At 7:30 p.m. tonight, Westport’s new Select Board will be sworn in.
A couple of hours before, and from 2 floors above the Town Hall auditorium, 1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker offered these final thoughts:
As many of you know, the guiding principle of my administration has been to ensure that Westport is the best place to live, work, play, and learn in the region—a community where everyone is welcome and truly feels that they belong. That vision was our North Star, shaping every decision and serving as the measure of our accomplishments. I could not be prouder of all that we achieved together.
Over the past 4 years, we made remarkable progress on the 5 priorities I outlined when Andrea Moore and I took office—along with so many other important initiatives. As a community, we stood by one another in times of sorrow and celebrated together in moments of joy. We engaged in causes that make both our town and our world a better place, and we spoke up, respectfully challenging each other whenever we saw opportunities for growth.
Andrea and I made history as Westport’s first all-female 1st and 2nd selectwomen team—and, together with Candice Savin, as the first all-female Board of Selectwomen. We led with compassion, integrity, professionalism, and heart. And today, I am proud to share that Westport is in the strongest financial position in its history and our future is very bright.
Westport’s selectwomen (from left: Jen Tooker, Candice Savin and Andrea Moore) volunteered each year at Experience Camps’ Day of Champions. (Photo/Dan Woog)
I also want to recognize our incredibly talented and dedicated town employees — my leadership team, and all my colleagues in Town Hall — without whom none of this would have been possible. Working alongside you each day has been an absolute privilege, and a lot of fun!
My deepest thanks as well to our exceptional Police, Fire, and Emergency Medical Services Departments, whose commitment keeps our community safe. I have told you many times that you are truly the best of the best, and we are so fortunate that you have chosen to build your careers here in Westport.
To our residents, business owners, teachers, school administrators, and nonprofit leaders: thank you. Westport is better today because of all of you. You are what makes Westport so special.
This role has always been as much about listening as it is about leading, and because you all took the time to share your thoughts and challenges, I was able to make decisions that truly reflected the needs of our community. Some of our best ideas came directly from you — StartUp Westport is a shining example — and I hope you continue sharing your vision and creativity with Westport’s new administration.
Serving as your 1st selectwoman has been the greatest honor of my professional life. I am excited for my next chapter, and I am deeply proud to continue to call Westport my home. Together, we will ensure that Westport remains the best place to live, work, play, and learn in the region. It will continue to be a community where everyone is welcome and truly feels they belong.
Right now, Westport is led by a Board of Selectwomen. Since 2021 — and for the first time in town history — the 3 members are all female.
From left: Jen Tooker, Candice Savin, Andrea Moore — our 1st, 3rd and 2nd selectwomen, respectively. (Photo/Dan Woog)
In November, we’ll have a new 1st selectman. All 3 candidates for the top spot are males.
But 2 of the men running — Don O’Day and Kevin Christie — are joined on the ticket by women (Andrea Moore and Amy Wistreich, respectively). David Rosenwaks is on the ballot without a running mate.
Which puts a blogger like me in a difficult position.
What’s the best way to describe the job they’re all running for?
It’s a bit 1950s-ish to call it the “Board of Selectmen,” when there are women in the race.
But “Board of Selectpersons” or “Board of Selectpeople” is a mouthful. Plus, it sounds like a mandate from the Grammar Police.
2025 candidates (from left): Democrats Kevin Christie and Amy Wistreich; Independent David Rosenwaks; Republicans Andrea Moore and Don O’Day.
For a few weeks now, I’ve equivocated.
I’ve called it the Board of Selectpersons (or Selectpeople). Someone suggested “Board of Selectmen/women.” I’ve tried various ways to avoid calling it anything, like “the town’s executive branch.” I haven’t been happy with any of those references.
Finally, I’ve come up with a solution. And it’s as simple as, um, 1-2-3.
From now on, I will call it the “Select Board.”
I know that’s not official. But how different is it from calling the Westport Weston Family YMCA just “the Y”?
Making the change official — and why not? — will take some doing, of course.
It might need a revision to the Town Charter, and perhaps approval by a couple of town bodies.
So it sounds like a job for the next Select Board.
In the desperate days of COVID, outdoor dining popped up as a way to help restaurants survive.
What began as a temporary town measure has become a popular permanent feature.
It’s especially institutionalized on Church Lane. The road has been closed every year since 2020. Musicians play, and tables fill the short stretch between Elm Street and Post Road East.
Summertime, on Church Lane.
Not everyone eats up the idea. Some merchants and residents — including nearby neighbors — oppose it. They cite the length of the clousre (mid-May to late October), the spillover effect on downtown traffic, and the loss of 16 parking spots.
This year, before submitting a request to the Board of Selectwomen, the Westport Downtown Association surveyed stakeholders.
An online survey drew 2,204 responses.
Over 2,000 — 92.24% — agreed that the closure of Church Lane is a benefit to the town during the summer, and something they would like to continue.
Responses were closer about closing the street in summer 7 days a week (69.96%) or only Friday 8 a.m. to Monday 8 a.m. (30.04%).
Another question asked for preferences for closure: May 1 to Octoer 15 (74.18%) or Memorial Day to Labor Day (25.82%).
However, after considering issues like the weather, and patronage before and after the traditional start and end of summer holidays, the WDA will request street closing only from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
The Board of Selectwomen will make the final decision, at an upcoming meeting.
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Posted onJanuary 8, 2025|Comments Off on Private Grants, Public Acceptance For Teen, Senior And Disability Programs
Many Board of Selectwomen meetings are mundane.
Agendas include approvals of minutes and contracts, and actions as the Local Traffic and Water Pollution Control Authorities.
This morning was more personal. The selectwomen approved 3 donations. They’ll be directed 3 ways: to teenagers with ADHD, adults with disabilities, and senior citizens.
The largest was $103,000. An anonymous gift honors Max Harper, the Staples High School senior who died last fall.
Max Harper
The Department of Human Services will help town officials create a scholarship program for the “Live Life to the Max” fund, created in his memory.
The goal is to increase access to specialized support for boys ages 15-18 with ADHD/ADD, build self-efficacy skills, add support networks, and explore long-term academic and career paths that build on their strengths.
Scholarship participants will receive hands-on organizational coaching and mentoring, with resources for parents to support their ADHD children.
Boys are 3 times more likely than girls to be diagnosed with ADHD. Challenges include academic struggles with organization and focus, and social issues with trouble reading social cues and emotional regulation. Many youngsters with ADHD also have low self-esteem.
The $103,000 funds will provide scholarships for income-eligible Westport families to receive mentorship, weekly planning meetings, and parent coaching and feedback from an experienced provider who specializes in working with young men.
The selectwomen also accepted a $10,000 Ruegg Grant from the Westport Woman’s Club, for Club203. The previously unfunded organization — a social group for adults with disabilities — is run entirely by volunteers, in partnership with Human Services and Westport’s Commission on People with Disabilities.
The grant will allow the quickly growing Club203 to continue offering affordable, inclusive and social-emotional educational opportunities for families facing disability challenges.
So far, the town has covered insurance liability and administrative support. Local organizations donate event space, and many businesses volunteer their time, and provide food and materials.
As Club203 outgrows smaller venues, the WWC grant will help them keep membership fees low, explore larger venues, and increease frequency.
Another $10,000 grant comes from the Walsh Family Foundation, to the Senior Center. It will enable even more affordable social, recreational and educational programs and services at the very popular Imperial Avenue site.
Comments Off on Private Grants, Public Acceptance For Teen, Senior And Disability Programs
Sherry Jagerson’s memorial service last weekend was an upbeat, uplifting afternoon.
The longtime Westporter — who died earlier this month at 80 — was remembered for her vibrant, can-do, do-it-yourself spirit, and for the many environmental and humanitarian projects she threw herself into, at home and around the world.
Now, she may be memorialized here for decades to come.
Andrew Colabella and Matthew Mandell have started a petition to rename the Sherwood Mill Pond Preserve on Hillspoint Road “Sherry Jagerson Preserve.”
One view of Sherwood Mill Pond Preserve … (Photo/Katherine Bruan)
The petition says: “This preserve exists as it is today because of the environmental love and care of Sherry Jagerson.”
In 2009 she — along with Wendy Crowther and Liz Milwe, and Westport’s Parks & Recreation maintenance division — excavated the property, built up the land, and installed a boat launch, saltwater natural plants, and accessible walkways with benches.
Colabella credits Jagerson’s “vision and hard work” from 2009 onward with the preserve’s current look and appeal.
… and another. (Photo/Bobbi Essagof)
Jagerson could be memorialized for many things. She was a steward for Nash Pond, where she lived. She led one of the first initiatives to ban plastic bags in the country. She created the Habitat for Humanity ReStore, helped found the Westbridge Coalition, was a founding board member for United with Kenya, and served on the board of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Westport.
But naming a wonderful piece of town property “Sherry Jagerson Preserve” is especially fitting.
Sherry Jagerson at Mill Pond Preserve. (Photo/Monique Bosch)
Here’s one more story. Last Sunday — the day after her memorial service — Jagerson’s son, 2 daughters, grandchildren and friends gathered at the Sherwood Mill Pond Preserve.
They spent the better part of a day weeding, cleaning and planting. As they did, they felt her spirit everywhere.
(The request to rename the property “Sherry Jagerson Park” will go to the Board of Selectwomen. If okayed, it heads to the Representative Town Meeting for final approval. Click here to see and sign the petition.)
Sherry Jagerson’s family and friends at the preserve last Sunday …
… with a pause for a group shot. (Photo/Jen Tooker)
Sherry Jagerson was also an accomplished sailor and racer. She founded a business that taught women how to sail.
What works for Long Lots Elementary School must also work for Bedford Middle School.
Put another way: What’s good for the Westport Community Gardens is also good for Wakeman Park.
The Board of Selectwomen affirmed yesterday that no one — including dog walkers and regular human walkers — will be allowed on the athletic fields and paths adjacent to BMS during school hours.
The ban does not apply to Wakeman Town Farm.
1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker, Police Chief Foti Koskinas and Parks & Recreation director Jen Fava were unable to find a way to keep the large Wakeman Field property safe, the selectwomen were told at their meeting yesterday.
The board had voted on the ban — which was first suggested as a safety issue for Long Lots, which is located near the Community Gardens — last month.
Yesterday’s discussion followed that earlier vote, which included a sense of the meeting resolution to examine the possibility of a solution for Wakeman.
The Wakeman Fields, adjacent to Bedford Middle School (not shown, off to the left of the photo) will be off-limits to non-school personnel during school hours.
But after more than 3 months, you’ve only got one day left. The deadline is tomorrow (Friday, May 10).
An online map-based survey was introduced this winter. It’s an interactive, even fun (!) way for residents to provide feedback on Westport’s Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Safety Action Plan project.
Users easily zoom in on a particular place in town. The map has 3 options to drop a pin, and offer feedback: “Safety Concern”; “Safety/Improvement Idea”; “Good Example.” There’s a chance too to like a previous comment (and see how many other residents agree).
Click here to take the survey. Click here for the “Traffic & Pedestrian Safety” page on the town website.
If you’ve driven past the former Pane e Bene restaurant on the Post Road, you’ve noticed plenty of construction.
Work on The Clubhouse — the golf-and-more simulator/event space — is moving ahead. It should open later this year.
You may also think that Redi-Cut — the longtime family business next door — is closed.
They’re not.
Though they were shut for a couple of weeks for renovations, they’re very much open.
“They’ve been amazing partners as our project moves forward,” says Clubhouse co-founder Emily Zobl. She invites customers — old and new — to check out their updated space.
Redi-Cut Carpets: Open for business. Tim Zobl (The Clubhouse co-owner, center) is flanked by Redi-Cut owners (from left) Harry Arnowich and Matt Arnowich.
The Public Works Department’s spring paving program begins Monday (May 13). It continues through the mid-June.
These roads will be paved, though not necessarily in this order:
Brookside Drive
Evergreen Avenue
Evergreen Parkway
Kings Highway North
Crawford Road
Hillandale Lane
East Main Street
Rainey Lane
Pioneer Road
Maple Avenue South
Greenbrier Road
Church Street North
Pleasant Valley Lane
Brightfield Lane
Imperial Avenue
Green’s Farms Road
Morningside Drive North
Questions? Call Public Works: 203-341-1120.
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Westport Police made 2 custodial arrests between May 1 and 8.
A 62-year-old Bridgeport man was arrested for breach of peace, following an altercation with an employee at Minuteman Cleaners over the price charged. The man grabbed the items, causing minor injuries to the employee, and left the store.
A 25-year-old Westport woman was arrested on failure to appear, and violation of probation. She was unable to post a $30,000 bond.
Police also issued these citations:
Operating an unregistered motor vehicle: 8 citations
Failure to comply with state traffic commission regulations: 7
Traveling unreasonably fast: 5
Failure to obey traffic control signals: 4
Operating a motor vehicle without a license: 4
Operating a motor vehicle under suspension: 3
Failure to renew registration: 3
Criminal trespass: 1
Simple trespass: 1
Criminal mischief: 1
Speeding: 1
Traveling too fast for conditions: 1
Distracted driving: 1
Unsafe passing: 1
Improper turns: 1
Driving with a foreign license: 1
Falsification of markers: 1
Unreadable plates: 1
Failure to register a commercial motor vehicle: 1
Failure to insure a motor vehicle: 1
Failure to carry registration: 1
There were 2 license plate violations this past week. This was not one of them. (Photo/Fred Cantor)
The Westport Fire Department hosts a promotion ceremony tomorrow (Friday, May 10, 3:30 p.m, Town Hall auditorium).
Assistant chief Matthew Cohen will be promoted to deputy fire chief; Lieutenant Jason Kronenberger moves to to assistant chief, while Firefighter Matthew Wille becomes a lieutenant.
The public is invited.
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Explore the horticulture, beauty and bounty of rhododendrons on May 19 (10:30 to 11:45 a.m., Carriage Barn Art Center, New Canaan) — then tour the magnificent gardens at Blau House, off Bayberry Lane in Westport (1 to 4 p.m.).
After receiving critical acclaim in Europe, “Here Lived”‘s May 5 debut screening quickly sold out. An encore show has been added, on May 21 (7 p.m., Marlene Meyerson JCC, 334 Amsterdam Avenue, New York City).
Music by Brian Keane — the Grammy Award-winning composer/Staples High School Class of 1971 graduate — adds depth to the film, which is a story of children hidden during World War II, murdered parents, generational trauma, and an artist’s vision for healing.
Keane and director Jane Wells will join a panel after the showing. Click here for tickets.
Speaking of turtles: Today’s “Westport … Naturally” Westport nature lesson comes from Compo Beach.
Lou Weinberg writes: “I found this little guy yesterday. I’m sure there’s more where he/she came from. So, if you’re at the beach and something looks like a stone, look twice. It might be a diamondback terrapin baby. Place it in the water and let it go.
“It’s amazing that with all the beach maintenance and use, these creatures can survive around here. Ain’t nature grand?”
Lou adds this link, for information and fun facts from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
And finally … happy 75th birthday to Billy Joel! There are only hundreds of songs I could choose to highlight. Here are 3 of my favorites:
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The Board of Selectwomen’s Wednesday agenda (May 8, 9 a.m., Town Hall auditorium) is packed.
Among the 14 items:
A report on discussions between the Police Department and Board of Education, recommended by the selectwomen last month to re-examine the policy that “recreational facilities located on Board of Education campuses are not accessible to those who are not students, staff or invited guests between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. on school days,” and how it may apply to Wakeman Town Park while maintaining safe and reasonable school security.
Approving a contract with Lindquist Surveying for services for the Long Lots Elementary School project ($19,500); a contract with Svigals + Partners for architectural, engineering, and furniture, fixtures and equipment for Phase II design and construction of Long Lots ($4.097 million), and a contract with Newfield Construction, for pre-construction services ($145,045).
Wakeman Park — popular with dog walkers, joggers and more during the school day — is adjacent to Bedford Middle School.
“Pure: The Sexual Revolutions of Marilyn Chambers” — will be published May 15.
Chambers is known to Westporters as Staples High School 1970 graduate Marilyn Briggs.
Publicity for the book says: “Marilyn Chambers was the embodiment of the free-spirited ’70s, the world’s most famous X-rated star, and an unappreciated talent whose work in adult films hindered her dreams of becoming a serious actress.
“Raised in an affluent Connecticut suburb, Marilyn catapulted to fame when it was learned that not only had she starred in the groundbreaking X-rated film, Behind the Green Door but was also the model on the box of Ivory Snow laundry detergent (product tagline: ’99 44/100% Pure.’)
“Marilyn was the first woman known primarily for her work in adult films to cross over to mainstream entertainment. She sustained a versatile 3-decade career in entertainment, including roles in dramatic plays, a Broadway musical revue, her own television show, and the lead role in David Cronenberg’s film ‘Rabid.’
But her success in adult films also proved to be her undoing. Marred by a violent relationship with her abusive husband-manager, Chuck Traynor, she developed the persona of a 24-hour-a-day sex star. In the process, she lost her sense of self and spent much of her life searching for her true identity.
“With recollections from family and friends, many of whom have never spoken publicly, along with Marilyn’s own words, and never-before-published photos, Jared Stearns vividly captures the revolutionary career of one of the twentieth century’s most misunderstood icons.”
For more than 4 decades, 5-time Emmy Award-winning producer/director/ musical theater and symphony conductor/ writer (and Westport resident) Andrew Wilk has captured the performing arts for television.
He has recorded everything from artists like Kristin Chenoweth, Joshua Bell; and Itzhak Perlman and performances like the Alvin Ailey Dance Company for prime time broadcast.
As executive producer of “Live From Lincoln Center,” Wilk created renowned musical and theatrical productions for PBS.
He produced 3 Westport Country Playhouse productions for PBS too. At the Library, he created the speaker series “Andrew Wilk Presents.”
On May 22 (7 p.m., Westport Library), he’ll chat with Y’s Men of Westport and Weston past president John Brandt about his career, the stars he’s worked with, and take questions from the audience.
The evening is a collaboration with the Y’s Men’s Classical Music Society. Click here for more information.
“Art in Bloom” — a celebration of the Westport Public Art Collections, with drinks, light bites, art sales, a silent art auction, and a special exhibit of flower-themed works — is set for June 6 (7 to 9 p.m., Westport Woman’s Club).
This is the first fundraiser for Friends of WestPAC is 5 years. They welcome old and new friends, to ensure the continued growth, care, display and educational uses of the collections. Works are exhibited in public building throughout town, including schools, Town Hall, and municipal offices.
Click here for tickets, sponsorship information, and donations.
Westport artist Stevan Dohanos’s Saturday Evening Post cover — part of the Westport Permanent Art Collections — has special significance. The models were all Staples students.
And finally … on this day in 1877, Chief Crazy Horse of the Oglala Lakota surrendered to US troops in Nebraska. He had fought fiercely and proudly to preserve the traditional way of Lakota life, including the Battle of the Little Bighorn the previous year.
Four months after his surrender, Crazy Horse was killed while resisting imprisonment. In 1982 he was honored by the US Postal Service, with a “Great American series” stamp.
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On April 3, Westport’s Parks & Recreation Commission adopted a regulation restricting access to non-school personnel and guests, on schools and adjacent property, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m.
The Board of Selectwomen approved the regulation on April 10.
The Westport Community Gardens, near Long Lots Elementary School, is among the sites impacted by the new rule.
Toni Simonetti — a 23-year town resident, and longtime Gardens member — has petitioned the Westport Representative Town Meeting to reject the regulation, or modify it to restore prior hours of operation for the Community Gardens. (Gardeners were previously restricted from 8-9 a.m. and 3-4 p.m. only, when school was in session.)
The RTM has not published the agenda for its May meeting yet. Simonetti’s petition has 24 signatures.
Simonetti hopes members will examine these points:
— The Westport Community Gardens are “non-school grounds, but rather public town land adjacent to a school but a great distance from the school building and outdoor play area.”
— The garden is fenced and locked. No other part of the property, encompassing the entire perimeter, has a security barrier. Bauer Place is “within a few feet of the school’s’ playground.”
— Only Garden members can unlock the gate. The combination is changed each season.
The Westport Community Gardens gate. (Photo/Peter J. Swift)
— “Members and registered guests, restricted to town residents and employees, are screened by the garden’s Steering Committee; names and addresses are submitted to the town of Westport for sex offender status. Those approved must carry a hand pass while in the garden when school is in session. The town
knows exactly who the gardeners are and where they live. This is a significant security measure that far exceeds any other public space in Westport — including the unrestrained and unrestricted access that Compo provides anyone from anywhere to approach the hundreds of children (and staff) at Camp Compo.”
— There have been no “untoward incidents” in the Gardens’ 20 years at the Hyde Lane location.
— Gardeners can actually serve as “a valuable early notification adjunct for school resource officers and local law enforcement.”
— “Resources are better spent securing the grounds at more exposed school sites such as Greens Farms, Saugatuck and Kings Highway Elementary Schools.”
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The Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce has stopped eating, and counted over 1,000 votes. The winners of their Great Burger Contest are:
Best Classic Burger – Shake Shack
Best Cheeseburger – Viva Zapata
Best Gourmet Burger – Nômade
Best Veggie Burger – The Black Duck
Best Non-Beef Burger – Match Burger Lobster
Best Slider Burger – The Black Duck
Two winners repeated from the first burger competition in 2019. Viva Zapata and Match Burger Lobster both won again, but this year in different categories.
Next year, the Chamber sponsors the Great Westport Soup Contest. The prior one (2020) was suspended due to Covid.
Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce director Matthew Mandell congratulates (clockwise from top): Shake Shack, Match Burger Lobster, Nômade, Black Duck and Viva Zapata.
It was the Spin Doctors’ turn to rock VersoFest last night.
(Photo/Dick Wingate)
The long-running alt band did not disappoint the sold out Westport Library crowd.
(Photo/Dinkin Fotografix)
The 5-day music/media/and more event wraps up this weekend. Today’s highlights include a conversation between Doors drummer John Densmore and CNN’s Alisyn Camerota; a session with WFUV’s Paul Cavalconte, and a workshop called “Pitch Your Podcast.”
Click here for a full schedule of today’s and tomorrow’s VersoFest.
Over a dozen of Westport’s finest joined the restaurant’s wait staff (off duty, of course). They served, poured drinks — and encouraged customers to leave extra tips.
Patrons obeyed. When the night was over, they’d raised over $4,000 for Special Olympics Connecticut.
Which just proves: We have the best police force, restaurants and diners around!
From left: Det. Erin Shaw, Sgt. Richard Bagley, Officer Melissa Bike, Lt. Eric Woods, Sgt. Sharon Russo, Officer Greg Gunter, Lt. Sereniti Dobson, Cpl. Brendan Fearon, Cpl. Rachel Hall, Officer Ryan Kardamis, Sgt. Dan Paz. Other WPD “waiters” are not pictured.
The agenda for the Board of Selectwomen’s Wednesday meeting (April 10, 9 a.m., Town Hall auditorium) is filled with the usual: acceptance of gifts, approval of contracts, actions taken as the Water Pollution Control Authority.
But there’s also this: updating the “Parks & Recreation Department rules and regulations to include: “Recreational facilities located on Board of Education grounds are not accessible to those who are not students, staff or invited guests between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. on school days.”
The vote follows the unanimous approval of the new regulation last week, by the Parks & Recreation Commission.
Board of Selectwomen (from left): Andrea Moore, Jen Tooker, Candice Savin.
Yesterday’s “Friday Flashback” featured a postcard of “The Five Little Pigs.” It was (presumably) a restaurant that no one in Westport seemed to recall.
Both Peter Gold and Neil Brickley sleuthed out the back side of the postcard, on eBay.
Here’s what it showed:
Yum!
Meanwhile, Jack Whittle searched through the 1931 Westport Directory. He found “5 Little Pigs Tea Room (Mrs. Lillian Hawley) E State n Colonial Rd GF.”
A Sanborn Map confirmed it was right where The Flower Basket is today (next to Stiles Market) — exactly where I guessed it might be, based on the shape of the buildings.
Mystery solved. Too bad we can’t go back in time, and taste some of “the only place in the east where this delicious BARBECUE” is served.
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In 2018, Connecticut restricted the use of insecticides called neonicotinoids (“neonics”). This class of chemicals is very harmful to pollinators. They include midacloprid, cothianidin, thiamethoxam, acetamiprid and dinotefuran.
On Household Hazardous Waste Day (April 13, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Greens Farms railroad station parking lot), residents can safely dispose of any neonicotinoids containing insecticides.
Click here for a full list of products containing these chemicals.
Bring this stuff next Saturday, on Household Hazardous Waste Day.
Last month, Faith Sargent started The Whimsical Redhead. She makes wreaths, swags, centerpieces, garlands, showroom tree decorating, etc).
She’ll also teach wreath-making classes. The first is May 1.
Faith would like to start crafting items like wreaths, centerpieces and wall hangings to donate to fundraisers like silent auctions for schools and non-profits.
She hopes that “06880” readers with faux florals, nice wired ribbon, fake wreaths that need refreshing, lightweight planters, baskets, wooden candle holders or other items that would work as centerpieces (and are too nice to toss out) will give them to her, to “recycle.”
They would not be resold; they’re all for donations to charitable functions.
If you’ve got items, please send photos to whimsicalredheadcrafts@gmail.com. And if you’ve got a fundraiser and would like an item from Faith, use that email too.
A Faith Sargent creation.
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Staples High School’s April Students of the Month are seniors David Nivia and Caroline Roschen, juniors Kate Banks and Noah Wolff, sophomore Mia Moore and freshman Sadie McEntee.
Students of the month “help make Staples a welcoming place for their peers and teachers alike. They are the ‘glue’ of the Staples community — the type of kind, cheerful, hard-working, trustworthy students that keep the high school together, making it the special place that it is.”
“Students of the month are nominated by their teachers, who are asked to think of those students who come to school regularly, are friendly to the staff and to fellow students, and make positive contributions in class as well as the Staples community. In short, these students are all-around good citizens of our school.”
Staples’ April Students of the Month. From left: Noah Wolff, Kate Banks, David Nivia, Mia Moore, Caroline Roschen, Sadie McEntee.
“Footloose” — Coleytown Company’s spring production — is not just another “middle school show.”
With high-quality sets, costumes, lighting — and of course choreography and acting — it’s a full-scale musical. Performances are set for 1 and 7 p.m. today (Saturday), and 1 p.m. tomorrow (Sunday). Click here for tickets.
The next Westport Country Playhouse Script in Hand play reading is “Tenderness and Gratitude Number Four” (Monday, April 15, 7 p.m.).
The new comedy features Mary Testa — 3-time Tony nominee for “On the Town,” “42nd Street,” and “Oklahoma!,” and Robert Sella (“Flying Over Sunset,” “Sylvia,” “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”).
The play is about a party boy who avoids intimacy at all costs. and a jaded, wise-cracking office worker who still harbors dreams of becoming an artist. When the two strike up an unlikely friendship at work, they are forced to learn what it means to open up to someone else, and how to take a long, hard, messy look at oneself in the mirror.
Tickets are $30. For tickets and more details, click here.
In the wake of yesterday’s earthquake, Bob Weingarten writes:
“While in Japan, we were provided with this Earthquake Kit by our employer (IBM). It contains a first aid kit, radio, flashlight, batteries, crackers, blanket, etc. We still have it in our basement here.”
Longtime Westport resident Tom Seligson died yesterday at his home in Deep River, with his wife Susan and daughter Justine at his side. He was 78.
His family moved from New York’s Upper West Side to the Old Hill section of Westport in the early 1950s. He attended Westport schools through 9th grade, then went to Phillips Academy–Andover. He ran cross country and excelled at other sports, as well as academically. He served as the Class of 1964 secretary for 15 years following graduation.
Tom graduated from Columbia University with a BA in political science in 1968.
After many years in Manhattan, Tom moved back to Westport. He and his family lived at Compo Beach for 23 years.
He wrote 6 books (fiction and non-fiction), one of which became the foundation for a major movie and its sequels. As an executive producer at CBS News, he produced hundreds of shows, winning 3 Emmy Awards. He was also a print journalist, with bylines in major magazines.
Whenever Tom was asked what he did, he talked about a young man on death row for whom he advocated. It was one of the most meaningful experiences of his life.
Tom scuba dove around the world, climbed mountains from the Dolomites to the Andes, and rode wild mustangs in Wyoming. He enjoyed tennis, cycling, skiing, hiking, and tookk up boxing to counter the effects of Parkinson’s disease.
He is survived by his wife of 27 years, Susan; daughter Justine of London; sister Dr. Jane Sillman (Dr. Fred Sillman) of Cambridge, Massachusetts; twin brother Dr. Robert Seligson of Manhattan; nephew Eric Sillman Dr. Rebecca Johansson Locke) of Brookline, Massachusetts; niece, Kathy Sillman (Ray Lewis) of Newton, Massachusetts; nieces, nephews, and many friends and colleagues.
Details for a celebration of Tom’s life will take place on a date to be announced.
And finally … in honor of yesterday’s big geological news:
(Life is unpredictable, as we learned yesterday. But you can always rely on “06880.” We rely, meanwhile, on readers’ support. Please click here to make a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you!)
Residents have long been prohibited from using school property when classes are in session.
Most Westporters know to stay clear of most schools.
But there have been exceptions.
A longstanding agreement has allowed people with plots to use the Westport Community Gardens at the south end of the Long Lots campus — separated from the school by a parking lot — all day, except from 8 to 9 a.m. and 3 to 4 p.m., when students arrive and depart.
The Wakeman fields, north of Bedford Middle School, are a popular spot for dog walkers (and walkers without dogs) all day long.
The Wakeman Fields, adjacent to Bedford Middle School (not shown, on the left), are popular spots all day long.
The PJ Romano track between Saugatuck and Kings Highway Elementary Schools is occasionally used by joggers.
On Wednesday night, the Parks & Recreation Commission voted 5-0 to tighten restrictions.
If the Board of Selectwomen approve, all recreational facilities on all Westport public school properties will be off-limits to anyone who is not a student, staff member or invited guest between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. whenever school is in session.
The PJ Romano track, between Saugatuck Elementary School (bottom left) and Kings Highway Elementary is sometimes used by joggers during school hours.
The policy is an attempt to standardize times for all 8 schools, and eliminate what had been gray or undefined areas around the meaning of “school grounds.”
Enforcement will be done by school security guards and, if necessary, school resource officers.
Access to the Westport Community Garden would be restricted, if the Board of Selectwomen endorse the Parks & Recreation Commission proposal.
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The selectwomen also accepted a $10,000 Ruegg Grant from the Westport Woman’s Club, for 
Toni Simonetti — a 23-year town resident, and longtime Gardens member — has petitioned the Westport Representative Town Meeting to reject the regulation, or modify it to restore prior hours of operation for the Community Gardens. (Gardeners were previously restricted from 8-9 a.m. and 3-4 p.m. only, when school was in session.)
