Transition Dummerston to show 'The Power of Community' at potluck
WEST DUMMERSTON - Transition Dummerston will host a community potluck, film showing, and discussion on Friday, March 23 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the Dummerston Community Center.
The Power of Community is an award-winning, 53-minute film about meeting the challenge of creating a new low-energy society. It tells the story of what happened in Cuba after the Soviet Union's fall resulted in a drastic reduction in imports of oil and food. Cubans tell of their hardships and struggle as they transitioned from a highly mechanized, industrial agricultural system to one using organic methods of farming and local, urban gardens.
Dinner will begin at 6; the film will be shown at 7, with a short discussion following the film. For the potluck, dishes using local food are encouraged but not required. Bring enough for about six people. For more information, contact Susal (802-275-7449 or susalstebbins@hotmail.com) or Fred (802-287-2681 or rtaylor@antioch.edu).
Fair Trade Movement topic of talk
BRATTLEBORO - Tamara Stenn will offer an interactive workshop on the challenges and successes of the Fair Trade Movement on Friday, March 23, at Marlboro College Graduate School.
Stenn, an adjunct professor at Keene State College, is a business developer and economist who spent 15 years working with Bolivia's indigenous women creating fair-trade sweaters for export through her company, Kusikuy Clothing Company. Her book, Fair Trade and Justice, will be published in early 2013.
The free event is from 5:30 to 7 p.m. A networking social hour will follow.
Safe driving class for seniors offered on March 24
BRATTLEBORO - Brattleboro Memorial Hospital will offer the AARP Safe Driving Class on Saturday, March 24 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Brew Barry Conference Center.
The safe driving class is open to anyone who is 55 years or older. The class is designed to provide awareness about the impact of aging on driving skills and practical techniques to compensate for changes in vision, hearing and reaction time.
Space is limited to 25 participants. The cost is $12 for AARP members with a membership card and $14 for non-AARP members. Call 802-251-8425 to register in advance.
Putney Democrats plan spring caucus
PUTNEY - The Putney Democratic Committee will hold its spring 2012 caucus on Saturday, March 24, at 10 a.m., in the Putney Cares Barn. It is open to anyone interested in supporting the Democratic Party in Vermont and nationally.
Delegates will be chosen to represent Putney at the Democratic State Convention in May, and plans will be made for local activities over the summer and fall.
Congregate lunch served at Putney Cares
PUTNEY - The monthly congregate lunch at Putney Cares will be served on Tuesday, March 27, in the activities barn on 54 Kimball Hill.
The lunch will be prepared by Pamela Cubbage and is sponsored by Putney Cares and Senior Solutions. On the menu is spinach quiche, green salad, chocolate crazy cake, and coffee and tea. Reserve a seat by contacting Putney Cares at 802-387-5593 or putneycares@svcable.net.
BEEC holds its annual meeting on March 28
BRATTLEBORO - Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center invites everyone to its annual Celebration Meeting on Wednesday, March 28 at 6:30 p.m. at the River Garden in downtown Brattleboro.
Guest speaker for the event is writer, naturalist, and activist Janisse Ray, author of four books of literary nonfiction and a collection of nature poetry. Ecology of a Cracker Childhood, a memoir about growing up in a junkyard in the ruined longleaf pine ecosystem of the Southeast, has won numerous awards, and was a New York Times Notable Book.
Refreshments will be served, and the Paul Stockwell Environmental Award will be awarded.
For more information, visit www.beec.org.
Marlboro College students present their historical research at Brooks library
BRATTLEBORO - On Wednesday, March 28 at 7 p.m. in the Brooks Memorial Library Meeting Room, Marlboro College seniors William Finkel and Alex Tolstoi will offer a presentation and discussion of their local history research.
Tolstoi will speak on Charles Phelps of Marlboro: A Man of His Time But Not of His Place. Phelps, a 18th century resident of Marlboro was a New Englander, Yorker, Patriot, land-speculator, lawyer, a holder of both New Hampshire and New York grants and “the greatest single troublemaker in Cumberland County.”
Phelps's desire to rise to greatness in early Vermont led him to become one of the largest enemies of the newly formulated Republic of Vermont. Tolstoi's lecture will share how the actions and desires of one man almost brought down an entire Republic.
Finkel grew up in Wardsboro and has long been interested in both local history and the Civil War. He is working on a plan of concentration looking at several aspects of the Civil War, including the food supply for the southern armies, the impact of the war in Wardsboro, and the ways in which we celebrate, remember, and teach Civil War history to the public.
His talk will focus on museum presentations of the local history material from Wardsboro and discuss some of the ways that the public and professional historians work with or interpret history.
Both talks are free. For more information, contact Professor Adam Franklin-Lyons at adamfl@marlboro.edu.
Rabies clinic in Wilmington on March 31
WILMINGTON - The Wilmington Firefighter's Association will sponsor an animal rabies clinic on Saturday, March 31, from 10 a.m. to noon, at the Fire Department.
Veterinarian Miles Powers will offer low-cost rabies vaccinations. The clinic is open to Wilmington residents and surrounding towns. Dog licensing will be available at the clinic for the dogs of Wilmington residents; contact Town Clerk Susie Haughwout at wilmclrk@sover.net or 802-464-5836 for more details.
Proposals sought for enrichment programs
PUTNEY - The Putney Central School Endowment is soliciting proposals for its third annual grant cycle: June 2012 to May 2013. Grant proposals may focus on either academic enrichment programs or after-school activities. Past projects have included a summer program at the school's community garden, a glassblowing class, and a student/adult knitting workshop. The amount requested may not exceed $500.
Any Putney community or school member is welcome to apply. Proposal forms are available at the school office and online on the school's official website, www.putneycentral.edu, and are due by March 31. Grant awards will be announced May 30. The projects must be completed during the 2012-2013 school year.
Bear behavior discussed in Dummerston
DUMMERSTON - On Saturday, March 31, at 7 p.m. at Dummerston School, the Conservation Commission and Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center present “The Social Black Bear: What Bears have Taught Me about Being Human,” with noted bear expert Ben Kilham.
Kilham, who has been raising orphan cubs for 30 years, is a wildlife biologist for the state of New Hampshire who knows bear “smartness” from personal experience.
The program will include a slide presentation of bears in action, and Kilham will talk about his intimate knowledge of the social behavior of bears, how they communicate, how they mate, and how they live their lives in the wild.
For more information, call 802-257-0012, or visit www.beec.org or www.dummerstonconservation.com.
New senior assistance program starts up in Putney
PUTNEY - A new program has begun to help their older neighbors (age 70 and over) with occasional odd jobs around the house.
The “One Call Does It All” phone number - 802-275-2822 - began operating on March 15.
Need help moving something that too heavy or too high to reach safely? Need a button sewn on, and have some other small job around your home? If you are at least 70 years old, and you live in zip code 05346, you are invited to call. You will be put in touch with a volunteer Putney service provider who can lend a hand.
The seeds of this program grew from a Transition Putney meeting last year, when a much-bigger-than-expected group of citizens gathered to discuss how the community might offer neighborly assistance to older people choosing to stay at home as they age.
In addition to connecting older callers with helpful neighbors, the group continues to recruit and train volunteers.
For more information, call Margot Torrey at 802-387-4481 or email calldoesitall2011@gmail.com.