Manitou hosts healing walk
WILLIAMSVILLE - The Manitou Project on Sunset Lake Road will hold a healing walk on Friday, Oct. 8, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Meet at the parking lot at 4 p.m.
The walk will be led by Fred Taylor and will include poems or other readings, and chances to share about the experience.
Healing walks will be held every second and fourth Friday of each month until October. For information, contact Taylor at 802-254-2675.
Book sales wrap up at Moore Free Library
NEWFANE - The Friends of the Moore Free Library will hold the final book sale of the season on the lawn of the Library, 23 West St., on Saturday, Oct. 9, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., during the Newfane Heritage Festival.
The sale will be larger than the “mini” sales previously held. The theme will be “Everything Old and New” - Vermont and general history, classics, old books, and a “generous smattering of everything else they have been saving upstairs,” the organizers of the event report.
Moore Free Library tote bags will be on sale for $15, or $20 stuffed with books.
For more information, contact Julie Lavorgna at julielavorgna@gmail.com or 802-365-7278.
Book sale fundraiser benefits Pratt Library
WEST DUMMERSTON - The Lydia Taft Pratt Library will host its annual book sale, bake sale, and silent auction on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 9 and 10, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., outside the library at the Dummerston Community Center on West Street.
Funds raised from this event will go toward the library's budget for print and electronic materials and programs for everyone.
Along with a huge variety of books in paperback and hardcover, a selection of home-baked goods will be available for sale.
The book sale will take place outdoors under tents, and visitors are asked to wear masks and maintain a safe distance.
A silent auction inside the community center will offer a chance for people to bid on local goods and services.
The library is seeking volunteers in the days leading up to the sale, and on the days of the sale itself. The library is happy to work with high school students seeking to fulfill their community service obligations.
For more information, contact Librarian Dena Marger at 802-258-9878 or dummerstonvtlibrary@gmail.com.
Hospice holds fall Memorial Garden ceremony
BRATTLEBORO - Brattleboro Area Hospice will hold a bulb-planting memorial service on Tuesday, Oct. 12, from 4 to 6 p.m. (rain date is Oct. 19, 4 to 6 p.m.) at the organization's Memorial Garden on Guilford Street near Memorial Park.
Instead of a traditional planting of annuals this past spring, leaders of the fall service will plant bulbs and await their appearance next year.
The service will include the Hallowell Singers, a few readings, and the planting of the bulbs.
Due to COVID-19, everyone will be asked to wear a mask, even outside. No refreshments will be available, and participants should bring water and a chair as needed.
Bulbs, stones, and markers will be provided.
If you would like a loved one's name read out loud during the service, send it to Lars Hunter, bereavement program coordinator, at lars.hunter@brattleborohospice.org or call 802-257-0775.
Senior lunch served in Dummerston
DUMMERSTON - Senior Solutions and Evening Star Grange will offer their Second Wednesday senior lunch on Wednesday, Oct. 13, with takeout pickup between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. and indoor seating and serving at noon.
The menu will include golumpki, mashed potato, winter squash, and applesauce, with lemon breeze for dessert.
Reserve your meal by calling the Grange at 802-254-1138 and leaving your name, telephone number, and number of meals requested by 5 p.m on Tuesday, so that meal organizers can arrange to have enough food for everyone.
A donation of $3 for those 60 and older, or $4 for the younger set, is suggested.
October happenings at the CAFC
CHESTER - October has arrived and the Chester-Andover Family Center is ready with two family-friendly events: Christmas Under the Tent and the third annual Empty Bowl Dinner.
Proceeds from both events will benefit the CAFC Food Shelf and Financial Assistance programs.
Christmas Under the Tent takes place on Saturday, Oct. 9 at the Chester-Andover Family Center (CAFC), 908 Vt. Rt. 103S, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., on Saturday, Oct. 9.
Tents set up in front of the CAFC will be filled with affordable holiday items. As always, there will be music, free books for the children, and a free hot dog lunch for shoppers.
The Empty Bowl Dinner, from 4:30 to 7 p.m., on Wednesday, Oct. 13 at American Legion Post 67, 635 Vt. Rt. 103, will feature soup, bread, salad, and dessert, all donated by local businesses and chefs.
Admission is by donation, and you also get to take home a hand-painted ceramic bowl, painted at the Endless Creations Studio by your friends and neighbors.
The Milkhouse Heaters from Rockingham will perform live, and the Basket Raffle will take place throughout the dinner. Takeout will be available.
For more information, contact the Family Center at 802-875-3236 or cafc302@gmail.com, visit chester-andoverfamilycenter.org, or visit the organization's Facebook page.
Leaf collection schedule announced
BRATTLEBORO - Curbside fall leaf collection will take place on Friday, Oct. 22, and Friday, Nov. 5.
Acceptable waste includes leaves, grass, clippings, garden waste, twigs, and branches no larger than 1 inch in diameter and 2 feet long. No other household trash is to be included.
All materials must be contained in brown-paper leaf bags available for purchase at local businesses. No other bags or containers will be accepted, as the materials collected will be used for compost.
The bags must be left at the curb by 7 a.m. on scheduled collection days.
Leaves, brush, and yard debris are also accepted year-round at the Windham Solid Waste Management District on Old Ferry Road. The transfer station is open on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Leaf and yard debris is collected via the curbside program twice in the spring and twice in the fall.
For more information, call the town offices at 802-251-8103.
Grace Cottage provides LGBTQ+ affirming care
TOWNSHEND - Grace Cottage Family Health now offers LGBTQ+ Affirming Care, with its primary care clinic now offering affirming primary care for adults and children, affirming cancer screenings, affirming contraception, affirming counseling and psychiatric services, confidential referrals for gender-affirming surgeries, endocrinology, and hormone therapy, and PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) for HIV.
When necessary, confidential referrals to appropriate specialty services are also available.
As described in the news release, Grace Cottage Family Health & Hospital “has been working to improve LGBTQ+ awareness and access over the past several years. Staff members have undergone training to help them provide equitable, knowledgeable, sensitive, and welcoming health care for all, free from discrimination.”
For more information or to schedule an appointment with a Grace Cottage provider, call 802-365-4331.