June 26, 2020

ECRWSS

June 26, 2020

The Greenwich Weekly Newspaper, where we celebrate our hometown. Exclusively Greenwich news and events.

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NEWS BRIEF “We held a “pack athon” to provide 27,500 meals to hu n g r y fa m i l i e s i n Greenwich and surrounding areas,” says Lucy Rinaldi.

See page 3 Luckily, there is one thing that never fails to bring that long awaited summer feeling: a delicious ice cream cone -- something Greenwich is well equipped to provide.

See Page 4.

The cryptocurrency B itc oi n w a s c o n c e i ve d during the last f inancial c r i s i s . I t s c r e a t o r, t h e mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto, quoted a newspaper article regarding t he “ b a i lout for b a n k s” in the very first record of Bitcoin’s public ledger: the cryptocurrency was made to be independent of all governments. See page 5 Lock it or lose it. That's the simple message from the Greenwich Police Department, following a sharp increase in vehicle thefts. See Page 5

BOE Unanimously Approves Budget

By Richard Kaufman

D u r i ng a sp e c ia l me et i ng on Tuesday night, the Board of Education (BOE) unanimously voted to approve budget adjustments which brought their new spending total to $163,364,192 for f iscal year 2020-2021. The new budget has no cuts to staff or programming and keeps most raises and benef it increases in place. The new fiscal year begins on July 1.

The budget adjustments were needed following the Board o f E s t i m a t e a n d Ta x a t i o n's response to the coronavirus and subsequent economic concerns.

For the 2020-2021 fiscal year, the BET held town operating budgets flat to the current year (2019-2020) with no increases. Because of that, the Greenwich Public School

budget request was moved from $166 million to $163 million.

The budget flattening sparked protests held in front of Town Hall and scores of emails sent to town officials.

The District said it was looking at potentially cutting staff and programming, which would have totaled $695,000, and would have included eliminating two Physical Education positions, reducing five Media Assistants from full-time to part-time, and delaying advanced learning and foreign language programs for students. That did not happen.

To help close the $3 million budget gap in a more comfortable way, the District made $1.2 million in budget cuts by eliminating new library books next year, cutting down on travel expenses and on smart-board replacements, among

other items. the purchase of office supplies, get to this point tonight... It's Add it iona l ly, t he D i st r ic t classroom non-capital equipment, been a herculean effort," said

"Every building leader, our coordinators, everyone at Havemeyer [helped] to get to this point tonight... It's been a herculean effort," said Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Toni Jones. renegotiated it's transportation contract with Student Transportation America, which re su lte d i n a sav i ng s of $2 .1 million, according to District Chief Operating Of f icer, Sean O'Keefe. The surplus was used to bring encumbrances, such as

Learning Photography from the best in the comfort of your own home.

Editorial and Letters to the Editor. See page 6 Local calendar of Page 8 Obituaries. Pages 10 & 11 Faith by Edward Horstmann, Heather Wright, and Marek Zabriskie. See Page 13

One of the most successful women’s clothing stores of the past, Chancy D’Elia, which existed on the Avenue from 1932 until 2005. . See Page 14 Worship Services & Events.

Page 12 & 13 Columns by Mary Forde & Lee Longo. Page 14 It w a s a d ay t h at r i si n g Greenwich High School junior Charlie Zolin won’t soon forget. On June 8, the goalie for the GHS ice hockey team woke up to find out he was the top pick overall in the 2020 American Quebec Major Junior Hockey League draft. See Page 15 Wildly Successful: The Praying Mantis - Jim Knox See Page 17 Puzzles on Pages 17/18 Your Horoscope on Page 17 Real Estate Dashboard is on Page 16 Bruce Museum w ill be Fe a t u r e d o n M u s e u m Access TV series.

T h e s h o w, f e a t u r i n g entertainment, education and inspiration will begin airing on Public Televison/ PBS stations nationwide this June. Amazon Prime launch will follow on July 1.

Have you been delay ing medical care? Concerned about your safety in a healthcare setting?

Greenwich Hospital will answer your questions at a virtual town hall “What to Expect for Your Upcoming Surgery” on Facebook on Tuesday, June 30 from 5 to 6 p.m. See page 2 E a c h Fo u r t h o f J u l y, thousands of people are injured from using consumer f ireworks, amounting to 9,000 a year in the US of A!! About 2,000 to the eyes alone, causing permanent damage or vision loss in about one forth of them. See Page 2

Greenwich native Melissa Groo describes her new Photography course, launching June 30 on the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology’s e-learning website, on page 3. Above Red and Green Macaws in a fly by in Brazil. Photo by Melissa Groo.

Computer Supercenter

Supercenter's strong comeback from coronavirus pandemic after efforts to stay afloat.

By Foster Steinbeck What started as a two-week vacation to California in early Febr uar y tur ned into a fourmonth work frenzy for Computer Supercenter Owner Brian Desrosier, 63, as he battled to keep the company’s doors open nearly 2,500 miles away, fearing to return home due to health concerns.

Although deemed an essential business under Gov. Ned Lamont’s executive order, the Information Technology support and computer repair business, designed to conduct business on-site, was struggling to stay afloat as few customers were coming into the store. In response, Desrosier foug ht to keep t he company operating while ensuring customer and staff safety.

He revamped the business’s

website to handle online bookings and redesigned the store’s layout to ensure physical distancing. He also woke up every morning at 4:30 a.m. CST to analyze the previous day’s customer data, and to handle the business’s other backend responsibilities. Along with several other efforts, Desrosier said the four-month period was the hardest he has ever worked.

“I just decided we're not going to go down without swinging,” Desrosier said.

Although the company seemed doomed in March, the “IT Department of Mainstreet” now handles three times the number of work orders, and its overall revenue has doubled compared to before the pandemic started, despite transitioning to appointment-only store visits.

Desrosier attributed the company’s survival and subsequent upsw ing to its strict safety procedures, the transition to a remote workplace business model, and customers rediscovering the business’s quality service “ We d i d m o r e b u s i n e s s [Monday] than we have any other day in the last week; you're dealing with change — perpetual, constant change,” Desrosier said. “I want us to be successful. I want all the people that work for me to be able to advance their careers … I want them to go home, better off this year than they were last year.”

Take it on the chin Despite the financial strain, Desrosier said he gave employees who de c ide d to le ave due to their or their families’ health one

See SUPERCENTER page 5

Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Toni Jones, on Tuesday night.

"This was an amazing process. I honestly didn't think we'd get it done. We got all of the members from all the schools and

See BOE BUDGET page 5

After Eight

What To Do Out

By Julia Lucey

I n it ia l e n g i ne e r i n g a nd architecture work on improvements to Roger Sherman Baldwin Park can begin. See Page 5

MILESTONES: Victoria Lea Gasiorowski of Shelton graduated Cum Laude with a Masters of Arts degree in Speech Language Pathology from George Washington University. Bart & Debbie Heavey Celebrated their 60th Wedding Anniversary. See Page 13

and textbooks, into 2019-2020.

"Sean and his team worked feverishly over the last couple of days. This was a team effort from our entire administrative tea m. Ever y bu i ld i ng leader, o u r c o o r d i n a t o r s , e ve r yo n e at Havemeyer [helped] to

School is out for the summer and alarm clocks no longer are set for 6:30 am. As teenagers and young adu lts look to the (somewhat) cooler summer nights to get out and socialize, it might seem like there isn't much going on after eight.

With many social distancing guidelines still in place, evening activities are taking a different shape this summer, but there are plenty of activities to keep Greenwich’s younger population busy and entertained after a day of work or a day spent out in the sun.

Recently reopened are the Bowtie Cinemas in Greenwich and Stamford (Criterion Cinemas at Greenwich Plaza and Ultimate Majestic 6). There are specif ic parameters to ensure safet y: the theaters will only be filled to 50% capacity, customers will be asked to wear face coverings, and contact-free methods of purchase have been implemented. A full list of these precautions can be found on Bowtie Cinemas’ website, bowtiecinemas.com, along with each theater’s showtime schedule.

As most new movies won’t be released until July, for the time being the theaters are showing a wide array of films -- all your favorite classics, comedies, action movies, and more -- every night!

Fo r t h o s e w h o d o n’t f e e l comfortable watching a film in the traditional movie theater setting, starting July 8, Harbor Point in Stamford is offering a week ly movie night in Commons Park.

Movies will begin at dusk (around 8:30 pm) every Wednesday night.

They’ll be showing La La Land (July 8), Captain Marvel (July 15), Breakfast at Tiffany’s ( July 22), The Incredibles 2 (July 29), and Indiana Jones Raiders of the Lost Ark (August 5). In addition, prior to the screening, music in the park begins at 6:30 pm, and picnicking is allowed -- so bring your blankets and chairs to make an evening out of it! To RVSP and find information

about parking, visit harborpt.com.

Bedford, N Y, just over the border from Banksville is having its ow n drive-in theater. The Bedford Playhouse has partnered with the John Jay Homestead for two nights in July to screen the classic comedy, Ferris Bueller's Day Off on the big screen.

Tickets are available for Ju ly 10th a nd Ju ly 11th at johnjayhomestead.org but they are selling out quickly.

For some late night bites, the Stamford Diner (135 Harvard Ave) just off Exit 6 is open until 11 pm for dine-in, curbside pickup, and delivery. The diner has all the important comfort food items and classic diner musts: burgers, melts, fries, pastas, and milkshakes. Also open in the diner department is Glory Days, open daily until 10 pm for table service, takeout, and delivery.

A nd because nothing says summer like a trip for some ice cream after a long, hot day, Gofer of Riverside is open until 9pm Sunday through Thursday and until 10pm Friday and Saturday.

Just next to Western Greenwich is Port Chester’s Bona Bona Ice Cream (10 Westchester Avenue), which is open daily until 9 pm (10 pm on Friday and Saturday). Bona Bona serves a wide array of ice cream sandwiches, sundaes, and milkshakes.

While most in-person concerts and the summer’s biggest music fe st iv a l s a r e a l l c a nc ele d or postponed for the foreseeable future, live music has become a rare commodity. Caramoor Park in Katonah, NY (a beautiful 25 minute drive away) is hosting several “Concerts on the Lawn” events later this summer on July 18 and 25 as well as August 1 and 8, all starting at 7 pm. Performers include Chris Thile, Rachael & Vilray, Charles Turner & Uptown Swing, and Flor de Toloache.

S i g n up fo r t h e 5 T h i n g s To Do in Greenw ich at w w w.

GreenwichSentinel.com for daily event emails and updates.

Brunswick School's Strong Response

Brunswick School rolls out rapid response to address systemic racism. suggestions for “improving the Brunswick experience for black students…and all Henceforth, the headmaster of the students in general,” wrote Tom Philip, Brunswick School will have a new title, Head of School, and Tom O’Malley’ 85, “Head of School.” With its enrollment of Board Chair, to have those black alumni 1000-plus students, “20 percent of whom reflect diversity,” the School will “seek to increase its percentage of Black students and faculty to be more reflective of the community and nation of which we are a part.” There’s more to come, but first a little history.

The day that George Floyd was laid to rest, June 9, Brunswick School had already begun a ref lective process, meeting with their students of color of the class of 2020. A request went out to students, parents, faculty, staff, and alumni to share their thoughts and perspectives. By June 13 they had received “two well-crafted and thoughtful letters, one from black alumni/alumnae from both Brunswick School and Greenwich Academy and another from alumni/ letter writers in particular invited “to join alumnae of color and white students from the administration and trustees in our ongoing conversations as their input is… both schools.”

Those two letter writers that included invaluable.”

Those t wo let ters (others wou ld a reported 60 Brunswick signatories were forceful enough with their list of follow), plus emails and calls, brought by

By Anne W. Semmes

June 18 the impressive “Call to Action,” that includes the initiatives: to increase the percentage of black faculty; increase its outreach to identify promising black st udent s a nd f ac u lt y ; sig n i f ic a nt ly

The bottom-line as expressed by Head of School Philip and Board Chair O’Malley to the members of the Brunswick School Community: “Brunswick has unequivocally reaffirmed its conviction that Black Lives Matter.” increase financial aid to make Brunswick more accessible; create a transportation plan to better serve students from diverse neighborhoods.

The school will “enhance its programs for anti-racist training for all students

and faculty; the school will perform a n i nter na l rev iew of t he academ ic curriculum at all grade levels to ensure the full and accurate accounting of the history, struggles, and contributions of diverse people in general and black people in particular; the school will create a Faculty of Color Committee for “mutual support, student mentorship, and recruitment and retention efforts for other faculty of color.”

“The School will institute an Alumni of Color Committee through the Alumni and Career Office charged with mentoring current students and recent graduates.”

And note that the school’s anonymous em a i l d r op b ox “ S a feW ick ” w i l l b e “promoted as a safe and appropriate avenue to alert the diversity, equity, a nd i nclu sion te a m , a s wel l a s t he ad m i n istration, of a ny i nsta nces of racism, including microaggressions.”

The bottom-line as expressed by Head of School Philip and Board Chair O’Malley to the members of the Brunsw ick School Community: “Brunsw ick has unequivocally reaffirmed its conviction that Black Lives Matter.”

Page 2 | Greenwich Sentinel

SUMMER STAND OPEN FOR THE SEASON FROM THE FIEL H S E D FR

ESCAROLE

HEALTH NEWS

Greenwich Hospital Hosts Virtual Town Hall Have you been delay ing medical care? Concerned about yo u r s a f e t y i n a h e a l t h c a r e s et t i ng? Gr e enw ich Hospit a l will answer your questions at a virtual town hall “What to Expect for Your Upcoming Surgery” on Facebook on Tuesday, June 30 from 5 to 6 p.m.

Com mu n it y residents ca n send their questions in advance via email to YNHHpublications@ y n h h . o r g . Wr i t e G r e e n w i c h Surgery Town Hall in the email

su bje c t f ield. They c a n v iew the town hall at facebook.com/ GreenwichHospital/ Greenwich Hospital and all of its off-site locations are once again fully open. New safety measures and procedures are in place to protect patients and staff, which allow the hospital to remain fully operational and treat patients with the coronavirus.

Pe g g y L e n n on , e xe c ut i ve director, Surgical Services will serve as moderator.

The panelists include: C a r o l A n n D o h e r t y, B S N , R N, nurse manager, Surger y/ Orthopedics Steve Hindman, MD, director, Orthopedics Helene Kimmons, BSN, RN, nurse manager, Ambulatory Surgery/ PACU, Pain Management G av i n M c L e o d , M D, i nte r i m section head, Infectious Diseases Alfonso Tagliavia, MD, director, Anesthesiology

Fireworks Update As most townships (including Greenwich and the surrounding towns) have cancelled annual fireworks displays, many parts of America have seen a rash of illegal late-night f ireworks, well before the usual Fourth of July backyard versions.

NYC has seen an especially noisy and dangerous increase, often keeping people awake and harming some in their homes as stray fireworks escape into apartment windows. Some reports are of a 920

“Why Eat Lettuce When Escarole Is Available”

Honey

Kale

Fireworks Eye Safety

Firework Safety & What To Do If There is An Eye Injury

By Dr. Robert Fucigna, M.D of the little 5 and unders.

ALSO HARVESTING

Radish

percent increase in noise complaints from fireworks.

There will be legal fireworks from Macy's in NYC this coming week though in each of the five boroughs for five minutes each night starting June 29. The fireworks will be set off at a “high elevation, unannounced” to prevent people from gathering to watch them.

A July 4 televised grand finale will feature the “best of” the previous five nights.

Spinach

Versailles Farms 56 Locust Road, Greenwich

Weekends 9am – 5pm Water Restriction Greenwich Sent 5.25 x 10.5.qxp_Layout 1 6/15/20 12:52 PM Page 1

Ready For Your Most Important Needs For Aquarion Customers in Darien, Greenwich, New Canaan, Stamford and Westport

W

ith the lawn and garden season upon us, it’s time to remember how important it is to avoid using water inefficiently – including over-irrigation.

The average suburban household uses at least 30% of its water for irrigation.

But most could use less – a lot less – and still enjoy healthy lawns and gardens.

That’s why Aquarion, in coordination with town and state officials, continues to expand this conservation-focused irrigation schedule throughout its service area. Here are some tips to make it even easier for you: • If you have a built-in irrigation system, have a licensed irrigation professional make sure it’s working efficiently • Check our website to see if you qualify for a variance from the schedule – for new plantings, a large property, or a high-efficiency irrigation system.

• Keep in mind, weather and other conditions may further reduce your watering needs.

Together, we can ensure our communities always have enough water for all their vital needs. For more tips on improving your water efficiency, please visit our website.

Questions? Call our Customer Service Center at 1-800-732-9678

Each Fourth of July, thousands of people are injured from using consumer fireworks , amounting to 9,000 a year in the US of A!! About 2,000 to the eyes alone, causing permanent damage or vision loss in about one forth of them.

A n average of 2 80 people per day will go to the ER with fireworks related injuries during the two weeks prior AND after the July 4th holiday. Firecrackers, Sparklers and Bottle Rockets and, yes, LEGAL Fireworks cause the most injuries!

July is Fireworks Eye Safety Awareness Month and withou any official fireworks, the American Academy wants us to be extra cautious. Those 15 and under account for 50% of eye injuries, and sparklers account for a third

Older Ch i ld ren shou ld b e permitted to use fireworks under close ADULT supervision. Do NOT allow running or horseplay.

If you do set off f ireworks, choose a clear area away from houses, dry debris, grasses or flammable material, while wearing polycarbonate protective eyewear.

fireman or policeman.

If you do get an eye injury seek medical help immediately!!!

G o t o t h e E R o r c a l l yo u r Ophthalmologist.

D o Not tou c h r u b or a pply pressure to the eye.

Do Not try and remove ANY object stuck in the eye.

DO k e e p a bu c k et of water Do Not apply ointment or drops. nearby.

Only if a chemical exposure DO soak duds with water, and occurs should you flush with throw them away. plenty of water.

DO NOT stand over a firework We a r a m a s k i f s o c i a l while lighting. distancing is unavoidable and of DO Observe Local Laws!

course wash your hands!!

Never never let small children play with any type of fireworks!

Sent from my eye phone!

Dr. Fucigna can be reached at D o NOT to u c h u n e x p l o d e d (203) 348-7575. fireworks remains, contact a

Thrift Shop Reopens

Plexiglas barriers at the register and other safety measures.

The Greenw ich Hospital Au x i l ia r y Th r i f t Shop at 19 9 Hamilton Ave. in Greenwich has reopened with safety measures in place, including contactless donations. The Thrift Shop is open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. All proceeds directly benefit patient care at Greenwich Hospital.

All customers and staff must wear face masks and use the hand sanitizer available at the entrance before entering the shop. Only 10 customers will be allowed in the store at a time. Plexiglas barriers have been installed at the register and markers reminding shoppers to adhere to social distancing protocols (6 feet) have been placed on the selling floor. Bathrooms and dressing areas are closed to the public.

Contactless donations will be accepted only on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Donors can place their merchandise directly in the large portable storage units located in the back of the shop’s parking lot.

The merchandise will remain in the storage units for six days before entering the shop as per infection prevention guidelines. Customers can pick up donation forms in the tent by the storage units. Plexiglas

div iders are in place in work stations in the donation areas.

“We are delighted to welcome the community safely back to our Thrift Shop,” said Stacey Green, director Volunteer Services.

www.aquarionwater.com/watering

Mandatory, Maximum Twice-Weekly Sprinkler Irrigation Schedule Last Digit of Your Address Number Please Water Only On: 0, 2, 4, 6 or 8 (even numbers) Sunday & Wednesday 12:01 am – 10:00 am, or 6:00 pm – Midnight 1, 3, 5, 7 or 9 (odd numbers)

Saturday & Tuesday 12:01 am – 10:00 am, or 6:00 pm – Midnight

No address number

Sunday & Wednesday 12:01 am – 10:00 am, or 6:00 pm – Midnight

© 2020 Aquarion Water Company

203-869-2299 for FREE Delivery

Learning Excellence in Photography Online from Expert Melissa Groo

Snowy Egrets dancing in Chincoteague, Virginia. Photo by Melissa Groo.

Baltimore oriole foraging for food in Ithaca, NY. Photo by Melissa Groo.

By Anne W. Semmes Melissa Groo is a Greenw ich homegrown, award-winning wildlife photographer, based in Ithaca, New York with her family, but much present in the Melissa Groo Gallery at Audubon Greenwich where her stunning photos of birds captured in the wild are on view, accompanied now with f itting Mary Oliver poetry. But soon Melissa will be highly accessible online with the June 30 debut of her inaugural Bird Photography course released by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology’s e-learning department, Bird Academy. For the price of admission, she says, “You can watch all 34 videos, at any time, and as many times as you wish.”

"Bird photography can seem daunting at first,” she explains, “from figuring

out what gear to buy, to finding birds to photograph, to mastering your settings, so I’ve designed this course to help you every step of the way.”

When not traveling the world on assignment for magazines or teaching her trade, Melissa spent much of last year in the filming for the course. “It was a great honor and opportunity to work with the

Cornell Lab of Ornithology,” she shares.

“The Lab is a world leader in the study, appreciation, and conservation of birds, and it was a welcome chance to help increase appreciation of birds and their beauty, diversity, and intelligence. “ The course offers instruction on seven overarching topics: “Understand Birds for Better Photos; Match Your Gear to

“Bird photography can seem daunting at first, so I’ve designed this course to help you every step of the way.”

Your Goals; Gain an Audience with Birds; Craft Great Bird Photos; Get Creative and Tell Stories; Capture Birds in Flight; and Curate, Edit, and Share Your Photos.”

Surely important to Melissa are the topics found in Lesson 3: “Let birds come to you; Attract birds; Approach birds responsibly.” In her work Melissa has become a spokesperson for ethical wildlife photography. To not intrude on that wildlife with your camera, however impassioned. “I discuss often,” she confirms, “how thoughtful photography that honors the welfare of the bird first and foremost can actually result in the best photos.”

She’s just back from a teaching assig n ment in Wyom ing, her f irst breakout from the pandemic since holding a workshop in Nebraska with the Sandhill Crane migration in March.

Any bird highlights in Wyoming? Most definitely. “Mountain bluebirds feeding their young, northern harriers building nests, red-naped sapsuckers nesting in an aspen tree, American avocets with chicks.”

For those wanting to take advantage of an early-bird discount, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology is offering “Bird Photography with Melissa Groo” at $190 until the debut date of June 30, when the price changes to the regular cost of $240.

“More than anything,” she emphasizes, “I want to help you realize your goals when it comes to capturing stunning images of these magnificent creatures, no matter how modest or ambitious they are."

To enroll in the course or give it as a gift, visit https://academy.allaboutbirds. org /product/bird-photography-withmelissa-groo/

Lucy Rinaldi Packs a Punch for Outreach

By Anne W. Semmes It’s not exactly that Bible story of Jesus feeding the 5000 from five loaves of bread and two fish, but how Greenwich’s Christ Church has managed to fund 30,000 free meals to those in need in the midst of a pandemic is a story of magic and mindset.

The impetus was to match the Church’s successful effort last year. “We held a “packathon” to provide 27,500 meals to hungry families in Greenwich and surrounding areas,” says Lucy Rinaldi, who co-chairs the Church’s Outreach Committee. As with last year her committee was concerned, “that [public school] children who get school lunches don’t have access to those lunches in the summer months.”

The packathon idea Rinaldi tells originated with organizations packing up nutrient-rich dry foods for people in Africa. But what about those hungry people in our communities? The organization - Outreach Program - was found with a focus on feeding people in this country. “We contacted their New England regional director,” she says. “Their deal was for the cost of 30 cents a meal they would bring you the supplies and teach you how to organize these packing stations.”

“We had 150 people, old and young, who packed food here in the Parish Hall last year,” Rinaldi recalls.

“It was great fun. You had to wear hairnets and gloves, and no masks. After now, we would, right?” Her committee had solicited donations beforehand, but, at the Packathon, “People kept donating at the door.

The meals went out to Neighbor to Neighbor (N2N) and to the Food Bank of Lower Fairfield County that distributed the meals over the summer.”

“So, we planned to do this year’s Packathon on Sunday, June 7,” says Rinaldi, “We're all up in the air about how the church is going to survive during this whole Covid thing. We can't hold the actual event.” But, back in March the Outreach Program representative had suggested to her committee if they would send money, “We will pack at our local areas, and then distribute to your state,” relates Rinaldi.

The game changer came two weeks ago when R inaldi and her committee received a “heart wrenching” email from a church in Waterbury forwarded by the Outreach Program. “It literally said,” Rinaldi shares, “We've heard about your Outreach Program. We run a food pantry. We are now feeding six hundred people a week. I understand you have food. We have no money. Can you send us some food?”

So, why not “stand up and tell everybody” in the June 7 virtual Christ Church Sunday service, about the Waterbury church needs, and need to raise the necessary funds for a Virtual Packathon, to be packed this year by the Outreach Committee for 30,000 meals!

“We've got 150 people from last year’s Packathon who know about it,” she argued. “Plus, other people have heard about it.”

“It was her brilliant idea to make the announcement on that very day of the planned Packathon,” says Dan Broderick, Rinaldi’s co-chair.

“We were saying we can’t do the Packathon in this pandemic. But Lucy stepped forward in Church and asked for the money and inspired a lot of people."

Even with that blip - Rinaldi’s church mike was not turned on. “So, I send out an email at the end of the day,” she says, “saying oops, didn't have the mike on here's what I said and within 24 hours we had raised over $6000. And we knew we had to raise a little over $8000 to match last year. And we've definitely done that. So, 50 boxes went to that church in Waterbury with 600 people a week ago. N2N is picking up their meals this week and the Food Bank of Lower Fairfield County is picking up theirs next week.”

“Lucy is the driving force behind all we do in Outreach.,” states Broderick. “She is such a caring person. She helps with everything. She’s the most organized person I’ve ever met.”

Rinaldi, who is British and a confessed “diplomat brat,” stepped into cochairing the Church’s outreach committee five years ago, with a new assignment to transform the outreach effort. “So, the first thing we did was we focused down - we were giving grants to 21 or 22 organizations,” says Rinaldi, who brings a

Lucy Rinaldi. Photo by Anne W. Semmes. financial savvy as chief investment officer of the Albert & Mary Lasker Foundation.

Rinaldi came to Greenwich from London with her American husband Marc in 1996. She sees an analogy of living here and in London. “Within a mile of the city of London you went into some of the poorest areas.”

She found in Greenwich, “there are pockets of huge poverty, right here, and huge need. You absolutely have the whole range here. You look at those 1800 hundred kids who are getting free or reduced lunches in school.

Most people would be astonished by that.”

So, where does this passion for outreach come from in Rinaldi’s “diplomat brat” life? Perhaps that boarding school she went to in London, leaving her parents behind.

“It was not a typical English boarding school. It had started in 1553 as essentially an orphanage for poor boys and girls of London, set up by Edward VI.” But its move to the Surrey countryside left girls behind.

“It became a feeder school for the Navy,” until a 400th

anniversary reminded that girls were missing. Enter Lucy in the mid-1950’s.

“In order to get there, you had to come under one of three categories: your parents were abroad, like mine; your parents were divorced because this is the very early 1970’s and it was still rare and considered awful; or your parents were dead, one or both.”

Rinaldi had arrived from Malaysia, “living a country club existence where school was in the morning and you went to the country club in the afternoon. Everybody had enough money and no issues.” But everybody at her boarding school, she says, “had parents living month to month in terms of paychecks. So, it really brought me up short that this was reality, not what I was living.”

She recalls that challenging arrival. “You were taken to the city of London. You stood on a mat, you promised to obey all the rules of the school…You weren’t allowed to say goodbye to whoever was with you. You were put onto a coach and taken down to the school. You were measured up, given a uniform and your clothes were sent home. It was a heck of a leveler.”

In the fifteen years Rinaldi has served on the outreach committee she has seen the investment her fellow parishioners have made of their time. Not only was there a refocusing onto those “core relationships,” such as N2N and the Food Bank, but also on the expectations of parishioners. “Look, people have basic time, talent, treasure, right? And people are at different stages of their lives,” says Rinaldi, who chose to be an at home mom raising her two sons.

“You cannot judge somebody who says, no, I don't have time to do any of this, but I can write a check. You can’t say that person is any worse than me who has the time to do this. You have people who say I don't have the money, but I'm willing to volunteer. We just wanted to provide opportunities for all those different things. If you can write a check - great. If you can take your time once a week, once a year, whatever it is and give it - that's phenomenal.”

LOCAL NEWS

Page 4 | Greenwich Sentinel

Stay Cool: Ice Cream Hot Spots

By Julia Lucey Although summertime doesn’t typically bring face masks and social distancing efforts to mind, that is shaping up to be our reality this year. Luckily, there is one thing that never fails to bring that long awaited summer feeling: a delicious ice crea m cone -- somet h i ng Greenwich is well equipped to provide. Whether you’re looking for a classic ice cream cone, frozen yogurt, or an authentic gelato, there’s a spot for you here in town with the perfect snack for a hot summer’s day!

In Old Greenw ich, Rosie’s Frozen Yogurt (235 Sound Beach Ave) is open daily from 12 to 8 pm.

Rosie’s serves all your favorite froyo f lavors, from original tart to chocolate and vanilla, along with a selection of unique flavors, including pistachio gelato, pom raspberry sorbet, and cake batter.

After selecting and serving your desired amount of frozen yogurt, Rosie’s has an extensive toppings selection -- chocolate candies, gummies, fruits, cookie dough, hot fudge, and so many more. There is currently limited indoor seating available as well as some outdoor seating facing the street -- a perfect place to sit and enjoy an afterdinner treat or conclude a day at the beach.

While Gofer of Greenw ich undergoes repairs from a fire this past winter, Gofer of Riverside (551 E Putnam Ave) is open from 1 2 to 10 pm daily (until 10:30 pm on Fridays and Saturdays).

Gofer offers all of summer’s most refreshing desserts: soft and hard serve ice creams, milkshakes, ice cream f loats, smoothies, and Razzles (ice cream with toppings blended in). There is seating available outside the shop near the Mianus river, making for a casual spot to enjoy your ice cream.

If you’re looking for a cup of gelato, La Fenice (315 Greenwich Ave) serves delicious, high quality gelato i n t hei r sma l l Ita l ia ninspired cafe. While travel may not be an option for most this summer, a cup of gelato here can bring you pretty close to a trip to Rome. Flavors range from the classics -- chocolate, vanilla, coffee -- to European ones -- Gianduia, Stracciatella, and Hazelnut. What’s more, their strawberry gelato tastes just like biting into a fresh strawberry! La Fenice has an outdoor seating area set up outside the storefront where you can savor your gelato while surrounded by Greenwich Avenue’s lively energy.

Similarly, Gelato&Cioccolato ( 2 3 2 E P u t n a m Ave) s e r ve s traditional gelato following recipes inspired by the original gelato from the Italian Dolomites. A small shop nestled into a strip of stores along the Post Road, Gelato&Cioccolato is open from 12 to 9 pm daily (until 9:30 pm on Fridays and Saturdays).

Their gelato menu includes an assortment of dairy and nondairy f lavors, from amarena cherry to stracciatella, hazelnut to tiramisu, and lemon to blueberry. A spoonful of Gelato&Cioccolato’s rich gelato can transport you to Italy, even if

just for a moment! The shop itself is small but there are plenty of places nearby to enjoy your ice cream -just down the street is the small park in front of the Cos Cob library.

Joe Studio (185 Sound Beach Avenue), an Old Greenwich coffee shop and juice bar, has expanded their menu to serve their own unique approach to ice cream this summer! The cafe has introduced their “Ice Cream Fusion,” allowing customers to customize their own frozen treat. It begins with an ice cream base of either chocolate or vanilla and your choice of mix-ins and toppings. Mix-ins include a variety of classic cereals (Captain Crunch, Lucky Charms, Trix, and more), candies (Snickers, Reese’s Cups, M&Ms, etc.), and berries.

After the mix-ins are blended into the ice cream, toppings such as peanuts, grandola, sprinkles, and gummies can be added along with a choice of drizzle-ons (caramel, chocolate or raspberry sauce, and honey). Joe Studio has some seating available inside the shop with appropriate distancing in place, as well as some outdoor seating looking out toward Old Greenwich.

While we do have to take extra precautions this summer to protect our health and the health of others, there are still ways to honor your favorite summertime traditions -or perhaps make new ones! With so many ice cream options readily available in Greenwich, all you need is a craving for a refreshing treat (and your face mask!) to beat the heat.

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Jolie Kaplan

Kaplan Earns Top Scholar Honors at The Gunnery Jolie Kaplan of Greenwich has been named the Top Scholar for the Class of 2020 at The Gunnery, and the Top Scholar in the school for the 2019-20 academic year.

The dual honors cap a stellar three years for the 18-year-old Kaplan, who plans to major in math and data science at the University of M ich iga n t h is fa l l. A sel fdescribed “math nerd,” she said she was attracted by Michigan’s engineering program, which is among the top five in the U.S., as well as its research opportunities.

Although she is not certain what the next decade or even the next year will bring, she is excited about the future. “There are so many possibilities. Right now everything feels limitless in a sense,” she said.

During the course of her three years, she played girls varsity soccer, girls basketball and girls varsity crew. She was a member of the school’s robotics team in 2019, and a member of the Model UN teams that participated in i nter nat iona l con fer ence s at Georgetown in 2018 and Harvard in 2019.

This year, Kaplan served as president of the Mathletes and co-leader of The Gray Party, a bipartisan student group that organized voter registration drives, hosted a forum on U.S. Immigration Policy at the Gunn Memorial Library, moderated a town forum and supported candidates in the

race for the Board of Selectmen last fall. She was also a Gunnery tour guide for the last two years and served as head Residential Advisor in Emerson dorm junior year and Van Sinderen, the girls senior dorm, this year.

A s k e d w h a t m a k e s a to p scholar, Kaplan said for her it came down to pursuing her interests and passions and f iguring out what learning methods work best for her. “I think anyone has the potential. It’s really about hard work and what you’re willing to put in. It’s also a mixture of balancing activities, enjoying things outside the classroom, because school isn’t just academics,” she said.

“Part of what made her the Top Scholar is that she works hard and she works effectively,” said Ed Small, the Anne S. and Ogden D. Miller Senior Master, who worked with Kaplan on the robotics team and as the faculty advisor for Mathletes. She was also a student in his Operations Research class.

Cu r r e n t l y, K a p l a n i s considering a hard science or engineering path, although she has not ruled out law, and politics remains an interest. Last summer, she completed an internship at the Cos Cob law office of Philip Russell.

Her mother, Terri Stein, is an attorney.

In the summer of 2018, K apla n complete d a su m mer prog ram on c ybersecur it y at

Pace University, where she took courses on “Drone Utilization” a nd the Sea Perch Robotics System. She also volunteered for State Representative Caroline Simmons’ reelection campaign.

Simmons is the House Chair for the state Commerce Committee and previously worked for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

“It was an awesome experience,” said Kaplan, who kept in touch with Simmons’ former campaign manager and is spending some time this summer making calls on behalf of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.

She is also returning to Philip Russell.

Kaplan draws inspiration from her grandfather, the Hon. Gary S. Stein, who served on the New Jersey State Supreme Court for more than 17 years and is involved in bringing a lawsuit to help reverse segregation in New Jersey’s public schools. “He’s still an advocate for justice. He’s always placed a huge emphasis on standing up for yourself. Even if no one agrees with him in the room, he will continue making the same case,” Kaplan said. “He’s always on the move and he manages to be a grandfather for 16 grandchildren and is able to balance all of that. I think that is really inspirational. I hope one day I will be working and I will love my job as much as he does.”

Bruce Museum to Reopen The Br uce Museu m w i l l b e reopen i ng to members and the public starting Saturday, June 27 upon receiving the necessary certification from state agencies.

Says Robert Wolterstorff, The Susan E. Lynch Executive Director: “Heartfelt thanks to you—our visiting public, and especially our passionate Museum members—for your steadfast support of the Bruce during the past three months while we were closed due to the pandemic.”

“I’m pleased that so many of you discovered, used, and enjoyed the new online programs, exhibitions, and events that we developed to serve you. We plan on continuing our increased digital presence in the future—but as a Museum, we are really about providing you with the chance to experience real objects in real space. We have some great Art and Science exhibitions right now. That’s why we can’t wait to welcome you back to the Museum. We have made many changes to procedures and protocols to make you safe during your visit. We look forward to seeing you here again soon.”

Admission to the Bruce Museum beginning June 27 will be by advance reservation, with timed ticketing to ensure the comfort and safety of visitors and staff. Admission will be free to all visitors upon the Museum’s reopening to the public.

The following hours of operation and admission policy will be in effect starting June 27 until further notice: 9:30 – 10:30 a.m., Tuesday through Sunday: The

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Museum is open only to self-selected individuals over the age of 65 or who are immune-compromised.

10:30 – 11:30 a.m., Tuesday through Sunday: The Bruce welcomes Museum members only for one hour of special access.

All remaining Museum hours are unchanged. To reserve a timed ticket to visit the Bruce Museum, visit brucemuseum.org or call 203-869-0376. (Please note that the Museum will be closed on Saturday, July 4, in observance of the Fourth of July Holiday.)

Maximum safe occupancy for each exhibition space or area has been calculated to allow for social distancing between groups (including staff) and to comply with state social gathering size guidance.

Visitors are required to wear a mask or cloth face covering that completely covers the nose and mouth, as directed by state law and CDC guidelines. The exhibition galleries of the Museum will employ oneway flow and limited capacities. Signage in the parking lot, outside the entrance, and inside the Museum will indicate social distance markers and visitor f low.

Touchable interactives will be disabled throughout the galleries. Hand sanitizer shall be made available at entrance points and common areas. The Museum Store will be open, with controlled access and minimal touch transactions.

If you have any questions about the safety guidelines, please call 203-869-0376. For further information about the Bruce Museum, or to make a reservation, visit brucemuseum.org

GHS Students Ride for Pride In celebration of Pride Month, the GHS Democracy in Action club is raising awareness and money through a virtual event and fundraiser in support of Kids in Crisis Lighthouse. The student club is sponsoring “Pride Ride” which is taking place June 17 to June 30.

The students are asking the entire community to show support for Pride Month by setting exer-cise goals for themselves and raising funds for Lighthouse, a program which was acquired by Kids In Crisis in 2018 to support LGBTQ+ youth in Fairfield County in providing a safe and confidential space to encourage

all LGBTQ+ young people to live their best, healthiest, and most authentic lives.

“While many of the community events have been canceled due to social distanc-ing, our pride is not canceled and we can celebrate virtually. It is more important than ever to bring the community together, so we invite everyone to exercise daily and share yourself in action on our face-book page,” says Andrew Bailey, a rising senior you want, whenever you want, wherever you want, and please donate to our Gofundme.”

"As the Lighthouse coordinator

of Kids in Crisis LGBTQ+ Teen Group, I am so thrilled to be working with Andrew and the Greenwich High Democracy in Action group on this Pride Ride initiative,” said Joe Belisle. “We are honored that they chose us to be the beneficiaries of their efforts as we celebrate Pride Month this June. We cannot thank them enough."

To support Pride Ride or to learn how you can get involved, please visit: facebook.com/PrideRide-to-benef it-Kids-in-CrisisLighthouse-114071647006064/ or gf.me/u/x8ukw7

Page 5 | Greenwich Sentinel

Guest Column

Keys to Bitcoin – A New Book by Greenwich Author

By Raphael Meyer

The cryptocurrency Bitcoin was conceived during the last financial crisis. Its creator, the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto, quoted a newspaper article regarding the “bailout for banks” in the very first record of Bitcoin’s public ledger: the cryptocurrency was made to be independent of all governments.

Coincidentally, every election year since its inception, Bitcoin enters a cycle of its own: following a hard-wired design, the yearly supply of new bitcoins is cut in half. In the Bitcoin network, new payments are recorded into the public ledger – the blockchain by participants called miners. Miners compete with each other, and every 10 minutes on average, one of them gets to write a new page of the ledger and is rewarded with newly created bitcoins. Since May 11th, this reward has been cut in half, bringing the daily crop down to 900 bitcoins. As a result, the stock of bitcoins will grow by less than 2% per year until the next “halving” event, sometime in 2024.

Bitcoin’s hard-coded supply reductions happen for a reason: by issuing fewer and fewer coins over time, they ensure that the number of bitcoins in circulation

will never exceed a predetermined maximum. In other words, the quadrennial cuts make bitcoins a scarce resource. With more than 18.5 million coins already in circulation, the remaining 2.5 million will be created, at a slower and slower pace, well into the 22nd century…

A couple of years ago, I was asked to make a short presentation about Bitcoin to a non-technical audience. I had studied computer science in college in my home country of France when the internet was just coming together (Netscape was the top browser at the time!), and I had worked thereafter in research and the multimedia industry. Naturally, I had kept an eye on the further evolutions of the internet, whether it was e-commerce, peer-to-peer networks, or the rise of social media. But I had not heard about Bitcoin until 2012. Honestly, it sounded like a very nerdy experiment: digital tokens that you could exchange for pizza? Not so exciting.

Around 2014, however, I kept hearing again about the cryptocurrency and decided to give it another look. By that time, Bitcoin was more institutionalized: one could buy bitcoins directly from cryptocurrency

exchanges (brokers) rather than through personal connections. So, I did: I bought a few at around $200 per coin, thinking it was an excellent way to get involved in this experiment. I also thought they were very expensive: just a year or two earlier, the price had been around a dollar per coin! Of course, now I wish I had been even more adventurous then, but as the proverb goes, hindsight is 20/20!

As I was getting my presentation ready, I realized I still had much to learn about Bitcoin. The internet was full of information about cryptocurrencies, but there was a lot of lingo to decipher. To understand mining, you had to know what Proof-of-Work meant, but to understand Proof-of-Work, you had to know about one-way functions, and so on. I realized why so few people knew about Bitcoin: the information available was either too vague or too technical. I was afraid of getting lost myself.

Still, my presentation went quite well. So, instead of keeping all my notes to myself, I decided it could be useful to assemble these into a short book with a simple goal: to present Bitcoin clearly, but without oversimplifying so much that its essence would be lost.

The result, which I called Keys to Bitcoin, is – I hope – the opposite of a Google search. It introduces Bitcoin idea by idea, each chapter building on top of the previous one. I try to situate Bitcoin in the history of money, somewhere between the stone discs of the Pacific islands and the US dollar. Yet, I am as blunt as possible about the current limitations of the cryptocurrency. The book is not meant to sell you Bitcoin (or to scare you from it), but to explain it.

Bitcoins can be used to buy furniture, cars, software, or to book hotel rooms (when we’ll be able to travel safely again). They can also be sent across the globe in a matter of minutes without any intermediary.

Cryptocurrencies are evolving technologies with the potential to reshape the world of finance and to move control from institutions to customers. They’re fascinating. And no, Bitcoin isn’t dead.

Raphael Meyer lives in Greenwich. He grew up in France and has a Ph.D. in Computer Science from ENS Cachan. He’s the manager of ADR Collection, an art investment company, and writes cryptocurrency articles on Medium (https://medium.com/@meyer.raph). Keys to Bitcoin is

Greenwich Sees Sharp Increase in Stolen Vehicles

By Richard Kaufman

Lock it or lose it.

That's the simple message f rom the Greenw ich Police Department, following a rash of vehicle thefts around town. As of June 22, there have been eight repor ted stolen vehicles this month. Six of them have been recovered in either Bridgeport or

BOE BUDGET From Page 1

departments engaged. I'm very happy to report that we were able to pull this together," O'Keefe added.

BOE members praised Jones and O'Keefe for working diligently on budget adjustments without

SUPERCENTER From Page 1

month’s pay and, while not a charity, the company continues to do everything it can to help its employees.

“I have employees that can't afford to miss a paycheck, that have been working for me for 10, 15 years. You can't just go tell those people to pound sand,” Desrosier said. “It’s not their fault that there’s a pandemic, and our company’s been strong for 36 years. I can afford to take it on the chin if that's what we need to do to keep our team whole.”

To reduce the density in the store, Desrosier and General Manager Jonathon Gould redesigned the store’s layout. They instructed employees who could, to begin working from home, and then used their now-vacated spaces to spread out the remaining employee workstations across the building. Desrosier said about half

Waterbury, and one was recovered in West Hartford. Another vehicle was unaccounted for as of Monday afternoon.

From Jan. 1 of th is year through June 22, there have been 53 stolen vehicle reports. During the same time period in 2019, there were 16.

This year, the number of thefts began to pick-up in March. The

GPD received just four reports in January and February combined.

Slusarz said it's hard to tell exactly why there's been a jump in stolen vehicles around town, but it all comes back to a common theme: people leaving their cars unlocked with the keys inside.

"We've seen a steady increase in auto thefts because almost every car that is stolen is taken

because somebody left their keys in the car and left it unlocked," Slusarz said. "These people that are stealing these cars, they're not forcing their way in and trying to electronically start the car. This is just trying the door and seeing if it's open, looking for the keys and pushing the fob. If it starts, then they drive away with the car and everything that's in it. If they

find a car that's unlocked and the keys aren't in it, then they take anything of value within hand's reach. It really doesn't take a lot of special skills to do these kinds of things."

Slusarz hopes residents will be more mindful whenever they exit their vehicle. His advice is simple.

"Lock it or lose it. Lock your cars, take your keys, make sure

there's no valuables in sight that you can see through the windows.

Do it every single time, whether you're going to the mall, or you're parking it in your driveway and you're running in for an hour or two at your house," he said. " "Do it every time so it becomes a h a bit . It w i l l i nc r e a s e t he likelihood that you'll have a car when you come back out."

making staff or programming cuts.

"I want to express my sincere gratitude to Toni and Sean and all the administrators across the district who spent some furious hours in the past few days trying to go through every line item of their budget to get us to this p oi nt ," B OE mem b er, K a r en Hirsh, commented. “There really are no words for how grateful we are of your hard work.”

B O E m e m b e r, C h r i s t i n a D ow ney, t ha n ke d Jone s a nd O'Keefe for their diligence and perseverance.

"But more importantly, [thank you] for your positive attitude as you've gone through this exercise, which cannot be easy," Downey said. "We really appreciate all this hard work in saving jobs and saving our students, and being creative in ways to solve problems. It's a great example of

teamwork from top to bottom."

BOE chair, Peter Bernstein, said the adjusted budget "reflects a lot of hard work behind the scenes" that has taken place since the BET left town department budget s f lat mor e t h a n t wo m o n t h s a g o . B u t t h a t wo r k distracted the district from other pressing issues, he said.

"Since that time, we've invested two full and frantic months of effort looking deep

within our budget to try and spare major cuts to programs, af fecting students in our classrooms," Bernstein said.

"That's time that Dr. Toni Jones, Sean O'Keefe, and others in our cabinet and schools could have used focusing on things like distance learning and planning for reopening in the fall. It's really been a tumultuous two months, and it's been a shame."

Bernstein said that this is

just the beginning in dealing with budget issues as they relate COVID-19 and other factors in the future.

"While we're able to solve this problem on our own now, I'm sorry to say to Toni and Sean that there's a lot more work to do. This is, I think, just a starting point for us when we start kicking off discussion in earnest on what our budget beyond this looks like," he said.

of the employees work from home.

They also designed a customer pathway through the store to ensure physical distancing.

The store also closed down t he bu i ld i ng ’s c a feter ia a nd the employee lounge, required

ruin that business, ruin it for everybody,” Desrosier said.

Computer Supercenter provides IT support and computer repair services for businesses and individuals, primarily in Fairfield and Westchester county.

training when hired; utilizes its own computer diagnostic tools for work orders; peer reviews employees’ work; and follow-ups with customers to ensure their problems are addressed.

“What makes us special is our multifaceted approach to different support needs of our customers,” Gould said. “We’re able to help our customers … with the high touch and high responsiveness that we're able to generate here with the type of culture, and with the type of crew, we have working here on the ground. I have not seen this replicated anywhere else.”

Certif ied as an Apple Authorized Service Provider, D e srosier e st i mate d t hat 7 5 percent of the company’s work orders are for Apple Inc. products.

The company is also a certified Microsof t G old Par tner for Windows devices and Office 365 products.

Although primarily a tech support business, the store has a device bar where customers can buy name-brand computers,

speakers and other tech products at manufacture price while receiving accompanying tech support. “ That's one of t he t h i ngs I love about that tagline, ‘The IT department for Mainstreet,’ it me a n s whatever a nyb o dy t h i n k s it me a n s ,” D e sr o sier said. “Everybody needs an IT department.”

A learning experience Desrosier started as a franchise ow ner of an Entre Computer Center store with his brother in 1984. He rebranded the store under its current moniker and moved it to its current location, just off Greenwich Avenue in 1993, after starting building renovations the year before.

Throughout the business’s life, Desrosier said he has been motivated by the possibility of profit and, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, by the fear of losing the business and having to let go of his employees.

“Even though I never worked harder in my life, how hard could it be in Newport Beach, California?”

Desrosier said. “All these guys made it so that I could be out there safe. The way I look at it, I owe them.”

Computer Supercenter Technology Advisor Ted Lionetti joined the company in January. He praised Gould’s and Desrosier’s responsiveness to employee’s concerns and their efforts to keep employees safe.

Lionetti said the safety precautions feel normal, while the initial transition was tough but not a negative experience. He said the team members have grown close to each other as the influx of customers has required greater teamwork and communication.

“It's coming together really well - we're learning about a lot about ourselves as well as the business. It's just going to help us move for ward. That's the biggest thing we're taking out of this,” Lionetti said. “It's just a big learning experience for all of us, and we're glad that we were able to experience it together.”

“Even though I never worked harder in my life, how hard could it be in Newport Beach, California?” Desrosier said.

“All these guys made it so that I could be out there safe. The way I look at it, I owe them.” every employee to wear a mask, installed hanging Plexiglas at the cashier station, employed a daily cleaning crew and took employees’ temperature before and after they came to work. Desrosier said all of these practices are still currently in place.

“We’re not letting our guard down. All it takes is one guy to

The business’s most common IT service requests are helping clients with networking issues, upgrading and transferring data to a new computer as well as onboarding company employees w ith its software and products.

Desrosier said the business employs career IT professionals who undergo additional company

Roger Sherman Baldwin Park Improvements Initial engineering and architecture work on i mpr ovement s to Ro ger Sherman Baldwin Park can begin, after the Board of Estimate and Taxation voted 9-3 last week to carry forward an allocation of $50,000 from fiscal year '20 to fiscal year '21.

The vote was held because the money, which was included in the 20192020 budget, wasn't used. According to the town charter, if an appropriation isn't committed to, it lapses. However, the BET has the authority to continue it in force for an additional year.

Parks and Recreation Director, Joe Siciliano, said at last week’s BET meeting that the project is one of First Selectman Fred Camillo's priorities.

In March, during a speech at the Retired Men's Association of Greenwich, Camillo said he wanted to maximize one of Greenwich's greatest assets: the waterfront.

Former First Selectman, Peter Tesei, was also an advocate for enhancing the park and making it a true focal point for the community during his tenure as the town’s chief elected official.

Sici l ia no sa id du r i ng t he BET meeting last week that the project is about the "gateway" to the park, which encompasses the park itself, the park's building, and the entrance way to the ferry dock. He added that the town would hire a landscape designer and facilities designer all in one.

A couple of BET members, while in support of the project as a whole, said they had concerns about timing because of the coronav irus pandemic and the fact that there are several capital

“It seems smart to do the engineering work so that when we finally emerge from our COVID shutdown, we're ready to go and advance some projects for the citizens," BET member Bill Drake said. projects delayed.

"As we begin to come out of the COVID experience next year and are looking at capital items at that point, I think we're going to have a very large list of rather urgent items that have gone through a year of delay. I just don't see this as being the most urgent among them," said BET member, Jeff Ramer.

"I'm reluctant to do design work on a project that in fact won't be executed for 2-4 years perhaps. I'd rather look at the question of allocating funds for the design of something when in more or less the same breath we're looking to do the capital project shortly thereafter, which is not where we are right now."

BET member, David Weisbrod said he views this as a time where "we really need to tighten our belt and tighten the pipeline of projects."

B E T m e m b e r, D e b r a H e s s , supported the carry-forward request, and said money isn’t being added to the budget.

"I'm very interested to see what we might or might not do [at the park], and try to get a sense of it, then we can size that out and decide how we put it in the queue [of capital projects] and line that

up versus other priorities that we have as a town," she said.

Bill Drake, a BET member, spoke in support of the funding.

"I think we did a wise thing as a board to defer the big portion of this capital, but it also seems smart to do the engineering work so that when we f inally emerge from our COVID shutdow n, we're ready to go a nd advance some projects for the citizens," he said.

Once the design is sorted out and the project moves forward through the Planning and Zoning process, there will be community input. Right now, Siciliano said, the town is getting input from some of the major users of the facility. The Food and Wine Festival, Greenwich Town Party, and other large scale events are held there.

"Hopefully in future years, when we do start to put some money into park, we could start to see some partnerships out of that, so obviously we want to hear from them," Siciliano said.

Additionally, the BET approved a carry-forward request of $850,000 for Greenwich Point causeway repairs.

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Page 6 | Greenwich Sentinel

PUBLISHER Beth@GreenwichSentinel.com Elizabeth Barhydt EDITORS & COPY EDITORS Editor@GreenwichSentinel.com Peter Barhydt, Daniel FitzPatrick, Caroll Melgar, Stapley Russell, Anne W. Semmes, Emma Barhydt

Summer Is Here!

This If you listened very closely, a collective sigh could be heard across town this week…summer’s here. The heat and humidity were here this week for all to feel. But it is a different kind of summer this year. Thanks, COVID-19!

The many High School graduations that took place (sort of) all over town are normally a true sign that summer is here. Congratulations to all the seniors who will be embarking on new adventures! Really, you will.

We are reminded of the oft-repeated quote from Mark Twain: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So, throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

To all graduating seniors from our town’s many excellent high schools (and really every one), enjoy this time and this summer. Enjoy and celebrate your many accomplishments and remember not to lose sight of what lies ahead. Whether it’s more education, a job, or even uncertainty (yes, we know there is a lot of uncertainty), what lies ahead is an adventure worth running towards, even while it may seem scary.

Summer for many of us means shorts, flip-flops, escaping the office early on Friday, time on the water or in the woods, and generally turning down the hectic meter a notch or two. The hotter it gets, the slower we get. There is so much to enjoy in our town from the backcountry to the shore, and everything in between. If a friend has a boat and wants you to go out, go for it! Sneak out early on a Friday and enjoy a walk or swim at Greenwich Point! Take some time to enjoy all that our town has to offer.

Summer for many of us means shorts, flip-flops, escaping the office early on Friday, time on the water or in the woods, and generally turning down the hectic meter a notch or two. The hotter it gets, the slower we get.

One thing we hope is this summer does not bring more COVID. We have had enough of it. Greenwich self-quarantined for over three months. We are still social distancing and wearing masks when in public.

Now is not the time to relax. COVID is spiking in places elsewhere in the country. If we are not careful it can come back here, and that nobody wants.

Did you know there are elections this fall? Not just for President, but for Congress and State Senate and State Representative. We certainly have not heard much about the local campaigns. It will be interesting to see how the candidates actually campaign and even how we will be voting this fall.

We are looking forward to getting to know the candidates and reporting on them. We want to understand where those we are electing this fall stand on issues that affect Greenwich, the community they will represent.

There are plenty of opportunities to debate issues which affect us as a nation, and we should have those debates and look forward to them. However, creating litmus tests for our local candidates based on the national hot topic of the moment belittles the political discourse about what is best for our community. Our state has serious challenges ahead and we need to know how our local candidates are going to address those challenges.

This summer, for now, we hope there will be more focus on community. It could be our community as a whole or even our family as a community. For much of the year, distractions abound that take us away from our community or spending quality time with our families. We hope everyone will take the extra step to reverse that, at least for the summer.

Let us all make the conscious decision to put aside that which divides us and try to focus on that which brings us together. There are warm beach days ahead and lazy, hazy days of August. Let’s find time to celebrate all that our community has to offer, all the diversity that makes Greenwich such a wonderful place to live.

“Summer’s here, I’m for that. Got my rubber sandals, got my straw hat.” Thanks, James Taylor.

Letter

Editorial Page Stellar

By John Riefler, M.D. I was very sad to read the obituary of Detective Robert McKiernan, whom I believe exemplifies the finest qualities of a law enforcement officer and Marine. I’ve thought of Detective McKiernan often and consider him stellar-i. e., excellent in every way.

He was tall, handsome, compassionate and persistent.

Most impor tantly, he was committed to do the right thing at the grass roots level. People like Detective McKiernan make the world a

better place.

Six years ago, Detective McKiernan solved the disappearance of my mother M a r y ’s g o l d Ro l e x w atc h af ter she was transported f r om Gr e enw ich Hospit a l to Nathaniel Witherall.

M y m o t h e r, a g e 9 1 , w a s recovering from a hip replacement operation. This was a particularly heinous crime, since my mother w a s f ra i l e lde rly a nd t he watch was a g if t f rom my dad. I was incensed and Detect ive McK ier na n was very sympathetic. Using a

computer database and the serial number I prov ided, h e t r a c e d t h e w at c h to a pawnshop in Bridgeport, CT and quick ly identif ied the perpetrator. The watch was returned to my family and the perpetrator punished. No one at either Greenwich Hospital, or Nathaniel Witherall were involved.

When I first met Detective McKiernan to discuss the case and provide documentation that the watch belonged to my mother I asked him if he had ever served in the military? He told me both he and his wife

served in Operation Desert Storm. I told him I also served as an Army Reserve physician stationed at SANG Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. I had an instant connection with him.

In these turbulent times, when some officers are vilified Detective McKiernan was a role model of professionalism and we are a Band of Brothers.

He will be missed. My deepest condolences to his family, especially his mother, wife Mary Abigail and his three sons Sean, Ben and John. Your son, husband and father was stellar.

Thank You Notes To The Sentinel Foundation

To Chris Franco

By Pam Pagnani

By Phyllis Demko

I cannot thank you enough for being selected as the recent recipient of your annua l award. I am so proud and honored to be associated with a Foundation that does so much good for our hometown of Greenwich, u nder you r stewa rdsh ip.

I so enjoy reading all your columnists pieces each week.

In last week's edition of The Greenwich Sentinel there was an article written by Chris Franco titled "Here Comes The Sun". It was such an up close and personal look at the super heroes at Greenwich Hospital and how they so courageously forged through the Covid19 pandemic.....something we never thought we

To The GPD As we have just ended Teen Domestic Violence Awareness Month in Greenwich, I wanted to make sure to get a loud and public thank you out to the incredible Greenwich Police Department, who have been such an ally to my family, as well as this community, when it comes to sensitively dealing with one of the top crimes in our town - domestic violence.

1 in 3 women, and 1 in 7

Letter

men will find themselves in an abusive relationship, and such was the case with me. For years, I had no real understanding of the insidious nature of domestic violence. It was only 2 years after my ex-husband had left the house and stalking us that I was led to the Greenwich YWCA Domestic Violence Center, and my entire world opened up.

Learning how widespread and serious an epidemic this is inspired us to launch BeenThereGotOut.com.

would see the likes of. Chris so eloquently took us through the reality of what these heroes have endured day after day, week after week and continue to endure. How lucky are we to have them and how grateful we are for them. Thanks Chris.

Publisher's Note: A number of letters, including this letter, were lost in cyberspace and just discovered. We are publishing them now although they were sent to us some time ago.

In our network, we talk to people all over the world connected to issues involving intimate partner violence. No one comes close to having the supportive resources that we do in this town, which include not only the Greenwich Police Department (especially retired off icer Rick Cochran, Chief Heavey, a nd of f icers Tom Huestis, Sean Beattie and J. Tar), but also the Greenwich YWCA Domestic Violence Center and its incredible services, which

To Fabricare I would like to say thank you to Fabricare.

When I called to ask about their offer to provide f ree laundr y ser v ices for healthcare workers, they could not have been nicer and were gratef ul for the opportunity to help!

It has been such a gift not to have to worry about that one thing in the middle of every else. Thank you. include a special group called YNET, formed to educate and empower our teenagers to recognize the warning signs of toxic relationships.

Thank you to all of these wonderful people for their tremendous contribution to our community.

Publisher's Note: A number of letters, including this letter, were lost in cyberspace and just discovered. We are publishing them now although they were sent to us some time ago.

Racism is Ignorance

By Rev. William F. Platt A Reflection In the end, racism is ignorance. It is an ignorance that could be dispelled, if permitted. It is an ignorance that is both intellectual and emotional. It is an ignorance that becomes fear, and that fear becomes hatred. It is evil.

I g rew up i n Tr u m bu l l CT. Trumbull is much like Greenwich, except far less affluent. My family belonged to the Country Club, had a boat and a swimming pool – though “above ground.” We went sk i i ng a l most ever y weekend during the winter, a nd boating a lmost ever y weekend during the summer.

It was a beautiful life. It was also incredibly insular.

I attended a Catholic H i g h S cho ol . T h e r e we r e three or four African American students who attended, but they were all boys, no girls. The common understanding was that they

had been recruited for sport schola rsh ips. They sat at different lunch tables, and attended different parties. We were all friends, but in a very different manner. Everyone was k ind, but we were “kindly” separate.

College was pretty much the same. It wasn’t until I went to the Seminary at the North American College in Rome, that I actually had a Black friend. I was 21. He was more than a few years older.

He had been a successf u l a t t o r n e y i n Wa s h i n g t o n DC, and I admired that he left his practice to enter the seminary. I’ll never forget the first conversation that I had with him. We were on our “Cappuccino Break” between classes, rough life I know, and I introduced myself. We started up a conversation.

There was a lag in the conversation, and I said: “so, how long has your family been Catholic?” Without hesitation a nd w it h a sm i le he sa id,

“probably longer than yours.”

He was right. My paternal grandfather was a Methodist, his Catholicism dated all the way back to early slavery.

Being “Black and a Roman Catholic” didn’t fit my “world view.” Blacks were Baptists. I remember looking down and being embarrassed (which we now laugh about), and saying, “well there is a lot for you to teach me.”

Eddie was ordained a few years later in Washington DC. He wanted me to be an active part of his ordination. When I told my mother that I would be with Eddie’s family for the week in Virginia Beach, she said, “do you really think that is prudent?” I said, “what?”

She went on to explain, which made matters even worse.

I was confused. She loved E d d i e , a l w ay s we l c o m e d him into our home, always supported civil rights. I couldn’t believe the reasons that she was giving for me not to stay in his home with

his family. It made no sense.

What was truly startling was that I couldn’t reason with her. She was convinced that I shouldn’t stay with Eddie’s family simply because they were Black.

I s t a y e d w i t h E d d i e ’s family for the week. Going out for a jog my first morning, Eddie’s mom stopped me and said, “Where are you going?”

I said, “out for a jog.” She smiled and said “which way?”

I said, “I don’t know.” She said, “well, if you pass from the black neighborhood to the white neighborhood, you’ll be noticed.” I smiled and said, “Because of my incredible good looks?” She smiled and said, “go jog, but you’ll be noticed, trust me.” This was 1985.

Love conquers all. Racism is ignorance.

by Rev. William F. Platt- P a s t o r, T h e P a r i s h o f S t .

Catherine of Siena and St. Agnes

BackCountry Jazz Outdoor Concerts BackCou nt r y Ja zz (BCJ) is hosting intimate outdoor jazz concerts throughout the summer to support its music education programs. A variety of musical themes and guests artists will be featured throughout the summer series. BCJ’s purpose is to transform young lives and build community through the power of music.

This week’s garden concert will take place Saturday af ternoon at 4:00 p.m. at a private home in Greenwich (details available upon registration). All supporters including children are welcome and should bring blankets and/or chairs. Beverages w ill be prov ided by BCJ. The outdoor location allows for ample social distancing.

Sign up for this week’s event with Jeanette Wa l lace at 2 03 - 5 61-3111 or jea net te@ backcountryjazz.org.

“During this unusual and difficult time, BackCountry Jazz is presenting a series of outdoor concerts for small audiences as a gift to the community and our supporters,” said BCJ founder and renow ned tenor

saxophonist Bennie Wallace. “Along with all other philanthropies in our area, we were forced to cancel our largest fundraiser of the year in the spring but we remain committed to providing summer music education programs for our talented BCJ students. We hope our supporters will come out for a performance and help us cover the gap in our fundraising to keep our music education going strong.”

Wallace started BackCountry Jazz in 2007 to bring the music of major jazz artists to Greenwich and inspire and educate young musicians. Since then, BCJ has served over 22,000 students through concert programs and trained young musicians at its summer music camp and after school programs to pursue higher education and careers in the arts. For the past 13 years, BCJ has been presenting outstanding concerts with major jazz artists and rising stars and educating and inspiring youth.

B C J p r ov i d e s h i g h - q u a l i t y m u s i c prog ra ms for u nderser ved yout h t hat

engage t he creat ive spi r it, encou rage self-expression and stimulate academic achievement. As a producer, BCJ delivers concerts that celebrate the masters and feature some of the most talented jazz artists on the scene today. This year alone, BCJ served more than 2,700 young people in Bridgepor t. Tuition-f ree prog rams* i nclude t he Su m mer Mu sic Ca mp for Bridgeport students, the After-School Music Program, scholarships, student performing ensembles, instruments, workshops, master classes, and exciting concerts and events with artists and educators who perform and teach at the highest level of excellence.

Through concerts and music education programs, BCJ celebrates, preserves and expands the rich tradition of America's art form.

To l e a r n m o r e a b o u t t h e wo r k o f BackCou nt r y Ja z z a nd supp or t music education, visit backcountryjazz.org.

Column: On My Watch

Mea Culpa Time for The Semmes Family

By Anne W. Semmes In the early morning of June 5, the mayor of Mobile, Alabama removed the statue of my ancestor Admiral Raphael Semmes after its base was defaced in a recent protest. “This decision is not about Raphael Semmes, it is not about a monument and it is not an attempt to rewrite history,” said Mayor Sandy Stimpson.

But my ancestor, though a fabled one for his Confederate captaining of the CSS Alabama that would blaze a trail around the world capturing 66 merchant ships thus crippling the Union economy, was on the wrong side of the Civil War. The news has properly gripped the widespread Semmes family. An email thread that engaged 70-plus Semmes relatives truly reflects the generational mindsets. Following on are excerpts – without names – excepting my Tennessee first cousin Anderson Humphreys, author of “Semmes America,” who broke the news to us all, “Alabama city removes Confederate statue without warning.” “History is under siege once again. Sad day.”

“History isn’t under siege,” replied a younger female niece from Texas, “and that language only serves to stoke the flames of a divisive rhetoric. This particular h i stor y i s wel l pr e s er ve d i n museums and histor y book s, where it belongs. It has no right to be honored and memorialized in this format and I, for one, am glad to see the statues removed. Let’s hope it stays that way.”

“My sentiments exactly,” wrote a California relative, “Statues are not history. It is time to come to grips with our national past, and as a country to not celebrate slavery and those who supported it… I am a direct descendant of Raphael Semmes who I respect in many ways. His maritime abilities both before and during the civil war are commendable. His writings and travels are illuminating. But his support of slavery to his dying day is wrong, very wrong. It should not be celebrated and in fact is a direct insult to black people.”

Another female niece from New Jersey was in agreement: “I am troubled by our family’s direct historical involvement in fighting for the right to own human beings, especially since I grew up in the South being proud of our ancestors…You are speaking for our family’s future. Thank you for that.”

“I totally disagree,” wrote a senior male Semmes. “Raphael Semmes was a man living in those times, with that environment, and the extant challenges. He was a brilliant, self-educated, man who was renowned throughout the world for his accomplishments, not the least of which was to be the cause of the first of Geneva conventions. His compassion is

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well established in his treatment of prisoners, respect for life, dealings with some mutinous sailors. Nothing good has ever been accomplished by hiding truth.”

But another male Tennessee cousin countered with: “Need I remind everybody about the lack of fairness and the folly of judging our ancestors by the laws enacted after their death and by the morality of today’s society. People who wish to condemn History should consider how their actions today will be judged by their great grandchildren… Because we today recognize that it [slavery] was wrong, does that mean that all humans before it was abolished were evil?” “ N o , t h e y w e r e n ’ t e v i l ,” responded a female relative. “It mea ns we have evolved, a nd let’s celebrate that evolution, not the history. The history is for museums…and though I appreciate our amazing family history, it’s time to let go of old statues that make many people very upset, and see what comes in their place that can bring us unity, as a country, and in this case a family.”

“The Semmes family never asked for a statue, but the good people of Mobile did because of his service in the Seminole War/ Mexican War/War Between the States,” wrote a great, great, great grandson of Raphael Semmes. “It’s not surprising that even my own family is confused on the facts… read his words and the words of other career military men of the time…they weren’t plantation owners ... but loyal to their State and first and foremost military men committed to serving their neighbors against the economic oppression being executed by the Northern States.”

That brought a reaction from another male relative. Citing Raphael Semmes’ own words in his autobiography, “Memoirs of Service Afloat,” he shared. “He says the Civil War wasn't a ‘moral crusade against slavery,’ but the government for which he was a servant and 'hero', directly contradicts him…Clearly, the city of Mobile believes that his lasting reputation as a defender of slavery outweighs the good will he had 150 years ago.”

“I choose to celebrate my other Semmes ancestors,” he continued, “I love my family, I’m proud to be a Semmes. I believe in our family heritage as American Heroes.

Anderson, you gave me a copy of “Semmes America” when I was a child and it still has a place of prominence on my shelf. I am proud of the legacy that you have recorded for us. And I will always be thankful for the work you did.

The Semmes history doesn’t begin and end with Raphael Semmes.”

Another great, great, great grandson chimed in. “I live in the south. I see the vestiges of slavery almost daily. I will make no apologies for it nor for my ancestors (or anybody else's) who participated in it. I don't claim to be ‘woke’ or progressive or anything like that. But I do know that many black people were exploited by slavery and I do know that many white people benefitted from that exploitation. My name is Raphael Semmes and I’m proud of that. But romanticizing the past is not the best way forward.”

A yo u n g S e m m e s c o u s i n who sees his ancestor in a broad historical context wrote first he is not offended by the removal of the statue of his ancestor. “Raphael Semmes was an unequivocal hero

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to my grandfather, United States Navy Vice Admiral Benedict Joseph Semmes and it has been important to my father for me to know that history. His naval achievements undoubtedly inf luenced future Semmes’ to be self-advocates, think outside-the-box military, and defy establishment odds and expectations.”

As to that heralded history of R aphael Sem mes a nd CSS Alabama around the world, my young cousin related, “He was most notably considered a folk-hero in Cape Town, South Africa, after living up to his daring reputation and averting/sinking a Union ship, while sailing into harbor. Though it is not explored in the Oct 10, 1863, Illustrated London News article detailing his arrival in Cape Town, I suspect that the hundreds who cheered his arrival were not the emancipated South African slaves still living under oppressive conditions, indentured servants to a society of white supremacy.

“If it [the statue] were in a museum, presented in context, perhaps the Admiral’s story would shine through,” he writes, but from its perch in Mobile, “it was only serving as a blatant reminder of a lost cause.”

“For the record,” my young cousin concluded, “It is clear from ‘Memoirs of Service Af loat’ that Raphael Semmes believed that the institution of slavery ‘stood upon moral and religious ground alone.’

Slavery has never been ‘moral.’

Most of our Founding Fathers knew this when the country was founded, yet they continued to ‘kick the can down the road,’ for too many reasons to name here now.”

That Semmes family thread appeared to have ended last week until my New Jersey niece just emailed her new findings of the forces that had brought forth these Confederate monuments, especially in the South. “Two distinct periods saw a sig n i f ic a nt r ise i n t he dedication of monuments and other symbols,” she wrote. The first was around 1900, the arrival time of the Semmes statue, “amid the period in which states were enacting Jim Crow laws to disenfranchise the newly freed African Americans and re-segregate society…The second spike began in the early 1950s and lasted through the 1960s, as the civil rights movement led to a backlash among segregationists.

“If more Americans are seeing Confederate monuments differently as they wake up about police violence against blacks and other systemic forms of racism,” she emailed, “I think it is for the greater good. Nothing will change the fact that Raphael Semmes was courageous and brilliant. Such remembrance does not have to be in the form of a public monument that also applauds the Confederate cause for slavery-based prosperity.”

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Page 8 | Greenwich Sentinel

CT DMV PARTIALLY REOPENS

LOCAL CALENDAR

The Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles reopened select offices on June 23. Services will be offered by appointment only. For appointments and more information, visit: portal.ct.gov/dmv/ FRIDAY, JUNE 26 9 a.m.

Kaia Yoga outdoor class (weather permitting.

Greenwich Polo Club, 941 North St. $26.59, drop-in.

203-532-0660. ashley@kaiayoga.com. kaiayoga.com 10 - 11 a.m.

Greenwich Library: Virtual – Senior Chinese Book Discussion Group. Via Zoom. Free. Register.

203-622-7920. ywang@greenwichlibrary.org. greenwichlibrary.evanced.info/signup/Calendar 10 - 10:30 a.m.

Cos Cob Library: Virtual – Storytime with Ms. Ann. Toddlers and preschoolers (and their parents). Via Zoom. Free. Register. lmatthews@greenwichlibrary. org. greenwichlibrary.evanced.info/signup/Calendar 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Greenwich Library: Virtual – Podcasts: Why You Should Be Listening. Free. Register. 203-625-6560. csherman@greenwichlibrary.org. greenwichlibrary. evanced.info/signup/Calendar 3:45 - 4:15 p.m.

Cos Cob Library: Virtual – World Music with Anitra.

Free. Register to get link password. lmatthews@ greenwichlibrary.org. greenwichlibrary.evanced.info/ signup/Calendar 4 - 5 p.m.

Greenwich Library: Virtual – YA Book Discussion Group (Grades 6-8). Free. Register. 203-622-7918. emorrissey@greenwichlibrary.org. greenwichlibrary. evanced.info/signup/Calendar 5 - 5:30 p.m.

Greenwich Audubon Center: Meet the Animals Livestream - join in online to meet and learn about ambassador animals who live at the Audubon Center. facebook.com/GreenwichAudubonCenter 7 - 8 p.m.

Greenwich Library: Virtual – Family Book Trivia: ‘Harry Potter’. Free. Register. econnell@ greenwichlibrary.org. greenwichlibrary.evanced.info/ signup/Calendar 10 p.m.

Alliance Française of Greenwich: ‘Café FrancoAméricain’ - Conversation in English and French.

RSVP for Zoom link. sbenthal@aol.com SATURDAY, JUNE 27 9:30 a.m.

The Bruce Museum re-opens to members and the public. Admission will be by advance reservation, with timed ticketing. Free. 203-869-0376. info@ brucemuseum.org. brucemuseum.org 7 a.m.

Greenwich Audubon Center: Dawn Chorus Livestream - join naturalist Ryan MacLean to hear morning birdsongs live. Birders of all ages and experience levels are welcome. facebook.com/ GreenwichAudubonCenter 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Versailles Farms Summer Stand. Versailles Farms, 56 Locust Rd. 203-862-0400. info@ versaillesfarms.com. versaillesfarms.com 10 - 10:30 a.m.

Greenwich Library: Virtual Meditation Workshop.

Free. 203-622-7920. schan@greenwichlibrary.org. greenwichlibrary.evanced.info/signup/Calendar 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Greenwich Library: Summer Reading - Waterbury Symphony Orchestra Musician presents ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’. Free. Register. 203-622-7940. dsullivan@greenwichlibrary.org. greenwichlibrary. evanced.info/signup/Calendar 12 - 1 p.m.

Greenwich Library: Virtual - Creating Visual Stories & Games (Grades 6-10). Free. Register.

203-622-7918. emorrissey@greenwichlibrary.org. greenwichlibrary.evanced.info/signup/Calendar

& preschoolers). Free. Register. 203-622-7920. dsullivan@greenwichlibrary.org. greenwichlibrary. evanced.info/signup/Calendar 10 - 11 a.m.

Greenwich Library: Virtual - Weekly Job Search Accelerator Group. Free. Register. 203-622-7920. mmartin@greenwichlibrary.org. greenwichlibrary. evanced.info/signup/Calendar

11 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Greenwich Library: Virtual - Drop-in Computer Lab. Free. Register. 203-625-6560. trainingcenter@ greenwichlibrary.org. greenwichlibrary.evanced.info/ signup/Calendar 5 - 6 p.m.

Greenwich Hospital Virtual Town Hall: “What to Expect for Your Upcoming Surgery.” Via Facebook.

Send questions in advance to: YNHHpublications@ ynhh.org. (write Greenwich Surgery Town Hall in the email subject field). To view the town hall: facebook. com/GreenwichHospital/ 5 - 6 p.m.

Byram Shubert Library: Virtual – Tai Chi for Adults.

Free. Register. 203-531-0426. greenwichlibrary. evanced.info/signup/Calendar 5 - 6:30 p.m.

Cos Cob Library: Virtual - New Yorker Stories Discussion Group. Free. Register to receive link password. 203-622-6883. lmatthews@ greenwichlibrary.org. greenwichlibrary.evanced.info/ signup/Calendar 5 - 9:30 p.m.

Planning & Zoning Commission Virtual Zoom Meeting. 203-622-7894. greenwichct.gov 6:30 p.m.

NAMI Southwest CT Online Family Support Group (Every Tuesday) – Peer-led support groups for family members of individuals living with mental health conditions. Free. Zoom Meeting: zoom. us/j/2084433181, or call: 1 646 558 8656, Meeting ID: 208 443 3181.

7:30 p.m.

Bedford Playhouse: Pride Movie Celebration Countdown. Via Zoom. Register. bedfordplayhouse. org WEDNESDAY, JULY 1 9:30 a.m.

Wednesdays@Whitby virtual conversations learn about life at Whitby School. Register. Free. whitbyschool.org/viritual-wednesdays-at-whitby 10 a.m.

Girls With Impact’s Future Ready Workshops presents: ‘Money Matters - Make Me a Millionaire’ - Online. For girls 12-18. $15. Register. girlswithimpact.org 10 - 10:30 a.m.

Greenwich Library: Virtual – Fiesta de los Cuentos - a Spanish and English storytime live via Zoom.

(Toddlers and preschoolers). Free. Register.

203-622-7920. dsullivan@greenwichlibrary.org. greenwichlibrary.evanced.info/signup/Calendar 11 a.m.

Retired Men’s Association of Greenwich Zoom talk: Page Knox, Ph.D: “Vincent Van Gogh and the Seasons.” Free. Pre-registration required. info@ greenwichrma.org. greenwichrma.org 11 a.m.

Alliance Française of Greenwich: ‘Café Crème’ Conversation en Français. Free and open to all.

RSVP for a Zoom link. clairenegrin@gmail.com 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Greenwich Library: Digital Library Crash Course.

Free. Register. 203-625-6560. trainingcenter@ greenwichlibrary.org. greenwichlibrary.evanced.info/ signup/Calendar 1:30 p.m.

Alliance Française of Greenwich: Club de Lecture en Français. Free and open to all. RSVP for a Zoom link. vponslet@aol.com

2 - 3 p.m.

Greenwich Library: Virtual: Bookworms Book Club (For grades 2-3). Free. Register. 203-622-7940.

7 - 7:45 p.m. dsullivan@greenwichlibrary.org. greenwichlibrary.

Greenwich Audubon Center: Sunset Session Livestream. facebook.com/GreenwichAudubonCenter evanced.info/signup/Calendar 2:30 - 6 p.m.

SUNDAY, JUNE 28 Old Greenwich Farmer’s Market. Parking lot of the 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Living Hope Community Church, 38 West End Ave. Versailles Farms Summer Stand. Versailles (Shoppers are asked to wear masks and maintain Farms, 56 Locust Rd. 203-862-0400. info@ social distance). info@oldgreenwichfarmersmarket. versaillesfarms.com. versaillesfarms.com com. oldgreenwichfarmersmarket.com/index.html MONDAY, JUNE 29 3 - 3:15 p.m.

Cos Cob Library: Virtual – Afternoon Story/ 9 a.m.

Craft (Ages 2 1/2 & up). Free. Register to get The Greenwich Stars (Outdoor) Summer Basketball Experience. Leffell School, 555 West Hartsdale Ave., link password. 203-6222-6883. greenwichlibrary.

Hartsdale, NY. Mon-Fri, through Aug. 21. $295/week. evanced.info/signup/Calendar For Boys and Girls ages 6-14. 203-661-4444. john.

5 - 6 p.m. raybin@greenwichstars.com. greenwichstars.com/ Alliance Française of Greenwich: Focus on French outdoor-summer-basketball-experience Cinema (FFC) presents ‘Worldwide Wednesdays’ each week FFC will recommend a French-language 4 - 5 p.m. film that can be viewed online at home. Free and Greenwich Library: Virtual – YA Film Discussion open to all. RSVP for a Zoom link. afgreenwich@ Group (Grades 6-8). Via Zoom. Free. Register. gmail.com 203-622-7918. emorrissey@greenwichlibrary.org. greenwichlibrary.evanced.info/signup/Calendar 5 - 6 p.m.

Byram Shubert Library: Virtual – Meditation with 6 - 7 p.m.

Gail. Free. Register. 203-622-7920. greenwichlibrary.

Greenwich Hospital Webinar: ‘Healthy Eating for evanced.info/signup/Calendar Performance’. Via Zoom. Free. Registration is required (link will be distributed in advance of the 6:30 p.m. session). 888-305-9253. greenwichhospital.org/ NAMI-CAN (Child and Adolescent Network) Online events Support Groups - for parents and primary caregivers of children and adolescents, under age 21, with 6 - 7 p.m. behavioral and emotional issues (Every Wed). Free.

Greenwich Library: Virtual – Fiction Addiction Book Zoom Meeting: zoom.us/j/2084433181, or call: 1 Club. Via Zoom. Free. Register. 203-625-6534.

646 558 8656, Meeting ID: 208 443 3181. ghayes@greenwichlibrary.org. greenwichlibrary. evanced.info/signup/Calendar 7 p.m.

ICC Greenwich webinar: ‘Diversity, Inclusion, and 7 - 8 p.m.

Raising Resilient Kids in Our Community’. Register.

Virtual College Planning Workshop. Free. 203iccgreenwich.org/upcomingevents 261-3657. admin@adcollegefunding.com. freecollegefinancialaidworkshop.com 7 p.m.

Architectural Review Committee Meeting. Greenwich 8 - 9 p.m.

Town Hall - Meeting Room, 101 Field Point Rd. Cos Cob Library: Virtual – Parenting Book Club. Via greenwichct.gov Zoom. Free. Register. 203-622-6883. lmatthews@ greenwichlibrary.org. greenwichlibrary.evanced.info/ THURSDAY, JULY 2 signup/Calendar 9 - 9:30 a.m.

TUESDAY, JUNE 30 Greenwich Library: Virtual - Parent & Child Yoga for Tots (Ages 2-5). Free. Register. 203-622-7920.

10 - 10:30 a.m. dsullivan@greenwichlibrary.org. greenwichlibrary.

Greenwich Library: Virtual – Storytime (Toddlers

evanced.info/signup/Calendar 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Greenwich Library: SCORE Webinar: How To Protect & Grow the Value of Your Business During a Pandemic. Free. Register. 203-622-7920. ywang@ greenwichlibrary.org. greenwichlibrary.evanced.info/ signup/Calendar 11:30 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.

Cos Cob Library: Virtual – Qi Gong. Free. Register. lmatthews@greenwichlibrary.org. greenwichlibrary. evanced.info/signup/Calendar 2 - 3 p.m.

Greenwich Library: VIRTUAL: Junior Book Club (For grades 4-6). Free. Register. 203- 622-7920. dsullivan@greenwichlibrary.org. greenwichlibrary. evanced.info/signup/Calendar FRIDAY, JULY 3 3 p.m.

Georgia Peach Truck returns to McArdle’s Florist and Garden Center, 48 Arch St. Case: $46-$64. (Produce is curbside pick-up only). 203-661-5600. caitlin@mcardles.com. mcardles.com 7:30 p.m.

Bedford Playhouse: Let’s Talk Mental Wellness: Q&A with Dr. Andrew J. Gerber. Via Zoom (Meeting ID#: 894 1122 0029). bedfordplayhouse.org ONGOING • Nominate a ‘Treasured Tree’ - The Greenwich Tree Conservancy wants to know if you have a ‘Treasured Tree’ on your property. A tree is treasured for many reasons: a special memory or story; magnificent size; unique shape; Spring flowers or Fall foliage; climb-ability. The Tree Conservancy wants to hear about YOUR Treasured Tree. Fill out the nomination form available at: greenwichtreeconservancy.org • Starter Kits containing collection bins and compostable bags continue to be offered for sale to prepare the community for the launch of the Town Food Scrap Pilot Program. To arrange delivery and payment of kits, residents should contact wastefreegreenwich@gmail.com or call Greenwich Green & Clean at 203-531-0006. For further information visit wastefreegreenwich.org THROUGH JULY 3 Greenwich Historical Society’s ‘This Place Matters!’ photo contest. The community is encouraged to participate by snapping photos of the many ways Greenwich residents and institutions are rising to the occasion in the midst of the pandemic. Submit them with a brief statement about why they show the best of Greenwich during this pandemic. Submit photos to: greenwichhistory.org. Deadline for submissions is July 3. (Photos should be high resolution – 300 dpi – to be winners).

ONLINE ALANON MEETINGS al-anon.org/al-anon-meetings/electronic-meetings ONLINE AA MEETINGS aa-intergroup.org/directory.php FRIDAY, JUNE 26 10 - 11 a.m.

The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk: Virtual Program: Fish Tales (children and their parents/caregivers).

Via Zoom. Register. Suggested donation. maritimeaquarium.org/events/event/2000086 2 - 3 p.m.

The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk: Virtual Program: Nifty Cnidarians. Via Zoom. Register.

Suggested donation. maritimeaquarium.org/events/ event/2000086 ‘LET’S TALK’ - VIRTUAL GATHERINGS Bedford Playhouse offers ‘Let’s Talk’ - weekly virtual gatherings and conversations. Mondays: Let’s Talk Mental Health, 11am-12pm; Wednesday: Let’s Talk Parenting, 1-2pm; *Thursdays: Let’s Talk Cocktail Happy Hour, 6pm - get together with practical questions, shared strategies and a toast to our community. bedfordplayhouse.org

LOCAL

A Message from the Greenwich Police Dept.

T h e G r e e nw i c h Po l i c e Department shares with the community in the outrage a t b r u t a l a c t s c o n du c t e d by police of f icers aga i nst the public we are all sworn to protect. Those acts, and those who perpetuate them, are not who we are as guardians of this community.

We uneq uivoca lly believe that the preservation of life is t hesacred obligation of every police officer. We also fundamentally believe that the protection of Constitutional Rights is an absolute duty of each one of us. We subscribe to the principle that we police the community in partnership

w it h t hose we ser ve. We recognize that many in the public are seeking change in the way policing is conducted across t he nation. GPD is always pursuing ways to improve itself and we will continue to dialog ue w ith ourcommunity, others in our profession and our legislative

representatives for positive change that reinforces our commitment to protecting everyone in the community.

During this time of discussion a bout policing,we wa nted to share with you some of the practices, initiatives and policies your Greenwich Police Department has in place.

Did you know?

Your Greenwich Police Department: 3 Prohibits its officers from using choke holds.

3 Prohibits its officers from racial profiling.

3 Requires its officers to intervene in cases of excessive force by other officers.

3 Requires its officers performing or witnessing a use of force to report it.

3 Requires independent investigation of any use of force that results in death or serious physical injury.

3 Trains each officer on human relations, racial profiling, sexual harassment and equal opportunity.

3 Does not exhibit a disparate number of traffic stops of racial

✓

or ethnic groups, according to The Connecticut Racial Profiling Prohibition Project (2020 report).

✓

3 Partners with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) to provide all

its supervisors with training on implicit bias in law enforcement.

3 Partners with Connecticut Alliance to Benefit Law

Enforcement (CABLE) to train and certify its officers on Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training.

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3 Meets frequently and regularly with community groups.

3 Has a robust and accessible process for civilians to file

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To learn more about GPD proactive measures to prevent injustice, visit: greenwichct.gov/DocumentCenter/View/16243

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IMMUNITY

Obituaries

Page 10 | Greenwich Sentinel

Obituaries, for which there is never a of which he had many. charge or fee of any kind, may be submitted He was a collector of classic model cars, a with photos to Editor@GreenwichSentinel. music lover, and a dedicated sports fan who com. fervently followed the New York Mets and the New York Giants, as well as the Kansas City Royals and the New Jersey Devils.

John Silberlicht Joh n worke d m a ny ye a r s i n t h e auto parts industry in sales and delivery and was legendary around town for his quick wit and sense of humor. He eventually found his work family in 1998 at Triple J Auto Parts in Stamford.

He followed them into their retail shop, A Buck & Up, where he continuously made customers smile each day.

The family will be receiving guests on Thursday, June 2 5 f rom 3 to 6 p.m. at Castiglione Funeral Home, 544 Old Post Road #3, Greenwich, CT. A brief prayer will be shared at 6 p.m. The burial of ashes will be on Friday, June 26 at 11 a.m. at Putnam Cemetery, 35 Parsonage Road, Greenwich, CT. In lieu of f lowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Friends of Greenwich Point friendsofgreenwichpoint.org/donate in John Christopher Silberlicht, of Greenwich, John's honor. passed away peacefully at home on Wednesday, June 17. He was 54. John was predeceased by Michael Delaney both his parents, Jack W. Silberlicht (1990), Michael C. Delaney, longtime resident of and Patricia Silberlicht (2018), and is survived Greenwich, CT and Jupiter, FL passed away on by his loving sisters, Jane Doyle of Greenwich, June 16, 2020.

He lived a full and complete 79 CT, Elizabeth Silberlicht of Redondo Beach, years.

CA, and Maria Duncan and her husband Marc, The beloved husband and father was born of Woodbury, CT. He is also survived by his in Polson, MT, on the shores of Flathead Lake. nephew, Thomas, and nieces Samantha and The son of Thomas Ronald and Julia Delaney, Amanda. he spent the formative years of his childhood John was born in Queens, NY on March with his f ive siblings and parents in Tokyo, 31, 1966 and lived in Greenwich his entire life.

Japan.

His father's position in the U.S. State He graduated from Greenwich High School in Department took the family all over the world.

1985. As an avid cyclist, even before his days at He graduated from high school in Washington, Buzz's Cycle Shop, he traversed thousands of DC and received a B.S. from Fairfield University miles across Connecticut on his many different in 1963.

He was a former General Partner at bicycles, usually adorned with his signature Goldman Sachs where he was partner-inmohawk helmet. John was never more vibrant than when he was on his bike, talking about charge of the Fixed Income Division in Tokyo biking, or tinkering with bikes, and despite and co-branch manager of Goldman Sachs two heart valve replacements, he never went (Japan) Corp. (Toyko office). He also served as very long without a ride. He was an active and partner in charge of Municipal Underwriting, beloved member of the cycling group "Sound Trading and Sales for the Municipal Bond Cyclists Bicycle Club" and was not only elated Department. He was a member of the Municipal but truly honored when he became a ride Securities Rulemaking Board in Washington leader. John was lauded for his ride leadership and a member of the Board of Governors of the sk ills and his enthusiasm and patience to Municipal Bond Club of New York. He served ride with cyclists of all abilities. Along with as Chairman of the Syndicate and Trading the mechanical skills to fix most any problem Committee of the Public Securities Association.

Mike spent 39 months in the US Army, occurring before or during the rides, it was his which included 10 months service in Vietnam. humor and giant heart that made riding with He was an intelligence specialist with airborne, John such a memorable experience. ranger, and special forces training and a John cherished living in Greenwich and graduate of Officers Candidate School. He was one of his favorite places was Greenwich Point discharged from the US Army in 1968 as a First Park. He would ride his bike there as often as Lieutenant.

He was awarded The Air Medal for he could, regularly stopping to tell a joke or a meritorious achievement while participating story and chat with friends and acquaintances,

There is only one place in Greenwich where you will find a family of Licensed Funeral Directors, nurtured over 4-generations.

We are here to provide heartfelt care to those who grieve.

in aerial f light and the Bronze Star medal for heroism in ground combat. Prior to military service Mike lived brief ly in Afghanistan and lived and worked in West Africa.

I n 19 98 M i ke joi ne d t he b o a r d of t he Maureen and Mike Mansf ield Foundation, a non-profit that promotes understanding and cooperation among nations and peoples of Asia and the United States. In 2001 he was named president of the Foundation. In addition to the Mansfield Foundation he engaged in a variety of other philanthropic activities.

He enjoyed playing golf, watching sports, reading and spending time with his family and friends. He had many friendships and close relationships across the world, from Montana to New York to Tokyo. He will be remembered for his generosity, kindness and for always b ei ng w i l l i ng to help ot her s . For a l l h i s achievements and success, he saw his greatest accomplishments as a loving husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle and friend.

He is survived by his wife of f ifty years, Charlotte G. Delaney and their daughter, Tara Gilbride, her husband Jason and their son Michael and daughter Logan, his sister Susan Cline, brother Jerry Delaney and several beloved nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his sisters Sheila, Sharon and Marianne.

A public memorial is not scheduled at this time, please feel free to share thoughts and memories with family and friends via LeoPGallagherGreenwich.com. And in lieu of f lowers, please consider making a memorial donation to Save the Children, Julia Coye Delaney Endowment.

Bernice Wachnicki

Bernice Mary Wachnicki (nee Faszewski) passed away at Greenwich Hospital on June 1, 2020, at the age of 90, from respiratory failure due to COVID-19.

Bernice, affectionately known as “Fuzzy” by her family and friends, was the daughter of the late Stanley and Pauline Faszewski. Born on Sept. 7, 1929, she was a lifelong resident of Greenwich. She attended Greenwich public schools a nd was a proud mem b er of t he Greenwich High class of 1947.

Bernice was predeceased by her husband John Wachnicki, her daughter Linda Wachnicki, her brother Edward Faszewski, and her sister Sophie Naylor.

Sur v ivors include her son Dr. J. Dav id Wachnicki (Marion) of North Conway N.H., son Roger Wachnicki (Donna) of Rowayton, CT, daughter Barbara Andersen (Michael) of Orange, CT, seven grandchildren, and one great grandchild.

Bernice worked for many years as the receptionist at a local dental off ice and was well liked by everyone she met. She enjoyed celebrati ng t he hol idays w it h her fa m i ly and cooking her famous Polish borscht and pierogies. She knew the lyrics to every big band song and the Latin names of every flower in her garden. She could be found reading, cheering for the UConn Huskies women’s basketball team, and spending time with beloved pets. She especially loved sharing stories with the many friends she made along her life’s journey.

A dedicated mother and g randmother, Bernice treasured her children, grandchildren, and great grandchild, and embraced every moment with them.

For the past year Bernice was a resident at The Nathanial Witherall, and her family would like to express their gratitude to all their wonderful staff and caregivers for taking special care of her.

Funeral services will be private. Due to COVID-related restrictions on gatherings, the family is postponing a memorial service until conditions allow for a safe and befitting ceremony to celebrate Ber n ice’s l i fe a nd memory.

In lieu of f lowers, the family requests that you honor her memory by sharing a smile or a small act of kindness with others, as Bernice would, in hopes of making a small part of our world a better place.

Anyone wishing to forward a personal note to the family, please send it to: P.O. Box 5060, Milford, CT 06460.

Dr. Arthur Loh

134 Hamilton Avenue

Greenwich, CT 06830

info@coxeandgraziano.com

203-869-5968

www.coxeandgraziano.com

It is with profound sadness that we make known the passing of Arthur Tsung-Yuan Loh on Saturday, June 13, 2020, with family and friends by his side. Dr. Loh was 96.

Born on Dec. 2, 1923, to Chengor Loh and Kwei N. (Wang) in Shanghai, China, Arthur went on to be a highly accomplished financier in the United States where he immigrated in 1948.

He received a Bachelor's degree from St. John's University in Shanghai in 1945, a Master's in Science from the University of Illinois in 1949,

and a Ph.D. in Economics, also from University of Illinois in 1952.

Arthur spent most of his career on Wall St r e et wher e he wa s a Pa r t ner at major investment bank ing f irms including R .W. Pressprich & Co., GAC Corporation and N.Y. Secur ities Co. He later ser ved in leading corporate roles including being the Chief Investment Officer at Government Employee Insurance Company. At GEICO, during a major financial crisis, he served as an interim CEO and led a major turnaround team which included Warren Buffet. He went on to serve as CFO of Rotary International. Arthur then became founder and Chairman of Loh Associates.

Dr. Loh's was active in many community and professional activities including Chairman of Development Committee Travelers Aid Society, NYC; the Republican National Committee; the Heritage Foundation; member of Association for Investment Management & Research; International Society of Security Analysts; American Economic Association; Financial Executives Institute, Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts (chartered); N.Y. Society of Security Analysts; Wall Street Club; Bankers Club America; Downtown Association (NYC); The Windmill Club; Greenwich Polo Club; Rotary Club; City Midday Club (NYC).

Arthur belonged to the Methodist faith and worshiped at the Armonk United Methodist Church.

Arthur was a tremendous fan and long time supporter of the Greenwich Polo Club and greatly enjoyed watching polo matches with his family and friends. He also enjoyed tennis, swimming, skiing, and worldwide travels with his family. He always loved hosting special occasions for his family and friends. Arthur was dearly loved by his family and numerous friends and was known for his deep generosity, thoug htf ulness, k indness, w isdom and compassion for others.

Those left to cherish Arthur's memory are his two daughters, Stephanie T. L. Loh and Pamela T.K. Loh and her husband, John N. Kelly; two step-grandsons, John N. Kelly III, and Brendan C. Kelly; his niece, Rosie Kemble, his nephews, Linddy Chen and Qiao Xia Shen; his sisters-in-law: Paula Wu, Julia Chan, Lina Voo, Anna Chan, Mabel Sin, and Mason Chan; and numerous other nieces, nephews and grandnieces and nephews.

Arthur was predeceased by his beloved wife, Monica (nee Chen) Loh; his sister, Edith Chen, his brother, Willy Loh; nephews, Buddy Chen and Freddy Chen; his sisters-in-law: Diana Chiu, Dr. Anita Li; his brothers-in-law: Duncan Chan and Donald Chan.

There was a visitation on Saturday and Sunday, June 20 and 21 at the Beecher Flooks Funeral Home, Pleasantville. Funeral service was by invitation on Monday at Beecher Flooks Funeral Home, followed by interment at Middle Patent Rural Cemetery, Banksville (Armonk), NY.

Mary Spano

Beloved mother and grandmother, Mary J. Spano died Friday, June 19, at the age of 97, of natural causes surrounded by her family.

Mary was born Nov. 24, 1922 in Calabria, Italy. She worked at Clairol in Stamford for twenty years before retiring. Mar y was a member of the Clubetts of Knights of Columbus as well as AARP. The one passion Mary had was her family; whether it was cooking for holidays or coming together for a small gathering, she was happiest when she had her family close by.

Mary was predeceased by her husband, Frank (died November 1965) and her parents, Bruno Romeo Sr. (died in 1981) and Rose Chile Romeo (died in 1986). She is survived by her daughter, Rosemarie Delfavero (Larry), her son Frank Spano, Jr. (Ruth Ann), and her brother, Bruno Romeo Jr. (Marie). Mary also has two nephews: Michael Romeo (Angela) and Mathew Romeo, and a niece, Rita Spano.

Mary's family continues to grow as she has seven grandchildren: Joanne D'Arinzo (David), Sherri Tilstra (Peter), John Delfavero (Larraine), Marc Delfavero, Jennifer Fasano (David), Frank Spano III, and Nicholas Spano; along with nine great-grandchildren: Patrick, Christopher, Adam, Ashley, Victoria, Justin, Marc Jr., Julia and Stephanie.

There was private family viewing followed by a Mass on We d ne sday, Ju ne 2 4 at St. Catherine's Church, Riverside. Burial took place at St. Mary's Cemetery, Greenwich.

The Spano family would like to thank the staff at Nathanial Witherell. The nurses, aides, social workers, and all the additional care efforts from the staff at Nathanial Witherell.

They are all compassionate, understanding, and truly amazing people. In lieu of f lowers, the family has asked to make donations to Nathanial Witherell in memory of Mary.

Janet Drumm

Janet Drumm passed away peacefully on May 27, 2020, at the age of 63.

Janet is survived by her loving husband, Roger, sons, Brian and Michael of Marblehead, MA, and numerous family members from Greenwich, including mother, Dolores Collins, sister, Gail Collins Khosla (Victor), brother, Dav id Collins (Tammy), nephews, Grant, Charles and Duncan Khosla, and niece, Brooke Collins. Janet is also survived by step-daughter, Elisabeth Paredes (Larry) and children, and step-son, Tim Drumm. Janet was predeceased by her father, Norman R. Collins.

Janet was born in Berkeley, Calif., to a close family, and her parents' work brought her to Naples, Italy, and Santiago, Chile, during her early years. She eventually moved to Greenwich, CT, attended Greenwich High School, and upon graduation her family moved to New Delhi, India, and Mexico City, Mexico, for thirteen years. Her worldly childhood taught her the international language of kindness, an ability to quickly build strong relationships, and the importance of working hard to make things better for others.

Janet graduated from Cornell University and received a Master's Degree of Education from the University of Virginia. She combined her interest in education with her hobby of negotiating and moved to Massachusetts to begin a thirty-five-year career as a sales and marketing executive in the higher education tech nolog y ma rket. A f ter esta bl ish i ng a business for selling student-edition software at the publishing company Addison-Wesley, Janet drove online technology sales for college bookstores and school districts at Journey Education Marketing. Eight years ago, Janet took a leap in co-founding ThinkEDU as her own company in the market, and was deeply proud of growing the business ever since.

Continued success in both her professional

and personal life came easily to Janet due to her natural ability to develop lasting relationships.

Janet and Roger married in 1988, and she found a warm welcome in the sailing community as they began their life in Marblehead. Her early friendships solidified amid a flurry of weekend regattas and laughs, always shared with Roger at her side. Soon they welcomed Brian and Michael into this lifestyle, and Janet loved everything from the bustle of getting her boys to summer regattas to braving tippy spectator boats to cheer them on. All the while, Janet was an active supporter of one-design sailing in Marblehead and continued to play a large role at Eastern Yacht Club as a tireless volunteer on the Race Committee and as an ever-glowing social presence. Dear sailing friends showed her another world in the winters of Maine, and while not a professional skier and not particularly fond of cold temperatures, Janet was so pleased her family decided to spend many winters in Bethel, Maine.

Throughout these adventures with her friends, her cornerstone was her family. Trips to see family remained a constant joy in her life.

The memories made with them, from throwing pre-Thanksgiving steak and lobster dinners and conducting Christmas bells in Greenwich to cutthroat card games during summer trips to Mexico to adventuring in the Pacific Northwest, were the best part of her and her family's lives.

Being with her boys made her so happy, and her immense pride in them was evident to all who knew her. She will be remembered as a model of involvement, persistence, kindness and for her contagious laugh. She has many people that love her, and she lived in a way that made her every bit deserving of that love.

Wishing her sunny skies and calm seas, we are so proud of her and she will be dearly missed.

In lieu of f lowers, donations can be made in Memory of Janet to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute dana-farber.org. Service will be private.

Steven Larsen, Jr. Steven F. Larsen, Jr. a resident of Greenwich died June 10, 2020. He was 93 and was born Dec. 12, 1926 in Port Chester, NY to the late Steven and Loretta Harriban Larsen.

He was raised and educated in Greenwich graduating from Greenwich High School in 1943. Mr. Larsen served in the United States A rmy during World War II in the Pacif ic Theater. He was a Dairy Manager for First National Stores.

He was married in Byram, CT to Jean Layton on Aug. 26, 1950. Mrs. Larsen died in 2012.

He is survived by his nieces and nephews Kari Larsen, Steve Crawford, Robert Crawford, Kelly Crawford, and Robert Watson, sister-inlaw Karine Larsen and brother-in-law Robert Crawford.

A graveside service was held on Tuesday, June 16 at the Greenwood Union Cemetery in Rye, NY. There will be no visitation.

Janet Caulkins

Janet Van Hise Davidson Caulkins died on March 15, 2020, in her sleep, (peacefully, holding her daughters hand) at her home in Madison, CT at the age of 93. She died of old age. She was born in Weston, Mass., on June 13, 1926, to her parents Alice Van Hise Davidson and Charles Mowbray Davidson.

Her maternal grandfather was Charles Richard Van Hise, a ground breaking geologist and conservationist, a leader in the Progressive Movement, who served as President of the University of Wisconsin from 1903 to 1918. He was the author of several books on the critical need for the protection of the environment, including "Conservation of Our Natural Resources in the United States" and "Concentration and Control: a Solution of the Trust Problem in the United States". He was the subject of a biography by Maurice Vance, entitled "Charles Richard Van Hise, Scientist Progressive."

Janet lived most of her life in Greenwich Village, NYC, Bridgehampton NY, Old Greenwich, CT, and Madison, CT. She attended The Little Red School House Elementary School in NYC, the Friends Seminary, and Smith College, where she received her Bachelor's Degree in 1949.

Janet met David Smallwood Caulkins in Geneva, Switzerland, where she was taking her Junior year abroad with Smith College, and he was doing military service for the Army, during the occupation of Germany. They married after he was graduated from Yale University in 1950.

They were married for 46 years until his death from cancer in 1996 at the age of 69.

In her 40s, Janet was a children's book editor for Grosset and Dunlap and Franklin Watts in NYC. At one publisher's request she authored 3 books for middle and high school students: "The Picture Life of Mik hail G orbachev," "Joseph Stalin," and "Pets of the Presidents." She wrote and published magazine and newspaper articles, including one in the New York Times entitled "The Springtime Rites of Passage for Boaters", and for McCalls Magazine entitled "A Thanksgiving in France."

She was also an artist, and member of the Madison Art Society. Her pen and ink drawings received much attention and were frequently accepted into their art exhibits and shows.

She was an avid gardener, a devoted Bridge

player, and an accomplished cook.

She loved to sail on friends' and neighbors' boats in earlier days, and was committed to learning every nautical term, and how to tie every nautical knot.

She loved to travel and her adventures with David included 4 trips to Africa, travels to Equador, Venezuela, Argentina, Turkey, Switzerland, Vienna, France, England, Italy, Greece, the British Virgin Islands, and a white water rafting excursion down the Colorado River.

She leaves behind two children, James R. Caulkins of Maisons-Laffitte, France, and Donna Caulkins Parsons of Madison, CT, three grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

Following her husband's example, Janet donated her body to Yale Medical School. At her request, no memorial service is being held.

In lieu of f lowers or donations, written reminiscences recalling amusing anecdotes a nd memor ies of t hei r mot her wou ld be ver y much appre ciate d by her ch i ld ren.

Send correspondence to Donna Parsons, 15 Madison Avenue, madison CT 06443 or to: donnaparsons500@aol.com

Albertha Smith Albertha Gordon Smith, a long time resident of Greenwich, CT. departed this life in Hospice at Greenwich Hospital after several months of declining health. She was born Aug. 1, 1922 in Kensington, St. Ann, Jamaica W.I. to the late Benjamin and Rachel Gordon. She was the youngest of eleven brothers and sisters who have since predeceased her.

The early part of Albertha’s life was spent in Jamaica. She was educated in her local school system and attended culinary school in her early adult years. In 1968 Albertha migrated to Greenwich, CT where she became employed at United Hospital in Port Chester, NY for several years and later was employed at the Packet Factory in Greenwich. Years after this she would become self-employed and establish her own business, designing and baking wedding cakes. Her passion to cook was always apparent with the many delicious dishes she would have prepared and a lot of times make a plate for friends to take home to enjoy.

She joined First Baptist Church of Greenwich in early 1970. She was a faithful and dedicated member until her health declined. During her time with the church she would become a member of the Missionary Society and Pastor's Aide. She regularly attended Sunday school and prayer services. When the Voices of Inspiration choir would have their annual concerts she would provide lemon water as a refresher during their intermission time to help support the singers.

She met and married the love of her life Josiah Smith in 1974. They would spend many happy years together until he predeceased her in September 2000.

She leaves fond and loving memories to her cousin Joyce Gordon, Rev. Rhuben Brown, her Goddaughter Gracie Smith, and a host of nieces, nephews, relatives, and friends.

On Faith

Responding to Tumultuous Times

By Heather Wright Many today feel hopeless even desperate. During this Coronavirus, there have been feelings of fear, anger, grief, conf usion, and being out of control. In the past few weeks, those I have talked to regardless of race, political views, and socio-economic standing are grieving the suffering of people of color and also lamenting the destruction in our cities. They ask God, “how long O Lord until your justice and righteousness roll down as a mighty stream?”

How long, O Lord, how long.

With each news cycle our world has seemed to get more and more volatile and the mistrust between people even greater.

What do we do with all that is coming at us? What is going on is very complex, invoking many

different concerns, emotions and reactions. I do know from our faith traditions that even in struggle and suffering, we are supposed to do two things. The f irst is not lose sight that all people are made in God’s image and have worth. The second is that we are meant to be ones who repair the brokenness of the world.

I was recently leading a Bible Study with a group of women from my church. Our Ephesians study guide, by Eugene Peterson, pointed out that evil c a n get i nto even t he most humanitarian organization when we depersonalize people. When people become abstractions and not persons that we are relating to, we are in danger of harming them and inadvertently being used by darkness for evil ends.

That study gave us a grid to

evaluate how we are doing with all that is happening around us.

Regarding the virus, it may be easy to judge strangers that are more relaxed or more strict about social distancing, masks, obeying or not the restrictions.

In doing so, they can become dep ersona l i z e d. The s a me c a n b e sa id a b out p e acef u l pr ote s tor s , p ol ic e , lo ote r s , political operatives on every side of the issues, media portrayals, and politicians. Is someone right and the other therefore wrong?

Worth listening to and only worth tuning out?

To the extent I defend other’s value because God made them, loves them, and wants what is best for them, I am honoring God’s image in me. Honoring the other is much harder when we are afraid, off-balance, or threatened by their words and

actions. Paying attention to what is stirred in us is the first step of healing required.

A s we listen to others, especially those we don’t agree w it h, we open ou rselves to sorting out what it might mean to love and to pray for them.

In doing so, we become part of the solution to our current contemporary problems. We deescalate the aggression of the current dialogue.

The other call we have as people of faith is to pray that God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We can participate in God’s work to bring justice, peace and healing of the nations to our world. Not only in prayer but in action. As we do so we a r e doi ng , what my Jew i sh friends have taught me, “tikkun olam.” Tikkun olam is a duty of all people of Jewish faith, and

I would agree, of all faiths. We are called to repair the world, to act to make a difference, to bring light and healing into the world.

We are all essential to that task.

It requires something of us.

As a Christian, I believe God designed us for relationship with God and with one another, even those we disagree with or don’t understand. We have the opportunity to try to find common ground, to not let evil divide or tear us apart, and to work for a better world for ourselves and all who come after us. I look forward to marching towards that end with you.

Wa t c h i n g a l l t h a t i s happen i ng i n ter ms of race relations and reconciliation, this is my prayer.

Lord, forgive my complacency to choose the easier path, to disengage from things that are

hard, and to turn away from human suf fering. May I not choose what is comfortable but be willing to be changed by another as I enter his suffering and help her carry her cross. In order to do so, I need to surrender control, a sense of my being right, and even the false security that I am safer if I don’t enter in. You open my eyes to know what I didn’t know, to see what I hadn’t chosen to see, to grieve for places of injustice that still exist in the world, to lament for the violence that exists in disorder and in every human heart. Step in as the great healer, the one whose perfect love melts away all fear. Take my sin and replace it with your merciful spirit.

I am secure in the knowledge that I am safe abiding in you. Amen The Rev. Dr. Heather Wright is Pastor of Care and Connection at Stanwich Church.

Starting June 14th, as Connecticut entered Phase 2, Stanwich Church reopened its doors following CDC guidelines which allow up to 50 people to gather for religious services using social distancing, face coverings, and other safety measures. Church members who feel comfortable gathering are now able to register on the church's website to come on Sundays. The congregation and ministers are glad to gather together in the sanctuary even in this limited capacity. The church's worship service is still being delivered online for all those who do not attend in person. To find out more about how they are implementing safe attendance or if you are considering attending their 10 am service either online or in person, visit their website stanwichchurch.org.

On Faith

Page 12 | Greenwich Sentinel

On Faith Feature

Give Equality Room to Breathe

By Edward Horstmann For the first nine years of my life I lived in Mariaville, New York, a small village that lies seventeen miles west of the city of Schenectady. I went to an allwhite school and had the same classmates for six years in a row. Until I was in fifth grade, our class field trips involved visits to historic homes of the Revolutionary War Era, the Catskill Game Farm, and a large bakery that specialized in making bread with the consistency of silly putty.

Following the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968, our field trips veered sharply aw ay f r om f a m i l i a r de s t i n at ion s .

Our teachers forged a par tnership with a predominantly black school in Schenectady, and we began a series of reciprocal visits. Those same teachers took us to meet black professional dancers who were presenting a show at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.

After watching a rehearsal we met the artists, and I can still see in my mind’s eye the face of one young black man who

took a personal interest in me; asking me questions about myself, and patiently answering my questions about him. It might not have registered with me then, but he and his colleagues must have been dancing with broken hearts in the wake of Dr. King’s murder. As for me, I was just coming into personal contact with black Americans, and only beginning to learn the history of cruelty and segregation that has been the dominant narrative for people of color for hundreds of years.

The lessons I lea r ned f rom my teachers about the dignity of every human person, and especially the dignity of people with black and brown skin, were being further reinforced at the Mariaville Presbyterian Church. In Sunday School we sang songs from the old hymnals but were more deeply nourished by AfricanAmerican spirituals and ballads from the peace movement. After church school I ascended the rickety stairs that led from our classroom next to the boiler in the basement and up into the sanctuary.

Along with my best friend, Paul, who was the pastor’s son, I attended worship.

While I can’t remember a single sentence from a sermon from those years, the emotional thrust of the message was loud and clear. Pastor Kalman Sulyok was mad and the focus of his rage was racial injustice. Having lived under Communist rule in Hungary for most of his life, he was a passionate advocate for freedom and equality. He sought to arouse that passion in his parishioners, including the ones who were not yet ten years old.

I am thankful that these leaders of my childhood hometown were not silent in the face of racial injustice. I don’t know how involved they were politically, but they weren’t about to make living in little Mariaville an excuse for standing on the sidelines. They used the means at their disposal to help us see the world through the eyes of others, and especially through the eyes of those who had suffered humiliation and degradation as an inescapable reality.

Those wise teachers instilled in me the belief that God loves all people, but has a distinct bias for the care and nurture of the most vulnerable. Their philosophy

of life might have been summarized with these words: “Serve first those who suffer most.” So I find myself heartbroken over the recent killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery.

Their deaths weigh heavily on me, as I know they do upon the souls of people across our country and the wider world.

I grieve for their families as I do for all people of color who are continually subjected to the corrosive force of racism.

I was glad to add my name to a document created by the Executive Committee of the Greenwich Fellowship of Clergy that “condemned the brutal killing of George Floyd…and acknowledged the systemic racism that still exists in our society.” We could also have pointed out that on top of rampant racial injustice, people of color are experiencing more serious illness and death due to the disease than white people.

If I could have a conversation with Mrs. Troup, my elementar y school principal, and if she were to ask me what kind of hope I have for the future, I would say this: I am inspired by the

nonviolent social protestors who have risen up nationally and internationally to affirm that black lives matter, because in so many fundamental ways black lives have not mattered. I have been heartened by scenes of mutual support and respect between protestors and various members of law enforcement agencies across the country. And while verbal statements of outrage are easy to write, many leaders of businesses, communities of faith, schools, and non-profits are linking a renewed commitment to racial equality with specific action steps that are tied to measurable outcomes.

“Behold, I do a new thing, “says the voice of God in the biblical book of Isaiah.

“Do you not perceive it?” It’s a question that keeps me on my toes, and ready to lend a hand. Because we are long overdue for a new world, with a new normal that is good for everyone, and where equality has plenty of room to breathe.

The Rev. Dr. Edward G. Horstmann is the Senior Minister at Round Hill Community Church

Worship Services & Events ASSEMBLIES OF GOD

www.stmarygreenwich.org

Harvest Time Church 1338 King St., 203-531-7778 www.htchurch.com

Public Sunday Mass: 9, 10:30am & 12:15pm, on the patio (must make reservation in advance by calling the Parish Office, Thu or Fri, 9am3pm and speak to the receptionist).

Virtual Daily Mass: Mon-Sun, 12pm, with Fr. La Pastina on Facebook. Visit EWTN.com for daily Mass at 8am with encore at 12pm. Confessions resume: Saturdays, 2:45-3:45pm, on the patio.

Summer Rosary: Sun & Tue, 7:30pm, via YouTube Live.

In-Person Worship Services: Sundays: 8:30, 10 & 11:30am (tickets will be made available each week via Eventbrite. Services will continue to be live-streamed). Online Sunday Worship available at htchurch.com & social media outlets. Walking with The King: Mon, 8pm. Find Freedom: Tue, 8:30am, via Zoom. GriefShare: Wed through June 24, 1-2:30pm. Pray with the Pastors: Thu, 8pm. HTKidz Worship – a weekly Bible story and simple activities parents can do at home to reinforce lesson (bit.ly/HTKidzList). ‘GriefShare’ online weekly meeting (credentials to participate will be supplied upon registration).

BAPTIST First Baptist Church 10 Northfield St.; 203-869-7988 www.firstbaptistgreenwich.com Sunday Service via FB Live: 11:30am.

Greenwich Baptist Church 10 Indian Rock Ln; 203-869-2807 www.greenwichbaptist.org

St. Michael the Archangel 469 North St.; 203-869-5421 www.stmichaelgreenwich.com Sunday Mass: 7:30, 9:30 & 11:30am, outdoors in the parking lot (make a reservation: signupgenius.com/go/ stmichaelgreenwich). All Masses and Adoration will continue to be livestreamed. Mass Cards: Parishioners may request Masses and get Mass Cards even though Parish Office is officially closed, call 203 869-5421.

St. Timothy Chapel 1034 North St.; 203-869-5421

CATHOLIC

Outdoor public celebration of Mass: Mon-Sat: 7:30 & 9:30am, St. Timothy’s Chapel. Sun: 7:30, 9:30 11:30am, St. Michael’s Church. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament: Wed, 10am-4pm & Sun, 12-1pm. Confessions: Wed, 1011am & 3-4pm, St. Timothy’s chapel (make a reservation: signupgenius. com/go/stmichaelgreenwich).

All Masses and Adoration will continue to be live-streamed.

Sacred Heart Church 95 Henry St.; 203-531-8730 www.sacredheartgreenwich.org

St. Paul Church 84 Sherwood Ave.; 203-531-8741 www.stpaulgreenwich.org

In-person Mass: Sat: 4pm; Sun: 7:30, 9:30 & 11:30am. (Registration for attending any Mass is required. Call or leave your message or text only at: 203559-9256 or email: sacredheartgrn@ optonline.net.

Registration closes by 1pm on Fridays). Sacrament of Reconciliation (Church) by appt.; Sacrament of Baptism: Sun, 12:30pm (call the parish office in advance).

Weekday Masses will resume on June 29.

Public Mass Celebration: Sundays, 4pm, reservations are required by visiting the homepage or calling 203531-8741 ext. 4 or dial 203-542-0551.

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 – leave a message at 203-531-8741 ext.

2.

Online Worship - Sunday, 11am, streamed through Facebook and website (greenwichbaptist.org/ livestream). Sunday Morning Prayer: Sun, 8:30-9:15am, via Google Meet.

Bible Study: Sun, 9:30-10:30am, via Google Meet.

The Parish of St. Catherine of Siena and St. Agnes St. Agnes: 247 Stanwich Rd; St. Catherine of Siena: 4 Riverside Ave; 203-637-3661 www.stc-sta.org Daily Mass under the Tent: MonFri, 5:15-5:45pm (sign up through homepage).

Virtual Daily Mass: Mon-Fri, 7-7:30am, (sign up through homepage). Virtual Mass via Zoom: Sun 10:30am & Wed 1:30pm (Daily). Virtual events: Rosary: Mon, 1:30pm; Prayer and Conversation: Tue & Thu, 1:30pm; Stations of the Cross: Fri, 1:30pm. The priests of the parish will celebrate Mass privately for your intentions. Parish Partners Hotline: 203-637-3661 x375.

Spanish Mass: June 28, 11am12pm, Chapel. Prayer Vigil to End Racial Discrimination: June 29, 7pm, St. Agnes - Under the Tent, sign-up required. No-Contact Food Drive for Neighbor to Neighbor: Tuesdays, 9-11am, (there will be a car or SUV with an open trunk in the parking lot across from St. Catherine’s church, please drop your bagged grocery donations in the trunk).

St. Mary Church 178 Greenwich Ave.; 203-8699393

St. Roch Church 10 St. Roch Ave.; 203-869-4176 www.strochchurch.com Mass - via live streaming: Mon-Sat 8am (Latin), Mon-Sat 9am (English), Sun 7:30am (English), [Concelebrated for Previously Scheduled 7:30am & 9:30am Mass Intentions], Sun 1pm (Spanish) [Concelebrated for Previously Scheduled 11:30am & 1pm Mass Intentions]. The Church will be open as follows (for private prayer): M-F 10am8pm, Sat 3-6pm, Sun 9am-12pm.

Eucharistic Adoration (silent): M-F 7-8pm, Sat 5-6pm, Sun 9am-12pm.

In-person Public Mass resumes: Mon-Fri, 7:30pm; Sat, 5pm; Sun, 7:30am, 10:30am & 1pm (Spanish), sign-up (signupgenius.com/go/ strochchurch).

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

Worship services are cancelled until further notice. The office is also closed until further notice. (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). The church will reopen for worship on Sunday, Sept.

13.

Round Hill Community Church 395 Round Hill Rd.; 203-869-1091 www.roundhillcommunitychurch. org Sunday Worship & Church School - Online: Sun 10am, youtu.be/ CNjyLHzsRlI. Face Masks for BGCG: for more information on this project, contact jjacullo@optonline.net. Inperson Public Outdoor Worship: Sun, 10-10:30am, registration is required (signupgenius. com/go/70a084aafa72aa0fb6inperson).

CONGREGATIONAL The First Congregational Church 108 Sound Beach Ave; 203-6371791 www.fccog.org Online Worship Service: Sun 10am, through live-streaming on YouTube and broadcast on WGCH (or tune to AM1490 or FM105.5). Virtual Community Hour: Sun 11am, via Zoom (meeting ID: 909 415 108, password: 003930). Connect during the week: Monday: Music on Mondays (sent by Craig Symons); Wednesday: Wisdom on Wednesdays (sent by Rev. Patrick Collins); Thursday: Faith Formation at Home for All (sent by Rosemary Lamie); Fridays on Facebook (live @ 3pm with Rev. Patrick Collins).

FCCOG Annual Meeting Time: June 28, 11am, via Zoom.

North Greenwich Congregational 606 Riversville Rd.; 203-869-7763 www.northgreenwichchurch.org Online Worship Service: Sun 10:30am, via Zoom. Please email Rev. Halac at Pastor@northgreenwichchurch.org any day and at any time until 9am on Sunday and you will receive an invitation link.

Second Congregational Church 139 E Putnam Ave.; 203-869-9311 www.2cc.org Services available online, details at 2cc.org. Contemporary Worship: Sat, 5pm. Traditional Sunday Service: 10:30am.

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 Outdoor Worship: Sun, 9am, Tomes-Higgins-Front Lawn (during Summer weather permitting), registration is required, akryzak@ christchurchgreenwich.org.

Virtual Worship Service: Sun: Holy Eucharist, 10am, livestream. Sunday Forum via Zoom, 11:15am. Morning Prayer: Weekdays, 8am, on Zoom. Evensong: Thu, 5pm, livestream. Morning Prayer live-sessions: 7 & 9am at dailyoffice. org. Prayer of the Cloud Meditation via Zoom: Mon, 7-8pm.

Organ Recitals: Fri, 5:30pm, Facebook Live.

An Evening with Our Bishops: June 30, 7pm, via Zoom. Career Transition Seminar: July 1, 7-8pm,

via Zoom, all are welcome. Virtual ‘Packathon’ – ongoing (onrealm. o r g/P a r i s h C h r i s t C h u/-/g i ve/ outreach).

St. Barnabas Episcopal Church 954 Lake Ave.; 203-661-5526 www.stbarnabasgreenwich.org Virtual Morning Prayer: Sun, 10am.

Virtual Coffee Hour, 10:45am.

In-person Service: Sundays, 8-9am & 10-11am, registration is required, )signupgenius.com/ go/4090e4aadac2ea3ff2-sunday1). Inperson Rectors Forum: June 28, 4-5pm, sign up, (signupgenius. com/go/4090e4aadac2ea3ff2rectors) St. Paul’s Episcopal Church 200 Riverside Ave.; 203-637-2447 www.stpaulsriverside.org Online Morning Prayer: Sun, 10:1511:15am. The Book of Common Prayer is available online in PDF format: stpaulsriverside.org/online-worshipresources. Faith At Home - crafted devotional materials for families and individuals available at dofaithathome. org. Mass on the Grass: Sundays, 9:30am. Service on the Meadow: Sundays, 10:15 am.

St. Saviour’s Episcopal Church 350 Sound Beach Ave; 203-6372262 www.saintsaviours.org In-person Service: Sundays, 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. Pirkei Avos: Tue, 12:15pm.

Congregation Shir Ami 1273 E. Putnam Ave, PO Box 312, Riverside; 203-900-7976; Shirami. info@gmail.com www.congregationshirami.org All services, programs and celebrations are available online via 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. Jewish meditation and text study with Rabbi Gerson, Tue-Fri, 12pm. Storytime for Kids with Rabbi Gerson, Tue-Thu 5:30pm. Kids Sing Along with Cantor Dunkerley, Mon-Thu, 10am.

Temple Sholom 300 E. Putnam Ave.; 203-8697191 www.templesholom.com Services – live-streamed: Fri 6:30pm; Sat 10am; Sun 8:30am. If you have an emergency and need to reach a member of the clergy, dial 203-8697191 ext. 3. Lunch ‘N Learn: June 30, 12-1pm.

LUTHERAN First Lutheran Church 38 Field Point Rd.; 203-869-0032 www.firstpaul.com The Service of the Word is streamed live at 10am on Sundays. Holy Communion is offered throughout the week (at First Lutheran) by appointment.

On Faith Feature

We All Need Heroes to Inspire Us committed to holy living. In both the Old and New Testaments, the word for “saint” is invariably used in the plural. It refers to all the people of God. S a i nt s a r e n o t t h e G r e e n Berets of faith or the super elite.

Rather, all of us are called to be saints. We are the recipients of Paul’s letters addressed to the saints. While we are quick to say, “I’m no saint,” we are called to be consecrated to Christ and committed to holy living.

In our journey, it is helpful to have heroes, people that we can admire and seek to emulate, who rise above the average and inspire us to be holier than we would without them.

Most ten n is players and gol fer s l i f t t hei r g a me when the play against better players.

Likewise, their game often declines when the compete against inferior players.

In the same way, when we

By Marek P. Zabriskie The word “saints” appears more than si x t y times in the Bible. The Psalmist writes, “Love the Lord, all you his saints.” (Ps. 31:23) Paul concluded his Second Letter to the Corinthians with the words, “All the saints greet you.”

(1 Cor. 13:12) and begins his epistle to the Ephesians with, “To the saints who are in Ephesus and are faithful in Christ Jesus.” (Eph. 1:1) The Bible’s final words are, “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen.” (Rev. 22:21) The Hebrew word found in the Old Testament to signify saints is “hesed.” Men and women of “hesed” are faithful to God. They exercise love and piety and keep God’s covenant.

I n the New Testa ment we f ind the G eek word “hag ios,” which signifies those dedicated to God, consecrated to Christ and

surround ourselves with people of low moral standards, our patience, kindness, self-control, forgiveness and generosity plummet. But when we surround ourselves with Christians dedicated to holy living, our moral life flourishes.

We choose our words more c a r e f u l l y, e x e r c i s e g r e a t e r compassion, listen more attentively, act more generously, and dispense forgiveness more freely. Grace more readily f lows through us.

It is go o d to have a da i ly devotional book that connects us with the saints. In “Celebrating the Saints: Devotional Readings for Saints’ Days,” Robert Atwell and Christopher Webber, have compiled a wonderful collection of stories of much-to-be-admired saints. They range from monks, martyrs, missionaries, teachers, reformers, poets and clergy.

On June 22, for example, they lift up St. Alban, Britain’s f irst

martyr, who died around 250 A.D. A saint’s “feast day” marks the day that the saint died and entered heaven, not their birth date.

T he E mp e r or s D io cle t ia n i n t he East a nd M a x i m ia nus Heculius in the West ordered a l l chu rches to b e dest royed and Christians to be captured and k illed, reminding us of how challenging it was to be a Christian throughout much of history.

Theirs was the tenth persecut ion si nce Nero, who ordered Christians to be covered with tar and lit aflame as human torches on the terrace of his villa while entertaining guests.

While Diocletian and Ma x im ianus Heculius were issuing violent edicts, Alban was still a pagan. Nonetheless, he gave shelter to a Christian priest, who was fleeing from his persecutors.

In the ensuing days, Alban

observed the priest’s faithfulness in prayer and was profoundly touched by the grace of God that f lowed through his guest. As a result, he began to imitate the pr iest ’s exa mple of fa ith a nd devotion.

Little by little, “he received instruction in the way of salvation until one day Alban renounced the dark ness of idolatr y, and wholeheartedly accepted Christ.”

Word spread that Alban was harboring an outlawed priest.

Soldiers arrived at his home to search for the banned priest.

Upon their arrival, they found Alban wearing the priest’s long cloak. Alban surrendered himself to the soldiers in place of his guest and teacher.

His captors were furious when they discovered that he was not the priest that they sought to kill.

So, they tortured Alban in hopes of breaking him, but failed. Before being executed, Alban said, “I

Milestones

worship and adore the living and true God, who created all things.”

Alban was executed on June 22 near the city of Verulamium, now known as St. Albans. Today, St. Albans Cathedral is built over the site of his martyrdom. It is a shrine to Britain’s first saint and is the oldest site of continuous Christian worship in Britain.

It’s well worth a visit. Sick folk continue to find healing there, and it is a frequent site of miracles.

We need Christian heroes to lift our spiritual game. We struggle to worship every Sunday or pray and read the Bible daily or to tithe to support the Church’s mission or to volunteer to feed the homeless or tutor a child.

If you want to improve your spiritual life, focus on the saints.

Study their lives. Learn their stories. It will lift your spiritual game to a higher level.

The Rev. Marek P. Zabriskie, is Rector of Christ Church Greenwich

Victoria Lea Gasiorowski of Shelton graduated Cum Laude with a Masters of Arts degree in Speech Language Pathology from George Washington University in Washington DC on May 15, 2020. While at GWU Victoria traveled abroad and presented current Speech Pathology treatments to medical staff in Nanjing, Bejing and Shanghi China.

Victoria, a Shelton High School graduate of 2012; received a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Psychology and a Bachelor’s of Arts Degree in Communication Disorders from The University of Rhode Island. Victoria is the daughter of John and Sandra Gasiorowski of Shelton and the Granddaughter of the late Nancy McAfee of Greenwich and John and Donna Gasiorowski of Greenwich.

Bart & Debbie Heavey Celebrated their 60th Wedding Anniversary on February 27, 2020.

These images were sent way back in February with love and best wishes from their family.

Unfortunately, we just received them. We are publishing them now with gratitude and apologies for the delay.

Worship Services & Events St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran 286 Delavan Ave.; 203-531-8466 Worship Services Live-streamed at firstpaul.com/live-stream.

METHODIST Diamond Hill United Methodist 521 E. Putnam Ave.; 203-8692395 www.diamondhillumc.com Online Worship via Zoom. Hangout with Pastor Carol: Tues-Sat, 5-6pm, zoom.us/j/262529082 (No agenda, no structure - just stop by to hang out, talk about what is on your mind. Join in for any portion or the whole hour. Prayer requests accepted). Via phone: Dial-in: +1-929-436-2866 US (NY), Meeting ID: 262 529 082. ‘What Happened to the Disciples?’, Wed, 7:30pm, via Zoom (or Dial-in: +1 929 436 2866 US. Meeting ID: 940 2222 0303, Password: 516742).

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, every 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. Worship with NYAC: June 14, 9:30am.

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 Online sermons available on Facebook (facebook.com/ myrevivechurchgreenwich) and on Youtube. All groups will be 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 Worship online: Sun, 10:45am, (stanwichchurch.org/live-streaming).

Prayer Hour: Mon 7pm, Wed 6:30am, Fri 7am, via conference call (Dial 515606-5410, punch in access code: 119748#). Alpha Online Sessions: Mon,

7:30-8:45pm, register. Facebook Live with Pastor David: Wed 7pm. Student Small Groups: Fri 6:30pm, via Zoom.

Alpha Online Session (Holy Spirit Teaching): June 27, 9-11am, via Zoom, register.

The Albertson Memorial Church 293 Sound Beach Ave; 203-6374615 www.albertsonchurch.org Sunday Services and all church activities have been cancelled until further notice.

Trinity Church 1 River Rd.; 203-618-0808 www.trinitychurch.life Online Sunday Services: 9:45am, youtube.com/c/ TrinityChurchLife/ live. Digital Devos (a 30-minute ‘dropin’ devotional and prayer via Zoom call: Tue & Fri, 11:30am; Thu, 7pm, TrinityChurch.Life. Alpha (online): Tue, 7:30-8:45pm. Give and receive help during Covid-19 – join the Covid-19 Crisis Care Team or request help and support, visit TrinityChurch.Life.

PRESBYTERIAN First Presbyterian Church 1 W. Putnam Ave.; 203-869-8686 www.fpcg.org

Online Worship: Sun 10-11am at fpcg.org/live. Sunday School online, 10:15-11am. Email info@fpcg.org with questions. Beginning June 3: Summer Wednesdays (Online) - Join Ellie and Tara on Zoom every other Wed, 4:305:30pm, ages 4-4th Grade, email ellie. strathdee@fpcg.org (a Zoom link will be sent out bi-weekly).

Grace Church of Greenwich 8 Sound Shore Dr., Suite 280 203-861-7555 www.gracechurchgreenwich.com Worship is cancelled indefinitely.

Sermons available on the website.

Living Hope Community Church 38 West End Ave; 203-637-3669 www.LivingHopeCT.org Worship Service online: Sun, 1011:15am (YouTube or Facebook).

Coffee and fellowship: Sun, 11:15am12pm, via Zoom. Following the service prayer teams will be available to pray for you (fill out a form on the webpage).

Wednesday Prayer: Wed, 8:30-9am.

Men’s Prayer Night: June 26, 7-8pm. Women’s Summer Bible Study: June 30, 9:30-10:30am.

LOCAL

Page 14 | Greenwich Sentinel

Sensory Summer

By Mary P. Forde Distance learning is beginning to mean that I am learning how distant I am getting from reality.

While my world seems to have shrunk to a 18 by 24 screen the rest of me is expanding to fit in whatever chair I can find. How about we all try to step away from the screen and get back to using our other senses or at least using them differently.

Above right: Chancy D'Elia - Greenwich entrepreneur of a women's clothier store. At left: Two Chancy D'Elia print ads courtesy of the Greenwich Historical Society.

“I was just about twenty-one and the thought came to me that I would like to start a little business."

Entrepreneur Chancy D’Elia

By Mary Jacobson for OHP

There have been many changes in retail on Greenwich Avenue over the years from mom-and-pop stores to large chain stores. In this blog, adapted from a 1975 Oral History Project interview, we look back to one of the most successful women’s clothing stores of the past, Chancy D’Elia, which existed on the Avenue from 1932 until 2005.

Chancy D’Elia was a “homeg r ow n” g i rl , b o r n i n 1 91 1 i n Greenwich and raised here by her immigrant Italian parents. She attended the Havemeyer School and Greenwich High School, then located on Mason Street. After high school, Chancy enrolled in secretarial school - as many young women did at that time, then procured a job at the New England Carpet Cleaning Company where she worked for a few years.

Chancy had a dream and it started to form in her mind in her early twenties. “I was just about twenty-one and the thought came to me that I would like to start a little business, and then my uncle, A.V. Salvatore who was a furrier and had a tailoring shop on Greenwich Avenue, and also had a little store called Snappy Cleaners, and I asked him [if] one day I could put in a few ready-to-wear things. He was reluctant for a while and I kept teasing him. He said, ‘All right.’ So, I did.”

Chancy recalled how she and her sister went to New York with $270 and bought a few sweaters, skirts, and dresses. In those days, one could purchase a skirt for about $2.50 and a dress for about $3.75.

Chancy put all the clothes in the

front section of Snappy Cleaners.

She observed, “In those days it only takes one person to get you started.”

For her, that person was Hope Tyson who bought most of the clothes that D’Elia put on display at Snappy Cleaners. Chancy acquired other loyal customers and learned her way around the wholesale clothing market.

It was difficult in the 1930’s to get credit from wholesalers to purchase clothing. Eventually, a couple of the wholesalers agreed to do so. “They knew that we [Chancy and her sister] were perfectly innocent kids and they wanted to help us, and they started extending credit. Between the C.O.D.s and everything else, I was able to get established.”

After operating out of Snappy Cleaners for four years, Chancy had enough money and merchandise to move into her own store on Greenwich Avenue. Eight years later, and with ongoing success, Chancy then purchased the building at 244 Greenwich Avenue (now the location of Rag & Bone). Chancy relates, “I wrote to my husband (who was in the Army Transport Command during World War II) right away...We naturally negotiated, and we bought the building in January 1945.” The store, named Chancy D’Elia, remained in this location for the next 60 years.

Cha nc y pr ide d hersel f on knowing her customers and their pu rchasi ng preference s. She described her buying style, “I’m a wild buyer. I always took a chance, never hesitated. If I think something is good, I’ll go right ahead and buy it. Then, we also have many salesmen come in here...sometimes standing out there, four and five

deep, all day long.” On one occasion, she miscalculated the trend. “One year, when the skirts dropped way down—they went to your ankles— that time we had taken a beating. We couldn’t sell what we had in stock.

I just took the whole mess of them and I had a nun, a cousin in Italy, and she was with the orphanage, and I packed them all and sent them to her and, of course, I received so many blessings from them.”

Throughout her interview, Chancy’s strong sense of loyalty to community, to her employees (known as “her girls”), and to her customers, shone through. In her words: “I call them (my customers) my friends because I just love them.

They’ve known me for so long and there’s such an affection...I’m never too busy to say hello and speak to you, never. I find that’s so important really, and I always say to the girls, ‘When a person walks in that door, they have chosen this shop to shop in. They deserve every courtesy extended to them, every courtesy.’

That’s so important to me. I’d turn myself inside out for them.”

C h a n c y ’s s u c c e s s a s a businesswoman, despite her early challenges and obstacles, was due not only to her perseverance and savvy, but also to her philosophy of doing what you love and loving what you do.

The interview of Chancy D’Elia was conducted by Nancy Wolcott in 1975. Its transcript may be read at Greenwich Library and is available for purchase at the Oral History Project office. The Oral History Project is sponsored by the Friends of the Greenwich Library. Visit the OHP website at glohistory.org.

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Looking differently Begin by refocusing everyone on the sights around you. Start a sunset journal. Go out every even ing, obser ve the sunset, take a picture and give it a name.

“Firecracker” sunset because there a re a l l d if ferent colors all over the sky. “Tutu sunset” because it is a pale shade of pink the color of the dance recital tutu you had to buy for a three-minute performance (never to be used again). Start building a journal of your sunsets. If you feel some perverse need to be educational (after your indentured servitude as a home teacher) you could also keep track of what the weather is the next day and see if you can use you sunset descriptions to predict the weather. Al Roker could use some competition.

Sounding different There is nothing like good sound effects to make you start to really listen. You can begin with sound effects apps but then spend a morning and have kids create their own sound effects and see if people can guess what they are.

Pick a particular instrument and listen to it alone then listen to different kinds of music to see if you can pick out the songs that have the instrument in it.

Have the k iddos f ind a particularly interesting or funny paragraph and then have them email all your and their friends and ask them to read the paragraph and send the recording. See if you can pick out who is the reader.

Smell Go to the supermarket and buy a couple of little packages of spices. Have everyone smell them and then blindfolded see if you can pick them out again. Try to incorporate one or two spices in meals throughout the week and see if anyone can pick out which

products – chocolate cake mixes, t u na f ish, mu f f i n m i xes. For a nominal compensation, she was supposed to ma ke/ser ve the products and fill out tasting sheets. Needless to say we weren’t s c r up u l o u s i n fo l l ow i n g t h e directions or filling out the ‘tasting notes’ but we had a great time

How about we all try to step away from the screen and get back to using our other senses or at least using them differently. spices are in the food.

Send the troops out into the yard with plastic sandwich bags and ask them to put samples of different things in each bag – grass, f lowers, sticks, mulch.

Someone will probably pick up something that was better left on the ground but just think of this as science. Smell what is in the bags and then get out the trusty blindfold, smell, and see if you can identify them again.

Taste G et a couple of b ot t les of d i f ferent ju ice d r i n k (ma ngo orange, pomegranate), put on a blindfolds and see if you figure out what are the flavors in the drink.

Back in the day, there was a cottage industry of “product testers.” My mother seem to think that we has some innate skill to determine quality food items.

Interesting but incorrect. Every so of ten she wou ld receive a shipment of 10 different unmarked

making five chocolate cakes and eating them and then pretending we could discern the bittersweet undertones (which could also have been due to the slightly expired milk). When you shop, instead of buying your usual brand or buying two packages of the same item buy a different brand. Conduct your own test kitchen. If you get really ambitious, or if it has been raining for two days, you can write to the company and let them know that you liked their chocolate cookies better because they were chewy and had more chips than the rival brand. They may just respond.

Bottom line, step away from the screen and take the time to literally stop and smell the roses.

Everything about quarantine was designed to keep us from using our senses (masks, gloves, distancing, disinfectant). Use the summer to get back in touch and smell and taste.

Mary P. Forde is the Chief Pupil Personnel Services Officer at the Greenwich Public Schools.

Simple Ways We Can Support Children's Emotional Well-Being

By Lee Longo

During these difficult times, as parents struggle with being home with children of all ages and their many emotions, there are ways in which we can engage them, helping them develop their cog nitive abilities and offering strategies to protect their emotional well-being.

A great way to do this is through writing.

My interest in writing began as a young child. Coming from a large family there wasn’t always time to have a voice. I began journaling in elementary school and continued well into my twenties.

Beginning writing for preschool children can be a fun activity parents can do at home and it is important to foster writing in very young children. Pre-writing skills are fundamental for children to understand that marks and symbols have meaning. Showing children that marks and symbols are used in our daily life and that they connect to thoug hts are central. It does not have to be difficult and you can show them in simple ways. Writing a grocery list with them or pointing out street signs can start the curiosity for this age group. Showing them that print goes from left to right as you read to them. As their understanding begins to develop this empowers them to want to learn and seek more information. As children begin to understand the concept of printed letters to sounds this begins the steps to early literacy.

As they are exposed to more and more letters their curiosity grows and soon they will be asking what letters are in their names.

Journaling is a technique that can be used as early as pre-school.

Children can be given a “special” note book and it can be explained that this is their own personal book, no one else is to use it, and each day they will have some time to write in their notebook. At this age a child’s beginning writing may just be marks on a page or lines or drawing a picture. By journaling children are expressing their

They get to k now themselves better. Journaling helps to support academic and emotional growth.

This can have a positive effect on their mental well-being.

Parents often do not know how their children are feeling. In high school when my children would come home from school, I would ask how their day was, I was lucky

Journaling helps support academic and emotional growth. thoughts through these marks and drawings. This is a practice that we use in our school. Very often at this age children want the teacher to write down what their marks or drawings mean in their own words. And many times, they come back and ask their teacher if their words can be re-read to them again. It’s amazing what comes out at this age. Of course, a big topic is: what they are going to do on their birthday? Sometimes, they will want to write that their friend did not want to play with them or about their sibling. The importance of reading their words back to them helps them to re-evaluate their feelings. The more children write, the stronger their fine motor skills improve; it improves their muscle memory, and the writing begins to flow more easily.

All children at all ages experience emotions on a regular basis, but they do not know how to process their own emotions. As children get into their teen years, journaling helps them to learn on their own from their own emotions.

They begin to notice that how they have felt on one day is not how they feel today. They begin to accept their mistakes. Some studies have shown that journaling helps to boost their problem-solving skills, helps to lower anxiety and stress levels. They become more reflective and less reactive to obstacles.

if I would just get a grunt before off, they would go. In today’s world as parents we need every arsenal in our bag of tricks to keep our children focused to foster their mental well-being and to ensure they make good decisions. Having them to begin to journal can be one step in this direction.

As I got older and had my own children, I destroyed my many journals. Of course, I didn’t want my children to stumble upon them.

I’m sure if I could look back on them now, I would have a good laugh about all the problems I thought I had. But they served their purpose for me then. I worked out all of my emotions without even knowing what I was doing.

Like most schools there is a summer reading list for children of all ages to complete. Perhaps now would be a good time to start summer journaling to help our children work out their emotions.

It’s never too early to get your children to start the love of writing, it may ver y wel l b e t he b est medicine to secure their emotional well-being.

Lee Longo is the Director of Sound Beach Day School a private preschool program inspired by the Reggio Emilia philosophy. Located on the border of Greenwich and Stamford CT.

Page 15 | Greenwich Sentinel

LOCAL

Greenwich High School's Charlie Zolin Zolin Drafted Tops in American QMJHL Draft

By Paul Silverfarb It was a day that r isi ng Greenwich High School junior Charlie Zolin won’t soon forget.

On June 8, the goalie for the GHS ice hockey team woke up to find out he was the top pick overall in the 2020 American Quebec Major Junior Hockey League draft.

“It’s a very big honor and very exciting,” said Zolin. “I was talking to a few coaches, so I had a suspicion that I was going to be drafted. I didn’t know I was going to drafted that high. But when I woke up that morning, I went to check my phone and found out I was drafted. I got a call from the coach and it was a huge honor.

I was really thrilled and excited to be drafted that high.”

Zolin was drafted by the Acadie Bathrust Titan team as the first overall pick in the third annual draft. The American QMJHL draft is for athletes that live in the six New England states. The QMJHL, along with the Western Hockey League and the Ontario Hockey League, a re a pa r t of the Ca nadia n Hockey League. The QMJHL is comprised of 18 teams.

“Obv iously, we are ver y proud of him,” said Greenwich High School head coach C h r i s R u r a k . “ I a m p r oud of h i m a s a co ach a nd t he program is proud of him. It’s a huge accomplishment to be acknowledged in one of the top leagues in the country, if not the world. It’s an exciting time for him. He deserved it and worked really hard for it. It was

Greenwich High School goalie Charlie Zolin makes the save during the FCIAC tournament game against New Canaan High School. (John Ferris Robben photo)

great to see.”

Famous National Hockey League players that started their careers in the QMJHL i nclude Pat r ick Roy, M i ke B o s s y, G u y L a f l u e r, P a t LaFontaine, Mario Lemieux, Ray Bourque, and Luc Robitaille.

“At one point, around 90 percent of the NHL players came from that league,” said Rurak. “It’s a really good league and a lot of pro players come

out of those leagues. You’re in the upper echelon when you get drafted, let alone be No. 1, you get acknowledged.”

Camp for the Acadie Bathrust Titan team is s up p o s e d to t a ke p l a c e i n August, however that might change due to the global pandemic. Whenever the twoday camp takes place, Zolin expects to be there and show them how strong he is between the pipes.

“I still have a lot more work to do to get where I want to be, but it’s great because I have been putting in those extra hours during practice at GHS and put in those extra hours at clinics,” said Zolin. “It was a thrill to finally see the rewards of putting in that hard work.”

Zolin, along w ith fellow goalie and graduating senior Ben Nash, helped Greenwich High School to reach the FCIAC sem if ina ls last season and

finish with a 13-6-1 record.

Ru ra k sa id t hat it ’s t he attention to detail that makes Zolin stand out.

“He works extremely hard on his game,” Rurak said. “It’s the work that he puts in when no one is looking that matters the most for him. He has a great work ethic, puts in the work, always works on his game, and he’s pretty much a perfectionist.

He’s always working on his edges, always making sure that

he’s squared to the puck, and always checking his angles.”

In order to take his game to the next level, Zolin said that he needs to work on his mental strength.

“If I have top mental streng th, I can get where I w a nt to go,” Z ol i n s a id. “I would be able to play high-level college hockey and professional hockey. You also can never be strong enough. I need to keep working out in the gym to get stronger, as well as practicing on the ice and perfect my form and skills.”

While Zolin will be returning to Greenwich High School as their goalie for his junior season, the pressure will certainly be on him.

“There will be a little target on his back,” Rurak said. “But w h e n yo u wo r k t h a t h a r d and get that achievement, it’s expected. He’s a competitor and wants to win and is a team player. He also knows that he has a lot of players around him this year that will help him out.

We only lost two seniors to graduation.”

However, t hat ’s f i ne by Zolin, as he stated that he plays his best when under pressure.

“I thrive when I am under pressure,” Zolin said. “Not a lot of goalies my age can play i n f ront of a 2 ,0 0 0 -p erson crowd. Although there is added pressure, I enjoy it. I feel more p r e s s u r e t h e m or e p e op l e that see me play and see how perform in front of them. I want to show people that I can play the goalie position at a high level.”

Bibiana Pinto and H.O.P.E. Rhythmic Gymnastics

By Liz Leamy

REPRINTED WITH CORRECT COPY: It is a time for the books with so many people in the world, nation, and here in town, who are courageously soldiering their way through this cunning and frightening Covid-19 pandemic over the past number of months.

During this period, there have been numerous inspirational stories that have emerged, particularly the news that the H.O.P.E. Rhythmic Gymnastics School based at the Saint Catherine of Siena gym in Riverside, has had such a profound and powerful impact on so many young girls who live in and around Greenwich and the Fairfield and Westchester County areas since it was first started a few years ago.

A Dynamic Organization H . O . P. E . ( H u m a n i t a r i a n Organization for Physical Education) is a nonprofit organization whose primary mission is to nurture young females to develop into strong and graceful women through their learning and experience in Rhythmic Gymnastics. It is comprised of more than 70 gymnasts ranging from age four through 14, working at the beginner through advanced competitive levels.

This ever-growing and dynamic contingent has been training at the spacious Saint Catherine of Siena gym up until this past March (when public spaces were closed due to CDC guidelines enforced due to the pandemic) under the auspices of Bibiana Pinto. Pinto is H.O.P.E.’s vivacious and ever-focused founder and director who is a former Brazilian World Championship competitor and lives in Riverside w ith her husband, Aug usto Pinto, and two children, Marcus, and daughter Amanda who is a competitive Rhythmic Gymnast.

Ever si nce P i nto fou nde d H.O.P.E., she has proven to be quite a force in the community as well as throughout around the entire East Coast based on her work and results and development of her students. From the outset, Pinto’s laser-focused approach with her school and students has brought an educational and training program of rhythmic gymnastics to scores of young girls here in town as well as to so many others based in and around the surrounding Westchester and Fairfield County areas. She has helped them develop their skills to the point of where they have been able to compete at invitational, state, regional, and national levels.

Since March, Pinto has been conducting classes via the Zoom internet platform to instruct and train her students. She has effectively

Top Left: Top left to right: Coach Bibiana Pinto, Penelope, Linda, Claire V, Kayah, Sofia K, Coach Rocio Montes, Coach Gigia Perenze, Amanda. Bottom left to right: Maria, Anja, Sofia F, Lucia, Claire P; Top Right: H.O.P.E. Beginner Group about to enter at competition carpet at Match Point Competition in Brooklyn Left to right: Lucia, Claire V, Kayah, Sofia F, Anja with Brazilian RG Consultant, Coach and Judge Cristiane Pinho.; Lower Right: H.O.P.E. Recreational class 4-5yrs old aiming flexibility, strength and focus since young age. managed to build a powerful and apt stable of rhythmic gymnasts who have been scoring top placements at competitions held throughout the New England and North Atlantic regions, as well as throughout the Midwest, including major cities such as Chicago.

During this time, H.O.P.E. has managed to build a reputation as a top-ranked rhythmic gymnastics training center in the area where young girls have the opportunity to excel and develop their skills in regard to this popular Olympic sport.

“The Greenwich community should be proud for being the home of such a great Rhythmic Gymnastics team,” said Pinto. She noted that as of May 2017, the H.O.P.E. contingent had only a few students at the recreational level, while three years later, the school had many of its students standing on the podium as medal winners at major competitions. “Against all odds,” she said, “with very limited budgets and very restricted training hours we have been able to build a strong competitive team at the lower levels of Rhythmic Gymnastics.”

A School of Life Lessons In addition to racking up some well-deserved hardware over the past few years, Pinto’s students, most importantly, have been learning some vital life lessons, including the critical role of hard work, discipline, goal setting, and the idea of pushing oneself to continually strive for better in one’s daily routine, among other things.

“Rhythmic Gymnastics is a women-only sport,” said Pinto, “that helps girls develop team spirit and requires hard training and discipline that pays off by empowering girls to turn into strong women who are full of grace and personality with a positive selfimage and attitude. The girls can develop skills and experiences that have a lifelong impact on their lives.

Practicing Rhythmic Gymnastics at a competitive level, girls have all the benefits of a serious Olympic sport structure.”

By all means, this is a paramount thing, especially considering this program is a way to help continue to build sports among the female sect here in town and the area.

“In Rhythmic Gymnastics,” said Pinto, “girls can be girly with beautiful make up and Swarovski leotards and still be powerful and strong. Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport created and developed by women with girls’ development in mind. There is no other sport that sends a stronger message of girl empowerment than Rhythmic Gymnastics.”

A Structured Training Regimen Pinto’s approach seems to be most effective in regard to how she structures class scheduling, which revolves around a routine in which her students train three to four times a week, two to four hours in every class.

During these sessions, Pinto’s gymnasts work at different things

such as stretching, balance, and conditioning, in relation to the ribbon, rope, hoop, ball and clubs, and different types of apparatus used in this sport. (There is also the ‘freehand’ method, which means the gymnast does not use any kind of apparatus in their performance.)

G i r l s d o n’t o n l y p e r f o r m individually, but also compete in groups of five gymnasts who work in complete synch with one another, performing with incredible c ol la b orat ion a nd app a rat u s exchanges.

“Rhythmic Gymnastics is a sport that combines the elements of ballet, gymnastics, dance and apparatus manipulation,” said Pinto. “It requires great focus, impressive eye-hand-foot coordination, jaw-dropping flexibility and a tremendous commitment.”

According to Pinto, Rhythmic Gymnastics is a very complex and demanding sport that seeks perfection in every move. “This is something that can only be achieved by training countless hours at the gym and through strong will power,” said Pinto.

Pinto, who offers a diverse variety of interesting and informative classes at her school, works with a staff of international volunteer coaches who round out the H.O.P.E. team in stalwart fashion. In addition, she offers scholarships to those fa m ilies who have daug hters interested in pursuing or learning Rhythmic Gymnastics at the school, who might be working with a stricter spending plan, making the school

accessible to everyone regardless of any array of life challenges.

“H.O.P.E. was created to help underprivileged girls practice this beautiful Olympic sport through need-based scholarships and to help make Rhythmic Gymnastics a popular and affordable sport in the U.S.” P i nto sa id t hat R hy t h m ic Gymnastics is still largely an ‘unknown’ sport that is frequently mistaken for its long-distance cousin of Artistic Gymnastics (this sport is done by World and 2016 Olympic champion Simone Biles as an example.).

Always Building Certainly, Pinto’s success seems to be largely due to the fact that she always seems to be thinking about new ways to educate and grow the knowledge and experience of her students, colleagues and herself.

Earlier this month, she conducted an international Rhythmic Gymnastics educational forum via the internet platform Zoom that involved topranked coaches and athletes from Brazil, Italy and the U.S. This summit, attended by more than 80 individuals, was a hit in every sense of the word as each coach and gymnast who was present addressed different methods of training as well as skill and artistic execution to continue growing the sport at an optimal level. “ We p a r t n e r e d w i t h t h e Italian Team Ginnastica Athena - their Italian national judge and Head Coach is Robert Borrone,

the Brazilian Team Ritmo & Arte, and their judge and Head Coach, Cristiane Pinto and the U.S.A. in a joint effort to expose the girls to new techniques that come with different accents,” Pinto shared. “This is really great for the girls. It’s important information and exposure.”

As Pinto continues to build her school, she is hoping to acquire sponsors in order to continue on this golden road and further build the sport of Rhythmic Gymnastics here in the area.

“H.O.P.E. still has a young team in development and we are only at the starting levels of the sport.” she said. “In order to keep going to competitions and aiming to the top places at the podium, we need more space, training hours and staff. With our current non-profit structure and lack of availability of proper space here in town, H.O.P.E. gymnasts cannot compete successfully against other clubs that have state-of-the-art facilities with a highly paid full-time exclusive staff. The amazing and impressive results we have had so far are due, I believe, to the passion and commitment of our community work, but in a highly competitive sport, our passion won’t take us very far without investments.”

Last year, in May 2019, Pinto staged a memorable exhibition to help promote Rhythmic Gymnastics in Greenwich and the surrounding area at the Eastern Greenwich Civic Center that was a big hit on all counts. This exhibition drew a packed house of more than 200 people (including First Selectman Fred Camillo, who had stopped by), members of the H.O.P.E. school as well as several contenders who had visited from Boston and New Jersey performed solo and group numbers to help promote the sport.

At the end of the day, the biggest thing for Pinto and the H.O.P.E. organization, with its philosophy that anyone can accomplish anything once they set their mind to it, is the profound impact that it has on so many young girls.

“At H.O.P.E., we utilize Rhythmic Gymnastics as a tool to teach the girls powerful life lessons,” said Pinto.

“Rhythmic Gymnastics is a precious gem well hidden in the Eastern European communities and here in the U.S. I am sure as the Americans continue to discover the power and benefits of Rhythmic Gymnastics, and as it starts to become as popular as Artistic Gymnastics, we will be the next superpower of this amazing Olympic modality.”

For mor e i n for m at ion , contact: Bibiana Pinto, info@ h o p e g y m n a s t i c s . o r g , w w w. hopegymnastics.org. (914)282-3134, and Instagram: @h.o.p.e.rhythmic.

Page 16 | Greenwich Sentinel

REAL ESTATE DASHBOARD Deborah Ference-Gray

REAL ESTATE DASHBOARD MASTHEAD DASHBOARD EDITOR

Mark Pruner | Mark@GreenwichStreets.com | mark@bhhsne.com

CONTRIBUTORS

Robert Pulitano | RobertPulitano@bhhsne.com Cesar Rabillino | CesarRabellino@bhhsne.com Pam Toner | PamToner@bhhsne.com

One Pickwick Plaza Greenwich, CT 06830

Office: 203.618.3155 Mobile: 917.584.4903

For Market Updates and Listings Visit deborahferencegray.com

NEW SALES

deborah.ferencegray@sothebyshomes.com

Data Compiled by Cesar Rabellino (203) 249-9866 Address

Original List

List Price

Sold Price DOM BR FB Acres

154 Putnam Park 154 72 Putnam Park 72 45 Ettl Lane 406 62 Greenwich Hills Dr 61 Summit Road 21 Stonehedge Drive South 10 Mortimer Drive 100 Hendrie Avenue 42 Winding Lane 9 Knoll Street 18 Crown Lane 434 North Street 78 & 80 Cedar Cliff Road 45 Meadow Wood Drive

$450,000 $585,000 $714,000 $724,000 $895,000 $1,229,000 $1,199,000 $2,595,000 $2,549,000 $2,695,000 $3,895,000 $4,595,000 $9,250,000 $16,250,000

$450,000 $585,000 $714,000 $724,000 $895,000 $1,229,000 $1,199,000 $2,495,000 $2,549,000 $2,695,000 $3,295,000 $4,595,000 $9,250,000 $11,900,000

$410,000 174 $585,000 87 $687,500 56 $710,000 50 $827,875 70 $1,175,000 77 $1,275,000 38 $2,400,000 626 $2,475,000 51 $2,730,000 10 $3,100,000 633 $3,850,000 $7,700,000 1,522 $8,875,000 770

2 3 3 3 3 3 3 5 4 5 6 5 7 6

2 2 2 2 2 3 2 5 3 3 4 5 4 7

0 0 0.29 1.42 0.14 0.32 2 0.33 4.47 2.23 2.51 2.39

SqFt

1,812 2,150 1,547 2,321 1,611 5,911 3,966 4,278 8,251 11,031 5,474 12,000

NEW LISTINGS

Data Compiled by Cesar Rabellino (203) 249-9866 Address

List Price

Price/SqFt

SqFt

7 River Road Slip C-14

$79,900

1465 Putnam Ave 520

$482,500

$372

1,298

25 Elm Street 54

$599,000

$691

867

193 Hamilton Ave 19

$740,000

$310

51 Forest Avenue 140

$755,000

77 Silo Circle 77

AC

BR

FB

Area

0

0

Cos Cob

2

1

Old Greenwich

0

1

1 South of Post Road

2,386

0

2

2 South of Post Road

$593

1,273

0

2

2

Old Greenwich

$785,000

$453

1,732

0

3

2

Riverside

26 Hartford Avenue

$865,000

$392

2,205 0.12

4

2

Byram

49 William Street A

$945,000

$376

2,516

2

2

South Parkway

16 Heronvue Road

$1,175,000

$516

2,278 2.32 4

2

North Parkway

9 Comly Avenue

$1,250,000

$430

2,910 0.26 3

3

Glenville

27 Griffith Road

$1,375,000

$579

2,375

0.19

4

2

Riverside

142 Old Mill Road

$1,395,000

$971

1,436

0.8

3

2

North Parkway

17 Coachlamp Lane

$1,449,000

$451

3,210 0.45 4

3

South Parkway

33 Edgewater Drive

$1,550,000

$716

2,166

3

2

Old Greenwich

19 Heronvue Road

$1,595,000

$397

4,020 2.09 5

3

North Parkway

47 Lexington Avenue

$1,795,000

$595

3,019

0.31

3 South of Post Road

22 Crescent Road

$1,799,000

$543

3,315

0.57 4

2

Riverside

27 Alpine Road

$1,850,000

$474

3,906 2.04 4

4

South Parkway

58 Richmond Hill Road

$2,195,000

$490

4,484

4

4

4

North Parkway

29 Horseshoe Road

$2,295,000

$564

4,070

1.15

5

3

Cos Cob

31 Perkins Road

$2,300,000

$719

3,200

3.2

4

3

South Parkway

24 Nutmeg Drive

$2,399,000

$523

4,586

2.12

4

4

North Parkway

28 Wooddale Road

$2,795,000

$756

3,699 2.05 4

3

South Parkway

36 Evergreen Road

$2,850,000

$856

3,330 0.66 5

4

South Parkway

67 Lockwood Road

$2,995,000

$607

4,934 0.32 5

4

Riverside

1 Bradbury Place

$3,049,000

$500

6,100

0.4

7

5

Riverside

14 Dingletown Road

$3,250,000

$876

3,711

1.36

4

4

South Parkway

84 Meadow Road

$3,295,000

$594

5,546

1.1

7

5

Riverside

1076 Lake Avenue

$3,390,000

$497

6,823

4

7

7

North Parkway

647 River Road

$3,695,000

$478

7,729

1.13

5

5

Cos Cob

132 Cedar Cliff Road

$3,849,000

$641

6,007 0.73 5

3

Riverside

284 Riverside Avenue

$3,950,000

$572

6,904 0.39 5

6

Riverside

154 North Street

$3,950,000

$994

3,972

6

5

South Parkway

257 Riversville Road

$3,995,000

$404

9,899 2.72 6

7

South Parkway

191 Clapboard Ridge Rd

$3,995,000

$527

7,587

2.01

6

6

South Parkway

69 Porchuck Road

$3,995,000

$438

9,122

4.18

6

7

South Parkway

291 Round Hill Road

$4,200,000

$922

4,553 1.73

5

6

North Parkway

29 Glen Avon Drive

$4,495,000

$786

5,719

0.71

6

6

Riverside

8 Hobart Drive

$4,995,000

$724

6,902 1.08

6

7

South Parkway

54 Rock Maple Road

$5,250,000

$572

9,184

5

7

South Parkway

510 Stanwich Road

$5,750,000

$570

10,084 4.62 6

7

North Parkway

74 Rock Maple Road

$5,995,000

$755

7,942 4.08 5

6

South Parkway

516 Round Hill Road

$6,995,000

$741

9,436

6

7

North Parkway

50 Lafrentz Road

$7,750,000

$1,973

3,928 25.3 3

2

North Parkway

74 Upper Cross Road

$8,975,000

$641

14,000 16.68 7

7

North Parkway

20 Sherwood Avenue

$9,950,000

$802

12,402 4.02 6

7

North Parkway

17 Walsh Lane

$18,500,000

$1,222

15,136 2.49

7

7 South of Post Road

136 Field Point Circle

$20,000,000

$2,058

9,718

2.36 4

6 South of Post Road

0.19

0.8

3

4

7

Wildly Successful

Page 17 | Greenwich Sentinel

The Praying Mantis

By Jim Knox With a blurring speed of 30 thousandths of a second—more than twice the speed of a blinking human eye—the Praying Mantis (Mantis religiosa) possesses one of the fastest strikes in the animal kingdom. Such rapid strike ability enables it to make its living by preempting the actions of its prey and its competitors alike. This is what the mantis does and does very well, however, its trademark lightning strike is not the only weapon in its arsenal. Topping out at approximately 4 inches, or roughly the size of an adult human index finger, the Praying Mantis is a giant in its world of micro-beasts.

Its size alone, confers a tremendous advantage against its insect kin.

Collectively referred to as mantids, the family Mantidae is highly consistent, exhibiting long, slender, muscular bodies with extendable legs. With slight morphological tweaks to this winning design, their worldwide success is undeniable, with nearly one mantid variety for every two known mammal species.

Thoug h of ten cited for its ambush ability, the mantis will take instant flight to actively locate

prey and hunting opportunities.

Possessing three simple eyes as well as enormous, sophisticated compound eyes which afford it a wide field of view and excellent bi no c u la r v ision, t he ma nt is perceives and targets motion without fail. Sporting this sensory array, its head can swivel 180 degrees perched high atop an extended thorax, ever vigilant for opportunity. Relying on its stealthy cloak of green-brown camouflage to visually recede into its foliage world, the mantis can both avoid danger and ambush dinner with equal facility.

Equipped with spiked, extendable, jack-knifing forelimbs, this master predator will lunge and impale its prey with inextricable, double-clamping prof iciency.

Mantises possess raptorial forelimbs with a folded, springdesign exoskeletal mechanism which stores energy in the folded or “praying” position of the muscles within the forelimbs. Once within a mantid’s unforgiving grasp, prey is rapidly eaten alive, dismembered by its angular, shear-like mandibles.

Even its behavioral adaptations are preemptive, as it frequently eats biting or venomous prey headfirst to minimize the possibility of counterassault.

In nature, predators of ten “prey down”, meaning they will frequently select prey which is lower on the taxonomic order than themselves. We hardly grimace at the thought of a Robin snapping up an earthworm or a Sea Otter munching on a Sea Urchin. Yet when predators “prey up”, things get a little sticky for us humans, who c rave ou r ow n s en s e of logic and order. To most, there is something inherently unnatural in watching a sea jelly engulf a fish—

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or worse yet—a tarantula take down a mouse. Though invertebrate on i nver tebrate bloodshed is considered perfectly acceptable, we put our collective foot down when it comes to creepy crawlies snacking on “higher animals”.

When I present such scenarios in programs, words like, “gross” and “nasty” erupt from an audience. Viewed through the lens of societal bias, “preying up” is certainly backward, often macabre, and frequently downright wrong.

If the world’s mega predators face an inherent PR challenge, its invertebrate stalkers are in dire need of an all-out PR makeover.

Given this attitude, invertebrate hunters should be universally reviled and yet, that’s not entirely the case. Elevating “preying up”

carnage on its resume, the mantis wou ld b e a n u nderst a nda ble target for human ire but mantises and humans go way back. Five thousand years ago, Egyptians worshipped the mantis as an

protect gardens from insect pests and provide order and balance with their fellow insects and other small creatures. Considered prime agents of biological control, their abilities have long been esteemed—so much

Considered prime agents of biological control, their abilities have long been esteemed—so much so that in 1977, the alien, European Praying Mantis was granted protected status as the Official State Insect of Connecticut—an unheard of honor for an introduced species.” to an art form, the Praying Mantis is a master assassin bar none.

Leap-frogging up the taxonomic ladder, this fearless beast doesn’t discriminate in the least, embracing its role as an equal-opportunity predator, snatching and chomping down: newts, frogs, fish, young mice, snakes, turtle hatchlings and even ethereal hummingbirds with indifference.

With all of this vertebrate

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Astrology for Week of June 21, 2020 CANCER 22 June-23 July No need to exaggerate your own importance, just be who you are and employers and other influential people are sure to be impressed. With assertive Mars crossing the midheaven point of your solar chart you won’t lack for opportunities to make your mark.

CAPRICORN 22 Dec-20 Jan You will need your famous powers of self-control this week if you are to hold your tongue and avoid exacerbating a domestic dispute. Tact is the quality you need most at the moment but unfortunately it is the one thing in short supply.

LEO 24 July-23 Aug This is not a week to worry about serious issues – this is a week to relax and have fun. But be careful too. Mars – the planet strongly influencing your life – has a tendency to lay traps for those who foolishly believe they are a law unto themselves.

AQUARIUS 21 Jan-19 Feb Don’t think that by hiding or disguising unpleasant information you’re doing a friend a favour. In fact, you’re making things worse for them long term. They will have to face the consequences of their actions eventually – the sooner it is the less painful it will be.

VIRGO 24 Aug-23 Sept You clearly have the ability to outshine competitors and rivals but do you have the self-belief to carry out your plans? You do! A project begun in the days ahead will reap the kind of recognition and rewards that for too long you’ve just dreamed about.

PISCES 20 Feb-20 March You may feel angry that you let a profitable opportunity slip away but you’ve also saved yourself a lot of worry. Deep down you know your destiny lies in a completely different direction and, the fewer distractions, the easier it will be to discover what it is.

LIBRA 24 Sept-23 Oct With passionate Mars in the relationship angle of your chart from today, you’re likely to be unusually open about your feelings. Which is fine if your feelings are positive but expect to make enemies if you say something that hurts – especially if it is justified.

ARIES 21 March-20 April Your dynamic ruler Mars in reflective Pisces may have brought out the hermit in you but now that it’s transiting your birth sign you are unlikely to be left alone. Any peace you do find will come from helping others to fulfil their potential.

SCORPIO 24 Oct-22 Nov Even if the cares of the world are on your shoulders this week you’ll carry them with ease. The positive influence of Mars, planet of energy and ambition, means that no effort – mental or physical – is too great if it takes you one step closer to fulfilling your dreams

TAURUS 21 April-21 May Your real friends are the ones who tell you the truth, even if it turns out to be more painful than you expected. Flattery will make you feel good but it will lull you into a false sense of security just when you should be asking yourself difficult questions.

SAGITTARIUS 23 Nov-21 Dec You may have achieved great things in the past few months but what happens next will be like nothing you’ve ever experienced. The only danger is that you could take on too much too soon and exhaust yourself before you really get into your stride.

GEMINI 22 May-21 June Mars crosses one of the most positive angles of your chart today, which means you not only have the vision but also the energy to change things for the better. Look around you at the mess others have made of things.

You know you could do better, so do so..

Discover more about yourself at sallybrompton.com

i n s e c t-bi r d de m i-go d , s a fely guiding souls to the afterlife. Poised motionless with its front legs raised in seeming prayer, the mantis attracted many admirers. The word Mantis is Greek which translates to “prophet” or “diviner”, revealing the steadfast belief of the ancient Greeks in the insect’s supernatural powers. For thousands of years mantises have been specifically bred in China for their ability to

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so that in 1977, the alien, European P ray i ng M a nt is wa s g ra nte d protected status as the Official State Insect of Connecticut—an unheard of honor for an introduced species.

Why all the love? How is the mantis different from its scorpion and giant centipede cohorts? The answer lies in the insect’s strategy and results. Mantises don’t simply exploit opportunity where it arises, they actively seek opportunity

in anything that moves that they can overpower. In short, they embrace what we humans view as situational ignorance and they do so with explosive action. It is this counterintuitive combination which makes the mantis so absurdly successful. A mantis doesn’t know it is an insect. It doesn’t recognize the fact that on a given day, or in a given moment, its chosen prey could injure, incapacitate, or possibly kill it. Once a target is acquired, it moves decisively, with lethal abandon. It doesn’t know it can’t “prey up”, so it does…with the best of them. In achieving what we often fail to achieve, the mantis wins our admiration.

With more than 2,400 k n ow n s p e c i e s — a n d d o z e n s more d iscovered each yea r— the world of mantids is vast. The diversity and capability of this family is exceptional: f lawlessly m i m i c k i n g b a rk , l e ave s a n d orchids, mantid camouf lage is nature’s gold standard. A 4-inch slayer of salamanders, frogs and the occasional venomous snake, the European Mantis is a common beast which commands uncommon respect.

Not every situation calls for us to unleash the explosively opportunistic mantis within but often times, that’s just who we need to get the job done. With the Praying Mantis as our model, we may endeavor to achieve what others fail to consider.

Jim Knox serves as the Curator of Education for Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo and as a Science Adviser for The Bruce Museum.

His passions include studying our planet's rarest creatures and sharing his work with others who love the natural world.

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Sudoku, above: each row, column, and nonet can contain each number only once. Answers on page 7.

Have Some Fun!

Discover your inner artist. Engaging in coloring, in addition to being stress relieving, can lead being more creative at analytical thinking. Scientists have noted positive changes in heart rates and brainwaves of adults as they color.

Coloring also sharpens the memory. So grab your coloredpencils or markers and see what you can do with this praying mantis.