Two familiar names were near the top of the results for the Hartford Marathon, which took place this past Saturday. In 4th place overall was Eric Macknight, a graduate of NHS now living in New York. Right on his heels (with a 5:46 mile per minute run to Eric’s 5:45) was another NHS grad and Newtown resident, Kevin Hoyt. Eric finished the 26.2 mile race with a time of 2:30:27, and Kevin with a time of 2:30:44. Congratulations to both!

Hot diggity dog! Newtown residents Melanie and Jay Mattegat were in Danbury on October 16 and had the unexpected joy of seeing an Oscar Mayer Weinermobile. There are usually six of the 27-foot-long hot dogs on wheels traveling across the country at any given time, according to oscarmayer.com.

Here’s a cost-effective way to get a beautiful dress for that special night — The Newtown High School Girls Inspiring Girls club is running a dress drive through its Instagram account, @nhsgirlsinspiring, for the school’s upcoming Homecoming dance on November 5. Club President Maya Wadhwa says the dresses are selling for $10, with $5 going to the original owner of the dress and $5 going to funding future club events. To purchase dresses, students have been interacting with the club’s Instagram account once a picture of a dress is posted. To help support the dress drive, pictures of dresses to donate to the drive can be e-mailed to club advisor Kristin English, englishk@newtown.k12.ct.us.

Just a reminder that the Fall Book Donation Day, sponsored by the Friends of the C.H. Booth Library, is scheduled for Sunday, October 21, from noon to 5 pm, rain or shine. Gently loved but unneeded books, DVDs, CDs, LPs, puzzles, or computer or board games, are welcome. Volunteers will be happy to accept your donations, unload your vehicle, and provide tax receipts. Pull up to the rear of the library at 25 Main Street that day and drop off your treasures. Call 203-270-4537 with questions.

There are still a few seats available for the 2019 UConn Extension Master Gardener Program, I’m told, and the application deadline has been extended to this Monday, October 22. Classes will be held in Farmington, Bethel, Haddam, Brooklyn, and Stamford. The program is presented in a hybrid class format, with three to four hours of online work before each of the half-day classroom sessions. Classes run for 16 weeks, and most classes run from 9 am to 1 pm. This year includes an evening session, from 5:30 to 9:30 pm, in Farmington, on Wednesdays. Classes begin the week of January 7. The program fee is $450. Partial scholarships may be available. For more info, call UConn Extension at 860-409-9053 or visit the UConn Extension Master Gardener website at mastergardener.uconn.edu.

The countdown clock is nearly finished. Newtown Lions Club members have been selling tickets for months for their annual Mustang Raffle, and this weekend is the big drawing. Tickets are $10 each, and final sales will be Saturday, October 20, during The Great Pumpkin Races at Edmond Town Hall. This year’s vehicle is a 1967 Mustang convertible with red body and black top and interior; V8 engine with automatic transmission, power steering, and power front disc brakes. Raffle participants do not need to be present to win the car, but they would have fun if they were at the town hall on Saturday. From 10 am until 2 pm, the Lions will also be presenting pumpkin races, decorated pumpkin contests, launching pumpkins on a trebuchet, hosting raffles and displays, and more. Visit www.newtownlions.org for details about either event. Proceeds from both will allow the local Lions to continue ongoing projects and making donations to dozens of local and regional groups during the upcoming year.

Newtown Historical Society is seeking volunteers with a number of specialties. The society specifically needs people to serve as head docent, docents, social media coordinator, and newsletter editor and writer. If interested or you just want more information, contact Barbara Wilson at bkwilsonhistory@yahoo.com or 203-952-5516.

Beginning on October 26, FirstLight Power Resources (FirstLight), the owner and operator of the Rocky River pumped hydroelectric station, will conduct a fall drawdown of Lake Lillinonah at the Shepaug Dam to conduct its maintenance and inspection activities. The drawdown will lower lake levels to minimum pond levels and return to normal operating elevations on November 9. Homeowners are encouraged to remove their structures, boatlifts, and docks from the lake prior to the winter season to prevent ice damage along the shoreline. Any and all work planned to occur along the shoreline requires prior permitting from FirstLight.

At www.candystore.com, the site’s 11th year of tracking Halloween candy data for each state, there is a great candy map of the US. I’ve found some pretty sweet statistics there, too. Among those who celebrate Halloween, 95 percent will purchase candy, and they will spend about $27 on average. (I’m pretty sure they did not figure in the cost of living on Newtown’s Main Street!) Do kids get to chow down on all the candy they collect on October 31? Not according to this site, which notes that more than 50 percent of parents stash Halloween candy for later! What’s the favorite candy of the season in Connecticut? According to this data, Almond Joys rank number one with Nutmeggers, followed by Milky Ways, and M&Ms coming in third. We’re a little of out of line with the country’s overall Halloween candy favorites. Candystore.com lists America’s top ten Halloween candy as follows: Skittles, M&Ms, Snickers, Reese’s Cups, Starburst, Candy Corn, Hot Tamales, Hershey’s, Tootsie Pops, and number ten favorite, Jolly Ranchers.

Don’t forget that Dere Street Restaurant (at the corner of Main and West Streets) continues to collect candy through October 29 for distribution to Main Street residents for the Halloween deluge of trick-or-treaters. You’ll also find a donation box at Caraluzzi’s Newtown Market in the center of town.

The NMS annual scarecrow competition is coming up this weekend. Stop by the middle school on Queen Street Saturday or Sunday to check them out — and look for the voting ballot in the Education Section of this week’s paper.

Join the Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary on October 28, from noon to 3 pm, for a free Sunday at the Sanctuary event, “Not So Spooky Anymore!” Participants will explore dead trees for creepy crawlies; learn all about bats, owls, and habitats for night creatures; go on a scavenger hunt, craft spooky animal masks, and meet the animal ambassadors from Earthplace of Westport, we are told. The program takes place at Fraser Woods Montessori School, 173 South Main Street, and is open to all ages. Children 12 and under must be accompanied by an adult. Register or learn more at cvhfoundation.org.

Girl Scouts will be hosting statewide cookie booths at a variety of locations starting on Saturday, November 3 to Sunday, November 11. Don’t want to eat Girl Scout Cookies, but still want to support Girl Scouts? Many booths will offer customers the Gift of Caring program, Cookies for Heroes, sending GS cookies overseas to our troops.

I’m no hero, but I do make a heroic effort to bring you the news. Be sure next week to... Read me again.