Brattleboro Police hosts Coffee with a Cop
BRATTLEBORO - On Thursday, Aug. 13, from 7 to 9 a.m., officers from the Brattleboro Police Department and community members will once again come together in an informal, neutral space to discuss community issues, build relationships, and drink coffee.
All community members are invited to attend. The event will take place at The Works Bakery Cafe, 118 Main St. Contact Officer Ryan Washburn or Officer Adam Petlock with questions at 802-257-7950.
Coffee with a Cop provides a unique opportunity for community members to ask questions and learn more about the department's work in Brattleboro's neighborhoods.
Locals practice extemporaneous speaking
BRATTLEBORO - Members of BrattleMasters, the Toastmasters club based in Brattleboro, will practice their extemporaneous speaking on Thursday, Aug. 13, from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
Open to the public, guests are welcome to sit in on meetings at no charge at the Marlboro College Graduate Center, second floor, 28 Vernon St.
The club meets the second and fourth Thursday of the month at the same time and location. Members hail from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Refreshments provided. For more information, visit brattleboro.toastmastersclubs.org.
Rec. Dept.'s Morning Matinee features T-Bone
BRATTLEBORO - The Brattleboro Recreation & Parks Department, as part of the TGIF Morning Matinee, presents T-Bone at the Living Memorial Park Rotary Theater on Friday, Aug. 14, at 10:30 a.m. This is the sixth and final performance of the TGIF Morning Matinees.
T-Bone is affectionately known to his audiences as “America's musical Pied Piper.” He has performed for thousands of people throughout the United States since 1972. For more info, visit his website, www.t-bonemusic.com.
This show is free and day care groups are welcome to attend. If there are special needs required, call the Recreation & Parks Office at 802-254-5808. In case of rain, the show will be moved inside to the Nelson Withington Skating Facility.
Write Action hosts annual potluck picnic, silent auction fundraiser
GUILFORD - Write Action's 14th annual potluck picnic will take place on Sunday, Aug. 16 (Aug 23, rain date) from noon to 4 p.m. at Melendy Hill Farm.
Besides food, and an open reading, the event will include official announcement of the WA contest winners; readings of the winning entries in prose and poetry; volunteer sign-up for the Literary Festival held the first weekend in October; and, for the first time, a silent auction.
Final bidding, with additional items and gift certificates, will take place at the picnic at 3:30 p.m. The auction will raise money for Write Action's high school awards given each year to a BUHS senior in journalism and one for creative writing, for the Lynn Harris Seares Writers Emergency Fund, the annual WA contest, the bi-weekly newsletter, and for community collaborative projects.
For more information and directions to the farm, email [email protected] or check out the Write Action Facebook page.
Pool closes for the season on Aug. 16
BRATTLEBORO - The Brattleboro Recreation & Parks Department announces that the swimming pool at Living Memorial Park will be closing for the season on Sunday, August 16, at 8 p.m.
Property tax, utilities payments due
BRATTLEBORO - The first installment of the 2015 Real Estate and Personal Property Taxes will be due on Monday, Aug. 17 by 5 p.m. Payments made after Aug. 17 will have an additional 1 percent interest added to the unpaid balance.
The utility billing is also due on August 17, by 5 p.m. Payments made after August 17 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 Street, Suite 111, Brattleboro, VT 05301. An official postmark before or on Aug. 17 will be considered as an on-time payment. Residents are asked to include the quarterly payment stub to ensure payment is applied properly.
Electronic Bank Checks must be received in the office by the due date. Electronic Bank Checks dated for the due date, but received after the due date will not be considered an on-time payment. Payments slipped in the mail slot after hours on the due date will not be considered on time.
The town accepts payments by credit card or debit card at www.brattleboro.org. Click on “pay bills online” 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 thru Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., in Room 111 of the Municipal Building.
AARP presents senior potluck picnic
BRATTLEBORO - AARP Chapter 763 will meet Tuesday, Aug. 18, at the Senior-Lower Level at Living Memorial Park at 11:30 a.m. for a potluck picnic.
Attendees are asked to bring a main dish, a salad, or a dessert to share at the picnic. They are also asked to bring a plate and silverware. Coffee and cold beverages will be provided. Wayne Billard will provide musical entertainment.
Class explores using mushrooms as medicine
BRATTLEBORO - “Mushrooms as Medicine” will be offered Wednesday, Aug. 19, from 6 to 8 p.m, at Brattleboro Food Co-op's community room.
This free class, led by Justin Garner, a clinical herbalist and founder of Sweet Flag Medicinals in Brattleboro, is part of a series of classes, workshops, and wild mushroom forage trips sponsored by the co-op this summer. The purpose is to highlight the culinary, medicinal, and otherwise useful properties of mushrooms and fungi.
This class will explore the myriad health benefits of some of the most common and readily available mushroom species. The discussion will include information on shiitake, maitake, reishi, turkey tail, chaga, cordyceps, and other mushrooms.
Their natural history and cultivation will be discussed brieflyl however, the main focus will be on their health benefit and clinically-tested uses, such as for modulating immune system function, supporting cardiovascular health, promoting vitality, their place in integrative cancer therapy, and ways to incorporate mushrooms into one's daily life.
Garner will not focus on field identification, but examples of excellent mushroom field guides will be provided. For more information, contact Tad Montgomery at 802-251-0502 or [email protected].
Stories to make a better river sought in Putney
PUTNEY - On Wednesday, Aug. 19, at 7 p.m., an innovative, collaborative art-making and story-gathering event, “The Power of Water/The Power of Words,” will be presented at the Putney Public Library.
The project seeks to gather stories and reflections about the Connecticut River.
The Connecticut River Watershed Council and Art for Water are building what they call “a massive and inspiring public participation art installation that will influence how five hydropower projects affecting 200 miles of the Connecticut River will operate for the next 40 to 50 years.”
Everyone is welcome to learn about the issues around hydroelectric power and to contribute their story to the growing “river of words.”
The library is located at 55 Main Street in Putney. This event is free and open to the public. Call 802-387-4407 with any questions.
RFPL book club to meet
BELLOWS FALLS - On Thursday, August 20, at 7 p.m., Rockingham Free Public Library's book club will celebrate two mysteries - Death by Darjeeling by Laura Childs and Bellows Falls by Archer Mayor - at a secret location.
In the style of Childs' tea shop cozy mysteries, the staff from the Inn Victoria of Chester will serve the group a variety of teas and scones on fine china. Then it's just a short walk to the scene of a crime, fresh off the pages of Mayor's Bellows Falls.
Residents can stop by the Library at 65 Westminster St. in Bellows Falls to pick up a copy of one or both books and inquire about the book club's secret rendezvous location for this special evening. This event is free and open to the public.
For more information, call 802-463-4270, email [email protected], go to www.rockinghamlibrary.org or stop by the library.
David Bradbury to speak about Vermont Seed Capital Fund
BRATTLEBORO - David Bradbury, president of the Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies (VCET), will speak at the August meeting of Brattleboro Area Techies on Thursday, Aug. 20. The meeting will take place in the atrium of the Brooks House on Main Street at 6 p.m.
Bradbury will speak about the Vermont Seed Capital Fund and other financing opportunities available to new or growing technology companies in Vermont. VCET assists technology-oriented companies in a number of ways in addition to financing, and operates incubators for startups at two locations in Burlington and one in Middlebury.
The Vermont Seed Capital Fund invests in early stage technology companies in Vermont. The revolving fund of $5 million was started with federal and state funds and makes investments of $25,000 to $250,000 to Vermont firms with strong growth potential. The fund is administered by VCET.
Brattleboro Area Techies is a networking group for those interested and/or working in technology in the greater Brattleboro area. The group gathers to informally network, discuss, and provide people with an excuse to get out from behind their computers. The group includes designers, makers, educators, programmers, freelancers, videographers, artists, consultants, and business people who work in these fields. There is no cost.
For more information, contact Bob Lawson at [email protected] or 802-490-8409, or Caleb Clark at 917-703-5580 or [email protected].