These fishermen on Westport’s Saugatuck River had a relaxing time today as they put up their feet and had a few beers. Meanwhile, roadways were busy and trains were crowded as people got an early start on the Labor Day weekend. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Phyllis Groner for WestportNow.com

Nature’s colors were evident Thursday at the Westport Farmers Market in the parking lot of the Westport Country Playhouse. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Phyllis Groner for WestportNow.com

By Linda Alvkall

UPDATE Although Westport’s King’s Highway Elementary School opened on schedule Wednesday, some parents said today they are still concerned about the health of their children.

The parents expressed their concern at a meeting of the Special Kings’s Highway Elementary School Maintenance Committee in Town Hall.

First Selectman Gordon Joseloff appointed the committee in July to investigate parental complaints about air quality at the school. The committee uncovered mold in the school gymnasium and oversaw its remediation.

“I think that what you are hearing among the parents…is that I don’t feel from Nancy (Harris, assistant superientendent) and Elliott (Landon, superintendent of schools) yet that the administration is really willing in a systemic way to validate, you know, the fact that there are air quality issues that need to be followed,” said Lauren Tarshis, a King’s Highway parent and committee member.

A federal judge in New Haven today sentenced retired Westport middle school teacher Paul Held to 10 years in prison on federal child pornography charges.
Paul Held: collected photos of former students. File photo

U.S. District Judge Mark R. Kravitz also ordered Held, 69, to serve a lifetime term of supervised release and pay a fine of $30,000, according to U.S. Attorney Kevin O’Connor.

When he pleaded guilty last March to one count of receipt of child pornography, federal officials called the former Bedford Middle School art teacher “one of the most prolific collectors of child pornography” ever seen in Connecticut. (See WestportNow March 26, 2007)

During today’s sentencing proceeding, it was also revealed that Held had taken and collected voyeuristic photos of young girls, including his former students, the U.S Attorney’s Office said.

Members of the Westport Garden Club were out today weeding and clipping bushes and edging at the Westport Public Library helping to keep Westport beautiful. Elena Brynes (l) and Nancy Stewart spent several hours around the library, one of many Westport areas the club helps maintain. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Phyllis Groner for WestportNow.com

Firefighters are crediting use of a seatbelt and airbags for helping a driver avoid serious injury early today in a one-car rollover on the Merritt Parkway near Exit 42 in Westport.

The department said they received a call about the accident at 1:25 a.m. about a mile north of Exit 42. On arrival, they found a car which had been southbound had crossed over the median and rolled over.

The southbound driver, who was not identified, narrowly missed a car driving northbound. He told police he swerved to avoid an animal in the roadway.

The driver was wearing his seatbelt and the side airbags activated preventing serious injuries, said Assistant Chief Larry Conklin. He suffered minor scrapes and bruises and did not require transport to the hospital.

Mothers of students at Green’s Farms Elementary School held their fourth annual “First Day of School Party” Wednesday at Westport’s Compo Beach. Moms dropped their children off at Green’s Farms and then drove to Compo for the social event and to “catch up” after summer vacation. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Phyllis Groner for WestportNow.com