Weathersfield Weekly Blog March 11 edition

Ah, Mud Season. 
And March snows




Mark Your Calendars

School Vote Tuesday, April 2,
10 a.m.-7 p.m.
Martin Memorial Hall
Informational Meeting
March 30, 10 a.m. at the School

Revised Budget

School Warning


Meet the School Candidates (on the ballot)-in their own words

CLICK HERE for their responses

School Director Candidates postponed until April 2
Deborah Richardson-1 year

Mark Yuengling-1 year

Sara A. Steele-3 year


Upcoming Events

PTO Comedy Show This Saturday

March 16, Common Man Claremont, NH


18+ COMEDY FUNDRAISER
March 16, 2024, Common Man Claremont, NH
Doors open at 6pm. Light snacks and cash bar!
ORDER TICKETS: https://weathersfieldptocomedy.cheddarup.com



PTO March Madness is Back


You can purchase your calendar anytime up to March 31!!!
$10/each! Unlimited available to purchase. When you purchase a calendars, you are purchasing chances to win, not an actual calendar. Purchaser's names will be added to a master list, and we use RANDOM.ORG to select winners each day in March.
More info: PTO on Facebook
Email the PTO: WSPTO@wsesu.net 


Town Challenge March 23

Do you have your Town Challenge team together yet? The annual town-wide trivia challenge is just two weeks away. 

Which team will have bragging rights for a year as the most knowledgeable group in town and have their name engraved on THE plaque?

Hosted Weathersfield Proctor Library Board of Trustees at the Weathersfield School in Ascutney beginning at 7 p.m. More info. call 802-674-2863.


Weathersfield Proctor Library hosts Annual Easter Egg Hunt March 30, 

needs Candy and Egg Stuffers, March 23







Theatre and Shows

Little Women, The Musical
Yoh Theatre Players
Yoh Theatre, Woodstock Middle and High School
Woodstock, VT 

I've read the book (a few times), seen pretty much all the big-screen versions, but this is the first time I've seen Little Women performed as a musical. And the Yoh Theatre Players did a fantastic job performing it.

The March sisters: Amy-Tula Klock, Jo-Kamron Yuengling, Beth-Luca Morris, and Meg-Lylah Zeitlin.

The musical is based on Louisa May Alcott's semi-autobiographical two-volume novel, it focuses on the four March sisters— traditional Meg, wild, aspiring writer Jo, timid Beth and romantic Amy,— and their beloved Marmee, at home in Concord, Massachusetts, while their father is away serving as a Union Army chaplain during the Civil War.

The book by Allan Knee, lyrics by Mindi Dickstein, and music by Jason Howland makes for a delightful adaption.

Jo was portrayed by Weathersfield's own, Kam Yuengling (second from left above and second from right below).


Neighbor Laurie (Finn Farrell), center, becomes honorary March sister.



Getting ready for the ball.


Another story rejection for Jo.

Jo shares her story with the Professor, a story that included, hags, trolls, knights, and sword fights.


The full cast at curtain call.


More photos: CLICK HERE

Next up for YOH: The Women of Lockerbie
By Deborah Brevoort
Friday, May 3rd, 7pm
Saturday, May 4th, 7pm

“A mother from New Jersey roams the hills of Lockerbie, Scotland, looking for her son’s remains that were lost in the crash of Pan Am 103. She meets the women of Lockerbie, who are fighting the U.S. government to obtain the clothing of the victims found in the plane’s wreckage. The women, determined to convert an act of hatred into an act of love, want to wash the clothes of the dead and return them to the victim’s families. THE WOMEN OF LOCKERBIE is loosely inspired by a true story, although the characters and situations in the play are purely fictional. Written in the structure of a Greek tragedy, it is a poetic drama about the triumph of love over hate.” – Dramatist Play Services



Capitol Fools

The Capitol Fools hit the Lebanon Opera House stage Saturday night for a raucous evening of political humor. They poked fun at just about every big name politician in Washington D.C.

Including: Joe Biden



Trump and Rudy

Marjorie Taylor Green

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas


And Climate Activists Bob Dylan, Greta Thunberg, Neil deGrasse Tyson and John Kerry

More photos: CLICK HERE

I overheard more than one person say as they were leaving "My face hurts from laughing so much!" It was pretty dang funny.

Next up for LOH: Red Baraat Festival of Colors on March 16, ticket info see below.


News You Can Use

ICYMI (In case You Missed It)
Town/School/Regional News

Town Meeting March 5 Vote Results







Vermonters reject nearly 1 in 3 school budgets on Town Meeting Day

Twenty-nine of 93 reported budgets were voted down, according to data from the Vermont Superintendents Association.
By Ethan WeinsteinVoters struck down close to a third of school budgets across Vermont on Tuesday, the highest proportion in at least a decade, according to the Vermont Superintendents Association.

Twenty-nine of 93 reported budgets were rejected, according to unofficial results collected by the association. Four districts still hadn’t reported as of early Wednesday afternoon, and 22 have votes still to come.

Last year, only two budgets were rejected on Town Meeting Day.

Leading up to Tuesday, voters had expressed dismay at the anticipated increase in education property taxes, projected to rise by an average of 19%, due in part to a proposed increase of more than $200 million in school spending.

READ MORE


Stripping back local control of school budgets? Phil Scott says it is on the table.

The governor told reporters on Thursday that he voted against his local school budget and suggested Vermont’s education funding system “might have reached its life expectancy.”
By Ethan Weinstein

Gov. Phil Scott thinks it might be time to wrest some school spending control away from the local level.

“That’s not going to be popular. My just saying that probably isn’t popular, but I think it has to be on the table,” Scott said at his weekly press conference on Thursday.

Scott’s suggestion came after Vermont voters as of Thursday rejected 30 school budgets on Town Meeting Day in the face of average projected education tax increases of 19%. The proportion of defeats — almost a third of the 95 budgets reporting results this week — is the highest rate of no-votes in at least a decade, according to the Vermont Superintendents Association.

A Berlin resident, Scott said he voted “no” on his local budget, the Washington Central Unified Union School District, which was among those shot down.

Prior to this week’s budget rejections, education spending in Vermont was projected to increase by about $230 million, or 13.5% year over year. Health care costs, construction, special education, disappearing federal money and increased salaries are all contributing significantly, according to state data.

READ MORE


‘I want to make a change’: Milton hazing survivor advocates for change to sexual assault laws

Vermont lawmakers are considering a change to state civil laws that allow judges and juries to rest partial blame for sexual assault on the survivor.
By Sarah Mearhoff

When Zac Blondin sat in Vermont courtrooms from 2014 to 2021, the cameras were always pointed at the back of his head.

His identity was shielded through the numerous criminal and civil cases and appeals that progressed through Vermont’s courts — his face never on camera, and his name substituted for a pseudonym in court filings.

But last month in the Vermont Statehouse, Blondin for the first time faced the cameras as a childhood survivor of sexual assault.

“I want to make a change, and I don’t care if I have to put my face out there to do it,” Blondin told a panel of legislators last month.

The change he’s trying to make is to a Vermont law that allows judges and juries to rest partial blame for a sexual assault on the survivor in civil court.

It’s called the comparative negligence standard. In a civil case where a plaintiff is suing a defendant for damages and an admission of liability, the defendant can argue that the plaintiff had partial responsibility — comparative negligence — that led to their predicament. So long as that comparative negligence is calculated by a judge or jury to be 50% or less at fault for the incident, a defendant can still be found liable.

But if a plaintiff is found to have partial responsibility, that percentage of liability they are determined to share — calculated subjectively — equals the percentage deducted from their settlement.

Read More


Former WES custodian and Weathersfield resident, charged with vandalism against co-worker.

Woodstock Police have charged a former Woodstock Elementary School custodian, Matthew Snide (50) of Weathersfield, with three counts of Unlawful Mischief or vandalism. The vandalism was allegedly committed against a teacher at the school in January.

 According to a release, the school reported a series of incidents to the police and Woodstock Officer Sanuj Arora conducted an investigation and determined that there was  probable cause that Snide urinated in three pairs of boots belonging to a WES teacher. 

Snide had been ordered to appear at Vermont Superior Court-Windsor Criminal Division on April 9 t answer to the charges.


Warmest winter on record: Several Vermont communities hit new highs

According to data from the National Weather Service, Burlington, St. Johnsbury and Woodstock all had their warmest winters on record.
By Habib Sabet

Ordinarily, Matt Trombley takes his first customers out on the ice around Christmastime. This year, though, he didn’t lead his first Rutland County ice-fishing trip until February.

“I had people calling left and right in January,” Trombley said. “I told them we don’t have any ice — in the middle of January — and they were like, ‘Excuse me?’”

Trombley runs the Vergennes-based guide service 3rd Alarm Charters, which he said does most of its business during the warmer months but has led ice fishing trips in the region for years.

With warming winters and increasingly unreliable and unsafe ice conditions, however, Trombley said that guiding during ice-fishing season is no longer worth it. In the past two years, he said, 3rd Alarm Charters has done less than 25% of its normal winter business.

“It has been steadily tougher,” Trombley said. “To be honest with you this is probably our last year doing it.”

The paltry ice conditions this year have been a result of what has been the warmest meteorological winter on record for large swaths of Vermont, a striking example of rising temperatures across the globe due to climate change.

According to data from the National Weather Service, the Burlington area just concluded its warmest winter since at least the 1886-1887 season, when recording for the area first began.

Across the three months that comprise the meteorological winter — December, January, and February — Burlington saw a record-high average temperature of 30.7 degrees this season, shattering the previous record of 30.1 degrees. Burlington also saw its highest recorded minimum temperature of 3 degrees, making this one of only a handful of winters on record that Burlington didn’t see temperatures at or below zero.

Burlington wasn’t the only area that set records this season. According to NWS data, St. Johnsbury and Woodstock both notched new high average winter temperatures. Montpelier and Bennington, meanwhile, each had their second-warmest seasons on record.

READ MORE


Joe Biden approves disaster declaration for Vermont’s December flooding

Municipalities in seven counties now qualify for 75% federal reimbursement to cover costs associated with flood recovery.
By Sophia Keshmiri

President Joe Biden on Monday approved Vermont’s request for federal disaster assistance for seven Vermont counties following major flooding in December, according to Gov. Phil Scott’s office.

Municipalities in Essex, Lamoille, Orange, Orleans, Rutland, Windham and Windsor counties now qualify for federal reimbursement of 75% of the costs associated with flood recovery — such as debris removal, road and public building repairs, staff overtime, and contractor assistance.

State and federal assessors found at least $1.9 million in storm-eligible costs during a preliminary survey in December, though the final number is expected to increase, according to a press release issued by Scott’s office.

“I appreciate the Federal government’s quick response to the flooding disasters we’ve faced over the last several months,” Scott said in a written statement. “Between the July, August and December flooding, we have a long road ahead and my team will continue to do all we can to help with recovery, and support mitigation that will better secure communities in the future.”

Last month, Scott requested disaster assistance for the Dec. 18-19 floods, marking his third major disaster declaration request for 2023. According to Vermont Emergency Management Director Eric Forand, three such requests in a year is unusual.

READ MORE


Town Volunteer Vacancies

The Town of Weathersfield is seeking volunteers to appoint to various available positions. The application can be found at this link
Alternatively, you can contact Susanne Terrill at weathersfield@weathersfield.org to obtain a copy via email, or stop by the Town Office at 5259 US Route 5, Ascutney, VT 05030 to obtain a paper copy.

The following positions are vacant: 
Animal Control Officer – 1 Vacancy
Budget Committee – 7 Vacancies
Connecticut River Joint Commission Representative – 1 Vacancy
Conservation Commission – 1 Vacancy
Energy Coordinator – 1 Vacancy
Board of Listers – 2 Vacancies
Fence Viewers – 3 Vacancies
Green Up Coordinator – 1 Vacancy
Health Officer – 1 Vacancy (Current Health Officer not Seeking reappointment but will continue to serve until the position is filled).
MMH Board of Trustees – 3 Vacancies
Parks and Recreation Commission – 7 Vacancies
Planning Commission – 2 Vacancies
Mount Ascutney Regional Commission – 1 Vacancy
Southern Windsor County Transportation Committee Rep – 1 Vacancy
Southern Windsor/Windham Counties Solid Waste Mgmt. District Rep – 1 Vacancy
Surveyor of Wood and Lumber – 1 Vacancy
Veterans Memorial Committee
Weigher of Coal
Tree Warden – 1 Vacancy
Zoning Board of Adjustment – 5 Vacancies, 2 alternates


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  and Term as listed on the town website
Mike Todd Chair 2024

Rika Henderson Member 2026

Kelly O'Brien Clerk 2025

Nathan McNaughton Member 2024

David Fuller Member 2025


Select Board Meets 1st and 3rd Mondays of the Month 6:30 p.m.
Public Hearing March 18-(Airstrips) Memo Notice
March 18

*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 meetingMeeting 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: March 8

Save the Dates
March 12th Board Meeting 6:30 PM
March 15th P.R.I.D.E. Assembly
March 15th Early Release Day for Students
March 25th-29th Student Led Conferences
March 28th Early Release Day for Students
March 29th No School for Students

March 30th School Budget Meeting at 10:00 AM
April 2nd VTCAP testing Starts
April 5th Kindergarten Registration
April 5th No School for Kindergarten Students
April 8th-12th Spring Break
April 26th and 27th Beauty and the Beast Jr. at Weathersfield


Kindergarten Registration, April 5
Kindergarten Registration/Screening for the 2024-2025 School Year will take place on Friday, April 5, 2024. If your child will be 5 years old on or before September 1, 2024, it is time to enroll them at Weathersfield! Please call the school (802) 674-5400 to schedule an appointment for this year’s screening. We look forward to hearing from you.

No School for Kindergarten Students on April5th


Upcoming State Testing Dates for Students in Grades 3-8
State testing begins April 2nd. Testing starts each day testing at 8:15 in the morning and students will test primarily in the morning. 
Please try to schedule any appointments or other activities around the testing dates, because it is important and easier for the students if they are here. 
If you have any questions about testing, please feel free to reach out.

VTCAP Testing Dates:

5th and 8th Grade Science-April 2-3
April 4 Make-ups

3rd-8th Grade Math-April 16-18
April 19 Make-ups

3rd-8th Grade ELA-April 23-25
April 26 Make-Up

Make-Up Week-April 29-May 3

Spring Sport Registrations are OPEN


Baseball (K-2 T-ball/coed) (3rd-8th): https://weathersfield-athletics.sportngin.com/register/form/628479970

Coaches application: https://weathersfield-athletics.sportngin.com/register/form/299461426


Meeting Agendas may be found HERE
March 12

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

School Board Meetings Minutes
February 13
January 9

Windsor Southeast Supervisory Union



Weathersfield Proctor Library
Route 5 (5181 US-5 Ascutney VT 05030)

Weathersfield Proctor Library Seed Catalogue




WPL Drop in Scrabble Mondays at 1 p.m.

Please call Maureen Bogosian for details
@ 603-252-0936




Total Solar Eclipse April 8, 2024



Eclipse Events around Vermont


April 8, 2024 Vermont’s location within the path of totality makes it an ideal place to take in the wonder and spectacle of this natural event.

The last time Vermont had a “front row seat” for a total solar eclipse was in 1932, when it was hailed as a “grand celestial spectacle.”
Time to start planning, sign up for solar eclipse updates by email.


Weathersfield Proctor Library, Reading Public Library and Southern Vermont Astronomy Group to Host Eclipse viewing.

The Weathersfield Proctor Library, in a joint effort with the Reading Public Library and the Southern Vermont Astronomy Group (SoVerA) has been awarded a nearly $5,000 grant for the purchase of a solar telescope.

The funding was part of an effort by the American Astronomy Society to provide opportunities for people to observe the upcoming solar eclipse, which will occur on April 8, 2024 and which will pass through parts of Vermont and adjacent New York state.

152 grant applications were submitted to the Jay M. Pasachoff Solar Eclipse Mini-Grants Program, of which 35 received grant funding. The joint Weathersfield Proctor and Reading Library and SoVerA proposal was among the top 35, and was awarded 100% of the requested amount of the grant.

With the grant, the groups will purchase a solar telescope with hydrogen-alpha filter, a tripod and motorized mount, and assorted eyepieces. The total cost of these items is $4,819.96. The grants were awarded to coincide with the upcoming eclipse, but the equipment will be used by the libraries and SoVerA for many years to come.

The telescope is equipped with a motorized tracking mount which will find the sun and then track it as it passes through the sky.

The reason this equipment is so costly compared to shade 14 welders’ glass or cardboard and mylar viewing glasses, is that it has a very specific and costly filter which permits only a very narrow portion of the visible spectrum to pass through. This results in a very clear view orange of the textured surface of the sun and the spectacular coronal flares around the perimeter of the sun. The less expensive equipment protects the viewer’s eyes, but only affords a dull, more or less black and white view peppered with black dots of sunspots and no coronal flares.

The telescope will be set up on Hoisington Field in Perkinsville, VT on the afternoon of April 8, 2024, to observe the eclipse, which will begin at 2:14 p.m. The eclipse will be at its darkest around 3:26 pm. The total eclipse will only last about three minutes, and the sun will be fully visible by 4:37 pm.

As with every visible spectrum telescope-related event since Galileo first aimed his device upward, this one will be dependent on cooperation from the weather.

You are invited to join us at Hoisington Field in Perkinsville, VT. If you have solar viewing glasses, bring them with you. A limited number will be available at the event.



What is a Solar Eclipse?
Rick Bates, guest contributor

A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves in front of the sun from our point of view, blocking the light of the Sun and casting a shadow over a part of the surface of the Earth. If we are directly in that shadow, we experience a total eclipse. If we are nearby but not completely in the Moon's shadow, we experience a partial eclipse.

There are two types of total eclipse, depending on the distance that the Moon is from the Earth when it passes in front of the Sun. The Moon's orbit of the Earth is slightly elliptical, and thus at its closest, the Moon is 225,623 miles away, and at its furthest is 252,008 miles away. We notice this when we experience a "Super Moon" when the Moon is close to us and, particularly when it is at or near the horizon, looks much bigger than usual. A normal solar eclipse occurs when the Moon is near enough to us that it covers the entire disk of the Sun. If the Moon is more distant, it does not cover the entire surface of the Sun, and there is an outer band of the Sun's perimeter still visible. This is called an annular eclipse. You probably won't be surprised to learn that an annular eclipse is also known as a Ring of Fire.

Total Eclipse, as will be visible in northern Vermont Partial Eclipse, as will be visible in Weathersfield.

Eclipses in History

Although there is no historical record of any significant event in Weathersfield connected to solar eclipses, the 1932 annular eclipse did generate considerable media and scientific interest throughout Vermont. An article in the August 19, 1932 edition of the Vermont Phoenix discussed some of the questions posed by the scientific community: "It would be of great interest for physiologists to know whether the regular supply of milk and eggs was in any way upset by the eclipse. There are many cattle and chicken farms throughout the area where the eclipse is total and reports by farmers would be much appreciated by the society and would provide material for studies which may eventually prove helpful to the farmers themselves."

Elsewhere there have been eclipses which are of historical interest. As early as 1302 BCE, Chinese observers recorded a total eclipse which blocked the Sun for nearly six and a half minutes, and in 763 BCE a total eclipse darkened Assyria (now Iraq) for five minutes. Both of these events caused superstitious reactions; the eclipse in China was propitiated by the Emperor performing rituals and eating vegetarian meals; the Assyrian eclipse was mentioned in early records in connection with an insurrection in the city of Ashur.

Eclipses in 29 CE and in 33 CE in Jerusalem have been cited by various Christian historians as explaining the New Testament assertion that the sky darkened when Jesus was crucified. The 29 CE eclipse had a period of totality of just under two minutes, and the one in 33 CE lasted just over four minutes.

The Koran mentions an eclipse preceding the birth of Mohammed, and some religious historians point to a three minute and 17 second total eclipse in 569 CE as signaling that event. And on January 27, 632 CE, the day when Mohammed's 18 month old son Ibrahim died, a partial eclipse occurred. Muhammed himself, however, is said to have stated that the Sun does not eclipse to signal human events.


The son of William the Conqueror, King Henry the First of England died in 1133 CE, and on that day there was a total eclipse which lasted slightly over four and a half minutes. Historian William of Malmesbury (1080-1143) wrote of the event that “hideous darkness agitated the hearts of men.”

Setting aside these attempts of non-scientific ancients to make human sense of the movements of the cosmos, the 1919 eclipse is of historical and scientific importance. Four years earlier, Albert Einstein had published his Theory of General Relativity, which was received with some skepticism by much of the scientific community. One of its assertions was that the gravity of massive objects like the Sun curves space time in their vicinity, and this curvature must affect the trajectory of light as it passes near.

An eclipse, by darkening the daytime sky, would allow for observation and photography of stars in the area surrounding the Sun. By then observing and photographing the same stars in the night sky, any effect of the Sun on the apparent position of the stars could be observed and measured. Expeditions sponsored jointly by the Greenwich and Cambridge Observatories were mounted to Sobral, Brazil and to the island of Principe off the coast of Africa, and when the results of the observing and photography were studied and analyzed, Einstein's predicted degree of curvature of the path of light was confirmed and he became an overnight celebrity.

How to Observe the Upcoming Eclipse

Even at 90% obscured, the Sun will not be safe to look at directly, and ordinary sunglasses do not provide nearly enough protection.

With eclipse glasses, which are inexpensive and available from a variety of online sources, you will be able to observe the Sun directly during the entire two and half hours that it will take for the Moon to pass in front of the Sun. Get the ones with black polymer lenses; glasses made from mylar are not recommended, as they can be scratched and even a tiny pinhole can allow a dangerous amount of light through.

Welding glasses of shade #14 are safe. Anything less than #14 is not safe.

You should hold your glasses up to a bright light source and check them for any light leakage. If they are compromised, do not use them. Cut them up and put them in the trash.

One trick which some observers use when they are experiencing a total eclipse is to wear an eyepatch over their dominant eye for twenty minutes or so before totality, so that when the Sun is hidden and the stars emerge, they will be light-adapted and able to see more of the stars in the sky.

The safest way to observe an eclipse is by indirect viewing, which is both easy and fun.

With a thumbtack poke a hole in the center of a piece of paper or cardboard, and hold another sheet of cardboard or paper below it. Position the papers so that sunlight passes through the hole and onto the lower surface. And if you poke two holes, you can project two images. Or get a colander and project dozens of images at a time. You can also stand under a tree and look down at hundreds of images of the eclipse on the ground as light passes through the spaces between the tree's leaves.

Where to Observe the Upcoming Eclipse

The April 8th eclipse will be the last eclipse in the United States until 2045. So, it's worth thinking about whether or not you should travel a couple hours to see the eclipse in its totality. Those who have experienced a total eclipse often use terms like "awe-inspiring" and "life-changing" to describe those two or three minutes in which day will become night, birds will fall silent, and the stars will come out.

If you do opt for the total eclipse, consider that you will not be the only car on the road. In fact, it might be wise to think of the eclipse as being like foliage season, if the colors only lasted for a couple hours and only occurred in two or three counties.

Once you decide to head north, there are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of good viewing sites. A ball field, a parking lot, the green in a small town, any public open space will do, any public open space will do; just make sure there will be no light pollution during the minutes of darkness.

If you decide to stay here, where we will see a 92 or 93% eclipse, viewing should be very easy. Most of us can probably find a place on our own deck or front lawn which will work fine. All that is needed is a clear view to the south and west.

If you want to experience the eclipse with friends and neighbors, you are invited to come to Hoisington Field. We have reserved the field from 1 to 5 pm, but the actual eclipse will begin at about 2:15, and will end a little after 4:30. This is a joint event of The Weathersfield Proctor Library, the Reading Public Library, and the Southern Vermont Astronomy Group (SoVerA). There will be at least two telescopes equipped with solar filters for safe viewing, and there will be a limited number of free solar viewing glasses available. As I write, a new solar telescope is on its way to Weathersfield. This is the result of a nearly $5,000 grant awarded by the American Astronomical Society. For the technically inclined, the scope is a Coronado 70 SolarMax III Solar Telescope with a SolarQuest tripod and motorized alt-azimuth mount. The filter is an H-alpha filter, which will allow for clear views of the granular surface of the Sun including sunspots, and also the solar prominences which radiate visibly outward at the perimeter of the Sun’s disk.

Here's a fun fact: despite being 93 million miles away, the Sun is so large that the distance from us to the closest part of the equator of the Sun is so much greater than the distance from us to the outer edges of the sun, that we have to change the focus of our viewing telescopes when we go from the center to the edge of the Sun.

And wherever you choose to view the eclipse, bring a folding chair and remember to dress warmly, including your warmest boots. Staying outdoors in April is a cold business, and you will want to be able to enjoy yourself while you do it.


Roderick Bates is a member of the Weathersfield Historical Society, a Trustee of the Weathersfield Proctor Library, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Southern Vermont Astronomy Group. He lives with his wife Lynda Tallarico on Chimney Ridge, where he edits the poetry journal Rat's Ass Review.

Sources:
Burlington Free Press: "A look back at Vermont's solar eclipse history, and a look ahead to the next total eclipse" by Ella Ruehsen June 11, 2021

Space.com: "The 7 Most Famous Solar Eclipses in History" by Tia Ghose, November 13, 2012

Brittanica.com: "9 Celestial Omens" by Erik Gregersen


Airandspace.si.edu: "The Death of a King, End to a War, and the Solar Eclipse" May 12, 2017, by Zachary Hullings, The Smithsonian Institute The Royal Society Journal of the History of Science: "The 1919 eclipse results that verified general relativity and their later detractors: a story re-told" by Gerard Gilmore and Gudrun Tausch-Pebody, October 21, 2021


Weathersfield Historical Society
Follow them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/weathersfieldhistoricalsociety



Weathersfield Garden Club
March 19 at 6 p.m.

The Weathersfield Garden Club meets on the 3rd Tuesday of the month at The Weathersfield Proctor Library from 6-8 p.m. 
New members and guests are always welcome.  
Any questions? please email weathersfieldgardenclub@gmail.com


Weathersfield Center Church and Meeting House
Follow them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WeathersfieldCenterChurch


Weathersfield Parks and Recreation
Follow them on their Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61550836741096







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


Lebanon Opera House

LOH is Back, Baby!

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

Red Barat-Festival of Colors, March 16, 2024 TICKETS

Comedian Bob Marley, March 23, 2024 TICKETS

Shrek (movie), March 30 10 a.m. TICKETS FREE but you need to register

The String Queens, April 4, 2024 at 10 a.m.  TICKETS (YES-Youth Education Series)

Tom Papa: Good Stuff Tour, April 5 TICKETS

Paula Poundstone Saturday, April 6 TICKETS

Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, April 8 TICKETS

Fly Fishing Film Tour, April 11 at 7 p.m. TICKETS

Pride Second Chance Prom, April 13, 6 p.m. TICKETS

Singing in the Rain (movie), April 18 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. TICKETS FREE but you need to register

Kinky Boots (movie), May 9 7 p.m. TICKETS FREE but you need to register

Tommy Emmanuel, CGP , May 14 TICKETS

Zach Nugent's Dead Set, June 7 TICKETS

LOH on Location: Pride Picnic, June 14 6-8:30 p.m.  Learn More




Summerfest 2024

Enjoy performances of the highest quality each summer at Blow-Me-Down Farm, a beautiful, outdoor setting on the banks of the Connecticut River in Cornish, NH.

Opera North is an American opera company based in Lebanon, New Hampshire, and is the region’s oldest professional opera company. The company presents an annual summer season of three fully staged and orchestrated productions ranging from classical and contemporary opera to musical theater.

Summerfest 2024 Subscriptions-TICKETS

Summerfest 2024 productions include:
Orpheus in the Underworld
Thursday, July 11 at 7pm
Friday, July 12 at 7pm
Sunday, July 14 at 5pm

Rigoletto
Sunday, July 21 at 5pm
Wednesday, July 24 at 7pm
Saturday, July 27 at 5pm

Thursday, August 1 at 7pm
Friday, August 2 at 7pm
Saturday, August 3 at 5pm
Sunday, August 4 at 5pm



Jordan TW Trio March 16, 8 p.m. TICKETS

Jesse Agan -The Music of Queen March 23, 7 :30 p.m. TICKETS

Satisfaction – International Rolling Stones Tribute May 18,  8 p.m. TICKETS


Yoga 

Yoga

Whole Roasted Tro

Within Reach Yoga 

at the 1879 Schoolhouse in Perkinsville

You must Register for each class at least a day ahead by emailing Lisa

Tues. Mornings 
March 12, 19, 26  at 9-10am ~REGISTER NOW~

Tues. Evening Candlelit
March 12, 19, 26 at 5:30-6:30pm ~REGISTER NOW~

Class Fee: Buy the whole morning or evening session for $40 to guarantee your spot for the month. Or, drop in (space available and registration required) for $12 per class.

Please arrive to class between 5-10 minutes early. Earlier than that, and you may find the door locked while Lisa is prepping our space. 

If you've prepaid for a spot but can't make it, please let Lisa know since someone may be on the waitlist. 

And if you want to try to switch from the morning to evening class or vice versa, please ask Lisa if there's room so she can try to accommodate you.

Follow-Within Reach Yoga facebook page, website



The Eye of Senator Patrick Leahy:

Photographs of a Witness to History

Photo Exhibit Feb. 1-March 29


On February 1 (4:30 pm to 7:00 pm), Senator Leahy and his wife, Marcelle, are expected to appear at the opening reception for The Eye of Senator Patrick Leahy: Photographs of a Witness to History, the first art exhibition at the Vermont Supreme Court Gallery since the July 2023 flood. 

The Eye of Senator Patrick Leahy is an extraordinary collection of his photographs that showcases the unusual access and unique perspective enjoyed by Vermont’s beloved longtime senator—with images captured throughout his career at the center of the nation’s political spotlight. 
The exhibition will be on view from February 1 to March 29, 2024.

A second reception will be held at the gallery on Friday, February 2, 2024 from 4:30 to 7:00 pm in conjunction with Montpelier’s Art Walk. 

The Vermont Supreme Court Gallery is located at 111 State Street, Montpelier, Vermont.

More photos from Leahy's exhibit at the Brattleboro Museum &Art Center in 2014: CLICK HERE



Volunteers in Action (ViA) is seeking volunteers

Volunteers in Action (ViA), a neighbor helping neighbor organization, is seeking immediate volunteer support for two Meals on Wheels routes in Windsor. Details:
  • Open shifts available Monday through Friday, help when you have time
  •  Roughly 2-hour commitment (10am – Noon) on volunteer days
  • Individual training available upon sign-up
  • Minimal driving, low mileage routes.
  • There are additional needs in Weathersfield as well, if people are interested.
For more information: Call (802) 674-5971 Email via@mahhc.org
Melanie P. Sheehan, MPH
Director of Community Health





Local trails to explore: CLICK HERE

Also Hiking Close to Home: CLICK HERE


Workshops Online

Visit Our Local Restaurants

The Copper Fox 56 Main St., Ste. 1 Springfield, VT 05156 (802) 885-1031
Dinner 5:00pm - 9:00pm  Sunday Hours 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Wednesday through Sunday (Closed Monday and Tuesday)

Daily Grind Café 
Call ahead for take out (802) 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 Reopened January 11
Route 5 in Ascutney
Monday-Saturday 6 a.m.-2 p.m.

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

Inn at Weathersfield (802) 263-9217 
Dine inside or outside Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, call for a reservation 802-263-9217. 1342 VT Route 106 Perkinsville, VT 05151

Maybelline's (802) 591-4311
12 Clinton Street, Springfield, VT Open for breakfast and lunch, daily except Sundays.

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.

Sundaez-CLOSED Monday and Tuesday;  Open Wed. & Thurs 3-7 p.m.; Fri, Sat Sun noon-7 p.m.
West Pleasant St Claremont, NH 03743 and have winter hours:

Villagers Ice Cream Restaurant-(802) 795-0063 Reopens April 27th at 11 a.m.!!
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

Weathersfield Food Shelf in Perkinsville.
The food shelf is open 2:00 pm-4:00 pm on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of each month. 
 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.


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.

Scan this QR Code to see all the latest  photos in my Galleries



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