Cavendish SB Meeting Agenda 10/17/16

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The Cavendish Select Board's October meeting will be on Monday, Oct. 17, 6:30 pm at the Cavendish Town Office. The agenda will be as follows:

1. Call the meeting to order

2. Continue public hearing on the adoption of the Cavendish Flood Hazard Area Regulations (FHAR) update. The draft of the FHARs update were reviewed by the Board of Selectmen with the Chair of the Cavendish Planning Commission on May 23rd and with John Broker-Campbell, Flood Plain Manager for Southern Vermont, on June 28th and were also discussed at Select Board meetings on October 13th & November 9th, 2015 and May 9th, June 13th & July 11th, 2016. The Public Hearing was initiated on August 15th, continued on September 12, 2016 and recessed until October 17th. Representatives from the Cavendish Planning Commission and Vermont Floodplain Management (ANR) are anticipated to be in attendance to help field questions.

3. Review/approve minutes of the meetings of September 12th, 14th and 26th, 2016

4. Sign Orders

5. Review Correspondence

6. Adjust agenda

7. Hear Citizens

8. Update on the VTrans railroad bank stabilization project on Cavendish Gulf Road [Vtrans Cavendish RREW12K] which is nearing completion

9. Consider Errors & Omissions request from Listers to modify the 2016 grand list entry for parcel #2R08-067

10. Summary of the status activities to close out the conveyance of town parcel #1R06-059 on Heald Road (former tax sale property) and review of the related financials

11. Status report on the hiring of a new town manager and discuss requirements for agendas and minutes for the executive session meetings involved in the Town Manager hiring process.

12. Review of changes to proposed Policy on Objects Placed in the Town Highway Right-of-way and consider for approval

13. Follow-up on Town Employee Health Insurance Policy as discussed at the February 8th, 2016 meeting

14. Updates on other town activities

15. Other business

16. Adjourn

Cavendish Update 10/14/16 Burglary/Pumpkin Contest/News

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 10/14/16 Cavendish Update

1. Cavendish Related News

2. Cavendish 1st Annual Pumpkin Carving Contest

3. Cavendish Community Fund Accepting Applications for Fall 2016 Grants

4. Looking to Start or Expand Your Local Business

5. Pork Roast Supper at the Cavendish Baptist Church

  6. Discussion on Transportation Issues - October 20th

7. Events

 

1. CAVENDISH RELATED NEWS

Burglary Cavendish Town Garage: On Oct. 13 (Thursday), it was discovered that someone had broken into the Cavendish Town Garage taking various pieces of equipment. The press release from the VT State Police has yet to be issued, but will be posted to both the Cavendish Facebook page and the Cavendish Connects blog. Anyone with information is asked to contact the VT State Police in Westminster at 802-722-4600.

 Twenty Mile Stream Crash: On 10/10/16 at approximately 1324 hours the State Police received a report of a single vehicle crash on Twenty Mile Stream Rd, in the Town of Cavendish. The operator, Joseph Murphy III, of Sandy Hook, CT, was located by another motorist staggering in the road. The Samaritan provided Murphy a ride to his (Murphy's) nearby residence. Ludlow Rescue was called to respond. Murphy was transported to Springfield Hospital for evaluation. During my investigation of the crash and interview of Murphy, he displayed signs of impairment. Murphy was processed for DUI at Springfield Hospital, cited and released. VT State Police Press Release

Cavendish Gulf Road Weekly Construction Update 10/13/2016: The contractor will line the roadway ditch along the stabilized slope with stone and the shoulder material adjacent to it will be replaced. The contractor will also replace the final three railroad ties and place ballast material to the top of the shotcrete slope. The closure period will end today, October 14th, and all project work will be complete by October 28th. Flushing the existing culvert is planned for October 24th.  If you have any questions regarding this project, call 802-324-5522.

Stephen Plunkard Hired as Executive Director for Springfield on the Move: Cavendish resident Stephen Plunkard, and former partner of The Cavendish Partnership, has been named as the new Executive Director of Springfield on the Move. Eagle Times 

Big Buzz in Cavendish: The Big Buzz Chainsaw Carving Festival was back for its seventh year with 16 chainsaw-carving experts arriving on Columbus Day weekend with chainsaws, Dremel tools, propane tanks, spray paint and loads of creativity. This year the event was set up outside the Vermont Fresh Pasta building on Route 103. VT Journal 

 New IRS Scam: The email comes complete with a fake IRS CP 2000 form and claims the income reported on your tax return does not match the income reported by your employer. It is purposely designed to get you worried, so that you stop thinking and just react. To confuse you even further, the bad guys claim this has something to do with the Affordable Care Act. Remember, the IRS will never initiate contact with you to collect overdue taxes by an email or text message. If you do receive any emails, text messages, or even live phone calls about this, do not respond. You can always just hang up the phone. If you are concerned that the contact is legitimate, please don’t hesitate to call the IRS at 1-800-366-4484 to confirm it is a scam.

When GMP Doesn’t Follow Regulations Customers Pay: A Vermont Public Radio (VPR) investigation shows that Green Mountain Power (GMP) has perennially failed to prove to regulators that GMP officials did their due diligence before and during projects. As a result, it’s hard for regulators and the public to know if GMP’s investments benefit customers, even though regulations say customers should only have to pay for investments that provide them with a real value. Green Mountain Power is regulated using “Alternative Regulation,” a model that allows for more frequent regulatory reviews of utility spending than traditional regulation does. Critics of the system say it lacks transparency, and allows GMP to collect money it wouldn’t be entitled to under the state’s normal regulatory regime. VPR 

 

2. CAVENDISH 1ST ANNUAL PUMPKIN CARVING CONTEST: Sharpen up your tools as the 1st Annual Cavendish Pumpkin Carving Contest takes place on Oct. 30 (Sunday). The rules are simple: carve a pumpkin and drop it off by 5pm at Jill’s Place (Cavendish General Store)  1990 Main Street Cavendish on the 30th.  Please include a flameless tea light candle. You do not have to be present to win.

Prizes will be awarded (along with bragging rights) for the following age categories 5-11; 12-17; 18+; and family/team. Public “vote for your favorite” takes place from 5-6 pm. Even if you don’t want to carve a pumpkin, come by and vote for your favorites.

For more information, stop by Jill’s Place 1990 Main St (Rt. 131) in Cavendish. Any last minute changes will be posted to the Cavendish VT Facebook  page and to Jill’s Place Facebook page. 

 

3. CAVENDISH COMMUNITY FUND ACCPTING APPLICATIONS: The Cavendish Community Fund has announced that it is now accepting grant applications for fall 2016 awards. The deadline for applying is November 28, 2016. Applications are available at the CCCA website “Community Fund” and include instructions on how and where to apply.

Projects, programs or events must directly benefit the Cavendish community in some way. A panel of local citizens reviews all applications and recommends grant awards based on the quality and feasibility of each proposal. Grants are not expected to exceed $1,000 each and will depend primarily on the number of applications received and the amounts requested.

For further information on applying, on eligibility, on any other aspect of the grant program, or for help completing the application, please call Peter LaBelle at 226-7250 or Barbara Dickey at 226-7187.

 

4. LOOKING TO START OR EXAND YOUR LOCAL BUSINESS: While the Cavendish Connects website offers lots of resources to help those who are self-employed or who have a small business, there are some additional resources to check out:

• Small Biz Survival: The small town and rural business resource that covers topics for the various stages your business might be in.

• Free Talk: Big Ideas for Small Town Business Success:  Sponsored by the Orton Foundation. On Oct 20, from 3-4 pm panelists, who have owned businesses, worked with entrepreneurs, and helped make their downtowns vibrant, share the secrets of their success. 

Be sure to check out the Cavendish Connects Business Directory.  To have additions and corrections made to the Directory, please e-mail cavendishconnects@gmail.com

 

5. PORK ROAST SUPPER AT THE CAVENDISH BAPTIST CHURCH: On Saturday, Oct. 22, from 5:30-7:00 pm, the Cavendish Baptist Church’s Helping Hands Class will be holding their annual Pork Roast Fall Supper. The menu will include: Pork roast, gravy, applesauce, mashed potatoes, butternut squash, coleslaw, pickles, rolls, homemade pies, decaf coffee, tea, cider or punch. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for children 6-12 and under 6 are free. Take out meals are also available. FMI: 802-226-7131

 

6. DISCUSSION ON TRANSPORTATION ISSUES-OCT. 20: The Southern Windsor County Regional Planning Commission is sponsoring a forum on transportation issues in the region with officials from VTrans on Thursday, October 20, 2016 at 4pm NewsBank Conference Center, 352 Main St, Chester. All are welcome! This is a great opportunity for our Towns, local residents, and businesses. Bring your questions, concerns and issues. What do you think about the paving project near you? Do you have concerns about a particular bridge? Would you like to see more sidewalks and multi-use paths in the Region? Do you feel safe as a pedestrian or cyclist on local roads and sidewalks? Do you have enough access to transit? 

 

7. EVENTS

OCTOBER 17 (Monday): Cavendish Select Board Meeting

OCTOBER 20 (Thursday): Forum on Transportation

OCTOBER 22 (Saturday): Roast Pork Supper at Cavendish Baptist Church

For information on upcoming events, go to the Cavendish Connects Calendar. For area events, check the Okemo Valley Chamber of Commerce calendar. 

 

 

Cavendish Update 10/7/16 News/Columbus/Events

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IF YOU COUNT ON CAVENDISH CONNECTS TO KEEP YOU INFORMED, WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO COUNT ON YOU.

                                          SUPPORT CAVENDISH CONNECTS

 

Follow Cavendish VT Facebook Page for up to date information.

 10/7/16 Cavendish Update

1. Cavendish Related News

2. Columbus Day/Cavendish Anniversary and the 1st People of Cavendish

3. Events

 

1. CAVENDISH RELATED NEWS

CHS October Briefs: The Cavendish Historical Society’s October “CHS Briefs” is available at the CHS blog. 

 McClellan Honored for Article Pertaining to Cavendish Water: John McClellan, vice president of Tighe & Bond, received the 2016 Past Presidents’ Award from the New England Water Works Assoc. (NEWWA). The award is presented to members of the association who authored the second-most-meritorious paper that appeared in the Journal of the New England Water Works Association during the previous year. McClellan was presented with this award for his article, “Biological Iron and Manganese Treatment: Five Years of Operating Experience in Cavendish, VT,” published December 2015. Business West 

Cavendish RREW12K Weekly Construction Update - 10/6/2016: The contractor has begun installing the final 4 soil nails. Shotcrete was to be applied on Oct 6 and should be completed on Oct. 7. The railroad ties and ballast are 80% complete and will be fully complete by next week. The roadway stone line ditch will be complete by the end of next week and the stone culvert will be flushed. The closure period will end on or near October 14th, and all project work will be complete by October 28th.  The project is located on Cavendish Gulf Road near Green Mountain Railroad Corporation milepost 21.059. The project work extends 100 feet along the railway embankment and Cavendish Gulf Road in Cavendish, VT.  FMI: 802-324-5522.

Indian Police Bust IRS Scam Center: Police in India have arrested 70 people on suspicion of posing as IRS agents to steal cash from U.S. citizens. Authorities in the western Indian city of Thane said they were investigating another 630 people suspected of being involved in the extortion scam. Workers at nine call centers allegedly impersonated IRS agents during calls to the U.S., according to local police commissioner Param Bir Singh. The victims were told they owed back taxes and would risk arrest if they hung up. Many people in Cavendish were targeted by this scam. CNN 

 

2. COLUMBUS DAY/CAVENDISH ANNIVERSARY & THE 1ST PEOPLE: Columbus Day has been celebrated on the second Monday of October for the last 82 years. Like many towns, Cavendish’s town office and schools will be closed.  However, there is a growing movement to abolish the holiday, replacing it with“Indigenous People’s Day,” thereby acknowledging and celebrating the millions of people who were already living in the Americas when Christopher Columbus arrived in the Caribbean islands (Bahamas) on Oct. 12, 1492. While Columbus made four trips to the “new world,” exploring the Caribbean Islands, the Gulf of Mexico and the South and Central American main land, he never set foot on North America.

Who were the first peoples of Cavendish and where did they come from? What is known is that more than 11,000 years ago, after the ice age ended and the glaciers started receding, Paleo-Indian were in the Okemo Valley (Jackson Gore). Located between Lake Champlain (at one time the Sea of Champlain) and the Connecticut River, Cavendish was part of the Indian road that connected these two points. Archeological evidence indicates that there may have been an Archaic Indian village in Cavendish-dating back about 5,000 years. Learn more about Vermont’s First People.

For a long time it was believed that the first Americans came across the Bering Strait land bridge from Asia approximately 15,000 years ago using an “ice-free corridor.” However, two new studies refute that. In July, the journal Nature published Postglacial Viability and Colonization in North America’s Ice-Free Corridor, which shows that the corridor was incapable of sustaining human life until about 12,600 years ago. A second study, “Bison Phylogeography Constrains Dispersal and Viability of the Ice Free Corridor in Western Canada,” published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, estimates it closer to 13,000 years ago. Either way, the Americas were already settled by the time the land bridge would have been accessible for crossing. In fact, there is new evidence that there was human occupation in Florida 14,550 years ago. (Science Mag)

So how were the Americas populated? One theory is that the Indians migrated in boats down along the Pacific coast about 15,000 years ago. Regardless of DNA and archeological findings, what is clear is that Columbus did not “discover America.”

Interestingly, 269 years after Columbus landed in the Caribbean, on October 12, 1761 the charter for Cavendish was issued by New Hampshire and signed by King George III. While Cavendish celebrates its 255th birthday this year, keep in mind that this land has been occupied for thousands of years and that our “first people” were not the Coffeens.

 

3. EVENTS

OCTOBER 7 (Friday): Last Farmer’s Market 4-6:30 pm, Main St. Ludlow

 OCTOBER 9 (Sunday): Cavendish: Creepy, Eerie and Haunting Ghost Stories, Cavendish Historical Society Museum, (1958 Main St.) 2-4 pm

OCTOBER 10 (Monday): Columbus Day town office and schools closed.

OCTOBER 11 (Tuesday): Cavendish Select Board Monthly Meeting.

For information on upcoming events, go to the Cavendish Connects Calendar. For area events, check the Okemo Valley Chamber of Commerce calendar.