Cindy and Bob Mitchell were among the 402 people enamored by the showing of The Princess Bride at Edmond Town Hall this past Sunday. "We have loved that movie for 30 years," they tell us, "actually more if we count reading the book." Not only that, the Mitchells said that "Popcorn Fairies" treated everyone to free popcorn. It was wonderful to sit with so many children who had not seen it before and listen to them laugh hysterically at lines the Mitchells know by heart, they say - and they gave their copy of the book to Someday Cinema Series organizer Jen Rogers "so she could enjoy it as we have."Bee Associate Editor John Voket, who took off his editor hat and put on his animal rescue hat this week. On his way to work on Wednesday, he grabbed a Labrador retriever from busy traffic in Waterbury, brought it home, and after checking out her tags, made numerous phone calls. The dog waited patiently with John until her owners were located - just half a mile away - and everyone was happily reunited. Mercy, the Lab, had wriggled through a hole in a fence after escaping her own enclosed section of the yard. New to the neighborhood, she was lost and quite at risk when John came to the rescue. A gold star for JV! Two paws up!medium.com/@gofundme, June 27, that Scarlett Lewis, whose son Jesse was one of 26 people killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School, 12/14, was selected as the GoFundMe Hero for the month of June. Ms Lewis was chosen for her work promoting social and emotional learning (SEL) in classrooms across the country. Ms Lewis founded The Jesse Lewis Choose Love Foundation. According to GoFundMe, she started The Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement with Dr Chris Kukk of Western Connecticut State University and a team of educators, developing "an SEL program that teaches children of all ages how to choose love." Key components of Choose Love are teaching courage, gratitude, forgiveness, and compassion. The free program is available online through www.jesselewischooselove.org. The program has been in five pilot schools and more than 500 classrooms in 44 states and 13 countries.newtownbee.com for hours and more details, or go to chboothlibrary.org. The book sale is the Friends' biggest fundraiser each year, and helps support programming at the library. (Plus, you won't find better bargains for books anywhere. Stock up for summer, fall, and winter reading!)The Bee abroad! All the way Down Under, to Australia! But wait - why does that woman holding the paper for a photo look so familiar? It is none other than our education reporter, Eliza Hallabeck, or as she is now known, Eliza Hallabeck Purse. That handsome gent with her? That would be the newlywed's husband, Fred Purse. They are pictured in front of the Sydney Opera House. The couple also visited Melbourne, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, Cairns, and the Daintree Rainforest. No doubt you missed Eliza around town this month as much as we did in the office, but a honeymoon to Australia? That's not a day trip! Welcome back, at any rate, to Eliza and Fred, and thanks for giving The Bee a broader view of the world.The Bee, compliments of Bake n Cakes in Southbury. Send a child's photo, age, birth date, and a daytime phone number to eliza@thebee.com for publication on our Just For Kids page. What a delicious way to celebrate a special event!

It makes my paws cringe to think about it... declawing. Ouch. Thanks to The Animal Center, Inc of Newtown, which has partnered with The Paw Project to educate people about this painful operation. You may notice billboards in town this next month, sponsored by The Animal Center. I know that the feline proclivity for scratching up rugs and furniture is not welcome by human cohabitants, but we're just leaving our mark - think of it as "Hello, there!" A great scratching post is a good diversion from your favorite sofa, by the way. Throw a little catnip on it and it's hard to resist. Remember, you invited a cat into your home.

We're pretty proud of

According to WPXI News in Pittsburgh, some members of the Newtown church work camps helping out with the Pittsburgh Project, repairing homes in the Marshall-Shadeland neighborhood, had a bit of an unnerving experience on Monday, June 26, when Pittsburgh Project leader Mike Mandarano and six Newtown kids were presented with a homeowner's keepsake: a grenade. All's well that ends well, I rush to say. Police and bomb squad responded and quickly determined the old grenade was hollowed out and perfectly harmless. Lesson learned? Look out when tipping over boxes and things in homes in which they assist, said Mr Mandarano.

Newtown Congregational Church office manager Vicki Truitt got a really "cool" gift from her family for her birthday. They whisked her off last weekend for a surprise, whirlwind trip to... Iceland. There were a couple of chilly days, we hear, but they staved off the cold with dips in hot lagoons. Lots of sightseeing - including seeing geysers ( or geisers, as spelled there) and glaciers - and plenty of marveling at the natural beauty took place in the quick visit. No doubt her head is still in the clouds!

If you are hunting for a new way to work out, Barre Boutique, a studio at 87 South Main Street, is holding a soft opening Saturday, July 1, at its new 87 South Main Street studio. Classes will be from 8 to 9 am, and then from 9:30 to 10:30 am. Barre incorporates the fundamentals of dance, Pilates, and yoga, and features multiple ballet barres for your workout needs.

Online social fundraising platform GoFundMe announced in a post at

I see that the annual Friends of the C.H. Booth Library Book Sale is drawing ever closer. This year, you'll find the more than 120,000 items - books, CDs, DVDs, games, puzzles, LPs, sheet music - within the Reed Intermediate School, beginning Saturday, July 8, through Wednesday, July 12. Check out our online calendar at

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Happy birthday to... who? Enter for a chance to win a cake from

The ASPCA reminds all that the Fourth of July celebrations may not be so much fun for pets. There are lots of pet hazards hanging around in the summer - things like matches, lighter fluid, glow sticks, citronella candles, and alcoholic drinks. Sunscreen and bug spray might be a boon to you, but they are a big boo-hoo to cats and dogs. Foods including onions, chocolate, avocados, grapes, raisins, and yeasted dough are dangerous when ingested by pets, so when Fido says "Please," be sure to just say "No." Most of all, keep pets in a place that is quiet and comforting when fireworks are going off in the neighborhood, and never in the vicinity of fireworks being set off. A scared pet may opt to skedaddle, so a collar with an ID tag is wise, as is having pets microchipped. Make this Fourth of July a happy time for all of your family and friends, furry or otherwise.

You'll make it a happy time for me, as well, if you promise next week to... Read me again.