The last chance for signing up for the 2015 Brattleboro Little League season is Thursday, March 26, 4:30 to 6 p.m., at American Legion Post 5 on Linden Street,
Any boy or girl, ages 9-12, who intends to try out for a Little League team must sign up at this time. Children living in Brattleboro, Dummerston, Guilford, Vernon, Marlboro, Halifax, Newfane, or Putney are eligible to play in the league. Returning players should sign up at this time as well.
If you want to get a head start on the process, download a registration form at the Little League's new website, www.brattll.com. A fee of $50 will be collected and raffle tickets will be distributed at this time. If you are new to the league, bring a birth certificate or passport with you to the sign-up.
Tryouts will take place on Saturday, March 28, from 9 to 10:30 a.m., at the BUHS gym. Players should bring a baseball glove and sneakers. Kids not making a team can play Small Fry for a single year up to age 10. This is only for players who have not previously played for the League.
The League Draft will be held on Sunday, March 29, from 6 to 7 p.m., at BUHS, Room 286. Players will be selected by coaches. This meeting is for coaches and league officials only. Players who have tried out on March 28 will be notified by the evening of April 1 by a coach if he or she has been selected for a Little League team.
The annual Field Maintenance Day will be Saturday, April 11, at 9 a.m. Coaches and adult volunteers will meet at the Little League field on South Main Street to perform field and grounds maintenance. Rain date is April 18.
Any questions? Contact Dave Cyr at 802-254-2470.
Teams get ready for softball season
• The Brattleboro Area Mens' Softball League had its planning meeting last week and will meet again on Tuesday, March 31, at 7 p.m., at the Gibson-Aiken Center. On the agenda is a review of league rules, further discussion of how divisions will be set up, and any other business left over from the March 17th meeting
A final meeting is set for Tuesday, April 14, from 6 to 7 p.m., at the Gibson-Aiken Center. Sponsor and player fees will be collected, and rosters and liability forms will be turned in. Game balls will also be distributed, as well as copies of league and ASA rules.
Weather permitting, opening day for the men's league is set for Monday, April 27, with the coed league starting a few weeks later. The slow-pitch league marks its 29th season in 2015.
Last year, there were 32 men's teams playing an 18-game regular season in five different divisions, capped off with a double-elimination tournament, and six coed teams in one division playing 12 games, also capped off with a double elimination tournament. New teams and players are always welcome. Contact Brownie Towle at 802-254-2824 for more information.
Beware of thin ice!
• If you haven't done it already, Sunday, March 29, is the day that ice fishing shanties need to be removed from the ice in Vermont.
It's been a cold March, and ice in many places still looks firm, but extreme caution still is necessary. The high sun angle means more of the sun's warmth has been absorbed by water under the ice. That warmer water is melting the ice from the bottom up, so even if an ice surface seems solid it is likely weakened significantly.
In short, it is best to assume that no ice surface is safe. If you or your pets are out on the ice, remember these tips offered by Vermont Department of Public Safety:
• Always keep your pets on a leash if walking near a partially frozen waterway. If a pet falls through the ice, do not attempt to rescue your pet, go for help.
• Remember to Reach-Throw-Go. If a companion falls through the ice and you are unable to reach that person from shore, throw them something (rope, jumper cables, tree branch, etc.). If this does not work, go for help before you also become a victim. Get medical assistance for the victim immediately.
• If you fall in, try not to panic. Turn toward the direction from which you came. Place your hands and arms on the unbroken surface, working forward by kicking your feet. Once out, remain lying on the ice (do not stand) and roll away from the hole. Crawl back to your tracks, keeping your weight distributed until you return to solid ice.
• Ice safety picks - short wooden or plastic rods embedded with a metal pick - are a must for venturing on to the ice at any time of the season. Wear them around your neck so you can quickly grab them in an emergency to help you grip the ice.
Golfing with a legend
• The Rotary Club of the Deerfield Valley will present its wine tasting and silent auction on Saturday, March 28, from 2 to 5 p.m., at the Hermitage Inn in Wilmington.
There will be all sorts of items to bid on, but one might be of interest to Red Sox fans of a certain age - a chance for a group of three golfers to play in a foursome at the Haystack Golf Club with former Boston Red Sox pitcher Jim Lonborg, one of the heroes of the 1967 “Impossible Dream” team that won the American League pennant and revived Boston baseball.
Lonborg pitched 15 years in the majors and finished with a lifetime record of 157-137, but the season he is remembered for is 1967, when he went 22-9 to lead the Red Sox to their first pennant since 1946 and won the American League Cy Young Award in the process.
He went on to win two of the three games he started in the 1967 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, only coming up short in Game 7, when hepitched on two days rest and was beaten by the incomparable Bob Gibson.
These days, Lonborg is a dentist in Hanover, Mass. But for many, the lasting image of Lonborg comes from the final game of the 1967 season, when he got the final out and was carried off by a frenzied, euphoric mob of Red Sox fans that stormed the field at Fenway Park.
Want to relive that day? Give Bette Crawford a call at 802-464-5595, and find out how to put a bid in.