Dolphin Trio Visits Saugatuck Island
Saugatuck Island residents had three more visitors for their weekend plans as this small pod of dolphins enjoyed the calm waters and warm air of Bermuda Lagoon over Saturday and Sunday.
Video and photo courtesy of Gina Oliveira Beranek, who kayaked out into the Lagoon today after first seeing them yesterday to record their playful nature from a safe distance. Beranek said a neighbor had put a call into the Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP) to alert them to the unusual sight, who said they would give them a few more days before they assisted them in leaving the lagoon if they were stuck.
Although difficult to discern, the coloring may allude to their being white-beaked dolphins, according to NOAA. “White-beaked dolphins are found in colder temperate and subpolar waters throughout the North Atlantic Ocean. Their range includes the waters of eastern North America (Massachusetts to Newfoundland), northern Europe (north of Portugal), Scandinavia, Greenland, the United Kingdom, and the Barents Sea. Their distribution in U.S. waters is limited. They prefer waters less than 650 feet deep.”
Photo by Gina Oliveira Beranek Click to watch video courtesy of Gina Oliveira Beranek
Twilight along the River: Imperial Colors
Wisps of orange and blue signal day’s end for the residents on Imperial Avenue tonight. WestportLocal.com photo
Rally for the People of Ukraine: Gallery II
About 200 people were drawn to Westport's Rally to support the people of Ukraine, which began on the Ruth Steinkraus Cohen Memorial Bridge Saturday morning and then moved to Jesup Green. There, speakers - including Senator Richard Blumenthal, Congressman Jim Himes, and several Ukrainians - spoke passionately to the crowd.
A Note from the Photographer-
I have never spoken about the thousands of photos I have published in various media outlets over many years, hoping that my photos will clearly tell the story of the events I cover. This is different. I covered four rallies to support the people of the Ukraine in Fairfield County this week. I have been struck by several things. Not since the 9.11 attacks on our country has there been more sadness and also anger so clearly evident in a large gathering. When I arrived a woman emerged from the car which has just pulled in behind me and we spoke briefly about her family in Kiev. She is Kateryna McLeod and she is my lead photo holding the sign with photos of her family in Ukraine. When the rally ended we arrived at our cars again at the same time and she was on the phone to her family in Kiev who were safe. At least they were yesterday.
You cannot help but feel the anguish and sometimes despair of the people you see and listen to and you cannot help feeling affected. I learned a bit in speaking with Ukrainian-Americans, such as the colors of their flag which most of the world will now recognize anywhere they see it, stand for Sky (blue) and Wheat (yellow) as the Ukraine is known as the bread basket of Eastern Europe. After a Ukrainian would finish speaking to a rally crowd someone would shout out "SLAVA UKRAINI" (Glory To Ukraine). Many in the crowd would shout loudly in unison "GERIYAM SLAVA" (Glory To Heroes). You see pain in may of those faces however you also see the grim determination, fierce pride in their heritage and the love and devotion for their country. We see it in the media with video of a Ukrainian woman offering to give sunflower seeds to a Russian soldier telling him to "put them in his pocket so that flowers will grow when you die here".
On Snake Island a Russian Warship radioed the Ukrainians:
RUSSIANS: "Snake Island, I am a Russian warship. I suggest you lay down your arms and surrender. Otherwise you will be hit. Do you copy?"
UKRAINIANS: (to each other) "Well, this is it. Should I tell him to go f--- himself" Another says "Just in case"
UKRAINIANS: "Russian warship, go f--- yourself"
(Youtube link to radio transmission posted by The Guardian): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Y2iVHUMZhg
It was reported that the end of the radio transmission may have indicated that all 13 Ukrainian marines and border guards were killed, however new reports (Fox 10 Phoenix) quoting the Ukrainian Navy says that all are alive and well; "Regarding the Marines and border guards, who were taken captive by Russian occupiers on the island of Snake. We are very happy to learn that our brothers are alive and well," the post, which was published on Monday read in part.
A woman from Ukraine proudly repeated that message on her sign. Near the end of my third rally yesterday I said to a Ukrainian man, one of several who were holding a giant Ukrainian flag which they brought to Darien after they held it at the rally in Southport, I said, "From what I have seen of many people of the Ukraine I think Putin may have bitten off more that he can chew. “
Slava Ukraini! Geroyam Slava!
Photos By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
George Wigton, 93, Died; Staples Coach, Navy Veteran, Ohio State Class of 1956
George Wigton, an accomplished and beloved athlete, educator, and coach, passed away at home in the loving arms of his family on March 1, 2022.
George, born in 1929 in Oberlin, Ohio, was married for 70 years to his high school sweetheart, Eleanor Mahan. He served four years in the U.S. Navy, then attended Ohio State University where he played on the varsity basketball and track teams. He graduated in the class of 1956.
For nine years, he coached basketball, track and football at the University of Connecticut. He also taught and coached at Staples High School in Westport, Connecticut, before joining the Athletic Department at Bates College in 1965. He spent 31 years at Bates where he became the longest serving coach for basketball (20 years) and tennis (31 years) in the school's history. He also served as the head coach for men's soccer and men's and women's squash. He was Assistant Director of Athletics from 1974-1984, and retired in 1996.
Coach Wigton was inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame and the National Intercollegiate Squash Racquets Association Hall of Fame. George and Eleanor traveled extensively and made friends around the world.
George is survived by his wife Eleanor; daughter Christy and her husband Ray, son Jeff and his wife Michele, son Andy and his wife Christine, daughter Sue and her husband Ken; grandchildren Ben, Matt, Paul, Emmy and Nick Pasquale, Andrew and Spencer Wigton, Drake, Kyle and Adam Smith, and Noah Wigton; and great-grandchildren Isabella Pasquale, Malaya and Simone Pasquale, Ayla Wigton, Avi Smith, and Arrow, Galilee, and Juniper Wigton. George was predeceased by his parents, Charles E. and Elizabeth (nee Lowry) Wigton, and his two brothers, Charles and William Wigton.
A Celebration of Life ceremony will be scheduled in early June. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a gift in George's memory to the Androscoggin Hospice House, 15 Strawberry Avenue, Lewiston, Maine, 04240, or donate online at Androscoggin.org; or the Maine Veterans' Home South Paris Activity Fund, 477 High Street, South Paris, Maine, 04281, or donate online at Mainevets.org/locations/southparisdonations. Memories may be shared in his Book of Memories at www.wilesrc.com. Cremation care and memorial services are being cared for and provided by the Wiles Remembrance Center, 137 Farmington Falls Road, Farmington.