Justin Scott has been outed. The local resident and author of the Newtownesque Ben Abbott mysteries was the subject of a feature in The Boston Globe this week that announced to the world that our neighbor has been writing under a pseudonym for quite
Justin Scott has been outed. The local resident and author of the Newtownesque Ben Abbott mysteries was the subject of a feature in The Boston Globe this week that announced to the world that our neighbor has been writing under a pseudonym for quite some time.
While itâs been something of an open secret for a growing number of people over the years, Justin has not only written books using his own name â including his Ben Abbott series, Many Happy Returns, The Shipkiller, and Treasure Island: A Modern Novel â but he is also the man behind the popular thrillers of Paul Garrison. Justin wrote Fire and Ice, Sea Hunter, Red Sky at Morning, Buried at Sea, and The Ripple Effect, all under Garrisonâs name and an identity he and his agent, Henry Morrison, had cooked up. Paul Garrison was, according to his âbiography,â an international businessman based in Hong Kong who was the grandson of a sailor who wandered the South Seas in the last of the square-rigged trading vessels.
Now that his split personality is out in the open, maybe Justin will explain how he pulled it off. Did he write with both hands, simultaneously penning Garrison thrillers with his left hand and Scott mysteries with his right hand, while editing Newtownâs Tercentennial coffee table book with a pencil in his mouth?
Say what you will about Parks and Rec employee Deb Denzelâs throwing arm, but I canât believe she intended to throw out her set of car and house keys along with a few items of trash behind Town Hall South earlier this week. But with the able assistance of her co-worker Donna Benson, âDeb the Dumpster Diverâ retrieved her lost keys forthwith, and was none the worse for wear. Talk about teamwork...and hey, Deb, whatâs the name of that cologne youâre wearing?
Just because Heather Law is moving out of town doesnât mean her 20-year-old âKidsfitâ program is closing down. Heather tells me her husband, Ken, a corporate helicopter pilot, will be based out of Trenton, N.J., on a new assignment. So Heather, Ken and their three children are relocating to the Philadelphia area. But the good news is, the âKidsfitâ curriculum is going strong with all the same instructors and programming that folks in town have grown to know and love. The only thing that will be relocating will be Heather, who is in the process of selling the business. She is hoping her longstanding clients join a new crop of enthusiastic participants as âKidsfitâ launches its fall programs the week of September 25.
The Newtown police have your number! While at the police station this week, I saw delivery people come into the building and ask where they wanted the new telephone books deposited. The police pointed to a corner in the lobby, after which what must have been several hundred books were left there. I noted to Sergeant John Cole there should must be a lot of telephones in the building to require that many telephone books. He explained that the police station is a main delivery point for telephone books that are used by the town government.
I noticed that the police have taken delivery of some Ford Crown Victoria new patrol cars. They have just been equipped and lettered with police markings. Before too long they will be on the road. Meanwhile, Police Youth Officer Dana Schubert this week fired up the engine on the police departmentâs Chrysler PT Cruiser, which he uses in his work at the schools. The brightly colored and marked vehicle hasnât gotten too much use during the summer when schoolâs out. But before too long, Dana will be back in the schools and the PT Cruiser will be back cruising about town between the schools.
Despite generous sponsorships by local businesses in support of the 45th Annual Labor Day Parade, chairperson Kym Stendahl reports that the committee still falls shy of the nearly $20,000 needed to get the show on the road September 4. As in other years when funding has been tight, Ms Stendahl expects that Newtown residents will pull through at the final hour. To contribute, visit the parade website at newtownctlabordayparade.com, drop off your donations at the Newtown Savings Bank, or look for the coupon in The Newtown Bee.
And, of course, you already known enough to look for me in The Newtown Bee, so be sure toâ¦
Read me again.