Third Annual Stony Hill Amber Alert Event Promises Free Fun For All

The merchants and organizations participating in the fourth annual Free AMBER Alert Registration May 21 are counting on the event to be a fun family outing. Activities this year center around the 4-H Grounds in Bethel, 67 Stony Hill Road.

Children can be registered with the AMBER Alert Program for free from 10 am to 2 pm, catch a demonstration of working Belgian draft horses courtesy of Cassio Pet Resort and Training Center, as well as enjoy a bouncy house, according to a release from the Stony Hill Four Corners Association.

While sponsors Quality Gem and Unions Savings Bank hope to draw many first-timers to the public service initiative, they stress that children should be reregistered every year to keep information updated as they grow older to maximize the benefit if it is ever activated on their behalf.

AMBER Alert machines are staffed by members from the Danbury Rotary under the supervision of Bob Vetter. And it only takes a few minutes to register a child.

Guardians will receive a free wallet-size laminated ID card for each child. Additional cards are only $2. Information is stored in a secure database at the Connecticut Department of Public Safety.

The AMBER Alert Program is a voluntary partnership between law-enforcement agencies, broadcasters, transportation agencies, and the wireless industry to activate an urgent bulletin in the most serious child-abduction cases. The goal of an AMBER Alert is to instantly galvanize the entire community to assist in the search for and the safe recovery of the child.

This event is an example of the goal of the Stony Hill Four Corners Association to create a greater awareness of what the businesses in the Stony Hill area have to offer, while also creating ways for those businesses to give back to the community.

“In just the past five to ten years, the number of businesses that have sprung up between the Four Corners and Hawleyville has increased by around 40 percent,” said Dennis Janofsky of Quality Gem.

“And all the businesses seem to be thriving,” added Madeline Bunt, of the Stony Hill Union Savings Bank branch. “Our goal is really to erase the borders between Newtown and Bethel and to showcase all that we have going on.”

The AMBER Alert Registration takes place the same week Cassio Pet Resort and Training Center of Newtown is hosting their Doggie Fun Zone, May 17–24. The Doggie Fun Zone is a Challenge Course, timed event completion.

Participating pooches chase an elusive lure through an irregular-shaped course. No prior training or experience is needed. And like following the Stony Hill Four Corners goal to give back, proceeds of this event benefit The Spay & Neuter Association of Newtown as well the Danbury Animal Welfare Society

Over the Association’s three years of existence almost 1,000 children have been registered during the free AMBER Alert event. A Halloween Pancake Breakfast for the Stony Hill Fire Department’s Ambulance Fund has raised thousands of dollars each year for community causes, and the Stony Hill Holiday Tree Lighting & Food Drive has helped feed many families in both Bethel and Newtown.

Additionally, this year at Hawleyville’s First Tree Lighting Ceremony, toys were collected for the Newtown Fund. The Stony Hill Four Corners Association comprises businesses between Exits 8 and 9 of I-84 in both Newtown and Bethel.

The organization meets the first Wednesday of every month. All businesses and organizations in the area are welcome to join. The SH4C is separate and independent of any other organization.

The association is a group of volunteers who come together to make a difference in the communities of Bethel and Newtown. Businesses interested in learning more can e-mail StonyHillFourCorners@gmail.com or click on StonyHillFourCorners.com.