Next year, Westport will receive $8.4 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding. The money is part of a $2.2 trillion CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security) economic stimulus package.
Earlier this month, “06880” reported one possible use. The Greens Farms Association hopes the town can repair the crumbling jetty at Burying Hill Beach.
On January 5 (7:30 p.m., Zoom), the Board of Finance will review a $1.3 million request from the Department of Public Works for that project.
They’ll also discuss an application for $200,643 in funds from the Westport Arts Advisory Council. It includes 12 organizations that could use some of that money:
Artists Collective of Westport: $20,000 to beautify new bus shelters with changing local artist work; full-color, large-scaled prints of adjudicated works to rotate every 2 months.
Beechwood Arts: $20,000 for 4 all-arts collaborative events, including community scavenger hunts, art opening, story share and facilitated dinner discussion.
JIB Productions: $20,000 for 2 projects: 1) Play Time (professionally moderated structred play reading/discussion group, 6 sessions at the Senior Center); 2) Partnership with Westport Library, Bridgeport schools and Westport schools to screen (with director talk-back) “Change the Name,” a documentary abouyt a group of middle school students who successfully changed the name of a Chicago park from slaveholder to abolitionist.
Levitt Pavilion: $20,000 to underwrite 4 free presentations for 2022 summer season, including folk, jazz, rock and big band concerts.
MoCA: $20,000 for weekly art enrichment workshops for underserved community groups such as STAR, Silver Hill Hospital, Veterans groups/Homes for the Brave, Bridgeport Boys & Girls Club, etc.
Suzuki School of Music: $20,000 for a community concert series in-person and streamed from the Westport Library; Connecticut Guitar Festival, Concerto and Aria Concert, Piano Concerto Concert and Family Pillow Concerts.
Westport Country Playhouse: $20,000 for a pilot program mobile tour of elementary school plays, touring Westport and Fairfield County; partnering with TEAM Westport, ConnectUs, the Boys & Girls Club of Connecticut/Southport, Westport Library and Norwalk Housing Authority.
Westport Museum of History & Culture: $20,000 for a graphic novel to explore the American Revolution from 6 perspectives: women, Indigenous people, enslaved and free Americans, loyalists, patriots, and local authors/illustrators.
WestPAC: $20,000 for art storage: professional fees ($125 an hour/160 hours) to perform a feasibility study to to adapt town-owned facilities for the Collection’s storage needs.
Community Band: $12,500 to commission a piece to commemorate the COVIDI experience, to be played at the Levitt Pavilion.
Music for Youth $6,518 for the Arkai gender-bending string duo 2-day residency and pormances a Westport middle schools and Staples High; master classes for orchestra students, performances for full schools.
Westport School of Music: $3,625 for a faculty chamber concert for The Residence at Westport assisted-living facility.
The Board of Finance meeting on January 5 will be streamed on www.WestportCT.gov, and shown on Optimum Channel 79 and Frontier Channel 6020. Emails can be sent to BOF@westportct.gov. Comments to be read during public comment period may be emailed to BOFcomments@westportct.gov.
Fire Chief Robert Yost has announced his retirement. It is effective January 1.
His replacement is a familiar face: Deputy Chief Michael Kronick. He will assume Yost’s other role too, as the town’s Emergency Management Director.
First Selectwoman Jen Tooker says, “The town and its residents have been very fortunate to be the beneficiaries of Rob’s expertise and dedication throughout his 34 years. As Fire Chief, Rob has assured that our firefighters are appropriately recruited, trained, and equipped to serve in their roles of preventing and fighting fires and providing rescue services.
“As the Emergency Management Director, Rob has been on the front lines in protecting all our residents. On Rob’s watch, Westport has weathered some particularly devastating storms and tense situations. In addition, his attention to FEMA reimbursement regulations and opportunities has enabled many Westporters to receive federal financial assistance in repairing/replacing their storm damaged properties.
“On behalf of the residents of Westport, his fellow employees, and his firefighting colleagues, I am grateful for Rob’s longstanding, exemplary and dedicated service. I wish him all the best in his retirement.”
Chief Robert Yost delivers a briefing in September. He served for 2 weeks in a support role, during wildfires in Minnesota..
Chief Yost notes, “It has been an honor to serve the town of Westport for the last 34 years, and a privilege to work with the finest Firefighters and coworkers in the State. I look forward to enjoying a new chapter in my life and I will always hold the Westport Fire Department near and dear to my heart.”
Tooker adds, “I am very confident that the command of the Westport Fire Department will remain in capable hands. Mike Kronick has the proven ability and expertise to seamlessly and effectively take over the role as chief. Like Chief Yost, Mike has a breadth of knowledge, skill and understanding that will ensure that the current high standards of safety and efficiency will be maintained in the Westport Fire Department.”
Yost began his career in the fire service in 1986 as a part-time firefighter in Mansfield, while attending the University of Connecticut. After briefly working for Xerox, he took a full-time position in Mansfield. He joined the Westport department in 1988.
He was the department’s first Emergency Medical Service instructor, then became a paramedic in 1995. In 2006, Yost was promoted to lieutenant. He was also Fire Department leader of the joint Fire and Police Dive Rescue Team.
In 2009 he was promoted to assistant chief. He was named fire chief and emergency management director in February 2017.
Yost’s father served as fire chief in Norwalk for 2 decades. A photo of Yost’s grandfather, also a firefighter, sitting atop a Norwalk fire truck adorns his desk.
During his career with Westport Fire Department he has obtained 3 Edmund Duffy Unit Citations, a John Gallagher Award for an Unusual Act of Valor, and a Certificate of Exemplary Police Action. He is a member of the National Ski Patrol, Connecticut Interstate Wildfire Crew, and Connecticut West Incident Management Team. His other interests include skiing, bicycle riding, scuba diving, windsurfing and kiteboarding. He lives in Milford with his wife Tina.
Kronick — Westport’s new fire chief — joined the Westport Fire Department in 1998. He was promoted to lieutenant in 2009, and deputy chief in 2017. During his career in Westport he has earned the Edmund Duffy Unit Citation, and the Chief Shippey and Argenio awards for service to the department.
Westport’s new fire chief, Michael Kronick.
Kronick serves on the Connecticut Incident Management Team. He was instrumental in forming the Fairfield County Strike Team and Task Force system. He is a member of the Connecticut Interstate Fire Crew, and been on several national wildfire deployments out West.
Kronick graduated from Fairfield High School in 1991. He has a bachelor of science degree from the University of Connecticut, and a masters in fire science from the University of New Haven.
He lives in Stratford with his fiancée Beth and his two young son, Sullivan (2 years old) and Anderson (3 weeks old).
(Earlier this month, Chief Yost was my guest on “06880: The Podcast.” Click below for that interview.)
The latest casualties of COVID: the Senior Center and Toquet Hall.
Both places — gathering spots for older Westporters and teenagers, respectively — have suspended all indoor and in-person programming.
The town Department of Human Services says that some Senior Center classes and programs will be offered on Zoom.
The Senior Center lunch program will operate as a drive-thru at noon, Monays through Fridays. To participate, call 203-341-5099 at least 24 hours in advance.
Rod Serling moved from Westport to California in the late 1950s. He died — at just 50 years old — in 1975.
But the screenwriter extraordinaire still lives. Continuing a long tradition, the SyFy network airs a “Twilight Zone” New Year’s marathon. It starts at 2 a.m. tomorrow (Friday, December 31) and runs through 5 a.m. Sunday, January 2.
There’s a new episode every half hour or so. Click here for the schedule.
Looking for “A Stop at Willoughby” — the famous show in which the conductor of a train calls out “Next stop: Westport Saugatuck!” (and which Serling called his favorite of the entire first year)?
Local to Market — Main Street’s great new spot for food, crafts and much more — is hiring.
If you’re fond of fine local stuff, have a passion for small business, and are interested in joining a fun team for 10-20 hours a week, email jon@localtomarket.com.
Our “Westport … Naturally” feature focuses on natural features (naturally).
Sometimes though, the natural world needs a slight man-made touch. David Lowrie created this scene, using (naturally) all natural tree stumps, at his property off North Bulkley.
And finally … today is the birthday of a ton of important musicians: Bo Diddley, Skeeter Davis, Del Shannon, John Hartford, Paul Stookey, Felix Pappalardi, two Monkees (Michael Nesmith and Davy Jones), Patti Smith and Jeff Lynne.
It’s hard to pick just one to showcase. But in the spirit of optimism — at the end of a tough year, and the dawn of a new one — I’ll go with this:
Governor Lamont’s office has notified Westport that due to a shipping problem, the state’s allotment of 500,000 home COVID test kits have not yet been received.
The distribution planned for today at Staples High School has been postponed.
Once the test kits arrive, a new distribution date will be set.
The news that Dunkin’ Donuts is moving across the Post Road — from its spot near the UPS Store, to 2 vacant storefronts in Compo Shopping Center — was greeted not with joy, for its expanded space.
Instead, “06880” commenters expressed chagrin that the already chaotic parking lot opposite Trader Joe’s will become — unbelievably — even more gruesome.
In a town with too many candidates for Worst Traffic Nightmare, the twin lots near downtown win in a walkaway. As bad as the rest of Westport is, nothing comes close to these mis-aligned, cramped lots filled with aggressive, heedless drivers laser-focused on getting their pizza, dry cleaning or hemorrhoid cream, then getting the hell out.
Now we add coffee into the mix.
Arrow? What arrow?!
I don’t recall Compo Shopping Center always being so bad. Even with a McClellan’s five-and-dime, barber shop and luncheonette — remember “luncheonettes”?! — plus a supermarket where Awesome Toys is now, traffic flowed smoothly.
I might be misremembering, but it seemed that the traffic in front of the left side of the plaza was always one-way, headed south. You couldn’t come from behind the stores and head left through the lot. You couldn’t even back out and aim for the light at the middle; you had to keep going toward North Compo.
Now anything goes. Parking spaces are narrower than ever. Drivers are more distracted. CVS is always packed. And that’s just for starters.
Note the two — two! — cars entering the CVS lot the wrong way.
So here is today’s “06880” challenge. It’s probably a fool’s errand, but let’s say you had a chance to redesign Compo Shopping Center. What would you do?
You can reimagine the entire, horrific property: The tiny traffic island at the middle entrance that many folks ignore. The entrance itself, a few maddening yards away from its counterpart at Trader Joe’s. The cut-through to the back lot. The one-way hill leading to the Humane Society (which is moving soon, to Wilton). The rear lot. The traffic flow. The stores themselves.
You name it — it’s all on the table.
One way to solve the problem of narrow parking spaces.
This is a great country. We just launched a space telescope 100 times more powerful than its already impressive predecessor. We developed, manufactured and distributed a vaccine to combat COVID all in 13 months, even if some people are too batshit stupid to take it. We can do whatever we put our minds to.
Even fix Compo Shopping Center.*
Click “Comments” below to provide your solution. The winner gets a free coffee at Dunkin’.
There’s lots of room in the underutilized back lot — though people park poorly there too.
*We’ll leave Compo Acres — the Trader Joe’s lot — for another time.
This Unsung Hero award should have been bestowed last summer.
But I just heard about it. So here, in late December, let’s honor Leanna Mitev and Genevieve Czarnecki.
Genevieve Czarnecki and Leanna Mitev.
Ages 10 and 11 respectively, they had an idea: make bracelets and necklaces, then sell them to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Hospital.
They followed through — not easy for young kids — and sent off a check for $500.
What a great combination of creativity, entrepreneurship and charity. And even though it took place in mid-summer, there’s no better story to head into the new year!
Bracelets for sale.
(Do you know an Unsung Hero? Email dwoog@optonline.net)
The State of Connecticut has procured 500,000 at-home COVID test kits; each contains 2 tests. Westport’s allotment 3,420 kits.
The kits will be distributed to Westport residents tomorrow (Thursday, December 30) at Staples High School, beginning at 1 p.m.
Each vehicle will receive 2 kits, on a first-come, first-served basis. A driver’s license will be required to receive the test kits.
As early as next week, the state will also distribute N95 masks. Details are still being finalized.
Connecticut Public Health Commissioner Dr. Manisha Juthani says:
I strongly encourage people to limit gathering sizes during this holiday week. Because of the scarcity of these kits, I ask residents to please take only the kits that you need for your immediate family so that we can distribute as many as possible to help flatten the Omicron curve.
Residents testing positive via the home test should stay home or isolate for 5 days if asymptomatic, followed by 5 days of wearing a mask when around others. There is no need to obtain a follow up PCR test.
Given the highly infectious nature of the Omicron variant, it is vital to wear a mask both in public, and when interacting in close contact with individuals outside of your household. For the latest CDC guidelines, please click here.
Westport Public Schools families should report positive COVID cases of students using the district’s reporting voicemail or email (click here for details). It is not necessary to report positive results from at-home testing to the Westport Weston Health District. (Hat tip: Ernie Lorimer)
Then put your tree by your mailbox by 6:30 a.m. on January 8. Tape an envelope with a donation (suggested: $20 per tree) to your front door (cash or check, payable to “Boy Scout Troop 39”).
They’ll do the rest. Scout’s honor! (Hat tip: Jenny Rago McCarthy)
This has been a tough year for many. It’s been especially difficult for the Colletti family.
Chuck and Roe Colletti have been active with Westport organizations, events and charities since 1974. Their daughter Cassie is married to Sean Mecsery. They have 2 children, 6 and 2 years old. For the past 2 years Sean has battled stage 4 brain cancer for 2 years.
They’ve shuttled between hospitals on both coasts for surgeries, chemotherapy radiation and trial medications. It’s been brutal.
Cassie has been strong, focused and committed throughout the ordeal. Meanwhile, she’s managed Sean’s family’s business — Cos Cob TV & Audio — to help keep the family afloat. COVID has made that especially hard.
Many daily medications and infusions are not covered by insurance. A GoFundMe page has been set up, to help. To donate, click here.
Sean and Cassie Colletti Mecsery, with their kids.
The “06880” tagline is “Where Westport meets the world.”
It doesn’t get more global than this.
Bert Spenkelink lives in Amsterdam. He loves the Rolling Stones. He has 25,000 photos of them in his library, and posts about them often on Instagram.
He just uploaded this one:
The photographer — uncredited — took this shot of Keith and his daughter Theodora the other day, at Sherwood Island State Park.
Avid “06880” reader (and Stones fan) Fred Cantor sent it along to me. He got it from our former Staples High School classmate Alan Bravin, who now lives in California.
So, to be clear: A fan in the Netherlands found this photo of Weston’s most famous resident, celebrating the holidays in Westport — and it came to me, a couple of miles from where it was taken, by someone on the West Coast.
Happy holidays, Bert, Fred, Alan, Keith and Theodora!
The Bedford Square store — which branched out from (great) honey products to become both an educational center and gathering place for ecologically minded Westporters — was shut by the owners of the largely Southern chain.
There’s a big hole in the heart of Church Lane today. No word yet on what will fill that very sweet spot.
Meanwhile, just a few feet away, Franny’s Farmacy closes Friday (December 31). Click here for details, reported earlier this month on “06880.”
Fourth-generation Westporter Jonathan Maddock died December 19, after fighting a courageous battle against ALS. He kept his positive attitude and wonderful sense of humor until the end. He was 66 years old.
Jon grew up here surrounded by the love and friendship of his grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, sisters and parents Larry and Fran Maddock, who he believed were the best parents anyone could have.
Jon loved the outdoors, and enthusiastically embraced life. He bicycled more than 5,000 miles from Westport to California and back, alone. He served as commodore of the Sandy Hook (New Jersey) Catamaran Club, sailing and racing catamarans.
He skied, mountain biked, ran long distances, ice skated, and enjoyed trout and fly fishing. He was an avid photographer of nature, as well as silly things. Jon was a skilled woodworker, building furniture and special wooden boxes as Christmas gifts. He loved listening to music, played trombone (which he laughingly balanced on his nose), and long ago enjoyed being part of the Fred Robinson Big Band.
Jon graduated from Staples in 1973, then from the University of Maine in 1977. After following a variety of career paths he and his family settled in Wolfeboro. New Hampshire, where he was employed as senior designer at Lars Heating Systems. He worked there for 20 years, and made good friends who supported him through his ALS journey.
Jon is survived by his wife Karen; daughter Kelsey; loving sisters Becky (Ray) Racine, Judy Anderson and Sandy Hasket, and many nieces an nephews and good friends. He was predeceased by his parents.
Until the end Jon was was loving, kind, understanding, compassionate, smart, funny and brave. To help carry on Jon’s fight to stop ALS, click here.
After a hiatus of 2 years, one of the nation’s most important piano competitions is back.
And — though it’s flown under the radar since it began — it’s back in its hometown: Westport.
The Heida Hermanns Piano Competition returns from January 13 to 15,, at MoCA Westport. It originated with the Connecticut Alliance for Music. For many years it was sponsored by the MoCA’s predecessor — the Westport Arts Center — and held at Town Hall.
The event brings 4 of the world’s top pianists to Westport. Finalists were selected through an extensive international application process, including video submissions.
Though global in scope, the event has a true local flavor. Staples High School 1983 graduate Alexander Platt — whose career as conductor, music director and curator in symphony, chamber music and opera have taken him around the world — will serve as artistic director for the competition.
Alexander Platt conducts the Minnesota Philharmonic.
This year’s finalists include Americans Katharine Benson, Nathan Cheung and Aaron Kurz, and Russian Artem Kuznetsov. They’ll play on MoCA’s vintage Hamburg “D” grand piano, newly restored by the technician who took care of it at Carnegie Hall.
The winner earns $10,000. The other finalists receive $2,500 each.
Judges includes noted pianist Sahun Hong, Zhenni Li, and 2019 Heida Hermanns winner Priscila Navarro.
The 2022 Heida Hermanns International Piano Competition spotlights the neglected music for solo piano of African American composer Nathaniel Dett. He is regarded as a trailblazing Black composer of classical music.
In addition to the finalists’ performances, the 3-day event includes master classes at the Westport Library, and performances by the jury.
Tickets are available for individual events or a 3-day package. Click here for more information, and to purchase.
Heida Hermanns
Heida Hermanns was born in Germany in 1906. She debuted on the piano with the Berlin Philharmonic at age 18, and toured Europe through the 1920s and ’30s.
She immigrated to the US in 1936, and made her Town Hall debut in 1942. In the late 1940s she moved to Westport and helped start the Friends of Music, to present chamber concerts.
She also founded Performers of Connecticut, which later became the Connecticut Alliance for Music. Click here for much more on Heida Hermanns.
PS: There’s one more Westport connection. One of the previous winners — Frederic Chiu — now lives here. For the past 10 years, he and his wife Jeanine Esposito have sponsored and led Beechwood Arts’ Immersive Innovation series.
Frederic Chiu: former Heida Hermanns winner. (Photo/Dan Woog)
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He was the department’s first Emergency Medical Service instructor, then became a paramedic in 1995. In 2006, Yost was promoted to lieutenant. He was also Fire Department leader of the joint Fire and Police Dive Rescue Team.
