A week from now, autumn will officially be underway, with the autumnal equinox occurring the evening of September 22, EDT. Funny how as soon as the Labor Day Parade turns the corner, so does summer… There will be the occasional hot day, but for the most part, I think I’ll soon be happy that I have my own portable fur coat.

Another sure sign of fall is the sight of the Scholastic Books truck on the local roads. Several of the town schools are holding their book fairs or getting ready for one, as they do each year around this time. School volunteers have been planning for months, and are on hand to unload the racks of books that arrive from Scholastic. It’s a great opportunity for families to invest in books that will give them hours of pleasure, and to support the schools. So watch for announcements if you have school-aged children — I spotted that truck just this week on Main Street, in fact.

Lois Barber is proud to announce that this year’s winner of the 2010 Beautiful Baby Contest is Connor Monaghan, age 2. Lois again coordinated this year’s contest, which was a fundraiser Homes For Our Troops, a nonprofit group that builds free custom homes for severely wounded soldiers. Connor’s photo raised the largest amount of money, with $1 votes collected during a voting period earlier this summer.  Connor is the son of Roxann and Doug Monaghan, and as part of his prize was given a place in the 49th Labor Day Parade on September 6. “More than 30 babies were entered this year, and I have to tell you the competition was very tight between first and second, and also between third and fourth place,” Lois shared earlier this week. “The merchants were very generous, I really must thank them. The top four babies were all given prizes thanks to the donations I received.” Lois, meanwhile, is already planning to run another Newtown Beautiful Baby Contest for 2011. If you are interested, send her a note for additional information at 33 Zoar Road, Sandy Hook CT 06482 or LoisBarber@sbcglobal.net. There is a $10 entry fee, space is limited to the first 56 babies who are registered, and all proceeds will again benefit Homes For Our Troops. Congratulations to the Monaghan family!

Light the Night Newtown is hitting its stride as it prepares for its full event Saturday, September 25, over at Newtown Youth Academy. Before the event begins, however, the Connecticut chapter of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has been invited to be the VIP guests on Good Morning America on Wednesday, September 22, to promote both the Newtown and Norwalk (October 1) events coming up. Meanwhile, event co-chair Ginny Chion told me this week that “We’re getting a lot of new people signing up for teams thanks to The Bee and also thanks to the two events we’ve had at Newtown Youth Academy recently. We’ve got a lot of sponsors and people are signing up to participate.” Participants and volunteers are still welcome, she enthused. There are openings from 2 pm on for set-up volunteers. Check-in is 5:30 and the walk itself talks less than an hour. In addition to walking there will be face painting, a bounce house for kids, and plenty of food from Newtown Deli, who is now running the Sideline Café at NYA. “We can offer service hours for kids who volunteer their time,” Ginny offered as a reminder. Interested in helping somehow? Contact Ginny at 203-426-0851 or Newtown & New Haven Campaign Manager LuAnn Leclerc at 203-427-2073

Thanks to all who donated to the Animal Center “Big Fix.” Animal Center Director Monica Roberta tells me that enough funds were raised to spay and neuter all of the homeless cats found at one site here in town recently. Donations are always welcome, though, as the center continues to care for strays all over Newtown and Sandy Hook. Visit animalcenter.org to find out more.

Not sure how to use the semicolon, comma or apostrophe? You are not alone. But National Punctuation Day is coming up on September 24, and a very handy NationalPunctuationDay.com website provides useful information on the proper usage of those pesky periods and what have you. That’s all I’m going to say. Period.

As I suspected, we most certainly have a number of Good Eggs in Newtown! Beth Agen, executive director for Newtown Youth & Family Services, recently just kept listing off names of just some of the Good Eggs she knows: The Road Race Committee — Steve and Eileen Meeker, Rick Child, Bill Decker, Sheilah Krasnickas, Kathleen Moseman, Chris and Kathy Gardner, and Joy Kopesky — oversees the Newtown Road Race 5K and Edward Doherty Memorial Kids Run, which was held on September 4. This year’s event brought more than 600 registered runners and raised funds for NYFS. “The amount of volunteer hours that goes into running the Road Race is incredible, and they do it so cheerfully and so professionally. It is by far the most professional road race in the Danbury area, and all the runners say that as well. It’s just top notch, and I think the fact that they are volunteers makes that amazing,” said Ms Agen. Congratulations Newtown Road Race Committee! You are Good Eggs. Here is one for all of you to share: You may have noticed the FUN (Families United in Newtown) group in the Labor Day Parade last Monday or received one of the fliers the group was handing out. I just wanted to remind everyone that the group’s first meeting will be approaching soon. The group will hold meetings for families with children with disabilities to come together. While the date is still to be determined, the group is looking at meeting on Sundays for early dinners. Child care will be provided by Newtown High School Honor Society students for the early evening meetings. So keep you eyes and ears open for the start of this group, and if you have any questions email funforthedisabled@gmail.com.

Another parade day event was highly successful. Some 85 cards were created at the CHEM-pals (Cheerful Heartfelt Encouragement Message-pals) table set up at Newtown Middle School. The cards are delivered by CHEM-pals founder Kathleen Cole to cancer patients undergoing treatment at the Praxair Center at Danbury Hospital. Thanks to all who took the time to stop by and send a message of hope.

Newtown High School student Chris Fulcher’s photography business has expanded. Beyond shooting photos at weddings and portraits, the teen photographer has been shooting for record companies, including Atlantic Records, Sumerian Records, and Equal Vision Records. Interested in seeing some of Chris’s work? Go to www.ChrisFulcherPhotos.com.

I got a note from Sandy Hook author and writing coach Sophfronia Scott that she had an amazing interview last week on ABC News Now about her latest book, How The Fierce Handle Fear: Secrets To Succeeding In Challenging Times. Sophfronia is the editor of the inspiring book, a compilation of essays by numerous successful business people sharing their tips on overcoming the fears that prevent people from being all that they can be. Check out the interview at http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/fierce-handle-fear-11589283.

I don’t know if it will help you conquer any fears, but you will be brought up to speed on the happenings around town, if next week you remember to… Read me again.