Weathersfield Weekly Blog November 21 edition

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Details below.

Mark Your Calendars

Weathersfield's Got Talent
November 21, 6-7 p.m.
A benefit for the WS Drama Club


Also the school reminds parents and students:
  • there IS school on Monday, November 21st and November 22nd. 
  • No school on Wednesday, November 23rd-Friday, November 25th.
  • Students return to school on Monday, November 28th.

Inn at Weathersfield, Closed for Stick Season, Taking reservations for Thanksgiving Dinner
Reopens November 23rd

The Inn at Weathersfield will be closed from 10/29-11/23; they will be fully open on 11/23/2022.

The Inn is now accepting Thanksgiving Dinner & Lodging Reservations. Seating for Thanksgiving from 2-7 p.m. Sample Thanksgiving Menu here

Call for reservations 802-263-9217

The Kaskadenac Nordic Ski Club gets ready to Open January 1
Boot fittings: Friday, November 25 and Saturday, December 3- noon-4 p.m.


Kaskadenac Nordic Ski Club welcomes everyone to ski with them, beginning January 1st.
The Nordic ski season is about to begin and local families are invited to take part in the Kaskadenac Nordic Ski Club, which is a FREE community recreational activity.

Kaskadenac Nordic Ski Club has Nordic skis, boots and poles in a variety of sizes; several miles of groomed trails that intersect with VAST trail 506 which is maintained by Weathersfield Pathfinders; and 2 weekly guided ski sessions for kids and families.

Boot fittings
Friday, November 25 from noon-4pm they will offer equipment fitting. Another fitting day is scheduled for Saturday, December 3, same time. They'll help you select a set of boots, skis and poles that will be marked and ready for you to enjoy here, whether on the guided ski days or on your own.

Please contact them soon to schedule a fitting and/or sign up for one or more of the guided ski days.   

Guided Ski Lessons
The guided ski sessions are led by Sean Whalen and Ashley Hensel-Browning, and go from 3:00-4:30 each Thursday and Friday, when safe skiing conditions prevail. 

They teach essential skills for safety, comfort and enjoyment of Nordic skiing. They are on a Weathersfield School bus route, and kids may be dropped off there (3057 Weathersfield Center Road) after school on ski days, by arrangement between parents, school, and the club. 
Beginners are welcome and will find easy trails for learning.

Outside of the guided adventures, skiers are welcome to ski the trails any time they're open. 
(*see note about waiver, below). The trail system is well connected and you can find your own level. 

Snacks are also part of the experience. On the guided ski days they offer hot cocoa and healthy snacks starting around 4:00. 

Waiver
To ski the trails here, you'll have to sign a waiver that says you won't sue them if you or your child gets hurt. This is standard practice for ski clubs. Waivers are available and can be signed at the clubhouse.

Please stop at the clubhouse at 3057 Weathersfield Center Road to sign a legal waiver before enjoying the trails; after that, you're good to go.

Donate, Volunteer
Kaskadenac Nordic would love to accept donations of ski equipment, volunteer time, money and other in-kind gifts. All of that will keep this wonderful free community activity going. 

If you're in a family that skis with them and would like to contribute healthy snacks to Kaskadenac Nordic, please do contact them. They are looking for donations of fresh or dried fruits, baked goods, and milk for the cocoa. 

Gas in the snowmobile, cocoa on the hob, parts on the groomer, skis on the rack.

For more information contact Sean Whalen and/or Ashley Hensel-Browning, 3057 Weathersfield Center Road, Weathersfield, VT 05151  (802)263-5253
Start Your Snow Dances

Special Thanks to Robin and Colin Tindall who started Kaskadenac Nordic.
They built this thing for folks in the Weathersfield community.

Thanksgiving at the Farm
November 25-November 27, 10:00 am - 4:00 pm

An experience for the whole family with 19th century Thanksgiving traditions, crafts, and foods.

Join Billings Farm and Museum for Thanksgiving at the Farm, Friday, Nov. 25 through Sunday, Nov. 27 from 10AM-4PM.

Peek into history with a Thanksgiving setting displaying food that graced the table in the 1890s. Enjoy the delicious aroma of food cooking in the 1890 Farm Manager’s House kitchen. Recipes from the past will include oyster soup, mashed turnips, roasted squash, salted almonds, bread rolls, and baked apples.

To delve deeper into the history, play “What’s for Dinner” and guess what was on the Thanksgiving menu in the 1890s at 12:00PM and 3:00PM. For a hands-on cooking experience, stop by the Learning Kitchen from 11:00AM to 3:00PM to make a mini apple pie to take home.

Share stories about your favorite traditions on the Sharing Tree. Craft a woven paper placemat with the kiddos and read “Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message” on the StoryWalk.

Warm up afterwards by the outdoor firepits with hot cocoa and s’mores, available for purchase.

Food for Thought

Her Tribe Fed the Pilgrims. Here’s What She Wants You to Know About Indigenous Food


When I first call Sherry Pocknett, she’s on her way out the door—headed to forage for mushrooms. But the Mashpee Wampanoag chef and longtime caterer invites me up to her restaurant, Sly Fox Den Too, in Charlestown, R.I., which specializes in East Coast Indigenous cuisine. There, in a little red house right by Narragansett Indian tribal lands, she cooks lunch—crisping duck skin like a potato chip—and explains that the sunflower oil she’s using to prepare our meal can also be rubbed on your hair and skin to keep you looking youthful.

Pocknett, 62, is a member of the tribe best known for feeding the Pilgrims. Her restaurant—named for her fisherman father and Native American rights advocate Chief Sly Fox—is her own way of using her people’s knowledge to feed Americans today. And she hopes the menu shows the breadth and depth of Indigenous foods, which are so much more than Thanksgiving turkey. In fact, at Sly Fox Den Too, which opened in June 2021, the only turkey parts are feathers sticking out of a handwoven basket hanging on the wall. Pocknett explains that her people do eat turkey, but they also respect the birds for their smarts, and wear the feathers in their hair in order to absorb the turkeys’ intelligence.

Her menu is based on a simple concept: “the food I grew up with,” she says. She cooks what’s local and what’s in season. This time of year, that means foods like rabbit and quahogs, hard-shell clams native to the Atlantic coast. A photographer and I watch Pocknett prepare duck hash and venison—from a deer freshly killed by her son-in-law, which she skinned herself—topped with onion rings. The battered onion rings, she admits, aren’t exactly a deep-rooted tradition: they’re “from a mix,” she says, “but I just love them.” She also makes “journey cakes,” cornmeal patties with dried cranberries, versions of which have a long history as road-trip food...

...While customers at Pocknett’s restaurant wait for their food to come out, they can page through a book called If You Lived During the Plimoth Thanksgiving—which retells the American myth from the perspective of the Wampanoag people. And yet, year-round, many customers still just want her to tell them about Thanksgiving. So she tells them the story she heard growing up. 

“We are a loving, giving people. We helped them, and then look what happened,” emphasizing the statement with outstretched arms. “They took everything from us and killed us. We got wiped out. But not all the way. We’re still here. We’ve been here for over 12,000 years. We ain’t going nowhere.”

Weathersfield PTO hosts "Make It and Take It" and Craft Fair
December 4, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.


Make It and Take It is back and open to all Weathersfield children. On December 4th from 11 a.m.-2 p.m at the Weathersfield school, children can MAKE their own holiday gifts. Each child can select up to 5 items from the 12 available craft stations-gift bagging is included.

Santa and Mrs. Clause will be at the photo booth for holiday card pictures.

Please register your child/children by visiting: https://sites.google.com/view/weathersfield-school-pto/pto-events

Vendors will be available for holiday shopping for everyone.


Woodstock, VT 
December 9-December 11, 2022

Woodstock Vermont's favorite time of year! Filled with twinkling lights, historic decorated homes, and so much more, the town transforms into the holiday wonderland of your dreams, complete with sleigh bells and holiday decorations at Billings Farm that harken back to historic 19th-century charm. There's something for all ages throughout this festive holiday weekend.

Wassail Weekend Schedule



News You Can Use
ICYMI (In case You Missed It)

Select Board to Continue Budget Discussions
This week, on Monday November 21st in Martin Memorial Hall beginning at 6:30 p.m. the select board will continue their budget discussions for FY 24. 

Tonight they will take on the FY24 General Fund Budget, Insurance and COLA.
Barre Family Featured in HBO Max Documentary 'Santa Camp'
Sally Pollak reporting for Seven Days

(Not really Weathersfield but how cool is this?)

For a person who likes to travel by sleigh, Fin Ciappara lives in the right place: a house in a hilly neighborhood in Barre where a sled would pick up speed with ease on a snowy eve. The porch is adorned with a red-and-white striped pole and a sign that reads "North Pole." At the front door, the welcome mat is decorated with a picture of Santa Claus and printed with the word "Believe."

Inside the house on a recent morning, Fin announced his fondness for Santa by wearing a red-and-green vest covered with the word "ho," as in "Ho ho ho." His sister, Rose, wore a white Santa T-shirt, and his mother, Suki, was dressed in sparkly red.

Fin, 32, was born with a rare form of spina bifida, Suki said. He is nonverbal but for about two dozen words and phrases — "Ho ho ho" is a favorite. He communicates with the assistance of iPad app Dialogue AAC, which generates speech from typed text. Fin used the device to tell Seven Days the story of wearing a Santa suit to greet children at a daycare center. He gave a big thumbs-up to describe the kids' delight.

"Being Santa is important because it makes people happy," Fin said. "I want to be a real Santa because I love Christmas."

Fin's fascination with and interest in being Santa are depicted in the new HBO Max documentary Santa Camp, to be released on Thursday, November 17. The movie was filmed at Santa Camp in Greenfield, N.H., an annual summer event that's organized by the New England Santa Society. At the rural gathering of Santas, Mrs. Clauses and elves, participants commune about their roles, learn the tricks of the trade and anticipate the season.

Vermont minimum wage will increase in January but hasn’t kept pace with living wage demands

Sarah Mearhoff reporting for VT Digger

Vermont’s minimum wage will increase by 63 cents per hour on the first day of 2023, the Vermont Department of Labor announced this week.

But even with the bump up from $12.55 to $13.18 per hour, the new minimum wage will fall short of what state analysts consider to be a living wage in Vermont.

For an employee earning minimum wage and working a standard 40-hour week, the increase will amount to an additional $25.20 per week before taxes and roughly $1,310 per year, barring any unpaid time off.

Tipped workers in Vermont, such as restaurant servers, will also see a bump in their hourly minimum wage — which is half of the standard minimum wage — from $6.28 to $6.59 per hour, not including tips.

Vermont’s minimum wage has gradually scaled up over the years due to a law passed by the Legislature in 2020, at which point the minimum wage was $10.96 per hour. The law established the first two increases, up to $11.75 in January 2021 and $12.55 in January 2022.

For subsequent years, including 2023, it calls on the state to calculate the minimum wage in proportion to the Consumer Price Index.

READ MORE

Alpine plant believed extinct since 1908 in Vermont rediscovered on Mount Mansfield

Juliet Schulman-Hall reporting for VT Digger

The purple crowberry, a small alpine shrub, was last documented in Vermont in 1908 — until hiker Liam Ebner rediscovered it on Mount Mansfield.

Ebner made the discovery while participating in the 2022 Northeastern Alpine Stewardship Gathering, a biennial conference hosted by the Green Mountain Club and The Waterman Fund.

“We weren't really up there specifically to look at plants. But as someone who works up in the mountains, I tend to do that a bit,” said Ebner, a recent graduate from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a trained summit steward with the Adirondack Mountain Club.

The crowberry plant grows low to the ground in rocky habitats above the treeline. It has needle-like leaves and berries that can be purple or, more commonly, black. The purple crowberry is found in the Northeast, where it is listed as uncommon in New Hampshire and endangered in New York.

Ebner said he saw the crowberry plant while hiking but couldn’t tell right away whether it was a black crowberry plant or purple until he got closer.

“I just got lucky and it happened to be a purple crowberry species, which was a really big surprise because everyone out there didn't think that it grew in the state anymore,” Ebner said.
 
READ MORE

Vermont’s 1st comprehensive bee assessment finds 70 new species — and 55 that need more protection

Emma Cotton reporting for VT Digger


The first-ever comprehensive study of Vermont’s bee populations has documented 70 new species — 20% of the species known to exist in Vermont — thanks to 55,000 observations from biologists and citizen scientists.

Biologists hope the data will help conserve some of Vermont’s 352 bee species in the future.

“A few species collapsed and disappeared in the late ’90s,” Spencer Hardy, the report’s lead author, said at a webinar on Thursday. “We didn't realize it until after the fact, and it was too late to do anything. Had we had a long-term monitoring program going on, we might have been able to pick that up earlier and to address the problem.”

55 bee species urgently need more protection, according to the new report, called State of Vermont’s Wild Bees, which was issued this week by biologists at the Vermont Center for Ecostudies in collaboration with Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department. It’s a section of the Vermont Atlas of Life, a log of different species that exist around the state.

Bees are facing a number of threats, including disease, introduced species, pesticides, climate change and land use changes.

Some wild bees have contracted pathogens that come from farmed bees, Hardy said. When farmers use commercially produced bumblebee colonies for pollination in greenhouses, for example, those bees can spread pathogens to wild bumblebees when the commercial bees forage outside and come into contact with local populations, according to the report.

Town of Weathersfield


Select Board


All regular meetings are broadcasted live on Comcast channel 1087, VTEL Channel 161, and SAPA.org on Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m.

Selectboard Members  
Mike Todd  Chair
David Fuller Vice Chair 
Kelly O'Brien  Clerk
Wendy Smith Member
Paul Tillman Member

Select Board Meets 1st and 3rd Mondays of the Month 6:30 p.m.  
November 21 Agenda

Meeting Minutes https://www.weathersfieldvt.org/selectboard
November 14 Special Meeting (Generator for Martin Memorial Hall)
August 17-Emergency Meeting-Golden Cross Contact (5 Year Term)
June 16
May 18 Special Meeting (to sign the Warrant from the May 16th meeting)
May 2 (posted now but not posted at press time May 9 in violation of Vermont's Open Meeting law. )
April 18 (posted now, but not posted at press time April 25 in violation of Vermont's Open Meeting law. )
April 4
March 21
March 7-(The March 7th meeting minutes are now the March 7th meeting minutes not the Feb. 7th's as originally posted)
Special Meeting March 3-Select Board organization
Town Meeting Minutes
February 21
February 7
January 20
January 3

*Vermont Open Meeting Law
Minute posting: Minutes of all public meetings shall be matters of public record, shall be kept by the clerk or secretary of the public body, and shall be available for inspection by any person and for purchase of copies at cost upon request after five calendar days from the date of any meeting. Meeting minutes shall be posted no later than five calendar days from the date of the meeting to a website, if one exists, that the public body maintains or has designated as the official website of the body. Except for draft minutes that have been substituted with updated minutes, posted minutes shall not be removed from the website sooner than one year from the date of the meeting for which the minutes were taken.

Weathersfield Police Blotter

Weathersfield School



Weekly Newsletter: November 18

Save the Dates!
November 21 Talent Show
November 23-25 No School Thanksgiving Holiday
November 30 Staff Meeting
December 4 PTO Make and Take, Craft Fair
December 5 Early Release Day
December 21 School Sing-a-long

Panorama Survey
During the month of November students in grades 3-12 will be completing a survey regarding their social emotional well being. For more information please click on this link. Thank you.

Current Employment Opportunities at Weathersfield School
If you or if you know of anyone that has always wanted to work in a school setting, now is the time to apply. 
WS currently has three different opportunities for employment. 
If you are interested, please apply on https://www.schoolspring.com/
World Language Teacher
Paraprofessional

Looking for Odds and Ends for the Art Room
Have you been looking for a way to clean up that craft room, but didn’t want to throw out all of the “good stuff” you are not quite sure what to do with?

The WS Art Teacher is looking for leftover craft/recycling items that you may have in your home. 
Leftover plastic flowers and greenery (does not have to be whole… pieces are great)
Petals or leaves
Beads or flat plastic gems
Cardboard (shipping boxes, cereal boxes)
Bamboo skewers
Wide elastic
Feathers
Ribbon
Anything sparkly…

Weathersfield School Board

Meeting Agendas may be found HERE

Weathersfield School Board meets on Tuesdays
In Person at Weathersfield School (135 Schoolhouse Road, Ascutney)

Location: 135 Schoolhouse RD Ascutney 
December 13 Agenda
January 10, 2023
February 14, 2023
March 14, 2023

School Board Meetings
Meeting Minutes
November 8
October 11
September 13
June 9
May 19
April 5 
March 8
February 26
February 15
February 11 Special Meeting  (Not posted at press time February 21 in violation of Vermont's Open Meeting law. )
February 8  video link  (Now posted, not posted at press time February 14 in violation of Vermont's Open Meeting law. )
January 11


Weathersfield Proctor Library


WPL Drop in Scrabble

Route 5 (5181 US-5 Ascutney VT 05030)

Mondays at 1 p.m.
Please call Maureen Bogosian for details @ 603-252-0936


Things to Do In and Around Weathersfield
Get Outdoors, Entertainment, Classes, Workshops 

Lebanon Opera House

All shows are at 7:30 p.m. unless otherwise stated.


A New England Midwinter Revels, Dec. 16, 17, 18 shows at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. INFO

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Tuesday, December 20 TICKETS

Saved by the 90s, February 3 TICKETS

David Sedaris, March 31 TICKETS

Youth Education Serie: Dance of Hope, April 6 10 a.m. TICKETS

Dance of Hope, April 6, 6:30 p.m. FREE TICKETS
(you must reserve a seat to attend)


Northern Stage’s joyous holiday tradition returns with the world premiere production of The Railway Children, a new American adaptation of Edith Nesbit’s beloved British classic children’s novel with new music and lyrics by Jane Shaw and Mark Hartman (A Christmas Carol at the Guthrie; The Wanderers at Roundabout), November 22, 2022 – January 1, 2023, in the Byrne Theater at the Barrette Center for the Arts in White River Junction, Vermont.

Performance times are Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m., Thursday at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. 

Ticket prices range from $19 to $69 — $19 for students of all ages, $20 for those under the age of 25, and $34 for preview performances (November 22, 23, and 25). 

Access for All tickets (for EBT card holders) are $5 and are available for any performance while ticket supplies last. The Byrne Theater at the Barrette Center for the Arts is located at 74 Gates Street, White River Junction, VT. 

For tickets and information, call (802) 296-7000 or visit www.northernstage.org. 
COVID-19 PROTOCOLS: Northern Stage will NOT be requesting vaccination status OR proof of a negative COVID-19 test. Masks are not required but are encouraged inside the Barrette Center for the Arts.

Exercise

Yoga

Whole Roasted Tro

Within Reach Yoga 

at Weathersfield Center Church and Meeting House

You must Register for each class at least a day ahead by emailing Lisa. (Class sizes limited to 7.)


Tuesdays
~Location Weathersfield Center Church and Meeting House~
November 22, 29
Slow Flow, Rest + Restore Tuesdays 9:00-10:00 am


Walk-ins can register up to 24 hrs. ahead by emailing Lisa and are available on a first-come, first served basis (classes fill early!). 

Please arrive 5 minutes early with your own props and mats.

Workshops Online

 

Vermont Online Workshops

Lots of events and movies online. Contact: AARP Vermont Email: vtaarp@aarp.org with questions.



Visit Our Local Restaurants

Bistro Midva Midva is open Wednesday-Saturday 4:30-9:30 p.m. (Closed Sunday, Monday and Tuesday) Call (802) 299-1553 or visit their FACEBOOK PAGE for more information.
131 Main Street Windsor, VT

Daily Grind Café 
Call ahead for take out 674-9859
93 Pleasant St. Claremont, NH (in the space formerly occupied by Dusty’s Café)
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday 7 a.m.-3 p.m.

Exit Ate  (802) 674-4299 
Wednesdays-Sundays 7 a.m.-3 p.m.
202 VT 131, Ascutney

Harpoon Beer Garden and Brewery 802-674-5491
336 Ruth Carney Drive
Windsor, VT 05089

Inn at Weathersfield (802) 263-9217 
Closed for Stick Season from 10/29-11/23 re-open on 11/23/2022
Dine inside or outside Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, call for a reservation 802-263-9217. 1342 VT Route 106 Perkinsville, VT 05151

Outer Limits Brewing (802)-287-6100
Closed Mondays and Tuesdays;  Wednesdays and Thursdays 3-8 p.m.; Saturdays noon-8 p.m. with LIVE MUSIC; Sundays noon-6 p.m..
60 Village Green, Proctorsville, VT 05153 

Springfield Diner-seating inside/outside daily 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Ice cream shop open Thursday-Sunday 1-7 pm. Daily specials.

Villagers Ice Cream Restaurant-(802) 795-0063 CLOSED For the Season
Tuesdays-Sundays 11:30 a.m. until 9 p.m. (they stop cooking at 7:30 p.m.)
4261 Route 106 in Perkinsville, Downers Four Corners to the locals.
Unicorn Sundae at Villagers Rtes. 131 and 106, Downers Four Corners, in Perkinsville

Food Assistance

Ascutney Union Church Food Cupboard in Ascutney 5243 Route 5 Saturdays 9-10 a.m. call 802-674-2484.

Weathersfield Food Shelf in Perkinsville.
Beginning Thursday, January 13, the regular opening schedule of 2:00 pm-4:00 pm on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of each month will resume. 
 The Weathersfield Food Shelf is located in the 1879 Perkinsville Schoolhouse at 1862 Route 106 in Perkinsville. The Food Shelf has lots of good food to offer!

Call the Weathersfield Town Office to be refereed to a volunteer, visit the Weathersfield Food Shelf Facebook page and leave a message, email weathersfieldfoodshelf@gmail.com
Donations of non-perishable food are always welcomed and may be dropped off at the facility during open hours or placed in the collection box at Martin Memorial Hall. For more information, call 802-263-5584 or email weathersfieldfoodshelf@gmail.com.

Hartland Food Shelf in Hartland. 4 Corners UU Church Fridays 8-10 a.m., Saturdays 10 a.m-2 p.m.

Reading-West Windsor Food Shelf in Reading. Mondays 2-4 p.m. and Thursday 4-6 p.m. Stone School 3456 Tyson Rd, Reading.

Vermont State Resources and
COVID-19 Response Information

GET VACCINATED
and GET YOUR BOOSTER
Do it for Yourself, Your Family, Your Community


Vermont Department of Health COVID-19 Information Page.

COVID-Vaccine Clinics 


VT Digger Coronavirus Report: CLICK HERE

Mt. Ascutney Hospital Open for Walk-Ins M-F 1-5 PM
Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center is now offering walk-in service on weekday afternoons for people ages 2 and older, according to a news release.

The visits are available for urgent, but non-emergency medical needs Monday through Friday from 1 to 5 p.m. Patients can check in at the hospital’s central registration, through the main entrance.

Some of the conditions appropriate for care through walk-in services are minor cuts and burns; urinary tract infections; strains and sprains; minor fractures; rashes; and ear, sinus and eye infections. In addition, X-ray and lab services are available on-site.

A nurse will be on hand to determine if a patient’s condition calls for transfer to the emergency department.


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Nancy Nutile-McMenemy is an Upper Valley freelance photographer and writer who loves paddle, hike, attend concerts and local events in and around Weathersfield and the Upper Valley.

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