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The Greenwich Weekly Newspaper, Local, local, local.
February 12, 2021
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Next Local Steps in COVID-19 Vaccination Rollout By Richard Kaufman Greenwich is prepared for the next part of phase 1b in the state's vaccination rollout plan, as residents aged 65 and over can now make appointments to get their shots. The community-run clinics and the Yale New Haven Health sites in town have been running smoothly since they began last month, according to Selectperson Lauren Rabin and Greenwich Hospital President Diane Kelly. Rabin, who filled in for First Selectman Fred Camillo during Wednesday’s weekly COVID-19 b r i e f i n g , s a i d t h a t 5 5 . 1% o f Greenwich’s population over the age of 75 have received at least one dose of vaccine. Currently if people cannot make their appointment,
the town is calling other residents who have time slots on different days so doses aren’t wasted, Rabin noted. “The health department is working very diligently and getting prepared for the additional residents that are going to be eligible for the vaccine,” Rabin said. Vaccine supplies have been limited, but Kelly expressed some hope that more doses could be on their way to Connecticut from the federal government. “We are prepared to increase the amount of people we can see. Whenever we have the vaccine, we are giving the vaccine,” Kelly said, noting that all doses are being used. “I’m very happy with the processes.” Kelly added that it has been “quite humbling and a great honor”
to vaccinate people and protect them from a virus that has ravaged the country for about a year now. Connecticut has remained in the top four states in the nation for vaccine distribution. “I’m th r illed a nd honored that Connecticut is near the top [of the list] on their [vaccination] processes, because we’ve been very mindful and intentional about how we are setting these processes up. You have to remember that when we give someone their first vaccine, they are entrusting us to give them that second dose. That requires being thoughtful, that requires having a diligent plan, and not succumbing to pressures to leave that plan,” Kelly said. “We know we have the long game in view. By having very specific processes, we’re able to not waste a very, very
precious commodity. When we have the vaccine, we’re going to get that in someone’s arm.” Eligible residents must make appointments ahead of time in order to receive the vaccine at any open clinic in the state. To find available vaccination clinics throughout the state, residents can visit ct.gov/covidvaccine and enter their zip code. The community-run vaccination clinics in Greenwich are using the Vaccine Administration Management System (VAMS) to schedule appointments, which can be found at greenwichct.gov under the health department page. The Yale New Haven Health sites in town -- 500 West Putnam Ave. and Brunswick School -- are using their own scheduling tool at ynhhs.org. Updated COVID Numbers
As of Feb. 9, the total number of Greenwich residents who have tested positive since the pandemic began was 3,644, an increase of 244 over last week. Active cases as of Feb. 9 stood at 227, up 52 from last week. The total reported death toll in Greenwich since March increased as well over the last week by one, to 81. At Greenwich Hospital as of Feb. 10, there were 35 COVID-19 patients being treated in the hospital, up from 22 that was reported on Feb. 3 . Three of the five patients in the Intensive Care Un it on We d ne sday wer e on ventilators. "This still continues to be a very serious illness that we are all fighting and battling," Kelly said Inpatient numbers at Greenwich Hospital have remained
within the mid-20's to 30's, but numbers across the Yale New Haven Health System have decreased in recent weeks. As of Feb. 10, there were 293 patients being treated across the system's five hospitals. That number has not been below 300 since November. "It's imperative that people remember to use their masks, maintain social distancing and do their hand washing. We are at a little bit of a risk of people letting down their guard, as more of our citizens in the community are getting vaccinated," Kelly said. "We want to make sure everyone still knows that we have a long way to go as a society and we have to continue those practices. They are what have allowed us to see the lowering of this disease thus far. I'd hate to see us move backwards."
Our Beautiful Greenwich Trees
Left: Winter Wonderland Winner of the Sotheby's agent photo contest by Catherine Stahl.
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The Red Zone
SUBMIT EVENTS Editor@GreenwichSentinel. com ANNOUNCEMENTS Weddings & engagements; promotions, achievements; births; letters to the editor; obituaries. These are free. Beth@GreenwichSentinel. com SPORTS Paul@GreenwichSentinel.com ADVERTISING Peter@GreenwichSentinel. com; call 203-4850226; or buy online at GreenwichSentinel.com/ Advertise STORY IDEAS Publisher@ GreenwichSentinel.com COLUMNISTS Columnists and community impact. Jenny at CommunityImpact@ GreenwichSentinel.com JIM KNOX info@beardsleyzoo.org LETTERS Editor@GreenwichSentinel. com CORRESPONDENCE PO Box 279 Greenwich, CT 06836
By Kate Noonan
Illustrated by Wajih Chaudhry
SUBSCRIBER DELIVERY ISSUES & REQUESTS Thomas@maninmotionllc. com or call 203-515-2288
By Jill S. Woolworth, LMFT The Red Zone is the season in life when parents are holding dow n demanding jobs and raising young kids. It is also the season of “lockdow n” when parents have little chance to t r ave l . T h e y m ove around w ith a U-Haul of k id paraphernalia in tow. Sleep is often a mirage. It is historically the least happy season of marriage. It’s normal to feel enormous stress at this time. We a r e c u l t u r a l l y encou raged to elevate our children and our jobs a b ove ou r m a r r iage s . Watch for this drift if you want your partner to be there when your 18-year houseguests (kids) grow up. Say no to as many additional responsibilities as possible. Delete, defer, and delegate. Each yes takes time directly from your marriage, children,
Right: Dancing in the Snow taken in back country Greenwich by David Kaplan.
and sleep. Once you have chosen your priorities, check in with your family p e r i o d i c a l l y to s e e i f their experience matches your intent. Paul was a college athlete and a gregarious man. When his four children were young, he limited his athletic pursuits to basic fitness, and focused his social life on activities that included his wife and children. He did as little overnight business travel as possible to run his company. Paul’s deci- sions during the Red Zone allow him today to share a wide array of meaning ful activities with his wife of thirty years, including athletics, travel, and friends. Greenwich resident , Jill Woolworth is author of the book, The Waterwheel, which is available locally at Diane's Books (203-8691515) or info@dianesbooks. com) or at Amazon.
Calls to Action
For the Love of Birds and People: Support the Greenwich Audubon Center by being a friend not only to birds but also to people in need right here in Greenwich. The Greenwich Audubon Center is donating back half of every February virtual program ticket and 10% of The Nature Store and Audubon Private Adventures program sales to Neighbor to Neighbor. Check out their Nature store website to see the Bird Feeder packages or to sponsor the center’s bird feeding program for a day or a week: https:// greenwich.audubon.org/the-nature-store
The FAP-The Friends of Autistic People - needs a student volunteer to help set up and organize Zoom meetings. The FAP, a Greenwich all volunteer based nonprofit organization, is dedicated to improving the lives of individuals with Autism. FAP funds Virtual Music based Autism Therapies for children & adults with profound autism helping relieve Covid induced anxiety. Call 203-661-8510 or email: fap.autismct@ gmail.com to help with Zoom training and find out more ways to get involved.
Do you love Trivia? Come support Family Centers Literacy Volunteers by joining in their Trivia Fun Nights: Thursday February 18 at 7pm and Wednesday March 10 at 7pm. Each game will feature three rounds of fun general trivia questions with prizes awarded to the top three highest cumulative point scorers. Literacy volunteer students will share inspiring stories and original written works during the trivia event. Come join in the trivia fun. For more information go to https:// Domus: Love lives Here, is busy helping young adults www.familycenters.org/ and click on Trivia Night.. become independent. Please pick up any of the following items: facewash, toothpaste, baby powder, chapstick, Have a CALL TO ACTION? E-mail Kate bar soap, laundry detergent, shampoo, conditioner, No on a n at t h e G r e e nw i ch S e nt i n e l socks, razors and drop them off at Domus located at 83 Foundation with the details: kate@ Lockwood Ave, Stamford, CT 06902. Check out their website for more opportunities to help: https://www. greenwichsentinelfoundation.org domuskids.org/. Grab dinner and a movie while supporting our local restaurants! Stamford Downtown Winter Restaurant Weeks kicks-off Mon. Feb. 15 and runs thru Sun. Feb. 28. The Avon Theatre is offering diners a coupon for a FREE Medium popcorn with the purchase of an Avon General Admission ticket. The Avon Popcorn Coupon, a $6 value, never expires! For showtimes, visit: www. avontheatre.org
Why Zillow Hates Greenwich Greenwich Goes to Washington Community Calendar Ralph Mayo Speaks Up 21
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Puzzles for Kids & Adults: Crosswords, Suduko, Anagrams and more
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Astrology for Week of Feb. 14
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Books on Love for Your Valentine
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Yesterday’s little moments are today’s precious memories He looked out for your happiness, now it’s time to look out for his When it is time to think about assisted living for your loved one who has memory impairment, it’s time to take a look at The Greens at Greenwich. Discover why The Greens is the leader in providing excellence in dementia care for 20 years. We are a small privately owned assisted living community where staff, programming and culture come together to help your loved one find joy, connections and a sense of purpose related to their new normal. Discover how our small size and passionate staff work daily to provide a plan of care around your loved one’s strengths to create new memories in their journey. “The team at The Greens treats the residents and their loved ones as one big family. You can feel it in the atmosphere when you visit and you can see it among the residents as they socialize with each other. The wonderful team helps us also navigate our family’s dementia journey.” Amy, daughter of resident SCHEDULE A VIRTUAL TOUR TODAY Call Maria Scaros, Executive Director • 203.531.5500 mscaros@thegreensatgreenwich.com thegreensatgreenwich.com
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Serving the Nation, Greenwich Stands Out By Anne W. Semmes
Greenwich is a small town with an outsized reputation. It’s the land of beaches, back country estates, and hedge funders – with one of them, Paul Tudor Jones, building his Belle Haven home a copy of the Monticello home of President Thomas Jefferson. But surely, the fact that three U.S. Presidents can be traced to this town of 62,000 looms large, as do the number of distinguished individuals who have given themselves to public service for our Presidents. Greenwich Country Day, Sacred Heart, and Greenwich High School can all claim Jennifer “Jen” Psaki as their own. She is the newest pick by a U.S. President, Joe Biden, to be his Press Secretary and Communications Director. “I fully trust Jen,” the President reportedly noted of Psaki. Rightly so – she served President Obama in his first term as deputy press secretary and deputy communications director, then as Communications Director in Obama’s second term. Psaki in her work, as seen in an earlier story by this reporter, is absorbing a lot of wisdom: “The art of compromise is diff icult to balance but it is an essential part of getting something done." A century and more before Psaki another woman from Greenwich served in the White House as an Acting First Lady, Margaret Harrison McKee. In 1892 McKee was living in the White House with husband, James, during the presidency of her father Benjamin Harrison, when her mother died a year before the end of her father’s first and only term. Fast forward to another Greenwich High School graduate Hope Hicks who preceded Psaki as President Donald Trump’s White House Director of Strategic Communications early in his presidency, then later as White House Communications Director, becoming his political Counselor in the last year of his presidency. Prior to her White House duty Hicks had worked for the pre-President’s Trump Organization to become his press secretary in his 2016 presidential campaign. Hicks, as former teenage model, would also work with Trump’s first wife Ivanka in her fashion business but likely wasn’t about those years in the 1980’s when Trump and Ivanka lived in their great estate overlooking Indian Harbor they sold in 1992 upon their divorce. The Prescott Bush, Sr. family, arriving in town in 1925, would bring forth two generations of Presidents, but they had a more modest setting on Grove Street near Greenwich Library. Young George was likely learning things seeing how his father, as U.S. Senator, supported President Eisenhower’s push to create our country’s Interstate Highway System, as in I-95. And it was in 1941 that young George, age 17 would meet his bride, Barbara, age 16, at a Christmas dance at the Round Hill Club, becoming in 1989 President and First Lady, after he served as Vice-President for four years under President Ronald Reagan. George W. Bush was born in 1946, a year after his parent’s marriage in 1945, becoming the second son of a former U. S. President to himself become president – the first being John Quincy Adams, the son of John Adams. Young George did not serve in a war as his father did in World War II, but he would launch one with the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. In response to the September 11 terrorist attacks, Bush created the Department of Homeland Security, and then was re-elected to a second term in the 2004 presidential election. The Joseph Verner Reed family up on Riversville Road would bring forth two exemplary sons. Nathaniel Pryor Reed would serve as Assistant Secretary of Fish, Wildlife and Parks at the United States Department of the Interior from 1971 to 1977, serving under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, where he co-wrote and turned into law the Endangered Species Act of 1973. He would become a champion of Florida’s environment. Reed’s younger brother, Joseph Verner Reed Jr., also served under two Presidents. Reagan appointed him Ambassador to Morocco, and George H.W. Bush appointed him Chief of Protocol of the United States from 1989 to 1991. In addition, he served in high levels at the United Nations for many years. Serving under four Presidents, Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Reagan, was Clare Boothe Luce, who shared a home with husband Henry Luce of Time Magazine up on King Street that is now part of the Brunswick School campus. Luce first served as a two-term Congresswoman from our 4th Congressional District. Nixon appointed her to the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (PFIAB) in 1973, serving until President Carter succeeded President Ford in 1977. President Reagan reappointed her to PFIAB, and awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1983 - the first female member of Congress to receive this award. Also in backcountry was Pendleton James who served on President Nixon’s White House Staff and President Reagan’s where he was Assistant to the President for Presidential Personnel. In those presidential years in the early 1970’s and early 1980’s James did a fair share of selecting candidates to fill Cabinet and Sub-Cabinet appointments in all departments of the government. Conyers Farm can claim former resident David Alan Stockman, former money manager and congressman from the state of Michigan who was tapped to be President Reagan’s Director of the Office of Management and Budget from 1981 to 1985. He was known as the "Father of Reaganomics."
Serving under four Presidents, Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Reagan, was Clare Boothe Luce, who shared a home with husband Henry Luce of Time Magazine up on King Street that is now part of the Brunswick School campus.
Joseph Verner Reed Jr., serving his President George H. W. Bush, as appointed Chief of Protocol of the United States, with Mikhail S. Gorbachev looking on. Photo by Jose R. Lopez/The New York Times/Redux.
Elvis Stahr Jr. was chosen by President Kennedy to be Secretary of the Army, serving from 1961 to 1962. Contributed photo.
Clare Boothe Luce served four Presidents, Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Reagan, who awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Contributed photo.
Another near backcountry talent was Dr. William Bragg Ewald, Jr. who left his post on Harvard’s English Faculty for President Eisenhower’s White House staff as speechwriter in 1954. He then served as Assistant to the Secretary of the Interior and was an Eisenhower Exchange Fellow. He would assist Eisenhower over four years in writing his two-volume memoir of his White House years, then write his own memoir of “Eisenhower the President.” Elvis Jacob Stahr Jr was a southern gentleman and Rhodes Scholar who lived off North Street closer to town. While serving in the Korean War, he took leave as special assistant to Secretary of the Army Frank Pace Jr. He was then chosen by President Kennedy to be Secretary of the Army, serving from 1961 to 1962. He would serve as college president to three universities, finally heading up the National Audubon Society for 13 years. Frank Pace, Jr. was also southern born serving in both the Truman and Eisenhower Administrations. When he was appointed by Truman as Secretary of the Army in 1950, he had already served as assistant to the United States Attorney General, executive assistant to the Postmaster General, and assistant director and director to the Bureau of the Budget. Eisenhower would also appoint Pace administrator-designate of the Emergency Transport Agency, part of a secret group known as the Eisenhower Ten who would serve in the event of a national emergency. Lastly, John McCloy, a prominent adviser to all presidents from Franklin D. Roosevelt to Ronald Reagan, served as Assistant Secretary of War throughout World War II. He is remembered as one of “The Wise Men,” a group of statesmen “marked by nonpartisanship, pragmatic internationalism, and aversion to ideological fervor.” Surely, with these individuals, the Town of Greenwich can add another star to its reputation, of those who have served their country at the highest levels. And if there are others this reporter has missed, we would appreciate knowing who they are! Email Editor@GreenwichSentinel.com.
William “Bill” Ewald served as speechwriter for President Eisenhower, and later worked with the former President on his White House memoirs. Contributed photo.
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New styles now in store! Perfect giis for the Stubbs & Wootton collector in your life!
COMMUNITY CALENDAR PLANNER GREENWICH LIBRARIES: greenwichlibrary.org Feb. 12 10 a.m. Virtual – Storytime with Ms. Ann. 203-622-7920. lmatthews@greenwichlibrary.org 3:30 p.m. Virtual – Meditation Workshop. 203-625-6549. schan@ greenwichlibrary.org 3:45 p.m. Virtual – World Music with Anitra. 203-622-7920. lmatthews@greenwichlibrary.org 7 p.m. Virtual – Friends Friday Film Reel Talk: Jimmie Fails, Actor & Writer of “The Last Black Man in San Francisco.” 203-622-7910. friendsfridayfilms@greenwichlibrary.org Feb. 13 10 a.m. Virtual – Saturday Storytime. 203- 622-7940. dsullivan@ greenwichlibrary.org 10:30 a.m. Virtual – Valentine Craft and Stories with Nicole and Miguel. 203- 531-0426.
11 a.m. Virtual Drop-in Computer Lab. 203-625-6560. trainingcenter@greenwichlibrary.org 1 p.m. Cloak and Dagger Book Club. 203-622-6883. Feb. 15 7 p.m. Virtual: Data Analytics. 203625-6533. mmartin@greenwichlibrary.org Feb. 16 10 a.m. Virtual – Weekly Job Search Accelerator Group. mmartin@greenwichlibrary.org 11 a.m. Virtual Drop-in Computer Lab. 203-625-6560. trainingcenter@greenwichlibrary.org 1 p.m. SCORE Webinar: Mastering Finances for Black-Owned Businesses. 203-622-7924. ywang@greenwichlibrary.org 3 p.m. Laser Cut & Engraved Birdhouses. 203- 622-7979. innovationlab@greenwichlibrary. org
4 p.m. Virtual – Chess Club (Grades K-5). Free. Register. children@greenwichlibrary.org 5 p.m. Virtual – International Book Club. 203-531-0426. 7 p.m. Virtual – Foreign Affairs Book Discussion Group. 203-6227924. ywang@greenwichlibrary.org 7 p.m. Virtual: SQL - understanding of concepts of with extensive hands-on experience. Register. mmartin@greenwichlibrary.org Feb. 17 10 a.m. Virtual – Storytime. dsullivan@greenwichlibrary.org 12 p.m. Virtual – Brown Bag Book Club. 203-622-6883. 12 p.m. Virtual – Work Smarter This Year With Google’s Productivity Tools. 203-625-6508. trainingcenter@greenwichlibrary.org
1 p.m. Virtual – Get Started with Investing II: Intro to Important Concepts & Considerations. 203-622-7924. ywang@greenwichlibrary.org 3 p.m. Virtual – Afternoon Story/ Craft. 203-622-6883. 6 p.m. Virtual – Student Lounge (Grades 9-12). 203-6227918. emorrissey@greenwichlibrary.org 7 p.m. Virtual – Cybersecurity. 203625-6533. mmartin@greenwichlibrary.org Feb. 18 9 a.m. Virtual – Parent & Child Yoga for Tots (Ages 2-5). Via Zoom. dsullivan@greenwichlibrary.org 10 a.m. Virtual – ‘Fiesta de los Cuentos’ - Bilingual Storytime. dsullivan@greenwichlibrary. org 11:30 a.m. Virtual – Qi Gong, mindful movement and breathing.
Adults. 203-622-6883. lmatthews@greenwichlibrary.org 1 p.m. SCORE Webinar: Choose the Right E-Commerce Technology to Grow Your Small Business. 203-622-7924 ywang@ greenwichlibrary.org 4 p.m. Virtual – Book Bites, Miss Melissa makes culinary concoctions inspired by your favorite children’s books! econnell@greenwichlibrary. org 7 p.m. Virtual – Python, from basics, all the way to using machine learning packages. Free. Register. mmartin@ greenwichlibrary.org 7 p.m. Virtual – “The Latin Quarter: Heart and Soul of France’s Intellectual Life” with M. Daniel Vock. 203-531-0426. 7 p.m. Virtual – American Ancestors Series: Getting Started in African American Genealogy. All ages.
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COMMUNITY CALENDAR PLANNER Feb. 19 10 a.m. Virtual – Senior Chinese Book Discussion Group. 203622-7924. ywang@greenwichlibrary.org 10 a.m. Virtual – Storytime with Ms. Ann. 203-622-7920. lmatthews@greenwichlibrary.org 2 p.m. virtual - Spotlight on Apps: Streaming Movies and TV with Kanopy & Hoopla. 203625-6560. csherman@greenwichlibrary.org 3:30 p.m. Virtual – Meditation Workshop. 203-625-6549. schan@ greenwichlibrary.org 3:45 p.m. Virtual – World Music with Anitra. 203-622-7920. lmatthews@greenwichlibrary.org PERROT LIBRARY: perrotlibrary.org/events Feb. 17 4 p.m. Spotlight on A World of Stories. Grades 2-4. (Grab & Go craft kits for preregistered participants will be available to pick up on the day of the program). Via Zoom. Free. Register. GREENWICH HOSPITAL: greenwichhospital.org/ events 888-305-9253 Feb. 15 12:30 p.m. Webinar: Hip Replacement Education. 203-863-3598. Feb. 16 1:30 p.m. Webinar: Parkinson’s Disease Support Group. 4 p.m. Webinar: Metabolic Syndrome and Shift Workers. Feb. 17 11 a.m. Webinar: Healthy Eating for a Healthy Heart. Feb. 18 1 p.m. Webinar: MS (Multiple Sclerosis) Support Group. BYRAM VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT: byramvolunteerfiredepartment.org/ March 7 7:30 p.m. Byram Volunteer Fire Department honors two 50-year members, Thomas Curtin and William Thompson. Byram Vets Club, 300 Delavan Ave. RSVP no later then Feb. 17 to byramvfdct@gmail.com. RETIRED MEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GREENWICH: greenwichrma.org/speakers/future-speakers-3 Feb. 17 11 a.m. Webinar: A Conversation with US Representative Jim Himes about the new Congress and Biden Administration. Free. Open to all. GREENWICH UNITED WAY: greenwichunitedway.org Feb. 25 6 p.m. “One Table One Town!” – cook at home with Chef Geoff Lazlo and benefit the Greenwich community. Order a dinner package before Feb. 21. (All meals and pairings will be delivered to your door). KIDS IN CRISIS: kidsincrisis.org Through Feb. 15 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Kids In Crisis Winter Scavenger Hunt. Register. $10, individual or team. GREENWICH BOTANICAL CENTER: greenwichbotanicalcenter.org Feb. 12 12 p.m. Valentine Floral Design with the Essential Florist. $80. Registration is required.
Feb. 19 10 a.m. Houseplant Repotting (Session 2). $20. Register.
24 in an Opening Reception. The artworks are for sale (a portion of sales will benefit ICC).
GREENWICH COMMUNITY GARDENS: greenwichcommunitygardens.org/events Through Feb. 21 Online 2021 Community Garden Sign Ups – sign up for a plot at either Armstrong Court Community Garden or Bible Street Community Garden.
ALLIANCE FRANÇAISE OF GREENWICH: afgreenwich.org Feb. 17 5 - 6 p.m. ‘Worldwide Wednesdays’ join in for lively discussions on French films. Open to all. Donation. RSVP for a Zoom link. Feb. 18 7 p.m. Lecture: “The Latin Quartier: Heart and Soul of France’s Intellectual Life” with Daniel Vock. Via Zoom. Free. RSVP. Gail.covney @gmail.com
AUDUBON CENTER: greenwich.audubon.org/ events Feb. 13 3 p.m. For the Love of Birds. Via Zoom. Starting at $15 per ticket. All ages. Pre-registration is required. Ryan. MacLean@audubon.org. 203930-1353. GREENWICH LAND TRUST: gltrust.org/calendar Feb. 18 1 p.m. Converse Brook Preserve Hike. Meet at GLT’s Mueller Preserve (370 Round Hill Rd) and caravan to the Converse Brook Preserve parking area, so all guests can easily park in the same area. Pre-registration is required. GREENWICH HISTORICAL SOCIETY: greenwichhistory.org/ visit Feb. 18 6 p.m. Creating Family Archives with Margot Note. $10, members; $15, non-members. Register. Through March 28 ‘In Lost Landscape Revealed: Childe Hassam and The Red Mill, Cos Cob, Works by Hassam and Impressionist Artists Demonstrate Importance of Cos Cob in History of American Art’ exhibit. BRUCE MUSEUM: brucemuseum.org Feb. 13 12 – 1 p.m. Digital Weekends with the Bruce: Valentine’s Day. Feb. 16 12 – 1 p.m. Conversation with the Curators about “She Sweeps with Many-Colored Brooms” - Members-Only. Via Zoom. Advance registration required. lfreeman@brucemuseum.org UJA-JCC GREENWICH: ujajcc.org Feb. 13 6 p.m. Davis Film Festival: “Shared Legacies.” Free. The film can be streamed any time between Feb. 13, 6pm and Feb. 15, 8pm. Feb. 16 7:30 p.m. Davis Film Festival: “The Gift of our Wounds.” Free. BREAST CANCER ALLIANCE: breastcanceralliance.org/events Feb. 19 BCA Family Game Night! - for Kids for a Cause fans & families with kids 10 and under. ST. LAWRENCE SOCIETY stlawrencesociety.com Feb. 13 4:30 p.m. Nostalgia Night Remember Manero’s Valentine’s Dinner To Go. The Club at St Lawrence Society (Back Parking Lot), 86 Valley Rd. $39.95, SLS members; $43.95, non-members. 203-6189036. INDIA CULTURAL CENTER OF GREENWICH: iccgreenwich.org Feb. 22 – March 21 ICC brings together Indian artists for an online art show. Meet the artists on February
GREENWICH CHORAL SOCIETY: gcs-ct.org Feb. 16 7:30 - 9 p.m. Zoom rehearsals. No auditions are required to participate, just an interest in choral music. Every Tuesday. For more details contact admin@greenwichchoralsociety.org LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF GREENWICH: lwvgreenwich.org/ Through March 21 The League of Women Voters of Greenwich 2021 Student Essay Contest: “Dear Madam Vice President” - write a letter to Vice President Harris, sharing your stories, advice, and wishes. Greenwich students in grades K-12. Essays due: March 21. Submit to: youthoutreach@lwvgreenwich.org GREENWICH ART SOCIETY: greenwichartsociety.org/ classes Feb. 16 9:50 a.m. Introduction to Acrylic Painting. Teens and adults. Online. Register. Feb. 18 10 a.m. Portrait Drawing & Painting. All levels. Online. Register. NAMI SOUTHWEST CT: namisouthwestct.org/online-support Feb. 11 7 p.m. “Neuroscience Offers New Hope in Treating Bipolar Disorder” with Dr. Hilary Blumberg. Free. 203-629-5987. namisouthwestct@gmail.com GREENWICH NEWCOMERS CLUB: greenwichnewcomers.org Feb. 17 2 p.m. Book Discussion Group – “Miss Benson’s Beetle.” Via Zoom. Register. RED CROSS BLOOD DRIVE: RedCrossBlood.org Feb. 12 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 200 Riverside Ave, Riverside. Feb. 16 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. Stamford Church of Christ, 1264 High Ridge Rd, Stamford. Feb. 19 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. First Presbyterian Church Stamford, 1101 Bedford St, Stamford. ARCH STREET archstreet.org Virtual Yoga Takeover. 7th12th Grade. Every Tue. & Thu., 4-5pm Free. Online. Open Studio. 7th-12th Grade. Wednesday, by Appointment Only. Free. TOWN HALL MEETINGS: greenwichct.gov/calendar
Our Neighboring Towns FERGUSON LIBRARY: fergusonlibrary.org/event Feb. 12 11 a.m. Joyful Fridays: Black Music & Imagination, presented by NMAAHC. Via Zoom. Free. Ages 4-8. Feb. 18 6:30 p.m. Black History Month: Classical Guitar Performance. Via Zoom. Free. BEDFORD PLAYHOUSE: bedfordplayhouse.org Feb. 18 6:30 p.m. Let’s Talk: Medicating Normal Q&A. Registrants will receive a link to view the film in advance of the Q&A. THE MARITIME AQUARIUM: maritimeaquarium.org
Feb. 20 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. Seal Spotting & Birding Cruise. Aquarium Dock, 10 N. Water St., Norwalk. $31.50. LOCKWOOD-MATHEWS MANSION MUSEUM: lockwoodmathewsmansion.com Through Feb. 15 The Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum is calling for artists for a juried exhibition titled, ‘Socially Distant Art: Creativity in Lockdown’. The submission deadline is Feb. 15, 12pm. Through June 4 The Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum’s 8th Annual Young Writers’ Competition. Open to all middle school students 6th-8th grade in the Tristate area. Through June 4. 203-838-9799, ext. 6. education@lockwoodmathewsmansion.com
Page 6 | Greenwich Sentinel
New Hobby at Home: Astronomy
Looking Up, What to Look for this Month in the Skies Above By Bob Kelly
By Anne Burns
If you want to see planets, you’ll have to peek around the Sun a lot this month (but never look directly at the Sun, especially with binoculars or a telescope!) Mercury has been the closest planet to the Earth since late January and will be so through early July. A lot of that time it’s between us and the Sun. This month, Mercury can be seen in the NASA/ESA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)’s LASCO C3 camera from the 4th through the 12th (https://is.gd/lascoC3). Mercury slides into the morn- ing sky late in the month, but it’s best seen from the Southern Hemisphere. Like a student in extended detention, Venus will start the next two months in conjunction with the Sun. It won’t be until late May that Venus is easily visible again, taking until late October to get farthest away from the Sun in the evening sky. Jupiter edges out into the morning sky in late February. On the 11th, the giant planet pairs up with Venus as the Morning Star also ducks out of the morning sky. The brightest comet of February, C/2020 R4 (ATLAS), might reach magnitude +10 (faint!) late this month, just above the Jupiter-SaturnMercury planetary traffic jam in the dawn twilight. We can hope for better visibility after perihelion when it makes its closest approach to Earth in late April. Are you a fan of the last quarter Moon? Luna is closest to Earth for the month on the 3rd, the day before last quarter. It’s about 8% closer than its apogee at first quarter on the 19th. Comparison photos taken with the same telephoto lens or through a telescope with the same settings might show the difference nicely. Sunrise occurs over the outer rings of Mare Orientale, tilted a bit toward us, on the 25th/26th. Mars and Uranus are still out in the evening sky. Neptune is lost in the Sun’s glare. The International Space Station is an evening sight through the 8th. It soars across the morning sky starting on the 18th. Have you seen a rocket launch? I hope someday to bring my grandkids to NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on the Delmarva peninsula. On or after February 20th, an Antares rocket will launch the Cygnus spacecraft from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s Pad-0A. It will bring supplies to the ISS. Seeing a rocket that has a destination in space that we can see with our own eyes is intriguing.
Lunacy February 3
Moon at perigee (229,980 miles from Earth) 4
Last Quarter
9
Moon passes Pluto
10
Moon passes Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn and Venus
11
New Moon
13
Moon passes Neptune
17
Moon passes Uranus
18
Moon, at apogee (251,324 miles from Earth),
passes Mars
19
First Quarter
27
Full Moon - “Snow Moon”
News of the Worlds Mercury (mag. 0.69) lingers in the early-evening sky for a few days – try to spot it around 30 minutes after sunset - and then passes between Earth and Sun, reaching inferior conjunction on February 8 and reappearing low in the morning sky at the end of the month. Neptune (mag.7.8) can also be seen in the evening sky, in Aquarius, until it disappears into the sunset, reaching conjunction with the Sun in March. After that, our only evening planets this month are Mars (mag. 0.5, dimming to 0.9) and binocular planet Uranus (mag.5.8), both in Aries. Uranus lies near Aries brightest star, Hamal. Mars begins February at 6.5° east of Uranus, and gradually moves east into Taurus, ending the month below the Pleiades. The rest of the planets congregate in the morning twilight, so close to the rising Sun that they are hard to spot without a good eastern horizon. On February 1, first up is Venus (mag.-3.9), rising around 6:30 AM, only about a half hour before sunrise. Next comes Saturn (mag.0.6) rising at 6:45, and Jupiter (mag.-2), rising at 7 AM. By month’s end, Venus rises at 6:20, Saturn at 5 AM, and Jupiter at 5:30. Mercury joins them for the second part of the month. In between, our “morning stars” have several conjunctions. Venus passes Saturn on February 6, Jupiter on the 11th, and Mercury (now mag. 1.2) on the 12th. Mercury then moves on to Jupiter on the 13th, and Saturn on the 15th. On February 20, Mercury, Saturn, and Jupiter form a triangle, which changes shape but lasts until the end of the month. Worth getting up early for, perhaps!
News notes Our January 19 visit to Camp Seton was a great success. About 15 Cub Scouts, and their parents and siblings, came out on a cold night with binoculars in hand. Some early clouds led to a question-and-answer session, and the boys were obviously very interested in the stars! Then the weather cleared and Rick and Anne were able to show them the winter constellations, along with Mars and a nearly first-quarter Moon. Here’s a finder chart for minor planet 4 Vesta, in the hind legs of Leo Many thanks to Alex Zisson for inviting us, and we’ll hope for more the Lion in February, not far from the Leo Triplet of galaxies. It’s heading opportunities for star parties with the Greenwich Scouts! toward opposition in early March, brightening to magnitude +6.0. This article originated in the Astronomical Society of Greenwich. This article originated in SkyWAAtch, the newsletter of Westchester Amateur Astronomers, used with permission. To find out more about Fo r m o r e i n fo r m a t i o n , e m a i l G r e e n wi c h S t a r s@g m a i l .c o m o r amateur astronomy, contact WAA at www.westchesterastronomers.org visitastrogreenwich.org online. or Greenwich’s own astronomy organization, the Astronomical Society of Greenwich, astrogreenwich.org.
On Health Matters
Dentists Fear a ‘Tidal Wave’ of Post-Pandemic Problems By Kris Herndon Local dentists are reminding Greenwich residents that dental care should not be neglected, even during the current pandemic. Last March, when the pandemic f irst reached U.S. shores, many cities issued stay-at-home or shelter-in-place orders. Connecticut was among those states, but since dental offices fell under essential services, they remained open. Still, during 2020, many patients chose to delay routine care, such as cleanings or fillings, out of an abundance of caution or a fear of being exposed to coronavirus. The trend was nationwide, as people weighed the risks of being indoors in situations where social distancing might not be possible. In Novem ber, the A mer ica n Denta l Association released a statement to remind Americans that dental practices remain open, that dentistry can be practiced safely with procedures adhering to COVID-19 prevention guidelines, and that dental care is essential healthcare. “At this point in time, the American Dental Association firmly believes dental care can continue to be delivered safely,” said ADA President Daniel J. Klemmedson in that statement. Now, with vaccines on the horizon, and the first doses being administered in our community and across the state, Dr. Steven Altman, of Greenwich Dental Group, says he’d like to get the word out that it’s safe to visit your dentist. Dr. Altman recalls that in March of last year, the Greenwich Dental Group practice immediately saw a decline in appointments, seeing fewer patients as a result of the pandemic lockdown. “When this all started, back in March, there was definitely a drastic drop, especially for elective procedures,” Dr. Altman says now. “As essential workers, we were still open for emergency calls.” But, where the practice typically would see between 50 and 60 patients a day, that dropped to three or four on a typical day. Greenwich Dental Group is located on Field Point Road, and is headed up by Dr. David Zadik, who has been a dental care provider in the community for 28 years. Dr. Altman joined the practice ten years ago. The group provides family dentistry, pediatric dentistry, and cosmetic dentistry.
73% of adults said they were okay with skipping dental checkups if it meant reducing the risk of catching coronavirus. 1 in 5 would delay seeking treatment for a serious issue if it wasn’t causing them pain. 3 in 5 parents say their kids have been eating more sugar during the pandemic.
Dr. David Zadik with a patient. When coronav irus hit Connecticut, Greenwich Dental Group had already planned to renovate their offices. But the slowdown gave the dentists an opportunity to rethink those plans. “For us, we were a little bit lucky, because we were doing renovations,” Dr. Altman said. The pandemic imposed a new direction on those plans: “We had the opportunity to do something different to make the environment safer.” By summer of last year, the group had installed significant safety upgrades, including HEPA filtration, hand sanitizing stations for patients, and Plexiglas dividers in reception. They implemented other safety protocols as well, including travel questionnaires, temperature checks, symptom screenings, and more space to facilitate social distancing. They also installed a UVC lighting system that has been shown to kill viruses. “That made patients feel comfortable,” Dr. Altman says. “So little by little, word spread, and now we’re pretty much back to the level where we were,” in terms of seeing patients at
capacity. Now, COVID-19 vaccines are here, and while the rollout will take months, the start of vaccinations raises hopes that a return to normal life is on the horizon in the state of Connecticut. That’s g reat news. But some dental practices in the state are preparing for a postCOVID uptick in the number of patient visits, as patients who delayed care rush to seek treatment. That could prove problematic, as a rush of patients could mean additional delays. And delaying routine cleanings and fillings can allow conditions to worsen. “A problem that would have meant thirty-minutes in the chair can turn into three hours in the chair, or multiple visits,” Dr. Altman cautions. “Maybe you needed a simple filling and now it’s a root canal with a post, with a crown, and instead of a few hundred dollars it’s a four thousand dollar problem.” The fou ndat ion of dent a l he a lt h is preventive care. Good dental care supports your overall health. By the same token, poor dental health can weaken immune defenses and undermine general wellness. Ironically, delaying dental care for fear of coronavirus could prove counterproductive, as patients may be exacerbating the risks of a weakened immune system out of an unnecessary fear of the risk of exposure to the virus. Even under normal conditions, dental plaque harbors bacteria, which the body must use its immune resources to combat. That can leave you vulnerable to infection. “It’s always better to be proactive," Dr. Altman says. "That’s what we’ve been doing since March." The bottom line? You don’t need to wait for the vaccine. It’s safe to see your dentist now. And especially, if you’ve put off regular care, you probably can’t afford to wait.
Page 7 | Greenwich Sentinel
Town Government
Updates from Town Hall By Richard Kaufman Ever y week , the Greenwich Sentinel will bring you alternating updates from the BET leadership and the First Selectman.
has pet projects, including the First Selectman," Camillo said. "When we do things, we want to spend money the right way.” Camillo said he understands the position the BET has taken, and he appreciates the hard work they have ahead of them as they craft a recommended budget. "I respect the job they have to do, and I'm very grateful we have such talented people on that board
Error Fixed in Proposed Town Budget An accounting error in First Selectman Fred Camillo's proposed $450.6 million municipal budget was corrected, causing a decrease in the town's mill rate, which is used to calculate property and vehicle tax. A budget line was listed twice i n t he Pa rk s a nd Re c r e at ion se c t ion. The f i x broug ht t he prop ose d m i l l rate f rom 1.75 down to 1.30. Previously, under the original mill rate increase, t a x p aye r s w i t h a $ 1 m i l l i o n assessed home value would have had a $203 increase in property taxes. Now, the increase is $151. "The error was caught, and it was [a good result]," said Camillo. who are making tough decisions," Camillo said. "We're happy about that." Roger Sherman Baldwin Park Capital Budget Crunch Improvements The proposed Capital budget O n e of Ca m i l lo's f avor ite for the town weighs in at $89 p r o p o s e d projects involves million; Board of Estimate and Taxation guidelines had called for improvements to Roger Sherman a capital spending plan capped at B a l d w i n P a r k . I n t h e ' 2 1-2 2 proposed budget, there is $1.25 $55 million. BET democratic caucus leader million put aside for design and a n d BE T B u d g e t C o m m it te e improvement work. The entire plan calls for the member, Leslie Moriarty, said recently that the $89 million plan demolition and relocation of the is "really stretching our limits to be Parks and Recreation building, which Camillo said obstructs able to finance it." Notably in Camillo's proposed s i g h t l i n e s a n d v i e w s o f t h e 2021-2022 budget, there is funding waterfront. Walking paths near the s e t a s i d e fo r a n e w E a s te r n waterfront would be constructed, Greenwich Civic Center, a new and concrete would be taken away GEMS Station 4, soil remediation with greenspace and plantings at Greenw ich Public Schools, added. The waiting area for boats plans for a new ice rink, and would feature covered seating but improvements to Roger Sherman remain open air to provide good Baldwin Park. The BET deferred flow. "It's a symbol of what the town $39 million in capital spending last can be. It's on the waterfront, year because of the pandemic. "There's a ton of projects that I arguably the most expensive piece could have put in there and made a of real estate, not only in the town case for, but I didn't because I know but probably in the region, and it's going to be too much, and then we've been parking trucks on it you're putting the BET in an even for 70 years. That can't be. That's worse position because everyone really an under-utilization of a wonderful asset we have in town,"
Fred Camillo First Selectman
consultation with both the career staff and volunteer staff in town, specifically at Round Hill. "We want to make sure we don't undo any of the progress that's been made on the volunteer front there [and the renovation plans], but also keep our options op en a nd a l low t he new f i re administration to work on what they think are very doable items in the study, and reduce response
"When we do things, we want to spend money the right way," said First Selectman Fred Camillo on the capital budget. Camillo said of the project. Camillo has said that the cost for the Eastern Greenwich Civic Center and new ice rink can come down with the help of donations. He expressed hope that the same can be done for Roger Sherman Baldwin Park, although it could be more difficult because it's not a public building. For fiscal year ’23, $11.2 million would be needed for construction and implementation of the improvements.
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times all over town, not just in one section of town," Camillo said. "For now, we want to make sure that the fire administration is given time to digest the report and the data.” Snow Shoutout Camillo gave a special shoutout to Greenwich departments for handling the snowstorms that have hit Greenwich in recent weeks. "I want to give a special shout out to the Department of Public Works for all they've done. Any mayor and f irst selectman in Connecticut would be proud to have such a department working with them. I also want to salute Parks & Recreation and their employees for taking care of all the properties within their jurisdiction, and also the Fleet Department. People forget about them, but they're the ones that keep our vehicles running so our great employees can go out there and get the job done, clear the roads and keep us safe."
Fire Study Next Steps The town-wide fire study that was completed by an outside firm is now in the hands of the First Selectman and officials from the fire department. The study looked at fire services in Greenwich, and made recommendations to the town, such as the replacement of the Round Hill Volunteer Fire Station so it can be staffed with a career engine company to better serve the northern portion of Greenwich, and the establishment of community standards for call Stay Up to date. Check back here processing and turnout and travel each week for alternating updates time goals. Camillo, who is also the town's from the BET leadership and First fire commissioner, said he's been in Selectman Fred Camillo.
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Local News Briefs You Need to Know GPD OFFICERS RECOGNIZED
Master Police Officer Alan Pesce along with Officers Patrick O'Connor, Anthony D'Arco, Sean Beatie, Det. Fred Quezada, and Sergeant JD Smith were recognized for their excellent police work and coordinated response. The officers responded to a call of a despondent subject who wanted to end his life. The Male was armed with a firearm while inside his residence. Sgt. Smith and MPO Pesce engaged the male in conversation, while the other officers were able to gain access into the home. The male was taken into custody without incident and transported to a medical facility for assistance. Their quick actions and efforts deescalated the situation that enabled this incident to be handled without any force or injuries to those invovled.
GPD BODY CAMS
The Greenwich Police are finishing up the last few training sessions for BodyWorn cameras. Representatives from Axon were at GPD providing the training. Several Officers have been trained to be in-house trainers. The GPD said, "The cameras are a great tool for bolstering accountability, promoting transparency, and improving officer performance and training. We look forward to adding this valuable tool in our public safety endeavors. "
BLUE SKY STUDIO CLOSING
According to Deadline.com Disney is shuttering Blue Sky Studios, the former 20th Century Fox animation division that created 13 feature films including the Ice Age franchise. The last day for Blue Sky will reportedly be in April. The number of
Blue Sky employees being impacted numbers 450. Disney will be working with the employees to explore open positions at the other internal studios.
CT DEEP REPORT
In accordance with the CTDEEP General Permit for the Discharge of Stormwater from Small Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4) the 2020 Draft MS4 Annual Report will be available February 12, 2021 online and in the Town's Engineering Division in Town Hall for review and comment. On or before forty-five (45) days from the date of posting of the Draft MS4 Annual Report, members of the public may review and submit written comments to Scott Marucci, Senior Civil Engineer of the Engineering Division of the Department of Public Works.
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Page 8 | Greenwich Sentinel
PUBLISHER Beth@GreenwichSentinel.com Elizabeth Barhydt EDITORS & COPY EDITORS Editor@GreenwichSentinel.com Peter Barhydt, Daniel FitzPatrick, Stapley Russell, Anne W. Semmes
Valentine’s Day Valentine’s Day is this coming Sunday. Are you prepared? These days, when we think of Valentine’s Day we think of f lowers, greeting cards, and chocolates. Don’t get us wrong, we love all those things and will be getting them for our significant others. This holiday, as most do, actually has its origins in religion, in this case as a liturgical celebration of one of the early Christian saints named Valentinus. Valentine’s Day first became associated with romance and love during the time of Geoffrey Chaucer in the Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love first flourished. By the time of 18th-century England, it had evolved into an occasion in which lovers and hopeful lovers expressed their affection for each other by presenting flowers, offering candies, and sending amorous cards. That tradition carries on today. Hence, the “are you prepared” question. Valentine’s Day is not just for lovers. It is a day when everyone can unabashedly open their hearts to say, “I love you.” Our young children are encouraged to make cards for the parents, grandparents, and others. Why can’t we the adults follow their lead and send a card to someone to let them know we are thinking of them? Better yet, why can’t we gather those around us, who are most dear, and spend time with them? When you think of Valentine’s Day, what do you think of? We think of our loved ones - yes, but we also think of others that are far from those they love. We think of the young men and women who are serving far from home to protect our freedoms. Those who
Valentine’s Day is not just for lovers. It is a day when everyone can unabashedly open their hearts to say, “I love you.” stepped to the front of the line to volunteer to serve their country miss many holidays. We want to send them a Valentine’s message of thanks, gratitude, and love. We think of those whose loved ones have passed away and are alone. We want them to know they are not alone. Whether you have lost a parent, spouse, or child, whether you have lived a full life or are in the middle of your journey, you are not alone. While you may grieve privately, we as a community embrace and celebrate your love. We should not need a day like Valentine’s Day, or Mother’s Day, or Father’s Day for that matter to let people know they are special. We should tell them all year long and often. Romance and affection should not be dictated by the calendar, but rather by what is in our hearts. As we have commented on before, our community is fast-paced and hectic, and that is not a bad thing. But we mustn’t lose sight of what is important - our loved ones. We should make sure that we, as children, parents, spouses, let those we cherish know we love them, support them, and embrace them on a daily basis. Yes, we will be stopping by our favorite f lorist this week, and we will make reservations at a cozy restaurant. It is supposed to be very cold this weekend so we may use that as an excuse for a fire in the fireplace as well. We most likely will find a fun movie to watch as a family. Truthfully, that is how we like to spend most weekends. In our house Valentine’s Day is not an excuse, it’s the norm. Nicole Krauss wrote in “The History of Love:” “Maybe the first time you saw her you were ten. She was standing in the sun scratching her legs, or tracing letters in the dirt with a stick. Her hair was being pulled, or she was pulling someone's hair. And a part of you was drawn to her, and a part of you resisted - wanting to ride off on your bicycle, kick a stone, remain uncomplicated. In the same breath you felt the strength of a man, and a self-pity that made you feel small and hurt. Part of you thought: Please don't look at me. If you don't, I can still turn away. And part of you thought: Look at me.” Are you prepared?
LETTER
Editorial Page To My Daughter 2.
To the Editor:
Parents were asked by a local high school recently to write letters of advice to their daughters. This was my advice to my daughter. I 3. hope you and your readers enjoy this bit of levity right now. To my daughter: This is the year you turn 18 4. and legally become an adult so this seems like a good time to give you some final advice. 1.
Do not underestimate yourself or overestimate 5. others; look around... most of the world is f illed with 6. idiots!!!
Don’t give up childish things 7. altogether. That is where you r i mag i nat ion come s 8. from.
Always tell the truth..it is easier to remember. 15. If your not going to tell the truth..ask for a lawyer first.
Since light travels faster than 9. Never trust fortune cookies. sound, some people appear 10. Good enough is never good bright until you hear them enoug h..(I read that in a speak. fortune cookie). To quote President Reagan, 11. Keep in close touch with your “ Tr u st but Ver i f y ”. T h i s friends. i n c lu d e s t h i n g s yo u a r e 12. Any government that certain are true. Don’t want labels half its population as to join the idiots..do you? insurrectionists should be Never pay for an extended overthrown. warrantee on something you 13. Never have a rule 13. can afford to replace. 14. Oh darn that was a rule, Read for fun.
wasn’t it. At least once every 5 years leave the country. That way you w ill see what you’re missing. By the way, the F r e n c h a r e n o t s n o o t y. . they’re French.
16. The internet is forever. Be careful what you post. 17. Can be the best year of your life. 18. Is not a prime number. 19. Your parents both love you. 20. A n d w e a r e n o t i d i o t s . Love , Dad
Did You Miss Amanda Gorman's Inaugural Poem? Here is a transcript of Amanda G orman's inaugural poem The Hill We Climb
then victory won’t lie in the How could we possibly blade but in all the bridges prevail over catastrophe? we’ve made. Now we assert: How could That is the promised glade, c a t a s t r o p h e p o s s i b l y When day comes we ask And so we lift our gaze not The hill we climb if only prevail over us? to what stands between us, we dare it. ourselves We will not march back to To c omp o s e a c ou nt r y committed to all cultures, colors, cha rac ters a nd conditions of man.
Because being American what was, is more than a pride we But move to what shall be, inherit, A country that is bruised It’s the past we step into but whole, We mu st f i r st put ou r and how we repair it. Benevolent but bold, differences aside. We’ve seen a force that Fierce and free. would shatter our nation We lay down our arms We w i l l not b e t u r ne d So we can reach out our rather than share it, around or interrupted by Would destroy our country intimidation arms to one another. We seek harm to none and i f i t m e a n t d e l a y i n g B e c au s e we k n ow ou r democracy. harmony for all. inaction and inertia will Let the globe, if nothing And this effort very nearly be the inheritance of the succeeded, next generation. else, say this is true:
realized revolution. We w i l l r i s e f r o m t h e lakeland cities of the Midwestern states. We w i l l r i s e f r o m t h e sunbaked South.
Where can we find light in But what stands before us. this never-ending shade? We c l o s e t h e d i v i d e , because we know to put The loss we carry, our future first, A sea we must wade.
We will rebuild, reconcile and recover
We braved the belly of the beast;
In every corner called our country,
We’ve learned that quiet isn’t always peace. And the norms and notions of what just is Isn’t always justice. And yet the dawn is ours before we knew it.
That even as we grieved, But while democracy can Our blunders become their be periodically delayed burdens we grew, Somehow we’ve weathered I t c a n n e v e r b e But one thing is certain: That even as we hurt, we and witnessed permanently defeated. hoped, If we merge mercy with A nation that isn’t broken In this truth, in this faith might and might with right, That even as we tired, we but simply unfinished. we trust, tried, Then love becomes our We, the successors of a That we’ll forever be tied For while we have our eyes legacy country and a time on the future, history has together, victorious— And change our children’s Where a skinny black girl its eyes on us. birthright. Not because we will never descended from slaves T h i s i s t he e ra of ju s t again know defeat So let us leave behind a A nd raised by a sing le redemption. country better than the one m o t h e r c a n d r e a m o f But because we will never We feared at its inception. we were left. again sow division. becoming president, We did not feel prepared Only to find herself reciting S c r i p t u r e t e l l s u s t o to be the heirs of such a With every breath of my bronze pounded chest, envision for one. terrifying hour, And yes we are far from That everyone shall sit But within it we found the We will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one. polished, far from pristine, under their own vine and power fig tree, We w i l l r i s e f r o m t h e But that doesn’t mean we To author a new chapter, golden hills of the West. A nd no one shall make aren’t striving to form a To offer hope and laughter, them afraid. We w i l l r i s e f r o m t h e union that is perfect. Somehow we do it;
We are striving to forge a If we’re to live up to our To ourselves sow. While w i n d s w e p t N o r t h e a s t where our forefathers first once we asked: own time, union with purpose,
In every known nook of our nation,
Our people, diverse and beautiful, Will emerge battered and beautiful. When day comes we step out of the shade, Aflame and unafraid. The new dawn blooms as we free it. For there is always light if only we’re brave enough to see it, If only we’re brave enough to be it. Amanda Gorman is the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history, as well as an awardwinnin g wr iter and cum laude graduate of Harvard University, where she studied Sociology. She has written for the New York Times and has three books forthcoming with Penguin Random House. Visit TheAmandaGor man .com for more information and to purchase copies of her books.
Something in the Air
By Cadbury FitzPatrick I have two new pen pals. Clementine (I call her Clemmie) lives in a very large place called California, which as she explains it to me has very nice weather all year round but otherwise seems pretty odd to me. Clemmie first noticed my column when her human family put the newspaper under her water bowl (the male member of my human family was pretty annoyed at that). Clemmie introduced me to her friend, Liberty, who lives in a place called DC, which is very small but filled with lots of very self-important humans who spend all their time arguing with one another and accomplishing very little in the process, which seems odd in the extreme. Like me, Clemmie and Liberty are both dogs. Clemmie is a black Labrador Retriever and Liberty is a purebred American Cocker Spaniel. I am an Australian Shepherd, which despite its name is a breed that originated here in the United States (how they got that wrong I will never know). Despite our differences, we three get along famously. Liberty and Clemmie lived near each other in California before Liberty’s human family moved to DC to work in something called “The Government” (the way she describes it, it must be very important). Apparently, DC was bult for a specific purpose and is full of beautiful buildings arranged in a kind of park-like setting. Many of them have special meaning to the humans, who come in great numbers throughout the year just to visit them. It sounds like a very special place. For the most part, Liberty has been happy living in DC. More recently, however, she has grown very troubled. She is used to seeing large, noisy crowds of humans gather at these special buildings, often to hear long speeches from other humans who seem always to be speaking louder than they need to. But now, she tells me, DC is very quiet. Hardly any humans come from other places to visit. Tall metal barriers topped with circles of very sharp wire have been placed around all of the special buildings. Armed humans in uniforms called “soldiers” can be seen everywhere in DC; they arrived right after an incident at the very big building on a hill but are still there, many weeks after the event. Liberty
says she does not understand why the barriers and soldiers remain in DC now that what the humans call the “change in Government” has occurred (according to Liberty, this has happened many times before, but never with all the barriers and soldiers). Liberty is an intelligent and very thoughtful dog. She senses that something is not right in DC. The constant arguing among the humans does not worry her; she is used to it. Arguing is what humans come to DC to do, though she never experienced it to be as consistently nasty and personally hurtful as it is now. She is beginning to wonder how long her human family will stay in DC. Liberty has another animal friend, a Great Horned Owl named Rix. Rix is old, and wise, and has lived in DC for a very long time, nested high up near the dome of a building called the Library of Congress. As an owl, Rix has extraordinarily acute hearing and is very active at night. Over the years, he has learned many things about humans and how they live and act. Rix is troubled too. He told Liberty a fable based on what he had learned of human history, which she passed on to me. Now I am troubled as well. Apparently, there was another country, far away from here, that years ago decided to fight with its neighbors for land and wealth. It lost and was forced to pay a terrible price. The animals in that country suffered greatly and chose for their new leader a wolf named Dolf. Shortly thereafter, the country’s central meeting place for organizing affairs and resolving differences was intentionally destroyed by fire. Dolf accused a member of a rival animal group of setting the fire; that animal and others in the same group were arrested. Dolf then used the incident to issue an emergency decree suspending all animal liberties and began a ruthless effort to eliminate the rival group. Dolf and his followers instituted mass arrests of the group’s members, including all of its leaders. With the majority of his opposition out of the way or silenced, Dolf assumed total power over the country. He then led his country into another disastrous fight with its neighbors. Years later, evidence surfaced suggesting that Dolf and his party had actually planned and ordered the setting of the fire as part of what Rix said humans refer to as a “false flag operation.” Liberty had been confused by this story and asked Rix how Dolf had managed to get away with his actions. Rix explained that Dolf and his followers had successfully used a technique which the humans refer to as a “Big Lie,” the basic premise of which is that humans (and animals) can actually be convinced to believe something – even something fanciful or demonstrably false –
if it is repeated over and over again, ideally from multiple sources, and if they are prevented or discouraged from finding out the truth. Dolf was aided in his deception by a very cunning brown rat derisively nicknamed Gerbil. Gerbil was a master of disinformation (also known as lies), which he cleverly fed out to the country’s animal population through various means, including allies in the animal leadership and others whom he knew had the ability to influence opinion. He adroitly set one group on another so as to keep all opposition to Dolf’s leadership fractured and weak. He demonized entire species as evil and the cause of all of the country’s problems. He used labels to humiliate and depersonalize opponents, even to the point of making them pariahs and second-class citizens of the animal community. He used hate as both a shield and a weapon to protect and advance Dolf’s agenda. All to enormous pain and longlasting harm to the animals in that country. Liberty shared her concerns with me. The incident at the big building on the hill was very bad, but she can’t help but think that the reaction to it, particularly the continued presence of the barriers and soldiers, was extreme. As there does not appear to be any ongoing security threat, why would the humans continue to expend time and resources that could be used elsewhere? Is there another reason for continuing to be so visibly on alert? Is someone in the Government trying to send a message that a threat exists, possibly even from members of its own citizenry? Is someone using the Big Lie technique to label and demean others with different opinions? Could that be a precursor to declaring those people potential threats to the country, worthy of preemptive arrest and silencing? Could someone be coordinating messaging from multiple sources in aid of this effort? Could it be that someone could be so cynical as to use a temporary crisis to impose draconian solutions unthinkable in times past? I don’t have any answers for Liberty, but I share her concern. If I could, I would go to our local meeting place and bark my head off as a warning to my friends. I would ask everyone to use their own common sense, to view critically all information that seems questionable, to ask questions and insist on truthful answers. I would remind all who would listen that history has a tendency to repeat itself, but that nothing is cast in stone, and that it is the citizens of the community who possess the sovereign right to determine their destiny. That leaders are accountable to those they lead and responsible for acting only in their best interest. That freedom is not free. I would bark. But would anyone listen?
Page 9 | Greenwich Sentinel
OPED
There They Go Again
By Edward Dadakis There they go again. Hartford Democrats are again coming af ter Greenwich residents in an effort to impose yet another brand new tax. This time they want to create a statewide property tax. This brand new tax would be in addition to the current town wide property tax. But the Democrats have a catch. They’ve manipulated their new tax so it would apply mostly to residents in Greenwich and other Fairfield County towns leaving the rest of Connecticut mostly tax free. Now is that fair? D e m o c r a t ’s t a x a t i o n policies have been a disaster for Connecticut. A lmost
a l l of Con ne c t ic ut ’s f i s c a l heath metrics, analyzed by independent organizations, show it among the worst of the 50 states. And its no wonder. As Democrats raised taxes Connecticut’s highest earners have f led the state resulting in less overall revenue. This situation will only deteriorate i n a p o s t-p a n d e m i c wo rl d where many people have the freedom to work anywhere. So why would Democrats want to entice residents to move to a low tax state? Yet Democrats are salivating for this new tax and its not the first time. I’ve written about their previous efforts. They f i rst proposed a statew ide property tax about 5 years ago using a mill rate of 10. Had that passed Greenwich property ta xes would have doubled. A couple of years later they proposed one with a mill rate of 5 applicable to undef ined vacation and second homes. This latest version, courtesy
of New Haven Democrat Martin “Looney Tunes” Looney, is for a mill rate of 1 and he’s named it a “Mansion Tax”. After all, how can anyone not support taxing those nasty mansions. But the truth is far different. Under Looney’s proposal any house va lued less than $ 4 30,000 would be exempt from paying this tax. Mr Looney’s family house in New Haven is 1,753 square feet and according to the assessor is valued at $160,000. So Mr. Looney would pay zero tax based on his proposal which makes some sense since Looney doesn’t live in a mansion. But its not just Looney, very few of his constituents would pay the tax either. When I reviewed Realtor. com listings in New Haven there were 101 single family listings and only six were over $430,000. In fact the very first one shown at the that price was 4,790 square feet. Now that is a mansion. But, alas, in “Looney
Tunes” world those mansion dwellers would pay none of the Looney “mansion tax.” Now take Greenw ich. That same web site had 368 listings and only 9 were under $ 4 30,000. One that was over $430,000 was a studio c o n do o f 5 4 5 s q u a r e fe e t . That according to Looney is a “mansion” and those owners would pay his “mansion tax.” Numerous people in Fairfield County with homes the size of Looney’s (1,753 square feet or smaller) would pay the tax, but Looney has made certain to exempt himself. Don’t you love the reasoning of Democrats. The Fairf ield County Business Journal reported that Fairfield County homeowners would pay 75% of the new tax with Greenwich homeowners p a y i n g a l m o s t 3 0 % . Ye t homeowners in Looney’s New Haven will pay almost nothing. Does that sound fair to you? Don’t think for a second Democrats will stop at a mill
rate of 1. They’re desperate to get the tax in place. Once passed, they will continue to raise it year after year after year to achieve their ultimate goal of doubling Greenwich homeowner’s property taxes and redistributing those funds to the terribly mismanaged cities in Connecticut all run by--you guessed it—Democrats How much are Greenwich taxpayers expected to pay for Democrats mismanagement of Connecticut’s fiscal health? After all, Greenwich residents pay the most income tax of any town in the state. Ac c or d i n g to 2 018 d at a Greenwich residents sent $693 million in personal income taxes to Hartford double that of the next town, Stamford. Gr e enw ich t a x payers pa id almost 10% of the total income tax receipts and seven times more then Looney’s constituents in New Haven. So Greenwich pays more then its fair share. Does it make sense to force
them to pay more? Of course not because that would only force more of our townsfolk to flee to low tax states. Governor Lamont has not supported the “Looney Tunes” plan. Greenwich’s Democrat legislators have been silent. There is no doubt Connecticut needs solutions to its fiscal crisis. But it must start with reducing spending, renegotiating pensions and r ig ht-si z i ng ou r massively blo ate d st ate gover n ment . Raising taxes will only exacerbate the fiscal crisis. E l e c t i o n s h a ve conseq uences. Democrats have proven th is as they increase taxes, create brand new taxes and spend with wild abandon. When you vote for a Democrat for the Connecticut legislature you are supporting this behavior. Edward Dadakis has served in Greenwich town government for more than 40 years. Follow him on Twitter at Eddie On Watch.
Let’s Harness The Potential of Every Amanda Gorman
By Jennifer Openshaw In a matter of days, Amanda Gorman has become known to millions of Americans. If the name escapes you, Ms. Gorman became the youngest poet, and only the si xth in history, to read at a presidential inauguration. Her powerful poem, “The Hill We Climb,” earned her many accolades, c omp a r i n g he r to s ome of America’s greatest poets, such as her Maya Angelou. A nd while this young woma n of color seemed to spring out of nowhere, she was actually the first National Youth Poet Laureate at seventeen. Ever since she was a child, she worked to perfect her poetry a n d ove r c o m e h e r s p e e c h impediments, mastering her craft through practice, time, and diligence. So with this as a start to her career at the age of 22, one can imagine Amanda Gorman, like Maya Lin designing the Vietnam Ve t e r a n s M e m o r i a l a t 2 1 , destined for great achievements in the years to come.
By Dan FitzPatrick I have the writing bug. Don’t worry, it’s not communicable (pun intended), at least I don’t think it is. But I’ve got it real bad. I do not write for money (unfortunately) or vainglory (note the first part of that word). If I am to be honest, I write for two principal reasons: to be able to finish a thought uninterrupted and to learn. I come from and married into large families. We talk a lot. Sometimes to, sometimes with, sometimes at, each other. Interruptions are frequent and often part of the fun. I personally think in a very linear fashion and, because of my legal training, I tend to build to a point, laying out my evidence along the way. Some in my family and friend groups think laterally (and sometimes even circularly). As a result, I am often frustrated in my attempt to make a point. I’m not particularly fond of being frustrated. I’ve noticed t hat t h is phenomenon is not l i m ited to my personal circle. Gone are the days of Huntley and Brinkley, of Cronkite, Murrow, Russert, Chancellor and Mudd --
Isn’t that what we hope for every young person in America? Isn’t that what, deep down, we all want for ourselves and our children? We all carry within us a yearning to fulfill our potential. I’ve heard countless workforce leaders and teachers say how they wished they’d received real training to guide their futures. Much of this training happens on the job, but what if it could start years ahead? What if it could start at 14, 13 or even 12 years old? To d a y, w i t h t h e p owe r of tech nolog y a nd w ith a l l the strengths and freedoms America affords us, the chance to equip and empower our youth to lead from the top is within our reach. And now, amid global competitiveness, it has become an imperative. I n ou r r e cent r ep or t – What’s Inside the Minds of G e n Z du r i n g C ov i d? – we found some surprising shifts. While we always knew GenZ was pur pose-m inded, over half (52%) of GenZ men and women say they want to be an entrepreneur, up from 46% in 2019. And, a whopping 64% see themselves as leaders in corporate America. Why does this generation’s drive to lead from the top differ from others? Well, for one, this generation
thoughtful, respectful, probing questioners and listeners who sought in their interviews of guests to elicit information and insights that would help their audience make sense of the chaos that is the natural state of the world around us. Their modern-day “successors” in the world of “news” interrupt their guests constantly, with abandon and sometimes malice, often with their own opinions or non sequiturs that serve only to prevent the guest from making a complete reply, frustrating any attempt to provide the audience with the benefit of the guest’s presence on their prog ram. Some of these once-respected programs now seem nothing more than a verbal tennis game (or bar fight). And to top it off, they are no longer even informative. Growing up, my concept of news was the professional delivery of reliable information that we as citizens of this country and of this world either needed to know or should know in order to live our lives as best we could, protecting our personal, physical and economic security and the great liberties we’ve been bequeathed by our Constitution and our forebears. Newspapers a nd broadcast media separated their news and editorial content completely and visibly: newspapers had their “editorial page” and broadcast media had “commentary” or “opinion shows.” Entertainment was completely separate.
GenZ is thirsting to have a real say in solving the problems of our world. w a nt s a s e at at t he t a ble . Whether it’s ensuring LGBTQ peers a re t reated fa i rly or having meaningful dialogue with business leaders. “We want our voices to be heard,” said Anika Mistry, 17, CEO of DevMind VR. GenZ is thirsting to have a real say in solving the problems of our world. “My generation grew up only knowing 9/11 and climate change,” says 17-yearold Kristen St. Louis, a graduate of Girls With Impact from the Bronx and CEO of MirrorMe Diversity. “We have no choice but to solve these problems.” This generation is motivated to d r ive i n novation. W hen asked how they want to make an impact on the world, nearly two-thirds said they want to create something original. This is driven by their desires to tackle issues like racism and climate change – both sources of growing worries -- coupled with having digital tools at their fingertips to advance this innovation. A full one-third of women say that starting a business would boost their
confidence. Student Jody Bell, now 18 and in college, combined her passion for policy with entrepreneurship training to create her venture, In Case of Deportation. At just 16, Jody’s venture garnered national headlines and led to a full-ride college scholarship – relieving the f inancial burden on her mother. Jody says, “I can guarantee you that there are other high schoolers equally as driven, and if we give them the skills, they will become the future leaders we need right now.” Amanda Gorman is a poet, but she is also an entrepreneur. She uses poetry to fuel her creative spirit and to address systemic racism head on. Like many GenZers, she’s working to make the world a better place for the next generation. Leaders across the country are trying to figure out how to train Americans – our young people especially – for the postCovid economy. GenZ could be the first generation to drive change and demand more people k now how to r u n a
Why I Write
To d a y w h a t p a s s e s a s the professional news media offering is almost purely opinion, structured as entertainment, dressed in the hallowed (a nd now hol low) cost u me of news. Even worse, it does
nothing.” I personally want to hear what others think. I want “true facts” that I can rely on. I want to make up my own mind about what I see and hear. I am not a mindless adherent to any view or
I come from and married into large families. We talk a lot. Sometimes to, sometimes with, sometimes at, each other. not even try to disguise the fact that entertainment value (as measured in ratings) is the media’s new holy g rail. Entertainment and controversy drive readership and viewership, wh ich d r ive ratings, wh ich encourages advertising spend, which drives corporate revenues, which drives stock prices, which drives financial market attention, which drives further investment, wh ich bef its the top media executives, which then validates their focus on entertainment and controversy. A vicious circle if ever there was one. It thus is no wonder that we are saturated day in and day out with pontificating pundits, pandering politicians, pugilistic promoters of pious poppycock, and just plain pandemonium. Noise. All noise. Shakespeare would have called it “A tale, told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying
position, political or otherwise. I and many others have had the benefit of education intended to make us critical thinkers, masters of our own mind. I do (and I believe we all should) resist the attempts by the media or anyone else to tell me what to think or to confine the breadth of my views to a box of their labeling. I said that I write to learn. I mean this in two ways. First, I have found that the practice of putting one’s thoughts down on paper forces them to have structure, and often reveals connections one had not appreciated before. There is an old saying: “Do not engage your mouth until you have put your brain in gear.” All too often, that happens in conversation. It is impossible in writing. Writing forces you to be thoughtful, to make your case with clarity and precision. When done well, it
business. Teaching techniques of the past are not designed to prepare our young people to innovate and succeed today, let alone tomorrow. But that’s changing. In fact, even during Covid, we’ve seen thousands of young people – as you ng as 14 -start their own businesses by harnessing their passions – right from the bedroom. Like Amanda and her passion for poetry, America’s yout h is yea r n i ng to d r ive innovation and positive change – whet her du r i ng or a f ter school. It’s when we start from their passion or point of strength t h at we ’r e a b le to m a ke a digitally delivered educational experience not only relevant, but truly impactful, even during these unprecedented times. While the pandemic has had a detrimental impact on GenZers, it has also lit a fire within them, inspiring them to think outside the box. “I didn’t necessarily get laid off,” said 18-year-old Zachary White, a student from Orange County, California who worked at a fast food restaurant, “but I got zero hours because of the pandemic.” Zach said he was “desperate to find something to do.” When he heard about an online business training prog ram
through the Orange County Workforce Development Board that he could do from home, he thought “it was too good to be true.” Ten weeks later, Zach and his classmates had a business pla n i n ha nd – a long w it h renewed confidence and a host of skills. In fact, of the 4,000 students who’ve undergone this training, 85% report improved leadership confidence, 91% improved public speaking, and 93% feel more college ready. Through the process of creating a real business, they learn hard skills while acquiring professional skills that employers are demanding. Armed with these skills and a tangible venture plan in hand, they’re able to set themselves apart for the college admissions process a nd showcase to prospective employers their leadership capabilities. With new energy and hope in the air, it’s time we harness A mer ic a’s ent repreneu r ia l capabilities, the drive and the passion of today’s youth. Let us help every Amanda Gorman to climb their own hills, and actualize their dreams. Jennifer Openshaw is the CEO of the non-profit Girls With Impact, a live, online business and leadership educ at ional program for girls 12-18.
makes it easy for your audience to see, taste, feel, understand e x a c t l y w h at yo u m e a n to convey. It respects the audience by being mindful of their time and attention. Sometimes, I do not fully understand what I think about something until I have reduced it to writing. Second, I feel that writers should always of fer their audience something new: an insight, a piece of information, a s tor y. T h e i nte r n e t i s a wonderful tool in this regard. Often, when searching for the right word or looking for the perfect image or quote, I find something new and unexpected. That process of learning enriches my life and sometimes helps me do the same for others. We l i v e c u r r e n t l y i n diff icult times. The “culture of interruption, confusion and distraction” described above has birthed today’s “cancellation culture” which seeks to stif le speech and impose orthodoxy on thought through bullying means inconceivable in the past. While the means are different (the enforcers today are corporate entities and social media outlets and platforms), the basic concern is not. In Whitney v. California (1927), Justice Brandeis wrote, in reference to the Founders: They believed that freedom to th in k as you w ill a nd to speak as you think are means indispensable to the discovery and spread of political truth: that, without free speech and
assembly, discussion would b e f ut i le ; t h at , w it h t he m , discussion affords ordinarily adequate protection against the dissemination of noxious do c t r i ne; t hat t he g r e ate st menace to freedom is an inert people. Believing in the power of reason as applied through public discussion, they eschewed silence coerced by law – the argument of force in its worst form. … If there be time to expose through discussion the falsehood and fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of education, the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence. “The remedy to be applied is more speech.” Writing is sp e e ch , p erhap s sp e e ch i n its most effective form. The written word allows for full, complete communication in exactly the form intended by the writer. It exists physically (or electronically), available always to be taken up and read. Anyone who has been taught to read and write can be a writer. We need more speech, more exchange of information and views. Let’s move away from the recent “battle of personalities” and back to the more productive practice of the “clash of ideas.” Take up a pen (or computer keyboard, or simply ask Siri to take dictation) and join me in this form of the exercise of a freedom so foundationally fundamental to our future happiness, the pursuit of which has animated this great nation for over two centuries.
Page 10 | Greenwich Sentinel
MEDAL OF HONOR
An American Infantryman, Paul B. Huff
DETAILS Rank: Corporal (Highest Rank: Command Sergeant Major) Conflict/Era: World War II Unit/Command: 1st Squad, 1st Platoon, Company A, 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion, 5th Army Military Service Branch: U.S. Army Medal of Honor Action Date: February 8, 1944 Medal of Honor Action Place: near Carano, Italy CITATION For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidiity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty, in action on 8 February 1944, near Carano, Italy. Cpl. Huff volunteered to lead a sixman patrol with the mission of deter minin g the loc at ion and strength of an enemy unit which was delivering f ire on
the exposed right f lank of his c o m p a n y. Th e t e r r a i n o v e r which he had to travel consisted of exposed , rollin g g rou n d , affording the enemy excellent visibility. As the patrol advanced, its members were subjected to small-arms and machinegun f ire and a concentration of mortar f ire, shells bursting within 5 to 10 yards of them and bullets striking the ground at their feet. Moving ahead of his patrol, Cpl. Huff drew fire from three enemy machine guns and a 20-mm weapon. Realizing the danger confronting his patrol, he advanced alone under deadly fire through a minefield and arrived at a point within 75 yards of the nearest machine-gun position. Under direct fire from the rear machine gun, he crawled the remaining 75 yards to the closest emplacement, killed the crew with his submachine gun, and destroyed the gun. During this act he f ired from a kneeling position which drew fire from other positions, enabling him to estimate correctly the strength and location of the enemy. Still under c onc ent rated f ire , he returned to his patrol and led his men to safety. As a result of the information he gained, a patrol in strength sent out that afternoon, one group under the
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leadership of Cpl. Huff, succeeded in routing an enemy company of 125 men, killing 27 Germans, and capturing 21 others, with a loss of only three patrol members. Cpl. Huff's intrepid leadership and daring combat skill ref lect the finest traditions of the American infantryman. HIS STORY Before rising to the rank of Army command sergeant major, young World War II Cpl. Paul B. Huff led a group of soldiers on a dangerous reconnaissance mission in Italy that would u lt i mately br i ng dow n t he enemy targeting his company. For his bravery, he earned the Medal of Honor. Hu f f was b or n Ju ne 2 3, 1918, in Cleveland, Tennessee. He was one of nine children. Unfortunately for the large family, their mother died when Huff was only 5. A man in uniform wears a medal around his neck. Huff's military registration information shows he attended only one year of high school. It's unclear what he did prior to enlisting in the Army in June 1941, but according to a 1944 article in the Ypsilanti (Michigan) Daily Press, he had earned the nickname "Killer" in his hometown thanks to his prowess for hunting squirrels. Once i n the A r my, Hu f f decided he wa nted to be a paratrooper in the relatively new airborne divisions, which became famous for their heroism during World War II. On Nov. 8, 194 2 , he was part of America's first combat parachute insertion into North Africa during Operation Torch. A little more than a year later, in late January 1944, he was part of the amphibious landing in Italy that began the Battle of Anzio. On Feb. 8, 1944, Huff and his platoon were staked out on the Anzio beachhead when Germans started shelling some members of their company from a nearby hill. Huff volunteered to lead a six-man team on a mission to figure out the enemy unit's exact location and how many fighters it had. The men had to traverse rolling hills to get closer to the enemy, which left them exposed. They were shot at by small-arms and machine gun fire, as well as several mortar shells that burst within yards of them. When Huf f moved ahead of the rest of his men, he realized he was being shot at by three enemy machine guns and a 20-mm weapon. The situation was extremely dangerous. Huff didn't want his
men to move any further into it, so he went on alone, continually being shot at while crossing a minefield. Eventually he made his way to within 75 yards of the closest machine gun nest. While yet another machine gun position continued to f ire at him, Huff crawled to the nearby nest. He got close enough to kneel down and kill the nest's crew while destroying their weapon. Hu f f 's a c t ion s e x p o s e d him to the rest of the enemy gunners, who continued to fire on him. But in doing so, he was able to f igure out how many enemy soldiers were left and where exactly they were hiding. Armed with that information, he crawled back to his patrol, led them back to safety and then passed the vital information on to his superiors. Later that afternoon, an A llied patrol match ing the enemy's strength — including a group of men under Huff 's leadership — was sent to rout out the enemy. The Americans lost three patrol members in the fight, but they were able t o o u s t a 1 2 5 -m a n e n e m y company, killing 27 Germans and capturing 21 others. Hu f f 's le adersh ip a nd bravery led to a quick nomination for the Medal of Honor — the first to be awarded to a paratrooper. He chose to have it delivered to him on June 8, 1944, by Lt. Gen. Mark W. Clark during a ceremony his comrades could attend while they were in Rome. A public ceremony held by President Fran k lin D. Roosevelt was later held in the U.S., according to a University of Tennessee Center for the Study of War and Society report. Once Huff returned home, he went on a 38-state tour a s p a r t of a n A r my ae r ia l show, where he made several parachute jumps to help raise money for war bonds. It was during one of these jumps that Huf f asked his w ife, Betty, to marry him, according to the 509th Parachute Infantry Association. Huff stayed in the Army for many more years, rising to the rank of command sergeant major, the highest enlisted rank possible. As the command sergeant major of the famed 101st Airborne Division, he deployed to Vietnam in 1967 to t a k e ove r t h e to p n o ncommissioned officer job with the division's 1st Brigade. It was his last deployment before he retired with more than 30 years of service under his belt. Huff spent the rest of his life in the company of his
Army Staff Sgt. Paul Huff asked Betty Cunningham to marry him while onboard a C-47 Skytrain as he prepared to jump during a war bond rally after returning home from Europe with the Medal of Honor.
Army Staff Sgt. Paul Huff travels stateside on a C-47 Skytrain during a post-Medal of Honor war bond drive.
Lt. Gen. Mark W. Clark, the commanding general of the Fifth Army, pins the Medal of Honor on recently promoted Staff Sgt. Paul B. Huff during a ceremony held at Fifth Army Headquarters in Rome, Italy, June 8, 1944. wife and his daughter, Dawn. Huf f died Sept. 21, 1994, and is buried in his hometown of Cleveland, Tennessee, at Hillcrest Memorial Gardens. A major thoroughfare in the town is named in his honor, as is an Army Reserve center in Nashville.
The Greenwich Sentinel encourages readers to let us know about connections they have with Medal of Honor recipients. This article was written by Katie Lange as part of a series in which Defense.gov highlights a Medal of Honor recipient each week. It is our nations's highest medal for valor.
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Page 11 | Greenwich Sentinel
EDUCATION
Keeping Our Students Safe No Matter What
By Ralph Mayo A s a n e d u c a t o r, i t i s m y primary responsibility to keep all of our students safe and secure, no matter the circumstances. This responsibility has not changed in the 44 years that I’ve worked across the Greenw ich P ublic School district. When writing these columns for this paper, I have stayed away f rom any controversial topics to ensure the focus has always remained on our staff and students. Avoiding controversy ends today, because what I am about to share should not be controversial. It is necessary for our staff and students. It is imperative that the BET
and ultimately the RTM fund the Capital Projects that the BOE has proposed for the schools in our district. Our community wants and deserves school buildings that are well ventilated, accessible to all, safe and secure, and have fields that can be used for our athletic programs and for those sponsored by Pa rk s a n d R e c r e at i o n . A few years ago, when we cut the ribbon to of f icially open New Lebanon School, we celebrated and emphasized that all of our schools needed to look and feel like this new building. And I believe that can happen if we follow the recommendations in the Master Plan. We cannot continue to allow our students and staff to teach and learn in buildings that are over one hundred years old. These types of buildings are not accessible to all, they aren’t conducive to 21st century teaching and learning, and they have health and safety implications. It is unacceptable. At GHS, our stadium has been the center of controversy for a
We cannot continue to allow our students and staff to teach and learn in buildings that are over one hundred years old. These types of buildings are not accessible to all, they aren’t conducive to 21st century teaching and learning, and they have health and safety implications. It is unacceptable. number of years now. Everyone seems to have a different vision for the stadium and how to rebuild it. We have spent a great deal of time gathering and discussing how this facility should be built. And I’m so grateful for the community members who have come forward to share their concerns, thoughts, suggestions and more. Now, the time has come to stop talking and build this stadium so it is ready for the fall of 2021. Our student
athletes deserve a facility that mirrors their success on that very field and our spectators deserve to be able to watch a game in relative comfort with unobstructed views. We must continue to work to keep this project on schedule and on track. A new entrance for GHS is moving forward. A building com m it tee is i n place a nd is chaired by Stephen Walko. We are grateful to have Mr. Walko leading
this effort as he truly knows how to get things done, as is evident from the New Lebanon School Building Committee closing their project on time and on budget. Let’s fund this project so we can break ground in July of 2022, because this project is an absolute necessity. We need an entryway that is safe and secure for our students, staff and building visitors. F i n a l l y, w e d o n o t h a v e enough playing f ields in town to accommodate the number of teams that want and need access. The remediation of fields three and four at the high school will take time to complete and will give the high school and Parks and Recreation one less field to offer our respective teams. This project needs to be approved and funded so we can have remediated fields for our students and residents. This project will also demonstrate how three dif ferent town departments can collaborate and communicate effectively over time to bring this project home. What a
great example of the Vision of the Graduate for our students. It’s been disappointing to see other projects around our town move forward, while our Board of Education projects get stalled, get pushed out to future f iscal years or get conditions placed upon them. The projects put forth by our Board of Education are all necessary for our students and staff. They are prioritized for safety and security, health and student/ staff well being, and accessibility. We need to continue to fund these projects that give our students, staff and their families school buildings and other facilities that not only meet basic requirements, but that they can be proud to call their own. Please join me in supporting our capital projects. Go Cardinals! Ralph Mayo is the Principal of Greenwich High School. He has worked for the school district for the last forty-four years. He is a graduate of GHS as are his four children.
Local Students with Outstanding Achievements Tuna Ergan of Ankara, earned the distinction of Faculty Honors for Fall 2020 at the Georgia Institute of Technology. This designation is awarded to undergraduate students who have earned a 4.0 academic average for the semester. The following local students
made Dean's list at College of the Holy Cross: Timothy Doyle of Greenwich, a member of the Class of 2021, major i ng i n Eng l ish; Kend ra Offermann of Bedford, a member of the Class of 202 3; Lindsey Offermann of Bedford, a member of
the Class of 2023; Grace Polistina of Greenwich, a member of the Class of 2021, majoring in Psychology; Christina Marciano of Greenwich, a member of the Class of 2024, majoring in Undeclared. The University of Alabama students who made the Dean's
List: Ashley Feighery of Riverside, Emma Crocco of Greenwich. And Tyler Varga of Greenwich was named to the Presidents List. Tobias Turnbull, of Greenwich, a member of the Class of 2023, has been named to the Fall 2020 Dean's List at Stonehill College.
Garrett Sheehan of Riverside, Jenna Handali, Exercise class of 23, majoring in Interactive Physiology PT from Cos Cob, was Me d ia & G a me D evelopment named to the President's List at Technology (BS) and Yusuf Hafez Saint Francis University. of Bedford, class of 24, majoring Congratulations! in Civil Engineering have both made Dean's List at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
Trivia Challenge a Competitive Fundraiser for the Alliance
By Julie Faryniarz Registration for the Greenwich Alliance’s Trivia Challenge 2021 is open! Our annual event will be on March 19th and -- no surprise -it will be virtual. This means that ticket prices are only $50/person, and most importantly, your family and friends from far and wide can join the competition. We are counting on our community to participate and help us raise critical funds for the Greenwich Alliance for Education. Register here https:// greenwichalliance.schoolauction. net/trivia2021/ How can you help us raise funds? First, we’re fortunate to have a generous donor who is offering to match donations up to $25,000 for the Greenwich Alliance Scholarship Fund. You can donate during our paddle raise at the Trivia Challenge or via our website. Second, we have an online auction open to anyone in the community, whether or not you play the Trivia Challenge. The auction will be live in early
March. In the meantime, do you have an interesting auction item to donate? Please let us know about it here. https://greenwichalliance. schoolauction.net /triv ia 2021 / donate_items/new One of the reasons we think our Trivia Challenge is the best in town is that the questions are written by Christine Kim, former chair of the Alliance. She is a 20-year Greenwich resident, a two-time “Jeopardy!” champ, avid crossword puzzler, and occasional Sporcle addict. She writes questions catering to the diverse community of educators, parents, ban kers, law yers, volunteers, Millennials, Gen Xers and yes, Boomers, who come out to play trivia every year to support the Alliance. As a nod to our passion for education, there are always trivia questions from the Greenwich Public School curriculum. This year as always, there will also be some Greenwich-specific questions, but they are tailored to a national audience. So be sure to invite your smart cousin in Nebraska, your Scrabble-playing aunt in Florida, and your gamer nephew to join your team! W h at h ap p e n s w h e n yo u support the Greenwich Alliance by playing in the Trivia Challenge or donate to our other fundraisers? Listen to Miguel R.’s story. He just
One of the reasons we think our Trivia Challenge is the best in town is that the questions are written by Christine Kim, former chair of the Alliance. She is a 20year Greenwich resident, a two-time “Jeopardy!” champ, avid crossword puzzler, and occasional Sporcle addict. got accepted to Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). Miguel is a graduate of the Greenwich High School (GHS) AVID* program. Here is how Nancy, Miguel’s Greenwich Alliance AVID SUCCESS Mentor, describes her mentee’s path: “I started mentoring Miguel after his GHS graduation, when he was discouraged because he could not afford to attend the 4-year colleges that accepted him. Instead, Miguel reluctantly matriculated at the local community college. We met regularly and talked about school, his finances, buying a car, helping his family and pursuing his goal of getting a 4 year degree from a good college. “Fast forward almost 5 years to today. Miguel is ready to complete a
software engineering or computer science degree at RIT. His academic performance continuously improves and he gets rave revues from his employers. He has a car and is saving money for school. He has been a great support to his family and also helps GHS AVID students with college and career preparedness.” We are currently recruiting mentors for the Greenw ich A l l i a n c e ’s AV I D S U C C E S S Mentoring Prog ram. Please contact Julie Faryniarz at julie@ greenwichalliance.org to learn more. Another reason you might support the Greenwich Alliance is because you are a strong believer in instrumental music education.
Armin O., a student in our Tuning In To Music program, will be attending Skidmore College in the fall. He recently shared this with me. “ In fourth grade, I was blessed to be nominated and accepted to join the Tuning In To Music program. My 8 years in the program helped me master the violin. I have had wonderful teachers who have been dedicated to providing students like me with high-quality instruction; these are lessons that would otherwise cost thousands of dollars! These lessons provided me with the confidence and preparation to audition for various music festivals and ensemble groups, which would eventually lead me to perform at Carnegie Hall.” It is so rewarding for me to know both Miguel and Armin and to have the opportunity to share their stories through this column. They represent the “why” we do what we do at the Greenwich Alliance*. So here is my call to action register for Trivia Challenge 2021! Invite your friends to join you in this fun competition all while supporting the Alliance. Here are a couple of Trivia Teaser questions from Christine to entice you to join in and play: What is the name of the tequila brand founded by George Clooney and Rande Gerber?
The equator passes through 13 countries (including two countries for which the equator passes through their waters, but not their land masses). All but three of these 13 countries are in either South America or Africa. Name any of these three non-African, non-South American countries. ● A long t i me (O ver t h re e decades) Town employee has a name which can be anagrammed to “CLERK IN A BAD SLUM”. One hopes this is not a description of their role! Who is this? Visit www.greenwichalliance. org for the answers. Julie Far yniarz , Executive Director Greenwich Alliance for Education, is a Mother of 3 GPS graduates, has been married for 30 years, is a YWCA Women Who Inspire Honoree, the Past PTA Council President, and a graduate of the University of Vermont, BA Psychology. Advancement Via Individual D e t e r m i n a t i o n (AV I D) i s a n internationally recognized collegereadiness system designed to close the achievement gap and promote equity and access in education. The Greenwich Alliance for Education leverages resources and buildin g par t nerships to guarantee all students achieve academic success.
Nutrition & Children’s Behavior: The Missing Link
By Carly Adames Toddlers and preschoolers are frequently known to be picky eaters. Parents and caregivers sometimes worry their child may not be eating enough, and may thus provide lessthan-ideal foods that have little nutritional content so long as the child will eat them. The struggle can become tiring. We have all heard of the obesity crisis, and along with the increasing number of obese A merican citizens, we’ve witnessed the rapid increase in production of processed, genetically modified foods that are high in sugar and fat and are conveniently packaged/easy to grab on the go. For children w ith smaller appetites who are well within their weight range and who are overall healthy, obesity and nutrition may not be a concern at the forefront of the minds of parents. After all, at least they are eating and getting the calories they need...right?? Aside from a child’s weight and health, there are other important factors to consider when it comes to the diets of young children. For example, studies have shown that children who had iron and zinc deficiencies during the first two years of life appear to have long term, significant impacts on
It is important to consider not only the nutrition needed for healthy and growing bodies, but consider the positive changes in your child’s behavior and cognition you may witness with a healthier, nutrient-dense diet. children’s attention and mood. In a preschool setting, I’ve witnessed patterns of children exhibiting negative behaviors at the same time every day such as hitting, becoming restless, having a tantrum, or becoming angry. One of the factors we consider in understanding the trigger for the behavior is the child’s eating habits and blood sugar levels—not a trigger most would expect. (Think of adults becoming “hangry.” A tantrum is a three-year-old’s equivalent.) Surprisingly, I’ve witnessed on several occasions the drastic change in children’s behavior simply by the parent providing a different snack. For example, a child whose snack was typically fruit snacks, crackers, or cookies was given veggies and protein instead such as hummus, sunflower butter, or low-fat cheese. Of course, at first, the child resisted even trying it. However, with patience and continued exposure, the child eventually ate it. The radical change in the child’s behavior was astounding. We can imagine how snacks
and meals with refined sugars or enriched white flour affect the mood of children by considering how highsugar foods make us feel as adults. Most of us have experienced the “crash” after eating heavy or sugary foods—feeling lethargic, tired, bloated, heartburn, or constipation due to unstable blood sugar. Eating too much of these foods or not eating enough nutrient-dense healthy foods frequently can affect our mood and make us feel rather grumpy. Then, why would we expect these foods not to trigger the same effects in children? Research has linked unstable blood sugar levels in children to problems such as the inability to sit still or focus (restlessness), difficulty listening or following directions, irritability, anger/lashing out, increased anxiety, constipation, and tantrums. Nut r it ion i st s r e c om mend including protein at breakfast to avoid these behav iors and recommend snacks that include protein and veggies to stabilize blood sugar over a long period of
time. Quite often, in preschool, it is not uncommon to see children’s meals and snacks composed of primarily refined carbohydrates and sugary foods, such as pasta, white bread, muff ins, donuts, bagels, pizza, chips, crackers, cookies, fruit snacks, etc. Most children prefer to eat these types of foods and enjoy them. Particularly with picky eaters, parents may feel it’s a success for their child to eat; they may not be opposed to serving their child a diet filled with these types of foods. Not only is it important to consider the nutrition needed for healthy and growing bodies, but consider the positive changes in your child’s behavior and cognition you may witness with a healthier, nutrient-dense diet. Try revamping your child’s lunch and snack to include these items, and gradually remove the sugary items. We’d love to hear from you to hear if you notice a difference in your child’s behavior, especially during those staple times during the day when your child may routinely become cranky, angry, or grumpy. A healthy diet not only supports children’s physical health but supports their overall wellbeing a nd socioemot iona l le a r n i ng and development. Carly Adames is the Executive Director of Children's Day School located in Greenwich. She has over fifteen years of experience as an Early Childhood Educator and is a certified Education Consultant in the state of Connecticut. Carly also volunteers as the Education Program Manager for the International WeLoveU Foundation.
Page 12 | Greenwich Sentinel
Worship Services Information Assemblies of God Harvest Time Church 1338 King St., 203-531-7778 www.htchurch.com In-Person Worship Services: Sun, 8:30, 10 & 11:30am (meeting on a limited basis in accordance with CDC guidelines and Connecticut’s executive orders). All services are streamed on the church’s website and social media outlets. The Glory of Christ: Wed, 7pm. Read The Bible 2021: join here facebook.com/groups/ bible2021. Discovery Track – February Session: Every Wednesday, through Feb. 24, 7-8:30pm, register. XO Marriage Conference: Feb. 19, 7-9pm, register. Baptist First Baptist Church 10 Northfield St.; 203-869-7988 www.firstbaptistgreenwich.com Sunday Servings: 11:30am, Facebook Live or for Devotion: 11-11:25am (Dial in 701-802-5355, Access code 360922). Greenwich Baptist Church 10 Indian Rock Ln; 203-869-2807 www.greenwichbaptist.org Worship: Sun, 11am (in person and online through Facebook & YouTube). Adult Bible Study: 9:30am. Prayer Gathering: Fri, 6-7pm, Chapel. Catholic Sacred Heart Church 95 Henry St.; 203-531-8730 www.sacredheartgreenwich.org In-person Mass: Mon-Fri: 7am (in Chapel); Sat: Vigil, 4pm (also live streamed); Sun: 7:30, 9:30 & 11:30am (in Sanctuary). (Only by registration - call or text: 203-559-9256 or email: sacredheartgrn@optonline. net). Sacrament of Reconciliation (Church) by appt.; Sacrament of Baptism: Sun, 12:30pm (call the parish office in advance). The 2021 Mass Book is open for Mass, Altar Flowers and Altar Bread & Wine requests. Ministry to the Homebound: if you, or someone you know, is homebound and would like a priest visit you, call the Rectory at 203-5318730. Ash Wednesday Mass: 7am, 12.15pm, 3:30 (Service only), and 6:30, in the Church (registration is needed, call or text 203-559-9256 or email secredheartgrn@optonline.net). St. Catherine and St. Agnes St. Agnes: 247 Stanwich Rd; St. Catherine: 4 Riverside Ave; 203637-3661 www.stc-sta.org Masses: Mon, Tue, Thu & Fri (signin at church required): Daily Mass at St. Catherine’s Church – in-person and livestream, 7am; Distribution of Holy Communion at front door of Rectory (mask & social distance required): 5:15-5:45pm. Sat (1st Sat of the month): Confessions at St. Agnes Church – in-person (specific dates in the bulletin), 3-4pm; Vigil Mass at St. Catherine’s Church – in-person and livestream, 5pm (sign-up required). Sun: Distribution of Holy Communion at front door of Rectory (mask & social distance required), 7:30-8am; St. Agnes Church – in-person, 8:30am (sign-up required); St. Catherine’s Church – in-person and livestream, 10:30am (sign-up required); Language Masses at St. Agnes Church – in-person (sign-up required), 11am (French: 2nd Sun of month; Spanish: 4th Sun of month); Distribution of Holy Communion at front door of Rectory, 5-5:30pm (mask & social distance required). Ash Wednesday: Feb. 17: Mass: 7am & 12:10pm, St. Catherine Church (also livestreamed); 5:15pm, St. Agnes Church, registration required; Distribution of Ashes outside of Mass at St. Catherine’s Chapel: 9-10am, 3-4 & 7-8pm. St. Catherine’s Support Circle - Networking to Build your Social Network and Make a Great Transition: Feb. 18, 7-8:30pm, on Zoom. St. Mary Church 178 Greenwich Ave.; 203-8699393 www.stmarygreenwich.org Public Mass: Mon-Fri, 12:05pm (no reservations are needed - limited to 50 people). Sat: Vigil, 4pm; Spanish (call 203-912-0246 for reservations), 7:30pm. Sun: 9, 10:30am & 12:15pm, (must make reservation in advance by calling the Parish Office, Thu or Fri, 9am-3pm and speak to the receptionist). Confessions: Sat, 2:45-3:45pm, on the patio. Virtual Mass: Sun, 12:15pm, with Fr. La Pastina on Facebook. Visit EWTN.com for daily Mass at 8am with encore at 12pm. Sunday Family Rosary: Sun, 7:30pm (No registration is necessary), live-streamed on YouTube (also listen by phone). Starting Feb. 1, reservations to attend Mass are available online only. Ash Wednesday Mass: Feb. 17, 8am, 12:05 & 5:30pm, Spanish Mass: 6:30. ’True Love That Lasts Movement’ - Webinars for Couples: Feb. 11, 18, 25
and March 4 and 11, register. St. Michael the Archangel 469 North St.; 203-869-5421 www.stmichaelgreenwich.com Sunday Mass: 7:30, 9:30 & 11:30am (All masses are Live Streamed on Zoom. Log onto the website at stmichaelgreenwich.com to access the Zoom Link or the LIVE Stream Masses and the Mass Reservation System). St. Timothy Chapel 1034 North St.; 203-869-5421 Daily Mass: Mon-Sat: 7:30 & 9:30am. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament: Wed, 10am-4pm; Live-streamed, 1011am. Confessions: Wed, 10-11am & 3-4pm. St. Paul Church 84 Sherwood Ave.; 203-531-8741 www.stpaulgreenwich.org Public Mass Celebration: Mon-Thu: 9am; Sat: 4pm (Vigil); Sun: 7:30, 9:30 & 11:30am (Reservation is required only for Sunday Mass by visiting the homepage or by calling 203-531-8741, ext. 4). Holy Days: Vigil: 5:30pm, 9am & 12:15pm. Online daily Mass at EWTN.com, 8am with encore at 12pm. Daily Mass also available on Bishop Robert Barron’s website at wordonfire.org/daily-mass. Confessions by appointment only – call 203-531-8741, ext. 2. Bereavement Group: Feb. 18, 5-6:30pm, in the Parish Hall (meets every other week), contact Dianne Deachan at 914-327-0447 or diannefdf@yahoo.com with any questions. Weekday Masses are available – to place a request, call Rose at 203-531-8741. St. Roch Church 10 St. Roch Ave.; 203-869-4176 www.strochchurch.com Mass: (Reservations and/or for viewing via live streaming): Mon-Fri: 7:30pm; Sat: 5pm; Sun: 7:30am (Concelebrated for Previously Scheduled 9:30am Mass Intentions), 10:30am, 12pm (Spanish). Mass Intentions: consult the bulletin for time. Christian Science First Church of Christ, Scientist 11 Park Place; 203-869-2503 www.christiansciencect.org/ greenwich Sunday and Wednesday services via live tele-conference: 203-680-9095, code is 520520*. Community First Church of Round Hill 464 Round Hill Rd.; 203-629-3876 www.firstchurchofroundhill.com No in-person service at this time. (If you need to reach Rev. Leo W. Curry, pastor, or any other personnel, call 203-629-3876 and leave a message or email fcroundhill@outlook.com). Round Hill Community Church 395 Round Hill Rd.; 203-869-1091 www.roundhillcommunitychurch. org Worship, Children’s Ministries and Youth Fellowship: Sun. 10-10:30am, in the Church, registration is required. Weekly service also available online. Thrive: biweekly high school gathering, Wed, 6pm. Foundations: biweekly middle school gathering, Fri, 6pm. November Bible Study: Stories of Advent, Mondays at 11 am, registration required. Congregational The First Congregational Church 108 Sound Beach Ave; 203-6371791 www.fccog.org Worship: Outdoor Service: Sun 8-9am, Memory Garden (sign-up online or call the church office); Virtual Worship: through live-streaming on YouTube and Facebook, and broadcast on WGCH (1490 AM or 105.5 FM). Connect during the week: Wednesday: Wisdom on Wednesdays (sent by Rev. Patrick Collins); Thursday: Faith Formation at Home for All and Faith Formation for Children (sent by Rosemary Lamie). Experience the Enneagram: every Thursday, through Feb. 18, 7-8:30pm, register. Ash Wednesday – ‘Ashes to Go’: Feb. 17, 6-9:30am, parking lot, (or pick up a 3x5 card with your ashes and a special blessing from the pastors anytime during the day on Ash Wednesday). North Greenwich Congregational 606 Riversville Rd.; 203-8697763 www.northgreenwichchurch.org Online Worship Service: Sun 10:30am, via Zoom (email Rev. Halac at Pastor@ northgreenwichchurch.org or call the church). Second Congregational Church 139 E Putnam Ave.; 203-8699311 www.2cc.org Contemporary Worship: Sat, 5pm. Traditional Sunday Service: 10:30am. Services available online, details at 2cc.org. Ash Wednesday: Online service of remembrance, 7pm. (anyone wishing to have loved
ones named in the prayers should email pam@2cc.org). Episcopal Anglican Church of the Advent 606 Riversville Rd.; 203-861-2432 www.churchoftheadvent.org Service: Sun, 9am, Holy Eucharist. Sunday School during academic year. Christ Church Greenwich 254 E. Putnam Ave.; 203-8696600 www.christchurchgreenwich.org Worship: Sun: Eucharist, 8am (in-person); 10am (in-person & livestream/ on-demand); Choral Evensong (in-person & livestream/on-demand), 5pm; Compline, 8pm (livestream/ on-demand). Mon-Fri: Morning Prayer, 8am (via Zoom). Tue: Eucharist, 10am (in-person). Thu: Choral Evensong, 6:30pm (in-person & livestream/ on-demand). ‘40 Acts of Kindness’: commit to doing 40 acts of kindness this Lent. Fire & Wine: Righteous Women: Feb. 11, 7-8pm, via Zoom. Virtual Family Bingo Night: Feb. 12, 6:30pm, via Zoom. Forum: Navigating Through The Dark: Feb. 14, 11am, via Zoom. Ash Wednesday Services - receive Imposition of Ashes & Spiritual Communion: Feb. 17, 7:30am, In-person (Chapel), 12pm In-person (Chapel), 7:30pm (Church) In-person & Livestream. St. Barnabas Episcopal Church 954 Lake Ave.; 203-661-5526 www.stbarnabasgreenwich.org Sunday Worship: Spoken Eucharist, 8am, Church; Holy Eucharist with music, 10am, Church and Livestream; Family Eucharist, 10am, Parish Hall. (sign up for in-person service: signupgenius.com/go/4090e4aadac2ea3ff2-sunday1). Coffee and Morning Prayers Podcast: Mon-Fri. St. Paul’s Episcopal Church 200 Riverside Ave.; 203-637-2447 www.stpaulsriverside.org Worship Service: Sun, 10:15am, live online. Ongoing: Neighbor-to-Neighbor Food Drive: Every Thu, 10-11:30am, in the parking lot. Ash Wednesday Service: Feb. 17, 5pm, in the courtyard, register. St. Saviour’s Episcopal Church 350 Sound Beach Ave; 203-6372262 www.saintsaviours.org In-person Outdoor Service: Sun, 11am. Online Worship Services available on Youtube. Jewish Chabad Lubavitch of Greenwich 75 Mason St.; 203-629-9059 www.chabadgreenwich.org Services available via Zoom. PJ Library Zoom Storytime: Mon-Thurs, 3pm & Fri, 2pm. Congregation Shir Ami 1273 E. Putnam Ave, PO Box 312, Riverside; 203-900-7976; www. congregationshirami.org All services, programs and celebrations are available online via Zoom. Social Action Shabbat Service: Feb. 12, 7:30-8:30pm, on Zoom. Greenwich Reform Synagogue 92 Orchard St.; 203-629-0018 www.grs.org Online programs streamed virtually on Zoom.us: Tot Shabbat with Rabbi Gerson and Cantor Dunkerley, Fri, 5pm. Shabbat services with Rabbi Gerson and Cantor Dunkerley, Fri, 7pm. Religious School: Sun, 9:30am. Hebrew School: Wed, 4:30pm. Building One Community Work During the Pandemic – with Anka Badurina: Feb. 14, 10:30am, on Zoom, info@GRS. org. Temple Sholom 300 E. Putnam Ave.; 203-8697191 www.templesholom.com Services: live-streamed via Zoom and Facebook: Fri, 6:30pm; Sat, 10am; Sun, 8:15am. Lunch ‘n Learn: Tue, 12-1pm, via Zoom. Limited in-person Friday night Shabbat service, registration is required, lori.baden@templesholom.com. Sisterhood Virtual Book Discussion ‘All the Rivers’: Feb. 11, 7pm. Lutheran First Lutheran Church 38 Field Point Rd.; 203-869-0032 www.firstpaul.com Indoor Service: Sun, 10:30am. Bible Study: Sun, 11:45am. St. Paul Lutheran Church 286 Delavan Ave.; 203-531-8466 www.firstpaul.com Indoor Service: Sun, 9am. Bible Study: Sun, 10:15am. Wednesday After-School program: Snacks & Crafts, 3-4pm; Bible Stories & Catechesis, 4-5pm; Community Dinner, 5:30pm (all are welcome); Bible Study on Romans (adults), 6:30pm.
Methodist Diamond Hill United Methodist 521 E. Putnam Ave.; 203-869-2395 www.diamondhillumc.com Online Worship Service: every Sunday, 10am, followed by a time of Fellowship. Wednesday Noonday Prayer and Evening Bible Study in the Comfort of Your Home will resume shortly. (Zoom details for all can be found on the website). First United Methodist Church 59 E. Putnam Ave.; 203-629-9584 www.fumcgreenwich.com Virtual Sunday Worship, 9:30am, via Zoom (203 629 9584). Virtual Daily Gathering: Mon-Fri, 3pm, Zoom. Talking with Your Hands: Mon, 3pm. Reading this World as a Christian: Tue, 3pm. Back to Rock – music with Mr. Bruce: Tue, 3pm, via Zoom. Reading the Shape of Scripture: Wed, 3pm, via Zoom. Spring Bible Study: Thu, 3pm, via Zoom. Tea & Talk: Fri 3pm, via Zoom. Bethel African Methodist Episcopal 42 Lake Ave.; 203-661-3099 Worship via teleconference: Sun, 11am and until further notice (Dial-in number: 425-436-6380, Access code: 612220). Nondenominational Revive Church 90 Harding Rd., Old Greenwich (Old Greenwich Civic Center) www.myrevive.org Worship Service: Sun, 10am, Holiday Inn 2703 Summer St. Stamford. Online Sermons available on Facebook (facebook.com/myrevivechurchgreenwich) and on Youtube. All groups are online. Direct any prayer needs to the prayer chain at 203-536-2686 or revivecfm@gmail.com. Stanwich Church 202 Taconic Rd.; 203-661-4420 www.stanwichchurch.org Events marked by an * require registration at: stanwichchurch.org/event Sunday Service: *In-person, 9am; Online, 10am. *How to Live Out Your Faith: Feb. 10, 7pm, on Zoom. A Call to Prayer: Thursdays, Feb. 4 & 11), in-person, 7pm, 202 Taconic Rd. *Student Confirmation: Sundays, starting Feb. 14, 11:30am, on Zoom. Ash Wednesday: Feb. 17, 7am-7pm. A devotional will be available to guide you during your time at the station, located inside/ outside church grounds. The Albertson Memorial Church 293 Sound Beach Ave; 203-6374615 www.albertsonchurch.org Sunday Service held online via Zoom. Workshop: What is it Like in the Spirit World? with Mavis Pittilla: Feb. 14, 1-2:30pm, via Zoom. Trinity Church 1 River Rd.; 203-618-0808 www.trinitychurch.life In-Person Services: Sun, 10:45am, Hyatt Regency Greenwich, 1800 E Putnam Ave. Online Services: Sun, 9:45am, youtube.com/c/TrinityChurchLife/live. House Churches: Sun, 9:45am, Fairfield County, CT & Westchester County, NY. Alpha (online): Tue, 7:30-8:45pm. Ash Wednesday - Drive Through: Feb. 17, 1010:30am, Trinity Ministry Center, 5 River Rd, Cos Cob. Presbyterian First Presbyterian Church 1 W. Putnam Ave.; 203-869-8686 www.fpcg.org Sanctuary Worship: Sun, 10am (Traditional Service); 5pm (Contemporary Service), register. Online Worship: Sun, 10-11am at fpcg.org/live. Sunday School online, 10:15-11am. The Prayer Room: Tue, 11am & Thu, 8pm. Cooking for the Shelter: Feb. 11, 1:304:30pm. Ash Wednesday Service: Feb. 17, 6-7pm, Sanctuary. Interfaith Blood Drive: Feb. 20, 8:30am1:30pm, Fellowship Hall. Grace Church of Greenwich 8 Sound Shore Dr., Suite 280 203-861-7555 www.gracechurchgreenwich.com Worship: Sun, 10am, Woman’s Club of Greenwich, 89 Maple Ave. (Outside. Please bring a mask and a chair or a blanket). All Bible Study studies through zoom (email gracechurchofgreenwich@gmail.com for zoom links). All are welcome. Living Hope Community Church 38 West End Ave; 203-637-3669 www.LivingHopeCT.org In-Person Worship: Sun, 10am, Sanctuary (tickets available at EventBrite by Friday 10am). Worship Service online: Sun, 10-11:15am (YouTube or Facebook). Coffee & Fellowship: Sun, 11:30am-12pm, via Zoom. Wednesday Prayer: Wed, 8:30-9am, online. Wednesday Prayer: Feb. 17, 8:309am, online.
Page 13 | Greenwich Sentinel
A Time To Be Curious?
been a therapist and minister for a quarter century, whenever I teach about listening, I am convicted about how much more I can grow in being a better listener. It is a skill that needs constant attention and practice to maintain and improve. As people of faith, many of us believe in a God who listens to people. We can be good listeners, because God models it to us. Growing in faith is a process of learning to listen to God through Holy Scriptures, in prayer, through God’s Spirit’s direction and the many other ways G od work s to get our attention in life. We were designed for relationships with God and with others. Those connections are the lifeblood of our existence, bringing meaning and joy. They reflect who we are at our best. A s o u r c h u r c h g r o u p ’s discussion came to a close, I thought about how listening well has so many applications to our civic lives as well as our spiritual ones. If we were better listeners
By Heather Wright Are you like me and have occasionally been challenged by you r ch i ld ren, sp ouse or colleagues that you are texting while they are speaking to you? Or maybe someone has done it to you. Even in this time of slowing down, with fewer opportunities to cram our schedules and stretch ourselves thin, this still may be something we f ind ourselves doing. Being a good listener takes energy and intention. In our church I recently had the opportunity to teach on the art of listening. We discussed the value and importance of listening as a ref lection of how we love people in our lives. Despite having
“Be curious, not judgmental.” may actually have a great deal in common and yet in the here and now are diametrically opposed. T he s e c ond q uote bu i ld s on the first. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote, “If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man's (person’s) life, sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.” He is inviting us to see beyond what we don’t like about others or whatever makes them our enemies and to imagine their story that led them to where they are today. What might have caused them to act, think or react like they are? What hurt, pain or longing is behind their motives and decisions? What do they believe and what can I learn from them? As we see that person’s humanity, as one made
to our culture, particularly people that disagree with us, we could be bridge-builders and reconcilers of our divided nation. Tow a r d s t h at e n d , t h e r e are two quotes from the 19th century that have ministered to me. The f irst is from Walt Whitman (recently quoted in Ted Lasso for those who have watched the series), “Be curious, not judgmental.” That phrase has encouraged me to try to imagine how each side of our bitter cultural d i v i d e m i g ht m ove fo r w a r d if they were curious and not judgmental of one another. Both are expressing dissatisfaction with the status quo, both may be feeling unheard, taken advantage of and that they are standing for justice, even if they vehemently disagree with one another. They
in God’s image, it calls to mind our own limitations, failings and imperfections as well. In the process of imagining their pain, we become more gracious. Before you sit across from a person you disagree with and try to listen to them, I invite you to an exercise that may encourage some heart transformation. We all have walls of defensiveness and prejudgments that shut down our ability to be present to and listen to others. Here is what I would like you to ask yourself. Whoever is your enemy or opponent on the other side of whatever matters to you, no matter how strange or wrong their perspective may seem to you, can you be curious? Ta k e a m o m e n t t o s u s p e n d judgment. What might it be like to prayerfully imagine the person/ people you trust the least (in today’s political context that may include many factions), and ask God to open the eyes of your heart to what that person or group may need? What is behind the actions and words that you find misguided
or even dangerous? As you do so, a softening may come as you peel back your fear and mistrust. Your prayerful imagination may even lead to a sense of compassion. When that happens, you experience the power of love as stronger than the bondage of fear. These are risk y moves to be willing to see our enemy as someone that might be worth our time, attention, even care. If we try to practice listening, hearing what is deeper than the words spoken, we will become more welcoming to others who are different. We can be people who extend grace and kindness, which is a spark that is not easily extinguished. It can be contagious and multiple. This change happens person to person. You and I have a part to play in healing our nation and repairing our world. Let’s be curious together. The Rev. Dr. Heather Wright, Pastor of Care and Connection at Stanwich Church, is a minister, therapist and author, heatherpwright.com
loving life. A small family prayer service will be held on Feb. 21. A full celebration of her life will be held when Covid restrictions have lifted. In lieu of flowers, the family recommends that donations be made in Pat's honor to, Summit Community Church Student Ministry to make a difference in the next generation: 20555 W Roosevelt St., Buckeye, AZ 85326 and The American Cancer Society, to dream of a world free of Cancer: P.O. Box 22478, Oklahoma City, OK 73123.
Walker; great-nieces, Mia Butler, Emmy Salerno, and Evie Legant; as well as many aunts, uncles, and cousins. She was predeceased by her father, Frank M. Salerno. A Funeral Mass is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 12 at 11:30 a.m. at St. Roch Church, 10 St. Roch Ave., Greenwich. In lieu of flowers, donations m ay b e m a d e t o A b i l i s i n Greenwich.
OBITUARIES Charles Murray
for over 20 years. She loved cooking and all kinds of sewing and needle work. Renee was a parishioner of Sacred Heart Church in Byram, and after moving to Fairfield, attended Mass at St. Pius X Church. She will be sadly missed by her four children, Christine Bucci and her husband Em il of Tr um bu ll, R ichard Chmelo of Westchester, OH, Michael Chmelo of Fairf ield and Michele Bateson and her husband Edward of Fairfield; six grandchildren, seven greatgrandchildren and nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by an older brother, Walter Wilgan and her twin brother, Ronald Wilgan. A Mass of Christian Burial w a s c e l e b r a t e d S a t u r d a y, February 6 at St. Pius X Church, Fair f ield. Inter ment was private at St. Mary's Cemetery, Greenwich.
passed away on Jan. 24 after a fall earlier in the month. She was 80 years old and remained active and independent until her final days. Born in Perry, OK March 25, 1940 she was the daughter of David and Mary Maughan. Ci ndy g raduate d f rom The Northrop School (Minneapolis), Smith College and some years later earned a Master's degree from Manhattanville College . She was employed by Air France in public relations in the 1960s before starting a family with husband, Joseph Wright Powell III, whom she married in 1969. They resided in Manhattan, Greenwich, Sharon and New Canaan. While living in Sharon, she created and managed a unique art gallery that shared space with their restaurant, The Deck, in nearby West Cornwall. In retirement, they owned homes on Nantucket and in Fairfield and traveled extensively. Joe Cynthia Powell passed away in 2006 and Cindy returned to Greenwich in 2013 where she thoroughly enjoyed living in the West Lyon Farm community and struck up a number of new friendships. Cindy supported and volunteered with organizations too numerous to list including The Junior League, Puppies Behind Bars and the Greenwich Arts Council. She will be fondly remembered for her intellect, Cynthia Maughan Powell, humor and above all devotion to resident of Greenw ich, CT, family.
Charles Kenneth Murray of Norwood, MA, born April 6, 1921 died Feb. 2, 2021 from Covid-19. Formerly of Ocala, Fla. and Greenwich, CT. Beloved husband of 64 years of Pam and father of Christine (Karl) and Paul (Lesly) a nd g ra ndch i ld ren Shaw n, Logan, Samantha and Will. Memorial service to be held at a later date. Renee Chmelo
Renee Chmelo, age 92, of Fairfield, formerly of Greenwich, beloved wife of the late Joseph Chmelo, passed away peacefully in her home Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021. Born in Brooklyn, NY, the daughter of the late John and Pauline Wilgan, she had been a Greenwich resident from 1948 until relocating to Fairfield in 2007. A graduate of Hunter College, Mrs. Chmelo worked as the Assistant Director of Medical Records at Greenwich Hospital
Cindy is survived by sons Charles (Peter) of New York City, Philip (Angela) of Napa, CA and stepson David (Rebecca) of East Longmeadow, MA as well as 3 grandchildren. She was predeceased by her parents and husband. Cindy will be interred with Joe in the Columbarium Garden of Siasconset Union Chapel on Nantucket. A celebration of life in Connecticut will be announced when it is safer to gather. Memorials are preferred to Puppies Behind Bars 263 West 38th St., 4th Floor New York, NY 10018 or donor's choice.
Catherine Chimblo
Ann Salerno
Patricia Redfield
Catherine "Cathy" Chimblo née McMahon, 88, passed away peacefully on Friday, Jan. 22, 2021 surrounded by her loving family in hospice care. Catherine was born on Nov. 21, 1932 in Ahagha Kilmihil, County Clare, Ireland. She was the loving wife of the late Gus Chimblo of Cos Cob, CT. Catherine was the youngest daughter of John and Margaret McMahon and the beloved sister of seven siblings. She is survived by her three children: John Chimblo, Michael Cimbalo, daughter Constance Agnew and five grandchildren. As a devout Catholic, Catherine devoted her life to serving others. In pursuit of the American Dream, Catherine immigrated to the United States in 1956 and settled in Cos Cob, CT where she met her husband Gus and married in 1962. Catherine enjoyed cooking exquisite Italian cuisine for her family using fresh vegetables from her garden and seafood caught by her husband. She loved volunteering her time to charitable organizations such as Neighbor to Neighbor, The Fresh Air Fund and the Boy and Girl Scouts of America. Donations in Catherine's name can be made to A Wish Come True Foundation https:// www.awish.org/
Ann Marie Salerno, 67, a lifelong resident of Greenwich, CT, passed away on Feb. 7, 2021. She was born on March 22, 1953, to parents Marie F. Salerno and the late Frank M. Salerno. In her younger years, Ann Marie was a Girl Scout and competed in the Special Olympics throughout the 1970's. Ann Marie worked for Abilis for many years, in the greenhouse and on the production line making soap. She was known to go into the gift shop and buy the soap she had made. Ann Marie was also the biggest fan of her beloved Beatles. Ann Marie loved going to the beach and had a great sense of humor. She enjoyed spending time with her family and loved to share a good laugh now and then. Anyone who knew her remembers Ann Marie as a sweet and gentle person, always smiling. Ann Marie will be greatly missed by her family and friends. In addition to her mother, Ann Marie is survived by her sister, Helene Salerno; brothers, Michael (Carol) Salerno, John S a l e r n o a n d P au l (S u s a n) Salerno; nieces, Jill (Charles) Butler and Cara (Brad) Legant; nephews, Colin (Kelly) Walker, Obituaries may be submitted Dan (Austin) Salerno, and Tim to Caroll@GreenwichSentinel. Salerno; great-nephews, Noah com and are free courtesy of the Butler, James Salerno, and C.J. Greenwich Sentinel Foundation.
July 15, 1940 – Jan. 19, 2021 Patricia M. Redfield, 80, of Buckeye, AZ and Greenwich CT, passed away on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021. After a two-week battle with Covid-19, she passed quickly and peacefully during the night. P a t i s s u r v i ve d b y h e r beloved husband, Pete; three loving children, Robert Redfield (Suzanne); Holly Nott (Mike), Tracy Russo ( Jim); brother, John McCormack; six adoring grandchildren, Kelly (Brian), Erin (Justin), Patrick (Katie); James (Taylor), Andrew; Isabelle; and one great-grandchild, Addison – all of whom will miss their Gaga immensely. She was preceded in death by her parents. A New York nat ive , Pat attended Saint Raymond HS and Pace College. In October 1958 she met "Pete" and they were married in August 1961. Pat and Pete moved out to Greenwich, CT to raise their family. Gaga was everyone's friend, mother and mentor. Her home was always open to all. She was incredibly passionate about life and instilled in her children a strong work ethic, kindness, humility and love. Gaga will best be remembered by the love she shared with her beautiful grandchildren. A life taken too soon, she lived a full, happy and
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Visit GreenwichSentinel. com Very Hard
Very Hard
Page 14 | Greenwich Sentinel
Puzzles for the Weekend: Have Fun!
Code Breakers
Word Search
Each number in the Codeword grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. In Card Games - Find the springtime words - 36 words - listed below in this box of letters. this puzzle, 16 represents C, 3 represents M and 15 represents S, so fill in C wherever 16 Words are horizontal, vertical, and diagonal backward and forward. Answer on page 13 appears, M wherever 3 appears and S wherever 15 appears. Now, using your knowledge of the English language, work out which letters should go in the missing squares. As you discover the letters, fill in other squares with the same number in the main grid and the control grid. Answers on page 13. 3
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DOWN 1 Short attacks 2 Ripley's slogan finishers 3 Firing 4 Posed 5 Only 6 Cry of exultation 7 Battle group main feature 8 The very end of a golf club 9 Swing in a circus 10 Skin blemish 11 Self-published author 12 Surgically implanted tube 13 A k a the Friendly Islands 21 Gunslinger actor Jack --22 Duck ---, medieval child's game
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66 Stripe 67 Breaks 68 Raised 69 E.g. Levin, Gershwin and others
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47 51
ACROSS 1 Pistols 5 Police heavy brigade 9 Unexpected turn of events 14 Long song for one in an opera 15 Cairo/Pittsburgh river 16 Totaled 17 Of the present month (Abbr.) 18 Traditional knowledge 19 Cosmetics mogul Elizabeth --20 Monk's title 21 Jobdiscrimination watchdog (Abbr.) 22 Plumping 23 Moonshine maker 25 Liable 27 Journey's end forecast 28 Swedish aircraft maker 30 Astonish 32 Take for granted
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Anagram Crossword
22
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10
Twigs Warming Wet Wind
Soft Sower Stem Sun Sweet Swim Teem Thaw
Lamb May Melt Nest Rainy Romp Seeds Sky
Dart Eggs Grow Hat Iris June Kid Kites
Airy Anew Awake Bee Bikes Bud Bulb Clean
42
24 Exalted 26 Leave out 29 Fab Four 31 Personal assets 32 Top-fermented beer 33 Moderately dry 35 Unorthodox 36 Angular meas. 37 Peeper 40 British Prime Minister when the Constitution was signed 43 Food grasses 45 Honey factory 48 Sagas 49 Singersongwriter --DeGraw 50 Yellow tropical fruit with pink pulp 52 Token amount 54 Center of an amphitheater 55 Snow vehicles 57 Saucy girl 59 "Shane" star Alan --62 Toff 63 G-men
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ACROSS
30 Ppa
DOWN
22 Cnotrspic
1 Todspa
31 Ooz
1 Mta
24 Pis
7 Ccooor
32 Esbnceo
2 Oud
27 Toan
13 Erutrt
35 Etss
3 Rro
28 Sosg
14 Oanwri
36 Calync
4 Sortup
30 Nna
5 Sest
33 Hilecc
15 Sroeom
38 Asri
6 Letes
34 Isanee
16 Erengb
39 Srii
7 Bir
35 Elinks
17 Esru
40 Lalt
8 Ientbo
37 Nasky
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42 Eirdcp
9 Oratrc
39 Orni
20 Cfsc
44 Tkiain
10 Ngrriaezo
41 Eiul
23 Osenil
48 Ipoahs
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42 Spi
12 Nwo
43 Tda
25 Olta
49 Aeennk
18 Esecptr
45 Dni
26 Itintgs
50 Ntntei
20 Taoc
46 Rta
29 Tna
51 Rnuyds
21 Albf
47 Yna
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Suduko
Page 15 | Greenwich Sentinel
Sudoku: each row, column, and nonet can contain each number only once. Answers on page 13.
Easy
Easy
Very Hard
Hard
Hard
Very Hard
Page 16 | Greenwich Sentinel
Local Businesses Support Homeless Mission Project By Liz Norfleet
Community members are invited to join the next homeless outreach on February 14
Greenwich residents John and Liz Norfleet Dietl say they are humbled by the support of local businesses in response to their homeless outreach that began on Thanksgiving Day 2020, repeated on Christmas Day 2020, and will next occur this Sunday, February 14, 2021. Joined by friends from Harvest Time Church and with arms full of donated food and personal care necessities, they reach out to the homeless in Stamford. Harvest Time Church is providing gift cards and blankets this Sunday; Joe Studio Café in Old Greenwich is baking special sweet treats for the holiday; and each homeless person will receive a Love Can containing essentials including toothpaste, a face mask, hand sanitizer, power bar, water, and socks, donated by Empowering Through Beauty and Tanisha Akinloye. Delicious sandwiches and desserts for the Christmas outreach were donated by the Cos Cobber, Pasta Vera, Lugano, and Joe Studio Café, and were gratefully received. The group of volunteers asks recipients if they’d like a blessing, and the many who respond in the affirmative share a moment of prayer. “Even when local businesses are suffering, they recognize the need in our greater community and selflessly donate to those who have fallen on even harder times,” says organizer Liz Norfleet Dietl. “This outreach has been such a blessing to the homeless, many of whom are hopeless. We just need to love on them! When I asked one homeless woman how Pictured on Christmas Day 2020 two homeless men and friends from Harvest Time I can pray for her, she said, “I just want to Church Liz Norfleet Dietl, John Dietl, Renee Drummond, and JonAnn Clemente be around people that loving and caring.” For I was hungr y, and you gave Me C o m m u n i t y m e m b e r s w h o a r e by joining the group or by donating goods something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave interested in helping the homeless in or funds are invited to contact Liz Norfleet Me something to drink; I was a stranger, Stamford and surrounding towns either Dietl at liznorfleet777@gmail.com. and you invited Me in; Matthew 25:35
Astrology for Week of Feb. 14, 2021
AQUARIUS 21 Jan-19 Feb The more you try to stop others doing what you don’t agree with the more they will ignore you. You will influence them more by dropping your high moral tone and accepting that everyone has different needs and ways of doing things. Don’t be so reactionary.
GEMINI 22 May-21 June It’s not like you to be scared of your own shadow but Mars in the most sensitive area of your chart makes you think you’ve secret enemies trying to bring you down. It’s possible, of course, but more likely your overactive imagination is playing tricks on you.
LIBRA 24 Sept-23 Oct You like to be thought of as useful and you certainly like to help those in need. However, there are times when it is better to keep your distance and let others work things out for themselves – and such a time is now. You’ll be needed again very soon.
PISCES 20 Feb-20 March The spotlight will shine in your direction this week so try not to avoid it. Even if you’re the kind of Pisces who prefers a low profile you’ll enjoy being centre stage, for a while at least. Use the attention to spread any serious messages you want to convey.
CANCER 22 June-23 July Don’t be too hard on someone who let you down or messes up a simple task. Not everyone is as talented as you so make those lacking in the skills department feel they are appreciated. Praise them – even if you could have done it better onehanded.
SCORPIO 24 Oct-22 Nov You’ll be in one of your assertive moods this week and that’s good as the planets warn you’ll have to deal with someone who needs a firm hand. Every so often you need to lay down the law and remind certain people that you’re the boss. Like now.
ARIES 21 March-20 April You don’t have to be a hero or a villain, a saint or a sinner, you just have to be yourself. The only trouble is you’ve played so many roles of late that you may be unsure what your real role is. A Mars-Neptune union this week will remind you who you are.
LEO 24 July-23 Aug You need to assert yourself and tell the world how it’s going to be. Once others realise you are not an easy touch they will start treating you with the respect you deserve. Mars in Taurus urges you to lay down very firm demarcation lines.
SAGITTARIUS 23 Nov-21 Dec If you throw yourself into your work this week you’ll get through an impressive amount, but don’t spend every minute slaving away as you need some fun and excitement too. Get in touch with your family and friends – even if only remotely.
CAPRICORN VIRGO 22 Dec-20 Jan You’re not one to take 24 Aug-23 Sept Partnerships and no for an answer and with egotistical educational pursuits are well Mars so strong just now you’ll take starred this week but it’s up to you what you want regardless of the to make them happen. You, of all consequences. You may get away people, should know that fate helps with it but if anyone questions your those who help themselves so get right to make the rules, disarm them sorted and get busy. Don’t question with your Capricorn charm. opportunities, use them. Discover more about yourself at sallybrompton.com
TAURUS 21 April-21 May Don’t complain you have too much work as it won’t make any difference. You agreed to take on certain responsibilities and must now see them through. It won’t be as hard as you fear. Mars in your sign endows you with limitless energy and enthusiasm.
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Page 17 | Greenwich Sentinel
Books, Books, Books...Read!
The Perfect Valentine's Day Gift Might Just Be a Book By Emma Barhydt February the 14th is Valentine’s day, a day that you traditionally shower your significant other with gifts and f lowers and take them out to a fancy dinner. All that is great, but this Valentine’s Day we wanted to do something a little different. Here is our Valentine’s book picks- books full of witty r om a nc e s , t he love b et we e n families, the love between friends, and most importantly books about how to love yourself. No matter what your relationship is, take this Valentine’s day to spread love wherever you go.
6 AND UNDER
Pride and Prejudice. Pride and Prejudice tells the story of fiercely independent Elizabeth Bennet, one of f ive sisters who must marry rich, as she confounds the arrogant, wealthy Mr. Darcy. A story of what it means to recognize your own faults, and not settle for anything less than you deserve. Pride and Prejudice is a must for all readers entering into the first forays of love.
A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L'Engle Out of this w ild nig ht, a st ra nge v isitor come s to t he Murry house and beckons Meg, her brother Charles Wallace, and their friend Calvin O'Keefe on a most dangerous and extraordinary adventure—one that will threaten their lives and our universe. A story about the love that binds families together.
Guess How Much I Love You, Sam McBratney "Guess how much I love you," says Little Nutbrown Hare. Little Nutbrown Hare shows his daddy how much he loves him: as wide as he can reach and as far as he can hop. But Big Nutbrown Hare, who can reach farther and hop higher, loves him back just as much. Guess How Much I Love You is a sweet tale about loving someone so much, you can’t even quantify it.
Howl's Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones Sophie has the great misfortune of being the eldest of three daughters, destined to fail miserably should she ever leave home to seek her fate. But when she unwittingly attracts the ire of the Witch of the Waste, Sophie finds herself under a horrid spell that transforms her into an old lady. Her only chance at breaking it lies in the ever-moving castle in the hills: the Wizard Howl's Castle. Not just a Studio Ghibli movie, Wherever You Are: My Love Will Find You, Nancy Tillman Howl’s Moving Castle is about the Love is the greatest gift we bonds we place on ourselves and have to give our children. It's that it is our own love which sets the one thing they can car r y us free. w ith them each and ever y 14-17 day. If love could take shape, it might look something like these heartfelt words and images from the inimitable Nancy Tillman. Wherever You Are is a book to share with your loved ones, no matter how near or far, young or old they are.
The Runaway Bunny, Margaret Wise Brown “If you run away,” said his mother, “I will run after you. For you are my little bunny.” A little bunny keeps running away from his mother in this imaginary game of hide-and-seek. Children will be profoundly comforted by this lovingly steadfast mother who finds her child every time.
7-13
Stargirl, Jerry Spinelli From the day she arrives at quiet Mica High in a burst of color and sound, the hallways hum with the murmur of “Stargirl, Stargirl.” She captures Leo Borlock’s heart with just one smile. She sparks a school-spirit revolution with just one cheer. The students of Mica High are enchanted. At first. Then they turn on her. Stargirl is suddenly shunned for everything that makes her different, and Leo, panicked and desperate with love, urges her to become the very thing that can destroy her: normal.
Gimmie a Call, Sarah Mlynowski Devi's life isn't turning out at all like she wanted. She wasted the past three years going out with Bryan. Devi let her friendships fade, blew off studying, didn't join any clubs, and now that Bryan has broken up with her, she has nothing left. Not even her stupid cell phone—she dropped it in the mall fountain. Now it only calls one number . . . hers. At age fourteen, three years ago! Once Devi gets over the shock, she realizes that she's been given an awesome gift. She can tell herself all the right things to do because she's already done all the wrong ones! Except, what if getting what you think you want changes everything? Gimmie a Call is a fantastic book about learning to balance the love in your life while not losing sight of yourself.
Unfiltered: How to Be as Happy as You Look on Social Media, Jessica Abo Unfiltered: How to Be as Happy as You Look on Social Media is for anyone who needs to be reminded that we’re all a work in progress, no matter what judgments we make when measuring our lives against what others share online. Jessica Abo addresses the relationship between our psycholog y a nd tech nolog y and how we can take back our happiness IRL without falling into the compare and despair trap. In a world where everything is documented on social media for constant judgement, it is very necessary to take a step back and remind ourselves that we are more than numbers on a screen.
COLLEGE +
What a Time to Be Alone: The Slumflower's Guide to Why You Are Already Enough, Chidera Eggerue In What A Time To Be Alone, The Slumflower will be your life guru, confidante and best friend. She'll show you that being alone is not just okay: it's just about the best freaking thing that's ever happened to you. As she says, 'You're bad as hell and you were made with intention.' It's about time you realized. An amazing book full of advice and beautiful imagery, What a Time to Be Alone is perfect for readers of all ages, but holds a particularly poignant message for high schoolers.
Again, But Better, Christine Riccio Shane has been doing college all wrong. Pre-med, stellar grades, and happy parents…sounds ideal— but Shane's made zero friends, goes home every weekend, and romance…what’s that? Her life has been dorm, dining hall, class, repeat. Time's a ticking, and she needs a change—there's nothing like moving to a new country to really mix things up. Shane signs up for a semester abroad in London. She's going to right all her college mistakes: make friends, Pride and Prejudice, pursue boys, and find adventure! Jane Austin “ It i s a t r ut h u n i ve r s a l l y But that’s easier said than done. acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.” Thus memorably begins Jane Austen's
Shakespeare’s Sonnets, William Shakespeare Shakespeare’s Sonnets make the world around us seem more vibrant, the epitome of rose-colored glasses. While this may not be a roadmap for the modern romance, Shakespeare’s Sonnets remind us that while love is a promise, it is also something beautiful. Readers will be inspired by these sonnets to find love to or focus on the one they already have.
Modern Love, Revised and Updated: True Stories of Love, Loss, and Redemption, Daniel Jones Modern Love, Revised and Updated features dozens of the most memorable essays to run in The New York Times “Modern Love” column since its debut in 2004. Some of the stories are unconventional, while others hit close to home. Some reveal the way technology has changed dating forever; others explore the timeless struggles experienced by anyone who has ever searched for love. All of the stories are, above everything else, honest. Together, they tell the larger story of how relationships begin, often fail, and - when we’re lucky - endure.
Boundaries in Dating: How Healthy Choices Grow Healthy Relationships, Henry Cloud and John Townsend Boundaries in Dating offers illuminating insights for romance that can help you grow in freedom, honesty, and selfcontrol as you pursue a healthy dating relationship that will lead to a healthy marriage. Dating can be fun, but it's not easy. Meeting people is just one concern. O nce you've met some one , then what? What do you build? Nothing, a simple friendship, or more? How do you set smart limits on physical involvement? Financial involvement? Individual responsibilities? Full of insightful, true-life examples, this is a muchneeded book.
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SERVERS | BARTENDERS | CHEFS The Hating Game, Sally Thorne Lucy Hutton is charming and accommodating and prides herself on being loved by everyone at Bexley & Gamin. Everyone except for coldly eff icient, impeccably attired, physically intimidating Jo shu a Te mple m a n . A nd t he feeling is mutual. Trapped in a shared of f ice together 40 (Okay, 50 or 60) hours a week, they’ve become entrenched in an addictive, ridiculous neverending game of one-upmanship. Lucy can’t let Joshua beat her at anything—especially when a huge new promotion goes up for the taking.
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Page 18 | Greenwich Sentinel
Why Zillow Hates Greenwich and, Why Most Realtors Don’t Like Zillow
By Mark Pruner Every day Zillow is putting Greenwich homeowners at a signif icant disadvantage, by fa lsely ra isi ng t he mont h ly payments they claim are due on houses in Greenwich. This inaccurate amount appears in the header of every Zillow listing and stays on the page even when you scroll the data column. The estimated monthly payment is key determinate as whether someone will buy, or even look at a house in Greenwich. Zillow g rossly inf lates the ta xes due on a house in Greenwich, thus increasing the monthly cost by thousands of dollars. The actual amount of the Greenwich property taxes is in the Zillow listing, but they don’t use them in calculating the monthly payment. For ex a mple , 2 2 By f ield Lane pays $13,623 in annual property taxes to Greenwich. Zillow estimates this property’s taxes at $42,665 or more than $29,042 higher than the actual taxes. This is 213% of the actual taxes and increases Zillow’s monthly estimate of expense by $2,420 more a month. Cheryl MacCluskey, my co-columnist a t t h e G r e e nw i c h S e n t i n e l estimates that a buyer would h ave to h ave a n add it ion a l $70,000 income to pay these fake taxes. The result is that many people think that they can’t afford to live in Greenwich and look elsewhere. Even if they can afford that house in Greenwich, houses in other towns look more attractive. If you compare 22 Byfield Lane in Greenwich to 25 Common
Mile Road in Easton they are both on for about $2.5 million. Zi l low says t hat you wou ld have to able pay about $12,580 in monthly expenses to buy either home. Zillow is wrong on both accounts. The taxes they calculate for the Easton house are high by $9,733 or $811/mo. In Greenwich, the taxes are high by the aforesaid $29,042/year or $2,420/mo. This overestimating of taxes gets worse the lower the tax rate. For Greenwich with the lowest tax rate in Connecticut, the over estimation of monthly taxes is high by 100%, 200% and even more. So why are Zillow tax calculations so bad? You would think all Zillow needs to do to calculate the tax portion of a monthly payment is take the actual taxes paid for the house as entered by the listing agent on the Greenwich MLS listing and divide by 12 months. You can see the correct ta x number on the Zillow. It is very rarely wrong. That’s not how Zillow does it. They take the list price of the house and multiple it by 1.71% and divide by 12 months. They make not one, but three basic m ista kes i n ca lcu lati ng t he monthly taxes. First, the mill rate in Greenwich is 11.59 for houses not in the sewer service area (think of it as 1.159%) not
Zillow’s 1.71%. Second, the mill rate is not applied to today’s list price as Zillow does, but to the assessed value on October 1, 2015. Third, today’s assessed value is 70% of what the Assessor thinks the fair market value was on October 1, 2015. So, taxes on a $2,500,000 house whose value hasn’t changed since 10/1/15 are only $20,282.50 ($2.5M assessment x 1.159% mill rate x 70% assessment ratio) not the $42,750 that Zillow reports. Why Realtors Hate Zillow Long time Greenwich agent Denise Rosato pointed this bad data out to me at an open house recently. She had been trying to fix this problem for her client by contacting Zillow. As any agent who has had to work with Zillow knows it’s a nightmare trying to get Zillow to change anything. It can take days and weeks for them to even get back to you with anything, but an automated reply. Agents know that gong through regular Zillow channels for an individual agent is a lesson in frustration. To add insult to injury, once you do get Zillow to change something, it’s very likely that when they refresh their database in a couple of days that it is likely to revert back to old erroneous data and you have to start all over again. I’ve had to correct t he s a me er ror as ma ny a s three times.
You can take “ownership” of a listing and make certain manual changes, but once you do that, you become a slave to Zillow. A ll updates for open houses, price changes, status updates and anything else now have to entered manually by you forever. Lots of wrong data stays on Zillow, because it’s just too much work to fix it. Denise sent multiple emails she had sent to Zillow trying to correct the bad tax information. She eventually got back an email from a real person at the “Zillow Help Center” that Zillow uses a county-wide blended tax rate of 1.73% times the Zestimate. (They actually use 1.71% times the list price not the Zestimate as you can see when you click the down arrow next to Property Taxes in the Monthly Cost box on any Greenwich listing.) T h e r e s u lt o f a l l t h i s i s G r e e nw ich lo s e s buye r s to other towns with higher tax rates, because the Zillow data is wrong. It is wrong everywhere in Fairfield County, it is just more wrong in Greenwich. Other Zillow Issues with Greenwich Zillow has the notorious Zestimate which is their estimate of what your house will sell for Greenwich. These e st i mate s c a n b e w rong by millions of dollars both high and low. Several years ago, a brave Zillow salesperson came to one of our weekly office meetings. Several agents complained about how far off the Zestimates could be, they were even worse then. He finally said, “We know they are off, but they are a great way to start a conversation with a prospective client.” Another major problem with the Zestimates is if you look at the history, they jump around by huge percentages for a wide variety of reasons, many of which are not apparent. I listed a house whose Zestimate went f rom $2 .6M to $ 4 . 2 m i l l ion
literally overnight. (I don’t know why. Maybe they thought I know something they didn’t.) In some ways, I feel for sorry for Zillow and the Zestimate, a s G r e enw ich do e sn’t h ave hu nd r e d s of ident ic a l t rac t homes. Even when we do have two identical floorplans, one may have a third more square footage on the tax card, because one has a walkout basement and the other house’s basement is only partially covered. The problem is that buyers rely on these numbers. They make decisions on what to go see and how much they should offer based on the Zestimates. Besides the monthly estimates, all of which seem to be wrong, lots of other data has problem. A friend of mine listed a house this week and Zillow showed it had been on the market for 75 days, not a good way to get buyers to your house in a hot market. A third agent got challenged because the list price was so much lower than the Zestimate. The house was right next to i-95, while Zillow was pricing it off of waterfront houses that weren’t near I-95. A fourth agent had an issue where the dual listing on the SmartMLS was predominating over the Greenwich MLS listing and the listing category between the two MLS don’t match up. Bottomline, Zillow is not built for a small market, with lots of housing types, of different ages, and vastly different values. None of this really matters to Zillow Zillow has now become a digital monopoly like Facebook, Amazon, Google, or Microsoft. Digital network ef fects have kicked in strongly as of 2020 and ever yone wants to, and has to, work with the Zillow Group. The FTC made a major mistake, when they allowed Zillow to acquire Trulia, which Zillow is putting minimal market effort behind.
Not only is Zillow looking to control the horizontal real estate information space, they are also moving quickly to control the vertical space. Zillow now has a statewide brokerage license out of East Berlin, CT (which is a somewhat ironic location) and is a licensed broker in every other state. They have finance and closing div isions. They own dotloop, a leading digital documents company. They are buying tract homes at bargain prices in Atlanta, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Denver and other cities and reselling them with their own agents The Zillow Group now has about 2 /3rds of a ll Inter net sea rches a nd a re g row ing rapidly. There stock has gone from $25 to $169 in 11 months as analyst see them squeezing out the competition and leveraging their market power. They have become the 16,000-pou nd killer whale. They are so large and growing so fast that issues like really bad data don’t matter them. Right now, if you want to get your data corrected on a timely basis you need to sign-up as a Zillow Premier Agent and pay them large monthly fees. To be a premier Zillow agent, you don’t have to have ever sold a house just pay them thousands of dollars a year to get your face on their site. They also have grown so large that they now have to grow even faster on a dollar basis to keep up their compound percentage growth. The one t h i ng t hat do e s get them to change is stuff that comes to the attention of their f inancial analysts or the DOJ anti-trust department, so feel f ree to for ward this ar ticle. Maybe, just maybe, they’ll use the data they already have to correct their mistakes. Mark Pruner is a Realtor in Greenwich, CT. He can be reached mark@bhhsne.com or 203-9697900.
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Page 19 | Greenwich Sentinel
REAL ESTATE
FEATURED OPEN HOUSES
REAL ESTATE DASHBOARD EDITOR Mark Pruner | Mark@GreenwichStreets.com | mark@bhhsne.com REAL ESTATE DASHBOARD CONTRIBUTORS Robert Pulitano | RobertPulitano@bhhsne.com Cesar Rabillino | CesarRabellino@bhhsne.com Pam Toner | PamToner@bhhsne.com
NEW SALES
Data Compiled by Cesar Rabellino (203) 249-9866 Address Original List 19 River Avenue $550,000 169 Mason Street 4A $568,750 23 Pemberwick Road $617,500 1012 North Street $649,500 636 Steamboat Road B-1 S. $1,275,000 15 River Road 203 $765,000 18 Norias Road $1,095,000 21 Nicholas Avenue $1,249,000 72 Pond Place $1,325,000 30 Suburban Avenue $1,249,000 6 Sunshine Avenue $1,295,000 76 Milbank Avenue $1,555,000 124 Shore Road $1,395,000 77 Sherwood Place A $1,585,000 22 Birch Lane $1,850,000 73 Orchard Place A $2,150,000 237 Lake Avenue $2,450,000 11 Tinker Lane $2,475,000 12 Carrington Drive $2,495,000 250 Old Church Road $2,995,000 30 Owenoke Way $2,875,000 34 Copper Beech Road $3,200,000 137 Old Mill Road $4,800,000 188 Otter Rock Drive $4,875,000 359 North Street $6,000,000 54 Grahampton Lane $8,600,000
List Price $550,000 $568,750 $595,000 $595,000 $745,000 $765,000 $1,095,000 $1,249,000 $1,275,000 $1,249,000 $1,295,000 $1,495,000 $1,395,000 $1,585,000 $1,850,000 $1,970,000 $2,399,000 $2,575,000 $2,495,000 $2,895,000 $2,875,000 $3,200,000 $4,800,000 $4,875,000 $6,000,000 $8,600,000
Sold Price DOM BR FB Acres SqFt $520,000 28 3 1 0.18 1,170 $568,750 288 2 1 0 $590,000 107 3 2 0.14 1,169 $595,000 87 3 2 0.27 1,588 $720,000 1,052 2 2 1,252 $765,000 2 2 1,104 $1,070,000 37 4 3 0.35 2,545 $1,200,000 67 4 4 0.14 2,910 $1,230,000 137 4 3 0.27 3,100 $1,249,000 75 5 4 0.2 3,047 $1,250,000 103 3 3 0.17 2,352 $1,460,000 255 6 2 0.19 4,021 $1,500,000 63 3 2 0.31 1,496 $1,585,000 3 3 0 3,173 $1,850,000 18 2 2 1.34 2,250 $1,900,000 294 4 4 3,039 $2,180,000 256 5 3 0.21 3,791 $2,475,000 104 4 3 2.06 4,751 $2,595,000 22 6 4 4.01 4,324 $2,800,000 199 5 5 1 5,587 $2,875,000 5 4 0.41 4,039 $3,025,000 58 5 3 1.17 4,613 $4,225,000 30 6 6 4.06 9,856 $4,910,000 205 4 4 1 5,386 $5,525,000 202 6 7 2.8 8,877 $8,600,000 6 7 2.01 9,498
A New Level Of Commitment And Honesty In Real Estate. Gloria Falcon 203.559.1604 gloriafalcon@bhhsne.com Cesar Rabellino 203.249.9866 cesarrabellino@bhhsne.com
Greenwich | 136 East Putnam Avenue | bhhsNEproperties.com ©2021 An independently operated member of BHH Affiliates. Equal Housing Opportunity.
GPS HIRING There are local school jobs available including: Adult and Continuing Education (1); Elementary School Teaching (1); Middle School Teaching (1); Security (2); Student Support Services (9); Substitute (5); Support Staff (5).
ATHLETIC FIELD STUDY
The Department of Parks and Recreation, the Office of the First Selectman, and the BET commissioned a comprehensive Athletic Field Study during the 2019-20 fiscal year. The Study was prepared by Ryan Chmielewski, Senior Project Manager at Weston and Sampson of Rocky Hill, CT. Moving forward, the Parks and Recreation staff, assisted by Weston and Sampson will evaluate and prioritize the concepts for the Town's Capital Improvement Program. The study can be found on the Town's website.
WELCOME HOME AND THANK YOU TO GPD SGT. SEAN O’DONNELL
Greenwich Police Sgt. Sean O’Donnell recently returned from a nearly year-long tour of duty with the U.S. Army National Guard in Kuwait. Sean is a Lieutenant Colonel with the Guard and has served for 31 years. He stopped by Town Hall this week to present the Town with an American flag that was flown over Camp Arifjan, Kuwait during his recent duty with the Division Operations Company 42D ID. The flag now flies at the War Memorial in front of the Havemeyer Building on Greenwich Avenue.
RENEW YOUR DRIVER’S LICENSES AND NONDRIVER ID CARDS ONLINE
The DMV’s new online renewal option has already been offered to residents whose driver’s license or nondriver ID expired within the last 45 days. As part of the soft-launch of the new service
during the last two months, more than 20,000 individuals have already successfully renewed online. Eligible residents will receive an invitation by postal mail or email to complete their transaction online and make an electronic payment via credit or debit card. Upon successful completion of the online renewal, the license or non-driver ID will be received by mail within 20 days. All of the DMV’s services can be found online by visiting ct.gov/dmv.
GREENWICH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL GOES VIRTUAL WITH FEBRUARY SHOWCASE
The GIFF will hold its Social Impact Film Showcase from Feb. 18 to Feb. 21, showing 10 films from filmmakers in the U.S. and from around the world. The showcase will also offer a variety of panel discussions, question-andanswer sessions with actors and filmmakers, and an award ceremony to honor the winner of the festival’s Best Social Impact Film Award. For a full list of films and to buy a $75 pass to view the films, visit www.greenwichfilm.org.
TREES: PROPOSED ACT
Introduced By: Sen. Kasser, 36th Dist. and Rep. Meskers, 150th Dist. An Act Concerning Vegetation Management By the Department of Transportation is being proposed as follows: Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened: That the general statutes be amended to require the Department of 1Transportation to manage vegetation along highways and railroad 2corridors to curtail unnecessary tree pruning and removal and to 3prohibit the use of clear cutting in lieu of vegetation management and 4conserve urban and edge forests through adherence to guidelines 5developed to accomplish such goals.6Statement of Purpose:
Data Compiled by Rob Pulitano [203] 561-8092
Address
Area
Price
Day/Time
Broker
50 Lafayette Place #1I 21 Hartford Avenue 47 lafayette Place #1i 56 Sherwood Place #8 212 Valley Road 44 Valley Road #B 2 Glen Avon Drive 27 Linwood Avenue 103 Connecticut Avenue 340 Cognewaugh Road 702 Steamboat Road #3 18 Lower Cross Road
Greenwich Greenwich Greenwich Greenwich Cos Cob Cos Cob Riverside Riverside Greenwich Cos Cob Greenwich Greenwich
$329,500 $687,000 $825,000 $950,000 $995,000 $1,225,000 $2,295,000 $2,650,000 $2,795,000 $3,400,000 $4,950,000 $6,495,000
Sat 1-3 PM Sun 1-3 PM Sun 1-3 PM Sun 1-3 PM Sun 12-2 PM Sun 1-3 PM Sun 2-4 PM Sun 1:30-3:30 PM Sun 2-4 PM Sun 1-3 PM Sun 2-4 PM Sun 1-3 PM
William Raveis Coldwell Banker Realty Coldwell Banker Realty Coldwell Banker Realty William Raveis Coldwell Banker Realty Berkshire Hathaway Sotheby's Houlihan Lawrence Sotheby's Coldwell Banker Realty Berkshire Hathaway
NEW LISTINGS
Data Compiled by Cesar Rabellino (203) 249-9866 Price/ Address List Price SqFt AC BR FB Area SqFt 4 Putnam Hill 2C $559,000 2 1 South of Post Road Old Greenwich 51 Forest Avenue 175 $748,000 $485 1,543 0 1 2 40 Elm Street 5A $799,000 $761 1,050 0 1 1 South of Post Road Byram 104 Ritch Avenue 6 $850,000 $348 2,446 0 3 3 Glenville 121 Lyon Farm Drive 121 $975,000 $358 2,721 0 3 3 Cos Cob 212 Valley Road $995,000 $415 2,400 0.33 6 3 Cos Cob 15 Sundance Drive $1,250,000 $519 2,408 2 3 3 Cos Cob 2 Nassau Place 3 $1,295,000 $562 2,303 0 3 3 Glenville 310 Lyon Farm Drive UNIT $1,325,000 $468 2,831 0 3 3 South Parkway 8 Carissa Lane $2,050,000 $455 4,502 1 5 4 Cos Cob 100 Orchard Street $2,095,000 $438 4,782 0.42 5 5 Glenville 6 Strawbridge Lane $2,100,000 $543 3,866 1.01 4 3 North Parkway 30 Carrington Drive $2,275,000 $438 5,196 4 5 4 Riverside 2 Glen Avon Drive $2,295,000 $655 3,504 0.45 4 3 Cos Cob 4 Steep Hollow Lane $2,350,000 $444 5,289 1.91 4 5 South Parkway 37 Perryridge Road $2,945,000 $580 5,074 0.3 5 4 South Parkway 30 Upland Drive $3,300,000 $1,014 3,255 1.68 4 3 Cos Cob 340 Cognewaugh Road $3,400,000 $531 6,400 1.01 4 4 South Parkway 29 Lauder Lane $3,595,000 $648 5,545 2.26 3 5 125 Field Point Road B4 $3,600,000 $1,554 2,316 3 3 South of Post Road North Parkway 50 Partridge Hollow Road $4,650,000 $574 8,107 4.99 8 8 South Parkway 139 North Street $6,250,000 $727 8,600 0.77 5 6 North Parkway 396 Round Hill Road $8,750,000 $785 11,150 2.08 6 7
To protect both the state's infrastructure and the state's green infrastructure while contributing to the accomplishment of the state's climate goals.
GHS STUDENTS RECOGNIZED
All thirteen Greenwich High School (GHS) students who were recognized as Semifinalists in the 2021 National Merit® Scholarship Program, have now been named as Program Finalists. The National Merit Scholarship Program is an annual academic competition for recognition and college undergraduate scholarships, based on their Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) scores. Greenwich High School Principal Mr. Ralph Mayo shared, "Our entire GHS community is celebrating alongside these thirteen students. Achieving Semifinalist standing is an incredible feat, and now these students can add 'Finalist' to their impressive accomplishments. We are so proud of their continued hard work and look forward to their future success." GHS 2021 National Merit Scholarship Program Finalists: Meredith Blanchard Chelsea Cleary Claire Dobbins Samuel Florin George Gilfond Joseph Hirsch Anjali Kishore Skyler McDonnell Genevieve McQuillan Wyatt Radzin Iris Shi Artemis Shung Colin Speaker
SOPHIA'S AND NYSC MAY BE CLOSING
A pre-application to convert Sophia's and NYSC into a bakery and restaurant has been filed with Planning & Zoning. The property is located at 8 & 10 Lewis Street. The possible tenant, KYMA, wants to operate a retail bakery on the first floor, and a restaurant upstairs.
OPEN HOUSE SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14TH 2-4PM 504 North Street, Greenwich, CT | $6,495,000
Come fall in love with this Mid Country Greenwich Estate Beyond a gated entrance down a long driveway & sweeping green lawns is where you will find romantic ambience. Done with unerring taste & style, this manor home provides a superlative backdrop to experiencing the framed Greenwich lifestyle know as Mid-Country. This home celebrates a classic estate feel with countless custom features & extensive millwork, moldings, raised paneling & banks of French doors leading to expansive green lawns. The balconied foyer is as elegant as it is inviting & presents the well-appointed public rooms along with sedate study. Entertain in style where it’s evident the builder’s eye towards luxury living is embraced in 16,000sf. The master sanctuary with luxury baths excludes elegance and has numerous large walk-in closets, while the Juliette balcony overlooks the grounds. The lower level swept by high ceilings has irresistible family space. In short there are many pleasures inherent in owning this easy living light filled luxurious home.
Service Beyond your Expectation
W W W. 4 H O M E S B Y B A R B A R A . C O M C 203.249.1454 | D 203.618.0172 b a r b a ra . z a c c a g n i n i @ c b m ov e s . c o m 66 Field Point Road | Greenwich, CT 06830 278 Sound Beach Avenue | Old Greenwich, CT 06870 Real estate agents affiliated with Coldwell Banker Realty are independent contractor agents and are not employees of the Company. The property information herein is derived from various sources that may include, but not be limited to, county records and the Multiple Listing Service, and it may include approximations. Although the information is believed to be accurate, it is not warranted and you should not rely upon it without personal verification. ©2021 Coldwell Banker Realty. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker Realty fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Owned by a subsidiary of NRT LLC. Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker Logo are registered service marks owned by Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC.