“06880” founder and executive editor Dan Woog writes:
I told the 50 or so Staples High School students who gathered in Town Hall on Monday morning that they would get a far better education about the real world that day than if they were sitting in class.
I did not know that 14 hours later, that lesson would be how heartless the world can be.
And how little some adults care about them, compared to their own desire for power.
Staples students — boys and girls soccer players, and many others — came early for Monday’s hearing.
Staples boys soccer coach Russell Oost-Lievense’s appeal to the Board of Education, to overturn superintendent of schools Thomas Scarice’s decision to not renew his contract, had all the makings of a TV drama.
There was procedural jousting between attorneys over the admissability of evidence; witness testimony and cross-examination that was at turns riveting and rambling; and a raw, emotional explanation by Oost-Lievense about why — after all he’s been through — he still wanted to lead Staples soccer.
Discussing his work as a special education teacher, his own journey through Westport schools with a learning disability, and his father’s death during his junior year, he described his love for the soccer program, and his desire to give back.
The dozens of athletes in the front rows, there to support him, sat riveted. They’d been sitting for 8 hours already. They’d heard back-and-forth about a verbal argument at a preseason retreat they’d attended.
And they’d heard a discussion about an investigation into it, during which not one of them had been questioned.
They watched as administrators sat smugly on their side of the stage, and Board members sat stone-faced, even during the most powerful testimony.
Staples principal Stafford Thomas, athletic director VJ Sarullo, and superintendent of schools Thomas Scarice.
“I think their minds are made up already,” one player said.
“No, they’re supposed to listen to everything, and be impartial,” a teammate countered.
As the night wore on, and the Board of Education retreated upstairs into executive session, the teenagers remained. They ate pizza. They chatted with Oost-Lievense and freshman coach Chris O’Dell.
They waited for word — after testimony, they and many others in the room believed, that showed Scarice’s decision to be “arbitrary and capricious” — that the coach who loved them, and who they loved back, would return to the program they and he adored.
At 11:15 the verdict came, with stunning finality. Five BOE members voted to uphold Scarice’s non-renewal recommendation. Only Robert Harrington voted against it.
At 11 p.m., dozens of Staples students waited for the Board of Education decision. Many left during the day for a class or two, or sports practice, then returned. All watched the proceedings closely. (Photos/Dan Woog)
The Staples players got a lesson in how the world works, for sure.
The world is not fair. It’s not always what they want. It can be arbitrary and capricious.
And so they — and Oost-Lievense’s many supporters, and other Westporters involved with all sports — wonder what’s next.
Why, for example, would any man or woman want to coach in a school district that does not support its coaches — that, in fact, casts them aside with little regard for their longtime contributions, personal reputations and heartfelt emotions?
Why would any coach not fear that an accusation of bad judgment could lead to non-renewal, without even a suggestion of working together to find a solution?
But why, on the other hand, would some coaches fear any discipline at all, knowing that in some programs, serious lapses of judgment lead to no sanctions whatsoever?
Why would any educator want to work in a district that seems so callous? Oost-Lievense testified that in Darien, where he is a special education teacher, supervisors cared deeply about how he was feeling, throughout his ordeal.
No one in Westport ever asked.
And why, in a district that so often pats itself on the back for its achievements in the classroom and beyond, is there such disregard for the very reason any school exists: the young people in it?
On Monday morning, I thought the many teenagers in the Town Hall auditorium would get a lesson in justice, fairness and compassion.
On Monday night, they got that lesson. They learned that some people care more about power than about those very human bedrock values.
Attention, youth sports parents: The “06880” panel on that very topical topic is tomorrow night (Wednesday, 7 p.m., Staples High School cafeteria).
We’ve partnered with Tommy Greenwald — the famed youth adult sports fiction writer, former Staples athlete (and father of 3 athletes) — to present “Fair Play and Foul Behavior: Issues Facing Youth Sports in Today’s World.”
We’ll talk about the achievement/pressure balance, referee abuse, sport specialization, cost, the “academy” syndrome, myths and realities of college recruiting, and more.
I’ll moderate the event, and include time for audience questions. Panelists are:
VJ Sarullo, Staples athletic director
Dave Smith, father of 4 athletes who writes frequently on youth sports topics
Caleb Smith, former Staples quarterback and lacrosse star, now playing football at the University of Connecticut
Heather Talbott, PAL girls lacrosse co-president and basketball organizer; former lacrosse player at Lehigh University
Mark Pressman, longtime football and softball official
Attention, youth sports parents: The “06880” panel on that very topical topic is tomorrow night (Wednesday, 7 p.m., Staples High School cafeteria).
We’ve partnered with Tommy Greenwald — the famed youth adult sports fiction writer, former Staples athlete (and father of 3 athletes) — to present “Fair Play and Foul Behavior: Issues Facing Youth Sports in Today’s World.”
We’ll talk about the achievement/pressure balance, referee abuse, sport specialization, cost, the “academy” syndrome, myths and realities of college recruiting, and more.
I’ll moderate the event, and include time for audience questions. Panelists are:
VJ Sarullo, Staples athletic director
Dave Smith, father of 4 athletes who writes frequently on youth sports topics
Caleb Smith, former Staples quarterback and lacrosse star, now playing football at the University of Connecticut
Heather Talbott, PAL girls lacrosse co-president and basketball organizer; former lacrosse player at Lehigh University
Mark Pressman, longtime football and softball official
Sunday marked the end of Mrs. London’s Westport run.
The popular bakery closed at 7 p.m. It will reopen soon under new ownership: Maman, the New York-based café and bakery chain.
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The Democratic Town Committee inadvertently omitted the name of one candidate, in a press release announcing its Nominating Committee selections for November’s elections.
Bre Injeski has been selected as one of 3 Planning & Zoning Commission nominees. She is a current P&Z alternate, and a municpal and administrative law attorney.
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One of the main tenets of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Westport and Weston is social justice.
Responding to recent developments on immigrants and their communities, the church’s Immigration and Refugee Committee is hosting an “Accompaniment & Volunteer Information Session.”
Attendees will learn how to support refugee and immigrant communities in Fairfield County.
It’s ladybug season … and the first-ever appearance of this insect in our “Westport … Naturally” feature.
(Photo/Cohl Katz)
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And finally … happy 75th birthday to Stevie Wonder!
We could have picked dozens of great songs. Here are just 3:
(It would be “wonder”-ful if every reader supported “06880.” Or just half! Or a quarter, even. Please click here to show some love for this hyper-local blog. Thank you!)
For 12 hours, 150 students and parents sat patiently in Town Hall. Staples High School boys soccer head coach Russell Oost-Lievense was appealing to the Board of Education the decision by superintendent of schools Thomas Scarice to not renew his contract.
At 11:15 p.m. — after 90 more minutes with the board cloistered in executive session — the BOE returned.
The 75 teens and adults still remaining sat in stunned silence, as the board voted 5-1 to affirm Scarice’s decision. Robert Harrington was the lone vote against. Kevin Christie recused himself, for reasons he did not explain.
Town Hall auditorium was filled, waiting for the hearing to begin.
The long day had featured extensive questioning of Scarice, principal Stafford Thomas, athletic direvctor VJ Sarullo, Oost-Lievense and freshman coach Chris O’Dell.
The major issues were a verbal argument — not physical, as erroneously reported — between a player and assistant coach Harry Ocampo at a preseason retreat, and Oost-Lievense’s alleged failure to report it to Sarullo; a subsequent conversation between the player and Ocampo in a golf cart near the players, and Oost-Lievense’s attendance at the post-season banquet.
From left: Staples principal Stafford Thomas, athletic director VJ Sarullo, superintendent of schools Thomas Scarice.
Much of the discussion involved policies, procedures, training — and the lack of them.
Other discussion involved the investigation conducted by Sarullo and Thomas. Despite repeated claims of a “thorough” investigation by school officials between October 25 and December 8, not one student at the retreat was interviewed.
The coach’s attorney, Beatrice Franklin, objected strenuously to the exclusion of testimony and emails by several coaches and others, which she said would point to the lack of clear guidelines on reporting, and other issues at hand.
The mediator — appointed by the board — overruled virtually all of Franklin’s objections. He also refused to allow testimony about actions by coaches in other sports that did not result in discipline, which she said would have shown that Scarice’s action was “arbitrary and capricious” (the threshold for the board to overturn the superintendent’s decision).
Mediator Fred Dorsey (4th from left), with Board of Education members Dorie Hordon, Neil Phillips, Lee Goldstein, Abby Tolan and Jill Dillon.
Sarullo was questioned about why his evaluation of Oost-Lievense changed from “gifted head coach taking the program to new heights” in 2023, to all negative in 2024.
He said it was because of a “negative environment” on the team. That drew surprised looks from the more than 2 dozen returning players at Town Hall supporting their coach, throughout the long day.
Under extensive questioning, principal Thomas repeated often that he could not recall many of the events surrounding the investigation, and related matters.
There was discussion too of a 2022 incident, when Oost-Lievense reacted angrily to bullying incidents on the freshman and junior varsity teams. The coach — a special education teacher at Darien High — emotionally described his reactions to reports of bullying of a special education student, citing his long work in special ed.
That 2022 incident led to a Department of Children and Family Services investigation. No evidence of wrongdoing was found, and Oost-Lievense said a DCFS official apologized to him.
The complaint about this fall’s incident at the retreat also was sent to DCFS. Within a day, they declined to investigate.
Scarice explained that Westport holds its employees to “a higher standard.”
From left: Board of Education member Robert Harrington, attorney Beatrice Franklin, coaches Russell Oost-Lievense and Chris O’Dell.
One of the most emotional moments of the long day came when Franklin asked Oost-Lievense why — after all he’s been through — he still wanted his job back.
“I can never give back what this soccer program, the players and families, have done for me, as a player and coach,” he said, his voice breaking. “This is my alma mater, and I love it more than anything.”
He recounted his experience as a player, when his father was dying, and the soccer team was his safe haven. Among his father’s last words to him: “Look after the ones who look to you.”
The audience rose, in a standing ovation.
During a break in the action, Russell Oost-Lievense (back row, 3rd from left) poses with current and returning Staples soccer players.
In closing statements, board attorney Thomas Mooney said, “this is not a popularity contest. The Board of Education has delegated decisions like this to the superintendent. You must apply that policy. There is no evidence that this was ‘arbitrary and capricious.'”
Franklin countered, “‘Arbitrary and capricious’ does not mean you rubber stamp the administration. Did they make their decision supported by evidence, and a thorough investigation?”
She cited many examples: the lack of an investigation, the pattern of not allowing evidence and witnesses, and more.
“How could Staples be better off without Russ?” she asked. “All I want for my kids is to have a coach like him.”
For 90 minutes — until 11:15 p.m. — Staples players waited for the Board of Education to exit executive session. (Photos/Dan Woog)
When — 90 minutes later — the board rendered their decision, the large crowd (including dozens of boys and girls soccer players, and alumni) who had stayed for 14 hours were stunned.
They wondered how a supposedly neutral “mediator” had ruled against Oost-Lievense dozens of times, before and during the hearing.
They asked how he could have excluded wide swaths of evidence, directly relevant to coaching, training, procedures, and discipline.
They were puzzled that the “arbitrary and capricious” discussion did not include information about the lack of disciplinary action against coaches in other sports, for sometimes more egregious offenses.
“It seemed pretty clear the board had no interest in doing actual justice,” one said. “Russell could have shown a murder weapon and a body. They still would have ruled against him.”
But the Connecticut Department of Transportation is rousing itself, for another stab at the William F. Cribari Bridge.
Rehabilitation or replacement has been discussed — fitfully — for well over those 6 years. May 8, 2019 marked the last meeting of the “Project Advisory Committee,” established “to assist CTDOT in its decision-making process.”
“We recognize it has been some time, and since then, there have been significant developments both within the community and concerning the project itself. CTDOT is now scheduling a new PAC meeting to provide updates and discuss the project’s progress,” wrote project manager James Barrow II, in an email to a select group.
It includes the 1st Selectwoman; chair of the Planning & Zoning Commission; fire, police and public works officials, some Representative Town Meeting members, and nearby residents.
The meeting — which appears to be open only to those invitees — is this Thursday (May 15, 4 to 6 p.m., Town Hall auditorium).
CTDOT officials have said they will hold a public meeting in the future.
The Democratic Town Committee’s Nominating Committee has recommended 10 candidates to run in November’s election.
If approved July 15 by the full DTC — along with Board of Selectperson candidates Kevin Christie and Amy Wistreich — they’ll be on the municipal election ballot.
The Nominating Committee has chosen:
Board of Education:Lauren Karpf, RTM Deputy Moderator and Education Committee chair; Abby Tolan, current BOE member and former PTA Special Education co-chair.
Board of Finance:Allyson Stollenwerck, current BOF member and international nonprofit executive; Elaine Whitney, former BOE chair and healthcare management executive.
Planning & Zoning Commission; Michael Cammeyer, current P&Z secretary and mergers and acquisitions consulting executive; Neil Cohn, current P&Z vice chair and sustainable finance and digital technologies executive.
Board of Assessment Appeals:Ifeseyi Gayle, current BAA member and DTC volunteer; Lynette Pineda, current BAA member and commercial real estate executive.
Zoning Board of Appeals: Sheri Gordon, Former BOF chair and current ZBA alternate. Joe Scordato, current ZBA member and legal and compliance executive.
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On Saturday, Hannah Schneewind posted this photo on Facebook:
She wrote: “Does anyone know if there is a trend or dare involving whipped cream cans? Every day, I see them when I go for a walk. I have seen them in a variety of locations. Any ideas?”
There were plenty.
The nitrous oxide in the canisters is being inhaled. Called “whippets,” it produces a short high. But it can also cause oxygen deprivation, leading to fainting, brain damage, even death.
A Staples High School graduate died several years ago, from inhalation.
Diane Lowman — who alerted “06880” to the post — notes that finding cans on the roadside means teenagers and young adults are probably doing whippets while they or their friends are driving.
FoundHer is a Westport-based, female-focused recruiting company. They specialize in women re-entering the workforce after a brief career break, and commuters looking for a local or flexible position.
Tomorrow (Tuesday, May 13, 6:30 to 8:30 a.m.), you can find FoundHer at Steam Coffee Bar, on Railroad Place by the train station.
You’ll also find, to your delight, that your first cup of coffee or tea is on them.
“Arrive for your train a little early and chat about the current job market,” FoundHer says.==================================================
he RTM Environment and Health & Human Services Committees meet jointly tomorrow (Tuesday, May 13, 7 p.m., Town Hall Room 201).
There is one agenda item: “discussion about artificial turf ordinance.”
There are 4 artificial turf fields in Westport: Paul Lane (above) and Jinny Parker Fields at Staples, Wakeman adjacent to Bedford Middle School, and PJ Romano behind Saugatuck Elementary School.
Plenty of Westporters celebrated Mothers Day yesterday with a trip to Compo Beach.
The weather was mid-May nice. Time to take off all those layers!
(Photo/William Weiss)
When the crowds were gone, what remained was a scene we’ll see repeated often, over the next few months:
(Photo/Copyright DinkinESH Fotografix)
Of course, not everyone left.
These scenes too will be familiar — as they have been for years — in the months ahead:
(Photo/Sunil Hirani)
(Photo/Copyright DinkinESH Fotografix)
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Staples High School junior Jade Reejhsinghani has had a life-threatening peanut allergy since she was 2.
In elementary school she felt isolated at the nut-free table. In 7th grade she was diagnosed with allergies to eggs, dairy and soy.
Eating at a restaurant with friends puts her in danger of anaphylaxis. People have told her, “just eat at home.”
Classmate Claire Harris is also allergic to peanuts. In 2020 she started oral immunotherapy. That’s changed her life for the better.
The two girls run a Staples club called Food Allergy Education. May is Food Allergy Awareness Month. They help students — especially younger ones — feel empowered living with their food allergies.
On June 1 (9 a.m. to noon Staples High School track), they’re joining with the non-profit FARE (Food Allergy Research & Education) to sponsor a walk. The goal is to raise both awareness and funds.
Frank Sinatra is coming to the Westport Country Playhouse.
Also Carrie Bradshaw.
Okay, one is dead. The other was never alive.
But both are “starring” on the historic stage.
On June 27 (8 p.m.), Cary Hoffman turns his “My Sinatra” PBS special into a one-man musical play.
It’s a hilarious, poignant show about his love for Ol’ Blue Eyes, and the perils of wanting to be someone else. Learn more and order tickets here.
On July 9 (8 p.m.), Candace Bushnell — creator of “Sex and the City” — takes the Playhouse audience on a tour of New York, from Studio 54 to the Lipstick Jungle. “Meet the real Carrie Bradshow!” the WCP says.
One more attraction: on July 20 (7 p.m.), Grammy Award-winning bluegreass/ Americana band Steep Canyon Rangers bring their mountain music to the Playhouse. Here’s more info on the show, and tickets.
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My Lucky Penny — a children’s clothing story at 8 Church Street South, just behind Little Barn — has its grand opening May 31 (noon to 5 p.m.).
Penny is owner Rhoda Schwartz’s daughter. Born with a brain deformity, she had 4 surgeries. Today she is a gifted artist, who also sews all types of clothing.
Rhoda Schwartz’s daughter, in My Lucky Penny.
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Congratulations to Staples grads Emma Ashe (Class of 2022) and Kate Smith (’23).
Both play on the Boston College women’s club lacrosse team — and yesterday, they won the Women’s College Lacrosse Association Division I national championship, in Wichita, Kansas. Here is the full report.
Emma is the team’s vice president. Kate will be captain next year, as the team goes for a two-fer.
Emma Ashe and Kate Smith: national champs!
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Speaking of former Staples athletes: George Robbins’ Raleigh Bombers team just won the Over-50 Triangle Adult Soccer League championship.
George — a 1990 SHS grad, and former soccer captain — plays central midfield.
And he could probably play pretty well with today’s much-younger-than-50 crowd too.
George Robbins
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Another season of live music on Church Lane begins May 22.
Featured artists are Staples senior Vivian Shamie and her sophomore sister Willa. They sing contemporary pop, and covers. (Hat tip: Andrew Colabella)
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What would we do without the month of May?!
Today’s “Westport … Naturally” super-spring foliage shot comes from Ellen Wentworth, on Highland Road:
And finally … Yogi Berra was born 100 years ago today. The Hall of Fame catcher and homespun philosopher may not have said everything he said he said, but who cares? Happy birthday, Yogi!
(Yogi once said, “The future ain’t what it used to be.” We say, “The future ain’t the future if you don’t support ‘06880.’” Yogi joins us in saying, “Please click here to help!”)
Published more than 70 years ago, “The Diary of Anne Frank” teaches crucial lessons about hatred, authoritarianism, perseverance, the human spirit and hope.
A subsequent theatrical production brought the Dutch teenager’s story to the stage, dramatizing visually for audiences the horrors and toll that two years of hiding takes on a family.
In that sense, “The Diary of Anne Frank” is timeless.
But theater is never static. When Staples Players presents their production later this month, it will look different from the one they staged 19 years ago.
David Roth and Kerry Long directed that version too. This one is shorter — 80 minutes — and includes new text, in an adaptation by the playwright.
Sara Stanley, as Anne Frank, writes in her diary. (Photo/Kerry Long)
It is at least as relevant now as it was 2 decades ago, the directors say. And not just because so many Holocaust survivors have died since then.
“With the rise of hatred around the world, this is a good time to tell the story of what happens when it goes unchecked,” Long says.
“The Franks were an educated, well-to-do family. And if this could happen to them …”
“This is not a play about evil, though,” Roth notes. “It’s about surviving in the face of evil. We’ve emphasized with the actors that this is a story of resilience, of people coming together in adversity. There is something in these characters that everyone can relate to.”
“Anne Frank” actors, in the annex. (Photo/Kerry Long)
Despite being one of the most powerful stories in modern history, many students today are only vaguely familiar with Anne Frank, Roth says.
Eighth graders in Westport study the Holocaust. They read “Night,” by Elie Wiesel. But not Frank’s diary.
(Thanks to a collaboration between Players and Bedford and Coleytown Middle School, all 8th graders will attend special in-school performances of the show.)
Roth and Long’s actors have been surprised to find that a teenager not so different from them could live in an attic for more than two years.
And do more than just survive. Anne Frank also fell in love.
As part of their preparation, the directors took the cast to an Anne Frank exhibit at New York’s Center for Jewish History. It includes a full-scale replica of the annex.
“It was so powerful for the kids to walk through,” Long says. “They got a much better understanding of Holland during the war, and what the Franks went through.
“A lot of them bought the exhibit book. One of them said it was the best museum they’d ever been to.”
Staples Players, at the Center for Jewish History. David Roth and Kerry Long are standing, 3rd and 4th from left.
Though being quarantined for long periods of time with their family during COVID was nowhere near the scale of horror the Franks endured, the young actors do bring that perspective to their characters.
But they also realize that the show will have special resonance for older audience members.
Players’ previous performance of “Anne Frank,” in 2006, drew more people with direct knowledge of the Holocaust — as survivors, or their relatives — than this one will.
However, at least one survivor will see this show. Now 89 years old, they’ll do a talkback after the May 22 perfromance.
When he published his daughter’s diary, Anne Frank’s father Otto said he wanted her story to be read by as many people as possible all over the world.
Anne Frank’s dream was to be a famous writer. In death, she is.
Roth, Long, and the talented teenagers of Staples Players, are keeping her dream, and her father’s wishes, alive and strong.
Last week’s Photo Challenge showed a familiar scene.
But it was also very challenging.
Jerry Kuyper’s image of the edge of a gray building, with a lower one next to it, reminded many readers of the Post Road East/Imperial Avenue corner, dominated by Harding Funeral Home (ground floor) and the Masonic temple (above). (You can see it here.)
I would have said that too. But I’d be as wrong as most readers.
Jerry took the shot from the second floor of Clarendon Fine Art. It shows the Pottery Barn building across Main Street, and next to it West Elm (whose arched windows are the giveaway).
Andrew Colabella, Lynn Untermeyer Miller, Morley Boyd and Matt McGrath are the 4 readers who did not take the funeral home/Masons bait. Well done!
Meanwhile, “who” knows where this week’s Photo Challenge is?
If you know where in Westport you’d spot this owl, click “Comments” below.
Click here to help support “06880” via credit card or PayPal. Any amount is welcome, appreciated — and tax-deductible! Reader contributions keep this blog going. (Alternate methods: Please send a check to “06880”: PO Box 744, Westport, CT 06881. Or use Venmo: @blog06880. Or Zelle: dwoog@optonline.net. Thanks!)
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