The heat finally broke on Wednesday this week, although the humidity has stuck around. At night and in the early morning, the fog lingers in the hollows around town. It makes Newtown seem a little spooky at times. It’s perfect for telling ghost stories around the campfire or barbecue.

Ask millions of people around the world and they’ll tell you: ghosts are real. Newtown native Jeff Belanger has made a career of collecting stories and writing about the experiences of others regarding the supernatural and now he is celebrating the release of his third book, Our Haunted Lives: True Life Ghost Encounters. Released this month, in Our Haunted Lives (ISBN 1564148564; New Page Books, 222 pages, $14.99), Jeff has written up dozens of interviews by eyewitnesses of supernatural phenomena from around the globe, including one of the last major interviews by George Lutz (owner of the “real” Amityville Horror house) before Mr Lutz died in May. The book is available at Barnes & Noble, Borders, Amazon.com and other booksellers.

If you haven’t seen Selma Kenter around this summer, it is because the part-time Newtown resident, part-time Istanbul resident and full-time quilter extraordinaire writes that she is enjoying some time in Iceland at present. A nice, cool rest is right in line for Selma, who has busied herself the past year curating an exhibition of Turkish quilts for the Yokohama Quilt Week in Japan this past November and handling the 10th Anniversary Exhibition of the Textile Arts Association in Istanbul. She hopes to make it back to Newtown for the September 8 “Day To Make A Difference” benefit at Danbury Hospital, where, once again, one of her handmade quilts will be raffled off.

Margaret Brown, young adult librarian at C.H. Booth Library, reports that the library has received a very generous donation to mail cookbooks collected to send to New Orleans. This leaves only a small amount more to be collected before the books can be sent on their way. The cookbooks will be distributed to residents who lost all of their books in last August’s hurricane. Donations can be sent to C.H. Booth Library, 25 Main Street, Newtown CT 06470.

Education Connection, which provides summer childcare at Sandy Hook Elementary School, had to close on Tuesday, July 18, due to excessive heat, and I heard that the air conditioning failed at the Newtown Post Office — but the mail made it through.

When new Police Patrol Officer Todd Dingee of Bethel was sworn into office in ceremonies Tuesday at Town Hall South, it was a colorful event. Todd’s wife, Beth, and their three young children attended, as did other family members and friends. A complement of police officers also was present. Assistant Town Clerk Sue Shpunt administered the oath of office to Todd, as Police Chief Michael Kehoe watched. Also present were Captain Joe Rios, Lieutenant George Sinko, and Police Commission Chairman Carol Mattegat, among others.

Although Tuesday night’s heavy rains wetted down the area and reduced the risk of grass fires, Fire Marshal Bill Halstead warns that when conditions are dry, motorists should be extra careful about creating accidental grass fires. On Monday and on Tuesday, lit cigarettes that were carelessly thrown out the car window by passing motorists apparently started grass fires on Interstate 84’s median divider near Exit 11. Although both fires were small and were rapidly extinguished, such situations require firefighters to travel on the highway, risking their safety to put out the nuisance blazes and creating unnecessary traffic jams in the process.

Kenneth Lerman has been awarded a Fourth Degree Black Belt in Jujitsu from Zen Budokai East in Danbury. Sensei Lerman achieved his first-degree black belt on his 52nd birthday and was promoted to Third Degree Black Belt, Sensei (teacher), in 2001. Mr Lerman teaches at the school as well as being a student of Jujitsu and other martial arts. The instructors at Zen Budokai East, all of whom have Black Belts, have a total of 100 years martial arts experience.

Jim Sullivan was more than a little alarmed when he came home one afternoon last week and noticed the 80-foot ash tree next to his Drummer’s Lane house slowly, but steadily, splitting right in half. A swift call to an arborist put a halt to the tree’s threatening division and kept his roof intact. Apparently, the heavy rains of May and June collecting in the split of the tree weakened it. The heavy summer foliage added weight to the outer limbs that the water-saturated tree could not withstand.

Well, it’s time for me to head for the hammock in the trees, but I’ll be napping with one eye open after hearing about Jim Sullivan’s experience. I’ll be back here next week — well rested, I hope — so be sure to…

Read me again.