Thetford Town Newsletter

No. 11                                                                                                             January 2005

 

SELECTBOARD NOTES

 

TOWN MEETING

Thetford's Town Meeting will be held on Saturday, February 26, the Saturday preceding Vermont's Official Town Meeting Day which is always the first Tuesday in March (March 1).

 

Thetford's Town Meeting will be held at Thetford Academy's Anderson Hall starting at 9:00 a.m.

 

Thetford Town Annual reports will be mailed to households by mid February.

 

TOWN CLERK NOTES

 

Petitions for articles to be included on the Town Meeting Warning are due to the Town Clerk by January 20, 2005.  The petition requires signatures of 5% of the checklist (105). 

 

Voting by Australian Ballot at Town Hall will take place March 1, 2005.

DOG REGISTRATION RENEWAL - available after January 1st, and MUST be renewed by April 1 to avoid penalty for late filing.  New fees (as per state Statute) are $11.00 for Male or females, $7 for Spayed/Neutered.

 

We're looking for a few more good people who are willing to contribute their time to make our town the community we all want. Please consider volunteering for one of the many positions in town. 

 

The following offices have terms that end on March 1, 2005. 

 

To be a candidate for a position:

·        Complete a nominating petition (available at the Town Clerk’s office)

·        Get the necessary signatures on the petition (25)

·        Return the petition to the Town Clerk’s office by January 24, 5pm and complete the consent for nomination.

 

For information on the various offices, please contact a Selectboard member or the Town Clerk at 785-2922.

 

 

 

OFFICE

TERM

Town Moderator

1 year

Town Clerk

1 year

Town Treasurer

1 year

Delinquent Tax Collector

1 year

Selectboard

3 year

Selectboard

2 year

Grand Juror

1 year

Agent to Prosecute/Defend Suits

1 year

Agent to Convey Real Property

1 year

Lister

3 year

Budget Committee (3 vacancies)

3 year

Budget Committee (2 vacancies)

2 year

Trustee of Trust Funds

3 year

Cemetery Commissioner

3 year

Latham Library Trustee (2 vacancies)

4 year

Peabody Library Trustee

3 year

School Moderator

1 year

School Director

3 year

School Director

2 year

 

 

5th-6th INFORMATION SESSION

 

The Thetford Town School District Board of Directors invites all interested parties to attend an information session for the purpose of presenting information and communication regarding the 5th and 6th Grade program configuration for the 2005-06 school year.  Date:  Monday, January 10, 2005  7:00 p.m. at Thetford Elementary School

 

 

ACADEMY NOTES:

 

  • SOCIAL STUDIES PROJECT VIDEO: 

    We're proud to announce that TA is one of four high schools featured in the new Vermont Social Studies Project documentary, released recently by RETN. Steve Niederhauser's Human Geography course was chosen as an example of ways to use Vermont standards in the classroom and community. The film follows TA students in the Class of 2002 as they prepare a local geography project on old schoolhouses of Thetford. With cameo appearances by historian Charles Latham and retired teacher Dell Betts, along with shots of historic buildings and landscapes, the documentary shows the Academy's commitment to "place-based

 

 

education" in action. A copy of the video is available from the school, and we'll have a copy for Latham Library soon, too.

 

  • "Talk with TA" will take place at 6:00PM on Thursday, January 13, at 6PM in the TA library. The public is invited to share comments, concerns, and information with the trustees of the Academy. The Trustees Quarterly Meeting will follow the discussion.

  • The Ten-Minute Play Festival at Thetford Academy will be held this year on January 13 and 14. The student written, acted, and produced presentations will be performed in TA's Shark Tank. Call TA at 785-4805 for information on times.


  • Watch for information about Nora Jacobson’s film, "NOTHING LIKE DREAMING". A special screening will be sponsored by Connections, a student-faculty group working to strengthen the ties of Thetford Academy to the general public by including students and community members in enriching activities at the school.

    This film by local director Nora Jacobson had its Upper Valley premiere at the Loew Auditorium in November. The story is about a young Vermont woman who has just graduated from high school and is dealing with the pressures of growing up. Underage drinking, coping with loss, and dealing with mental illness are some of the issues that she confronts. Local scenes (Montpelier, Dan & Whit's) and local actors, including TA's Sam Chapin '06 and Lyme's John Griesemer, will be familiar to many.

 

  • The Thetford Academy Choral Concert will be presented at 4:00PM on January 8, 2005, at the Congregational Church on Thetford Hill. All are invited.

 

 

THETFORD SCHOOL BOARD UPDATE

 

The School Board is pleased to announce that it has reached an agreement with the teachers on a three-year collective bargaining agreement, covering the school years 2003-04 through 2005-06.  Although the negotiations were time-consuming, the parties were able to reach an accommodation without having to resort to arbitration, and have struck an agreement which reflects the School Board’s commitment to maintaining and rewarding its high-quality faculty while recognizing that fiscal reality requires that control be maintained over property taxes.

 

The contract provides for a 2.45% pay increase in the first year, a 4.25% increase in the second year, and a 4.25% increase in the third year of the contract which, over the course of the contract, constitutes an increase which is consistent with increases being provided in other Upper Valley school districts.

 

In addition, there will be significant change in health insurance coverage.  In the first year of the contract (which has already passed), the School District paid 90% of the premium for the JY (unmanaged) plan.  In the second year, the School District will pay 94% of the premium of the Dual-Option (managed) plan, and in the third year, the School District will pay 90% of the premium of the Dual-Option plan.  Teachers wishing to remain on the JY plan are free to do so; however, they will have to pay the difference between the JY premium and the amount the School District will pay for the Dual-Option plan.

 

The change in the health insurance coverage will result in substantial savings to the taxpayer, and brings the contract in line with most districts in the region. 

 

 

DIVERSITY TASK GROUP UPDATE


The Thetford Diversity Task Group continues its work to draft a vision statement for a presentation to the School Board with the expectation that the Board will then develop a diversity policy for students, teachers, and school administrators.  We're fairly far along with just some finishing touches and final edits needed.   

In addition, the Vermont Humanities Council has accepted our application for the Vermont Reads program and has sent to us twenty-five copies of a book by Cambodian author Luong Ung, First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers.  This is a riveting and very informative account of a young girl who lived through the Pol Pot regime, then moved to Vermont!  Copies of the book are now on reserve at the library in Thetford Elementary School.  Please come by and check out your copy soon.  All we ask as that once you've read the book you write your name inside the front cover, then return it to the TES library for the next person to enjoy.  The book is suitable for grades 7 through 12, as well as for ages up to at least forty-two years old (!) - I read it and learned a great deal about what life was once like in Cambodia. 

We'll continue to report out to you via this newsletter, the Thetford email forum, and various letters to the editor of the Valley News and the Spectator.  All meetings of the Diversity Task Group are open to everyone in Town.  Child care is provided.  Our next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, January 12 at 6:30 pm at TES.  Please join us!     

 

THETFORD TOWN NEWSLETTER

Paper copies are available the beginning of each month at Thetford libraries, stores, bank, town hall, and electronically at http://lists.valley.net/lists/info/thetford or www.thet.net/.

Please help us make this a viable publication by submitting community information and events.

 

 

SUBMISSION INFORMATION

The deadline for submissions is the 20th of each month. Send news including contact name and telephone number to Cathee Clement at 785-2668 or turtlepond@netzero.net.

Please list Thetford Town Newsletter in the subject line.

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