Date: Fri 16-Jul-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: CURT

Quick Words:

mountain-flamingo

Full Text:

TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN

Freddie the Flamingo, whose photo appeared in Mountain last week, has been

stolen. Freddie was on display in front of the Newtown Historical Society

headquarters on July 3 in celebration of John Rohmer's birthday and

disappeared soon afterwards. The extra year on John's age was not stolen,

however, and still stands.

Eight feet tall, painted neon orange with blue feathers (the colors of the

University of Florida's Gators), Freddie is hard to miss. It's hard to imagine

how someone could just walk away with an eight-foot flamingo, but it happened.

Freddie was the creation of Sallie and Mike Meffert, who are big Gator fans.

Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Freddie the Flamingo is

asked to contact the Newtown Police Department.

Sallie was involved with the Historical Society's House & Garden tour again

this year and reports that the tour had its best year ever, selling about 190

of the 200 tickets, twice as many as last year. The word apparently is getting

out about the tour because Martha Stewart called two days before it took place

and expressed an interest in seeing the gardens. Could it be because Kevin

Walker, a Newtown resident and student at the Rhode Island School of Design,

has been working for Martha Stewart's television show in her Westport studios

this summer?

The day after the tour, The New York Times published a glowing article about

our terrific town in its real estate section. Even My Place restaurant got a

plug. That didn't turn Louise Tambascio's head, however. She's more excited

about the fact that the restaurant has a brand new dishwasher that's faster

and provides more counter space.

The new house going up on the west side of Main Street is going to be a

colonial style to blend in with the neighborhood. The young family building it

lived on Queen Street before moving to a rental while the house is being

built. They're looking forward to watching the Labor Day Parade go right past

their house.

The heroine of the week has to be Barbara MacMillan of High Meadow Farm on

Shepard Hill Road. While she and her sister Elizabeth were out doing yard

work, they heard their dogs barking ferociously. What they found was that the

three dogs had cornered an extremely frightened baby deer. While Elizabeth and

her other sister Stacey and their mom Beverly got the dogs back into the

house, Barbara picked up the deer to keep it safe. Once the dogs were gone,

Barbara let the deer go and, as far as anyone knows, it ran back to its mom.

Lori Taylor, a hair stylist at Ricky's Salon, is planning to walk 60 miles

from West Point to Manhattan with more than 2,000 other courageous people to

raise money for awareness and early detection of breast cancer. She is raising

pledges that will benefit Avon's Breast Cancer Awareness Crusade which awards

grants to non-profit organizations that educate women about breast cancer and

the benefits of early detection and treatment. The sister of Dr Jeffrey

Friedman of Community Health Associates also is walking.

Tom Swetts has announced that he has reached a milestone, membership in the

AARP.

Carol Mattegat was back at work this week after breaking her collarbone last

month falling down a flight of stairs at her home. Welcome back Carol.

The Republican Town Committee met in oven-like conditions in the basement of

Edmond Town Hall Monday night. Bob Cascella must already be thinking of cooler

weather as he informed fellow committee members of the GOP's Oktoberfest at

Dickinson Park this fall. There's only one problem -- the party is slated for

September 25.

Speaking of the Republicans, Mark Nielsen is at it again -- already having

raised $128,000 for another run at the US Representative's seat (5th District)

in 2000. And he'd like more money and said so in a recent letter to the

Newtown Republicans.

"Every time I get a letter from Mark, it's like having a kid back in college,"

joked party chairperson Marie Sturdevant.

Fire Marshal George Lockwood reports the phone in his office has been ringing

off the hook this week with people inquiring about last week's article in The

Bee. The story informed residents of a "window of opportunity" for which they

can remove their underground oil tanks and be assured the state will pay as

much as 90 percent of any required cleanup cost. Mr Lockwood figures all those

residents with underground oil tanks on their mind can finally get some sleep

now.

When workmen were removing an old air conditioner from Town Clerk Cynthia

Curtis Simon's office in Edmond Town Hall last Friday to install a new one,

they found a bird's nest holding five small white eggs on the windowsill. The

anxious mom responsible for the eggs watched from a perch nearby at Newtown

General Store. Once the new air conditioner was installed, she returned to her

rightful place atop the nest on the windowsill.

Don't you stray too far from the nest this week. Remember, you have to be back

here soon to...

Read me again.