New Year's Day closures in Brattleboro
BRATTLEBORO - In observance of New Year's Day, all Brattleboro Town offices will be closed on Wednesday, Jan. 1, with the exception of emergency services. Offices will reopen for regular hours on Thursday, Jan. 2.
Parking is free at all metered spaces and in the pay-and-display lots on Jan. 1. All other violations, including extended parking, will be enforced.
Brooks Memorial Library will close at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2013, and will be closed all day Jan. 1. It will reopen for regular hours on Jan. 2.
Trash, recycling, and composting will not be picked up on Jan. 1. Pick-ups normally scheduled on Wednesdays and Thursdays will each be delayed one day.
The BeeLine Bus will not run on Jan. 1. It will resume normal operations on Jan. 2.
Pizza, music in West Townshend
WEST TOWNSHEND - Michael Donahue, Sally Newton, and Bob Naess will play old-time string band music on Friday, Jan. 3, at the West Townshend Country Store Pizza Night.
Pizza is available at $10 a pie from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Beer, wine, and other refreshments are also sold at the café. Music begins at 7 p.m.
Merry Mulch tree collection service returns
BRATTLEBORO - The Brattleboro Union High School Music Department once again offers the Merry Mulch Christmas tree collection service to Brattleboro residents.
This program, in its 23rd year, is endorsed by the Vermont Agency of Agriculture and the New Hampshire/Vermont Christmas Tree Association. For a $10 donation, members of the band and chorus will transport undecorated trees from homes to a community garden in West Brattleboro. The trees will be chipped into mulch for gardeners' use.
As the town lacks curbside tree pick-up, the service saves residents the hassle of transporting their own trees. Three Saturday pick-up dates are being offered: Jan. 4, 11, and 18. All pick-ups must be arranged by calling one of the following numbers at least two days prior to your desired date: 802-722-3335, 802-254-3360, and 802-254-5624. Proceeds will benefit a trip to the Heritage Music Festival in Washington, D.C. in March.
Toastmasters speeches, evaluations Jan. 9 at Grad Center
BRATTLEBORO - BrattleMasters, the Brattleboro-based chapter of Toastmasters International, meets the second and fourth Thursday of the month from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on the second floor of Marlboro College Graduate Center, 28 Vernon St.
The club next meets Thursday, Jan. 9. Three speeches and evaluations are planned, as is the popular Table Topics segment of the meeting.
Guests are welcome, and refreshments are provided. There is no pressure to speak, and members are working at their own pace and with assigned mentors to help them meet their speaking and leadership goals. For more information, visit http://brattleboro.toastmastersclubs.org.
Roast beef suppers planned in Bernardston
BERNARDSTON, Mass. - Jan. 11 is the date for the United Church of Bernardston's first Second Saturday Roast Beef Supper of 2014.
The church, at 58 Church St., serves an all-you-can-eat roast beef supper on the second Saturday of the month, October through May, with mashed potatoes and gravy, vegetables, rolls, and dessert.
Seatings are 5 and 6:15 p.m. Reserve seating time by a calling 413-648-9306. Walk-ins are welcome, and seated as space allows. The price is still only $10 for adults. Take-out meals are also available.
Brattleboro Time Trade hosts annual meeting Jan. 12
BRATTLEBORO - Brattleboro Time Trade hosts its annual meeting at Marlboro College Graduate Center, 28 Vernon St., Room 2E, on Sunday, Jan. 12, from 3 to 5 p.m.
Learn about time banking and alternative economies, hear what's happened over the past year with BTT, meet the candidates for the 2014 board of directors, and join in a discussion about next steps.
Featured speaker is Tom Wessels, ecologist, author, and founding director of the master's degree program in conservation biology at Antioch University New England.
This meeting, open to the general public, is by donation. For information, call 802-246-1199 or write brattleborotimetrade@gmail.com.
Woodland Owners Association offers academic scholarships
BRATTLEBORO - The Woodland Owners Association of Windham County is offering two $1,500 scholarships for the 2013-2014 academic year.
To be eligible, applicants must be Windham County residents, a high school senior, have a high school diploma, or are sophomores, juniors, or seniors in college enrolled in a two- or four-year program in forestry or an allied field such as wildlife management, with coursework and goals directly related to forest management.
For the purpose of these scholarships, organizers do not consider more general programs (e.g., agriculture, botany, turf management or environmental science) as allied fields unless the applicant clearly demonstrates how his or her chosen field focuses on forest management.
Applicants should contact their high school guidance counselor for applications or request same from Woodland Owners Association, Inc., 11 University Way, suite 4, Brattleboro, Vt., 05301. The deadline for the scholarship application is Jan. 31.