West Brattleboro Association hosts holiday party
WEST BRATTLEBORO - On Thursday, Dec. 13, from 6-8 p.m., the West Brattleboro Association (WBA) will host its annual Holiday Party at The New England House, 254 Marlboro Rd.
This is a time for people and businesses in West Brattleboro to get together socially and to celebrate the Association's numerous accomplishments in 2012. The evening will feature a cash bar with complimentary hors d'oeuvres prepared by the restaurant. The WBA suggests a voluntary $5 donation from members toward the cost of food.
WBA Board President Michael Bosworth will give a short “State of the Association” report, after which the group will present the second annual Community Leader of the Year to a deserving entity. Last year, the WBA honored Todd Darrah, owner of the Chelsea Royal Diner, for providing a good eating and meeting place, steady employment, support for other businesses, and respect for open space.
Regular WBA meetings are open to all residents and are held on the second Thursday of the month. The next business meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 10, 2013.
Toastmasters open house and holiday party Dec. 13 at Marlboro Grad School
BRATTLEBORO - If overcoming your fear and shyness around public speaking is holding you back, or is holding someone in your organization back, personally or professionally, then Toastmasters is the answer.
BrattleMasters, the Brattleboro-based chapter of the organization, meets the second and fourth Thursday of every month, from 6-7:30 p.m., at Marlboro College Graduate Center, room 2E, 28 Vernon St. Guests are welcome and refreshments are provided.
The Dec. 13 meeting is the club's fall open house and holiday party. All are welcome. There is no cost.
Some four million people worldwide since 1924 have dramatically improved their confidence, technique, and effectiveness in public speaking through membership in Toastmasters International. The heart of the program is effective evaluation, taught and practiced by members in a series of prepared and off-the-cuff speaking opportunities.
There is no pressure to speak, and members are working at their own pace and with assigned mentors to help them meet their goals. For more information, visit brattleboro.toastmastersclubs.org.
Public welcome at Marlboro Grad School exhibitions
BRATTLEBORO - An exhibition featuring 20 students in the Master of Arts in Teaching for Social Justice program at Marlboro College Graduate School, 28 Vernon St., will be held on Friday, Dec. 14, from 1-4 p.m., and Saturday, Dec. 15, from 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Each student will highlight and discuss an important topic or endeavor from his or her full-year teaching internship in grades K-12. Topics are wide-ranging. Examples include democratizing the classroom, cooperative learning communities, teaching about South African Apartheid, the school-to-prison pipeline, and activism in the classroom.
The exhibition is free and open to the public, and visitors are invited to talk with the students about their work. For further information, contact Mikaela Simms at 802-451-3429, or email msimms@gradschool.marlboro.edu.
Career Center offers tractor safety course
BRATTLEBORO - The Windham Regional Career Center and UVM Extension will offer a short course on safer tractor operation for new and experienced farmers and those who train or supervise young people using a tractor, on Saturday, Dec. 15, from 9-11:30 a.m.
Using WRCC's new tractor, the hands-on workshop will cover basic farm safety, introduce the parts and proper operation of a 50-horsepower tractor and implements, and review current agricultural labor law and available training resources.
Cost of the course is $15, and includes handouts and refreshments. To register, or for more information, contact Betsy Gentile at bgentile@wsesu.org or 802-451-3965.
Mary's Closet open this Saturday
WEST BRATTLEBORO - Mary's Closet will be open on Saturday, Dec. 15, from 9 a.m. to noon, at First Congregational Church, 880 Western Ave.
New arriving merchandise includes women's winter coats, dresses, and fleece shirts. They have a nice inventory of men's and women's jeans, sweaters, blouses, shirts, all at sale prices, just in time for Christmas shopping, all at sale prices.
Coin and collectible show presented in Brattleboro
BRATTLEBORO - The Tri-Town Collectors Club will hold a show and collector meetings on Saturday, Dec. 15, at the Holiday Inn Express on Chickering Drive.
Area collectors of all ages are invited to meet various hobbyists. The event, which will offer door prizes, begins at 9 a.m. with a club business meeting during the show's start-up session. After a day of buying and selling collectibles, dealers will join the Tri-Town Numismatic Society at 3:30 p.m. for its monthly meeting.
There is no admission charge, and anyone looking to sell or trade their collectible items such as coins, comic books, sports/postcards and other interesting items may set up a card table by contacting show chairman Joe Fuller at 802-297-1274 or pepsijoseph@yahoo.com.
This collector's expo will be followed by shows in Brattleboro on the second Saturday each month, beginning Jan. 12, 2013.
Santa visits Londonderry on Dec. 15
BRATTLEBORO - The West River Montessori School will host a visit from Santa Claus on Saturday, Dec. 15, from 12:30-3:30 p.m., at the Town Offices in South Londonderry.
Ceilia Kelly, a professional photographer, will be taking personalized photos, and there will be fun arts and crafts for kids to make while they visit with Santa.
Training for Warming Shelter volunteers
BELLOWS FALLS - The Greater Falls Warming Shelter will hold a training session for volunteers Sunday, Dec. 16, at 3 p.m., at the shelter at 23 Church St., North Walpole, N.H.
Volunteers are needed to staff the shelter in two nightly shifts from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m., or 1 a.m. to 7 p.m., or for the entire evening. Volunteers' duties include being awake and available to supervise those sleeping at the shelter and doing some light duties involving the serving and cleanup of the evening meal and snacks. Volunteers can sign up on a regular basis or as their schedules permit. Anyone interested in volunteering or to learn more about the shelter is welcome to attend the training session.
The training will include a review and update of shelter rules and protocols, plus an update on plans for the space.
No experience is needed other than a concern for the homeless in the community who are outside during the winter months. Volunteers will work with a staff coordinator who has overall responsibility.
The training will be conducted by Susan Howes and Barbara Ternes, warming shelter board members. Further information is available by contacting Howes at SEVCA at 802-722-4575, ext. 124, or Ternes at Parks Place at 802-463-9927, or by writing gfwarmingshelter@gmail.com.
AARP chapter hosts Christmas buffet
BRATTLEBORO - Members of Brattleboro AARP Chapter 763 are invited to attend the chapter's Christmas Buffet Luncheon to be held at the American Legion on Linden Street on Tuesday, Dec. 18, at noon.
On the menu is roast pork with applesauce, mashed potatoes and gravy, a green vegetable, and brownies à la mode for dessert. The St. Michael's School Choir will present a Christmas concert of seasonal music for the entertainment.
The cost is $7 per person, and attendees may make checks payable to AARP Chapter 763, in care of Bernice Murdock, 166 Morningside Commons, Brattleboro, VT 05301. To make a reservation, call 802-254-8436 before Dec. 12.
Massage to benefit Hunger Free Vermont
BRATTLEBORO - Through the month of December, certified massage therapist Rachelle Ackerman is offering discounted gift certificates to benefit Hunger Free Vermont.
Purchase a one-hour gift certificate for $50, and the full proceeds will be donated to Hunger Free Vermont (limit one per customer). Gift certificates must be used within one year of purchase.
Ackerman has been in practice for more than 20 years. She uses a combination of Swedish, deep tissue, myofascial and neuromuscular techniques for relaxation and well being, injury rehabilitation and chronic pain management. Her office is at Cotton Mill Hill. For more information, or to purchase gift certificates, call 802-257-1070.
Local legislators host forum on patient choice at end of life
BRATTLEBORO - “Patient Choice at End of Life” is the topic of a forum hosted by State Sen. Jeanette White and State Rep. Mike Mrowicki on Tuesday, Dec. 18, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., at Brooks Memorial Library.
Discussions on patient choice options continue, even as medical technology increases its capacity to prolong life, advanced directives are used more, and palliative care relieves most pain symptoms of fatal diseases.
In 2011, the Legislature held a limited debate, but not a vote. The debate will certainly be held again this year, and interested local citizens will have the opportunity to come to Montpelier to testify when the actual bill is discussed. This is an opportunity for people to have the discussion more locally, in a less formal setting.
This discussion will be held in the public meeting room on the top floor of the library. It will be moderated by the two legislators so all viewpoints will have equal time to be heard. The event is free and open to the public.
Putney Co-op raffle to raise money for Project Feed the Thousands
PUTNEY - Paige Gould, baker for the Putney Food Co-op, has crafted a one-of-a-kind gingerbread house, and hopes it will help raise money for Project Feed the Thousands.
Each year, the Project donates more than 62,500 bags of groceries, and aims to raise $100,000 for local shelters and drop-in centers in southeastern Vermont and southwestern New Hampshire. Locations served by the project are: Brattleboro Area Drop In Center, Chester-Andover Family Center, Deerfield Valley Food Pantry, Guilford Food Pantry, Hinsdale Welfare Department, Our Place Drop In Center (Bellows Falls), and Townshend Community Food Shelf.
Tickets are sold for $1 each, or 6 for $5, and all proceeds will go to Project Feed the Thousands. The raffle drawing is on Friday, Dec. 21, at 2 p.m. Photos of the gingerbread house can be seen on Putney Co-op's Facebook page.
Restaurant raises more than $1,000 for overnight shelter
SAXTONS RIVER - All roads led to The Dish on Main in Saxtons River as the restaurant recently hosted a benefit for the Greater Falls Warming Shelter.
From 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., the restaurant's staff and owners served up breakfast or lunch to a crowd that filled the seats all morning, and helped raise $1,000 for the emergency overnight shelter based in Bellows Falls and located in North Walpole, N.H., this winter.
“It was a great turnout, and the support of the community and the restaurant were terrific,” said Barbara Ternes, one of the diners and a member of the GFWS board.
Some of the six owners of the nonprofit restaurant were on hand to take orders, pour coffee and chat up the customers. They included Carol Buchdahl, a GFWS board member and her husband, David, as well as Jane and Jim Macri and Joan Campbell, whose husband, Sean, had dishwashing duty. Regular servers Nora, Stephanie, Stacy, and Sarah were there to assist cook Linda Furgat.
The Dish has held benefits in the past for Our Place Drop-in Center and the Saxtons River Volunteer Fire Department. They are open Tuesday through Sunday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
AARP Tax-Aide volunteers needed in Bellows Falls
BELLOWS FALLS - For the past six years, AARP Tax-Aide volunteers here and in the surrounding communities have helped residents prepare their federal and state tax returns. To continue this free service, they are actively recruiting new volunteers for the coming tax season. They are especially looking for people to work in Bellows Falls at the BF Senior Center or Rockingham Free Public Library.
If you have four hours per week between Feb. 1 and April 15, 2013, they can provide you with the skills necessary to assist people with their taxes and the opportunity to give back to your community, especially important now when so many people are stressed and concerned about money. You do not have to be an AARP member or tax accountant to apply.
For more information about becoming an AARP Tax-Aide volunteer, contact Jean Cornish at jeancornish@svcable.net or 802-365-7222.
BEEC board seeks new members
WEST BRATTLEBORO - Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center (BEEC) is calling for letters of interest from people who want to serve on their board of directors.
BEEC's mission is to develop a more ecologically informed citizenry through education and action. The organization provides educational programing for all ages, as well as many conservation initiatives. Their center has 60 acres of fields and woodland, with hiking trails throughout.
BEEC seeks applicants with the creativity, enthusiasm, vision, and commitment to further its mission. Interested applicants should send a letter or email stating why they are interested in serving on the board, and detail the experience they could bring to the board. A résumé would also be appreciated.
Mail all queries to Belle Coles, BEEC, P.O Box 2318, Brattleboro, Vt., 05303, or write her at belle@beec.org.
Registration begins for Winter Term at Marlboro Grad School
BRATTLEBORO - Registration is now open for community members who wish to take a class at Marlboro College Graduate School on a single-course, continuing education basis or enroll in the school's Nonprofit Management Certificate Program.
Courses are available in Educational Technology, Web Development, and Nonprofit Management. In addition, undergraduate courses will be open in the school's Managing Information Systems program.
The Winter Trimester begins on Jan. 4, 2013. To accommodate those with busy schedules, classes will be held on weekends at the Grad School in Brattleboro with energetic online learning supporting the lessons. The full list of courses, the times they will be offered, and the online application can be found at gradschool.marlboro.edu/admissions/application.
If you have questions about any of these courses, how to apply, or Marlboro's degree programs, contact Graduate Admissions Director Joe Heslin at 802-258-9209.