Views of Dummerston - 2017#4 - Fall

Art by Gary Blomgren

Volume 27 Issue 4

Fall ~ 2017

Free • Since 1990

West Dummerston Fire Department Moves into New Station Richard Cogliano We’re in! After several years of planning and six months of construction, we are finally moved in to the new station in Dummerston Center. We are very happy with the new building and it is just what we needed. At the time of this writing we do not have a date for our open house, so please watch our Facebook page and website for details.

In other exciting news, we were awarded two Assistance to Firefighters Grants in August that total over $116,000! This money will allow us to replace our aging brush truck, purchase three thermal imaging cameras, and conduct training on both. We are very fortunate to receive these grants. To date we have received nearly $300,000 in grant funds through the Assistance to Firefighters Grants to replace gear, air packs, and other equipment.

Finally, as winter nears, please remember to

photo by Roger Turner

Assistant Fire Chief

get your chimneys and furnaces cleaned. I’m of these fires in town every year. sure the last thing on your mind is getting them Some signs that you may have a chimney cleaned professionally, however dirty chimneys fire include: cause fires that can damage chimneys, homes, • loud cracking and popping noise or even injure and kill people. We have several • a lot of dense smoke • walls hot to the touch • fire coming out of the top of the chimney You may see some or all of these signs if you have a chimney fire. If you do, please call 911 immediately. If there is smoke or fire in your house, evacuate the building and call 911 from a neighbor’s house or cell phone.

Also, clean snow away from your vent pipes.

Snow up against a wall may block furnace vents which can cause carbon monoxide to build up in your home. Carbon monoxide is odorless, colorless, and lethal. Please make sure that your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are in good working order before the winter heating season begins. We have written many times about the proper types of detectors to get and where to put them in your house. They are extremely important to have and can save your life.

The little things like cleaning a furnace or chimney, installing smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, and ensuring snow is away from vent pipes can have the biggest impact on your safety.

Steve and John Deere hat at Town Meeting, 2017

By Roger Turner I thought I should get to the church by 10:30 for the 11 a.m. service. I expected there might be a pretty good crowd. But I couldn’t have imagined the crowd I encountered. Already the line was past the row of six John Deere tractors parked side by side south of the church. As I inched forward, people kept arriving, and by the time I got to the church door, the line extended back to the entrance to the town office parking lot. How will all these people get into the church, I asked myself.

Steve clearly touched many lives, from all walks of life. There were people dressed in Carharts and there were people dressed in contiuned on page 12

photo by Roger Turner

Glabach’s Sudden Death Leaves Void in Community, on Selectboard

2 • Fall, 2017 • Views of Dummerston The Views of Dummerston is a quarterly publication of The Dummerston Community Center, and the citizens of Dummerston. The first issue was published in 1990 thanks to the initiative and drive of Mary Lou McBean. Original masthead art created by Gary Blomgren.

The steering committee for the Views includes: Roger Turner, Michelle Cherrier, Fred Lee, Bob Sherwood, Sara Ryan, Linda Rood, and Lee Ives Tice.

Subscriptions: The Views is mailed free of charge to all Dummerston residents who are registered voters. If you are not a registered voter in the town of Dummerston, you may subscribe to the Views by sending a check in the amount of $5, made out to the Views of Dummerston, with your name and mailing address, to: Lee Ives Tice, 230 Schoolhouse Road, East Dummerston, VT 05346.

SUBMISSIONS: Articles: Please email to: views@dummerston.com.

Please save as either “Word Document” (Microsoft Word), or as “Text Only”, using Times New Roman font, size 12, in singlespaced lines, with no “all caps” or paragraph formatting. We also accept typewritten submissions sent to Michelle Cherrier, 72 Miller Road, East Dummerston, VT 05346.

Calendar: Email to Michelle Cherrier at views@dummerston.com, or by note to Michelle at 72 Miller Rd., E. Dummerston 05346 NEXT ISSUE: Submissions due: Janurary 9, 2018 Mailing: February 22, 2018 Ad Rates: All rates start in January and run for a term of four issues; the Views is published quarterly.

A large or small box ad may be placed for one issue only at an adjusted rate. Checks are to be made payable to the Views of Dummerston.

Small Box Ad $55 Large Box Ad $85 Sponsor $25 To place an ad or for more information please contact: Sara Ryan 387-0110

Digital Views Available To receive the Views in digital format only, send an email with your name and mailing address to: ViewsOnline@dummerston.com

Dummerston Selectboard Meetings Recorded and televised by BCTV and online at www.brattleborotv.org. (Select “Watch”, select “Watch On Demand”, select “Playlist”, scroll to “Dummerston”, select meeting.)

Town Clerk’s Desk by Laurie Frechette

Town Office Petitions Available in December It’s hard to believe that the summer has passed and fall is upon us (with winter soon to follow). By the time you read this, we will have voted on the proposed Act 46 school merger.

All town offices will be closed on the following dates: November 10th, 23rd and 24; December 25th and January 1st. We will be open on Wednesday, November 22nd from 9 a.m.–3 p.m.

Petitions to run for town offices will be available in December. Offices up for election/

re-election are: moderator, clerk, treasurer, selectboard (two year term), selectboard (three year term), auditor (two year term), auditor (three year term), lister, library trustee (four year term), library trustee (five year term), town agent, and grand juror. The school board options will be determined after the Act 46 vote.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns about town activities, please feel free to call the office at 257-1496 or email me at townclerk@dummerston.org.

Town Seeks Candidates for Auditor and Lister The selectboard seeks a person interested in filling a vacant auditor’s position (one of three auditors) through town meeting 2018, at which time an auditor will be elected for a three year term. This interim opening is a good opportunity to determine if you’re interested in running for the three year term in March. For more informa-

tion, please contact the town clerk.

If interested in the position of lister, please drop by the town office during business hours to get a tour of the lister’s office, and to get information about the job and its responsibilities, or email your interest or questions to Charlotte Neer Annis at treasurer@dummerston.org.

Views Seeks Feedback From You If you’re a regular or irregular reader of the Views, we’d like to know what you think about the Views, and if you have any suggestions for us.

If you’ve picked up a copy of the Views at Walker Farm or the Vermont Welcome Cen-

ter, we’d love to hear your impressions of our town, and of the Views. We’d also appreciate it if you mention in your feedback where you picked up the Views and why..

Giving feedback is simple! Just send us an email at viewsfeedback@dummerston.com.

Top 10 Reasons to Get a Digital Views Subscription!

1 0 If enough sign up, we’ll save a few trees.

9 Mailbags won’t be so heavy.

8 You can flip through the pages very easily, not like the version on Dummerston.com.

7 You could be first in your neighborhood to get a digital subscription.

6 You have access to the Views anywhere!

5 You’ll get the digital Views before you would have gotten the printed Views.

4 Lower printing and postage expenses could mean lower advertising and sponsor rates.

3 Less work for Views folders and mailers (they’ll love you)!

2 Simple signup—shoot an email to Views OnLine@dummerston.com with your name and mailing address (street or PO), And #1!—It’s free!

Views Really Appreciates Its Wonderful Volunteers

Every issue of the Views of Dummerston is made possible through the effort of many individuals in our community. From start to finish, a wonderful group of volunteers plan, organize, write, assemble, proof, and mail each issue.

Views volunteers are a lively and fun group, and there are many ways to get involved, including writing an article, volunteering to proofread, or showing up to fold and prepare the issues for mailing. Please contact us at viewsofdummerston@gmail.com if you’d like to help out!

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of 2017’s “folders”, the volunteers who graciously helped prepare the issues for mailing: Sarah Bedichek, Sarah Bergh, Phil (Cherrier) Goepp, Barbara Clark, Janice Duke,

Jim Greenwood, Jenn Hunt, Linda Ives, Jean Momaney, Paul and Jody Normandeau, Charlie and Bess Richardson, Linda Rood, Sara and Kevin Ryan, Bob Sherwood, Mark and Lee Tice, Roger Turner, Gail and Lou Sorenson, and Muriel and Bob Taylor.

We’d also like to extend a special thank you to Ann Davis who manages our finances, Laurie Frechette and Pam McFadden who manage our mailing list, Sara and Kevin Ryan who make each issue available online, and Lee Ives Tice who manages our mailing melee. Finally, we would like to express our appreciation to all the authors who take the time to write the articles that keep us informed on all that is happening in our great town.

Views of Dummerston • fall, 2017 • 3

town government Selectboard

Board Approves Quarry Wagon Acquisition

By Steve Glabach One of the more interesting requests this summer came from the trustees of the Community Center. They had received a donation of an antique wagon used to carry granite from the Dummerston granite quarry. They wanted to pursue getting this wagon and building a shelter for it at the Community Center. The selectboard unanimously approved Dummerston accepting this donation. The Community Center is going to raise the funds to repair the wagon and to build the shelter. We encourage the residents to donate to help with the preservation of this historic treasure. Tax exempt donations can be made to the Community Center and dropped off at the town office; put “wagon” on the memo line.

Rain was again a major issue for Dummerston roads. The storm on June 19th produced 2 ½–5” of rain in an afternoon. This caused plugged culverts, washed-out ditches and rough travel on

Town Treasurer

Tax Payment Due February 20th

By Charlotte Neer Annis The second tax payment is due February 20, 2018 by 5 p.m. There is still time to have direct debit set up if you would like. With direct debit, the tax payment is withdrawn from your account on the tax due date, not before. Please call the office or email the treasurer at treasurer@dummerston.org if you would like more information.

Due to increasing family obligations, I have decided not to run for another term as lister this coming March. I have really enjoyed my six years as a lister, have learned a great deal about our town and have loved meeting many of you here in the office and out doing site visits. The listers are in the office on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to noon. If you are interested in running or would like some more information as to what the job entails, please drop by any time to get the grand tour of the lister’s office, the job, and its responsibilities.

The town is still short one auditor. This is a very important position to fill, especially with the town report coming up. An applicant would be appointed by the selectboard to fill the vacant seat until the March elections. Please call the office for more information.

many roads. It caused around $30,000 in damages for which road foreman Lee Chamberlin secured a grant for the town of $27,000 from the state to offset the cost of repairs.

Act 64 requires towns to address the runoff of highway ditches into streams. Lee applied for a Pilot Aid Grant and received $14,000 to stone line ditches on Bunker Road, Greenhoe Road, Spaulding Hill Road, and Park Laughton Road. The stone-lined ditches slow down the water flow rates and keeps silt and runoff from the roads entering the streams. The road crew also did a stone-lined ditch project on Stickney Brook Road on the long steep hill. That project was not part of the grant work.

Some of the other actions we took were: renewed the contract with Rescue for $42,182, studied and approved the town’s Hazard Mitigation Plan, sold our gravel stacking conveyor

for $1,600, ordered a new one-ton dump truck, contracted to have 8/10 of mile of Upper Dummerston Road ground down and repaved by Springfield Paving, and discussed recycling and the Solid Waste Districts programs. Each board member has also attended outside meetings, researched different agenda items, and worked on different projects within their area of expertise.

By the time you are reading this, we will be well into our budget work for fiscal year 18/19.

We have to peer into the future eighteen months to be sure we allocate and budget wisely for the future year of July 2018 through June 2019.

Thank you to everyone who serves on the various town committees and boards. Our meetings are held every other Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. If you can’t attend, you can watch them a few days later on BCTV.

Dummerston Planning Commission

Public Has Opportunity to Participate in Process of Drafting Town Plan

By Deb Forrett As summer winds down and the crisp colors of fall begin to emerge, the planning commission is working to wrap up the revisions to the Dummerston Town Plan. A rather quiet public forum was held on August 29th to gather public feedback on the proposed changes. With the public comment from the forum and written comments submitted to the commission, we feel confident that we can finalize the draft and hold a formal public hearing later this fall. If no significant changes need to be made after that public hearing, the planning commission can pass the Town Pan on to the selectboard. The selectboard will then have their own process of consideration and another public hearing before voting to adopt the plan. This gives residents plenty of opportunity to participate in the process and give much-needed input.

In addition to finalizing amendments to the Town Plan, the planning commission continues to work on the Dummerston Zoning Bylaws.

There has been considerable work on short-term rentals and lots of valuable public participation.

Interestingly the State of Vermont legislature is also considering proposed statute and wrestling with how best to move forward with the

regulation of short-term rentals. The planning commission will be keeping an eye on their process and language and hopefully creating a smart bylaw for our own zoning.

As always, resident input and participation is the key to creating a meaningful Town Plan and Zoning Bylaws. These guiding documents are the foundation for a shared vision of our community and the planning commission welcomes and appreciates your opinions and suggestions.

Current commissioners are Joe Little, Bev Tier, Deb Forrett, Sam Farwell, Maria Glabach, Annamarie Pluhar, Brian Richardson, Sarah Bergh, and Nicole Talbot. We meet the first Tuesday of the month at the town office at 6:30 p.m. (unless we have a scheduling conflict) and minutes and agendas are posted on the town website or available at the town office.

Sponsors Cliff Adler & Lynn Levine Paul & Lou Nelsen Eleanora Patterson & Gordon Faison Gordon & Linda Evans Heather & Gene Rostov Akara Draper & Linnie Jones

4 • Fall, 2017 • Views of Dummerston

town government Dummerston Conservation Commission

Prospect Hill: An Underutilized Town Resource

By John Anderson For the past three months the Dummerston Conservation Commission has gotten people out into the great wild world and presented programs that give people a greater understanding of the wildness around us.

In August arborist Jonathan Royce led a hike up Prospect Hill. Along the way participants were able to benefit from Royce’s forestry knowledge and to enjoy the informative new trail guide developed by the 5th graders at Dummerston Elementary School. The cleared summit and fair weather views from this underutilized town asset seem custom made for family outings. The trail is relatively short. The grade is not too steep. Prospect Hill is an asset overlooked by many, a little local gem.

Later in August, Stephen Long, author of The Hurricane of ‘38 spoke at the Learning Collaborative. Many of the impacts of that powerful and fast-moving storm can still be seen in our forests today. Mounds of earth left where the stumps of storm-toppled trees rotted away mark where huge swathes of white pine crashed to earth. New leaders sent up by hardwood saplings bent to the ground by the falling pines resulted in uniquely malformed trees still recognizable today.

Long also spoke about the scope and the difficulty of the ensuing timber salvage operations and the lumber glut that resulted. That glut was

finally absorbed in the early ‘40s by our WWII allies desperate for materials.

That the consequences of a single climate event can have such far-reaching impacts on the natural systems we rely on should give us pause.

Forests were devastated. Infrastructure was also devastated, and many people died.

Having now done my reporting, I’m going to ramble back to late summer when I was asked the same question by dozens upon dozens of different people: What are those white fuzzy caterpillars with the black dorsal markings?

They were hickory tussock moth caterpillars.

Despite their name they are not fussy feeders.

They’re generalists that will feed on almost any woody species.

According to the field guides, “populations occasionally erupt and can cause noticeable local defoliation. Sensitive persons get itchy rashes when exposed to the hairs of this species.”

I see this caterpillar every year but never before have I seen it in such numbers. It certainly was irruptive! Almost everyone noticed these rather attractive creatures.

Before wandering off I’d like to share an experience I had while hawkwatching from Putney Mountain in late August. The weather was hot and still. Not many raptors were flying.

I was seated in a folding lawn chair scanning out over the valleys with binoculars and occasionally tipping my head back and scanning directly overhead.

During one overhead scan I was startled to see

what I initially thought was a kettle of broadwinged hawks at an altitude of fifteen hundred or two thousand feet. There seemed to be hundreds if not thousands. However, when I lowered my binoculars the high altitude hawks proved to be a swarm of gnats at an altitude of about 18 inches ‘above hat level.’ Usually these swarms form over a rock or stump or bare patch of ground.

Anything that contrasts with the surrounding area may attract a swarm. These swarms are, I believe, where the males find the females, and as much as I hated the idea of short circuiting the speed dating of gnats, I moved. The gnats moved with me. I moved again. They moved again. On four consecutive days gnats swarmed directly over my hat and then the weather changed. The swarm dissipated and I was once again able to effectively scan overhead for migrating raptors.

Hopefully the gnats achieved their objective and now the Putney Mountain hawkwatchers are achieving theirs. For the first time in its 43 year history the watch has recorded in excess of 10,000 raptors. On Saturday September 16th alone 3,087 raptors passed overhead. The final fall tally from Putney Mountain should be a minimum of 14,000 to 15,000 hawks. These unprecedented numbers don’t indicate population trends, merely flight paths. A lot of hawks flew within sight of our watchers this year. As did a lot of gnats.

For more information on the Conservation Commission go to http://www.dummerstonconservation.com

Sponsors

Sponsors

Linda Rood & Roger Turner

Carolyn Mayo Brown & Gregory Brown Michelle Cherrier & Philip Goepp Len Oppenheim

Nick & Joan Thorndike Dick & Harriet Virkstis Paul & Jody Normandeau Gincy Bunker

FRENCH & FRENCH ATTORNEYS AT LAW 802 • 254 • 9000

jonathan@mindelmorse.com

A GENERAL PRACTICE OF LAW W ALTER G. FRENCH JODI P. FRENCH POST OFFICE BOX 2, W. DUMMERSTON, VT 05357

Offices in Brattleboro and Dover

Views of Dummerston • fall, 2017 • 5

town government Windham Solid Waste Management District

Waste District Adjusts to Changing Function

By Michelle Cherrier Our local waste district has adapted to its new primary role as a transfer station, which started on July 1. You can still self-haul your trash, recyclables, and food waste/organics to the Windham Solid Waste Management District (WSWMD) facility on Old Ferry Road in Brattleboro. You also have the option of contracting the services of a hauler to take them away.

The sale of access stickers to use the facility has returned to a more normal pace. There will probably be a rush to purchase stickers every year in June, leading up to the renewal date of June 30th. In the future, you will be able to buy your sticker either at the scale house or in the WSWMD offices.

The sticker you purchase is for your household; if you own two or more vehicles, your sticker is applicable to all your vehicles. You just need to provide the sticker number to the scale house attendant if you drive in with a vehicle that doesn’t have a sticker. According to the WSWMD website “Your sticker does not have to be affixed to your vehicle. If you have multiple vehicles, bring your sticker with you.”

If you are driving into the facility to drop off free recycling or composting and you have your sticker, you can bypass the scale and drive to the left of the scalehouse, clock-wise around the loop to the collection bins. This change only applies to the free recycling and composting.

The recycling is now hauled away by a service provider and it is taken to the nearest singlestream material recovery facility. However, the waste district will continue to collect, compact and sell your clean cardboard; this continues to be an important source of revenue for the district. Otherwise you do not have to separate your paper and hardboard from your food and beverage cans, plastic food containers, and glass.

The hours of operation for the scale house and convenience center have been extended,

to accommodate more customers. New hours are: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday–7 a.m. to 3 p.m., Wednesday–9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday–8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The waste district provides household hazardous waste collection (HHW) at least three times every year, in a variety of locations, as required by the state of Vermont. The next HHW collection will be on Saturday November 4 in Brattleboro on Old Ferry Road. Hours will be 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.. Listen for radio ads and watch the newspapers for the announcement.

The waste district website http://windham-

Pet Safety During Emergencies

By Dawn Hubbard,

Emergency Management Coordinator

This past summer the American Red Cross has designated the Dummerston School as an animal shelter in addition to people shelter when sheltering is activated. This designation provides the citizens of Dummerston and surrounding towns the ability to bring certain animals with them when they evacuate their homes for safety. Even if you know that you can bring your pet to the shelter you should always make a care plan for your animals in case they must remain in your home.

If you must leave your pets behind, they may be lost, injured—or worse. Never leave a pet chained outdoors. Your plan options should include: Creating a buddy system in case you are not home. Ask a trusted neighbor to check on your animals.

Check on the criteria for public shelter use.

Find pet friendly hotels along your evacuation route and keep a list in your pet’s emergency kit.

Locate boarding facilities near your evacuation shelter Consider staying with an out-of-town friend

Brattleboro Support Pharmacy Locally 413 Canal Street

254-7777

Thank you for your business

solidwaste.org/index.php/hazardous-waste/ collection-dates-locations gives the details of what to bring and what NOT to bring. There is a $5.00 fee to bring HHW to the collection. An item of note- anyone from Vermont can drop the following items off at WSWMD or any other authorized location: E-waste (electronics), mercury containing devices, batteries (rechargeable and single use–separated), latex paint, oil-based paint, urethane, etc. (10 can limit), and motor oil and oil filters (auto and light truck). See for details: http://windhamsolidwaste.org/index. php/convenience-center/materials-accepted.

www.therichardsgrp.com

or relative.

Locate a veterinarian or animal hospital in the area where you may be seeking temporary shelter in case your pet needs medical care. Add contact information to your pet’s emergency kit.

Have your pet microchipped and make sure that you not only keep your address and phone number up-to-date, but that you also include contact info for an emergency contact outside of your immediate area.

If you are unable to return to your home right away, you may need to board your pet. Find out where pet boarding facilities are located.

Most boarding kennels, veterinarians, and animal shelters will need your pet’s medical records to make sure all vaccinations are current.

If you have no alternative but to leave your pet at home, there are some precautions you must take, but remember that leaving your pet at home alone can place your animal in great danger!

For more information regarding animal safety in a disaster go to: American Red Cross: http://www.redcross. org/get-help/how-to-prepare-for-emergencies/pet-disaster-preparedness The American Humane Society: http://www. americanhumane.org/

6 • Fall, 2017 • Views of Dummerston

organizations Dummerston Cares

New Website Will Help Provide Outreach

By Bill Schmidt At the Dummerston Cares annual meeting on September 17, thanks were given to some fifty volunteers who reorganized Cares over the past fifteen months, those who carried out Cares expanded and new services, and those who contributed in other ways. Volunteers are the heart and soul of Cares as an all-volunteer organization whose ambitious mission is to serve all Dummerston residents through programs that strengthen the Dummerston community and support residents who have health and wellness needs.

Some time at the meeting was spent offering ideas and suggestions for Cares as it moves forward. It was noted that current Cares programs and services will be further developed and new ones started as need for them appears.

More volunteers will be sought and training provided to them where called for. There will be some community programs on subjects of interest, such as aging well, elder abuse and neglect, and end of life planning. Some of these programs will be done with partner organizations. Outreach to town residents will be Compliments of

Priscilla Svec, P.T.

Practicing Holistic Physical Therapy 126 Main Street, Putney

387-4799

The Landmark Trust USA

Stay in Rudyard Kipling’s Naulakha

or 3 other historic Dummerston properties.

Great accommodations for visiting friends and family.

707 Kipling Road 254-6868

expanded through the Cares website, a Cares brochure, and special mailings to residents.

Information about Cares will be distributed to area hospitals, nursing homes with rehab services, and related organizations.

Volunteers in Cares include board members, those who carry out Cares services, individuals who provide one-time help to a neighbor, and those who contribute their particular expertise and experience to Cares. Between 7/1/16 and 6/30/17 fifty-five services were provided to sixteen residents through programs started during the year.

The Cares board meets monthly and manages all of Cares’ affairs, including initiation of programs and services to carry out Cares’ mission, reporting on Cares’ work to townspeople, financial oversight, and more. A significant board accomplishment over the past six months was the preparation of a Volunteer Handbook that contains volunteer policies and procedures and describes Cares services and programs.

Cares services and programs started and carried out by volunteers over the past year are: HelpLine (802-257-5800), a non-emergency telephone information and referral service.

Rides Program, which provides volunteer drivers to take residents to medical appointments.

Chores Corps, a program that assists residents with minor home repairs and household chores they cannot do themselves or afford to pay someone to do.

Friendly Home Visitors, a program in which trained volunteers are matched with residents of any age and circumstance who can benefit from periodic social visits.

Medical Equipment Loan Program, which loans quality used medical equipment to residents recovering from illness or injury, or who have another condition or situation that warrants it.

Emergency Fuel Fund, which provides

emergency fuel assistance for winter heating to qualifying residents.

Welcome Baskets, a program that welcomes newcomers to town with a basket of locally-produced food samples and other items and information about the community.

Volunteers providing professional assistance during the year are art director Michael Kelly who created Cares’ logo and determined its use in Cares’ materials, website designer Cindy Levine who developed Cares’ new website, and Linnie Jones who built a database that includes all of Cares Friends.

Friends of Dummerston Cares: In addition to volunteers, Cares’ other friends were recognized at the annual meeting. They include donors, both financial and in-kind, the latter being those who donated used medical equipment, printing assistance, and items for the welcome baskets. Additional Friends are those in partner organizations that share Cares’ mission with programs and services of their own. Local “partners” include the Congregational Church, Transition Dummerston, Evening Star Grange, Community Center, and 3 Generations Collaboration. Cares also works with a number of area and state organizations and agencies like Meals on Wheels, Senior Solution, and SEVCA. Cares New Website: Cares’ new website, DummerstonCares.org, was announced at the annual meeting. It contains information on Cares services and programs, how to help, resources, and some Cares documents. The full 2016-17 annual report, which contains a financial report, can be found on the website as well as Cares’ new Volunteer Handbook.

Cares’ Board of Directors: Shawn Bracebridge 689-0753, Susan Daigler, secretary, 257-4200, Akara Draper 258-9890, Heidi Fischer 257-0730, Bill Johnson, vice president 257-1020, Cindy Levine 254-0057, Bill Schmidt, president 257-0233, and John Wilcox, treasurer 257-0674.

More information about Cares can also be obtained by emailing info@dummerstoncares. org; writing Cares at P.O. Box 302, West Dummerston, VT 05357; or calling Cares’ HelpLine at 802-257-5800. Leave a message on HelpLine and a Cares board member will call you back within a day.

Views of Dummerston • fall, 2017 • 7

organizations

Community Center Scores Best Tag Sale Ever

By Ann Davis

This space would be perfect for an office or classroom; it has many possible uses. Give The September tag sale was the best one Jean a call at 802-254-9212 if you would like ever! Thank you to everyone who donated, to check it out. those who purchased treasures, and to Lester We are still on the search for an additional who provided his much-loved donuts. trustee. If you are interested please give us The “south” classroom is available for rent. a call or come to our next meeting (the first

Evening Star Grange #154

Home-Baked Contributions to Welcome Center Fundraiser Make Day a Success

by Sallie J. May Secretary

Where has summer gone? It seems like we were just finishing plans for our annual Memorial Day program and—bam! Here it is time for thinking about winter boots while raking leaves and gathering our winter fuel.

Here at the Grange we had a busy summer, with three public suppers which were successful to varying degrees, as well as providing space for weddings, funerals, baby showers, and public meetings. We had a very successful coffee stop at the Welcome Center in August, and we thank everyone, members and community friends alike, for making doughnuts, cakes, cookies, and bars which helped us with our most successful day. We really appreciate each and every one of you. We also would like to recognize those special community friends such as Ruth Barton, Sue Wilmott, Bess and Charlie Richardson, Ray Enello, Richard Bryant, Wil Collins, Ann Davis, and Judy Larrabee who come each senior lunch meal and help prepare, serve, and clean up after the meals.

Without these fine people, and others who pop in on occasion, we would not be able to co-sponsor and serve these meals. The Grange is about community service, and certainly this community service would be sorely missed by the 70–100 people who come to our meals twice each month. By the way, these meals are open to younger folk, so if you are busy and don’t have time to fix lunch on the 2nd or 4th Wednesday of the month (watch the paper for changes), then come on over and join us for a really good meal.

This fall we will host the craft fair in conjunction with the church’s Apple Pie Festival on Columbus Day Sunday, and we hope you were able to come and enjoy the day, no matter what the weather brought. This was our last large fund-raiser for the year, although rentals are filling up our calendar for the fall and winter

months, and we’re booking Christmas parties as I write!

Remember, the Grange is always looking for new members. You are welcome to come visit us for a meeting to learn more about what we do. Call Master Larry Lynch at (802)310-0799 or Sallie May at 257-0387 (leave a message) for more information.

Local Bahais Celebrate Bicentennial of Faith

By Lisa Blake A local group of Bahais, the faith based on the life and teachings of Baha’u’llah, celebrated the bicentennial of his birth on October 22. People from thousands of ethnic backgrounds joined the celebration in 100,000 localities worldwide, honoring Baha’u’llah’s key message and teaching that a special time has arrived for the entire human race as it moves gradually from collective adolescence to maturity and wholeness. For information about the local Bahais, call Lisa Blake at 802 254 2115,

Monday of the month at 7 p.m.).

In the last issue I wrote about the granite wagon, but I failed to include our 501c3 number, which is 04-3342602. Thank you in advance for any and all donations toward this project. This wagon is part of our town history. Perhaps it could be used in a classroom lesson.

Remember the Center when planning those gatherings and get togethers, workshops, meetings, parties—whatever. The kitchen, playground, ample parking, as well as the handicap ramp make this a space everyone can enjoy. For reservations call Jean at 802254-9212.

Please be a responsible pet owner and clean up after your dog. We all like to walk and play on the field without stepping in leftovers.

Again, thank you to all who support the Center in the many ways that you do. Without you we wouldn’t be here.

Robert E. Dunklee & Sons 72 Flat Street Brattleboro, VT 05301

254-5663

Vermont Insight Meditation Center Offering instruction in personal and interpersonal mindfulness practices.

254-7077

www. vermontinsight.org

2017 Scenes of Dummerston Calendar Now for Sale Make sure to get yours at the Town Office or by calling Jody Normandeau (380-9027) or Gail Sorensen (254-9311)

8 • Fall, 2017 • Views of Dummerston

organizations

Dummerston Cares Initiates Friendly Visitor Service

By Bill Johnson Do you, or someone you know, stay at home alone a lot—wishing, perhaps, that a friend would stop by just for a friendly chat or to share a pleasant activity? Or perhaps you are the fulltime caregiver for a person of limited mobility, and you are looking for a few hours of respite so you can attend to personal needs?

Well you can now make all this happen simply by calling 257-5800 and leaving a message. That’s the Dummerston Cares HelpLine.

One of our HelpLine volunteers will pick up on your message (within 24 hours) and pass it along to the Friendly Home Visitor program coordinator, who will return your call and ask for more information about you or the person on whose behalf you placed the HelpLine call.

Based on personal interviews over the phone and at the home of the interested client, the program coordinator will match his or her needs and preferences with one of our Friendly Visitor volunteers—a man or woman from our community who has special training in how to provide caring companionship through

conversation or activities with their clients.

The client’s interest may be sharing stories, a board or card game, a craft or art project, music or reading aloud, or a host of other possibilities. Whatever the client’s interest or desire, the Friendly Visitors will do their best to accommodate.

A note of caution: the Cares volunteers cannot help with meals, medications, mobility, bathroom assistance, or any nursing procedure—all of which are examples of service outside the definition and training of a Cares Friendly Visitor. You can still call our HelpLine about such needs, in which case we’ll try our best to refer you to another appropriate social service entity.

In the course of making Friendly Visits, our volunteer may become aware of other needs of their client, such as a simple home chore (installing storm windows, raking leaves etc. etc.) or transportation to a medical appointment, or just to do some shopping. To attend to such needs the client may be referred to the Chores Corps or the Rides services of Dummerston Cares.

Sponsors

We owe them a lot

John & Karen Abel Arnold & Roberta Garland Althea McBean Susan Talbot & Herbert Rest Orly Munzing & Bob Dunbar Mark and Lee Tice

By Joanna Fuchs

On Veterans Day we remember again Our men and women who served; We honor them now for what they did then: The liberties they preserved.

Let’s never forget their sacrifice, The hard, heavy work they have done; They did what was asked, critical needs they fulfilled, With a telephone, pencil or gun.

Brattleboro KOA Campground Cabins, B&B, RV & Tent Camping We’re happy and proud to honor them; Cabins, RVBeer && Tent Recreation, B&B, Restaurant, Wine Camping They gave so much more than they got.

Family Reunions & Groups Welcome Recreation, Restaurant, BeerOur &heroes, Wineour veterans kept freedom 1238 US Route 5, Dummerston, VT safe; Family Reunions & Groups Welcome 802 254-5908 • brattleborokoa.com All of us owe them a lot.

Brattleboro KOA

Campground

1238 US Route 5 Dummerston, VT 802 254-5908 brattleborokoa.com

Sponsors

Alvino & Bea Fantini Allan & Sally Seymour Milt & Barbara Gilmore Rip Lhamon & Fita Ferguson Marcy Hermansader & Jonathan Flaccus

These and all other Cares services are simply ways by which we endeavor to fulfill our mission of improving community well-being, with neighbors helping neighbors.

Note: Dummerston Cares is always ready to accept new volunteers who would like to give a few hours each month to help us carry out our various services. Please call our HelpLine if you’d like to volunteer. Again, the number to call is 257-5800.

Cares Honors Vets

By Margaret Evans and Bill Schmidt Veterans Day on November 11th is a special day on which to recognize and thank those who have served, and now serve our country in the armed forces in support of the fundamental values of liberty and freedom that we all cherish. Included in our remembrances are those who have died in their service and whose remains are resting in marked and unmarked graves in this country and in all corners of the world, those missing in action whose fate may never be known, and those who are prisoners of war in faraway lands.

We also remember the thousands who were wounded, with hope that they may recover to enjoy a life they fought for so gallantly. To all veterans, we honor and appreciate each and every one of you on this day of remembrance.

We thank you all.

We’d like to identify all of Dummerston’s veterans. To this end we ask veterans and those who know that someone is a veteran to let us know who they are, what branch of the service they were in, and their address and phone number. This information can be sent to Dummerston Cares by: calling the Cares’ HelpLine 257-5800 (leave a message), sending an email to info@dummerstoncares.org, or sending the information through the mail to Dummerston Cares, P.O. Box 302, West Dummerston, VT 05357.

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Views of Dummerston • fall, 2017 • 9

organizations Lydia Taft Pratt Library

Librarians Change but Name Stays the Same Library Tells A Tale of Two Karens

By Susan Kern Karen LaRue, our librarian for the past four years, has taken a position at another library.

The Library Board of Trustees wishes to thank Karen for the exceptional library services she has provided to the Dummerston community.

Through Karen’s efforts, the library now has an online catalog and an automated circulation system; the book, cd, and dvd collections have been expanded and updated; and the use of our small space improved. Best wishes to Karen in her new job.

We were fortunate to be able to hire a new librarian who brings experience as a librarian in another small rural library in Windham County.

Karen Cawrse started work in October. She is looking forward to getting to know the people of Dummerston. Please stop by the library to say hello and let her know what services you want from your public library.

There is a vacancy on the library board. If you are interested in serving on the board, please call the library at 258-9878. There will also be an open seat on the Board up for election at town meeting in March. Petitions will be available at town hall in December.

Dummerston Historical Society

Rubinstein’s Art Journals on Exhibit

By Muriel Taylor The opening reception of Linda Rubinstein’s Dummerston Art Journals exhibit was well attended on October 1st at the society’s schoolhouse. Warmly received, Linda also presented her remarks at our October quarterly meeting on October 19th. A long-time Dummerston resident and well known artist, Linda makes one-of-a-kind and multiple hand-made books, figurative fabric sculptures, word-andimage journals, and maps of places that she loves. This exhibit centered around selections from Linda’s image and word journals about life in her chosen home town of 45 years, Dummerston. She recently completed a map, “Ode to Miller Road”, which was exhibited for the first time. In addition to being open on Apple Pie Sunday, October 8, this exhibit has been open for viewing on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, from 2–4 p.m. through the month of October, and will continue to be open on Saturdays from 2–4 p.m. in November, or by request to the artist. There is still time to take advantage of this extraordinary opportunity to view Linda’s work and chat with the artist.

Hope to see you there.

Have you noticed that the older part of our beloved schoolhouse is badly in need of a fresh coat of paint? With a goal of raising $1000 toward this project, we are selling raffle tickets for six desirable prizes that have been generously donated by Dummerston residents/businesses. They are: (1) two quarts of maple syrup from Steve White, (2) two quarts of maple syrup from Debbie and

Dennis Baker, (3) a $50 gift certificate from Vermont/New Hampshire Veterinary Clinic (to be used toward their flea/tick medication), (4) a ceramic bowl from Ahren Ahrenholtz of Partridge Road Pottery, (5) a $50 gift certificate from Walker Farm, and (6) a print of Miller Road—An Artist Eye View by Linda Rubinstein.

Tickets are three for $5, and may be designated for the prize of your choice. (Think holiday gifts/stocking stuffers!!) They will be available at all of our upcoming events or from any board member. The drawing date is set for our annual meeting on January 18th, 2018. (You do not have to be present to win.)

For additional tickets or further information, please call Gail Sorenson, Jody Normandeau, Sara Ryan, or Muriel Taylor.

Jody Normandeau announces that the 2018 Scenes of Dummerston Calendars are ready!!

(The price is still $10!!) Red or blue “covered bridge” T-shirts, note cards, and matted pictures of Dummerston are also for sale at our meetings, various town events, or at the town office.

The Dummerston Historical Society always welcomes donations of historical interest to Dummerston and we encourage you to join us as a member, a volunteer, a participant in our programs or as a viewer of our exhibits. We also invite you to visit our website at dummerstonhistoricalsociety.org. Please note that you do not need to be a member of the Historical Society to attend any of our functions. Our schoolhouse is handicapped accessible. You are always welcome.

Karen LaRue Bids Adieu

by Karen LaRue Librarian

There are so many wonderful things available to you from your town library and I hope that you stop in soon to take advantage of them. When you do you will find that I have left to take the youth services librarian position in my hometown. I am proud that I was able to accomplish many of my goals in the past three years. When I began, David and Cynthia Patriquin, Janet Avery, Winnie Vogt, and Lori Miller shared my vision for updating our services and procedures, expanding our outreach, and growing our collection. Their support, along with that of newer trustees Sue Kern, Barb Clark, and Torrey Luker, as well as the wonderful patient volunteers Eleanor Emery, Janice Duke, Melody Stone, and Zach Teller helped to make many of my dreams for your library come true. I am grateful to have had their support, as well as those who pitch in as needed, those who make our fundraisers a success, and the special patrons that I’ve gotten to know over the years. I wish you all the best and look forward to hearing about all the wonderful things your new librarian will dream up to make your library even better!

Notice The Dummerston School Board is considering offering a pre-school program for Dummerston residents for the 2018-2019 school year. Parents and community members interested in discussing this option are urged to come to the November 14th School Board/ Pre-School planning Forum beginning at 6 p.m. at Dummerston School.

10 • Fall, 2017 • Views of Dummerston

school news

Dummerston School Board

Two Options Present Choice for Act 46 Merger

By Kristina Naylor In addition to our regularly scheduled programming, Act 46 continues to demand significant board attention. The merger vote will likely have taken place by the time this reaches your mailbox and we have been working to assure the school’s continued success, whichever way the town has voted. Our work could not have occurred without our two new board members, Emily Gelke and Sue Meggiolaro, who stepped in seamlessly, and I want to thank them for their willingness to serve.

The board was asked to investigate all alternatives to a merger during the last Town Meeting. A board subcommittee has been studying and comparing all options to comply with the law. Two promising options are “Alternative Governance Structures” (AGS), as outlined in Act 46 and 49. One AGS would maintain the Dummerston Town School Board but work more closely with neighboring Windham Southeast Supervisory Union districts. Recently other WSESU districts have joined with us to look for efficiencies and ways to improve district-wide. A second AGS proposal would allow Dummerston to remain an independent Corum Mabie Cook Prodan Angell & Secrest Estate Planning and Administration, Family Law, Real Estate, and the General Practice of Law 45 Linden Street, Brattleboro, VT 05301

(802) 257-5292 • gcmlaw@sover.net www.southernvermontattorneys.com

Bill McKim pianist

Classical Music or Show Tunes For Any Occasion 257-7767

district, and utilize our current board to meet the goals of Act 46. The committee has also investigated a Town Academy Model, as was done in North Bennington. This work has prepared us if a merger does not take place and we will hold forums to explain these options and understand the best path forward to comply with Act 46.

The Act 46 committee process uncovered some programming inequities in our supervisory union. For example, Brattleboro, Putney and Guilford currently offer free, full-time, school year pre-K to all residents. The board is studying this same option for Dummerston, alongside the existing 10 hours of Pre-K reimbursement program. There are many hurdles to implementation, including potential impact on our property taxes, but believe accessibility to high-quality local Pre-K would benefit children and families in our community. The board will hold Pre-K forums this fall and winter to learn more about town interest in Pre-K and we look forward to receiving public input as

we consider this program.

If you’ve tuned into our BCTV broadcasts you may have noticed some fresh faces on the board. Katey Everest and Dan Normandeau both stepped down from the board this past spring. The board thanks them for their many years of service. Special thanks go to Katey for her leadership and professionalism working with fellow board members, school staff, and Dummerston residents, and to Dan for his quick grasp of finances and tireless school advocacy.

Dummerston is fortunate to have a deep bench of talent willing to serve and we welcome two new members; Emily Gelke, a Dummerston School alumna and Newbrook special education teacher, and Sue Meggiolaro who brings excellent financial skills to our board.

Our regularly scheduled board meeting is the second Tuesday every month, which is recorded by BCTV. We are often meeting for a work session on the fourth Tuesday as well.

We thank the town for their support of our school and welcome your input.

Housing Trust Manages Home Repair Program

By Bruce Whitney The Home Repair Program through the Windham & Windsor Housing Trust helps homeowners address critical health and safety issues as well increase the energy efficiency of their homes. Through low cost loans, flexible terms and support with identifying a contractor and project oversight, the Home Repair Program may be just the help you need. The program covers the following: rehabilitation to resolve health and safety issues such as roof, plumbing, electric, and heating repairs; well and septic repair or replacement; rehabilitation needed to meet Housing Quality Standards or correct municipal or state code violations; access modification for elderly or disabled homeowners through collaboration with the

Sponsors Bruce & Catie Berg Shorty & Mary Forrett Gail & Lew Sorenson Barry & Elsa Waxman David & Nina Hutchison Kevin & Sara Ryan

Vermont Center for Independent Living; and energy efficiency improvements.

The Home Repair Program staff will help you: fill out your application; determine the scope of work; obtain bids from contractors; and monitor the construction process To get started visit http://www.w-wht.org/ homeownership-center/rehab-loan-program/ or call Tara at 802-246-2119.

This program is generously funded by a Vermont Community Development Program grant awarded by the Vermont Department of Housing and Community Affairs. We are also grateful for funding from the towns of Brattleboro, Rockingham, Weathersfield, Putney, Newfane, Dummerston, and Ludlow, as well as a generous grant from Neighborworks America.

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Views of Dummerston • fall, 2017 • 11

school news

Two New Teachers Join Dummerston School

By JoCarol Ratti We had a great start to the 2017-2018 school year. This year’s more notable changes include two new hires, Beth Montgomery and Keith Marshall. Mrs. Montgomery teaches 1st grade and replaces Mrs. Wilson who retired in June.

hires. The process we use to recruit and retain high quality staff has served us well. We make sure that each new employee possesses the talent and ability to be a good match for Dummerston School. This helps us maintain our learning momentum, which is grounded in high quality, and rigorous and relevant instruction for all our students.

I am equally pleased to announce that Madison Lynch, former Dummerston graduate and awesome soccer player, is coaching our girls’ soccer team this year. Ms. Lynch, along with veteran boys’ soccer coach Mrs. Clements, have their teams well on the way to a successful Dummerston soccer season. As many of you may know, Coach Ron Svec, our former (beloved) girls’ soccer coach, was recruited by BUHS to coach their junior varsity girls’ team this fall. We want to thank Coach Svec for his dedication and commitment to Dummerston School and to Dummerston soccer. His pas-

Mr. Mahoney, head custodian, and Tucker Jenks (grade 2)

also like to extend a very warm thank you to Lori Vigneau and Kevin Thibault and to their

Mrs. Montgomery, Grade 1

Mrs. Montgomery received her undergraduate degree from the University of MassachusettsAmherst and her MA degree from Westfield State College. We had an opportunity to meet and work with Beth in 2011 when she was hired to fill a literacy position. In the five years since her initial hire, Mrs. Montgomery has had two children and continued to keep pace with the national, state and district curriculum and instruction requirements.

Mr. Marshall will teach 7th and 8th grade math and science. Keith has a BA in Biology and an MA in Education as well as an MA in Environmental Education. Mr. Marshall has over 25 years experience teaching science-based education. He is a familiar face to Dummerston elementary and middle schoolers in his roles as the K-4 ELF coordinator, as coordinator of our Garden and Nature Clubs for 8th graders, and as a teacher in our outdoor environmental classroom since 2013.

We also welcome Mr. Mahoney, our new head custodian. Mr. Mahoney brings a lot of building management experience with him and he took extra care this summer to ensure that the school looked clean and welcoming for the students’ first day.

We are excited about introducing our new

Sidewalk Art by 4th graders Colby Bristol and Destiny Thibault

Mr. Marshal, 7 & 8 Science/Math; foreground: 7th graders Tate Chamberlin and Noah Richardson

sion, enthusiasm, and expertise have shaped a culture of sportsmanship and teamwork within our school community, principles that we will continue to nurture and encourage. On an annual basis, Coach Svec devoted himself to volunteer service and sports advocacy while also pursuing the more important goal of teaching life lessons through athletics. It is our hope that Dr. Svec will continue to provide us with his support and guidance regarding all things Soccer for years to come.

Dummerston School and the PTFO would

children Katelyn, Brian, Trevor, Michael, Jasmine, Destiny, Desiree and Jackson and their grandchild, Taylor, for all their work revitalizing our school’s playground this summer.

Over the course of eight weeks, they removed unsafe playground structures, built (and donated) two new picnic tables, and designed new playground additions (including a sandbox) using some of the original locust wood from the ship. They also fixed the broken backboard on the west side basketball court, removed weeds and debris from the paved area underneath the court, and painted new hopscotch and foursquare patterns. And there’s more… once the work was complete, they approached Cersosimo Industries for a donation of wood chips to surround the structures. Cersosimo’s graciously and generously agreed, and Travis Bristol hauled the truckloads of donated chips to Dummerston School where they were spread and layered around our playground, just in time for the first day of school!

12 • Fall, 2017 • Views of Dummerston

Welcome to Pie Fest

continued from page 1 suits. His colleagues in town government were there, as well as his business customers, his buddies from the sugar house and the snowmobile club, his family, and his employees.

Not everybody did make it into the church, but most of those who didn’t stood outside in tribute, waiting to join the gathering at the Grange Hall after the service.

Steve was 65 years old, and he was leading a busy life. On top of his business obligations, he made time to serve the town as a member of the selectboard. His heart attack and sudden death were a shock resulting in a significant loss to his family, and to the community.

Pastor Shawn Bracebridge’s homily, based on his talks with Steve’s family, highlighted his love for the outdoors, and his passions for field mowing, sugaring, and snowmobiling.

One day I chanced upon the Glabach field mowing crew in action, and it was indeed impressive. Three tractors circled a large field, one just behind and to the side of the other, cresting and disappearing over rises, then reappearing in the same staggered precision, going round and round, steadily whittling down the area of unmown grass in what seemed like a tractor ballet. Steve saw me watching and pulled his tractor out of formation when they were closing in on the middle, drove over to where I stood, and got off his tractor with a big smile on his face. I told him I was impressed, and he replied that he loved mowing fields and had a string of customers that kept him moving from one field in the area to another throughout the summer.

Steve also loved to make maple syrup. The

photos by Roger Turner

• • •

Onsite Septic Design, LLC Alan J. McBean

943 Park Laughton Rd. East Dummerston, VT 05346

Glabach’s Sudden Death Leaves Void

• •

Inground Mounds New Construction/ Replacement Water Supply Geologic Consulting VT Lic #536 Cell 802-258-0971 Home 802-254-6975

PARTRIDGE ROAD

POTTERY

AHREN AHRENHOLZ - POTTER Pottery Showroom is open 11:00—4:00, Saturday & Sunday or by appointment 802-257-4060 228 Partridge Road East Dummerston, Vermont

Sponsors Cheryl Wilfong & Bill McKim Mary Lou & Bill Schmidt Joe & Anne Little Ron & Jo-Ann Tier Tonia & Whit Wheeler Elizabeth Catlin & Jared Flynn

mixed plumes of steam and wood smoke and the sweet smell of maple in the air emanating from the sugar house on the bend of the Middle Road at the corner of Houghton Road were sure signs of spring. The cars and trucks parked outside the sugar house when boiling was taking place were signs that the Glabach sugar house was a pretty social place. I also liked keeping track of the firewood racks sitting next to the sugar house–empty after sugaring season, then gradually filling back up over the course of the year in preparation for the next sugaring season—so much work, but obviously a labor of love.

Steve had the DNA for public service. His father Ted Glabach was a selectman years ago, and Steve followed in his footsteps. He joined the selectboard in 2012, and was currently the vice chairman. His understanding of the intricacies of the town’s roads system enabled him to guide board decisions about requests from the highway department, and he kept meetings light with his sense of humor and his kidding exchanges with chairman Zeke Goodband, according to board member Jerelyn Wilson. The selectboard’s report for this issue of the Views was written by Steve.

What Steve’s life all sugared down to was his love for his family and his community, his strong work ethic, and his ability to make friends. His was a life taken too soon; we thank him for everything he did for Dummerston, and we wish his family strength in absorbing their sudden loss. The selectboard must now appoint somebody to serve in his slot until town meeting 2018, when somebody will be elected to fill out the remaining two years of his term.

Sponsors john & Lori Brunelle office fax: (802) 254-5818 416 Tucker Reed road office phone: (802) 254-9788 e. dummerston, vt 05346 John cell: (802): 579-9788 lori cell: (802) 275-7111 john@brunelleandson.com lori@brunelleandson.com www.brunelleandson.com

Kelly McCue Meg Murtha Jack & Judy Davidson John Sommer Tom Zopf Winifred Vogt

Good Books

Views of Dummerston • fall, 2017 • 13

Eowyn Ivey Spins Interesting Tales of Alaska

By Linda Rood In last winter’s Views, I mentioned that Jan Brown had recommended The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey, an Alaskan author. I always enjoy Jan’s suggestions, and this past summer I found both of Ivey’s books at the Lydia Taft Pratt Library. If you are looking for good stories and excellent writing, these are for you.

Eowyn Ivey has lived in Alaska since she was a young child. She majored in journalism in college, and then worked for ten years as a reporter for an Alaskan newspaper. Journalism has long been a good training ground for fiction writers, and Ivey’s beautiful, clear, precise prose might just be the result of her experience.

The Snow Child (Little, Brown) was published in 2012 and was a runner-up for the Pulitzer Prize. It is the story of Mable and Jack, a homesteading couple in 1920s Alaska. They have come from Pennsylvania to face the harsh wilderness of Alaska and escape their deep grief over the stillborn birth of a child, and their resulting childlessness. In a moment of lightness (and there are many), when the first snow of their second Alaska winter arrives, they build a snow child in the yard of their rustic cabin.

Overnight, the snow sculpture is destroyed, and its red mittens and scarf disappear. They begin to see glimpses of a child in the woods, wearing the missing garments. Eventually they get to know this girl, Faina, a feral child whose Russian trapper father has died on the mountain, leaving her to fend for herself. Mable is unable to resist the idea that Faina is a kind of magical creature like the one she remembers from a children’s book based on the Russian folk tale that was Ivey’s inspiration for this story. The novel plays out the drama that arises from Jack and Mable’s relationship with this child, as well as their efforts to survive the bleak hardship of their attempts to establish a farm in the beautiful but harsh environment. The fairy tale element is carefully balanced and grounded in the unblinking realism of Ivey’s crystalline language. The setting of this story is breathtakingly beautiful, even though the cruelties of nature are happening within it. This story of grief, reconciliation, survival, and community is told with such art that it is pure pleasure to read.

Ivey’s second book, To the Bright Edge of the World (Little, Brown 2016) is more of a traditional historical novel, set decades earlier than the first book, and inspired by the 1885 exploration of Alaska by Lieutenant Henry T. Allen and his Report of an Expedition to the Copper, Tanana, and Koyukuk Rivers in the Territory of Alaska. Ivey takes a very different

approach to telling this story, employing the parallel narrations of expedition leader Colonel Allen Forrester and his wife Sophie, waiting at home in Oregon while her husband is gone.

The narrations take the form of journal entries, and Ivey also creates military reports, letters, advertisements, photographs, and newspaper accounts, which are inserted throughout as evidence and further perspective on the personal accounts that she has imagined. The Forrester expedition explores a river valley that has not yet been travelled by non-native people, and its purpose is to map the territory with the idea of future expansion and development by the U.S. government. They endure excruciating difficulties, and survive mostly with the aid of the native people they meet along the way. Meanwhile, Sophie, back at home, is an independent and unusual woman, the subject of much gossip among the other officer’s wives on the base. She is a passionate naturalist, a bird lover in particular.

Rather than attend the ladies’ teas, she prefers to spend her time observing the local species, and teaches herself to photograph the birds she finds.

This is a fascinating and detailed account of early photography (there is also a photographer on the Alaskan expedition), and it provided an excellent balance to the wilderness drama taking place in the far North. Sophie is a pioneer in her own right, and her tale holds its own interest pretty well. There is a note of magical realism in this book, mostly having to do with a Shaman who may or may not be able to shape-shift into the form of a raven, and who seems to be Allan Forrester’s nemesis along the way.

An element of the novel that I was not expecting is the exploration of the emotional problems that American soldiers may have developed as a result of the crimes against native peoples that they have been ordered to perform in the service of the U.S. Government. One character in particular suffers deeply from the guilt and trauma he has incurred from his participation in a horrific massacre, and I found this suggestion that those men might also suffer PTSD to be a refreshing observation about that aspect of our national past.

I very much enjoyed discovering this new American author, her rich characters, and unforgettable landscapes. I would also recommend The Dark Flood Rises by British author Margaret Drabble (Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, 2016). Drabble takes on the subject of aging by telling of six characters in their seventies and the various choices they have made about how to live out their last years. I found it witty and well-observed, a good read and not at all the dreary tale it might have been. Another pleasure of the summer was the old Edward Abbey classic, Desert Solitaire, (McGraw Hill, 1968), the memoir of the time he spent as ranger at Arches National Park in the mid 1950s. Still relevant, and still a pleasure.

In the next Views, I plan to continue the practice of asking fellow readers to give me their recommendations, so please be thinking about what you might want to suggest, and let me know. You can reach me at views@dummerston.com.

Births Phoebe Jane Bergh

7-25-17

Nell Orlaya Hoskins

9-12-17

Passings Bonnie Rupa Cousins Elizabeth Gilson

7-4-17 7-24-17

Elizabeth G. Greenhoe

8-1-17

George William Hunt

8-3-17

Peter I. Diamondstone

8-30-17

Myrna F. Melroy

10/3/17

Steven Glabach

10-6-17 Naturally Grown Vegetables Free Choice CSA Raw Honey Sign up for your CSA share before March 1st and take $20 off!

440 Miller Rd, E. Dummerston VT www.fullplatefarmers.com

14 • Fall, 2017 • Views of Dummerston

Hecht and Crowley Found Full Plate Farm

By Joyce Marcel As an older generation leaves farming, a new generation arrives to take their place.

And when you think about how hard farming is, we’re just plain lucky there is a new generation eager to do it. Dummerston welcomes Laura Hecht and Matthew Crowley and their Full Plate Farm, a super-local vegetable CSA that sells to Dummerston, Putney, Brattleboro Marlboro and Wilmington from land on Miller Road.

“We take our produce to the Brattleboro farmers market, both the one downtown and the summer one in West Brattleboro,” Matt said. We do the Putney Winter Farmers Market, too. The bulk of our business is the farmers markets and the CSA.” The farm comes to us with the help—both financial as well as spiritual—of the Vermont Land Trust’s Farmland Access Program, which makes conserved farmland affordable to a younger generation of farmers. Over the past few years the program has conserved almost 40 Vermont farms—including the Bunker Farm in Dummerston.

Farmers chosen to participate in this program must have at least three years of farming experience, strong references, plans to create a farm that would gross $100,000 a year per year within five years, and financial resources to cover start-up costs. Laura and Matt meet those stringent criteria.

Using what it calls “natural holistic practices,” Full Plate produces over 150 varieties of gourmet-quality vegetables, as well as cut flowers and honey.

Dummerston

Wood Pantry

Dry firewood available for those in a pinch Contribution in return to the Dummerston Church Deacon’s Heat Fund appreciated, if able.

Donations of wood to the Pantry stockpile also appreciated.

To request wood or arrange a donation of wood, contact:

Charlie Richardson, 254 6963

Laura, 33, and Matt, 40, are romantic as well as business partners. They met in Corvallis, Oregon fifteen years ago and started traveling together.

“Laura had just come out of college,” Matt said. “I might have been working at a bakery and nursery. We were traveling around the country trying to figure ourselves out, mostly.

We spent a year doing that and then we landed back in Oregon. That’s when we decided to do a little more intentional traveling.”

Farming was an interest so the couple joined up with the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association apprentice program.

“We did that for a summer season outside of Portland, Maine,” Matt said. “And that kicked us off on a pursuit of farming.”

Farming is hard, hard work. What about it appeals to Matt and Laura?

“Both of us liked the fact that we were using our bodies,” Matt said. “We liked it that we could be outside. And both of us really appreciated the challenges that it constantly presents. It’s like an ongoing puzzle. Every year, every moment—it’s different. And we saw farming as an opportunity to build a community that matches the vision we had.”

The vision?

“We want to see more resilient communities with more robust local autonomies,” Matt said. “As an example, now we’re selling food directly to our neighbors within a threemile radius. It just seems really important to us.”

After the apprenticeship program, Matt and Laura found themselves living in Portland, Maine, taking various jobs—according to their web site, fullplatefarmers.com, they were farm hands, cooks, bicycle mechanics, carpenters, and street musicians, among other things — and trying to figure out how to achieve their goal, which they now knew was to secure land on which to farm.

Yet it wasn’t farmland but the trapeze that brought the couple to Windham County.

“Trapeze is sort of a hobby for Laura, and

Walker Farm’s Elysian Hills

Christmas Tree Farm

Make some old-time family memories.

Open November 25-December 24

www.elysianhillstreefarm.com

I was interested in getting more building and design skills,” Matt said. “So there’s a circus school here, and there’s a school up in Warren called Yestermorrow Design/Build School. So we randomly said, ‘Brattleboro has the circus school and I can take classes up north.’ We got in touch with Jerry Smith, the master flower farmer at Deer Ridge Farm.

He had a place to live and work to do. So we moved into his apartment and worked with him for a couple of years. And at the same time, Laura was taking classes at the trapeze school and I was taking classes up at Yestermorrow.”

Everything was falling into place. Matt was offered a job managing a farm for the Food Connects School Harvest project and the University of Vermont Extension Youth Agriculture Project in Brattleboro, and Laura decided to go out on a limb and start her own farm project. She called it Full Plate Farm and the name stuck.

“We were sitting around eating dinner at the Chelsea Diner and a local came up with the name,” Matt said. “We thought it was a really good one.”

The couple was searching for a permanent home for Full Plate Farm while, in 2015, the Vermont Land Trust was looking for a farm couple to purchase the conserved property on Miller Road.

“They were accepting applications,” Matt said. “We came out here and took a look at it.

It was quite a lot more land than we thought we would be able to farm. We were looking for 30 acres. This is 50 acres of open land and 100 acres of forest. We wondered, ‘Are we getting in over our head? But here goes.’

We put in the application thinking it was a good opportunity, and we were selected to purchase the farm.”

The couple landed the land two and a half years ago.

“We’ve had two growing seasons since then,” Matt said. “When we were living on this property and moving everything over, we were running Full Plate Farm and a youth project. It was one of the most insane years I’ve had in my life.”

Things have calmed down since then.

“I think things are great,” Matthew said.

“We’re keeping our heads above water.

We’re thankful to be here. Our business is continuing to grow in the way we want it, so all signs point to the fact that we’re doing alright. We’re just starting to climb out of the chaos of the farm transition and growing our farm business. We’re feeling that now we have our feet under us.”

Views of Dummerston • fall, 2017 • 15

Betty Greenhoe Dedicated Her Life to Theater and Community

By Paul Nelsen

“Community” was an important concept for Betty Greenhoe.

Her contributions to communities—Dummerston and regional—enhanced the lives of many.

We mourn her passing (August 1, 2017, age 91, at her home on Greenhoe Road) as we also cherish memories of her life and good works.

Elizabeth Garfield (a granddaughter of President Garfield) was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts and received her early education in and around Cambridge before moving on to Vassar College from which she graduated in 1946. But many summers in her youth were spent at a family re- Betty speaking at Town Meeting, 2017. treat called “Faraway” in Putney, instilling in her a love of this corner of Vermont. has continued for over thirty years to cultivate After a few years of teaching in the Boston and support a love of theatre in the region. area, she pursued her love of theatre at Yale Betty’s devotion to family commanded Drama School, earning an MFA in Directing much of her time. In 1977, her husband Joe in 1951. It was at Yale where she met talented became partially disabled by cognitive disoriplaywright Joe Greenhoe and they married in entation. Betty, supported by their children, 1952. In the early 1960s, they moved to New dedicated great efforts to Joe’s continued care Orleans where both Joe and Betty taught at at home. Joe died in 2014.

Dillard University, an historically black liberal It is all the more remarkable but not at all arts college, as Joe also worked toward earning surprising, that Betty, with resolute determinahis Ph.D. at Tulane. By the end of the 60s, they tion, remained active in the community and felt the call of Vermont where Joe joined the directed such an astonishing array of plays faculty of Windham College to launch a Theatre through those decades, including twenty-three Department. They bought a rustic rundown productions for VTC from 1985 to 2008. farm (sight-unseen according to friend Larry Some of the scripts she chose were classics Crockett) in Dummerston near the border of (from Moliere to Thornton Wilder); others rePutney, and brought their young three children flected the role theatre plays in raising societal to live in our town and to immerse themselves concerns. Some were just for fun (she loved in the community of southern Vermont.

Agatha Christie). One of them was a revival in Betty taught English at Brattleboro Union 2004 of Joe’s splendid historical drama, The High School (BUHS) for several years and Equivalent Lands, which Joe had written for encouraged many students to participate in performance at The Windham Summer Rep in theatre productions she directed. In the ear- 1976. She liked shows with big casts—each ly 1970s, she directed some productions at production became its own kind of “comThe Windham Summer Repertory Theatre. munity” for Betty. Those undertakings often She also took on projects with The Grammar involved lots of recruitment of help and supSchool, Main Street Arts in Saxton’s River, port secured through persistent and persuasive and other local organizations. Advocating diplomacy. She was good at it and it was and energizing community theatre was not hard for anyone to say no to Betty. She often only an avocation for Betty but a mission. argued to reluctant recruits that participation In the mid-1980s, she worked with Cathy in community was a responsibility as well as Stockman and The Brattleboro Music Center a source of joy. directing popular productions of Gilbert and Theatre for and/or performed by children Sullivan operettas. From the mid-80s, Betty was a particular passion—she knew that paralso joined forces with BUHS colleagues Ray ticipating in a play often helped kids build Jenness (Vermont Theater Company founder) self-confidence, interpretive skills, and underand Bob Kramsky in developing the VTC, a standing of teamwork. Fellow Dummerstonian vibrant community theatre organization that and Vermont Theatre Company stalwart Jim

Bombicino noted that Betty had “formed a children’s theatre troupe to bring shows to area schools and community centers.” Jim also points out that “In recognition of her many years of service, The Vermont Theatre Company gives an annual scholarship to a graduating senior from the Windham Regional Center’s performing arts program in her name.”

At her memorial service in Dummerston Center Church, where Betty was an active member since moving to our town, Larry Crockett, who shared friendship with the Greenhoes since 1967, contributed these reflections: “In more recent years, my love and admiration for Betty only grew.

First of all, I was deeply impressed with her devotion to and caring for Joe, during the decades of his illness. Not an easy time, and carried out with great grace, so far as I could see. Then there were the days of this church’s “troubles” when there was controversy and division within the congregation and pastoral upheaval. Betty played a critical role in bringing calmness and reason and bridgebuilding into that time. She was clear-headed and firm and compassionate at a very difficult time in this church’s life. And finally, she was a member of the Dummerston Church Choir for many years when I was director, and I will always be grateful for her support. She did not hesitate to make a suggestion on how to improve what I was doing, but she was also quick to express her appreciation both for the choice of music and for the way I brought the choir along to sing it well. I really appreciated that.”

Larry added that “Betty was a very perceptive person. She really ‘got it’, again and again. . . . She didn’t give advice, but she had a way of looking at you that said ‘You can do it . . .

I believe in you and I’m counting on you.’”

When we first moved to Dummerston in June of 1971, my wife Lou remembers that within a few days of our arrival Betty had her hulling strawberries for the annual strawberry supper at the Grange. We were immensely grateful to the many ways that the Greenhoes welcomed us into family and community.

There’s a trenchant old saying, probably of Appalachian folk origin, that also resonates in my mind as though it might have been a line in a Joe Greenhoe play: “Love leaves behind more than death can take away.” Yes. Betty Greenhoe made a powerful impact on our community and surely left us with memories of and continuing dividends from her good deeds.

16 • Fall, 2017 • Views of Dummerston PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. Postage PAID PO Box 468 West Dummerston VT 05357

change Service REquested

Community Center Jean Momaney 254-9212 Conservation Commission Web site: www.dummerstonconservation.com Dummerston Cares Helpline Bill Schmidt 257-5800 Dummerston School 254-2733 Web site www.dummerstonschool.org Dummerston Times (school newsletter): Web site: www.dummerstonnewsletterweekly.net Dummerston PTFO email:dummerstonptfo@yahoo.com Emergency Mgmnt Coordinator Dawn Hubbard 257-4431 Evening Star Grange Ruth Barton 254-1128 or mrgjb@sover.net Fire Chief Rick Looman 258-1731 Fire Warden Marty Forrett (h)387-2180 (w)254-9877 Deputy Fire Wardens Charlie Richardson 254-6963

Wayne Emery (h)254-8708 Lydia Taft Pratt Library 258-9878 Hours: Tue. 2:30-7; Thu. 10-5; Sat. 9:30-Noon Web site: library.dummerston.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/dummerstonlibrary email: dummerstonvtlibrary@gmail.com Meals on Wheels Chris McAvoy 257-1236 Selectboard selectboard@dummerston.org Senior Solutions Ruth Barton 254-1128 Springfield Office 800-642-5119 Town Garage Lee Chamberlin 254-2411 Town Office Laurie Frechette 257-1496 email: townclerk@dummerston.org Vermont Theatre Company 258-1344 Views of Dummerston email: views@dummerston.com WSESU 254-3730 Websites: Official Town www.dummerston.org Municipal Calendar http://calendar.dummerston.org Local Interest www.dummerston.com

Dummerston Calendar of Events Ongoing Senior Lunches

2nd & 4th Wednesday, noon, at the Grange

Are you a veteran seeking assistance?

Call the Dummerston Cares’ HelpLine 2575800, email to info@dummerstoncares.org, or mail to Dummerston Cares, P.O. Box 302, West Dummerston, VT 05357.

November 14 Pre-School Planning Forum Dummerston School, 6 p.m.

February 2018 20 Town property taxes

Due by 5 p.m. at the Town Office

March 2018 6 Town meeting.

Dummerston School, 7–8:30 p.m.

Meetings At the Dummerston Town Office

Selectboard

6:00 pm

Planning Commission

6:30 pm

Every other Wednesday 1st Tuesday

Conservation Commission 7:00 pm 2nd Thursday

Energy Committee 1st Monday

6:00 pm

Development Review Board 7:00 pm 3rd Tuesday at the Community Center

Community Center meetings 7:00 pm 1st Monday at the Dummerston School

School Board Meeting

6:30 pm

PTFO Meeting

6:30 pm

BUHS Board Meeting

7:00 pm

Historical Society

7:30 pm

2nd Tuesday at the Dummerston School

3rd Wed., BUHS Learning Center library

1st & 3rd Monday at the Historical Society 3rd Thursday of Jan./April/July/Oct. at the Lydia Taft Pratt Library

Story Time

10:30 am

Every Thursday at the Evening Star Grange

Senior Congregate Meal

2nd and 4th Wednesday; Information/ reservations:Ruth Barton 254-1128