Around the Towns

Brattleboro dog licenses due April 1

BRATTLEBORO - Brattleboro dog and wolf-hybrid licenses are available for the 2019 licensing period. Vermont dogs and wolf-hybrids 6 months and older must be licensed on or before April 1.

Renewal licenses may be obtained in person at the Town Clerk's office, through the mail, or online at www.brattleboro.org. Dogs licensed in Brattleboro for the first time may be licensed in person or through the mail by printing the license form from that website.

Vaccination against rabies is required by Vermont statutes before licensing. If an animal has been spayed or neutered, the certificate issued by the veterinarian must be presented when licensing the animal for the first time. A current rabies certificate issued and signed by a veterinarian must be filed with the Town Clerk.

The licensing fees, due by April 1, are $19 for neutered animals and $23 for unneutered animals. Specially trained assistance dogs may be eligible for a reduced licensing fee.

Dogs and wolf-hybrids licensed after April 1 will be charged a penalty. In addition, any person failing to license a dog or wolf-hybrid may be fined up to $100 and the dog or wolf-hybrid may be impounded. If an animal licensed last year has died or been given away, contact the Town Clerk's office at 802-251-8157, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

'Small but mighty' is theme for next Toastmasters meeting

BRATTLEBORO - Lee Ives Tice has chosen the theme of “Small but Mighty” for the next Toastmasters meeting on Thursday, March 28, at 6 p.m. The local club meets twice monthly in Room 245 at Vermont Technical College, 41 Harmony Place, Brattleboro.

Highlighting the evening will be two speakers plus two evaluators, each of whom are assigned to evaluate one of the speeches. In addition, another person called a table topics master will run an extemporaneous speaking exercise for everyone, including guests. A break during the 90-minute meeting will include free refreshments.

Go to brattleboro.toastmastersclubs.org for more details on BrattleMasters.

Conversation Café debuts at Inclusion Center

BRATTLEBORO - On the last Friday of each month, at 11 a.m., the Inclusion Center will host a Conversation Café. The conversation will last an hour. This month's Conversation Café will be on Friday, March 29, and the discussion will be on assisted suicide.

According to Conversation Cafe's website (www.conversationcafe.org), “Conversation Cafés are open, hosted conversations in cafés as well as conferences and classrooms - anywhere people gather to make sense of our world. At a Conversation Café, there is nothing to join, no homework, no agenda, just a simple process that helps to shift us from small talk to big talk, conversations that matter.”

Inclusion Center knows that everyone has thoughts, ideas, and understandings that are worth being shared, and offers a safe space to talk about all the difficult issues of the world today.

Each Conversation Cafe will have a host keeping the conversation focused, allowing each person to speak, and keeping the conversation respectful at all times.

Inclusion Center meets in the lower level of St. Michael's Episcopal Church, 16 Bradley Ave., on Mondays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

It is a participant-led program for individuals of all ages living with disabilities and others to come together for social, recreational, and educational activities. For more information, contact Julie Tamler at 802-380-5484.

Pet vaccination clinic in Newfane

NEWFANE - The NewBrook Fire Department will sponsor a pet vaccination clinic at the firehouse on Route 30 on Saturday, March 30, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Dr. Miles A. Powers of East Dover will be vaccinating both dogs and cats. This clinic is open to anyone.

Fees are $15 for rabies and $25 for a distemper-complex vaccine for either a dog or cat, or $35 for both vaccinations. Dogs should be on a leash and cats in a carrier. For further information, call 802-348-7918.

Osher spring lecture series looks at democracy, disagreement

BRATTLEBORO - The Brattleboro Area Osher Lifelong Learning Institute presents their Spring 2019 lecture series, “Good Clash: Why Democracy Depends on Productive Disagreement,” on consecutive Monday mornings from April 1 to May 6 from 10 a.m. to noon at New England Youth Theatre, 100 Flat St.

The series will be led by Meg Mott, who teaches political theory and constitutional law at Marlboro College. Lectures are $30 for the series or $6 individually.

This series considers how disagreement is crucial to democratic rule and how cognitive dissonance so often undermines debate. Using political theory and social psychology, the course considers how the American federalist system encourages debate about public matters and how human psychology precludes finding a common ground.

Also examined will be both sides of three thorny issues - abortion, capital punishment, and guns - to see how we might approach each issue with more productive disagreement. For more information, contact Julie Lavorgna at 802-365-7278 or [email protected].

SEVCA offers 'financial fitness' workshops

BRATTLEBORO - Southeastern Vermont Community Action is inviting participants to register for its upcoming “Financial Fitness” workshop series, to be held in Brattleboro starting April 2.

This seven-part workshop series will help participants improve their relationship with money, develop strong financial habits, and take steps toward prosperity. SEVCA's instructors will utilize tools from the acclaimed “Your Money, Your Goals” curriculum developed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Topics covered include: saving, budgeting, credit, home buying, insurance, purchasing a car, and saving for college. The instructor will also provide individualized financial coaching, as needed, to help participants and their families become more financially secure.

The workshop series is free and open to the public. It will be held every Tuesday at Vermont Adult Learning, 90 Birge St., from 5:30 to 7 p.m., from April 2 through May 14. Pre-registration is required. Call to register at 802-722-4575, ext. 151, or email [email protected].

Those who complete the course may be eligible to join SEVCA's SaVermont matched savings program. Participants earn a match for every $1 they save (up to $1,000) if they save a minimum of $25 each month toward home purchases or repairs, obtaining education or job training, starting or enhancing their own business, or car purchases or repairs needed for transportation to work.

Author Reeve Lindbergh reflects on lives of her aviator parents

BRATTLEBORO - Reeve Lindbergh, daughter of aviator-authors Charles A. and Anne Morrow Lindbergh, will reflect on her parents' lives in the spotlight in a talk at Brooks Memorial Library, 224 Main St. in Brattleboro on April 3 at 7 p.m.

Her talk, “Two Lives,” is part of the Vermont Humanities Council's First Wednesdays lecture series and is free and open to the public. This venue is wheelchair accessible.

As the spokesperson for one of the most famous families of the 20th century, Lindbergh will discuss the intersection of fame and privacy in the lives of her parents. Lindbergh is the author of more than two dozen books for children and adults.

Her work has appeared in many magazines and periodicals, and she serves with a number of local, state and national organizations, among them the Charles A. and Anne Morrow Lindbergh Foundation, The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation and the Vermont Arts Council.

Her most recent book is Two Lives, a collection of essays published in 2018, including reflections about her life in Vermont and the complex history of her family. For more information, call 802-254-5290 or visit www.brookslibraryvt.org.

'Just Desserts' gala returns to Brooks Library

BRATTLEBORO - The first one was so successful that the Friends of Brooks Memorial Library has started a new tradition: a yearly dessert gala and raffle fundraiser in celebration of National Library Week.

This year's event - what they call a “Friendraiser,” or “Funraiser” - will be held at the library on Friday, April 5, from 7 to 9 p.m.

The Friends will offer a variety of desserts, plus coffee, tea and conversation, as well as a raffle that includes over $500 worth of donated gifts from area merchants, including two concert tickets, cheese, jewelry, a cutting board, candles, spa days, hair cuts, massages, car washes, meals, chocolate, coffee, gin, and gift certificates.

Tickets for the gala are $10 each, and come with three raffle tickets. More raffle tickets will be on sale at the door. The library community is invited for an evening to socialize with the Friends and make some new ones.

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