Have You Heard …? Grand Openings, Tribute in Pink, Firefighter Thanked and More

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

Darien Grille holds its grand opening at 22 Center Street, from 3:30 p.m. to midnight on Wednesday, and on Thursday, Oct. 25, Hollow Tree Self Storage at 131 Hollow Tree Ridge Road holds its grand opening from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Both grand openings have free food, but we suspect there’ll be more at the restaurant.

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NewCanaanite.com reports:

New Canaan High School senior Will Hetherington jumped into action on Sept. 25, and rescued two young girls caught in a submerged vehicle during the heavy rain storm and flash flooding that took place that day throughout the area.

Hetherington, who’s been a volunteer fireman for the Darien Fire Department since he was 17, was on duty when, at approximately 4:30 p.m. that Tuesday, the DFD got a call for a car and water rescue. A Jeep Cherokee with three young girls, aged 6, 8 and 12, and their grandmother, was submerged under the Tokeneke Railroad Bridge in Darien, with flooding waters reaching half way up the car windows. Hetherington was on the rescue truck that was dispatched, and he volunteered to suit-up, donning a yellow waterproof rescue outfit, known as a “mustang suit.”

With DFD safety officer Andy Malowitz, Hetherington approached the trapped family’s vehicle. They decided not to break any windows but were able to pull the young girls from one of the slightly open car windows. Hetherington rescued two of the girls, putting each on his shoulders and carrying them to the firetruck, handing them off to Lorin Treglia, another DFD volunteer.

He and Malowitz returned to remove the grandmother, who had an injured foot, which restricted the rescue effort. They eventually were able to pry open the driver’s door and remove her from the vehicle, carrying her to the firetruck.

“The courage Will displayed during the rescue is without question,” said NCHS Principal Bill Egan. “We are proud of his actions on September 25th and happy to be able to share his story.” Hetherington is one of New Canaan High School’s Students of the Month for October 2018, a monthly program in which two students from each year at the high school are recognized with a hallway plaque. —Mike Horyczun

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A donation on behalf of the John and Ethel Kashulon Foundation recently was presented  the Darien Community Association.

The gift will support the DCA’s college scholarship awards to Darien High School graduates.

The Kashulon Foundation mission is to improve people’s lives through the funding of programs whose mission and projects align with its three unified goals of enhancing educational, children’s and cultural opportunities.

The DCA is located at 274 Middlesex Road in Darien.

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On Sept. 19, Bridget Ritchie, a junior at Darien High School, hosted a field trip to the Norwalk Aquarium for eighteen 3rd graders from Saint Joseph School in the Bronx.

Bridget used GoFundMe and social media to help raise the money needed to cover the cost of transportation from the Bronx and the admission to the Aquarium.

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New Canaan town officials about to focus on improving amenities at Talmadge Hill Train Station, according to New Canaan First Selectman Kevin Moynihan. As it stands, the station has no canopy, coffee or warming places.

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Former Darien Police Chief Duane Lovello started a new job earlier this year as director of Yale University Security Operations. (That’s a different agency from the Yale Police Department, which has its own police chief.)

Between Darien and Yale, Lovello worked for a short time at the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority, where former Darien town administrator Karl Kilduff is executive director. At CHFA, Lovello managed over 40,000 properties statewide.

At Yale, his department, with 150 officers, “serves as the eyes and ears of the YPD [Yale Police Department] by patrolling buildings and parking facilities. Yale Security also manages the University security systems (CCTV cameras, ID card readers, intercoms and alarm systems), provides walking escorts and nighttime safe rides, runs theft deterrent programs, and provides lockout services.”

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We’re late in publishing this, but we had to include it (just look at those kids!): Pictures from the Holmes School back-to-school picnic:

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“On October 13, Sharon Prince, chair and president of Grace Farms Foundation, along with benefit Co-Chairs Jay Fielden, editor-in-chief of Esquire, and Peter King Hunsinger former Condé Nast publisher, welcomed more than 250 arts, culture, academic, architecture and business leaders, to the Foundation’s third anniversary celebration,” the foundation announced.

Pictures from the event:

“The event at Grace Farms included a premiere of a new work by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and musician Caroline Shaw, featuring poetic text by Christian Wiman, a cello quartet from Yale Cellos, and vocal alumni from Yale Institute of Sacred Music and YoungArts. DJ Alexandra Richards culminated the evening with a one-hour set and dancing.

“The Foundation raised $400,000 to forge new pathways to advance nature, arts, justice, community and faith, and to sustain the award-winning Grace Farms. Additional major gifts were also raised for international trainings to disrupt cross-border organized crimes, including human trafficking.”

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Everyone had a (golf) ball at Ability Beyond’s popular Golf Championship and Tennis Tournament held on Oct. 1 at the Ridgewood Country Club in Danbury. The annual athletic event attracted close to 130 participants and raised $93,000 (the official goal was $80,000).

All proceeds from the event will be used by the nonprofit to continue providing job training and placement, supported living, and recreational and educational opportunities for over 3,000 individuals with disabilities throughout Connecticut and New York.

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Darien Police Department’s K-9 Argo received a bullet and stab protective vest thanks to a charitable donation from non-profit organization Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. K9 Argo’s vest is sponsored by an Anonymous Sponsor and will be embroidered with the sentiment “This gift of protection provided by Vested Interest in K9s, Inc.”. Delivery is expected within eight to ten weeks.

Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. is a 501c(3) charity in East Taunton, MA with the mission of providing bullet and stab protective vests and other assistance to dogs of law enforcement and related agencies throughout the country.

The non-profit was established in 2009 to assist law enforcement agencies with this potentially lifesaving body armor for their four-legged K9 officers. Since its inception, Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. provided over 2,800 protective vests, in 50 states, through private and corporate donations, at a cost of over 2.4 million dollars.

The program is open to dogs actively employed in the U.S. with law enforcement or related agencies who are certified and at least 20 months of age. New K9 graduates, as well as K9s with expired vests, are eligible to participate.

The donation to provide one protective vest for a law enforcement K9 is $950. Each vest has a value between $1,744 to $2,283 and a five-year warranty, and an average weight of 4 to 5 pounds.

There are an estimated 30,000 law enforcement K9s throughout the United States. For more information or to learn about volunteer opportunities, please call 508-824-6978. Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. provides information, lists events, and accepts tax-deductible donations of any denomination at www.vik9s.org or mailed to P.O. Box 9 East Taunton, MA 02718.