Santa Arrives at Okemo

Santa Claus visited Okemo Mountain Resort’s Jackson Gore Inn on Saturday, Dec. 22, Santa arrived in a parade of snow groomers as hundreds of people cheered and applauded.

Okemo “Cares and Shares” Food Drive Collected 1500+ Items

The spirit of the holidays prevailed during Okemo Mountain Resort’s annual “Cares and Shares” Food Drive Nov. 25. Skiers and snowboarders visiting the resort donated food, clothing, toys and money to help those in need throughout the Okemo Valley area.

Pictured above is Okemo Mountain Resort Vice President and General Manager Bruce Schmidt as he presents a check for money raised during the resort’s annual “Cares and Shares” day to Black River Good Neighbors President Marty Quinlan and Thrift Store Manager Audrey Bridge. (photo courtesy Okemo Mountain Resort)

Okemo ambassadors, in their telltale red ski parkas, accepted donations throughout the day. They collected more than 1,500 food items and $730 in cash donations. The Black River Good Neighbor Services will use the money to assist local families with heat and other necessities this winter and the organization’s Christmas Basket Program will help distribute the donated items to 125 families in time for the holidays. Additionally, Okemo donates 50 frozen turkeys to the Christmas Basket Program. Another 50 turkeys go to families in Springfield and the Chester/Andover area.

When skiers and riders presented at least three non-perishable food items, a new child's toy or a new clothing item, their generosity was rewarded with an entire day of skiing and riding at Okemo for just $25.

Black River Good Neighbors operates a thrift store and food pantry located on Main Street in Ludlow. More information may be obtained by calling (802) 228-3663.

TW3 Special Explores Background and Future of VT Ed Funding

TW3, "That Was The Week That Was", plans a special hour-long TV production on Thursday, Dec. 20, that will review the history and possible future of education funding in Vermont by two of the legislators who were there when much of this happened.

According to Ralph Pace, co-anchor of TW3 with Leo Graham, "This will be a special program to place the current state educational funding policies in some perspective.  It may not satisfy current tax-payers but it will certainly give them some idea as to how we reached this point." 

He noted that John Murphy of Ludlow, who represented that town in the state legislature before Act 60, and Michael Obuchowski, current chair of the House Ways and Means committee, and a member of the house during the Act 60/68 legislation, will provide both the historical back drop of education-based taxation legislation as well as what alternatives are currently on the legislative table in Montpelier.

The program will be broadcast live from LPC studios in Ludlow from 5 to 6 pm.  Pace said that the program will accept phone calls during the live broadcast, at 802-228-8807.  For those unable to view the live broadcast, the program will be rebroadcast throughout the remainder of the month.  Viewer questions and comments may also be sent to tw3@brreporter.com.

CCF Announces Grant Recipients

submitted by Cavendish Community Fund

The Cavendish Community Fund has announced that it will give three grants this year to local individuals and organizations for Cavendish programs and projects. CCF was recently established to administer modest monetary grants for programs that add significant educational or cultural value to the quality of life in Cavendish. The first round of grant applications was due by October 1st and a citizens’ selection committee then reviewed the applications and selected those qualified for grants.

The first recipient is the Black and White Nights Film Series, sponsored this year by the Gethsemane Episcopal Church in Proctorsville. The films have been and will be shown in the Cavendish Fletcher Community Library. The series was initiated to provide entertainment and to bolster a sense of community during the long winter months. The grant will enable the organizers to purchase needed equipment.

The second grant is going to the Cavendish Town Elementary School, which intends to present another in a series of Open Studios to the community free of charge. This event will consist of four local or area artists who will work with participants to complete four artistic projects related to Japan. Previous Open Studio events have involved local craftspeople presenting at the school in very successful programs.

The third and final grant recipient is the Cavendish Fletcher Community Library. The library is always short of space and the grant will enable it to convert storage space to better uses including presentation space for collections, computer access space and a small meeting area. The grant will enhance many educational and cultural aspects of the library in the coming years.

The CCF encourages others to submit grant requests at any time. The next deadline will be announced in early 2008 but interested parties need not wait for that date. For more information and application materials please call Peter LaBelle at 226-7250 or Barbara Dickey at 226-7187.

BRGN Sponsor Stuff-A-Bus

Thanks to the Ludlow Municipal Transit System, Black River Good Neighbors, a non-profit organization serving the needy of Mt Holly, Plymouth, Ludlow, and Cavendish, conducted a very successful food drive to bolster its food shelves and raise additional funds in anticipation of its annual Christmas basket program.  According to BRGN President Marty Quinlan, the bus "really was needed for the amount of food goods donated by local and visiting folks".  Pictured above are. left to right, Marty Quinlan, BRGN President, and Jean Eggleston, a longtime BRGN member, as they solicit contributions to the food dtrive at the entrance to Shaws.  In addition to the food and monetary donations received at Shaws, BRGN was presented with a $500 donation by Vermont Country Store.  BRGN will be assembling Christmas baskets for over 125 area families which will included a complete Holiday dinner for the entire family plus gifts for the children.