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Hundreds Arrive for 48th Annual jUNe Day

By James Lomuscio

Under sunny skies and with many flags of the United Nations’s 193 member countries billowing on Westport’s Ruth Steinkraus Cohen Bridge, about 300 U.N. ambassadors, delegates, staff and their families converged on the Saugatuck Elementary School today for the town’s 48th annual jUNe Day to commemorate the signing of the U.N. Charter in 1945.

WestportNow.com Image
Bill Haas of Westport, president of the U.N. Association of Southwestern Connecticut, welcomes guests at today’s jUNe Day ceremony at Saugatuck Elementary School. Listening are (l-r) Westport First Selectman Gordon Joseloff, Patricia O’Brien, U.N. Under-Secretary General for Legal Affairs, and Ambassador and U.N. Under-Secretary General Joseph V. Reed. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Patricia O’Brien of Ireland, the U.N.‘s Under-Secretary General for Legal Affairs, was the keynote speaker, noting that she was amazed when she learned the event was being held in Westport.

“In Ireland we have a Westport, and we see our Westport as a very special place,” she said. “In fact, last year it was voted the best place to live in Ireland, so there’s a great synergy.”

O’Brien said that driving around Westport today, she, too, could envision moving to town.

A Colorful Welcome for jUNe Day guests

WestportNow.com Image
United Nations guests here for today’s jUNe Day annual celebration in Westport marking the 1945 signing of the U.N. Charter walk across the Ruth Steinkraus Cohen Bridge flying the flags of the U.N. member nations. The guests were welcomed at a ceremony at Saugatuck Elementary School, then spent the day touring Westport, including Earthplace and Compo Beach. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Helen Klisser During for WestportNow.com

Doris C. Berg, 83

Doris C. Berg of Stratford, a longtime hygienst in Westport, died June 27 in her residence. She was 83.

Born in Bridgeport, she was the daughter of the late Wallace and Elsie Haffner Berg. She was a retired hygienist for over 60 years in Westport. She was a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Hygiene and member of the Connecticut and National Dental Hygiene Association.

She was an avid golfer playing at the Wood Haven CC in Woodbridge. She enjoyed planting her garden each year. She was a member of the Trinity Episcopal Church in the Nichols section of Trumbull.

She is survived by her brother, Wallace (Wally) Berg, a nephew Craig Botten and his wife Deborah, of California, a niece Deirdre Kachala, of Shelton, a brother-in-law James Botten, of Trumbull and two great nephews, Cameron and Dustin Botten.

Breakfast Taps Local Support from Top Dems

By James Lomuscio

Underscoring the importance of local politics, the state Democratic Party’s heavy hitters—Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman,  Attorney General George Jepsen and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal—came to Tavern on Main today for a Westport Democratic Town Committee (DTC) breakfast to root for November’s local elections.

WestportNow.com Image
State Attorney General George Jepsen addresses today’s Westport Democratic Town Committee breakfast as Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman, who is acting governor while Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is out of state, listens. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

“It’s so important that we get local politics right,” said Jepsen, noting that years ago he never dreamed his would carry the once Republican towns of Wilton and Weston.

He said that national decisions, such as this week’s U.S. Supreme Court’s defeat of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), a boon to the gay community, have their beginnings in Democrats gaining influence on the local stage.

Wyman, whom DTC Chairman Jim Ezzes described as “a friend of Westport for a long, long time,” took the opportunity to thank Democratic First Selectman Gordon Joseloff, who is not running for re-election, for his years of service.

Saturday, June 29, 2013 – 48th Annual jUNe Day


10:15 a.m. – Saugatuck Elementary School – jUNe Day opening ceremonies
Noon – 4 p.m. – Westport Historical Society – “5 Generations of Yankee Ingenuity: The Gault Family” & “Tracy Sugarman, Citizen-Artist”
Noon – 4 p.m. – Westport Arts Center – “Bird’s-Eye View”
3 p.m. and 8 p.m. – Westport Country Playhouse – “The Show-Off” (last day)
8 p.m. – Jesup Green – Levitt Pavilion: Otis & the Hurricanes

See more events:  Celebrate Westport Calendar

Judge Rules Bridgeport Schools Superintendent Ineligible

By Jacqueline Rabe Thomas

www.ctmirror.org

A Superior Court judge today ruled that the superintendent of the state’s largest school system is ineligible to run Bridgeport Public Schools.

“The court orders Paul Vallas be removed from his office,” Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis ruled.

Vallas—who was introduced to the Bridgeport Board of Education by state Education Commissioner Stefan Pryor—said during a phone interview tonight he plans to appeal the judge’s ruling.

“Nothing changes,” he said. “It’s not like the decision results in any immediate action. We are going to appeal.”

Click here for more of story

Westporters Urged to Check on Arsenic in Wells

By James Lomuscio

High levels of naturally occurring arsenic in well waters in Weston today prompted a call from the director of the Westport Weston Health District (WWHD) for Westporters living near the Weston line to have their wells checked too. WestportNow.com Image
Mark A. R. Cooper: urges testing of wells north of Merritt Parkway. File photo

A deadly poison in high doses, arsenic is relatively harmless in minute, acceptable levels as it appears almost everywhere: soil, air, vegetables, rocks and well water.

But in recent months, some wells in Weston tested at 40 times the acceptable level, said Mark A. R. Cooper, WWHD director.

As a result, Cooper said he is urging Westport residents north of the Merritt Parkway to have their wells tested, too.

SplatterBox Burglary Suspect Held

Westport Police arrested a Long Island woman for breaking into the SplatterBox, a children’s art studio at 1252 Post Road East, last June, police said today.

Theresa Clinding, 45, of Hempstead, N.Y. was extradited from New York today where she had been incarcerated on unrelated charges, said Capt. Vincent Penna.

Clinding had been identified by witnesses who observed her flee the SplatterBox in a vehicle that was registered to her, Penna said.

Charged with one count of third-degree burglary, Clinding is being held in lieu of a $75,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in Norwalk Superior Court on Tuesday, July 16. According to Penna, Clinding faces charges for similar crimes in other Connecticut and New York municipalities.