Darien’s Two New Police Officers Will Be in Training Until After Christmas

Darien Athletic Foundation and Darien Foundation to Jointly Run, Fund DAF Media

Register Now To Be In Teen Talent Show at Darien Library on April 21

What’s Normal in Aging, and Managing It: Series of Talks at Maplewood Darien

Royle Students Explore Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math After School

Barbara Dillon, 90, Worked at The New Yorker, Wrote Children’s Books, Active Volunteer

EDITORIAL: Darien, Just Look at How Nasty We Are, Especially Our Children

Darien Depot Announces Two New Scholarships, for $5K and $2.5K — April 18 Deadline to Apply

Brenner to School Community: Sorry, I Should Have Delayed School [UPDATE: Vilification on Twitter]

Police: DUI for Man, 64, Driving Slowly and Erratically on Old Kings Hwy North

DHS Tudor Singers to Perform Tuesday Night at Free Concert with U.S. Air Force Band

Starting Your Own Business: Series of Workshops at Darien Library Begins May 22

Pic Darien Photo Contest Accepting Photos Until May 16

Heather Pech, Marathoner, Coach, Former CEO of Polo Jeans and 9 West, Speaks Wednesday to Darien Men’s Association

April 21 Masquerade Ball Tickets Still Available from OPUS for Person-to-Person

Events Calendar

Public Safety

By David Gurliacci | April 4, 2018

Community Organizations

By David Gurliacci | April 4, 2018

Arts & Entertainment

By David Gurliacci | April 4, 2018

Healthy Living

By David Gurliacci | April 4, 2018

Education

By MARC MARIN | April 3, 2018

Obituaries

By David Gurliacci | April 2, 2018

Opinion

By David Gurliacci | April 2, 2018

Darien Depot

By David Gurliacci | April 2, 2018

Education

By David Gurliacci | April 2, 2018

Public Safety

By David Gurliacci | April 2, 2018

Education

By David Gurliacci | April 2, 2018

Business

By David Gurliacci | April 2, 2018

Darien Arts Center

By David Gurliacci | April 2, 2018

Business

By David Gurliacci | April 1, 2018

Community Organizations

By David Gurliacci | April 1, 2018

Steven Costantini Kelly Thurston new officers

Darien Police Department filled its last two open positions on Thursday when two new, probationary police officers were sworn in in front of their families, other police officers and town officials, but it will take a while before they’re through training. Staff Shortage Likely Means Less Use of Police Boat
The two new officers will be training until after Christmas, said Police Chief Raymond Osborne. In fact, as Town Administrator Kathleen Buch said earlier in the week, the department has two other officers expected to be on medical leave, which means that the agency, with about 55 sworn officers, will have essentially four vacancies for much of the year. Buch told the Board of Selectmen on Monday that in order to avoid excessive overtime, Osborne had told her the Darien police boat likely won’t be used on weekdays early in the boating season. “That’s too bad,” First Selectman Jayme Stevenson said.

The Darien Athletic Foundation and The Darien Foundation have announced that they have agreed to a joint venture on the leadership and funding of DAF Media, a local live-streaming high-definition video network. Sarah Woodberry, Executive Director of The Darien Foundation said, “We are excited to join forces on this venture to provide rewarding opportunities to the youth of Darien while producing a worthwhile product for our entire community”. DAF Media broadcasts are produced by a volunteer staff of local youths and adults who learn to use broadcast cameras, computers, software, microphones, mixers, and lights plus all of the less-technical aspects like logistical planning that go into producing high-quality live broadcasts. Broadcast events include arts, athletics, and community events. “We are thrilled to have The Darien Foundation joining forces with us on the DAF Media initiative” added Bruce Ferguson a Darien Athletic Foundation board member who will chair the committee that steers the joint venture.

Teens are invited to an after-hours talent competition at Darien Library featuring a variety of acts from Darien High School. Come to see all of your friends perform or come be in the show! Join the Darien Library Teen Advisory Board for a night of awesome talent and fun! The show will start at 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 21, with a mandatory sound check and pizza party for performers starting at 5:30 p.m.

All performers MUST be in either middle or high school, but may perform any act of their choosing (subject to approval). Questions may be directed to Teen Librarian Mia Orobona (morobona@darienlibrary.org).

Join Susann Varano, MD, for a lighthearted look at the ups and downs of aging in a three-part series, two at Maplewood at Darien and a third at Maplewood in Norwalk. _________

— an announcement from Maplewood at Darien

_________

The three-part series covers the aging process and offers insights on managing the physical changes as we age. Dr. Varano is a brilliant, dynamic speaker with a great sense of humor. Her lectures provide both personal and professional insights on aging. Dr. Varano is a Yale University trained physician, and double-board certified in Geriatrics and Internal Medicine.

During early dismissal days recently, Royle Elementary School students had a chance to explore a wide-range of science, art, robotics, and engineering activities after school. Known as STEAM Week, which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (STEAM), more than 300 students had an opportunity to explore, tinker, and have a little fun. Through a robotics class, students were able to build their own dancing monkey and spinning top robots, and then code them to move using a program on Chromebooks. They also learned the properties of sound, including how sound can travel and be altered. In a Science activity, older kids experienced first hand Newton’s three Laws of Motion.

Barbara Dinkel Dillon, 90, of Darien passed away on March 28, 2018. Born on Sept. 2, 1927 in Glen Ridge, N.J., Barbara grew up in Maplewood, N.J., where she graduated from Columbia High School. She went on to attend Pembroke College in Providence (then the women’s school of Brown University), following in her father’s footsteps as a Brown alumnus. She graduated in 1939 with a B.A. in English.

Is this the way we want to live? Is this what our children have learned from us? Take a look at this Twitter thread we’ve copied and see just what we look like. — UPDATE: The images of the tweets have been removed. Take a look in this mirror, and see these responses to your school superintendent’s announcement that school would proceed on a normal schedule.

Dear Depot Community:

It is my pleasure to announce the launch of two annual scholarships to be awarded to two graduating seniors from the Depot Community. These awards will be presented at Darien High School on May 24 beginning at 6:30 p.m.

The Bankwell For Good Scholarship will be awarded to the senior who has been a key member of a Depot club or organization and who consistently exhibited a high level of commitment and service to the Depot. This winner will receive $2,500. The Janice Marzano Scholarship will be awarded to the Depot senior who embodies the most positive aspects of Janice’s personality; spirit, kindness and a true love for the Depot and its core values. The recipient must not only possess these traits but also be in need of financial assistance.

Darien Schools Superintendent Dan Brenner issued a public apology Monday to Darien parents of school children. He said he should have delayed the start of school. ____________
Update: Nasty Backlash on Twitter
Updated at 4:12 p.m.:

Brenner’s 5:17 a.m. tweet about not delaying the school day was met with harsh complaints from parents, including some insults, and complaints often combined with swearing, insults, scorn and vilification from others, most of whom identified themselves as students. Here’s Brenner’s tweet:

Here’s a sampling of the replies to that tweet (we’ve left out the swearing):

Lisa Valentine‏ @lisamillette71

The heaviest snow is now thru 10a. Bad call.

Night Police Lights CT State Police on Facebook March 30-17 uploaded 06-20-17

A 64-year-old driver was reported to police as driving in an erratic way on Old Kings Highway North, near Goodwives Shopping Center on Palm Sunday evening, and then charged with driving while under the influence after officers themselves saw his driving, Darien police said. Darien police described what happened with this account, including accusations not proven in court:

At 8:17 p.m., Sunday, March 25 someone called police to report the way a tan Chevrolet Silverado was being driven in the area. Officers dispatched to the area saw the car being driven very slowly through the shopping center parking lot. While following the car as it left the lot and headed east on Old Kings Highway North. the officer saw the driver make small abrupt movements and eventually cross outside the lane, over the double-yellow line at a curve in the road.

Darien High School’s Tudor Singers will perform Tuesday night at the Palace Theater in Stamford in a free concert with the United States Air Force Band and Singing Sergeants Chorus. “Come see the DHS Tudor Singers perform” at the concert, a Darien High School tweet said. The performance starts at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 3 at the downtown Stamford venue. Here’s the description of the band and chorus on the Palace Theater’s website:

With its present home on Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, D.C., the United States Air Force Band is the Air Force’s premier musical organization. Since its formation in 1941 as the Army Air Forces Band, the excellence demonstrated by the Band’s Airmen musicians has reflected the excellence carried out 24 hours a day by Airmen stationed around the globe.

If you have an idea about starting a business but don’t know where to start, or if your new business is struggling to grow, this free, five-part workshop series on five Tuesday nights, starting May 22, will provide a solid foundation for your business to grow and thrive. — an announcement from Darien Library

This workshop series, conducted by a team of professionals from the SCORE Fairfield County Chapter, will give you the boost to get you on your way! The series is presented Tuesday nights from May 22 to June 19, from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Conference Room at Darien Library. Check-in starts at 5:30 p.m. Please check your schedule to ensure you can attend all the listed sessions. Register here.

The Darien Arts Center is announcing the return of its smartphone photography contest fundraiser, Pic Darien. In 2017, the contest garnered over 300 entries, with submissions from all ages. This year, contestants may submit their smartphone photos for cash prizes in 6 categories at darienarts.org until May 16. — an announcement from Darien Arts Center

The contest is open to all; there are no age restrictions and contestants are not required to live in Darien.

Participants may enter either as a student, age 17 and under, or as an adult, age 18 and over, in one of six themed prize categories including People and Pets, Landscape and Nature, Travel: Near and Far, Food, Humor and Abstract.

Heather Pech, winning marathon runner, successful retail fashion executive and a native Darien resident, will talk about her life on the run at the Wednesday, April 4 meeting of the Darien Men’s Association. Heather Pech will speak of her experiences running marathons, particularly the 2017 Boston Marathon, where she won her 55-59 age bracket. Her time was better than 698 other runners in her category. Today, she clocks 80-90 hours a week. Her goal is to run a marathon in under three hours.

Tickets are on sale for the OPUS for Person-to-Person spring Masquerade Ball to be held Saturday, April 21, at the newly renovated Country Club of Darien. The ball’s proceeds will support Person-to-Person (P2P), specifically P2P’s programs directly benefitting children — including, Campership scholarships for children and youth in need, grants to families, the Holiday Toy Store, Baby Basics layettes for new mothers, and Scholarships for college. Doors will open at 6 p.m., and guests in formal black and/or white attire will don masks as they sip cocktails overlooking the beautifully-manicured Country Club of Darien golf course. After cocktail hour, guests will be seated at a gourmet dinner followed by dancing to the nationally acclaimed King of Hearts band. And for the first time this year, guests can plan on celebrating into the wee hours at the afterparty from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. (admission to the afterparty is included in the ticket price).

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