Following a series of other I-84 ramp closures this week, just a reminder that there remains an Exit 10 ramp closure on I-84 Westbound, Friday, June 21, between the hours of 10 pm and 5 am. Detour information for this roadwork is as follows: Eastbound Exit 10 off-ramp: Take exit 11, follow Route 6 detour; Eastbound Exit 10 on-ramp: Follow Route 6 to Route 34 detour to exit 11. Representative Mitch Bolinsky was kind enough to let us know of these inconveniences, and he also suggests that motorists “are advised to maintain a safe speed when driving in these areas and to stay alert for roadside workers, traffic control persons, and orange instructional signs.”

Debbie DeBlasi shared a photo of a Megan’s Circle bus stop celebration from the last day of the 2018-19 school year, June 13. The group was certainly ready for summer, with a sign that read  “Splash into summer,” and after the photo was taken, the local students, as a group, ran through the sign. What a summer kick-off!

LOF Adaptive Skiers has been busy. Executive Director Joel Zeisler tells us that on June 8 “we were invited to put on an exhibition with water skiers with disabilities at Kettletown State Park in Southbury by DEEP... Victor Pena, from Westchester, N.Y., who is a paraplegic water skier, demonstrated sit skiing... Second out was Jimmy Galpin, a 14-year-old blind skier from Stratford.” LOF was pleased to demonstrate the type of activities available for people with disabilities, he added. Then on June 11, “LOF Adaptive Skiers was present at the First Annual Charity Golf Tournament organized by Military & Veterans Support Coalition, Connecticut,” Mr Zeisler shares. The tournament was at Hop Meadow Country Club, Simsbury, and proceeds benefited Homes for the Braves and LOF Adaptive Skiers. “LOF also participated in the tournament with a foursome formed by Board members and volunteers of our organization. After the game, golfers gathered at the clubhouse for dinner presentation of prizes, auctions, and raffles,” says Mr Zeisler.

Newtown Lions Club presented Church Hill Road optometrist Dr Joe Young with a check to support his yearly mission to La Florida, Honduras, from which he recently returned. “The children in the photo are some of the hundreds of children examined. The piece of equipment that I am holding is a SPOT screening unit that can give a reading on an eyeglass prescription as well as determining if a child has a lazy eye,” says Dr Young. “This is the same equipment that the Lions Club, with the Newtown VNA, used recently during Connecticut-mandated elementary school eye screenings. Over 1,300 Newtown children were examined. The Honduran children were given the same level and standard of care as our own children.” Glasses that the Lions collect will be sent to the village and distributed to the Honduran children. “One of the team members on the mission is an Iraq/Afghanistan veteran,” a helicopter rescue pilot, and now a captain for American Airlines. “On occasion, he flies into Tegucigalpa and can hand off the glasses for delivery up the mountain,” Dr Young says. What a great effort!

Vegans and others who like a plant-base diet, will like this: Café Xpresso, 150 South Main Street, has started serving Just Egg, a new plant-based egg product. Get your Just Egg served up as a scramble with fresh tomatoes and spinach leaves or as a wrap. What a nice alternative for those who like to eat out but don’t have a lot of options due to dietary needs.

Who doesn’t love bagels? Well, maybe some of your long ago ancestors enjoyed noshing on one, too. The New York Times reports, “Archaeologists have identified remnants of small, round dough rings at an excavation site in Austria. But no cream cheese.” Apparently, little bits of circular “3,000-year-old charred bread” was uncovered at the site near the Slovakian border.

The AP notes that “A decade after seemingly wrapping up The Hunger Games, [local author] Suzanne Collins is bringing readers back to Panem. A prequel, set 64 years before the beginning of her multimillion-selling trilogy, is coming next year. The novel, currently untitled, is scheduled for release on May 19, 2020.”

You may have seen the movie Sully, at some point in the past three years, the story of Sully Sullenberger, who landed the US Airways Airbus in the Hudson River. Well, Newtown resident Jim Wright recently shared this tidbit of trivia with us. “In the movie, Sully’s wife is depicted in their California home mostly on the phone to Sully in New York. Much of the movie was filmed in the Atlanta area. Sully’s California house in the movie is not Sully’s California house. It is my daughter Kathryn’s Milton (Alpharetta) Georgia house.” Now there’s a fun fact! Kathryn grew up in Newtown and is a Newtown High School graduate. Jim shared a few photos of the filming at Kathryn’s, including one of Clint Eastwood visiting with one of her neighbors during filming.

A special shout-out to Stratford resident David Pavlucik, who recently picked up an issue of The Newtown Bee at Butcher’s Best and called just to tell us he loved it! Thank you so much, David.

Don’t forget that we continue to add the names of those interested in taking part in our semi-regular Community Buzz events. Join the casual conversation with a few other residents, talking about a single subject. Moderated by Bee staff, the one-hour talks, usually a Friday afternoon at 4 pm, will cover a variety of subjects every few weeks. Send your name and contact information to [naviga:u]editor@thebee.com[/naviga:u], subject line Community Buzz — and we’ll get you on the list!

If you’re wondering when and if your road is scheduled for repairs or repaving, check out the town website at newtown-ct.gov/home/news/2019-2020-road-work-plan. Updated on June 17, you’ll get an idea of what will happen when.

Of course, if you want to know what happens when and where, to whom — and why — be sure next week to... Read me again.