Date: Fri 21-May-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: CURT

Quick Words:

Mountain-spring-walk

Full Text:

TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN

Late May is the time of year when everyone's closet and bureau drawers are in

transition. Shorts and sport shirts are edging out the last of the sweaters

and flannels, and on weekends at least, the sock drawer rarely gets opened.

The weather last week was spectacular, and I saw lots of people out walking

around their neighborhoods. Many of the flowering trees and bushes are in

bloom, and the air almost shimmers with fragrance -- or is that pollen?

Tim Spiro has been out taking a little walk around the neighborhood since last

March. Tim's neighborhood happens to be nearly the whole East Coast this

spring and summer. Tim is hiking the Appalachian Trail with his chocolate lab,

Alta. He started in Georgia in March and reached Dwaynesburg, Va., last week.

Tim, 24, is walking to Maine, a distance of 2,180 miles. He isn't the only

Newtown resident on the trail, either. According to Chris Spiro, Tim's father,

there are several other people from Newtown who are currently on the trail.

Carol Zimmerman is still looking for the garden tools she left in front of

Trinity Church about 9 am on Sunday for the Rogation blessing that was to take

place after the 9:45 am service. Before the service was over, the tools had

disappeared. At first Carol thought someone who wasn't aware of the planned

blessing of tools must have put them away to tidy the front of the church. But

the hoes and rakes haven't turned up. "I can't understand why anyone would

take them -- they weren't even nice tools," Carol said.

Barbara and Bill Brimmer have been really busy on the wedding circuit

recently. First they went to Vermont for a nephew's wedding. Then they flew to

Santa Barbara, Calif., for the wedding of the son of one of their close

friends. Last Saturday they were in the Church of the Holy Infant in Orange

where their daughter, Kelley, a graduate of the University of New Haven,

exchanged vows with her fiance, Patrick Flynn of West Haven. Besides giving

the bride away, Bill -- who has a fine voice -- sang the Irish Wedding Song

during the service at his daughter's request.

Kim Connolly was busy last week repainting the signs that advertise the Family

Counseling Center's annual Family Pizza Night. The all-you-can-eat pizza night

will be on Tuesday from 5 to 8 pm at the Newtown High School cafeteria. Kim

says she is looking for a Boy Scout or Girl Scout who would consider making

new waterproof signs as a community service project because the old signs are

beginning to fall apart. Call Kim at 426-0522.

Sandy Hook School third graders from Judy Bottrill and Barbara Bigham's

classes were introduced by State Rep Pat Shea (112th District) to her fellow

state legislators last Thursday as they sat in the observation gallery of the

General Assembly. The kids were taking a tour of the state capitol building

and Old State House as part of the third grade curriculum.

Best wishes to Gordon Williams who is recovering from surgery.

Congratulations to Linda Van den Eeden of the town's building department who

leaves her position Friday after 10 years of service to the town. She says she

is moving on to greener pastures.

Bill Meyer was sitting on his son-in-law Michael Hodge's motorcycle last

weekend when it toppled over onto him. The bike's exhaust brushed against his

leg, causing a pretty nasty burn. Bill is doing fine now, although he's

disappointed he never got to ride the bike.

Happy 30th birthday to Rick Fattibene.

The class of 1988 held its reunion last Saturday and the prize for the

furthest traveled went to Scott Behan who flew in from Wisconsin just for the

day.

Newtown resident and Waterbury firefighter Ray Corbo responded to a burning

apartment fire earlier this week in which a woman was trapped inside. Battling

smoke and flames, Ray and another fireman made their way through the building

where they found the unconscious woman. The two men managed to carry the woman

safely outside where they were able to revive her. Ray is also a volunteer

firefighter for the Hook & Ladder Fire Company.

Kym Stendahl called to say that the Newtown Summer Festival volunteers got

together Monday night to stuff and mail the envelopes asking for donations to

support this year's Labor Day Parade. Be on the lookout for envelopes marked

Labor Day Parade. They will be addressed to Postal Customer Local, but they

aren't junk mail. The parade takes place only thanks to donations and this is

the only fund-raiser that the committee holds each year.

Now that Steve Small has sold his liquor store, he says he is looking forward

to taking the summer off to spend more time with his family. But when we saw

Steve on Tuesday, his white dress shirt gave away the fact that he had just

come from a job interview.

We're going to miss Steve's familiar bald head on those television commercials

for Steve's Liquor Store. Steve says he is beginning to miss his bald head,

too. Not long ago his hair, which disappeared several years ago because of a

rare (but benign) disorder, started growing back in -- in patches. So Steve

has started going to the barber again, this time to get his head shaved, which

is an annoyance. "I wish it would make up its mind and stay all in, or all

out," he said.

For continuing updates of whose hair is in or out, what's up, or what's going

down, be sure to...

Read me again.