The Newtown Counseling Center was hoping to head off a run on its excellent and capable services when it scheduled a program on Seasonal Affective Disorder on Tuesday night. The idea was to shed a little light on why people feel so down at this time of year by advising people to shed a little more light on themselves – literally. Since the sun is so shy at this time of year, hiding behind the horizons at both ends of the day, everybody gets gloomy.

UConn basketball fans, even though they had been sitting in the bright lights of two televised games last weekend, were still gloomy when it was all over. Both the men’s and the women’s teams lost, which given the women’s amazing record of success is an extremely rare occurrence. The women took it on the chin at Notre Dame, playing their most competitive Big East rival. The men looked bad in losses to Providence and Texas.

But let’s not get too gloomy. We can take solace in knowing that the boys’ and girls’ varsity basketball teams at Newtown High School are doing well. The girls have remained the team to beat in the South-West Conference (SWC) after winning the title a year ago. The boys are riding a six-game winning streak and playing a fun brand of basketball. Their success is starting to bring out old basketball stalwarts like John and Joanne Klopfenstein who were on hand for Tuesday’s impressive win over New Milford. Expect to see a few more of the great fans at Friday night’s marquee match-up at Masuk in Monroe.

Happy birthday to Legislative Council Chairman and dry cleaning guru Pierre Rochman, who turned 60 this past weekend.

Representatives of Harvey Sellner’s World Help Foundation are planning to fly to El Salvador this weekend to help victims of last Friday’s earthquake and mudslide. The non-profit charitable organization has developed a water purification system that it brings to disaster sites and underdeveloped countries to provide safe water to hospitals, clinics, schools, and villages. To help, call the WHF at 800/814-2500 or send contributions to World Help Foundation, 255 South Main Street, PO Box 500, Newtown, CT 06776.

The Newtown Choral Society is getting ready to start rehearsals for its spring concert. There are openings in all voices. There are no auditions. Call 426-3769 for more information or show up at the Middle School Wednesdays at 7 pm.

 Finance Director Ben Spragg admits he is a little jealous of his friend, Bill Flood, head pro at Rock Ridge Country Club. And it has nothing to do with Bill’s smooth swing off the tee. Ben’s jealousy has to do with the fact that Bill is headed to Florida to take part in one of those professional golf conventions/training seminars. Ben’s fun in the sun will have to come later. He’s got the town’s fuzzy financial picture to deal with right now. Let the town’s annual budget season begin!

My Place Restaurant has more regular customers than did Cheers during its heyday. Mixed in with so many faces are the men and women who gather for breakfast at the local restaurant each morning. I saw regular Bob Hickey there Tuesday, along with Mike Snyder, Joanne McCaffery, Mike Trosan, and Jack Rosenthal.

Speaking of Jack, Newtown’s own Uncle Sam, I saw him at a gathering of the Chamber of Commerce last Thursday at the Newtown Health & Fitness Club’s open house. The large group had wine and cheese before touring the Commerce Road gym. Alan Clavette and Mike Neiman were spotted flexing their muscles near the weight room, while Jack wandered over to the basketball court where the men’s hoop league was taking place. Jack didn’t play, but the former first selectman and Chamber of Commerce administrative secretary almost got corralled into refereeing.

If you do business in Newtown then you’ll want to be at Saturday night’s Chamber of Commerce annual dinner dance at the Stony Hill Inn. Things get started around 7 pm. Call the Chamber at 426-2695 to let them know you are coming. By the way, your company and friends are welcome to reserve their own table. Tickets are $35 apiece.

Some serious discussion about government in Newtown took place last Thursday night as the Charter Revision Commission and the Legislative Council gathered at the Senior Center. Seated around three tables shaped in a horseshoe, the 20 or so participants exchanged their views. Amazingly, they did it all in under three hours; not bad for such a passionate group – determined to make Newtown a better place to live. It was the council that created the charter panel and it is the council that has to approve the panel’s recommendations for charter changes. Surprisingly, there was a passing suggestion that maybe the council should be abolished if its duties can be parceled out to a board of finance and the selectman. Of course no one expects this passing suggestion to be passing any show of hands in the council.

I would suggest in passing that if you want be here when I show my hand again that you come back next week to…

Read me again.