This year is already flaunting the better side of Newtown residents, especially that inclination to be kind to animals. I can only hope it continues.

Speaking of animals, join Rob Mullin of the Newtown Animal Shelter for some tips on making sure your Christmas puppy becomes your best friend. A free class is being offered at the library at 7:30 pm on Thursday, January 22 — but leave Rover at home. This class is a training session for humans only.

John Boccuzzi, Jr, has traded in his bike cleats for running shoes, this time taking on yet another event to celebrate his fortieth birth year. If you recall, John and his dad biked nearly 600 miles from Maine to Washington, D.C., last summer. This past weekend found John (sans dad) at Disney World in Florida for the Goofy Tour, a two-day marathon. On Saturday, John put in 13.1 miles in a half marathon, and earned a Donald Duck medal, then on Sunday he got up with the birds at 5:50 am for the 26.2 full marathon, earning a coveted Mickey Mouse medal. To top it off, John also received an honor that went to only a small number of the 30,000 participants — the Goofy medal, for completing both races in the Goofy Challenge Race-and-a-Half. The funniest thing, John told me, was being in the Epcot Center Sunday afternoon. “Everyone was walking around wearing these Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck medals, and congratulating each other,” he said. “It was really a lot of fun.” Congratulations, John. See? You are getting better, not older!

I guess I had snow in my ears when Evelyn Urban called me a few weeks back about the Gregory’s Orchard School picture in the Way We Were. Her dad was one of the children pictured, but I thought Evelyn said his name was Nikolas. Oops. Mikolas Urban is one of the young boys in that photo. Also, one of the other children identified by a friend of Evelyn’s should have been identified by her maiden name, Emma Liska.

Mae Schmidle is planning a party. Nothing political, she promises, but something that will celebrate and salute the 18 years Julia Wasserman has represented Newtown at the state capitol. “A major fete is being planned by some of Julia’s friends,” said Mae. “Nothing too splashy, just a few marching bands, a little bit of red… just a little thing to salute Julia.” Details are still being pulled together, but it looks like the shindig will be sometime early to mid-February. Mae promises to share the particulars within the next week or so, but wanted to give everyone the heads up.

Let’s not forget that Monday is a day off for many to honor the late civil rights activist and organizer Marine Luther King, Jr. How sad is it that he is not here to see the realization of one of his dreams when Barack Obama is inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States?

I’m eagerly awaiting that moment Tuesday, January 20, and will have my nose pressed to the television screen. But several young people from Newtown’s intermediate, middle, and high schools will actually be among the four million visitors expected in the capitol city next week. What an exciting place to be — I can’t wait to hear what they have to say about it when they return.

Bundle up as this week draws to a close, that’s the word from our local emergency preparedness leaders, as well as Gov Rell. Bone-chillingly low temperatures are closing in, and if you lose power or need emergency assistance with fuel or finding shelter, call the state emergency number, 211. Don’t hesitate if you think you need help. Severely cold temperatures can be very dangerous, especially for the very young or very old.

I would be remiss to not mention that pets should also be closely monitored when outdoors during frigid weather, too. As furry as we are, our tender paws and noses can freeze, and the nasty salt put down on roads is downright dangerous when licked off paws after a walk. A quick visit to the great outdoors is all I require, personally, the next few days.

Maybe a January thaw is next on the agenda for Old Man Weather, so that next week you can take off your mittens when you …. Read me again.