April is Autism Acceptance Month. The Westport Police Department will take the opportunity to promote both education, and a greater understanding of the spectrum.
Many officers have bought Autism Acceptance badges. They’ll wear them all month.
In addition, the rainbow-colored “infinity” symbol — donated by Fleet Auto Supply — will be attached to all police cars.
The department takes this opportunity to remind residents about Westport’s Disability Registry. Created by the WPD, Department of Human Services and Commission on People with Disabilities, it’s a confidential way to provide information that assists police and other emergency workers in addressing th needs of residents of all abilities. Click here for more information.
When Jersey Mike’s announced that more than 2,000 stores would support Special Olympics — by donating 100% of its sales on March 30 (yesterday) — Westporters Rick Levin, Bob Levy and Sunny Sherman decided to help.
The Post Road location is closed. But they bought hundreds of sandwiches in Norwalk, and donated them to STAR Lighting the Way of Norwalk, and Bridgeport’s Alpha Community Center and Cardinal Shehan Center.
Clients at the 3 centers were very grateful.
And extremely well fed.
Bob Levy (3rd from left), delivering Jersey Mike’s sandwiches yesterday to STAR Lighting the Way.
Monica Buesser has noticed something very strange.
At least 2 roads in Westport do not have stop signs, despite directly intersecting with busily traveled streets.
Here’s Pequot Trail, at Sylvan Road North:
And here’s Pioneer Road, also at Sylvan North:
(Photos/Monica Buesser)
The issue is not theoretical, she says:
“A young woman died in Ridgewood, New Jersey because her friend drove through an uncontrolled intersection that others more familiar with the area would stop at.”
After the tragedy, she notes, the town put up stop signs.
Living in a condo near Playhouse Square, it’s impossible to avoid the Post Road.
No matter where you live in Westport, you find yourself on it too.
The Post Road is our central artery. It’s where we get our groceries, coffee and gas. Much more than Main Street, it really is our “main street.”
And though — or maybe despite — being clogged with traffic, it’s also our Indy 500 race track.
Every day, we see them: pony-tailed, baseball capped moms wielding enormous Lincoln Navigators. Tanned, sunglass-wearing guys in midlife-crisis Maseratis. Teenagers in their parents’ (or their own) Range Rovers.
All share one common thought: themselves.
It doesn’t matter that they also share the road with countless other cars, trucks, and occasional joggers. They don’t care that everyone else has someplace important to go too. They see the same yellow and red lights as the rest of us.
None of it matters.
At 8:05 yesterday morning I was part of the heavy traffic heading east. Terrain was on my left; the Volvo dealer, opposite it.
Suddenly a car roared out of Rayfield Road, on the right. It just missed the one next to me, and headed straight for my passenger door.
Instinctively, I swerved left — smack into the westbound lane.
Only by luck was the Fresh Market light red. Only by luck was it too early for anyone to turn right out of that shopping center. Only by luck was there no one there.
Had there been traffic on my left — as there almost always is — I would have hit them head on. I could have been killed.
Or killed someone else.
Only pure luck saved me from this.
By the time I got back in my lane, the car that floored it out of Rayfield was long gone. The driver was on the way to someplace important — CVS maybe, or Gold’s or Starbucks.
Was he — or she; I never saw their face — as stunned, terrified and adrenaline-rushed as I was? Or did they just see this as one more example of their invincibility — a sign that other drivers would always get out of their way?
I’m a careful driver. But I drove extra carefully the rest of the day.
Within 2 hours, 2 other drivers flew through red-for-awhile lights. One was at the notorious Post Road West/Wilton Road/Riverside Avenue intersection. The other was a mile away, where Riverside and Saugatuck Avenues diverge.
I have not exaggerated any details. It’s several hours later, and I’m still amazed I’m not at Norwalk Hospital or Harding Funeral Home.
Only by luck, I’m not. If I had been looking at the dashboard, looking at the traffic on the left, looking in my rearview mirror — doing anything other than using my right-side peripheral vision — I might never have survived.
But luck was on my side. I lived to write another story.
The drumbeat of news from Ukraine is relentless. It’s tragic, horrific, frightening — there really are not enough words to convey how Westporters feel.
Sitting safely thousands of miles away, we wonder what we can do.
Some, like Rabbi Jeremy Wiederhorn and Buck Rosenfeld, travel overseas to help.
Rabbi Jeremy Wiederhorn, with supplies.
Others, like Stephan Taranko and Mark Yurkiw — both with Ukrainian heritage — use their words and art to keep the plight of their countrymen in the forefront of our minds.
Mark Yurkiw, with his Ukraine installation on the Ruth Steinkraus Cohen Bridge.
Still others, like Darcy Hicks and Bean Corcoran, organize rallies.
Miggs Burroughs at last weekend’s rally. The QR code provides quick access to donations through Save the Children Ukraine. (Photos/Rowene Weems Photography)
And many, many more — our neighbors and friends — respond to requests by organizations like Wakeman Town Farm to collect clothes, toys, medical supplies and money.
Those who help are not doing it to be heroic. The true heroes are on the ground, 4,500 miles from Westport.
But many people here do what they can. If you’ve done anything over the past month — organized or attended a rally, donated needed goods or funds, posted information on social media, flew a flag, whatever — thank you.
It’s a small gesture, but it speaks volumes. Mark Mathias has changed his outdoor lights, to show support for the embattled nation of Ukraine. (Photo/Mark Mathias)
Earthplace updated maps of their 74-acre sanctuary. Project Return repainted their North Compo Road home. The Westport Astronomical Society got a new solar telescope. Wakeman Town Farm bought a mobile chicken coop.
All of that money came from “Ruegg Grants” — courtesy of the Westport Woman’s Club. Established in 1995 by former member Lea Ruegg, they’re given each spring to a local non-profit with a project that makes a meaningful difference in social services, health, safety, the arts or education.
Previous recipients include, CLASP Homes, the Westport Police Department, Interfaith Housing, Mercy Learning Center, Toquet Hall, the Westport Rotary Club, Staples Players and the Westport Library.
Your organization could be next. The Woman’s Club is accepting submissions now through April 25, for up to $10,000 for a 2022 project. Click here for the application form.
Bert Porzio is one of Westport’s real good guys. The tree service owner would do anything for anyone (and often has: Check out his Unsung Hero honors from 2018).
But his rental of the small lot on the corner of Post Road and Roseville to store logs has worried some residents.
They’re concerned about one of his trucks parked at the lot, blocking visibility of drivers coming down the Roseville hill.
Now, for the past few days, a logging truck has been parked across from McDonald’s. It’s on the sidewalk, just a few yards from Route 1.
Is it legal? Is it safe? “06880” readers have asked both questions.
Al’s Angels is sponsoring a Fairfield rally, in support of Ukraine.
The event is tonight — Wednesday, March 30 — from 5:30 to 10 p.m. at Penfield Pavilion. 100% of all proceeds will go to 2 charities, working for the war-torn nation.
The $50 ticket price includes Ukrainian and “local” food, live music, a silent auction and raffle prizes. Scan the QR code below for tickets. (Hat tip: JC Martin)
The Westport Library has just added an intriguing panel to its 1st-ever media and music festival.
On Saturday, April 9 (1 p.m.), Dick Wingate — a Westporter at the forefront of music marketing, A&R and interactive technology for over 40 years — will moderate a panel on audio production.
Dick launched or developed the careers of Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Aimee Mann, Peter Tosh, Eddy Grant, Pink Floyd, Sarah McLachlan and Garland Jeffreys while at Columbia, Epic, PolyGram and Arista Records. He then pioneered the digital music business with Liquid Audio, as chief content officer. He now operates DEV Advisors, a media and entertainment consultancy.
Panelists include:
Datwon Thomas: editor-in-chief of Vibe magazine, and vice president of cultural media for MRC. He was founder and editorial director of men’s lifestyle guide King magazine, the urban car enthusiast’s favorite Rides Magazine, and editor-in-chief of hip-hop’s street authority, XXL Magazine.
Stephen Webber: Emmy-winning composer, musician, author, producer, engineer, and a leading innovator in music and the performing arts. He founded the Music Production, Technology, and Innovation master’s program at Berklee College of Music’s Spain campus. He’s Berklee’s dean of strategic initiatives, working on domestic and international projects in Los Angeles and China. A former A&R consultant for Universal Music Group, Webber has produced and engineered albums for a wide range of artists.
Travis Bell: audio studios Manager and in-house producer and engineer for Verso Studios. As owner/operator of Hamden’s Adorea Studios for 10 years, he earned acclaim from NPR and Rolling Stone for an array of different projects.
This is a tough time of year for Homes with Hope’s food pantry.
The Gillespie Center program always sees a dip in donations between the holidays, and its spring food drive.
Rising food prices have proved a double whammy. More families are in need, while donors are also feeling the pinch.
Donations can be dropped off between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. at the Gillespie Center. It’s behind Barnes & Noble, next to Don Memo and Walrus Alley off Jesup Road. Click here for a list of most-needed non-perishable items.
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Michael Bolton moves on!
Not from Westport — he’s staying here. But the New Haven native advances to the next round of NBC’s “American Song Contest.”
Bolton sang “Beautiful World,” in the Eurovision knockoff that includes artists from all 50 states, 5 US territories and Washington DC.
The jury ranked him 5th, but votes by fans propelled him into the semifinals. He joins representatives from Rhode Island, Oklahoma and Puerto Rico. His video from the show is below. (Hat tip: Dick Lowenstein)
Julian Lamb Orgel — the lively and musically talented cellist son of 1971 Staples High School graduate Paul Orgel — died in 2018. He was 26.
A fundraising concert in Colchester, Vermont on May 21 will endow a scholarship in Julian’s honor for the Vermont Youth Orchestra — a place, his family says, that “nurtured him and provided him with years of support, friendship and music-making pleasure.”
The program features the world premiere of “Songs With and Without Words,” composed in Julian’s honor by Curt Cacioppo, with his father on piano. There are also classical and jazz performances.
Click here for tickets and more information. Click here for more on Julian Orgel. (Hat tip: Diane Sherman)
In the past 2 years, over 200,000 children lost a parent or caregiver to COVID.
One in 13 children experience the death of a parent or sibling by age 18.
Those statistics are sobering. So is the realization that most surviving youngsters feel different, isolated and alone.
Since 2009, Experience Camps has provided a way for boys and girls to share their grief — and move on from the trauma of losing a loved one.
The project grew from 1 site and 27 kids, to a network of 7 summer camps in 5 states serving more than 1,000 children, plus year-round programs. Because death and grief touch youngsters in all socioeconomic brackets, the entire week is free.
And it’s headquartered right here in Westport.
Sara Deren traded a career in financial services for the challenge of developing Experience Camps. (Her “experience”: Her husband Jon owned Camp Manitou for boys in Maine.)
Today she oversees all the camps, along with weekend retreats, leadership training and online sessions, from an office in Brooks Corner. She is proud that through friendship, teamwork and the common bond of loss, thousands of youngsters have gained confidence, regained hope — and begun to laugh and love life again.
The pandemic hit Experience Camps especially hard, though. In 2020, at the same time more children than ever were losing loved ones, the in-camp experience had to move entirely online.
Last year brought a limited program, with many restrictions. The fear of more illness was hard on kids who were already suffering. But they found joy in being together, with others who knew what they were going through.
A week at Experience Camp is filled with fun.
COVID also shut down Experience Camps’ fun — and important — fundraisers.
In 2018 and ’19, the first Day of Champions was held at Camp Mahackeno. Twenty teams of 12 to 15 people each — kindergarten through adult — competed in sponge races, an obstacle course, toothpick pickup contest with oven mitts, archery and other activities. It was like a huge camp color war.
Each team was asked to raise $1,000. Sara expected to make $20,000.
But the 2019 Day of Champions brought in $150,000.
“I was amazed and awed,” she says. “They blew it out of the water. Everyone was incredibly committed — and very competitive.”
On May 15, the Day of Champions returns. From 9 to 11:30 a.m., at a new site — PJ Romano Field, between Saugatuck and Kings Highway Elementary Schools — kids and adults will run, dance and hula hoop their way toward victory (dressed in vibrant, creative gear representing their team colors).
It’s family-friendly — and fiercely (but fun) competitive.
The Day of Champions is filled with fun …
Michelle Yanover is among the Day of Champions’ strongest champions.
The Westport mom has spent 31 years without her own mother. Laurie Goldfarb died at 33, after battling leukemia. Michelle was 7 years old.
“Over the years, I’ve learned you never get over ‘it.’ ‘It’ becomes part of your story, woven into the fabric of your whole being,” she says.
“But given the right chance, love and support from unimaginable loss there grows strength.”
Four years ago Michelle volunteered at Experience Camp. She experienced the magic that happens when a grieving child gets a week to be “normal” — while also getting support for their loss.
She was inspired by the work of the staff and counselors, and gratified by the smiles on campers’ faces.
Michelle has already signed up a team for the May 15 Day of Champions (and wants hers to become the top fundraising team of all). She’s eager to help the 7 summer camps (and other activities, including a meet-them-where-they-are moderated online space in Minecraft, that replicates camp).
… and games.
“Our fingers are crossed for a pretty normal summer ,” Sara says. “There is a huge need. A lot of grief has been sitting in people’s homes.”
In addition to COVID deaths, more youngsters than ever have lost parents and siblings to suicide and overdoses.
“Those are alarming trends,” Sara notes. “It’s especially important, with stigmatizing types of death, for kids to have a place to go.”
Which is why she urges as many people as possible to form teams for the May 15 Day of Champions.
“Two years off has built an amazing amount of anticipation,” she says. “This will be one of Westport’s first big post-pandemic events.
“It’s spring. It’s outside. It’s a large gathering of the community, returning to joy, fun, silliness, costumes and music. That’s such a great parallel to grief.
“And it’s what we do every day at Experience Camps.”
(For more information on the May 15 Day of Champions — including creating, joining or registering a team — click here. For more information on Experience Camps, click here. For a very cool trailer, click below.)
In October 2020, Kings Highway Elementary celebrated National Walk to School Day. Hundreds of youngsters walked that day.
Because there were no “School Zone” signs on Post Road West, parents made sure the event went smoothly.
A year and a half later, signs are up. There are flashing signs too.
The KHS PTA thanks 1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker, State Senator Will Haskell, RTM member Christine Meiers Schatz, Public Works director Pete Ratkiewich, PTA past president Kim Ceman and the school’s parents for making the signs a reality.
“As the only elementary school in town on a state road with a playground bordering it, these new safety measures give parents a huge feeling of relief,” the KHS PTA says.
Kings Highway PTA co-presidents Jeni Bianco and Lindsay Shurman flank principal Tracey Carbone, at the new Post Road West sign and flashing light.
The Westport Farmers’ Market is very direct. They bring fresh produce directly from the farm to you. They directly impact our environment and lifestyles, in positive ways.
And the name of their fundraiser is very direct too. Not to mention quite clever.
“Fork It Over” is set for April 24 (noon to 3 p.m., The Whelk). Highlights include auctions of the very popular #WhoGrowsYourFood photo exhibit by Anne Burmeister and Ashley Skatoff, and other great items.
Can’t attend? The same images will be for sale, starting April 1. They’re at the same link for tickets (also April 1).
Money raised at “Fork It Over” directly supports vendors, reduces operating expenses, helps expand educational programming, and funds philanthropic efforts.
Ryan Price — a 1995 Staples High School graduate now living in Fairfield — is an avid and experienced mountain bike rider. Earlier this month, at the end of a business trip in Austin, Texas, he fractured his neck in a cycling accident. He was airlifted to a trauma center, in underwent 10 hours of surgery. He has no feeling from the chest down.
He is now at the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in New Jersey. A long road of physical and occupational therapy lies ahead. Fortunately, Ryan did not suffer a head injury. He is focused on the hard work ahead.
While he and his wife Janice have a hard time asking for and accepting help, his many friends and colleagues have offered donations for medical costs not covered by insurance, modifications to their home, transportation, childcare, and the many other challenges they will encounter. Click here for Ryan’s GoFundMe page.
The family is researching cutting-edge treatments including STEM cells. Funds will also help provide access to new technology and treatment options.
Ryan is an enterprise sales executive at Khoros, and loves working with clients to solve problems. Outside of work Ryan enjoys music (at Providence College, he played in a band). He loves trips to Maine with his family and friends, and has a passion for coaching his two boys who enjoy sports of all kinds.
Ryan and Janice have been overwhelmed by the support so many have shown. Janice will provide updates about Ryan’s progress soon, via CaringBridge.
Westporter Barbara Ross-Innamorati owns Evocateur, the East Norwalk artisan jewelry company. Every piece is designed and made by hand.
They created a collection of Sunflower jewelry — in honor of Ukraine’s national flower — and are donating 100% of the profits to Save the Children Ukraine.
The response has been excellent, from retailers and customers. The jewelry can be purchased online, or locally at Lux Bond & Green.
Jane Wright Wolf — a member of the prestigious Salamagundi Art Club of New York — has donated a number of stunning pieces, for a special sale. 100% of all proceeds benefit the Weston Senior Center.
Wolf’s work is available for purchase at the Weston Senior Center (9 School Road), 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays throughout April. A special opening is set for this Saturday (April 2, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.)
For Miami native Sylvie Jordan, Westport is wonderful.
She moved here in 1999 with her husband, a Fairfield native. They divorced; she returned to Florida, then headed to New York with her fiancé. During the first COVID summer they joined the exodus from the city, and bought a house in Old Hill.
Westport is like a small town, Sylvie says. Everything is close. It feels safer than Miami.
And though she loved the sun and palm trees, the rhythm of the seasons is rewarding. “It’s like death and rebirth,” Sylvia notes. “Seasons shape the human experience.”
Sylvie knows a thing or two about that human experience. She’s always been a people person — and they’ve long been drawn to her.
Sylvie Jordan
While working in the legal field, she was the person people asked for advice. Her home was where her son’s friends always gathered; they felt at ease talking to her.
Sylvie followed that people passion. In 2019 she earned a diploma in coaching from New York University’s School of Professional Studies. She’s continued her new career in Westport.
“My greatest satisfaction comes from human interaction,” she says.
“Some people think they need big rewards. I believe, and I try to help others see, that they don’t have to be grand. If the kitchen is your passion, you can get great rewards from baking a pie.”
Coaching is different from therapy, Sylvie notes. The latter is based on “diagnosis and treatment”; the former on “discovery and inquiry.” Her job is to help clients figure out “why they’re stuck in life. Sometimes they’re at Point A, and they just need to get unstuck to get to Point B.”
Human beings get stuck, she says, because we use only 5% of our working brain. The other 95% was hard-wired when we were young. It’s easy to fall back on familiar ways.
Through her Pathways Coaching, she helps people “create new pathways” — new ways of looking at situations.
“It’s not easy to make change,” she acknowledges. But through passion, empowerment, trust, integrity and courage, it can be done.
She takes on those challenges — and, challenging clients with questions, allows them to figure things out for themselves.
It takes about 6 sessions, Sylvie says, before there’s an “aha!” moment. The next step then is to create an action plan, to change routines and take chances moving forward.
“Little by little, they do it,” she says. “It’s beautiful to see.”
Working virtually, she has clients as far away as Brazil and Argentina. Her specialty is young adults — people trying for the first time in their lives to figure out their place in the world.
Sylvie remembers what it’s like to be that age, and not know what you want to do. The pandemic is heightened those feelings.
“Lots of kids have been isolated,” says the coach. “They deserve to do what they want, not what they think others think they should do.”
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The project grew from 1 site and 27 kids, to a network of 7 summer camps in 5 states serving more than 1,000 children, plus year-round programs. Because death and grief touch youngsters in all socioeconomic brackets, the entire week is free.
