Water Quality Issues in Area Lakes Meeting July 21

Submitted by Marie Caduto, VT ANR

The Basin 10 Watershed Council is meeting for a presentation and discussion on lake and pond issues to be addressed in the water quality management plan for the Black and Ottauquechee watersheds.  The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources and its local partners are holding the meeting on July 21 at the Camp Plymouth State Park, from 6:30 to 8 pm.  Public input is essential to making the plan a meaningful guidance document for the Agency of Natural Resources.

Susan Warren, Section Chief of the Lakes & Ponds Management/Protection Section of the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, will present an overview of lake conditions and issues and participants are asked to offer concerns, recommendations and actions to be included in the State’s Water Quality Management Plan.  

Lakes in the Basin 10 region include: Amherst, Black, Colby, Cook, Dewey’s Mills, Echo, Jewell Brook Ponds, Kent, Knapp Brook, Lakota, Mecawee, Ninevah, Pinneo, Pogue, Rescue, Stoughton, Woodard and the Hartland and No. Springfield Reservoirs, plus many smaller ponds.

The Plan being developed by the Agency will address water quality in rivers, streams, lakes and ponds throughout the two watersheds.  Participants are helping develop strategies to improve local waters and water resources.  Partnering organizations include the Ottauquechee Natural Resources Conservation District, the Two-Rivers Ottauquechee and Southern Windsor County Planning Commissions, the Black River Action Team and the Ottauquechee River Group.  Drinks and snacks will be provided.

Driving directions: From Hwy 100 in Tyson: cross the concrete bridge, go 1 mi E uphill to crossroad and turn left, go 1 mi N on the east side of Echo Lake.

LPC Television Holds 4th Annual Awards Night

Submitted by LPC-TV 

2009 LPCTV Awards....On June 25th, LPCTV held its 4th Annual Awards night, where we recognize the most active producers and volunteers from the past year, as well as those who produced noteworthy programs.

Here are the recipients of the 2009 LPCTV Awards:

Volunteer of the Year: Bruce Perry, for continuous Black River sports coverage.  In making the award, Patrick Cody, LPC Director, noted, "Bruce worked tirelessly throughout the Black River sports seasons, covering both boys' & girls' athletics, both behind the camera and doing play-by-play. For the 2nd straight year, Bruce is awarded as the Volunteer of the Year. Without his work, LPCTV would not been able to provide the hundreds of hours of Black River sports programming on Channel 8."

Volunteer Appreciation: Janet Trimboli, for extensive production support in local school programming

Public Access Award: Sam Hensel-Hunter & Susan Whelihan, for "Should You Watch It?"

Best Educational Programming: "Chalk Board", produced by RWSU Superintendent Judy Pullinen

Best Government Programming: Ludlow Transfer Station & George Fairchild, for "Ludlow Recycles"

Best School Program: Mount Holly School 2nd Grade - Ms. Long's class, for "The Flying Wolf & the 3 Active Pigs"

Best Studio Program: the "Wonders of Astronomy" series, produced by "Astro" Al Boudreau

Best Documentary: "Calvin Coolidge: VT Born & Raised", produced by Newt Rose & Noah Schmidt. (The video won 1st place at Vermont History Day and was enetered into the National History Day competition in Washington, DC.)

Best Talk Show: "That Was the Week That Was", produced by Leo Graham & Ralph Pace, which has been in coninuous weekly production for 2 1/2 years. Tune in Thursdays at 3PM on Ch8 (repeats thereafter throughout the week).

Directorial Achievement:  DavidGuerrera, for his short 16mm film, The Bathtub.

Youth Achievement: Brandon Birdsall, for his support & involvement in the video production of the Ludlow After School program.

Rookie of the Year (Best Directorial Debut): Joe Burns, for his production of Fight Nerd TV, a close-up expose on Ultimate Fighting.

Elections were held for LPCTV Board of Directors at our Annual Meeting on June 25th. Here are the results:

Sharon Bixby and George Thomson were re-elected and Emma Coldwell of Mount Holly and Russ Hurlburt of Plymouth were newly elected. We would like to welcome these new members.

LPCTV Awards Night & Annual Meeting

Submitted by Patrick Cody

6 PM - 6:30PM: Meet & Greet / Reception. Refreshments provided

OPEN VOTING FOR BOARD OF DIRECTORS ELECTION

6:30 PM - 7PM: Annual Awards Ceremony - this is where we recognize this
past year's most active producers & volunteers.

7PM: Annual Meeting- this is where we announce the election results,
(hopefully) pass a budget, and give a brief synopsis on the past year's
achievements and the next year's goals.

Call 228-8808 if you'd like to come.  Or email manager@lpctv.org.

Sweet Music Readies Cabarets in July, August

Submitted by Sara Norcross

Sweet Music, a group of four local singers, will present two musical cabarets, on July 10th and August 2nd, to benefit the Feminine Tone women’s chorus humanitarian trip to Cuba next November.  Featured in the program will be a cappella arrangements of selections from the popular, jazz, blues, and musical theater repertoire from the 30’s to today.

The award-winning Weathersfield Inn in Perkinsville, VT, known for its casual and luxurious style of lodging and dining, will host the first benefit cabaret on Friday, July 10th at 5:30 P.M.  The unique and romantic Juniper Hill Inn of Windsor, VT, voted “innkeepers of the year” by Vermont Chamber of Commerce, will host the second cabaret at  2:00 P.M. on Sunday, August 2nd.

Led by Maricel Lucero, the Sweet Music women have a long history of joyfully harmonizing together. The quartet, all members of the  Feminine Tone women’s chorus, is composed of Linda Burns, Kathy Duhamel, Maricel Lucero, and Sara Norcross.  The group first came together in 2003 to provide back up vocals for Lucero’s Cuban music CD, “Canciones de mi Tierra.” Later on, the quartet expanded their repertoire to include music from a variety of genres.  The group, pictured above, includes, from left to right, Linda Burns,  Maricel Lucero, Sara Norcross, and Kathy Duhamel.

The musical cabaret will showcase well loved songs such as Sentimental Journey, One Fine Day, Java Jive, and The Boy from New York City.  A special guest appearance by the Baby Sweets, the younger members of the women’s chorus, will join the quartet in several of the numbers and will delight us with their energetic song and dance rendition of Lollipop.

The cost to attend each benefit cabaret is $25.00 per person or $40.00 per couple. Sweet Music and the hosting venues will offer complimentary beverages and delicious hors d'oeuvres.  A cash bar will also be available.  For more information and to make reservations, please call Sara Norcross at (802) 484-5097 or Christine Speidel at (802) 885-1126.  Seating is limited so please make your reservation early.

As a fundraising side attraction, the musical cabaret will offer a raffle with a chance to win two Southwest Airline roundtrip tickets to anywhere in the Southwest system. We will also have a silent auction with delightful prizes donated by area businesses.

Proceeds from these cabarets will benefit the Feminine Tone’s humanitarian/cultural trip to Santiago de Cuba next November.  As in three previous trips to Cuba, the chorus will take humanitarian aid in the form of clothing, medical, and school supplies.

If interested in making a monetary donation to the Feminine Tone chorus’s Cuba project, please call Stephanie Rowe at (802) 885-3201.

Crown Point Board Of Realtors Funding Raising Success

Submitted by Suzanne Garvey

On May 30th the members of the surrounding communities turned out to support the  CPBR 2nd Annual Tag Sale.  This year’s event was held in support of Mike Schwarz of Chester who suffered a brain injury while performing in a snow board competition late last winter.  While Mike was working hard to regain mobility and strength with vigorous therapies, the surrounding communities stepped up to lend a hand and show support.

Thank you to everyone who helped make this year’s sale another  success raising $1,500.00 through the donations and sales of numerous items such as furniture, windsurfers, toys, appliances, household items and lots more.    An event like this requires lots of help from the collecting of items, pricing, sorting and delivery of the large items.  Melissa Howe of McEnaney & Company and Suzanne Garvey of Vermont Properties and Development, Co-Chair this event and are extremely grateful for the support of fellow realtors as well as the communities at large.  Pictured above at the event are, from left to right, Joyce Ellison of Ellison Properties, Cathy Lee of McEnaney & company, Suzanne Garvey of Vermont Properties and Development, and Melissa Howe of McEnaney & Company.

The funds raised will be given to the Schwartz family as a gesture of our collective caring, support and high hopes for a full recovery for Mike. 

TW3, Shand Review Legislature Accomplishments

Following the completion of the special session of the Vermont Legislature that over-rode Governor Douglas' veto of the budget, Representative Ernie Shand (D-Cavendish, Weathersfield) will be the guest of the weekly news program, That Was The Week That Was (TW3), on LPC-TV, Channel 8, Thursday, June 4.

According to cohost Ralph Pace, the bulk of the program, broadcast live at 3 pm, will be a review of the legislative session and Shand's assessment of its accomplishments.  Viewers may call in questions between 3 and 3:25 pm on Thursday; TW3's phone number at LPC-TV is 228-8807.

Red Cross Blood Drive Monday, June 8

The Red Cross will conduct a blood donation drive on Monday, June 8 from 12:30 to 5:30 PM at the Baptist Church in Ludlow.  For information call 800-843-3500 ext. 3265.

AREA POSTAL WORKERS HELP BRGN FOOD SHELF

Submitted by Christine Fuller

The May 9th  Food Drive by the Ludlow, Cavendish and Proctorsville Postal Workers is a stunning example of how much difference a few people can make.

“Because of the postal workers organized efforts our food shelves are once again full” said Audrey Bridge, Executive Director of the BRGNS Thrift Shop and Food Shelf.  The postal workers collected over 1,000 lbs of non perishable food.  “It had to be a tremendous amount of additional work and lots of heavy lifting for them.  Their efforts are so greatly appreciated” added Jim Fuller, President of the BRGNS Board of Directors.

“Ludlow Postal employees, Kelly Bragg, Diana Ladden, Dave Mordecai, Greg Martin, Irma Conant, Patty Brown-Fredette and Dawn Howlett, Proctorsville Postal employees Pam Linberg, Ginger Wilk, Claude Melanson, Wendy Sheldon and Cavendish Postal Empolyee, Amy Skalecki all have our greatest thanks”  said Audrey.

In addition BRGNS says thank you to the many area residents that were so generous in their giving.  Their kindness and community spirit helped make this a wonderful success.

The Thrift Shop and Food Shelf is located at 105 Main Street in Ludlow and is open Monday through Saturday.  Any questions can be directed to Audrey at 802-228-3663.

Black River Good Neighbor Services has served the communities of Cavendish, Ludlow, Mt. Holly, Plymouth and Proctorsville for over 22 years.

BR Good Neighbors Holds Mammoth Rummage Sale, May 15-17

Submitted by Christine Fuller

May 15, 16 & 17
Friday, Saturday & Sunday

10:00 AM to 4:00 PM

Fletcher Farm
Route 103 South, Ludlow

• Great Bargains on new and nearly new merchandise. 

• Come and do your spring & summer shopping for
o men’s, women’s, children’s & infant’s clothing.
o bedding
o home decorations
o toys & games
o cookware
o tableware
o home baked items
o books
o furniture

It’s a great way to save a tremendous amount of money
and help neighbors in need at the same time.

All Donations Go for Food, Heat, Utilities & Rent Assistance for Neighbors in Need

Please call if you would like to contribute goods or volunteer.

Black River Good Neighbor Services, Inc.
105 Main Street
Ludlow, VT
802-228-3663  (802-ACT-FOOD)

Nitka's Notes from the State House

By Senator Alice Nitka, Windsor County, May 1, 2009

Some short missives

May 1@12:34pm    Bills are moving very fast as we try to adjourn next week. Amendments are being put on bills more frequently than usual and some amendments are whole bills. Also Conference Committees are meeting in any and all empty spaces in the building and there still aren’t enough places so some people are meeting on the front steps. That location and the lawn are presently mobbed with people as there is a huge demonstration taking place re health care. Also there are about 75 nurses here, all wearing red shirts as they try to drum up support for a nurses’ bill that won’t be “taken up” until next years session based on information I received an hour ago. Senator Bernie Sanders is speaking on the front steps as well regarding health care. I’m on a quick lunch break and trying to find an e-mail that I am expecting.

May 1@ 4:10 pm   I just attended a briefing held in the largest gathering room in the building, other than the well of the House. This meeting was attended by Democrats, Republicans, Progressives and I did see one of the 2 Independents who are members there. The Budget Conference Committees negotiators, the Speaker of the House and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate were the featured speakers. The briefing was to present further budget cuts that need to be made before we adjourn. In addition to the cuts that have already been made, a 51 million dollar problem is still in the process of being solved. Already about 24 million in new revenues, generally taxes, have been proposed and with the proposed cuts presented today of approximately 17 million there remains a 22 million gap. This includes the roughly 12 million,  2010 carry forward that was downgraded last week by the economists.

Some of the announced cuts today include: Vt Housing Conservation Board, 3 mil; reduction of open hours at rest areas, $500,000, this is addition to the ones already proposed for total closure; Payment in lieu of taxes to towns, 1 mil;  Liquor Control, $500,000;  Nursing Homes, $545,760, translates to 1. 8 mil;  Hospital reimbursements, $1,576,640, translates to 5.2 mil and current use program (non agriculture) limit set at $3000 per acre. A week ago, the amount for current use was proposed at $4000 value per acre and of course many were upset about that amount. The stimulus money is helping in many areas such as transportation however there still are serious budget issues.

Because bills are moving very quickly these days and rules are being suspended regularly it is difficult to follow bills on the web site but still try it at www.leg.state.vt.us.  Feel free to contact me at home, 228-8432, or at the State House, 1-800-322-5616, or at anitka@leg.state.vt.us  or  PO Box 136, Ludlow, VT 05149.