Cavendish Update 1/13/12 SB Mtg/News/Events

Information can also be posted on the Cavendish VT Facebook Page.

This issue of the Cavendish Update is made possible by the Cavendish Community and Conservation Association (CCCA), a non-profit membership organization that is dedicated to the conservation of land and natural resources and to the preservation of historic sites within the context of sustainable economic growth. FMI: PO Box 605, Cavendish VT 05142 or 802-226-7736

The 1/13/12 Cavendish Update Contains
1. Cavendish Select board Meeting 1/9/12
2. Cavendish Related News
3. Cavendish Town Elementary School Board Minutes
4. Third Annual Mardi Gras to Benefit CCCA
5. Cavendish Historical Society Annual Meeting Feb. 12
6. Marx Brothers Kick off Cavendish Film Series
7. Cavendish Calendar 1/13-1/20

1. Cavendish Select board Meeting 1/9/12
At Monday night’s Select Board meeting, the following items were discussed:

A. Cavendish Irene Relief Funds: Donations that have given to the town, to help those impacted by Irene, will be available for distribution at the end of January. If you are interested in applying for these funds, send a letter to the town office. FMI: 226-7292

B. Black River Health Center: At the town meeting in March 2011, the voters adopted a motion requiring BRHC to explore options, which address the issue of tax-exempt status. As it currently stands, while BRHC doesn’t pay taxes on the building, the tax payers are required to pay the educational tax for the property, which has been about $4,5000. It will be closer to $3,000 this year, as the building has been assessed at a lower value. If the town owned the building, the town would be exempt from paying the school tax.

When the BRHC was established, the deed stated that the building, if it were not being used as a medical center, would revert to the town if it were to be used for educational purposes. The building currently has three tenants, which are providing various types of mental health counseling and a fourth tenant, a massage therapist, is planning to move in shortly. The income from rent barely covers yearly expenses, which are about $10,000. One option is the building becomes the property of the town, which then has a lease with BRHC to continue occupancy. However, there is a legal question as to whether the town could take ownership of the building because of the educational use requirement.

The board voted that BHRC’s lawyer and the town’s lawyer meet to discuss what might be feasible. This is to be done in time for discussion at the March town meeting.

C. Derelict or Dangerous Building Ordinance: The Select Board adopted and signed the Ordinance, which becomes effective in 60 days. During this time, citizens can review the document and request that changes be made. A copy of the Ordinance can be obtained from the Town Office by calling 226-7292.

D. FEMA Assistance for Town/Recovery: Cavendish has yet to file a claim to FEMA. There is now a new FEMA officer to replace the one who went on leave December 23. The new representative has been helpful and it is expected that the largest of the town’s applications will be filed next week. All roads are passable and plow able. Some concrete barriers are in a few places. Since ground water levels are high, this may make for a more difficult mud season. The work on Mill Street is about to get underway with the awarding of a contract on Wed Jan 11.

2. Cavendish Related News
SEVCA to Close Warehouse with Irene Donations: The Southeastern Vermont Community Action has been collecting donations of clothing, furniture, appliances and linens to distribute to residents whose belongings were lost or ruined in the flood/ These items have been housed at Chroma Technologies in Rockingham who donated the use of a warehouse. Steve Geller, executive director of SEVCA, says the space will no longer be available after mid-March. SEVCA is putting the word out that there are still a lot of donated items available for those impacted by the flood. VPR

VT Strong Plates Comes With Strings: Even though Gov. Shumlin is encouraging people to purchase the “I am Vermont Strong” license plates, the plate can only be pre-ordered because they are not legal yet. In Vermont you must have an identifying plate on the front and back of your vehicle, otherwise you'll get a ticket. The DMV now needs legislative approval to release the special fundraising plates. The license plate is a new way to raise money for Irene clean up. WCAX

VT Dept of Taxes Inadvertently Displayed Social Security Numbers: The Vermont Department of Taxes (VDT) inadvertently displayed personal data from a weekly batch of Property Transfer Tax Returns for less than two hours on a vendor portion of its website on January 9th. The social security numbers of 1,332 individuals and the Federal Employee Identification Number of 245 businesses were involved. The property transfer report is posted weekly on a data page ordinarily accessed only by real estate professionals; immediate investigation identified two of the three parties who accessed the page during the time in question, and they have destroyed the information. VDT is working to identify the final party, who will be advised that they inadvertently received confidential taxpayer information that must be destroyed. All affected taxpayers will receive a letter alerting them that their personal information was inadvertently disclosed. Letters will be sent no later than Saturday, January 14th. Press Release

GMP. CVPS Sue VT Yankee Over Tower Collapse: The utilities are suing Vermont Yankee owner Entergy Corp., seeking to recover the $6.6 million extra they say they spent on power in 2007 and 2008 when VT Yankee curtailed production because of cooling tower problems. Burlington Free Press

Dept of Agriculture Expects Farmers to Recover: "The agriculture community in the state of Vermont has come though it incredibly well...but make no mistake, there were significant and damaging impacts on the farming community in the state of Vermont. It is easy to calculate a $20 million hit. "That's really good news that there was so much water volume that it just seemed to wash everything away and there weren't as many contaminants that ended up being deposited any place in fact I'm unaware of any particular location that has any significant levels of contamination whatsoever."VPR

State Police Warn of Mystery Shopper Scam: A scam that dupes people into become “mystery shoppers,” but ends up draining their bank accounts is circulating in Vermont, State Police said. n the scam, people approach shoppers and ask them to evaluate customer service during sales transactions. For payment, the shoppers are told to deposit a check into their own bank account, then withdraw some of the money and send it via Western Union to a destination, usually outside the United States, police said. The remainder of the deposit check is “payment” for being a mystery shopper, the scammers tell their targets, according to police. But the amount of the check is then withdrawn from the account, the check bounces, and the amount of the check is deducted from the account, police said. Police warn people to be very wary and skeptical if anyone approaches them with the mystery shopper offer. Burlington Free Press

Habitat for Humanity Home Available: The Greater Springfield Vermont Area Habitat for Humanity is currently accepting applications for a 3-bedroom home that is currently available in the Springfield area. The applicant must be a family that has lived or worked for at least the past year in the GSVAHH, which includes the towns of Andover, Baltimore, Springfield, Chester, Cavendish, Grafton, Ludlow, Weston, Weathersfield and Rockingham, and be willing to work in partnership with Habitat in a variety of ways. Completed applications must be received by January 28, 2012. FMI: Call 802-885- 5318 or 802-885-6440 or www.vermonthabitat.org

What’s Behind Rising Fuel Prices in VT: On average, Windsor has the cheapest fuel in the state right now at $3.31 and Burlington has the highest prices at $3.59. Both are above the national average of $3.28 a gallon, and that price is up 20 cents from this same time last year. Matt Cota with the Vermont Fuel Dealers Association says the rising cost of oil is the main culprit. "Crude oil is $102 today. It was $91 a year ago. Cota says another reason prices are up is that ethanol subsidies-- amounting to a 4.5 cent break-- expired at the end of the year. But he also says speculation in the markets is to blame for volatile swings in prices. WCAX

Shumlin’s Proposed State Budget: Governor Peter Shumlin has proposed a budget for next year that maintains most state programs without relying on any new revenue: "Today I present a budget that closes a $51 million shortfall without raising broad based taxes.” The governor's plan also calls for a major reorganization of state employees, and several initiatives to encourage job growth. To help stimulate the state economy, the governor proposed expanding the lending capacity of the Vermont Economic Development Authority by $30 million and he also wants to give $4 million to both UVM and the Vermont State College system to develop innovative programs linking higher education and job growth. The budget includes funding to help towns cover Irene expense. VPR Burlington Free Press

Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Could Start this Summer: The state last year passed a law that authorizes up to four privately run dispensaries to provide marijuana for patients with chronic illness or intractable pain. Vermont has over 400 patients and 68 caregivers on the medical marijuana registry, which allows them permission to grow enough for their own use. The dispensaries would give patients who can't grow them another means of getting it. The Burlington Free Press reports that Francis Aumand, director of the Division of Criminal Justice Services, told a state Senate committee on Wednesday that rules to run the dispensaries should be ready in the next couple of weeks. Burlington Free Press

3. Cavendish Town Elementary School Board Minutes
The Minutes from the December CTES School Board Meeting have been posted to the Cavendish VT Blog.

4. Third Annual Mardi Gras to Benefit CCCA
Once again the Cavendish Community and Conservation Association (CCCA) will hold their Mardi Gras celebration to chase away the late winter blues. This year the festivities will commence at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, February 10th and will be held at Crow’s Bakery and Opera House Café on Depot Street in Proctorsville.

There will be a New Orleans Cajun style buffet and a wine bar, and dancing to the great tunes of Yankee Chank with Cavendish’s very own Bob Naess. Of course it wouldn’t be Mardi Gras without masks, so there will be a prize for the best and most creative mask.

A raffle will feature three prizes: a Weekend Getaway to the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe as grand prize, a basket of fine Vermont wines and assorted, delicious Vermont goodies as second prize, and a Valentine Cake – chocolate, chocolate, chocolate – as third prize. Raffle tickets are on sale now at the bakery and from any CCCA board member. The drawing will be held at the celebration.

Dinner tickets cost $35 each and are limited, so please get yours early. Call (802) 226-7736 to reserve your tickets.

5. Cavendish Historical Society Annual Meeting Feb. 12
The Annual Meeting for the Cavendish Historical Society has been changed from October to February. This year’s meeting will take place on Feb. 12 (Sunday), 5 pm at the Cavendish Town Elementary School. This will include a potluck supper plus a screening of “Life in Windsor County,” featuring CHS’s board member Bruce McEnaney. The video includes the 250 year history of the region, along with photographs and stories. FMI: 226-7807 or margoc@tds.net

6. Marx Brothers Kick off Cavendish Film Series
The sixth annual Black & White Nights Film Series in Cavendish starts with a bang with the Marx Brothers romp, A Night at the Opera. This 1935 madcap comedy is considered one of their best because it was plot-driven and contained some of the brothers' funniest gags. In A Night At the Opera, the Marx brothers help two young lovers to succeed in love as well as in the world of opera. The lovers are played by Kitty Carlisle and Allan Jones, who do their own singing in all the classical opera scenes, an unusual move at the time. In a zany subplot, widowed socialite hopeful Mrs. Claypool, played by the impressive and ever haughty Margaret Dumont, hires Groucho to help her break into high society; he instead alternately woos and insults her. Filled with fast paced lunacy, A Night at the Opera is classic slapstick that made moviegoers forget their troubles during the Depression.

The film will be shown at 7:00 p.m. on Friday January 27 at Cavendish Elementary School in Proctorsville. Films in the series are free but donations are welcome. For more information call 226-7187.

7. Cavendish Calendar 1/13-1/20
January 14 (Saturday): Winter Farmers Market at the Ludlow Teen Center (Goodmans American Pie), Main Street Ludlow. FMI: www.ludlowfarmersmarket.com
• Woodcarving Workshop with Dave Tuttle at Fletcher Farm School. FMI: 228-8770 or info@fletcherfarm.org
• Pen & Ink Workshop with Don Hofer at Fletcher Farm School. FMI: 228-8770 or info@fletcherfarm.org

January 15 (Sunday): Woodcarving Workshop with Dave Tuttle at Fletcher Farm School. FMI: 228-8770 or info@fletcherfarm.org
• Pen & Ink Workshop with Don Hofer at Fletcher Farm School. FMI: 228-8770 or info@fletcherfarm.org

January 16 (Monday): Martin Luther King Day. Holiday School and Town Office Closed
• Shaw’s “tent” in Ludlow closes at 7 pm today and will remain closed until Jan. 27.

January 17 (Tuesday): Bone Builders Class at the Cavendish Baptist-- Class from 10:15-11:45. FMI: Linda at Green Mountain RSVP & Volunteer Center of Windsor County at (802) 885-2083, or Anne Oakes or Andrew Ohotnicky at (802) 228-5236, Dot Ramsdell at (802) 226-7870

January 19 (Thursday): Bone Builders Class at the Cavendish Baptist-- Class from 10:15-11:45. FMI: Linda at Green Mountain RSVP & Volunteer Center of Windsor County at (802) 885-2083, or Anne Oakes or Andrew Ohotnicky at (802) 228-5236, Dot Ramsdell at (802) 226-7870
• Sit & Knit" at the Six Loose Ladies yarn shop, Pollard Building, Proctorsville Green, 2:00 -9:00 PM. Open to knitters, spinners, crocheters, hookers. Free. FMI: 226-7373
• Community Luncheon, St. James Methodist Church in Proctorsville, 11:30. The menu will include roast pork with mashed potato, peas, coleslaw, fresh hot rolls and applesauce. Dessert will be a variety of cakes, and we'll have coffee, hot tea or apple cider as beverages. A suggested donation of $4.00 for seniors or $5.50 for those under 60 years of age will help defray the cost of our meals.