Thetford Town Newsletter

No. 52  JUNE 2008

 

SPECIAL THANK YOU

A big “Thank You!” goes out to Ann O’Hearn for delivering Town Newsletters for many years! Her willingness to help was greatly appreciated!

We’re now looking for someone to, each month, drive the newsletters to various public buildings, bulletin boards, and places of business in Thetford.

If you’re interested in helping, please email Cathee at turtlepond@netzero.net. Thank you!

 

TOWN CLERK NOTES

Summer Hours are now in effect:

Monday 6pm - 8 pm

Tuesday-Thursday 8am - 4pm

Also by appointment

 

THETFORD BOARD OF SCHOOL DIRECTORS

As noted at town meeting, the Thetford Board of School Directors is focusing this year on the following objective from Goal 4 of the Thetford School District Strategic Plan:
“Objective C. The School Board will continue to promote a collaborative working relationship with Thetford Academy soliciting active parental and community participation, and will regularly review the partnership agreement and the effectiveness of educational services provided to the students of Thetford in grades 7 – 12.”

To this end, the School Board will take a more active role in evaluating educational services provided to secondary students. We invite and encourage Thetford residents to participate in our meetings. These occur twice a month at Thetford Elementary School, Tuesday nights at 7 p.m.  During each meeting, there is a period for public comment and dialogue with the board. Our June meetings will take place 6/10 and 6/24.

 

Submitted by Elise Tillinghast

 

ART CAMP - PASTEPAPERS & BOOKMAKING
Community Artist, Debra Kraemer will be offering children's art classes again this summer at Rice's Mills Community Center, Route 132, Thetford Center. Small class sizes: 6 student maximum
When: July 7-11(Ages: 7–11) July 28-Aug 1(Ages: 11-14)
Time:    9:30 am - 12:30pm
Cost:     $145/session

To Register Contact:

Debra Kraemer 785-4126
432 Ulman Rd

Thetford Center, VT 05075

Deposit of $75 due with registration.

 

T.E.N.  THETFORD ELDER NETWORK NEWS

"In order to strengthen the Thetford community, we the citizens have formed the Thetford Elder Network. Our mission is to encourage an intergenerational network that listens to senior needs and promotes access to health education, transportation and local resources. We believe that aging can be a positive experience." - Mission Statement

Roger & Martha Daum, Susan and Paul  Rump, Inge Trebitz, Gina Sonne, Betty Campbell, Dale Gephart, Bonnie Ray,  Ridge Satterthwaite, Deecie Dennison.

We have a list of volunteer jobs for folks interested in assisting seniors. Contact Inge Trebitz at 785-2129 to sign up.

We are planning to offer a once a month Senior Meal at the Thetford Community Center starting Tuesday, October 28. Contact Martha Daum at 333-4082 to volunteer. 

Community Forums

T.E.N. and the Senior/Affordable Housing Committee will be holding several community forums in late June or early July to present the findings of our surveys, elicit community input, discuss the future of building senior housing and availability of properties in Thetford. Stay tuned! Contact: Mark McMahon, Dale Gephart, Susan Rump or Gina Sonne.

All are welcome to join in this project.

 

Submitted by Gina Sonne

 

Energy tip from the Thetford Energy Committee
Save gas and reduce pollution this summer – let your grass grow!

“Longer grass blades retain moisture better, shade the root system, and encourage roots to grow deeper and stronger” (NH Department of Environmental Services). And, according to the US EPA, “Operating a typical gasoline-powered lawn mower for one hour produces the same amount of smog-forming hydrocarbons as driving an average care almost 200 miles under typical driving conditions.” Lawn equipment emits hazardous air pollutants, particle pollution, and volatile organic compounds that can contribute to health problems.

 

Reduce your impact on the environment by maintaining your equipment, reducing your mowing time (mow less land, less often), or using an electric or reel mower. Learn more at <www.epa.gov/air/community/details/yardequip_addl_info.html>

Submitted by Alice Stewart

 

LATHAM LIBRARY

"Bugs In Your Backyard" A Family Event!
On Monday, June 30, 6:30 p.m., families are invited to meet Jerry Schneider, a.k.a. "The Bug Guy" for a presentation on the wonderful world of backyard insects and spiders! Schneider will introduce families to live bugs and talk about life cycles, adaptations such as camouflage and other interesting features of our most common creepy crawlies. For questions about this event, please see children's librarian Simon Brooks.

Submitted by Elise Tillinghast

 

TA NOTES

*Thetford Academy graduates its Class of 2008 on Friday, June 13, at 6:30 pm, with a ceremony and celebration outdoors on the front lawn. Once again, we ask all to please think clear skies, so that all who wish to attend might.
Baccalaureate exercises will be held at the First Congregational Church in Thetford on Sunday, June 8, at 7:00 pm.

*Spring Sports Awards and Cookout will be held on Wednesday, June 4, at 6:30 pm at the school. Parents and families are welcome to join us as we celebrate the spring athletes.

*The Spring Choral Concert will be held on Sunday, June 8, at 5:00 pm at the First Congregational Church in Thetford.

*Calling TA Alumni: Please join us for all the activities planned for June 14. Contact Jessica Eaton, 333-9491, or the TA Development Office, 785-2600, for more information and scheduling.

*Talk with TA will happen again on Thursday, June 26, at 6:00 pm in the TA Library. Please join TA trustees for a question and information session. The quarterly meeting of the Board of Trustees will follow at 7:00 pm, and all are invited to attend.

 

Submitted by Wendy Cole

 

RICES MILLS DANCE PARTY
WALTZ AND SWING
2ND Wednesdays 7-8:30pm
JUNE 11 ~ JULY 9 ~ AUGUST 13 ~ SEPTEMBER 10
Bring Water to Drink and Clean Shoes!
Donations Appreciated

RICES MILLS COMMUNITY CENTER
132 & TUCKER HILL RD
THETFORD CENTER
INFO:  Gina Sonne 785-4220 gsonne@sover.net
Can’t dance Wednesday? We can schedule other times!

 

Submitted by Gina Sonne

 

COVER PICKUP DAY IN THETFORD

 

Wednesday, June 25 is COVER pickup day in Thetford.

 

COVER, a local nonprofit that helps Upper Valley residents with critical home repair needs, will be collecting old refrigerators, stoves, water heaters and other items. To schedule a pickup, please call Frank Orlowski at 802-359-5900, or email him at frank@coverhomerepair.org.  The volunteers will do all the hard lifting. All donations are tax deductible.

Donated items are repaired as needed and sold at a discount at the ReCover Store in White River Junction.  Proceeds from these sales are used to support weatherization of houses and other repair projects that help people in need stay in their homes. For more info about the group, here's the website:  http://www.coverhomerepair.org.

 

Submitted by Elise Tillinghast

 

RIVER CELEBRATION

SATURDAY,  JUNE 7, 2008
11:00am-2pm  PADDLE FLOTILLA
9am - leave your boat at Wilson-Fullerton Landing, Rt 10 N of Hanover or Norwich Landing ½ mi North of Ledyard Bridge. Leave cars at Wilder Picnic Area
10 am Shuttle - Wilder Picnic Area to Norwich/ Wilson boat landings.

Bring snacks/ lunch/ water bottles/ sunscreen/ hat/ layers of clothing/ boat/ lifejacket/ paddle       
11am Launch from Wilson Landing--Paddle to Wilder Picnic Area     

12:30 launch from Norwich Landing--Paddle to Wilder Picnic Area   WILDER PICNIC AREA  
(Rt 5-Gillette St. to CT River)

 

2-6pm  PICNIC  at Wilder Picnic Area
PADDLE   borrow kayaks and canoes – North Star Canoes and Bold Paths
MUSIC  ** Musicians welcome to jam **

CELEBRATE THE RIVER
American Canoe Association (ACA) sponsors the event.
All participants must sign waivers and pitch in $6 for insurance.

For more information:    

info@ctriverfest.org   

802-333-3549 www.ctriverfest.org

Submitted by Bonna Wieler

 

 

CONSERVATION COMMISSION NOTES

 

In Praise Of Bumblebees

Growing backyard apples is trickier than it seems. As a novice grower I soon found that a host of obstacles stood between me and the seemingly simple goal of some apples. After more than a decade of pruning, fertilizing, removing webworms, fending off trunk-chewing mice and branch-chewing deer, the long anticipated flower buds emerged.  But more hurdles lay in store. As the buds unfurled, the calm, sunny weather we'd all enjoyed in early May gave way to chilly, blustery wind and intermittent rain. Just great for keeping the blackflies down, since it's hard to for insects to fly in the breeze, especially when cold and wet. But such conditions also deter pollinating insects, and without pollination - no apples.

Scanning the trees for signs of activity nonetheless, I was greeted by the sounds of buzzing.  Proceeding from bloom to bloom at a stately pace, several large bumblebees gathered nectar in defiance of the weather. 

Unlike domesticated honeybees whose origins lie in Africa and the milder zones of Europe, bumblebees are evolved for colder climates and live as far north as Ellesmere Island above the Arctic Circle.  Various adaptations allow them to fly at cooler temperatures than honeybees, the most obvious being their trademark layer of insulating hair. However, although bees are cold-blooded, their flight muscles only work at temperatures approaching that of the human body - that is an astonishing 86 degrees F.  Bumblebees have the ability to warm up on cold spring days by rapid contractions (shivering) of their flight muscles, producing a loud buzzing sound.  This buzz is not due to wing movement since muscles and wings are decoupled during warm-up.

Perhaps bumblebees are in haste to work the flowers in the cool of spring because they have but a few short months to complete their life cycle. The big, fat bee one sees at apple blossom time is the queen bee that hatched and mated the previous year and whose goal is to build a colony as fast as possible.  In an old rodent burrow or a tussock of grass she stockpiles nectar and pollen, mixing some of it into a ball on which she lays 4-16 eggs. She then broods the eggs at about 86 degrees F, pressing them, bird-like, against a bald area of her abdomen. While brooding she rarely leaves the nest, surviving on her stored food.  The eggs hatch into larvae that metamorphose into worker bees, this whole process taking about five weeks. Once a workforce of foragers has been raised the queen limits herself to egg laying and brooding.  The beginning of the end is in sight when male bees and new queens are produced at the end of summer. They eat the colony's stores but do not replace them. Queens and males mate and then all except these new queens die with the onset of winter.

Bumblebee colonies are small compared to those of honeybees, numbering 50 or so bees. However they are valued as pollinators because they fly earlier in the day and in worse weather than their domesticated cousins. They also have a trick that honeybees lack. Some plants, including tomatoes, peppers and eggplants keep their pollen in a chamber with a tiny opening, like salt in a salt shaker.  To release the pollen a bee must cling to the flower and vibrate vigorously.  Honeybees simply cannot do this, however bumblebees are adept at this so-called 'buzz pollination.' They are so effective that they are used commercially to pollinate hothouse tomatoes, replacing the expensive, electric vibrating machines formerly used.  In addition, some flowers can only be pollinated by bumblebees. An example is monkshood that has stiffly hinged flowers that open to expose their pollen and stigma only when a heavy bumblebee alights on the lip.

 The apple blossoms have faded, but thanks to bumblebees I see tiny green swellings. In the fall, when new queen bees are seeking their winter hibernation sites, there will be apples.

Submitted by Li Shen
Thetford Conservation Commission

 

 

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.