Thetford Town Newsletter

No. 55 SEPTEMBER 2008

TOWN CLERK NOTES

Important Election dates:

State Primary September 9^th

Polls open at town hall from 8am to 7pm

Absentee ballots available now! Deadline to register to vote is September 3 at 5pm.

General Election November 4^th

Polls open at town hall from 8am to 7pm

Deadline to register to vote is October 29^th at 5 pm.

THETFORD RECREATION DEPARTMENT
Youth Sports programs:

Fall soccer - for grades K-6.  $25 fee. 

In-person registration 2 days:

Tuesday Sept 2, 9 am - 2:30 pm at Town Hall and Thursday Sept 4 7:30-8:30 am and 2:30-6 pm at TES.

Karate: Wednesdays 3:15-4:15 in TES Gym.  $30 for 6 week session, beginning Sept 10th.

Athletes United Basketball - Free program run by the student athletes of Dartmouth College. Practices Thursdays in Thetford, games Saturdays in Hanover. Will try to make it not conflict with soccer.

Teen hiking club - first hike was last month, next hike scheduled for weekend of Sept 13.  Contact Rec Director for details.

Suggestions and ideas for new adult program offerings are always welcome!!!

Hilary Linehan, Recreation Director, Town of Thetford

10^th Annual FOLIAGE FIVE – October 12^th

The 10^th Annual Foliage Five road race will be held on Sunday, October 12^th at the Union Village Dam. 

The five-mile race begins and ends at the top of the dam, and the course is completely closed to traffic. Run at the peak of Vermont’s glorious foliage season, the race is run on one of the most beautiful courses in all of New England. Two kids fun runs precede the race. 

Prizes for the top finishers in six age categories.

All proceeds from the race benefit the Thetford Volunteer Fire Department.

For more information, go to www.foliagefive.com, or call Charlie Buttrey at 785-4005.

LET’S DANCE THETFORD CENTER!
2nd and 4th Fridays 7:30 -9:30
Rices Mills Community Center
Information: Call Gina at 785-4220

Submitted by Gina Sonne

TA NOTES

*Thetford Academy will hold a Welcome Night for 7^th Grade Parents on Thursday, September 4.  The event will be held in the TA Library, starting at 7:00pm.  Also that evening, the Board of Trustees will meet at 7:00pm in the FCS Room.  All interested folks are welcome to attend.

*Students in grades 7-12 are invited to the Welcome dance on Friday, September 5, from 7:30-9:30pm. 

*The 7^th Grade will hold a car wash at the Thetford Hill Fire Station on Saturday, September 13, from 9am-noon. Proceeds benefit Thetford Academy’s 7^th Grade Trip to Washington, D.C.

*Senior College Night for Parents and Students will be held on Tuesday, September 16, at 6:30pm.

*The annual Magazine Drive, sponsored by the Student Council, kicks off on Sept. 30. Be thinking now of subscriptions to renew or new magazines to try; profits are used to fund school activities and events, and your support is very appreciated.

Submitted by Wendy Cole

TEN - Thetford Elder Network

Do you know any person in town who needs some assistance with rides, gardening, cooking, carpentry, painting, plumbing, house cleaning, transportation or some aspect of their life which is making living in Thetford a difficulty? If so, TEN has a list of volunteers, ready to assist.

Contact the TEN Volunteer List by calling Inge Trebitz at 785-2129.

Submitted by Deecie Denison

THETFORD ENERGY COMMITTEE

Save gas: Properly Inflate Your Tires and Take the River Route

According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), passenger cars and light trucks wasted about 1.2 billion gallons of fuel driving on underinflated tires in 2005. GAO's report notes that the federal government and industry recommend drivers of passenger vehicles check their tire pressure at least once a month when tires are cold and inflate them to the pressure recommended by the vehicle manufacturer. (See GAO-07-246R, Underinflated Tires, 9 Feb. 2007.) You can improve your gas mileage by up to 5 percent right here in town -- visit Chuck's Auto or Huggett's in East Thetford or Thetford Auto Service in Thetford Center for free air for tire inflation. 

The US Department of Energy notes that "each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying an additional $0.30 per gallon for gas" (based on a price per gallon of $3.96; see www.fueleconomy.gov) and the Car Talk Guys advise against accelerating up hills. On your next commute or errand, pick up Route 5 in town or Route 10 across the river -- both roads have a fuel-efficient speed limit and fewer steep hills than I-91 -- and often they can get you to your destination just as conveniently as the highway (and sometimes faster).

Saturday, September 6:

Root Cellar Tour, 9:30 am - noon

Join the Thetford Energy Committee for a tour of local root cellars and get ideas for setting up your own energy-saving food storage site.
Meet at and carpool from Thetford Town Hall in Thetford Center.

For more info contact Chris Hebb, 333-9689.

Saturday, September 13:

Root Cellar Workshop, 10-noon

Cedar Circle Farm Stand (Pavilion Rd, just off Rt. 5 in E. Thetford)

Presenter: Marc McKee - farmer, maple sugar maker, hay-maker, wood cutter at Mountain School in Vershire, VT for 24 years.
Come learn about different kinds of home root cellars, from low tech buried barrels to mechanically cooled storage rooms, for extending your local eating season. Bring photos and stories of your root cellar successes and failures.

This will be an interactive workshop. 

For more information contact Cat Buxton, 785-4737 or Cat@cedarcirclefarm.org.

Submitted by Alice Stewart and Scot Zens

Thetford Energy Committee

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.