THE SENIOR MEN'S CLUB OF NEW CANAAN
Minutes of the Regular Meeting of October 5, 2001
President Lee Hindenach opened the meeting with 148 members present. Membership is 500
with 25 on the waiting list.
Announcements: Health Director Dick Depatie announced that all is well. Bob Bunge was back
for the day. President Hindenach announced that the New Canaan Nature Center is looking
for volunteers on 10/13. Ticket counters are needed for two hour shifts between 10AM and 4PM.
Activities: Bowling and bridge continue. Tennis is still in swing as long as the nets are
up. Racquetball welcomed back Bob Conner. Golf this coming Wednesday at the N.C. Country Club,
shotgun start at 8:45. 4-Fs next luncheon site is still undecided. Stay tuned during the
next meeting.
Couth: 11/14 is 42nd Street and dinner at 21, there are still a few openings. 12/13 is the
Xmas spectacular at Radio City and lunch at City Island. Washington trip is still on.
Jester: Joe Sweet had the solution for Osama bin Laden. Turn him into a female and send
him back to the Taliban. Joe also told about an elderly couple having physical exams. The
old man was having senior moments about the timing of sexual activities, but had a problem
relating this to the doctor.
Speaker: VP Bert Liebelt introduced New Canaan Superintendent of Schools Dr. Gary Richards.
Dr. Richards broke his speech down into a number of categories. The first covered the New
Canaan community and its importance in relation to education. New Canaanites seem to
disagree without being disagreeable, and are unselfish in giving up their time. His next
focus was on the search for a new high school principal. Hopefully one will be appointed
by 2/1 and start 7/1. The next topic was the high school facility. Systems such as plumbing,
heating, and electric are aging and need to be replaced. There should be a new phone system
by January 02. Science labs need to be upgraded, and new offices are needed. Dr. Richards
finished by covering "Crisis Control" and the status of long range plans. Crisis Control has
certainly become a more important issue since Columbine High School, and came home to New
Canaan after last summer's incident. Even the "Next station to Heaven" is not immune. Long
range plans include increasing student achievement within a tri state peer group, establishing
ethical development by building strong character, engaging students in community dialogue,
modifying school curriculum to be more aware of global ramifications and fit in with the rest
of the world, and finally, and most important, making good teachers. With all the future
planning and improvements in the works, the accomplishments to date cannot be overlooked.
New Canaan's SAT scores are the highest in the state, 47% of the graduates went to "top"
colleges, and in athletics, the school had 4 state championships and 1 runner up.
Eric Musa, Secretary