Tag Archives: Alzheimer’s

Roundup: More Snow, Board Of Ed Conversation Postponed, Alzheimer’s Support Group Forms …

Posted on February 25, 2026 | 6 comments

After a professional development day, winter break, then 2 more blizzard snow days, Westport schools were finally back in session this morning.

It did not start out well.

A parent of a student reports, “Cars were driving 5 miles an hour on the way to school. Many were sliding all over the place. Scary!”

A Staples High School senior adds, “Wild school opening. 4 students in my first period class. Roads covered in snow. Couldn’t see the center line on the Post Road.”

The good news is: The sun will peek through this afternoon. The temperature will be about 40.

The bad news: Snow showers are predicted, Sunday through Tuesday.

Car and school bus navigate snow-covered roads very carefully this morning. (Photo/Dayle Brownstein)

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The Board of Education “Community Conversation” scheduled for noon today at the Westport Library has been postponed.

A new date will be announced soon.

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And 2 delays: The Senior Center will open at 10:30 a.m. today, 2 hours late.

The Westport Library opens at 11 a.m.

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Residents caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s or other dementia often feel alone.

There’s help available. The Residence at Westport and Westport Library are collaborating on a monthly support group, with professional facilitators.

It’s a chance to share stories with others who understand the challenges, in a safe and supportive environment.

Educational presentations may be provided, and participants will help choose discussion topics.

It meets the second Tuesday of every month (11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Westport Library). No RSVPs are necessary; it’s a drop-in group.

Questions? Email mledney@residencewestport.com.

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For the second time this winter, SCA Crowley lent a clean-up hand.

The property management firm and Penna Construction — both longtime Westport-based firms — lent vehicles and crews yesterday night. Together, they cleared some of the snow that remained on downtown streets and sidewalks.

It takes a village. Thanks, SCA and Penna, for helping make ours a little less treacherous!

(Photo/Andrew Colabella)

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Also downtown: S’mores — courtesy of Nômade — are a winter Holiday Stroll favorite.

But they made an appearance yesterday, on the Main Street sidewalk.

And you thought nothing good would come out of that blizzard …

Who wants s’mores? (Photo/Sal Liccione)

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Many Westport Country Playhouse Script in Hand play reading selections are contemporary works.

The next one is a classic — and an encore presentation.

“The Subject Was Roses” — winner of the 1965 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and a Tony Award for Best Play — comes to the storied stage on Monday (March 2, 7 p.m.).

It was produced at the Playhouse in 1966, then again in 1982.

“Roses” is set in May of 1946. As World War II draws to an end, a young soldier returns to the Bronx apartment where he was raised. Hoping his homecoming will repair his parents’ troubled marriage, he presses for small acts of reconciliation, only to expose years of resentment and emotional distance. As tensions rise, the family confronts the truth of their relationships and the life they share.

Tickets are $35. Click here to purchase, and for more information. 

Etai Benson stars in “The Subject Was Roses.”

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Cohl Katz loves her Smith Corona typewriter.

But it jammed up — and she has no idea who can fix it.

If you know a typewriter repair person — or can do it yourself — email cohlita@yahoo.com.

Who knows — she may write a nice thank-you note on it!

Kids: Do you know what this is?

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Dogs in a Pile — the 20-somethings band with “old souls and limitless chops,”  brings their psychedelic-tinged jazz/funk/rock to the Levitt Pavilion on July 17.

Touring is in their blood: They’ve averaged 130 shows a year since 2022.

Tickets go on sale Friday (February 27, 10 a.m.). Click here to purchase, and for more information.


Dogs in a Pile

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From Dogs in a Pile to a red-tailed hawk in a tree … here’s today’s “Westport … Naturally” feature photo:

  (Photo/Todd Ehrlich)

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And finally … on this date in 1873, 4 years before the invention of the phonograph, Enrico Caruso — the most popular operatic tenor of the early 20th century, and the first great recording star — was born. He died in 1921, at 48, from peritonitis.

(Where else but “06880” can you find Dogs in a Pile and Enrico Caruso in the same place? There’s lot more every day too, on your hyper-local blog. Please click here to support our work. Thanks!) 

6 Comments

Posted in Downtown, Education, Entertainment, Library, Weather, Westport Country Playhouse

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Special Service Offered For Churchgoers Affected By Alzheimer’s

Posted on March 9, 2016 | 2 comments

Every institution in town has members affected by Alzheimer’s and dementia.

At Saugatuck Congregational Church, folks noticed that long-time worshipers were not attending as often as they used to.

Church officials wondered why. They learned that withdrawing is very common in families with dementia. They learned too that very few faith communities are “dementia-friendly.”

To combat that withdrawal — and the accompanying feeling of abandonment — Saugatuck Church has created a special service.

“God in the Now: Community Worship to Support Individuals and Families Affected by Memory Loss” is set for Sunday, March 13 (3 p.m.). Non-church members are warmly invited to attend.

By focusing on familiar hymns and prayers deeply ingrained in churchgoers’ memories, the service will encourage maximum participation from all. More and shorter elements in the service will facilitate as much focus as possible. Of course, the sanctuary is wheelchair accessible.

Saugatuck Congregational Church will open its doors to all who suffer from Alzheimer's and dementia, and their families and friends.

Saugatuck Congregational Church will open its doors to all who suffer from Alzheimer’s and dementia, and their families and friends.

The service is organized with the help of church members who have experienced these issues in their own families. The Alzheimer’s Association, Senior Center and others with experience in care-giving are also involved.

After the worship, a reception in Hoskins Hall will include information and resources, provided by the Alzheimer’s Association.

This type of service is quite rare in the US. Church officials believe this is the first time such an event is offered in Westport.

In conjunction with the service, the Westport Senior Center will screen the film “Still Alice” this Thursday (March 10, 4:30 p.m.). The movie is about a linguistics professor and her family, as they cope with her early-onset Alzheimer’s.

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Posted in Entertainment, Organizations, religion

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Code Red

Posted on March 4, 2010 | 8 comments

Westporters had a variety of reactions to today’s noontime “CodeRED Reverse 911” phone calls from the Police Department, asking for help locating an 82-year-old Alzheimer’s patient.

Some people were worried, or curious.  Others were annoyed at the intrusion.

Linda Gramatky Smith was alert.  And then she was satisfied.

Here’s the longtime resident’s story:

I love the new emergency alert system that Westport started in the last six months, and today I got personally involved.  I’m helping plan our Staples 50th reunion for September, and the brother of a deceased classmate called unexpectedly from San Francisco.  We spoke for a long time, and I stood in the kitchen making my lunch.

As we talked about our neighborhood, I gazed outside.  Absentmindedly I watched an elderly gentleman trudge by on Roseville, going south towards the Post Road.  I think I noticed him because cars speed by on Roseville, and only the heartiest joggers brave the traffic.  This man wasn’t fragile, but he wasn’t jogging.

Soon after I hung up, the phone rang again.  It was a Code Red alert.  A man with Alzheimer’s, the police recording said, had been downtown, around Town Hall, and disappeared.

As I heard the description — 80s, salt and pepper hair, brown pants and jacket — I immediately thought of the man I’d seen walking by.  I picked up the phone to call the police.

I told the woman who answered that I was afraid the man might have walked too far away, but she said a cruiser would be sent immediately. Imagine my delight when another call came in 15 minutes later, telling town residents that the gentleman had been found!  He had walked on back roads from downtown — a long distance.

I’m not sure if I was the one who gave the info that the police needed to find this man, but it brought back memories of when my mom lived with us.  She had dementia for the last couple of years.  I feel so happy that our town has this wonderful system in place — and that today instead of having my eyes fixed on the computer screen upstairs, I was fortunate enough to look out as a man walked by our house.

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Posted in Police, Westport life

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