I love to get out of the office for a walk on sunny days, but remind me never to take a walk with Shannon Hicks.

Starr, one of the office retrievers, made that fateful decision on Monday and walked with Shannon down to Bagel Delight. Shannon tied Starr’s leash to a heavy metal chair out front while she went in for a bagel. But barely before she could get in the door, something startled Starr and she jerked at her leash, and the chair scraped forward, and the sound further startled Starr and she pulled even harder. Before anyone could do anything about it, Starr was off and running across Church Hill Road and down The Boulevard with the metal chair rattling behind her.

Ben from Bagel Delight and various others helped Shannon chase the dog and chair down the street. A police cruiser coming the opposite direction on The Boulevard even joined the chase. Finally, Starr was freed from the tormenting chair, and everything settled down and returned to normal, except that no one wants to walk with Shannon anymore.

Meanwhile, another dog in town is preparing to travel around with a little more dignity than Starr. Before too long, Baro, the police department’s German shepherd, will be traveling in a new police cruiser outfitted with dog-related equipment he needs for his regular patrols with his handler, K-9 Officer Andy Stinson. The new Ford Crown Victoria is equipped with specialized climate control gear to make sure that Baro has a comfortable environment. The car’s back seat is specially outfitted for canine use. The vehicle has darkly tinted windows and has large decals on its rear roof posts that bear the likeness of a German shepherd. The patrol car’s marker plate number is “NPDK-9.”

Baro is a very smart dog but he doesn’t drive the car; Officer Stinson does that. The patrol car that was formerly used to transport Baro was on its last legs, experiencing frequent breakdowns.

Newtown Starbucks employee Colleen Orbegoso will be honored on Monday for winning the Starbucks Avant-Grande Culinary competition, and anyone who can schedule a coffee break around 1 pm can join the fun. Avant-Grande was a recipe submission competition held for all Starbucks partners in the New York metro area. Colleen created something she calls Maple Alfajor, an Argentinean sandwich cookie with maple filling, topped with powdered sugar. The cookie will be offered in all New York metro-area Starbucks locations as a limited time offer from August 29 until November 8. Colleen has also won $500 to attend the cooking school of her choice. The festivities on Monday will include the opportunity to assemble one of the winning pastries alongside Colleen as well as a tasting of Starbucks Anniversary Blend coffee and Earl Grey tea.

For those who have been curious about the peculiar sign outside Merryhill Child Care Center for the past week or so (“VT has one, BI has one… Newtown’s is coming”), the answer is here: This weekend, faculty of the early learning center will introduce European-style stickers they have created as a fundraiser for the Queen Street school. The oval stickers mirror the style of the popular decals that have been found at many tourist attractions in past years, and their sale will raise funds to support the educational programs and school supplies purchased by the school. A group is planning to be selling the stickers, which are $3 each, at Dunkin’ Donuts on Sunday morning from 9 to 11 am. The stickers will also be available for purchase during the Labor Day Parade.

Don’t forget that the 29th Annual Ukrainian Festival will take place on Sunday, August 27, at Paproski’s Tree Farm on Hattertown Road. Throughout the day there will be plenty of picnic-style foods and Ukrainian food including pierogie, stuffed cabbage, borscht, Ukrainian pastry, poppy seed and nut rolls, and homemade donuts. OK, I’m beginning to drool on my keyboard, so I better stop before the thing shorts out. But I’ll be back next week, full of pierogies, so be sure to…

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