Date: Fri 23-Jan-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

Mountain-council-flag

Full Text:

TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN

Over the next few months, the Legislative Council will be called upon to go

over the budgets of the schools and the various town departments looking for

places to save money. Consequently, it is in their nature to be parsimonious.

But it's possible to go too far.

For example, for the past three months, the Legislative Council has been

holding its meetings in the faculty room at Newtown Middle School. There's no

flag in there. The only thing red, white, and blue that one might pledge

allegiance to is the Coke machine. Because Craig and Connie Weatherup have

been so generous with their time and resources for all sorts of Newtown causes

over the years, however, Newtown really does think of itself as a Pepsi town,

so the Coke machine was out. What was needed was a real flag. But that would

cost money, right?

Council member Melissa Pilchard finally decided to dip into her personal

budget and went out and bought some brand new stars and stripes. The council

was scheduled to hold Wednesday's meeting in the new addition at the Cyrenius

Booth Library -- complete with flag.

The first selectman's office is brighter than ever these days after Herb

Rosenthal recently had the room painted yellow. He said the room was actually

supposed to be more of a gold, but it came out yellow once the paint dried.

"My wife, Michele, and my mother-in-law actually picked the color," Herb

explained.

Did you see the line outside the The Toy Corner in Ricky's Shopping Center

last week? The line stretched out the door and down the sidewalk some 50 feet.

Standing in the cold, these die-hards were waiting to pick up the store's

latest shipment of "Beanie Babies."

The infamous Craig Sherwood letter has surfaced in Newtown again. After a

hiatus of several years, the letter about the teenage boy suffering from

terminal cancer appeared in town again last month. The letter asks everyone to

donate business cards so that Craig can fulfill his dream to get the world's

largest collection and earn a spot in the Guiness Book of World Records.

The problem is that Craig did this about ten years ago. His cancer has long

been in remission and he has spent the last half dozen years pleading with the

world to stop sending business cards. There is a warehouse full of cards in

Atlanta, Ga., with more arriving daily as the phantom fax continues to have a

life of its own. Unfortunately, once the fax got started, no one seemed to be

able to stop it.

Mike Neiman looked a little tired when he stopped at The Bee last Thursday

morning. He confessed that he was up until 1:30 am making chicken soup. Nobody

was sick. It's just that when plump oven-stuffers go on sale, Mike always buys

a half dozen, bones the meat and freezes it, then makes chicken stock with the

rest. It takes a long time to bone six chickens, Mike says.

The Newtown Choral Society is looking for new members. There are openings in

all sections -- bass, soprano, alto and tenor. No audition is required, just a

desire to sing and have fun. The choral society will hold its first rehearsal

of the new year at 7 pm on Wednesday, January 28, at the Newtown Middle

School. For more information, or if you can't attend the first rehearsal, call

society president Patsy Beddoe-Stephens at 426-1849.

I was down at Newtown Hardware, getting some sand to spread on the sidewalk at

The Bee, when I heard that two of Mike Sorrentino's offspring, Dan and Laura,

got engaged in the same week! And speaking of weddings, check out the

spring/summer 1998 edition of Connecticut Weddings magazine for the photo

taken at the wedding of Jennifer Frankonis and Dr Robert Chang on December 12.

The photo, entitled "Groom Swings The Bride," was taken by Robert Preston

during the wedding reception at Le Chateau in North Salem, N.Y. Jennifer is

the daughter of Richard and Beth Frankonis.

Quite a crowd turned out for the ribbon cutting and pre-opening reception

Sunday at what used to be called Pizza Villa but is now the much posher Villa

Restaurant on Riverside Road. Even Hugh Lavery was there. I wonder if the

Villa will name a sandwich after Hugh like the one named for him at My Place.

The "Hughwich" at My Place contains hot genoa ham, salami with hot peppers,

mozzarella, dijon mustard, lettuce and tomato. Whew! I haven't had the courage

to try it yet.

I've got to leave a little early this week to stake out my position beneath

the Super Bowl snack table. I tell you, with all the jumping up and down,

hooting and hollering during the game, a lot of good stuff gets spilled. This

year, I'm hoping for a Hail Mary that upends the shrimp bowl. Once all the

popcorn has cleared, don't forget to...

Read me again.