Earlier today, Westport police were called to Temple Israel. Preliminary reports say there were concerns about 1 or 2 people with weapons. Apparently, none were found.
The temple was the site today of a “Friends of the Israel Defense Forces Women’s Luncheon.” IDF officers — including an Israeli Air Force captain — were to discuss the roles of women in that country’s military. It appears that 1 or 2 people planned to disrupt the event.
Nearby Coleytown Middle School was locked down as a precaution.
Coleytown Middle School principal Kris Szabo sent this message to parents:
This afternoon our school was in lockdown for 45 minutes at the request of the Westport Police Department for an external threat at Temple Israel. All ended well and our students returned to Homeroom where they were given an opportunity to debrief and ask questions. We thank the Westport Police Department for its immediate reaction and concern for the safety of all our children.
In a letter sent this morning to staff, parents and the community, Westport superintendent of schools Dr. Elliott Landon announced his retirement, at the end of the 2015-16 school year. He has served in Westport since 1999.
Calling his position an “honor and privilege,” Landon cited a collaborative effort that has made Westport’s school system “the envy of teachers, administrators and school staffs throughout our state and nation.”
Dr. Elliott Landon
He thanked administrators and principals for “working diligently and relentlessly to make our schools the best they could be.” He cited teachers and support staff for creating a district that is “a beacon of excellence admired by professional educators everywhere.”
He added thanks to “our secretaries, paraprofessionals, nurses and health aides, custodians and maintainers” for helping create a “welcoming, supportive and healthy” environment.
His final thanks were to “the parents who have supported our work so passionately,” and the Board of Finance and RTM for providing “the financial support necessary to make our dreams come true.”
Westport is Landon’s 3rd superintendency, and his longest. He came to Westport after 10 years in Long Beach, New York. Prior to that, he served 9 years as Ridgefield’s superintendent.
Landon began his teaching career at James Madison High School in Brooklyn, following his graduation from Columbia University’s Teachers College.
He said he is announcing his retirement 13 months in advance, to give the Board of Education time to select his successor.
Eric Gallanty — a Staples Class of 2011 grad, and Syracuse University senior — has won a great award. The Sportscasters Talent Agency of America just named him the nation’s outstanding collegiate sports broadcaster.
“Eric does both TV and radio play-by-play,” says STAA CEO Jon Chelesnik. “When I watched his football, I had to double-check that Eric was still in school. He is fabulous.”
Nice — but “06880”-worthy? Isn’t that a little, um, “inside baseball”?
Normally. Except for this: The former WWPT-FM and Staples Television Network star’s honor is the Jim Nantz Award. It’s named for the veteran CBS Sports broadcaster — who was a longtime Westport resident.
Eric Gallanty (left) and Jim Nantz.
Next month’s awards ceremony in North Carolina will not be the first time Gallanty and Nantz’s paths cross. A few years ago, while still in Staples, Gallanty and 2 other rising broadcasters — DJ Sixsmith and Brandon Edelson — were invited by Nantz to lunch at Gold’s.
They expected a quick bite. But he spent 2 hours with them, talking about sports and TV.
Perhaps one day Eric and Jim will share something even more exciting than an award (and a pastrami sandwich): a broadcast booth.
As beach season barrels down upon us, alert “06880” reader Rob Schmidt asked a question that has vexed him since the 1950s:
All along the salt marshes at Burying Hill and Sherwood Island, a perfectly laid out grid of small canals is apparent at high tide. I’m guessing they where dug in the 1930s by the WPA or some conservation group. I have not seen them maintained for 60 years, and have never figured out their purpose except drainage of some sort. Do you know the history behind them?
An aerial view of the “canals” (faintly seen above the inlet; click or hover over photo to enlarge). The inlet running from Long Island Sound separates Burying Hill Beach (right) from Sherwood Island State Park (left).
I not only did not know the answer; I’d never even thought about them. Although our junior high posse played there back in the day, I’d always thought they were natural.
But I knew who would have the answer. I contacted an engineer friend I grew up with. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of all things related to Green’s Farms (and a desire for anonymity).
He replied almost instantly:
I’ve seen these since I was a kid in the Burying Hill and New Creek Road area. I’ve also seen extensive evidence of this in Branford and Guilford.
My understanding is that these are hand-dug “mosquito ditches.” The idea was to better drain low-lying salt marshes where mosquito larvae thrived due to stagnant pools.
They were started after the Civil War, when there was a serious malaria outbreak. Long after malaria was controlled we continued the practice because mosquitoes were a nuisance. The practice continued slowly to 1900, but blossomed in the 1930s. It became a WPA effort in the Depression. By 1940 virtually all of Connecticut’s coastal salt marshes were ditched for mosquito control.
Hand-digging ditches during the Great Depression.
In 1970, when we became much more environmentally aware, we figured out that the practice caused more harm than good. In 1985 the DEP stopped the practice altogether. When feasible they seek to fill in these ditches and let the natural flooding process take place.
Nowadays the Connecticut DEEP encourages the development of a minnow population that feeds on mosquito larvae to control mosquito populations.
The next time you’re at Burying Hill or Sherwood Island — or Branford or Guilford — think about the hand-dug “mosquito ditches.”
Be thankful you didn’t live during the 1800s, when mosquitoes were a nuisance.
To no one’s surprise, the story about the #WhiteLivesMatter flyers found in Westport has moved beyond our borders.
But even the most glass-is-half-empty among us might be surprised at the virulence that’s lurking in cyberspace.
Ar15.com — a gun-lovers’ site — reprinted a Stamford Advocate article about the incident. It elicited only a few comments. One reader suggested Westport needed “more section 8 housing” to increase our diversity. Another said simply, “boo hoo faggots.”
That’s nothing, compared to DailySlave.com. Click on this gruesomely racist, anti-Semitic, anti-just-about-everything site only if you have a strong stomach.
The site — whose motto is “Fighting Against Total Enslavement” — titled its piece “White Hating Marxist Retards Cry About ‘#White Lives Matter’ Flyers.”
No, it’s not satire.
Here are just a few of the anonymous comments:
Westport needs a huge infusion of Burn this Bitch Down Burntitmore and Fergadishu blue gummed Jungle Bunnies. Let’s start a campaign to Diversify Westport! Show them what they’re missing.
The old saying -THERE IS NO BLACK POWER>>>>>>JEWISH POWER >>>>ILLEGAL ALIEN POWER …. only white weakness…
Westport is located in Fairfield County, which is the wealthiest county in the Empire and includes or included residents like Paul Newman, Henry Kissenger, William F. Buckley, David Letterman and Kathi Lee “the Jewess” Gifford. But it also includes one of the shittiest ghetto cities in the Empire as well…Bridgeport. The jews and White liberals have been trying to get Bridgeport removed from their otherwise extremely affluent county for decades. They were also unsuccessful in keeping Interstate 95 from going right through the middle of their upscale little bedroom communities. GOOD.
Other anti-Semitic comments attacked Westport’s selectmen, and claimed “the only negro I ever saw in that town was old Otis who ran the dry cleaner shop (dumb as a bag of rocks but mostly harmless).”
A “cartoon” posted on the Daily Slave website.
I debated with myself for quite a while about the wisdom of posting this piece. Would giving these sites publicity further embolden them, or provide some kind of credence? Am I playing right into their hateful hands?
Perhaps.
But ignoring the fact that these websites — and their readers — exist is dangerous too.
Commenters on those sites accuse Westporters of burying our heads in the sand about the real world.
Westport is filled with spectacularly interesting people. So many folks here have transformative back stories, and do intriguing things.
We find them in typical places: schools, the train, the beach, cultural events.
But they’re also in places we might not expect. Like behind the Subway counter.
The hat says “Victor.” His real name is Babatunde Aborisabe. He’s happy to hear either one. In fact, he’s pretty happy always.
His smile and enthusiasm might be unexpected. His father died before Babatunde was born. His mother had a very limited education.
But school teachers in his native Lagos, Nigeria encouraged him. They gave him confidence. He joined the Debate Club, and learned how to organize his thoughts.
He was named a class leader. That’s an important responsibility. In Nigeria if a class is rowdy or inattentive, the class leader is punished.
Babatunde read a lot — about leadership, business and more. Ben Carson — the neurosurgeon and author — became a great inspiration. Babatunde devoured books like Think Big, The Big Picture and Take the Risk.
Heeding Carson’s call to be the best at whatever you do, Babatunde went to college for science and engineering. He worked in food and drug quality management for the government. He continued to develop intellectually.
Babatunde Aborisabe
Then he took a huge risk: He came to America to earn his master’s. In 2013 Babatunde enrolled in the University of Bridgeport’s technology management program. Very soon, he became a team leader.
He’s found his professors to be very approachable. “Here you are allowed to disagree, and challenge opinions,” he says with joy.
“I love it,” he says of college specifically, and the US in general. “The opportunities are wide for anyone who works hard. But I know that I am the only one responsible for what happens to my life.”
Babatunde has gotten involved with 2 churches in Bridgeport — including one with Nigerian roots.
He graduates next semester. He’s exploring Ph.D. programs.
In the meantime, to earn money, he is a shift leader at Subway in Westport. He makes sandwiches with a smile, for customers who have no clue about his story.
“People want to be treated well,” he says of his job. “I like doing that.”
Remember the names: Babatunde “Victor” Aborisabe. You will hear about him in years to come.
You and I may never have heard of TheCultureTrip. But the website — which offers “the best of art, food, culture and travel for every country” — has just named Westport to its “Top 10 Beautiful Towns in Connecticut” list.
Although no one from TheCultureTrip has, apparently, ever been here.
Here’s our writeup:
Located on the coast just 50 miles north of New York City, Westport has some of the most stunning scenery in the state. The seafront has a row of beautiful red brick buildings, their warm colour contrasting with the sparkling blue of the sea. The seafront is particularly striking during sunsets, where the light casts a wonderful warm glow onto the houses and their reflections in the water. Further into the main town, old fashioned board houses and impressive buildings dating back to colonial times line the streets, interspersed with large, fresh green spaces, perfect for lazy strolls and picnics.
There is so much BS in those 4 sentences, it’s hard to begin.
But if you’re wondering just exactly where those “beautiful red brick buildings” along our “seafront” actually are, I’m guessing they’re right here, in the photo that illustrates our listing:
Copyright/WestportWiki/WikiCommons
And if you’re also wondering: We’re 1 of only 2 Fairfield County towns to make the cut.
But a couple of days ago, a bulldozer rumbled in, and finished the job.
Now the barn is gone. So is the main building.
Two acres of flat land sit on the corner of the Post Road and North Morningside. Soon to come: a commercial/residential complex with 12 residential rental units — 2 of them classified as “affordable” — plus a retail building.
For a number of years, Sunrise Rotary has sponsored a Great Duck Race. It’s a fun fundraiser — you bet on rubber duckies that are dumped into the Saugatuck River. The day is filled with kids’ activities like a bouncy house, a climbing wall and dunk tank.
This year’s event — on Saturday, June 13 — will be preceded by a 5K run, sponsored by Staples High School’s Interact community service club.
It’s a wonderful town event — something that makes money for good causes, and brings plenty of Westporters together.
But those who were here back in the day remember its predecessor: the Great Race. That was to the current incarnation as Gloria Gaynor is to Taylor Swift.
You don’t believe me? Check out this video.
You can see a lot of bizarre stuff on YouTube. But this ranks right up there.
In tones befitting Marlon Perkins on “Wild Kingdom” — or, this century, an endangered-species documentary on the National Geographic Channel — a narrator breathlessly describes what seems to be a very odd tradition in our coastal community.
“Just another lazy day along the river in Westport, Connecticut,” the 1977* video begins. “Except that this is the day of the Great Race.”
After describing the event — a 1-mile run, a 3-mile row or paddle out to Cockenoe Island, picking up 1 pound of garbage, then rowing or paddling back for a 1st-place prize of $1,000 — the narrator declares that on Great Race Day, Westport is the center of “high international drama.” (Cut to an interview with an Australian guy.)
Just a couple of Great Racers being interviewed.
There are classic quotes — “We run to the liquor store to get our bodies in shape” — interspersed with vintage shots of downtown, and the not-sure-if-it’s-tongue-in-cheek-or-not description of a team that trained “in a handmade aluminum craft for an entire year, just for this race.”
In fact, I’m not sure if the entire video is serious, a satire, or just a goof. When you see 2 teams fighting over a piece of garbage on Cockenoe, you’ll wonder too.
Running down Taylor Place, to the boat launch at the Post Road bridge.
But — as the narrator notes — “constant seamanship and vigilance” were keys to winning the Great Race.
And, at the end, “the townspeople have come together with their picnic lunches to cheer and debate their favorites. The memories will keep for a whole year.”
See you June 13 at the Great Duck Race!
Paddling …
…and partying at a house on the river, as the racers go by.
*YouTube says the video is from 1977. However, the bicentennial flag, and several comments, would indicate it is actually from 1976.
(Hat tips: Jack Whittle, Ted Friedman, Rich Stein)
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