West Brattleboro Association meets on Nov. 10
WEST BRATTLEBORO - The West Brattleboro Association will hold its monthly meeting Thursday, Nov. 10, at 6 p.m., at the New England House on Marlboro Road. Attendees can buy food or drink if they so desire.
The agenda items will include flood issues, website progress, the first meeting of the advisory group, and establishing a work plan for the coming year.
You do not have to reside in West Brattleboro to attend. For further information, call Michael Bosworth at 802-258-6475.
Leaf collection day rescheduled to Nov. 11
BRATTLEBORO - The last scheduled day for the entire town's curbside fall leaf collection is Friday, Nov. 11.
All leaves and clippings must be in biodegradable brown paper leaf bags and at the curb by 7 a.m.
Acceptable waste includes leaves, grass, clippings, garden waste, and twigs (no branches larger than 1 inch in diameter and 2 feet long). No other household trash is to be included. No plastic bags or other containers will be accepted.
Climate change authority to speak
BRATTLEBORO - Marlboro College Graduate School will host a free presentation by Robert Repetto on Friday, Nov. 11.
Repetto is a senior fellow in the Climate and Energy Program at the United Nations Foundation, and a member of the Circle of Advisors for the Marlboro MBA in Managing for Sustainability. He has worked at senior levels in universities and in Washington for more than 25 years to develop and promote reasonable responses to the challenges of climate change.
His talk will lay out those challenges and how they can best be met and overcome. His book, America's Climate Problem: The Way Forward, was published this year.
The presentation takes place at Marlboro College Graduate School, 28 Vernon St., from 5 to 6:30 p.m.
BFUHS Drama Club presents 'Night Chills'
WESTMINSTER - “Edgar Allen Poe” will narrate adaptations of some of his most famous works when the Bellows Falls Union High School Drama Club presents “Night Chills” on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 11 and 12, at 7 p.m. in the BFUHS auditorium.
Admission is $5.
'Occupy Brattleboro' rallies to continue
BRATTLEBORO - Another “Occupy” rally/protest meet-up will take place at the Wells Memorial Fountain at the corner of Main and Linden streets on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Present plans call for the rally to recur each Saturday afternoon. Also, a “General Assembly” meets each day at 6 p.m. at the Bandstand on the Common.
For more information, contact Anthony Gilbert at 802-258-8645.
BFMS Band to host Hunter's Breakfast on Nov. 12
BELLOWS FALLS - The Bellows Falls Middle School band will serve an all-you-can-eat hearty breakfast for just $6 per person at the Moose Family Center on Henry Street on Saturday, Nov. 12 - opening day for deer hunting season - from 4 to 10 a.m.
Breakfast includes eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, fruit, and coffee.
“They'll be ready to serve you so you can get out into the woods early,” event organizers write. “But you don't have to be a hunter to eat breakfast and come out and support the band.”
The BFMS band is raising money for a trip to New York City where band members will perform at the Statue of Liberty on April 19, 2012.
Tickets for the breakfast can be purchased in advance by any band member or at the door.
Chicken pie supper planned in Westminster
WESTMINSTER - The First Congregational Church of Westminster on Route 5 will hold its annual chicken pie supper on Saturday, Nov. 12, from 5 to 7 p.m.
After a long day of hunting, join them for chicken and biscuits, mashed potatoes and gravy, maple squash, cole slaw, cranberry sauce and apple pie, coffee, and tea. The cost will be $9 for adults and $5 for children under 12 (kids 5 and under are free).
Guilford dance on Nov. 12 is a tribute to Rich Blazej
GUILFORD - As the town's 250th anniversary year comes into its home stretch, so does the series of monthly dances that have been a constant feature of the celebration. The 11th dance is a special one, as it features both the dance steps and tunes of the late Richard D. Blazej.
Blazej, who died in 2000, was multi-talented, as a carpenter, town meeting humorist, and particularly as a musician. He played clarinet, in venues ranging from marching bands and community concerts to farmer's markets. But his favorite venue was as a contradance musician, dancer, organizer and caller, at such venues as the Chelsea House, Green Street Sunday Night Dances, the Brattleboro Dawn Dance, Marlboro College, and throughout New England at festivals and weddings.
His tunes, which he self-published in a book, include reels, jigs, rags, and waltzes. Earlier in the 250th year, Blazej was celebrated as a composer when Friends of Music at Guilford premiered Guilford Dances, a suite of his dance tunes arranged for orchestra by Guilford composer Zeke Hecker.
All donations at the door and at the refreshment window will be given to the Rich Blazej Music Fund at Guilford Central School. The fund, established just before Blazej's death in 2000, provides musical instruments to the school music program for ensembles, for instruction, and for band players for whom instrument rental might be difficult to afford.
Most contradances feature traditional dances and tunes, so the evening is unusual in that both these elements will be the work of a known dancer and musician. Some of the traditional tunes and dances Blazej loved to call will also be included.
The event takes place Saturday, Nov. 12 at 6:30 p.m., at Broad Brook Grange in Guilford Center. Admission is free, with donations welcome.
Broad Brook Grange is at 3940 Guilford Center Road, four miles west of the Guilford Country Store. For information, visit www.guilford250.com.
Turkey supper benefits Halifax School
WEST HALIFAX - A turkey supper to benefit the Halifax School will be served on Saturday, Nov. 12, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Halifax Community Hall.
On the menu is turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, squash, corn, cranberry sauce, rolls, and a variety of pies for dessert.
Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for children 5-12, and free for preschoolers.
Free squash club play and instruction
BRATTLEBORO - Brattleboro RacquetSports, at 204 Cedar St., invites the public to attend an open house on four consecutive Monday evenings from 6 to 8 p.m., Nov. 14 through Dec. 5.
Squash is a fast-paced racquet game played in an enclosed court. The game requires not strength but quickness, and when played between persons of similar ability offers a fun and challenging workout.
Few non-college towns have squash courts. “This is as unique to our community as the Harris Hill ski jump,” says board member Moss Kahler. “Our members know how much fun squash is and we want to share it with the community.”
The open house will give persons of any age an introduction to a sport they can play for a lifetime. Racquets, goggles, balls and instruction will be supplied by the enthusiastic squash members of Brattleboro RacquetSports. The only requirement is to wear non-marking court shoes.
Call Kahler at 802-257-9331, Denis at 802-258-6494, or Rhonda at 603-357-4559, email brsports@sover.net, or visit www.brattlebororeservations.com.
Hospice presents funeral planning talk
BRATTLEBORO - Brattleboro Area Hospice will offer a discussion about funeral planning, “Funerals: Traditional and Alternative. What is Possible?” about home funerals and other options that are available for caring for loved ones when a death occurs.
The session will begin with a short documentary film. Local resident Mike Mayer will then lead a discussion about home funerals, sharing his own family's experience with providing a home funeral and burial for his mother.
The free presentation takes place from 6 to 8 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 14 in the Brew Barry Conference Room at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, located at 17 Belmont Ave. To register for this free event, contact Brattleboro Area Hospice at 802-257-0775.
Learn wildlife tracking skills at Putney workshop
PUTNEY - The Conservation Commission and Patti Smith of the Brattleboro Environmental Education Center (BEEC) will kick off a winter of wildlife tracking fun on Tuesday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. at the Fire Station.
In her presentation, “Wildlife Diaries, Reading Track Stories of Local Wildlife,” Smith will use slides and her 30 years of tracking experience to explain how to read stories in the snow left by the mammals that remain active in southern Vermont winters. She emphasize identifying the tracks and trails of the mammals that prefer large tracts of remote habitat, such as bobcat, bear, moose, Eastern coyote, otter, and mink.
Smith's presentation follows up an earlier talk by Jens Hilke, a wildlife planner with the state Fish and Wildlife Department on the importance of wildlife corridors. Both Smith and Hilke agree that the movement of such larger mammals can reveal how they link remaining patches of good habitat to find the food, water, cover, and mates necessary for their survival.
Hilke and Smith worked with the Putney Conservation Commission, local hunters and trackers, and the Vermont Agency of Transportation to identify 18 Putney road crossings that animals might be using to get from one good habitat area to another.
Following Smith's talk, the Conservation Commission will sign up anyone who wants to volunteer to monitor one or more the these road crossings.
Volunteer trackers will be asked to visit their respective road sections five times this winter after a snowfall. The program will be carried out for at least three years, but only a one-winter commitment is required of volunteers. They will work in pairs, and the Conservation Commission hopes to pair beginning trackers with advanced trackers.
Also, Smith will a lead training outing for volunteers in January. Several times during the winter, larger groups will go out together to freshen skills, share information, and get together for refreshments. People who miss Smith's Nov. 15 presentation but who wish to participate in the winter tracking program should contact Pamela Cubbage by email or phone (802-387-2338).
Methodist Women prepare for bazaar
BRATTLEBORO - The Women of the First United Methodist Church will hold the organization's annual Christmas Bazaar on Saturday, Nov. 19, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Featured will be homemade crafts and articles, items for children to purchase, personal painting of tree ornaments, “Grandmas's Attic,” food table with homemade doughnuts, applesauce, blueberry jam, layered jars, frozen apple or blueberry pies, and many other Christmas items.
Coffee, cider, tea, and doughnuts will also be available. Proceeds from the bazaar are donated to both local and church missions.
The church is located at 18 Town Crier Drive, off Putney Road, across from the Shell station, and is handicapped accessible. For information: 802-254-4218 or by email.
Weather folklore to be discussed at RFPL program
BELLOWS FALLS - Red sky at night, sailor's delight. January fog will freeze a hog.
Find out the truth, lore, and wisdom that lie behind old sayings about the weather on Wednesday, Nov. 16, at 7 p.m., as the Rockingham Free Public Library welcomes Bruce Parks, who will present “Weather and Old Wives' Tales.”
Meteorologists now use lots of sophisticated equipment to forecast the weather, but before satellites, computers, and weather experts, people used nature as their guide.
Their main tool was observation, as they looked to the sky, reading cloud formations and wind patterns. They watched the behavior of animals and studied birds, plants, and even seaweed for clues to weather patterns and what the next day might bring their way. And they created stories, songs, and sayings from their experiences.
Parks is a professor of meteorology and a high school science teacher who lives in Chester. This free event is made possible through a partnership of The Nature Museum, Rockingham Free Public Library, and Ascutney Mountain Audubon Society. Contact the library at 802-463-4270 for more information.
Learn how to start your own business
BRATTLEBORO - The Vermont Small Business Development Center (VtSBDC) will offer a three-hour workshop on how to start your own business and write a business plan. The course will be offered Monday, Nov. 21 from 9 a.m. to noon in the conference room of the Brattleboro Development Credit Corp. on Cotton Mill Hill.
The seminar is designed for individuals who are thinking about going into business, but need assistance with the procedures involved and government regulations regarding starting a business in Vermont.
Space is limited. To register for the workshop, sign up online. For questions, email Heather Gonyaw. The registration fee is $40 for one person, $45 for two.
A new online version of this workshop is now available. Instead of handouts, you will have exercises to do on your own and submit to an area business advisor for feedback. This is the first step in working with VtSBDC as you determine whether a business can emerge from your good idea. You can register on the VtSBDC website.
Rotary helps to 'Feed the Thousands'
BRATTLEBORO - The Brattleboro Rotary Club held its annual “Crackers & Milk” fundraiser in which members donated $660 to this year's “Feed the Thousands” Campaign.
According to fundraiser organizer Liz Harrison, each week the Rotary holds its luncheon meeting at VFW Hall on Black Mountain Road.
“Once a year, members donate their luncheon fee to the Feed the Thousands Campaign,” Harrison said.
Cindy Jerome added, “The club supplies graham crackers and milk as a visible way to remind us of the less advantaged folks living in the Brattleboro area.”
“In addition, Steve Reynolds auctioned lunches supplied by Vermont Country Deli,” Harrison said.
The Brattleboro Rotary Club, founded in 1950, is an active community service club of 90 members who engage in community and human service projects locally and internationally. The club has weekly meetings at 12:15 p.m. Thursdays. Visit www.brattlebororotaryclub.org for more information.