Toastmasters meets Feb. 13 at Marlboro Grad Center
BRATTLEBORO - BrattleMasters, the Brattleboro-based chapter of Toastmasters International, meets the second and fourth Thursday of the month from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on the second floor of Marlboro College Graduate Center, 28 Vernon St.
The club's next meeting is Thursday, Feb. 13, and three speeches and evaluations are planned, as is the meeting's popular table topics challenge on off-the-cuff speaking. Guests are welcome, and refreshments are provided. There is no pressure to speak, and members are working at their own pace and with assigned mentors to help them meet their speaking and leadership goals.
For more information, visit brattleboro.toastmastersclubs.org.
New Chamber head to speak to WBA
WEST BRATTLEBORO - On Thursday, Feb. 13, from 6 to 7:30 p.m., the West Brattleboro Association (WBA) will hold its monthly meeting at The New England House, 254 Marlboro Rd.
Special guest is Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce's new Director Kate O'Connor, who will share her goals and plans for the Chamber and also listen, learn, and participate in a discussion about West Brattleboro, including some of the initiatives of the WBA.
WBA president Michael Bosworth will share discussion by the trustees at a meeting in January as to plans for the WBA this year. There will also be a report of the treasury. The group will review the various projects undertaken by the WBA including traffic safety, the Neighborhoods Project, signage, police/fire facilities, and the status of the Brattleboro West Arts and West Brattleboro Partners projects.
Also on the agenda: discussion of topics for the March Q&A session with the District 1 Town Meeting members, an initiative started a couple of years ago, and this year scheduled for Thursday, March 6 (with March 13 as a snow date).
Continuing education midwinter lunch series begins at Retreat
BRATTLEBORO - The Office of Continuing Education at the Brattleboro Retreat offers a series of three continuing education luncheons for mental health professionals, starting Feb. 13.
Brattleboro Retreat staff will present different topics about behavioral health and addiction treatment at each one-hour event. Lunch is free and starts at 11:45 a.m. Presentation are noon to 1 p.m. CEUs will be available for most professions.
On Thursday, Feb. 13, Dr. Debra V. McQuade, unit chief for the Retreat's new Emerging Adults Unit, will present the concept and growing science around Emerging Adulthood.
On Thursday, Feb. 27, Dr. Karl Jeffries, staff psychiatrist for the LGBT Inpatient Program, will speak on “Mental Health Treatment for Transgender Individuals Across the Lifespan.”
On Tuesday, March 11, Kurt White, LADC, LICSW, and Susan Balaban, Ph.D., will present “Cultivating Psychological Flexibility in Combat Veterans and First Responders.”
The luncheons will be held in the Education Conference Center in the administration building at the Brattleboro Retreat, 1 Anna Marsh Lane, Brattleboro. Reservation is required. Contact Gay Maxwell at 802-258-4359 or [email protected] to reserve space. Leave detailed information regarding name and credentials.
Early/absentee ballots now available
BRATTLEBORO - Early/absentee ballots for the Annual Town and Town School District election to be held on March 4 are available in the Brattleboro town clerk's office.
Anyone wishing to vote prior to March 4 may apply for an early/absentee ballot until 5 p.m. on Monday, March 3. Early/absentee ballots may be voted in person in the clerk's office, mailed to the voter by the clerk's office, picked up by the voter, or delivered to the voter's residence by two justices of the peace.
All voted ballots must be received by the clerk before the polls close on election day in order to be counted. Early/absentee ballots remain sealed until election day. Absentee ballot envelopes are opened at the polling place and ballots are processed through vote tabulators in the same manner as those voted in person that day. For more information or to request an early/absentee ballot, call 802-251-8157.
Wednesday, Feb. 26, at 5 p.m. is the deadline to register to vote in the Town and Town School election. If you are registered to vote in the town you reside in you do not need to register again. If you are unsure if your name is listed as a registered voter in your town, or for more information about voter registration and early/absentee voting, contact your town clerk.
Voting, on March 4, will be held on at the BUHS gym on Fairground Road. Polling hours are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Ice fishing day at the Retreat Meadows is Feb. 15
BRATTLEBORO - Sportsmen Inc. of Guilford, a local hunting, fishing, and shooting club, invites all area children to an introductory ice fishing day.
This fun and instructional event is set for Saturday, Feb. 15, from 9 a.m. to noon on the Retreat Meadows on Route 30, directly across from the Grafton Village Cheese plant. Look for signs to the fishing area.
Dress in warm clothes for a morning on the ice. Hot chocolate will be available, and equipment is provided. For more information, call Lee at 802-258-4709, Art at 802-254-1580, or Don at 802-257-5442.
Visiting day at Union Institute is Feb. 15
BRATTLEBORO - Union Institute & University (UI&U), a nonprofit, private, accredited university designed for busy adults, hosts a visiting day for the master of arts with a concentration in counseling psychology program on Saturday, Feb. 15, from noon to 2 p.m. at the university's New England Academic Center, 28 Vernon St., in the Marlboro College Graduate Center.
Visiting day offers prospective graduate students the opportunity to attend faculty presentations and classes and join current students for their winter residency weekend. The afternoon includes an overview of the counseling psychology program, information about sitting for the National Counseling Exam while in the program, and the new embedded Certificate in Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counseling.
Admissions staff will also be available to answer questions about the application process.
The master's degree with a concentration in counseling psychology curriculum fulfills state counseling licensure requirements and includes 60 credit hours and an internship. Students may enroll in the program on a full- or part-time basis. For more information or to register for Visiting Day, contact Hanna Thurber at 802-254-0152, ext. 8905, or [email protected].
Mount Snow group tickets, express bus still available
BRATTLEBORO - Continuing through the rest of the ski/snowboard season, the Brattleboro School Endowment offers group tickets for Mount Snow on Sundays. Ten participants are needed in order to secure group rates.
To reserve a ticket, call 802-254-2879 or write [email protected] before Saturday at 6 p.m. for the following Sunday's/next day's tickets. Reservations will be confirmed later that night via email.
Transportation on the express bus is available through the Brattleboro School Endowment for the remainder of the season. The school bus leaves from Academy School on Sunday mornings at 9 and arrives at Mount Snow at 10. The return trip departs Mount Snow at 4 p.m. and returns to Academy School by 5. This service is open to all, not just those from Brattleboro. To ride the bus without a parent, riders must be in the seventh grade or above.
Updates on the group are posted on Facebook at “Brattleboro Mt. Snow Group.” For more information on the Brattleboro School Endowment, visit www.brattleboroschoolendowment.org.
Solzhenitsyn talk at Brooks rescheduled to March 28
BRATTLEBORO - Due to the Feb. 5 snowstorm, the Vermont Humanities Council's First Wednesdays lecture with conductor and pianist Ignat Solzhenitsyn at Brooks Memorial Library has been rescheduled to Friday, March 28, at 7 p.m.
The talk, “Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn: Writing the Red Wheel in Vermont,” is part of the Vermont Humanities Council's First Wednesdays series. For more information, visit www.vermonthumanities.org.