Happy New Year!
Please send news, ads, and items of interest to the
Town Clerk by January
23rd
to townclerk@wallingfordvt.com.
Support the
Revised Ordinance – Regulation of
Animals
The Selectboard has revised the animal
control ordinance to include a dog waste violation effective January 7, 2012.
Read the proposed ordinance at www.wallingfordvt.com
under Ordinances.
Selectboard
Vacancy
In accordance with the provisions of 24 V.S.A. §961(a)‚
the Wallingford Selectboard hereby announces a vacancy on the Selectboard
effective January 3rd.
Looking for a great holiday gift idea for your hunter
or fisherman? Purchase a gift certificate before 12/23 for a 2012 license
from the Wallingford Town Clerk's office.
The Wallingford
Town
Office will be closed Friday, December 23rd & Monday, December
26th. The Transfer Station will be
open its normal days throughout the holiday season.
Free
Wooden platforms, approx. 75"L X 35"W and some 18" or
60"H. Can be seen at the
Six Used Tires
for
Town
Meeting
On March 6th, Wallingford
voters will elect the following officers for the term noted:
Town Moderator – 1 Year
School Moderator – 1 Year
Town Agent – 1 Year
Grand Juror – 1 Year
First Constable – 1 Year
Selectboard Member – 1 Year (to complete a 3-year term)‚ 1 Year (to complete
a 2-year term) and 2 Years & 3 Years
Wallingford
MRU
Lister – 2 Years (to complete a 3-Year Term) & 3 Years
Auditor – 2 Years (to complete a 3-year Term) & 3 Years
Trustee of Public Funds – 3 Years
The deadline for submitting petitions for articles to be placed on the
warning for Town Meeting is January 26th and January 30th for town
offices.
There are still vacancies as follows: Planning
Commission (2 vacancies), Development Review Board (2 vacancies), Energy
Committee, Conservation Commission, Recreation Committee, and Emergency
Management Coordinator.
Christmas
Tree Recycling
Mobile
Home Owners
If you own a mobile home, stop by the
Town Clerk’s office to pick up a copy of the “Do-it-Yourself”
Mobile Home Energy Efficiency booklet on tips to help you save money, save
energy and live more comfortably.
Zoning
Permits Issued
None
Property Transfers
Seller:
Michael & Esther Barna, 548 Senecal Way, E.
Seller:
Joan Huddleston, 354 Olde Pine Lane, Wallingford, Buyers: Michael & Darlene Hughes, Assessed value $232,500, Purchase price
$240,000.
Seller:
Town of Wallingford
-Foreclosure,
Wallingford’s 250th anniversary ceremony, in
the making for months, was a washout Aug. 28, literally.
Hot dogs and hamburgers that sat waiting at the Wallingford volunteer firehouse
to be broiled at the Boy Scout camp at Lake Elfin on that summer Sunday turned
into necessary nourishment for people who tried to save their homes from
floodwaters on River Street, as the effects of Tropical Storm Irene worsened by
the minute. Volunteers also ate the food that was supposed to be served
during the town historical society’s big birthday event.
They turned into staples that happened to be in the right place at the right
time, said Town Clerk Joyce Barbieri, who was one of about 20 former and present
residents who gathered in Town Hall on Sunday to finally hold the celebration.
“It was cancelled in historic fashion,” said resident and Wallingford
business owner Lisa Marie Donohue. Sunday’s celebration was the opposite of
the planned, big outdoor gathering.
It was intimate and quaint, with a small crowd of retired military
men flanked by the historical society’s best preserved items — a linen
duster coat from the Marsh/Tarbell estate, a 1911 Navy uniform of Francis Hoaley
and the World War II Army uniform of Robert Eddy.
There were snowshoes and antique rakes. One speaker said the town’s earliest
settlers were traced back to the Mayflower.
A small radio punched out the tunes, “
Most
attendees who entered their names in a hat got a door prize of three months
worth of horoscope readings, a handmade doll or $100 off a pellet stove. Most
of what was planned for the celebration was gone, but not lost, Barbieri said.
About 10
The farm received $12,000 from those businesses and others during a Sept. 25
fundraising event, said
“The
Flood” by Myles Tristan Donohue‚ Age 4
The
river was hungry.
It
saw some land.
So‚
it took a bite.
And
carried it away.
{Please
note that these meeting minutes are a brief summary and are not the final
approved version.}
Selectboard
11/21/11. Present:
B. Brooks‚ F. Bruce, N. Tift, and R. Regula
Charlie Woods
reported on the status of the grader. Charlie discussed the grading done by Dan
Allard. He hired A-1 Sewer to clean
out three culverts that were full of stones from the flood that he was unable to
unplug.
Ralph Nimtz and
Jay White from NBF Architects presented the estimated costs for a building a new
garage or refurbishing the existing structure.
It would cost approximately $294‚300 to rehab the existing building
plus $19‚000 in architectural and engineering fees.
It would cost an estimated $500‚000 based on $100 per sq. ft. to build
a new building in the location of the salt shed plus $10‚000 to remove the
salt shed and $22‚000 in architectural and engineering fees.
There may also be issues building in the flood plain.
Fees for filling in the site to above flood plain‚ new water and sewer
connections‚ and civil engineering costs were not included as they are
unknown. F. Bruce brought up his recommendation again to purchase a metal
building from Morton Buildings Inc.
The preliminary figures for the Capital and Town Governments
budgets for FY13 were completed.
Hugo Bailey chose Phil Baker to perform his bank stabilization
work. 13 property owners are seeking
abatement for flood damage.
12/05/11.
Present:
B. Brooks‚ F. Bruce, N. Tift, J. Gilman‚
and R. Regula
The
Town’s public safety and recreation budgets were preliminarily completed.
The Sheriff’s Dept. has received a COPS grant that will allow Wallingford
to have a full-time deputy over a four-year period that would be shared equally
with possibly Clarendon. The financial obligation on the Town’s behalf would
be $17‚680 in FY 13 and then basically a 2% increase per year thereafter for
3-4 years. This position would
provide 40 hours of weekly patrol coverage to Wallingford, which is a huge increase for the money.
Chris
Dinnan resigned from the Energy Committee‚ Jack and Anna Tally were appointed
to the Energy Committee‚
An
outdoor storage of junk violations was issued.
The
Selectboard approved to hire DuBois & King for consultant engineering
services for the retaining walls that were damaged as a result of the flood.
Changes
were made to the Capital and Town Government budgets since the last meeting that
included budgeting for the reclamation of the “pit”.
The Selectboard hired NBF to prepare the final design and bid documents
for rehab of the Town Garage. The
Selectboard approved opening credit account with Adirondack Tire Centers.
VAST will be notified that the Homer Stone trail will be closed to
snowmobiling because of a safety issue.
John
Tiffany will be offered part-time employment to perform lister work for the
Town.
Prudential Committee
11/30/11.
Present:
S. Sendra, D. Stocker and A. Sharp
David
Naaktgeboren reviewed a proposal to take over the day-to-day running of the
water/sewer systems. He went over
what he could offer that we cannot give our employees now.
He is a new company trying to get more business.
The
dates for all the budget meetings were set as follows: Lodge is going to be done
tonight, Fire Protection will be Dec. 1st at 6:30,
Water/Sewer will be Dec. 7th at 6:00, and General at our next
meeting on Dec. 14th.
The
Lodge financials for this past season were reviewed with a look ahead for next
season’s bookings. The new
proposed budget has an increase of $1‚400 due to electric and supplies cost
going up.
Conservation Commission
11/28/11.
Present: S. Pytlik, C.
Macleod, A. Tiplady, M. Pramuk, J. Gilman, D. Scranton, and D. Klock
Reviewed
boardwalk grant work plan, budget, and deliverables.
WCC
has not used the entire $9,500 from the boardwalk grant because of volunteer
work performed by the WCC. WCC will
ask that this money go toward benches and brochures. WCC will request $1,000 for
FY13 budget.
The
town may be using Willis Consulting for reclamation of the entire former Pit
area, with hopefully one round of input from both the Recreation Commission and
the WCC.
Carol
will check with Roaring Brook making benches.
Wallingford
Elementary School
11/17/11. Present:
K. Fredette, J. Rodgers‚ and P.
Rondinone
The
board and administrators discussed the budget, went over suggestions to save
money, and had an extensive discussion on technology.
The
principal reviewed electrical work completed (three outside light ballast
replacement kits and gym ceiling fan), requests for use of building and current
enrollment-129. K-18, 1st -
15, 2nd - 14, 3rd - 18, 4th - 16, 5th -
19, 6th- 14/15.
Superintendent’s
Report – The RSSU Transportation Committee met 11/8 to work on the
recommendation to RSSU for Phase II of the Consolidation Plan. The committee is
comparing cost savings resulting from combining existing routes and reducing the
numbers of elementary and high school runs from 10 to 8, versus consolidating
elementary and high school runs to one in the morning and one in the afternoon.
It is also wrestling with how to assess costs back to each town - ADM,
equalized pupil, ridership, or mileage.
Preliminary
budget recommendations from Wild Branch for upgrading technology will be
forthcoming from the tech committee. The board should discuss adding $3,000, to
$4,000 to next year’s budget to compensate for the loss of Title II
professional development funds from the Consolidated Federal Grant program.
Several
staff members throughout the SU have been attending the VT DoE sessions on
planning for implementation of the Common Core standards over the last two
weeks. A meeting is being planned to
review the roll out and implementation schedule for the new standards.
The
board discussed
12/01/11. Present:
K. Fredette, D. Klock, J. Rodgers‚ and P.
Rondinone
Steve
Dale, Executive Director of VSBA, gave a presentation on the upcoming
legislative session and VSBA functions.
Current enrollment is 129.
K-18, 1st - 15, 2nd - 14, 3rd -
18, 4th - 16, 5th - 19, 6th- 14/15.
The
board talked about the 6th grade field trip and how it should be
educational, affordable, and fun. The
Field Trip policy was reviewed. Principal Lienhardt will follow up with a letter
to 6th grade parents.
The
elementary teachers’ master agreement was ratified.
The
Transportation Committee worked hard and came up with a good set of
recommendations for proceeding with Phase II of the consolidation plan.
While significant savings are not projected for next year’s
transportation assessments due to projected increased fuel costs, we anticipate
the combining of several routes should help keep mileage, driver salary, and
repair and maintenance costs down in future budgets.
The policy that is ready to be warned in January which affects salary and benefit recommendations for support staff would go into effect in FY13.
The
committee has agreed to recommend reorganizing each school’s Policy Book along
the lines of the VSBA’s structure so that all future updates of policies can
take advantage of the work being done by the Association to keep their model
policies up to date.
“Wallingford
Seniors’ Happenings”
Foot and blood pressure clinic on Wednesday, January 4th at 10:30 a.m.
at the Wallingford House.
Remember Seniors’ lunch every Monday at Noon at the
Rotary. Contact Linda Weightman at
446-2301.
We will hold bingo on
the 2nd Monday of each month at the Rotary building at 1 p.m. The public
is welcome.
The Gilbert
Hart Library
We are entering a new era at the
library. Beginning January 23rd, patron barcodes will be used to
check out materials. Cataloging into the koha system began last June and
at this point the majority of items have been entered. The process of
updating patron information and assigning barcodes is the major effort for
January. You do not need to have internet access to check out books, but
if you should want to view the catalog online‚ visit catalog.kohavt.org where
you can search for books as well as browse our stacks. Watch for
information sessions to be held at the library to get folks comfortable with
using the new system, or stop by and ask Wendy for a demonstration. As
mentioned previously, the barcode identifier you receive will also allow you
borrowing privileges on listenupvermont.org, a site where downloadable audios
and e-books are available. And you can also sign up for free online
courses at Universal Class through the VT Dept of Libraries website. What
a great year to be a library patron!
Library Hours
Tues:
10 - 5:00
Wed:
10 – 8:00
Thurs & Fri: 10 – 5:00
Saturday:
9 – 12:00
Telephone
446-2685
Hart Lines
By the Friends of Gilbert Hart Library
It’s hard to believe another year
has gone by, but I know that many Vermonters won’t forget this year in a long
time. Our thoughts are with you.
With
the holidays over, we look to the future for meaningful activity. There’s much
at the Library to fit the bill. Think of all the books there! And there are even
more downstairs that are for sale at bargain prices.
News
about automation: the changeover from the present system should occur on January
23rd, and should make taking out items more efficient for everyone.
Whist
parties in January are on the 13th and 27th both Friday
nights at 7:00 p.m.
We
will be showing a movie, The Help,
at the Town Hall on the big screen, on January 23rd, a Monday, at
1:30 following the Senior Meal at the
The
Library will also be collecting box tops for education. Find the collection box
in the vestibule of the Library.
Rug
braiding classes will be starting in February on the 4th and 11th,
and in March on the 3rd and 10th on Saturdays from 9 to 12
in the Klock Room.
On
the First Wednesday, January 4th, Rutland Free Library will feature
film expert, Rick Winston, speaking on What
Makes a Classic Film? Time is 7:00 p.m.
Now
an event to look forward to in April. We have started the process with the
Vermont Humanities Council to obtain the Old Country Fiddler for a program on
Wednesday, April 18th. Further details will be available in future
issues of this newsletter.
Also
in the future, look for scheduling of book discussions; also, we can always use
books for our on-going sale. No encyclopedias, magazines or text-books, musty or
yellowed, torn or coverless. Thank you.
Events for the
Maple Valley Grange #318 on Route 7 in
Every Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. Line Dancing.
$5 per person. Snack bar
available. Beginners &
experienced.
Every Thursday Martial
Arts at 6:30 p.m.
The Chipman Lodge 52 FAM holds monthly meetings
on the second Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at the Lodge.
Suicide Survivors Support Group monthly meetings for
those who have lost a loved one through suicide are held at the Maple Leaf
Clinic, 167 North Main Street
in
Wallingford
Neighborhood Watch
If
you’d like to receive emails under the
HELP WANTED HELP WANTED
Jr. Firefighters – Age 13-18 –
Senior Firefighters – Age 18 - ?
We will train.
Volunteers needed -- Age 13- seniors for Fundraisers,
work details, events! Contact
Charlie Gauthier at 353-0996 for details.
Wallingford
Memorial Rotary Club Dinner
Pork Roast Dinner on
Saturday, January 28th from 5 to 7 p.m. $10
adults and $5 child under 12. Take-outs
available – call 802-353-5323. Benefit:
Community projects and MRUHS Scholarships.
Community Food Shelves
The First Congregational Church of
Wallingford’s Food Shelf will be open on Monday mornings from 9-11 a.m. All
other times‚ contact Evelyn Smith at 446-2341.
St.
Patrick’s Church in Wallingford’s Food Cupboard is open in the rectory on Tuesdays & Thursdays from 11
a.m. to 3 p.m. and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to Noon.
Call Jerry at 446-2161 with questions.
BURIAL LOTS FOR
Call Charles Gauthier at 353-0996
Terms:
20% down; balance paid in 10 monthly payments. Deed will be written when last
payment is made. If APPLICANT FAILS TO MAKE FINAL PAYMENT AS AGREED, APPLICANT
WILL FORFEIT 20% DOWN PAYMENT. ANY
ADDITIONAL MONEY PAID WILL BE RETURNED TO APPLICANT.
Wallingford
has a
chance to win up to $12,050
NeighborWorks®
of Western Vermont invites Wallingford
- and all Rutland
Wallingford
will win $50 for every completed improvement
regardless if the target is reached.
All towns that
achieve their target number are eligible to win one of two $10,000 awards for
the following categories:
- Town
with the highest percent of home energy improvements completed per capita
- Town
with the highest average energy savings
(Please note that a
town can only win one category in the bonus round.) All financial awards must go
toward an energy efficiency improvement activity, such as weatherizing a town
building; purchasing materials for an energy curriculum at your local school, or
helping residents or businesses improve energy efficiency.
The target number
for each town is 5% of the number of households owning a home.
All home energy
improvements must be finished (with “test-out” complete) by May 31, 2012,
and winners will be announced by July 15, 2012.
Join your friends
and neighbors. It starts with one call to the NeighborWorks H.E.A.T. Squad for a
Home Energy Check-Up. Stop wasting money on utility and energy costs to keep
your home comfortable! ACT NOW and make your home count! Call (802) 438-2303 x
227 to schedule your check-up or visit www.heatsquad.org
for more information.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Getting
It Done Under
the banner “NeighborWorks H.E.A.T. Squad”, we have developed a
“One-Stop-Shop” for home energy improvements to include:
Help scheduling a
“home energy check-up” wherein a certified energy professional conducts a
detailed analysis of energy saving efficiency opportunities in their home;
Help from an Energy
Advocate about technical and financial resources, and works with the homeowner
throughout the entire process
Help with
construction management to ensure that the work is done to the homeowner’s
satisfaction; and,
Access to financing
to help homeowners pay for the energy improvements.
Local partners plan
to use a wide range of techniques to reach people in their communities,
including: door-to-door campaigns, phone-a-thons, and tables at town meeting
day, among other outreach methods. To help assist these efforts, NeighborWorks
will provide educational packets and marketing materials, conduct workshops, and
maintain a website with town-by-town updates on the competition.
NeighborWorks will be glad to come to your community to explain how the
competition works.
In
July 2010, NeighborWorks received a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to
implement a county-wide effort to achieve wide-scale energy savings, create
jobs, and put in place the infrastructure for long-term energy savings in
To
Farmers and Farm Enthusiasts
Will you need a work crew this spring
to address ongoing recovery needs from Tropical Storm Irene? Or are you
interested in being a volunteer for a spring work day helping damaged farms in
continued rebuilding efforts? The Rutland Area Farm and Food Link (RAFFL) is
compiling a database of volunteers and work projects for the spring of 2012. We
have some school and church groups, as well as individuals who are all
interested in helping damaged farms address ongoing recovery needs. As an
affected farm, please contact us if you have work projects that could use a
group of volunteers.
If you are an eager
volunteer, or have a group that would be interested, get in touch so we can add
you to our database. Email RAFFL at info@rutlandfarmandfood.org or call (802)
417-1528.
For affected farmers, we
have a compiled list of resources, upcoming events, and deadlines for flood
recovery services. Please contact us if you need information.
To community members, thank
you for supporting your regional farms. To farmers, we hope that you are finding
the support you need during this challenging recovery time.
Rheumatoid Arthritis Support Group
Monday, January 9th - the
purpose of our group is to share stories, provide support, suggest strategies
and tips for dealing with RA, invite speakers to attend who can offer disease
management advice and to simply socialize with others living with RA.
We meet on the first floor of the RSVP/FGP/One-2-One office at 6 Court
Street. The office is next to Grace
Congregational Church. Please park in the church parking lot, walk down the
driveway next to the office and enter in the side door off the ramp.
Any
questions, please call
Tinmouth Pond Camp for