It’s time for me to order a smart-looking boutonnière, which I must say looks stunning against my usual formal black outfit. The Newtown High School prom is Friday night and I am looking forward to the event. I’ve already started to catnap in anticipation of the after-prom parties, which last until dawn.

This year, there is no officially sanctioned after-prom party, so I’m trying to get on the guest list of one or more of the several private parties that are scheduled late Friday night and early Saturday morning. I hope everyone has a happy and safe evening out on the town.

Rusty the cat is a little embarrassed about his new look, and as a result, he won’t be going to the prom. Rusty is one ear shy of a pair thanks to some recent surgery by the veterinarian. It seems that Rusty, who formerly was a stray cat, got into a scrape with some critter, possibly a raccoon, and got one of his ears damaged in the fracas. Well, after the tussle, the ear was misshapen. That’s easy enough to live with, but the deformed ear caused Rusty to get repeated ear infections. So Rusty’s owner, Gary Frenette, who is the town zoning enforcement officer, took the vet’s advice and had Rusty’s ear surgically removed. Gary is pondering the prospects of a prosthetic ear for the feline. Something in formal black would be nice.

It was a big week for the priests at St Rose. Father Larry celebrated the 24th anniversary of his ordination on Monday; Father Bob celebrated his 28th anniversary on Friday; John Ringley is to be ordained on Saturday (his family is coming from Texas) and will celebrate his first Mass at St Rose on Sunday. Father Peter will celebrate the 10th anniversary of his ordination on June 3.

One of the seven poll officials at the recent Borough of Newtown election was overheard commenting afterwards that it cost $3,500 to hold the election but only 49 people showed up to vote. “We kept rooting for that 50th voter but no one showed up,” she said. “We even started joking that maybe we should let someone vote twice.”

Sandy Hook business owner Mike Porco turned 50 on Saturday, May 12, as is obvious by this greeting card left in the midst of the buildings he is renovating in Sandy Hook. Congratulations on reaching adulthood, Mike. Your life is just beginning.

Newtown Congregational Cooperative Nursery School teachers Kathy Murdy and Donna Miklaszewski each had a new grandbaby added to the family within the last month.

Newtown Youth Services sure knows how to throw a party. The agency held its 14th annual Talent Show Friday night at the middle school. Director Debbie Richardson had the groove as she danced to many of the acts during the show. Another job well done!

Police officer Darlene Froehlich began her duties as a police sergeant Tuesday. She now wears triple-bar chevrons on each shirtsleeve, designating her rank. Sgt Froehlich is the first woman to serve as a supervisor in the town’s police department. As a supervisor, she will oversee the duties of patrol officers in the department. Sgt Froehlich, a 17-year police veteran, most recently was a detective.

A divorce support group for men and women is forming in Newtown and plans to hold its first meeting on Thursday, May 24, at 7 pm in the parish hall of St Rose Church. The group is for those who are contemplating divorce, in the process, or those divorced within the past two years.

Jeff Nickse says the fact that he has donated a total of 100 pints of blood to the American Red Cross has not left him light-headed one bit. The Newtown resident recently learned that he had reached his century mark and attended a “Blood Donor Recognition Dinner” this week at the Hartford Marriott in Farmington.

The men and women of the Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire Company surely never expected they would be fighting a house fire in Shelton when they woke up Monday morning. But that’s exactly what they did. Sandy Hook was requested to fill in for the Shelton fire company, which was sent out of town to help fight a huge factory fire in Ansonia. Sandy Hook arrived in the city of Shelton figuring it would simply have to provide standby service, but when the alarm sounded, the firefighters headed out for the call. No word on whether or not they had to ask for directions.

 Speaking of the Ansonia fire, those Newtown residents traveling along Castle Hill Road Monday morning may have seen a distant “mushroom cloud” coming from the area beyond Fairfield Hills. That was Ansonia on fire some 20 miles away.

The first-ever, 140-mile Housatonic Valley Classic, a professional bicycling race with 200 riders participating, is expected to wheel through Newtown Sunday morning around 10. Race organizers say there will be a 15-minute window of activity when the race moves from Currituck Road, down Main Street to Route 302, onto Boggs Hill Road, onto Hattertown Road, and then back onto Route 302 toward Bethel. The official spectator location will be in front of Edmond Town Hall. Bring your bells and whistles, a bicycle race tradition.

Members of Garden Club of Newtown will be presenting a flower show at C.H. Booth Library this weekend. The ladies had a workshop on Tuesday afternoon during their regular monthly meeting that offered pointers on how to best display fresh flowers and ferns, and spent the remainder of the week creating arrangements in three different divisions. Their efforts will be offered for public display this weekend, Friday through Sunday, during regular hours, in a show the group is calling “Toys and Games.”

I’ve got to go practice my Tango steps for the prom, which when you’ve got four feet is no mean task. Have a great weekend and remember that there’s no need to be a wallflower so long as you…

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