THETFORD
TOWN NEWSLETTER
NO. 80������� OCTOBER
2010
THETFORD
TOWN OFFICE
A
few town updates from the Selectboard:
1-
Revolving Loan Fund:
Starting this fall, Thetford should have some
loan moneys (federal government block grant funds) being paid in that will go
to a Thetford Revolving Loan Fund. This fund will help Thetford businesses,
including home businesses and potentially senior housing efforts, with low
interest seed capital. We expect as much as a quarter million dollars to flow
into the fund over the next eight years. Obviously this will be a great boon to
the town, so the committee we're setting up to disburse those funds would be a
hoot to serve on. We are looking for people who would be willing to meet
quarterly to review loan applications that will be pre-processed by the Green
Mountain Economic Development Corporation. People interested in serving, or who
are interested in more information about the loan program, can contact me
directly at the email address above. This committee may also be charged with
helping adjudicate the PACE program (mentioned below).
2-
Homeowner Loans for Energy Savings Improvements:
Thetford is actively attempting to put
together a program (called PACE) whereby homeowners and business owners could
get loans that would pay for building improvements, provided that an energy
audit showed that the improvements would provide more in energy savings than
they would cost. This would have the effect of both saving townspeople a bunch
of money, as well as employing a good number of people in the building trades.
And it wouldn't involve any cost or risk to taxpayers not participating in the
program. Thetford is one of only four towns in Vermont that won a stimulus
grant to plan such a program.
Interestingly,
PACE programs across the country have been halted by a combination of funky
state enabling legislation and skittish banking regulators. More interestingly,
Vermont's legislature passed its version of the enabling legislation in a
bank-friendly and detail-free fashion that allows municipalities like ours to
fill in the details so as to avoid the concerns of the federal regulators. Long
story short: our program may show that this can and should work in the other
states, unlocking a lot of potential. The power to go ahead and do this rests
not in a regulator's hands, or a federal or state official's, but in those of Thetford's voters, who will be given the opportunity to
vote in such a program, provided we get our ducks in rows between now and the
next town meeting.
3- Road
Map Changes and Ad Hoc Committee for Road Naming:
We are asking for volunteers to be a part of
a road naming committee to give the board suggestions for two small road
segments that remain formally unnamed. One is the little stub of a road that
goes to Ned Perrin's old sugarhouse off Tucker Hill Road, and the other is the
smaller side of the triangle in front of the Post Mills church. The board
informally named that small section "Vermontasaurus
Drive" some months ago. This committee will solicit suggestions and
forward recommendations to the selectboard for
approval. Suggestions for road names can be emailed to Mike Pomeroy
at mcpomeroy@yahoo.com.
4-
Streetlights:
Thetford will soon be executing another
energy-related stimulus grant, replacing streetlight fixtures with more
energy-efficient LED versions. As part of that process, the selectboard
asked the Energy Committee to review the town's streetlights with an eye to
recommending snuffing out any unnecessary ones now, rather than after we've
spent federal dollars on unused upgrades. The committee returned a list of
lights they deemed unnecessary, and the selectboard
reviewed that list. A hearing was held on 9/27, but any additional input can be
directed to Donn Downey at donndowney@mac.com. I'd like to add that
the Energy Committee has been enormously helpful in both the streetlight and
PACE grant projects.
5-
Recycling Permits:
As we all discussed at town meeting this past
time, held a hearing on the 27th. This year, as you all have probably learned,
we've made a few changes at the Recycling Center. The combination of changing
trash hauling vendors and charging for permits is raising about $32,000 a year,
with about $12,000 of that returned directly to users with lowered trash fees.
The net cost to the town of the center last year was about $40,000, so we've
reduced that by about half this year. Additional feedback on recycling permit
fees can be sent to Donn Downey at donndowney@mac.com.
Submitted by Tig Tillinghast for the Selectboard
THETFORD
ACADEMY NEWS AND NOTES
*VSAC Paying for College Night will be
held on Tuesday, October 5.
The presentation will start at 6:00 pm and
will be held in the TA Library.
Parents, guardians, and students with questions about how to pay for college
are welcome to attend.
*TA�s Parent Advisory
and Advocacy Council (PAAC) will hold its first meeting of the school
year on Tuesday, October 12, at 7:00 pm
in the TA Library. Parents with questions, comments, and or concerns
about anything at TA are invited to attend. If you are interested but
unable to join us, please contact Mary Bryant at 785-4512.
*The
Thetford Academy Board of Trustees
will hold its monthly meeting on
Thursday, October 14, in the TA Library. The meeting will start at
7:00 pm, and all are welcome to attend.
*Thetford Academy will not be in session on
Thursday and Friday, October 21 and 22, for the state-wide Teachers�
Convention. The main office will also be closed.
*The
Fall Sports Awards Evening will be Wednesday, October 27, starting at 7:00 pm in the gymnasium.
*Thetford
Academy once again hosts the Vermont
State Cross Country Championship Races on Saturday, October 30. Volunteers
are needed; please contact Meet Director David McGinn
at 785-4805 x214 or Volunteer Coordinator Karen Buttrey
at Karen.S.Buttrey@Hitchcock.org
if you can help.
cross country
races at thetford academy
Thetford
Academy, home of the most scenic and highly-regarded cross-country course
in New England, is hosting three HUGE high
school cross-country meets this fall.
On Saturday, October 2nd, T.A. hosted the
20th annual Woods Trail Run, which draws nearly a thousand high school and
middle-school runners from throughout New England and New York. It is
estimated that the population of Thetford doubles on the day of this event.
On Saturday,
October 30th,
T.A. will host the Vermont State Cross-Country Championships. Boys and
girls teams from all three athletic divisions will be competing for team state
titles and individual honors, and to secure a berth in the New England Championships. The T.A. boys have won
the state championship each of the last two years, and both individual winners
from last year's D-III race are Thetford students who return to defend their
crowns this year. If you have never been to this meet, you have missed a
thrilling and colorful event.
On Saturday,
November 13th,
T.A. will host the New England High School Cross-Country
Championships, the signature event of the cross-country season. Previous
competitors have gone on to great success at the collegiate level. This
is your chance to see the stars of tomorrow today!
Every
year, T.A. is bombarded with positive accolades about these events and the
cheerful, helpful community volunteers who play such an important role in
making them run smoothly.
There
are still lots of volunteer opportunities for
one or all of these meets. Whether you are interested in post running,
helping with parking, serving in the hospitality area, assisting with the trail
patrol, or helping at the finish area, there is a job for you!
You
can volunteer for any of the meets, or all three. Fun is guaranteed!
If
interested, please contact Karen Buttrey by e-mail
at ksb7579@gmail.com or by phone at
785-4005.
Submitted by �Charlie Buttrey
CHICKEN PIE SUPPER
Pleasant Ridge Cemetery Association's Chicken Pie Supper
October
16, 2010 at 5:00 PM at the United Church of Thetford in North Thetford
$10.00 Adults, $5.00 Children
4-12, Under 4 FREE
Menu is
Chicken Pie, mashed potatoes and gravy, squash, cranberry sauce, coleslaw (the
best ever), assorted dessert pies, and enjoy a mini
treat from the candy dish. We will be offering coffee, tea, milk, water, and
punch as beverage choices.
We will NOT be providing take out
service.
Checks will be accepted.
NO POST DATED CHECKS!
Hope to see you at the best chicken pie
supper in town.
�
Submitted by Laurie A.
Ingalls�
TA� ALUMNI� ASSOCIATION�
24TH� ANNUAL� CRAFT�
FAIR
The Thetford Academy Alumni Association is
planning their 24th Annual Craft Bazaar!!
We are always the Saturday before Thanksgiving. We will be enjoying the
space at Thetford Academy in the new gymnasium. WOW!
Please plan to join
us 9am until 3pm on Saturday, November
20th.
Local crafters are
welcome to join us. We also encourage specialty food products. All
crafts are are locally produced by local residents
and artisans-Maple syrup, quilts, wooden ware, ceramics, jewelry, donuts, pies,
breads- how much can the variety of excellent products expand! Do you
demonstrate your art live for customers? Horse drawn rides, snacks and
luncheon are in the planning as always! Call Jessica Eaton 333-9491
for an information packet.
Submitted by Jessica Eaton
BIG TRASH, TIRES, ELECTRONICS, AND
FLOURESCENT BULB COLLECTION
October 16 from
9:00am to Noon at the Thetford Town Garage, Route 113.
Fees
will be charged for most items.
Contact
the Greater Upper Valley Solid Waste Management District for more information ����������� at 802-296-3688, guvswd@valley.net
or on the web at www.guvswd.org
Submitted by John Hurd,
GUVSWD
heating season is coming � are
you ready?
���������������
Keep
your house comfortable and save money by not wasting energy during the heating
season.
Submitted by Alice
Stewart for the Thetford Energy Committee
raffle, silent auction and soup sale at thetford hill church �
October 9th
fund raiser for new roof and preservation������
Have
you noticed the new roof on our historic Thetford Hill Church?� Members and friends of The First Congregation
Church in Thetford, UCC, are fundraising to help pay off the new roof and roof
support.�
This
historic building, the oldest meeting house in continuous use in the state of
Vermont, is one that we all take for granted as the anchor of the Thetford Hill
green. Can you imagine Thetford Hill without it?
In
addition to worshiping within its walls, most of us in town have spent
significant time there � at Maple Leaf daycare, piano lessons, AA meetings,
rehearsals, Thetford Academy Baccalaureate, concerts by the Thetford Chamber
Singers, TA students, Village Harmony, Vermont folksingers and classical
ensembles, plays, weddings, funerals, meetings, hymn sings, speakers and bell
ringing on the 4th of July�
The
new roof and repair to the roof support is just the first of a number of efforts
that will be undertaken in the next few years to preserve the building
structurally as well refresh paint and replace cracked concrete.
We
hope you will help us as we do our part to preserve this town treasure for
future generations to enjoy.
There
are three ways to participate: purchase a raffle
ticket, bid on items at the silent
auction, and come to the soup sale!
Raffle prizes include:
1.� Custom oil portrait (person or an animal) by
Gillian Tyler of Lyme.� Value $800.
2.� Custom house portrait by architect and artist
Jess Kilgore of Post Mills.� Value $650.
3.� Private catered dinner by Chris Aquino for up
to 8 people at her home, the former Middlebrook
Restaurant, in West Fairlee.� Value $500.
4.� Handmade (machine stitched) quilt, Army Star
pattern in golds, greens and purples, size 71" x
85", by Ellie Marshall of Bradford.�
Value $450.
5.� Bird's eye maple panel lamp crafted by
Bradford resident Dave Barthel,� 22"x11" with Richard Langdell (Corinth) handmade paper inserts.� Value $400.
Tickets
are $2 each or 6 for $10 and will specify which prize you hope to win. The
winning tickets will be drawn on October 9th at the Silent Auction.
The
Silent Auction, held Saturday October 9 at the church,
includes paintings and prints, antique Minton china, clothing items, Chinese
cooking lessons, North Woods cabin stay, sailplane flight, and many service
items such as computer consultation, excavation, and cutting and stacking
firewood. Information on the Silent Auction, including descriptions and pictures,
is available at our web site, http://thetfordhillchurch.org/fundraiser2010.html.� Bidding
is from 10AM-6PM.
And
the Soup Sale begins at noon, October 9.� Cost will be $10 per quart for soup and/or
bread or dessert.
See
you at the Silent Auction on October 9th, and at
venues for Raffle ticket purchases before then.�
Many thanks to all those who have already participated!
Submitted by Christina Robinson
DID YOU
KNOW?�� THETFORD HISTORY
It is estimated that about 5,000 African
Americans fought on behalf of the colonists in the American Revolution.
Did you know that one of them is buried in Thetford?
George Knox enlisted three times and served,
at one point, in General Washington's security detail. Later, Knox served
as a private in the same regiment as James Wheelock, the son of Dartmouth
College founder Eleazor Wheelock. After the war
ended, Knox became Wheelock's indentured servant, and he lived in Hanover from
1785 until 1790, when his indenture ended. He then moved to Thetford, bought a
farm, and ended up fathering five children. After his death in 1825, he
was buried in the Stevens District cemetery, where his stone still stands.
Submitted by Charlie Buttrey
SOCIAL�
WALTZING
Social Waltzing Tuesdays at Rices Mills Community Center from 7-8:30pm
All Levels Welcome! Bring water to drink and if you have questions, please feel free to contact me:� Gina Sonne� 785-4220waltzlover@gmail.com
Submitted by Gina Sonne
THETFORD YOGA CLASSES
All Levels are Welcome
Day/Time:����
Mondays, 6:00 to 7:30pm
Location:�����
Thetford Community Center, Rte. 113 across from the Town Hall and
General Store
Dates:���������
October 11, 18, 25� AND�� November 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
Cost: $96.00
for the session/8 classes, $15.00 for drop-in
To register: Email
Carole at carole.petrillo@gmail.com
Submitted by Carole Petrillo
FINANCIAL CAREGIVER
Carole Petrillo
provides bookkeeping and other helpful tasks for people that have lost their
partner or for children that are Caregiving for their parents and need financial support.
For more details, please view http://carolepetrillo.com.
Submitted by Carole Petrillo,
carole.petrillo@gmail.com
or 802.785.4605
NEWSLETTER SUBMISSION INFO
The deadline for submissions is the 20th
of each month.� Send news including
contact name and telephone number to Sheila Fifield
at Sheila.fifield@aol.com.� Please list Thetford Town Newsletter in
subject line.�