Because of the government shutdown, SNAP benefits (food stamps) will be halted or delayed to many local residents, starting today.
In response to this, Westport Rotary Club and Sunrise Rotary Club have organized an emergency food drive for today (Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.), at Stop & Shop.
Rotary volunteers, with help from the Westport Police Department, will be there to collect food for Homes with Hope’s Gillespie Center Food Pantry.
The most needed items are rice, pasta, pasta sauce, canned goods 9tuna, soup, vegetables, beans, fruit), cereal, oatmeal, peanut butter and jelly.
Food can also be dropped off at the Gillespie Center on Jesup Road (behind Barnes & Noble). Click here to donate directly to Homes with Hope.
Another way to help: Shop directly from Greens Farms Church’s Amazon Wish List (click here).
And don’t forget: Homes with Hope’s Community Kitchen is open daily for lunch (12 noon) and dinner (5 p.m.). It’s at the Gillespie Center on Jesup Road (behind Barnes & Noble).
A September food drive stocked Homes with Hopes’ food pantry. With SNAP benefits ended, more donations are needed. The pantry is open Monday, Tuesday and Friday from 1:30-4:30 p.m., and Thursday from 1:30 to 6 p.m.
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For a while, Westport has had 2 different registries for residents in crisis.
One was used by the Department of Human Services to check on seniors living alone with medical needs during storms and other emergencies. The second was managed by the Police Department, to help first responders understand the needs of people with disabilities during 911 calls.
Now they’ve merged. Human Services, and the Police and Fire Departments, have launched “Westport Ready.”
To register, click here. For help completing the form, or to request a mailed copy, call 203-341-1050 or email humansrv@westportct.gov.
NOTE:Westport READY is a support tool, not a rescue list. Households should still maintain their own emergency plans and supplies.
Residents should also enroll in NIXLE town alerts online, or text 06880 to 888777, CT Alert, and the Fire Department’s Community Connect program.
Westport now offers one streamlined service for seniors and people with disabilities during emergencies.
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Meanwhile, on a lighter — by which we mean, Halloween — note: There was one less house this year to trick or treat at, in the Compo Beach neighborhood.
16 Westport Avenue was recently torn down. The new home — documented in an intriguing Westport Project video series — is not yet finished.
But kids and parents passing by got a “treat” yesterday, thanks to builder Chris O’Dell and his crew:
Not far away in the Compo neighborhood, this house went all out:
(Photo/Louise Pepin)
You’ve heard of spooky Area 51?
Nevada’s got nothing on Westport.
We have Area 23 — on Juniper Road. Here’s how it looked last night, for trick-or-treaters who dared enter.
(Photo/Pam Long)
And across town, this creature on Sylvan Road North was handing out full-size candy bars. You didn’t even have to walk up the driveway.
Every car that passed by honked.
(Photo/Susan Garment)
Here’s one more eerily lit scene. This is Gorham Avenue:
(Photo/Jamie Walsh)
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Missed either (or both) League of Women Voters debates this past week?
Want to see one (or both) again, to confirm (or make) your ballot choices?
You’re in luck! They were recorded, and uploaded to the Westport Library YouTube channel.
Click here or below for the 1st Selectman and Planning & Zoning Commission debates.
Click here or below for the Board of Education debate.
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Speaking of the election:
Through the first 12 days of early voting, 12.46% of eligible Westport voters have cast ballots. That’s 1 out of every 8.
The breakdown:
- Democrats: 1,370 of 7,945 eligible voters (17.24%)
- Republicans: 378 of 3,332 eligible voters (11.34%)
- Unaffiliated: 609 of 7,588 eligible voters (8.03%)
Early voting continues this weekend, also at Town Hall:
Saturday, November 1 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Sunday, November 2 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The polls are open Tuesday (Election Day), from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., at the 9 RTM district locations.
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This is the final chance for tickets to tomorrow’s 3rd annual “Historic Homes of 06880” tour.
On Sunday, from 1 to 4 p.m., we’re partnering with our friends at KMS Team at Compass to offer an inside look at 4 historic houses.
They’re at 221 Greens Farms Road, 249 Greens Farms Road, 155 Long Lots Road, and 209 Wilton Road. Click here for details of each.
Tickets are $60 each, $100 for 2. Click here to purchase. Proceeds help fund “06880”‘s work — which, as always, chronicles Westport’s past, present and future.
249 Greens Farms Road — one of 4 historic homes on tomorrow’s “06880” tour.
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Tomorrow (Sunday, November 2, 5 p.m.), Chabad of Westport launches its Film Series.
They’ll show “Blind Spot”: the first documentary exposing campus antisemitism before and after October 7, 2023. After the screening, executive producer Leonard Gold will take part in a conversation about the film. Click here to register.
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Westport was the first community to form a sister city partnership with one in the Ukraine, shortly after the Russian invasion. In less than 4 years, our town has provided over $300,000 worth of food, clothing, wood pellet stoves, communications equipment, trash trucks and more, to our war-torn friends.
Ukrainian Aid International — the boots-on-the-ground non-profit founded by Westporters Brian and Marshall Mayer, which has delivered over $2.5 million in aid to the region — is hosting 2 events soon. Both highlight the sister cities program — and the new “Sister State” relationship between Connecticut and Donetsk, the front-line oblast.
UAI’s team and local leaders will over personal stories, and describe first-hand experiences of their partnerships.
The first is November 9, at 2 p.m. (Ferguson Library, Stamford). The second is November 10, at 4 p.m. (Fairfield Public Library; register here).
Solidarity, in Donetsk.
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The next Westport Country Playhouse Script in Hand play reading — “The Machine” — is Monday (November 3, 7 p.m.)
It’s a “smart, fast-moving thriller about a poet, an AI, and the tricky questions that arise when technology starts writing our art for us.” Click here for tickets, and more information.
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Club 203’s next event is “Giving Thanks Together.”
Westport’s social group for adults with disabilities gathers at the Senior Center on November 12 (6:30 to 8 p.m.) for turkey sandwiches and apple pie, laughter, bingo, and a celebration of friendship and connections.
MoCA\CT will be there as usual, with an art activity that’s a creative way to reflect on what everyone is thankful for this year.
As for “06880”: We’re thankful that Club203 offers a space for all Westporters to find those friends, and make those connections, that are so important in life.
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Growing season is hanging on.
So were these — the focus of today’s “Westport … Naturally” photo, from Wakeman Town Farm.
(Photo/Niki von Praag)
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And finally … Happy All Saints Day!
(Be a saint! Please click here to support “06880,” your 24/7/365 hyper-local blog. Thank you. PS: You’re an angel too.)
Love that Van Morrison tune. ❤️❤️ and the skeleton on the lift😅