Sisters Barbara Dague and Mari O’Rourke received some good news this week. Their company, Dague Popcorn, with which you may be familiar — they sell it every week at the Farmer’s Market at Fairfield Hills — has been selected as a finalist in the 2014 Martha Stewart American Made Awards in the Foods, Sweets & Baked Goods category. Now I hear that Newtowner Yolie Mereno is also a Martha Stewart American Made Award finalist, for her product, “One Smart Cookie.” That makes three Newtown connections for Martha’s awards, of which I’m aware. Johnny Williams of Johnny A. Williams Woodshop, located beneath the Weathered Way on Obtuse Road, recently received notification that he was a finalist in the 2014 Martha Stewart American Made Awards, in the Design category. This awards program celebrates those who use their passions to create handcrafted goods for their own small businesses — and its all “Made in America.” I’m hoping to hear positive results from both of these area crafters when the awards are made public. Go to www.marthastewart.com and vote for your favorite!

Employees at Vodafone Telecom Management Practice, located in the Turnberry Lane industrial park in Sandy Hook, have been cooing over a lovely white dove ( or perhaps, pigeon), that has made itself to home in the business parking lot for the last week. Marie Piselli tells me that the bird is fully feathered, but does not seem able to fly any great distance. So, she says, they are wondering if the unbanded dove could be someone’s pet? Have you lost a white bird in the area? “We did not expect to see him back here after the weekend,” says Marie, “but since he is still here I am going to bring in some seed I have at home for him. Some employees have left small pieces of bread for him, but he just pecks away at the ground.”  If you want to claim this bird, please contact nancy@thebee.com, and we will get you in touch with Marie. (I would offer to take it in, but my ulterior motives would be suspect.)

Two local chefs will be “Wowing” diners at the Connecticut Chef’s Challenge, this Friday evening, at the Lincoln Culinary Institute in Shelton. Chef Plum of Plum luv Foods and Jay Daly of Butcher’s Best Country Market will be among the chefs at the event presented by Pullman & Comley and the Community Health Network of Connecticut. Unlike most cooking contests, guests will visit the kitchens while chefs create their signature dishes, and get to chat with them about the recipes. Then, guests will get to sample the creations — and vote for their favorite. The Connecticut Chef’s Challenge benefits The Optimus Foundation and Optimus Health Care, Inc, a network of community-based clinics offering affordable health care in Bridgeport, Stamford and Stratford. Good luck to both of our Newtown chefs!

Newtown artist and author Patricia Barkman will be holding a reading of her book, Lieber, at the Bethel Public Library, 189 Greenwood Avenue, Bethel, on Saturday, September 20, at 2 pm. The public is invited to the event in the library’s activity room on the main floor.

A reliable source tells me that Joan Crick ate her way through her 82nd birthday, beginning with lunches and dinners with friends and family that began at least two days before her September 15 birthday. Lunch on Monday included her brother, Lee Glover, also a native of Newtown, and then dinner with still more friends. I am always so pleased, it makes me want to purr, when I hear that someone is celebrating his or her birthday with all the gusto it deserves. Happy birthday, Joan!

Happy Birthday, too, to the Resiliency Center, where Stephanie Cinque and staff have arranged dozens of music, art, and other workshops and therapy programs at the 153 South Main Street location, this past year. If you are curious about the Resiliency Center, you are welcome to visit next Tuesday, September 24, between 9:30 and 11 am, to meet Stephanie and the other volunteers. (I haven’t heard if birthday cake is in the works for that day, but one can always hope.)

Just in time for that closet switch from summer to fall clothing, The Fashion Exchange, 109 South Main Street, is having a 30-Year Anniversary Under The Tent Sale this Saturday, September 20, from 10 am to 5 pm, with specials on jewelry, special items from NYC at amazing prices, and 50 percent off all Baroque pearl jewelry. There is a free gift with purchase and a drawing will be held to give away one of five gift certificates, worth $25 each. All purchases under the tent must be check or cash. Janet Falkenthal’s women’s consignment shop features top designer clothing, shoes, handbags, and accessories.

Get out your reading glasses, and thank your lucky stars that you can read whatever you like — no matter who else doesn’t agree with you. Banned Books Week is celebrated this year from Sunday, September 21 through Saturday, September 27. The annual event “highlights the value of free and open access to information,” according to the American Library Association website www.ala.org. Most of the books that have been restricted or banned from libraries and schools have been reinstated, thanks to the efforts of citizens who believe in the freedom to read. Check out the C.H. Booth Library Banned Books display on the main floor of the library this week. You’ll be surprised by some of the titles, as well as the reasons for which they were banned. (The Tale of Peter Rabbit, by Beatrix Potter, found itself banned at one time, for depicting only “middle class” rabbits…!)

By the way, I hope you have marked September 27 on your calendar and plan to attend the chbMakers Open House at the library, from noon to 4 pm. It’s an opportunity to experiment with a broad range of hands-on skills, led by volunteers from the community who are passionate about what they do. Find out more at www.chboothlibrary.org.

I know that this recent snap of chilly weather has everyone thinking about leaf peeping, but hold on to your hats. The DEEP foliage report predicts that peak foliage in Connecticut is not for another two or three weeks (October 3 to 15). Nonetheless, it seems that summer is shedding more and more of her greenery every day in favor of the reds and yellows of autumn. You can find suggestions for fall hikes in our state at www.ct.visit.com.

There is always time for the news to peak, and I will be there. Find out what I find out, next week, when you… Read me again.