'Overflow the Opera House' set for Sept. 24
BELLOWS FALLS - WKVT's annual Overflow the Opera House food drive will take place Thursday, Sept. 24.
From 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., volunteers will be outside the Bellows Falls Opera House on The Square, enabling curbside drop-off of food and monetary donations for the food shelf at Our Place Drop In Center, located at 6 Island St.
The goal of the food drive is to place a full bag of groceries on each of the 550 seats inside the theater. Suggested items to donate include non-perishable items such as peanut butter, tuna fish, pasta, boxed meals, canned meats, canned fruits, canned vegetables, personal hygiene products, and diapers.
Classic Hits 92.7 WKVT will be broadcasting live from the event, and many of the station's staff members will be helping out with the food drive alongside staff from Our Place Drop In Center and other local businesses and organizations.
Future of local journalism is subject of River Garden panel discussion
BRATTLEBORO - A group of local media business specialists will explore the future of local journalism in a panel discussion at the Robert H. Gibson River Garden, downtown Brattleboro, on Thursday, Sept. 24, at noon.
The event is part of the daily Brown Bag Lunch events presented by Strolling of the Heifers, and is the second annual panel discussion on local journalism in the series.
Scheduled participants include Ed Woods, CEO of New England Newspapers, Inc. and publisher of the Brattleboro Reformer; Randy Holhut, deputy editor of The Commons; Kevin Moran, group editor for New England Newspapers; Roland Boyden, production manager of Brattleboro Community Television; and Martin Langeveld, retired newspaper executive and media blogger.
The panel will focus on how the delivery and format of local journalism is evolving as traditional news media such as newspapers, radio and television are challenged by new formats such as social media, blogging, and podcasting. The event is free and open to the public, and questions and comments will be welcomed.
Food distribution planned at Putney Meadows
PUTNEY - On Thursday, Sept. 24, from 9 to 9:45 a.m., the Vermont Foodbank, together with the Putney Foodshelf, will bring a truck of fresh produce and non-perishable items to Putney Meadows (white building across from the Co-op and Fire Station).
The food distributions are open to anyone in the community. Bring your own shopping bags.
Greater Falls Connections coalition to meet
BELLOWS FALLS - Greater Falls Connections will hold its monthly coalition meeting on Friday, Sept. 25, from noon to 1:30 p.m., at Parks Place. They will celebrate recovery month with special guest speaker Mike Malick from the Bellows Falls Community Justice Center. Lunch will be provided.
The center takes a restorative justice approach, where crime is viewed as a breakdown in relationships between people in the community. As an alternative to punishment, this approach has shown to reduce crime and costs. Up for discussion is how this approach is related to substance abuse treatment and recovery.
A new project has been started in Windham County to expand the use of this approach, which is called CRAFT, the Community Rapid Assessments for Treatment. Nationwide, according to organizers, programs such as these have shown a savings of $3.36 in avoided criminal justice costs for every $1 invested by taxpayers. For more information about GFC, visit www.greaterfallsconnections.org.
Transition Dummerston hosts monthly potluck
DUMMERSTON - Transition Dummerston will hold its monthly Potluck and Program on Friday, Sept. 25, from 6 to 8:30 p.m., at the Southeast Vermont Learning Collaborative on Route 5.
The program will be Building Sustainable Community through Neighborhood Potlucks. The discussion, led by community organizer Paul LeVasseur and Eva Mondon, will explore ways for neighbors to build mutual support networks for local actions that contribute to community resilience. They will share experiences from Transition Putney's successful neighborhood potluck program.
The potluck will begin at 6 p.m., and the program will start at 7 p.m. For more information, contact Bill at 802-257-1020 or Ken at 802-387-5288.
Campground presents vintage camper rally
DUMMERSTON - The Brattleboro North KOA Campground on Route 5 will host its eighth vintage camper rally on the weekend of Sept 25 to 27. Local residents and visitors are invited to a free open house on Saturday, the 26th, from 1 to 4 p.m.
More than 50 campers, built between the 1940s and 1970s and lovingly restored and outfitted, will be open to walk through. Proud owners look forward to sharing their search and restoration stories. Some of the campers will be towed by vintage cars and trucks. Many sites will be selling vintage camping equipment and decor.
Cameras are welcome, but no dogs allowed. For further information, call 802-254-5908.
Moore Free Library to hold annual book sale
NEWFANE - The Friends of the Moore Free Library will hold their annual book sale on Saturday, Sept. 26, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday, Sept. 27, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The sale takes place in Union Hall, just off the Common in Newfane. Categories are fiction (including classics and a large selection of mysteries), history, biography and memoir, essays, nature, travel, art and music, how-to, health, young adult, philosophy and religion, humor, Vermont and New England, cooking, gardening, children's literature, DVDs, and more.
All proceeds go toward helping the library to carry out its services to the community. The Moore Free Library is a private institution that functions as a public library but receives no local, state, or federal funding.
Volunteers needed for Hogback habitat rehabilitation
MARLBORO - On Saturday, Sept 26, from 9 a.m. to noon, help is needed to build a habitat buffer for wildlife up on the former Hogback Ski Area, now the Hogback Mountain Conservation Area, off Route 9. Volunteers will be clearing the former Great White Way ski slope in order to rejuvenate the early successional habitat that developed when the ski area closed in 1986.
This is the second of five work parties planned for this fall. Volunteers are needed to wield loppers, haul brush, and operate chain saws. Meet in the field behind the white A-frame building on Route 9 just west of the gift shop. More information is available at hogbackvt.org.
RFPL celebrates National Batman Day
BELLOWS FALLS - The Rockingham Free Public Library will be taking part in National Batman Day on Saturday, Sept. 26, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The Youth Department will be celebrating Batman Day with activities, giveaways, and fun for all ages. Throughout the day, the RFPL will be airing episodes of Batman: The Animated Series, offering lots of drop-in related activities for all ages, including a Batman Logo Design Contest, and will be giving away Batman goodies while supplies last.
Batman made his first appearance in the comic book Detective Comics #27, which hit newsstands on March 30, 1939, and featured artwork by Bob Kane and a script by Bill Finger. From there, Batman emerged from the shadows to become one of the world's most popular superheroes.
This program is free and open to the public. For more information, email sam@rockinghamlibrary.org, call 802-463-4270, go to rockinghamlibrary.org, or stop by the library at 65 Westminster St.
Putney library celebrates inventive Vermonters
PUTNEY - Vermonters have always been inventive, especially when it comes to agricultural innovations. Time- and labor-saving inventions that ease the hard work of farming have always been important in this rural, agricultural state.
In an illustrated lecture, retired engineer Paul Woods presents a sampling of farm tools, implements, and artifacts invented or produced in Vermont, examining their use, uniqueness of design, and the often fascinating stories of the inventors themselves.
This free presentation will take place on Saturday, Sept. 26, at 1 p.m., at the Putney Public Library, 55 Main St.
Woman's Club plans yard sale fundraiser
BELLOWS FALLS - The Bellows Falls Woman's Club will hold a yard sale on Saturday, Sept. 26, at the Masonic Temple, 61 Westminster St., from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event will take place rain or shine.
Proceeds will benefit the club's scholarship fund and community outreach efforts. For information or to have donations picked up, call Betty Haggerty at 802-463-4159 or Sally McGaffigan at 603-445-2527.
Library workshop examines death, grief, and children
BRATTLEBORO - Parents and children are invited on Saturday, Sept. 26, 10:30 a.m. to noon, to a free workshop, Calling all Kids: It's OK to Talk about Death! at Brooks Memorial Library Upstairs Meeting Room (next to the Children's Section).
Children who have experienced a death loss, whether of a beloved pet, friend, or family member, don't often have the opportunity to meet with other children who've had a similar experience. Through facilitated art activities and guided conversation led by Children's Bereavement Counselor Elizabeth Ungerleider, this is an opportunity for children of all ages to ask questions, share stories and express feelings in a safe environment.
This free event is sponsored by Brattleboro Area Hospice as part of Wellness in Windham County. For more information about this free workshop and to register, contact Elizabeth Ungerleider at 802-258-0763.
Apple pie making begins in Dummerston
DUMMERSTON – Apple pie making begins again Monday, Sept. 28, in the kitchen of the Dummerston Congregational Church in Dummerston Center.
Folks will gather to peel, quarter, core, and slice apples. Others will fill the pie shells, topped off with each baker's own identifying crust to be baked and cold-stored for the annual Dummerston Apple Pie Festival on Sunday, October, 11th. As usual, the goal is to make 1,500 apple pies to be sold whole or by the piece during the Apple Pie Festival.
Pie making times are in the morning from 9 a.m. until noon and an afternoon session that runs continuously from 4 to 9 p.m. The afternoon session will be structured to allow families with young children to come and take part in the preparations. There will be instructions by veteran pie makers on the rolling of dough and the filling of the pies for those wanting to learn this important step.
A highlight of each session is the testing of a pie or two, along with a cup of coffee as the session comes to an end. Everyone is invited to come once or as many times as they would like to be a part of this annual event. Pies will be prepared Monday through Friday, Sept. 28 through Thursday, Oct. 8 during the hours listed above. For further information, call 802-257-0544.
New Nar-Anon family group forms in Wilmington
WILMINGTON - A new Nar-Anon Family Group is starting on Monday evenings, from 7 to 8:30 p.m., at St. Mary's in the Mountains Church in Wilmington, beginning Monday, Sept. 28.
Nar-Anon Family Groups follows the Al-Anon Family Group program for those affected by someone else's addiction. The support group meetings help relatives and friends of the drug-abuser by finding others with the same feelings and problems, sharing experiences, making information available, and letting them know they are not alone. Confidentiality and anonymity will be respected.
Nar-Anon offers a constructive program whereby its members learn to achieve peace of mind and gain hope for the future. They learn to accept addiction as a disease, to reduce family tension and to encourage the drug user to seek help for his or her own problem.
For more information about Nar-Anon, call Susan at 802-345-4145.
Hospice hosts advance care planning workshop
BRATTLEBORO - Like wearing a seat belt, having a completed Advance Directive gives you a better chance of having the life you want. During a health emergency, decisions can be so much easier when families have discussed and mapped out their wishes ahead of time.
On Monday, Sept. 28, from 6 to 8 p.m., Suzanne Baxtresser, RN and Joanna Rueter, LICSW, will conduct an interactive workshop, Advance Care Planning – The Basics, at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital.
This workshop will help people understand their choices and align them with their values and wishes. Participants in the workshop will leave with handouts, clarity on the steps required to complete an Advance Care Directive, and the conviction that it is vital to do so.
To register for this free workshop, contact Brattleboro Area Hospice at 802-257-0775 or info@brattleborohospice.org.
Parenting workshop offered in Townshend
TOWNSHEND - West River Thrives and Windham County Partnership for Success will offer the new Active Parenting of Teens workshop for parents of children ages 11-18.
The six-session video and discussion program will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday evenings (Oct. 1, 8, 22, and 29, and Nov. 5 and 12) at Leland & Gray Union Middle and High School, 2042 VT Route 30.
Registration is required. Free childcare will be provided with advanced notice. Snacks will be provided.
This program combines videos and discussion to help parents learn how to raise children who are cooperative, responsible, and able to resist peer pressure. It also guides parents in dealing with sensitive issues such as drugs, sexuality, and violence.
The program will be led by Mack Neil and Ellen Peters. Both are certified Active Parenting leaders. For more information about this program and/or to register, visit WindhamParentingEd.org, call Katelynn at 802-365-4700, or email wrvtdirector@gmail.com.
Hummingbirds are subject of RFPL program
BELLOWS FALLS - On Monday Sept. 28, at 7 p.m., two local birding enthusiasts will share the highlights of their work on Hog Island Audubon Camp in Maine at the Rockingham Free Public Library.
Alma Beals will describe the process of catching, measuring, weighing, banding, and releasing hummingbirds, while Lynn Morgan will explain the process of preparing bird skins for mounting. The two will also talk about their visit to nearby Easter Egg Rock where puffins are now thriving as a result of Steve Kress's Puffin Project.
Beals is co-founder of the annual Herrick's Cove Wildlife Festival, founder of the Putney Mountain Hawk Watch, and past president of the Ascutney Mountain Audubon Society. Morgan is an environmental educator at The Nature Museum in Grafton.
Downtown Alliance to meet
BRATTLEBORO - In accordance with Chapter 15 of the Town of Brattleboro's Code of Ordinances, the Downtown Brattleboro Alliance's Board of Directors is seeking public input into the organization's priorities for fiscal year 2017.
A meeting will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 29, at 5 p.m., at the River Garden. If there are questions, contact Alliance coordinator Jen Austin at coordinator@brattleboro.com.
Red Cross marks Liver Awareness Month
BRATTLEBORO - During Liver Awareness Month in October, the American Red Cross encourages eligible donors to give blood and platelets to support liver transplant patients and others needing blood products.
Liver transplants are the second most common type of transplant with more than 6,000 performed in the United States each year, according to the American Liver Foundation. Liver transplant patients may require in excess of 30 pints of blood during surgery.
Volunteer donors are the only source of blood for those in need of transfusions during transplants and other surgeries. Donors with all blood types are needed, and especially those with types O negative, A negative, B negative, and AB blood.
There will be two blood drives in Windham County in October. The first is in Bellows Falls on Oct. 1, from noon to 5 p.m., at the Masonic Temple, 61 Westminster St. The second is in Brattleboro on Oct. 5, from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., at Carl M Dessaint VFW Post 1034, 40 Black Mountain Rd.
For more information, visit redcrossblood.org or call 800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767). A blood donor card or driver's license or two other forms of identification are required at check-in.
Individuals who are 17 years of age (16 with parental consent in some states), weigh at least 110 pounds, and are in generally good health may be eligible to donate blood. High school students and other donors 18 years of age and younger also have to meet certain height and weight requirements.
Women's Freedom Center seeks volunteer board members
BRATTLEBORO - Are you a feminist wanting to make a real difference in the lives of women and children?
The Women's Freedom Center is looking for a few passionate board members to help with their work to end men's violence against women. Those who can contribute time and leadership one evening a month, are excited about helping with fundraisers, and are interested in exploring this opportunity should contact Vickie Sterling at 802-257-7364 or advocates@womensfreedomcenter.net.