Debra Madden and Jill Collins recently participated in the evaluation of research proposals submitted to the Breast Cancer Research Program. Breast cancer awareness advocates, Debra and Jill were full voting members, along with prominent scientists, at meetings that will determine how the $150 million appropriated by Congress for fiscal year 2009 will be spent on future breast cancer research. The two residents were among 120 consumer advocates who have participated in FY2009 peer review meetings, providing comments and offering their views of breast cancer survivors and patients, family members, and persons at risk for the disease. Take some time to thank Jill and Debra if you run into them — this is a time-consuming job, but imminently valuable.

Unfortunately, we all seem to know someone affected in some manner by cancer. You can do your part this weekend to show support and help raise money for research. Saturday night, Newtown will be hosting it first Mini Light The Night Walk at Newtown High School. The event is in conjunction with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s four 2009 Light The Night fundraising walks across Connecticut. The noncompetitive walk has no fitness requirements and is one of more than 240 similar events throughout the United States and Canada. Co-chairs are Ginny Chion and Colette Ercole, along with Newtown High School athletic director Gregg Simons. “You do not have to belong to a team or raise money to attend this event,” pointed out Ms Ercole. Friends and families are invited to participate. Registration will begin at 5:30 pm and the walk will begin around 7 pm. There will be special events for children, live music, and snacks, and jewelry and other goodies being sold will add to the funds raised by those who walk. Everything will end by 9 pm. For more information call Ginny at 426-0851 or Colette at 426-9035, or visit pages.LightTheNight.org/ct/Norwalk09/NewtownMiniWalkCelebration.

Apparently some election volunteers in Brookfield are having a tough time remembering where Brookfield ends and Newtown begins. If residents along South Obtuse Road last week were confused over names they didn’t recognize on election signs, they had good reason: signs for some of Brookfield’s residents running for municipal elections found their way onto South Obtuse near its intersection with Currituck Road last week. Fortunately the signs were taken down by alert Zoning officials by Friday afternoon. Now everyone can get back to focusing on the candidates here in town. Speaking of which, were you among those who attended The Bee’s First Selectman Candidates’ Debate on Monday night?

I feel like I missed a beat this summer. For many years, Caroline Stokes has served as curator at the C.H. Booth Library, and has always done a splendid job. I hear that Caroline passed the baton to Mary Thomas this summer, though, so I offer a belated Thank You to Caroline for all she has done to share the library’s history with the community and a belated Congratulations to Mary, whom I hear is keeping in touch with Caroline as she embarks on her new assignment.

I will be pussyfooting down to the Newtown Senior Center for the Annual Autumn Bazaar this weekend where the members will be selling great seasonal handcrafted items. The Bazaar, which includes a White Elephant table and a bake sale, as well, begins Friday, October 23, from 9 am to 4:30 pm, and continues Saturday from 9 am to 3 pm, and Sunday from 9 am to noon. I’ve had the opportunity to take a look at some of the beautiful quilts, afghans, and other hand-knitted pieces, and they are well worth the trip to the 14 Riverside Road event. Proceeds from the Autumn Bazaar offset the cost of programs at the Senior Center, so don’t forget to put this on your calendar for “Things To Do.”

Toni Earnshaw of the Friends of the C.H. Booth Library tells me that the group had a successful Donation Day at the library last Sunday, in spite of the dismal weather. Donations “poured in,” says Toni — apropos for a rainy day! The Friends are very appreciative to the hardy Newtowners who helped shore up the donations for next summer’s Annual Book Sale, the library’s biggest fundraiser each year. Don’t feel bad if you didn’t make it to the Sunday event. You can donate used books, albums, CDs, DVDs, puzzles, and videos all year around. Leave them on the cart near the children’s department, or if you have a collection to donate that is too large to handle alone, call the library at 426-4533, and they will arrange with the Friends to have someone pick up your gift.

This week’s Newtown News of the Weird: Police in Newtown Township, Penn., were investigating on Monday the discovery of an underground vault at a construction site. Police said crews from the electric and natural gas company PECO were digging a trench shortly after 11 am Monday in Wrightstown Township when they discovered the vault, which may have been filled with human remains. Police were hoping the site was a former burial ground. Kind of makes you wonder about those tunnels up at Fairfield Hills, doesn’t it?

The first snow of the 2009-10 season arrived last week to mixed reviews. Some folks, like Bee Associate Editor Shannon Hicks — who jumped into her yellow Wrangler to get pictures of the big event (to say she likes the snow is a bit of an understatement…) — were thrilled. Others, like reporter Nancy Crevier — who had fled to Florida with husband Phil for the weekend — were less happy to hear about the precipitation. It could have been worse, though. We had sloppy weather, and the snow was gone by Friday. Mt Washington, however, had three inches of snow last Tuesday, and it’s still there… I’m telling you now, the number of acorns this fall does not bode well for this winter.

The suddenly warmer weather this Tuesday brought some unexpected company to Diana Dudeck’s house, though. In addition to the crew hired to paint her house, Diana had hundreds of ladybugs suddenly making themselves at home. She wasn’t the only one — websites across the state had comments from people who had swarms of the Multicolored Asian Lady Beetles, out in force because last week’s snow forced them indoors. When the sun returned this week, the bugs came back out, looking for a place to winter. “The guys are trying to paint around them,” said Diana, who seemed to get a kick out of watching the painters and the ladybugs try to share space. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many of them!” she laughed.

I’ll be kicking up leaves and enjoying the crisp, fall weather while I gather Newtown’s news this week. There’s always more to look forward to when you…. Read me again.