Cavendish Updated 9/7/18 Bont/Preparedness/News
/
CHECK THE CAVENDISH VT FACEBOOK PAGE DAILY FOR THE LATEST NEWS You don’t have to be a Facebook subscriber to see this page.
9/7/18 Cavendish Update
1. Cavendish Related News
2. Cavendish Honors Dr. Eugene Bont
3. Cavendish Preparedness: Are You Prepared?
4. Events
1. CAVENDISH RELATED NEWS
Proctorsville House Fire: On September 4, 16 fire companies, with 100 fire fighters responded to a house fire on Main Street in Proctorsville. While the homeowner, Mario Gattarno, escaped without injury, his house was damaged beyond repair. In spite of the heat, the fire fighters were able to contain the fire and keep it from spreading. The cause is undetermined at this time. Our thanks to our fire fighters. Special thanks to the Golden Stage Inn for providing shelter when it was most needed.
What’s the Buzz at Vermont Golden Honey Festival: The Vermont Golden Honey Festival is back Saturday, Sept. 8, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Golden Stage Inn, 399 Depot St. in Proctorsville. The Golden Honey Festival is part farmers market, part craft fair, and part networking event for bee enthusiasts. Goodman’s American Pie brings back their Honey Apple wood-fired pizza from their 1940s tow-truck that has been converted into a mobile wood-fire pizza oven! This is our sixth year of the festival and is possibly our biggest year yet! We will have a raffle with several different prizes, ranging from gift certificates to books to themed baskets. Each year, we donate all profits to a local charity or nonprofit. This year proceeds will go to a student scholarship to Fletcher Farm Craft School. There will be honey-related drinks, including mead and honey gin for adults. A free craft table will be provided for the kids. Come, rain or shine, and celebrate all things honey. Admission is free. For more information, go to www.goldenstageinn.com/vermont-honey-festival.
Ludlow Seeks Solution for Ambulance Deficit: Ludlow Ambulance, which serves Cavendish, is running at a deficit. According to Ludlow Town Manager, Scott Murphy, “It boils down to increasing costs, limited reimbursements, decreasing volunteers, and difficulty attraction qualified paid personnel. There’s an increase in the number of calls as the population ages so all of these things together are putting a strain on regional ambulance services.” Scott organized a first meeting on Aug. 29 to begin addressing this crisis. The meeting was attended by regional ambulance operators and select board members from Chester, Plymouth, Cavendish, and Ludlow; Southern Windsor County Planning Commission members; and two members of the Vermont Office of Emergency Medical Services. VT Journal
BRGNS to Hold Annual Rummage Sale: Black River Good Neighbor Services will hold its annual Fall Rummage Sale at Fletcher Farm, 611 Route 103 South in Ludlow on Friday and Saturday, September 21st and 22nd, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday September 23rd, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Please mark your calendar and come explore the many unique bargains. Donations of any excess produce from your garden, and baked goods are needed. For further details please contact Audrey at the Black River Good Neighbor Services Thrift Store, 37B Main Street, 802-228-3663, or BRGNS@gmail.com.
Solzhenitsyn’s Adopted State Marks His 100th: Search for the exiled Russian writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn when he lived in this tucked-away Vermont town from 1976 to 1994 and the only thing you’d find is a sign at the general store that revealed “no restrooms, no bare feet, no directions to the Solzhenitsyn’s.” A quarter-century after the now late Nobel laureate’s return to his native land, the store and the sign are gone, too. Some things, however, remain the same: “We still do not give directions to the Solzhenitsyn’s,” resident Margo Caulfield says. That’s because locals continue to remember. Upon the centennial of the author’s birth, Cavendish is joining the state and literary world in celebrating the man who lived in the Windsor County town — population 1,381— longer than he did in any other community in his 89 years. VT Digger
Officials Target Terrible Mountain for More Signage: An accident, which launched enormous crane pallets from the truck bed into the house at 688 Andover St., obliterating the home, damaging the neighbor’s residence, flattening cars and sending two people to the hospital with injuries, has caused Ludlow’s Select Board and town manager to appeal to the state for help. “I want you to know the secretary and I share your concerns, and staff from our Traffic Operations section and the Office of Highway Safety are already reviewing the area,” wrote chief engineer Wayne B. Symonds in a letter dated Aug. 22. “I expect them to have recommendations for improvements in the coming weeks, and will ask them to reach out and keep you in the loop.” Rutland Herald
Citizens Bank Springfield Branch Closing: Citizens Bank is closing branch offices in downtown Lebanon and Springfield VT in November.
New VT Rules Regulate ‘Gig Economy’ Companies, like Airbnb: In June, legislators passed a short term rental law for people who rent their homes on platforms like Airbnb and Homey Away, as well as a ride sharing law that regulates drives who use their cars through Uber or Lyft. Both laws are now in effect. The rental law requires that phone numbers for the health department and fire safety are posted along with a tax ID number on their web listing. Ride sharing law is a regulatory code for companies like Uber. VT has one been of the last states to adopt such a code. VPR
2. CAVENDISH HONORS DR. GENE BONT: For his commitment to the children of Cavendish, Dr. Eugene Bont is being honored with a bench in the park adjacent to the Cavendish Town Elementary School (CTES).
Dr. Bont came to Cavendish in 1957. In addition to establishing the Black River Health Center and providing primary care to Cavendish and the surrounding area, he served on the Duttonsville School Board, the independent school district for Cavendish village, for many years. Through his leadership, in 1967, he helped to craft a union high school district (Green Mountain Union High School) for grades 7-12 that consisted of the towns of Cavendish, Andover, Chester and the Duttonsville Independent School District. The latter school would be merged in 1972 with the Proctorsville School, creating CTES.
In 1988, Dr. Bont left Cavendish for Albany Medical Center’s Department of Family Medicine, but upon retired in 1999, returned to Cavendish full time. Shortly thereafter, Dr. Bont was elected to the CTES board, often serving as chair, until it was dissolved in June 2018. He also served on the GMUHS Board in recent years.
As an acknowledgment to his commitment to the children of Cavendish, past and present, there will be a special dedication of a bench for Dr. Bont on September 12 at 4 pm in the little park next to the school.
3. CAVENDISH PREPAREDNESS: ARE YOU PREPARED? September is National Preparedness Month, the perfect time to get your household ready for an emergency. The American Red Cross urges everyone to make sure they are prepared for a disaster and not wait until an emergency occurs and it’s too late.
Whether the emergency is a home fire or something bigger like a hurricane, the situation may force you to leave your home. There are ten steps you can take now to be prepared if the emergency makes it unsafe to remain at home.
1. Follow the instructions of officials and evacuate if told to do so.
2. Leave early enough to avoid being trapped by severe weather.
3. Remember you may have to get out on foot depending on the type of disaster. If you don’t have a car or can’t use your vehicle, plan on how you will leave the area.
4. If you have a car, keep the gas tank full if an evacuation order is possible. Don’t let the tank go below half full in case gas stations are unable to pump gas.
5. Decide where you would go and what route you would take to get there. This could be a motel, the home of a friend or relative a safe distance away, or an evacuation shelter. Download the free Red Cross Emergency App to find shelter information and weather and emergency alerts for more than 35 different situations.
6. If you have time, let someone out of the region know you are evacuating and where you are going. Leave a note saying when you left and where you plan to go.
7. Wear sturdy shoes and clothing that provides some protection.
8. Be alert for road hazards such as downed trees, flooding, etc. Do not drive onto a flooded road.
9. Practice evacuating your home twice a year. Grab your emergency kit and drive your planned evacuation route. Include an alternate route in a different direction in case one is impassible. Make sure you have locations and maps saved on devices such as cell phones and GPS units and on paper.
10. Don’t forget your pets. If it’s not safe for you to stay home, it’s not safe for them either. Prepare a phone list of pet-friendly motels and animal shelters located along your evacuation route. Keep in mind only service animals are usually allowed in shelters.
Getting prepared is easier than it sounds. There are three basic steps: get a kit, make a plan, and be informed.
• Get a kit: Pack the following items in an easy-to-carry container: a gallon of water per person per day; non-perishable food; flashlight and hand-crank or battery-powered radio; extra batteries; sanitation and personal hygiene items; copies of important papers; extra cash and any medical or baby supplies family members may need.
• Make a plan: Have all members of your household help devise your emergency plan. Consider what emergencies could happen where you live; what to do if you are separated and how will you let loved ones know you are safe.
Be informed: Cavendish Connects has a special section-Emergency Preparedness that provides contact numbers and information for Cavendish. In the event of an emergency, the Cavendish VT Facebook page, will provide ongoing updates and the Cavendish Update will provide subscribers with regular bulletins as needed. If you are not familiar with the Cavendish Update, this is a free subscribe to e-mail service that provides weekly information about Cavendish on Fridays and in times of emergency. You can subscribe to this by going to http://cavendish-connects.squarespace.com/subscribe-to-the-cavendish-update/ The Cavendish Town Office has an e-mail service to provide updates and alerts by e-mail. You can subscribe to this by going to https://www.cavendishvt.com/sign-up/
4. EVENTS
SEPTEMBER 8 (SATURDAY): Honey Festival at the Golden Stage Inn, off Depot Street in Proctorsville, 10-4
• Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day at the Springfield Transfer Station 9-1 pm.
SEPTEMBER 9 (SUNDAY): Phineas Gage Walk and Talk. Cavendish Historical Society Museum 2 pm.
SEPTEMBER 10 (MONDAY): Cavendish Select Board Meeting, 6:30 pm at the Cavendish Town Office.
SEPTEMBER 11 (TUESDAY): Noon Community Lunch at Gethsemane Church off Depot Street in Proctorsville. All are welcome. The menu is ground beef stroganoff, kale salad, French bread and dessert by the first graders.
SEPTEMBER 12 (WEDNESDAY): Cavendish Honors Dr. Gene Bont Dedication of a park bench honoring his dedication, 4 pm at the park next to the school
SEPTEMBER 15 (SATURDAY): Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day at the Goodyear Building in Windsor VT. 9-1 pm
SEPTEMBER 21-23 (FRIDAY-SUNDAY): Fall Rummage Sale of Black River Good Neighbors at Fletcher Farm, 611 Route 103 on the Cavendish/Ludlow line. Hours are 10-4 Friday and Sunday and 10-2 on Sunday.
For information on upcoming events, go to the Cavendish Connects Calendar. For area events, check the Okemo Valley Chamber of Commerce calendar.