Brattleboro VA Outpatient Clinic resumes normal operations
BRATTLEBORO — The Veterans Health Administration’s Brattleboro Outpatient Clinic has resumed normal operations after closing in February for repairs.
Located at 71 GSP Drive, the clinic is part of the White River Junction VA Healthcare System. In a news release, the leadership team expressed gratitude “for the flexibility of veterans, staff, and community partners while renovations and repairs were completed.”
For appointment information or to contact their care team, patients usually seen at the Brattleboro clinic should call 802-295-9363 and use the extension relevant to their needs: specialty care, ext. 6657; primary care, ext. 6364; mental health, ext. 5760.
Senior lunch in Newfane Thursday
NEWFANE — The monthly Senior Lunch will be served Thursday, Sept. 10, at noon at Newfane Congregational Church, 11 Church St. On the menu are deviled eggs and apple salad for an appetizer; chicken as the main course; and gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, string beans, and pumpkin bread as sides. Pumpkin squares are the dessert.
This meal is sponsored by Senior Solutions and will be prepared and served by volunteers from the church and community. Suggested donation for this meal is $4. Takeout meals are $5, and organizers request reservations. Call Winnie Dolan at 802-365-7870 for more information.
Youth chess: Fridays through November 20
BRATLEBORO — The Recreation and Parks Department is offering intermediate-level youth chess classes Fridays, Sept. 11 through Nov. 20, from 3:30 to 4:45 p.m. in the large conference room of the Gibson-Aiken Center, 207 Main St. The fee is $60 for Brattleboro residents and $75 for nonresidents.
Longtime chess instructor Eric Strickland will teach the class. Players should know “basic checkmates and a least a few tactics and strategies,” a news release said.
Students can register in person at the Gibson-Aiken Center.
Manitou hosts morning ‘forest bathing’ retreat
WILLIAMSVILLE — A half-day nature and meditation retreat, Come Home to Nature, is slated for Saturday, Sept. 12, from 9 a.m. to noon at The Manitou Project, 300 Sunset Lake Rd.
Vermont Insight Meditation Center described the morning retreat in a news release as “an experiential practice for finding deep presence, peace, and an awakeness to our universal belonging with nature.” Nature-therapy and meditation guide Amanda Kenyon will lead the retreat, using an approach inspired by the Japanese practice of forest bathing (shinrin-yoku).
The morning will include a guided meditation, prompts for individual exploration, a gratitude offering, and “a Touching the Earth practice in the tradition of Thích Nhất Hạnh,” organizers said. Participants can expect periods of sitting and stillness as well as “meandering less than a mile on gently rolling terrain.”
Space is limited to 15 participants, and registration is required: bit.ly/forest-bathing-retreat. Registration closes Friday, Sept. 11, at noon.
Westminster West fair in town Sept. 12
WESTMINSTER WEST — The 37th annual Westminster West Community Fair will be held Saturday, Sept. 12, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The fair includes a parade, 5K road race, grilled chicken lunch, Golden Elephant tag sale, and online silent auction.
Race registration begins at 8:30 a.m., with the race starting at 9. Age brackets are Youth (13-17), Open (18-39), Masters (40-59), and Seniors (60 and older), and entry fees are $15 for adults and $10 for youth. Race prizes typically include local cheese, apples, and maple syrup.
The parade, whose theme is Honoring Those Who Stepped Up for Rural Schools, starts at 10:30 a.m. Cheryl Charles, chair of the Westminster Town School District Board and a leader of the Vermont Rural School Community Alliance, will be the parade’s grand marshal.
The Golden Elephant tag sale opens at 9a.m. Other activities include live music, a talent show, games and a fun run for kids, a gardening contest, and a 50/50 cash raffle. Visit bit.ly/west-west-fair for more information.
Chicken pie supper in Dummerston Saturday
DUMMERSTON — Evening Star Grange will host an old fashioned chicken pie supper Saturday, Sept. 12, from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at 1008 East-West Rd.
The menu includes chicken in gravy with a biscuit on top, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn casserole, and scalloped onions, with apple crisp with real whipped cream for dessert. Take-outs will be available.
Tickets are $15 for adults and $7 for children 6 to 12; kids 5 and under are free. Reservations are suggested but not mandatory. To make a reservation, call 802-254-1138 and leave your name, phone number, number of meals you want, and whether you are eating in or taking food home.
Help scientists study mushroom DNA
MARLBORO — The Hogback Mountain Conservation Association is enlisting citizen scientists to collect mushroom specimens Sunday, Sept. 13, at 10 a.m. at Hogback Mountain on Route 9.
Participants will be contributing to the Sequence Vermont project (sequencevermont.org), which aims to document and understand the state’s fungal biodiversity. Every specimen collected at the event will be dried, sent to Middlebury College, and ultimately DNA sequenced.
Participants should bring their own pens and a container to collect with, such as a basket, egg crate, or paper bag. Organizers will provide slips and mesh bags.
The event is free. Registration is required; email hmca@hogbackvt.org.
Guilford Cares hosts senior walk plus Q&A with farmers
GUILFORD — The monthly Guilford Cares senior walk takes place Tuesday, Sept. 15, leaving at 10:30 a.m. from Guilford Community Church, 38 Church Drive.
Karen Murphy will lead hikers through conserved land that Murphy, a former member of Guilford Preservation Inc. (GPI), helped protect from commercial development starting in 2003. The hike departs from the church along a short, flat path to five cultivated plots, including Footbridge Flowers, that GPI leases to encourage agriculture in the village of Algiers.
Growers will be available to talk about farming there and answer questions. For more information or to request a ride, contact Guilford Cares at 802-579-1350 or guilfordcaresvt@gmail.com.
Make a miniature moving sculpture at library
PUTNEY — Putney Public Library, 55 Main St., presents a miniature sculpture workshop called “Make It Move!” Wednesday, Sept. 16, at 6:30 p.m.
“Explore simple mechanical engineering using art, science, and tinkering,” organizers wrote in a news release, “and see low-tech energy experiments on display.”
Visiting artist Dawn Stetzel will help participants use cork, magnets, wire, and other provided materials to make a small sculptural piece that moves. Tools may include a tiny hand saw, wire clippers, and a sharp ice pick.
The workshop is free and is designed for people older than 16, but kids 11 and up may attend with an adult.
Register by calling at 802-387-4407 or emailing request@putneylibrary.org. Include in your message the age of anyone under 18 who will be attending.
This Town and Village item was submitted to The Commons.