Food distribution in Putney, Townshend
On Thursday, Oct. 22, the Vermont Foodbank will team up with the Putney Foodshelf and Townshend Community Food Shelf and bring a truck of fresh produce and other non-perishable item to both towns.
From 9 to 9:45 a.m., food will be distributed at Putney Meadows (the white building across from the Putney Co-op and Fire Station).
From 1 to 2 p.m., there will be a food distribution at Grace Cottage Hospital, 185 Grafton Rd. (Route 35) in Townshend.
All are welcome, no questions asked: the food distributions are open to everyone in the community. Bring your own shopping bags.
Career Social planned
BRATTLEBORO -The Windham Workforce Investment Board (WIB) and Southeastern Vermont Economic Development Strategies (SeVEDS) will host a Career Social on Thursday, Oct. 22, 5:30 to 7 p.m., at the backroom bar of Duo Restaurant on Main Street.
Aspiring entrepreneurs and creative workers can meet with eight local entrepreneurs who will share how they have managed to follow their passions while living in the area.
The panel includes Avery Schwenk, Hermit Thrush Brewery; Natalie Blake, Natalie Blake Studios and Fulcrum Arts; Jesse Kayan, Wild Carrot Farm; Louisa Conrad and Lucas Farrell, Big Picture Farm; Jason Jensen, J. Jensen Creative; David Evans, Digicraft; Robin MacArthur, Wildwood Arts; and Candace Pearson, BuildingGreen.
The Career Social doubles as this month's gathering of the Southern Vermont Young Professionals group, organized by SeVEDS. Young professionals and college students are encouraged to attend.
Brattleboro plans leaf collection
BRATTLEBORO - The town has set Friday, Oct. 23 and Friday, Nov. 6 for curbside leaf pickup.
Leaves and clippings must be in brown paper leaf bags and waiting at the curb by 7 a.m. on scheduled leaf collection days. Acceptable waste includes only leaves, grass, clippings, garden waste, and twigs (no household trash). No branches larger than 1 inch around and 2 feet long are allowed.
No plastic bags or other containers will be accepted. Brown paper leaf bags are available for purchase at local businesses.
Discussion on chronic pain management
BELLOWS FALLS - Greater Falls Connections (GFC) will host a monthly coalition meeting on Friday, Oct. 23, from noon to 1:30 p.m., at Parks Place in Bellows Falls.
As part of National Medicine Abuse Awareness month, the group will present a talk from Springfield Medical Care Systems about approaches to chronic pain management. Lunch will be provided. Find out more about the work of GFC at www.greaterfallsconnections.org.
WWAC presents talk on Bangladesh
BRATTLEBORO - On Friday, Oct. 23, at 7:30 p.m., the Windham World Affairs Council presents Stephen F. Minkin on “The Tragedy and Destruction of the Bangladesh Floodplain” at the Marlboro College Graduate Center, 28 Vernon St.
Minkin will speak on the unintended consequences of major investments in Bangladesh by multinational agencies.
Minkin has more than 40 years of experience working on international health and environmental issues. He was an adviser to the Global Program on AIDS of the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the United Nations Development Program. He was a founder of the Center for Natural Resource Studies in Bangladesh. He now lives in Brattleboro.
Coffee, tea, and conversation will precede the free talk at 7 p.m., followed by a question-and-answer period. For more information, visit www.windhamworldaffairscouncil.org.
Dummerston Community Center to hold tag sale
WEST DUMMERSTON - There will be a “clean out the basement” tag sale on Saturday, Oct. 24, from 9 a.m. to noon, at the Dummerston Community Center, 150 West St. in West Dummerston Village.
Items for sale include clothing, furnishings, toys, games, kitchenware, footwear, many miscellaneous items, and two free kitchen stoves and one large microwave, all in good condition. No pricing, all items by donation. For information, call 802-254-9212 or 802-254-2415.
Woman's Club plans food sale
WALPOLE, N.H. - The Bellows Falls Woman's Club will hold a food sale in conjunction with the Friends of the Walpole Library's annual book sale at the Walpole School on October 24, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Featured will be a variety of home baked goods, soups, baked beans, preserves and jams. Proceeds from the sale will benefit the club's many community outreach efforts, including a high school scholarship and youth programs.
Curves supports local women with breast cancer
BRATTLEBORO - Curves, 725 Putney Rd., is raising money all through October for Brattleboro Memorial Hospital's Comprehensive Breast Cancer Program. Donations will pay for prosthetics, wigs and scarves, gas cards, food, and other needs of women undergoing cancer treatment.
The gym plans a Zumba dance party on Oct. 30 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Academy School gymnasium. Admission is $15. Participants who bring in $500 or more in donations get a free one-year membership. Other prizes, including life coaching and Zumba classes, are being offered for lesser amounts.
Any non-member who stops in to Curves during their “Pink Out” days on Oct. 23 and 30 can join Curves without an enrollment fee for a $30 donation to BMH. For more information, contact Curves at 802-257-3500 or curvesofbrattleboro@hotmail.com.
Hospice talk on reflections, gratitude, and aging
BRATTLEBORO - All people, regardless of age, have a need to be known, remembered, feel that their lives make a difference, and express their values and love, according to Brattleboro Area Hospice. On Friday, Oct. 23, from 6 to 7:30 p.m., BAH presents “Reflections & Gratitude as We Age,” at the Brattleboro Retreat Education Conference Center.
Presenter Claire B. Willis will give a free talk based on research addressing some of the universal concerns that emerge as we age.
Willis is a clinical social worker, a lay Buddhist chaplain and a yoga teacher. In her private practice, she has spent more than two decades working with oncology patients and with end-of-life issues. She is the author of the book, Lasting Words: A Guide to Finding Meaning Toward the Close of Life. She lives in Brookline, Mass.
No registration is required for the free presentation. Visit www.brattleborohospice.org for more information.
Movies and fun at West B fire station
WEST BRATTLEBORO - West Brattleboro Outdoor Cinema comes indoors to celebrate Fire Safety Month with screenings of Charlie Chaplin's The Fireman (1916), The Little Rascals' Fire Fighters (1922), and The Fourth Alarm (1926) on Saturday, Oct. 24, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., at the West Brattleboro Fire Station on Western Avenue.
Residents are invited to meet the West Brattleboro fire fighters, get a tour of the fire trucks, and play games. Snacks and seasonal refreshments will be provided. The Brattleboro Fire Department will have fire safety activities, resources, and giveaways.
Covered dish supper to be held in Saxtons River
SAXTONS RIVER - Christ's Church in Saxtons River is hosting a Covered Dish Supper on Sunday, Oct. 25, at 5 p.m. Dinner will include a variety of casseroles, baked beans, salads and carrot cake for dessert.
The dining room is located in the basement of the building and is easily accessed from the back (River Street) entrance. Tickets will be sold at the door, $10 for adults, $5 for children under 12. The supper is a fundraiser with proceeds going to the fuel assistance program of Southeastern Vermont Community Action (SEVCA).
Osher lectures continue
DUMMERSTON-The Brattleboro Chapter of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) will hold the fourth in its series of fall lectures on Monday, Oct. 26.
In the morning program, Tom Toleno will discuss religion, literature, and culture in present-day Africa. Toleno, of the Marlboro College faculty, has lived, traveled, and worked extensively in Africa, particularly in the Republic of Malawi. In the afternoon lectures, Kim Nace, co-director of the Rich Earth Institute, will examine technologies for getting clean water from urine.
Lectures are held on six successive Mondays. Morning lectures run from 10 a.m. to noon; afternoon lectures, from 1 to 3 p.m.
All lectures will be held at the Vermont Learning Collaborative, 471 U.S. Route 5, Dummerston. Parking and handicapped access are available, and light refreshments will be served. For further information, call 802-257-8600 or 866-889-0042, or go to www.learningcollaborative.org.
BMH presents lower back pain workshop
BRATTLEBORO - Brattleboro Memorial Hospital (BMH) will present a free workshop examining different perspectives on treating lower back pain.
Wayne Temmen, a certified physicians assistant of BMH Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine; and Brett Hynninen, M.D., of Pioneer Spine and Sports Physicians, West Springfield, Mass., will present “We've Got Your Back” on Monday, Oct. 26, from 6 to 8 p.m., in the Brew Barry Conference Center. Refreshments will be provided.
Hynninen will discuss how physiatry, a conservative treatment modality, approaches the diagnosis and treatment of back pain, while Temmen will explore various orthopedic approaches, which include surgical and non-surgical options. Both will discuss how each respective option works to alleviate back pain. Call 802-257-8877 or visit www.bmhvt.org for more information or to register.
Help needed to plan a new hiking trail
SAXTONS RIVER - The Windmill Hill Pinnacle Association and Rockingham Conservation Commission plan an informational meeting for anyone interested in creating a trail from the western edge of Rockingham, near Route 35 in Athens, to Saxtons River. The meeting will take place on Tuesday Oct. 27, from 7 to 8:30 p.m., at Main Street Arts, 35 Main St.
The group will examine large maps of the area, offer input, and consider options for an extension from present Pinnacle Association trails. The long-term vision will see the trail connect to Pinnacle's Bald Hill Preserve and from there to the new river park in Bellows Falls.
The organizers hope to recruit volunteers to serve on a trail connection committee. For more information, call Silos Roberts at 802-869-1388. To view present Pinnacle Association trails and maps, visit www.windmillhillpinnacle.org.
Climate Change Café hosts 'Evening of Solidarity”
BRATTLEBORO - The Climate Change Café will host an “Evening of Solidarity” on Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 6 p.m., at Brooks Memorial Library on Main Street, with citizen-activists and activist singer/musicians who oppose both Kinder Morgan's proposed Northeast Energy Direct (NED) fracked gas pipeline and the proposed compressor station that is part of the project on Gulf Road in Northfield, Mass.
The free evening will feature a panel discussion about the proposed pipeline project and compressor station, along with updates about the proposed gas-fired power plant in Vernon. The panel will include Northfield resident Julia Blyth; Rosemary Wessels, who founded No Fracked Gas in Mass; and Andrew Vernon, president of the Greater Northfield Watershed Association.
Musicians include Ben Grosscup, a Greenfield, Mass., singer/musician and coordinator of the People's Music Network; folksingers Lynn Waldron and Tom Neilson; and peace and anti-nuclear activist and songwriter Daniel Sicken.
Light refreshments will be available. For further information, contact Tim at 802-869-2141 or info@postoilsolutions.org.
NEC holds monthly meeting on VY decommissioning
BRATTLEBORO - The Brattleboro Community Decommissioning Meeting, sponsored by New England Coalition on Nuclear Pollution, will be on Wednesday, Oct. 28, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., at the Brattleboro Food Co-op Community Room, which is accessible through 7 Canal St.
A continued dialogue from the previous meetings will be held regarding what the community can do to expedite Entergy Vermont Yankee's decommissioning to standards most protective of people and the environment. This monthly meeting is open to all. For additional information, contact Clay Turnbull 802-380-4462 or Carol Levin 802-258-1723.