The Top of the Mountain was a good place to be as this week got underway. What with fallen trees and rising waters all over Newtown and Sandy Hook, the higher, the better, was my thought.

No one needs to be reminded of the townwide power outage and the nuisance that has created. I was happy to hear that only 20 people needed to take shelter at the Newtown High School, to escape the brunt of the storm. And even though pets under control were welcomed there, Emergency Director Maureen Will tells me that no one arrived with Felix or Fido in hand.

Dr Mixon’s receptionist, Chris, at Newtown Animal Clinic, expected to come to work on Monday and find all kinds of little animals waiting there for her attention. But Dr Mixon’s generous offer to shelter pets, in case owners had to evacuate during or post-storm, was not taken up by a single person, she said. We’ll take that as good news, meaning everyone felt that they not only had enough resources to keep their families comfortable, but their pets, as well.

Big wild cats apparently prepare for a hurricane by hanging out on Mt Pleasant Road. Lisa Grossman’s dad, John, took this photo of what looked to them like a mountain lion (I know, I know. DEP says they are extinct in Connecticut) Saturday afternoon. “The lion is right next to our pool’s slide, sitting on the cement. After a couple of seconds of sitting there, it just got up and walked away, looking very relaxed,” Lisa shares. The big cat — more likely a bobcat or lynx — headed into the woods toward Taunton Lake. “It was very cool to see,” says Lisa, “but also alarming for people who have small dogs and cats.”

I ran into Diana Baxter at Newtown Youth Academy on Tuesday morning (where she and many others were taking advantage of the NYAs offer of free showers and free Wi-Fi). She was relieved to be out and about. Her street had been blocked completely by fallen trees following Hurricane Irene’s pass through town, a kind of scary situation, she said. One nice thing about the storm’s aftermath, she noticed, was that everyone on her street came out of their houses, making friends with neighbors they barely knew lived next door. Of course, just when her street was cleared enough to provide passage, she realized she had locked her keys in her car. “Triple-A told me it would be two days before they could get to me!” exclaimed Diana. That wouldn’t do, so she called All State. “They said eight hours, and I thought that was crazy,” Diana said. Luckily, it turned out to be less than half an hour, so Diana is a free bird, once again.

After two days of wondering when fallen trees were going to be moved and wires restrung, there was a ray of hope. Big trucks rumbled up blocked roads and the crews were working well after dark to remove them. Power came on in the center of town late Tuesday night, and a few other areas, so there is hope for the rest of the Newtowners still in the dark. Thanks to NYA, the school system, Masonicare at Newtown, and all who have opened to the public for showers and power. It is hard to be patient, but remember: you catch more flies with honey, than vinegar. (Or more cats with cream than heartworm medicine.)

You don’t have to be happy about being powerless, though. If you had power, you might have seen a face from town on MSNBC’s Dylan Ratigan Show, Wednesday, August 31. Newtown resident and Reuters News Group journalist Rob Cox laid bare the poor response of CL&P in Newtown, and throughout Connecticut. He planned to talk about “the obviously terrible preparations and response from our local utility. CL&P really got this wrong and was undermanned despite the very clear danger that Irene offered,” Rob told me via e-mail, Wednesday morning. Rob said he is also surprised how little has been made of this blunder in the news. “I find it particularly galling in light of the fact that Connecticut residents pay more than those of any other state in the continental US,” said Rob, and supplied this link to stats from the Department of Energy: www.eia.gov/cneaf/electricity/epm/table5_6_a.html. I was hidden away beneath a couch at the Hideaway Café on Tuesday, and spotted Rob there, researching the info. Lucky Rob — he has returned to his Times Square office and Manhattan apartment, with electricity and hot showers. (His wife and kids opted to remain in Newtown he said, to finish up that summer reading.)

Newtown Bee Associate Editor John Voket sent us a nice video of his vacation… floodwaters swirling down the street of the Vermont village in which he had hoped to find some R&R. Better luck next year, John.

John will be back to emcee the Newtown Labor Day Parade, though, even if he has to swim. And I am pleased as punch to hear from Parade Committee President Beth Caldwell that there have been no changes to plans for the Monday, September 5, Newtown Labor Day Parade.

Newtown’s school kids will be enjoying their last day of summer vacation on Labor Day, thanks to the hurricane. The scheduled start of school was set back a week, due to the uncertainty of road clearings and return of power to the area. I’ll bet there aren’t too many tears from kids over that decision. (Wait. Do I hear the sound of parents tearing their hair out of their heads?)

Newtown Savings Bank (the platinum sponsor of the parade) volunteers have designed a commemorative navy blue baseball cap to help raise funds to support the parade. The hats are available exclusively at Newtown Savings Bank’s two Newtown branches — Main Office at 39 Main Street and Sand Hill Plaza at 228 South Main Street. The cost is $10 per hat and checks should be made payable to Newtown Labor Day Parade, Inc. Quantities are limited, so don’t wait. You don’t want to be the only one on the street without a cool cap. For more information contact Brian Amey at 203-426-4440, extension 3100.

Those same volunteers and more than 100 of their colleagues at NSB rallied to make sure that the bank stayed operational after the storm, marketing director Tanya Truax says. The Main Street branch of NSB opened for regular hours to make sure that customers were able to take care of business and get cash for the many places that were not accepting credit cards temporarily. The bank’s headquarters was running on backup generator, which meant not all computers were available. Employees shared their offices and computers so that support staff was available to the open branches, loans could continue to be processed, and customers could reach the call center. “There was a lot of stair climbing as elevators were not operating, and air conditioning was nonexistent,” says Tanya, but they persevered. Many other local businesses also went out of their ways to take care of customers, as best they could, so thanks to all for going the extra mile.

I was sorry to hear that Shortt’s Farm squash crop was squashed by the storm, and I have no doubt that many other farmers and gardeners are shaking their fists at the sky this week.

Before the storm hogged the news, Wii bowlers at the Newtown Senior Center challenged each other, Thursday, August 28. Congratulations to The Exercise Team, a newly formed group of Senior Center bowlers, who took first place at the Senior Center Bowling Championship. Marion Thompson, scored 165; Dottie Dellapiano scored 117; Elaine Minoque scored 225 (highest score overall); and Joyce Golden scored 170, to give their team the grand total of 677 points. This team will now take on senior Wii bowlers from other centers in the region. Go, Exercise Team!

I’ll get plenty of exercise this next week, between watching the storm cleanup, chasing after the Labor Day Parade, and standing by to see all of the (finally) back to school excitement. Then I’ll exercise my paws on the keyboard, so be sure to… Read me again.