Cavendish Update: 4/28/17 Act 46/News/Events
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IF YOU COUNT ON CAVENDISH CONNECTS TO KEEP YOU INFORMED, WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO COUNT ON YOU.
This edition of the Cavendish Update is made possible, along with the special report on the Act 46 Meeting, by a generous contribution from Kem and Svetlana Phillips. Thank you!
4/21/17 Cavendish Update
1. Act 46 Informational Meeting
2. Cavendish Related News
3. Job Opening
4. Cavendish Green Up Day Needs Your Help
5. Wine Tasking to Benefit the Cavendish Historical Society
6. Cavendish Community Fund Updates Its Image
7. Cavendish Spring Bird Walk Planned
8. Local Household Hazardous Waste Collections Coming Soon
9. Events
1. ACT 46 INFORMATIONAL MEETING: On Tuesday, representatives from the Act 46 committee and the Twin Rivers Supervisory Union, along with the Cavendish Town Elementary School (CTES) board held an informational meeting to explain the special school vote to be held on May 2. While an in-depth report is available at The Dish, the “take home point” of the meeting is that the state has mandated unified school districts (Act 46). It will happen one way or the other. Towns that do not become part of a unified district on their own, will be assigned to a district by the State Board of Education and suffer penalties, such as no longer receiving small school grants. Those that form unified districts are being offered incentives-e.g. tax breaks for the first four years.
The proposed plan, which has been approved by the state, is very similar to the old Windsor South West Supervisory Union, which would include the towns of Chester, Andover, Cavendish and Baltimore. Cavendish students will still go to CTES for K-6 and GMUHS for 7-12. The state’s high school choice program remains in effect and is not impacted by Act 46. The new board of the proposed unified district will set policies about choice for the lower grades. Children that are already attending other schools, having opted for a choice agreement, can continue to attend that school.
As part of the Green Mountain Unified School District (GMUSD) there will be one board that serves all six schools (2 pre schools, 2 elementary and one high school). Cavendish would have 3 representatives to the board, Chester 6, Andover and Baltimore 1 each. This means that the CTES and GMUHS boards as they currently exist, would be dissolved.
Prior to the meeting, the CTES board voted in three resolutions: transfers the ground that the library sits on to the library board; transfers the land on which the municipal water tank sits to the town; removes the name "CTES" from the Building for Books banking account and replaces it with "Cavendish" and changes the tax identification number from the school's to the town's. As noted, these were “housekeeping issue” that were prudent to do before the proposed merger.
Many in attendance had questions and concerns, which were answered and are detailed in the report at The Dish. Those with further questions should contact Fred Marin fred.marin@trsu.org
Voting on May 2 (Tuesday) takes place from 9-7 at CTES. Voters will decide whether they wish to be part of the GMUSD. They will also select three board members to serve on the unified board. Those running for the unified district school board, all unopposed, are Fred Marin, Doug McBride, and Bruce Pollard
2. CAVENDISH RELATED NEWS
Students from GMUHS, Cavendish Elementary Rally for Planet: On Wednesday, April 12, students from GMUHS and CTES went to Montpelier to participate in the 2nd annual Rally for the Planet, organized by the Vermont Youth Lobby. There they joined about 1,400 other students from more than 50 Vermont schools. The Chester Telegraph
Cavendish Canine Camp Business of the Week: The VT Journal has a special focus this week on Cavendish Canine Camp, which offers boarding, exercise yards, indoor-outdoor kennels, and day care.
Ludlow Bridge 99 and Walker Bridge Construction: Walker Bridge will be the third bridge to be replaced this summer. There will be a pre-closure period of 14 days beginning Saturday, May 27. During this time traffic signs and message boards will be installed as well as a stone causeway in the river in order to remove the piers. One lane alternating traffic will be allowed during the pre-closure, estimate 10-minute wait periods. Full closure will be for 35 days beginning June 10. Vermont Journal
Country Creemee at Downers Four Corners Has Changed Hands: Renamed the Villagers Ice Cream Restaurant at Downers Four Corners, the popular summer eatery is now open for the season with new owners- Rob Westney and Jaime Wyman of Weathersfield Eagle Times
GMP Seeks to Raise Rates Nearly 5%: Green Mountain Power is asking Vermont regulators to approve a 4.98 percent rate increase for customers starting in January 2018. VPR
3. JOB OPENING: Brook Farm Vineyards of Proctorsville, that includes Circa 1810 in Ludlow, is looking for a friendly and experienced tasting room staff member. This is a full time position. Primary duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to the following:
• Greet guests at the door in a warm and friendly manner.
• Seats and presents menus to guests in a friendly, professional, and quick manner.
• Pours flights of wine and educates customers about the wines they are drinking.
• Have an understanding of cash & credit transactions- Makes, confirms, cancels and edits reservations.
• Answers phone and answers questions concerning the menu and the tasting room.
• Interacts with guests in and as they leave the restaurant to ensure positive tasting experience.
• Take and fill orders.
• Other duties as directed.
The ideal candidate must posses the following:
*Must be able to work evenings, weekends and holidays, as needed.
* Must have a Certificate of First Class Seminar Attendance from Vermont Department of Liquor Control or be willing to get one.
• Excellent communication skills
• Team oriented
• Organizational skills
• Able to multi-task
• Punctual and reliable
• Ability to stand during entire shift
For more information or to apply contact Jennifer McBride, Brook Farm Vineyards Jen@BrookFarmVineyards.com, or call 802-226-7152
4. CAVENDISH GREEN UP DAY NEEDS YOUR HELP: On May 6, Cavendish will join hundreds of communities throughout Vermont to support the 47-year-old tradition of picking up roadside trash accumulated over the previous winter. Green Up Day is a fun volunteer opportunity that unites communities, raises environmental consciousness and results in litter-free roads and town spaces for us all.
Come to the Proctorsville Green with a friend or family members on Saturday May 6 to pick up special green trash bags, protective gloves and your road assignment. The big sweep begins at 9:00 a.m. and ends at noon with a free town-sponsored barbecue on the Proctorsville Green. Hot dogs and hamburgers will be on the grill and folks are invited to bring a side dish to share, though it's not required. In case of rain, Green Up Day will be held on Saturday May 13. FMI: Diane McNamara at the Town Office at 226-7292.
5. WINE TASTING TO BENEFIT THE CAVENDISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY: Brook Farm Vineyards of Proctorsville is sponsoring a wine tasting, including cheese, chocolate and charcuterie plates, to benefit the Cavendish Historical Society on Monday, May 15 from 6:30 to 8:30. The cost is $35 a person and will take place at their Ludlow tasting room, Circa 1810, 116 Main St. Tickets can be purchased by stopping by Circa 1810 during business hours or sending a check, payable to Brook Farm Vineyards, to CHS, PO Box 472, Cavendish, VT 05142. This would make a great Mother’s Day present. FMI: 802-226-7807 or margocaulfield@icloud.com
6. CAVENDISH COMMUNITY FUND UPDATES ITS IMAGE: The Cavendish Community Fund has passed the ten-year mark and is now updating its image with a new logo. In 2007 the Fund began with donations from several supportive citizens to help build a closer and more cohesive Cavendish. Over ten years the Fund has distributed more than $31,000 in grants to enhance the quality of life in Cavendish. The projects, programs or events that the Fund considers are education in its broadest sense, cultural events, and promotion of the arts.
To celebrate its success and to better reflect its philosophy and goals the Fund has adopted the new logo as a representative of its beliefs. The Fund believes that the bonds of community are the source of dynamic and reciprocal social interaction. These interactions build a dense network of relationships that generates trust, which, in turn, provides the basis for collective problem solving in everyday life.
Community activities provide the opportunity to make new connections with others and, with each new opportunity for connection, to deepen the understanding of how to initiate and maintain new relationships with other local citizens who may be strangers. Activities and events that the Fund sponsors provide the venue for these opportunities to narrow the divide between groups with different interests and backgrounds.
FMI: Barbara Dickey at 802-226-7187 or Peter LaBelle at 802-226-7250.
7. CAVENDISH SPRING BIRD WALK PLANNED: On Saturday, May 13th at 8 a.m. the Cavendish Community and Conservation Association will sponsor a spring bird walk. Attendees should meet at the corner of Twenty Mile Stream Road and Chapman Road in Proctorsville. Ken Cox, a retired fisheries biologist, will lead this year’s walk.
Ken is an expert birder, and a member of the Vermont Bird Records Committee (VBRC). Founded in 1980, the VBRC is composed of expert birders and ornithologists from Vermont and the New England seasonal editors of North American Birds. VBRC keeps the official Vermont Birds Checklist, which currently consists of 388 species representing 21 orders and 61 families of birds.
If you are interested in a fun spring walk and have an interest in the various birds that inhabit this part of New England, please join Mr. Cox and like-minded neighbors. Wear sturdy hiking shoes and be prepared to walk in woods and meadows. Anyone may attend, no reservation is required, and the event is free of charge.
This is the latest in the Cavendish Community and Conservation Association’s Walk and Talk Series of events. The series is designed to present topics of general ecological interest to the public in the Cavendish area. For more information please contact Robin Timko at 226-7736.
8. LOCAL HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTIONS COMING SOON: The Southern Windsor/Windham Counties Solid Waste Management District is sponsoring free events for the collection and safe disposal of household hazardous wastes on Saturday, May 13 and Saturday, May 20. Only residents and small businesses from Andover, Athens, Baltimore, Cavendish, Chester, Grafton, Ludlow, Plymouth, Reading, Rockingham, Springfield, Weathersfield, West Windsor, and Windsor may participate. Businesses must pre-register and will be charged for disposal costs. The collections will be held at the Springfield Transfer Station from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. on May 13 and at the Ludlow Transfer Station from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. on May 20. Bring in a mercury fever thermometer and receive a new digital fever thermometer. For more information, call 674-9235 or visit www.vtsolidwastedistrict.org for a list of what to bring.
9. EVENTS
APRIL 29 (Saturday): Got Drugs? Turn in unused or expired medication for safe disposal.
• Opening Day for Baseball at Greven Field.
APRIL 30 (Sunday): Raise the Roof Concert-Maple Jam, 4 pm Gethsemane Church, Proctorsville, Cost $10.
MAY 2 (Tuesday): VOTING DAY. Polls are at CTES and are open from 9-7.
• Community Luncheon at Gethsemane Church Parish Hall, off Depot St. Proctorsville, noon. Luncheon will be lasagna, garlic rolls, salad and dessert.
For information on upcoming events, go to the Cavendish Connects Calendar. For area events, check the Okemo Valley Chamber of Commerce calendar.