Tag Archives: VFW Post 399

The National Weather Service has extended its flash flood warning for the area until 11 a.m.

About 2 1/2 inches of rain have already fallen. Additional rainfall of 2 more inches could occur. Be safe and smart!

Pumpkin Hill and Colony Roads (Photo/Kimberly Paris)

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A Compo Beach resident who requests anonymity writes:

I want to share what our neighborhood has seen over the past 7 days, in case it isn’t already on the town’s and citizens’ radar.

• Sustained reckless driving and speeding on Compo Beach Road and Soundview Drive, including late at night.
• 2 gatherings of 300-plus young people on the beach. Several attendees said they were freshmen at Staples High School. There was open drinking and littering.
• Each of the following mornings, the beach, seawall and road were covered in bottles, cans and trash.

On Friday night, at least 7 police cars were on the beach. Working alongside a Parks & Recreation Department supervisor, they kept the situation under control, dispersing a crowd of 300 quickly and calmly.

It was genuinely impressive, and they deserve credit for it.

Compo is one of the best things this town gives its kids. A night on that beach with friends is exactly what a place like Westport should want for them.

What gives me pause is the combination — a crowd that size, alcohol, fast cars, and an unlit road with no separation between pedestrians and traffic.

It’s fun — until the night it isn’t.

Friday night’s Compo Beach party.

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Speaking of the beach: The other day, our Roundup linked to a breathless story in the Connecticut Centinal, which charged that hundreds of “illegal aliens” were illegally shellfishing in Westport every night, “until there is nothing left.” And that no one in our town cared.

I noted that Media Bias/Fact Check calls the oddly spelled Centinal “an extreme right-biased imposter website (rated) Questionable based on the promotion of propaganda, conspiracy theories, pseudoscience, poor sourcing, and false claims.”

Bingo!

Westport Animal Control officer Peter Reid spoke to Corporal Brendan Fearon of the Westport Police Department’s Marine Division.

He told Reid the WPD has been monitoring Sherwood Mill Pond. The current activity is for blue crabs only — which is legal.

Fearon said the Mill Pond is closed to shellfishing, and that during inspections they have not seen any shellfish in the buckets. He has also not seen any juvenile terrapins, a concern of Reid’s.

Fearon added that the large groups that were there a couple of summers ago (and were commercial operations) are a thing of the past. Numerous arrests were made. He noted that the current crabbers are mostly families.

This Connecticut Centinal photo purported to show illegal shellfishing.

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Former Y’s Men president Dewey Loselle honored 9/11 last week, with a deeply personal remembrance at the group’s first meeting of the season.

In 2001 Loselle — who later served as Wesport’s town operations director, under 1st Selectman Jim Marpe — was a partner in a consulting firm, with offices near the World Trade Center.

He had gone to the Port Authority for a morning meeting, and narrowly escaped from the 63rd floor of the North Tower after a hijacked plane struck the building at 8:46 a.m.

Loselle described the thunderous impact, the building’s violent swaying, and the immediate decision to leave everything behind and head for the stairs.

In a vivid account, Loselle recalled the extremely narrow, crowded, smoky stairwells; the uncertainty over what had happened, and the courage of fellow evacuees and first responders.

He spoke of encountering a man in a wheelchair and his companion, who later perished while awaiting help, as well as members of Fire Department Rescue Company 1 climbing upward in full gear.

Loselle and his team eventually escaped into the chaos outside, where debris fell, people fled in every direction, and the collapsing towers sent a massive dust cloud through Lower Manhattan.

Loselle described his wife Susan reaching his cell phone in the stairwell before communications failed, and the hours she spent not knowing whether he had survived.

His presentation was both an account of survival, and a plea to preserve the memory of those killed.

Dewey Loselle, speaking to the Y’s Men. (Photo/Ted Horowitz)

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Mia Dillon is a Westport Country Playhouse favorite.

She debuted there in 1979, and has performed often since then. Her nexxt appearance is tomorrow (September 14, 7 p.m.), in the Script in Hand play reading of “The Next Best Thing.”

Dillon plays Jo, an outspoken and wildly inappropriate grandmother who takes issue with the impeccably polite android version of herself created to replace her after she dies. The play asks: Should we embrace what’s difficult about the people we love, or settle for a more acceptable alternative: the next best thing?

Click here for tickets, and more information. 

Mia Dillon

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Cleaning your closet for a new season?

Donate gently used clothing and accessories — and anything new and unworn, too — to the Westport Woman’s Club. They’re gearing up for their annual sale. Proceeds benefit the WWC food closet, need-based student scholarships, and grants awarded to local charitable organizations.

Tax-deductible donations are accepted weekdays (10 a.m. to noon, and 1 to 4 p.m.) in the coat room of the WWC (44 Imperial Avenue), The sale is November 13-15.

Items include women’s and men’s clothing, shoes, boots, handbags, scarves, jewelry, and other accessories. Undergarments, lingerie and bathing suits, are not accepted.

Local retailers are invited to donate surplus inventory too.

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Chili time is near.

A highlight is always the VFW’s Chili Cook-off.

This year’s event — the 4th annual fundraiser, supporting Westport’s first responders and veteran community — is Saturday, October 17 (6 to 8 p.m. VFW Post 399).

Attendees vote for their favorite, among a wide variety of homemade recipes. There’s plenty of other great food, a 50/50 raffle, and a healthy heaping of community spirit. Tickets are $25, at the VFW in advance or at the door.

Questions? Email vfw399ct@gmail.com, or call 203-227-6796.

Dig in! (Photo/Andrew Colabella)

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The Sweet Remains brought their folk-pop harmonic vibe to the Levitt Pavilion last night.

A large crowd packed the outdoor theater for the locally based, broadly loved band.

Last night at the Levitt.

Three special appearances offered a special added bonus: front man Greg Naughton’s wife, Broadway star Kelli O’Hara, and their two talented children, Owen and Charlotte.

Greg Naughton (left), Kelli O’Hara, and the Sweet Remains. (Photos/Susan Garment)

There’s more to come at the Levitt this week:

• Tonight (Sunday): 7 p.m. Brian López Electric Trio
• Tuesday, September 15, 7 p.m., Comedy night
• Wednesday, September 16, 7 p.m., Westport Community Band
• Thursday, September 17, 7:30 p.m., Barboletta: Tribute to Santana.

Click here for details.

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In a survey of 2,000 Americans, 35% say 2026 is “stressful.” Almost a third call it “challenging.” 37% say life feels out of control.

No surprise. But Westport author Caroline C. Barney’s new book — “Connected: From Stuck to Thriving in the Middle of the Chaos” — arrives at exactly the right time.

She was named to Ad Age’s “40 Under 40,” and worked with organizations ranging from Fortune 500 companies to the White House. That career taught her a lot about strategy, narrative, and what makes people move.

Barney says that feeling connected — to who they really are, to the beauty of life with others, and to a belief bigger than themselves — helps people thrive at home, at work and in their  community. Click here to learn more about her “connections” work.

Caroline C. Barney

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To all in the “06880” who celebrate, we echo the sign on Pumpkin Hill Road: L’shana tova!

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Former Staples High School girls soccer coach Dr. Jesús Zornoza died peacefully last weekend. He was 79, and lived in Ridgefield.

The Madrid native began practicing radiology in 1974 at MD Anderson in Houston. He published extensively on cancer imaging and needle biopsy techniques, as well as authoring and editing a book on percutaneous needle biopsies.

In 1983, Jesús joined the radiology group at Danbury Hospital. After 20 years practicing medicine he retired, and devoted much of his time to soccer.

He coached youth teams, and became president of SCOR (Soccer Club of Ridgefield). From 1991 to 1994 he coached the Staples girls varsity team to a 44-20-4 record.

He then began a second career as a referee and league administrator. In 2005 he was inducted into the Connecticut Girls Soccer Coaches Association Hall of Fame, and in 2010 into the Connecticut Soccer Hall of Fame.

Jesús was also an avid gardener. He was a caretaker of orchids and bonsai trees. He was devoted to his flock of farmyard chickens. ain.

Jesús is survived by his wife of 53 years, Jeanne; their children Andrew Zornoza (Evelyn) and Pippi (Sean Campbell); grandson Rafael Francis Zornoza, and siblings José, Enrique, Maria and Loreto Zornoza. He was predeceased by his sister, Pilar.

Family and friends will be received on Saturday. September 19 (2 to 4 p.m., Kane Funeral Home, Ridgefield). In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Jesús Zornoza Memorial Soccer Referee Scholarship Fund.

Dr. Jesús Zornoza

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Today’s “Westport … Naturally” feature looks like a painting.

But it’s a photo. “Liquid sunshine” is the way Rindy Higgins describes this Saugatuck Shores scene.

“Gorgeous, is our call.

(Photo/Rindy Higgins)

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And finally … on this date in 1814, Francis Scott Key composed the poem “Defence of Fort McHenry” during the War of 1812’s Battle of Baltimore. It later became the American national anthem: “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

(O say can you … click here to support “06880”? It’s a very patriotic — or at least, generous — thing to do. Thank you!)