Cavendish Update 3/13/15 SB Mtg/News/Events
/3/13/15 EDITION OF THE CAVENDISH UPDATE
1. Cavendish Select Board Meeting 3/9/15
2. Cavendish Related News
3. Memoirs of Philip Tiemann: Chapter 2/1930s Washday
4. On-line Fundraising: How to Avoid Being Scammed
5. Cavendish Calendar Looking for Sponsors
6. Fish Friendly – A Talk About the Black River
7. Events
1. CAVENDISH SELECT BOARD MEETING 3/9/15 : Select board (SB) meetings are recorded by LPC-TV and are available at their website and on Comcast Television. Written minutes are available at the town’s website. Actions taken at Monday night’s meeting included:
• Selectmen’s Organizational Meeting
• Adopted the use of the term “select board” as opposed to “selectmen,” since there are now two women on the board.
• Approved liquor licenses
• Approved the use of the village greens for the 5th Annual Town Wide Tag Sale
• Agreed to have a representative from Comcast attend the April meeting to discuss expansion into areas of Cavendish with limited Internet access. Also agreed to invite Matt Dunne from Google.
• Approved an application for Cavendish to be part of the third round of Solarize Upper Valley, a project of Vital Communities,
In addition, landscaping/planting designs were presented for 601 Main street, which will increase parking for CTES from 20 to 31 spaces, and for Greven Field. For a report on this meeting, see The Dish.
2. CAVENDISH RELATED NEWS
Use of Controversial License Plate Scanners Rising Among Vermont Police: Vermont law enforcement officers expanded their use of Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) systems in 2014, according to a new report. Police more than doubled the number of searches of the statewide license plate database in criminal investigations. The license plate readers, which are mounted on police cars, capture images of vehicles as they go by and identify the license plate number individually, simultaneously recording the time and place where the photo was taken. The plate number is then checked against a statewide “hot list” populated with vehicles wanted in relation to criminal cases, missing persons investigations or even a lapsed registration. The data – including time and location – is also stored. Each time a license plate reader snaps a photo it’s uploaded to the statewide database and held for 18 months. Note: Ludlow Police Department is one of the police departments that are using the License Plate Scanners. VPR
Lawmakers Scrutinize Flow of Military Gear to VT Police: Since 1999, the Department of Defense has distributed more than $5 billion worth of surplus military equipment to police agencies across the country. Some of it has ended up in the Green Mountains. The bulk of the gear is pretty routine, and includes stuff like fuel filters, furniture, generators or clothing. But sniper rifles, Humvees and even armored vehicles are also flowing into Vermont police arsenals. VPR
Plan to Cut VT State Jobs: The governor wants the union to reopen its contract, but leaders are not budging. The governor says if he cannot cut pay, his only option is to cut hundreds of jobs. Faced with a $112 million budget hole, the governor's right-hand man says they'll need to slash 150 to 325 positions to save $10.8 million. WCAX
3. MEMOIRS OF PHILIP TIEMANN: CHAPTER 2/1930s WASHDAY: A joint effort of Cavendish Connects and the Cavendish Historical Society (CHS), Chapter 2 of the Philip Tiemann’s Memoirs of moving to Windy Hill (Brook Rd) in 1933 has been posted to the CHS Blog. Settling into rural life, while Tiemann is learning how to farm, his wife is having to adjust to a home without electricity. CHS provides a description of what laundry day was like for women of the era following Chapter 2. To read the prelude and other chapters of Tiemann’s Memoirs go to Coming to Vermont (Cavendish): Memoirs of Philip Tiemann.
4. ON-LINE FUNDRAISING: AVOID BEING SCAMMED: While we've recently seen two segments of our community (Moniers family and the GMUHS/BRHS French students) helped through on-line fundraising, we've also learned of a scam pertaining to the death of Frank Silfies, who was known locally to many in the fire, rescue and crisis community. To help users understand how to avoid scams and make sure that those who need it get it, the following post On-line Fundraising: How to Avoid Being Scammed is available at The Dish.
5. CAVENDISH CALENDAR LOOKING FOR SPONSORS: The Cavendish Community and Conservation Association produces a calendar each year that celebrates some aspect of life in Cavendish. Community members take pictures and the twelve best are selected to grace the pages. The calendars sell to the community in time for the holidays each year. The 2016 calendar will be in production this summer and the organization is looking for sponsors. Sponsors can be businesses, or individuals can sponsor a page in honor of a group, an organization or a special person.
The 2016 calendar will be the eleventh annual calendar. “Each year we begin to sell the calendars around the greater Cavendish area in November, but need sponsors to sign up in the spring,” said Robin Timko, President of the Cavendish Community and Conservation Association. “We always have room for more sponsors. The money raised helps us produce a number of programs and events, including our nature talks and summer concerts.”
Sponsorship is $120 for a month or $65 for a shared month. Sponsors name and logo are prominently shown on the page. To sponsor a month, or for more information about the CCCA organization, please call Robin at 226-7736.
6. FISH FRIENDLY-A TALK ABOUT THE BLACK RIVER: The Cavendish Community and Conservation Association will hold another great lecture in their Walk and Talk Series of nature and conservation presentations on Wednesday, March 25th at 6:00 p.m. when Kelly Stettner of the Black River Action Team and Kenneth Cox, a fisheries biologist with the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife will present an evening of interesting information about Cavendish’s great natural resource, the Black River. The Black River Action Team has worked to achieve and maintain a thriving river eco-system since 2007. The Fish and Wildlife Fisheries Division is responsible for conserving and managing all fish and fish habitats throughout Vermont. Vermont's fisheries biologists are engaged in a wide variety of activities to ensure Vermont's valuable fisheries resources are sustained and enhanced through time. Kelly and Kenneth will discuss efforts to monitor the health of fish and their habitat in the Cavendish portion of the river.
The Walk and Talk Series consists of lectures and demonstrations aimed at presenting various aspects of our natural world in a learning environment. All talks center the topic in Vermont and as much as possible in Cavendish. Past events focused on raptors, amphibians, large game, bees, songbirds and many other topics of general interest. When the weather is good the instructor may meet in an appropriate outdoor setting as well, although the March 25th presentation will remain indoors.
The presentation of “Fish Friendly – A Talk About the Black River” will occur at the Cavendish town office meeting room on High Street in Cavendish. This is a free event although donations to defray costs are always welcome. For more information about this event, or about other upcoming Walk and Talk events, please call Robin Timko at 226-7736.
7. EVENTS: For information about upcoming events, go to the Cavendish Connects Calendar. For events in the area, see the Okemo Valley Calendar.