Taxes due in Brattleboro
BRATTLEBORO - The third installment of the 2018 Real Estate and Personal Property Taxes will be due on Feb. 15. Payments made after Feb. 15 will have an additional 1 percent interest added to the unpaid balance.
The utility billing is also due on Feb. 15. Payments made after Feb. 15 will have an additional 1 percent interest, as well as an 8 percent penalty added to the unpaid balance.
Payments can be mailed to the Town of Brattleboro, 230 Main St., Suite 111, Brattleboro, VT 05301. An official postmark of Feb. 15 will be considered an on-time payment. Be sure to include the quarterly payment stub to ensure your payment is applied properly.
Electronic bank checks must be received in the office by the due date to be considered an on-time payment. Check with your bank for payment schedule. Payments slipped in the mail slot after hours on the due date will not be considered on time.
Also, you may choose to make your payments via a credit card or debit card at www.brattleboro.org. Click on “Bill Pay” at the bottom of the home page. There is a fee for this service. The town cannot accept credit card payments at the office or by telephone.
If you choose to pay in person, the Treasurer's Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m.. to 5 p.m., in Room 111 of the Municipal Building.
Grace Cottage's Online Auction starts Feb. 14
TOWNSHEND - To benefit its Patient Care Fund, Grace Cottage Hospital is launching its fifth annual online auction on Valentine's Day. Bidding on more than 80 items, donated by generous friends of Grace Cottage, will continue through Feb. 28.
The auction features something for every taste and budget, including treasures that can't be bought anywhere else.
Items range in value from $20 to priceless, including tickets to the Masters Golf Tournament, gift certificates to favorite local restaurants, practical items like an oil change for your car, theater tickets, overnight stays in area lodges, gift baskets, jams and syrup, your name in Archer Mayor's next book, and more.
Participants can bid low and get notified when someone outbids them, or “Buy Now” and own it right away. Either way, all bidders can feel good supporting this annual fund-raiser, which helps to provide free and reduced cost care to those lacking adequate resources. Check out the full selection at www.32auctions.com/gracecottage2019.
Senior meal in Halifax
WEST HALIFAX - The monthly senior meal will be served Friday, Feb. 15, at noon, at the Halifax Community Hall at 20 Brook Rd.
On the menu is fruit with cottage cheese, corn chowder, sandwiches (egg salad, ham, ham and cheese, and peanut butter and jelly), and johnnycake, with homemade Valentine cookies. All seniors are welcome. A call to Joan is appreciated at 802-368-7733.
February Climate Café to screen 'Secret Ingredients'
BRATTLEBORO - The Climate Café will screen the film Secret Ingredients on Tuesday, Feb. 26, at 6 p.m., at Brooks Memorial Library, 224 Main St. As always, the Café is free, and light refreshments will be available.
This film by Amy Hart and Jeffrey Smith shares stories of people who regain their health after discovering the “secret” ingredients in their food, and making a bold commitment to avoid them.
According to a news release, the film's thesis is that secret ingredients in our food, such as genetically modified organisms and food sprayed with toxic herbicides, may be a leading driver of our obesity, infertility, cancer, digestive problems, autism, brain fog, skin conditions, gluten sensitivity, allergies, fatigue, anxiety, and many other conditions.
The film shares stories of people who regained their health after changing to an all organic diet, free of GMOs, Roundup, and other toxic pesticides. Skin and digestive conditions disappear; cancer patients now have a clean bill of health; autistic children are now thriving; infertile couples now have healthy babies.
Lori Schreier, local organic farmer/owner of Fertile Fields Farm, will host a group discussion after the film.
The Climate Café is a project of Post Oil Solutions that convenes the fourth Tuesday of most months. For further information, contact Tim Stevenson at bereal@vermontel.net or 802-869-2141
Women's clubs offer scholarship
BELLOWS FALLS - The General Federation of Women's Clubs of Vermont announces the availability of scholarships for Vermont women seeking to further their education or training or to upgrade their skills in preparation for advancing in the workplace.
Applicants must submit a specific plan for their education or training program. Applications are due to Betty Haggerty, 16 Taylor St., Bellows Falls, VT 05101 by March 15. The scholarships will be awarded at the Federation's annual meeting in early May.
The scholarships range from $500 to $1,500. This marks the 25th year that GFWC-VT has awarded this financial aid, funded through contributions from Vermont federated woman's clubs and individuals.
Locally, the Bellows Falls Woman's Club is involved in the program. For applications, contact Betty Haggerty at hubett@hotmail.com or 802-463-4159. They are available at the SEVCA office in Westminster; at Parks Place and Rockingham Free Public Library, both in Bellows Falls; and through the Community College of Vermont. Sites around the state have applications, as do the Vermont federated woman's clubs.
Exchange students are looking for homes
BRATTLEBORO - Two opportunities for hosting international exchange students are available to area families. One program brings in Spanish teens for the summer, and the other brings in students from more than 40 countries for an academic semester or year experience.
“Hosts can be of any age, and don't have to have children,” local coordinator Jill Stahl Tyler said in a news release. “Hosts can be single moms or dads, families with young children, families with high school age kids, and retired folks. Hosts just need to be able to provide a warm and loving environment.”
She said that the academic-year students - “from Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Korea, Italy, Somaliland, Spain and more” - are just starting to come into the database.
The summer students are expected to arrive June 27 and depart July 24. The summer program is 3{1/2} weeks and includes day trips to Boston and to Six Flags New England.
More information - including the application forms for hosting - is available at www.globalcow.com/exchange.