Bethel Daily Briefing: Tuesday, Dec. 6

Today is Tuesday, December 6, 2011, the 340th day of the year. Including today, there are 19 more shopping days until Christmas. 

Today's Weather

• Tuesday: Showers likely, mainly before 4 p.m. Patchy fog before 11 a.m. Otherwise, cloudy, with a high near 57. Southwest wind between 3 and 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70 percent. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. 
• Tuesday Night: Showers likely, mainly between 7-8 p.m. Cloudy, with a low around 40. North wind between 3 and 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60 percent. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. 

Municipal Meetings

• The Board of Selectmen will meet tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the municipal center in Meeting Room A (agenda).  

Events, Reminders, Notices

• Author Talk: Join Joseph Farris at 6:30 p.m. at the library, where he will talk about his latest book  just published by National Geographic. He'll will talk about what he witnessed as a U.S. Army private during World War II. Books will be available for sale and signing. Registration is required for this program. Register online at www.bethellibrary.org, at the Library's Reference Desk, or by calling (203) 794-8756 ex 4.  
• Orchestra Concert: Tonight at 7 p.m., the BHS Orchestra winter concert will be held in the auditorium. The group will play modern and traditional string music, including several holiday favorites. The BHS String Quartet will also perform two works at this concert. Admission is free and all are invited to attend. 
• 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: Today's debris pick-up will be in all roads north of Plumtrees between Walnut Hill Rd./Payne Rd., Newtown Town Line and North of Rt. 6. For the complete new schedule, . 

Today in History

• 1768: The first edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica is published.
• 1790: Congress moves from New York City to Philadelphia.
• 1865: The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, banning slavery.
• 1884: The Washington Monument in Washington D.C. is completed.
• 1967: Adrian Kantrowitz performed the first human heart transplant in the United States.

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