As Connecticut finds itself in mourning this week following the deaths of two City of Bridgeport firefighters in a house fire on July 24, we would like to take a moment to recognize two Newtown residents who offer so much of their time to the same line of duty. We received word this week of promotions for John Seman and Dave Ober, both of whom are firefighters for the City of Waterbury. Both were promoted to the rank of lieutenant on Thursday, July 22. As if they don’t spend enough time training for and responding to emergencies in Waterbury, Dave and John are both volunteers for two of Newtown’s fire companies.

Also in the firefighting vein, Sandy Hook Fire & Rescue took its brand-new pumper-rescue truck (441) out for its first parade appearance last weekend and came home with new goodies for their trophy case, including the trophy for Best Appearing Custom Apparatus. The crew also returned from Thomaston Fire Department’s 129th anniversary parade with The Ernie Bunnell Memorial Trophy for Best Appearing FD (15 men or less), and its auxiliary brought home Best Auxiliary trophy as well as a plaque for Most Ladies in Line.

A frisky canine got out of line, here, though. A yellow Lab is loose in town and needs help reuniting with his owner. Guests visiting Your Healthy Pet on South Main Street on Saturday afternoon, July 24, lost their dog as they stepped from their car in the parking lot. Harpo is a 9-month-old yellow lab, but is primarily white. Unfortunately, he doesn’t yet answer to his name, and is not tempted by treats or food. He has on a red collar with a tag. If found, please call his owner, Gail Giordano, at 203-241-9534. She lives in New Fairfield.

By the way, Cowboy the cat, who went missing in the parking lot of the Blue Colony Diner, has not yet been found. Please keep your eyes peeled for this beloved pet, as well, and if you spot the black and white kitty, call his owner at 434-985-3822.

You would never guess that our summer intern was one for mudslinging, but sure enough, that’s what I hear was going on this past weekend. Education reporter intern Anna Hodge and her pal, Emily Ashbolt, traveled to New York to take part in the Columbia Muddy Buddy Ride and Run event, a running and cycling contest that culminates in a crawl through a gigantic mud pit. Keeping the mud out of her eyes was not always possible, says Anna, but she and Emily did come in fourth in their age group.  (To her credit, she did not actually do any mudslinging at any of the other contestants, to the best of her knowledge.) Emily’s older brother Stephen joined forces with his pal Kevin Hoyt to take part in the Muddy Buddy day, too. The NHS grads came in first in their age group.

Maureen and Gary Saage celebrated their half century birthdays together this year by inviting their dear friends, Susan and Brian White, and Sue and Neil Aiello, to London. The four-day birthday celebration was packed with “Pookey” and “Mr Pookey” entertaining their guests with tours, spas, and total relaxation. A vacation will be needed upon returning to the states, no doubt.

From way up north, word filters down that Mead Treadwell, son of the former Newtown first selectman Timothy Treadwell (for whom the town park is named), is running for lieutenant governor of Alaska. You can visit treadwellalaska.com to find out more about Mead’s decision to run for office.

News about the Hawleyville Post Office has calmed down, after a tumultuous several years, but this month’s Postmaster’s Gazette carries a nice story about the trials and triumphs of our local facility, by a former postmaster and chair of the Post Office Closings and Consolidations Committee, Betty Eickler. Ann Marie Mitchell, who spearheaded the grassroots group supporting the continuation of a post office in Hawleyville when it was threatened with closure, stopped by the Bee offices this week with a copy of the magazine. More copies are available in the Route 25 office, she says.

Despite the uptick in the number of people using cloth shopping bags, there are still plenty of the disposable plastic bags drifting about. Photo production specialist Susie Leniart, here at The Bee, is giving those plastic bags a new life. Susie is crocheting the bags into reusable shopping bags and other clever carriers. The softer plastic bags are harder to work with than the more crisp plastic grocery bags, she says, as they are a bit stretchy. She has all kinds of ideas for using variously colored bags, and we’re all anxious to see the end results. She learned to crochet the bags, she admits — where else — from YouTube.

The July 23 “Way We Were” 1935 section in The Bee contained an item of interest to longtime resident Olive Seaman, who called me to say that the home of Paul Pierce, visited by the widow of President Woodrow Wilson in 1935, was once in her family. The farmhouse is directly across from Bramble Trail off of Hanover Road, she says, and was owned recently by the Reeses; before that, the Mulhollands; and Paul Pierce before that. But before the Pierces owned that home, Olive’s aunt Mame Bradley owned the house. I also found out from Olive during our chat that her great-grandmother Carroll was the first woman in Connecticut to hold a liquor license. “Her husband owned a hotel in Sandy Hook,” Olive said, “and when he died, my great-grandmother took over the hotel and the liquor license.”

Amy Nawrocki grew up in Sandy Hook and graduated from NHS in 1991. Her first book of poetry, Potato Eaters, came out in 2008. Now, the University of Bridgeport writing instructor has published a second book of poetry. Poetry lovers can find Nomad’s End at finishinglinepress.com.

I was saddened to hear from Jodi Bialik that Murphy, one of Luke Robinson’s two Great Pyrenees dogs, has been diagnosed with nasal cancer and is undergoing radiation treatment in Colorado. Murphy and Hudson accompanied Luke on a two-year, 2,000-mile trek to raise awareness, ironically, about comparative oncology, and the high incidence of cancer in dogs. Jodi organized a meet and greet for Luke and his dogs this spring when they passed through Newtown. The walk ended in Boston in June, and Murphy was diagnosed this past month. I reprint this from Luke’s blog of July 27: “…I could ask why? Why give him cancer, my boy who walked across the country for all others who suffer from this horrible disease? I choose not to ask because the answer is as unknowing as it is extraneous. What I felt when I awakened this morning was truly blessed. God’s love is so great for us that he held the cancer at bay until after our mission was completed.” We all send Luke and Murphy (and Hudson) our best wishes.

I see that in California (not surprisingly) engineers are trying to create a superalgae that can efficiently turn sunshine and CO2 into oils that can be refined into jet fuel. Now that’s what I call “going green.”

I think I’ll be “going green” by hiding out in the tall grass, where I can watch the world (or at least, the town) go by. I’ll report back next week, so be sure to…. Read me again.