Morgan Broadfoot

Galloping onto a bigger stage

Local author tapped to write this year’s American Girl novels

Jessie Haas has written more than 36 books. This year, her hard work paid off in a big way.

The Westminster West resident was selected by the American Girl Company to write the story for their biggest product of the year: the Girl of the Year.

Each year, American Girl, a subsidiary of toy-maker Mattel, selects an author to write about a character “with a story about finding success in the face of challenges today.”

The company then produces a number of products that focus on the character, such as books that tell the character's story, an 18-inch doll depicting the character, and accessories for the doll.

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Dummerston’s share of traffic fines: $9.941.40

Selectboard urges Sheriff’s Department to step up patrols on dirt roads

Windham County Sheriff's Department Corporal Dana Shepard has reported to the Selectboard that the town is entitled to $9,941.60 as its share of violation fines in the last six months - and that amount is expected to increase. Shepard told the board at its Dec. 26 meeting that the...

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Dummerston library will remain open, will seek more town funds

Library, Community Center work out deal; window repairs for three years of back rent

The Lydia Taft Pratt Library has come to an agreement with the Dummerston Community Center to trade building repairs for three years of back-owed rent, keeping the library open. The resolution to the dispute, which had threatened to close the library on Dec. 9, has resulted in the library...

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Putney bylaws allow motocross

The town has determined that two upcoming motocross races do not fall under the jurisdiction of any town ordinances or bylaws, and the Selectboard has declined to establish any. After having run the Davenport Trucking Wild West GP race on Oct. 7 - which Selectboard members said went unnoticed by them - Tim Harlow is organizing the 2013 J Day Winter Triple Crown, the second of a three-part event that takes place on David Brewer's property on Feb. 17. Another...

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Three appointed to animal advisory board

Three appointed to animal advisory board PUTNEY- The Selectboard has appointed Sandra Hartley, Honey Loring, and Susan Samitz to the town's Animal Advisory Board. Maggie Smith will also be active on the committee, although not as an official member. The three will serve for three years. The committee already has three tasks before it: to look at the animal ordinances and update the fine amounts, to get unregistered dogs registered, and to educate the public about town animal licensing policies.

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Newfane voters reject land purchase

Voters at Special Town Meeting have rejected the Selectboard's request to purchase property that has been landlocked since Tropical Storm Irene destroyed the bridge that provides access to the parcel. The board considered buying the land, at 14 Lynch Bridge Rd., so that the town could redistribute anticipated funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) more strategically. But residents at the Nov. 8 meeting, saying they were motivated by a distrust of FEMA and uncertainty over unforeseen costs, described...

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Dummerston Selectboard warned of Route 30 dangers

Lew Sorenson, the town's representative to the Windham Regional Commission (WRC), cautioned the Selectboard about several dangerous traffic patterns in the town. “Route 30 is now designated as a high-crash zone statewide,” warned Sorenson, who serves on the regional planning agency's transportation committee, at the board's Nov. 28 meeting. “There are warrants that justify a left-turn lane at the covered bridge,” he said. He said that danger arises when a vehicle is sitting in the southbound lane of Route 30...

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They are the 99 percent, too

We are all the 99%, a sign that you would expect to see at one of the many American protests sparked by Occupy Wall Street, floats above a crowd of demonstrators in Tel Aviv, Israel. More than 30,000 marched in Tel Aviv on this particular Saturday, demanding social justice. The demonstration is just one part of a larger movement started on July 14 by Daphni Leef, who called for the creation of a tent city after she searched in vain...

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