“With the recent announcement of the retirement of Tony Posca and the end of Andrea’s Bakery lease, it became the appropriate time to break a promise and make known to the community of Tony’s generosity to the FAITH Food Pantry,” reads the note from a FAITH Food Pantry volunteer. “For many years he’s been donating breads and pastries that he would take the time to package up and freeze at the close of each day. Once a week, a volunteer would pick up the considerable quantity of items to bring to the Pantry for distribution to our clients. Tony never wanted any public recognition for his quiet contribution. We decided it was time the public should know what a humble and kind man has been doing for the community for years. The volunteers for The FAITH Food Pantry will always remember Tony’s commitment to help others. We wish him much joy in the next chapter of his life.” Tony, you are truly, a Good Egg.   I’m thinking about cookouts, swimming, picnics, and fireworks, with July 4 coming up on us. But more and more people seem to be getting into home pyrotechnics. Aside from scaring the fuzzy fur off of cats and dogs in the neighborhood, fireworks set off by amateurs can lead to some not so amateurish injuries. According to the FEMA US Fire Administration, in 2010, US hospital emergency rooms treated an estimated 8,600 people for fireworks-related injuries. Not all were from the big stuff, either. About 1,200 injuries were associated with sparklers and 400 with bottle rockets. Did you know that sparklers burn at a temperature close to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit? Bottle rockets can fly into faces, injuring eyes; sparklers can ignite; and firecrackers can injure the hands or face if they explode at close range. So be safe, not sorry, if fireworks are part of your holiday celebration. There are lots of fireworks, by the pros, in the area.

Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue Company celebrated the tenure of three members earlier this month. During the company’s annual meeting, a round of applause was offered for George Lockwood, Sr, former fire marshal and current company vice president, who has been in the company for 60 years. In addition, members George Mattegat and Jim Shpunt were both voted in as the company’s newest Life Members. Congratulations and thanks, to all three!

 No matter how old she is, a lady always appreciates a little sprucing up. If you’ve driven past the 5 Church Hill Road office of The Newtown Bee this week, no doubt you have noticed the old gentlewoman — she’s 135 years old this month — has been getting some work done, so that she can continue to put her best foot forward. Putting her best paw forward and also celebrating a birthday, is Starr Baggett, the senior member of our front office canine crew, who turned 12 on June 27.

Last week I told you about changes to the Lions Club Great Pumpkin Race (Largest Pumpkin Contest in, baking contest out). Turns out Newtown Youth & Family Services is well into their planning for the 27th Annual Holiday Festival. This year’s event is Sunday, December 2, and organizers hope to hear from crafters/vendors for a marketplace, as well as homeowners willing to open their houses to tours. Details are available at NewtownYouthAndFamilyServices.org. Homeowners will be asked to allow decorators into their homes to work their magic, and should be within 2.5 miles of ETH. For more information call Kaitlyn Johnson at 203-270-4335.

Ginny Chion gave us a buzz last week, to let us know that one of her first rounds of fundraising for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) 2012 Light The Night Walk was very successful. Ginny and Colette Ercole spent a number of hours at Newbury Place in Southbury on Friday, June 15, and earned more than $600 for LLS. Store owner Liz Page, who lives here in Newtown, welcomed the ladies that day. They had paper balloons and a donation jar, which by the end of their visit had been filled with $157.50. Liz also donated a portion of the store’s sales that day to LLS as well, and handed over a check for $450. Light The Night returns to Fairfield Hills this year on Saturday, September 29. Colette’s daughter, Christina, will be one of this year’s LLS Honored Heroes.

Also heard from Elizabeth Pavlides. She thanked everyone for the “generous donations and assistance with our third annual tag sale (June 16) to benefit the Pavlides Family Scholarship.” The scholarship honors the late Professor Constantine C. Pavlides, her father, and Charles George Pavlides, her brother. The family set up the scholarship in 2009 to help students pay for their education at Temple University’s Fox School of Business, where Professor Pavlides had been a professor of entrepreneurship. With $500 raised at the tag sale, and a matching gift from IBM, the family adds another $1,000 to its scholarship fund.

The Newtown Arts Festival Committee is offering a pair of tickets to the sold-out opening night premiere of the musical Foreverman, created by Brett Boles of Newtown, at the NY Musical Theater Festival on Friday, July 20. The tickets, along with opening night party passes, are being raffled and entry is by way of a sponsorship of the Newtown Arts Festival at Fairfield Hills, September 15–16. Send e-mail with your contact information to NewtownArtsFestival@gmail.com, with Foreverman Sponsorship in the subject line, by July 4. A Festival rep will contact you to complete your sponsorship information. Festival sponsors must be 18 or over. See www.NewtownArtsCommission.org for full details. The lucky recipient will be announced on Friday, July 6.

Here’s a tale both “fowl” and “foul”: Melissa and Nick Kopcik have been having some trouble with their chickens lately — foxes in the henhouse; so Melissa got into the habit of counting her chickens each morning (after, not before, they were hatched). One morning this week, however, when Melissa tallied her brood, she had one more animal than was accounted for the previous day… until she took a second count and a closer look. Fortunately, Melissa was able to back away before the skunk that was in with the chickens sprayed her, or any of the fowl.

I’m not counting chickens or skunks, but when next week rolls around, I am counting on you to… Read me again.