Photos by Nanci Blog

Well, I survived volunteering at my 29/30 Vermont 100 Endurance Races. (I did help organize all 30 but missed one for a dive trip to the Galapagos [a pretty good excuse for missing the race]). This race is always a blast to help out at. Seeing all these athletes of all abilities running 100 miles (or 100 kilometers) and seeing them run along side endurance-trained horses and their riders, is surely unusual. Thanks to "Radio Rob" I get to check in to almost all 25 aid stations. I get to say hello to all the people volunteering their July weekend to help out at this event that raised almost $200,000 for Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports (VASS), a program I got involved with in 1987. VASS taught me to ski and how to teach mono-skiing. I taught for 10 years at Mount Ascutney. Those years were some of my favorite winters here in Vermont. I no longer ski (or teach) but I work on VASS special events and love every minute of it. Contact me if you'd like more information about Ver...

This weekend is the 30th anniversary for the Vermont 100 Endurance Ride or Run. The 100 mile run or horse ride starts and finishes at Silver Hill Meadow in West Windsor. I've been involved in some way in all 30 races and will be volunteering again this year at the race merchandise table and taking photographs. (I missed volunteering during one race weekend in 2005-we went diving in the Galapagos.) The events sees 350-100 mile runners, 100-100Km runners and about 100 horses traveling either 100, 75 or 50 miles. This year the event will raise over $200,000 for Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports. (I volunteered for 10 years with Vermont Adaptive teaching mono-skiing on Mount Ascutney.) This is always a crazy busy weekend but it's so rewarding seeing these athletes push themselves so other athletes can challenge themselves. Good on you Vermont 100! News You Can Use Weathersfield select board and town news : On July 2 the select board set the town tax rate at 0.6314. An e...

I hope everyone had a very happy and safe 4th of July ; with the holiday falling on Wednesday it seemed like it was a week long celebration. With a little driving you could have seen fireworks every night of the week last week. I had an interesting encounter with one of our select board members-John Arrison, Tuesday night in Brownsville. I found out he's a "lead shooter" for Northstar Fireworks and he and his crew were creating the displays for both Brownsville and Hartland this year. So I put on my reporter's hat and followed them around Wednesday night. I got a behind the scenes look at what goes into making a fireworks display happen. It's a lot of work. And with last week's heat wave, it's was brutally hot for these guys setting up the displays. But it was all worth it to them hearing the spectators applaud. Not a bad part-time job if you ask me. Adventures and Assignments The Brownsville Independence Celebration Tuesday night, July 3rd on As...

4th of July and fireworks. The two are practically synonymous here in New England. The aerial displays put on by our local towns and fire departments are a wonder to watch. If you saw the fireworks over the last week at the VSO concert in Pomfret at Suicide Six Ski Area, the 3rd of July Independence Day Celebration show in Brownsville on Mount Ascutney or the Old Home Day display in Hartland at the Recreation Center on the 4th then you witnessed the work of John Arrison, Northstar Fireworks Lead Shooter and his crew. Arrison, a current select board member in Weathersfield, is a former volunteer fire fighter in town. He is the owner of Watts-Up Electric and he shoots off fireworks, legally. He has been working with Northstar Fireworks out of East Montpelier, Vermont for eight years after receiving training from them. "Surprisingly Vermont has no formal certification" he said in an email interview. In Vermont all fireworks (not including Sparklers and other novelty...

Laura at the 2017 Town Challenge Please join me in offering condolences to the family of Laura McNaughton, 36, from Perkinsville who died last Thursday morning on Interstate 91. Her car was hit head-on by another vehicle. Her eight year old son, Isaac was in the car with her. He was treated and released at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. The Weathersfield School was open on Friday, June 29 for friends, family and community members. Our whole community is in mourning. A celebration of life will be held at the Weathersfield Center Meeting House, Weathersfield Center RD on Saturday afternoon, beginning at 2 p.m. Valley News write-up about Laura McNaughton Weathersfield select board and town news : The town is looking a few good people. The town is creating a new website and is looking for photos of recreational activities and picturesque locations from around the town to feature on this new site. Each photo must be taken within the Town of Weathersfield, be in high...