Happy Fourth of July - that is, for most people, it's a happy time. Pets might feel otherwise, so the ASPCA shares a few tips for making this traditionally loud holiday a more pleasant day for us furry friends. We don't care for the big bang: keep cats and dogs away from fireworks and please leave us at home if you are going off to watch some huge display. Glow jewelry is pretty on people, but it is not for pets to wear. Alcoholic beverages, citronella candles, insect coils and tiki torch products can all be poisonous to pets, so keep them safely out of reach from curious paws and noses. Put pets in the shade if you are worried about sunburns - sunscreens are not for pets, nor is insect repellant. I won't say that I don't find a fire fascinating, but cats and dogs - like small children- should not play with matches or lighter fluids. Keep them out of the way. Sometimes the noise and partying gets to be too much and Fido or Fluffy will take off like a bottle rocket. Be sure all pets are wearing collars with ID tags that are current, and that any microchip information is correct. If I have my druthers, it would be to be tucked snugly inside with a nice bowl of water, some kibble and a little catnip.stuffed alligator. Now, I am not sure if they mean that someone's favorite taxidermy item was ditched, or if it was a big, big toy left to fend for itself. At any rate, I have a feeling that residents and pets of that area are heaving a sigh of relief.The Bee files. Turns out this trophy winner is David Egee, who grew up here, and who is the author of a recent memoir, Wake Up Running. Does anyone know why David won the trophy?www.friendsofkakamega.org for more information on this effort.The Bee, if that sparks your memory. Laurie and Jim are living in Elizabethtown, N.C., these days, but are drawn north to stay in touch with friends and relatives.

Protect Our Pollinators (POP) member Mary Gaudet-Wilson shared this photo of local young artists who were recognized June 23 for the lovely posters they made to celebrate their favorite pollinators. Rachel Szor, Mackenzie Roszman, Sadie Baimel, Eren Weiss, Nicki Tabor, Annabelle Foley, Charlotte Foley, Eliza Foley, in front of Charlotte, and Emma Guilfoil, as well as Nikita Mukka displayed their artwork at the Newtown Municipal Center. Joining the artists was a very special bee, aka POP member Holly Kocet.

A report of a dead alligator on the shore of the Connecticut River in Suffield took a bite out of the morning, Monday, for DEEP officials. A closer inspection, though, revealed that while it was indeed an alligator - it was a five-foot-long

Here's a picture of a smiling lad we found in

Are you looking for a way to help this summer? Emily Krasnickas and Hanna Holmes, two young ladies from town, are collecting much-needed items for an orphanage in Kenya. Collection boxes will be set up, as of July 1, near the Meeting Room of the C.H. Booth Library, and in the lower lobby of Newtown Congregational Church, 14 West Street, through July 20. The items will be brought to the orphanage by a 13-person team this August. The travelers will live at the orphanage and provide a "summer camp" experience for orphans ages first through twelfth grade. If you can be of assistance, they are in need of thin, metal knitting needles (size 2-6), crochet hooks, yarn, paintbrushes of various sizes, crayons, drawing paper of various sizes, soccer and volleyballs (durable, leather, deflated), pumps and needles, gently used medium to lightweight fleece pullovers for ages 6 to 18, new flat sheets, double or full, new bath and hand towels, and inspirational/fiction books. You can visit

Longtime former Sandy Hook residents Laurie and Jim Borst stopped by The Bee early this week to say "Howdy!" Borst, Borst… you are musing. Why do you know that name…? Jim is the son of former Newtown Selectman Joseph Borst, and Laurie was once the education reporter for

A young entrepreneur is doing good in our town. Connor Monaghan, 8, raised $55 by selling lemonade at his father's business, Newtown Automotive Diagnostics on Dodgingtown Road. He donated the money to Homes For Our Troops, a nonprofit that builds specially adapted houses for military returning with life-altering injuries.

In honor of Newtown High School Athletic Director Gregg Simon's final days in the district, Newtown High School posted a video to its Facebook page of a number of his colleagues singing to Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York," except the words were changed. "Start spreadin' the news. Gregg's leavin' today. He's going to retirement," the ladies all sang, holding up printed pictures of Mr Simon's face. "… If he can make it here, he can make it anywhere." I don't need to say it. They sang it already: "Newtown is cheering for you out loud. We'll miss you. Oh, Gregg Simon."

Swiping their idea, let me offer my own purr-along: "If I can write it here, I'll write it anywhere," but it's up to you to… Read me again.