It’s a good year for snowshoers and cross country skiers. The second big snowstorm of the season left Newtown with quite a bit more than the originally predicted three to four inches of white stuff. Mary Maki reports that at the height of that storm, last Friday, snow was falling at the rate of three inches an hour on Hanover Road. When all was said and done, the Makis measured 11½ inches at their place. But that was nothing next to this Wednesday’s storm, when Linda Lubinsky measured 27 inches of snow on Flat Swamp Road before 9 am, and it was still coming down. Many a small dog, I hear, was perplexed and frustrated by the depth of the snow…. The smart cats, of course, stayed put for the day, and let our noble highway department do their work.

C.J. Golden, local Newtown author of Tao Of The Defiant Woman and the award-winning Tao-Girls Rule! is celebrating the New Year with a Logo Design Contest on what it means to be a Tao Girl on her website, TaoGirl.com. The website is a motivational, empowering site associated with the Tao-Girls Rule! book and features inspiring quotes and interviews obtained specifically for the site. The contest allows young women to express their creativity by designing a new Tao-Girl logo for 2011.

Contestants must be under 18 to qualify and must have a parent’s permission to enter. The challenge will run to January 31. For contest rules, visit www.taogirl.com/tao girl home/contest2011.htm. The Grand Prize Winner will get her design featured on the Tao-Girl website, Facebook, and printed on limited edition T-shirts; receive three free copies of Tao-Girls Rule! two T-shirts bearing their logo, and gets to ask a personalized advice question of the author that will appear on taogirl.com. The Second Prize Winner will have her design featured on the Tao-Girl website, Facebook, and receive three free copies of Tao-Girls Rule! and gets to ask a personalized advice question of the author that will appear on the website. The Third Prize Winner will get her design featured on the Tao-Girl website, Facebook, and receive one free copy of the book, and also gets to ask a personalized advice question of Ms Golden, for the website.

File this under All That Glitters Is Not Good (to paraphrase an old quote): The Newtown Woman’s Club, GFWC, Inc has set up two boxes at C.H. Booth Library, the drop-off locations for its annual Valentines For Veterans collection. School groups, Scouts, families, and individuals to are all invited to participate. Cards can be store-bought or homemade; the only stipulation is they cannot have any glitter on them (it’s pretty, but glitter mixed into the bandages and beds of those in hospitals is a bad thing). Valentines need to be dropped off by Friday, February 4, and the women say they are always appreciative of the townwide support for this project. For more information give Marion Thompson a call at 203-426-0253.

You know I’m always interested when something involves a cat walk: The Newtown High School Winter Guard is planning “Winter Fantasy Fashion Show,” a special event that will take place Sunday, January 16, from 3 to 5:30 pm, in The Alexandria Room at Edmond Town Hall. The girls will be modeling prom fashions for the spring 2011 season with help from Sabrina Style in Sandy Hook. It’s certainly not too early to start thinking about Prom 2011, and the members of Newtown High School’s Winter Guard are hoping to raise funds for their team while also helping friends, classmates, and area high school students begin thinking about this spring’s big dance. Admission is $20, which will benefit the team, and can be paid at the door. For additional information give LuAnn Kelly a call at 203-364-9492.

The Newtown Choral Society, under the direction of Mary Andreotta, will begin preparing for the spring concert shortly. If you love to sing and love to learn about singing, consider adding your voice to the nonaudition group. Practice begins Wednesday evening, January 26, at 7 pm, in the Newtown Middle School chorus room. For more information contact Laura Lerman at 203-426-4430.

Dr Martin Luther King was born January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Ga., and was assassinated April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tenn. In between, the young clergyman — who spearheaded the successful Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955 — became a well-known leader of the African American Civil Rights Movement, and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, among many other achievements. On Monday, January 17, schools, town, state, and federal offices are closed to pay honor to the man who believed that through nonviolent methods, equal rights could be achieved for all.

Speaking of celebrating birthdays…. Where is Newtown’s First Baby of the Year? The Bee and local businesses sponsor a fantastic contest, providing Newtown’s first baby and family with all kinds of gift certificates and presents. Down On Main Street is offering a $20 gift certificate; Tambascio’s Italian Grill has donated a $50 gift certificate; Dodgingtown Garage offers a $25 gas card; and the new mom can treat herself to a hair cut at Salon Michele with Kerry. These are just a few of the 60 prizes Newtown’s First Baby wins. But so far this year, no one has claimed the rights to First Baby. Deadline was Tuesday, January 11, but The Bee is extending the deadline to January 18, so that these fabulous gifts do not go unclaimed. And really, at some point, a baby is going to be born in Newtown, right? Parents must be Newtown or Sandy Hook residents, and provide a doctor’s statement with exact time and date of the baby’s birth. For full information and to check out the prizes, see the advertisement in the December 31 issue of The Newtown Bee.

Anyone who writes for The Bee knows that our copy editor is always on the ball, catching many gaffes before they make it to print. But this year, Janis is really on the ball — you’ll find her seated on an exercise ball in front of her computer these days. So not only is she tuning in to the nuances of language, she’s toning up at the same time.

A couple of terrible home fires in town have affected not only the people who lived in the houses, but their pets, as well. A deadly fire on Philo Curtis Road claimed the lives of a dog and cat, as well as their owner, but another pet cat was discovered and put in the care of The Animal Center of Newtown. Dusty is in good health, but in need of a loving home. Visit www.theanimalcenter.org to view Dusty’s information, as well as to view a video about three little rescued kittens who lost, not their mittens, but nearly their eyesight. Thanks to donations to The Animal Center, these kittens have been treated and are looking (pun intended) for forever homes. Two have limited eyesight, but are quite healthy and very playful.

A fire in a Morgan Drive home sent the family’s three cats astray. Now the family is seeking assistance in finding the cats. Morgan Drive is located between Sweetbriar Lane and Stone Gate Drive, off of Jeremiah Road in Sandy Hook. Contact Animal Concerns Club parent advisor Lorrie Silber at 203-426-8115, extension 205, with any information. The local school club supporting animal welfare has posted fliers all over town, and hopes for any sightings of the lost cats to be reported soon.

I hope to be lost in piles of information next week, myself, so don’t forget to… Read me again.