Congratulations to Newtown resident Christine Miller. An educator at Danbury’s Broadview Middle School, we understand Christine was named 2023 Danbury Teacher of the Year last week.

Congratulations also to Rhonda and Chane Cullens and Joyce and Doug Fedorko, who have been named honorary Newtown Lions Club members. Photographers Rhonda and Chane played key roles in producing the recently published book David K. Merrill’s Lifetime of Paintings, which features gorgeous images of David Merrill paintings from the collection of Joyce and Doug. The Fedorkos have loaned C.H. Booth Library nearly three dozen of the original works from their collection, which are on view through the end of this month. The local Lions thanked both couples recently with the honorary membership. If you haven’t seen the exhibition yet, it’s worth a trip to the library. If you have time this Sunday afternoon, in fact, the Lions and the library are co-hosting an author signing and artist reception. David is planning to attend, of course, there will be light refreshments for guests, and Lions Club members will also be on hand. The event is planned for May 7 from 1 to 4:30 pm, and copies of the book will be available for purchase.

Meanwhile, the local Lions are well into planning this year’s Great Pootatuck Duck Race, which returns to Sandy Hook Center on Saturday, June 3, and has announced plans for a new event: a Classic Model Railroad Show & Flea Market, being worked on for Saturday, October 28, at Newtown Community Center. Additional details for both events will be forthcoming.

Gardeners are loving this time of year, as are garden pests. One little green bug that seems to find its way into every garden is the aphid. The small, soft-bodied insects feed by sucking the nutrient-rich liquids out of plants. Aphids move slowly, but they multiply quickly, so you’ll want to control them before reproduction starts. The Old Farmers Almanac, among other sources, says many generations can occur in a single season. Fortunately, the Almanac also has a natural solution to get rid of aphids. Add one teaspoon liquid dish soap and an optional pinch of cayenne pepper to one quart of water. Spray or wipe this on plants during early morning or evening hours. You may need to repeat a few times. If so, wait a few days before reapplying.

This week’s PSA: Crosswalks are your friend! With new businesses arriving or expanding, and the volume of daily vehicle traffic in Newtown, it’s a little frightening to see the number of people who dart across roads lately. Sandy Hook Center, Main Street, Church Hill Road near Queen Street, and even Queen Street near the middle school and shopping areas all have crosswalks. Yet so many people continue to walk from between vehicles or just jaywalk rather than taking safe passage. Please be careful, readers. This cat would hate to see anything happen to you.

Barnes & Noble’s new location in Danbury opened on April 12, and the store has been hosting events with local authors since. Longtime Newtown resident and now published author Katherine Williams will be there this weekend. Katherine and her first full-length novel, The Glovemaker’s War, will be featured on Saturday, May 6, at noon, when the public is invited to stop in to meet her. Copies are $15 each. If you miss this weekend’s program but would like to read what Kirkus Reviews calls “a sweet tale of love in wartime,” Queen Street Gifts & Treats has copies available as well. The new store is still on Backus Avenue, but is now within the Danbury Mall complex.

Byrd’s Books in Bethel will support its designated charity this weekend, when it hosts a three-hour Kitten Shower. Between 11 am and 2 pm, the book store at 178 Greenwood Avenue is hoping to collect donations for the local no-kill shelter DAWS. The focus is on kitten food, but additional items may also be accepted; visit DAWS.org to see the current needs during the current kitten season. Byrd’s Books is also planning to make a financial donation to the shower, to help the kittens get what they need.

Unfortunately we had a situation last week where plans were changed for a public event, and we were not notified of the update until after the paper went to press Thursday morning. Ahead of a forecast for nasty weather on April 29, Newtown Forest Association’s Arbor Day Party was postponed to May 13. We apologize for any inconvenience this caused anyone who found themselves at Holcombe Preserve last Saturday.

We love helping readers publicize events. It’s what we’re here for. It’s what we’ve done for nearly 145 years. We just ask those who are organizing events to let us know not only when something is scheduled, but as soon as plans change as well. Life happens, we get it. Weather can wreak havoc on outdoor events. We can update our print edition if we hear from you by 9 am Thursdays. If you learn about changes earlier, even better.

Conversely, keep us in mind as soon as details are confirmed for those public events. Local organizations that work with us regularly know that the earlier you can get information to us, the better. More lead time means more publicity in print and online ahead of those public programs. If you’re new to all this, visit the Contact Us, About Us, How To Submit A Press Release page on our website (newtownbee.com/contact-us). Deadlines for all sections of the newspaper and the people you’ll want to contact for events can be found on that page. If you need pointers on the proper formatting of a press release, scroll down to the final section of that page. After all that, don’t forget to tell friends and neighbors about your publicity work. We love letting people know what’s happening in town. We hate hearing after the fact that people didn’t know about something happening because they don’t read us.

My condolences this week to the Second Company Governor’s Horse Guard, and its Friends, who said Good-Bye to Custer on April 27. Custer was reportedly a wild mustang before becoming a military mount within one of this country’s oldest cavalry units in continuous service. He was the patriarch of the 2GHG herd. Custer was 34 years old, and gave 22 years of “faithful and dedicated service” to the unit and the state of Connecticut, according to a beautiful tribute shared the morning after he was euthanized. Custer marched in a Presidential Inaugural, four Gubernatorial Inaugurals, and many other local parades. He carried countless troopers in mounted drills and taught many new riders during training. Like his friends over on Wildlife Drive, I too hope Custer found his way to Fiddler’s Green. You’ve earned it, my equine friend.

This little lion is going to snuggle down for a nap and dreams of catnip. I hope you’ll remember to return next week to … read me again.