By Lani Duke
updated
Wed, Feb 29, 2012 04:31 PM
New eatery serves Thai cuisine
BOMMOSEEN-A new eatery is dishing up Thai food to go at lunch time,
Monday through Friday on Route 30, Lake Bomoseen. The proprietor, a
Thai lady named Kae, also teaches Thai cooking. Classes are by
appointment.
BYWAY RECEIVING INFO PANELS
Route 30 from Manchester to Castleton is to receive a series of
seven informational panels that touch on each location's
background. Funded by a Federal Highway Administration grant, the
panels include information from local historical societies and
residents, and were designed by Heidi Humphrey of Dot Four in
Shaftsbury.
Locations: Green Mountain Plaza in Manchester, the Fish and
Wildlife pull-off at Rupert, the Williams Store in Dorset, the post
office in Pawlet, the town green in Wells, the Visitor Center
in Poultney, and near Crystal Beach in Castleton.
The panels, mounted on donated marble and slate slabs, delineate
the Stone Valley Byway. The byway has its own website where
travelers will be able to download 21 podcasts about the byway and
the region. Another grant may pay for a feasibility study that
would add bike paths and picnic tables along the byway plus a
mobile application.
CASTLETON OPENS POLL CENTER
CASTLETON-Richard Clark, new Castleton political science associate
prof, has opened the one-man Castleton Polling Institute. A
compilation of answers taken in his first poll are due out before
Town Meeting Day. Vermonters have given him their opinions on a
variety of topics.
The increasing number of households that have forsaken landline
telephone service forces pollsters to use alternative methods to
gather information, not only a 16-station phone center but also the
web, mail, and other forms of data collection to develop reliable
results, Clark notes. A well-designed poll minimizes error. Voters
may use poorly gathered information as they decide what positions
to take; professional pollsters using well-designed collecting
tools can provide highly representative answers. Obtaining accurate
assessments of public opinion is invaluable to policy makers and
media, as well as the voting public.
Clark plans to seek private clients as well as conduct political
polls. Private work will pay for itself, but the political polls
will function more to enhance the college's image in the eyes of
the general public than as a money-maker for the school. A good
poll makes headlines across the nation, Clark explains.
Poultney High news
POULTNEY-Poultney High School is planning its fifth annual Earth
Day celebration, on Tuesday, April 24, 2:30-5 p.m. in collaboration
with Green Mountain College. This year's theme is "The Faces of Our
Community," looking at the variety of sustainable activities that
locals take part in which are not often recognized as supporting
the environment, for example, gardening, forestry, fishing,
hunting, recycling and composting. To reserve a free display space,
participate in planning the event, or create a project for it, call
Jose Galvez, 287-9628.
Student Kim Rupe has been selling purple carnations to benefit the
Rutland Women's Shelter and is working on their campaigns as an
intern. She has also sold beads to save puppies.
Catch up to parents of this year's seniors. They are selling 50/50
raffle tickets to benefit Project Graduation.
Congratulations on the success of this year's Coffee House.
Students told stories on drums, put on a magic show, presented
videos, read poetry, played other musical instruments, performed
skits, and danced for their pleased audience.
CRITTER CARE AWARD
WEST PAWLET-Animal Welfare Approved recently gave Consider Bardwell
Farm of West Pawlet a $5,000 Good Husbandry grant. The grant focus
this year was mobile livestock housing; the farm intends to use its
award in its plan for mobile housing for pastured baby goats.
The farm produces award-winning artisan cheeses from both goats'
and cows' milk. It maintains a herd of 100 Oberhasli dairy
goats.
LOW SNOW A MIXED BLESSING ON THE FARM
Local farmers report that it feels good not having to shovel tons
of snow this winter, and they have been able to get outdoor work
done that couldn't be completed during normal growing season. Not
having the white blanket lying over the ground means the frost
penetrates the ground deeper than normal, killing many insect pests
and diseases that might overwinter otherwise.
But crops that usually survive the winter well have been exposed to
wind and cold. This dries them out and can be fatal. Some crops
won't be ready at the farm markets as early as they might
otherwise.
Carruthers to retire
CASTLETON-Castleton's director of Career Development Judith
Carruthers retires in July. She plans to continue illustrating
children's books, teach English as a second langue (she recently
received her ESL credential ) and spend time with her
grandchildren.
NEW FOOD SERVICE
CASTLETON-Castleton State College is changing food service vendors
with the start of summer courses. Sodexo takes over in a contract
that also includes Johnson, Lyndon and Vermont Technical College.
Scott Dikeman, dean of Administration, said the choice came from
both financial and qualitative reasons; other factors were a
commitment to sourcing local products, using sustainable practices,
and furnishing complete nutritional information.
In addition to changing vendors, Castleton is making $1.2 million
improvements at Huden Dining Hall over the next year and a half,
and also upgrading Fireside Café and Coffee Cottage.
The college anticipates that most former Aramark employees at the
school will smoothly transfer over to the Sodexo team.
GMC GRANT FOR COMMERCIAL KITCHEN
The Windham Foundation recently gave Green Mountain College a
$10,000 grant to buy new food processing equipment for the Solar
Harvest Center's commercial kitchen. The newly purchased small
appliances and tools enable use by farmers, producers and community
groups, previously unavailable elsewhere in Rutland County.
The
grant provides for commercial-quality pots and pans, sheet trays,
high quality knives, cutting boards, bowls, mixers, food processing
equipment, scales and a cryovac machine. Before the kitchen at
Green Mountain was complete, the nearest commercial kitchen
available for rent was over state lines in Salem, NY.
New York state laws are more restrictive, and, after all, items
processed across the state line lose some of their Vermont cachet,
let alone the ability to claim unique Vermont product status.
Using a commercial kitchen allows small-scale producers to exceed
the $10,000 gross annual income limit on food products processed
outside a commercially-certified kitchen, regulated by the Vermont
Department of Health.
TOWN MEETING/ELECTIONS vary
The communities of the Lakes Region each have developed their own
local activities that accompany their annual town meetings.
Tinmouth holds an old-fashioned town meeting at noon on Saturday,
March 3, with a pot luck lunch, and a performance by the Tinmouth
Bell Ringers. The Tinmouth Community Fund holds its annual meeting
and presents 2012 grant awards before what might be considered the
"real" business begins. The select board holds its annual
informational meeting at 2:30 p.m. to talk about the articles on
which residents will vote the following Tuesday.
A significant number hold one or two informational meetings, one
for the school district, and another for the discussion of town
issues, before the day in which residents vote.
Benson is using electronic technology to facilitate its town
meeting. Voters are encouraged to email their questions to the
select board, and board members will try to answer them before the
town informational meeting.
Poultney's town manager government places it a little outside the
fray of town meetings. Its town meeting is the first Monday and
Tuesday of May; voters question candidates and discuss budget and
ballot proposals on the Monday, followed by voting the succeeding
day.
LANI'S PICKS
Sunday, March 4-Dr. Alan Betts speaks on Climate Change and Vermont
as a segment of the Science Pub series at Lakehouse Pub &
Grill. 4-6 p.m. Call 273-3000.
Thursday, March 8-Castleton State College presents Taking Root: The
Vision of Wangari Maatthai with filmmaker Lisa Merton, 6:30 p.m.,
1787 Room. Call 468-1119 for your free (required) tickets.
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lakes region, Lakes Region News
