Welcome to "The Dish", the blog of Cavendish Connects, a community web site for the town of Cavendish, Vermont.
The Dish features a round-up of local happenings and events in Cavendish, Vermont.
Have something noteworthy to share? Contact us at cavendishconnects@gmail.com; we would love to hear from you.
Several homeowners have reported either stolen gas cans or evidence that they have recently been tampered with. The two parts of town were it has been reported include Main St., Proctorsville and the Knapp Pond area. If you keep gas cans, you may want to check them and store them in a safe place.
After posting this noticed, learned of another home on Main St. Cavendish where a roll of transfer station tickets were stolen.
Today’s Cavendish Update is made possible by contributions from the Cavendish Green Mountain Snow Fleas and Bill Hallowell. Thank you for your support
10/23/15 Cavendish Update Contains:
1. Preliminary Results of the Speed Test Survey
2. Cavendish Related News
3. Cavendish Halloween: Good Bye Haunted House Hello Haunted Trail
4. Archer Mayor Helps Launch 1st Cavendish Book Jam
5. BRGNS To Hold Annual Stick Season Social Fundraiser
6. Events
1. PRELIMINARY RESULTS OF THE SPEED TEST SURVEY
The Cavendish Speed Test Survey ended Monday night. Of the 56 respondents 30 (54%) were TDS subscribers, 10 (18%) Comcast, 9 (16%) VTel and 7 (12%) listed “other.”
With the exception of Comcast, Internet service speeds are below Vermont’s Broadband standard of 4/1 Mbgs and the FCC’s January 1, 2015 standard of 25/3 Mbgs.
• TDS 2.96/0.44
• VTel 2.80/1.23
• Other 1.36/0.47
• Comcast 20.16/6.12
When combining all speed tests, regardless of provider, the town’s median average speed was 3.4/0.47 Mbgs. However, given that Comcast’s median speed far exceeded any other Internet provider, the town’s median speed, excluding Comcast, is closer to 2.56/0.46 Mbgs. There was little difference in speeds between morning and evening.
It is important to note that three respondents posted speeds of 0/0. All were located on Tarbell Hill and reflected the lack of service in that area.
In terms of impediments to service, 25 respondents (45%) reported Daily problems, while 17 (30%) had Weekly issues. Monthly and Rarely impediments were experienced respectively by seven (12%) respondents apiece. Excluding Comcast, Daily impediments were experienced by 50%; Weekly 28%; Monthly 13% and Rarely 9% of the time. The provider with the fewest amounts of impediments was Comcast, with 3 (30%) selecting Rarely.
Seventy percent of respondents with children had problems daily, compared to 28.6% for respondents without children.
The final results of the survey will be forwarded to the Vermont Division of Telecommunications and Connectivity as documentation that Cavendish is underserved for Internet and should be eligible for Connectivity funding.
2. CAVENDISH RELATED NEWS
Proctorsville Burglary: Gas can, half full, stolen from Proctorsville garage on Main Street in the last week or so. Homeowners just discovered that it was gone.
Former 2nd Grade Vera Davis Dies: It is with sadness that we post the passing of Vera Davis, who taught at CTES for many years. Graveside services will be held on Friday, Oct. 23 at 11 am in Pleasant View Cemetery Ludlow. For more information, please see her obituary.
GMP Scam Calls: Customers are receiving calls from people pretending to be GMP, threatening disconnection and demanding instant payment. GMP never calls demanding instant payment. If you receive such a call and want to talk about your account, hang up and call 888-835-4672. Do not give credit card info to scammers!
VT and Cavendish NECAP Science Test Results: Vermont students performed at about the same level in science in 2015 as they did in 2014 and achievement gaps continued to grow, according to results from the New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP). Last year, 44% of fourth grade students met or exceeded the state science expectations –CTES students tested above the state average with 61% proficiency- 30% partially proficient and 7% below proficiency- and this year, 46% achieved the same standard. Grade 8 saw a slight decline from 25% met or surpassing standards last year to 24% this year. GMUHS 8th graders tested well below the state average with only 11% testing proficient, 47% partially proficient and 18% substantially below proficient For Grade 11, there was a slight increase in the state from 30% to 32%. GMUHS 11th graders tested slightly above the state average with 33% proficient, 47% partially proficient and 18% substantially below proficient. No CTES or GMUHS student for any grade achieved “proficient with distinction.” Press Release
Scouting Salute to Veterans: On November 7 (Saturday), Ludlow VT will host the 17th Annual Scouting Salute to Veterans Parade at 11 am. Veterans, area fire departments, police and rescue squads will participate in the event. It is anticipated that there will be 1,000 participants including antique rolling stock, 40th Army band, marching bands, fire trucks and more. The event is sponsored by the Green Mountain Council Boy Scouts of America facilitated by American Legion Post 36, Ludlow. FMI: 802-228-9807, nedbow56@yahoo.com, http://www.alpost36vt.com
3. GOOD BYE HAUNTED HOUSE HELLO HAUNTED TRAIL
For many years, children and parents alike were thrilled (and scared) by the Golden Stage Inn’s Haunted House, which began when the Greggs purchased the Inn back at literally “the turn of the century.” The current owners have kept the tradition alive until this year, when the props and other items, some dating back to the “haunted hallway,” are being turned over for the start of a new Cavendish tradition-“What Lies Behind the Green Monster?: A Haunted Walk at Greven Field.”
Sponsored by the Cavendish Rec Department & Goodman’s American Pie, the haunted walk at Greven Field will take place from 6-9 pm on Halloween, Oct. 31. The Goodman’s pizza truck- Pizza Helping People- is going to be there. Are you?
A special thank you to current Golden Stage Inn owners Julie and Michael, and to the originators of the “haunted inn,” Sandy and Peter Gregg, for many years of wonderful Halloween memories.
A second new tradition is being started this Halloween with the “Trunk or Treating” at the Cavendish Elementary School parking lot from 5-7 pm. Adults can bring their car, decorate the trunk with a theme and hand out candy for the Trick-or-Treaters! Come in costume, collect candy and vote for the best decorated trunk. For more information about this event contact Amanda 226-8113.
4. ARCHER MAYOR HELPS LAUNCH 1ST CAVENDISH BOOK JAM
The first Cavendish Book Jam will take place on Saturday November 7th at the Cavendish Fletcher Community Library in Proctorsville. The doors open at 12.30pm and the author talks will start at 1pm. The afternoon will feature three Vermont writers talking about their books and their writing processes.
Kathryn Bonnez is a retired English as a Second Language Teacher and incurable explorer whose first book, A Lone Star in the Green Mountains, allowed her to combine three of her passions: history, traveling, and writing. Originally from Texas, she has lived mostly in the Northeastern United States as well as many years in France. She has lived and has a house in Chester, VT.
Archer Mayor is a death investigator for Vermont’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, a detective for the Windham County Sheriff’s Office, the publisher of his own backlist, a travel writer for AAA, and he travels the Northeast giving speeches and conducting workshops. He has 25 years of experience as a volunteer firefighter/EMT. Mayor was brought up in the US, Canada and France and had been employed as a scholarly editor, a researcher for TIME-LIFE Books, a political advance-man, a theater photographer, a newspaper writer/editor, a lab technician for Paris-Match Magazine in Paris, France, and a medical illustrator. In addition to writing novels and occasional articles, Mayor gives talks and workshops all around the country, including the Bread Loaf Young Writers conference in Middlebury, Vermont, and the Colby College seminar on forensic sciences in Waterville, Maine. Mayor's latest Joe Gunther mystery, The Company She Kept, released earlier this Fall.
Brian Staveley is the author of The Emperor’s Blades, the epic fantasy trilogy, Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne from Tor Books. The first two books, The Emperor's Blades and The Providence of Fire have already been published, while the final volume of the series, The Last Mortal Bond, will come out in 2016. Staveley has taught literature, religion, history, and philosophy, all subjects that influence his novels, and holds an MA in Creative Writing from Boston University. He works as an editor for Antilever Press, and has published poetry and essays, both in print and on-line. He lives in Vermont with his wife and young son, and divides his time between running trails, splitting wood, writing, and baby-wrangling.
The first Cavendish Book Jam will take place at 1pm on Saturday November 7th at the Cavendish Fletcher Community Library at 573 Main Street Proctorsville, VT. There is no charge for this event.
5. BRGNS STICK SEASON SOCIAL FUNDRAISER
Black River Good Neighbor Services is holding its sixth annual Stick Season Social at Sam’s Steakhouse on Saturday, November 7th starting at 6:00 p.m. “Stick Season is that time between the fall leaves and the winter snow. There are no free concerts and not much to do, so it’s a great time to party,” said Peter LaBelle, President of BRGNS. “This is a fun fund raising dinner and it is our major fund raiser of the year. It will help BRGNS with operating costs so it can continue to help local people in need of food, rent, utilities and heat assistance.”
This year BRGNS welcomes Imerys Talc Vermont, Four Seasons Sothebys International Realty, and Vermont Properties and Development as major sponsors of the event.
In addition to dinner, the evening will include a cash bar, a terrific silent auction, and lots of raffle items and door prizes. Sam’s has planned a full buffet including its signature salad bar and a variety of entrées and desserts.
The event includes a wide variety of items in a silent auction, a raffle and door prizes, all of which are donated by the community.
Tickets are $55 per person, including dinner, gratuities and tax and can be purchased at BRGNS Thrift Store, Peoples United Bank, the Book Nook, and The Wine & Cheese Depot, all located in Ludlow. Or, and this is the really easy way to buy, you may purchase tickets on line at www.brgn.org. Please call 802-228-3663 with any questions.
Tickets must be purchased in advance and seating is limited. BRGNS is a Section 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
6. EVENTS
Upcoming events for Cavendish include:
• Oct 24 (Saturday): 2nd Annual Yogi Run
• Oct 25 (Sunday): Raise the Roof Concert, 4 pm, Gethsemane Church, featuring Lissa Schneckenburgher
• Oct 31 (Saturday): Happy Halloween! Trunk or Treating, CTES Parking Lot, 5-7 pm and What Lies Behind the Green Monster: A Haunted Walk at Greven Field.”
For more information on this and other events, go to the Cavendish Connects October Calendar. For regional events, check out the Okemo Valley Chamber of Commerce Calendar.
If you haven’t taken the Cavendish Connects Internet Speed Test Survey please do so as the survey ends on Oct. 19 (Monday).
10//16/15 Cavendish Update Contains
1. Select Board Meeting 10/13/15
2. Cavendish Related News
3. Report on East Rd Beaver Pond-Boat Outing Oct. 18
4. Events
1. SELECT BOARD MEETING 10/13
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. Tuesday night’s meeting included an update on the activities of the Cavendish Telecommunications Committee; the Planning Commission’s current draft of the Flood Hazard Regulations; pending changes in E-waste recycling and the SB’s approval to close out the Flood Relief Account ($500) and move it to the Cavendish Family Fund. For a more in-depth report, go to The Dish.
2. CAVENDISH RELATED NEWS
• Cavendish Culinary Winners: Congratulations to1st Place Winner of the Singleton's Soup Cook Off-Madeline Harper-a CTES alum and daughter of 4th grade teacher Jenn Harper. Her soup was Broccoli Cheddar. Congratulations are also in order to Chef Alphonsus Harris of the Castle Hill Resort who took home the People’s Choice First Place Award at the 25th Annual Ludlow Rotary Club Chili Cook-off
• For Cavendish Poultry Owners: The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food, and Markets is encouraging poultry owners, producers and enthusiasts to prepare for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), which is expected to impact the East Coast in the fall of this year or spring of 2016. Go to The Dish for more information and ways to prepare.
• 2nd Annual Yogi Run/Walk Fest: The Second Annual Yogi Run/Walk Fest will be held on Saturday, Oct. 24 at GMUHS in Chester. The 10K race will begin at 9 a.m. The 5K will start at 10:30 a.m., with both taking place on the running/walking trails at the school. The 1 Mile Fun Run will start at 11:30 a.m. and will be held on the GMUHS track. Former Proctorsville resident Roger ‘Yogi’ McNamara was a Guidance Counselor at the River Valley Technical Center in Springfield for 30 years and coached high school Cross Country Running for decades. All race registration costs and donations are used to support area schools and organizations including the Cavendish Recreation Department, Ludlow Ambulance Service and the Cavendish and Proctorsville Volunteer Fire Departments. The 10 K Pre-Race registration is $20 in advance, and $25 on race day. Participants 18 and under run for free. The 5 K and Fun Run are free or by donation. For pre-race registration, go to https://g2racereg.webconnex.com/yogisrun2015. FMI: Michael McNamara at (802) 226-7850.
• Income Inequality Grows With Age: A Tale of Two Seniors: This Oct. 12 article in the New York Times features Susan McNeely of Proctorsville.
• Vermont’s On-line Voter Registration is Now Available: Vermonters can register to vote from the comfort of their own homes. Secretary of State Jim Condos says the new online voter registration system will improve access to democracy, and will also make elections less vulnerable to fraud. VPR
• Test Your Well: The Vermont Department of Health wants more homeowners to get their water tested. The state says an estimated 40 percent of Vermont households drink water from private wells or springs, but only 5 percent of those sources have been tested for contaminants, like arsenic and uranium. The health department has test kits available for sale and a new grant will help vulnerable populations pay for the testing. The grant will also allow the state to start a database to identify geographic areas where water supplies are more likely to be contaminated. FMI: Dept. of Health’s Safe water Resource Guide.
• Got Leaves? Learn what you can do with them other than raking and taking to the transfer station. What to Do With Fall Leaves.
• Vermonters are Using Less Gas/Study to Reassess Gas Tax: Vermonters are driving fewer miles and using less gasoline, and the resulting decrease in gas tax revenue is draining transportation funding. As a result gasoline tax revenue decreasing by about a sixth over the last decade. Environmental groups, business interests and state agencies will convene in upcoming weeks to come up with a list of possible tax alternatives. Those alternatives could include increases in “an array of fees,” such as higher vehicle inspection fees, tire fees, lease taxes and heavy vehicle registration fees. Some form of carbon tax will also make the list of possible gas tax alternatives. VT Digger
3. REPORT ON EAST RD BEAVER POND: BOAT OUTING 10/18
From Pieter van Schaik:
Last week I finally acquired two flat bottomed aluminum row boats and took a boat out on the beaver pond yesterday with a smalI group. It was a bit of a hassle wending our way from the shore through the felled trees in the pond but in 1/2 hour we were cruising in open water.
Much of the beaver pond is covered with lily pads and they do make rowing more strenuous even with just three people in the boat. For this reason I have acquired two boats so that a small group of up to six people can be accommodated at any one time. Each boat has seating capacity for six people but that is too much weight for a leisurely outing on the beaver pond. Eventually we encountered a second species of lily pad and hundreds of salamanders .Years ago I saw two otters in the great blue heron rookery area but I have not been on the water enough to learn what fish, if any, are present.
My plan is to construct a small structure near the boat launch site for storage of oars and life jackets secured with a combination padlock with the same combination for that lock as for the locks securing the boats to trees with 3/8 chain. Each club member will be given the combination and will be able to access the beaver pond waters any time at their convenience. How workable this plan will prove to be remains to be seen.
The site I have finally selected for boat launch is a channel excavated by the beavers themselves located just 75 ft over flat terrain from the parking area under the Velco transmission line off East Rd. west of Caton Place camp ground. People are free to access the pond with their own boats with no motors and life jackets . Boating is restricted to post bird nesting season, which until further notice is set to begin on August 15.
Sunday ,Oct 18 from 9 AM -3 pm , if it is not raining, the two row boats and a canoe will be available on a pre registration basis by calling me, prior to Sat Oct 17 at 5 PM, and leaving a message with return phone number at 226 -7374.
This event is free and open to the general public.
In August Pieter conducted a tour of his nature preserve, including beaver pond. To see pictures of the preserve and the pond, go to The Dish.
4. EVENTS
Upcoming events for Cavendish include:
• Oct 18 (Sunday): Boat outing on Beaver Pond.
For more information on this and other events, go to the Cavendish Connects October Calendar. For regional events, check out the Okemo Valley Chamber of Commerce Calendar.
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. Monday night’s meeting included:
• Telecommunications Committee Report: In September, the Committee met with Comcast and the state’s Division of Telecommunications and Connectivity. The state now recognizes that there are underserved areas in Cavendish, that aren’t having their needs met by VTel. In order for the town to eventually meet the state’s current and projected broadband speeds, Comcast is probably the best option. As part of documenting the situation in Cavendish, so that the town qualifies for state connectivity funding, a survey is currently underway. It ends on Monday, Oct. 19. The handout given to the SB regarding these meetings is available in PDF format.
• Cavendish Flood Hazard Regulations (FHR): Etienne Ting, chair of the Cavendish Planning Commission, presented the SB with the Commission’s adopted changes to the current FHR. Board members received copies of the document and it was agreed this would need to be carefully read and discussed at subsequent meetings before there would be a public hearing and final adoption of the plan.
• Connecting 57 Depot Street to Municipal Waste Water System: The SB voted to have the Planning commission review this request and advise accordingly.
• Final Disbursement of Cavendish Flood Relief Fund: In order to close out the account, the SB approved that the remaining funds, $500, be put in the Cavendish Family Fund account.
• E-Waste: Vermont's e-waste law, passed in 2011, made it illegal to dispose of electronics in the landfill, and established a system where the state bills manufacturers for collection and recycling of their products. To that end the Cavendish Transfer station uses the old recycling building for E-waste. Still up for discussion, but basically on-hold until spring, is the replacement of the building with a pre fab structure.
The town has recently learned that NCER (National Center for Electronics Recycling), the contractor who handles Vermont’s E-Cycles program wants to amend their contract by no longer reimbursing 5¢ per pound for e-waste This change is a direct result of a significant drop in the commodity price of glass, plastic, metals and circuit boards. Each of these commodities are about ½ of what they were 12 months ago. It remains to be seen how the town will deal with this change.
