In Sight

ABOVE: Residents and family members pick through their belongings that were salvaged from a fire early Wednesday morning that gutted a two family house at 17 Grand St. in Norwalk.  BELOW: Everyone experienced a rare,  lighthearted moment as a woman pulled a Dominican flag and her rosary beads from the charred remains.

Kathleen O’Rourke/The Advocate

Spot news, as we call it in the newspaper industry, is always a sensitive thing to cover.  It’s not easy to arrive on a stranger’s front lawn and begin taking photographs as they pick through their lifelong belongings.   Nestled in the dusty, dirty heap between the baseball card collection, motorcycle helmet and boxes of clothing was a framed photograph of a smiling couple on their wedding day.  A reminder that everyone made it out safely, certainly something to be thankful for.

A group of sixth grade boys take a tour of their new school on the first day at Rogers International School.

Kathleen O’Rourke/The Advocate

We’ve followed the story on this new school from Day One.  The prolonged and heated debate about closing the old Rogers,  breaking ground on Blachley Road, construction crews working, the “green” concept and teachers moving in.  But today the story really began with the first official day of school.  Our story, written by Kate King, will focus on two students in the new sixth grade, one a Rogers veteran and the other an out of district student from Norwalk.  Look for it online and in Wednesday’s Advocate.

Shoppers take advantage of CT Tax Free Week as they shop for back to school clothing and supplies at Target.  This young shopper pleaded with her mother that she “needed” to make this purchase.  “You don’t need it just yet” was her mother’s reply.

Rebecca Lyju, 4 of Stamford, joins her family and local residents as they celebrate India Independence Day with a flag raising ceremony at Stamford Government Center on Saturday, August 15, 2009.  The event was sponsored by the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin – CT chapter (GOPIO-CT).

ABOVE: William Hendricks, 4, of Stamford, drops his milk-crate-mobile into fifth gear during a 50th birthday celebration for the Mini Cooper, a benefit for the Boys & Girls Club of Stamford, sponsored by MINI of Fairfield County at the Hotel Chesterfield in Shippan.

08/09/2009

When I was a little kid my favorite toy was a cardboard box with a Frisbee bolted to the inside of it for a steering wheel. That thing was fast, even if it didn’t go anywhere. So I was excited to see a kid at this Mini event, proving that even in an era of helicopter parenting and ridiculously expensive and complicated toys, all it takes is an old steering wheel, a milk crate and your imagination to have some fun.

-CP

New York Mets bench coach Sandy Alomar makes an appearance as a guest instructor at Baseball World Training School’s Summer Camp at Bedford Middle School, in Westport.

Kathleen O’Rourke/The Advocate

8/04/09

These aspiring baseball players were lucky enough to get some insider tips from Alomar at the camp this morning.  He touched on proper stance and balance, double play execution, throwing technique and most importantly, respect for their family, friends and teammates.  After all was said and done, I doubt the young kids heard the respect part but Alomar’s “nice throw son” and “perfect double play” comments will stick with them for a long, long time.

Morgan Crosby, 21, and her two children Tyler Hines, 21 months, and Amena Hines, 1, spend a quiet morning in their new home.   Morgan is one of the young women participating in the Partnering Success program through the Malta House.

Kathleen O’Rourke/The Advocate

7/23/09

Advocate reporter John Nickerson and I spent some time yesterday with Morgan Crosby and her two young children.  Morgan, a 21-year-old single mom hoping to make it on her own, seemed to have a pretty good grasp on the challenges that lie ahead.  As I tried to stay as unobtrusive as possible, Tyler was determined to be in front of my camera at all times.  What struck me about this little boy was his obsession with looking at his picture on the back of my camera.  I recently dragged out my old Nikon film camera and watched the confusion on one of my young nephew’s face as he tried to understand why there was no image to view on the back.  “I want to see it, I want to see it,” he pleaded.  It reminded me of another assignment where a group of campers toured an apple orchard.  In the corner was an old record player spinning a Frank Sinatra vinyl record, something most of these kids had never seen.  Forget the apple picking, cider mill or baking pies – the children on that field trip stayed glued to the spinning disc with that little needle for the rest of the afternoon.  It left me wondering where all the 8-tracks and Walkmans are now.

Kathleen O’Rourke/The Advocate

ABOVE: The grounds crew work on a sand trap on the new 11th hole at Sterling Farms Golf Course.  The course has undergone a multi-million dollar renovation and the latest changes include a complete redesign of holes #11 and #12.

7/16/09

It had been quite a while since I ventured up to Sterling Farms Golf Course and it was long overdue.  So I was happy to get this assignment from our sports department on the renovations at the club.   The course was a buzz of activity with foursomes on every hole, golfers on the putting green perfecting their short game, a group of campers gathered on the driving range,  young tennis players dressed in white volleying on the newly resurfaced courts and cast and crew preparing for Shakespeare on The Green.  But amid all this summer activity I actually heard a man say “Football season is just a few months away.”  So before we find ourselves gathered on the sidelines in 30 degree weather, get up to Sterling Farms and enjoy.