Applications sought for town Human Services funding
BRATTLEBORO - The Brattleboro Human Services Review Committee is accepting applications for fiscal year 2014 Human Services Funding.
The application, as well as instructions and guidelines, are on the Brattleboro website, www.brattleboro.org
The Human Services Review Committee information meeting is scheduled on Wednesday, Oct. 3, at 6 p.m. in the Hanna Cosman meeting room at the Municipal Center. The deadline to submit applications is Wednesday, Oct. 24, at 4 p.m.
For information regarding the application process, contact Jan Anderson in the Brattleboro Town Manager's office at 802-251-8151.
Information meetings set for upcoming special town meeting
BRATTLEBORO - The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold two special meetings on Wednesday, Oct. 3 and 17, at 6:30 p.m. at the Gibson-Aiken Senior Center, 207 Main St.
The purpose of the special meetings is to discuss with the public and Representative Town Meeting Members the Articles for the Special Representative Town Meeting scheduled on Oct. 20 at 8:30 a.m. in the Academy School gymnasium, 860 Western Ave.
Items on the special town meeting warrant include the adoption of a charter change involving the Listers Department, adoption of a 1 percent local option tax, and a ballot question regarding bonding up $14.1 million for police-fire facility upgrades and additions.
BMAC offers free admission for Smithsonian's Museum Day
BRATTLEBORO - The Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC) will offer free admission from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m., as part of Smithsonian magazine's Museum Day Live! on Saturday, Sept. 29.
In the spirit of the Smithsonian's museums, which offer free admission everyday, Museum Day Live! is an annual event hosted by Smithsonian magazine in which participating museums across the country open their doors to anyone presenting a Museum Day ticket for free.
Free tickets are available for that day at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/museumday. The ticket is good for free admission for one person, plus a guest. Only one ticket is allowed per household.
BMAC is an independent, non-collecting contemporary art museum whose mission is to present art and ideas in ways that inspire, educate, and engage audiences of all ages. For more information on BMAC, visit www.brattleboromuseum.org.
Open house at the Townshend Library on Sept. 29
TOWNSHEND - The Townshend Public Library will host an open house Saturday, Sept. 29, from 10 a.m.-noon, to celebrate the release of The People of Townshend, Vermont, a book of photographic portraits and stories of Townshend folks.
The book, by Karl Decker, had its beginnings in 1998 when the author left teaching after 43 years to work at photography full time. An Acton Hill summer resident since 1934, he worked from 1998 to 2003 photographing some 200 of the 1,000 Townshend residents, and hearing their stories, later to write them or to write about the moments they had together.
A selection of the photographs appeared in the Summer 2003 issue of Vermont Life and were exhibited at Sean and Mary Yancey's Townshend Country Inn during Townshend's 250th celebration in that year. Since then, the photographs have been exhibited in Maine, Connecticut and Vermont-most recently at Sterling College in Craftsbury.
But work on the book got set aside for the next six years while Decker, with his co-writer Nancy Levine of Shelburne, were on assignment for Vermont Magazine- traveling throughout the state to photograph and then write some 35 articles on Vermont's small rural towns. But last August, the book plan was revived, texts edited, layout planned and in June this year, sent to Queen City Printers in Burlington.
In the foreword to the book, Levine writes that “each photograph is a testimony to what mattered on that one day…and is a study in dignity and grace.”
Books will be available for purchase and signing. Refreshments will be served. For more information, visit www.karldecker.com, call the library at 802-365-4039, or visit www.townshendlibrary.org.
Transition Dummerston to hold potluck supper
DUMMERSTON - Transition Dummerston presents its monthly potluck supper and program on Friday, Sept. 28, from 6-8:30 p.m., at the West Dummerston Community Center, 156 West St., in West Dummerston, off Route 30.
The program features apples - telling how they capture our imaginations, put us to work, delight our palates, and enrich our economy. Supper served from 6-7 p.m. Local food encouraged. The program runs from 7-8:30 p.m.
Transition Dummerston works to build local resilience for a positive future by anticipating challenges to arise from climate change, peak oil, and economic uncertainty. For more information, contact Susal, at 802-275-7449, or Fred, at 802-287-2681.
CRWC's 16th annual Connecticut River Cleanup is Sept. 29
SAXTONS RIVER - More than 1,800 volunteers will be heading out to clean local waterways on Saturday, Sept. 29 in the Connecticut River Watershed Council's (CRWC) 16th annual Source to Sea Cleanup.
CRWC will mobilize volunteers to pick up trash and debris along the Connecticut River and its tributaries in Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.
This year, about 65 groups are already registered to participate in the Source to Sea Cleanup. Groups span the length of the 410-mile watershed from Clarksville, N.H. to Long Island Sound.
Vermont, an area hard-hit by 2011's Tropical Storm Irene, has continued to see increased participation in the Cleanup, and many businesses are forming employee cleanup groups as well.
“Source to Sea Cleanup volunteers have worked hard to combat litter and illegally dumped trash,” says Jacqueline Talbot, CRWC River Steward and organizer of the Cleanup. “But the trash keeps showing up. Removing it helps keep precious water resources clean and our natural spaces safe for families and wildlife.”
Over the past 15 years, volunteers have removed more than 707 tons of refuse from along waterways in four states during the largest single-day river cleanup in New England. CRWC fields a variety of trash site suggestions, coordinates the work of individual groups and supplies them with bags and gloves.
It's not too late to join this year's cleanup. Find a registered group in your area by going to CRWC's website, www.ctriver.org.
“If you don't find a group in your area accepting new cleanup volunteers or want to go out on your own, just download our trash tally form and let us know what you picked up,” says Talbot.
Southeastern Vermont Watershed Alliance (SeVWA), in partnership with other local watershed advocates, will be leading clean-up sessions along the West River between the Rock River/West River convergence and the Retreat Meadows.
The clean-up sites scheduled so far are the Retreat Meadows on Route 30 in Brattleboro, across from Retreat Farm/Grafton Cheese; the West Dummerston Covered bridge just off of Route 30 and the convergence of the West and Rock Rivers at the intersection of Route 30 and Depot Road, at the Dummerston/Newfane town line. Come at 9 a.m. to any of these sites, bags and gloves will be provided for participants.
BMH hosts Mediterranean dinner, healthy eating discussion
BRATTLEBORO - Brattleboro Memorial Hospital will host a public dinner featuring low-fat, Mediterranean fare and a presentation on cardiac rehabilitation at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 4 in the Brew Barry Conference Center.
Diners will choose between entrees of Vermont apple cider-braised chicken and vegetables served with oven roasted local organic potato, or braised autumn vegetables with quinoa. Each will be served with a salad of mixed greens, chick peas, pickled red onion and vinaigrette, whole grain bread, and a whole grain apple crisp with fat-free local yogurt, all made fresh on the premises by BMH Nutrition Services staff.
During the dinner, there will be a talk about heart health and nutrition for cardiac rehabilitation patients. Jeff Harr, coordinator of Cardiac Rehab Services at BMH, will discuss the structure of the program and present recent research on the importance of rehab following a cardiac event. Darrel Daley, currently a participant in the program, will provide firsthand insights into his own experiences of going through cardiac rehab.
Seating is limited. Call 802-257-8331 before Sept. 28 to make reservations. Cost for the dinner is $11.95 per person. When making a reservation, specify the chicken or vegetarian option.
Stress reduction course offered at BMH
BRATTLEBORO - Brattleboro Memorial Hospital will offer a free, introductory session for its six-week course, “Letting Go of Stress” on Wednesday, Oct. 3 at 5:15 p.m. in Brew Barry Conference Room 2.
Presented by Marc Cohen, MA, the introductory session will explore how stress affects an individual's body and mind, and how one can counteract the negative impact of stress and develop “stress hardiness.”
The six-week program begins the following Wednesday, Oct. 10 and meets weekly through Nov. 14. The multi-session class will provide participants with the theory, practice, and motivation to establish and maintain an effective lifelong stress reduction program. Call 802-257-8877 to register for the introductory session.
The $150 fee for the six-week course includes an audio CD and handouts. Call 802-257-0319 to register for the entire course.
AARP Tax-Aide Volunteers needed in Bellows Falls, Brattleboro
BRATTLEBORO - For the past six years, AARP Tax-Aide volunteers in Bellows Falls and the surrounding communities have helped residents prepare their federal and state tax returns. To continue this free service, they are actively recruiting new volunteers for the coming tax season. They are especially looking for people to work in Bellows Falls at the BF Senior Center or Rockingham Free Public Library. They also have positions open in Brattleboro.
You do not need to be an AARP member nor a retiree. Experience doing basic tax returns and familiarity with computers are both helpful. Training is provided and ongoing support is offered at each site.
If you have 4 hours per week between Feb. 1 and April 15, 2013, they can provide you with the skills necessary to assist people with their taxes and the opportunity to give back to your community, especially important now when so many people are stressed and concerned about money. Last year, more than 130 volunteers helped more than 5,000 Vermont taxpayers across the state. This year, the need will be even greater.”
For more information, contact Jean Cornish at [email protected] or 802-365-7222.
Sunday: deadline for writing workshop submissions
MARLBORO - The Brattleboro Literary Festival, in collaboration with Marlboro College, will offer an expanded number of writing workshops for 2012 featuring writers with a Vermont connection. The workshops will be a central part of the festival, which takes place in Brattleboro from Oct. 12 to 14.
Participant submissions will be accepted on a space-available basis through Sunday, Sept. 30.
Marlboro alumnus Deni Béchard, author of Commonwealth Prize-winning Vandal Love and a new memoir, Cures for Hunger, will lead a new session on memoir. The poetry workshop will be led by former Walt Whitman Award winner and Bennington College faculty member April Bernard. Jon Clinch of Plymouth, author of two acclaimed novels, will run the fiction workshop.
The sessions will take place concurrently on Friday, Oct. 12, from 1:30 to 5 p.m. at the Marlboro Graduate Center. Participants may also attend the Literary Festival private author reception from 5:30 to 8 p.m.
Further workshop details and registration information can be found at brattleboroliteraryfestival.org.