Thetford Town Newsletter
No. 37 March
2007
SELECTBOARD NOTES
Town Meeting - We look forward to
seeing town residents on Saturday, March 3 for Town Meeting. This is your
chance to vote along with ballot voting on Tuesday, March 6, (see details
below).
Town Plan - The second required
public hearing to adopt the revised town plan will take place on Monday, March
19, 8:00 p.m. at Town Hall.
Again, our thanks to the
Planning Commission for all their diligent work.
TOWN CLERK NOTES:
Town Meeting - Saturday March
3, 9:00am at
Australian ballot voting -
March 6 at Town Hall,
Rabies Clinic Saturday -
March 24 10:00 – noon, town licensing available at town hall
All animal license renewals
are due April 1.
Town reports have been
sent! If you have not received one, please contact the Town Clerk’s
office at 785-2922 x10 and we will promptly mail one to you.
CFLs at TOWN MEETING
The Thetford Energy Committee
is once again teaming up with Sustainable Energy Resource Group to sell energy
efficient compact fluorescent bulbs at this year's town meeting - Saturday
March 3rd from 8:30AM till the end of the meeting.
This year, in addition to the basic 60 and 100-watt incandescent replacements -
15W and 25W CFLs - we will be selling CFL dimmables, 3-ways, globes and
capsules. CFLs use one quarter the electricity of incandescents, last six
to ten times longer and pay for themselves through energy savings in less than
a
year, when used 2 hours a day.
Proceeds from the sale will benefit SERG for their part in helping negotiate
with CVPS before the Vermont Public Service Board on Thetford's behalf in our
town ownership of streetlights case. You can learn more about this and
other Thetford Energy Committee efforts at our town meeting table.
If you are interested in getting some of these high quality bulbs, but are
unable to make town meeting you can contact SERG at 785-4126 or SERG@valley.net.
The Hanover and Lebanon Food Coops have also just recently started carrying
these great energy-saving bulbs. Thanks for doing your part to help
reduce
energy use and protect the environment.
Submitted by Bob Walker
Chair, Thetford Energy Committee
LATHAM LIBRARY
MUD SEASON BOOK
This is
your chance to recycle your gently-used books, get a great deal on your neighbors' former
books, *AND* support the library! Here's how to participate:
Please bring your old books to
Librarian Peter Blodgett at Latham Library between now and March
8.
Mark your calendars for the sale!
Friday March 9, 1-5 pm;
Saturday, March 10,
10-1 pm,
Monday, March 12, 2-6 pm,
downstairs at the library.
Early birds get the best selection. Late
birds get the best deals.
Submitted by Elise Tillinghast
LATHAM CALENDAR FOR MARCH
Thursday March 15th @ 7pm - Cindy Perry will give a
presentation on her trip to
Sunday March 18 @ 3pm - Terry Osborne will read from his books
and from Noel Perrin's books.
Thursday March 22nd @ 7pm - Travelogue on
APRIL EVENTS TO PLAN FOR:
Sunday, April 1st
- Ber Dodson will give a talk and Demonstration on his new book
" Drawing with Imagination". Bring your paper and pencils and be
ready for creative fun!
Thursday April 19th - "Botanic travels in the Amazon
Rainforest” - with Dale Gephart MD, Post Mills Resident
FRIENDS OF LATHAM LIBRARY
Friends of Latham Library is off to a good start. We are excited to have
our own listserv set up by Miranda Clemsen.
This will provide us with a way to stay current with events and
share ideas without having to schedule meetings .The best part of
this listserv is the CALENDAR that will have updated information
about library programs for adults and kids!
If you are interested in joining this listserv, we would love to have
you!! Email Miranda @valley.net and she will contact you. A few
volunteers are helping put up flyers around town and Amy Vanderkooi is
doing a terrific job with making the flyers. When we get our new
sandwich boards made for Union village and
If you would like to sign up
for one month to line up a Community Corner speaker, travelog or author
please give send us an email or call.
Gina Sonne 785-4220, Maureen.C.Morse@valley.net, nancrwll@yahoo.com, elizedmu@aol.com
Submitted by Gina Sonne
PEABODY LIBRARY TO HOST TWO
PROGRAMS IN MARCH
CONCERT IN HONOR OF ST. PATRICK'S DAY
Wednesday, March 14, at 7 pm, Peabody Library will host a concert featuring
three well-loved area musicians: Samantha Moffatt on hammered dulcimer and
accordion, Bryan Byrne on wooden Irish flutes of his own construction, and
Patricia Sager on harp. Come join the fun for reels, airs, jigs and songs, plus
a special St. Patrick's Day surprise. Free, but donations welcome.
SPRING PREVIEW FOR ANNUAL AND VEGETABLE GARDENS
Wednesday, March 21 at 7 pm, Janet Taylor of Crossroad Farm will offer advice
about spring planting. For over 22 years the
The library is located at the junction of Routes 113 and 244 in Post Mills.
Submitted by Margo Nutt
THETFORD HILL CHURCH AUCTION
Saturday March 10, 12 - 3:30
pm
This auction is a great opportunity to purchase quality items and services for
your home, gifts, gardening, you name it, at a great price! Home cooked
refreshments also available. Bid on items at your own pace during the SILENT
AUCTION from 12 - 3:30, and then join the fast-paced fun of the LIVE AUCTION
from 1 - 3:30. At the First Congregational
Contact Susan Kowalsky at 649-2681 for more
information.
TA NOTES
Thetford Academy Trustees have
been busy holding community forums, talking with folks at the
The infamous One-Act Plays will be presented again sometime the middle of
March. Please watch for signs and other publicity with more specific
information; and , as always, reservations are recommended. Call 785-4805
for more information.
The annual Science Fair is scheduled for Thursday, March 22. This is
always a popular event, with exhibits both inside Anderson Hall and out.
All are invited to attend.
Friday, March 23, is the annual International Dance, sponsored by groups
planning travel in the future. The public is invited to attend, and
families are encouraged to come dance in Anderson Hall.
Submitted by Wendy Cole
UNDER THE SUN
A traveling day camp for
children ages 6-9 will be offered again this summer by Maple Leaf Children's
Center on Thetford Hill.
There will be four weekly
sessions starting June 18th 2007, Monday through Friday 8am - 5pm.
The children will take daily
field trips throughout the
As part of a small, closely
supervised group, the children's sense of respect for one another and for all
life will be nurtured and renewed. Woven into our day will be games, stories,
music and crafts that emphasize our connection to the earth.
Enrollment is limited to 10
children per week. For information and registration forms, please call
785-2074, write to
Submitted by Ronn Koeppel
Director
WAGING PEACE IN TROUBLED
TIMES
A series of films and discussions presented by the First Congregational Church
of Thetford
Sunday, March 4, 2007, 7 pm
William Sloane Coffin, An American Prophet (2004, 52 minutes)
Both a tribute to his remarkable life and a prophetic call to the nation, William
Sloane Coffin: An American Prophet contains the wisdom of a man, facing the end
of his courageous life, who carried on a lover's quarrel with America. With
powerful messages on terrorism, faith, politics, and hope-engagingly delivered
as only William Sloane Coffin could-the documentary concludes with a testimony
to his legacy of justice and love, given by his friends: Arthur Miller, James
Carroll, Susannah Heschel, and Robert and Sally Benton.
Follow-up discussion led by
Charlie Buttrey
Sunday March 11, 2007, 7 pm
Listening to Pain, Seeking Hope - A trip to the Holy Land
Eleanor Zue will share slides and stories from her trip to
Sunday, March 18, 2007, 7 pm
Why We Fight (2005, 98 minutes, rated PG-13)
What are the forces that shape and propel American militarism? This
award-winning film provides an inside look at the anatomy of the American war
machine. Is American foreign policy dominated by the idea of military
supremacy? Has the military become too important in American life? Jarecki's
shrewd and intelligent polemic would seem to give an affirmative answer to each
of these questions.
Follow-up discussion led by
Tom Kinder
All events will be held at the First Congregational Church of Thetford, on
Thetford Hill, located at 2596 Route 113 in Thetford, Vermont, one mile up hill
(west) from exit 14 on Interstate 91.
For additional information please call
Christina Robinson at (802) 785-4012.
THETFORD CONSERVATION
COMMISSION
BEAVERS AND DAMBURSTS
Residents on Sawnee Bean road will remember when a small brook inexplicably
became a raging torrent that swept across the road last summer. Luckily
the cement culvert that usually directs water under the road stood firm,
averting a major washout. The cause of this freak flood was the breaching
of an upstream beaver dam at the pond on the corner of
We humans think of ponds as permanent landscape features. The draining of a
beaver pond that we are accustomed to enjoying often prompts us to try and
restore the pond immediately. It is difficult for us to appreciate that
the disappearance of these ponds is part of a natural cycle one that
contributes greatly to the diversity of flora and fauna.
Beavers may be the only animals, apart from humans, that change the environment
to meet their needs. More at home in water than on land, they build dams across
streams in low-lying areas. The resulting pond gives the beavers protection and
is where they construct their house or lodge in which they live for up to seven
months of the year. Besides protecting the beavers, the pond greatly increases
the biodiversity of the location. On the small end of the scale are
dragonflies, damselflies, diving beetles and a huge number of other aquatic
invertebrates. Amphibians including frogs, toads and newts breed in the pond
and inhabit the damp vegetation around it. A multitude of bird species, 92 in
all, are associated with beaver pond landscapes, as are otter, mink, moose and
turtles.
Beavers have few predators, their major natural enemy, the wolf, was eliminated
long ago. Thus they multiply and in 7-10 years they have usually depleted their
food (alders, willows, poplars, maples and birches) in a swath around the pond.
The beavers depart, traveling up or down the watershed in search of a new site.
Without their diligent maintenance the dam eventually fails and the pond empties.
The resulting mudflat is treeless, sunny and rich in sediment, and is an
important niche for plants that only thrive in such locations. Many plants in
this category are imperiled in
Thus beavers constantly renew ecological niches that are scarce and essential
for some of our rarer fauna and flora. Unfortunately low-lying areas near
streams are often used for roads, agriculture and house sites, leading to
human-beaver conflicts. Homeowners experiencing problems with beaver
should contact the VT Department of Fish and Wildlife. Beaver baffles can be
installed to control the water level in beaver ponds. Hopefully an appreciation
that the changes wrought by beavers are normal and beneficial will help us to
accept them as part of the natural order.
Submitted by Li Shen
Thetford Conservation Commission
POST MILLS CHURCH EVENTS
ANNUAL CHOWDER SUPPER
Saturday March 10 - - Serving
Starts at 5:30pm
Fish or Corn Chowder, Salad,
Breads, Dessert, Beverages
Donations welcome to benefit
Community Outreach Fund
Submitted by Barbara Condict
COUNTRY GOSPEL/BLUEGRASS
CONCERT
Sunday, March 25, 4 pm
Admission is free, donations
accepted to benefit local nurse Lora Chatfield's trip to
Submitted by Becky Buchanan
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.