Brattleboro Area Techies to meet Feb. 19
BRATTLEBORO - The next meeting of the Brattleboro Area Techies, a networking group for tech users, will be on Thursday, Feb. 19, from 5:30 to 7 p.m., at the office of Mondo Mediaworks on the seventh floor of the Hooker-Dunham Building, 139 Main St. Everyone who works with technology in the Brattleboro area, from programmers to designers to makers, is welcome.
Recent developments in shared working space in Brattleboro will be discussed, together with other topics. As is the habit, most of the meeting will be devoted to introductions and informal networking. More than 750 people have attended Brattleboro Area Techie meetings in the past few months.
For more information, contact Caleb Clark at 917-703-5580 or cclark@gradschool.marlboro.edu, or Bob Lawson at rb@sover.net.
Methodists serve up spaghetti supper
BRATTLEBORO - The First United Methodist Church will be hosting a spaghetti supper on Friday, Feb. 20, from 5 to 7 p.m.
The menu will be pasta, with a choice of spaghetti or rigatoni and a choice of meat sauce or Italian sausage, green salad with dressing, and a variety of brownies for dessert.
The cost of the meal is $10 for adults; children 8-12 $5, and under 8 free. Proceeds will benefit the church's needs. The church is located at 18 Town Crier Drive off Putney Road and is handicapped accessible There is ample parking. For more information, contact them at fumcob@gmail.com or 802-254-4218.
RFPL hosts talk on energy self-reliant communities in Germany
BELLOWS FALLS - On Monday, Feb. 23, at 7 p.m., local resident Andrew Dey presents a discussion of Germany's citizen-led bioenergy movement at the Rockingham Free Public Library.
Today, more than 150 German villages are generating more energy than they consume, using renewable resources.
The success of these so-called “bioenergy villages” is based on decentralized, community-owned renewable energy systems that are a cornerstone of Germany's remarkable Energiewende, or Energy Transformation. These rural communities generate all of the electricity and most of the heat that they consume. The primary resource is biomass from locally-owned fields and forests.
Dey recently spent a year living in Germany and studying the country's transition from fossil fuel and nuclear power to renewable energy. The presentation will feature two communities at the forefront of Germany's growing bioenergy village movement.
In addition to describing the technologies, challenges and achievements of these villages, Dey's presentation will touch on the process that such communities typically follow in their journey toward energy self-sufficiency. The local and regional economic benefits of this movement will be discussed, as will the challenges of translating the bioenergy village model to New England.
Co-sponsored by the Rockingham Conservation Committee and the Sustainable Energy Outreach Network, this presentation is free and open to the public. For more information, call 802.463.4270, email anne@rockinghamlibrary.org, or stop by the library at 65 Westminster St.
Putney Cares presents monthly luncheon
PUTNEY - Join your friends and neighbors for the monthly Congregate Lunch and conversation in the Putney Cares activities barn at 54 Kimball Hill Rd. on Tuesday, Feb. 24, noon to 12:45 p.m.
On the menu is creamy millet, chicken, and vegetable stew, Asian chopped and spiced salad, sesame bread sticks, vanilla ice cream with ginger and apricot puree, and coffee and tea.
The lunch will be prepared by Kelly Larabee, and is co-sponsored by Putney Cares and Senior Solutions. Suggested donation is $3.50 Seating is limited to 32. Reserve a seat by calling 802-387-5593, or by email to putneycares@svcable.net.
Spirituality and climate change to be discussed at Climate Change Café
BRATTLEBORO - The Climate Change Café will host its monthly gathering on the subject of “Spirituality and Climate Change: Values for a Post Oil Age,” featuring the film, “Joanna Macy and the Great Turning.”
This will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 24, at 6 p.m., at Brooks Memorial Library on Main Street. As always, all are welcome. The event is free, and light refreshments will be available.
Using the 26-minute Joanna Macy film as inspiration, a discussion about the values we will need in order to successfully transition to a sane and resilient post-oil society, and how we can begin to realize these now in our everyday lives, will take place.
The evening will also include brief updates on the TD Bank weekly vigil and the Naomi Klein study group, introductions to the new Edible Brattleboro and Intentional Community projects, as well as any final comments people want to make about the film, “Cowspiracy,” and the role that animal agriculture plays in climate change.
The Café convenes on the 4th Tuesday of each month, and is sponsored by Post Oil Solutions. For further information, contact Tim at 802-869-2141 or info@postoilsolutions.org.
'Death and Dying for Beginners' rescheduled
BRATTLEBORO - 'Death and Dying for Beginners,' presented by Brattleboro Area Hospice for those interested in exploring end-of-life issues, has been rescheduled for Feb. 25 through March 18, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
This is a four week course, meeting on Wednesdays. Through readings, discussions and introspective exercises, opportunities will be provided to reflect on personal attitudes and feelings about death and dying, as well as learning how to offer assistance to a friend or neighbor during a time of loss. Classes will be facilitated by Cheryl Richards, Brattleboro Area Hospice Education Coordinator.
This course is free, but registration and a pre-course conversation with Richards is required. For questions or to register, call Brattleboro Area Hospice, 802-257-0775, ext. 108.