Drinking in Darien 2019

State Liquor Commission Fines Wee Burn Country Club $15,000, Says Minor Was Served There

Study: Connecticut Ranks Low in DUI Arrests — at No. 43

Police: DUI for Woman, 53, Who Swerved Into Opposing Lane on Tokeneke Road

Police: DUI for Man, 43, Driving Erratically on Post Road With 3X Legal Blood-Alcohol Limit

Almost 30 Teens at Party with Drinking on Red Barn Road

Police: DUI for Man, 38, Seen Swerving in Lane, Found With More Than 3X Legal Blood-Alcohol Limit

Police: At Home When Teens Reportedly Drinking, Parents Don’t Answer Police Knocks, Intoxicated Father Arrested

Police: DUI for Man, 44, After Collision at Intersection of Post Road and Brookside Road

Leaving Team Sports and Becoming Socially Isolated in College Contributes to Binge Drinking

‘What NOT to Teach Your Teen’ About Drinking: Hear from an Expert Wednesday Night, Nov 20

Report of Teen Drinking Comes Too Late: Evidence of Party Drinking at Scene, But No One Home

Police: Man, 43, Encouraged Two Underage Caddies to Drink Alcohol, Held Drinking Games on Golf Course

Police: With a Teenage Girl Reportedly Unconscious, a Friend’s Parent Drives Her Home But Barely Cooperates With Cops

Police: DUI for Darien Man, 21, in Minor One-Car Accident on Mansfield Ave

Men and Women Face Different Hurdles When Recovering From Addiction, Says Treatment Agency

Community Organizations

By David Gurliacci | April 22, 2020

Public Safety

By DARIENITE.COM | December 19, 2019

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By David Gurliacci | December 9, 2019

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By David Gurliacci | December 4, 2019

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By David Gurliacci | December 4, 2019

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By David Gurliacci | November 26, 2019

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By David Gurliacci | November 19, 2019

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By David Gurliacci | November 13, 2019

Letters to the Editor

By DARIENITE.COM | November 12, 2019

Healthy Living

By DARIENITE.COM | November 3, 2019

Public Safety

By David Gurliacci | September 26, 2019

Public Safety

By David Gurliacci | August 19, 2019

Public Safety

By David Gurliacci | May 13, 2019

Public Safety

By David Gurliacci | May 13, 2019

Healthy Living

By DARIENITE.COM | April 13, 2019

Wee Burn Country Club served alcohol to a minor and violated four other liquor laws or regulations, the state Liquor Commission has determined, so the commission fined the club $15,000 for that and suspended liquor sales for two days in October. The commission’s public notice about the suspension has few details about the violations it says the club committed, but, in addition to “sale to minor,” lists them as “club permit,” “restrictions on drink promotions,” “consumer bar violation” and “sale to intoxicated individuals.” The club, located at 410 Hollow Tree Ridge Road, will be barred from serving liquor on Oct. 12 and 13, 2020. The commission’s website didn’t give any details about the sale to a minor, but Darien police last August accused a Darien man of providing liquor to two “minors” — 19-year-old caddies, in part at the Wee Burn club bar.

A new study found that Connecticut has the nation’s 43rd highest rate of drunk-driving arrests. Connecticut’s rate of DUI arrests in 2018 was 216.4 per 100,000; the national average was 330 per 100,000. From 2009 to 2018, Connecticut’s annual DUI arrests went down 25.2%, a bit more than the nationwide average. — an announcement from US Drug Test Centers; all images are from the report

An estimated 30 people are killed in drunk-driving accidents every day in the U.S. Despite the widespread awareness of the dangers of drinking and driving, many states have rates of DUI arrests that are troubling. US Drug Test Centers.com today released its study, Worst States for DUIs, which uses the latest data from the FBI on arrests for driving under the influence in 2018 and how those rates have changed over time.

A 53-year-old Norwalk driver was intoxicated when a police officer saw her swerving over the double yellow line into the northbound lane on Tokeneke Road when she was traveling south, police said. Police gave this further account of what happened, including accusations not proven in court:

At 12:56 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 6, a police officer on patrol saw a gray Honda traveling south. The vehicle swerved several times and crossed over the yellow lines into the oncoming-traffic lane. The officer stopped the vehicle near the Norwalk border.

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

A 43-year-old man was behind the wheel of a compact SUV and had a blood-alcohol content recorded at three times the legal limit after a police officer saw him driving erratically on the Post Road just west of its intersection with Quaker Lane, police said. Darien police described what happened with this account, including accusations not proven in court:

While on patrol, the officer saw a green Toyota Rav4 being driven erratically east on the Post Road at about 10:36 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 24. The officer stopped the vehicle near Quaker Lane (across the Post Road from the firefighter statue and just east of the Post Road/Renshaw Road intersection). While speaking with the driver, Jose Olivio-Alvarado, the officer smelled an alcoholic drink coming from the man, saw that the man’s eyes were bloodshot and glassy and that he was slurring his words.

Darien police broke up a teenager party with drinking at a house on on Red Barn Road on Saturday, Nov. 23 and had parents pick up almost 30 teens after police received a complaint about a loud party. The police announcement doesn’t mention charges being filed against anyone; police have a diversion program involving hearings and responsive measures that avoids formal charges and court appearances. Here’s what happened, according to police:

Officers responded to an anonymous complaint they received at 10:17 p.m. about a possible party involving alcohol and teenagers. When officers arrived, they heard very loud music and saw people in the house speaking loudly.

A 38-year-old man was swerving within his lane as he drove south on Tokeneke Road at about 2 a.m., Saturday, and when the man took a breath test an hour later, his blood-alcohol content was more than three times the legal limit, police said. Police described what happened with this account, including accusations not proven in court:

The man, Andres Farfan, was driving his blue Toyota Corolla in front of a police officer, who saw the car swerve and noticed that a rear brake light was out. The officer stopped the car near the entrance to Interstate 95. When the officer spoke with Farfan, he could smell alcohol coming from the driver, whose eyes were red and glassy. Farfan also seemed to have trouble concentrating as they spoke.

Police officers responding to a report of teenage drinking didn’t find any of that among the teens present, but the father — who didn’t answer the bedroom door until police had knocked on it for more than five minutes — appeared intoxicated, groggy and confused, police said. Police charged him with four counts of risk of injury to a child. Police described what happened with this account, including accusations not proven in court:

Police said they received a report of teenagers drinking at 11:58 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 16, at a house near the northern end of Hollow Tree Ridge Road. When officers arrived there, they were met by a 15-year-old girl who said she had invited a group of friends over (the announcement didn’t say how many were at the party).

A 44-year-old man was intoxicated early Saturday afternoon when he drove his SUV through a red traffic light and collided with another SUV, causing heavy damage to to both vehicles but no injuries, Darien police said. — This account is based on the police description of what happened, including accusations not proven in court. The driver, Estuardo Reyes, was driving west on the Post Road at its intersection with Brookside Road shortly before 3:47 p.m. when the gray Chevrolet Suburban he was driving, a full-size sport-utility vehicle, struck a blue Land Rover Discovery that had been driving south on Brookside Road pulled out into the intersection. Witnesses told police that the Suburban went through a red traffic light. Reyes told police the light was green.

Letter to the Editor Battle of Braddock's Field

To The editor,

Did you know that one of the greatest predictors of binge drinking in college is participation in team sports in high school? This fact is shocking to many parents in Darien when I have spoken this last year at the Darien schools. But let’s think this through, unless your child is planning to continue pursuing their sport in college, your child will have more unstructured time than they have ever had in their life. Perhaps they will experience a loss of identity and affiliation, and perhaps a loss of social competence as a result. This creates a perfect storm for a yearning for new connections and affiliation which can easily be satisfied through binge drinking. The loss of competitiveness on the sports field will now be replaced by a new level of competitiveness in drinking games.

Every parent wants to send their child off to college fully prepared. You teach them how to do laundry, how to budget time and money, and how to navigate tricky roommate situations. What NOT to teach your teen? How to drink. On Wednesday, Nov.

Police said that a 15-year-old Darien girl told officers — who saw evidence that a party with drinking took place at a home while no parent was around — that she didn’t invite anyone to her home and didn’t provide alcohol to anyone. Police gave this account:

She wasn’t even at her home on Kensett Lane on Saturday night when police arrived after getting a 9:28 p.m. report of teenagers drinking there. It was unclear from the police report whether or not she said she was even there when the party took place. She told police that she believed teenagers who found out that her mother was away came to the house with alcohol. Police who went to the home, no one answered the front door.

Darien police arrest photo James Hurty, 43, of the Post Road in Darien

A 43-year-old Darien man golfing at Wee Burn Country Club not only provided alcohol to two caddies, both under 21, but encouraged them to drink more by holding drinking games, police said. The man’s encouragement was “somewhat forceful” in the words of the Darien police announcement, which relied on the accounts of one or both of the caddies. Later that day, June 25, one of the caddies was arrested on a charge of driving while intoxicated. Police provided this further information about the matter, including accusations not proven in court (all quotes are from the police announcement, not from witnesses):

Blaine Hurty, 43, of the Post Road, provided alcohol to the caddies “throughout the day,” according to the announcement. He not only encouraged them to drink, but he got so intoxicated that he himself could no longer play, and he let the caddies play, holding small contests for them, in which the loser was supposed to have “an entire alcohol drink.”

A Darien woman dropped off one of her daughter’s 16-year-old friends — reportedly unconscious after drinking — at the friend’s home sometime past midnight on Sunday, according to police. The intoxicated girl’s condition caused her parents to call 911, and a Darien EMS-Post 53 ambulance took the girl to a hospital for evaluation. Police, who also went to the scene, said they later questioned the Darien woman, Amanda Smith, 45, of Gardner Street. Police said: Smith initially said she didn’t know where she’d picked up the intoxicated girl and her friends, then wouldn’t let police talk to her own daughter, then said she’d picked up the girls on Sunswyck Road, but she refused to go with police to help them locate the house where the teenagers were at. Smith was charged with interfering with an investigation, a misdemeanor, and was told to report May 23 to state Superior Court in Stamford.

A 21-year-old Darien man was intoxicated when he got into a minor one-car accident on Mansfield Avenue just before 1:20 a.m., Thursday, May 9, police said. Police described what happened with this account, which also includes accusations not proven in court:

After someone reported the accident to police, officers arrived at the scene and spoke with the driver, who was the only person in the car. Police determined that the driver didn’t need medical attention, but they also saw he was unsteady on his feet, and they could smell alcohol on him. The driver said he had just come from a local “establishment,” (police didn’t say which one or whether it was a bar or restaurant) where he had been drinking. The driver agreed to perform field sobriety tests but failed to perform them to an adequate standard, so he was charged with driving while under the influence and failure to stay on the right side of the road.

Image from https://archives.drugabuse.gov/publications/women-drug-abuse/many-women-are-afraid-to-seek-treatment

« August 2022 »

If you’ve recovered from an addiction yourself and know of someone of the opposite sex who’s trying to recover from one now, you may not realize that the challenges of recovery can be different for men than they are for women. This article, contributed by Mountainside Treatment Center, which has a location in Wilton, discusses what’s different (individuals will, of course, vary — this article discusses generalized group differences):

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), men and women face similar odds of developing substance use disorders. Despite this fact, women and men encounter unique hurdles in their efforts to achieve sobriety, due to several biological and social factors. Here are four ways addiction distinctly affects male and female substance users:
1. Addicted women are more stigmatized.