I’ve always wondered the fate of the NMS scarecrows, once the contest is over and they disappear from the school’s front lawn. My friend Lilith was quick to point out one of this year’s entries, over the weekend, while we were strolling about the neighborhood. At the edge of a property in the southwestern part of town, there was the Crayola dragon, wings outspread, guarding a driveway. The dragon, composed of hundreds of crayons stripped of their paper, and some even melted and painted over the head and face, was supposed to become the fierce mascot of the Bethel Senior Center, the eighth grade creator’s dad tells me, but Storm Alfred left it in just a bit too much disrepair for them to feel right about donating it to the center. Where the winged guardian goes from here, I do not know, but I find it to be a fantastic addition to the scenery, in the meantime.

We were left wondering this week how the birth certificate for one newborn would be marked for place of birth. Newtown Ambulance and Sandy Hook Fire & Rescue were dispatched shortly after 8 am, Monday, to the intersection of Washington Avenue and Oakview Road, on a report of a childbirth in progress. The new mother-to-be was bundled into an ambulance, not quite ready to have the baby it seemed, and the crew was off to the hospital… or so they thought. We heard on the radio in our newsroom that the ambulance had to pull over in Sandy Hook Center, and this time the baby was really ready to make an appearance. A girl was born, and we understand she and her mother were doing just fine. Now there, as one editor remarked, is a true Sandy Hook native!

The Friends of the C.H. Booth Library are again sponsoring a Holiday Book Sale this year in the library that coincides with the Holiday Festival Events Saturday, December 3, and Sunday, December 4. You’ll find an incredible selection of gift quality books, CDs, DVDs and gift items for children and adults, at prices far, far lower than anywhere else you might purchase books. The hours are Saturday, from 9:30 am to 5 pm, and Sunday, from 11 am to 5 pm. The Holiday Book Sale takes place in the lobby just outside of the meeting room — where you can visit the Festival of the Trees, and buy a chance to win one of the beautifully decorated trees and other holiday decorations donated by local craftspeople, clubs, and businesses.

I can’t even begin to list the numerous weekend activities taking place around town, all meant to get us in the holiday spirit, so be sure to check out the Enjoy Calendar, the Community Calendar, and related articles elsewhere in this week’s issue of The Bee. Tree lightings, the Saturday evening Newtown Choral Society concert, a Teddy Bear Tea, and dance performances are just a few of the upcoming celebrations. If you can’t find something to do this weekend that gets you whistling seasonal tunes, I give up.

Every year the US Marine Corps sponsors a Toys For Tots program, collecting new toys for newborn through teenaged children, and distributing them to needy families in the community where they are collected. Newtown has several collection points, including many local real estate offices. Please feel free to drop off an unwrapped donation of a new toy anytime, now through December 19, wherever you see a Toys For Tots sign out front. I’m told by Newtown Youth Academy staff that the youth soccer Charity Cup, December 23 and 24, will also have a bin set up for Toys For Tots collections, and any extra funds collected from registration fees will be donated to support the Wounded Warriors fund for veterans.

The Newtown Bee does love to travel, and Sandy Hook Organic Farmers’ Market mistress Mary Fellows did the paper the favor of taking it along to Iceland last week! Here’s her lovely daughter Cleo Conk with The Bee.  That’s the beautiful Blue Lagoon, in Reykjavik, Iceland, in the background. Next time, I hope Mary wraps me up in the paper and takes me along.

It’s been a while since we last heard from Juan Cardona Jr, but we did last week and were thrilled to hear that he is still performing theater organ concerts. Not only that, but the Newtown resident has a Holiday Theatre Organ Pops Concert & Silent Film program planned for Sunday, December 11. Juan, with guest vocalist Nina Cathey and special guest master of ceremonies Ann Nyberg (WTNH News anchor, who just did a feature about Juan on her Network Connecticut blog), will be at Thomaston Opera House for a 2 pm performance. Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 at the door, and $5 for ages 12 and under for the performance, which Connecticut Valley Theatre Organ Society is sponsoring. Juan will be performing music to accompany the Lauren & Hardy comedy short called Big Business, then Ms Cathey will sing a few selections, and then Juan will finish the afternoon with solo performances of holiday favorites on the organ. To reserve tickets call Margaret Cardona at 203-426-2443 or send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to CVTOS c/o Margaret Cardona, 13 Brookwood Drive, Newtown CT 06470.

I spied, with my little eyes, some humongous trucks and crane swallowing up swaths of storm debris, in recent days. There seems to be plenty of branch piles at the roadsides left for wood chippers and dump trucks to make short work of, still, but I felt encouraged to see the effort gather steam. Maybe it will all disappear before the next snowflake flies. Keep your paws crossed, as will I.

I will uncross my paws in time to write next week’s column, though, so be sure to… Read me again.