Date: Fri 26-Mar-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: CURT

Quick Words:

Mountain-March-basketball

Full Text:

TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN

There's an old joke that asks why people are so tired on April 1: they just

had a March of 31 days! March always is such an exhausting month. It is muddy

and cold, and aside from the green beer of St Patrick's Day, it is nearly

devoid of opportunities for redemption. Every March, however, we allow

ourselves to flirt with vicarious glory by rooting for UConn's basketball

teams. This year, there is hope that our flirtation won't be entirely

unrequited.

Though the women's team has departed early from tournament play, the men's

team has scaled new heights, making it into the Final Four for the first time.

Who knows, maybe by this time next week, we'll have national champions to brag

about after the great Duke-out.

Speaking of the Huskies and scaling great heights, Rev Steve Gordon of the

Congregational Church reports he played a little pickup hoops with UConn

recruit Ajou Ajou Deng last week at the Greenknoll YMCA in Brookfield. Deng, a

6'11" center, has the potential to be the best player UConn has ever seen,

according to Husky coach Jim Calhoun. I hope you took it easy on him, Steve.

The members of the local Knights of Columbus and the St Rose Home & School

Association sure could use the help of Ajou Ajou Deng as they get ready for

the charity basketball game that will be held at Newtown High School on

Friday, March 26. The evening will begin with special events at 6 pm. Among

the prizes and raffles that have been collected are a gift basket and signed

cookbook from actor Paul Newman. The high school Color Guard and Marquettes

will perform, the Pep band will play and Heather Gunn will sing the National

Anthem. The evening will include many special games and shooting events for

children, teenagers, and adults. Pizza, hot dogs and other refreshments also

will be available. Proceeds will benefit the Ray Connor Scholarship Fund at St

Rose School.

A happy 50th birthday goes out to JoAnn Didonato of Sandy Hook School. The

staff threw a surprise birthday bash for JoAnn Monday afternoon in the faculty

room. JoAnn knows Sandy Hook School pretty well, so keeping the event a

surprise was impossible. And sure enough, JoAnn found out about it.

Remember Jasmine, the adorable little one-year-old dog that was struck by a

vehicle on Main Street? Well, she's doing great, according to the Mount

Pleasant Hospital for Animals. Her badly fractured leg has been plated by an

orthopedic surgical specialist and she is expected to make a full recovery.

An article in a recent edition of The Bee told the story of Jasmine and how

money needed to be raised to help cover medical bills for the dog, which had

to be abandoned by its owners. Several Newtown animals lovers stepped forward

and raised $990. Jasmine is expected to be adopted sometime this month.

Fred and Ellen Parrella came close to really striking it big at the Rotary's

gold raffle Saturday night. Ellen won two-tenths of an ounce of gold early in

the raffle, then Fred was in the running for the grand prize, 12 ounces of

gold worth about $3,600. When there were only five tickets left in contention,

Fred started offering his ticket for sale for $600. With each number drawn,

Fred kept upping his price. There weren't any takers, however, and Fred was

eliminated when Bob Grossman pulled ticket No 187 on the next to last draw.

As the drawing neared its conclusion, Brookfield Rotary Club members Andrea

and Vince Lupo began to realize that one of the two $100 tickets that their

club purchased just might win. So when Henry Boyd of Carmel, N.Y., offered to

buy a half-interest in the ticket for $200, Mrs Lupo decided to sell.

"I figured we could recoup the $200 that our club spent and still have a

chance to win," she explained afterwards. The last number Bob Grossman drew

eliminated the ticket purchased by Megin Doto of Nazareth, Penn., leaving the

Brookfield club and Henry Boyd the happy winners. Mrs Lupo is the Brookfield

club's past president; her husband will be president next year.

Among the other winning couples in the raffle were Jim and Betty Lou Osborne,

who each won two-tenths of an ounce of gold.

Art Luledjian dropped me a postcard to say he appreciated the fact that The

Way We Were has been expanded to include events that happened in Newtown 75

years ago. WWW now includes 1924, the year Art was born, and he said he

recognizes some of the names of old-timers. He moved to Monroe in 1942 and

lives on Hammertown Road.

Legislative Council chairman Pierre Rochman has been seen wearing a bow tie at

some recent council budget meetings and is expected to wear one again at next

week's public hearings. Pierre and his wife, Joanne, love the theater and

Pierre likes to wear bow ties for the shows. Seeing that the budget hearings

take place in the middle school "theater," it only makes sense that he don one

there, as well. Pierre may be fantasizing about a standing ovation for the

council's budget this year, but given the reaction of some school supporters

to the council's cut of the school budget request, I don't think he should

count on too many curtain calls.

It is now time for my standing ovation this week...

Well, I don't hear anything.

Ok. You may have to think about some of this stuff a while before you really

appreciate it. I will be back to take my curtain calls next week, so...

Read me again.