JoyRide Cycling + Fitness customers now can have a new iOS application (app) that enables JoyRiders to manage their accounts and book classes more easily from an iPhone mobile device or iPad.
— an announcement from JoyRide Cycling + Fitness Studio
The JoyApp is available on the App Store as of Wednesday, Dec. 5 and is timed in conjunction with the relaunch and redesign of the company’s website, also occurring this week. “App technology has evolved greatly since we opened our first location over seven years ago,” said co-founder and CEO Amy Hochhauser. “We waited to add this feature until we could offer our users best-in-class technology.”
The app creation and rebranded website were also intended to occur well in advance of January, typically a peak fitness month, post holidays. While many fitness studios have long offered apps, JoyRide elected to wait for the right moment to do so. “While our riders leave their mobile devices outside the studio when they take class, we recognize that most people are heavily reliant upon them,” said co-founder and creative director Rhodie Lorenz.
Boys & Girls Village, a Milford-based organization serving families from more than 50 cities and towns in Connecticut, received a $435,000 annualized grant from the state Department of Children and Families to support an intensive home-based services program for abused children of caregivers who abused drugs or alcohol. The program, called “Multisystemic Therapy – Building Stronger Families” (MST-BSF), will treat families that are active cases within DCF if the state finds that the child has been physically abused or neglected, and if the state finds substance misuse by at least one caregiver. — an announcement from Boys & Girls Village
A two-year pilot study of the program showed significant success, and a large-scale clinical trial of MST-BSF was completed earlier this year in upstate Connecticut. “We are grateful to have the Department of Children and Families’ support as we bring this important new program to Fairfield County,” said Dr. Steven Kant, CEO of Boys & Girls Village. “The interventions provided by our experienced clinical team will comprehensively address the factors that contribute to child maltreatment as well as substance use, creating stronger, healthier families in our area.”
At Boys & Girls Village, the grant will support a team consisting of three full-time master’s level Clinicians, one full-time Case Manager, one full-time MST-BSF Clinical Supervisor, and one part-time APRN.
“Many of you may have heard — about two years ago a girl got hit by a pickup truck after trying to get off the late bus,” a school bus that had just let off students on the Post Road, Rhea Bhat, a Darien High School freshman recently told the Board of Selectmen. “That girl was me.” Bhat, a member of Students Against Destructive Decisions at the high school was one of nine high school girls who told the board at its Monday, Nov. 26 meeting what they do at the Depot—Darien Youth Center and how valuable that is to them. Bhat went on to talk about the incident, which was covered in news stories at the time, how she was affected by it since and what she’s doing, partly in SADD meetings at the Depot, to try to prevent others from driving distracted.
For two weeks, a 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee sat in the driveway of a Sunswyck Road home, and the owner told police that she believes it was locked and the keys weren’t in it. But when she found at 5 a.m., Tuesday, Nov. 27 that the Jeep was missing (she’d last seen it the night before, at about 9:30 p.m.), there were no signs of forced entry. Thefts of vehicles that are unlocked and with the keys inside are almost the only kinds of vehicle thefts that happen overnight outside Darien homes. When a vehicle window is smashed in order for a thief to get in a car, police usually find broken glass on the pavement.
A resident of Hoyt Street, between Echo Drive and Briar Brae Road made out a personal check for $896.63 to pay a bill and put the check in an envelope which went into his mailbox for pickup. The check, and eventually the money, went into a thieve’s pocket. The man told Darien police on Nov. 29 that he had mailed or tried to mail the check in late October. Just before calling police on Nov.
Editor’s note: If you stayed at Marriott International’s Starwood brand hotels, including W Hotels, St. Regis, Sheraton Hotels & Resorts, Westin Hotels & Resorts, Le Méridien Hotels & Resorts, and other hotel and timeshare properties, the personal information you gave to the hotel is vulnerable to the recent massive data breach involving as many as 500 million customers. That’s what the Federal Trade Commission recently said about the data breach. Here’s the kind of information that might have been stolen: “According to Marriott, the hackers accessed people’s names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, passport numbers, dates of birth, gender, Starwood loyalty program account information, and reservation information. For some, they also stole payment card numbers and expiration dates.”
Maplewood Senior Living joined forces with the Connecticut State Police to provide toys to less fortunate children in Connecticut this holiday season. — an announcement from Maplewood Senior Living
The annual toy drive now in its 18th year, is inviting anyone that wishes to make a donation to bring an unwrapped toy or toys now through Dec. 20 to any Maplewood Senior Living community in Connecticut, including Maplewood Darien at 599 Post Road. Toys will be distributed to local families across the state. “Many of our residents and our staff members partake in community outreach to help others,” said Gregory Smith, CEO and president of Maplewood Senior Living.
Darien High School music students will perform a special Holiday Spectrum Concert in the High School auditorium at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2018. Darien senior citizens are invited to attend this concert free of charge and listen to the sounds of festive holiday music. The concert will feature the talented Darien High School band, orchestra, jazz ensemble, pop strings, concert choir and the Tudor Singers. — an announcement from At Home In Darien
“We are delighted that Darien High School is sharing this opportunity with seniors in town,” remarked Gina Blum, executive director of At Home In Darien.
As the holiday season gets into full swing, homes and neighborhoods are beginning to brighten with lighting displays, Eversource is reminding customers about ways to get into the holiday spirit while conserving energy, saving money and staying safe. — an announcement from Eversource
“Amid all the festivities, we don’t want our customers to miss out on energy savings that are better spent on their family than the energy bill,” said Penni Conner, Eversource senior vice president and chief customer officer. Save Money, Save Energy
Customers can save money and protect the planet by replacing traditional incandescent lights with an energy-efficient light-emitting diode, or LED, holiday decoration. Not only do LEDs use 80 percent less energy than conventional bulbs, they’re also brighter, eco-friendlier and safer, as they are much cooler than incandescent lights. Also, be sure to check for rebates at the ENERGY STAR rebate finder.
When a driver traveling extremely slowly on Old Farm Road pulled alongside a police patrol car and stop, police thought the driver seemed to want to make contact with them to tell them something, and they approached the vehicle, police said. So when the driver suddenly drove off, police didn’t know what to make of her actions, according to police, who described what happened next with this account, including accusations not proven in court:
The officers followed and stopped the car several hundred feet away, still on Old Farm Road and near the Tokeneke School entrance. It was about 1 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 2. Police spoke with the driver.
Surrounded by her loving family, Elizabeth (Betty) Grant passed into God’s hands to join her husband on Saturday, Dec. 1, 2018. She was 80. Betty was born in Salterstown, County Louth, Ireland on Aug. 10, 1938 to Patrick and Rose Ebbitt.
Can a proud 400-year-old whaling tradition survive a tsunami of modern animal-rights activism and colliding forces of globalism vs. localism? A Whale of a Tale reveals the complex story behind the ongoing debate. You can see the movie and take part in a question-and-answer session with the filmmaker, Megumi Sasaki, on Wednesday night, Dec. 5 at the Avon Theatre in Stamford.
John Lochtefeld, son of Nancy and Tom Lochtefeld, is the recipient of the 2018-2019 Daughters of the American Revolution Good Citizen Award. An annual presentation of Darien’s Good Wife’s River DAR Chapter, this award is given to a Darien High School senior who best exemplifies the qualities of patriotism, citizenship, dependability and service to community. — an announcement from the Good Wife’s River DAR Chapter
John was selected to receive this award by the faculty and senior class at Darien High School. He will receive his award, pin and certificate from DAR Good Citizen Chairman, Kim Kiner, and Regent, Katherine Love, during the group’s holiday celebration hosted by Winifred and Tom Lom. A leader among his peers at Darien High School, John is a member of the Community Council where he serves as Vice President of the student body and is also a member of the Best Buddies Program which fosters relationships between students with intellectual and developmental disabilities and the student body.
James J Whittaker (Jack) passed away on Oct. 31, 2018. He was 92. His family is asking that friends join them in a celebration of his life at the American Legion, 60 County St., Norwalk from 4 to 8 p.m., Friday, Dec. 7.
Deirdre McGovern is a real estate agent who has called Darien home for more than 25 years. She has been involved in many local organizations. She can be reached at 203-554-0897or deirdre.mcgovern@raveis.com
More about Deirdre McGovern here. ______________________
See also:
Darien & Rowayton Real Estate Reports:
Darien & Rowayton Real Estate Report: Nov 8 to 15
Darien & Rowayton Real Estate Report: Nov 1 to 8
Darien & Rowayton Real Estate Report: Oct 25 to Nov 1
Darien home sales:
Sunset Road House Sells for $1.85 Million and Other Darien Home Sales (Nov.
