Date: Fri 22-Dec-1995

Publication: Bee

Author: CURT

Quick Words:

Mountain-Christmas

Full Text:

MOUNTAIN for 12/22

It is the duty of every cat in these days just before Christmas to sniff out

the one package with catnip in it, even if it means ripping up the wrapping of

a few "false alarm" boxes of tea and herb-scented candles. In the old days,

when most of us weren't as careful about the state of our consciousness in

times of intense celebration, I vaguely remember spending a Christmas eve

under the influence of catnip, shredding paper and ribbons under the tree.

It's embarrassing, now that I think back on it. I want to remind all my

friends that even in the thick of holiday celebration, catnip should be taken

in moderation, and never before driving.

One particularly clear-headed friend of mine deserves mention here this week.

Springer the springer spaniel has saved the life of his yellow lab buddy,

Brie, for the second time. Brie has a penchant for getting herself in deep

water - a number of years ago she got into someone's pool and was unable to

get out; on Tuesday, she fell through the ice on Taunton Lake Road. Both

times, Springer came to the rescue by attracting the attention of Sheila

Maher.

"My friend Paul Harrison and I were out taking a walk, and when we got to the

boat launch I saw this springer spaniel running around and around on the ice,"

she said. "At first we thought a child might have fallen into the water. Paul

went all the way out to the center - he went out on his stomach - and hurled

the dog right out of the water." The 90-pound Brie was so exhausted from

trying to keep afloat that she could barely lift a paw at that point. The two

took her back to the house and wrapped her in blankets and then took her to

Newtown Animal Clinic where they found out she belonged to the Steck family on

Taunton Hill Road. The owners were so grateful for the quick action of Paul

and Shiela, that they have invited them out for dinner.

Diana Johnson needed a quick rescue on Monday afternoon when she locked her

keys in her running car at the Sand Hill Plaza. She was in a hurry, of course,

trying to make it to The Bee in time to start touring decorated homes in

Newtown as one of the judges in The Bee's Holiday Decoration Contest. Newtown

Car Care eventually got her back on the road, and she made it in time to take

in the nighttime holiday sights around town with her fellow judges Larry

Newquist and Cindy Curtis.

Congratulations, by the way, to the contest winners, Lucille Sheehan of

Berkshire Road and the Greenley family of Button Ball Drive.

INSERT PHOTO HERE

Congratulations, also, to Tom Braun, who turned 40 this week. Tom got a

simmering greeting outside his office from Jessica of Roger Rabbit fame.

Community Development Director Liz Stocker looked terrific in the new brown

suit she wore to work at Edmond Town Hall recently. There was only one

problem. The suit still had the store's alarm device attached to it. Liz took

quite a bit of kidding about her "shopping habits." Worst of all, she had to

make another trip back to the store to have the device removed.

When Emma Butz heard in 1988 about the Mail Call program that provides

Christmas cards for US military personnel overseas, she decided it was a nice

program and she wanted to help. She sent 10 cards that year. This year the

75-year-old great-grandmother sent 2,100 cards. She says she does it because

many of the recipients are young boys and girls who haven't been away from

home before and really need to hear that people appreciate what they are

doing. The cards are donated by the Gordon Fraser Gallery of Newtown to Mrs

Butz, who lives in Trumbull, but she still spends about $400 a year on the

postage. All of the cards that she sends include a handwritten note and a

two-page typed letter. She's received hundreds of replies and has kept up a

correspondence with many of the service personnel over the past few years.

(Anyone who wants to learn about the Mail Call program should write to Mail

Call, PO Box 339, Soldier KY 41173 for more information.)

There's a friendly rivalry going on between two neighbors on Saw Mill Ridge

Road. Claudia and Cliff Kraich are big fans of the University of Florida

Gators while, across the street, Wendy and Ernesto Leon-Gambetta are equally

impassioned about the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers. The two families

have been flying big banners which they, reluctantly, took down to put up

holiday decorations. The two football teams are rated No 1 and 2 in the

country and will face off in the Fiesta Bowl next month. Wonder if the two

families will get together to cheer their teams on during the big game?

Jack and Beryl Harrison continue to be surprised by the feral cats they're

keeping until a home (barn) can be found for them. One of their latest antics

of the three grey tigers and one black cat was the removal of a heat vent from

the forced air heating system. Inside the vent, they have created a

"subterranean" passageway through the house. At first, the Harrisons were

afraid the cats were trapped in the ducts but realized they were traveling at

will, coming out to eat and use the litter box. "The dogs are going nuts

because the cats keep showing up at all these vents," said Beryl. The thought

of trapping the animals so they could reseal the vent has occurred to them,

but Beryl said they just returned all the traps to Spay and Neuter.