delicate balance between other substations in the area to keep power flowing to all customers.
"We're about as switched as we can get," he said, explaining that engineers were balancing the load between Green's Farms, the Compo substation, and Weston, among others.
He said the heat – temperatures again soared into the 90s today – and the increased load caused by air conditioners and other usage were combining to push area power generation capacity to the maximum.
Swan said Wednesday's outage was caused when the load became too great for the portable transformer now parked at the Green's Farms substation on Post Road East.
"It just tripped," he said.
Jesup Green is White
Westport's Jesup Green took on a white look today as workers prepared a tent for Friday's Gala Dinner prior to the Beach Boys concert at the Levitt Pavilion. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Jonathan Thrope for WestportNow.com
Trying to Beat the Heat
Local equestrians exercised their horses early today at Westport’s Fairfield County Hunt Club between the sprinklers before the temperatures rose too high. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Emily Laux for WestportNow.com
Commentary: A Son in a Dangerous World
Editor's note: the following was broadcast on WSHU public radio. Jessica Bram is Westport writer.
By Jessica Bram
When my son David e-mailed me that his summer college internship had him living across from the Madrid train station where 89 morning commuters died during rush hour last year, I had only the briefest moment of unease. After all, I told myself, the simultaneous explosion of 10 bombs in Madrid’s public transportation system 16 months ago was now long in the past. Then I quickly turned my attention to David’s jubilant report of his host family’s perfect location two blocks from the Prado, of strange and wonderful Spanish customs such as dinner at 11, and discovering that eight years of classroom Spanish finally paid off. “I can understand them!” he marveled.
I rejoiced for my 19-year-old son at the prospect of this wondrous experience when he would leap into the world, unjaded and unafraid, to encounter strange customs and unfamiliar sounds, while stretching his young legs into adulthood. It brought back with crystal clarity my own summer after college in 1974, when I crisscrossed Europe with only a backpack, Eurailpass, and ripped-apart copy of Harvard’s “Let’s Go Europe.” I sometimes marvel at my own courage to have ventured out alone that way so young. But I don’t remember courage – only a dizzy intoxication at being footloose and utterly on my own in strange and wonderful foreign lands.
This was what I wanted David to experience when I decided to give him an unlimited Eurail pass, like the one I had had, to use after his Madrid internship. When I sent him off with new sneakers, an extra-large bottle of sunscreen and the sternest admonition not to even think about getting a tattoo, terrorism was far from my mind.
I’ve had a moment or two of regret for that gift since the recent bombings in London. With the ripped apart trains barely cleared from the London Underground, the Madrid bombings become far too real. I think of my boy, who just a few years ago I would carpool to Boy Scouts being careful to let off only at crosswalks, now traipsing in his flip-flops off and on the trains of Europe. Those same trains where on any ordinary day might be left, under a seat or on an overhead rack, a pack filled with 20-pound explosives. I find myself imagining not David’s first glimpse of the spires of Venice, but Islamic extremists who might like nothing more than to avenge Allah with the death of a privileged American college student.
In two days David will be in Milan – one of the cities most frequently cited as the next terrorist target.
I could warn him away, I suppose. Just as I could prohibit David’s younger brother Robert from riding the New York City subway to this Sunday’s Mets game.
But of course I won’t. Because what it all comes down to, even in this awful era of bombs and exploding trains, is that sending one’s child off into this dangerous world is no more or less terrifying than it has ever been. Letting them grow up, up and away – as though one had a choice in the matter – has always been a cruel and terrible prospect. It’s a daily reminder that being a parent has always been about the highest risk-reward venture there ever was.
Allowing them to cross the street, cross the ocean, and plunge head-first into this wide and perilous world? Watching them ship off in uniform to Baghdad or to Kabul?
Now that’s courage.
Westport Country Playhouse Season Finale Celebrates Heroism
The final show in the Westport Country Playhouse's 75th anniversary summer season will be "Journey's End." The play celebrating heroism runs Aug. 18 through Sept. 4.
First staged in 1929, "Journey's End" was called "the play that swept the world," according to a Playhouse announcement. It is based on the author R.C. Sherriff's own experience during World War I.
Joanne Woodward, Playhouse artistic director, said, "This extraordinary rarity of a play is about human decency, about courage, comradeship and trust. Deeply moving, yet laced with humor, it is as pertinent now as ever."
"Journey's End" shows the effects of war on a group of British soldiers during WWI.
Director is Gregory Boyd, artistic director of the Alley Theatre in Houston, and winner of a 2005 Connecticut Critics Circle Award for his direction of "Travesties" at Long Wharf Theatre. Boyd also directed the Playhouse's production of "Dear Brutus" earlier this summer season.
The cast of "Journey's End" is Mark Shanahan as Stanhope; James Black as Osborne; Andrew Weems as Trotter; Kieran Campion as Raleigh; George Taylor as The Colonel; Daniel Stewart as The Company Sergeant-Major; Noble Shropshire as Mason; Daniel Stewart as Hardy; Trevor Vaughn as a Young German Soldier; Andrew Kirsch of Westport as a Soldier; and Jayce Henderson as a Soldier.
Kirsch and Henderson are also Playhouse interns.
Production credits include Hugh Landwehr, set design; Linda Fisher, costume design; Clifton Taylor, lighting design; John Gromada, sound design; Stephen Gabis, dialect coach; Linda Harris, production stage manager; Deborah Brown, casting director; and Ruth Moe, production manager.
A Sunday Symposium on Sunday, Aug. 21, at approximately 5:30 p.m., will follow the 3 p.m. matinee and precede the 7:30 p.m. evening performance.
The Symposium's topic, "The Lost Generation," will discuss the historical and literary perspectives on the nature of WWI, the generation of young men lost and the ramifications for continental Europe.
Speakers will be Jay M. Winter, a specialist on World War I and its impact on the 20th century, and Fredric Smoler, a specialist in European history and culture.
Winter is the Charles J. Stille Professor of History at Yale University. Smoler is the chair of the literature department at Sarah Lawrence College.
A TalkBack is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 1, when members of the company will engage in a lively discussion and Q&A with the audience after the 8 p.m. show. There is no additional charge for Sunday Symposium or Thursday TalkBack events.
The performance schedule is Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays at 8:30 p.m.; Sundays at 7:30 p.m. (first week only); matinees on Wednesdays at 2 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m.; and Saturday twilight shows at 4 p.m.
Opening night (first Saturday) begins at 7:30 p.m. with no 4 p.m. show on that day.
Wall Street Journal: Westport Housing Market Softening
Today's Wall Street Journal Online, in its Fiscally Fit column, cites Westport as among five communities where real estate prices are softening.
"Westport, Conn., brimming with stately mansions, hardly screams bargain bin, but local real-estate agents say they're seeing a growing number of 'just reduced' home-price listings," the newspaper said.
"Overly aggressive pricing is one of the reasons, says Patti McGovern, a sales associate at Coldwell Banker/Riverside Shavell in Westport.
"Over the past few years this market has been seeing a 10 percent to 15 percent annual appreciation, and this year we quite didn't hit that," McGovern said.
Sellers who put homes up for sale earlier this year have been overly optimistic about getting their asking price. They've had to rethink their expectations, the report said.
Dane Risley is one of those sellers. Tne report said the home renovator and his investment partner purchased their $1.270 million 'fixer-upper' in Westport in 2004 with an eye toward renovating the home and selling it for a fast profit.
"After spending a year gutting and refurbishing the five-bedroom, 5 ½-bath home, they listed it in early 2005 for $2.350 million," according to the report.
"With no bites, Mr. Risley dropped the home to $2.199 million in mid-May, hoping lure bidders during the spring buying season. Still no dice. This month, he dropped the price again to $2.050 million."
"We were hoping for a continuation of the feeding frenzy that was out there in the fall," Risley says.
"The market is still great, but clearly what you're seeing is a more realistic buyer and the houses are being priced where they should have been priced all along."
Thursday, Aug. 4, 2005
8 p.m. - Westport Country Playhouse - "The Member of the Wedding"
8 p.m. - Levitt Pavilion - Jodi Keogan and Friends: light-hearted combination of opera, Broadway, and cabaret.
August 03, 2005
Westport Property Transfers July 25-29, 2005
Property transfers as reported by the Westport Town Clerk's office for the period July 25-29, 2005:
Steven and Tracey Gruenig to Hewitt Relocation Services Inc., 10 Old Hill Road, $1,395,000
Hewitt Relocation Services Inc. to James Carr and Carolyn Kee Gamble III, 10 Old Hill Road, $1,395,000
ADL Design Builders LLC to Arnold J. and Susan E. Schaab, 3 Morningside Lane, $1,805,000
Eloise R. Johnson and David F. Preusser to Sherwood Homes LLC, 1 Baldwin Place, $1,400,000
Stephen Levanti and Maryann Ross to Thomas P. and Maria R. Freydl II, 57 Long Lots Road, $1,349,000
Steven J. and Jackie M. Selby to Ofer B. and Linda S. Warshavsky, 35 Maple Ave. North, $1,037,500
Phillip and Susan Marshall to Timothy R. Tanksley and Frances F. Mi, 24 Compo Road South, $660,000
Timothy J. and Debra L. Arnold to GMAC Global Relocation Services Inc., 17A Bridge St., $1,325,000
GMAC Global Relocation Services Inc. to Paula B. and Joseph W. Ziskin, 17A Bridge St., $1,325,000
John A. and Catherine E. Rotondo to David Marc and Donna Hanau, 2 Davis Lane, $1,577,500
Louise Carter to Robert and Elyse Shapiro, Unit 20 Birchwood Townhouse, $73,000
Robert and Elyse Shapiro to Aniruddha Deshpande, Unit 20 Birchwood Townhouse, $276,000
Thomas P. and Maria R. Fredyl II to Jonathan W. and Victoria H. Lieber, 30 Cranbury Road, $822,250
Estate of Louis V. Marsh to Michael W. and Maureen B. Oloughlin, 3 Witch Lane, $750,000
Ann A. Schaefer Trust to John A. and Catherine E. Rotondo, 4 Fresenius Road, $729,000
Charles M. Mason to Richard Dantas and Michele Cloutier, 16 Chapel Hill Road, $1,370,000
Sandra L. Cartie and Thomas Vonkistowksy to Charles M. and Cair A. Mason, 6 Okbow Road, $1,875,000
Michael J. and Deborah M. Keller Trust to Tolga H. Ozgen and Tiffany Yip-Ozgen, 10 Millbank Road, $1,675,000
Irene Fairclough to Land Group Inc., 26 Sturges Commons, $1,220,000
Wayne and Lynne Gibson to John and Mary Kathryn Caricato, 4 Caccamo Lane, $895,000
Sylvan Rd. Westport LLC to Gary Skolnick and Adriana Jardim, 82 Sylvan Road, North, $1,200,000
Piotr J. Toczek to Thomas J. and Stacey C. Henske, 10 Poplar Plains Road, $453,200
Richard L. and Barbara D. Vlaha to Melani Damore Lust, 21 Hickory Drive, $790,000
Norman and Jill L. Wittels to Prudential Residential Services Limited Partner, 57 North Ave., $1,170,000
Prudential Residential Services Limited Partner to Patricia Neuray, 57 North Ave., $1,170,000
Emil F. Calleja to James P. and Patricia K. Christodoulou, Unit 172 Regents Park, $887,500
Norma Ann Flanagan to James C. and Eva Grundy, 5 Elmwood Road, $1,495,000
Stuart W. and Randi Ross to Christian A. Reinhardt and Mariana A. Hurtado, 157 North Ave.- 50% interest, $397,250
Estate of Leona Ross to Christian A. Reinhardt and Mariana A. Hurtado, 157 North Ave.- 50% interest, $397,250
Robert J. Genader to Michael M. Buchman, 123 Harbor Road, $2,352,000
Fire at Country Store Quickly Extinguished
Westport firefighters tonight quickly extinguished a small fire on a propane stove at the Country Store at the intersection of Wilton Road and Newtown Turnpike. They broke a window to gain entry after a worker in the adjacent liquor store heard a fire alarm and smelled smoke. There was minimal damage, fire officials said. One firefighter slightly injured his knee during blaze but remained on duty. The store was heavily damaged by a fire several years ago. Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com
Martha Stewart's House Arrest Extended
Martha Stewart, who still maintains a home and TV studio in Westport, will spend three extra weeks under house arrest at her Bedford, N.Y., home, her lawyer said today.
The extension following reports that she violated terms of her home confinement by going to a yoga class and motoring around her estate in an off-road vehicle.
Stewart “has agreed to an extension of the terms of her home confinement until Aug. 31,” her lawyer, Walter Dellinger, said in a brief statement. He did not elaborate on why the house arrest had been extended.
Stewart, who turned 64 today, served five months in a West Virginia prison camp and was scheduled to complete five months of house arrest Aug. 10.
The New York Post reported over the weekend that Stewart, who was convicted of lying to investigators about a suspicious stock trade, may have violated the rules of her probation by riding around her suburban New York estate on a Kawasaki Mule four-wheel drive vehicle and dropping in on a nearby yoga class.
The newspaper took photographs of Stewart cruising around her property on the vehicle. It said she also surprised yoga students one Sunday morning in July when she and her daughter, Alexis, walked in and took part in a workout.
She is only permitted out of her home for 48 hours a week to work and for religious services, food shopping and doctor’s appointments. Stewart also must wear an electronic monitoring bracelet around her ankle.
Realtors Compo Clambake Draws Crowd
The Mid-Fairfield County Association of Realtors held its annual clambake tonight at Westport's Compo Beach. Guests lined up in the steamy evening temperature in the 80s for shrimp cocktail, steamers and mussels as well as lobster, steak and chicken catered by Westport's Westfair Fish and Chips. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo
CL&P Urges Energy Conservation, Warns More Westport Outages Possible
Connecticut Light & Power Co. said that today's Westport power failure was due to continued problems with a transformer at its Green's Farms substation. It asked Westporters to conserve power and warned that more outages are possible.
In a recorded message telephoned to all its Westport customers -- a first in recent memory -- the utility said that it had installed a portable unit at the substation but that it was "having difficulty in managing the load on this unit."
"Unfortunately, this situation may continue for the next several days," the message said, "and we may call you again for help in shutting off non-critical electric loads."
The message told residents that "if you would shut off non-critical electrical load this evening, it will help ensure we do not suffer another failure until we make permanent repairs."
Feds List Charges Against Former Westport Teacher
A former Westport middle school teacher inadvertently left a CD full of child pornography, including what appear to be lewd pictures of schoolchildren, in a computer he borrowed from a neighbor, federal investigators said today, the AP reported.
Paul Held, 67, a former teacher at Bedford Middle School, was arrested Tuesday at his North Avenue, Westport, home on federal charges of possession and distribution of child pornography and is being held without bond.
Held left thousands of sexual images of children as young as 2 years old on a laptop he borrowed from a neighbor while visiting his home in Vermont, according to court documents unsealed today.
"Some of the photographs also appeared to have been taken underneath school desks of unsuspecting female adolescents who were wearing skirts and dresses," Jolinda L. Wnuk, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, wrote in an affidavit.
Investigators said some pictures appear to have been taken with Held's digital camera, but the affidavit does not say whether Held is suspected of taking the pictures of his students. Held resigned from teaching after 2003, according to court records.
When confronted by the neighbor in a recorded phone conversation, Held acknowledged leaving a CD full of pornography that "can get a fellow some years in jail," Wnuk wrote.
During the raid Tuesday on Held's home in Westport, investigators seized hundreds of discs, several computers, videotapes and magazines. Some images contained 2- and 3-year-old children engaging in sexually explicit activities, investigators said.
Held also confessed to taking at least four explicit pictures of children at his North Avenue home, one of whom was about 4 years old, investigators said.
"Held admitted to agents that these images belonged to him and, although law enforcement obviously has not yet been able to view all of the images, Held has stated that he possesses 'billions' of these images," Wnuk wrote.
"After examining the seized items, the federal government may bring additional charges against Mr. Held," U.S. Attorney for Connecticut Kevin O'Connor said today.
O'Connor stressed that Held has only been charged with the referenced crimes.
"The defendant is entitled to have the case presented to a grand jury and, if he is indicted, he is entitled to a fair trial in which it is the government's burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt," he said.
"At this point, it's being viewed as a family tragedy and they're going to look at all professional recourse available to him," said Held's attorney, William Westcott, according to the AP.
"Not just the legal profession but other professions that can help him deal with all these circumstances."
Westcott said he did not know whether investigators have evidence that Held took pictures of his students.
"I've only read what you read," he said.
Receipt and distribution of child pornography carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years, a maximum term of 20 years and a fine of up to $250,000. Possession of child pornography carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a fine of up to $250,000.
Following his arrest, Held appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge William I. Garfinkel in Bridgeport and was ordered detained. Garfinkel has scheduled a bond hearing in the matter for Friday.
In November 2003, a jury in Norwalk, after deliberating a little more than an hour, found Held innocent of molesting a 12-year-old girl in his art class. He had been charged with allgedly touching a sixth grade student inappropriately during a Bedford class in February 2002. (See WestportNow Nov. 14, 2003)
Another Power Failure Hits Westport
For the second day in a row today, large parts of Westport near the Fairfield town line as well as north to the Coleytown area were were hit by a power failure that lasted about 90 minutes.
Traffic moves along Post Road East today with traffic lights out due to the power failure. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Jonathan Thrope for WestportNow.com
Power went out shortly after 1 p.m. and at 2 p.m. Connecticut Light & Power Co. said 2,271 Westport customers were without power, or 19 percent of all customers in town. All areas appeared restored by 2:40 p.m.
The blackout occurred in the same area where CL&P said more than 1,700 customers were left without power Tuesday. That failure, up to five hours in some places, was due to transformer problem at the utility's Green's Farms substation.
There was no immediate explanation for today's outage which came as mid-day temperatures soared into the mid-90s. Areas affected were Post Road East from Maple Avenue North to the Fairfield town line and north to the Coleytown area.
Although portions of Post Road East, including the Barne & Noble bookstore, reported power came back at about 2:05 p.m., residents farther east along Post Road East reported they remained in the dark until 2:40 p.m.
Power was restored to the North Avenue-Coleytown area at 2:23 p.m.
Meanwhile, Westport's Office of Emergency Management and Northeast Utilities, in a mid-afternoon news release, urged all residents to conserve power by turning off all unncecessary appliances until 8 p.m.
Capacity Crowd Expected for Friday's Beach Boys Concert at Levitt
A capacity crowd is expected Friday when the Beach Boys return to Westport's Levitt Pavilion.
According to Levitt Pavilion Executive Director Freda Welsh, the concert is now sold out with 2,500 tickets sold. She said there are still a limited number of Gala Dinner tickets at $250 which include priority seating at the concert and the after-party.
Gates will open for the concert at 7:30 p.m. with general admission ticket holders seated on a first-come basis. Starting at 8 p.m., singer and guitarist Forrest Sun will provide some pre-concert entertainment, and the Beach Boys will take the stage at 9 p.m.
In 1998, after the death of lead guitarist Carl Wilson, the original Beach Boys split up into three separate tours, according to the band’s official fan club Web site.
Lead singer Mike Love licensed the Beach Boys name, and his band will be playing at the Levitt. He is joined by one other surviving member of the original band, Bruce Johnston.
Sponsored by SAAB of Westport, the Beach Boys concert proceeds will help to underwrite the 52 free nights of entertainment held at the Pavilion throughout the summer.
Forecasters say there’s a chance of isolated thunderstorms on Friday, but the concert will go on regardless of the weather conditions, according to Levitt officials.
Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2005
10:30 a.m. - Town Hall Room 102 - International Hospitality Committee
2 p.m. and 8 p.m. - Westport Country Playhouse - "The Member of the Wedding"
4 p.m. - Town Hall Room 201 - Beautification Committee
4:30 p.m. - Town Hall Room 309, SBC Staples Subcommittee
7 p.m. - Levitt Pavilion - Trent Arterberry: Mime Out Loud
August 02, 2005
Update: Power Outage Leaves More Than 1,700 Westport Customers in Dark
A five-hour power outage hit parts of Westport near the Fairfield line today, Connecticut Light & Power Co. said.
Emergency power lit Westport's Stop & Shop during today's power outage. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo
A CL&P spokeswoman said the outage -- which came as mid-day temperatures soared into the 90s -- was caused by a transformer problem at the utilty's Green's Farms substation.
"We had 1,727 customers out at about 10:30 a.m.," said the spokeswoman, Mary Ingarra.
She said power was restored to more than 500 customers by mid-day but 1,054 were still in the dark at 3 p.m. The llights flickered on in most homes and businesses shortly after 3:30 p.m.
"We may have a few customers still out but they should be back shortly," she said at 4 p.m.
During the outage, traffic lights on Post Road East were out from Maple Avenue to the Westport-Fairfield town line. Police placed temporary stop signs at intersections
A noon Westport Rotary Club luncheon at the Peppermill Restaurant on Post Road East continued with daylight from windows providing the only illumnination as members dealt with no air conditioning.
The Super Stop & Shop on Post Road East near the Fairfield line switched to emergency generators as employees covered the vegetable and frozen food sections with plastic.
Not a Good Day
The driver of a Porsche pulled over in front of 156 North Ave. today as flames erupted from his car's rear engine compartment. A passing pickup driver sprayed the flames with a fire extinguisher before Westport firefighters arrived. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo
Checking the Damage
Westport firefighters check a Porsche after flames erupted in the engine compartment on North Avenue. The driver, (rear, on the phone), pulled over and escaped without injury. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo
Telling a Tale of Success
Mollie Donovan told today's Westport Rotary Club luncheon about the successful effort to return artist Stevan Dohanos's "Honor Roll" painting to Westport. Donovan and Wally Woods (l) put together the current Westport Historical Society exhibit "The Folks Back Home" where the painting is on display. The luncheon went on despite a power outage that left diners in the dark and without air conditioning. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com
Honoring Dick Foot
Richard Foot, who is retiring this month as executive director/CEO of the Westport Weston Family Y, was honored by colleagues Monday night at the Cobb's Mill Inn in Weston. Foot, who has served in the position since 1996, announced June 30 that he will become a consultant to 25 Y's in Connecticut effective Aug. 15. (See WestportNow June 30, 2005) (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com
Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2005
8 p.m. – Town Hall Auditorium – Representative Town Meeting (cable coverage channel 79)
8 p.m. - Levitt Pavilion - 102nd Army Concert Band
8 p.m. - Westport Country Playhouse - "The Member of the Wedding"
August 01, 2005
Former Town Attorney and Wife Make Spanish Pilgrimage
Former Westport Town Attorney Andy Fink and his wife Helen will address a Michigan meeting Wednesday about their 500-mile trek across northern Spain retracing a pilgrimage route.
Fink, who served as town attorney from 1993 to 1997 under former First Selectman Joe Arcudi, moved with his wife, a former special ed teacher, to his native Michigan where they operate a bead and breakfast, The Finch Nest, in Whitehall. (See WestportNow July 28, 2003)
They will address the Montague Friends of the Library about their walk on the centuries-old 500-mile pilgrimage route across northern Spain to Compostela where the bones of Spain’s patron saint, St. James, are reported to be buried, according to the White Lake Beacon, a weekly newspaper in Whitehall.
The Finks hiked 300 miles of the route and traveled the rest by bus, the newspaper said.
Save the Children Expanding Aid to Niger
Westport's Save the Children said today it is moving quickly to expand its emergency response to the food shortage crisis in the West African country of Niger, where tens of thousands of children and their families face starvation.
A Save the Children aid plane arrived in Niger last week with enough food and equipment to support one month of therapeutic feeding for severely malnourished children and those recovering from malnutrition, the humanitarian organization said.
With more than 40 tons of essential supplies now on the ground, Save the Children is working to provide nutritional assistance to children under 5 who are facing severe food shortages following the lethal combination of poor rainfall this year and a locust infestation in the sub-Saharan African country.
Almost a third of Niger's population of 11.3 million people risk starvation in the already desperately poor West African nation, hit first by a locust invasion and then by drought. Children are the most vulnerable - some 800,000 under age 5 are suffering from hunger, including 150,000 faced with severe malnutrition.
"We are concentrating our efforts on providing children and their families immediate assistance with food and medical supplies," said Rudy Von Bernuth, who heads Save the Children USA's humanitarian relief operations. "The situation has reached a critical point with many thousands of children at risk of acute malnutrition."
Without urgent assistance, a quarter of the country's 12 million people will go hungry, and as always children are especially vulnerable, according to Save the Children.
Opening Night for "The Member of the Wedding"
Saturday was the opening night performance of Carson McCullers' "The Member of the Wedding" at the Westport Country Playhouse. Pictured (l-r) are: Jack Metzger, playing 'John Henry'; Joanne Woodward, director; Samuel L. Jackson; LaTanya Richardson Jackson, playing 'Berenice'; and Mary Jane Langrall. The play runs through Aug. 14. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo
Stevan Dohanos "Honor Roll" Painting Home to Stay
1943 Saturday Evening Post cover. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) File photoThe effort to raise $12,500 to acquire Stevan Dohanos’s historic World War II Westport "Honor Roll" painting has been successful and today those involved in the purchase celebrated.
They gathered at the Westport Historical Society, where the painting is currently on display. Thanking them were members of the Society as well as members of the Westport Schools Permanent Art Collection Committee and the Westport WPA Art Rescue Committee.
The painting served as a December 1943 cover of the Saturday Evening Post, and was the first of 136 Post covers created by Dohanos, a Westport artist.
The painting, formally acquired last week, will become part of the Westport Schools Permanent Art Collection, a “living museum” of more than 700 works of art on view in schools and other public buildings in town.
The painting has had a lengthy odyssey in returning to Westport. After touring the United States to stimulate bond sales, the original painting was returned to Westport by the Curtis Publishing Company and hung in the Westport/Westport YMCA lobby for many years.
During a major renovation in the 1970s, it was relegated to a closet. It was subsequently rescued by Dohanos who then sold it to a collector of many Dohanos works, who has loved and taken good care of it for the past 35 years, committee members said.
Realizing that it was an important part of the town's World War II history, as well as the only portrayal of the original honor roll, The WPA Art Rescue Committee made arrangements to bring the painting back to Westport on loan -- hoping it could raise the $12,500 required to keep it here permanently.
"We asked the community for help," said Judy Gault Sterling, president of WPA Art Rescue, "and it responded with donations large and small, the Ron Malone family, The Westport Schools Permanent Art Collection Committee, Ralph Sheffer and Paul Newman among many others."
Howard Munce, a lifelong Westport resident and artist, has a special connection to the painting, and to Dohanos.
Munce’s name appears on the honor roll, the list of those Westport residents who were serving in the armed forces in 1943. Munce, then 27, was stationed with the U.S. Marine Corps in Guam, the Pacific theater, when the cover was published.
“One afternoon I got a message to get to the chaplain as soon as possible,” recalled Munce. “I thought uh-oh, because a call to see the chaplain usually meant bad news from back home.
"But when I got there, he greeted me with a big smile, reached back into his trunk and pulled the Saturday Evening Post. He said ‘Do you know you’re on the cover of the Post?’”
Munce described Dohanos as a “great lifelong friend.” Before the war, Munce worked briefly with Dohanos as his studio assistant, and then corresponded with him after he enlisted.
Munce often included sketches from the field in his letters, which Dohanos used as reference images for his own work. The sketches are now part of the New Britain Museum of American Art’s military art collection.
The "Honor Roll" painting is featured in the Westport Historical Society exhibit "The Folks Back Home." It honors the Red Cross and the work it did behind the scenes to support U.S. soldiers on the war front.
"People stopping in to see the exhibit and painting are very emotional about it," said Mollie Donovan, who co-chairs the Society's Exhibit Committee with Wally Woods.
"The names of Westporters who served are still clearly readable, and many of their families are still here in town.
"There are so many people who worked hard to make sure it came back to Westport -- but we especially want to thank Walt Reed, a longtime Westporter who knows the collector and arranged for its return."
At the end of the exhibit, the painting, now fully paid for, will become a part of the Westport Schools Permanent Art Collection.
Being part of the collection database assures its lifetime care, any restoration or framing required, plus insurance, according to committee officials.
"All of our artwork is labeled and closely monitored," said Joan Miller, who is responsible for the WSPAC database. "We rotate it through our schools and public buildings and always know where its located."
The public is invited to not only view the exhibit and the painting but to get into the spirit of the 1940s and attend Canteen Night being held on Saturday, Aug. 27 from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the Westport Historical Society. For information or reservations call (203)227-9505, ext. 42 or (203)222-1424 ext. 3.
(Emily Laux contributed reporting for this story.)
Saving the "Honor Roll"
Those involved in bringing home Stevan Dohanos's "Honor Roll" painting gathered today at the Westport Historical Society. Picured (l-r) are: George Sterling, Dave Matlow, Denise McLaughlin, Marty Resnick, Joyce Netherton (partial), Ann Sheffer, Bill Gault, Betty Lou Cummings, Judy Sterling, Helenanne Wilmott, Mollie Donovan, Ann Chernow, Katie Chase, Elizabeth Strick, Carol Malone, and Linda Gramatky Smith. Seated is Howard Munce. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Emily Laux for WestportNow.com
Retired Staples Teacher Giving Up Maine B&B After 10 Years
Sunday's Boston Globe spotlights retired Staples teacher Don Schuman and his wife Charlene who have operated a Maine bed and breakfast for the past 10 years – and are about to give it up.
"We're going on 10 years now, and the average length of time in the B&B business is seven," Schuman told the newspaper. "Life is short. We want to do something else."
Schuman, who taught at Staples for more than 30 years, was an active faculty member, "chairing this and that committee," working with the drama department, on curriculum development, and as adviser to the school paper.
"I was Mr. Staples High School," he said.
Today's WestportNow Teardown: 621 Post Road East
Today's WestportNow teardown is a free-standing former retail building at 621 Post Road East where Shaw's Supermarket is located. The building formerly housed Everything Personalized (now located in the strip mall at the rear) and Cingular Wireless. A demolition application is pending.. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com
Big Band Sound is Big Draw at the Levitt
The big band sound drew a big crowd to Westport's Levitt Pavilion Sunday night as Vince Giordano and his Nighthawks made their debut performance. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo
Monday, Aug. 1, 2005
7:30 p.m. – Town Hall Room 201/201A – Golf Advisory Committee
July 31, 2005
Farewell Performance
Sixteen members of the Staples High School Orphenians, including seven who graduated last month, performed at the McManus Room in the Westport Public Library today. At the end of the performance the Orphenians applaud fellow Orphenian Alec Galambos (far right) who accompanied some selections on the piano today as well as having served as conductor for vocal performances. Alec will attend Emory University in the fall pursuing studies in music composition and politics. Today's performance was the last time that this group of Orphenians will perform together. Pictured (l-r) are: Anna Slate, Cindy Shuck, Mel Siegel, Natalie Carlson, Noah Schnoll, Steve Fuertes, Sally Eidman, Kathleen Hessman, Brooke Charlesworth, Zachary Shornick, Jacob Heimer, Claire Bangser, Chloe Sloat, Rachel Ivison, James Allison, and Alec Galambos. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com
Leading the Orchestra
Zachery Kampler, a 2001 Staples grad, led the Eastern Festival Symphony Orchestra Saturday night at the Midsummer Music Festival at the Norwalk Concert Hall. All net proceeds of the concert were donated to the Hudsan Valley Cerebral Palsey Association. The all volunteer orchestra, consisting of local college and high school students, played "Overture to Egmont" by Beethoven, "Peter and the Wolf" by Prokefiev and finally Tchaikovsky's Violin Conerto. Just days before the concert, the violinist who was supposed to play the concerto abruptly quit and Igor Pikayzen, a recent Staples graduate and soon to be Julliard student, filled in. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Jonathan Thrope for WestportNow.com
Narrating "Peter and the Wolf"
Westport First Selectwoman Diane G. Farell Saturday night narrated "Peter and the Wolf" by Sergei Prokofiev during a performance of the Eastern Festival Symphony Orchestra at the Norwalk Concert Hall. Staples grad Zachery Kampler conducted. Jonathan Thrope for WestportNow.com
Sunday, July 31, 2005
2 p.m. - Westport Public Library McManus Room - Staples High School Orphenians
3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m . - Westport Country Playhouse - "The Member of the Wedding"
7 p.m . - Levitt Pavilion - Vince Giordano and his Nighthawks, big band, jazz
