Thursday, December 19, 2013

 

News to Know November 14th

BERLIN NEWS TO KNOW Nov 14, 2013
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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
VERMONT LIFE MAGAZINE SUPPORING NYC TRIP
INCREASING PARTICIPATION AND FEEDBACK
RANDALL DRIVE-IN KICKSTARTER DRIVE TO GO DIGITAL (OR GO DARK)
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 SUPPORTING NYC TRIP
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

Jeremy Hansen – Selectboard Member, Berlin
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.
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.
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?) for
Berlin residents who have concerns they want to chat about, and the meetings wouldn't have to be on the public record.
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 all
Berlin residents in the mail that contains some similar information.
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:
"Should we prohibit parking on Mirror Lake Road?"
https://jeremy-hansen.consider.it/369849b75c
"Should we switch budget-related questions at Town Meeting to a floor vote?"
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
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RANDALL DRIVE-IN KICKSTARTER DRIVE TO GO DIGITAL (OR GO DARK)
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:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1148446999/worlds-smallest-drive-in-movie-theater-going-digit
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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.




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