Sports Editor Andy Hutchison shared the first announcement of a new NHS Blue & Gold Stadium “Leave Your Legacy” fundraiser last week and I just want to take a moment to remind you about it this week. Readers are invited to become part of Blue & Gold Stadium at Newtown High School by purchasing a four- by eight-inch tile for $100 in support of NHS athletics. This is an opportunity to let your legacy live on at Blue & Gold Stadium, or honor students, family, teams, businesses, or anyone else you would like to see become part of the permanent structure at the top of the bleachers that currently houses the announcer's booth and snack shack at the school's stadium.

All funds raised will go directly to Hawks Nation, the school-wide booster club which supports all Newtown High School athletes. This fundraiser will run through June 1 so that tiles can be made and installed this summer. Visit the Hawks Nation web page, newtownhawks.com, for full details, including the order form and specifics on word and text count, the use of symbols, and other notes. If you have questions concerning things not addressed on that page send a note to the Hawks Nation board at nhshawksnation@gmail.com.

Graduation season is upon us, and Newtown High School’s Class of 2026 will be walking across the stage and picking up their diplomas in just a few weeks. Ahead of June 16, we are again offering the opportunity to celebrate your favorite graduating Nighthawk with a collection of ads that will run in the paper the week before their big day. Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends, and classmates are all invited to place a four-line ad to run in our June 12, 2026 print edition. For $30, you can purchase four lines of text, up to 36 characters per line — no logos or graphics — and join others in this celebratory tradition. If you’d like to participate, e-mail what you’d like your ad to say, along with your name, to ads@thebee.com; then call 203-426-3141 to arrange payment over the phone or stop by our office if you’d like to handle payment in person. Either way, deadline for the Class of 2026 special section is next Friday afternoon, May 29.

I’ve been remiss in recent weeks in reminding you where you can find tickets for The Great Pootatuck Duck Race. My apologies to my pals in Newtown Lions Club. This year’s event returns to Heritage Park in Sandy Hook on June 13, and Lions will be at Carminuccio’s Pizza, 76 South Main Street, tonight (May 22) from 5:30-7:30 pm; and then at Newtown Hardware, at 61 Church Hill Road, tomorrow between 9 am and 1 pm. Next weekend they plan to be outside My Place Restaurant, 8 Queen Street, from 5:30-7:30 pm May 29; and then in front of Bagel Delight (hi Eunice!), 30 Church Hill Road, on Saturday, May 30, from 8 am until noon. Tickets are $5 each and this year’s prize package is again filled with goodies from dozens of local clubs, organizations, and businesses.

Meanwhile, I keep forgetting to mention Sandy Hook LobsterFest tickets are on sale too. Members of Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue Company — and plenty of volunteers — will again be serving lobster, steak, surf and turf, hamburger, and hot dog dinners at their Riverside Road main station on Friday and Saturday, June 5 and 6. Advance tickets for lobster or steak dinners are $40, cash or check, and available at our office, 5 Church Hill Road; the Office of the Fire Marshal, within Newtown Municipal Center, 3 Primrose Street; and from most company members. Tickets for hamburger or hot dog dinners are $10 each, whether purchased in advance or at the door. Dinner will again include Chief’s Chowder (a Manhattan-style recipe favored by the late Chief Halstead), corn on the cob, a dinner roll, potato salad, and a soda or water. A raw bar, full bar, and desserts will all be available during the event; there will be live music each night; and the rain or shine shindig is a fundraiser for Sandy Hook VFR. If you’d like additional information visit SandyHookFire.com. *Note the advance ticket discount ends at noon Friday, June 5. After that time all sales will be done at the Sandy Hook VFR main station on Riverside Road, with lobster or dinner tickets increasing to $45 each. Surf & Turf upgrades will also be available at the door (not in advance). Hamburger and hot dog dinner tickets are $10 each whether purchased ahead or at the door.

Meanwhile, Friends of the C.H. Booth Library volunteers are delighted to be back in the library after operating out of their storage facility on Old Farm Road for the past nine months. They are eager to collect more items for their upcoming 50th Book Sale, so please drop off gently-used books, media, jigsaw puzzles, etc in their Donation Room on the lower level of the library anytime the library is open.

No one ever likes to hear about crashes, especially when people get hurt. As we often hear, “Things can be replaced, people can’t.” There was a surprisingly nice comment on our Facebook page this week, however, following a crash in Dodgingtown that included children. Newtown Police, Dodgingtown Volunteer Fire Company, two ambulances from Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps, and a paramedic all responded to the area of Dodgingtown Road (State Route 302) near the Dodgingtown firehouse around 9:45 Tuesday morning following a crash there. Four people ended up going to the hospital, but it seems there were some very good people in the area when everything happened. Dee Cocchia Davis said the accident renewed her faith in people. “So many of us helped this family. The lovely lady holding the toddler, the kind retired PD officer from NY who brought water and ice. We all just have to stop the negativity and remember ‘we are better together,’” Dee commented on our post about the crash. You know what? She’s right! Thank you for that thought of positivity, Dee. I appreciate it.

Our youngest Bee is keeping some of us on our toes these days. Young Knox Baggett visited great-grandparents Gommy and Pop-Pop one morning this week and for the first time anyone in the building can remember, Knox took a walkabout on her own when she got bored. Employees were pleasantly surprised a few times, in fact. Shannon Hicks was heading toward the water cooler when she encountered Little Miss Knox near the photocopy machine, just looking around like she was trying to get her bearings after walking away from Sherri Baggett’s desk. A few minutes later Susie Leniart was equally surprised to see our little friend heading around a corner in the back hallway, heading back toward Scott Baggett’s desk after another visit with Sherri. Knox was all confidence and smiles, waving to anyone she saw and tottering along in her pretty lavender sneakers.

Retired Newtown Bee Editor Nancy K. Crevier celebrated the release of her third collection of poetry last week with a reading at Newtown Senior Center (see related story). The new collection again touches upon subjects obviously dear to Nancy’s heart, including a late friend. He would have hated it, but I loved the way Nancy wrote the dedication for Somewhere Lightning Strikes to honor our mutual friend and mentor Curtiss Clark.

I would also love it if your path carries you back to this space after another week’s passing, when it will be time to … read me again.