Thursday, December 19, 2013
News to Know November 14th
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This communication is put together and distributed on a
volunteer basis by resident Corinne Stridsberg simply in an effort to share
information and build community, it is not from the town of Berlin .
Please share this with your Berlin
friends and neighbors. If you're not
already receiving this news by email, send an email to request this to corinnestridsberg@gmail.com
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Check out the Berlin , Vermont
Community News page on facebook to find bits of current news: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Berlin-Vermont/205922199452224
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Included below please find:
SMALL TOWN GIRL GOING ON TOUR WITH JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE
U-32 PRODUCTION OF LES MIS WAS INCREDIBLE!
PROPERTY TAX INSTALLMENT DUE FRIDAY
HUNTER'S BREAKFAST (BUT EVERYONE IS WELCOME!) SATURDAY
INCREASING PARTICIPATION AND
FEEDBACK
CASINO NIGHT HOSTED BY BERLIN
VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPT.
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SMALL
TOWN GIRL GOING ON TOUR WITH JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE
Congratulations to Lindsay Richardson who grew up here in Berlin ! She is living her dream and going on tour as
a dancer with Justin Timberlake. Clearly
it's taken a lot of work and perseverance to get to where she is today. Check out the details at this link:
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U-32
PRODUCTION OF LES MIS WAS INCREDIBLE!
Those of you who were in the audience at one of the Les Misrables
shows last week at U-32 know what a fabulous show it was. While the audience watched an amazing
emotional performance on the stage and
the songs were incredibly well done, we all know it took a whole crew of people
to make it all happen. Congratulations
to everyone who was involved both on and off the stage including
actors/actresses, design and production staff, and also the phenomenal
orchestra. I would like to give a special
recognition to all the students at U-32 who are from Berlin who were
involved: Aaron Baker, Abby Brewer, Adam
Brewer, Kay Bushman, Nathan Chan, Molly Cowan, Shea Croteau, Trey Croteau, Kellyn "Kelty" Edraney, Madeline
Goddard, Signe Goddard, Kira Johnson, Brendan Marineau, Fiona Nichols-Fleming,
Emily Richards, Joseph Sanguinetti, Kevin Thayer, Kate Turner, Minda
Stridsberg, along with Berlin parents, Heather Clark-Warner, David Sanguinetti
and Craig Marineau.
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PROPERTY
TAX INSTALLMENT DUE FRIDAY
The next installment for Berlin Property Taxes are due
Friday (11/15/13 ).
Although the Town Clerk's office is closed on Fridays (Rosemary is there but
hard at work), the Town Treasurer, Diane, will indeed be in her office until 4pm and the lock box outside the front door can
also be used for your payment.
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HUNTER'S BREAKFAST (BUT EVERYONE IS WELCOME!)
SATURDAY
Annual Hunter's
Breakfast is being put on by the Berlin Vol. Fire Department on SATURDAY
(ONLY),November 16th at the FOUR CORNERS STATION from 4am to 10am $7 per
person, children under 5 free. Come and enjoy a hearty breakfast cooked by your
local Fire Fighters. You don't need to be a hunter to come participate in this
community breakfast!
PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGES - the last few years it
was down at the Riverton Fire Station and was on both Saturday and Sunday.
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Vermont Life magazine is
supporting the music/theater students who will be participating on a three day
trip to NYC in May 2014 by contributing more than 50% of the cost of
subscriptions placed between now and December 6th, 2013 .
Take advantage of this offer by visiting this special page: http://www.vermontlife.com/u32musictrip
This trip is still in the
planning stages and tentatively includes tours of the Lincoln
Center for the Performing Arts, the
Apollo, and Harlem , a behind-the-scenes look at Avery
Fisher Hall and the Metropolitan Opera House, and dinner and live music at the
Cotton Club. Students will participate in a Broadway workshop and attend a
matinee performance of a Broadway show.
A subscription to Vermont Life
includes four issues along with a digital subscription for just $18.97.
Subscribing to Vermont Life
supports local writers, photographers, small businesses (such as Lane Press,
where the magazine is printed), and helps tell the story of Vermont
to the world.
If you don't have a specific
student to support, our daughter, Minda, is participating in the trip. Also
note that when placing an order at http://www.vermontlife.com/u32musictrip without naming a particular student,
the NYC trip will still benefit. What a great local offer which could also be
of interest to long distance family and friends!
Please consider placing an order.
Thank you.
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Increasing Participation & Feedback
Hi all - I've been mulling over a few ideas for making it
easier for all of you to participate in the Town-wide decisions that affect
you. I'll get right to it and discuss each in turn:
1) Childcare at Selectboard meetings
I don't know exactly how this would work out, but other towns have experimented with providing free childcare to folks attending Selectboard meetings. There have been times that I had to miss a meeting because I was taking care of my kids, and I suspect I'm not the only one.
I don't know exactly how this would work out, but other towns have experimented with providing free childcare to folks attending Selectboard meetings. There have been times that I had to miss a meeting because I was taking care of my kids, and I suspect I'm not the only one.
2) Live-streamed audio or video of Selectboard meetings
Though the Internet connection I use at meetings can be a bit spotty, I can set up a live stream of the meetings with either audio or video feeds. It may also be possible to have a realtime chat window so that you could ask questions while the meeting is going on.
Though the Internet connection I use at meetings can be a bit spotty, I can set up a live stream of the meetings with either audio or video feeds. It may also be possible to have a realtime chat window so that you could ask questions while the meeting is going on.
3) Citizen meetings
The formal structure and recording of Selectboard meetings can be intimidating. As long as there's not more than two Selectboard members present, we could set up separate meetings (or conference calls?) forBerlin residents who have
concerns they want to chat about, and the meetings wouldn't have to be on the
public record.
The formal structure and recording of Selectboard meetings can be intimidating. As long as there's not more than two Selectboard members present, we could set up separate meetings (or conference calls?) for
4) A paper newsletter
Though I post pretty frequently here and Corinne Stridsberg keeps everyone up-to-date with news items, the Town could send an official newsletter (quarterly? annually?) to allBerlin residents in the mail
that contains some similar information.
Though I post pretty frequently here and Corinne Stridsberg keeps everyone up-to-date with news items, the Town could send an official newsletter (quarterly? annually?) to all
5) Online feedback systems
When there are issues coming up for a vote by the Selectboard, we are often guessing about what folks would want us to do or hear only from those folks who happen to be in the audience at the time. I've been working on setting up a system that allows for robust discussion and a good indication of where people stand on various issues. Here are a few sample questions, with links to the fully-functioning discussion pages:
When there are issues coming up for a vote by the Selectboard, we are often guessing about what folks would want us to do or hear only from those folks who happen to be in the audience at the time. I've been working on setting up a system that allows for robust discussion and a good indication of where people stand on various issues. Here are a few sample questions, with links to the fully-functioning discussion pages:
"Should we switch budget-related questions at Town
Meeting to a floor vote?"
https://jeremy-hansen.consider.it/94f4712888
https://jeremy-hansen.consider.it/94f4712888
Is there anyone out there who would take advantage of any of
these? Let me know and if there's interest, I'll move forward with them.
Jeremy
279-6054
279-6054
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Randall Drive-In in Bethel
is trying to raise $45,000 by Friday, December 13th to enable the drive-in to
go digital and not go dark. So far
$6,133 has been pledged. If the goal is
not reached, none of the pledges will be used.
Every pledge that can be made would be greatly appreciated, even if it's
just a few dollars. For more information, including some fun incentives to
pledge, check out this link:
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CASINO NIGHT HOSTED BY BERLIN VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPT.
Saturday, November 23 from 6pm - 11pm at the Barre Elks Club. Advance tickets are $25/single, $40/couple -
call Brady 498-5845 with questions or for tickets. Games: Texas
Hold'Em, Black Jack, Roulette, Vegas Dice.
Lots of great prizes.. Sponsors
include: Comfort Inn & Maplewood, Ayer Auto Inc, Bouchard Pierce, Kinney
Drugs, Always On Time Signs & Design, Gardner Insurance, and Sears.