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Fire Chief Andrew Kingsbury, Westport’s emergency management director, reminds residents the deadline to register with the Federal Emergency Management Agency for Superstorm Sandy disaster assistance is Tuesday, Feb. 12.

Even property owners who have insurance, have registered with another agency or have filed a flood insurance claim are still eligible to apply for help from FEMA.

Registration can be done online at any time at: www.DisasterAssistance.gov or with a smartphone at m.fema.gov. Signups as well as checking the status of an application or obtaining general guidance receive is possible by called the FEMA Helpline at 1-800-621-3362. Again, the deadline is Tuesday, Feb. 12.

Westporters who may have questions about elevating their home to floodplain standards should first register with FEMA, and then contact the town’s Office of Emergency Management at 203-341-5024.

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Get an “enhanced” opportunity to improve career skills when the CTWorks Career Coach rolls back into Westport on Thursday, Feb. 7.

The coach, which has been upgraded, will be at Town Hall from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Job-skills training on Thursday will include a beginner’s class in Excel 2007 from 10 a.m. to noon, followed by an intermediate class in Excel 2007 from 1 to 3 p.m.

The Career Coach is a mobile training aboard a bus equipped with 10 wireless computer labs offering free computer classes to residents around the region.

People interested in registering should contact the Westport Department of Human Services at 203-341-1050, or via e-mail at humansrv@westportct.gov.

For more details about the CTWorks Career Coach, go HERE.

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What’s a nine-letter word for a puzzle made up of interlocking words?

What is the two-digit numeral that’s twice the sum of the number most widely considered lucky No. ___ ?

What is the six-letter word for an event that occurs once every year?

What is a seven-letter word for a competition?

What town in southwestern Connecticut, to the west of Fairfield and the east of Norwalk, that among other enviable assets is known to have one of the finest and busiest public libraries in the state?

The solution?

The 14th annual Crossword Puzzle Contest at the Westport Public Library. The event takes place Saturday, starting at 1 p.m., with Will Shortz, the crossword puzzle editor for the New York Times, supplying unpublished Times crosswords for the puzzlers.

Registration is required to enter. Sign up HERE.

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They’re dusting off the archives and clearing out the cellar and closets at the Westport Historical Society, and inviting the public to come check out some of its impressive collections of local history.

The historical society throws light on this seldom-seen trove from several centuries of Westport history in two new exhibits opening Sunday and running through April 27 at its headquarters, 25 Avery Place.

“Treasures Revealed!” unearths artifacts from the its archives and collections for display in the Betty and Ralph Sheffer Gallery.

The concurrent exhibit, “Inside Story,” focuses on its Bradley-Wheeler House and Cobblestone Barn, and is on display in the Mollie Donovan Gallery.

An opening reception for members and invited guests for both exhibits will take place from 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday. Wine and refreshments will be served at the reception, which will follow the society’s annual meeting.

The displays, a collaboration between the historical society’s volunteer-run Exhibits, Oral History, Archives and Collections departments, are designed to give visitors a richer impression of Westport’s history.

Featured artifacts will include early documents, correspondence and photos; vintage garments; U.S. coastal surveys and aerial maps showing Westport from 1838 to 1931; Mary Sherwood’s early 19th-century wedding quilt; an 1874 inkwell carved from a Bedford Estate chestnut tree, and a Rose O’Neill-designed Kewpie doll, one of five million sold by 1913.

Call 203-222-1424 for information, or go HERE.

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The town’s yard waste center will adopt a shortened winter schedule starting the week of Jan. 14.

Under the winter schedule, the center at 180 Bayberry Lane will be open  will be Tuesday and Thursday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., and on Saturday from 7 a.m. until noon. Winter hours will be in effect until March 11.

Christmas trees will be accepted from Westport residents at the yard during those hours of operation.

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The Federal Emergency Management Agency has extended the deadline to register for Superstorm Sandy disaster assistance from Dec. 31 to Jan. 28, according to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.

“Extending this deadline will ensure that any resident or business affected by Storm Sandy has ample time to apply for assistance,” Malloy said in a statement.

More than $20 million in federal disaster assistance has already been approved to help Connecticut residents with Sandy-related expenses, according to state officials.

Fairfield County residents who suffered damage from Superstorm Sandy can register with FEMA before visiting a recovery center by either calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or visiting www.DisasterAssistance.gov. For state residents with speech or hearing disabilities, the TTY number is 1-800-462-7585.

Residents seeking additional information can download a fact sheet available at www.ct.gov/sandy

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Out with the Old. In with the New.

Westport welcomes 2013 this Monday evening with “First Night,” a full and varied slate of celebratory attractions and activities at venues around downtown. It’s seven hours of fun designed to appeal to people of all ages, from music and dance to ice sculpting and carriage-riding.

And it’s all capped off by a light show over the Saugatuck River — but not the fireworks display that was traditional in years past. Instead, a “Laser Jam” is scheduled to dazzle crowds and get the new year off to a bright start.

For the full schedule of First Night Westport/Weston, go HERE.

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This is the second holiday season that Saugatuck Congregational Church members have been forced to celebrate in quarters other than their historic sanctuary on Post Road East.

Damage to the church complex from a devastating fire just before Thanksgiving 2011 has still not been repaired, so the church continues to hold worship services in Temple Israel and its many other community programs at various venues around town.

Among the best known of the church’s programs, which by now have become cherished Westport traditions, are its annual community feasts — open to one and all — that the church hosts on Thanksgiving and Christmas days. And the fire, disruptive as it has been, has not stopped these celebrations, which are about so much more than the food — as generous and delicious as it is.

The Christmas rendition of that tradition continues Tuesday, starting at 11 a.m., in Branson Hall of Christ & Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, which has hosted three of Saugatuck Church’s holiday feasts since the fire.

Details about the event can be found HERE.