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The Cabot Chronicle

December 2019/January 2020 · Issue Record

← From the Cabot Chronicle

The community record for this issue of the Cabot Chronicle, extracted from the original pages. Reprinted with permission from the Cabot Chronicle.

Original issue: Download the December 2019/January 2020 pages (PDF)

Text extracted from the original pages and checked for reading order. Advertisements, listings, the calendar and puzzles are omitted. Where part of a story could not be converted cleanly, it is marked and the full story is in the PDF.

In This Issue

January is National Mentoring Month

Research shows that mentors play a powerful role in providing young people with the tools to strive and thrive, to attend and engage in school, and to reduce or avoid risky behavior like drug use. In turn, these young people are:  55% more likely to be enrolled in college  81% more likely to report participating regularly in sports or extracurricular activities  78% more likely to volunteer regularly in their communities.

 More than twice as likely to say they held a leadership position in a club or sports team. Cabot Mentoring connects youth with adults for fun and friendship. Having a mentor helps youth build confidence, broaden their worldview, and practice relationship skills. Having a mentee gives adults a connec- tion to the younger generation, more engagement in their community, and the satisfaction of making a difference.

To celebrate National Mentoring Month, Cabot Mentoring pairs will have the opportunity to attend the Mentoring Celebration at the Verher cats and her dignity and surrounded by love. They are an amazing group of people. Kathleen was a lifelong animal lover and, if truth be told, she often liked animals more than people. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in her memory to either of these organizations; both were very important to her and her animals:

Kingdom Animal Shelter 1161 Portland St. Johnsbury, VT 05819 https://www.kingdomanimalshel ter.com/donate.html or Hardwick Veterinary Clinic P.O. Box 760 Hardwick, VT 05843 was on the farm, driving tractors and feeding the calves. She was a teacher in 4-H for many years. In her later years, playing games with her friends brought her much joy. Survivors include her daughter, Lorrie “Jeannie” MacLeod and partner Dave Wendt; her grandson, Sean MacLeod Pagal, of Barre; and her brother, Ernest Noble, of Gaylord, MI; as well as five nieces. In addition to her parents, Lorraine was predeceased by her brother, Edward Noble; and her sister, Mildred Noble Ibey. The service to honor and celebrate her life was held on Saturday, November 23, in the Hooker and Whitcomb Funeral Home, Barre. For amemorialguestbok , visit www.hookerwhitcomb.com.

email [email protected]

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Sarah’s Country Diner is closing December 21, 2019

To all my customers: You are the best. The closing of the Diner is bittersweet.

I will miss you a lot. It has been great meeting and serving you.

My time at the diner has been a joy.

My future plans are to resume my full time job of wife, mother and grandmother.

My final closing will be December 21, 2019. We look forward to serving you until then.

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When is the rink happening?

by Susan Socks I get this question a lot at this time of year…it’s cold and snowy, and it feels like skating weather. So, I thought it’s a good time to talk about the timing of making a rink. First and foremost, we need cold weather. Not just cold for a couple days…continuous below-freezing temperatures. If the rink melts, it’s probably not ever going to freeze back up properly…so you don’t want to pour the water too early. Usually, we have the stable cold we need right around Christmas & New Year’s. Second, we need clear skies, ideally for three days or more. If it snows into the freshly poured water, we end up with a crusty, sludgy mess, instead of nice solid ice. You can’t glide on frozen slush…it just crumbles.

Third, we need volunteers. Specifically, rink maintenance volunteers. Once the ice is frozen, it must be kept clear of snow EVERY DAY. That is a lot of work! If we don’t have enough volunteers to keep the rink shoveled, we won’t have good ice. And if we don’t have good ice, there isn’t much point to building a rink in the first place. To sum up, we need stable cold temperatures, clear weather, and the promise of lots of help for the season. With those magic ingredients, we should have a lovely village rink sometime around the holidays. If you can volunteer, have skates or other equipment to donate, or would like to donate funds to sponsor a community skating party, please let me know. See you at the rink, soon!

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Cabot Community Theater What’s a Mummers’ Play, Anyway?

by Karen Mueller-Harder

See St. George battle a dragon! Enjoy some foolishness and rollicking fun, with a few characters brought to life from Cabot’s history! A mummers’ play is a comedic skit from England, with stylized characters full of bravado and gumption, often performed at solstice, Christmas, or Twelfth Night celebrations. Cabot Community Theater will be performing our own Cabot version of this traditional fare at the upcoming Twelfth Night festivities on January 4, during the afternoon entertainment. Admission is included in your purchase of a button for the day or signing up as a volunteer! CCT is also starting preparations for their April production of Chitty Bang Bang, to be performed April 2-5 at the Cabot School Performing Arts Center. By the time you read this, rehearsals will be underway, and the design and production team will be busy at work figuring out ways to make visual magic for the production! If you’d like to be one of the people who helps make the show happen, we always welcome more people to help with sets, props, costumes, lights, and publicity. You don’t have to have a lot of availability; you can volunteer to help on one day, or with one sewing project if you like, and you’ll feel part of a wonderful community activity! Cabot Community Theater strives to be a welcoming and inclusive group, where people of all ages and levels of experience come together to create a theater experience the whole community can enjoy. If you’d like to join us, please contact Karen Mueller-Harder, the Producer, at [email protected] or 793-5617, or in person at Twelfth Night or any of the contra dances!

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School Board Update

by Chris Tormey At Cabot School’s October 21 informational meeting, the focus of the hour-long “Preparing Students for Success II” program was on the educational programs in place at Cabot’s middle school and high school. Programs at both the middle school and high school levels have received recognition for innovation and effectiveness from national organizations supporting education, including Edutopia and Education Re-imagined. Middle School teacher Peter Stratman led off the presentation with a general overview of the 7th- and 8th-grade program at Cabot. The program’s goal is to “design and implement learning experiences in which students investigate, research, build, and present work that intersects with the real world”. To help reach that goal, the middle school schedule is structured to allow time for individual student research within interdisciplinary “learning expeditions” and for the development of essential skills in math, literacy and other areas. In addition to “math lab”, Spanish and Readers/Writers Workshop each day, a central pillar of the schedule is a daily “project block” of integrated science and social studies. Within that block, students research a specific facet of a larger, year-long topic, and gradually develop a product that showcases what they’ve learned about that piece of the larger topic. Literacy skills taught in the Readers/Writers Workshop are integrated into these broad interdisciplinary projects. The workshop model allows learning to be personalized for each student while exploring a variety of texts (novels, short stories, news articles, poetry, opinion pieces, etc.) that connect to the larger projects. Students develop and practice reading strategies, and produce writing from different genres. In last fall’s interdisciplinary project (“Blue Planet”), for example, students investigated the health of the world’s oceans, focusing on pollution, overfishing, and the impacts of climate change. The “driving questions” guiding students’ research were: ●How are people affecting the health of the oceans? ●What are the impacts of an unhealthy ocean? ●How can we address the impact of single -use plastics in the ocean ecosystem? The culmination of these projects is a “learning exhibition” shared by students with a broader audience (parents, community members, etc.) that both reinforces learning and improves students’ skills in public presentation. In addition to the “Blue Planet” project last year, students also researched the struggle for Civil Rights in the U.S. during the mid- 20th century, and examined human migration during the past century with a focus on refugees, comparing and contrasting the challenges faced by Jewish refugees during the late 1930’s, Cuban refugees in the 1980’s, and Syrian refugees today. In addition, middle school students can access electives in art, music, and P.E. and have opportunities to explore core concepts connected to the interdisciplinary project topic in other ways through the use of weekly Science Labs and Design Tech blocks. This year’s interdisciplinary topic is “Sustainability”, and students this fall have been investigating food production. Along with participating in a school-wide harvest in October of the outdoor vegetable beds planted last spring, middle school students played a major role in the “Harvest Supper” held November 2, that showcased the broad range of delicious food grown here in Cabot and how that food is used to enhance the meals served in our school’s cafeteria. Mr. Stratman also highlighted a new addition to the middle school program (“Cabot Leads”) which has had a positive impact on individual students and on the school community as a whole. In “Cabot Leads”, students select a school- or community-based job outside of the classroom to work at each week for an hour under the support and supervision of an adult mentor. Students apply and interview for the jobs based on their interests, skills, and learning goals: the jobs range from helping out in the school kitchen or library, to being a reading mentor for younger students, to learning to care for farm animals. Now in its third year, the innovative program has provided students with a range of opportunities for personalized learning and for actively contributing to their community. As part of the 8th-grade leadership program at Cabot, students in class investigate political theory, the principles of democracy, contemporary social and political issues, and the structure of government. This research serves as a foundation for the class’s capstone trip to Washington, D.C. at year’s end. Leading up to the trip, students design a research project. Once in D.C., they conduct field work, taking photos and speaking with “experts” who can provide critical insights about their selected topics. Following the middle school presentation, Cabot School music director Brian Boyes provided a thorough overview of the high school program at Cabot. He opened his slide presentation with a list of the “Top Ten Skills Needed” in the workforce in 2020, according to the World Economic Forum. Highlighting several of these (“Complex problem-solving, Critical thinking, Creativity, Coordination with others,...”), Brian described that the goal of the high school program at Cabot is to support students in building those skills by embedding real-world opportunities to do so into the curriculum. The curriculum that’s been developed at Cabot to support this process is built on four major principles: curiosity, creativity and design; culture and relationships; authenticity; and high-quality project-based learning. Brian reviewed several examples of student projects at Cabot to illustrate these principles in action. Last fall, teams of students in the “Startup” project were challenged to design a social-benefit (B Corp) start-up company to meet an established need. Each team leveraged their studies in design thinking and the creative economy to build start-up concepts, and pitched their companies to a live audience and an investor panel. Culture and relationships are built through collaborative learning opportunities on and off campus as students work together in small groups to research the background of a particular subject, and to design and craft their responses to a specific driving question (for example, how the design of musical instruments and the physics of sound waves combine to produce the wide variety of sounds we hear). Teachers serve as facilitators to guide this process. In addition, Cabot’s preK-12 campus provides regular opportunities for students in different grades to get to know and learn from each other. A concerted effort is made to build authenticity into the work done by students at Cabot: they’re challenged to think and work like scientists, journalists, musicians and entrepreneurs. Last year, a large team of students started a film production company to manage and fund the creation and production of an original science-fiction film. (The $1,500 production budget was funded entirely through the students’ fundraising efforts, which even turned a slight profit). The completed film, “The Youth of Annwyn” premiered at the Savoy Theatre in Montpelier in May. To support “high-quality project-based learning” at Cabot, the approach is to build a learning community that fosters connections and relationships that can spark curiosity and launch inquiry. Teachers support students to rigorously build the skills and content knowledge that will allow them to create exceptional work that clearly demonstrates their learning. Each trimester, high school students choose two different “project studios”. Each studio meets for over an hour each day, is led by two teachers, and researches a topic with connections to at least two content areas. For example, this year’s “Physics of Invention” studio will explore the significance of the Scientific Revolution and its impact on the emergence of modern science. Students in this studio will re-create iconic experiments from the past, and will also design their own experiments illustrating how these same scientific principles are put to use in our human society today. In another studio option, “AP Computer Science Principles” students will research the foundational concepts of computer science. In addition to demonstrating their learning by creating/coding a new game or web app, they’ll conduct extensive research on a specific computing innovation and explore its societal impact. As in the middle school, high school students regularly present what they’ve learned n a particular studio to a larger audience. Often these “learning exhibitions” are held after school or in the evening at the end of a trimester, and are open to parents, students, and community members. To view a complete list/description of this year’s project studios in the high school and the schedule for learning exhibitions, please click on the “HS Project Studios” link on the school website (cabotschool.org) or contact the school office at 563-2289 for a hard copy. The final portion of Brian’s presentation dealt with Cabot’s approach to Act 77, the law passed by the VT legislature in 2015 which mandates that schools provide “flexible pathways” for students to meet the school’s requirements for graduation. At Cabot, it’s assumed that students will take on an increasing degree of choice and control over their course of study as they progress through high school. Across Vermont, an increasing number of students are making use of online electives and earlycollege courses during their junior and senior years to access classes and learning suited to their interests that are unavailable at their home schools. At Cabot this year, students will begin using a structure in which they’ll demonstrate their progress towards graduation as an essential step towards gaining more independence in reaching their own learning goals. To move to a more independent phase of their high school experience, students submit a portfolio of their previous work and make a “passage presentation” to a panel including faculty and outside experts. Progressing from one phase to the next demonstrates a student’s readiness to take on more independence, such as online courses, work-based learning, internships, dual-enrollment options and early college. The goal of this framework is to encourage students to take an active role in designing a learning plan that best suits their goals and interests while still meeting the skills and content proficiencies that are required for graduation. Eventually, graduating seniors would potentially be able to make a “passage presentation” in which they traced the individual goals they’d set for their education, as well as the route they followed to reach them. This year’s series of monthly school informational meetings continues on December 9 with a “Math Literacy night” focusing on the elementary grades. All interested parents, students and community members are invited to attend these presentations, held on the second Monday of each month at 6:00 p.m. in the Cabot School Library.

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OBITUARIES & MEMORIALS

Edward G. Domey Edward (Ted) Gould Domey lost his long courageous battle with multiple myeloma on November 15, 2019, at the McClure Miller Respite House in Colchester, VT. Ted was born February 1, 1964, to Carlton Edward Domey and Marvarene Gould Domey of Cabot, Vermont. Ted is survived by his wife Jeanne Lillian Johnson of Cabot, VT; his son Caleb Johnson Domey of Essex Junction, VT; his mother Marvarene G. Domey of Cabot, VT; Siblings Lyndy and Harry Huntley of Cabot, VT, Susan Domey and Paul Allen of Pembroke, MA, Robyn and Stuart Hall of Brandon, VT, and Anne Domey and Tom French of Barre, VT; Brother in Law: Christian John and Barbara Johnson of Virginia Beach, VA; Aunts Deanna VanSchagen of Braintree, MA, and Connie Gould of Cabot, VT; Cousins Bonnie and John Bonnell of Douglas, KA, Pat and Max Ducharme of Barre, VT, John and Allison Domey of Plainfield, VT, Donna VanSchagen of Westwood, MA, Denise and Michael Cusack of Braintree, MA, Sarah Wright of Raleigh, NC, Carrie Gould and Mike Kabler of Clairbourne, MD, and Meredith Gould of Moretown, VT; Nieces and nephews Abby and Ben Grubbs, Chelsea and Peter Turley, Phil and Brittany Hall, Chris Allen and Andrew Allen; as well as numerous extended cousins, nieces and nephews. Predeceased by his father, Carlton Edward Domey, Aunts and Uncles Lois and Robert Domey, Mildred and Raymond Domey, David VanSchagen and Edwin Gould. A 1982 graduate of Cabot High School, Ted enlisted in the US Army, serving in Germany as a Morse code interceptor, from July 1982 to May 1986, and continued to serve his country in the Army Reserves. Ted began his post-high school education earning an associate degree at Vermont Technical College and then transferred to the University of Vermont to complete his degree in civil engineering while working for the Agency of Natural Resources. The rest of his engineering career was spent with the State of Vermont Agency of Transportation. While there, Ted earned the Public Service Award for his tireless contributions to the clean up after Tropical Storm Irene. Serving the Town of Cabot as selectboard member from 1999 until the very end, Ted was past chair and road commissioner. Ted married Jeannie on March 3, 1990, in Waterbury, VT. Together, they enjoyed the fresh air and camaraderie of camping with family and friends, most recently spending summers along the Connecticut River at River Meadow Campground. An officer and member of the Cabot Skylighters, Ted enjoyed snowmobiling with his family and friends and served as the Washington County Trail Master for VAST (Vermont Association of Snow Travelers), recognized as the 2010 County Trails Coordinator of the Year. His love of sports and the outdoors led Ted to coach for the Central Valley Little League and participate in local men’s softball teams. For two specific weeks in November every year, Ted would venture into the woods with fellow hunters to “catch” the big one. If unsuccessful, you could find this hunting crew around the cribbage board racking up the 15 2’s. Ted liked traveling with his wife, friends and family, enjoying the Caribbean, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Hawaii, Virginia, Nevada and North Carolina. He especially liked standing at mile marker zero of US Route 1 in Key West, FL, seeing Denali, rafting the river and thrilling at wildlife on his two trips to Alaska, and marveling at the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam. A Celebration of Ted’s Life will be held Saturday, November 23, 2019, at 1:00 p.m. at the United Church of Cabot, 2 Common Way, Cabot Vermont 05647. The celebration will continue immediately after the service with a reception at the Willey Building (Town Hall), 3084 Main Street, Cabot. Funeral services are under the direction of des Groseilliers Funeral Home in Hardwick, VT. Messages for the family may be left at https://www.holcombdesgroseilliers.com/notices/Edward- Domey. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, P.O. Box 414238, Boston, MA 02241-4238, or on the website at donate.themmrf.org.

Part of this story may be missing here. See the original pages, page 4 onward.

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12th Night Celebration January 4th in Cabot

For all this to happen, we need volunteers. As you can imagine the jobs range from helping with food prep for the community dinner, taking tickets at the Willey Building, running the hot cocoa station, selling raffle tickets, bringing snacks for the evening event, to cleaning up after it all. Dana has sorted it all into a web site where YOU can sign up for a particular task and a particular shift. All you need to do is to clicker here and register: https://signup.com/client/invitation2/secure/3049463/false#/invitation. As a volunteer, you can have free admission to the event, which is otherwise very reasonably priced. Children under 16 get in for free, adults pay $10 in advance, $15 at the door. We hope to see you there! Saturday, January 4, from 1:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. Click here for other information about fun activities coming up with Cabot Arts: https://www.cabotarts.org/.

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CABOT COMMUNITY COMMENTARY

by your own community

Dear Friends of Faith in Action, It’s hard to believe the end of 2019 is approaching. The shorter days and colder nights, along with predictions of snow, let us know that it is time to hunker down for another winter. For many of us, winter is a season for which we have prepared and must embrace. For others, winter is a time of extreme social isolation that often leads to depression and a lack of hope. At Faith in Action, we help to make the winter a bit brighter by connecting volunteers who are eager to serve with community members in need. As of September 30, 2019, Faith in Action volunteers donated 7,060 volunteer hours. In Cabot, the monthly Senior Morning and Community Dinners are always a favorite. At the busy Lyndonville Faith in Action Drop-In Center, we have received 2,993 visits as of September. Community members, often senior citizens or folks with disabilities, spend time engaging and participating in enriching activities. We invite you to join us at Faith in Action to experience the joy that abounds! As you consider your gift-giving option this time of year, please consider making a one-time or monthly recurring donation to Faith in Action to support the important services we provide, including socially enriching programs, food distribution, and opportunities to increase self-sufficiency, and instill hope.

Please visit our website at www.faithinactionvt.org for a list of events, and thank you for considering Faith in Action this gift-giving season. All the very best, Cynthia Stuart

Executive Director PO Box 157 i Cabot, VT 05647 Monthly publication of the

Cabot Chronicle!

Dear Editor:

For the last several years, the Select Board has included $ 10,000 in the annual budget to help fund six issues of the Chronicle. The remaining needed income comes from advertising and private donations. It is my understanding that monthly publication would be possible if the Town of Cabot funding were increased to $ 20,000. At a time when the discourse on social media frequently serves to divide our community and question the integrity and motives of elected, appointed and volunteer residents, the Chronicle provides a forum for a more civil and respectful discourse. In my experience, these individuals serve because they want to help make Cabot an affordable, safe and enjoyable place to live and raise a family More than ever we need the Cabot Chronicle to be published every month. It would also be a good way to show our appreciation for the hard work required by Editor Jeannie Johnson, Graphic Designer Todd Jones, and the many others who do the hard work on our behalf. The Chronicle is the only forum for Town Boards, Committees, working groups and non-profit organizations to explain what they are working on and alert residents to matters coming before annual or special Town Meetings. It also lets community members with particular interest in such matters know whom to contact and consider volunteering to contribute to such efforts.

The two-month gap between publications leaves too much time where critical official information is not available. Having information from those with reliable information is particularly important when material for the Town Meeting is being finalized and residents prepare to vote. Front Porch forum does some of that, but many residents do not have, or desire to have, access to social media and the internet in general. Many, and I count myself among them, prefer to have paper in hand that can be referenced for reminders of community events scheduled for a given month.

If you share my desire for monthly Cabot Chronicle publications, please let the members of the Select Board now how important it to increase funding to help promote cooperation among community groups and Boards and invite other interested residents to volunteer for a project of interest to them Niels Larsen. South Walden Road

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Volunteers Needed

by Gwendolyn Hallsmith Cabot Arts has planned a festival to mark the end of the holiday season and celebrate the new year. Shakespeare was even inspired to write a play for this auspicious annual event, where commoners could be kings, women dressed like men, and social conventions were upended so everyone could have a rollicking time of it. Dana Robinson has outdone himself finding fun things to see and do all day. Modern Times Theater will be doing a vaudeville act, Tim Jennings will be telling stories, Jeremiah and Annemieke McLane will be performing classical music at the church, Gypsy Reel will play Irish Music, Bella and the Notables will be playing swing jazz we can dance to, Cabot Community Theater will be doing a Mummers play, The Midnight Capers will perform a Morris Dance, there will be sleigh rides, arts and crafts, snow painting, a community dinner and a wassail sing.

Part of this story may be missing here. See the original pages, page 5 onward.

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Central Vermont Fiber Update

by Andy Gilbert There is more good news for those looking for faster and more reliable internet service. CVFiber has recently been awarded two grants to help with feasibility and business planning. In early October, we were formally awarded a $25,000 USDA Rural Business Development Grant. And just recently, the Vermont Department of Public Service has indicated we are one of the initial awardees for a $60,000 Broadband Initiative Grant. These are in addition to the previously awarded Think Vermont Innovation Grant. These funds will be used to begin the detailed planning necessary to design and develop a high speed and reliable internet service for our member communities. The CVFiber board has already issued an RFP to select a partner for this next step. We hope to make selection by the end of the year so we can start planning activity in 2020. Finally, the district was recently expanded to include Moretown. We are now 18 communities strong.

Part of this story may be missing here. See the original pages, page 6 onward.

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Elves Workshop December 14 Cabot United Church

by Beth Wade Come to the Elves’ Workshop at the United Church on Saturday, December 14, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.. The workshop is for kids who want to create holiday presents and decorations. Some favorites (among many!) are birch Yule logs, jigsaw cutouts, cards, giant stars, cookie decorations, ornaments, and “slime” to exercise your fingers! You can wrap what you make and have refreshments, too. All are welcome, and parents can help if they’d like to. Hope to see everyone on December 14.`

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Cabot Trails Update

by Andrew Gilbert Cabot Trails Committee hosted their second community meeting, this one focusing on landowners, on Saturday October 26, 2019, from 9-11:00 a.m. The meeting included a breakfast from Sarah’s and potluck contributions by members. In total there was eighteen residents from Cabot present, including seven members from the Cabot Trails Committee. Also in attendance was Greg Western, Director of the Cross Vermont Trail Association. The meeting used a world café style table setup with a total of four tables to sit at. Each table was set up with a map showing the destinations and potential trail corridors that were identified at the first community meeting. Each table was facilitated by a member of the Cabot Trails Committee. Daniel Currier of Central Vermont Regional Planning Commission (CVRPC) provided the overall meeting facilitation and time keeping. The meeting started with a joint presentation on the project, the Purpose and Needs Statements, and the importance of landowner partnerships in Cabot to develop trails. Greg Weston then made a short talk about experiences working with landowners to develop trails, including the Cross Vermont Trail and in E. Montpelier. After the presentation, the meeting moved into an open discussion on issues and concerns for the landowners. Some of the topics included:

 Web resources to find trails in area, state  Other community examples  Landowner permission forms, relationships, protocol  Trail signage, etiquette, communication, publication, seasonal usage  Trail maintenance We are working with CVRPC to create a more detailed summary of the meeting and it will be made available for anyone who is interested. In addition to all the “meetings”, the committee is anxious and hopeful to start some actual field work. We hope to work with a few landowners that have expressed interest to get something started this winter. So, stay tuned! The Cabot Trails Committee was established to identify, establish and maintain non-motorized recreational trails in town. Meetings are typically held on the second Wednesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. in the Willey Building. Anyone is welcome to attend, and you don’t have to be on the committee to help. The success of the effort will be quite reliant on folks that like to do things versus come to meetings and talk. If anyone is interested in knowing more or helping, please contact myself, Andy Gilbert ([email protected]) or the Town Clerk.

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Cabot Car Connection - Need a Ride?

by Gwendolyn Hallsmith

There’s a new service in town, our first crowd-sourced transportation hub. It’s nothing really new, people have been sharing rides and cars in Cabot for a lot longer than Facebook has been around. One new thing is a matchmaking service offered as part of the Car Connection, where you fill out a survey and real people look at your answers to match your needs and rides with other people who are going your way. With the support of Cabot Creamery Cooperative, the survey was sent around to their employees, many of whom commute into town from other places. People in town have also been filling out the survey, which can be found on the Car Connection Facebook group: https://w . facebok . c o m / groups /CabotCarConnection/.

Matches have been made several ways. People post to the Facebook group when they need a ride, or when they are driving out of town. People contact the Car Connection by email: [email protected], and let us know where you go. Or you can call 802-851- 7697 and leave a message with your name, phone number, address, and when you commute or drive in and out of town. “The system works!” Chuck Talbert said this past week as he found a ride home from Barre when he dropped a truck off to be repaired. Since it started in September, Cabot has reduced our overall greenhouse gas emissions in the top area where Vermont’s emissions are growing – automobile travel. Cabot Car Connection has already saved many trips between Cabot and Montpelier, Barre, and Burlington. It saves money and time as well, a winwin-win. A similar service that operates around Montpelier, called The Hitching Post, has just erected posts with flags on it to indicate places where people who are looking for rides can stop and wait for someone who is going their way. They are at the Hunger Mountain Co-op, the Red Hen Bakery in Middlesex, Depot Square in Northfield, Birch Grove Bakery in Montpelier, on Route 12 in Putnamville and in Worcester. Stops might be coming soon to Maple Corner and Hardwick, as well. With the Hitching Post, drivers get a token for a free coffee for sharing their car from participating coffee shops, like Birch Grove Bakery. Here in Cabot, Bobby Searles said people are welcome to wait for rides on the bench his father made in front of the Village Store. (The Car Connection has not asked businesses for donations beyond a comfortable place to wait for a ride). We will be offering refreshments at a table at the Holiday Market on December 14, so stop by and sign up. You can also join the Facebook Group called Cabot Car Connection, email or phone us. Cabot Car Connection is a project of Global Community Initiatives, a small, tax exempt non-profit located here in Cabot. For more information about how you can help, contact Gwendolyn Hallsmith at [email protected].

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The Christmas Bird Count

by Chris Duff Every year for the last 120 years, the Audubon Society has held an annual Christmas bird count (CBC) in December or early January when volunteer bird enthusiasts all across the country and in many other countries around the world head out on a designated weekend day in late December or early January to visually count all the birds they see. Years of this compiled data have allowed ornithologists and conservationists to track critical trends in bird populations, and this data has been useful to many groups. Locally, our CBC is organized by the North Branch Nature Center and is called the Plainfield Christmas Bird Count. The designated Plainfield count circle includes Plainfield, Marshfield, Calais, East Montpelier, and some of Montpelier and Barre. For about 28 years my friend, Brett, and I have meandered around the northwest corner of Groton State Forest to count any birds we came across for the Plainfield count. Many counters travel by car to cover more area and perhaps to visit different habitats that may attract different bird species, but we choose to cover the same route each year by foot (or snowshoe). This seriously restricts both the number of individuals and the variety of species we tally each year, but gives us some consistent data on that area, and usually a pretty nice day in the woods. Conditions have varied wildly over the years from bitter cold days to deep snow days to beautiful early winter sunny days. Regardless of conditions, we carry on. Winter bird species are obviously much fewer than summer species, and most that are counted are resident yearround species, species pushed south due to availability of food or weather conditions, or in warm winters, species that linger north later than usual. In our case, we have mostly experienced northern resident species and occasional itinerants (non-resident birds passing through). Because we do not visit bird feeders and open water is at best variable at this time of year, our numbers of both individuals and species are usually much lower than counters who are able to visit feeders and populated areas. We have had as few as six species and 41 individuals. In good years, when there was a healthy seed crop in the trees and the weather had been cooperative, we have had well more than 300 individuals and up to 17 species. Compare this to counts in warmer climates, where there can be more than 200 species and thousands of individuals. For us, a single raven can be pretty exciting! What those southern climates and car counters do not have is the thunder of ice peeling off the Marshfield cliffs, ermines suspiciously eyeing us, moose tracks crossing our path, black spruce bogs in the winter, and other wildlife encounters. Those folks are usually warmer, though. The forests and wetlands are really quiet and serene in the winter, with the snow acting as a sound cushion. We often will hike quite a distance, tracking a single subtle tapping sound of a woodpecker or a lone birdcall in the tree canopy. Though our numbers are always much lower than other count groups, we always experience a beautiful winter day in the remote woods of central Vermont. Regardless of weather conditions or numbers of birds, we have never had a ‘bad’ day on the Christmas Bird Count. This year, the count is being held on December 14 and if you’re interested in volunteering, contact Sean Beckett at https://northbranchnaturecenter.org/christmas-bird-count. There are many groups that head out and are usually looking for more eyes and ears to spot, identify and count the birds. The count day is usually followed by a potluck in the area to report and swap tales of sightings.

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Lighting on the Common Sunday, December 8, 2019 6:30 p.m. – Tree Lighting Refreshments to follow at the Cabot United Church

For many years the people of Cabot have purchased bulbs in memory of or in honor of loved ones. Bulbs are $3.00 for each name listed. Please fill out the names you wish to be read at the tree lighting ceremony. All are welcome to participate.

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Cabot Residents Keeping “Beesy”!

As one of the Greater Cabot Working Landscape Network’s efforts on promoting pollinators, the Network teamed with the Northeast Kingdom Waste Management District for a fun night of making beeswax food wraps. Thanks to generous funding from the North Country Federal Credit Union, twenty residents from Cabot and surrounding towns were able to join the workshop. With a special introduction from local beekeepers Frank Kampf and Irene Harvey, attendees not only learned how to reduce their dependence on single-use plastics, but learned about honey and beeswax production. Beeswax food wraps are a reusable, breathable, and antimicrobial alternative to single-use plastics and aluminum foil for food storage. The wraps can be reused hundreds of times and are naturally adhesive. To find more information, including recipe and instructions to make beeswax wraps at home, visit https://www.littleyellowwheelbarrow.com/diybeeswax-wraps/.

Beeswax food wraps are just one of many possible solutions for reducing our daily waste generation. For more useful ideas for reducing waste in your home, checkouthtps : / /www.smallfootprintfamily.com/37-waysto-reduce-trash, or for more information about local waste management resources, contact the NEK Waste Management District at 626-3532 or email [email protected].

Shannon Choquette provides instructions before attendees start making wraps. Photo credit by Gwendolyn Hallsmith.

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Food Scrap Drop-Off at Cabot Recycling Center

Cabot and Marshfield residents can now bring any and all food scraps to the Cabot recycling center for FREE! You may have heard that starting July 1, 2020, all food scraps from Vermont households must be kept out of the trash. Many residents in the community compost in their backyard, but if you do not compost, or choose not to compost all year round, the food scrap drop-off in Cabot is a great alternative to tossing food scraps in the trash. The easiest way to start collecting food scraps at home is to find a small, durable container with a lid to collect food scraps in the kitchen. Next, empty the small container into a larger, portable bucket with a lid, which can be stored in a climate-controlled area of the house, such as a mud room or garage. Then, simply take the bucket with you when you visit the Cabot Recycling Center and place the food scraps in the designated tote. For more information about Cabot’s food scrap collection program, visit our website, http://nekwmd.org/compost.html, call 626-3532 or email [email protected].

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Cabot Farm to School is Taking Root

By Peter Stratman Cabot’s Farm to School program is off and running. Last winter, Cabot School was awarded a $15,000 Farm to School (F2S) grant from the Agency of Agriculture. The objectives of the grant are to increase opportunities to provide fresh, local food to children and families; to strengthen partnerships with local agriculture; and to integrate themes of sustainability, food science, nutrition, soil health, culinary arts, and comunity into the school’s core curriculum. Since receiving the award, Cabot Farm to School has been working hard to put plans in place. Last spring, students enhanced campus gardens, planting a wide variety of veggies: cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, beets, kale, beans, pumpkins, watermelons, basil, spinach and more. This fall, students snacked on and harvested a bounty of delicious fresh produce. Chef Brock Miller integrated many items into Cabot’s food program. To build on this effort, middle school students are working on plans to construct a greenhouse on campus that would allow the school to extend the growing season and serve as an outdoor classroom. To fuel this effort, a team of students and teachers wrote and received a $1,300 grant from the Vermont Rural Education Collaborative (VREC).

Day in the Dirt—A Community Garden Party In addition to planting and harvesting in the gardens this fall, students and community members also teamed up on a fall garden workday called Day in the Dirt. Teams put the gardens to bed for the winter and began laying the groundwork for new projects in the spring. The first and second graders cleaned up the raspberry patch and tended to a few garden projects. It was fantastic to see students of all ages working on campus together—and enjoying delicious Burtt's cider and donuts!

Curriculum Connections—Shelburne Farms Collaboration

As a Farm to School grant recipient, Cabot School receives training and technical support from several incredible organizations, including the Vermont Community Garden Network, the Northeast Organic Farming Association, the Center for an Agricultural Economy, and more. This fall, teachers PreK-8 have been collaborating with educators from Shelburne Farms, co-facilitating learning experiences that focus on healthy eating, soil science, local agriculture, sustainability, and more. Over the next several months, teachers will be developing lessons and investigations based on these elements, and hope to integrate this work into the culture of Cabot School. Students will visit Shelburne Farms in the spring of 2020 to participate in farm-based workshops, investigating ecology, sustainability, nutritious food, and local agriculture.

Community Harvest Supper

Cabot Farm to School is about much more than nutrition, curriculum, and gardens—it's about building community...learning and growing together. On November 2, the group hosted a Community Harvest Supper. Cabot Chef Brock Miller and students K-8 worked together to prepare a delicious meal that included smoked local pork from Snug Valley Farm, chickens from Socks Family Farm, veggies from Bull Shed Farm, Cabot Smith Farm, Dancin’ Carrot Farm, Carpenter-Pitkin Farm, and Sunny Meadow Farm, tempeh from Rhapsody, and apples and cider from Burtt’s Orchard. A huge thanks to all our farm partners and volunteers who helped make the event a tremendous success. Over 200 community members enjoyed a delicious meal and musical entertainment from Cabot School musicians and singers. We hope to make the event an annual tradition!

Cabot’s Farm to School program is off to atremendous start. We are looking to expand our network and increase community involvement. If you would like to participate in farm to school activities, garden workdays, and other related events, please email Peter Stratman at [email protected].

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ADVICE FROM THE TREE WARDEN

As we head into the holidays, winter appears to have arrived on schedule with a strong storm to start. The Halloween storm is past, but the damage to our trees from the harsh winds is heavy in some places and will be slow to clean up. In a small softwood stand at the front of my property, I had six trees blown over by the heavy winds. I'm sure there are many people who are also cleaning up the damage in their forest. Unfortunately, with climate change, these wind events are becoming regular occurrences. These high wind events require cleanup of the storm damage to trees that can be both dangerous and exhausting. The trees that have fallen due to wind are usually under tension or compression. Sometimes, trees are even stacked on top of each other, making cutting more difficult. Essentially, they can be preloaded with all the energy from being blown over. The energy stored in the trees needs to be released slowly, or from a safe distance if this can't be done. Care should also be given to avoid the uprooted stump when cutting the stems of fallen trees from the roots, should it want to fall flat again. Another concern when cutting tree stems from the roots is the seemingly hung up stem releasing from the tree or trees it fell into when cut. Be aware and stay out from underneath these trees. These are just a few of the hazards encountered when cleaning up storm damaged trees. In my first two days of cutting the storm damage from the Halloween storm, I have experienced each of the situations described above. This past Spring and Summer I attended Game of Logging level 1 through level 4 at Under Orion farm in Cabot. The second weekend of the trainings given by Northeast Woodlands training was level 3 and level 4. During the two training days, I was taught many techniques for cutting hazardous trees and safely pulling hung up trees to the ground. I can't say enough about how valuable this training is when confronted with storm damage clean up, and recommend it to anyone interested in working safely in the woods. On the Emerald Ash Borer infestation the State is confronted with, there have been several more towns confirmed to have EAB late this past summer. They are Alburg, Derby, and Londonderry. The infestation map on www.vtinvasives.org has been updated, if anyone wishes to see how far EAB has spread in Vermont.

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Upcoming Events at the Jaquith Public Library

All events are free and held at the library. 122 School St. Room 2, Marshfield, VT.

For info call: 426-3581, email: [email protected] or visit our website:

www.jaquithpubliclibrary.org

Holiday Sing-along Wednesday, December 11, at 6:45 p.m. We will join our voice together and sing for fun and joy. Erica Mitchell will lead us with her voice and guitar. People are welcome to bring instruments and play along. No experience is necessary! All ages welcome!! Song sheets will be provided and refreshments.

Solstice Storytelling Circle Friday, December 13, from 6:30 p.m.

Part of this story may be missing here. See the original pages, page 10 onward.

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CABOT PUBLIC LIBRARY FALL NEWS

Read to Me, our new program that provides free books to every child in Cabot for the first three years of their life, was launched in July of this year. Thanks to the family and many friends of Mary Tebbetts, the first year of the program will be funded from their donations to the library, in Mary’s memory. Please consider sponsoring a child for a year with a $30 donation. Tuesdays – 10:00 a.m. Preschool Story Hour: Join Beth Wade and Mary Lou DeLacy for stories, songs, and crafts! Come for our Holiday Story Hour Tuesday, December 17, for special stories, songs, crafts and treats! Story Hour follows the Cabot school schedule. Tuesday, December 3 – 9-10:15 a.m. - Yoga & Active Isolated Stretching (AIS) - Alicia Feltus: Join Alicia for an energizing stretch & strengthening class followed by deep relaxation! Yoga tones organs and glands, improves hormone balance, sleep, digestion and mood! AIS provides an effective, dynamic, facilitated stretching of major muscle groups, restoring fascial planes. Learn unique sequences to isolate and stretch major muscle groups to increase blood and lymph flow, prevent injury and improve injury recovery. Saturday, December 14, and January 11 – 7:30 p.m.: Contra dances are always on the second Saturday of the month, September – May – please look for flyers indicating each month’s musicians. All are invited. The dances are taught and are easily learned by young and old. The contra and square dances are traditional Vermont and New England social dances that have been danced for many generations in town halls, barns, and kitchens around Vermont. The music is provided by piano and an assortment of fiddles, mandolins, guitars, and the occasional surprise instrument. Musicians are always invited to sit in and join the fun of playing traditional dance tunes. There is a small suggested donation to help cover the cost of the caller. For more information, please call David Carpenter at 802- 426-3225 or email [email protected].

December and January - Saturdays, 9:15-10:30 a.m. (except December 21)– Christyn King - Yoga for Every Body aims to foster a sense of inclusivity, accessibility, and playful enthusiasm to the process of coming home to ourselves. The more that we inhabit our bodies, cultivating space and strength to be with the edges that we encounter within ourselves, the more resilient and compassionate we become in our relationships with others. Bringing more yoga (the word itself translates to ‘union’) to our village in the spirit of strengthening and uniting our community, one body at a time. A generous CCF grant (Cabot Community Fund) has allowed the purchase of props (mats, blocks, straps, etc.) to outfit the Willey Building for weekly classes and monthly workshops, all of which will be donation based, to create a wide open door that invites everyone to come, regardless of income, ability, age, etc. If you have a body, you belong! January’s workshop will be a children’s yoga and mindfulness “play shop” on Sunday, January 12, from 10:00 a.m.noon. Best suited for ages 4 -12. Mats and props provided. More information can be found at www.livingwith guts.org or by emailing Christyn at [email protected]. Wednesday, December 18,3–4:30 p.m.

– Holiday Craft Making Workshop – Gingerbread Houses, Holiday Lanterns, Origami Stars, Cookie Decorating, and more - All are welcome! Community Book Group meets monthly – usually the third Wednesday of the month at 10:30 a.m. Check the library for dates/times and to pick up copies of the latest book. All are welcome! Check out our website at www.cabotlibrary.com for the latest information on upcoming programs. Email [email protected] or call 802-563- 2721. If we don’t have it, we’ll get it for you! We hope you all have happy, healthy and safe holidays and wishing peace for 2020! Much gratitude to the Library Trustees for their time and dedication to the library: Linda Gabrielson, Jeannie McCallum, Angela Ogle, Kurt Steinert and Beth Wade.

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Mutual Aid in Rural Fire Service

When Cabot Fire Department (CFD) is dispatched, volunteers and equipment will respond anytime and any weather. Very often, multiple departments will be called for one incident. Why is this? Mutual aid agreements between neighboring departments. These agreements outline criteria for when departments are needed to provide help with an incident. CFD regularly both receives and provides aid to neighboring communities. Rural departments rely on mutual aid for help with additional personnel, trucks and equipment. An incident is ever evolving and requires the Fire Chief to be aware of what is needed for the initial moments, and anticipate what is needed further into the incident. At an incident dispatched “house filling with smoke, unknown occupancy,” first on scene would look for smoke, determine occupancy and alert dispatch of findings. Due to Cabot’s geography and the mutual aid agreements with other FDs, another FD crew might be first on scene. Regardless, time is of the essence, and someone on scene to alert dispatch of the required response is critical. Multiple departments would be dispatched to ensure all is in place if it became a structure fire. Some FDs might remain on standby at their stations. One structure fire can rely on as many as 50 people of different skills and physical abilities and multiple departments’ worth of trucks and equipment. Mutual aid agreements ensure a quick and adequate response. Each department has slightly different equipment, volunteers who have specialized certifications and a wide range of professional skills from their civilian life. CFD is grateful for aid and is always ready to help our neighbors.

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Cabot Ambulance PSA

…place at first, or been delayed, due to no E911 address posted, or the address numbers being too small, dark, inconspicuous, or hidden by foliage etc. This causes a potential delay in an emergency response, which could be easily remedied! Here are some guidelines to consider:  Make sure that you have your E911

address number posted or displayed in a location easily visible from the road which the number is assigned on or to.  The numbers should be at least 3

inches high, and should be block numerals (not fancy Script, or writing that isn’t easy to read).  The numbers should be of a color

which is contrasting with the background they are on, and if possible, they should be reflective.  If you have a mailbox, you should put

the numbers on BOTH sides of the box, and/or on the post for the box, at least 39” to 40” high.  If you don’t have a mailbox, or if your mailbox is on the opposite side of the road, you can/should display the numbers on the house, in a place which is clearly visible from the road and not obscured by foliage or other things.  If your house is more than 50 feet from the road and/or not clearly visible from the road, you should consider placing the numbers on the house AND on a post out at the road.  Do not put signs or number on utility (telephone/electric) poles, or county /town signs or posts.  If there is more than one residence right next to or near each other, or different apartments, make sure it is clear which is which. If you have any other questions, you should be able to ask a member of the fire department or ambulance service. Also, Cabot Fire Department can make nice E911 signs! Thank you for your attention in this matter! Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas!! Respectfully, Daniel Peterson

The beginning of this story may be missing here. See the original pages, page 11.

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