=======================================================
Congratulations to Staples High School’s newest FCIAC champs: the boys indoor track team.
The Wreckers’ 98.5 team points gave them a comfortable edge over 2nd place Greenwich (80) yesterday, at Hillhouse High School.
Winners included Bruno Guiduli (600 meters), Jalen St. Fort (1000 m), Ben Lorenz (1600 m), Zach Taubman (3200 m), the 4 x 800 meter relay team (Alex Harrington, William Fitch, Noah Robison, Matthew Fleming) and the sprint medley relay team (David Sedrak, Charles Fitzpatrick, Jalen St. Fort, Rory Tarsy).
The Staples girls finished 4th overall, behind Fairfield Ludlowe, Greenwich and Danbury. The 4 x 200 meter relay team of Molly Liles, Talia Moskowitz, Samantha Dewitt and Francine Stevens placed first.
Click here for a brief summary. Click here for all results.
(Photo and hat tip/Barry Guiduli)
=======================================================
The Westport Police Department has seen an increase in “check washing.” That’s when someone erases details from a completed check, and rewrites them with a new payee and amount. It happens when checks that have been put in mailboxes are stolen. Once stolen, the suspect(s) alter the check by changing the payee as well as the amount and then cash or deposit it at a bank.
Checks have been stolen from both residential and USPS mailboxes in Westport. Police are investigating all cases. They recommend not placing checks in free-standing mailboxes. If a transation can’t be complete electronically, mail the check from inside the post office.
====================================================
Harvey Brooks has a great story to tell.
The bassist played on Bob Dylan’s classic 1965 album “Highway 61 Revisited.” Since then he’s played and recorded with everyone who’s anyone in the music world.
He first told his story 2 years ago in “View from the Bottom: 50 Years of Bass Playing with Bob Dylan, the Doors, Miles Davis, and Everybody Else.”
Now he really tells it. The audiobook version has just been released. And Brooks himself is the narrator.
He talks about being on stage at Monterey in 1967, and nearly everything else in his 5-decade career as a revered studio musician and producer for Columbia Records.
Including his many years in Westport, where he lived, played music, married and raised his stepdaughters.
Click here to order the audiobook (for free, with an Audible trial!) — and the hardcover, paperback and Kindle versions too.
===================================================
Speaking of music: 6 years ago, “06880” featured Becca Webster. The Staples High School freshman had just been named — drum roll, please! — the Under-18 Best Drummer in the World.
Time to hit it again. Becca is now a member of Kid Sistr, a Los Angeles-based all-women indie trio that plays their own instruments and writes their own songs. Another Kid Sistr: Sara Keden of Weston. You may have seen them on the cover of the current Westport Lifestyle magazine.
All 3 are the eldest children in sister-only families, which motivates their original music about their shared experiences. With humor and emotion, their songs describe ambition, heartbreak, femininity, sexuality and friendship.
They’ve opened for Willow Smith, and are managed by the same firm that represents Billie Eilish (who has her own “06880” connection).
New music will be out this spring, in conjunction with a tour. Their debut EP is available on all streaming platforms, and through their website. (Hat tip: Veri Krassner)
Kid Sistr. From left: Becca Webster, Sabel, Sara Keden
=======================================================
A Staples graduate “rocking” it in another field is Dr. Eric Edmund.
The 2010 grad earned a master’s in chemical physics at the University of Edinburgh, and Ph.D. in physics from Sorbonne Université. He is now a post-doc at Earth and Planets Laboratory, Carnegie Institute for Science in Washington.
A writeup describes an international team he led: “Experiments carried out at the conditions of deep planetary interiors show that the complex behavior of iron-silicon alloys result in novel mechanisms for core crystallization within planet Mercury. These experiments were performed at pressures of up to 1 million atmospheres, and temperatures of up to 3,500 degrees Celsius.
“The findings not only unveil new behavior within Mercury, but also provide new insight into the thermal structure and chemical composition of the Earth’s core.”
Dr. Eric Edmund
=======================================================
Former Westporter Christopher Eric Woods died January 30 in his new hometown of Waitsfield, Vermont. He suffered a cardiovascular event after a beautiful day of cross-country skiing. He was 62 years old.
Chris’ family says, “He lived an active lifestyle to the fullest. That day was no exception.”
The New Canaan native graduated from Hobart University, studied at the Sorbonne in Paris, and earned an MBA in finance from New York University.
Chris started his career in investment banking at AG Becker Warburg Paribas, later moving on to EF Hutton as vice president of international fixed income sales. He took an entrepreneurial path in 1993, which he continued the rest of his life.
Chris was an accomplished triathlete. He completed 23 Ironman distance triathlons, including the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii in 2004, and multiple USA Triathlon All-American competitions.
Chris was also known for his talents at the helm. He sailed across the globe in regattas and championships, including the 505 World Championships in Sydney, Australia and Big Boat Series in San Francisco. He regularly crewed on the Farr 50 yacht “Infinity.” He resurrected the frost-biting program at Cedar Point Yacht Club, and for many years headed the team racing program at the New York Yacht Club.
Chris spent the rest of his free time volunteering, youth coaching and tutoring. Most recently he volunteered at the Waitsfield local library, and led the Blazer backcountry skiing program at Sugarbush Mountain.
Chris is survived by his children North and Willow, and brothers John and Stephen. He was also an animal lover, most recently always accompanied by his springer spaniel and best friend, Jack.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Chris’ memory can be made to Joslin Memorial Library, PO Box: 359 Waitsfield, VT 05673.
Chris Woods
=======================================================
Winter weather continues, with snow, rain, sleet and ice predicted on and off through tonight.
Yesterday, Patricia McMahon captured some fog on the Saugatuck River, for our “Westport … Naturally” daily feature.
(Photo/Patricia McMahon)
=======================================================
And finally … intrigued by Kid Sistr (the band profiled above)? Click below!
