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The Greenwich Weekly Newspaper: local, local, local.
November 19, 2021
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The Local News You Need to Know CARDINAL STADIUM’S GRAND OPENING This past Saturday, Cardinal stadium's grand opening was celebrated with a ribbon cutting ceremony. The Cardinals marked their homecoming return with a win against Stamford High School. The stadium features new bleachers, is ADA compliant, and has new bathrooms underneath its bleachers. UPDATES TO GREENWICH SAILING PROGRAMS Following Greenwich Community Sailing’s announcement that they would not be holding a summer sailing season, First Selectman Fred Camillo has announced that the town will be working on a deal to ensure that the community sailing program at Tod’s Point will have a season this summer. YMCA ANNOUNCES NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER The YMCA of Greenwich has announced that Matthew Skaarup has been appointed to the position of Chief Executive Officer. Skaarup was selected by the Board of Directors, and will succeed Patrice Francois. In his role, Skaarup will be responsible for increasing membership services, family and youth programming, and for further developing community wellness initiatives. ABILIS HOLIDAY CENTERPIECE WORKSHOP The Greenwich Botanical Center and Abilis are partnering to hold a special holiday centerpiece workshop. The event will take place on Friday, December 17 at 10:00 a.m. at Abilis Gardens and Gifts,
Cardinal Stadium is Open
Greenwich High School welcomed back their football Cardinals in dramatic fashion at the official grand reopening of Cardinal Stadium. The Cardinals played host to the Stamford HS Black Knights (see our story on the game on page 15). A special thanks went out from Superintendent Toni Jones to the Town of Greenwich staff, BOE Member Joe Kelly, GPS staff, BOE, BET, and RTM elected officials, and patrons who have supported this project. The day began with a special ribbon-cutting ceremony where former Rugby coach and current BOE Member and Committee Liaison for the stadium project, Joe Kelly did the honors. “The most important factor for me throughout the project was making it possible for the kids to play home games in Cardinal Stadium,” Kelly said. “After our big victory at the soft opening in October, Greenwich Football, Greenwich athletes, and GHS graduates are excited to have a proper venue for families and friends to celebrate their accomplishments. This field is hallowed ground with a great history of blood, sweat, and tears. The memories and life lessons learned are carried for a lifetime.” “The stadium is now built to the high standards appropriate for Greenwich,” Kelly added. “It was my honor to work with all the town departments and multiple individuals who contributed to the construction of Cardinal Stadium. I look forward to many Cardinal victories ahead.” John Ferris Robben photo.
Tesei Takes on a New Role at Pathways Pathways President, Tom Athan, announced the appointment of Peter J. Tesei as the Executive Director. Tesei, who was First Selectman from 2007 until 2019, began his new role on November 8. According to Pathways, Tesei was selected from a pool of more than a dozen applicants. P resident Atha n said, “The Board of Pathways is fortunate to have found Peter, who is an experienced and distinguished leader with a depth of knowledge of our community and its institutions as well as a passion for the mission of Pathways. We are excited that Peter will be at the helm of Pathways supporting our dedicated staff in their service to our clients, using his decades of experience of listening, learning and leading.” Prior to his tenure as First S e l e c t m a n , Te s e i w a s a V i c e President with BNY/Mellon. He served on the Town of Greenwich Finance Board (BET) for 10 years, six as Board Chair. He began his community service at the age of 18, as the youngest member ever elected to the Greenwich Representative Town Meeting. Presently, he serves as the Chairman of the Board of the Greenwich Symphony Orchestra.
Promotions Cause for Celebration
Please turn to page 9
Illustrated by Wajih Chaudhry
Avoiding Triangles
By Jill S. Woolworth, LMFT Amanda and Casey argue. Amanda calls Beth to complain about Casey. Beth’s best bet is to duck the triangle and avoid being sucked into a “helper role.” When she suggests that Amanda work it out directly with Casey, everyone ben- efits. Exceptions would be if Amanda is truly powerless to help herself, or if Beth has a professional responsibility to manage the relationship between Amanda and Casey. Triangles are unhealthy in most relationships, but they are especially dangerous in nuclear families with siblings and adult children. When you need advice or a place to vent, it’s helpful to limit sharing to the smallest possible number of trustworthy friends. This limited sharing can help calm your mind and reboot your perspective. Then your work is best done directly with the offending party. After years of feeling obligated to help, Anthony, the eldest in a family of six, realized that he was not helping and refused to participate when his siblings called to complain about each other. His siblings continued to try to bring him in, but he was firm. When he avoided family triangles, his life became more peaceful. Nadia believed she had to be the go-between for disputes between her adult daughter and her ex-husband. When she gave up this role, her daughter grew stronger. Greenwich resident, Jill Woolworth is author of the book, The Waterwheel, which is available locally at Diane's Books (203-869-1515) or info@dianesbooks.com) or at Amazon.
By Albert Huang On a rainy, gloomy Friday, the clouds parted and the sun shone just in time for the Greenwich Police Department Promotional Ceremony. Over 100 people witnessed Sergeant Patrick J. Smyth’s promotion to the rank of Lieutenant, and Master Police Officer Brian N. Tornga’s promotion to Sergeant. First Selectman and Police Commissioner Fred Camillo beamed a big smile as he gave the promotional oaths to the two officers. After swearing them in he commented, “We couldn’t be more proud of the both of you.” Also among the crowd were ex-selectman Penny Monahan and State Senator Ryan Fazio. After the oaths, Smyth and Tornga’s wives and family stepped on stage to pin their new rank insignias and officers badges on their uniforms. “I consider the roles which you’re about to assume probably more important than the command staff,” said Police Chief James Heavey. “Sergeants are the first line of supervisors and besides supervising you mentor and mold our new officers, and even some of our senior officers, to be outstanding officers. That officer development is critical. “This job isn’t easy, it doesn’t matter what little small town you work in,” said Tornga. “When you put on a uniform you go out and do things that people are not supposed to see and do, if you don’t have a strong support system at home with your family and friends you’re not going to make it through, and a lot of us don’t. But Pat and I do, look around, this is fantastic.” “For everybody that I supervise now, I will work every single day to hopefully be one of those officers that you can look up to.” John Ferris Robben photo.