Thetford Town Newsletter

No. 34                                                                                                                                           December 2006

SELECTBOARD NOTES

Town Plan Final Draft
The Town Planning Commission presented its final draft of the Town Plan to the Selectboard on Mon., Nov. 27th. Copies may be reviewed on the town's web site "thetfordvermont.us", at Latham and Peabody Libraries and at Town Hall. The Selectboard will hold a formal hearing on the town plan on Mon. January 8, 2007 at 8:00 p.m. at Town Hall at which time a second hearing will be announced for final approval of the town plan.

Sketches Wanted

The Selectboard is looking for ink/pen sketches of town scenes for the town report. Anyone interested in submitting one should contact the Town Clerk at 785-2922 ext 10.


WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER  6, 7PM at TOWN HALL:  COMMUNITY FORUM  WITH THETFORD POLICE DEPARTMENT

Thetford Police Chief Jim Lanctot will host an open discussion on law enforcement’s role in teenage alcohol and substance abuse, including what happens when a teen is caught consuming alcohol, drugs and or tobacco. Participants will also discuss the laws relating to this topic and how they are enforced. 

This meeting is open to the public and while geared to parental and adult information, welcomes students to attend as well. 

Submitted by Jim Lanctot


POST MILLS CHURCH NEWS

Upcoming Events

December 3 – First Sunday of Advent

December 9 – Lighting the Memory Tree 5:00pm

December 24 – Christmas Pageant morning service 9:30am

December 24 – Christmas Eve Service of Lessons and

Carols 7:30pm

Hope to see you there!

Submitted by Barbara Condict


TAKE OUT DINNERS NOW AVAILABLE

Fay Sanborn, who used to own “The Lunch Box”, is now offering full family Meals To Go, party platters, sandwiches & grinders cooked in her state inspected kitchen. There are lots of different kinds of sandwiches and salads for sale from $5.95 to $8.95. She’s also selling many different kinds of casseroles, chilis, etc.

Please call 785-2516 for a menu!

You can pick up your dinners at Fay’s house on Route 113 across from the State Garage. All she needs is two days notice.

Submitted by Kendra Waterbury for Fay Sanborn


LATHAM AND PEABODY STORYTELLERS
Participants are working hard at the storytelling workshops at both Latham and Peabody Libraries. 

The workshops will culminate with a Winter Solstice Storytelling event to be held at Peabody Library on Tuesday 19th of December (3:30pm-4:30/5:00pm). Children are invited to light candles at this annual event and then our storytellers, both young community people and adults, will share tales with a winter flavour. This will be a wonderful event where you can see fellow Townsfolk sharing a new found skill in the form of great tales told.

***We will also do a repeat performance (without the lighting of candles) at Latham library on Thursday the 21st of December at 3.30pm until 4.30pm/5pm.***
Submitted by Simon Brooks


CONSERVATION COMMISSION NOTES

The Thetford Conservation Commission has a draft of a Management Plan for the Hughes Forest off Sawnee Bean Road ready for review. Charles Hughes left this 272 acre parcel to the Town in his will along with a wish that it be conserved. The Nature Conservancy wrote the easement restrictions on the property with the Upper Valley Land Trust. (FYI: Charles Hughes is also the generous soul who left the lot across from the Thetford Center Store to the Town. It is now being developed as a Green.) Copies of the draft are available in the Town Hall and are posted on the listserv site. The Plan is a document that outlines appropriate activities and goals for the property and is largely based on the easement restrictions that accompanied the donation. It will need to be approved by the Selectboard and the Upper Valley land Trust before it is finalized.
A varied group of citizens donated their time to this draft. We are happy to take more comments so please read it and give us feedback by December 20.You can contact any of the Conservation Commissioners with your ideas.
Submitted by Jennifer Davey,

Conservation Commission


LATHAM LIBRARY

Community Corner at Latham Library

December 7th at 7pm.
Come hear Mahlon Hoagland,MD, molecular biologist, sculptor, author of "The Way LIFE Works", talk about his life as a scientist and artist.
If you are interested in presenting at the Community Corner, please contact Gina Sonne 785-4220, Betsy Edmunds 785-2123, or Nan Crowell 785-3014.

Latham Trustees are looking for carpenters to make Library sandwich boards so we can have one in each village. We would also love a 3 sided kiosk for the library.  If you can donate your time and/or materials (recycled) for these projects please contact Gina Sonne 785-4220, or gsonne@sover.net

Latham Library’s evening hours are:

Mon. 5:00 - 8:30pm and Thurs. 5-8:00pm.
If you would like to see the library open until 6pm on Tues and Wed. please call Peter Blodgett at 785-4361.

Submitted by Gina Sonne


TA NOTES

**Thetford Academy's annual Winter Instrumental Concert will be held on Thursday, December 14. The evening's presentation will be held in Anderson Hall and will start at 7:00pm.
**The Woods Trail is now open for community use. Some sections are very soggy and muddy, but grass is still growing in other places. The whole 5K is available once again for walking, running, and communing with nature.  We hope the winter will bring good conditions for skiing as well. We may need to close it off again in the spring for further renovation, but for now, access is restored.  Enjoy!
**Now on view in the White Building at TA is a Japanese Art & Haiku Exhibit, a combined English/Art project titled "Twenty-One Views from Thetford Academy," which the public is invited to enjoy. Each fall, Mr. Chapin's Human Nature in Literature class creates wood block prints and haiku as part of an integrated Japanese unit with TA art teacher Ken Cadow, and poet Michiko Oishi, from UVM's Asian Studies Outreach Program. During the first semester, students read and analyze Kobo Abe's The Woman in the Dunes, study the famous Japanese wood block artist Hiroshige, and participate in a haiku workshop. Students were fortunate this year to learn about calligraphy from Marie Sakurai, a Japanese intern who is spending a semester at TA.
**School releases at 11:30 on Friday the 22nd for the December recess; classes will resume on Tues., Jan. 2nd. 

 

We wish everyone a safe, warm, and happy holiday.
Submitted by Wendy Cole


MONTH LONG ART EXHIBIT FEATURES THE POST MILLS MILL

Allison Teague is opening her new show THE MILL PROJECT, A PORTRAIT IN TIME - an installation and digital photography exhibit of the mill in Post Mills, with ambient photographs that paint a sense of time and vanished lifestyles in a respectful tribute, and artifacts from the period and the mill. Teague's eye take an intimate look at what is now a rarer and rarer sight in North America, a mill whose existence spanned centuries, that was rebuilt and reinvented time after time, and was the core of a civilized life in Post Mills and its families.

 

Artful Things' UnderGround Gallery will host the opening of the month long show on Friday, Dec. 1st, 5-8 PM.  Suite 104, 2 Whipple Lane, Lebanon NH.    

Submitted by Allison Teague


THETFORD GRANT RECIPIENTS

The Anne Slade Frey Charitable Trust was established in 1993 to promote innovation and creativity in education, the arts, nonviolence and social justice. Twice each year the Trust awards a round of grants to VT and NH individuals and groups involved in projects that are in harmony with the Trust's goals. The following is a list of Thetford recipients for Fall 2006.

·         Sustainable Energy Resource Group (SERG) - $1000 in support of their work to educate and involve communities in developing energy conservation, efficiency and renewable programs. Some of their projects are:  Energy Efficiency Street Lighting; Residential Energy Audits and Assessment services as well as
developing a workshop to teach home owners how to cost-effectively seal home leaks to prevent heat loss.

·         Operation Day's Work - Thetford Academy-  $885 for two brochures - one to describe the goals and philosophies of Operation Day's Work and another to describe the project and country chosen this fall. Each fall, ODW students in 23 schools around the U.S. review project proposals posted by Thetford Academy
and cast their votes for a project, which involves raising funds to benefit students in developing countries. The ODW class in each school does research and
gives educational presentations on the chosen country.  All schools give one day in the year working in the community and donating the proceeds to the project.
Last year Rwanda was the chosen country and Thetford's work day earned $12,000, which was included in the over $26,000 sent by ODW-USA to children affected by HIV/AIDS in Rwanda.

·         Nature Journal Club - $500 in support of an after school program nature study for elementary students. The children will create their own multi-media journals
including drawings, paintings, written observations, poetry and photography to express their connection with their surrounding environment.

 

To receive a complete list of recipients, more information or an application, please contact Cynthia Taylor at 785-2928.
Submitted by Cynthia Taylor


THETFORD TOWN NEWSLETTER 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.