Appointments may still be available for the Third Annual Veterans Day Free Dental Day. The event is again being coordinated by Newtown Lions Club and Diamond Dental, whose staff is led by Ratna Vedullapalli, DDS, and Kelvin Wang, DDS. The former, in fact, is a member of the local Lions Club. Both dentists will devote November 11 to performing basic care appointments for veterans and anyone who needs help accessing basic oral care. This means a complete exam with X-rays, cleaning, and fluoride treatment. Appointments are limited, so contact Lion Mary Jo Brett at 203-270-1053 as soon as possible. Dr V and Dr Wang are looking forward to seeing new faces, and will also be happy to see patients they may have already seen during the 2019 and 2020 Free Dental Days.

Speaking of our local Lions and the great things they’re always up to... Newtown Lions Club is still selling tickets for its annual Mustang Raffle. This year’s vehicle is a 1966 coup, maroon with a light beige vinyl roof, 289 V8 engine, automatic transmission, power steering, and power front brakes. Tickets are $10 each, and the drawing is scheduled for Saturday, December 11, at 1 pm, at Edmond Town Hall. Tickets are being sold through the club’s website and by members. Visit newtownlions.org to purchase tickets and see some photos of the car. It’s pretty!

Do you know someone who has lived in Newtown all their life? Or maybe do you have a new neighbor that just moved to town? Both people — as well as everyone in between — would make a great person to be featured in The Newtown Bee’s Snapshot profile. Reach out to reporter Alissa Silber by e-mail at Alissa@thebee.com to recommend someone who lives and/or works in Newtown. It is a fun way to get to know people and learn more about what makes the Newtown community so special. See page two of this week’s print edition to read about Newtown resident Allen Adriani.

FAITH Food Pantry will conduct its next drive-thru food drive on Saturday, November 6. Volunteers will be on site to collect items between 10 am and noon. Drivers and passengers are asked to remain in their vehicle, and just let the volunteers know where the donations can be collected from. The panty is at 46 Church Hill Road, behind the St Rose of Lima sanctuary. Beginning that weekend, the pantry is also seeking donations of new stocking stuffers for clients. These can be for children, adults, or seniors, and can range from candy, makeup, flashlights, a hairbrush and/or comb to mini travel games, cupcake liners, holiday candies, ornaments, and so much more. That collection will continue all November. The pantry will begin disbursing the gifts to clients in early December.

If the calendar, changing leaves, and approach of Halloween didn’t already tell you, then one more sign that summer is really over showed up this week: the summer flag on the Main Street flagpole has been changed out for the winter flag. Eight Newtown Lions Club members were right there once again, however, helping Hook & Ladder firefighters with the important tradition. Keeper of the Flag Chris Gardner oversaw the operation, which included the changeout of the 20-by-30-foot summer flag with a brand new 12-by-18-foot winter-sized flag purchased and donated by Newtown Hardware.

St Rose Bingo Night is coming back! We heard from organizers this week, who were very happy to share that good news with us. Get ready for Bingo fun and cash prizes, along with raffle giveaways and concessions. Games will return to the Monsignor Weiss Gathering Hall at 40 Church Hill Road on Friday, November 12. Doors will open at 5:45 pm, and games will run from 6:30 to 9:30 pm. The per-person admission fee of $20, and will cover all regular games. All are invited to a night out and the change to reconnect with Bingo buddies. For more information, contact the St Rose of Lima School administrative offices at 203-426-5102.

Cathy Snyder, MS, CNS, and Ann (Nancy) Rhodes, APRN-BC, invite anyone with an interest in bone health to join them for “Strong Bones for Everyone,” a quick presentation planned for Thursday, November 4. The 60-minute program will begin at 6:30 pm. It will be in the St Rose of Lima Holy Innocents Faith Formation Center, 40 Church Hill Road. Reservations are requested and can be done by calling Nancy, the parish’s faith community nurse, at 845-641-7277.

Do you keep follow The Newtown Bee on Facebook? We share many of the stories posted to newtownbee.com there, and we post a question weekly to read responses from our readers. Last week’s weekly question was, “What’s your first memory of voting?” Laura Lerman responded with, “When I was in elementary school, we had school on Election Day. Our teacher took us to the gym to see voting in action. My mom was at the polls as a Democratic Committeewoman. I waved at her.” We love reading all the responses to our questions. Join the conversation and your responses may appear in following coverage by The Newtown Bee.

Associate Editor Shannon Hicks was spooked on Monday while at Fairfield Hills taking photos of the Scarecrow Contest entries. “I was walking on the sidewalk on the southern side of Newtown Municipal Center, and there were all these birds at the top of the great big tree near that corner of the building. The only thing you could hear on the campus was all of the squawking of those birds. I really had a Tippi Hedren moment there,” she said, referencing of course the seasonally appropriate Alfred Hitchcock film The Birds. “It was very eerie out there,” Shannon added. She did get photos of 26 scarecrows, however, before Tuesday’s rain and winds arrived. Another scarecrow arrived during the overnight hours, and was added to our website presentation on Tuesday morning. Please take time to look through the photos and get to Newtown Community Center before closing time Friday (8 pm), to cast your ballot. Scarecrows are again competing in the categories of Most Original, Newtown Pride, and People’s Choice.

I’ll feel like I earned the “People’s Choice” if you promise next week to... Read me again.