Photos by Nanci Blog

Weathersfield News February 25, 2015 Nancy Nutile-McMenemy photosbynanci@comcast.net Town Meeting is scheduled next week. There is one contested race on the ballot, the Select Board Two Year seat. I thought I'd ask Lynn Esty (LE) and Michael Todd (MT) the two candidates running, a few questions. In their words.. 1. How long have you lived in Weathersfield? LE -I was born and raised in Weathersfield. With the exception of the 5 years we lived in Alaska , I have lived the majority of my 48 years in Weathersfield. We purchased my Grandfathers 2 acre farm on 106 in Perkinsville in October 2001. We are buying a mobile home on one acre on Route 131 in Ascutney. We raised our 3 daughters in Weathersfield. My granddaughter is the 7th generation of our family residing in Weathersfield. We also have a grown foster daughter with 4 children that live close by. MT -27 years, Born and raised in Springfield  , Vermont 2. What do you doing for a living? LE -...

February 22, 2015 Windsor VT On Sunday Cedar Hill hosted a Grand Opening of their 40-Unit Village Expansion and New Memory Care Center. The event included a Ribbon Cutting, Naming Ceremony, Facility Tours, Music performed by the String Alongs and Refreshments. The ground breaking for this $10.6 million expanded facility of The Village at Cedar took place last February. See images here.   And a year later, co-owners Mary Louise Sayles and her daughter Patricia Horn are ready to welcome new residents to this beautiful place. The common spaces boast lots of light and include a tavern, a large conference room fit for watching movies, a library with large touch screen computers, beauty salons, and common country kitchens. The secure Memory Care facility opens to the Memory Garden where residents will be able to maintain their freedom to go outside as they please in a safe and secure environment. More images of the facility and the Grand Opening Ceremony:  http://...

February 21, 2015 Windsor VT Snow got you down? On Saturday Harpoon Brewery in Windsor celebrated winter by hosting their Long Thaw Party to introduce their Long Thaw White IPA. The fire pit was blazing and their  Beer Garden window was open for folks to enjoy beers outside. Great River Outfitters , offered horse drawn sleigh rides and a snowshoe demo. Paradise Sports had Fat Tire bikes for folks to try.  And the brewery had a few games available for folks to win some cool prizes including an outdoor life sized Jenga! More images from the event: http://photosbynanci.smugmug.com/VermontStandard/February-2015/Long-Thaw-Celebration/ Long Thaw Celebration at Harpoon Brewery Harpoon Brewery ,  Riverbend   Taps & Beer   Garden Windsor ,  VT   February 21, 2015 Copyright ©2015  Nancy Nutile-McMenemy www.photosbynanci.com For The  Vermont  Standard:  http://www.thevermontstandard.com/ ...

February 20, 2015 Woodstock VT For the past 17 years Sierra Leone 's Refugee All Stars ' joyful music has contradicted the horrors they witnessed during their country's civil war. The guitar-driven group came together in Guinean refugee camps in the late 1990s and has gone on to perform on international stages and collaborate with many rock stars including Aerosmith , Dispatch and Ziggy Marley. They opened for Jimmy Cliff in 2010 at Pentangle's Suicide Six Summer Concert. Now its members face a different plight. Since the spring of 2014, the Refugee All Stars have been living in American exile because of the Ebola epidemic. "Around July, the media started talking about it and we were receiving calls from Sierra Leone about how dreadful it is" said Reuben Koroma. So the group began raising money to support for relief efforts (including a new Ebola-educational TV channel called  WeOwnTV ) and sending more money to their families in the countr...

Weathersfield News February 18, 2015 Nancy Nutile-McMenemy photosbynanci@comcast.net This winter of 2014-2015 just doesn't want to quit. Alright already, we're impressed. Trust me, you can go away now. Enough snow and below zero temps and dangerously cold wind chills. We get it 'You're Number One' in Winters. We're "burning" through our wood pile and hoping the snow melts off our roof soon. I'm sleeping with my head buried under the covers and if the dog leaves the bed, I wake up cold. We have about one month until spring begins but I'm beginning to think we'll have snow on the ground until June if this weather continues. I love Vermont ? Annual Town Meeting Monday Mar. 2 and Tuesday Mar. 3. The Monday meeting takes place at the Weathersfield School beginning at 7:30 p.m. (following the School District Meeting.) The meeting will be adjourned until 10 a.m. Tuesday Mar. 3 where the remaining 17 Articles and Town Officers...

February 17, 2015 West Windsor, VT No one was injured in an early morning chimney fire on Rush Meadow RD in West Windsor. Home owners Allen and Marge Franklin could smell smoke coming from their basement. Mr. Franklin went outside and noticed smoke coming out from around the chimney and immediately called the fire in. "Once I saw the smoke coming out from around the chimney base I knew we had a problem" said Franklin. He called it in around 8:30 a.m. and left the building. Four area fire departments responded to call West Windsor, Reading, West Weathersfield and Windsor. West Windsor Chief Mike Spackman believes the fire was caused by a blocked tile lined chimney. More images:  http://photosbynanci.smugmug.com/VermontStandard/February-2015/Chimney-Fire-West-Windsor/ Rush Meadow RD Chimney Fire West Windsor, VT February 17, 2015 Copyright ©2015 Nancy Nutile-McMenemy www.photosbynanci.com For The Vermont Standard: http://www.thevermontstandard.com/ Image Ga...

Robert Hager in a Zack's Place Production. PERU, Vt. - Longtime television journalist Robert Hager was involved in a car accident Thursday afternoon. Police say he and his wife, Honore, were traveling on Route 11 in Peru, Vermont, when another car crossed the center line and hit them head on. Robert was not injured; his wife was hospitalized with possible back and neck injuries. The Woodstock native was a correspondent for NBC Nightly News for 35 years. On 2/12/15 at 14:46 Vermont State Police investigated a two vehicle head on crash on RT 11 in Peru. Kylie Hershey was traveling west in a 2011 Toyota Prius when she lost control of the vehicle. Hershey crossed into the eastbound lane and struck a 2006 Landrover being operated by Robert Hager. Both vehicles had heavy front end damage. Hershey was transported to the Springfield Hospital for leg, shoulder, and head injuries. Honore Hager, who was a passenger in the Landrover, was transported to the hospital to be evalu...

Weathersfield News February 11, 2015 Nancy Nutile-McMenemy photosbynanci@comcast.net Snow and more snow. But that didn't slow me down. Weekends are my busy time as a freelance photographer. And this past weekend was no different. Thursday I did a photo shoot at Edge Fitness and Wellness at Ascutney Mountain Resort. I attended their Boot Camp, Pilates Yoga Fusion and their Gymnastics class. Friday night I hit Opening Night of Fiddler On The Roof in Woodstock, what a show. Saturday I was back at Ascutney Mountain for the Big Foot 5 K Snow Shoe. Then I spent the afternoon in Hartland for Hartland's Winterfest and Chili Cook Off. Sunday I was back in Hartland for the 7th Annual Chocolate Auction (one of my favorite assignments!) All these galleries may be found at:  http://photosbynanci.smugmug.com/VermontStandard/Galleries Annual Town Meeting Monday Mar. 2 and Tuesday Mar. 3. The Monday meeting takes place at the We...

February 7, 2015 Hartland VT Tanner Potter's maple syrup laced Westwood Chili took top honors in the Annual Hartland's Chili Cook Off. Second place went to Sarah Paine's Meaty Chili and Colleen Spence with Chili of Love took home third place. Eleven contenders were entered into this year's competition. More images from the Chili Cook Off:  http://photosbynanci.smugmug.com/VermontStandard/February-2015/Hartland-Chili-Cook-Off-2015/ Hartland Winterfest Chili Cook Off 2015 Hartland Recreation Center Hartland, VT February 7, 2015 Copyright ©2015 Nancy Nutile-McMenemy www.photosbynanci.com For The Vermont Standard: http://www.thevermontstandard.com/ Image Galleries http://photosbynanci.smugmug.com/VermontStandard/Galleries

February 8, 2015 Hartland, VT The snow couldn't stop the chocolate lovers who flocked to the Universalist Society of Hartland on Sunday for the 7th Annual Chocolate Auction. This year the first row was filled with children making deals and pooling their money to bid on the various items on the Children's Table and even bidding on some of the adult items too. The crowd had settled in and the tension was building when the door opened and in walked Gretchen Schmertz, co-owner of the Skunk Hollow Tavern, with her donation to the auction. A cheer went up and suddenly everyone was clapping. The reason, these savvy auction attendees know that Gretchen's creations are so yummy and usually get the highest bid. This year though, with so many seats taken by children, the hot items were the "Dirt Cakes." Each time a Dirt Cake was offered a sea of bid cards could be seen. A new item that drew great interest this year-chocolate covered bacon.  In addition ...

February 7, 2015 Hartland VT With all the snow we've been getting lately, conditions were perfect for Winterfest. HartlandRecreation hosted its annual event and this year there was tons of snow to celebrate with. Outdoor events included dog sled rides from Mishawum Kennels, broom ball, ice skating and sledding.  When folks needed to warm up they could head into the center for the silent auction to benefit the Hartland Cooperative Nursery School, have a caricature made by Erica Golter, enjoy some hot cocoa and sample some of the chili made for the annual Chili Cook Off. Through a generous donation made by Mascoma Savings Bank of Hartland, all the events were offered to the community at no charge. About 200 people stopped by to enjoy the indoor and outdoor events. More images from Winterfest 2015:  http://photosbynanci.smugmug.com/VermontStandard/February-2015/Hartland-Winterfest-2015/ Hartland Winterfest 2015 Hartland Recreation Center Hartland ...