Brattleboro sets dates for leaf pickup
BRATTLEBORO - Friday, Oct. 25, and Friday, Nov. 8, are curbside leaf pickup days. Leaves and clippings must be in brown paper leaf bags and waiting at the curb by 7 a.m.
Acceptable waste includes only leaves, grass, clippings, garden waste, and twigs (no household trash). No branches larger than 1 inch around and 2 feet long are allowed. Brown paper leaf bags are available for purchase at local businesses.
Town Meeting members consider human-services funding
BRATTLEBORO -The Representative Town Meeting Human Services Review Committee is accepting applications for fiscal year 2021 Human Services Funding.
The application, as well as instructions and guidelines, are posted on the town website - brattleboro.org. The deadline to submit applications to the Town Manager's Office is Monday, Nov. 4, at noon.
The information session regarding Human Services Funding is scheduled on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019, at 5 p.m. in the Hanna Cosman Meeting Room (Suite 211) at the Municipal Center. Applicants are encouraged to attend.
To learn more, contact Jan Anderson in the Brattleboro Town Manager's Office at 802-251-8151.
Volunteers sought for town vacancies
BRATTLEBORO - The town seeks citizens to serve on the following committees and boards: Cemetery Committee, Citizen Police Communications Committee, Conservation Commission, Design Review Committee Alternate, Development Review Board Alternate, Energy Committee, Fence Viewers, Inspector of Lumber, Shingles & Wood, and the Planning Commission.
Applications and more information about various committees and boards can be found at brattleboro.org or by calling the Town Manager's office at 802-251-8151.
Residents interested in serving on a committee or board should submit an application online, or send it by email to the town manager's office at [email protected], or mail or deliver the application to: Brattleboro Town Manager's Office, Attn: Committee Vacancy, 230 Main St,. Suite 208, Brattleboro, VT 05301.
The Selectboard will make appointments at its meetings in October and November, and at subsequent meetings, if necessary. Please submit applications 10 days prior to the Selectboard meeting.
Moose talk in Londonderry
LONDONDERRY - The Conservation Commission will host a talk about moose in New England on Thursday, Oct. 10, at 6:30 p.m., at Flood Brook Elementary School.
Cedric Alexander, moose project leader for the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, will present a program on moose in Vermont and the Northeast. The discussion will focus on the history and current status of moose in Vermont, including the results of a three-year collared moose study.
Alexander has served as the Vermont Department of Fish & Wildlife's moose project leader since 1991. After graduating from the University of Vermont in 1978 with a degree in wildlife biology, he worked for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in Wisconsin and North Dakota.
He returned to Vermont in 1980 and began his career here as a habitat biologist, providing technical assistance to private landowners and managing many of the department's largest wildlife management areas.
Alexander has worked on several bird conservation projects and has been a member of the department's Big Game Management and State Lands teams since their inception.
Two icebreakers at BrattleMasters
BRATTLEBORO - The very first speech given by a new Toastmasters member is called an icebreaker. In just four to six minutes, the speaker tells the club something about themselves.
Two icebreakers are scheduled for the next meeting on Thursday, Oct. 10, at 6 p.m. in Room 249 at Vermont Technical College.
Suzanne Bansley will emcee the meeting, which will include speech evaluations and reports from the “ah” counter, timer, and grammarian.
Members and anyone in the audience will have an opportunity to try their hand at a speaking-off-the-cuff exercise. Without any preparation, volunteers answer questions in 1 to 2 minutes.
For directions or more information, visit brattleboro.toastmastersclubs.org.
Healing walk at Manitou
WILLIAMSVILLE - The Manitou Project will hold a healing walk, rain or shine, on Friday, Oct. 11, from 4 to 6 p.m. This meditative walk on Manitou's Sanctuary Trail will be led by Mike Mayer, and will include poems or other readings and chances to share about the experience.
The Manitou Project is at 300 Sunset Lake Rd. Directions: go 1.4 miles up Sunset Lake Road from Williamsville Village, sign on right. Or approximately 5 miles over the top on Sunset Lake Road from Route 9 in West Brattleboro. Meet at the parking lot at 4 p.m. To learn more, call 802-258-8598.
Cuba is topic of WWAC talk
BRATTLEBORO - On Friday, Oct. 11, at 7:30 p.m., the Windham World Affairs Council will present a talk by a prominent Cuban scholar and author embarking on a national speaking tour.
As part of her national tour, Dr. Jourdy James Heredia will visit the Centre Congregational Church Parlor, 193 Main St., to speak on “An Economy Under Siege: Building Socialism and Cuba Today.”
She will speak about the current economic situation in Cuba as well as about historical and contemporary impacts of the economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed by the U.S. on Cuba.
Heredia will also discuss advances the country has made in food security, understood in a comparative and contextualized lens; and ongoing challenges in the construction of Cuban socialism, given perennially hostile external circumstances.
Heredia received her Ph.D. in economic sciences from the University of Havana and her Ph.D. in economic sciences from the University of Santiago de Compostela in Spain.
This talk is sponsored by Witness for Peace New England and the Christopher Reynolds Foundation. Refreshments and conversation precede the talk at 7 p.m. To learn more, visit windhamworldaffairscouncil.org.
Design-a-Plate workshop at Brooks library
BRATTLEBORO - The 38th annual Design-a-Plate workshop takes place Saturday, Oct. 12, at Brooks Memorial Library from 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. lets participants make an 8-inch melamine plate, a 10-inch melamine plate, or 12-ounce melamine bowl.
Each item costs $6. Cash and checks made payable to Brooks Memorial Library are accepted. Plates and bowls will be ready for pickup in early December.
No registration is required. The workshop will be held in the Community Meeting Room on the top floor of the library.
The first floor and stairwell will be inaccessible due to cleaning and painting that day, so enter the building through the rear entrance via the Municipal Lot.
Dinner benefits Bahamian relief efforts
PUTNEY - Melissa Trainor and other Caribbean community members (Brenda Trainor, The Williams family, and Jamaican Jewelz Catering) will host a dinner on Oct. 14 to raise funds for Bahamian relief efforts from Hurricane Dorian, which devastated the islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama.
All donations will go to the National Emergency Management Agency - the Bahamian relief agency - toward rebuilding Abaco and Grand Bahama.
A buffet dinner of traditional Caribbean fare, a beverage, and a dessert, and a blessing, will begin at 5 p.m. at Next Stage, 15 Kimball Hill. Dinner at $20 per plate will be served until 7 p.m.
Event organizers hope to have food for 75 guests, so the dinner is first-come, first-served.
Cash or checks (payable to the National Emergency Management Agency or to Melissa Trainor) will be accepted.
Those interested in volunteering, or donating to the cause, may email Melissa at [email protected].
Go batty at Putney library
PUTNEY - Join Jerry Schneider at Putney Public Library, 55 Main St., on Tuesday, Oct. 15 at 11 a.m. (a day off from school in Windham Southeast) for a program that will bring you and your family into the exotic world of bats.
Schneider will introduce the concept of echolocation. What is it? Why do bats echolocate? Why can't we hear them? Are bats blind? Those questions and more will be answered.
Learn how vital bats are for maintaining a healthy environment - for instance, a little brown bat eats up to 1,000 mosquitoes in a single night. Via interactive dialogue and slides, participants will move beyond old stereotypes to an understanding of the importance of bats for farmers, fruit growers, the rain forest, and all of us.
Participants can create bat t-shirts after the program - shirts are available for $4, or bring your own. This event is presented in partnership with the Putney Conservation Commission.
School board to discuss resurfacing Natowich Field
DUMMERSTON - On Wednesday, Oct. 16, at 6 p.m., at Dummerston School, the Windham Southeast School District School Board is scheduled to discuss the resurfacing of Brattleboro Union High School's Natowich Field.
The focus of the field portion of the meeting will be on BUHS's proposal to resurface the field using artificial turf. All are welcome to attend and comment. Dummerston School is located just off of Route 5, at 52 School House Rd.
If you would like more information about this topic, the board's upcoming agenda, or would like to review previous meeting minutes, visit the WSESD School Board website at: sites.google.com/wsesu.org/wseuusdboard/home.
Free flu shots available
BRATTLEBORO - ClearChoiceMD Urgent Care, at 1154 Putney Rd., will be offering flu shots at no cost to patients throughout October.
“Medical experts say it's important to get your flu vaccination before winter begins so your body has enough time to develop the antibodies that protect against influenza,” the facility writes in a press release. “Receiving the flu shot not only helps you protect yourself but also prevents the flu from spreading.”
The “no-cost flu-shot month” allows all patients to get vaccinated, regardless of insurance coverage. Vaccinations are available for ages 4 years and older, while supplies last. No appointments are needed; just walk in from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Patients are asked to bring a photo ID and, for those with insurance, an insurance card. For those with health insurance, the urgent care center will bill the carrier and cover any remaining out-of-pocket cost. For those without insurance, ClearChoiceMD will cover the cost.