Cavendish Update 3/1/19: Town Mtg/News/Events
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3/1/19 Cavendish Update
1. Town Meeting
2. Cavendish Related News
3. Spin-A-Thon
4. Events
1. TOWN MEETING: Cavendish Town Meeting begins at 7 pm on Monday, March 4 at the Cavendish Town Elementary School (CTES) multi purpose room. Be advised that regardless of weather, Town Meeting takes place. However, those present can vote to postpone the meeting, which was recently done with Fire District #2’s Annual Meeting.
At Monday night’s meeting, the town budget will be voted on. Other articles to be voted on include the elimination of the Office of Town Lister and replace with a professionally qualified assessor; whether to exempt Fletcher Farm from taxes for the next five years; whether to exempt Black River Health Center from taxes for the next five years.
On Tuesday, March 5, from 10-7, voting by Australian Ballot takes place at the Proctorsville Fire Hall. Items to be voted on include the school budget as well as various town positions. There is only one contested race, the three year selectman position-incumbent George Timko versus Michael Kell. The official ballot appears on page 63 of the Town Report or online at the town’s website. Note that Town Office will be closed on March 5.
The Annual Town Report as well as Green Mountain Unified School District report is available at the Town Office or on-line at the Municipal Website. Please note that this year the school report is a separate document from the Town Report. FMI: Call the Town Office 802-226-7291
2. CAVENDISH RELATED NEWS
Public Notice of Sale, Town of Cavendish. The property to be sold is 723 Main Street, Cavendish Vermont, formally owned by Melisa K. Rhoda, Trustee of the Nancy K. Horahan Revocable Trust. This will be sold at public auction on March 27, at 1:00 pm at the Cavendish Town Office. Minimum reserve price is $45,000. The official notice is available by clicking here.
Cavendish Town Garage Now Operational: The new town garage is now operational and the town road crew has moved “home.” There is plenty of room for housing the trucks with plows attached and lots of upgrades from the previous building, which was destroyed by fire in Feb. 2017. A much deserved building for a town crew that works hard in all kinds of weather to keep the town safe.
Cavendish Represented at the Oscars: At last Sunday’s Oscars, Cavendish Game Birds, owned by Cavendish resident Bill Thompson with his brother Rick, was on Wolgang Puck’s menu when he served Nashville Fire Quail at the “after party.”
Cavendish Women You Should Know: March is Women’s History Month and the Cavendish Historical Society marks this occasion by continuing their series “Cavendish Women You Should Know.” This year we have gone back to our archives and are updating information to previously collected materials. Part I is by Barbara Kingsbury. She not only provides an overview of what life was like for women who helped to settle Cavendish, but she discusses women who worked in the mills, owned businesses as well as those who worked in health care, including three sisters who became doctors. Throughout March, CHS will be providing another chapter in the women who have helped and continue to shape our town. Beyond Cooking and Cleaning
GM Better Board Training Heavy on Limitations: At the recent Green Mountain Unified School District (GMUSD), the main event was a train the board to be a board. Board chair Marilyn Mahusky told the meeting that she and Superintendent Meg Powden felt there was value in “bringing somebody in to help us be a better board.” Susan Holson of the Vermont School Boards Association began by telling the board that the questions that they asked about the overnight senior trip to Boston (how many are going, how many chaperones, how will they handle students who can’t afford the $50 deposit, etc.) were “things you really don’t need to know.” While the school board has always approved overnight trips in the past, Holson said that this was the purview of the administration and not the board and noted that the board has three jobs – assuring high quality education, getting a good return for the taxpayer’s investment and seeing that the system operates efficiently, effectively and ethically – all while taking a “hands off” approach to the actual workings of the school. Holson made the analogy that school board members are like grandparents who want the best for their grandchildren (students, faculty and staff etc.) but must not interfere with the parents (the superintendent and administration) in raising them. In the VSBA’s estimation, the board’s only point of contact would be Powden and that even the principals’ reports that have been given at board meetings should be “channeled through Meg,” for her to report. This would make meetings “a lot crisper,” said Holson. Holson’s remarks did not go without pushback from board members, most notably Jeff Hance who, at the Jan. 17 meeting had asserted that teachers at CAES were under a “gag order” to keep them from talking to board members. “As a grandpa,” said Hance, continuing Holson’s analogy, “I’m not going to sit there with an unfit parent and push the grandkid away who comes to me crying, saying no, no, you deal with your mom and dad. I’m going to step in. Custody gets awarded to grandparents because of unfit parents.” It should be noted that the schools, including Cavendish Town Elementary School (CTES), no longer have individual boards and must rely on the GMUSD board for decisions and input.
The board discussed the aggressive efforts of private and public schools to entice Black River High School students to enroll with them while GM is still planning for a school fair that will be held in Ludlow in May. Chester Telegraph
Ludlow Stone Building Condemned for Over 4 Years Demolished: The stone house on the corner of Commonwealth Avenue and Main Street was demolished Wednesday, Feb. 20 per the Village Vacant and Dangerous Buildings Ordinance. The water heater in the building exploded Jan. 4, 2015 and the building was deemed an unsafe structure by the Fire Marshal after an inspection two days later. VT Journal
Springfield Hospital Turmoil Casts Health Clinics into Uncertainty: With Springfield Hospital in the midst of financial turmoil, some are concerned about the future of the area’s community health centers. One of the six Centers is in Ludlow and is used by many locals. CEO Michael Halstead said every service line was being reviewed to find $6.5 million in annual savings by April 1. Halstead said there were no plans to close any of the health centers, but he’s looking at the community use and support of each facility. Halstead said he likes to see about half of the population using medical services in that town, though that number varies. Collectively, the clinics the hospital operates lost nearly $2.5 million last year. Across the organization, five nurse positions were eliminated in addition to a nurse practitioner, a physician and several directors and coordinators. Ludlow Health Center’s director of physician practice position was terminated. Some are especially leery since Springfield Hospital abruptly shut down medical services at Chester Family Medicine last year and opted to operate dentist offices in the town instead. Springfield Hospital is negotiating contracts with vendors to find additional savings. The hospital is also in early discussion with Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center about forming a partnership. Filing for bankruptcy is also being discussed. the future of the hospital and the health centers will depend on the community’s support of them. VT Digger
GMP offers new, upfront incentives to store electricity at home: Green Mountain Power is offering big incentives to customers interested in home battery systems that prevent outages while helping to smooth out peak demand across the electric grid. Designed with Renewable Energy Vermont and you can choose how you want to get paid for sharing your stored energy with GMP. The Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) program offers the biggest upfront payment from a utility in the country for enrolling your home battery, or get ongoing bill credits. Learn more about GMP’s program here:
3. SPIN-A-THON: Cavendish resident Lori Wright has once again registered for the Face of America Ride through World T.E.A.M. Sports to raise money to specifically support wounded and disabled Veterans by riding in a two-day, 110 mile bike ride on May 4 and 5, 2019, from Washington, D.C. and ending in Gettysburg, PA.
World T.E.A.M. Sports is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit whose mission is to use athletics to challenge disabled men, women and children to accomplish goals they never thought possible.
To participate in this event, she must raise $800 which will go to pay for the special equipment, lodging, transportation, and programs to benefit the courageous men and women who returned home from combat with missing arms, legs, blind, deaf, brain injuries, and/or suffering from PTSD.
To raise money for this event, DG Bodyworks, 7 Depot Street Proctorsville, is hosting a “Spin-A-Thon” on Sunday, March 3 at 10, 11 or noon. Ride 1, 2 or 3 classes at $25/hour, with the 12:00 noon hour suggested for beginners. Cost is $25 per hour donation to benefit wounded and disabled Veterans. FMI: Text or email Lori Wright at 603-401-8123 or loriwright163@gmail.com to register or offer a donation.
Best of luck on your ride Lori and thank you for caring about our veterans.
4. EVENTS
MARCH 3 (SUNDAY): Spin-A-Thon for Wounded Vets
MARCH 4 (MONDAY): Town Meeting
MARCH 5 (TUESDAY): VOTING! Proctorsville Fire Department from 10-7.
MARCH 6 (WEDNESDAY): TRSU Superintendent Evaluation Committee Meeting, 6-7:30 pm at the Roost Building at the Fletcher Farm Ground Roost Conference Room.
MARCH 7 (THURSDAY): TRSU Board Meeting, Fletcher Farm Roost Building 6-8 pm
• Fire District #2 monthly meeting, 7:30 pm at the Cavendish Volunteer Fire Dept.
MARCH 10 (SUNDAY): Daylight savings time begins. Set clocks ahead one hour.
MARCH 11 (MONDAY): Cavendish Select Board Meeting 6:30 pm Cavendish Town Office.
MARCH 27 (WEDNESDAY): Public Notice of Sale, Town of Cavendish. The property to be sold is 723 Main Street, Cavendish Vermont, formally owned by Melisa K. Rhoda, Trustee of the Nancy K. Horahan Revocable Trust. This will be sold at public auction on March 27, at 1:00 pm at the Cavendish Town Office. Minimum reserve price is $45,000.
MARCH 31 (SUNDAY): Cavendish Historical Society Annual Meeting, 4pm at the Cavendish Baptist Church. As part of the this event, the film “Alone in the Wilderness” will be shown. This is free and open to the public. FMI: 802-226-7807 or margocaulfield@icloud.com
MAY 14 (TUESDAY): Cavendish Connections Tech Cafe, 6-8 pm at the Cavendish Town Library in Proctorsvile. Bring your smart phone, laptop, tablet (iPad) to learn how to use them as well as how to use Facebook, Instagram and other social media sites. This will be free and open to the Cavendish community.
SEPTEMBER 14 (SATURDAY): VT Golden Honey Festival. 10-4 Part craft fair, part food festival, the VT Golden Honey Festival is a community favorite. Located on the lawn of the Golden Stage Inn, 399 Depot St. in Proctorsville. Proceeds of this event will benefit VT Coalition of Runaway and Homeless Youth (Ludlow and Proctorsville. For vendor and other information: vtgoldenhoneyfestival@gmail.com or 802-226-7744 (Julie).
For information on upcoming events, go to the Cavendish Connects Calendar. For area events, check the Okemo Valley Chamber of Commerce calendar.
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