Views of Dummerston - 2023#1 - Winter

Old Becomes New Again: A Remembrance of Dummerston School

By Bill Holiday

My philosophy of education was heavily influenced by what was called ‘the British Approach’ to primary education, odd for a secondary and collegiate instructor it would seem. I spent my career in adapting instructional techniques and strategies designed for elementary students to my high school and collegiate courses. It always was, “How can I use this, adapt it, make it work for students?”

My approach has always been to center instruction around the learner, not the educator. British primary schools in the 1970s did this. It led to the popularity of the ‘open school’ approach in the United States.

Perhaps one of the more innovative activities that epitomized my philosophy came at the Dummerston School. I taught there from 1972-1984. I organized a day for my sixth grade Vermont history class at the old schoolhouse (which now belongs to the Dummerston Historical Society) in Dummerston Center. The idea was to immerse students in the culture of 18th century Vermont. We were integrating Vermont’s government, history, nutrition, science, math, art, writing and more.

Town Meeting Information

The students and I developed a plan to use the one room schoolhouse without electricity, computers or cell phones (we did not have them then anyway!), or other modern amenities. We collected food items to make a stew using the woodstove at the schoolhouse. We studied and created period clothing for the day. coninued on page 16

Fiber Optics District Connects First Customers

By Eric Lineback

A pilot group of residents in Readsboro were connected to a fiber optic network at the end of December, foreshadowing changes in internet connectivity that will encompass at least twenty-four towns in southern Vermont, including Dummerston.

Deerfield Valley Communications Union District (DVCUD), operating as DVFiber, is a Vermont communications union district (CUD) established in southeastern Vermont in 2020 to provide affordable, reliable, high-speed internet service that will support economic development and expand educational opportunities within the district. The district operates under the principles of equity, performance, affordability, reliability, and Continued on pae 15

There will be no in-person town meeting this year. A virtual information session to explain the proposed budget and warning articles will be conducted by the selectboard and moderated by Cindy Jerome on Wednesday, March 1st at 7 p.m.

You can join this meeting at the following address:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83245170108?pwd=NTZNWS94djVBU0k4V0lIUWJ1V1Y2dz09

The meeting ID is: 832 4517 0108, and the passcode is: 021418 (If you access this issue of the Views through our website, viewsofdummerston.org, you’ll be able to just click on the link within the article to access the Zoom meeting.)

Warning article votes and town elections will be conducted by Australian ballot. You may request a ballot by email at townclerk@dummerston.org, by phone at 802-257-1496, or by stopping by the town office. Or you may vote in person on Town Meeting Day (Tuesday, March 7th) at the town office from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Art by Gary Blomgren

Zara Shulman (middle), a student in bill holiday’s sixth grade class in 1983, does some seatwork dressed in colonial-era clothing during a day spent recreating a colonial-era school day in the old schoolhouse in dummerston Center.

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 28, 2023

Views will be mailed on: May 10, 2023

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.)

The Dummerston Garden

Making Sense of Seed Catalogs

By Vern Grubinger

Vegetable and Berry Specialist, University of Vermont Extension.

Looking through seed catalogs, my mind leaps ahead to the growing season. I see lush green foliage and ripe, colorful fruits and vegetables. It’s a great way to cope with a long winter. Of course, seed catalogs are for more than daydreaming, they’re about planning this year’s garden.

To do that, it’s helpful to reflect on recent garden history. Were there some varieties that you want to grow again, for their good yields, flavor, or disease resistance? Were some varieties poor performers that you should replace with a new variety?

Are there new crops you’ve been meaning to try, or crops to take a break from because they’re too much work, take up too much space, or don’t do well in your location?

As you consider your options, look carefully at the terms in seed catalogs that can help you make decisions that will contribute to a successful garden.

Days to Maturity is an estimate of the number of days until harvest is expected after planting seeds in the ground, or for crops typically started inside, from the time of transplanting. The actual days required varies a lot by location, since many factors affect how fast plants mature. Degree Days is a measure of heat accumulation over the season. If a seed catalog lists degree days to maturity that can provide a more accurate estimate of when a crop will be ready to harvest in your area, based on degree days in your area, which you look up by searching (by town and state) in the degree day calculator tool at climatesmartfarming.org

Tomatoes may be determinate, indeterminate, or semi-determinate. Determinate plants grow to a fixed size then stop growing after flowering, so they produce a concentrated crop. These plants are suited to smaller spaces. Indeterminate plants continue to grow and set fruit all season, they typically need a trellis system. Semi-determinate plants are more compact than indeterminates but can produce fruit throughout the season.

Disease resistance (or tolerance) indicates the degree to which plants are not prone to get a disease, compared to susceptible varieties. Resistance is often noted by an abbreviation

like “V” for Verticillium Wilt resistance, or PM for Powdery Mildew resistance.

Heirlooms are open-pollinated varieties that have been maintained for many years due to their appearance, fragrance, and/or flavor. They may have poor disease resistance and lower yields compared to hybrids. Seeds can be saved. Hybrids are crosses between genetically distinct parents; F1 hybrid refers to first-generation offspring. Hybridization is often used to improve flavor, disease resistance and/or yield. Seeds saved from hybrids won’t produce the same type of plants.

Open Pollinated varieties are not hybrids. They have stable traits from one generation to the next. Seeds saved from these varieties produce plants similar to their parents.

Organic seeds or plants are produced using methods allowed by the USDA organic certification program. Organic farms are required to use organic seeds unless they are not commercially available in an appropriate form, quality, or quantity.

Parthenocarpic cucumber and summer squash varieties have female flowers that can set fruit without pollination. That’s useful in greenhouses, under insect netting, or early in the season when pollination may be limited. Gynoecious cucurbits have mostly female flowers so they can set more fruit than regular (monoecious) varieties, which have both female and male flowers. A few monoecious seeds are included in gynoecious seed packets for pollination. Pelleted seeds are coated with clay or other inert materials to make them uniform in size, shape, and weight so they are easy to see and handle, especially if using a mechanical seeder. They need consistent moisture for best germination, and shelf life may be shortened so use within a year.

Treated seeds are coated with fungicide to protect them from rotting in the soil. Untreated seeds have no chemical treatments. Color is often added to differentiate treated seeds. USDA Hardiness Zones are based on a map of average annual minimum winter temperatures. The zone number reflects the “winter hardiness” of a variety. See planthardiness. ars.usda.gov

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

town government

Dummerston Selectboard

In-person Town Meeting Suspended Another Year

By Zeke Goodband

The selectboard, with permission from the Vermont State Legislature, has chosen to conduct town meeting business by Australian ballot as we have done the past two years. Voters may request a ballot be mailed to them and there will also be in-person voting at the town office on March 7th

We will be holding an informational meeting on March 1st at 7 p.m. using Zoom. The Zoom ID# is: 83245170108, the passcode is 021418. You can join the meeting by phone also, the number will be up on the town website. The ballot will allow you to vote on all of the articles on our warning as well as cast your votes for elected offices. The town report will be mailed out soon; it will have all of the budget information and the other articles to be voted on. The town website will also have this information.

The selectboard has been working on the highway and municipal budgets since October. As I said earlier, they are posted on the town website and in the town report. Some highlights are:

Wages for town employees are going up another 4%. We’re keeping the same health benefits although the costs, to no one’s surprise, increased. Increases in the highway

budget are due to prices for supplies and equipment rising in general, but diesel fuel in particular. Not too long ago, $90,000 would pave a mile of roadway; for this next summer we hope $120,000 will get us most of the way there.

A line item in the general fund that tends to generate the most debate each year at town meeting is the farmland protection fund. We’ve increased it in our proposed budget from $5,000 to $7,000.

For the capital fund we have no expenditures planned for the next fiscal year so we’d like to raise just $25,000 for that fund. We’re requesting that the balance from what would usually be put into the capital fund, $125,000, go instead into the structures fund. This is a separate fund we use for our roadway infrastructure. We’d like to increase it so that we’re fiscally prepared to respond to major storm damage like what happened with the July 29, 2021 rain storm.

In other capital expense news, the West Dummerston Volunteer Fire Department will have an article on the town meeting warning asking voters to approve spending not more that $500,000 on a new tanker truck. They will speak to this at the meeting and may also have an article in this edition of the Views.

We’ve allocated money from the American

Dummerston Listers Filing Delinquencies Continue with Required Homestead Declaration Forms

By Steve Mindel

We continue to work on inconsistencies and corrections to the townwide reappraisal. Many details continue to need attention.

We had another busy year processing real estate transfers. We had a total of 81 transfers of various types, from April through December, including sales, subdivisions, establishment of trusts, and so on. At present, Dummerston has 1011 properties of which 116 are in Current Use.

Our work continues in maintaining the grand list, and monitoring Homestead Declarations, Form HS 122. At this writing (December 2022) we still have 61 non-filers. A reminder... If you declare Vermont as your place of residence, you are required, by law, to file the HS-122 form in a timely manner each year.

This past fall, our long time lister Jean Newell, was recognized as the ‘Lister of the Year’ by the Vermont Association of Listers and Assessors, which represents all of the listers and assessors statewide, with a presentation at their annual conference in Montpelier. This was well-deserved recognition for her many years of dedicated service to the town.

We would like to appeal to town residents that we continue to look for a person interested in becoming a lister. Please contact us at the town office.

Our posted office hours are Tuesday and Thursday 9 a.m. until noon. Please call us for an appointment if needed at the town office. You may also leave an email message at listers@dummerston.org or leave a voicemail at 802-257-1496.

Rescue Plan to several organizations and municipal projects in town. We have two years left to allocate the remaining funds. We’d like to find ways to use these funds for projects we might otherwise have to raise taxes for. One project we have in mind is to replace the roadway decking in the Covered Bridge. The oak planking along the travel lane was installed in about 2009, if I remember correctly, at a cost of $96,000. It’s been flipped over once but is getting pretty thin and is something we’d have to replace within a year or two.

When the legislature began working on the bill to allow for Australian ballots again this year, we asked for public comment on whether to meet in person or conduct business by Australian ballot. The response was heavily in favor of the Australian ballot for reasons of safety and giving more people a chance to have a vote. The selectboard cannot just do away with in-person town meetings. A permanent change to Australian ballot would have to be voted on in an in-person town meeting.

Energy Committee Committee Seeks Input and Volunteers

By Eric Lineback

The Dummerston Energy Committee (DEC) is considering developing an “Electric Vehicle and Equipment Ambassador Program,” and we’d like to gauge town interest. The idea is to gather a list of residents who own and have experience with electric-powered devices and are willing to answer questions and provide guidance to those looking to electrify. This includes everything from EVs and bikes to heat pumps and yard equipment. Would you be willing to be an ambassador? Would you find this program useful? Let us know!

In addition, DEC is looking for new community members to add to our team. If you have any interest in helping Dummerston and its residents reduce energy consumption and use all forms of energy as wisely as possible, just reach out and let us know. We are widely recognized as the “coolest” committee in town, so please consider getting involved – regardless of your background.

You can contact us anytime at energy@ dummerston.org or by calling the town office.

town government

Dummerston Conservation Commission

River Steps Planned for Covered Bridge Access Area

By John Anderson

I am writing in mid-December for a midJanuary submission that you will receive in mid-February . . . the depths of winter. Currently there is almost no snow on the ground but I don’t intend to lose track of my snow shovel!

The seasons roll somewhat unpredictably forward and the conservation commission has had to work to stay in step. The triple threat of Covid, flu, and RSV have further compounded planning difficulties. Who knows what will be possible during the winter of 2023?

Meanwhile good progress has been made on several fronts. The engineering phase necessary for the replacement of the river access steps near the covered bridge has been completed. And the possibility has been raised that construction might occur in 2023. However, this is all a bit tentative with details about financing and selecting a contractor still not fully clarified. At the moment, though, everything we’re hearing sounds very optimistic.

A preliminary invasive removal workday was held on Prospect Hill resulting in a fair amount of area cleared and in an evaluation of the overall scope of this project. Hopefully more progress can be made next season. If you would like to volunteer, contact any commission member. Manpower is the vital variable in this equation but as in any group activity, these workbees can also be a bit of a social occasion. It isn’t all work.

The commission also decided to attend a meeting of the Vermont Trails and Greenways Council. A decision about whether or not to seek membership would be informed by feedback from our attending members.

Cliff Adler and Lynn Levine have done quite a bit of invasive removal at the rain garden (runoff collection sump) near the covered bridge. Cliff also drafted a maintenance report outlining work done, work needed, and some on-going complications due to poison ivy at the site. Among his recommendations was a poison ivy pulling blitz to be carried out by willing and appropriately dressed commission members.

Siting of our second conservation station is now underway. We are hoping that it can be located at or near the town office. These stations allow for the dissemination of information without any of the usual risks inherent in group gatherings.

As you can imagine, a group that depended so heavily on workshops and presentations as outreach feels somewhat restricted by the current viral minefield.

Now, having officially reported, I’m going to ramble off into a curious, though not uncommon, phenomenon.

Some family members and I were having lunch on the porch of the family cabin at Sunset Lake. I was seated facing the water watching ranks of waves stirred by brisk northwest winds roll by when something 75 to 100 feet off shore caught my eye.

At times the object appeared to be merely a wave-tossed bit of flotsam. At other times it seemed to move just slightly against the waves as if under its own power.

It got my attention and a minute or two of close observation convinced me that whatever I was watching was swimming and that it would eventually - if it survived - reach shore near the cabin lawn.

I went to the water’s edge to watch the little drama play out. The swimmer was obviously struggling, barely above water, barely making

forward progress. The outcome seemed very much in doubt.

Eventually it did make landfall, pulled itself up on some wave-matted reeds and rested. It was a young, exhausted, very bedraggled gray squirrel.

I was aware that gray squirrels can and do swim, sometimes for great distances. I have heard angler’s accounts of squirrels swimming past their boats while they fished in lakes, reservoirs, and rivers.

I suspect that these are young squirrels born at a time of immense population pressures seeking almost non-existent vacant territories. At the time of this sighting the world seemed awash in rodents, rodents that would each have to find their place in a large hazardous and very crowded landscape.

The lake, at the point where the squirrel crossed, is a fairly modest 8–900 feet wide. Contrary winds and waves added their difficulties to the crossing. To my eyes the squirrel was near total exhaustion and its actions upon reaching shore reinforced that impression. Despite my presence, it simply clung to the first solid object it encountered and rested.

However, less than five minutes later we saw it going, somewhat hesitantly, up a lakeside pine.

Over my seven-plus decades I have spent a lot of time in rowboats, canoes, and kayaks. I like being on the water and I consider myself to be relatively observant, yet I had never before seen a gray squirrel make such an epic crossing! Details of that day’s lunch, of conversational topics, even of exactly who else was present may not linger in my memory, but that squirrel’s actions impressed themselves. They won’t be forgotten.

I call such chance sightings, “magic moments.” You can’t seek them out. They happen unexpectedly, if at all. But, when one occurs I always feel that I have been given something, that I have in some way been blessed by random chance.

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

Marcy Hermansader

Linda Rood & Roger Turner

Nick & Joan Thorndike

Sallie May Retires from Historical Society Board

by Muriel Taylor

Officers and board of director members for 2023 were duly elected at the January quarterly meeting of the historical society, as follows: Muriel Taylor, president, Chuck Fish, vice president, Sara Ryan, secretary, Ruth Hoffman, treasurer, and Gail Sorenson, director. Jody Normandeau will continue her term as director. To our great regret but with understanding and gratitude, we accepted Sallie May’s decision to step down after serving many years as a director. Words of appreciation were sincerely expressed by the board. Sallie, we will miss you!

The theme for discussion at this, our first in-person meeting in many months, was “School Days in Dummerston.” Some folks who are known to have gone to school in our very own building, and others who spent early years in both West and East Dummerston Schools, were encouraged to attend and had wonderful stories to tell. Thanks to all who shared their youthful tales and to all those who listened, chuckled, and remembered their own early adventures.

The Dummerston Historical Society wishes to thank the selectboard for their support in allocating funds from the ARPA monies recently received from the federal government. Several projects have been accepted and contracts have been secured. These projects include added insulation in the attic and basement, washing and painting the exterior, and replacement of an exterior door. This building will be “buttoned up” and ready for whatever weather Vermont chooses to deliver for many years to come. We are deeply appreciative of receiving those funds.

The 2023 “Scenes of Dummerston” calendars are still available at the town office, or from Jody Normandeau at 802-380-9027 or Gail Sorenson at 802-254-9311.The cost is still only $10. We are grateful to C&S and its Print Shop for supporting our society by printing these calendars through its non-profit grant program. Additionally, our signature black tee-shirts with the covered bridge motif

are still available by calling Gail Sorenson at 802-254-9311. The proceeds from these sales support programming, the upkeep and maintenance of our school house, and our 2023 operating budget as well. Supportive donations or membership dues may be mailed to The Dummerston Historical Society, PO Box 8064, N. Brattleboro, Vt. 05304.

The Dummerston Historical Society always welcomes donations of historical interest to Dummerston and we encourage you to join us in 2023 as a member, a volunteer, a participant in our programs, or as a viewer of our exhibits. Find more information and videos of recent programs at www.dummerstonhistoricalsociety. org. (Please note that you do not need to be a member of the Historical Society to attend any of our functions.) Our Schoolhouse is handicapped accessible. You are always welcome.

Pump Log Boring: Did you ever wonder, when you brush your teeth in the morning, how water was delivered from a spring to a house 150 years ago? An anonymous article from our archives tells us water lines were created by boring a 1¼ inch hole through the center of a balsam, fir, or cedar log. The skill of preparing such a log has been passed down through generations and has been demonstrated at the well-known Tunbridge Fair in Vermont by Lyman S. Dunn, Sr. of Lyndonville, Vermont. The article tells how it’s done, emphasizing, “Please keep in mind that everything was done by hand, No power tools!”

To summarize: a straight log is firmly secured to a log horse with the butt end facing the borer. The pigtail at the end of the auger is placed at the center of the log. Yokes which hold and level the auger are placed ten feet apart. A straight line is

imperative. The boring begins by pushing the point of the auger into the log. The person boring the log turns the handle six times clockwise and half a turn counter clockwise, then pulls the auger out, removing the accumulated wood chips, gaining four to six inches each time. This process is repeated until the auger cuts through the far end of the log, The hole on the near end is reamed out making a tapered hole. The rear end is tapered with an axe, a drawshave and a sheepshead, like sharpening a pencil. These logs were driven together and laid in a ditch from the house uphill to the spring. The last log was placed into the spring. The ditch was then filled in. The water ran constantly swelling the connections so there were no leaks. These pump logs would last for 50–75 years, or longer if buried in wet ground. Lyman is reported as saying, “Running water never freezes. It sure did taste good!”

Such a log hangs on the wall of the Dummerston Historical Society Schoolhouse. Come by during one of our spring open hours and have a look at this wonder of yesteryear.

Fast Eddie’s Restaurant

Ice Cream Shop

OPEN YEAR ROUND

Catering- Lunch ~Dinner~ Dine-in

Curbside Pick up~ Take-Out

833Putney Road ~ (802)-579-1474

Fast Eddie’s Restaurant

Ice Cream Shop

OPEN YEAR ROUND

Catering- Lunch ~Dinner~ Dine-in

Curbside Pick up~ Take-Out

833Putney Road ~ (802)-579-1474

Fast Eddie’s Restaurant

Ice Cream Shop

OPEN YEAR ROUND

Catering- Lunch ~Dinner~ Dine-in

Evening Star Grange Used Clothing Dropoff Added to Grange Parking Lot

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-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, household goods, or things of that nature. The Grange receives payment of around 40 cents per bag, based upon the 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 February. Plastic has also been placed over the windows on the first floor which has made

Births

Passings

a noticeable difference in the drafts blowing through the building.

Mark your calendars as March will be here before you know it, and once again it will be time to think of our town meeting luncheon and the 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 you can call me at 802-257-0387 or Grange Master Larry Lynch at 802-310-0799 (cell). Enjoy a safe and peaceful winter season.

Community Center Board Member Search Narrows

By Ann Davis

At the time of this writing, I had just come back from my first walk on the West River Trail. This was awesome; I didn’t have to watch for oncoming vehicles on Route 30; I could let my mind wander or converse with my walking partner. The weather was beautiful (28 degrees and sunny). It’s a little muddy and you need to watch for roots across the path, but it’s a great place to exercise (watch out for that one branch hanging over the trail).

In the last Views article, I stated that the Community Center was looking for new board members. We have had a good response to this search and can begin the process of interviewing and have some new members in place by our February meeting. It is encouraging to hear the enthusiasm and fresh ideas coming from this group, and to know that the Community Center will continue to provide a place for the community to meet, learn, and play in the coming years.

As always remember the Community Center when planning those get togethers, classes, meetings, whatever. We are handicap acces-

sible, with kitchen, playground, and plenty of parking. To make your reservation, please call Jean at 802-254-9212.

Please remember to clean up after your fourlegged companion, as they are invited to use the field too. And a special thank you to all of our supporters. Without you we wouldn’t be here.

Bidding is Open for Grace Cottage Auction

By C.J. King

It’s not too late to place your bid for an item in the Grace Cottage Cabin Fever Online Auction. You’ll find items that are practical, delectable, delightful, and inspirational! Bidding ends on February 27.

Each year, Grace Cottage Family Health & Hospital’s Cabin Fever Online Auction includes exotic vacations, Vermont foods, local gift certificates, handcrafted items, jewelry, art, and more. Generous local businesses and individuals donate this awesome array of items. With a wide variety of offerings, there’s something for everyone, whatever your interests or budget.

All proceeds support patient care at Grace Cottage Family Health & Hospital.

Visit 32auctions.com/CabinFeverAuction2023 to register. For more information, visit gracecottage.org/auction or e-mail info@ gracecottage.org

Sponsors

Dummerston Cares Volunteer of the Season

Dummerston Cares Salutes Mary ellen Copeland

by Catie G. Berg

This winter, Dummerston Cares is happy to celebrate Mary Ellen Copeland as our Volunteer of the Season. Mary Ellen is a beloved elder whose service and wisdom have benefited Dummerston and the wider world. Mary Ellen moved to Dummerston with her husband, Ed Anthes, in 1997. Ed’s interest in environmental conservation aligns with Mary Ellen’s. Together, they became a force that worked with like-minded activists to educate residents about nature and conserve natural habitats.

Mary Ellen’s passion for the natural world began when she was young. As a girl, she would go to the woods to hike and create “little camps” that she described as “safe places of renewal.” At that time, Mary Ellen’s mother was hospitalized with depression. Her mother returned home after discovering that sharing and listening to experiences among her fellow patients was curative.

Mary Ellen raised five children and immersed them in nature, that place for human renewal. While raising her children, she supported the 4H movement and worked with Dummerston’s Bunny and Don Hazelton, Mary and Bob Bolster, Carol Bessette, and Stuart Brown on 4-H camp activities that drew kids from all over Windham County, and quite a few from Dummerston.

Building on her experiences with the kids in 4H and her special education background, Mary Ellen felt drawn to start a small special education school for students with special needs. She said, “The kids thrived because of the freedom to learn in non-traditional ways.”

Mary Ellen earned a Master’s degree in resource management and administration, akin to Antioch’s environmental studies program today. Succeeding capable leaders on the Dummerston Conservation Commission, she became its chair for fifteen years. She focused on providing engaging educational programs that taught us about nature in Dummerston (still viewable online at

BCTV) and provided funding for Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center to teach

and more effective ways to recover from mental health issues than the treatment her mother had experienced many years earlier.

Mary Ellen studied people with mental health issues to discover how they help themselves, how they cope. Her subjects said, “No one ever asked us what we do to help ourselves.” She compiled her findings into The Depression Workbook, a popular self-help book that has been published for over thirty years and has sold millions of copies. It is the basis for on-going mental health recovery education programs, including the Wellness Recovery Action Plan.

young students at the Dummerston School. Who can forget the “crossings” that brought evening traffic to a halt when salamanders were heading to their breeding grounds in vernal pools?

Currently, Mary Ellen and Ed work with the Green Mountain Conservancy. They have helped to establish and protect the 913-acre Deer Run Nature Preserve, the end of the Putney Mountain Ridge in Dummerston, Newfane, and Brookline.

Beyond Mary Ellen’s service in education and conservation, she made a career of helping people in recovery from mental health issues. Mary Ellen studied at Keene State and Vermont Colleges before earning a doctorate from Union Institute and University. She felt strongly that there were better

With her mother’s experience in listening and talking with fellow patients as an inspiration and guide, Mary Ellen worked with others who have experienced mental health issues to develop simple, safe, and effective self-help tools and mental health recovery programs. These methods are now used by people world-wide to get well, stay well, and live the life of their choosing.

Volunteer, teacher, conservationist, counselor, author, matriarch—Mary Ellen Copeland is all of these. Dummerston is fortunate that she calls this town “home.”

Mary ellen Copeland is dummerston Cares’ Volunteer of the Quarter.

organizations

Lydia Taft Pratt Library

Library Support Comes Up Short in Multi-Town Comparison

By Dena Marger Director, Lydia Taft Pratt Library

Did you know that Lydia Taft Pratt library is your local, community, municipal library?

LTP was established in March of 1914, when the residents of Dummerston voted at town meeting in favor of establishing a municipal library. The Lydia Taft Pratt Library has been a part of the fabric of this town for over a hundred years. And, Dummerston is a town that loves its library! You may think my opinion on this matter is biased, and maybe you’d be right. But, here’s what we know:

We know how many volunteers are willing to come out to help make the library great. Community volunteers serve on our board of trustees. Community volunteers have brought programs like the outdoor movies and the sourdough workshop and have hosted storytimes for children. They have stood up to create “Lydia’s Friends,” our newly re-formed friends and advocacy group. They have contributed significant physical labor to make our book sale fundraisers successful in the form of erecting tents, hauling books up and down stairs, and managing the money. Although most professional librarians have sought out significant training in our chosen profession, our library is staffed on Saturdays

by volunteers because our town has asked for more open hours than the mere thirteen that we are funded for. Our library functions largely on volunteer labor because that’s how much this town wants a library.

We also know that Dummerston is a town that loves its library because, even though we only receive a very small appropriation from the town budget each year, our residents make

want to say “Thank You!” to our community for supporting the library! We at the library value our community. We’d love to hear your creative ideas for building a more vibrant community and a more modern library, one that is actually able to meet today’s information needs. If you are curious about what you can do to help the library realize it’s potential, there are a number of things: First, we currently have an open

up the shortfall during our annual appeal. This point needs to be stated because there seems to be a belief that people in Dummerston aren’t willing to fund library service. The truth is that these residents recognize the potential for a library to improve life in this town. We can never express our gratitude to you, our community, for being willing to stand up and say “Yes, I want a funded library in my town!”

Lastly, we know Dummerston loves its library because of the comments we hear every day from the community members we see and talk to. We hear from the parents who bring home bedtime stories, sometimes a dozen or more at a time. We hear from the people who stop by to use the printer, who pull into the driveway to use the wireless internet access, or who come by for instruction on using our ebooks service. We hear from the people who make use of our large print collection.

So, if we haven’t said it enough times, we

Sponsors

seat on our board of trustees. If you would like to become more intimately involved with the success of your community library, this is a great way to do it! Second, our Friends group is always looking for more volunteers, especially ones who enjoy working with great people on a meaningful project, and pizza! Third, you might consider running for selectboard next year. The library could really benefit from selectboard members who understand the value that a library brings to a community.

Have you ever wondered how our library stacks up compared to similar area libraries? The following table makes clear that you’re not imagining it; Dummerston residents are not necessarily getting comparable library service to other similar towns. The results of the information gathering that we’ve been doing over the last six months revealed that residents would like to see more open hours, more staff, and more space for the library. When we compare the service offered to Dummerston with that of other nearby libraries, we see exactly that. Somehow, a community like Townshend, that doesn’t have a ski mountain like Dover, is able to offer a very different level of library service. I would love to hear all creative ideas for thinking about how to level up the library service that Dummerston residents have been receiving. Feel free to drop by sometime to chat about life, the universe, and everything.

802-254-6662 Brattleboro, Vermont 802-258-7791

Meg Murtha

Tom Zopf

Joe & Anne Little

Doug and Ann Kroc

Alvino & Bea Fantini

COVID, Community, and the Story of Two Skating Rinks

By Margaret Shugart

Well, there were actually three. The first one was long before COVID. I am told it was by the Lydia Taft Pratt Library on West Street. It was a lot of work and a community hub–a legacy on which to build as we explore what an ice rink can do again for Dummerston.

The heroes of this story are two recent rinks, both centered on Dummerston School grounds. The first was built in 2020, deep in the heart of COVID. The second was erected in the fall of 2022 with ARPA funds, allocated to rebuild communities after COVID. The hope of this article is to draw attention to the hard work that went into both rinks, and act as a call to more folks who wish to be involved in building our community structures that foster interaction, connection, and vibrancy.

Several volunteers helped with the first rink and we don’t have a full list of names, but some standouts who deserve recognition include: Maeve Jenks, Joe Robinson, Joe and Keri Newton, Lance Neeper, Dustin Manix, and Jared Clark, in addition to the staff at Dummerston School who gave countless hours to organizing and execution.

The structure of the rink was roughly 80’ by 100’ and constructed of 2x10 lumber boards (generously donated by Perkins Home Center, now LaValley Building Supplies) and 1x4 strappings (generously donated by Dummerston School parent and Brattleboro Hockey Association board member Joe Robinson). Joe scouted a suitable location, designed and built the lumber frame, and assisted with continued maintenance throughout the year.

The Dummerston Recreation Board purchased the liner and several volunteers came to roll it out. The fire department, including Tyler Lynch and Chris Bell, delivered round after round of water to fill it (and nature helped with a good rain storm). Since COVID safety was of the highest priority, a system was designed for user sign-ups and educating the public about safe practices. There were even welcomers who volunteered time at the rink to ensure it was used in the safest ways possible.

The maintenance work was immense. Several snow storms required multiple people to clear snow in the early mornings, after work, and on the weekends to keep the rink usable. Snow had to be removed from the ice, a path to the rink, and sitting places. Keri and

Joe Newton volunteered their home zamboni and would fill a tank with water from home and truck it out to the rink for resurfacing the ice. In the end, most of the work fell on only a few individuals. A couple of kind-hearted folks tried their own solo shoveling efforts but the partiallycleared snow stuck to the rink and required additional hours of maintenance to smooth out. It was difficult to gather groups for fireside parties or skating lessons due to COVID safety and the liner was destroyed by the end of the season. It was a great start and left people wondering if anyone might try again.

Ice Skating Rink 2.0

Ice Rink 2.0 was born from COVID funding allocated to rebuilding communities. When the Dummerston selectboard reached out to the town boards, asking for their wishlists for ARPA funds, Maeve Jenks and the Dummerston Recreation Board had an ice rink on their list. Funding was granted and Maeve worked with the town to select and order a 60’ x 110’ outdoor rink kit from NiceRink. She knew she had too much on her plate to manage the entire project, so she started a Google form to collect names and contact information for community members who might want to be involved. Nearly thirty people signed up! I volunteered to help with communication, Joe Little stepped into the role of organization and construction management, Jared Clark and Lance Neeper have been leaders in management and maintenance, and several other volunteers have been active in construction. Adam Hubbard, a licensed landscape architect of Westminster

West, has generously advised us on set-up, ice science, and management.

Before the rink was constructed, several individuals stepped up to help with preparation. Dan Bailey helped with a laser level and found a fairly flat spot alongside the soccer field. Joe Little and a few others measured out the lines and marked them. The rink materials arrived at ABF Freight and Wayne McDevitt of ABF offered to deliver them directly to Dummerston School. A group of volunteers assembled on December 4 to carry the materials to the soccer field and build the rink. Another group came together again on December 12 to roll out the heavy liner, and the fire department came that afternoon to start filling. It again took several trips and nature helped bring it up to a usable depth.

The weather has been mild so far; we haven’t been able to use the rink much but we also have continued on page 10

Dummerston Recreation Depar tment Presents

We Need Your Help! This isn’t possible without volunteers!

Adoption of Declaration of Inclusion Goes to Vote On March 7

by Catie G. Berg

A Declaration of Inclusion is a town’s, an organization’s, a business’s, or a faith community’s pledge to affirm the human diversity that makes Vermont strong, creative, caring, and productive.

■ Over 90 cities and towns in Vermont have adopted a Declaration of Inclusion since 2021.

■ Governor Scott proclaimed Vermont’s Declaration of Inclusion in May of 2021.

■ Governor Scott has proclaimed the second week of May, henceforth, as Inclusion Week.

■ The Vermont Chamber of Commerce strongly endorses its DOI as being good for business.

Dummerston Cares has a resolution on the town’s Australian ballot for voters to adopt a Declaration of Inclusion. The selectboard has

Sponsors

Paul & Jody Normandeau

Cindy and John Wilcox

Michelle Cherrier & Philip Goepp

Eleanora Patterson & Gordon Faison

determined the ballot as the method for voters to conduct the town’s business on March 7. We promote the Declaration of Inclusion in support of a statewide movement that reminds Vermonters of our values that affirm equity and inclusion and that strengthen our economy.

Here is the text of the resolution: WHEREAS, Dummerston Cares supports equity in both social engagement and in governance, its Board of Trustees calls for the voters of Dummerston to adopt a Declaration of Inclusion.

THEREFORE,

• We resolve that the people of Dummerston include all persons regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, differing ability, economic status, and education.

• We commit to fair and equal treatment of people in Dummerston.

• We value respectful civic engagement in all forums.

Please vote to adopt this Declaration of Inclusion for Dummerston.

COVID, Community, and the Story of Two Skating Rinks

continued from page 9 not needed to invest much time in clearing and maintenance. As we build momentum, we are dreaming for the future: a lighting system that enables skaters to enjoy the rink in the dark and cold mornings and evenings; a bank of skates anyone can borrow; skating lessons; and fireside hot chocolate and much more community building activities.

The burning question is: can we get enough people involved and organized to succeed in this community effort? In talking to volunteers about these two rinks, our conversations were peppered with queries into community and community building post-COVID (or at least heavy COVID restrictions). Did the barriers COVID caused with the first rink slow interest in the second rink? How do we attract people to use the new rink and also have enough maintenance investment to keep the rink usable? How do we ensure buy-in so that a meaningful portion of the community invests time and care in this resource?

Adam Hubbard, deputy commissioner, treasurer, and communications manager of the Westminster West rink, said they use a dues system, whereby about forty members contribute money and sweat-equity to the

Calendar Photographs Needed

Do you have a photo of somewhere in Dummerston?

The Historical Society is seeking photos for the 2024 Scenes of Dummerston Calendar. All photos must be horizontal and have no identifiable people.

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

project, then access to the rink is generally reserved for those members. Snow clearing and other maintenance decisions are hashed out fireside over sausages and beer. Their rink is well-maintained and its community of users are deeply dedicated. The rink also started in the fall of 2020 and Adam said it has been a lifeline through COVID. They intend to keep it going year after year.

What will work for Dummerston? It’s important to keep the rink open to use by anyone. It was set up in the spirit of family and the general community. But how do we ensure it is taken care of without burn-out? How do we make it valuable and worthy of community time and effort? These are questions we are hoping to answer, or at least explore, as we move forward. And we welcome your support and investment. Like the playground project at Dummerston School, Ice Rink 2.0 needs sweat equity and community heart to succeed.

Please consider volunteering in any capacity and show your support by completing this google form: https://docs.google.com/forms/ d/e/1FAIpQLSe7mplPGuvrv8rpdySuAJbka_ pZ_qOIU1aYqBopdh2u5q2meQ/viewform. You can also email me at marg.shug@gmail. com to be added to our mailing list.

And if you are interested in participating in the larger playground effort, please email dummerstonplayground@gmail.com. There are work days coming up in the warmer months and the more hands, the better!

Good Books Winter 2023: Readers’ Choice

By Linda Rood

How do you decide what books to read? Maybe you like to follow certain authors or a certain type of book. Maybe you read book reviews or subscribe to an online forum like Goodreads. I do those things and I prowl bookstores and libraries and talk to friends, but sometimes the best suggestions come from a chance meeting at the supermarket, and that very thing happened several times this year. Here is the annual list of suggestions from readers around town, chosen as the best books they found in 2022. Not every one was a supermarket serendipity, but they all sound good.

One of those supermarket encounters was with Cami Eliot-Knaggs , who is a fan of historical fiction, and she had a treasure trove of recommendations for me. One of Cami’s favorite books read in 2022 is News of the World by Paulette Giles (William Morrow, 2016). Giles was a poet before she turned to fiction, and Cami says this book is beautifully written. It is set in 1870 Texas, and centers on two characters: Captain Jefferson Kidd, a war veteran and itinerant news reader, and a ten-year-old girl, Johanna, who has been a captive of a band of Kiowa Indians. Research shows that many children who were captured by native peoples did not want to come back to their families. Johanna was “rescued” and Kidd was asked to accompany her to her relatives in San Antonio. She is a hellion, wild and rebellious, and Kidd has his hands full. The novel is a road story, the tale of their adventurous journey together and the bond that grows between this unlikely pair.

Cami also enjoyed The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles (Viking, 2021). This comingof-age story is also a road trip story, set in 1954. According to Cami, the characters are especially well-drawn; one of them is a return of a character from Towles’ previous book, The Rules of Civility. Cami says it’s a great story.

A third suggestion from Cami, and one I can also vouch for, is Horse by Geraldine Brooks (Penguin Random House, 2021). This is a fascinating story based on the history of Lexington, the most famous racehorse of the 1800s. Brooks weaves together three well-researched strands to tell this tale: 1850s Kentucky, 1950s New York City, and Washington DC in 2019. She focuses on the life story of the horse and his enslaved groom and trainer, Jarrett, in Kentucky; a New York art dealer who discovers a rare painting of the horse; and a contemporary character, Jess, who is a bone specialist with the Smithsonian. To quote the publisher, it is “a novel of art and

science, love and obsession, and our unfinished reckoning with racism.” Horse lovers will enjoy this book, along with everybody who likes a good story that teaches some history along the way.

Cami also recommends Pachinko by Min Jin Lee, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab, and for listening, the audio book of The Huntress by Kate Quinn.

I ran into Elizabeth Catlin at the selfcheckout in Hannaford, where she tipped me off to Barbara Kingsolver’s new book, Demon Copperhead (Harper, 2022), named by the New York Times as one of the Ten Best Books of 2022. Elizabeth thinks that this is “the book Kingsolver was meant to write.” It’s a retelling of Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield, set in contemporary Appalachia, where Kingsolver grew up and now lives. In her more recent work, Kingsolver has been, like Dickens, an activist novelist, with books that take on environmental, political, and social issues with a clear point of view. This time, she is telling a story of opioid addiction. Elizabeth says that with this book, Kingsolver gets the balance right between storytelling and message, and tells of serious social ills without getting too serious and dark. Elizabeth loves the parallels with Dickens, but says it isn’t necessary to be familiar with his novel to enjoy this one. As a longtime Kingsolver fan, I’m looking forward to it.

I heard from Marcy Hermansider about a collection of short stories by Rick Bass, Montana writer and environmental activist, known as a master of the short story form. Marcy writes, “The short story collection For a Little While, by Rick Bass focuses on people, their relationships to each other and the world around them. The writing is quiet and nuanced, emotionally rich, and the descriptions of the natural world have a particular magic.” For a Little While was published in 2016 by Little, Brown and is regarded as the definitive collection of Bass’s work. Marcy says it is the best short story collection she has read, that she “can’t praise it enough!”

For non-fiction, Lou Nelson recommends

The Daughters of Yalta by Catherine Grace Katz (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2020). Lou writes, “The Daughters of Yalta is a fine non-fiction book by historian Catherine Grace Katz (catalogued as 940.53). Sarah Churchill, Anna Roosevelt, and Kathy Harriman, the daughter of W. Averell Harriman (at that time U.S. Ambassador in Russia) are each a fascinating subject. Katz provides a detailed narrative of the February 1945 conference at Yalta, at which Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt convened in the Crimean region, very close to the end of FDR’s life, to discuss issues leading up to the defeat of Germany in World War II. Katz chose to tell the story through the eyes of three women whose fathers included them as aides and confidants at the conference, making for a highly readable version of social and political history.

Also in the non-fiction realm, Bill Schmidt suggests two works that have been especially helpful to him in this past year. The first is Messages of Hope by Suzanne Giesmann (2011). Bill writes that Giesemann is “a former Navy commander who most unexpectedly became an evidential medium. She has spent the last twelve plus years doing authentic, verifiable, healing readings for those for whom she contacted loved ones on the other side. Messages of Hope is a memoir that begins with an account of the end of her twenty years of Navy service as aide-de-camp to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the White House. She then describes the tragic death of her 25-year-old step-daughter who was killed by a lightning strike. The remainder of the book is about her journey to evidential mediumship.” Bill says that this book has confirmed for him that life does not end with physical death, but is ongoing on the soul level, and that communication with those on the other side is possible.

The second book from Bill is The Book of Awakening, a New York Times bestseller, by Mark Nepo (Conari Press, 2000). Bill read this book daily throughout 2022. He says that it “contains 365 sharings on the wonder, pain, and continued on page 14

Carolyn Mayo Brown & Gregory Brown

Election 2023: Candidates’ Statements

Election Summary for Town Meeting 2023

As usual, this year’s election will determine who the moderator, clerk, and treasurer will be for the coming year. Running unopposed for these positions are incumbents Cindy Jerome, Laurie Frechette, and Charlotte Neer Annis respectively. Charlotte has announced that this will be her last year as treasurer, however, and asks for somebody to consider running for that position next year, and spending some time with her during 2023 to see what’s involved with the job.

On the selectboard, Maria Glabach is running unopposed for a three-year term, and Alex Wilson and Mark Kracum are both running

ToWN MoDERAToR Cindy Jerome

Town Moderator, 1-year term

I am happy to again ask for your vote for Town Moderator. I love our Town and am honored to play a role in our community. Although this is the third year we won’t gather for Town Meeting, I hope you participate in the Town Information Meeting I’ll be moderating at 7:00 pm on Wednesday, March 1st. 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. While we won’t be voting at this year’s Information Meeting, I’ll ensure your questions are heard. To vote on all the Articles, you’re encouraged to call or email Town Clerk Laurie Frechette to request your absentee ballot. Call 802-2571496 or email TownClerk@Dummerston. org . If you prefer to vote in person, come to the Town Office on Tuesday, March 7th , 8am–7 pm. Thank you for your trust in me over these years. I hope to earn it again, and see you in person in March of 2024, for a real Town Meeting and my 13th year as your Town Moderator.

ToWN CLERK

Laurie Frechette

Town Clerk, 1-year term

It has been my honor and privilege to serve as your Town Clerk for the past seven years. The time continues to pass so quickly!

I feel so fortunate to live in this community. One of the favorite parts of my job is getting to know you all and watching your families change and grow over the years. So many wonderful memories have been made!

The folks who work at the Town Office take great pride in making it a friendly and welcoming place for you to visit. Stop by to see us!

I look forward to serving the Town for at least another year (hopefully more) and ask for your vote on March 7th. Thank you!

for the two-year term which is being vacated by Rebecca Lotka. A three-year term is opening on the Windham Southeast School District Board, and joining incumbent Michelle Leutjen-Green in seeking this position is Eva Nolan.

Ray Harris, currently wrapping up a one-year term as auditor, is now running unopposed for a three-year term. Jean Newell has retired as a lister, and there are no candidates for the three-year term that she has vacated. Lyle Holiday has offered to serve a five-year term as a trustee of the Lydia Taft Pratt Library, and the selectboard will continue to act as the trustee of cemetery funds.

AuDIToR Ray Harris Auditor, 1-year term

My name is Ray Harris and I am on the 2023 Dummerston election ballot for Auditor.

I have served with the Auditor’s team the past two years, the first year as a volunteer and the latter year elected for a one-year term.

I have been honored to work with the two very fine and dedicated other Auditors (Ruth Hoffman and Joe Little) who are a very strong

WSESD BoARD

eva Nolan

WSESD School Director, 3-Year Term

My name is Yvanita Nolan; I go by Eva. I am excited to stand as a candidate for the open Dummerston seat for the WSESD Board. Originally from Boston, my husband and I moved to Vermont to start a family about 8 years ago. It is a dream come true. As a woman of color with two sons (aged 2 and 5) who will be entering the WSESD, I want to create a fair and welcoming environment in our schools. Along with graduating with a B.A. in Criminal Justice from Eastern Nazarene College, I have worked extensively with Boston Area Rape Crisis Center. I received counseling and support training with BARCC, as well as additional training to become a Volunteer Educator in Community Outreach, Awareness, and Prevention Education. Working with the Survivor Speakers Bureau, I facilitated discussions at colleges and community centers. During my time with BARCC, my outreach included having conversations and training about sexual violence, rape culture, how to be a bystander, and ways we as a community can create change and support survivors. In particular, I reached out to colleges, hair salons, community centers, and marginalized people of color surrounding Boston who needed access to services. We had hard discusContinued on page 15

team. And I appreciate the opportunity to provide some service back to the town where I live.

My qualifications include a BS degree (Accounting) and an MBA (Business). I have worked for over 40 years with large corporations in the accounting, finance, audit and computer fields.

I will appreciate your consideration.

Michelle Green

WSESD School Director, 3-Year Term

My name is Michelle Green. I have been your representative on the Windham Southeast Supervisory Union and School District Boards for the last three years.

I have chaired the communication council through my term and sat on the finance committee for the last two years.

The work of the communication council has improved access and participation at board and committee meetings through social media and email sign up opportunities. We took responsibility for ensuring all voters were informed on important ballot questions, such as dissolution of our newly merged school district.

As a representative on the Supervisory Union Board, I participated in two superintendent searches. As chair of the S.U. Board, I brought forward developmental trainings from the Vermont School Board Association to help us establish foundational procedures and protocols that support being effective in our role through respectful collaboration with our administrative team. I advocated and helped facilitate implementation of a peer review evaluation system for our Superintendent and administrative team.

I have four school aged children, from 3rd-12th grade in our schools. I am the Board

Continued on page 15

Election 2023: Candidates’ Statements

SELECTBoARD Alex Wilson Selectboard, 2-year term

First, a little about my background: I’ve lived in Dummerston for 43 years—since I moved to the area from New Mexico as a 25-year-old to become executive director of the New England Solar Energy Association, which was based in Brattleboro. I served in that role for five years, putting the organization on strong financial footing and transitioning it to the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (it is currently based in Greenfield, MA). In 1985, I launched what is now BuildingGreen, Inc. from our home in West Dummerston. When we outgrew our Home Industry permit with five employees in 1998, we moved the publishing and consulting business into Brattleboro, where it has now been for 25 years with about 15 employees. I’m proud that BuildingGreen has played a leading national role in the emerging green building field. In early 2012, I launched the Resilient Design Institute, a nonprofit organization focused on how to enhance the resilience of buildings and communities in the face of climate change. While I still have one foot in the door at BuildingGreen, most of my focus is now on RDI, while my wife, Jerelyn, and the rest of the team are keeping BuildingGreen on a steady course.

Beyond my primary work, much of it as a writer, I have been involved in numerous local, state-wide, and national organizations over the past 40 years. In the 1980s and ’90s I served on the Dummerston Planning Commission for about a dozen years. I was founding chair of the Dummerston Energy Committee in 2007, and I remain on that committee. Starting in 1997, I led efforts to establish the Lower Section of the West River Trail, from the Marina Restaurant in Brattleboro out to Rice Farm Road in Dummerston, and I currently serve on the Board of the all-volunteer

Friends of the West River Trail. I served on the board of Landmark Trust in Dummerston from 2013 until 2019 and remain on the board of Scott Farm, which is owned by Landmark Trust. I am currently on the Board of the Green Mountain Conservancy in Dummerston and the Retreat Farm in Brattleboro, and I serve on the committee investigating workforce housing at the Winston Prouty Campus in Brattleboro. Statewide, I served as a trustee of the Vermont Chapter of The Nature Conservancy from 2003 until 2012. Nationally, I served on the Board of the U.S. Green Building Council from 2000 through 2005 and the Sustainable Buildings Industry Council from 1999 through 2002.

Through all of this volunteer work as well as in my career, I’ve focused on creating a more sustainable and resilient world and stronger, healthier communities. On the Dummerston Selectboard, most of my focus would be on the standard business of the Town: maintaining our roads, adopting responsible budgets, and maintaining the superb management of Dummerston that we can all be very proud of. But I will also look for opportunities to peer downthe-road at what the Town will face in the coming decades and how we can prepare for that. I will try to be responsive to resident concerns and do what is best for our town.

LTPL TRuSTEE

Lyle Holiday

Lydia Taft Pratt Library

Trustee, 5-year term

Upon retirement after 40 years in education, I feel it is time to step up and give back to the community in which I have lived for those 40 years. The Lydia Taft Pratt Library is a perfect fit for my inter-

Mark Kracum Selectboard, 2-year term

I have lived in Dummerston since 1990 and used to be very active in the community in the 90’s. With the Conservation Commission I worked on Prospect Hill trails including clearing out the top for views. I worked on Black Mountain trails and bridges when the Nature Conservancy purchased the property. I helped build the ship for the Dummerston School playground, got the recycling igloos installed at the store on Route 30 with the Recycling Committee and volunteered for Views of Dummerston.

In the 2000’s I put my ham radio talents to work as a member of the West River Radio Club, Windham County CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) and VT RACES (Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services). This included participating in all VT Yankee disaster drills, working with many Windham County Police departments providing traffic control and safety communications during parades, fireworks, and events such as Girls on the Run, Blueberry Festivals, Strolling of the Heifers. Last Summer I was called on by Dummerston Cares to handle the traffic for the Town Party.

I’m a licensed traffic and security officer; recently I was asked to renew my State of Vermont security license and resume working part time for Hunter North Security. I’man Active Duty VT State Guard in the Battalion in

Rutland, VT assisting the VT National Guard to protect, serve, and uphold the VT Constitution, and recently was promoted from E6/Staff Sergeant to E7/Sergeant First Class. I’ve worked on the Dummerston Apple Pie Festival every year in various capacities from traffic safety and parking to carrying pies from church to table. I’m a member of the Dummerston Church and have become active in the Dummerston Church “Wood Pantry” in recent years.

In retirement, I feel that I now have more time to give back to my community. I feel I’m fair and just; I make decisions based on facts. I believe in VT ways and customs, in straight talk, getting right to the point. I’m not a politician, scheming to gain advantage in underhanded ways. I prefer to think of myself as a statesman, diplomatic and professional.

“When you want something done, ask a busy person.”

TREASuRER

Charlotte Neer Annis Treasurer, 1-year term

ests and background in education, specifically literacy. A local library is an excellent resource for a town providing a place not only to borrow books but also to access technology, attend events and meet your neighbors!

I am running for the position of Town Treasurer. As my 7 th year comes to a close, it is hard to believe how quickly the time has passed. I continue to be amazed by how much I have learned and how much there is still to learn. Working in the town office as the zoning administrator, then lister, and now treasurer has been a privilege. I have loved (almost) every minute and although I look forward to another year serving the residents of Dummerston as treasurer, it will be time for me to step down in 2024. Please contact me if you are interested in running in 2024. We have a lot to talk about.

Thank you for your support.

Good Books Winter 2023: Readers’ Choice

continued from page 11 love that the journey of life is all about.” Nepo, a poet and teacher, writes from his own life experience, including being a cancer survivor.

Jim Bombicino weighed in with his usual interesting list of titles, mostly non-fiction this time. He liked The Eye of the Elephant (Houghton Mifflin, 1992) by Mark Owens and Delia Owens (author of Where the Crawdads Sing) . The Owenses are wildlife biologists and conservationists who were among the first to venture into the wilds of East Africa to do research. In the 1980s, they established a camp in the North Luanga National Park in Zambia, intending to study lions. What they found there was that elephants were being poached on a grand scale for their meat and ivory, and so they became engaged in a battle to put a stop to this species-endangering slaughter. Thus they became involved in a series of daring, lifethreatening adventures which include terrifying night-time flights over the jungle in attempts to intimidate the poachers. Mark and Delia worked to convince local people that if they protected the wildlife, people would come, thus creating an economy based on safari tourism. Eventually they made some headway, and by book’s end things were getting better. Jim says it’s an exciting read.

Jim also enjoyed Is this Anything? by Jerry Seinfeld (Simon&Schuster, 2020), a collection of the comedian’s favorite material, arranged chronologically from the beginning of his career to the present. Jim says it is really fun to read, and interesting because it shows the transformation of Seinfeld’s work from benign,

nonsensical observations to more sarcastic, sharper-edged material as he gets older.

For his third suggestion, Jim recommends The Lost City of the Monkey God by Douglas Preston (of the Preston and Childs detectivethriller series), published in 2017 by Grand Central Publishing. This is a true story that reads like a high adventure novel. Preston joins an archeological expedition in the jungles of Honduras to find La Cuidad Blanca, a preColumbian city hidden in the rain forest. This site has been detected using LIDAR, a laser imaging technology. Preston delivers an eyewitness account of what the group suffers, through illness, snakes, rains, and other dangers. It was a New York Times No. 1 bestseller and named to the Times’ list of Notable Books for 2017.

In addition, Jim enjoyed the science fiction novel Beacon 23 by Hugh Howey (2015). The main character is a lonely lighthouse keeper on a beacon in the far reaches of space in the 23rd century. A network of beacons has been created to guide ships that are crossing through the Milky Way at the speed of light. If a beacon shuts down, catastrophic crashes can result. Of course, the protagonist’s beacon goes into distress, causing him to face some ethical decisions amid his great stress. Jim says it’s a short and intriguing read.

Finally, I heard from Suzanne Weinberg, who sent me this interesting commentary about her reading experience last year. She writes: “In 2022, I read three novels that involved the first months of the pandemic. This wasn’t purposeful on my part, but it turned out to be meaningful for connecting with others’ experi-

ences during that fraught time, and for reflecting on where we are now. The writers deal with the complex and mixed emotions of the time: fear, worry, confusion, relief, grief, strength, rage, and vulnerability, as well as logistical and plot twists, turns, and adaptations that we were all coping with.

“The Sentence by Louise Erdrich (Harper Collins, 2021) is readable and impactful. There’s a ghost story threading through it, but not one with a full-throated science fiction flavor. Rather, it’s based on more subtle echoes of Native American ancestors that Erdrich often includes in her novels. In Minneapolis, during the beginning months of the pandemic, we experience curbside pickup and physical distancing at a local bookstore, as well as the George Floyd murder and resulting demonstrations. The characters are believable and sympathetic. Erdrich has reported that this was the most difficult novel she’s ever written because she was working on it while simultaneously living the events as they were unfolding in real time, in her hometown to which she’s deeply attached.

“French Braid by Anne Tyler (Alfred A. Knopf, 2022) isn’t one of my favorites of hers, but it’s an easy read that carried me along. The tale takes us through several generations of a family, starting in the 1950s and ending with the first summer of the pandemic. That last chapter is the best of the book, both in terms of her writing and in her zeroing in on some positive aspects of life in 2020.

“My most enthusiastic recommendation is Lucy by the Sea, the fourth of Elizabeth Strout’s Lucy books (Random House, 2022). Although each of Lucy’s stories can stand on its own, they are richer for having read them in order. In this most recent one, which starts just as the pandemic hits, Strout continues in Lucy’s distinctive voice – as if she is telling us her thoughts over a cup of cocoa-and I continue to love her blend of flakiness and wisdom. In this one, Lucy goes to the coast of Maine to escape the pandemic, but Strout captures so much more that isn’t about the pandemic at all; rather it is just about being human in uncertainty, in solitude, and in relationships. A beautiful book!”

Lou Nelson and I both second Suzanne’s recommendation of The Sentence as one of our favorite books of 2022, and I concur totally with Suzanne’s choice of Lucy by the Sea. Along with Anthony Doerr’s Cloud Cuckoo Land, it was a top pick for me.

And that’s a wrap. I hope you find some good books from this compilation. Thanks so much to all who shared their thoughts. I appreciate their willingness to participate.

Fiber Optics District Connects First Customers

continued from page 1 privacy, and currently encompasses a total of 24 towns, including Dummerston.

In recent exciting news, DVFiber hired Gabrielle Ciuffreda as its first executive director in September of 2022. Ciuffreda, known as Gabby, lives in Guilford and comes to DVFiber with deep experience in project management and community building. In addition, under Gabby’s leadership, DVFiber has connected its first customers with high-speed fiber optic internet!

Customers in Readsboro were connected to the DVFiber network in late December of 2022. This pilot group is testing the network for reliability of speed and access to the internet for a three-month testing period. DVFiber will survey the pilot group for feedback regarding all aspects of the service, including initial connection, reliability, call response time, repair, customer support, billing, etc. The survey findings will help ensure that connecting larger numbers of customers will go as quickly and smoothly as possible in 2023 and beyond.

“The connection of the pilot program customers last week marks a huge milestone for Readsboro. In recent years, whenever someone new moves into town the first thing they ask is ‘What’s the best option for Internet service?’ – and really there were no good broadband options available. So, for me,” says Omar Smith, Readsboro’s representative to the DVFiber Governing Board, “it’s very exciting to see a ‘world class’ option available for our community. It creates a level playing field for our residents to have the same connected services as many larger, more densely populated areas.”

Now that DVFiber is officially an Internet Service Provider (ISP) for the region, its next focus will be to press forward speedily with its construction to expand and connect more customers in 2023. The current expected engineering plan is that DVFiber will connect customers in parts of Halifax, Marlboro, Readsboro, Stamford, and Whitingham. DVFiber’s construction build-out design is not based on town borders, so portions of some member towns may be available to be connected sooner than other sections of the same town. This phase of the construction work is expected to take the better part of the next two years.

“These initial homes mark the first step in achieving our goal to make fiber network service accessible and affordable to all in our district,” says DVFiber Chair Steven John of Marlboro. “This is our mission and sole purpose as your publicly owned and operated ISP.”

Of course, what many of you are probably wondering right now is: “When will DVFiber

service be available to me?” As Dummerston actually already has relatively high broadband coverage (roughly 70%), compared to many of the other towns in the district, we will not likely see any build-out here until the next phase of the construction plan, perhaps starting towards the middle to end of 2024. It is impossible to say with any more precision, since so many varied and changing factors are involved. But rest assured, we are making good progress, the service is coming to everybody, and it will come first to those who currently have no access to broadband. For those who do currently have access, they will actually have another choice! Learn more and get involved: Intrigued? To get the latest news on progress and projected

eva Nolan

timelines for construction, sign up for the DVFiber newsletter at DVFiber.net and stay informed. Meeting agendas and minutes are also posted online, and all are welcome to attend meetings.

Want to get involved ? This broadband project is staffed almost entirely by volunteers, which is a major undertaking! Fortunately, many volunteers have relevant experience, enabling the development of strong forward momentum. Anyone interested in helping to make a better future for everyone in these communities should contact Eric Lineback (your DVFiber governing board representative from Dummerston) at eric.dvfiber@ gmail.com

WSESD BoARD Michelle Green

WSESD School Director, 3-Year Term

Continued from page 12 sions about what inclusion means to make services available for all. I was also lucky to participate in additional training with the FBI through BARCC in identifying and reporting trafficking victims, and creating informational outreach to businesses.

In addition to this, I have studied with Dummerston’s Southern Vermont Transcendental Meditation, which has added so much peace to my life, and I’m currently finishing my 200-hour yoga teacher certification.

If elected to the board, I would aim to foster an environment free from bullying and harassment for every child in the district. Children can thrive in learning when all their basic physical and emotional needs are met. I am committed to ensuring that every child has access to mental health services, especially those who suffer from PTSD and Complex PTSD. Children who need more help get that extra boost. Trauma can also be exhibited through bullying, and I want to learn what services can be provided within the district. Right now, access to mental health is complicated and unattainable for many people. Entire families need to be able to access this vital service. Unfortunately, it is challenging to find a therapist, and the cost might be a burden for struggling families. I want to make access to mental health care more inclusive and equitable for the entire home. It would be exciting to work with the board and our community to address concerns and feedback, to create change, and to find common ground. I am optimistic about our future. My motto is: small steps every day make a tidal wave of change.

I look forward to meeting with you all.

WSESD School Director, 3-Year Term

Continued from page 12 representative on the Dummerston Leadership Council and an active member and volunteer in our school community. The relationships I have built with families, teachers, administrators, and board members have helped me understand how to best represent my community in the board room.

I am offering my time and commitment for another term and hope you will support me. The time and demand has been great, but I recognize the honor in having the opportunity to support positive growth for our school district and ensuring our children’s needs are being met, our staff are supported, and our values are being represented.

Computer questions?

Tired of feeling out of control?

Patient, Sympathetic Coaching Macs • Windows • iPads • Tablets

Annamarie 802-451-1941

www.PatientSympatheticCoaching.com

Old Becomes New Again:

continued from page 1

Many parents were incredibly helpful with this part of the day.

Recently, I contacted former student Zara Shulman-DiZoglio to speak with her about integrative learning and our day at the historic schoolhouse. Here, with Zara’s permission, are some excerpts from that conversation. During the conversation I was able to coerce Zara into calling me ‘Bill’ rather than Mr. Holiday!

Bill: You’re in some pictures of that day that we spent all day at the one room schoolhouse—today, the headquarters of the Dummerston Historical Society—where we had this huge pot of things we put on a wood stove to cook all morning so we could have lunch, and it wouldn’t cook through, and we sat in old desks. We did old lessons, and we went outside.

Zara: It’s a long time ago. I definitely have a vivid memory of the soup, not being cooked all the way.

Bill: Crunchy vegetables, right?.

Zara: Yeah, I think that was my sixth-grade year. That would probably be one of the things that sticks with me probably more than some of the other things that we did.

This experiential learning piece on this particular day, including the not-fully cooked meal, I do remember. I do remember needing to come up with clothes that were appropriate to wear. So that was interesting. I think I had to borrow something from somebody

because I didn’t have anything that really fit that time period.

There were probably eight to ten girls that made or were loaned things. There were only two guys… dressed up in colonial garb. So, yeah, it’s interesting because the pictures reminded me, but I think in the moment of

that day I remember thinking that I was glad that I had on my borrowed dress because there were some other classmates, girls, who had like much more elaborate get-ups and I was very envious. They kind of like got into it a little bit more than I did. But I think generally thinking back on that day, I think there was like a lot of excitement about going. I don’t remember what time of year it was, but it was, either late fall, or spring? It was cool enough so you kind of needed to be indoors, but warm enough on a sunny day so we could get out and use that little stream. We went across the kind of common and played some colonial games in that open space.

Bill: Did we play cricket?

Zara: Yes, we did. That memory comes back to me, that we played cricket – and that it was fairly difficult.

Bill : I t’s not traditional by American standards. That was the point. We were an English colony.

Sponsors

Gordon & Linda Evans

Heather & Gene Rostov

Akara Draper & Linnie Jones

Elizabeth Catlin & Jared Flynn

Cliff Adler & Lynn Levine

bill holiday’s sixth grade class of 1978 (graduating class of 1980) gathers in front of the old Constitution house in Windsor, the birthplace of Vermont, while on a field trip.

bill holiday’s 1984 6th grade class at the old schoolhoue, now the site of the current dummerston historical Society in dummerston Center.

photo by b ill h oliday

photo by b ill h oliday

A Remembrance of Dummerston School

It was a delight for me to work at Dummerston School and be able to reconnect with former students like Zara. Their memories were priceless to me.

Dummerston Cares Assists with Heating

By Bill Schmidt

As winter winds down, home fuel supplies may be dwindling for some residents, especially those whoare getting fuel assistance from the state. State assistance sometimes ends before winter is over and warmer spring days arrive.

Zara: I have a vague memory of it being somewhat less comfortable than going to a regular day at school. I think it was probably chilly in the morning. They’re definitely memories.

Well, you are one of the teachers. I do remember, Bill. And your wife, I had her for third grade. The year that you two got married she started off as Miss Streeter. And then she became Mrs. Holiday!

I also took field studies with my classes. We did field studies by bus (I had a bus driving license) to the Old Constitution House in Windsor, the Stone Village in Chester, the site of Fort Dummer, and the Vernon Hydroelectric Plant – all with integrated and planned activities for the students. We packed lunches and ate on the trail – great days for students and teachers alike!

I also took Dummerston students to Washington, D.C. We drove in private cars, stayed in private homes, shopped for lunch items,

Sponsors

Bruce & Catie Berg

Gail & Lew Sorenson

Elsa Waxman

David & Nina Hutchison

Kevin & Sara Ryan

John & Sheila Pinkney

made, and ate lunches in the field at the Washington Monument, Capitol Hill, and George Washington’s Mount Vernon. The total cost for the entire trip, which included seeing Godspell at Ford’s Theater (President Lincoln was shot there on 14 April 1865) was $35.00!

A Call To all Dummerston Crafters and Artists

I am interested in the possibility of starting a Dummerston Crafts Tour. If you also share this interest let’s plan a meeting. Contact doubledaypd@gmail.com

J. Peter Doubleday

Long Bridge Woodworking

Dummerston Cares can be of help in keeping qualified folks warm at this time, either through its own Home Heating Fuel Fund or SEVCA’s (Southeastern Vermont Community Action) Fuel Fund. Both organizations work directly with fuel companies to see that needed oil, propane, or kerosene is provided. Firewood, if needed, may be available at the Dummerston Church’s Wood Pantry.

To get assistance or learn more about available home heating fuel programs, call Dummerston Cares’ Message Line at (802) 257-5800. Leave your name and phone number and a Cares board member will get back to you. For firewood, contact Charlie Richardson who heads up the Dummerston Church’s Wood Pantry. Charlie can be reached at (802) 254-6963.

a smiling 6th grade student, Jessica Johnson, works on a lesson on the class field trip to the old dummerston schoolhouse in 1984.

photo by b ill h oliday

DUMMeRSTON NOTABLe eVeNTS

1 Town Meeting information session, 7 p.m. Join Zoom meeting at https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83245170108?pwd=NTZNWS94djVBU0k4V0lIU

WJ1V1Y2dz09; Meeting ID: 832 4517 0108, Passcode: 021418

7 No Town Meeting. In-person voting: Town Office, 8 a.m.-7 p.m., or by mail-in or drop-off ballot. Request a ballot by email at townclerk@dummerston.org; by phone at 802-257-1496, or by stopping by the town office.

1 Vermont town registration deadline for dog licenses

15 Federal and State Income Taxes due File VT HOMESTEAD DECLARATION (HS-122) online at http://www.state.vt.us/tax/index.shtml

25 Grange Annual Sugar on Snow Supper Place and time to be announced—check The Commons or The Reformer

USeFUL STUFF TO KNOW

Senior Lunches Evening Star Grange; Second & fourth Wednesday, noon. For Take out call: 802254-1128. Leave name, phone number, number of meals desired, and whether Eat In or Take Out. Fuel Assistance or Firewood Fuel: call the Dummerston Cares’ HelpLine 802-257-5800. Leave a message and phone number. Wood: call Charlie Richardson at the Wood Pantry, 802-254-6963.

The Front Porch Forum: online at www.frontporchforum.com

Walks and Trails in Dummerston: http://dummerstonconservation.com/wp-content/uploads/files/ docs/Dummerston_Trail_map_September_2014.pdf

Dummerston Sightings: Nature Tidbits with photos! http://dummerstonconservation.com/blog/

NAMeS & TIMeS & NUMBeRS

Community Center Jean Momaney 802-254-9212

Conservation Commission

Web site: www.dummerstonconservation.com

Dummerston Cares Message line & Fuel Assistance 802-257-5800, email: info@dummerstoncares.org, web site: www.dummerstoncares.org

Dummerston School 802-254-2733

Web site www.dummerston.wsesu.org

Fire Chief Rick Looman, 802-258-1731

Fire Warden Ted Glabach, 802-384-6994

Deputy Fire Warden Allen Pike, 802-258-0100

Lydia Taft Pratt Library 802-258-9878

Hours: Tue. 2-6; Wed. 1-5; Thu. 1-5; Sat. 10–1

Web site: library.dummerston.org

Facebook: www.facebook.com/dummerstonlibrary email: dummerstonvtlibrary@gmail.com

Vermont Theatre Company 802-258-1344

Evening Star Grange Carol Lynch 802-254-2517 or Ruth Barton at mrgjb@sover.net

Meals on Wheels Cynthia Fisher, 802-257-1236 Selectboard selectboard@dummerston.org

Senior Solutions Carol Lynch, 802-254-2517 Springfield Office 800-642-5119

Town Garage Lee Chamberlin, 802-254-2411

Town Office Laurie Frechette, 802-257-1496 email: townclerk@dummerston.org

Veterans Assistance Contact Dummerston Cares message line or email

Views of Dummerston views@viewsofdummerston.org

WSESU 802-254-3730

Websites: Official Town www.dummerston.org

Municipal Calendar http://calendar.dummerston.org

Local Interest www.dummerston.com

Dummerston Meetings

Please note that these meetings may not be taking place at their usual locations. Please refer to the town web site, www.Dummerston.org, for updated information.

1st Monday at the Community Center PTFO 6:00 pm 3rd Thurs. at the Dummerston School Library

WSESD 6:00 pm

2nd & 4th Tuesdays, revolving locations Historical Society 7:30 pm 3rd Thursday of Jan./April/July/Oct. at the Dummerston Historical Society