Posted onApril 22, 2025|Comments Off on Parks & Rec Update: Master Plan Meeting On Thursday; Goosinator Arrives In May
It’s been just 2 months since Erik Barbieri took the reins as Parks & Recreation Department director.
He’s met the stakeholders. He’s toured the town’s many facilities, and learned about programs, policies and procedures.
Now he’s ready to act.
But Barbieri also knows that residents’ input is important.
He looks forward to this Thursday’s Parks Master Plan workshop. At 6:30 p.m. on April 24, in the Town Hall auditorium, Westporters can weigh in on the future of our beaches, parks, athletic fields and other facilities.
The Parks & Recreation Department Master Plan includes ideas for Wakeman Fields, along with other athletic facilities and town parks. (Drone photo/David Pogue)
Residents can meet the architectural engineering firm working on the plan, learn more about the process, and offer feedback. There will be opportunities for small group discussions too.
The presentation will be available within a week, on the Parks & Recreation Department website. Additional workshops will be held in the summer and fall.
(Longshore is not part of this event. The 180-acre park has its own separate Master Plan.)
Parks & Recreation director Erik Barbieri. (Photo/Dan Woog)
Meanwhile, Barbieri is working with 1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker and the Parks & Recreation Commission to prioritize all department projects.
One of his first moves may prove to be one of his most popular.
Except among Canada geese.
His department recently bought a Goosinator. It is a highly effective way of forcing the obnoxious (but federally protected) species to move on.
With big eyes, a tail and the coloring of a fox, the remote-controlled device emulates a goose predator in the wild. When employees get a report of a goose gathering, they employ the Goosinator.
Planning their next poop (Photo/Marcia Falk)
“Geese do not like it!” Barbieri says.
He adds that in New Britain, where he previously served as Parks & Rec director, merely taking the Goosinator out of a vehicle caused some geese to flee.
“They’re out of control,” Barbieri says of the Canada geese. “They poop all over the beach and fields. But it’s not just unsightly. Their poop is bad.” It contains bacteria like E. coli and salmonella, along with parasites.
The Goosinator will be delivered in May.
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Comments Off on Parks & Rec Update: Master Plan Meeting On Thursday; Goosinator Arrives In May
Club 203’s social activities are on summer vacation.
But 2 partners offer activities, for members of Westport’s group for adults with disabilities.
MoCA CT plans 2 “Summer Art” sessions. Attendees can spend relaxing evenings, learning about art and self-expression. They’re tomorrow (July 8) and August 5 (6 p.m.). Click here to register, and for more information.
In addition, Deirdre Flores — the Teen SLP, who offered her services at an April event — will provide classes on employment, technology and social skills (July 9, 10 and 11). Click here for details.
Club 203’s 2024-25 calendar will be announced soon on Instagram. Follow them: @club203_ct.
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“06880” can’t resist a great rainbow photo.
And even though this was taken a few days ago at Wakeman Fields, it’s worth posting.
Photographer Frank Sisson says: “A double rainbow! And thanks to the topography of Wakeman, it was visible from the 2 starting points, to the 2 pots of gold. Moments like this make you stop and appreciate the grandeur of Mother Nature.”
Totney Benson offers today’s “Westport … Naturally” photo, and these thoughts:
“I was glad to see this pair on the beach near Schlaet’s Point.
“I have seen so few this year that I was worried. Last year there were dozens, and many nests. But I also saw their path down the sand in more detail than ever before, with tiny claw marks evident.”
(Photo/Totney Benson)
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And finally … yesterday, “06880” saluted the anniversary of the first meeting between John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
Today, it’s Sir Ringo Starr’s 84th birthday.
(Act naturally — and now, Please click here to support “06880,” with a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you!)
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:
(Another day, another “06880” Roundup, another reminder that we rely on reader support to keep doing what we do. Please click here to make a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you!)
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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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.
But last week, if you were at Wakeman Fields you would have seen a series of slabs embedded in the grass near the baseball diamonds, not far from Wakeman Town Farm. (Click here to see.)
Looking like a flattened Stonehenge, they’re there (I think) to prevent drivers from parking on that side of the narrow driveway.
Three readers guessed our Photo Challenge orrectly. The first was Andrew Colabella. He once worked for Westport Parks & Recreation Department — but it doesn’t matter. He’s right nearly every week.
John Richers and Betsy Phillips Kahn join Andrew in the winner’s circle.
Will you be there next Sunday?
Yes, if click “Comments” below with the correct response to this Photo Challenge:
(Photo/Dinkin Fotografix)
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Jeff Mitchell has been a Westport resident for over 30 years, and a Westport Baseball and Softball volunteer for more than 20. For the last decade, he has scheduled baseball games and practices in town, and worked with the Parks & Recreation Department on reserving and preserving baseball field space. He writes:
For the upcoming spring season, Westport’s youth sports programs will schedule hundreds of teams for games and practices on our scarce few athletics fields.
This process is complex, time-consuming, unrelenting — and apparently completely misunderstood.
Every field in Westport is considered multipurpose. Like rooms in a house, some are obviously more suited for one purpose than another. But very often it boils down to which location is available when you need it. It therefore makes the most sense to make every location as multipurpose (flexible) as possible. In simple terms, that means drawing as many different lines on them as feasible.
The Wakeman Fields adjacent to Bedford Middle School are used for soccer, lacrosse, baseball, football practice, school sports, frisbee and more. The “B” field (center left) is artificial turf. The rest are grass.
At the start of all 4 seasons, schedulers of all the youth sports meet with Parks & Rec to make their case for who gets priority on which fields on what days, and at what times.
There is no such convenience that soccer gets to use all the soccer fields, baseball all the baseball fields, etc. That’s because field space is so tight in Westport that no town-administered field can afford to be deemed single use.
For example, even the wonderfully renovated Staples baseball and soccer terraces are used seasonally. The 2 sports have shared the same field since 1958.
Youth sports has exploded lately. Kids not only play on Westport’s recreational teams, but also on our many travel teams. Sports are no longer seasonal; they are year-round. Girls now play sports such as lacrosse and rugby that traditionally were played by boys. Just because there are fewer girls playing a particular sport doesn’t mean they don’t deserve equal access to field space. How else can they grow their sport?
Westport PAL lacrosse players, at Paul Lane Stadium.
Schedulers never know until after our registration deadlines how many kids we’ll need to accommodate, hence how many fields of what size we’ll need to reserve. Even once we know, there’s no guarantee we’ll be able to reserve that number of fields.
Worse, our travel team schedules are beholden to whatever external leagues we enter them in. The result is often one sport calling another asking if a field primarily reserved for that sport’s use might miraculously be free. That’s the benefit of fields being as multipurpose as possible.
Parks & Rec’s maintenance staff schedules athletic field maintenance for when the sun comes up, so that our kids can use them when they wake up.
Their schedules are based on what else they need to do the rest of the day. How many guys they have on call on any given day in the morning varies with how many fields need prepping, which we schedulers try to give them a reasonable idea on as long in advance as possible.
Because Little League uses the baseball fields at Town Farms and Coleytown Elementary School almost every daylight hour school is not in session, we pay a third-party landscaper 6 figures specifically to assure as little downtime as possible.
Westport Baseball and Softball outsources some maintenance to third party vendors. (Photo/Eric Bosch)
The problem with having such a demand for field space is that the wear and tear on fields is horrendous. When it rains, baseball fields turn to mud. If the clay is not immediately properly raked, it gets rock hard in the sun.
One tournament on a grass field can destroy it for an entire season. For example, in the summers of 2022 and ’23, a well-attended lacrosse tournament damaged the Staples soccer field so badly that the boys and girls varsity soccer teams had to move all their remaining home games to Wakeman.
A private organization rented Staples’ Loeffler Field in the summers of 2022 and ’23. It rendered the field unplayable for the varsity boys and girls soccer teams for those fall seasons.
Parks & Rec has asked us to please keep a field free for just one season so they can remediate it. That’s sadly not feasible in Westport.
Why do so many kids play sports these days? Of course, for fun — but also for opportunity. A recent Fortune Magazine article cites a 2003 book, Reclaiming the Game: “athletes are twice as likely to be admitted to an elite college as legacies and four times that of under-represented students. Since this study came out, the number of recruited athletes has increased 45%, compared to overall college growth of 33%.”
Parents know this. Parents see that Staples High School has won numerous state championships in a wide variety of sports. Staples baseball just had one player, Hiro Wyatt, sign for $1.5 million with the Kansas City Royals right out of high school.
The list of top schools our student-athletes have gotten admitted to is mind-boggling. These kids began their sports careers playing youth sports. People even tell us they moved to Westport because we are such a phenomenal sports town.
Yes, we are. But we have the ability to be even better.
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Posted onApril 16, 2023|Comments Off on Roundup: Sue Pfister, Teen Diversity, Wakeman Trash …
As trees come down along the Post Road, a new one will grow at the Senior Center.
Tomorrow (8:30 a.m.), a ceremony on the front lawn will honor Sue Pfister. The longtime director — and 35-year employee of Westport’s Department of Human Services — retired on December 31.
She oversaw construction of the existing building in 2004, and an expansion 12 years later.
This is not the first time Pfister will be feted. Sue’s Café — where weekday meals are served, and other festivities take place — is a key part of the Senior Center.
Three finalists have been announced for the 10th annual TEAM Westport’s Teen Diversity Essay Contest.
Tyler Darden (a Staples High School senior), Annie Dizon (Greens Farms Academy senior) and Savvy Dreas (GFA) will vie for the first prize of $1,000. Runners-up will receive $750 and $500, respectively.
The winner will be announced Tuesday (April 18, 6 p.m., Westport Library).
The contest is open to any students in grades 9-12 attending a school in Westport, or those who live in Westport and go to school elsewhere.
The prompt this year was: “The Dialogue Challenge: Effective Engagement on Race, Ethnicity, Religion and LGBTQIA+.” In 1,000 words or less, students were asked to “reflect on your own interactions with people who have different racial, ethnic, religious, and/or LGBTQIA+ identities and/or perspectives. What kinds of conversations were particularly helpful in prompting you to rethink your beliefs or opinions, perhaps causing you to change your mind or enabling you to better understand others’ points of view? Based on these experiences, what specific actions would you suggest that individuals, schools, and/or town entities in Westport take to promote good-faith dialogue, reduce bias, and foster understanding?”
Sustainable Westport celebrates Earth Day (Saturday, April 22, 8 to 11 a.m.) with a clean-up program at Wakeman Fields. It’s part of a town-wide program, sponsored by the Parks & Recreation Department.
Bags will be provided. Children are welcome.
And — as anyone who has been to Wakeman knows — there is plenty of trash to be picked up.
The Wakeman athletic field. You can’t see the garbage left by kids — and their parents — from here.
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The Westport Rotary Club has been named the Most Outstanding Large Club (over 34 members) in District 7980.
The Charles W. Pettengill Award will be presented at the club’s Tuesday (April 18) meeting. Selectwomen Jen Tooker and Andrea Moore will honor Westport Rotary for their accomplishments in Fairfield County, and to Rotary worldwide.
Marianna (“Mollie) Oliver died recently, after a long illness. She was 98 years old.
A Westport resident for over 70 years, she worked as a translator, writer and editor for the United Nations and other international governmental organizations (IGOs) her entire professional life, until retiring in her 80s.
A native of Burnley in northwest England, she graduated with top honors (a “First”) in modern languages from Somerville College, Oxford in 1945.
She and Thomas Wood Oliver married in 1947. They moved to the US that year to work for the newly founded United Nations, first in Lake Success, Long Island and then in Manhattan following completion of UN headquarters.
Mollie worked full time as a translator of French and Spanish and later as an editor until some time after the birth of her 2 children in the early 1950s.
For the next 5 decades she was in much demand by the UN and other IGOs, including the UN’s Economic and Social Council, the Pan American Health Organization, and International Atomic Energy Agency, as both a translator and precis writer.
Mollie did these many jobs part-time, dividing the rest of her time between the family’s townhouse on the southern coast of Portugal, and the family home in Westport.
She became a member of the Westport Weston Community Theater soon after its founding in the 1950s. Over the next 6 decades she had many leading and supporting roles, including the early “The Lady’s Not for Burning.” Her final role was at the age of 90, in Agatha Christie’s “The Unexpected Guest.”
Mollie read avidly and widely, and was a keen gardener and birdwatcher, but first and foremost, her family says, “she was a loving wife, mother, and friend.”
She was predeceased by her husband of 48 years, Thomas Wood Oliver, in 1995, She is survived by her son Thomas Oliver of Westport and daughter Griselda Ann Oliver of Rockwall, Texas.
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For generations, the Compo Beach jetties have attracted all ages, for all kinds of activities.
Today’s “Westport … Naturally” photo shows 2 things to do there.
A lone protestor took to the Ruth Steinkraus Cohen Bridge yesterday. In what looks like a reference to Monday’s controversial Board of Education meeting about a banned books display at Staples High School, he urges the teaching of reading:
Speaking of the local controversy: Fox News has taken notice.
The network includes a story about the Westport Board of Ed meeting on its website. The piece is illustrated with video from a Southington Board of Education meeting about a “woke worksheet,” and 2 photos from a Virginia Board of Ed protest about Critical Race Theory.
The Westport Library and Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce are serious about democracy.
On October 18 (noon, Trefz Forum), they’ll sponsor an interactive candidate forum.
State Senate District 26 candidates Toni Boucher and Ceci Maher, State Representative District 136 hopefuls Alma Sarelli and Jonathan Steinberg, and State Rep District 143 nominees Nicole Hampton and Dominique Johnson will appear.
The debate will be moderated by Chamber director Matthew Mandell, and archived on Vimeo.
An “06880” reader sent this photo of a new sign at Wakeman, the athletic fields adjacent to Bedford Middle School:
She writes:
“Many people feel it’s hard to have a dog in Westport. So many restrictions, especially during the warmer months. But now this new sign just went up in a few places at Wakeman.
“It was all the talk this morning with the moms and dads, where many walk their dogs, and bring them to weekend soccer, baseball and lacrosse games. It’s a shame our town can’t be more accommodating.”
But a youth sports coach had a different reaction.
“It’s about time,” he tells “06880.” “Now maybe I won’t have to walk the fields before practice every day, picking up poop.”
Frank Accardi writes that yesterday at 7:45 a.m. on Whitney Street, a woman driving a gray Volvo SUV began honking repeatedly as a school bus stopped to pick up children.
Several times, the driver attempted to pull into the opposite lane to pass the bus. Its lights were still flashing.
“If ever there was an instance of thumbing your nose at the community, this is it,” Frank says.
Sure, it’s a pain to be behind a school bus that stops every few feet.
But attempting to pass it, while children are getting on?
That’s worse than any Entitled Parking photo I’ve posted, for sure.
A proposal to restrict the use of gas-powered leaf blowers in Westport — scheduled for the October Representative Town Meeting — has been removed from that agenda. Discussion and a possible vote will be postponed to a future date.
Next week, the very local Westport Farmers’ Market will be the site of an effort for international aid.
Lawn signs supporting Ukraine in its war against Russian aggression will be on sale next Thursday (October 13, Imperial Avenue parking lot). 100% of all money raised will go to Ukraine Aid International, organized by Westport native Brian Mayer. UAI provides food and medicine to Ukrainians isolated near the Russian border.
Westporter Ken Bernhard and Weston Kiwanis Club member Amy Jenner have already raised $3,000. They have 200 signs left.
If you can’t get to the Farmers Market, email kbernhar@optonline.net for details on purchasing a lawn sign.
Amy Jenner, Ken Bernhard and their Ukrainian lawn signs.
Congressman Jim Himes is featured at a “Rosé and Reproductive Rights” event (October 11, 7 p.m., Westport Woman’s Club). He’ll discuss the impact — both nationally and locally — of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision, and take questions from audience members.
In May, Congressman Jim Himes spoke at a Westport rally protesting the Supreme Court’s Roe vs. Wade ruling. Governor Lamont and Senator Blumenthal (left to right) spoke also. (Photo/Dan Woog)
Westport’s Unitarian Church hosts a potluck brunch Sunday (October 9, directly after the 10 a.m. Sunday service). The group will then carpool to Stamford, for a 2 p.m. Women’s march.
The Church invites everyone interested to attend. For more information, email janetluongo.wellness@gmail.com.
Unitarian Church members making signs for the women’s march.
And finally … today’s “06880” Roundup features a number of signs: on the Ruth Steikraus Cohen Bridge, Wakeman Fields, Farmers’ Market, and for reproductive rights and the women’s march.
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