College news
• Elizabeth A. Miller, formerly of Hinsdale, N.H., recently returned from Israel where she traveled with a Taglit-Brithright group of students from New England. She is attending Worcester Polytechnic Institute, where she is on the Dean's List. She is a sophomore in Robotics Engineering and, last summer, she took part in a research project at the University of Pennsylvania's General Robotics, Automation, Sensing, and Persception (GRASP) Lab.
• The following local residents made the Dean's List for Winter 2013 quarter at Rochester (N.Y.) Institute of Technology: Charles Eastwood of Townshend, a fourth-year student in RIT's College of Applied Science and Technology; Evan Darling of Brattleboro, a second-year student in RIT's College of Imaging Arts and Sciences; Katherine Given of Brattleboro, a third-year student in RIT's College of Imaging Arts and Sciences; and Kathryn Annis of Dummerston, a second-year student in RIT's College of Imaging Arts and Sciences.
• Sarah Hawksley of Jamaica has been named to the Dean's List at Savannah (Ga.) College of Art and Design for the fall 2012 quarter.
• Aislynn Chalmers of Brattleboro has been named to the Dean's List at Rensselaer (N.Y.) Polytechnic Institute for the fall 2012 semester.
School news
• The Windham Regional Career Center Dance Program had a fruitful trip to this year's Regional High School Dance Festival, held last month in Norfolk, Va. Six students who auditioned were accepted into programs that will help them advance their training and study of ballet and modern dance. Victoria Jaenson, Caitlin McCloskey-Meyer, Caitlin Nordheim, Sonya Marx and Sophie Zimmerman each received one or more invitations to participate in summer dance programs for high school students. Jaenson, McCloskey-Meyer and Zimmerman also received scholarship offers from several programs to help pay for tuition. The awarding institutions included Adelphi University, American Dance Festival, Bates Dance Festival, Coker College, Goucher College, Joffrey Ballet, Juilliard, Léon Dance Arts NY, Santa Fe University, Shenandoah Conservatory, Syracuse University, The Hartt School, University of the Arts, and Virginia Commonwealth University. Bronwyn Hodgkinson, the lone senior auditioning, earned acceptance into dance programs next fall at both Temple University and Long Island University.
• Ethan Lawrence, a sophomore from Grafton, has recently been named to the Honor Roll for the winter term at the Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor, Conn.
Transitions
• The Neighborhood Schoolhouse in Brattleboro welcomes Connie Cline as its new interim director. Cline was the first teacher at The Neighborhood Schoolhouse in 1981. She taught at Neighborhood for four years, then became a full-time parent, a part-time correspondent for the Brattleboro Reformer, and an independent educational consultant in Windham County. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education and a Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction. Prior to teaching at Neighborhood, she worked for the Illinois State Department of Education, where she served as a member of on-site school evaluation teams. She also conducted school evaluations for the Colorado State Department of Education, taught a class for certified teachers at the University of Northern Colorado, and wrote and ran a grant providing regional conferences for teachers in Colorado. In 1998, she re-entered the corporate world, and spent ten years teaching and coaching, providing leadership and employee development at Anheuser-Busch in St. Louis, Mo.
• Mary Ide of Brattleboro has been appointed to the Vermont Historical Records Advisory Board. Ide recently retired as the director of the media library and archives at WGBH in Boston, where she served for more than 15 years. She also is a past president of the New England Archivists – the largest organization of archival professionals in the region. Prior to joining WGBH, she held school library positions in Danville, Cabot, and at Lyndon State College. She has devoted much of her professional life to serving on various boards and committees dedicated to archives, libraries and education.
• Drs. Liz Kaltman and Jody E. Noé have joined the practice of Biologic Integrative Healthcare in Brattleboro. Kaltman is a board-certified, licensed naturopathic physician, epidemiologist, and public health consultant who has worked in the health care field for more than 20 years. At BIH, she will serve as a primary care provider with a focus on preventative medicine. Noé obtained her Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine from Bastyr University in Seattle, Wash., and provides the following services: naturopathic obstetrics and gynecology, botanical medicine, homeopathy, nutritional medicine, diet and lifestyle counseling, physical medicine, and traditional Chinese medicine.
Obituaries
• Laura Wilson Heller, 83, of Putney. Died March 23 at her home. Wife of the late George B. Heller for 62 years. Mother of Jessie, Mary, Geordie, and William. Sister of Bill Wilson and the late George Wilson. Born in Cambridge, Mass., she attended The Cambridge School of Weston (1946) and Radcliffe College (1950). The Wilsons divided their time between Cambridge and their summer home in Grafton, where Laura met her future husband. They were married in Grafton on June 24, 1950, and they purchased a farm in Putney that fall. A long-time teacher and working mother, she started her career teaching English to Hungarian refugees at the Experiment in International Living (now World Learning) in the late 1950s. She also tutored students in reading at the Putney Central School, and taught math and science at The Grammar School in Putney for many years. She was a staunch believer in equal dignity and treatment for women, well before feminism became mainstream. Her love of history and the elderly were ongoing themes throughout her life. She always visited and cared for her older neighbors, and she worked diligently to create shared housing for the elderly in Putney. She conceived of and founded Putney Cares, Inc. in 1985; her vision was realized when the historic John Humphrey Noyes House was purchased and renovated for shared housing in 1990. The history of Putney was one of her passions. She served as president of the Putney Historical Society and had an encyclopedic knowledge of Putney's history and residents. She loved to walk in the woods, where she diverted water to run through ancient stone bridges and culverts, and explored every cellar hole and stone wall in the town. She often returned from her walks with edible mushrooms and weeds for her family's supper. She was a true localvore decades before the term was invented. She was an involved member of the Vermont Historical Society, enjoying frequent trips to the Vermont Historical Museum. A strong proponent of Vermont's natural and historic heritage, she also was an enthusiastic supporter of the Preservation Trust and its efforts to revitalize Vermont village centers. The Hellers' doors were always open to visitors and the house was usually full of people. Over the years, they hosted a number of young people sponsored by the Experiment in International Living from diverse countries such as Denmark, Ivory Coast, Venezuela, Japan, and Jamaica. They stayed in contact with several of their Experimenters for the rest of their lives. The Hellers enjoyed exploring the byways of New England, and in retirement sought out small hotels and bed and breakfasts in out of the way places. Her favorite mode of navigation was to avoid numbered highways and road signs, exclusively using the sun as a guide. She appreciated that the changing seasons, marked by solstices, equinoxes, and the lunar calendar, created the markers for much of human activity throughout history. Memorial information: An informal celebration of her life will be held on Sunday, April 7, from 1-3 p.m., at her home in Putney. Donations to to the Putney Historical Society or Youth Services in Brattleboro.
• Timothy Alan “Tim” Miller, 48, of Athol, Mass. Died March 21 at St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester, Mass., following a period of declining health. Born in Keene, N.H., the son of Harry and Nancy (Housman) Miller, he was raised and educated in Keene, graduating from Keene High School, Class of 1983. He went on to attend Keene State College for two years. While residing in Keene, he worked at West Street Texaco for several years. He had been a resident of Athol for the past 15 years. He was an avid railroad enthusiast and was fascinated with trains. He loved to travel by rail, taking several trips throughout the last few years. He also enjoyed electronics and taking videos. He was a quiet and spiritual person who believed deeply in God. Memorial information: Graveside committal services were held March 27 in the Miller family lot in West Brattleboro Cemetery on Mather Road. His uncle, Walter “Wally” White, officiated. Condolences may be sent to Atamaniuk Funeral Home at www.atamaniuk.com.