Shirley Ferris stopped by The Bee to drop off a big stack of free admission tickets to the upcoming fourth annual Connecticut Ag Expo and mentioned that she had just come back from a trip out West where she and Charlie did a little sight-seeing. One of the more interesting places was Sedona, Arizona, where they stopped at the Red Planet Diner.  Shirley said Sedona reportedly is the only place in the country that has a support group for people who have been abducted by aliens.  The diner was filled with photos of UFO sightings displayed on the counters, tabletops, walls and ceilings, along with flashing lights and some very unusual-looking people. Abductees, abductors? Shirley wasn’t sure but she did know one thing – the diner serves an excellent hamburger.

Anyone who is interested in attending the Ag Expo can stop at The Bee office on Church Hill Road and pick up free admission tickets to save the $3 per adult  (12 years and over) charge.  The expo will take place on Saturday, October 23, and Sunday, October 24, from 10 am to 5 pm in the State Armory at the corner of Broad Street and Capitol Avenue in Hartford (exit 48 off I-84). There is plenty of free parking at the Legislative Office Building adjacent to the armory.

The two-day expo includes entertainment for children and adults, a food court with specialty foods from Connecticut, working educational displays, antique farm equipment, fall harvest displays, crafts and flowers, and free pumpkin and face painting. It is sponsored by the state Department of Agriculture and the Governor’s Council for Agricultural Development.

Mary Beth and Dan Scheid were out on Saturday putting up storm windows when something flew off a car that drove past their house on Berkshire Road.  Mary Beth went to investigate and it turned out to be a cell phone.  The owner probably sat the phone down on the roof of the car, forgot about it, and started driving, getting as far as her house before the phone took flight, Mary Beth speculated.  If you are missing a cell phone, and you drove on Route 34 on Saturday afternoon, give the Scheids a call at 426-8261.

Last Sunday’s rainstorm forced a postponement of Newtown Youth Service’s Family Bikes, Boards, and Blades Day at Fairfield Hills but the event has been rescheduled for this Sunday, October 17, from noon to 3 pm. There are four bike routes, and safe areas for skateboarding and rollerblading, plus prizes and a raffle.  Helmets are required. The entry fee is $5 for youths to age 13, $7 for 14 and above.

There are still tickets available for the classic red 1966 Mustang convertible that the Newtown Lions are raffling off this month. You can buy a ticket at Amaral Motors on South Main Street – see Cathy Amaral-Freitas – or all day in front of the middle school on Saturday, October 23. The drawing will take place at 5 pm that day. Contestants don’t need to be present to win.

The Second Company Governor’s Horse Guard is inviting riders of all ages to join the fund-raising St Jude Children’s Research Hospital Saddle-Up ten-mile horse trail ride that will be held on November 7 at Fairfield Hills. The ride will take about an hour and a half and can be done during the morning or afternoon. Riders are asked to find sponsors; all money raised will be donated to St Jude’s. For more information about riding or sponsoring a rider, call Corporal Laura Razowski at 734-5071. 

Jim Crouch is starting to pack his bags for China. He will be leaving in two weeks as part of the People to People Ambassador Program delegation that will visit Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. Jim still is trying to raise money to help with the cost of the trip. Donations can be made to the People To People Ambassador Program and sent to Chris Crandall (105 South Main Street, Newtown 06470), who is handling the collection locally.

Newtown High School teacher and coach Dan Winsett turned 50 earlier this week. Students, staff and friends held a party at the school in honor of the jovial teacher.

Karen Weis says she is fed up with all the planes that have been flying over Newtown lately. She says her neighborhood of Kelly Court off Route 34 is seeing more than its fair share of air traffic. She blames it on the fact that Newtown is in the path of planes heading to and from the New York airports, as well as Danbury and Oxford airports.

One of those planes might be the B-17 bomber that Bee reporter Jeff White strapped himself in behind the cockpit Tuesday for a quick trip over Newtown. He was on board doing a story on Newtown resident Mike Fitzsimons, who sponsors the plane. Jeff stuck his head out the window for a few photos and nearly dropped his camera as the plane traveled at 150 miles per hour.

Michael Powers, a 1996 Newtown High School graduate, is now a starting offensive tackle on the Western Connecticut State University football team, which is enjoying a fine season. He was on the field during last week’s exciting win over Springfield College and will be in the lineup for this Saturday’s match-up with the Coast Guard Academy. This week’s game has extra significance in that Michael used to play for Coast Guard before transferring this past year.

On the bulletin board at The Bee someone posted a list of facts about society’s current obsession with thinness. For example, did you know that there are 3 billion women who don’t look like supermodels and only eight who do? Marilyn Monroe wore a size 12. A psychological study in 1995 found that three minutes spent looking at models in a fashion magazine caused 70 percent of women to feel depressed, guilty, and shameful. Models who 20 years ago weighed 8 percent less than the average woman, today weigh 23 percent less. The list was posted right over a recipe for Snicker Doodles.

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