The many morning regulars at My Place restaurant were glad to see their regular chef, Laurie Lincoln, return this week. While she was gone some of the cooks included John and Mark, Louise’s sons, as well as Louise Tambascio herself. But no one was quite the same as Laurie. So welcome back, Laurie!

Nine-year-old Kate Kellerer was the big winner when the Newtown Savings Bank held its grand opening recently.  Kate not only won the $100 raffle, she also correctly guessed the amount of pennies in the piggy bank and won it, too. Kate is the daughter of Doreen and Ed Kellerer of Sandy Hook.

This has been another big week for business in Newtown as California-born Starbucks opened on Church Hill Road and DeLancey Street, a New York-style deli, restaurant and catering shop opened on South Main Street.  I’ve made it a rule to visit all of the grand openings to see what kind of  free samples they might be giving away.

Town Historian Dan Cruson is really busy this fall. Last week Dan began leading students from his anthropology class at Joel Barlow High School in Redding in an archeological excavation at Putnam Memorial State Park where there were three encampments by the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. Every Saturday and Sunday until mid November Dan also will be conducting an archeology field school for interested volunteers at the park between 10 am and 4 pm. Anyone who wants to join in the dig is asked to bring a mason’s trowel, a dust pan, a two-inch paint brush with plastic bristles, and comfortable work gloves. You’ll also need to bring your own food and beverages, as there are no places to buy food in the vicinity of the park. There will be signs inside the park entrance off Route 107 (by Putnam’s statue) to direct volunteers to the dig.

The Newtown High School Class of 1969 is holding its 30th year reunion on Saturday night at the Danbury Hilton.  There will be dancing to music provided by Toast & Jam, a Danbury band led by Sal Salgado, former drummer of The Boss Blues (who the class should all remember). Several other former members of The Boss Blues are planning on making guest appearances. And Bruce Tibbitts has promised to sit in for a few numbers. Is this nostalgic or what!

Micaela Hurley, a 1994 NHS graduate, now serves as a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army. Stationed in Germany, the physically fit Hurley recently ran and finished the 26-mile Berlin Marathon in less than four hours. According to Micaela, a West Point graduate, this year marked the 25th anniversary of the race which, until this year, had never actually been held in Berlin.

The cement block building that loomed at the foot of the library driveway looks quite nice now that it has a brick facing to match the library itself.  Marty Post is going to landscape the building, which houses a chiller, for his master gardening project at the UConn Cooperative Extension System.

All the news reports about encephalitis, mosquitoes and dead crows certainly have everyone nervous. Jan Andras said that when she accompanied her son to a soccer game in Ridgefield this week the game was delayed for 20 minutes because a dead crow was spotted on the field. Newtown Health Director Mark Cooper said that, despite the published news report in another newspaper, only one dead crow has been found in Newtown and the state was not even interested in testing it. “Crows die for many reasons,” Mark said. “If you wake up one morning and find a lot of dead crows, that may be significant. But one dead crow does not make a public health emergency.”

First Selectman Herb Rosenthal played the part of bus driver Tuesday as he used a town van to drive four Newtown High School students to Cromwell. Herb, the four students, and selectmen Joe Bojnowski and Bill Brimmer headed to the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities’ “Better Communities for the 21st Century) convention in Cromwell.  Herb borrowed the van from Public Works Director Fred Hurley, who had it cleaned and vacuumed before the trip.

On Sunday I plan to get out my inline skates, helmet, knee and elbow pads, and head up to Fairfield Hills for Newtown Youth Service’s annual Family Bikes, Boards, and Blades Day.  The fun starts at noon and continues until 3 pm. For everyone who rides bikes, there are four different routes, from beginner to advanced. For skating cats like me, there are safe areas for rollerblading and skateboarding. And there will be free food for the participants.  This year I hope to win the bike that is being raffled off but even if I don’t, I won’t be disappointed because I’ve heard that everyone who participates will receive a prize.

I have not heard from my great old friend Ben Lochridge for some time now but I suspect that he is still having a great time at his place in Florida soaking up the sun. Since he is retired and has lots of time on his hands, I am hoping that he can get me an answer to “how deep would the ocean really be if it was not filled with so many sponges?”

That said, I hope that you have the inclination to …

Read me again.