Around Town

Water Mains To Be Replaced on Parts of Mansfield Ave, Buttonwood Lane

Support Noroton Fire Department at Bingo Night and Block Party Fundraisers

St. Luke’s Thursday Community Suppers: Building Community Meal by Meal

28 Community Service Projects in Noroton Presbyterian Church’s Annual Service Day

Historic Mather Homestead in Darien Prepares to Open as a Museum

You Can Still Shave Your Head Saturday for Kids with Cancer in Darien’s St. Baldrick’s Event

Downtown Darien’s About to Look Different — with Lamppost Flags Starting Around Memorial Day

Here’s How Often Eversource Helicopters Fly Over Darien — and Why

Winners of ‘Darien Dash’ Scavenger Hunt Announced

Remember: Set Your Clock an Hour Ahead — Sunday is a 23-Hour Day

Drought Forum Monday Morning in Stamford with Jayme Stevenson, Other Area Government Leaders

Water Restrictions Due to Drought Ease a Bit for Darien, Nearby Towns

DRINKING IN DARIEN: Worse than Elsewhere for Both Teens and Adults — and the Problem is Growing

Have You Heard …?

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Around Town

By David Gurliacci | June 13, 2017

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By David Gurliacci | May 22, 2017

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By SUSAN WYPER | May 18, 2017

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By David Gurliacci | January 30, 2017

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By David Gurliacci | January 28, 2017

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By David Gurliacci | January 24, 2017

News from around Darien

In a 10-week project starting Wednesday and continuing through August, water mains will be replaced on all of Buttonwood Lane and part of Mansfield Avenue, and later on Brookside Drive. The project may cause temporary disruptions in water service and discolored water, Aquarion Water Company warned in its announcement Tuesday morning. The announcement has advice about how to deal with those problems.

There may be “minor traffic delays and possible detours during the working hours of 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.,” the utility also warns. Here’s the announcement from Aquarion (we’ve added links showing the parts of the streets where the mains will be replaced; Darien police also distributed the announcement Tuesday afternoon):

Aquarion Water Company today announced a water main replacement project on Buttonwood Lane from Brookside Road to Mansfield Avenue [that is, all of Buttonwood Lane], and on Mansfield Avenue from Buttonwood Lane north to Middlesex Road. Scheduled to begin June 14, 2017, the work is expected to be completed in 10 weeks. The project will replace a total of 5,400 feet of existing 6-inch and 8-inch water main with 12-inch ductile iron main, as part of the company’s improvement plan to create a new water distribution “backbone” for the town of Darien.

Noroton Fire Department rescue boat 05-22-17

Come join the volunteer Noroton Fire Department as its members kick off their annual fundraiser Thursday, June 22 with a night of Bingo, then on Saturday, June 24, when the department hosts its annual block Party. For bingo night, ticket sales begin at 6 p.m., with the first game being called at 7 p.m. Snacks and beverages will be available under the big tent at the corner of the Post Road and Nearwater Lane. ___________

— an announcement from Noroton Fire Department

___________

The block party on Saturday, a great event for the entire family, kicks off at 5 p.m., at the corner of Post Road and Nearwater Lane. There will be a wide variety of food and beverages, as well as live entertainment, including the renowned Highland Rovers and Jump the Gunn bands. Admission is free.

Red Sign Community Supper St. Luke's 05-04-17

Have you ever driven down the Post Road on a Thursday and wondered about the red and white Community Supper signs? Community Supper might be the best kept culinary secret in town, except that it’s not secret to the 100-plus folks who come week by week to share a $1.00 meal in a friendly and welcoming environment. For the past 10 years, Saint Luke’s has hosted this weekly dinner, open to all. “Our family attends Community Supper at least twice a month,” says parishioner Meredith Olmstead. “It’s truly one of the best things we do.”

At first the supper was a simple way to allow her kids to build relationships with people of all backgrounds and ages, but soon Olmstead found herself drawn to share her own Cordon Bleu background and now spearheads dinner preparation, with a group of friends, three times a year.

Noroton Presbyterian Church NPC Service Day 05-09-17

Hundreds of members of Noroton Presbyterian Church (NPC) participated in 28 community service projects around Darien on Sunday, April 30 for the second annual NPC Service Day. The idea developed last year was for the church community to come together, all ages and stages, and serve their greater community. “NPC Service Day was a wonderful opportunity for our congregation to serve our community,” Interim Senior Pastor, Rev. Dr. John Seiders said. “What a great joy it was to see children, youth, and adults caring for people and the larger community in which we live. “In a day and age when people are polarized about all kinds of issues, it is our desire to actively care for our community and the people who are here.”

The day had projects for everyone, i.e. outside projects, sitting down projects, manual labor projects, etc.

One of Darien’s oldest houses, raided by Tories during the American Revolution and later the summer home of the first director of the U.S. National Parks Service, is getting ready to open to the public later this year. The home at 19 Stephen Mather Road was built in 1778 by Joseph Mather, a church deacon (and son of the Rev. Moses Mather, then minister of Darien’s Congregational Church). Joseph Mather chose a spot for it in the north of town thought to be less likely raided by Tories. Mather’s descendants have owned it until now.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for May 5 to mark the transfer of the property from the Mather family to the new Mather Homestead Foundation. The foundation will open the house to small groups of visitors by appointment sometime this spring, said foundation Executive Director Anna Denoyer.

As of the day before Darien’s St. Baldrick’s head-shaving event kicks off, firefighters in town have already raised more than 150 percent of the $50,000 goal they set for themselves. At this point, they’re at $75,211, and you can still join them and get your head shaved. It’s not too late! Here’s where you can sign up.

Downtown Darien is expected to get a lot more redder, whiter and bluer starting just about on Memorial Day this year with a gift of American flags just accepted by the town Board of Selectmen. David Hawes, a town resident, presented a proposal to the board on Monday for him and others to give the town about 80 flags to be attached high up on lampposts along the Post Road between Sedgwick and Hecker Avenues. “It’s a really, really wonderful and very generous idea,” First Selectman Jayme Stevenson told him. “Well, I couldn’t have don it without help from Ring’s End [Lumber] and Hollow Tree Self Storage,” Hawes replied. Both businesses are helping with the project, he said.

Eversource schedules its helicopters to fly over major electricity transmission lines and equipment four times a year (most recently in late December, late February and late this month — starting about now or sometime soon). We asked a utility spokesman why that happens so often, and here’s what we found out:

Frank Poirot, a spokesman for Eversource, said the electric utility conducts two different types of regular inspections over major equipment, including transmission lines, each twice a year. Heat-Sensing Flights
Two trips each year are done with infrared, heat-sensing equipment to see whether lines are especially hot — a sign that the equipment is breaking down. The choppers will fly over the equipment once in the winter and once in the summer. “In the winter, we’ll see the greatest temperature differential, so that hot spot will show up right away,” Poirot said.

Darien Dash winners scavenger hunt Roaches 03-16-17

The Darien Youth Commission has announced the winners of the Darien Dash, the commission’s first town-wide scavenger hunt: Philip, Natalie, Miranda and Kathryn Roche. The Darien Dash took place on March 11 with 13 teams competing for top prizes. It concluded at The Depot Youth Center, where points were tallied and prizes awarded. The Darien Youth Commission, comprised of both adults and high school students, develops enrichment programs and activities for youth. For more information, visit darienct.gov/yc or call 203-656-7388.

Fall back, spring ahead — you have one less hour on Sunday. Did you remember? If not, set your clock ahead one hour. It’s a lot easier to get the time right nowadays, when we rely on our phones to be our watches. But there’s always clocks we need to figure out how to reset.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brass_water_tap.jpg

Landscapers and others who use water outdoors will be particularly interested in an upcoming drought forum with local government leaders, including First Selectman Jayme Stevenson, and officials from the state Department of Public Health and Aquarion, starting 9 a.m. Monday, March 6 in Stamford. Here’s the announcement:

Mayor David Martin, and First Selectmen Peter Tesei, Jayme Stevenson and Robert Mallozzi will be hosting a drought forum with Aquarion and Department of Public Health water officials on Monday, March 6, 2017. The meeting will be held at UConn Stamford beginning at 9 a.m.
Mayor Martin and First Selectmen Tesei, Stevenson and Mallozzi have been meeting with Aquarion and state water officials frequently since the water emergency was declared in August 2016. Priorities for each town will be discussed at the forum. Mayor Martin has invited irrigation companies to attend the meeting on Monday as one of Stamford’s priorities.

As a result of a new request by the Aquarion Water Company, the Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) has issued a second water supply emergency order in Darien, Greenwich, New Canaan and Stamford. ___________
— an announcement from Aquarion Water Co. ___________
This is in accordance with Connecticut General Statute 25-32b allowing DPH to make this declaration. This new order helps increase the likelihood of refilling the Greenwich and Stamford reservoir systems. As of Feb. 17, the Greenwich system was approximately 68 percent full, while the Stamford system measured 61 percent full.

Darien teens drink more than their peers in similar towns, across Fairfield County, across Connecticut and across the United States. Their parents are drinking more than adults in other places, too. And drinking has become more prevalent among middle school and high school kids between 2011 to 2014, especially among high school juniors and seniors. Those are the results of surveys taken for or cited by the Thriving Youth Task Force, a coalition of Darien youth-related groups and professionals in the substance abuse and mental health fields serving Darienites. Later this week, the task force is expected to announce a campaign to turn that around in town.

The low-down on what’s up around town:

Animal Embassy director Chris Evers recently visited students in Miss Rochler’s third grade class at Holmes Elementary School. ***

The Darien Police Commission has decided to look in-house for a police chief to replace Duane Lovello, who’s retiring in mid-February. ***

“We’re excited to report that we recently installed nine trees at the Darien Community Association (DCA) that included five Redbuds, three Dogwoods, and one White-Flowering Redbud,” the Tree Conservancy of Darien announced on Facebook. “Many thanks to Planters Choice Nursery for their generous donation of trees and to Richard Jones Landscaping for the help installing.” ***

From Darien Library:

If you live in Darien, you can bring up to five old light bulbs to Darien Library and exchange them for energy-efficient LED bulbs.

Darien Recycling Center smoke detectors 01-23-17

« August 2022 »

Here’s the low-down on what’s up around town:

A Darien Recycling Center post on Facebook:

***

Kindergarten and first grade classrooms at Holmes Elementary School recently became living laboratories through the High Touch High Tech program. Students learned about the five senses with hands-on experiments and interactive investigations led by scientists Mr. O and Mark Goldstein. Other students learned about the forces of gravity, friction and magnetism by doing hands-on experiments led by High Touch High Tech scientist Stacy Smith. The kids discovered how much they rely on their senses and how easy they are to fool using pencils, flashlights and sandpaper. High Touch High Tech has provided enriching science experience to students for the last decade.