CCCA BARN PRESERVATION COMMITTEE HOLDS WORKSHOP

submitted by CCCA 

The Barn Preservation Committee of the Cavendish Community and Conservation Association will sponsor an educational session on Sunday, May 18, 2008 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.   Local builder and barn owner, Bruce McEnaney will demonstrate how to determine the age of a barn using old barn building materials to illustrate his methods.

The workshop will be held at the Cavendish Inn on Route 131 between Cavendish and Proctorsville villages.  There is no charge to attend, although donations are welcome.

Barn owners, contractors, builders and any other persons with an interest in reconstruction or restoration of old agricultural structures are invited to attend.  This is the first in a series of practical, hands-on workshops that are planned by the Barn Preservation Committee.  The goal is to provide information and a link to resources for barn owners and contractors to help save as many old barns in Cavendish as possible.    Inviting local contractors and builders as well as barn owners will bring together particular expertise and need.

Call Peter LaBelle at (802) 226-7250or Barbara Dickey at (802) 226-7187for more information.

Fletcher Memorial Library Announces May Program

Book Discussion

The Friends of the Library continues to host book discussions in May and the discussion group is revisiting the classic Look Homeward Angel by Thomas Wolfe.  Wolfe is a legendary author on par with William Faulkner and Flannery O'Connor. Thomas Wolfe published Look Homeward Angel, his first novel, about a young man's burning desire to leave his small town and tumultuous family in search of a better life, in 1929. It gave the world proof of his genius and launched a powerful legacy.

Copies of the book are available to borrow at the Library.  The group will meet May 22 in the Community Room of Fletcher Memorial Library at 7 pm.  Please enter from the rear parking lot of the library. New people are always welcome to come and enjoy a fun, stimulating evening with really nice people.   All of our programs are free and accessible to people with disabilities.

Winter Program

The Friends of the Library are very excited about the May Third Thursday Program; a special visit from Sarwar Kashmeri author of America and Europe after /11 and Iraq:  The Great Divide.  Kashmeri earned a BS in Aerospace Engineering and an MS in Engineering, both from St. Louis University, where he taught on the faculty for six years.  Kashmeri advises corporations in the areas if strategic communications and marketing strategy. Kashmeri is host of “Global Currents” the Foreign Policy Association’s bi-weekly pod cast series, and NH-2008 a program of the Eagle Times and is a series of conversations and pod casts with Democratic and Republican candidates as they compete for their party’s nomination as President of the United States.

 

America and Europe after /11 and Iraq:  The Great Divide was published in 2006 and is based on his experience as a transatlantic businessman, and on private conversations with eminent leaders including former George H. W. Bush, former British prime-minister, John Major, former Secretary of State James A. Baker, III, Senator Chuck Hagel and Generals Wesley Clark and Brent Scowcroft. 

In an editorial review by Ambassador John Richardson, Chairman EU Maritime Policy Task Force from the Forum Policy Association Annual Review of Books 2007, Richardson says “Sarwar Kashmeri wears his erudition lightly.  This slim volume punches well above its weight.  Sari Kashmeri is steeped in the history of the last half-century of both European Union and transatlantic affairs, has reflected deeply on both, and has come up with an analysis that more resembles the elegant use of the stiletto than the crude swings of a pugilist.”

Please join the Friends May 15^th at 7:00 pm in the Community Room of Fletcher Memorial Library.  Please use the rear entrance.  All of our programs are free to the public and handicapped accessible.

BRAT Leads Wetlands Discovery Program

submitted by Black River Action Team

As the Saturday-morning sun poked over the tree-tops at the Eleanor Ellis Springweather Nature Area in Weathersfield, nearly three dozen Girl Scouts gathered to discover what lives in wetlands.  In celebration of National Environmental Education Week, the Black River Action Team (BRAT) organized a series of activities to help the girls earn a special "Wetland Discovery" badge.  Springweather straddles town lines between Weathersfield and Springfield, and is open year-round to responsible recreational use.

The day's program was part of the BRAT's WaterWorx program, an ongoing series of educational workshops offered to the residents of the Black River basin.  Funding for the event was provided by the New England Grassroots Environmental Fund and by generous private donations from members of the community-at-large.

Jan Lambert, a veteran BRAT and experienced naturalist, put her extensive knowledge of amphibians to work as the girls explored buckets and jars of wetland critters...including a tadpole, a leech, two salamanders, a crayfish, wood frog eggs, and even a hard-to-catch tiny spring peeper frog.  Squeals of delight were heard from the Scouts as they scooped for lightning-fast water bugs in a large pan of pond water.

Thanks to the gracious loan of a table-top watershed model by the Grafton Nature Museum, Jayne Smith captured the girls' attention with the hands-on display.  Using a spray bottle and "pollution" (made of cocoa powder), Jayne showed how easily storms cam wash things like fertilizer and oil from roads into streams and rivers.  Describing her experiences as a wetlands delineator (someone who surveys and records the boundaries of wetland areas), Jayne didn't just talk -- she dressed a young volunteer in "field gear" to illustrate what it's like on the job.

Environmental educator and long-time BRAT Marita Johnson led a nature journaling hike on one of the many trails at Springweather.  These trails are maintained by the Mount Ascutney Audubon Society; one of their members, Eleanor Ellis, was the driving force behind the establishment of Springweather as a nature area.  Ellis worked tirelessly with the Army Corps of Engineers throughout the 1970s to have the area set aside as a nature preserve.  The ten-minute hike from the trailhead landed the group at the Eleanor Ellis Memorial, a beautiful spot with a breathtaking view of the Nature Area below.  Leaders and Scouts alike enjoyed the quiet excursion into nature, finding frogs and holding hands in the Girl Scout "Friendship Squeeze."  The girls spent time here reflecting on Ellis' achievements and making observations of what they saw, heard and smelled around them.  The sketches and notes and poetry went home with each girl, to be enriched by their memories of the day.   

The Daisies, directed by Mo Stettner, even put on an impromptu wetland skit, showing how the food web works; some played heron and other birds, while the rest played tadpoles, frogs and small fish.  Giggles and applause abounded!

Many thanks to those who helped make this event a success: invaluable volunteers Jan Lambert, Jayne Smith and Marita Johnson; the New England Grassroots Environmental Fund; Tom Snow and the Army Corps of Engineers; Betsy Owen for her last-minute donation of pond critters; the Grafton Nature Museum for the EnviroScape watershed model; The Mount Ascutney Audubon Society; Junior Juliette Girl Scout Moira Stettner for being a "pack mule" and "gopher"; and to all the leaders, parents and girls of the following Girl Scout troops: Junior Troop 822 of Springfield, Daisy Troop 732 of Springfield, Brownie/Junior Troop 454 of South Londonderry, Brownie Troop 855 of Chester and Junior Troop 570 of Springfield.

The BRAT, founded in 2000 by director Kelly Stettner, offers hands-on workshops and projects throughout the year for communities in the Black River basin.  For more information about this or any other program, please contact Kelly at blackrivercleanup@yahoo.com or          (802) 885-1533       , or log onto www.blackriveractionteam.org.  To learn about EE Week, log onto www.eeweek.org.  The Grafton Nature Museum can be reached at          (802) 843-2111       or www.nature-museum.org.  Find out more about Springweather and the Mount Ascutney Audubon Society at www.sover.net/~mwalsh/.  The ACE's North Springfield Lake project can be reached by logging onto www.nae.usace.army.mil/recreati/nsl/nslhome.htm or by calling          (802) 886-2775       .

CCCA Sponsors Photo Contest

submitted by CCCA

Beginning May 5^th and continuing through June 2^nd, the Cavendish Community and Conservation Association will accept entries in its first annual Cavendish Calendar Photo Contest, which will celebrate the “Beauty of Cavendish!”

Entries will be judged twice.  First, a panel of judges will select prize winners from three categories of entrants: children 5 to 12 years old, children 13 to 18 years old, and everyone over 18.  Then all entrants will be eligible for the second round of judging when Cavendish residents vote on which photographs get published in the 2009 CCCA calendar.

The people of Cavendish will have an opportunity to view the submissions and vote for their favorites during an exhibition at the Cavendish Town Elementary School.  The exhibition will be open to CTES students, parents and teachers on June 9^th and 10^th, and open to the public on June 11^th to 14^th.  Winners will be announced on June 16th.

All Cavendish and Proctorsville citizens and residents, both full-time and part-time, are eligible to enter.  But any individual may enter only one picture and it must be accompanied by an entry form. All photographs must highlight the beauty of Cavendish landscapes.  A photo may also include historic aspects and sites, animals or people.  Entry forms and instructions can be obtained at the Cavendish Town Offices and at Crow’s Bakery in Proctorsville.  Entries may be mailed or delivered to the Cavendish Town Office, High Street, Cavendish, VT 05142.  For further information, call Robin Timko at 802-226-7736.

Okemo Announces Record Winter Season

from Okemo Mountain Resort

With the 2007/2008 ski and snowboard season officially concluded, Okemo Mountain Resort is reporting its best season on record. Skier visits were ahead of last winter by nearly 25 percent, and six percent ahead of 2002/2003 – the best season on record prior to the one that just ended April 20.

“Although early snowfall motivated skiers and riders at the start of the season and bolstered their enthusiasm throughout the winter,” says Okemo Vice President of Marketing Scott Clarkson, “much of this year’s success can be attributed to season pass sales. Okemo saw a 30 percent increase in season pass sales this year.” 

Okemo began its record-breaking fifty-second season on Nov. 16, 2007 and ended 157 days later. The resort also reported its busiest single day on record Feb. 17, the Sunday of Presidents’ Day Weekend.  Skier visits were up three percent for the day, compared to the previous best day in Feb. 2007.

A skier visit is defined as one person participating in the sport of skiing or snowboarding for all or part of a day. Every type of lift ticket sale is factored into a resort’s total skier visits: adult, junior, senior, group, multi-day, season pass, etc.

'Ellen's Journey' Presented By BR Students at BRAM

Pictured above are members of the eighth grade at Black River Middle School, Ludlow as they rehearse for the play “Ellen’s Journey”. “Ellen’s Journey” will be performed on May 2 and 3, at 7 pm at the Black River Academy Museum, 14 High Street, Ludlow.

“Ellen’s Journey” is a play based on the book “Pieced from Ellen’s Quilt” by Linda Otto Lipsett, which tells the true story of Ellen Spaulding Reed of Ludlow, VT, who moves West with her husband in the late 1800s. The play features members of the Black River Middle School under the direction of Stephanie Rowe of Springfield, Vermont. The students have worked hard at learning their lines and the customs of people in 1884 in order to portray Ellen and her family correctly. This is a story of love and hardship, of a girl leaving her family and facing hard times in the West. It is a story that will touch your heartstrings.

Students pictured above rehearsing for the play are, from left to Right, Jesse Gillette as Pastor; Noah Schmidt as Thomas Bagley; Newton Rose as J. Willard Reed; Alyssa Collins as Ellen Spaulding; Lucy Gagner as Leonora Spaulding Bagley; Rachel Karner as Ellen Bagley; Rachel Brozza as Lydia Haven. Missing when this photo was taken were: Eva Daily as Arterista Spaulding and Hunter Hupp as Stedman Spaulding.

Seating is limited for both nights, so please reserve your tickets early. Admission is $8/person, $20/family (Mom, Dad and children), $5/students and seniors. Tickets for the play are available from the Black River Academy Museum,          802-228-5050       or Black River High School office,          802-228-4721       .

Signs of Spring - at last!

For awhile it looked like we might never see those marvelous signs of Spring that seemed to have been missing even with the technical advent of the season.

But, miracle or miracles, we finally are seeing the crocus in blossom, the appearance of daffodil stems, and a temperature that is 45 degrees above freezing.

Ludlow Readies Green-Up Day May 3

Spring has finally sprung, which means it’s time grab your comfortable shoes, work gloves and sense of community spirit and join the residents and volunteers in the Town & Village of Ludlow for the Annual Green Up Vermont Day scheduled on Saturday, May 3, 2008.

The Town of Ludlow is coordinating the community Green Up beautification effort with a schedule of events for participants of all ages on Saturday, May 3, 2008.  Residents, second homeowners, school and civic groups and town employees will come together to spruce up the Ludlow region.  When the day is done, all are treated to a BBQ for a job well done, along with a Green Up T-Shirt and goodies for the children.

If you would like to volunteer, here’s a schedule of events for the day:

Saturday, May 3rd – Green Up Schedule:

9:30 am – Meet for complimentary coffee and donuts at the West Hill Recreation Center.  Green Up instructions will be given to participants.
10:00 am – Groups will disperse to their designated clean up areas along designated routes throughout the Town & Village of Ludlow.
1:00 pm – Green Up Day BBQ at the West Hill Recreation Center to reward all of the volunteers for a job well done.

Green Up Vermont was first started in 1970 by Governor Deane C. Davis.  Vermont was the very first state to designate one day a year to clean up the entire state.  This unique 36-year tradition continues with thousands of volunteers taking care of Vermont and Ludlow is pleased to participate each year. 

For more information on Green Up Vermont and Ludlow’s volunteer effort, please contact the Ludlow Municipal Office at 228-2841.

CCCA Holds Barn Preservation Workshop

The Barn Preservation Committee of the Cavendish Community and Conservation Association will sponsor an educational session on Sunday, May 18, 2008 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.   Local builder and barn owner, Bruce McEnaney will demonstrate how to determine the age of a barn using old barn building materials to illustrate his methods.  The workshop will be held at the Cavendish Inn on Route 131 between Cavendish and Proctorsville villages.  There is no charge to attend, although donations are welcome.

Barn owners, contractors, builders and any other persons with an interest in reconstruction or restoration of old agricultural structures are invited to attend.  This is the first in a series of practical, hands-on workshops that are planned by the Barn Preservation Committee.  The goal is to provide information and a link to resources for barn owners and contractors to help save as many old barns in Cavendish as possible.    Inviting local contractors and builders as well as barn owners will bring together particular expertise and need.

Please call Peter LaBelle at (802) 226-7250 or Barbara Dickey at (802) 226-7187 for more information.

Freelance Family Singers May 3 & 4

Join the Freelance Family Singers for their exciting 30th Anniversary Spring Concerts.  On Saturday May 3rd at 7:00 P.M. and on Sunday May 4th at 3:00 P.M., the chorus, directed by Ellen Satterthwaite, will perform at Woodstock's First Congregational Church, Elm Street.  Past musical favorites such as the choreographed "Rhythm of Life" will be featured along with new offerings such as the American spiritual, "Peace Like a River."  Guest appearances will be made by past Freelance members as well as by the University Chorus of the Upper Valley.  The concerts are free.  Donations of non-perishable food items for the community food shelf are suggested.