I, for one, am going to breathe easier with the announcement that Dr Chris Mixon and his associate, Dr Lindsey Westerfield, of Animal Medical Center on South Main Street will offer emergency services beginning Friday, August 22. One of the doctors will be on call Monday through Thursday until midnight, and Friday from 5 pm until Monday at 8 pm in case of a pet emergency, like getting a mouse stuck in the throat or something. The emergency service is for any pet owner in the area, not just Dr Mixon’s clients, and is presently the only such local service.

I understand that congratulations should go out to Newtown Hook & Ladder Fire Company. This year celebrates the 125th anniversary of the department as a chartered company. That’s a lot of fires put out and cats rescued from trees. Thanks so much, to all of the men and women who are, and who have been, volunteers for Hook & Ladder.

She has a few years to go to match Hook & Ladder, but our town clerk is celebrating an anniversary, too. Wednesday, August 6, marked Debbie Aurelia’s one-year anniversary as Newtown’s town clerk. Debbie, who had served as an assistant town clerk under former town clerk Cindy Simon, assumed the position when Cindy retired from the town clerk’s position after 20 years and moved to Florida with her husband, Fuzzy. And while Cindy is gone, she is not forgotten: recently, Debbie presented to Cindy a copy of the 2007 Town Report, which was dedicated to Cindy.

NMS computer tech teacher Tina Welsh and Norwalk High history teacher Ted Welsh visited some of New York City’s more undiscovered sites this past Saturday. The Irish Hunger Memorial is located at 290 Vesney and North End Avenues in the City and stands as a reminder of the Irish famine of 1846 to 1850 that caused thousands of Irish to flee the homeland and emigrate to the United States. It is also a reminder of the hunger that continues to plague many parts of the world today. Ted tells me that the memorial is a beautiful half-acre garden on the Hudson River with stones from each of Ireland’s 32 counties as part of the memorial. The Welshes also parched their thirst at Katz’s Delicatessen, a deli that has served customers in the City for more than 120 years and was the deli in the infamous When Harry Met Sally scene, and toured the Merchant’s House Museum on East 4th Street, the home of a wealthy early 19th Century merchant. The home gave great insight into domestic life during that period, said Tina, and was quite a contrast to the Lower East Side Tenement Museum of that same era, which they also squeezed in later that day. It figures, that two teachers would spend their vacation time learning….

The rainstorm last Saturday morning may have been welcomed by gardeners with thirsty plants, but not so much by 16-year-old swimmer Matt Iassogna, who was one of several swimmers involved in the Swim Across the Sound Marathon. Matt and the other members of the relay teams had to cut short the 25k swim across Long Island Sound when thunder and lightning made the going unsafe. Swim Across the Sound is sponsored by the St Vincent’s Medical Center Foundation and raises funds for cancer prevention, education, and support programs.

Gardeners are really reaping what they sow these days, according to Organic Farmers’ Market organizer Mary Fellows. “There’s a nice crush of produce coming in now, and the good news is that the tomatoes are finally here,” she announced. Shoppers next Tuesday at the St John’s site will have a bountiful selection of all seasonal produce, including a big offering by Waldingfield Farm from the 60 varieties of tomatoes that it grows. Rob Lowe Farm of Roxbury joins the Organic Market next week, Mary says, with a selection of natural, antibiotic, grass-fed beef for sale. The Etsy Fair returns August 12, as well, so arts and crafts lovers will want to check out the handcrafted and Connecticut-made items that these artists will have on hand. Sounds like my basket will be overflowing by the time I leave….

Still high on their adventure, the members of Troop 70 Venture Crew and leaders rolled into town at 4 am Tuesday morning. The Crew spent July 27 to August 4 climbing Mt Katahdin in Baxter State Park in Maine, backpacking, and canoeing 75 miles on the east branch of the Penobscot River. Despite rather inclement weather most of the week, the group had a once-in-a-lifetime experience, said participants, and the young people learned to “weather adversity.” I’ll bet a hot shower and a soft bed felt pretty darn good, though.

The police department’s dark blue Chrysler PT Cruiser, which has been used by the department’s youth officer for the past several years, will be getting some spiffing up. Once refurbished, the Chrysler will be piloted by Officer Gladys Pisani, conducting the department’s DARE program (Drug Abuse Resistance Education). DARE is intended to teach fifth graders how to resist peer group pressure to use drugs. Officer Gladys and the PT Cruiser will be based at Reed Intermediate School.

I’m hoping that next week I don’t have to DARE you to…. Read me again.