Ginny Chion came by last week to let me know about a St Rose Church Social Concerns Committee project, the CT Bike Project Used Bicycle Drive. Bikes will be collected in the St Rose parking lot, 46 Church Hill Road, Saturday, May 22, from 11 am to 2 pm. The group is collecting bikes of any size and condition to forward to the St Charles Urban Center in Bridgeport, where they will be refurbished and made available to provide the working poor with transportation to get to work. Some of the bikes will be given to children who might not otherwise have one. Still others will be given to adults recently released from prison, for transportation to jobs and/or to meetings with parole officers. Helmet donations are welcome. The project is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Bernie Curran, 203-270-8654, is the contact.

At last week’s National Day of Prayer in Edmond Town Hall, Sandy Hook resident Emory Check, a member of Hiram Lodge #18 on Washington Avenue, announced that any families with deployed troops who could use some help can contact him. “We’re looking to help folks out, not just financially but with chores and jobs around the house, maybe transportation to appointments. Give us a call.” Call Emory at 203-426-0063, or leave a message at 203-426-2716.

Newtown High School seniors Brady Eggleston and Zach DeLoughy have been working with the Parks & Recreation’s Adaptive T-Ball on Saturdays, and have been doing an amazing job with the younger students with special needs. It has prompted one anonymous Newtowner to name them as this week’s Good Eggs! Brady and Zach “are two high school seniors who are so phenomenal with those kids,” their anonymous admirer said. “They are patient, they interact with the kids, and they truly enjoy the kids.”

(GOOD EGG GRAPHIC here)

NHS director and music teacher John Harned tells me that The Spirit of Broadway Theater’s Second Annual Connecticut High School Music Theater Awards has nominated the NHS spring production of Gypsy for five awards: Outstanding Performance by Leading Female: Hannah DeFlumeri; Outstanding Performance by Supporting Male: Andrew Nichols; Outstanding Student Orchestra: Newtown High School; Outstanding Direction by a Theatre or Outside Artist: John Harned; and Outstanding Musical Direction: John Harned. The awards ceremony is May 24 at the Bushnell Memorial Theater. Do I say, “Break a leg?”

Gypsy’s Hannah DeFlumeri is quickly becoming a YouTube star. Her video performance shot from roughly 2,000 views last week to over 6,200 by Monday, May 10. Go to www.youtube.com, and search “Rose’s Turn, Hannah DeFlumeri.”

Associate editor Shannon Hicks received a Thank You note from the fifth and sixth grade Sunday School class at Trinity Episcopal Church. The students had presented a variety talent show and fundraiser for a school in Haiti on April 30 at The Blue Z, which Shannon wrote about (“Students’ Call Of Hope Pulled In A Packed House For Haiti Fundraiser,” Newtown Bee May 7, 2010). What she hadn’t heard about at press time was that those talented kids raised $1,240.60! “We were so excited because [combined] with the money from a school in the Bronx, it will help pay for one tent to return children to Ecole Bon Samaritan,” the children wrote. I think these kids are Good Samaritans themselves!

Speaking of saving the date, mark Monday, May 24, on your TV viewing calendar (or set your DVR). Multiple Emmy Award winner Amber Edwards will be celebrating the debut of her newest documentary, A Place Out Of Time: The Bordentown School, which she co-produced with Dave Davidson. With narration by Ruby Dee, the 60-minute program tells the story of a school in New Jersey that was committed to the education of African Americans during an era when discrimination was sadly the law and custom in the United States. Bordentown was the last all-black, publicly funded, coeducational boarding school north of the Mason-Dixon line. PBS will air the program at 10 pm.

I hope you’re in the mood for an Italian meal this coming Wednesday evening, May 19. My Place Restaurant on Queen Street is donating 20 percent of pretax bills on any meal ordered between 4 pm and closing to support the Friends of the C.H. Booth Library. Just mention the library when you place your order.

Home Instead Senior Care in Sandy Hook and Trumbull is hosting a Senior Makeover essay contest. Seniors 65 years of age or older are invited to submit an essay of 500 words or less saying why she or he, or someone they know, could use a free senior makeover, to the Newtown Senior Center, 14 Riverside Road, by May 20. One male and one female winner will be announced at the Senior Makeover Reception, Thursday, May 27, at 1 pm, at the Newtown Senior Center. Reception refreshments will be provided by Sue Chef of Newtown, a catering service that delivers meals to seniors in their homes. Winners will receive one outfit each from a local department store, a haircut from Ricci’s Academy, a Swiss skin care consultation, and before and after photos.

The only makeover I’ll be seeking is of the news next week for this column. I hope you’ll be here to…. Read me again.