West B BizUp networking event postponed until April
WEST BRATTLEBORO - The quarterly BizUp networking event of the West Brattleboro Association, originally scheduled at the new MamaSezz food business for Wednesday, Jan. 25, has been postponed until April.
It will be held at the same venue (127 Marlboro Rd.), and more details will be released as the time nears.
Youth Risk Behavior Survey results reviewed at Bellows Falls meeting
BELLOWS FALLS - Greater Falls Connections invites everyone to join them for a community meeting at the Rockingham Free Public Library in Bellows Falls on Thursday, Jan. 26, from 6 to 8 p.m.
The group will share results from the 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Survey done by the Vermont Department of Health and discuss all the progress that has been made in Windham Northeast. They also are seeking community input on their work. Parents, kids, school staff, and all others are welcome. Dinner will be provided.
To find out more about the work of GFC, visit www.greaterfallsconnections.org.
Transition Dummerston hosts community sing
DUMMERSTON - Transition Dummerston will hold its monthly potluck and program on Friday, Jan. 27, from 6 to 8:30 p.m., at the Dummerston Congregational Church in Dummerston Center.
This month's program will be a community sing - a chance to lift spirits in midwinter with music. Come with songs to sing and share, and join local musicians John Ungerleider, Bill Conley, Fred Taylor, and Catie Berg for a variety of inspiring songs.
The program is free and open to the public, and participants are encouraged to come with favorite songs to share, or to just come and sing or listen. Contact Fred Taylor at 802-387-2681, or TransitionDummerston@icloud.com for more information.
Power of Produce Club begins at Farmers' Market
BRATTLEBORO - Starting Jan. 28, and running through March 4, the Brattleboro Winter Farmers' Market welcomes kids age 5 to 12 to join the POP (Power of Produce) Club.
Each week, POP Club members will check in at the POP club table and participate in a fun activity or two intended to foster an awareness of vegetables, fruits, and other local food products, including where they come from and who grows or makes them.
Kids will meet farmers, taste different foods, select their own unique reusable market tote, and earn POP Club market bucks for their own shopping after the week's activity. Pre-registration isn't required. Just show up at the market - with parents' permission of course - and look for the POP Club table.
This second year of the POP Club at the Winter Farmers' Market is generously supported by Brattleboro Savings & Loan. For more information, contact Sherry at (802) 869-2141 or at farmersmarket@postoilsolutions.org.
Learn wildlife tracking with BEEC's Patti Smith
PUTNEY - On Saturday, Jan. 28, at 1 p.m., at the Roger Parrott Conservation Site on Bare Hill Road, the community is invited to join naturalist and master tracker Patti Smith of the Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center to learn how the wild inhabitants of Bare Hill are spending the winter.
If the snow cooperates, this varied site will provide many opportunities to discuss the art and essence of interpreting tracks. Snow reveals the presence and activities of wildlife that remain elusive much of the year, such as fishers, coyotes, minks, foxes, and perhaps a bobcat.
Smith trained all of the Putney Conservation Commission's volunteer trackers, who are carrying out a multiyear tracking survey begun in 2012; she is an excellent and engaging teacher for all ages. This event is co-sponsored by the Putney Conservation Commission and BEEC. Visit BEEC.org for directions and more information.
Lunar New Year celebration in Brattleboro
BRATTLEBORO - The Asian Cultural Center of Vermont presents Lunar New Year of China, Korea, and Vietnam on Sunday, Jan. 29, from 1-3 p.m., at 118 Elliot Street, downtown Brattleboro (across from the fire station).
The 15th annual celebration of its kind in southeastern Vermont is a potluck and will feature Li Fei Osbourne, who will share a dance of the Yi people (one of the Chinese ethnic minorities) and then teach everyone a Yi dance. Other highlights will include group calligraphy and a Korean tug-of-war, as well as opportunities to make a paper lantern or some origami and to sing a New Year's song from East Asia.
According to a news release, “You don't have to be Asian or know anything about Asia to participate!” This year is the year of the Red Fire Rooster, a year of hard work and patience as one progresses toward one's goals. More information can be found at accvt.org.
Osher offers midwinter lectures on Virginia Woolf
DUMMERSTON - The second in the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute's midwinter series of three lectures on the groundbreaking British author Virginia Woolf will be held on Monday, Jan. 30, from 1 to 3 p.m. The lecturer is Deborah Lee Luskin of Williamsville, a novelist, radio commentator, and teacher of literature-based humanities programs throughout Vermont for more than 30 years. Feb. 13 will be the designated snow date.
All lectures are held at the Vermont Learning Collaborative, 471 Vermont Route 5, Dummerston. The fee is $6 per lecture. Light refreshments will be served. For further information, please call Julie Lavorgna at 802-365-7278, or e-mail julielavorgna@gmail.com. In case of inclement weather, please consult 96.7 WTSA-FM or www.wtsa.net.
350 Brattleboro presents public forum on fossil-fuel divestment
BRATTLEBORO - 350 Brattleboro, a recently formed local group of 350 Vermont, will hold a community forum on Wednesday, Feb. 1, at the Brooks Memorial Library. Join them in the upstairs community room for snacks and socializing at 6 p.m., followed by the forum at 6:30.
The forum will focus on explaining the process by which 17 major banks worldwide are funding the Dakota Access Pipeline, and how to switch one's personal or business account out of these banks with minimal fuss.
TD Bank's financial relationship with Vermont, and the efforts to establish a public bank in Vermont, will be discussed along with updates on local and statewide environmental issues.
Appointments available for free tax-return preparation
WESTMINSTER - Income-eligible Windham County residents can schedule an appointment for free tax preparation assistance through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program offered by Southeastern Vermont Community Action in collaboration with the United Way.
SEVCA has experienced, IRS-certified volunteers trained and ready to prepare tax returns for area taxpayers with household income up to $54,000. Appointments are available starting Jan. 31 and continuing through the second week of April.
VITA volunteers can help with special credits, such as the Earned Income Tax and the Affordable Care Act's Premium Tax Credits. They also prepare Vermont income tax returns, property tax adjustments, and renter's rebate claims.
In addition to free tax-return assistance, VITA sites offer free electronic filing. Individuals taking advantage of the e-file program receive their refunds in half the time compared with returns filed on paper - even faster, when tax refunds are deposited directly into a bank account.
Free tax assistance is available by appointment at SEVCA's main office in Westminster on Tuesdays by calling 800-464-9951.