Friday, June 30, 2006
Senior Center Saturday Hours Kick Off
By Joanna Pliner
Busy Westport senior citizens will have the opportunity to use the Center for Senior Activities on weekends starting Saturday.
The center will be open Saturdays at 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. after seniors expressed an interest in the expanded hours.
Saturday activities will include fitness classes such as Yoga and Pilates.
Alexandra Oudheusden, who oversees Thursday night and Saturday programs, said Saturday hours are part of an effort to include working seniors in center activities and for all seniors to be able to bring their families.
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Kicking Off a Holiday Weekend
With July 4 on Tuesday, many people turned this weekend into a four-day holiday weekend and were hitting the beach and the local roads this afternoon. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Larry Untermeyer for WestportNow.com
Gardeners Get Ready to Replant
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Community gardeners will gather with hoes, shovels and donated plants on Saturday to help replant the plots that were vandalized earlier this week.
Gilbertie’s Herb Garden has donated about 20 tomato plants and several more squash plants to the Westport Community Gardens to help replant what was lots, said Mary Ann West, one of the gardeners.
Parks and Recreation Department officials have also donated a lock and chain for the garden, she said.
The gardeners will gather Saturday at 10 a.m. at the garden adjacent to Long Lots Elementary on Hyde Lane, and volunteers are welcome to help, she said.
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Town Plan Meeting On Air This Weekend
A tape of the public meeting on the Town Plan of Conservation and Development update will air the next two weekends on the Westport cable access channel.
The tape will air at 8 p.m. today, Saturday and Sunday and again July 7, 8 and 9 on cable channel 79.
The public meeting was held last Monday, and the broadcast runs about 90 minutes.
No date has been set for the next public meeting on the plan.
Gorham Neighborhood Votes for Historic District
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Residents in the proposed Gorham Avenue Historic District voted in favor of the district.
Town Clerk Patricia Strauss said the residents voted 17-3. The votes were due Thursday by 4:30 p.m., and were counted that afternoon.
There were 23 total votes for the 24 properties in the proposed district, Strauss said, and 13.5 votes were needed in favor of the district.
The Westport Representative Town Meeting will vote on implementing the district at its next meeting on July 11.
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Cloudy Skies
Ned Dimes Marina was full with cloudy, uncertain skies over head. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Phyllis Groner for WestportNow.com
Fire Promotions Planned, Money Needed
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Promotions are planned at the Westport Fire Department this summer, but department officials need more than $93,000 before they move forward.
Department officials will seek $93,625 from the Board of Finance during its meeting on Wednesday at 8 p.m. in Town Hall.
Fire Chief Christopher Ackley said the money would cover the vacancies created by the promotions.
Several of the promotions were supposed to be made during the 2005-06 fiscal year, which ends today, but it didn’t happen, he said.
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Thursday, June 29, 2006
Low Tide
A boat sits in the sand at low tide at Westport’s Old Mill Beach on Thursday. It was a foggy start to the day, but the fog soon gave way to sunshine. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Phyllis Groner for WestportNow.com
Friday, June 30, 2006
6:30 p.m. - Westport Arts Center - Members Show 2006: Solo Show II opening
8 p.m. - Westport Country Playhouse - “Drawer Boy”
8 p.m. - Levitt Pavilion - Bone Dry
Emergency Preparedness Training Coming
Westport will host a collaborative volunteer training opportunity in emergency preparedness on Tuesday, July 11 at 4 p.m. at the Center for Senior Activities.
The two-hour event will include volunteers from the Mid-Fairfield County Chapter of the American Red Cross, the Westport-Weston Health District, Westport Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), the Westport-Weston United Way, Westport Volunteer EMS and the Westport Department of Human Services Mental Health Network.
“One purpose of this collaborative effort is to maximize the training resources of the community emergency preparedness team,” said Human Services Director Barbara Butler. “More importantly, this provides an opportunity to build relationships among the many volunteers who will be assisting in a community response.”
The meeting is the first of what will be quarterly meetings and will focus on personal preparedness.
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No One Injured in Saugatuck Accident
No one was injured in an accident just before 1 p.m. today at the intersection of Ferry Lane and Saugatuck Avenue in Westport. The driver of the Honda rear-ended the Acura. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com
Farmers Market Opens at Playhouse
People flocked to the new farmers market at the Westport Country Playhouse today. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Phyllis Groner for WestportNow.com
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People browsed through a rainbow of fruits and vegetables in Westport’s center today, but they weren’t making a stop at the local supermarket.
Instead they were buying produce directly from the farmers at the first day of the new Westport Farmers Market at the Westport Country Playhouse.
The market kicked off today and will run every Thursday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. through October.
There were 14 vendors selling fruits, vegetables, flowers, breads, baked goods, honey and molded soaps.
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Buying Farmed Goods
A large number of people visited Westport’s new Farmers Market today. It was the market’s first day and will run every Thursday at 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Westport Country Playhouse through October. Vendors from various Connecticut farms sold vegetables and fruits. Some also sold baked goods, honey, flowers and soap. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Larry Untermeyer for WestportNow.com
Cutting the Ribbon
The Westport Farmers Market kicked off today with a ribbon cutting ceremony. The market will be held each Thursday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Westport Country Playhouse parking lot through October. Photographed are (l-r) Allison Harris, playhouse executive director; Selectwoman Shelley Kassen; First Selectman Gordon Joseloff; Michel Nischan, Dressing Room Restaurant owner; Market Manager Katherine Dyer; Tazewell Thompson, playhouse artistic director and a representative from the state Department of Agriculture. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Phyllis Groner for WestportNow.com
Kindergarten Under Review Again
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School officials are planning to review the Westport School District’s kindergarten program again, including any potential problems with time.
The measure was included in the district’s goals, on which the Board of Education completed discussions Wednesday night.
Also included were reviewing the district’s class size guidelines, bus safety and the special education survey report.
School officials last reviewed the kindergarten program almost five years ago, and the board later rejected a proposal to implement an all-day kindergarten program.
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Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Summer Scenes
A couple watches the scene at Sherwood Island State Park in Westport on Wednesday. Rain dominated the weather early, but it soon gave way to temperatures in the 80s inland—70s at the shore—and sunny skies. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Larry Untermeyer for WestportNow.com
Thursday, June 29, 2006
10 a.m. - Westport Country Playhouse - Farmers Market
10 a.m. – Earthplace – Sasco Brook Pollution Abatement Committee
5:30 p.m. – Town Hall Room 201 – Emily McLaury House Committee
8 p.m. – Town Hall Room 307/309 – Special Board of Education—Canceled
7:30 p.m. – Room 201 – RTM Planning & Zoning Committee
8 p.m. - Levitt Pavilion - Llan de Cubel
8 p.m. - Westport Country Playhouse - “Drawer Boy”
Superintendent Receives 6.5 Percent Raise
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Elliott Landon: (shown addressing Staples grads last week) will earn $249,210. WN photoThe Westport Board of Education voted unanimously tonight to give Schools Superintendent Elliott Landon a 6.5 percent salary increase.
His salary for the 2006-07 fiscal year will increase to $249,210 from $234,000.
James Marpe, board secretary, said the board reviewed the superintendent salaries of other school districts in Westport’s Educational Reference Group.
Board Chairwoman Mary Parmelee said the board reviewed and discussed Landon’s performance in two executive session meetings before meeting with him.
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Board Chair: We Have No Role
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The Westport Board of Education chairwoman told parents again tonight that the board has no role in the case surrounding the Bedford Middle School science teacher’s departure.
A group of about 30 parents attended tonight’s meeting to again ask for Ejay Clark’s reinstatement, but also asked for a response from board members.
“Like it or not, the board has no role,” said Mary Parmelee, board chairwoman. “The board is ruled by state statutes, and state statutes do not grant us the power to hold a hearing.”
Parmelee said she was working under the advice of the board’s attorney.
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Kayaking on the Sound
A group of kayakers today took advantage of clearing skies to paddle towards the Saugatuck Shores from Westport’s Compo Beach South. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Larry Untermeyer for WestportNow.com
Officers Promoted
Andrew Kassay, Lt. David Kassay’s son and a Greenwich police officer, pins a badge to his father’s uniform today. The elder Kassay was promoted to lieutenant during a ceremony at Town Hall. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Jennifer Connic for WestportNow.com
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A large number of friends, family and colleagues gathered at Westport Town Hall today to see four police officers promoted to the ranks of lieutenant and sergeant.
David Kassay was promoted to lieutenant. Samuel Arciola, Arthur Belile and Fotios Koskinas were all promoted to sergeant.
“You can see with the turnout today, these officers deserve the honor,” said Police Chief Al Fiore of the large crowd.
Officers look up to Kassay, he said, and he knows the three new sergeants will “inspire the troops.”
Promoted
Four police promotions took effect today at the Westport Police Department. At a Town Hall ceremony, First Selectman Gordon Joseloff administered the oath of office to newly promoted (l-r) Sgts. Arthur Belile; Fotios Koskinas; Samuel Arciola, and Lt. David Kassay. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo
Westport Receives Reimbursement for Winter Storm
First Selectman Gordon Joseloff announced today that Westport has received notification from the Connecticut Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security that it will be reimbursed $143,957 for expenses incurred during the Feb. 11-12 snowstorm and blizzard.
“This represents a 75 percent reimbursement for costs incurred during the winter storm,” said Joseloff.
He said the town’s total cost for the two-day storm event was $189,895. This includes expenses incurred by the Public Works, Police, Fire, Parks and Recreation Departments and the Board of Education.
In March, Gov. M. Jodi Rell asked President Bush to declare an emergency for the entire state as the result of the storm, which she said cost the state approximately $3 million and municipalities between $6 million and $12 million.
Flash Flood Warning Issued
The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood warning for the Fairfield County area.
It said at 7:16 a.m National Weather Service Doppler radar indicated rainfall rates of one inch per hour or greater falling across the warned area.
Rainfall this heavy will likely cause flash flooding of roadways, hghways, low lying areas, creeks and streams.
Locations in the warning include but are not limited to Newtown, Monroe, Danbury and Bethel, an advisory said.
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Cloud Watching
A couple watches the clouds at Westport’s Burying Hill Beach Tuesday evening. It was generally a cloudy day, but the sun peeked through at times. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Emily Hamilton Laux for WestportNow.com
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
10:30 a.m. – Town Hall Room 102 – International Hospitality Committee
2 & 8 p.m. - Westport Country Playhouse - “Drawer Boy”
4 p.m. - Town Hall Room 309 - Special Board of Selectmen
5 p.m. – Town Hall Room 309/307 – Board of Selectmen
7 p.m. - Levitt Pavilion - The Hall Family
8 p.m. – Town Hall Room 201/201A – Special Board of Education
Westport Property Transfers June 19-23, 2006
Westport property transfers as reported by the Town Clerk’s office for the period June 19-23, 2006:
82 Saugatuck LLC to Weislaw and Theresa Armatowski, 82 Saugatuck Ave., $575,000
Danette M. Stephens to G. F. Development LLC, 197 Hillspoint Road, $975,000
Malcolm W. and Tracy M. Robinson III to David J. and Angela K. Edwards, 55 Center St., $2,190,000
Aimee and Fred Kuehndorf to Julie McMahon, 83 Kings Highway North, $1,345,000
Leon P. Bernard to Westport Family Homes LLC, 7 Keyser Road, $676,500
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Seeking Heat Relief
These visitors to Westport’s Compo Beach today sought some relief from the heat in the pavilion. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Larry Untermeyer for WestportNow.com
Community Gardens Vandalized
Ken Smith, a community gardener, reviews the damage to his plot. Vandals knocked knocked over and pulled up plants in the town’s Community Gardens. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Linda Gramatky Smith for WestportNow.com
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Some Westport community gardeners are left to replant their gardens after vandals tossed aside bean poles and plant cages and pulled up some plants.
Gardeners Ken and Linda Smith arrived at the gardens at about noon today to find the bean poles from their garden tossed over the fence.
“At first we just thought a deer had done it, but then we found large footprints,” Linda Smith said. “It was little malicious things.”
The first six plots in the community garden were the ones that took the damage, she said.
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Brown Bag Regular Marian Harding Dies at 97
Longime Westporter and Town Hall Brown Bag regular Marian Harding died Monday night at a Fairfield convalescent home after a lengthy illness. She was 97. She is pictured two years ago when fellow Brown Baggers feted her on her 95th birthday. Matthew Mandell for WestportNow.com
Firefighters Contain Propane Gas Leak; One Overcome
Westport firefighters today contained a leak from an underground propane gas tank damaged by van that had driven over it.
One firefighter was overcome by heat exhaustion and transported to a hospital during the incident at 18 Manitou Road, said Assistant Chief Gene Maloney.
Firefighters responding to an 8:49 a.m. 911 call found a van parked on top of the tank whose protective collar surrounding the fill valve, gauge, and safety valve had been partially crushed by the vehicle’s undercarriage, he said.
There was an odor in the air indicating a propane gas leak, and firefighters set up protective hose lines and took meter readings in the area, the official said.
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Bank Robbery Still Under Investigation
Police have not connected Friday’s bank robbery with two earlier ones in Westport and are still investigating all four robberies that have happened in the last four months.
Sgt. David Kassay said detectives don’t know yet if the same man connected to the Webster Bank robbery in March and the People’s Bank robbery in May.
Police have connected the same man to those two robberies and seek two other men for robbing the Hudson United Bank on Post Road West in April. Three robberies have taken place on a Friday afternoon.
The suspect in the two connected robberies has been described as a black male.
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Longshore Detour
Police closed off a road into Westport’s Longshore Club Park today after a tree fell across the roadway adjacent to the golf course, bringing down power lines. Because of the extent of damage, it took more than eight hours—until shortly after 1 p.m.—to restore power. Traffic was allowed to enter the area via the road to the marina while repairs were underway. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com
Trees Knocks Out Power to Longshore
A tree fell on the entrance drive to Westport’s Longshore Club Park shortly before 5 a.m. today, taking down power lines affecting more than two dozen customers. It took more than eight hours to restore service. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com
Monday, June 26, 2006
Adding Some Brightness to a Dull Day
Monday’s mostly overcast weather was brightened by lillies around Westport. These were found on Compo Road South. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Phyllis Groner for WestportNow.com
Realtime NY Metro-area traffic reports from Traffic.com
PROPERTY TRANSFERS
Westport Property Transfers June 19-23, 2006MORE >>
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