My apologies to Richard and Dorethy Mulligan, the owners of Hillbrow at the top of Main Street, for mistakenly calling their antique, blue, pre-Revolutionary home Hillhouse in last week’s column. It’s the brow of that long hill where the circa 1715, three-story Colonial sits at an angle looking down over a perennial garden and stonewall toward the flagpole. All the better to see the hundreds of trick-or-treaters that will be heading uphill to its 18th Century doorstep on Halloween.

I was not wrong, however, in speculating about dastardly doings afoot regarding a certain arachnid that has taken up residence at Hillbrow. Richard and his neighbor George Moser of Summit Road are coaxing the spider out of its mothball lair as we speak, and they say they will be spending this weekend working on it.

“This year will definitely be something different. We wouldn’t be surprised if the fire trucks showed up on the front lawn as soon as special effects begin,” Richard said. “We redo it every year and it will be exciting.” That was all he would say, since he needed to get back to work darkening the windows in his garage where the spider lurks. “So people can’t peek inside,” he said.

Speaking of spookiness, the Mystery Book Discussion Group celebrated Liz Arneth’s recent birthday at Ray and Mary Maki’s house Monday night, and welcomed their newest member, Roada Kill.

Looks like Liz heard that big hair is back in fashion this year, and that Roada is a firm believer that you can never be too thin.

To honor the two police officers who have become known as “The Florida-Bound Boys,” the Newtown Police Union held a party for Dominick Salvatore and Lou Ferreira on October 15 at The Fireside Inn.

After more than 21 years with the police department, Officer Salvatore is retiring from the police force and moving to Florida where he will be practicing carpentry.

After working as a police officer in Newtown for seven years, Officer Ferreira is leaving town to work as a police officer with the Jacksonville Police Department. The police union presented gifts to both officers at the party.

The fire marshal’s new vehicle sure is spiffy. Parked outside the town offices at Peck’s Lane, its subdued gold striping shimmers in the sun. The burgundy-colored Ford Expedition XLT replaces the fire marshal’s former bright red Ford SUV that had racked up quite a few miles on its odometer over the years. The new vehicle driven by Fire Marshal Bill Halstead is dressed out with a low-profile emergency light bar atop the roof, plus a cluster of high-frequency radio antennas that give it the look of a porcupine from a distance.

Artist Glenn Kessler has not only had his work accepted into a new exhibition in New York City, but it was one of his paintings that was selected to adorn the postcards being sent out to announce the show. Mr Kessler will be part of “The Hudson River: Inspiration for the Ages,” a group exhibition of contemporary paintings of the Hudson River area to be presented by Sherry French Gallery from November 2 until November 26. Mr Kessler’s oil on linen “Bannerman’s Island,” done earlier this year, is on the front of the exhibition postcards. If you’re in the city the first weekend of the month, stop in and say Hello to Mr Kessler. An opening reception is scheduled for Saturday, November 5, from 1 to 4 pm. The gallery can be reached at 212-647-8867.

While visiting the town offices at Peck’s Lane this week, I encountered Steve Driver, who was visiting. Steve served as the town’s conservation official for many years, retiring from that post last year. He was replaced in the job by Rob Sibley. While visiting at the land use offices, Steve chatted with his colleagues and discussed his new life as a Florida resident. Steve explained that he would be heading back to Florida promptly to deal with the prospect of an impending hurricane called Wilma.

That’s it for this week, but I will be back in the eye of the storm next week, so be sure to…

Read me again.