May Day celebration on Friday
BRATTLEBORO - On Friday, May 1, the public is invited to join the fourth decade of Brattleboro's annual commemoration of May Day, International Labor Day, on the Common, beginning at 2 p.m. and finishing at 7 p.m.
Take to the “soap box,” and join in the maypole, music, face painting, and food. Political literature is welcome.
Perennial Swappers to meet in Dummerston
DUMMERSTON - The 2015 season of the Dummerston Perennial Swappers begins on Thursday, April 30, at 5:30 p.m., at the Town Garage in Dummerston Center.
Bruce Bellville will demonstrate plant division and the pieces will be for sale. Everyone is invited, as they need new gardeners to come and take plants. Bring plastic bags and small bills so that they can make change easily. A $1 donation is requested.
Future meetings of the Swappers are scheduled for May 7 and 21 at 6 p.m., at the Dummerston Congregational Church in Dummerston Center. Call Bonnie at 802-257-9188 or Ruth at 802-257-1121 for more information.
Learn how to search for spring wildflowers
WESTMINSTER WEST - On Saturday, May 2, from 2-4 p.m., Libby Mills and Carol Westing will lead a favorite program for the Windmill Hill Pinnacle Association: their annual off-trail forest stroll to discover ephemeral spring wildflowers.
These seemingly delicate flowers are hardier than one might think and emerge, bloom, and set seed before larger overhead trees have fully leafed out. Many eager eyes on the chosen section of land to visit each year help to spot the emerging plants.
Wildflower enthusiasts are urged to wear waterproof shoes and bring along a camera and water, perhaps even a hand lens and wildflower book to aid in identification. Participants should meet at Westminster West Church to carpool to the start and contact Libby Mills at 802-387-5596 or [email protected] to register. The rain date is Sunday May 3.
Visit www.windmillhillpinnacle.org for more information on other upcoming free Pinnacle Association programs and directions to the Westminster West Church.
BAJC seeks volunteer crafters for the homeless
BRATTLEBORO - Come join the Brattleboro Area Jewish Community on Sunday, May 3, from 1 to 3 p.m., to craft items for the homeless population in the area. Using traditional crafts, participants will make hats, scarves, blankets and sleeping mats from yarn and fleece fabric.
All you need is enthusiasm and interest - techniques will be taught and projects will use basic techniques and simple patterns. This event is suitable for adults, teenagers, and kids old enough to sit still and participate. Kids younger than 12 need to have an adult in attendance with them.
If you want to, you can take projects home to work on between meetings. High school students can receive community service credit for participating. They meet regularly on the first Sunday afternoon of every month, from 1 to 3 p.m.
If you have any extra yarn (worsted weight), fleece fabric, knitting needles (sizes 8-10; straight, circular and double pointed), crochet hooks (sizes H-J), and sharp scissors, bring them along to share.
Fire departments to hold joint training exercise
BRATTLEBORO - On Sunday, May 3, the Brattleboro Fire Department and several of their mutual aid partners will hold a training exercise in the Hillwinds Road neighborhood. The training will begin at approximately 9 a.m.. and last for about two hours.
The exercise will involve several tankers from area fire departments joining us to shuttle water from the dry hydrant at the intersection of Route 30 and Upper Dummerston Rd to a “portatank” set up on Hillwinds Road. The purpose of the training is to calculate what resources we will need to sustain a needed water flow if there was to be a house fire in the neighborhood.
With safety being our main concern, all vehicles involved in the training will be traveling “with the flow of traffic,” there will be no emergency lights or sirens used. This training will involve fire apparatus entering and leaving the area, and traveling on West River Road, Upper Dummerston Road and Hillwinds Road. Use caution if you are traveling through the area.
If you have any questions or concerns, contact Brattleboro Fire Chief Mike Bucossi at 802-254-4831.
Osher lectures on insects and the movies
DUMMERSTON - The Brattleboro Chapter of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) will hold the fifth in its current series of spring morning and afternoon lectures on May 4.
In the morning series of six lectures, Bob Engel will discuss insect societies. In the afternoon lectures, Rick Winston will examine the directors Bergman, Fellini, and Kurosawa.
Lectures are held on six successive Mondays. Morning lectures run from 10 a.m. to noon; afternoon lectures, from 1 to 3 p.m.
All lectures will be held at the Southeastern Vermont Learning Collaborative, 471 Vermont Route 5, Dummerston. Parking and handicapped access are available, and light refreshments will be served at the lectures. For further information, including cancellations, call 802-257-8600 or toll-free 866-889-0042; go to www.learningcollaborative.org; or call the OLLI organizers at 802-387-5387 or 802-257-7623.
Hospice presents 'The Longest Loss: Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia'
BRATTLEBORO - On Tuesday May 5, from 1 to 4:30 p.m., Brattleboro Area Hospice in cooperation with the Alzheimer's Association/Vermont Chapter, will present the Hospice Foundation of America's Annual National Living with Grief Program, “The Longest Loss: Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia.”
This free educational teleconference is made possible in part through the generosity of the Brattleboro Retreat and will take place in the Brattleboro Retreat Education Conference Center, 1 Anna Marsh Lane. Three hours of continuing education credit are available through the Hospice Foundation of America.
The arc of grieving when a loved one suffers from Alzheimer's disease or dementia can be very long. Through a combination of candid, compelling interviews and a discussion by national experts in the recorded portion of the program, along with a live question and answer session with a panel of local experts, a wealth of information will be shared on how to best help patients and families cope with the loss and grief associated with these progressive illnesses.
The local panel will include Maggie Lewis, regional director of programs and services for the Alzheimer's Association's Vermont chapter; Sue Arsenault, a social worker at Vernon Green; and Joanne Clark, a community member who cared for two parents with dementia.
To register for this free event please contact Connie Baxter, Brattleboro Area Hospice bereavement coordinator at 802-257-0775, ext. 104, or email [email protected].
Newfane Garden Club to meet May 7
NEWFANE - The Newfane Garden Club will hold its next meeting on Thursday, May 7, at 2 p.m., at the Newfane Congregational Church.
During the meeting, attendees will make spring flower arrangements for patients at Grace Cottage Hospital. Bring some spring flowers from your garden or a local florist, as well as large vitamin bottles. The public is welcome to attend. Additional information about the Newfane Garden Club can be found at [email protected].
Tree committee offers info on Emerald Ash Borers
BELLOWS FALLS - The Rockingham Tree Committee will sponsor a workshop on the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) and its effect on ash trees on Thursday, May 7, at 6 p.m., at the Waypoint Center, 17 Depot St.
Staff from the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation will provide timely information on identifying ash trees and how to tell if a tree is infested with EAB, options for managing ash trees on your property, and how to help slow the spread of EAB and protect the Vermont forest and tree canopy.
EAB has been found in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and New York. The emerald ash borer is a green beetle native to Asia and Eastern Russia. Outside of its native region, the EAB is an invasive species and infestation is highly destructive to ash trees. The insect was first discovered in Michigan in 2002 and has spread rapidly.
The program is open to the public.
Donations needed for annual RFPL Plant Sale
BELLOWS FALLS - The Friends of the Rockingham Library are seeking donations for their Annual Plant Sale on Saturday, May 9, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The Friends aim to make this year bigger and better than ever. They welcome donations of houseplants, landscaping plants, bulbs, perennials, annuals, vegetable starts, herbs, ground covers, trees and ornamental grasses.
Some varieties of special interest include phlox, daisies, irises, annuals, poppies, vegetables, foxgloves, geraniums, herbs, astilbes, baptisias, hostas, day lilies, delphiniums, coneflowers, and fruits.
It's easy to donate. Place plants in pots or plastic bags and label them to the best of your ability (including name and light preference), then drop them off at the library between May 4 and May 8 during regular library hours. Have a question about whether or not you should divide?
Need someone to pick up the plants from your house? For more information, call the library at 802-463-4270.
For more information, please call the library, stop by the library at 65 Westminster St., or log on to rockinghamlibrary.org.
Hinsdale Lions present Mother's Day breakfast
HINSDALE, N.H. - The Hinsdale Lions will be putting on a Mother's Day Breakfast on Sunday, May 10 at the Mill Stream Center on Main Street.
Serving time will be from 7 to 11 a.m. and cost is $6 for advanced tickets and $7 at the door. Under 10 eat free. Menu includes scrambled eggs, sausage, pancakes juice, toast, and coffee. Profits benefit the Hinsdale Lions Charities.
Tickets may be purchased from any Hinsdale Lions Club member, or at the Mill Stream Center or contact [email protected].
Host families needed for Spanish students
BRATTLEBORO - Host families are needed for a group of Spanish students who will be spending 3 {1/2} weeks in New England this summer to improve their English and experience American family life. Hosting is a great way to expand your family's horizons and make a lifelong friend from another country.
The students, who range in age from 14 to 17, arrive Thursday, June 25 and depart on Monday, July 20. They are all from the Basque region of Spain, speak English, and must have excellent grades and behavior to be accepted into the program.
Host families are asked to provide a warm and safe home environment for the student, as well as meals and transportation to a meeting spot on the days students have field trips. It's fine for a student to share a room with a host sibling. The students have their own spending money, phone cards, and medical insurance.
Interested families are encouraged to call Ann Newsmith at 802-257-4710 or email [email protected].
Grace Cottage to hold grant hearing
TOWNSHEND - A public meeting for comments will be held to review the plan of Grace Cottage Hospital (Carlos G. Otis Health Care Center, Inc.) to file an application for Federal Assistance from the USDA Rural Development Community Facilities Loan program for the hospital's Energy Efficiency Roofing Project.
The public meeting will be held in Grace Cottage Hospital's Community Wellness Center Holt Conference Room, 133 Grafton Rd. (Route 35), Townshend, on Monday, May 11, at 3:30 p.m. For more information, call 802-365-9109.
Donations needed for book sale in Dummerston
DUMMERSTON - The Lydia Taft Pratt Library, located in the Dummerston Community Center on West Street, is now accepting book donations for its upcoming Book Sale and Geranium Festival, to be held Saturday, May 16. Fiction and non-fiction, paperback and hardback, cookbooks, travel, history or mystery, they can use them.
Contact Barbara Clark at 802-254-2154 to arrange for drop off or pick up for large amounts. Books may be dropped off at the library or we can arrange collection of large amounts of books. (No textbooks or magazines, please).