Route 30 to be closed for bridge work on Oct. 30
BRATTLEBORO - On Friday, Oct. 30, Route 30 will be closed from approximately 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. when contractors pour concrete for the new Interstate 91 bridge in a location above Route 30.
Local traffic will be detoured onto Upper Dummerston Road during the closure. For more information, including the latest information on ramp closings or other issues, visit www.i91brattleborobridge.com.
Look up your ancestors at RFPL
BELLOWS FALLS - On Thursday, Oct. 29, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Wayne Blanchard will present a workshop on “Finding New England Ancestors” at the Rockingham Free Public Library.
Blanchard will demonstrate how early birth, marriage and death records from many New England towns can be accessed for free at the library. He'll also discuss how joining lineage societies can further advance your family history research.
After a rewarding career as a school counselor, Blanchard attended seminars at the New England Historic and Genealogy Society. He then researched, wrote and published “From the Great Migration to the Greatest Generation” which follows the genetic link in the paternal ancestry of George Blanchard and the maternal ancestry of Norma Ordway.
Genealogy research is best done on a laptop or tablet. So bring your own or call ahead of time to reserve one of the RFPL's tablets. If you are unfamiliar with computers, a librarian will help walk you through the research process. For more information about this free and open to the public workshop, call 802-463-4270 or stop by the library at 65 Westminster St.
Manitou hosts final Healing Walk of the season
WILLIAMSVILLE - The Manitou Project will hold its final Healing Walk of the season Friday, Oct. 30, from 4-6 p.m. In this season of honoring the ancestors, we gather to celebrate and honor those who have passed on--joined by members of Hallowell hospice choir along the beautiful Sanctuary Trail.
A cappella songs, gentle walking in the stillness of the forest, readings around a theme of the season, and brief sharings at the end around the green burial site of Manitou founder Pam Mayer.
The Manitou Project is on 300 Sunset Lake Rd. From Williamsville Village, go 1.4 miles up Sunset Lake Road to right at the driveway with the Manitou sign. Or approximately 6 miles over the top on Sunset Lake Rd. from Route 9. Meet at the parking lot at 4pm, rain or shine. For information, contact Ryan Murphy at 802-257-0775, ext. 106 or [email protected].
Halloween pit stop at Putney Cares
PUTNEY - Putney Cares and Putney Family Services will co-sponsor a Halloween Pit Stop at the Putney Cares Activities Barn, located at 54 Kimball Hill, from 5-7pm on Saturday, Oct. 31.
The Pit Stop is a place for trick-or-treating children and families to take a break to sit, re-group, use the bathroom, or rest. Apple cider and cider donuts will be served.
Westminster Cares hosts Celebration of Aging
WESTMINSTER - The public is invited to a celebration of the lives of Westminster residents who are 90 years of age and older, at Westminster Cares' annual meeting and Celebration of Aging on Sunday, Nov. 1, from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Westminster Fire Station on Grout Avenue.
A slide show and celebration will follow a short business meeting. Refreshments will be served.
This event is open to the community. If you are 90 or older, or know someone who is 90 or older and a Westminster resident, or would just like more information about the event, contact executive director Donna Dawson at 802-722-3607 or [email protected].
Osher lectures continue
DUMMERSTON - The Brattleboro Chapter of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) will hold the fifth in its series of fall lectures on Monday, Nov. 2.
In the morning program, Tom Toleno will discuss music and music teaching in Africa today. Toleno, of the Marlboro College faculty, has lived, traveled, and worked extensively in Africa, particularly in the Republic of Malawi. In the afternoon lectures, Carolyn Meub, executive director of Clean Water for the World, will discuss the global water crisis and eliminating waterborne diseases.
Lectures are held on 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 Vermont Learning Collaborative, 471 US Route 5. Parking and handicapped access are available, and light refreshments will be served at the lectures. For further information, call 802- 257-8600 or toll-free 866-889-0042.
Discussion of Flannery O'Connor's work at Brooks Library
BRATTLEBORO - The Friends of the Brooks Memorial Library will host a discussion of selected short stories by Flannery O'Connor on Monday, Nov. 2, at 7 p.m., in the meeting room.
The series discussion facilitator is Dr. Richard Wizansky who says, “O'Connor's short stories are some of the best and most entertaining in American literature. They make us gasp and often laugh at the human condition in all its irony, wickedness, absurdity and complex simplicity.”
The O'Connor selections are part of the Vermont Humanities reading and discussion program, Masters of the Short Story . On Monday, Nov. 30, there will be a discussion of Five Great Short Stories by Anton Chekhov, and on Monday, Dec. 7, the topic will be Poetry and Tales by Edgar Allen Poe. Each Monday discussion group will be held at 7 p.m. in the library's meeting room.
The Chekhov and Poe books are available at the library.
Workshop to cover safe use of social media
PUTNEY - Putney Family Services will present a free educational workshop, “Social Media Awareness and Safety,” on Wednesday, Nov. 4 , 6 to 7 p.m., at Putney Public Library.
Social media, apps, and the Internet can be wonderful tools for learning, communication, and expression, but they can also be dangerous places for kids and teens to navigate on their own. In this special evening program, parents can get ahead of the curve by learning some tips, security features, and options to help keep their families safe online.
This class will not be a lesson on how to use any of the social media platforms or apps, but rather instruction on how to make use of their security features. Topics to be covered also include online risks, cyberbullying, and what to do if a problem arises. RSVP to Putney Family Services at 802-387-2120.
Documentary focuses on life's final passage
BELLOWS FALLS - On Wednesday, Nov. 4, at 6:30 p.m., the Rockingham Free Public Library will offer a night of film, fabric art and song to explore life's final passage.
“Holding Our Own: Embracing the End of Life” takes viewers to the bedside of hospice patients where Deidre Scherer sketches, the Hallowell choir sings and loved ones are fully present.
This 50-minute documentary is described by Ken Burns as “lovely...remarkable...sensitively shot.” The film will be followed by a discussion with members of the Hallowell Singers and Brattleboro Area Hospice staff.
Prints of Deidre Scherer's award-winning thread on fabric portraits, featured in the film, will be displayed. The Hallowell Singers will share some songs from their repertoire. This event is free and open to the public.
Crafters sought in Dover
DOVER - Artists, crafters, and vendors are being sought for a Holiday Craft Fair on Dec. 12 at the Dover Town Hall in East Dover from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
If you are interested in participating or would like more details and an application, ontact Jeannette Eckert at [email protected] or 802-348-7910, or Linda Sherman at [email protected] or 802-348-6361.