Home Care In Southport, CT

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Health & Fitness

?Sasco Hill Surgery Center Held Open House on Post Road in Southport Showcasing Operating Rooms and Recovery Center

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Ellen Mahony, M.D. and her practice administrator tour Sasco Hill Surgery Center. (@JohnBrannelly)

The Sasco Hill Surgery Center in Southport, CT. (@JohnBrannelly )

Sasco Hill Surgery Center held an Open House of its new facility on the Post Road in Southport featuring two operating rooms and beautiful recovery room. Principals are Keith Gipson, MD, PhD, who is a member of the Fairfield County Medical Association, and Suhaib Chaudry, MD. It is a state of the art facility in the Town of Fairfield, CT.

Beverly Balaz, President of The Fairfield Chamber of Commerce, attended the formal ribbon cutting along with State Representative Jennifer Leeper. Westport plastic surgeon Ellen Mahony, M.D., FACS led a tour of the facility that she often operates in. John Brannelly, Assistant Executive Director of the Fairfield County Medical Association, attended the tour.

"We are honored to start this endeavor with such esteemed colleagues and respected local associations, stated Suhaib Chaudry, MD. "Our overarching goal is to elevate the standard of care in Southport and its surrounding communities by delivering World Class Surgical services at this surgery center," Dr. Chaudry added.

Fairfield, CT - While the journey has its challenges, there’s been progress towards the goal of dredging and removing the sandy sediment building up on the eastern shore of the entrance channel of Southport Harbor, an increasing concern to boat owners, according to a statement issued today by the Fairfield Harbor Management Commission (FHMC).

More than 200 sail and power boats are docked, moored or stored in Southport Harbor. During good weather and optimal tides, dozens of additional boats enter and exit Southport Harbor each week using the boat launch ramp at Ye Yacht Yard marina at the end of Harbor Road. Visiting vessels also enter the scenic harbor destination on weekends and holidays during the boating season.

“We know unfortunately that many of these people have to be concerned about running aground in the harbor where at low tide the channel has narrowed from 100 feet to less than 50 feet and, in some places, only five feet of depth can be found,” said Kim Taylor, Chair of the FHMC.

Taylor said that after attending a November meeting with the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE), which by law has direct responsibility for the work, it appears that the start of dredging of the channel and restoring it to its original 100-foot width and its depth of nine feet will be sometime in or about January 2024.

Maintenance dredging has been delayed in recent years by lack of federal funds, but earlier this year, the ACOE informed the FHMC that Southport Harbor is now included on the list of dredging projects that will receive funding through the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2022. As a result, project planning has resumed in earnest.

The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) is also involved in the process. It must review ACOE plans for managing sand dredged from the harbor before it grants permission to proceed. The ACOE’s timetable for submitting final plans for DEEP review is uncertain, Taylor said.

Dredging in Southport Harbor was last accomplished by the ACOE in 2004-2005. The Fairfield Department of Public Works later excavated sand from the shoal near the entrance channel in 2014-2015 using the sand to nourish town beaches.

Records show, however, that maintenance of the harbor’s navigation channel has historically long been difficult and a matter of community concern. According to an 1838 ACOE report, teams of oxen hauling road scrapers entered two-foot-deep harbor water at low tide to help keep the channel navigable for various size commercial vessels carrying cargoes of onions, other produce and manufactured goods to market. The jetty extending out southerly from the beach into the Long Island Sound on the eastern side of the entrance was authorized in 1829 by the U.S. Congress to slow the westerly drift of sand into the commercially vital Southport Harbor shipping channel.

“While we don’t use oxen any longer and the planned dredging project’s estimated cost, exceeding $1 million, is now fully funded from dedicated federal budgets, there are several other regulatory, environmental and logistical issues which have to be resolved,” according to Bryan LeClerc, the Southport Harbor Master appointed by Gov. Lamont. LeClerc is also an ex-officio member of the FHMC which, since 1986, has principal day-to-day responsibility for guiding the harbor’s beneficial use and conservation.

Specifically, according to LeClerc, the much in demand dredging vessel operated by the ACOE is needed for this project. The ship, a hopper dredge, is in high demand up and down the East Coast. Southport Harbor is just one location on the waiting list.

“The dredging process is inherently complex and lengthy. It includes many regulatory and funding hurdles and has been that way for years. We’re all committed to maintaining safe and efficient navigation and to do so in an environmentally sound way that will make use of the sandy dredged material for beneficial purposes,” said Geoffrey Steadman, a consultant to the FHMC. Current plans, he said, prepared in consultation with the state Bureau of Aquaculture and Fairfield Shellfish Commission call for placement of the sandy dredged material in a designated offshore location where it will improve shellfish habitat.

One separate environmental question that was raised early in the planning process has since been resolved. There were concerns by some that dredging the harbor entrance channel would negatively impact the habitat for Piping Plovers, a protected species, that once were observed in small numbers on the sandy bank along the eastern side of the channel. Studies for FHMC conducted by the Connecticut Audubon Society, which concluded this year, found that the Piping Plovers have not nested in that area for more than ten years and the habitat was not attractive for them.

For a helpful, illustrated presentation summarizing “Southport Harbor’s Past, Present and Future” plus other relevant harbor information, people are asked to consult the Harbor Management Commission News section of the Town’s website: https://www.fairfieldct.org/hmc.

First Selectwoman Brenda Kupchick added, "While the dredging planning and environmental approval process takes longer than all of us would like, the result will ultimately be a safe, navigable Southport Harbor achieved in an ecologically balanced manner. That's something all of us will be able to enjoy whether we're on the water or along the shoreline of this exquisite town treasure. I am grateful to all the volunteers and professionals who are working so hard to get dredging started.”

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SOUTHPORT — The lower wharf in Southport is a picturesque, idyllic space where people can come to walk their dogs, sit on benches or go fishing.

"It's wonderful," said Marcia O'Connell, a Southport resident. "It's a no-brainer to have this for the community."

But the wharf's retaining wall has missing and broken stones, and the cement cap on top of it is chipped and cracked. Meanwhile, the fishing pier is in a state of disrepair, with a sign hanging on it warning people to stay off.

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The town wants to repair the retaining wall and its top layer of cement, as well as replace the pilons of the fishing pier and rebuild its walkway so people could use the pier again. The state is expected to approve the plan soon, though the funding piece is still in question.

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Those at the wharf on Tuesday were met with a gentle breeze, geese swimming in the water and the sound of wind chimes on a nearby resident's front porch. O'Connell said she brings her dog Tucker to the wharf as often as she can, adding it can be quiet during the week but gets a lot of visitors on Saturdays.

"At one time, one of the schools brought their little boys over here once a week or once a month to fish as a group," she said. "I think the community loves it for that kind of reason."

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O'Connell said she hopes they repair and improve the wharf, noting she once saw a wedding there where the fishing pier was used, and called the spot a boon to the community.

"I think it's really special, and I would be disappointed, and so would Tucker, if we lost it," she said.

Plans to repair the wharf, which officials said has been needed for a long time but became even more necessary after a storm last December, have been stymied by roadblocks at various points in the process. Kim Taylor, the chair of Fairfield's Harbor Management Commission, said the town is expecting state approval of the plans in the coming weeks.

Taylor said the wharf had been beginning to look "kind of seedy" in recent years.

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"It's a wonderful space for taking a look at Long Island Sound and strolling the beautiful village of Southport," she said. "But, if you've been down there, you can see that the retaining wall around the edges has stones beginning to slip out. The concrete edging is beginning to crack. There's supposed to be two piers down there. One of them had to be dismantled several years ago because it was falling in."

Taylor noted the other fishing pier had to be closed because it was unsafe. She said the commission decided years ago it needed to be spruced up.

Taylor said there were plans in the work to dredge the harbor in that spot around the boat launch, and the town got a grant from the Connecticut Port Authority to do it. This way, she said, boats could be launched at lower tides than the mud there currently allows.

"For a whole lot of reasons... we were unable to proceed with the dredging," she said, later noting the town ran into problems finding a place to put the material that would have been dug up.

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So, Taylor said, the commission decided to move to phase two of its plan — fixing up the wharf and its piers. She said they sent in those plans to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection for approval in February.

Also in February, town bodies approved $800,000 to do the work, with officials noting at the time that Fairfield was applying for a $640,000 grant to cover part of that expense, but were unsure if it would come through. Taylor said the Connecticut Port Authority has not issued that type of grant so far this year.

"We're not sure when the (Small Harbor Improvement Projects Program) grant process will re-open," she said.

So now, Taylor said, the town is in a situation where the plan will be approved but the funding source is in question. She said the town will immediately apply if the port authority starts issuing grants again, adding she thinks Fairfield would get the money if that happens.

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"Or, maybe there's a wonderful person in town who wants to have a fishing pier named after them," she said. "That remains to be seen."

Taylor said she can't see how the work could be done in the next year, noting it is a project that has to be done in the winter. She said the fishing pier will likely not be open this summer.

"We've done everything we can possibly do, and until we come up with $800,000, we can't even go to bid," she said.

Robert Bruder, a longtime Fairfield resident, said he has been visiting the wharf with his dog Kip for a few years. He said it means a lot for the community to have a place like the wharf.

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"There aren't a lot of places like this on the water, with boats and wildlife, overlooking the sound," she said. "It's an important part of the local lore."

Bruder said he sees people there all the time with their dogs or sitting on the benches, adding he used to see people fishing off the pier as well. He said it is in "pretty bad shape" now, and he hopes it gets fixed up.

"It's an important little enclave of the area," he said. "People come not only from town but also from other towns. It's a nice sort of interaction with community people and people from outside of it, and the dogs bring everyone together. It's kind of a meditative, benevolent environment."

CJ Young, a Milford resident who was fishing off the wharf, said he goes down there for the beauty as well as the fishing.

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"I haven't come here this year yet, but historically it's pretty good fishing," he said, adding he primarily catches striped bass and bluefish there.

Young said he has in-laws that live nearby, and he used to go to the fishing pier just to hang out with his fiance.

"This is always a good spot to come down, walk the dog and just look around," he said.

Southport, CT - Trinity Spiritual Center is excited to host Will Duncan, a world-traveling Connecticut native who has studied and taught meditation around the globe.

On Friday October 13^th over dinner from 6:00 to 7:30 PM, and on Saturday, October 14^th from 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM, attendees will spend time exploring how ancient meditation techniques can be applied to help us navigate and perhaps even slow down our busy, overscheduled lives.

Drawing on Christian, Hindu and Buddhist texts and images, as well as contemporary authors, Duncan will offer a mixture of theory and practice designed to be accessible to all. There will be no marathon stretches of meditation; instead, Duncan will offer small tastes of different practices and show participants how to incorporate them into their day-to-day lives.

Will Duncan is a lecturer, meditation teacher and retreat leader who lives on an organic, high altitude lavender farm in Northern Arizona. He serves as a meditation and yoga instructor, hospice chaplai, and speaker at retreat centers and corporate offices throughout Asia, Europe and South America. Will grew up in Greenwich, CT. At age 14, he began studying meditation with the legendary Reverend Murray Rogers, who founded a small ashram in Northern India rooted in both the Christian and Hindu traditions. Duncan then went on to complete his training, studying the teachings of the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, followed by a three-year silent meditation retreat.

Dipping into his deep experience with both Eastern and Western meditation techniques, Duncan will share his insights into how to develop a contemplative practice that works for you.

Will contends that everyone can learn to meditate. “It’s no different than learning how to ride a bike,” he asserts. “It’s nothing more than developing the skill of attention and figuring out how to apply it.”

The day-long retreat is the eleventh offering in a series of workshops that Trinity Spiritual Center has organized over the past three years inviting people of all faiths — or none at all — to focus on expanding their understanding of contemplative practices drawn from all wisdom traditions that are relevant to contemporary lives.

“We are thrilled to welcome Will back to Southport,” notes Trinity Spiritual Center Director Mark Grayson. “He has a rare gift for making meditation accessible. Everyone who attends this workshop, beginners and skilled practitioners alike, will leave with new meditation skills and insights that will enhance their lives.”

The workshop is open to all. No participation in the Center’s earlier workshops or affiliation with the church required. There is a $40 fee for the event that includes Friday’s dinner, and Saturday’s continental breakfast and snacks. Registration is required (details below).

WHAT: Event - "Everyone Can Meditate"WHEN: Friday, October 13^th, at 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Saturday, October 14^th at 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 pm.COST: $40 in-personREGISTER: https://EveryoneCanMeditate.eventbrite.com QUESTIONS: Call the Church at (203) 255-0454

About Trinity Episcopal Church

Trinity Episcopal Church is located in the historic seaside district of Southport at 651 Pequot Avenue (at Center Street) and welcomes seekers of all denominations. Trinity’s mission is to provide a vibrant 21^st century Episcopal community that inspires spiritual growth, nurtures genuine connections and promotes charitable service.

About Trinity Spiritual CenterTrinity Spiritual Center is a dynamic and growing community of people of all ages and beliefs, engaging in a broad range of learning experiences to inspire and support their own journeys of spiritual growth. It offers programs and practices that inspire and engage the greater community.

FAIRFIELD, CT — Southport and Fairfield, which for the purposes of this study are listed separately, are among the best 100 communities in Connecticut to live in, according to a new report by the ranking website Niche.com.

Southport is ranked #7 overall, and Fairfield comes in at #25, with both communities receiving high marks for the public school system and nightlife, among others.

Within the sub-category of best suburbs in the state to live in, Southport is #5, and Fairfield is #15, out of 73 suburban communities in the ranking.

Click here to view Niche.com's methodology for its best places rankings.

"Living in Southport offers residents a dense suburban feel and most residents own their homes," the report reads, listing median home value at $724,300. "In Southport there are a lot of restaurants, coffee shops, and parks. Many retirees live in Southport and residents tend to be liberal."

Find out what's happening in Fairfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Fairfield, where the median home value is listed as $627,100, received a similar description from Niche.com. Median home value nationally is $244,900, according to the report.

"Living in Fairfield offers residents a sparse suburban feel and most residents own their homes," the report reads. "Many young professionals live in Fairfield and residents tend to be liberal."

Median household income in Southport is $161,042, while in Fairfield it's $149,641; median household income nationally is $69,021, according to the report.

Fairfield receives a "B" for diversity, while Southport gets a "C+" in that category.

Southport also receives an "A+" under the Good for Families category, compared to Fairfield's "A" rating.

Mark Barnhart, Fairfield's Director of Community and Economic Development, told Patch that he's not surprised by Southport and Fairfield receiving high marks from Niche.com.

"Fairfield/Southport are consistently ranked among the top places to live," Barnhart said. "Fairfield offers a nice blend of amenities that you typically find in much larger cities with an upscale suburban lifestyle. Fairfield has a rich history, a vibrant downtown, abundant cultural and recreational offerings and top-notch schools…all that and more in a community that despite its size still maintains a family friendly small town feel."