The annual senior picnic at Dickinson Park on Thursday, June 10, was a grand success as usual. More than 125 Newtown residents had a great time from 11 am to 3 pm eating hot dogs and hamburgers grilled by First Selectman Herb Rosenthal and Lois Pratt, and served with a smile by Director of Social Services Ann Piccini wearing an impressive chef’s hat.

The picnic could not have happened without a lot of hard work and planning –– not to mention heavy lifting –– by Newtown Senior Services Director Marilyn Place and her assistant Debbie Kenyon. Marilyn and Debbie spent several days ahead of time buying decorations and assembling all the picnic paraphernalia, including decorations, games, and prizes. The night before, they bought food and fixings for everyone who had called to reserve a spot. Marilyn said she has been putting on this picnic for all the 16 years she has been at the Newtown Senior Center, and she’s sure the spring picnic is a tradition that goes back before that. She did confess to thinking recently “there ought to be a better way” than “buggy lugging” all those picnic supplies in the senior van “with bocci balls and watermelons rolling around in back.”

A change of venue might be a nice idea, she suggested, to Holiday Hills in Cheshire, for example. And the addition of a small staff of weight lifters to carry the supplies would be wonderful. In lieu of a magic genie or two, perhaps next year a group of Newtown High School students might volunteer to help lighten their load. Instead of a carrot for incentive, a grilled hot dog might work.

Barbara Phillips wants everyone to know that she is doing well despite her accident Sunday morning on Route 25. Barbara says she was on her way to pick up bagels for a baby naming ceremony for her sixth grandchild when she apparently blacked out. Police, firefighters, and ambulance personnel immediately responded, took Barbara to the hospital and even got her husband. “I can’t tell you how grateful I am,” she said. “I feel so lucky to live in Newtown.”

Joe and Gaye Ylannes will travel to Hartford this week so Gaye can take her oath as an American citizen. Born in Vancouver, Canada, Gaye immigrated to the United States when she was 2 years old.

During Saturday night’s Relay For Life at Newtown High School, Dom Posca was busy zipping around the field in a golf cart decorated as the Shrekmobile. Friends have started calling the school district’s supervisor of building and grounds “Shrek,” though I don’t know why. He’s not that much of an ogre.

Ginny Lathrop slipped on a slippery spot on her kitchen floor last Thursday. On the way down she bumped her head on the counter and broke her left wrist when she hit the floor. Ginny, as always, is intent on bouncing right back. Her good friend Dave Lydem reported this week that she was consoled that at least her champagne-glass-holding right hand wasn’t affected.

Two members of the Newtown Police Department now have much more in common than they had before, now that they have become husband and wife. On April 25 at the Saybrook Point Inn in Old Saybrook, Sergeant Darlene Froehlich and Detective Robert Koetsch exchanged wedding vows in a civil ceremony, which was followed by a reception attended by 80 members of their families and friends. The inn is situated at the mouth of the Connecticut River, as it enters Long Island Sound.

The sergeant described the wedding as “a new beginning for both of us.” The detective said he is happy to be married. It is the second marriage for each. Following the wedding, the couple honeymooned in Iceland, where they went snowmobiling on a glacier. They also visited cosmopolitan London. The couple had worked together at the police department for almost a decade before they got to know one another on a personal as well as profession level. To commemorate the wedding, the couple has created a dual-sided, laminated photo collage that brings together dozens of pictures that were taken at the April wedding and reception.

Father John was spotted Wednesday afternoon wearing a T-shirt, Bermuda shorts, and sandals, along with a pretty good sunburn, queuing up in the line at the Ice Cream Shop. He had just finished field day at St Rose School, he explained, and was planning to recover with an ice cream soda and some air conditioning.

That reminds me that I have yet to have my first Avalanche of the season. Gotta go! Oh yeah, and…

Read me again.