Absentee ballots now available in Brattleboro
BRATTLEBORO - Early/absentee ballots for the Annual Town and Town School District elections, and the Presidential Primary to be held on March 6, are now available in the Brattleboro town clerk's office. Anyone wishing to vote prior to March 6, may apply for an early/absentee ballot until 5 p.m. on Monday, March 5.
Early/absentee ballots may be voted in person in the clerk's office, mailed to the voter by the clerk's office, picked up by the voter or delivered to the voter's residence by two justices of the peace. All voted ballots must be received by the clerk before the polls close on election day in order to be counted.
Early/absentee ballots remain sealed until Election Say. Absentee ballot envelopes are opened at the polling place and ballots are processed through vote tabulators in the same manner as those voted in person that day. For more information or to request an early/absentee ballot, call 802-251-8157.
The deadline to register to vote in the Town and Town School election and Presidential Primary is Wednesday, Feb. 29, at 5 p.m. If you are registered to vote in the town you reside in, you do not need to register again. If you are unsure if your name is listed as a registered voter in your town or, for more information about voter registration and early/absentee voting, contact your town clerk. In Brattleboro, call 802-251-8157.
Office hours for the Brattleboro Town Clerk's office are 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday through Friday. In addition to regular hours, the office will open Saturday, March 3, from 9 a.m. to noon for early voting, and will be closed Tuesday, March 6, Election Day.
Voting on March 6, will be held at the BUHS gym on Fairground Road. Polling hours are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Windham World Affairs Council presents talk on Friday
BRATTLEBORO - The Windham World Affairs Council presents Susanna Grannis, founder of CHABHA (Children Affected by HIV/AIDS), on Friday, Feb. 17, at 7 p.m. in Rotch Hall on the World Learning/SIT campus.
Despite enormous efforts at treatment and prevention (and many successes), HIV/AIDS continues to ravage the people of sub-Saharan Africa. Children, especially the nearly 15 million orphaned to AIDS, bear the brunt of this dread disease but are often invisible to the outside world.
Grannis, author of Hope Amidst Despair: HIV-AIDS Affected Children in Sub-Saharan Africa, brings them into the open, and shows through first-hand experience and research how young community leaders can effectively promote children's well-being and independence. More can be learned at www.chabha.org.
The public is invited. Admission is free.
Health Fair benefits BMH Oncology Department
BERNARDSTON, Mass. - The second annual Dennis Roth Memorial Farmer's Market and Health Fair will take place on Saturday, Feb. 18, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the United Church of Bernardston.
Dennis Roth was a minister in the greater Brattleboro area who died of cancer almost two years ago. In appreciation of the treatment he received, Roth's family started the fair to raise awareness and charitable support for the Oncology Department of Brattleboro Memorial Hospital. Activities will include eye and ear testing, meditation, dancing, Zumba, yoga and a Red Cross blood drive. Local farmers will be selling meats, produce and other locally sourced products.
The United Church of Bernardston is located at 58 Church St. For more information, email Steve Damon at damons_of_gill@yahoo.com. To make a blood drive appointment, call 800-RED-CROSS.
The Oncology Department at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital is an outpatient clinic which is open five days a week to serve patients and their families who are experiencing cancer. The staff consists of board-certified medical oncologist/hematologists and certified oncology nurses including a nurse practitioner/clinical nurse specialist.
Art classes offered during winter vacation week
BRATTLEBORO - An art class for kids of all ages, including adults, will be offered at Terry Sylvester's studio at the Cotton Mill on Feb. 20-25, during the school vacation week.
Lots of materials will be explored with a different focus each day. Classes will be held from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. each day. The cost is $25 per day, or $100 for the week. For more information, contact Sylvester at sylvesterstudios@gmail.com.
Our Place food shelf now open on Sundays
BELLOWS FALLS - Our Place Drop-in Center will open every other Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., thanks to a recent grant.
The food shelf will be available to those who cannot access it during Our Place's weekday hours, and visitors will also be able to serve themselves a light breakfast.
The expanded hours are funded by the Fanny Holt Ames and Edna Louise Holt Fund, which is also making it possible for Our Place to purchase and distribute more dairy foods. The Sunday hours will be manned by a staff member and volunteers. The center is working closely with the Greater Falls Warming Shelter board and volunteers to staff the extra hours.
Our Place is a daytime shelter and food shelf located at 4 Island St. Its mission is to connect people to food and each other. It serves families in Rockingham and the surrounding area and in Walpole and North Walpole, N.H. Contact Our Place at 802-463-2217 or ourplace@sover.net, or visit www.ourplacevt.org.
Healthier Living Workshops offered in Putney starting Feb. 22
BRATTLEBORO - Brattleboro Memorial Hospital is offering the free Healthier Living Workshop series for managing chronic conditions at Putney Meadows, 17 Carol Brown Way, starting Wednesday, Feb. 22.
Stanford University developed the six-week program to empower individuals with chronic diseases and their caregivers to better manage the condition through education, support and skill-building exercises. Classes meet each Wednesday through March 28 from 9:30 a.m. to noon in the Putney Meadows conference room.
The workshops are co-facilitated. Both leaders have been trained in a four-day program by Stanford-certified master trainers, and will cover fun and practical techniques for dealing with frustration, fatigue, pain and isolation, breathing techniques and guided imagery to reduce stress, exercises for improving and maintaining strength, flexibility and endurance, appropriate use of medications, nutrition, and more.
Advance registration is available now by contacting Wendy Cornwell or Jessie Casella at 802-251-8459, or by emailing wcornwell@bmhvt.org. At least 10 participants are needed to run the series.
VPR reporter leads writing workshop
BRATTLEBORO - Give voice to your stories and ideas at a six-week writing workshop with Susan Keese, a longtime journalist, storyteller and workshop leader.
The workshop offers a stimulating and encouraging environment for people working in all genres. It's designed to help experienced writers find fresh energy and insight, and to help aspiring writers get started.
The Wednesday night sessions run from Feb, 29 through March 28, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. The fee is $150. The workshop's setting, at Boomerang! New and Used Clothing on Elliot Street, is a source of inspiration in itself.
Keese is a reporter for Vermont Public Radio and a former columnist for the Rutland Herald and the Barre-Montpelier Times-Argus. She has written for many national and regional magazines. For more information, contact her at 802-348-6399 or skeese@svcable.net.
New 'Baby Steps' blog gives expert advice to new parents
BRATTLEBORO - Brattleboro Memorial Hospital is publishing a weekly blog called “Baby Steps” on its web site for new and expecting parents. It can be found by clicking on the BMH Blogs tab on the bmhvt.org web site, or by going directly to www.bmhvt.org/baby-steps.
Baby Steps is updated every Tuesday with a new entry containing helpful tips and links to interesting articles about pregnancy, delivery and infant care. The blog's author, Dawn Kersula, RN, is a perinatal specialist in the BMH Birthing Center. Dawn also travels around the country speaking to nurses about breastfeeding instruction and support.
The bmhvt.org blog section also features healthy recipes posted every Monday by Director of Nutrition Services Jamie Baribeau, Health Tips from Rehab Services Director Eileen Casey, and an archive of Health Matters columns from members of the BMH medical and administrative staff as well as providers from member practices of BMH Physician Group.
TransCanada awards grants to Parks Place
BELLOWS FALLS -TransCanada Corp. recently awarded Parks Place Community Resource Center two separate $5,000 grant awards in support of its general operations and healthy housing initiative.
The first award will underwrite a portion of the costs associated with the critical day-to-day operations of the agency whose mission is to connect people with the resources, information and education necessary to move their lives forward.
Founded in 1992, Parks Place was established to address the health, education and human service needs of children and families throughout the region. Thirty-five providers from across state agencies and nonprofit organizations use Parks Place as an outpost to ensure accessibility to a long list of services including mental health and substance abuse, unemployment, reparative justice, driver's license reinstatement, parenting classes, child custody and visitation, and adult learning.
The second grant will fund a new Healthy Housing initiative administered by the agency's Lead Safe and Healthy Homes Program. Beneficiaries will receive free Healthy Home Assessments that will address indoor environmental and safety hazards. The process includes an evaluation of air quality, indoor moisture levels, fire safety, lead dust sampling, radon testing, and in-home accident evaluation.
Funding from TransCanada will go towards the purchase of tangible resources for parents to address indoor hazards, including dehumidifiers, allergy proof bedding, childproofing supplies, and the free use of HEPA vacuum cleaners. To schedule a free Healthy Home Assessment, contact Brianne Dunleavy at 802-463-9927, ext. 207.
For more information about the services available at Parks Place, visit www.parksplacevt.org.