Charlotte Democrats nominate JP slate for November
Charlotte Democrats met on July 26 to nominate candidates for Justice of the Peace in Charlotte. The nominees will appear on the ballot for the November general election.
The fickle face of farming
Saturday I came back to the farm after the farmers market feeling pretty whooped. It had been unexpectedly hot, and standing behind a grill for four hours had made it even more so. It’s been a hot stretch of weather (hottest July on record, in fact), and rain has been hard to come by. August had started off similarly. And while the forecast has been regularly calling for rain, we have regularly been left high and dry.
“The world is mine oyster”
William Shakespeare captured the combined feeling of opportunity and gumption when Pistol, in Act 2 of The Merry Wives of Windsor, declared “The world is mine oyster!” Opportunity and gumption are just what it takes for a student to alter the predetermined plan to go straight from high school to college and instead add a self-designed gap year.
Cannabis potency: “The cart is before the horse, and the horse hasn’t even been born yet”
The Rotary Club of Charlotte-Shelburne-Hinesburg was recently entertained and informed by its own small version of a TED Talk. The talk was given by Dr. John MacKay, a consulting chemist, who helps cannabis extraction companies test and optimize their product. This report is based on his 30-minute presentation and subsequent correspondence.
Calendar of Events – August 12 – September 22
August 12 Rokeby Museum pie and ice cream social. Having a great day is as easy as pie at…
Carbs are not the bad guy. Really!
Carbs get a bad rap these days. Carbohydrates are our energy source. Not all carbs are created equally. When you eat whole grain carbohydrates, such as bulgur, brown rice, quinoa and kasha (also known as buckwheat groats), you stay satisfied much longer because whole grains take longer to break down in the body and thus provide energy longer.
Senior Center News
Gandalf, Dumbledore, Obi-Wan Kenobi—all old men with wrinkles—and magical powers. So, the magic makes the wrinkles acceptable? Interesting that the magic does not make them go away. Hmm. Perhaps they are (rightly) seen as a badge of honor.
Young Charlotters – Becca von Trapp
Full Belly Farm is a very important place to Becca Von Trapp. She has been farming there for the past seven years. Full Belly is a 400-acre, certified organic farm in the Capay Valley in Northern California (not to be confused with a farm with the same name in Hinesburg) that has produced organic fruits, vegetables, nuts and a variety of meats for over 30 years.
Kids Cook VT runs a pop-up café in Charlotte
On the first day of August, campers from Kids Cook VT ran a Kids Cook pop-up cafe at the Charlotte Congregational Church. Kids Cook VT is a summer camp where kids donate what they cook to various service organizations that support people who are food insecure.
Nothing more
I know I have mentioned this in several different ways since I arrived back here a few months ago, but I wanted to make some things clear, believing that there are readers who harbor misconceptions about the nature of the operations of The News. As has been made abundantly clear by our recent celebratory “ads,” the paper was founded 60 years ago in the basement of the Congregational Church by several enterprising teenagers and the indefatigable Nancy Wood. This newspaper is a nonprofit enterprise, relying on advertising dollars and fundraising efforts to keep the presses rolling. Almost all of the contributors—writers and photographers—do so without compensation, and the staff members receive salaries that would probably make you laugh.
Affordable housing issues discussed at July Selectboard meeting
The July 23 Selectboard meeting was a lengthy one, with over an hour of discussion dedicated to the issue of affordable housing. The town agreement with Volunteer Fire and Rescue Services, as well as the town’s hazardous waste ordinance, were also big-ticket items.
A dime story
The backstory is rich and complicated, but suffice it to say this: Matt Dibley died two years ago in July. Not long after, people started finding dimes, as can be the case when someone dies and the living are more tuned in to spiritual activity. Sometimes the dead leave feathers, sometimes they present as a bird or a butterfly.
Author Judy Chaves shares secrets of Mt. Philo
A full house welcomed local author Judy Chaves to the Charlotte Grange Hall on Friday evening for a presentation about her new book and book signing. Judy, the author of Secrets of Mount Philo, A Guide to the History of Vermont’s First State Park, held the attention of her audience as she related the history of the park and talked about the principles responsible for its creation and the now well-traveled road up the mountain.
Got a few minutes to spare? Learning a poem by heart could be good for your memory!
Do you ever find yourself waiting for a doctor’s appointment and feeling bored with reading the same year-or-two-old magazines? Why not try memorizing a poem? With as little as five minutes a day you can commit a short poem to memory in as little as a week.
Greener lawn and yard care
Many of our lawns are turning brown as we endure day after day of unusually high summer temperatures. But as you might guess, when the Energy Committee uses the word “greener” we’re talking about energy use, not color!
Life of my own design
We all know it’s true: life is a journey filled with fast lanes, traffic jams, breathtaking vistas and ugly roadside motels. What that journey isn’t filled with is dead ends and U-turns. There’s no going back in this long, strange trip—only forward, and this week’s bio comes from a Charlotte woman who, after feeling as though her time here in our little town had run its course, took a deep breath and found that it isn’t the physical place that fulfills but how to occupy that place.
Good news in our natural world
There is some good news betwixt and between the grim tales of drought, wildfires, starvation and war that populate our media. Good news right here in Vermont. Listen up!
Upcoming at the Charlotte Library
Summer Story Time – Reading Fun at Adam’s Berry Farm – Tuesday, July 31 at 9:30 a.m. Meet us at the farm for a summer of berries, great stories, gardening and busy activities. All ages are welcome.
A quirky bunch
When I first moved to Charlotte 22 years ago from New York City it was culture shock, for sure. I had grown tired of NYC and the noise, the pollution and the many, many people. I was eager for a change.
The Charlotte News celebrates 60 years
With this issue we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the News. The very first issue of the paper was printed on July 18, 1958, so technically we have turned 60, but it’s a significant enough milestone that we can’t help but stretch the joy out over the weeks and months of this year.