Congratulations to Scarlett Lewis and Nicole Hockley, who were named inaugural 50 Over 50 Impact honorees recently by Forbes. The local mothers were among 50 women recognized for changing their communities and the world in ways big and small through social entrepreneurship, law, advocacy, and education. Lewis, the founder of The Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement, and Hockley, co-founder of Sandy Hook Promise, were highlighted recently— as was Kris Brown, president of the Brady Campaign — in a Forbes feature called, “How Scarlett Lewis And Mothers of Mass Shooting Victims Turn Their Anguish Into Action — And Save Lives.”

Congratulations also go to Max Markowsky of Newtown. Max recently attended Advanced Space Academy at the US Space & Rocket Center, in Huntsville, Alabama, home of Space Camp, Space Camp Robotics, Aviation Challenge, and US Cyber Camp. The weeklong educational program promotes science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) while training students and with hands-on activities and missions based on teamwork, leadership, and problem solving. This program is specifically designed for trainees who have a passion for space exploration. Max spent the week training with a team that flew a simulated space mission to the International Space Station (ISS), the Moon, or Mars. The crew participated in experiments and successfully completed an extra-vehicular activity, aka a spacewalk. Max and crew returned to earth in time to graduate with honors. Space Camp uses astronaut training techniques to engage trainees in real-world applications of STEM subjects. Students sleep in quarters designed to resemble the ISS and train in simulators like those used by NASA.

Newtown Volunteer Ambulance is offering a basic emergency medical technician class, September 7 through December 21. The classes will run Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6 to 10 pm and one Saturday a month starting at 8:30 am. Classes will be held in person at the Newtown Volunteer Ambulance facility at 6 Washington Square. COVID-19 precautions will be followed. All classes are taught by certified instructors with years of classroom and field experience. Students will be able to do ride-alongs on active ambulances to gain important experience. Completion of the class qualifies students to take national registry and state EMT exams. The cost of the EMT class is $880, which includes textbook, uniform shirt and some medical equipment. A deposit of $350 is required at the time of registration. For additional information and application, visit newtown-ambulance.org. For questions and to enroll, email nvacemtclasses@gmail.com.

The water at Hawley Pond was free from invasive plants on the morning of Saturday, July 10. Newtown Village Cemetery Association, which owns the pond at Ram Pasture, hired C&D Underwater Maintenance to rid the water of European water chestnuts and milfoil. The company’s Eco Harvester boat successfully pulled up the invasive plants throughout the week of July 5.

While the final numbers from this year’s Friends of C.H. Booth Library Book Sale have yet to be determined, one thing we can share this week is this: The Friends are already looking ahead to next year’s event. Following a brief hiatus during the final preparations for this year’s sale, donations of books, CDs, DVDs, LPs, jigsaws, board games, and audio books will resume on Wednesday, July 21. Donations can be dropped off any time the library is open. Visit 25 Main Street and head toward the Friends Donation Room, on the first floor of the library, just past the children’s area and to the right of the information table.

After days of rain, it was delightful to find fully bloomed Peace Roses outside Church Hill Village on July 10. The flowers offered a friendly reminder that while humans do not always appreciate the storms they are in, the flowers know how to benefit and grow from it. Always take time to stop and smell the roses!

NHS Varsity Cheer is holding a can/bottle drive on Saturday, August 28, and organizers are hoping that residents might start saving up their redeemable cans and bottles now to drop off next month. The collection will be ongoing between 10 am and 2 pm in the parking lot of Newtown High School, 12 Berkshire Road.

No one claimed the latest Bee’s Buck, even with an extra week of being able to look around, but the owners of the pretty peace sign along Walnut Tree Hill Road got in touch to share the backstory. Mary Ellen and Richard Contois sent a note to say, hippies that they are (as their son tells them), Mary Ellen mentioned a few years ago that she wanted a peace sign on their house, and Richard made it happen. “I call our house the fish bowl, because anyone coming from Bridge End Farm Lane can look right into the house,” she said. The peace sign was first hung out of the home’s upstairs window during the 2018 Christmas season. “The peace sign,” she said, “would give them something to look at, and hopefully something to think about, maybe even help adjust a perspective or two.” For 2019, the large lighted sign went back up, this time on the fence along the western edge of the property, where it remained for a few weeks. In 2020, the couple decided to keep peace on view. “I eventually turned off the lights, but felt the need for a lot more peace in the world, so the sign has remained on our fence, hopefully sending a message to all,” Mary Ellen concluded. We thank Mary Ellen for sharing that message with us.

I promise to feel nothing but peace if you promise next week to... Read me again