Bethel Daily Briefing: Friday, Dec. 9

Today is Friday, December 9, 2011, the 343rd day of the year. Including today, there are 16 more shopping days until Christmas. 

Weekend Weather

• Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 45. Southwest wind between 6 and 11 mph.  
• Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 30. West wind between 7 and 10 mph. 

• Saturday:  Mostly sunny, with a high near 39. Northwest wind between 8 and 10 mph. 
• Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 20. North wind between 8 and 10 mph. 

• Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 39.  
• Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 24.

Municipal Meetings

• There are no municipal meetings in Bethel today. 

Events, Reminders, Notices

• Weekend Events: Lots of holiday events going on this weekend. .
• Hat & Glove Drive: Boy Scout Pack 156 is holding a hat and glove drive in Bethel between now and Dec. 15. There will be roughly 25-30 hat and glove donation boxes placed around Bethel including at Ace Hardware, Famous Pizza, Molten Java, Capri Pizza, The Toy Room, Bethel Health Care and Wells Fargo in Stony Hill. On Dec. 16 at 6 p.m. in P.T. Barnum Square, the scouts will be hosting a Holiday Sing-A-Long and then bring the collected items to St Thomas' Church where they will enjoy hot cocoa and cookies. The Next morning they will be taken to Dorothy Day in Danbury by Troop 71 for distribution.
• Debris Pick-Up: Pick-up is ahead of schedule and should finish this week. Leaf pick-up will then resume next week.

Today in History

• 1851: The first YMCS in North America is established in Montreal, Quebec.
• 1872: In Louisiana, PBS Pinchback becomes the first serving African-American governor of a US state.
• 1979: The eradication of the smallpox virus is certified, making smallpox the first and to date only human disease driven to extinction.
• 2000: The Supreme Court of the United States stays the sixth Florida recount.
• 2008: The Governor of Illinois, Rod Blagokevich, is arrested by federal officials for a number of alleged crimes including attempting to sell the United States Senare seat being vacated by President-elect Barack Obama's election to the Presidency.

Weather information taken from the National Weather Service. Today in History compiled from Wikipedia and other sources.