Main reading room at Brooks Library to be closed for renovations
BRATTLEBORO - The main reading room on the first floor and the mezzanine at the Brooks Memorial Library will be closed for renovations March 19–25.
The Children's Room and Teen Room on the second floor will remain open during that time. Materials may be requested via email and picked up in the Children's Room when their arrival has been confirmed.
To learn how to use Brooks' digital library services, attend the next training session on March 20 at 1 p.m., contact reference librarian Jeanne Walsh for a drop-in session, or make an appointment with electronic-support-services specialist Matthew Wojcik at brookslibraryvt.org/matthew-wojcik.
Brattleboro Area Hospice offers grief-support discussion
BRATTLEBORO - On Thursday, March 16, from 5:30–6:30 p.m., there will be a gathering for those who are grieving to talk about ideas and experiences of feeling hope, or perhaps hopelessness, while grieving.
This event is free, and will take place in the upstairs meeting room at the hospice office at 191 Canal St. Connie Baxter will facilitate the meeting. No prior involvement with hospice is needed in order to attend. Call 802-257-0775, ext. 104, if you plan to attend or want more information. If there's any question of cancellation due to bad weather, call the number by 2 p.m. and press “4” for a special message.
Rabies clinic in Whitingham
WHITINGHAM - The Town Clerk of Whitingham will sponsor a pet vaccination clinic on Saturday, March 18, from 10 a.m. to noon, at the Jacksonville Fire House.
Dr. Miles A. Powers of East Dover will vaccinate both dogs and cats. The clinic is open to anyone. The Town Clerk will be present to issue licenses. Fees will be $15 for rabies and $25 for a distemper-complex vaccine for either a dog or a cat. The cost for both vaccines together is $35.
Have your dogs on a leash and cats in a carrier. For further information (additional vaccines), call 802-348-7918.
Guilford Church Sugar-on-Snow Supper is set for March 18
GUILFORD - The annual Sugar-on-Snow Supper at Guilford Community Church will be held on Saturday, March 18. There are three seatings to choose from: 4:30, 5:45, and 7 p.m. Prices are $12 adults, $6 children age 11 and under, and $3 for preschoolers. For reservations, call 802-254-9019 or email guilfordchurchsupper@gmail.com.
The menu features ham, baked beans, deviled eggs, potato salad, coleslaw, freshly baked rolls, sugar on snow, homemade doughnuts, pickles, and coffee, tea, or milk. A half-gallon of maple syrup will be raffled off during each seating.
From Interstate 91 Exit 1, go south on Route 5 just past the Guilford Country Store, take a left on Bee Barn Road, then left again to 38 Church Drive. Founded in 1767, the Guilford Community Church is one of the five oldest churches in Vermont. The money raised at the Sugar Supper helps support the church's outreach in the community. Visit www.guilfordchurch.org for more information.
Mental-illness group presents 'In Our Own Voice'
BRATTLEBORO - The National Alliance on Mental Illness invites the community to attend its highly acclaimed presentation, “In Our Own Voice.” This program is offered at no cost to the public. It will take place on Monday, March 20, at noon, at the River Garden, 157 Main St.
“In Our Own Voice” is an educational and recovery-oriented presentation given by trained presenters who are living full and productive lives while personally overcoming the challenges of mental illness. The program provides practical, useful information about mental illness, according to a news release.
The presentation takes about 90 minutes and is intimate and candid. It generally includes a short video, personal testimony, and a Q&A period.
For more information, contact Nick Martin, MPA, at 802-876-7949 or nickmartin@namivt.org for further information.
Relay For Life of Windham County hosts kickoff meeting
BRATTLEBORO - The American Cancer Society Relay For Life of Windham County will host a free community kickoff on Tuesday, March 21, at Jack's Restaurant & Pub at the Brattleboro Country Club on 348 Upper Dummerston Rd., starting at 5:30 p.m.
Everyone is invited to join the festivities and learn about how to help the American Cancer Society save lives. Guests may register a team for the Relay For Life event, to be held June 10 at Brattleboro Union High School.
Relay For Life is the world's largest fundraising event to save lives from cancer. The event celebrates people who have battled cancer, remembers loved ones lost, and mobilizes for lifesaving changes.
During Relay For Life events, members of each team take turns walking around the track or path. Special activities, ceremonies, and entertainment make it a fun and moving experience. Teams participate in fundraising in the months leading up to the event. To learn more, visit RelayForLife.org/windhamvt.
WWAC presents brown-bag talk on walls through history
BRATTLEBORO - Following the very successful series of brown-bag talks on Islam in January by Windham World Affairs Council Board member Javed Chaudhri, new WWAC Board member John Penford will offer a brown-bag talk on another timely topic Tuesday, March 21, in the River Garden from noon to 1 p.m.
“Walls to Shut Out the 'Other,'” will consist of a discussion of walls as barriers, followed by a look at the Great Wall of China, the Berlin Wall, the wall that separates Israel from the Occupied Territories in Palestine, and, finally, the proposed American wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Coffee will be available.
Penford is a retired civil servant with a B.A. in Ancient and Contemporary History. He is an avid follower of politics and international news.
Historical talk series continues in Rockingham
BELLOWS FALLS - Gregory Sharrow, co-director at the Vermont Folklife Center in Middlebury, will give a free talk on “A Sense of Place: Vermont's Farm Legacy,”on Thursday, March 23, at 7 p.m., at the Windham Antique Center in The Square.
This is a Vermont Humanities Council event hosted by the Rockingham Historic Commission. The lecture by Sharrow will explore the fabric of farm culture in the past and probe its relationship to the world of Vermont today.
For more information on this series of talks, contact CLG coordinator Christy Hotaling at clg@rockbf.org.
Funding is available to support Vermont's LGBTQ community
BRATTLEBORO - Funding is now available for new or existing projects, programs, and organizations that serve lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer communities in Vermont through the Samara Fund at the Vermont Community Foundation. The Samara Fund's mission is to help create a vibrant Vermont LGBTQ community and ensure that LGBTQ Vermonters are connected, healthy, appreciated, safe, and empowered.
This year, the Samara Fund will accept applications for projects or organizations that serve critical needs within the LGBTQ community or support HIV/AIDS services or prevention at the grassroots level. Nonprofits may apply at any time for up to $5,000; applications will be accepted through 5 p.m. Tuesday, April 4. Visit vermontcf.org/samara to learn more.
Rotary District 7870 announces scholarship program
BRATTLEBORO - The Rotary Club of Brattleboro is pleased to announce the initial offering of a district-wide scholarship in memory of Janice H. McElroy, who served as Rotary District 7870 Governor in 2011-2012 and was instrumental in securing a Rotary International grant of $412,000 to help southern Vermont rebuild after the devastation of Tropical Storm Irene.
This scholarship is made possible by donations from friends, colleagues, and Rotary Clubs throughout the District 7870.
Prior to her death in 2012, McElroy requested that any donations received in her memory be dedicated to establishing a scholarship fund for nontraditional students. The scholarship will be awarded to a person who is 21 or older and has completed high school or earned a GED.
There must be at least a three-year gap between graduating from high school and full-time college attendance or a record of part-time college for three years after graduating from high school. The scholarship can be used for expenses at a four-year or a two-year college, or for another type of accredited institution, such as a technical or vocational program. The first scholarship award will be a minimum of $1,000.
Applications may be obtained online by visiting brattlebororotaryclub.org and must be completed and received no later than March 31. The selected recipient will be notified in April and the award will be presented at the Rotary District 7870 conference in Nashua, N.H., on April 28.