Bethel Daily Briefing: Monday, Dec. 12

Today is Monday, December 12, 2011, the 346th day of the year. Including today, there are 13 more shopping days until Christmas. 

Today's Weather

• Monday: Sunny, with a high near 44. Calm wind becoming southwest around 6 mph.  
• Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 22. Calm wind. 

Municipal Meetings

• The Commission on Aging will meet at 2:30 p.m. in the Senior Center conference room at the municipal center (agenda).
• At 7 p.m., the Inland Wetlands Commission will meet at the municipal center in Meeting Room D (agenda). 
• Bethel Library's Board of Directors will also meet at 7 p.m. at the library (agenda). 

Events, Reminders, Notices

• Leaf Pick-Up: Debris pick-up from October's snowstorm has been completed in the Town of Bethel. Leaf pick-up will start today and will start from Brookfield town line and crews will work their way down into town. There will be only one pass through each road, no special pick ups.
  
• Evening Book Discussion: The Bethel Public Library holds an evening book discussion for adults each month. Selected titles cover a wide variety of genres, and discussion is friendly and relaxed. December's selection is "An American Childhood" by Annie Dillard. Books are available for loan with a valid Library card. The discussion will be held tonight at 6:30 p.m.
• 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.

Today in History

• 1787: Pennsylvania becomes the second state to ratify the United States Constitution five days after Delaware became the first.
• 1870: Joseph H. Rainey of South Carolina becomes the second black U.S. Congressman, the first one being Hiram Revels.
• 1950: Paula Ackerman, the first woman appointed to perform rabbinical functions in the United States, leads the congregation in her first services.
• 2000: The United States Supreme Court releases its decision in Bush v. Gore.

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