Around the Towns

CCV to offer Certified Production Technician course via Telepresence

MONTPELIER - Community College of Vermont will offer a grant-funded course leading to an industry-recognized credential in the field of manufacturing at multiple locations via telepresence.

The Certified Production Technician course will be offered in southern Vermont at the Brattleboro, Rutland, Springfield, and White River Junction campuses. The class meets on Tuesdays, from 1 to 4 p.m., beginning Feb. 28. Each class section runs for six weeks, and students must complete four sections to earn the full CPT certification.

The CPT course is free and open to the public. Registration closes Feb. 17 and is first come, first served. For more information, contact CCV's Workforce Education office at [email protected].

Senior meal served in Halifax

HALIFAX - Friday, Feb. 17, is the next senior meal in Halifax. It will be served at noon at the Community Hall, 20 Brook Road. On the menu is sweet sausage stroganoff, vegetables, rolls, and dessert.

A donation of $3 is requested. Sponsored by Senior Solutions. To make a reservation, call Joan at 802-368-7733.

Forester offers Tracks and Trees workshop

DUMMERSTON - Lynn Levine will offer a workshop sponsored by the Dummerston Conservation Commission on Saturday, Feb. 18 (Feb. 19, if Saturday driving conditions are not safe) from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the woods of the Nature Conservancy off Black Mountain Road.

Participants will learn to think like the animals they are tracking and connect with the forested landscape which includes Red Cedar Relics. Levine will also give tips on identifying trees in the winter. Participants should dress for the outdoors and bring snowshoes and a bag lunch. Inside, she'll share her collection of scat and fur.

For the last 38 years, Levine has been an environmental educator, tracker, and a consulting forester. She has taken thousands of people into the forest. All workshop participants will be provided with their own copy of Lynn's book, Mammal Tracks and Scat: Life-Size Pocket Guide. Cost of the workshop is $20, of which $5 will be donated to the Dummerston Conservation Commission.

This workshop is limited to 15 participants. To register, call 802-254-4717 or email [email protected].

Compassionate Friends to meet

WEST BRATTLEBORO - The Compassionate Friends of Brattleboro, a national self-help organization for families that have had a child die, will hold its next monthly meeting Sunday, Feb. 19, from 2 to 4 p.m., at the West Village Meetinghouse, 29 South St.

The Compassionate Friends provides highly personal comfort, hope, and support to every family experiencing the death of a son or a daughter, a brother or sister, or a grandchild, and helps others better assist the grieving family.

Meetings, held the third Sunday of the month, are for all families regardless of race, religious orientation, economic background, or the cause and age of the child at death, from pre-birth up. They welcome all immediate family members including adult siblings.

Youth group hosts refugee letter-writing session

BRATTLEBORO - Youth For Change, a project of The Root Social Justice Center, is hosting a public gathering to write letters of welcome to Syrian refugees arriving in Vermont. The gathering will be on Monday, Feb. 20, from 6 to 8 p.m., at The Root Social Justice Center, 28 Williams St., First Floor.

Organizers of the event said local youths have been inspired by efforts throughout Vermont to extend explicit welcome to war refugees and feel that these gestures are necessary to counter the perception of hostility to refugees that has been popularized during the election cycle and its aftermath.

For more information contact Mark Tully at [email protected] or 508-685-8437.

Meet the candidates in Guilford

GUILFORD - Broad Brook Grange will hold its annual Pre-Town Meeting on Thursday, Feb. 23, at 7 p.m., at the Grange hall.

This is the only opportunity for voters to hear details of the articles that will be presented at the Town and School District Meetings, and to meet and discuss issues with the selectboard and school board all in one evening, in advance of Town Meeting.

In addition, candidates for town and school board offices are urged to attend to introduce themselves to the voters. State law prevents any “campaigning” by candidates at Town Meeting, when an Australian ballot is used, as in this instance. So this is the only time before the vote for the public to meet and hear the candidates all at once.

Those interested in declaring as write-in candidates should take this sole opportunity to appear before a group of voters.

Town Meeting itself will be held, as usual, on the first Tuesday of March, which this year is March 7, commencing at 10 a.m. in the gym of the Central School.

Broad Brook Grange is at 3940 Guilford Center Rd., 4 miles west of the Country Store. Refreshments will conclude the evening.

Selectboard candidates to appear at forum

BRATTLEBORO - A Selectboard candidates forum will be held from 6 to 8 p.m., on Thursday, Feb. 23, in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center, 230 Main St.

Forum co-sponsors include 350 Brattleboro (a local group of 350VT), BCTV, Post Oil Solutions, Vermont Partnership for Fairness and Diversity, and the Vermont Workers Center.

Each co-sponsor will submit 1-2 questions. Candidates will have two minutes to answer the questions. Members of the public may submit questions during the final 30 minutes of the forum. The public is invited to attend this forum, which will also be broadcast live on BCTV.

Contact Bob Bady at 802-258-7750 for more information.

Timber harvest tour presented at Molly Stark State Park

MARLBORO - On Friday, Feb. 24, from 1 to 3:30 p.m., Windham Regional Woodlands Association and Hogback Mountain Conservation Association will present a tour of an active timber harvest at Molly Stark State Park.

The intent of the harvest is to enhance habitat for snowshoe hares while protecting existing recreation trails and park infrastructure. The program will focus on balancing several management goals in a park that directly abuts Hogback Mountain Conservation Association land.

Participants will observe mechanical harvesting, where the operator sits inside a protected cab and uses joy-stick-type controls to fell, de-limb, and cut logs to length. State Forester Tim Morton will lead the tour. Representatives from Long View Forest Contracting will be there to explain details of the harvest.

If you plan to attend, contact Morton at [email protected]. He will contact people if the tour must be rescheduled due to weather. Dress warmly and bring snowshoes, as there will be significant snow cover at that elevation.

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