Thetford
Town Newsletter
No. 42 August
2007
SELECTBOARD NOTES
There are currently vacancies
on the town's Historic Preservation Committee and Budget Committee. Anyone
interested in volunteering to be on either of those committees, please contact
a Selectboard member. Thanks in advance for participating.
**Mark your calendars for the annual Labor Day Parade and Barbeque in Post
Mills, on Monday, September 3, sponsored by the Thetford Fire Department.**
SENIOR/AFFORDABLE HOUSING
COMMITTEE
The Committee will be holding
monthly forums for input and concerns. These forums will be held at Latham
Library on the 3rd Wednesday of each month at 7pm.
Forums are open to all
residents to voice ideas and dreams for Senior Affordable housing concerns
and to hear updates on progress of the Town Committee.
Contact: Dale
Gephart , 333-9748 Dale.S.Gephart@Dartmouth.EDU
Submitted by Gina Sonne
PLANNING COMMISSION NEWS
There is an opening on the
Planning Commission and we are looking for a volunteer to join our team. We
meet the First and Third Tuesdays of the month at 7:15pm at the Town Offices.
The meetings are usually over by 9:15pm.
If you are interested in
planning the future of Thetford please contact:
Wayne Parks, Chair Planning
Commission at 333-9761.
PARISH PLAYERS
Last call for Thimble Theatre -- Parish Player's pilot project to bring
community theatre to children in this area. Five morning sessions devoted
to improv and acting exercises with a mini showcase at the end.
**August 6-10th.
9am-noon. $125 ($100 each if two friends/siblings sign up together).** **For
kids entering 1st to 4th grade.**
Leaders: Laura Shepard,
lawyer and mom to two children (ages 2 and 7), has acted and performed on stage
since childhood, throughout college and beyond; and Milo Cramer, a fun and
creative high school senior who has a background in improv, physical comedy and
Shakespeare.
Drop the kids off in the
morning;
Enrollment application is at
Latham Library or call Laura Shepard at 785-9806.
LATHAM LIBRARY NEWS
At Latham Memorial Library in
August:
From Casting Call to Opening Night: Producing a Play at Northern Stage
On Tuesday, August 21, at 7 pm, Northern Stage's producing director Catherine
Doherty will describe the many creative processes involved in staging a
professional theatrical production. This is your chance to see examples of
scenery mock-ups, costumes and other working design pieces and hear what it's
like for Doherty to turn all that creative chaos into something ready for an
audience. We're hoping for a sneak preview of the upcoming season, as well...so
bring your family and tell a friend!
Founded in 1992, Northern Stage has operated out of the Briggs Opera House in
White River Junction since 1997. The award-winning theatrical company greatly
contributes to the arts in the
Did You Know? How To Request A Book From Latham
If you're looking for a book
and can't find it at the library, don't despair. Just write down the title and
author of the book you covet on the request list at the front desk; we'll do
our best to obtain it for you.
Submitted by Elise Tillinghast
TA NOTES
*Fall sports practice for
*Orientation for students new to TA will be held on Thursday, August 23,
starting at 7:30 pm in Anderson Hall. Students and their parents and/or
guardians are welcome to tour the school, visit their classrooms, and learn
more specifics for the coming school year.
*Wednesday, August 29, marks the official start of the 2007-2008 school year.
Traffic on the hill will be much busier, with school busses and student and
staff drivers going to and from both TA and TES. Extra vigilance is very
much appreciated.
Submitted by Wendy Cole
CHEESE TASTING WITH VERMONT
AUTHOR ELLEN OGDEN AT PEABODY LIBRARY
Well known author Ellen Ogden is coming to Peabody Library, August 25th, 5:00
until 6:00pm to talk about and sign copies of her new book, Vermont Cheese
Book. Ellen Ecker Ogden is a Vermont food and garden writer, author of From
the Cook's Garden cookbook with recipes for cook's who love to garden, and
co-founder of “The Cook's Garden” seed catalog. Her latest book is about
Submitted by Nancy Hughes
BEAN HOLE BEANS
Featured at the Chicken Barbeque!
Saturday, August 11th
– 5:00pm - $9.00/ticket
at the
Homemade pies! Music by the
Submitted by Cathee Clement
BECOME A HOSPICE VOLUNTEER
Would you like to help your neighbors and their
families in the Hospice Program? The gift of your time can make such a
difference for people who are in the final stages of their lives.
The Visiting Nurse
Association and Hospice of Vermont and
New volunteers are asked to
commit to trainings on Thursdays from Sept 6 - October 11 at the VNA and
Hospice office at
For more information or to register:
Judy Adams, Coordinator of
Hospice Volunteer Services
at (603) 298-8399 Ext. 2063
or email jadams@vnavnh.org.
TAI CHI
A new series starts September
7th at the
To register, please contact
Lynne Miller, 785-4410.
THETFORD CONSERVATION
COMMISSION
Honeybee alternatives “the
buzz on native bees”
There has been much publicity of late about the alarming plunge in numbers of
honeybee colonies. An estimated 30% of hives have been lost nationwide,
bringing large-scale agriculture close to a pollination crisis. Even in
Thetford our local bee keeper Alden Palmer has all but suspended operations
under the mounting toll of honeybee diseases and parasites.
But all is not lost. I see the blossoms in my asparagus patch constantly
visited by bees - not the familiar brown and yellow honeybee, but a variety of
smaller insects, unrecognizable as bees but for the bright yellow clumps of
pollen on their legs.
It is surprising to learn that there are about 4,000 species of native bees
across the
The vast majorities of native bees do not form colonies and are known as
solitary bees. Their common names often reflect their nesting habit, for
instance there are leafcutter bees that line hollow stems or other ready-made
tunnels with leaf fragments, carpenter bees that bore into dead wood, mining
bees that dig into the ground and mason bees that build mud nests in
pre-existing holes. So-called sweat bees derive their name from their
attraction to human sweat. There are many different species within each
of these groups and many of these bees are smaller than honeybees. For instance
leafcutter bees are 3/8 to 3/4 of an inch long, and black with silvery hairs.
Sweat bees are 0.1 to 0.4 inches long, and black or metallic whereas carpenter
bees resemble bumble bees with a hairless, shiny abdomen. The diversity
of native bees defies concise description. However a notable feature they all
have in common is extreme reluctance to sting.
All solitary bees share a
common lifestyle. The female mates and constructs several nesting chambers,
which may be divided into individual cells. Each cell is stocked with
nectar and pollen, packed together to form a “loaf.” An egg is laid in the
cell, which is then sealed. After filling all the cells and covering the
entrance to the nest, the bee dies. The eggs hatch and the larval
bees feed, grow, pupate and finally emerge as adult bees. Their
development takes about eleven months in all, while adult bees may live as little
as three or four weeks. The different species mature at various times
throughout the season.
During their short adult lives native bees are nonetheless very active
pollinators. In fact they are in some ways superior to honeybees. They fly in
cool spring weather when honeybees will not leave the hive. Fast-moving native
bees also visit more flowers per hour than do honeybees. One study found that
150 leafcutter bees could do the work of 3000 honeybees. Solitary bees are also
very efficient at pollinating certain crops like blueberries, in which 40% of
flowers set fruit after a single visit by a native bee.
Like many insects, native bees have suffered declines as a result of
large-scale pesticide spraying by corporate agriculture and on industrially
managed forestland, as well as garden pesticide use. Loss of wild lands, the
natural habitat of these pollinators, is another major factor. Bee nests in the
ground are easily obliterated by tilling, and nests in dead wood destroyed by
clean-up operations.
Native bees do not require much in return for their pollination services. These
sun-loving insects like to nest in dry locations. For ground-nesting bees, a
sunny slope with areas of bare soil can be left uncultivated. For bees that
nest in wood or stem cavities, dead snags and bundles of hollow bamboo or reeds
will offer nest sites. Some companies even sell wood blocks drilled with
various sized holes (1/8, 3/16, 1/4 and 5/16”) to attract a variety of solitary
bees. Stems of shrubs such as elderberry, sumac and box elder can also be
cut to expose the hollow interior. For mason bees a source of water and mud is
required. Many bee species are attracted by untilled, weedy areas left
along hedgerows. It is also important to provide a food source for the bees
when crops or gardens are not in bloom. Suitable food plants include early
flowering willows for spring, clover in summer and asters in the fall. A
diversity of native plants along hedgerows will almost certainly supply food
season-long. Finally, to ensure that native bees will pollinate our crops, nest
sites and plantings for bees should be within 600 ft of crop areas, since these
bees do not fly long distances from their nests.
Submitted by Li Shen
Thetford Conservation Commission
BEACH PARTY: Friday, August 10, 12PM-4PM. Save the date for this fun festival with DJ
music, children and adult games and races, arts and crafts, and a 12PM island
potluck cookout. Come with your beachwear on! Please bring a dish.
Celebrate summer & the last day of swimming lessons. Hope to see you!
Also,
For any questions or more
information, please contact the park at 333-9016.
Submitted by Scott and Ann O’Hearn
RICES MILLS COMMUNITY CENTER
EVENT
AUGUST MOSTLY
WALTZ
7pm - 9:30pm Saturday, August 11th
Bring Clean shoes and water to drink!
Information: Gina
@ 785-4220 or email gsonne@sover.net.
Submitted by Gina Sonne
COVER Home Repair and Reuse
Program Pickup Day
Wednesday, August 15th
Once again, volunteers from the nonprofit COVER will come to Thetford to pick
up old stoves, refrigerators and other household items. Many donated items are
tax deductible. COVER addresses urgent home repair needs of low-income,
disabled and elderly
Please contact Frank Orlowski at 802-359-5900 to schedule a pickup time on
August 15.
Submitted by Elise Tillinghast
if you are interested in
significant saving on gas costs while generating less carbon emissions.
For more information, or to
register, visit our website at www.UpperValleyRideshare.com
or telephone extension 206 at either 802-295-1824 or 800-571-9779.
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.