Views of Dummerston - 2020#1 - Winter

Art by Gary Blomgren

Volume 30 Issue 1

Winter ~ 2020

Free • Since 1990

Tom Wessels Talk Links with Local Trail Project The Putney Mountain Association invites the public to learn about the new Dummerston Missing Links Trail project and a special presentation by terrestrial ecologist professor Tom Wessels on “Connections: Nature’s Most Important Attribute.” Wessels describes his topic as follows: “Life on Earth has not only sustained itself, but thrived for 3.8 billion years. The very foundation for life’s success is creating robust, complex networks of mutually beneficial interrelationships. This is an important lesson for our current society, where our collective well-being will only be found in a robust array of beneficial interrelationships and connections within our communities and with nature itself.”

Tom Wessels, a visionary leader who was the founder of the Conservation Biology graduate program at Antioch University, is continued on page 8

PHOTO BY GEORDIE HELLER

Looking north from the Dummerston-Putney town line is Leverwood Hill basking in the sun on the right and Black Mountain on the left. The trail south from Putney Mountain to Prospect Hill will go by the overlook on Leverwood Hill.

PHOTO BY LIBBY LAFLAND

By Carolyn Mayo-Brown

Culvert Crew Neighbors of Stickney Brook Road celebrating the new bridge. We are happy to have our access to each other and the lake back. We all appreciate Jason Evans and his crew for their hard work and finishing the job a week early! (Due to space limitations, we weren’t able to include this picture in the fall issue of the Views.)

Prospect Hill Beckons Hikers

By Betsy Whittaker

Trustee, Prospect Hill Pasuture

It’s a short hike to the summit of Prospect Hill Pasture (PHP) and it’s worth it for the view! The trail can be accessed from Park Laughton Road. Park at the town offices and

walk north .4 (four tenths) of a mile to the trail marker on the left side of the road. Follow the trail along the right-of-way through a field, cross a small wooden bridge, and you’ll find a kiosk containing a trail guide. The trail guide was created by the fifth grade students at the Dummerson School in the spring of 2017.

The trail, while steep in places, is well marked and is cleared and maintained by volunteers, members of the Dummerston Conservation Commission and the Prospect Hill trustees.

At the summit, take time to rest on the bench dedicated to John Evans. When you’re ready to go, return the way you came, or for a longer walk, look in the northwest corner of the field to find the entrance to the loop trail which will take you back to the main trail.

Keeping the summit clear of invasive plants has been a challenge. A couple of years ago plants had taken over the four-acre summit and continued on page 12

2 • Winter, 2020 • Views of Dummerston The Views of Dummerston is a quarterly newsletter published by a group of citizen volunteers since 1990, and has non-profit status through the Dummerston Community Center. Mary Lou McBean had the original vision for and was first editor of the Views, and Gary Blomgren created the original masthead art.

The current steering committee includes Roger Turner (editor), Michelle Cherrier (co-articles coordinator and calendar), Fred Lee (layout), Sara Ryan (ad coordinator), Linda Rood (co-articles coordinator), and Lee Ives Tice (mailing). We always welcome new interest in joining the committee.

SUBSCRIPTIONS:

The Views is mailed free of charge to all residents of the town of Dummerston. It is also available online at viewsofdummerston.org. We encourage people to help us save printing and mailing expenses by cancelling their print subscription and accessing the Views online at viewsofdummerston.org; to do so please email Sara Ryan at: subscribe online@viewsofdummerston.org.

If you are not a resident of Dummerston and would prefer to receive a paper copy of the Views, you may subscribe for an annual cost of $5. Mail a check made payable to Views of Dummerston, with your name and mailing address to Lee Tice, 230 School House Rd., East Dummerston, VT 05346.

ARTICLES:

We welcome all articles related in any way to the town of Dummerston, including news of town organizations, personalities, history, or activities. Email Microsoft Word documents (preferred) to: articles@viewsof dummerston.org. Typed or hand-written articles can also be sent to: Michelle Cherrier, 72 Miller Rd., East Dummerston, VT 05346.

CALENDAR:

Any (non-commercial) event you would like listed on our Calendar of Events should be emailed to: calendar@ viewsofdummerston.org, or mailed to Michelle Cherrier at the above address.

NEXT ISSUE:

Submissions due: March 24, 2020

Views will be mailed on: May 20, 2020 ADVERTISING:

Rates: All rates are for four issues, however a large or small box ad can be placed for just one issue at an adjusted rate. Payment should be by a check made out to the Views of Dummerston, and mailed to: Sara Ryan, 53 Greenhoe Rd., East Dummerston, VT 05346

Small Box Ad $55

Large Box Ad $85 Information/Inquiries: Contact Sara Ryan at: ads@ viewsofdummerston.org, or at 387-0110.

SPONSORSHIPS:

Sponsorships of $25 for four issues augment our ad revenues to provide us with operating funds. You will be notified when your sponsorship is up and invited to renew. If you wish to become a sponsor or have questions, contact Sara Ryan as above.

DIGITAL VIEWS AVAILABLE Featuring easy navigation, clickable links, and full color, we’re sure you’ll love it! viewsofdummerston.org

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.)

Property Reappraisals Are Underway

By Dummerston Listers The town-wide reappraisal has begun.

The team from the New England Municipal Resource Center has begun looking at properties, but has stopped for the winter. Reappraisals will begin again in the spring.

Our apologies to those who understood that the inspections would begin immediately everywhere. A small number took place last

fall and our intention is to provide as much prior notice to residents as we can.

The assessors’ plan is to work their way through town an area at a time. We will notify people via the town clerk’s email list and sandwich boards posted on the roads where reassessment will take place.

Feel free to call with questions or to schedule appointments that fit your schedule when your area is being looked at.

West Dummerston Fire Department

West River Dry Hydrants Installed to Improve Village Protection Richard Cogliano Assistant Fire Chief

On September 30, 2019, the West Dummerston Fire Department completed the installation of a dry hydrant to the West River. The installation of this dry hydrant is part of a comprehensive program to improve fire protection throughout Dummerston.

In addition to replacing a dry hydrant in the West River Diversion Ditch, the project also involved replacing a pipe extending under Route 30 to the West Village. This pipe allows us to flow water to the West Village during a fire without having to run a tanker shuttle or close down Route 30.

The West Dummerston Fire Department is in the process of improving fire protection in Dummerston by installing dry hydrants and other Rural Fire Protection (RFP) systems to improve the availability and accessibility of water for firefighting purposes. The Vermont Rural Fire Protection Task Force through the Vermont Association of Conservation Districts (VACD) provided assistance to the fire department in developing a plan to improve water supply in Dummerston.

The Vermont Legislature approved appro-

priations to assist communities in installing dry hydrants to improve fire protection in the rural area of Vermont. The Vermont Rural Fire Protection Task Force with the assistance of the VACD administers the grant program.

Dry hydrants and other RFP systems are a preferred method of providing water for firefighting in areas where there are no water mains. A dry hydrant consists of a 6-inch pipe with a fitting to which a pump/tanker truck can attach. The pipe connects to a water source (in this case, the West River) that can supply at least 60,000 gallons under drought conditions.

Have you wondered how you can help in an emergency? The West Dummerston Fire Department is looking for volunteers for our rescue squad. Emergency Medical Responders and EMTs respond ahead of Rescue Inc. to provide life saving care to our neighbors.

We only have a handful of EMRs and EMTs and need new volunteers to help us help you.

Finally, our annual fund drive letter went out in December and many of you have donated. Thank you so much for your support.

If you have yet to donate, please consider making a tax deductible donation to help us fund our important work.

Apologies to Sue Miller The photo of work on the church steeple this bit of shoddy proofreading, and we want which appeared on the cover of the fall Views to thank Sue for contributing both her article and attributed to Roger Turner was in fact and her photo to our last issue. taken by Sue Miller. We apologize to Sue for The Views of Dummerston Mission Statement Providing reports of town organizations, and stories of townspeople and their good deeds, in promoting cooperation and understanding toward creating a more “ideal” Dummerston.

“All who read may also contribute!”—Mary Lou McBean, founder,Views of Dummerston

Views of Dummerston • Winter, 2020 • 3

town government Dummerston Selectboard

Selectboard Seeks Animal Control Officer

By Zeke Goodband The selectboard is looking for candidates to fill the town’s animal control officer position.

After ten years of sharing the duties of that position, Wayne Emery and I are turning in our leashes.

The animal control officer (ACO) takes calls from townspeople and is responsible for enforcing the provisions of the Dummerston animal nuisance control ordinance. Wayne and I probably take between six and a dozen

calls a year, with most of the calls coming in during the warmer weather. Most of the calls are about nuisance dogs: dogs that are “running at large” and causing trouble. On occasion we’ll have to find solutions to dogs threatening walkers and bicyclists on the public right of ways. The ACO is often the first one to look into complaints of animal cruelty. There have been more calls regarding feral cats lately and we often work with the Windham County Humane Society to address that problem.

While most of the calls are about dogs, we

Dummerston Planning Commission

Revisions to Home Occupation and Home Business Bylaws Slated for Presentation in Spring

By Deb Forrett The planning commission remains steadfast on revising the home occupation and home business section of the bylaws, which we hope to have ready for presentation this spring.

The planning commission, with the help of our zoning administrator, has been looking at the bylaws of other towns in Vermont and wordsmithing and shaping some potential language that will meet the needs of Dummerston residents. We are very much in the exploratory stage of this work, trying to build on the work of other towns, consider all past feedback we’ve received, and implement our envisioning approach to planning. There are lots of moving parts, and we still manage to stay hopeful and in good humor!

The planning commission is anticipating some vacancies this spring, and now is a great

time to consider joining. The time commitment is a very reasonable one-hour meeting once a month and some additional reading and/or writing of materials that you may volunteer for as you so choose. The benefits of becoming a member of the commission are numerous: you have a real voice in creating the community you want to live in, you’re bound to learn something new, you’ll get to practice the delicate art of compromise, you get to connect with members of the other boards in town and possibly make new friends. At least come to a meeting and consider a more active role.

Current members of the planning commission are Joe Little, Sam Farwell, Annamarie Pluhar, Bev Tier, Maria Glabach, Sarah Berg, Regina Stephanelli, Bob Danzi, and Deb Forrett. We meet the first Tuesday of the month at 6:30 p.m. at the town office. Please feel free to join us.

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have responded to calls for loose pigs, wandering goats, marauding chickens, and a tank of tropical fish.

The selectboard’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year includes a $500 stipend for this position. Training workshops are offered by animal welfare organizations and the Vermont League of Cities and Towns. If you have an interest in becoming the Dummerston animal control officer or would like more information, get in touch with the selectboard.

Even if you don’t feel like taking on this job, you can make it easier on the next ACO by stopping by the town office between January and the end of April and licensing any dog you have that is six months or older. This needs to be done every year. Keeping a collar on your dog with the license and rabies tags attached will make it so much easier and quicker to return your dog to you if it ever decides to take a ramble around town.

Brattleboro Support Pharmacy Locally 413 Canal Street

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Gordon & Linda Evans Heather & Gene Rostov Akara Draper & Linnie Jones Elizabeth Catlin & Jared Flynn Cliff Adler & Lynn Levine

4 • Winter, 2020 • Views of Dummerston

town government Dummerston Conservation Commission

Commission Sponsors Months of Informative Programs

By John Anderson Another three months have come and gone and the winter solstice is behind us. By the time you read this we will have regained an hour and forty-five minutes of daylight, and sugarmakers will be anticipating early sap runs.

During those months the conservation commission has presented an array of informative, and often participatory, programs. In October Mike Clough of the Southern Vermont Natural History Museum—accompanied by several live animal ambassadors—offered Vermont Wildlife in a Changing Landscape.

This event was co-sponsored with the Dummerston Historical Society.

Next, state geologist Marjorie Gale presented Geology of Dummerston, A Place Between. Gales’ talk was well-received and informative and the huge, colorful maps that she displayed showing the state’s complexly interwoven geologic mash-ups delighted the many attendees.

In November commission member David Greenwalt offered Maps of Dummerston fea-

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turing a short talk about maps and mapping followed by time for everyone to explore the town via the eye-opening array of maps that he created. Maps showing topography, geology, and man-made features offered sweeping overviews of Dummerston, giving perspectives that would otherwise have been impossible to grasp.

Kim Royar, wildlife biologist with the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife, gave a December talk entitled Wildlife Movement in Dummerston. Royar focused on habitat connectivity at both state and local levels.

Although she shared data about the movements of such well-loved mammals as bear, coyote, bobcats, and fishers, she stressed that the department’s mandate also includes birds, reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates, an estimated 30,000 species in all!

Later in December, several commission members attended a gathering of regional conservation advocacy groups hosted by the Marlboro Conservation Commission. Attending were representatives from the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife, Windham Regional Commission, Windham Conservation District, Windham Regional Woodlands Association, Trout Unlimited, Green Mountain Conservancy, Hogback Conservation Area, Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center, and the Guilford, Dummerston, Londonderry and Marlboro Conservation Commissions.

The Marlboro Commission gave a talk on Priority Linkages in the Northern Appalachian and Arcadian Regions, and Jens Hilke of Vermont Fish and Wildlife presented maps overlaid with radio tracking data from a collared bear. The bear’s foraging range covered a thirty-three mile north-south swath and it routinely made road crossings in areas where there was suitable habitat (large forest blocks) on both sides of the road. Tracked bobcats also routinely chose to cross where their preferred habitat (brushy hedgerows or riparian buffers) occurred on both sides of the road.

It makes sense. Why would any animal make a risky road crossing to reach unsuitable habitat? But, for many, radio tracking data superimposed on a map moves that idea from a vague abstract concept to a graspable reality.

And now, having dutifully reported, I’m going to ramble off into a loosely related

inter-species bird observation. One late summer afternoon I was watching a hen turkey with six or seven grown poults slow stepping across my field, foraging as they went. They were arrayed skirmish-line fashion across the field, but as they progressed one bird lagged further and further behind the rest.

None of the birds seemed concerned until the flock reached the woods. At that point the laggard went into a trot attempting to catch up, but before it could reach the flock a tiny male sharp-shinned hawk dropped out of a tree where it had been concealed and drove its talons into the turkey’s back.

The turkey, with the raptor aboard, gobbled frantically, went into a dead run, and dove head first through the dense field-side brush and brambles which quite effectively wiped the little aggressor off its back. After perhaps thirty seconds on the ground, the brushbattered sharpie composed himself enough to fly to a nearby tree limb where he preened and straightened his badly ruffled feathers.

The very disturbed turkey was still cackling and gobbling when it went out of earshot.

According to one reputable bird book, a sharp-shinned hawk weighs about five ounces! I estimated the turkey’s weight to have been, at a minimum, six pounds, giving the intended prey at least a 20:1 weight advantage. In fact, the very idea of a sharp-shinned hawk trying to prey on a turkey is patently ludicrous and, as an observer, I couldn’t help but chuckle at the outcome.

But, in retrospect, I can see just how seriously both birds viewed what had occurred.

The turkey simply knew that it had been attacked from ambush and it reacted instinctively. The young inexperienced sharpie knew instinctively that other birds were prey but still needed to learn just what size prey it should tackle.

For wildlings, learning clearly has its risks, yet every day we confront them with completely new and novel constructions such as roads, bridges, utility lines, wind turbines, etc. for which they have no instincts and about which learning is unnaturally risky and often fatal. And for the young of other species learning about life is already a high risk endeavor.

For more information on the conservation commission go to http://www.dummerston conservation.com.

Views of Dummerston • Winter, 2020 • 5

organizations Dummerston Historical Society

Tom Zopf Honored, “Old Timers” Share Stories

by Muriel Taylor January Annual Meeting Report: True to the season and the snowy weather conditions on January 16th, our annual meeting topic was entitled “Old Timers’ Winter Memories”. Drawing on the musings of those geriatrically-qualified to speak, the evening brought humor and an occasional bit of wistfulness to those twentyfive stalwart souls in attendance. For example, Sallie May told of she and her brother burrowing tunnels in the great snowbanks heaped up by the plow, and Eleanor Fish remembered the day she looked out and saw her four-year-old son on the peak of the neighbor’s garage roof, having climbed there on piles of snow accumulated along its side. He was caught by a nail impaling his jacket and was duly rescued by his dad.

Several others had recollections of the various town snowplows used back in the day. It was a different time, well remembered.

Tom Zopf recently retired from our board of directors after many years of devoted service.

Tom was honored in several ways that evening.

Chuck Fish spoke about the many contributions Tom has made to the Historical Society, including providing cabinets and shelving in both the meeting room and the workroom of the Bunker Addition. He also created the beautiful wall hanging depicting the school districts on the old town map. In his spare time, Tom began the process of organizing our collection, a daunting task. In view of Tom’s many contributions to the preservation of the history of Dummerston, he was presented with the Distinguished Historian Award and his engraved name was added to the plaque which is permanently displayed at the Schoolhouse, joining that of Carol Bessette.

Sara Ryan baked a special cake for Tom, which was later enjoyed by him and all present. Tom’s wit, service, and presence will be sorely missed.

Thank you, Tom. Building Committee Report: Chuck Fish, committee chair, reports that the gutters and landscaping currently appear to be doing what they are supposed to do and that the dehumidifiers are controlling the moisture in the two parts of the crawl space. Bob Taylor and Kevin Ryan keep track of the systems in place, tweaking periodically to ensure the best results, and making reports to the chair and the directors. We thank them for their continued help with this project.

Spring will bring its showers and rising ground water. We are hopeful that we will make a similar happy report next time.

Membership Email Update: A test run of an email to our membership using “Mailchimp” has been successfully sent and the response has been positive. The gathering of up-to-date email addresses will continue through the coming year as we modernize our communication capabilities. We appreciate your patience as we braille our way through this process.

Items for Sale: Our signature black tee-shirts with the covered bridge motif, and the 2020 “Scenes of Dummerston” calendars are still available for purchase at the town office or at any of our programs or functions. These sales help fund our ongoing expenses such as heat,

Calendar Photographs Needed Photographs will be needed for the 2021 Dummerston Historical Society’s annual calendar. Photos must be horizontal and must be of and around Dummerston with no identifiable people.

Please send photos to Jody Normandeau at jodydvt@ gmail.com. If your photo is used in the calendar, you will receive a free calendar.

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Mark’s Place SERVING MY NEIGHBORS

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electricity and insurance.

Donations of Historical Items: Our collection builds as community members and others contribute items of historical interest to Dummerston. We preserve these donated artifacts for the appreciation of future generations.

Membership: The Dummerston Historical Society encourages you to join us in 2020 as a member or volunteer and to come to our exhibits and meetings. Please note that you do not need to be a member of the Historical Society to attend any of our functions. We always welcome your company and help. Our schoolhouse is handicapped accessible.

6 • Winter, 2020 • Views of Dummerston

organizations Evening Star Grange #154

Used Clothing Bin Now at Grange

By Sallie J. May Secretary

Something new has been added at the Grange! I’m sure many of you have driven by our Grange Hall and noticed the nice-

Lydia Taft Pratt Library

Community Welcomes Librarian Dena Marger

By Jessica Nelson, LTP Library Trustee

The LTP Library is happy to welcome Dena Marger as their librarian! She started at the beginning of January and brings with her extensive library experience as an academic librarian, having held positions at Granite State College, Keene State College, Holyoke Community College, and Vermont Technical College, along with various positions in educational technology. Although the library was sad to see Karen Cawrse leave in November having significantly added to the library’s offerings, the LTP board looks forward to the extensive knowledge and skills Dena brings to the table.

The library is currently seeking a new board member to fill a vacant seat. Please email dummerstonvtlibrary@gmail.com if interested. The library is open Tuesday 2–6 p.m., Wedneday/Thursday 1–5 p.m., and Saturdays (staffed by volunteers) 10 a.m.–1 p.m.

appearing wooden shed set at the back of our parking lot. This arrived on December 10th and is a used-clothing pick-up shed sponsored

by St. Pauly’s, Inc. This is a family-owned business based in western New York State, and has recently entered the Vermont-New Hampshire market area. They pride themselves on keeping the area around these sheds clean and neat and accept only clean used clothing, pocketbooks, shoes, and the like. No toys, electronics, or household goods or things of that nature should be tossed in the bin. The Grange receives payment of around forty cents per bag, based upon an average weight of bags.

So, if you have clean, used clothing which you don’t want to save for Caring & Sharing next fall, please consider saving a trip to Brattleboro and drop it off at the shed at the Grange, In an effort to curb our heating costs, the Grange has closed off the upstairs portion of the hall for the month of January and part of

Dummerston Community Center

Five-Year Plan Focuses on Building Upgrades

By Ann Davis

What a winter this has been so far! A few weeks ago it was 56 degrees. Wow!!

In December we made gingerbread houses.

There was a full house and sooo much candy!

The kids had a terrific time (we did too). Hopefully this will happen again next year.

We are working on our five-year plan. This

Sponsors John & Karen Abel Arnold & Roberta Garland Orly Munzing & Bob Dunbar Mark and Lee Tice Fred Lee

e lin sh i in

F

Construction L .L. C.

February. Plastic has also been placed over the windows on the first floor which has made a noticeable difference in the drafts blowing through the building.

Mark your calendars. March will be here before you know it, and once again it will be time to think of our town meeting luncheon and the now annual sugar on snow supper, which should happen on the last Saturday in March. We hope for a really good sugar season this year!

Keep in mind that the Grange is always looking for new members. If you are interested in a community-oriented organization which concentrates on community service, please consider investigating the Grange. You are always welcome to come and visit and learn about us and what we do. For information please call me at 257-0387 or Grange Master Larry Lynch at 802-310-0799 (cell). Enjoy a safe and peaceful winter season.

Business Owners

Are you aware that the Views of Dummerston is now available online at ViewsofDummerston.org and at the State of Vermont Visitors’ Center in Guilford on I-91.

And the online Views has live web and email links and is in COLOR!

for more information contact sara ryan at ads@viewsofdummerston.org

is not an easy thing to do, but we are giving it our best to upgrade and bring the building up to present.

The wagon project is on hold until spring.

We need new flooring for the wagon bed and a shed in which to store and display this treasure.

Donations for this shed will be appreciated and they are tax deductible. Thank you for your help.

March 7th is the date for our annual Pampered Chef party. Mark the date and time, 12:55–3 p.m. This is a Saturday. And it will be a day filled with new baking and cooking goodies. Also you get to meet our hostess, Kim Martin, who is very knowledgeable on the latest new products and recipes. Come and check out these products and try some tasty treats.

Remember the Community Center when planning your next get-together, workshop, family gathering, whatever. If there is an event in your future that requires a little extra space, check us out. We have a fully-equipped kitchen, playground, plenty of parking, and are handicapped accessible…what more could you want? Call Jean at 802-254-9212 to schedule your date.

As always, thank you to everyone who has supported us through the years. Without you we wouldn’t be here.

Views of Dummerston • Winter, 2020 • 7

organizations Dummerston Cares

Health Maintenance Classes Continue

By Lesley N. Fishelman, M.D. As most of us are aware, even gentle exercise has been shown to improve balance, reduce falls, and lessen joint and back pain. As it turns out, there is also growing evidence that exercise itself can help with cognition across the life span. See the references below which are available from PubMed. It is now clear that the nervous system is capable of changing throughout the life span.

Children who are involved in athletics during adolescence show an increase in working memory which persists in later life. There is evidence that exercise as one ages contributes to similar shifts in the functioning of the nervous system. It is also possible that learning new physical skills in later life contributes to the development of new neuronal pathways and that this may inhibit cognitive decline. (1-3) Even people who have not exercised much or are limited by illness or physical pain can benefit from a specifically tailored exercise regimen. (4) It is in this vein that Dummerston Cares is hoping to continue offering opportunities to the Dummerston community to utilize exercise programs in the interest of health maintenance.

We are offering a number of programs to town residents that are either not available in the greater community, or are otherwise costly or inconvenient to get to. The hope is that as many of us as possible get an opportunity to take advantage of the body’s capacity to learn new ways to move. A new physical skill, even a very simple one, can have positive effects on well-being.

The list below highlights the on-going offerings and also some potential offerings about which we would love community feedback. It is hard to survey the whole community and to get a sense of what activities might be of interest.

Mostly we guess. The first courses listed have been held at least once in the past year-and-ahalf. The courses marked with an asterisk are ones that we are contemplating.

Gentle Yoga with Judy Carpenter has been very well received and is currently running through the winter and early spring. We are hoping to offer another session sometime in the later spring.

Beginning Wu T’ai Chi with John Hury is also running through March of 2020, and if there is interest we will offer another session in the spring . The intermediate and advanced level Wu T’ai Chi course, which is open to anyone

who has completed the beginner session in the past year or has Wu T’ai Chi experience, will continue through the winter and spring as well.

15 Form T’ai Chi with Lesley Fishelman is designed for students who have no T’ai Chi experience and who would like to learn something that can be mastered at the beginner level in eight sessions. It will start again in April. In the class offered this fall, the students made excellent progress.

As has been noted in past Views articles, there is good evidence that doing fifty hours of T’ai Chi practice over a year is associated with better balance, better core leg strength and a lower incidence of falling. It is also energizing for many people and calming for some. (5,6) In addition to these classes, we search for other forms of group physical activity for members of the community, who either are not able to do any of the activities noted above, or who want to begin an exercise practice but have been without one. So, we are going to be offering two sessions of Seated Zumba with Kathy Steinem in the spring. Kathy is a highly-credentialed dance teacher who will be tailoring this class to the participants’ needs. If there is enough interest, we will continue this class throughout the spring and fall.

Learning a new physical skill is fun, and is also associated with improved focus, plus seeming to improve cognition in general, according to recent research. Music and rhythm exercises, such as Zumba, integrate numerous parts of the nervous system and provide a sense of mastery which is mood elevating at any age. This is a place to start for people who find standing exercise difficult or those who would just like to try something new that is not too complex and is apt to be fun!

Finally, in coordination with Brattleboro Memorial Hospital and the Vermont Health initiative, we are hoping to offer a Holistic Chronic Pain Management Program to Dummerston residents. Before the opiate epidemic,

Sponsors Carolyn Mayo Brown & Gregory Brown Len Oppenheim Tonia & Whit Wheeler Cheryl Wilfong & Bill McKim Mary Lou & Bill Schmidt

these programs were fairly wide-spread and produced surprisingly good results in terms of reduced distress and improved mood. (7) Chronic pain is the description given to an ongoing pain issue that lasts at least three months and that is not easily treated with medication.

Examples are arthritis, back pain, fibromyalgia, migraine headaches, etc. This class, run by a continued on page 16

Fuel Assistance Available to Residents

By Bill Schmidt With winter winding down some folks may be stretched to pay their remaining fuel bills before spring and warmer weather comes.

Dummerston Cares has an emergency fuel assistance program for residents in this situation. Those in need of assistance should fill out an application that describes their situation and need. The application is then reviewed to see if any state or SEVCA (Southeastern Vermont Community Action) emergency funds are available and, if not, how Dummerston Cares’ Fuel Fund can be most helpful for a qualifying applicant. Any funds provided by Dummerston Cares, such as payment for fuel oil or propane, go directly to fuel dealers.

For more information on the Dummerston Cares Fund and to get an application, call the Dummerston Cares message line at 257-5800.

Fuel assistance is also available from the Dummerston Congregational Church’s wood pantry. For dry firewood from the wood pantry, contact Charlie Richardson at 254-6963.

8 • Winter, 2020 • Views of Dummerston

organizations

What does it mean to “Adopt a Book?”

By Linda Rood

name of a friend or a child. Some write inspiring words to the children of Dummerston School.

When my children were in school, I used to bring them in to the Adopt-a-Book event and each would choose a book they liked and sign their own names on the book plate. They loved having books in the library that were “theirs”.

Even though they are now full-fledged adults, I still adopt books in their names, choosing books that I think they would have liked when they were younger, or that reflect their interests now, and I put their names on the plates along with the year they graduated from Dummerston School. They must each have about thirty books in the library!

If you’ve never participated in this event, please give it a try. It’s fun, and it really helps us keep our library up-to-date. We noticed that our participation was down last year, and we’re hoping for a solid turn-out this year.

Every year at town meeting we are urged to come in to the library to “adopt a book.” One might wonder what that’s all about. It all started a long time ago when Dummerston School got its first library, and Helen and Frank Irsch, along with Martha and Al Morgan and “friends”, got an idea for how to help add more new books to the brand-new library. Thus the “Friends of the Library’ organization was born, along with the idea for the fundraiser that has allowed us to supplement the school library’s budget with the purchase of hundreds of new books over the years.

How does it work? Well, you take a minute during town meeting, or when you come in to vote, to pay a visit to the library down the hall from the school office. There you will find friendly volunteers and a display of the new books we have purchased using the money we raised at last year’s town meeting. You look around and find a book or two that you like. You “buy” the book; that is, you reimburse us for the cost. In return, we will put a bookplate inside the continued from page 1 cover of the book with whatever message you known as the author of many books, includwould like. Some people just put their name ing Reading the Forested Landscape, a guide and the date. Some people adopt the book in the to interpreting the history of land use in any one particular spot. Hikers especially love his guided walks where Tom teaches us to see deeply the juncture of landscape and culture as we explore the woods.

A prime example of building this connection is a new trail project underway right now in Dummerston.

Imagine a trail that runs north from Prospect Hill near Dummerston Center to Putney Mountain and beyond and eventually south to Black Mountain. How could anyone find the space amidst all the houses and roads to finally get to a woods with 80-foot-tall, 175-year-old hemOPENING MID-APRIL FOR PLANT locks, twisted folds of the rock outcroppings, SALES snowy deer wintering yards, the third largest ash Old Favorites, New Hybrids, Rare Beauties tree in Vermont, and mossy brooks that cross Annuals, Perennials, Hanging Baskets the landscape? Where do you find the space to Herbs and Vegetable Plants catch glimpses of Mt. Monadanock to the east

Tom Wessels Talk Links with Local Trail Project

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and Haystack and Mt. Snow to the west?

What it takes are landowners willing to enable trail access through the inland portions of their properties. Six families, all fulltime Dummerston residents with contiguous lands, are cooperating to make available trail access that will reach from Prospect Hill to the Dummerston-Putney town line.

PMA needs to purchase two additional missing links on the trail. They are the only undeveloped parcels in this densely-settled area of Dummerston, along the Hague/Evans Rd continuum, which act as a valued wildlife corridor recognized by the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department. PMA will hold the title and the Vermont Land Trust will hold a conservation easement on the land. Totaling fifty-five acres, the parcels form a critical wildlife corridor linking two 225+ forest blocks. The Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, private foundations, and generous local residents have provided $158,000 of the $200,000 needed.

This extraordinary opportunity to link Prospect Hill with the Putney Mountain trails system will not only conserve wildlife habitat and views, but will provide a local trail for people to enjoy for generations to come.

Find out more at Putneymountain.org or call 802.579.6641, and join us downstairs at the Dummerston Congregational Church on Wednesday March 18 at 7 p.m. Maps, project descriptions, and refreshments will be provided.

Views of Dummerston • Winter, 2020 • 9

school news

Melanie Keiser Selected as Administrative Assistant

By Julianne Eagan

the Dummerston School community. Please join me in welcoming Melanie to Dummerston topic, “What Does Freedom of Speech Mean to Me?” Colby placed first, and Luca placed School!

When the weather gets cold, the Dummerston Our middle school students have been engag- second. Their writing will be entered into the School community gets active! The late fall ing in a number of learning experiences over state contest.

In grades PreK-4, students have had the and early winter months have been filled with the last few months. Prior to our holiday break, exciting learning opportunities, and it has been our ASSET team led the school in participating opportunity for enriching learning opportuniin Project Feed the Thousands.

In total, Dummerston School collected over 130 pounds of food to donate to local food shelves. These same ASSET students participated in the district middle school leadership training at Landmark College in January. As part of this experience, students prepared and implemented a workshop for district students and staff entitled Running a Fun and Productive Leadership Meeting.

In November, eighth graders transformed the gym into a beautiful setting for the first middle school dance of the year featuring an original playlist, Dance Off, and limbo competition! Seventh graders are busy preparing for our next dance in February. The gym also came First graders act out the life cycle of a tree with Kristina to life in November at the start Weeks from Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center. of our basketball season for a joy to watch students grow and develop as students in grades 6-8. John Pickney individuals and in community as they enter the returns as coach of our girls’ team, and Sixth-grade writers Colby Bristol and Luca Feusi placed first second half of their school year.

Paul Hoak returns as our boys’ coach. and second, respecitvely, in this fall’s Elk’s Essay Contest.

In November, we said goodbye to our beloved Four middle school students, Jasmine administrative assistant Jenn Martyn who has Thibault, Destiny Thibault, Emma Lafayette- ties through a collaboration with Bonnyvale taken a position with the Vermont State Col- Havens, and Hailey Reed, auditioned for and Environmental Education Center as well as the leges System and welcomed Melanie Keiser as performed in the District Music Festival Chorus ELF (Environmental Learning for the Future) her replacement. Melanie served as executive in November. Congratulations to these students Science Program. Co-sponsored by the Dumassistant to the vice-president of student affairs and thank you to their teacher Rita Corey for merston Conservation Program, our partnership at Landmark College, and prior to her time at helping to prepare them for such a beautiful with BEEC brings hands-on science learning Landmark, served six years as administrative performance, A proud congratulations also experiences to our students, including how assistant at Newbrook School in Newfane. goes to sixth grade writers Colby Bristol and animals use senses to survive, exploring the Melanie comes to us with a wide variety of Luca Feusi, who entered and placed in this fall’s “costumes” that seeds wear, the life cycle of continued on page 11 administrative skills and is thrilled to be joining Elks Essay Contest. Their essays focused on the Principal

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10 • Winter, 2020 • Views of Dummerston

school news

New School District Tackles Governance Issues

By Kristina Naylor

Dummerston Representative to the WSESD

I apologize for my absence from the Views lately. As it turns out, starting a new school district is a big task!

This school year began a new era and welcomed new faces at Dummerston School.

After two years of budgeting and planning, we welcomed our first PreK class. The principal, PreK and kindergarten teachers met the numerous challenges to welcome ten PreK students on the first day of school, A new era also began this year with our new principal, Julianne Eagan, Last spring, superintendent Lyle Holiday led an exemplary hiring process involving stakeholders throughout the community in filling this important position. Julianne brings extensive teaching experience to the position and most recently served as a WSESU Curriculum Coordinator. As the Dummerston Board adjourned on June 30th, there was a sense of accomplishment having left the school in Julianne’s highly skilled and caring hands, and with a new program to serve our children.

The Dummerston Board adjournment began a new era in school governance. On July 1, the state merged Dummerston with Brattleboro, Putney, Guilford, and BUHS into the Windham Southeast Supervisory District (WSESD). As part of the merger,

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my role changed from a Dummerston School Director to one of two Dummerston resident school directors who represent all four communities. Each community currently has two residents who represent all the communities and are elected by voters in all four communities. Dummerston is fortunate to have Thomas Nolan serve during this challenging year and I have appreciated the insight he has brought to the position, The WSESD board meets the first and third Wednesdays at 6 p.m. in locations revolving throughout all the schools and our meetings are also broadcast on BCTV. While we are now merged, the legal challenge to forced merger continues to work through the court system. The Vermont Supreme Court heard arguments on January 15, 2020 and a decision is expected in the next six months. The supreme court justices had many of the same questions our board heard from Dummerston voters, The case “Athens et al. vs State of Vermont,” seemed aptly named when the justices questioned the state’s disregard of a legal community vote.

The new merged board has been busy building a foundation for merged governance, In addition to regular board work, we passed a budget in June and over the summer implemented policies so the school year could begin, In the fall we created four amendments to the state-issued “Articles of Agreement” which govern our district. One of these amendments added two additional Brattleboro resident board members (who also represent all communities). Another article created Leadership Councils which include teachers, parents, the principal, community members, and a WSESD schoolboard member. These councils help advise the board on local school interests and needs and are a great way to become involved in the school. The final two articles included a requirement for a town vote to change the grades a school operates (which would apply if there was consideration of eliminating the Dummerston Middle School, for example), as well as a town vote if consideration was being given to close a school, The passage of these last two amendments addressed a major concern the Dummerston School Board heard throughout the study committee process, that Dummerston School could be closed. While many voluntary school mergers around the state are now are expe-

riencing infighting and are unraveling, the passage of these amendments indicate our district is moving forward in a unified way.

This winter the board worked on the first unified budget. As always, many factors influence the budget. Expenditures and our student count for FY2021 are both slightly up, The increases in expenditures are mostly due to increased special education costs and increased healthcare costs, which are dictated by law and the State of Vermont, A few additions to Dummerston School’s budget will be five additional PreK spots and a breakfast offering. At this writing, we are forecasting an overall district tax rate of $1.742. Dummerston continues to have a favorable CLA (Common Level of Appraisal) of 1.04, so the CLA adjusted tax rate for Dummerston will be $1.673 if this budget is passed. This budget will be voted on at the WSESD annual meeting on March 17th at 6 p.m. at the BUHS gymnasium.

In an era of new faces at Dummerston School, three familiar faces are likely to be more visible around Dummerston over the coming year. At the WSESD annual meeting I will complete my term and my school board service. It has been an honor to serve Dummerston every step of the way and I appreciate the trust you have placed in me. Additionally, it was with great regret the board accepted retirement requests from two long-serving Dummerston resident educators. Bill Holiday will retire at the end of this school year after bringing an awareness of history and the world to generations of students. I can attest to the fact that his passion continues to inspire students after 49 years; a few months ago my son filled our dinner conversation with discussions of the JFK assassination after attending one of Bill’s legendary lectures. Superintendent Lyle Holiday will also retire as superintendent this June. Lyle has managed our supervisory union through this transition with unflappable energy and with a laser focus on children. It is a tribute to Lyle’s leadership that our district is working cohesively and thoughtfully together, and she has paved a path forward for our next educational leader. Our supervisory union board is working to fill this key position and we hope to complete the hiring process this spring.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve, and we hope to see you at the WSESD annual meeting on March 17th.

Views of Dummerston • Winter, 2020 • 11

school news

Melanie Keiser Selected as Administrative Assistant

Dummerston School students take a break to pose for the camera during Winter (continued at right)

continued from page 9 insects and trees, and how local animals build shelter and find food. Through the ELF program, coordinated by science teacher Keith Marshall, parent volunteers engage students in inquirybased science lessons about their natural world.

This fall and winter also included visits from Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department staff made possible by the Dummerston Conservation Commission. In December, Kim Royar,

Members of the Dummerston School Asset Team

Furbearer project leader, visited the fourth grade to talk about mammal skins and skulls. Biologist Jaclyn Comeau discussed the fascinating habits of black bears with our middle-school students in January. Grades 1-3 have also been participating in a STEM challenge. Working with technology coordinator Adrienne LaPierre, students have learned about the engineering design process by working with Makey Makeys, small circuit boards that allow students to use connectors to make closed circuits with conductive materials. Thanks to all who make these enriching programs possible for our students.

Every Friday morning, the hills surrounding our school are filled with the joyful sound of children’s voices. Our Forest Friday program brings parents, children, and staff into the early

learning center’s outdoor classroom for naturebased learning activities.

PreK and kindergarten registration for the 2020-2021 school year is underway. Children who are five years old on or before September 1st, 2020 will enter our kindergarten program. If your child will be four on or before September 1st, 2020, they are eligible to register for our PreK program. The Dummerston PreK has limited openings. Siblings of current Dummerston School students receive priority; other slots are filled by lottery. To be eligible for the lottery, registration paperwork must be received by April 1, 2020. Please call Melanie Keiser, Dummerston School administrative assistant, for more information and to request a registration packet. In April, families of enrolled PreK and kindergarten students will be invited to school to meet our early learning center teachers and other school staff as well as learn more about our program.

Thanks to the support of Dummerston School PTFO, parent chaperones, and staff, students have been heading out into the larger community for winter activities each Thursday afternoon.

Activities include skiing and snowboarding at Mt. Snow, gymnastics at Brattleboro Park and Recreation, skating at the Nelson Withington skating facility, outdoor educational activities for kindergarteners at the Retreat Farm, and bowling at Brattleboro Bowl.

This year, Dummerston School staff have continued their work in studying and implementing best practices for engaging students through high-quality, rigorous, and differentiated instruction designed to meet the unique profile of each learner. A key component of this work is placing the student at the center of the learning experience. This spring, all students will lead their families through a conference, articulating their progress toward critical goals and their plans for future learning.

Another key component of this work is understanding each student’s needs and designing interventions as needed to remediate an existing gap or provide enrichment when necessary.

We welcome your feedback and encourage your participation in our school community.

Families, please join us for our monthly Coffee, Connections, and All-School meeting on the last Wednesday morning of the month to connect with parents and staff and participate in our student-led assemblies. The Dummerston PTFO meets the third Thursday of every month at 6 p.m. Our fundraising is dedicated toward improving our outdoor play and learning envi-

ronments, and we welcome your participation.

Our newly formed Dummerston School leadership council meets monthly. Members include Tammy McNamara, Rick Mills, Heidi Gale,

(Continued from left) Activities at the Nelson Withington Skating Facility in Brattleboro.

Maeve Jenks, Lance Neeper, Nancy Livingston Clements, Julianne Eagan, Lilly Depino, Carmen Winchester, and Erica Garnett. We are excited about the opportunity to collaborate with school staff, parents, and community members in support of Dummerston School students. The public is welcome to attend our meetings, and we can be reached via e-mail at dlcvt20@gmail. com. Meeting schedules and agendas are posted on the Dummerston School website.

Thank you for your continued support of Dummerston School and the opportunity to partner with you in the meaningful, rewarding, and joyful work of educating Dummerston’s children.

As part of our STEM curriculum, second-grade students work with Makey Makeys, small circuit boards that allow students to create circuits to power a piano app.

12 • Winter, 2020 • Views of Dummerston

Election 2020: Candidates’ Statements

There are no contested offices in this year’s election. Those who are running for office are: Selectboard (3-year term)—Maria Glabach; Selectboard (2-year term)—no candidate yet; WSESD Director (2-year term)—Thomas Nolan; WSESD Director (3-year term)—Michelle Luetjen Green; Moderator—Cindy Jerome; Clerk—Laurie Frechette; Treasurer— Charlotte Neer Annis; Auditor (3-year term)—Vikki Budasi; Auditor (remaining 1 year of 3-year term)—no candidate; Lister (3-year term)—Jean Newell; Lister (remaining 2 years of 3-year term)—

Stephan Mindel; Library Trustee (5-year term)—Jeanne Bristol; Library Trustee (remaining 1 year of 5-year term)—Phyllis Emery; Library Trustee (remaining 2 years of 5-year term)—Jessica Nelson; Library Trustee (remaining 3 years of 5-year term)—no candidate; Town Agent—Ruth Barton; and Grand Juror—Ruth Barton.

There may be write-in candidates where there is no candidate as of the filing date, for the two-year selectboard position for example. If there is no write-in candidate, the selectboard will appoint somebody to fill the position until the next election.

Charlotte Neer Annis

Cindy Jerome

Steve Mindel

I am running for the position of Town Treasurer. Being the treasurer since 2016 has been a wonderful experience. I have enjoyed being a part of an engaging work environment, meeting everyone who comes to the office for town business and continually learning new ways to make our jobs here easier. I have worked at the Town office since January of 2009 as the zoning administrator and as a lister. Both jobs have contributed to the knowledge base that helps me with my job as treasurer.

Thank you for your support,

I am happy to again ask for your vote for Town Moderator.

This March 3th will be the 9th Town Meeting I’ve been privileged to serve; you’ll be voting on whether I serve a 10th time next year.

In years past I was a Selectboard member, including serving as chair for a couple of years. I’ve also chaired the Social Services Advisory Committee. For work, I’m the director of Alice Peck Day Lifecare, which provides elders with assisted living, independent living and memory care.

I love our Town and am honored to play a role in our community. My goals at Town Meeting are to be sure everyone who has something to say is heard and to help the townsfolk enact their will.

Thank you for your trust in me over these years. I hope to earn it again.

My name is Steve Mindel. I am seeking to continue in the role of lister to which I was appointed last April to fill the term remaining for Doug Hamilton, who retired after many years in service to the town.

I have lived in Dummerston for 44 years and am recently retired as co-owner for 38 years of Mindel and Morse Builders.

I have served the town for 20 years on the planning commission, chair for 10.

I see the role of lister as seeking assessment equity and fairness so that everyone pays their fair share in support of Dummerston. My experience as a builder is an asset in helping to understand and determine the value of properties. One of our hardest tasks is reconciling assessed value with current market value, trying to keep up with an ever changing market. I look forward to the challenge.

We have an extraordinary group of dedicated and talented town officials. I would be honored to continue as a part of this team.

Treasurer

Town Meeting Moderator, 1-year term Lister, completion of 3-year term

Prospect Hill Beckons Hikers continued from page 1 restricted the view. The PHP trustees hired Gerry Hawkes of Forest Savers to clear the land. Regrowth of invasives meant that clearing was again needed last summer. Thanks to Compliments of

Priscilla Svec, P.T.

Practicing Holistic Physical Therapy

Passings Priscilla Kay Smith 10-22-19 Silvio “Shorty” Forrett 10-24-19 Leslie Pierce 11-16-19 Carolyn P “Bunny” Hazelton 11-25-19 Elizabeth “Betty” Stacy 1-19-20 Martha “Marty” Chamberlin 1-28-20

126 Main Street, Putney

387-4799

Births Lorin John Suplee III

9-22-19

Jude Maxwell Danzi

10-2-19

Aria Lafayette Bressett

10-24-19

Addison May Pelham-Starkey 11-5-

the combined effort of volunteers and the town road crew, the summit was cut back and the view opened up. Jonathan Royce of ArborClimb, Inc. used the Brontosaurus mower, cutting brush and pushing back the edges. The town road crew mowed the center of the field.

Many community members work together to maintain this town-owned property. The PHP trustees meet three times a year. The group consists of five community members and the Dummerston Selectboard. They work closely with the Dummerston Conservation Commission. If you’re interested in volunteering to help with PHP projects, you can contact any Dummerston Conservation Commission member (info@dummerstonconservation.com).

WANTED

Person interested in serving as a Commissioner representing the Town of Dummerston on the Windham Regional Commission.

For info call Roger Turner (257-5608) or contact the selectboard.

Views of Dummerston • Winter, 2020 • 13

Election 2019: Candidates’ Statements WSESD DIRECTOR

Thomas Nolan

Michelle Luetjen Green

Hello Dummerston! Currently, I am serving as one of 2 Dummerston residents on the unified Windham Southeast School District Board.

I would be honored to continue in this role.

After the initial stresses brought about by Act 46, members of the board have acted in good faith to come together and find a way of addressing the anxieties that resulted from this legislation.

I believe that we have made great progress at unifying with the goal of serving every child in the district fully. We have also worked at length on the proposed resurfacing of Natowich Field.

While this issue has been contentious for many, I am confident that we will resolve the situation with a 21st century mindset that works with the natural environment, protects children’s health and safety, and is financially responsible.

Currently, I chair the board’s Climate Crisis Task Force. In this group, board members and concerned residents from the area meet to review the district’s impact on our climate and the proactive steps we can take to address this urgent problem. Our work deals with issues such as curriculum, procurement, food, transportation, and more. We report back to the board with what’s currently going well, and how to improve what needs work. As well, I serve on the board’s Diversity Committee, which develops policies and practices to foster an environment of support and respect for students of all backgrounds. I’m proud of the work that these two groups are doing.

Personally, I am the father of a 2 year old boy who I plan on sending to the Dummerston School when the time comes. My intent is to do everything to ensure that he and all other children in the district are provided with the best resources and learning environment that we can offer. To me, public education is perhaps the greatest investment that we can make in the health and happiness of our children as they grow. It lets them achieve their potential and, when done right, teaches them how to think (not merely what to think). Towns and regions that neglect their public education systems suffer greatly over the generations. I will work to make sure this isn’t the case for our region.

We are currently living in a climate where public education (a fundamental right of all children) is being threatened, told to live with less, and attacked at the federal level. Our responsibility as a society is to provide for our children’s needs. If I am allowed to continue serving, I will strongly and happily defend public education.

Hello neighbors!

My name is Michelle Luetjen Green, and on March 3rd, you’ll find my name asking for your support to represent Dummerston on the Windham Southeast School District Board of Education. Our family is fairly new to the community. We bought our home in the Fall of 2018 on Green Mountain Camp Rd. Although new to the community, our decision to settle down in Vermont, and specifically, Dummerston, was a very thoughtful process —the education system being at the core of our decision.

I am the mother of four school aged children, invested in their quality of education.

I have one in high school, middle school, elementary school, and kindergarten. Over the last 10 years, my husband’s career and training have required numerous moves from the coast of Maine to central Ohio. We’ve been part of an array of school environments, but our time living in Sharon, Vermont, stood out above all others. We were thrilled by the many advantages of a smaller rural school and while forced to move away, recognized the appeal of raising our children in a small community and school system. For my own children, each move magnified the importance of community values being supported in the school environment. We realized that we felt aligned with the values of Vermonters. Specific strengths that stood out include, effective means of truly educating, not just preparing our children for standardized tests, hands-on learning experience and personal involvement, and community and environmental consciousness.

Our eldest daughter made us so proud in her efforts at her former middle school in a metropolitan suburb in Ohio. She stepped outside her comfort zone and was elected to student council with hopes to bring change to a school that recycled nothing. Not paper in the classrooms or plastics in the cafeteria.

Ultimately, she was supported by her educa-

Director, 2-year term

Director, 3-year term

Sponsors Linda Rood & Roger Turner Nick & Joan Thorndike Dick & Harriet Virkstis Marcy Hermansader Lou Nelson

tors, but could not advance such a positive goal forward, because the School Board felt it would be necessary to implement in every school in our district and too complicated to execute. It was frustrating and sad, but brought to light how important it is to have an engaged school board that wants to support positive growth and encourage personal responsibility whenever possible.

Before marriage and motherhood I worked for five years as a Child Development Specialist at a large residential home for children exposed to abuse and trauma. It was in that position that I learned the value of advocacy and the necessity of supporting a population that was notoriously underserved. By that measure, I was so impressed by Vermont’s efforts to provide an equal opportunity education system to all of the children of Vermont, no matter where they resided or the advantages they had or did not have at home. I have been so impressed by our current Board of Education members and their commitment to serving our community and preserving the wonderful education system that is Dummerston School.

I was sad to learn that several members were stepping down, but saw the need for someone with an invested heart to fill their positions. This is what I can best commit to. I am invested in our school system and my heart is dedicated to supporting our educators and the children in our district. I am honored to have the opportunity to serve my community and appreciate your consideration of support.

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EASTER SUNDAY SERVICE April 12~10 a.m.

Sunrise Service~6:30 a.m.

Rev. Shawn Bracebridge, pastor Office 257-0544 • Home 802-689-0753 Glabach Land Management Ted & Kristen Glabach Landscaping & Excavation Dummerston, VT 05301 802-536-4025 Glabach@yahoo.com

14 • Winter, 2020 • Views of Dummerston

A Personal Tribute to Carolyn “Bunny” Hazelton

by Larrimore Crockett On November 25, 2019, Dummerston lost one of its saints. I suspect that Bunny Hazelton would laugh if she heard herself called a “saint,” but in my book, anyone who touches your life for the good is a saint, and that is how Bunny touched my life. I am sure that in her many roles and involvements (wife and mother, nurse at Grace Cottage Hospital and elsewhere, school bus driver, board member, Grange volunteer, church member, square dancer - the list goes on) Bunny touched hundreds of lives for the good. My own personal experience of Bunny stretches back to 1957. Here is what I said about that in a tribute to Bunny at her funeral on December 6, 2019 in the Dummerston Congregational Church: My relationship with Bunny goes back 62 years. It has been one in which a great deal of love and affection has flowed back and forth. I have always been fond of Bunny, grounded in a respect for her positive attitude toward life and the way she dealt with adversity. And every time I would see her, no matter how many months, or even years, might have lapsed between visits, I always felt so much love and affection coming from her.

It all went back to the summer of 1957 when my late wife, Shirley, and I moved into the parsonage and we became next-door neighbors to the Hazeltons. Not long after we had moved in, their little son, Michael, was in a playpen between the two houses one day and he caught his head between the slats and

Sponsors Alvino & Bea Fantini Allan & Sally Seymour Milt & Barbara Gilmore Rip Lhamon & Fita Ferguson Ron & Jo-Ann Tier

died. When I learned what had happened, I story of how it all began, how we all just went to the house, but I was at a total loss for cried together.

My wife, Ellen, Shawn (Bracebridge) and I sang for Bunny, and her family gathered together with her, just hours before she died. She was no longer able to tell the story, but I knew it was in her heart as it was in mine. I love the Hazelton family. They have all been so caring and kind and loving. And I thank God for Bunny, for her gift of grace to me, and I will carry her smile and her love in my heart forever.

Childhood Memories of Bunny Hazelton We asked some former Dummerston students for their memories of Bunny.

words. I was twenty-four years old, freshly minted as a minister, and nothing in my seminary training had prepared me for this.

Bunny never tired of reminding me of the time. “Larry didn’t know what to do,” she would say, “so he just sat there in the living room with us and cried”, This was my first experience with death as a minister. I had not even had a course on how to prepare a funeral service - my seminary education was strong on theology but weak on the how-to’s.

Bunny accepted me as I was and we got through it together. That was the beginning of a deep bond, and I think it made me a better minister.

Many years have gone by since. I have not always been very good about keeping in touch, but after I became choir director at the Dummerston Church, I tried to make sure we went by before Christmas to sing carols for Bunny and her family. Bunny was very musical, sometimes she played the piano with us, and she always beamed with pleasure at our being there. And she always told that

Liz Turner, Dummerston School class of 2000, wrote: Halloween praline time!!

I don’t have a ton of specific memories of her as a school bus driver, other than a general feeling of security when she was driving—I trusted her. I do remember that she would often stop the bus to chat with a neighbor or friend who might be out in their front yard or out for a walk. .

Ted Turner, Dummerston School class of 1996, wrote: My main memories of Bunny are the Halloween pralines, which I always thought made her house the most desirable trick-or-treating destination in Dummerston, and the time she hijacked her busload of kids and drove us across town to visit the moose that had been hanging out in that pond on middle road by where the Wagner-Friels used to live. (The moose had disappeared by the time we got there.)

I do think of that impromptu sightseeing trip from time to time and wonder what would happen if a bus driver tried to do something similar today, but I also recall it as a demonstration of Bunny’s deep connection to the town and her enthusiasm for its children. The moose was exciting and she wanted us to experience it.

I also remember being jealous of the kids who got to ride “Bunny’s Bus” when I was at the West Dummerston school, before she was driving a regular yellow school bus. My memory is that she had a brown and cream colored van with one of those official looking School Bus signs on top, and she seemed to be the leader of an exclusive and wonderful extracurricular club.

Good Books

Views of Dummerston • Winter, 2020• 15

The Report: Readers’ Recommendations

by Linda Rood It’s time for the now-annual readers’ choice review of the favorite books enjoyed in 2019 by some of your Dummerston neighbors. I think that tips from my reader friends are often the best way to find a good book to read, and this year’s list is, as always, interesting and varied.

I checked in with Bill Schmidt, and he told me about two books that he read “to get perspective on the depressing and divided political climate now present in our country.” He read and recommends Leadership in Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns Goodwin (Simon& Schuster, 2018) and The Soul of America: the Battle for Our Better Angels by Jon Meacham (Random House, 2018). Bill says, “I read them…to gain insight into the qualities and practice of leadership by presidents like Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Lyndon Johnson, and others, all of whom dealt hopefully and constructively with the critical issues confronting them.” Coincidentally, Steve Mindel also had Goodwin’s book on his list for the year, and I am reading it now. It’s fascinating and uplifting, comparing the lives of four presidents through the lens of the crises they faced, and how they successfully met them, and were thus able to lead our nation through difficult times.

Steve also recommends A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold (Oxford University Press, 1949 and still in print). This book was first published in 1949 as a natural history account of a Wisconsin farm. He says it’s a very early environmentalist’s look at and warning of the degradation of our natural environment. Steve also recommends Norwegian Wood. Chopping, Stacking, and Drying Wood the Scandinavian Way by Lars Mytting (Abrams, 2015), a Scandinavian best-seller which gives a different look at our way of heating with wood, plus advice, tools, and tips.

And for those who enjoyed Where the Crawdads Sing, a recommendation from last year’s winter Views article and still on The New York Times Best Seller list, Steve and I would both recommend The Cry of the Kalahari by Delia and Mark Owens (Robert Hartnoll Limited, 1984). This is Delia Owens’ first book, written with her then-husband. It’s a memoir of their years living in the Kalahari Desert in the 70s as the first scientists ever to go there and study the wildlife. It’s a fun and fascinating read, detailing the hardships as well as the thrills of total isolation in the wild. Besides being entertaining, this book gives us an idea of where Owens got her understanding of being alone in the wild

which she writes about so vividly in Crawdads.

Debbi Doubleday likes to read a little poetry to start her day, especially the work of two very “accessible” poets, Mary Oliver (who died in 2019) and Billy Collins, the popular former poet laureate of the United States. She recommends Devotions: the Selected Poems of Mary Oliver (Penguin Press, 2017) and Sailing Around the Room: New and Selected Poems

by Billy Collins (Penguin Random House, 2001) as good places to start. When she was waiting for the third season of “The Crown” to start on Netflix, Debbi read Elizabeth the Queen: the Life of a Modern Monarch by Sally Bedell Smith (Random House 2012), which she recommends for history buffs and royal watchers alike.

Debbi’s fiction choices were The Alice Network, a historical female spy novel by Kate Quinn (HarperCollins, 2017) and the psychological thriller and New York Times bestseller, The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides (Celadon Books, 2019). Debbi says she passed that one to a friend who said she stayed up all night reading it! Debbi also read the most recent books of her favorite mystery writers: Martha Grimes, Peter Robinson, Louise Penny, and Deborah Crombie, and pronounces them “all good!”

Suzanne Weinberg read two books that she says brought each other alive, Say Nothing. A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe (Doubleday 2019) and Milkman by Anna Burns (Faber and Faber, 2018). Say Nothing, chosen for the New York Times Top Ten Books of 2019 list, is a history of the “Troubles,” the violent conflict between Protestant loyalists and the IRA that took place from the late 1960s until 1998.

Keefe uses the mystery surrounding the disappearance of a young widow, Jean McConville, as the center of the epic story, and the narrative switches between this mystery and the history of the times, and the people who were caught in these events and their aftermath. Critics have said it can be read as a detective story, since the writing has the qualities of fiction, made all the more powerful with the knowledge that it is all real.

Milkman, first Northern Irish winner of the Man Booker Prize, is a novel set during the Troubles. It takes place in an unnamed city, using unnamed characters. An 18-year-old woman, Middle Sister, becomes unintentionally enmeshed in the Troubles when she attracts the unwanted sexual attention of a mysterious older man known as the Milkman, suspected to be a paramilitary figure in this community.

She must endure his stalking and threats, and

the rumors circulating about her, as well as the everyday difficulties surrounding all who live through these times. The main character’s narrative voice is fresh and original, “like none you’ve read” according to one critic.

Suzanne recommends reading these two books in the order listed here: Say Nothing, and then Milkman, to get the full effect of the deathly seriousness, the range of emotion, and even some humor, in both of the books.

Marcy Hermansader gave me her recommendation for Lost Children Archive, a novel by Mexican-born author Valeria Luiselli (Alfred A. Knopf, 2019), another book named to the 2019 Top Ten list in the New York Times Book Review. The story follows a couple, each with their own projects concerning “lost peoples,” who are driving to the Mexican border with their two children in the back seat. Thousands of children are headed to this place too, escaping violence. Marcy found it especially poignant the way the author integrates the viewpoint of the children into this deep and layered narrative.

Since the choices this year seem to be heavy on the non-fiction, I’d like to add two of my own suggestions from the novels that delighted me in 2019. Circe by Madeleine Miller (Little Brown, 2018) is a clever and vivid imagining of the life of the goddess who turned Odysseus’s men into pigs. It makes a wonderful story that for me was a serendipitous can’t-put-it-down, didn’t-want-it-to-end experience. Part comingof-age, part love story, part fantasy, it was the good story I needed at just the right time.

I was also fascinated by Margaret Atwood’s The Testaments (Nan A. Talese, 2019), a suspenseful follow-up to her earlier famous work, The Handmaid’s Tale. There are three narrators at work: one is Aunt Lydia, a carry-over character from Handmaid, the brutal tyrant in control of women’s re-education in Gilead, the dystopian theocracy that has replaced the United States. The other two narrators are young women, one who grew up in Gilead and has known no other reality, and one who was stolen away from Gilead as an infant and raised in Canada. The three threads eventually come together, and I won’t reveal any more than that, except to say that the novel ends on a positive, hopeful note. If you’ve been following the chilling saga in print and on the screen, you won’t want to miss The Testaments. I thought it might be too gloomy for me, but that was absolutely not the case.

There are lots of good possibilities here, and I thank all who gave me their contributions to this great list. Happy Reading.

16 • Winter, 2020 • Views of Dummerston

Auction items include certificates to area restaurants; theater tickets, and a sailing trip.

Grace Cottage’s Online Auction Runs February 14–24

By Andrea Seaton

from $20 to priceless, including gift certificates to favorite local restaurants, practical items like an oil change for your car, theater tickets, overnight stays in area lodges, jams and syrup, a 2020/21 season ski pass to Stratton Mountain, your name in Archer Mayor’s next book, and plenty more!

Bid low and get notified when someone outbids you, or “Buy Now” and make it yours

Wouldn’t a dinner out be lovely? An African safari?! How about a massage, or a luncheon sail on the Mystic Whaler? From February 14 through February 24, you can bid on these items and many more at the Grace Cottage’s annual “Cabin Fever” Online Auction.

An awesome array of more than seventy items has been donated by generous businesses and individuals, with all proceeds benefitting the Grace Cottage Patient Care Fund.

There’s something for every taste and continued from page 7 budget, including treasures you can’t buy nurse practitioner, will teach techniques to anywhere else. Auction items range in value help with pain management. It will be free to residents. We have no way of judging how Robert E. Dunklee & Sons many people would be interested in this sixweek course that lasts two-and-a-half hours 72 Flat Street per session. So if you might be interested let Brattleboro, VT 05301 us know. See the contact information below.

I can tell you that I taught such a class from the early 1980s through the mid-1990s and that people found the group sessions very helpful. Reports of benefits from a recent pain-management class held in Putney were also good. We are hoping to arrange such a class for Dummerston in the spring. Also, JOHN & LORI BRUNELLE OFFICE FAX: (802) 254-5818 there is certainly evidence in literature that 416 TUCKER REED ROAD OFFICE PHONE: (802) 254-9788 holistic pain management is worth trying for E. DUMMERSTON, VT 05346 JOHN CELL: (802): 579-9788 chronic pain problems to see if the techniques LORI CELL: (802) 275-7111 and group support are beneficial. The focus in JOHN@BRUNELLEANDSON.COM LORI@BRUNELLEANDSON.COM this course is managing the emotional burden WWW.BRUNELLEANDSON.COM of chronic pain, beginning an exercise program to prevent physical deterioration, and Sponsors presenting information about the nature of chronic pain itself.

Bruce & Catie Berg If you are interested in or have questions about Gail & Lew Sorenson the Seated Zumba and/or the Pain Management program, please leave word at the Dummerston Barry & Elsa Waxman Cares message line at (802) 257-5800 or at David & Nina Hutchison info@dummerstoncares.org. We will get back to you. The classes will be held in the spring, Kevin & Sara Ryan depending on the level of interest. Time and

right away! Either way, you can feel good supporting this annual fundraiser, which helps to provide free and reduced cost care to those lacking adequate resources. Items are being added from now through February 14 th and beyond. Check out the growing selection at https://www.32auctions.com/ gracecottage2020 and on Valentine’s Day, let the bidding begin!

Health Maintenance Classes Continue

254-5663

place are yet to be determined.

Also, if you have questions about or want to be placed on the list for Wu T’ai chi, 15 Form T’ai Chi, and/or Gentle Yoga, leave word by phone or email at the Cares website and we will be in touch.

Bibliography 1. Sanders, Lianne, et al, Dose-response relationship between exercise and cognitive function in older adults with and without cognitive impairment: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS One. 2019; 14(1): e0210036. Published online 2019 Jan 10.

2. Kirk-Sanchez NJ et al. Physical exercise and cognitive performance in the elderly: current perspectives. Clinical Intervention Aging 2014; 9: 51-62 3. Joen YK, et al. The effect of exercise intensity on brain derived neurotropic factor and memory in adolescents. Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine 2017 Apr. 4: 22 (1) :27 4. Halabchi, F. et al, Exercise prescription for patients with multiple sclerosis: potential benefits and practical recommendations., BMC Neurology 2017 Sept 16.

5. Gillespie LD et al. Interventions for preventing falls in older people living in the community.

Cochrane Datbase System Review 2012 Sept 12 6. Mao, DW et al, Plantar pressure distribution during T’ai Chi exercise, Archives of Physical Medicine Rebhab, 2006 June: 87(6) 814-20 7. Franklin, ZC et al, A qualitative investigation of factors that matter to individuals in the pain management process. Disability Rehab. 2016 Sept: 38(19)1934-42

Views of Dummerston • Winter, 2020 • 17

WRC to Assess Local Interest in Forming a CUD

By Roger Turner WRC, CUD? Well, of course we’re familiar with WRC as the abbreviation for Windham Regional Commission, but many are not familiar with CUD, the abbreviation for “Communications Union District”, which is akin to a waste management district, created by the State of Vermont, which allows for “two or more towns to bond together as a municipal entity for a means of building communication infrastructure together.”

There’s a lot to explain here, so I’ll break it down as simply as possible.

What is the problem that CUDs are meant to address? The problem is that commercial broadband providers, based on their assessment of market interest for their services, have gone only so far in running fiber optic cable around Vermont’s communities. This has left a significant number of “last mile” Vermonters without high speed broadband service (defined as a minimum of 25 megabytes per second {Mbps} download and 3 Mbps up). Towns are therefore being offered by the state a legal structure for joining together in a district which can run fiber optic cable to everyone on the last miles within their district, and contract with service providers to offer services, such as internet or telephone, over that cable.

How is a CUD funded? The CUD is a municipal district, independent of any towns within the CUD, that’s eligible for grants, loans, and bonds. Individual towns have no financial stake in, nor liability for the formation and ongoing operation of the CUD. However, member towns may facilitate the formation of the district by providing land or building space to house or store assets required to operate the town’s network.

Feasibility studies that precede the formation of a CUD must make it clear that there would be enough demand for service within the district that the subscribers to the service could financially sustain the district once it’s up and running.

Can this actually work? There are already several CUDs in operation in the state, a couple of which are up and running.

ECFiber and Mansfield Fiber have been operational for awhile, and you can go to their websites (https://www.ecfiber.net, and https://mcfibervt.com) to get a sense of what services can be offered by a CUD. At least two other CUDs have been formed (LymeFiber and CVFiber) but are still in the organization stages, and there are other areas within the state that are currently exploring the formation of a CUD (the Bennington

area and the Northeast Kingdom).

What is the WRC now doing? The WRC has gotten a grant to explore interest within this region in forming a CUD. There has already been a well-attended informational meeting, and selectboards are being asked to pass a simple resolution stating that their town would like to participate in this process, and name a point person to represent the town for the six month period of this study. With the assistance of officers from a couple of nonprofits that have assisted in the formation of other CUDs, a very important survey will be disseminated within each interested town, and on the basis of the survey results, interest in and the feasibility of forming a CUD in this region will be determined.

If the results are positive, a business plan will be written to be submitted to the state for review.

How would Dummerston actually commit to joining a CUD? There would have to be a town-wide vote for Dummerston to join any proposed CUD. Again, that vote would not commit the town to any funding, but it would bring the highspeed internet service to all homes in town, which would be paid for by individual subscribers. Without the profit

motive of a commercial internet service, the CUD would offer attractive rates so that even people currently accessing SVCable (or Comcast) might choose to subscribe to the new CUD. If a CUD is formed for this region without Dummerston, the selectboard, at a later date, could vote to have the town join that CUD. What is the next step? The selectboard has passed a resolution to participate in the study, at no cost to the town, and appointed Chris Olson as the town’s contact person to the study committee. A survey will be available to all town residents, on paper or online, before town meeting day, with a deadline for collection of the surveys of March 17 th. A robust survey completion rate will be very important for determining interest in the services which could be provided through the CUD. Survey results will be used to write a business plan detailing what services, at what cost, could be provided where in this region. So, please pay attention to when the survey comes out, and please make time to take the survey, as it will provide critical information in determining whether it makes sense for Dummerston to be part of a regional CUD.

Census Participation Critical for Determining Representation, Funding for Programs and Services

By Thomas Simmons,

U.S. Census Regional Partnership Specialist

Have you, or anyone you know, been helped through Meals on Wheels, local first responders, or Medicare Part B? Do you know of children in your community who count on school lunches to get through their school day, or receive help from a special education teacher? Have you enjoyed programs at a local library? Do you know of a struggling farmer receiving important assistance in their dairy or maple operation from the state cooperative extension office?

Did you know that funding for all of these programs is determined, in part, by the results of the U.S. Census? For the next ten years, more than 675 billion dollars annually, in more than 65 federal programs, will be allocated to the state based on your response to the U.S. Census. When you respond to the 2020 Census by indicating how many people live in your household— whether you live alone or with others—you are helping to make sure that funding for these programs in Vermont is maximized!

Beginning soon—in early March—every household will be contacted by the U.S. Census, either by mail, by a form dropped off at the door, or by a personal visit, inviting your response.

Beginning March 12, you will be able to complete your Census online. If you prefer to fill out a paper form instead, it will be mailed to your home in April. Whichever way you choose to respond, it is important to respond! It’s safe, easy, and important, and of course, all of your responses are confidential under Title 13 of the U.S. Code.

Yes, one person can make a difference— and you make that difference when you respond!

Sponsors Paul & Jody Normandeau Gincy Bunker Michelle Cherrier & Philip Goepp Eleanora Patterson & Gordon Faison

18 • Winter, 2020 • Views of Dummerston PRSRT STD U.S. Postage PAID Mailed From Zip Code 05346 Permit No. 61

CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

Community Center Jean Momaney 254-9212 Conservation Commission Web site: www.dummerstonconservation.com Dummerston Cares Helpline & Fuel Assistance Are you a veteran seeking assistance?Bill Schmidt 257-5800, email: info@dummerstoncares.org Dummerston School 254-2733 Web site www.dummerston.wsesu.org 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. 2-6; Wed. 1-5; Thu. 1-5; Sat. 9:30-1 Story Time: 1st Saturday of the month, 11:00 a.m.

Play Group for Moms & Toddlers: Wed., 2:00 p.m.

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 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

Evening Star Grange, 2nd and 4th Wednesday

The Front Porch Forum

Meetings at the Dummerston Town Office

online at www.frontporchforum.com

Selectboard

6:00 pm

Call the Cares’ HelpLine 257-5800. For firewood, call Charlie Richardson at 802-254-6963

Planning Commission

6:30 pm

Need fuel assistance or dry firewood?

Ask Your Representatives

Windham 4 Representatives Nader Hashim and Mike Mrowicki, Dummerston Community Center, 11 a.m. to noon, last Saturday of each month

March 2020 3 Town Meeting.

Dummerston School 10 a.m.

Adopt-A-Book

During Town Meeting, Dummerston School library

7 Pampered Chef Party, Kim Martin Community Center 12:55-3:00 p.m.

6-8, “Almost, Maine” 13-15 Vermont Theatre Company, Evening Star Grange

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 town office

Community Center

7:00 pm

PTFO

6:00 pm

WSESD

6:00 pm

1st Monday at the Community Center

3rd Thurs. at the Dummerston School Library 1st & 3rd Wed., revolving locations

18 Tom Wessels: ‘Connections: Nature’s Most Important Attribute’

Dummerston School Leadership Council

27 Tai Chi classes, Dummerston Cares

Historical Society

Dummerston Congregational Church 7 p.m.

Dummerston Center Grange. 3:30-5:00 p.m.

28 Sugar on Snow Supper

Evening Star Grange, Time & location TBA

April 2020 1 Pre-Kindergarten Registration Deadline Dummerston School

Monthly meetings; date, location and agenda posted on the Dummerston School web site

7:30 pm

3rd Thursday of Jan./April/July/Oct. at the Dummerston Historical Society

Senior Congregate Meal

2nd and 4th Wednesday at the Grange. Information/reservations:Ruth Barton 254-1128