For more than 60 years, The Community Fund of Darien has been helping people in Darien, Norwalk and Stamford by providing funding, solutions, education and community awareness. The architect's drawings for the proposed Mather Community Center at Town Hall show a modern facility designed not only for our existing members, but for the baby boomers just around the corner. After attending a presentation about the new center last month, Mr. Baker, a retired architect, said, "These plans look terrific and include everything a modern senior center should have." Add the fact that the center will be close to other town services, ADA-compliant, and served with plenty of parking, and it's clearly a real winner of a plan. Whether leading our town as acting first selectman during the aftermath of the March 2010 storm or hearing the concerns of residents on the train platform as the only commuter on the Board. May our newly elected Board of Selectmen govern in an open and accountable way without regard to political affiliation for the betterment of our town. John Lundeen not only has an impressive academic and professional background (master's in public policy from Harvard and experience in both government and finance), but also has a reputation for level-headed, non partisan leadership in our community. Over the past few years, the papers have been awash with the "Shuffle," a discussion that, at times, reflected a hostile disregard for opposing views and a partisan positioning that made a minority viewpoint appear irrelevant. Time after time, Jayme's comprehensive exploration and strategic evaluation of issues brought forth new ideas, fostered practical solutions and built consensus among constituents with diverse interests. John's background in public sector budget analysis and planning will be invaluable in identifying areas where town costs can be cut without reducing services and new revenue generated through public/private partnerships. A member of the Board of Selectmen and the Darien Environmental Group, David strives to ensure that town government works better for us all. Vickie, another long-time town resident, brings experience in many essential areas, including planning and zoning, public safety and education. Darien Sport Shop; Goodwives Stop and Shop; and Upper Crust Bagel. [...] we are grateful to the Sport Shop for donating a percentage of its sales on Sept. 10 to the Blue Wave Booster Club. Since 2006, the Blue Wave Booster Club has donated almost $100,000 to the athletic programs at Darien High School. [...] your fee includes two free passes to all home football and basketball games! If you haven't yet joined the Blue Wave Booster Club, please visit www.bluewavesports.org to learn more about the BWBC and your favorite sports teams. Not-for-profit organizations like the Child Guidance Center of Mid-Fairfield County are facing unprecedented financial challenges as we try to fulfill our mission to deliver our critical and specialized outpatient psychiatric services to our community's most vulnerable children and families. Local funding partners like the Community Fund of Darien are essential contributors providing grants which leverage the dollars from State and other government sources. The Community Fund of Darien is a true partner of the center, offering needed funding not only to the agencies which serve Darien residents, but also to agencies like mine which serve surrounding towns like Norwalk where the needs of its citizens are great.

Views and schools and shops do not make a community, and it has been my experience over the years that when people talk about a desirable "location" for their home, what they are really seeking is a vibrant, supportive, stable "community." Every year, The Community Fund of Darien raises money to give to more than 30 agencies that provide services to Darien, Norwalk and Stamford, services like food, shelter, counseling for substance and alcohol misuse, mental health counseling, elderly services, youth development and more. Since 1951 it has distributed more than $21 million. Council members include people who represent schools, nonprofit organizations, government, police, social services and faith groups as well as dedicated community volunteers.

If your agency wants to be highlighted, email a paragraph describing your organization, location, volunteer needs and contact information to vac@hscct.org. The American Cancer Society needs Road to Recovery volunteers 18 years or older with a car, good driving record and daytime availability to drive cancer patients to and from medical treatment facilities. Birthright of Greater Norwalk needs friendship mentors to provide love, support and understanding to women with unplanned pregnancies and/or help with office duties, publicity and community outreach efforts. The Norwalk Symphony Orchestra is seeking volunteers of all ages interested in working in the following areas: office support; concert ushers; preparing food and drinks for the musicians during their rehearsal breaks; and stage management during rehearsals and concerts. Volunteers receive free admission to all NSO concerts, spend time with the musical arts community and work with great people.

"Would you rather be burned to death or buried alive?" Her earnest angelic face shines at me like a full moon. OK, OK, how about -- would you rather be eaten by a great white shark or killed by a python? Jackie is already locked and loaded with another catch 22 that involves being either bled by leeches or eaten by cannibals. Each day in class, we would stand and pledge allegiance to the American flag and to the Republic of Richard Stans -- one nation, invisible, with liberty and justice for all. Perhaps John was so corpulent he symbolically represented mankind -- men, women and children -- or maybe he just ate the mother and child. The Civil War was confusing. Other words or expressions confounded me too, such as mysterious ailments and medical conditions. Later as a collegiate, I was introduced to Richard Brinsley Sheridan's "The Rivals" whose memorable character, Mrs. Malaprop, had a knack for inserting contextually inappropriate words that sounded vaguely similar to appropriate ones and in doing so, created disastrous, humorous results. To Congress, he extolled, "The law I sign today directs new funds ... to the task of collecting vital intelligence ... on weapons of mass production." In the adjacent den, I hear her explain, Mommy, I just learned about Joan from the Ark who was shot with a cannon, burned with a steak and wore armor like the knights in King Arthur.

While it is illegal for a driver to operate a carriage when the temperature is above 90 degrees or below 18 degrees, no adjustment is made to account for wind chill or the humidity index. New York State Sen. Tony Avella (D-11) and Assemblywoman Linda B. Rosenthal (D-67) are demanding that the City administration suspend operation of horse-drawn carriages in light of the two serious accidents. Addressing this issue Avella said: This second accident in two weeks serves as a prime example that the longer this archaic industry is permitted to operate we will only see more accidents, more horses being injured or killed, and we will continue to put the public at risk.

Since it's really too hot to rant and rave, what follows are musings about stuff that irritates me, observations about relationships in the modern world where love is only a keystroke away, and some recent moments in my absurd, Cirque De Soleil world, that made me smile. Upon arrival, the waiting game begins with patients searching through stacks of magazines for a magazine they won't find, patients surreptitiously checking out other patients, the requisite looks to kill when a late arrival gets to go see the doctor before you, and repeated looks at one's watch. How women are an eternal mystery to men, how we have a considerably smaller area in our brain for processing emotion than they do, how we long for an instruction manual to provide some much needed help, and the inherent difficulty of the dating-mating ritual. Suddenly, the family room door flies open and my wife and daughters step out, wearing Stepford Wife-like smiles and blank stares. Later, as I'm dozing off, listening to John Coltrane's "The Way You Look Tonite," thinking back to how incredible my wife looked when I met her at that bus stop in Los Angeles and how a boy from the Bronx and a Dublin lass managed to make a go of it, Kelly startles me by announcing that she just ate some raspberry sorbet and now has major brain freeze. Barry Halpin is a prevention specialist for Liberation Programs, a substance abuse health-care agency based in Stamford that provides substance abuse counseling to adolescents and their families in Darien.

If your agency wants to be highlighted in the Volunteer Corner, email a paragraph describing your organization, location, volunteer needs and contact information to vac@hscct.org RSVP needs volunteer travel counselors (age 55 and older) at the Darien Welcome Center on I-95 to provide tourism and hospitality information to travelers (training provided). The Norwalk Historical Society seeks volunteers who have a love of history and wish to make a difference in their community for two to four hours per week in the following areas: administrative and office help; cleaning collections; researching grant sources; historical bakers for special events; and tour guides at Mill Hill Historic Park. Malta House of Good Counsel 5 Prowitt St., Norwalk, home to homeless, pregnant women and their newborns, is in need of women to volunteer for babysitting, tutoring or mother-mentoring weekdays between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Call 203-857-0088. Mid-Fairfield AIDS Project in Norwalk is committed to providing quality services in its efforts to bring much needed care, information and assistance to those living with and affected by HIV/AIDS.

[...] I was very happy to see a new report by the federal National Highway Transportation Safety Administration which shows that, after a yearlong public awareness campaign, drivers in the Hartford area using hand-held cellphones while driving dropped 57 percent and drivers who were texting while driving declined 72 percent. At the public hearing on this bill, I thought it was quite telling that police chiefs, the automobile manufacturers and the criminal justice division were all in favor of it, and no one spoke against the measure. The results of this NHTSA report tell me that we are really on the right track here in Connecticut trying to increase public safety while cracking down on unsafe and discourteous drivers. By way of background, Connecticut's cellphone/texting awareness program kicked off on April 8, 2010, when state and federal officials launched the campaign with a press event.

Animal News Desk / Cathy Kangas On April 17, 2010, Iraqi War Veteran Troy Yocum, his wife, Mareike, and Emmie, their dog, set out from Louisville, Ky., on a 16-month quest to hike 7,000 miles across America and raise money for military families. Mr. Modell believes passionately that America's military families should not suffer because of the present economic crisis. Emmie is a Shiba Inu breed that loves to keep moving and does well in agility competition. New Canaan resident Cathy Kangas is a member of the Humane Society of the United States' National Council.

The military did continue to reprocess nuclear waste for defense purposes, though, until the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War made continuous ramping up of our nuclear arsenal unnecessary. [...] George W. Bush pushed a plan, the Global Nuclear Energy Project, to promote the use of nuclear power and subsidize the development of a new generation of "proliferation-resistant" nuclear reprocessing technologies that could be rolled out to the commercial nuclear energy sector. Proponents of nuclear power -- and of reprocessing in particular -- were far from pleased with GNEP's axing, especially in light of Obama's earlier decision to close Yucca Mountain as the U.S.'s future nuclear waste repository. "GNEP may have gone away, but the need to recycle spent fuel in this country is more important than ever because of the government's stupid decision to close Yucca Mountain," said Danny Black of the Southern Carolina Alliance, a regional economic development group, on the Ecopolitology blog. IEER also reported that France, which runs the world's most efficient reprocessing operation, spends about two cents per kilowatt hour more for electricity generated from reprocessed nuclear fuel compared to that generated from fresh fuel. While proliferation and terrorism have long been risks associated with hosting nuclear plants on American soil, recent events in Japan underscores that even Mother Nature poses a threat. Brands, which operates 38,000 fast-food restaurants in 110 countries (including not only KFC but also Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, WingStreet, A&W and Long John Silver's), has come under fire of late from Greenpeace and other rainforest advocacy groups for sourcing palm oil, paper and other goods from suppliers notorious for destroying tropical rainforests in Indonesia and elsewhere. Tropical rainforests also sequester significant amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) in their growing woody biomass; chopping them down only accelerates the rate of global warming by allowing more CO2 to escape into the atmosphere where it contributes to the greenhouse effect. According to the Rajawali Institute for Asia at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, by eliminating its natural capital for negligible gains, Indonesia lost $150 billion in future revenues between 1990 and 2007, wiping out one-third of the country's national savings in the process.