Route 30 set to close April 11 for I-91 bridge work
BRATTLEBORO - After more weather delays, a date is set for closing Route 30 to complete demolition of the northbound span of West River Bridge on Interstate 91.
According to project contractor PCL, Route 30 will be closed for up to six days beginning Friday night, April 11, and continuing through Friday afternoon, April 18.
The closure still depends on weather conditions and on water levels in the West River. Contractors must first confirm the weather is favorable for work to proceed. Actual closure dates and start time will be confirmed at least 72 hours in advance.
Once the closure begins, no through traffic will be permitted on Route 30 through the Interstate 91 right of way. Local traffic will be detoured on Upper Dummerston Road during that period. For project updates, visit www.i91brattleborobridge.com.
Union Hill traffic improvements to be discussed at meeting
BRATTLEBORO - The town of Brattleboro and its consultant are engaged in a study for safety improvements on Western Avenue in the area of Union Hill.
This study is funded by the Vermont Agency of Transportation's Local Transportation Facilities Division.
As part of the process, the town will hold a public meeting to present design concepts on Thursday, April 10, at 6 p.m. in the Selectboard Meeting Room at the Municipal Center, 230 Main St.
At the meeting, design concepts for the project will be reviewed and discussions will be held in regard to project objectives. The town will also provide an update of the project and seek public input on potential design issues. All are welcomed.
Should you have questions or concerns, call Steve Barrett or Hannah O'Connell at the Department of Public Works at 802-254-4255.
Chris Hart to address West Brattleboro Association meeting
WEST BRATTLEBORO - The next monthly meeting of the West Brattleboro Association (WBA) is on Thursday, April 10, at 6 p.m. at the New England House.
Guest speaker is Chris Hart, executive director of the Brattleboro Housing Authority, who will discuss possible future uses for the Melrose Terrace housing complex once residents are moved to Red Clover Commons, new quarters being built on Canal Street.
The group also will discuss the May 3 Green-Up Day and the May 24 semi-annual chicken barbecue, sponsored by WBA. This is the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, and the location is in front of West Brattleboro Congregational Church.
The Thursday, May 8 WBA meeting features guests Pat Moulton Powden and Laura Sibilia of the Southeast Vermont Economic Development Strategies/SeVEDS group and Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation/BDCC. Topics will likely focus on the recently published regional Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy/CEDS plan.
WBA meetings are open to all residents and business owners. For more information, visit www.westbrattleboro.org.
RFPL examines H.P. Lovecraft tale of horror with local ties
BELLOWS FALLS - On Thursday, April 10, at 7 p.m., the Rockingham Free Public Library hosts Norwich University professor E. Brett Cox for a presentation on H.P. Lovecraft's “The Whisperer in Darkness,” a classic horror tale rooted in Windham County history.
The devastation of the 1927 floods and the “wild, domed hills” of our area provided inspiration for H.P. Lovecraft in his writing “The Whisperer in Darkness,” a tale of crab aliens and preserved brains set against the backdrop of 1920s Townshend, Bellows Falls, and Brattleboro.
Prior to the presentation, Emily Zervas, Rockingham Library's Reference and Historical Collections librarian, presents a brief slideshow of historic photographs of the 1927 floods in Bellows Falls.
This program is free and open to the public. Lovecraft's short story, along with other local background on the 1927 flood, is available at rockinghamlibrary.org/lovecraft.html. For more information, call 802-463-427o.
Brattleboro Time Trade hosts Putney Community Supper
PUTNEY - Brattleboro Time Trade (BTT) is a service-exchange network in which everyone's time is valued equally. Members accumulate hours earned and redeem hours spent through service exchanges with other members, connecting unmet needs through untapped resources.
BTT hosts the Putney Community Supper on Friday, April 11, from 5:30 to 7 p.m., at Next Stage (15 Kimball Hill) in Putney. All are welcome. Menu includes quiche, macaroni and cheese, mixed-greens salad, Orchard Hill bread, Walpole Creamery ice cream, and cookies. Vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options will be available. Cost is by donation or free, and the event is family-friendly.
For more information, contact Brattleboro Time Trade at [email protected] or 802-246-1199.
BEEC presents vernal pool excursion
DUMMERSTON - Naturalist Patti Smith of the Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center (BEEC) presents a program on vernal pools on Saturday, April 12, at 2 p.m. at Dummerston Community Center on West Street in West Dummerston.
This is the month when hordes of amphibians migrate to these ephemeral woodland pools to mate. Vernal pools provide important breeding habitat for a suite of salamanders, frogs, and invertebrates, and though they're typically small, their impact on the vitality of the surrounding forest is disproportionately large.
Learn to identify the organisms that are adapted to take advantage of this special habitat. Following the presentation, a trip will be taken to a nearby vernal pool to see what the spring has wrought. If the timing is right, wood frogs and spring peepers will be calling, and the water will be filled with amphibian egg masses. If the weather has been cool or dry, some of the more elusive indicator species of vernal pools will be sought.
Participants will also receive training needed to document vernal pools for inclusion in the statewide vernal pool database. This mapping is a first step toward giving these habitats the protection their importance warrants. Documenting vernal pools will improve conservation planning and help preserve the ecological values associated with these critical, but often overlooked, wetland habitats.
Dress appropriately for the weather, and wear hiking boots or muck boots. Co-sponsored by BEEC and the Dummerston Conservation Commission. For more information, call 802-257-5785 or visit www.beec.org.
Masons host open house on April 12
BRATTLEBORO - Have you ever wondered about the secret society known as the Freemasons and what they do behind closed doors?
This oldest fraternity in the world claims several Founding Fathers as past members. George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock, Robert Livingston, 13 United States presidents in total, other world leaders such as Winston Churchill, captains of industry such as Henry Ford, and Hollywood entertainers such as John Wayne were members.
The Brattleboro Lodge hosts an open house Saturday, April 12, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Included are a tour of the lodge, an audio-visual presentation, and an opportunity to ask questions about the fraternity. Masonic Center, 196 Main St.
Village Dance Series features local youth trio
DUMMERSTON - An evening of community contra and square dances takes place at the Evening Star Grange in Dummerston Center on Saturday, April 12, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. A potluck supper is at 5:30.
Calling the dance is Peter Amidon of Brattleboro, who'll be joined by the band Jokers Wild, which features Brattleboro teen musicians Aidan Murphy on fiddle, Everest Witman on guitar, and Alden Witman on Irish whistle.
Other dances in this series are May 10 at the Broad Brook Grange in Guilford Center, and June 14 in Dummerston Center. Dances feature live traditional music and storytelling. The June dance features musicians from the Brattleboro Music Center's Celtic music classes.
The program includes traditional New England contra dances, square dances, circle mixers, and couple dances. Admission is $4 for children, $7 for adults, and $20 for a family. For more information, including directions, contact Andy Davis at 802-257-1819 or [email protected].
Osher lectures continue
DUMMERSTON - The second in a series of Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) lectures is Monday, April 14.
In the morning session, William Edelglass presents ideas of happiness from the ancients to our day. In the afternoon program, Donlin Foreman describes how modern dance became a field of academic study. Morning lectures run 10 a.m. to noon; afternoon lectures run 1 to 3 p.m.
All lectures are at the Southeastern Vermont Learning Collaborative, 471 Vermont Route 5. Parking and handicapped access are available, and light refreshments will be served. For more information, including cancellations, call 802-257-8600 or 866-889-0042.
Mud season movies and more at Grafton Public Library
GRAFTON - The Grafton Public Library presents a Family Movie Night on Wednesday, April 16, at 6:30 p.m. Enjoy the evening with popcorn provided by the library as we watch an animated movie.
On Wednesday, April 23, at 7 p.m., the Spanish Language Group and the Grafton Public Library present Foreign Film Night. This movie is in Spanish with English subtitles; refreshments with a Latin flair will be served. The film is appropriate for adults and older teens.
For both films, patrons are invited to bring a canned good for donation to the food shelf and the title of a good book you've read to add to our readers' mural. For more information about the films, call 802-843-2404 or visit [email protected].
The library's Spanish Language Study Group meets Tuesdays at 10 a.m. Its format is flexible, and the program is suitable for those with beginning through advanced proficiency. Other language programs are available through www.graftonpubliclibrary.org.
Programs at Grafton Public Library are free and handicapped-accessible.
Noted ornithologist to address Putney Mountain Association
PUTNEY - The Putney Mountain Association hosts noted raptor researcher Dr. Rob Bierregaard, who'll give his illustrated talk, “There and Back Again: Satellite studies of osprey migration,” on Thursday, April 17, at 7 p.m. at the Putney Community Center, 10 Christian Square.
The Putney Mountain Association sponsors this event as a benefit for PMA in acquiring and conserving the 144-acre Hannum-O'Connor parcel on Windmill Ridge. A $10 donation is suggested. Refreshments provided.
Bierregaard, former professor of ornithology and ecology at the University of North Carolina, is a research associate at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University. He has always had a passion for birds of prey, and for much of his life has conducted research on ospreys, barred owls, and other raptors.
For more information, call 802-387-5387.
BAH, Retreat sponsor program on adolescents and grief
BRATTLEBORO - Hospice Foundation of America's annual National Living With Grief Program, sponsored by Brattleboro Area Hospice and the Brattleboro Retreat, is Tuesday, April 22, from 1 to 4:30 p.m.
This free educational event is at the Brattleboro Retreat Education Center. Refreshments are provided. Continuing Education Credits are available through Hospice Foundation of America.
This year's program focuses on issues adolescents face in coping with death loss, and explores ways that professionals and other adults who work with adolescents can help. The format for the afternoon is an archived webcast featuring national experts, as well as a live discussion led by local professionals who have expertise in this area.
To register, or for more information, contact Connie Baxter, Brattleboro Area Hospice Bereavement Coordinator, at 802-257-0775, ext. 104.
Applications sought for Crowell Scholarships
NEWFANE - The Moore Free Library offers a total of $12,000 in scholarships generously funded by the family of the late Robert L. Crowell. These awards are open to students residing in Newfane, Williamsville, South Newfane, and Brookline who will be entering their first year of college this fall.
The scholarship committee will consider academics, contributions to the community, and financial need. The number of scholarships awarded and the award amounts are determined by the applications received.
Applications should include a brief autobiography (including plans for continued study and the name of the school to which you have been accepted), high-school transcript, and a letter of reference. Completed applications should be submitted by May 1 to Board of Trustees, Moore Free Library, P.O. Box 208, Newfane, VT 05345.
Grange increases scholarship for Guilford students
GUILFORD - Broad Brook Grange in Guilford annually awards a scholarship to a Brattleboro Union High School student from Guilford who has been accepted at a two- or four-year college; the student must be a graduate of Guilford Central School.
Beginning this spring the scholarship will be maintained at $1,000 annually, up from $750 as of two years ago and $500 as established in 1981, in keeping with Grange members' desire to help deserving students meet rising school costs.
The Grange, which serves as a community center for Guilford, raises funds for this and its other community service programs primarily through such fundraising activities as the annual Sugar on Snow Supper, bingo and food booths at The Guilford Fair, and through its popular brunches, two of which will be held in 2014: on Mother's Day and Father's Day.
The 2014 scholarship application instructions are available through the BUHS Naviance system and on hardcopy in the scholarship file cabinet in the counseling office. Applications are due by May 23, and the recipient is named at the Senior Awards Ceremony the evening before BUHS graduation.