2016 Pawlet Volunteer Fire Department Auction, Thursday, July 28, 6 PM: Join us at the fire house (155 Rt. 133) for the famous PVFD auction! The auction is not only our biggest fundraising event of the year, a community tradition. Items generously donated by local residents and businesses are auctioned off under a big tent erected in front of the firehouse. Sausages, chicken, and an array of baked goods and beverages can be purchased all evening long. At the end of the night, whatever is left goes to whoever wants it, no reasonable offer refused! More details can be found on the department website at www.pawletfire.org.

Act 46 Merger Study Committee Meetings (Pawlet/Rupert/Wells):
Thursday, July 28, 6:30 PM, Mettawee Community School
Monday, August 8, 6:30 PM, Wells Village School
Act 46 is the new education reform law which will require school district mergers in the near future.

Pawlet Public Library Book Sale, Saturday July 30, 9 AM to 4 PM, and Sunday, July 31, 10 AM to 2 PM, Mettawee Community School: The book sale will once again feature thousands of books, a cafe, bake sale. There will be a book signing from 11AM – 1 PM on Saturday with Adriano Manocchia and his book of beautiful fly fishing oil paintings and farming. There is also a Telescope Patio Set to be raffled off on Sunday at 2 PM. Join us for one of the largest book sales in the northeast and help support the Pawlet Public Library! Attention, bakers and gardeners! We’d love to have you bake for the Bake Sale Table at the this event! Does your garden have an abundance of produce you would like to donate? Drop-off is at the school between 8 -9 AM on Saturday, July 30 and between 9 – 10 AM on Sunday, July 31. For other opportunities to help out before, during and after the sale please contact the Library at 802-325-3123.

Flood resiliency workshops and community gathering:  The Poultney Mettowee Conservation District and the Rutland Regional Planning Commission are working on flood resiliency education, planning and project implementation in the Flower Brook Watershed shared by Tinmouth, Danby, and Pawlet. This involves three workshops in July and August leading up to a three-town gathering on August 28, 2016 (the 5^th anniversary of TS Irene) from 11-2 at Edie’s Green in Pawlet Village. All events are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Hilary Solomon, PMNRCD at (802) 287-8339; hilary@pmnrcd.org or Elysa Smigielski, RRPC at (802)779-4454; elysa@rutlandrpc.org. The three workshops and community gathering event are:

• July 30: Let’s Talk Runoff: Keep Your Driveway Out of the Stream – Learn stormwater management tools to minimize impacts to Flower Brook with Southern Vermont Stream Alterations Engineer Josh Carvajal, Danby Road Foreman Charlie Bush, Pawlet Road Commissioner Keith Mason, and Trout Unlimited’s Erin Rodgers leading the discussion at 844 Little Village Road, Danby from 8-10 AM.
• August 3: Green Stormwater: What You Can Do At Home – A presentation with UVM Sea Grant’s Becky Tharp at the Tinmouth Old Firehouse at 7 PM. Find out what you can do to be more flood resilient using rain gardens and other stormwater retention methods on your own property.
• August 13: Flower Brook Hike: Explore Your Watershed – Led by Conservation District Manager, Hilary Solomon, this hike along Flower Brook from Danby to Pawlet will explore the results of weather and land use changes on a sensitive landscape.  Please wear sturdy shoes and be prepared for a several mile hike along an abandoned road.  Some off-trail walking will be included.  Meet at Lilly Hill Road and the Pawlet Danby Road at 9:00 AM for this informational hike.
• August 28: Community Event: Tropical Storm Irene, Five Years Later – Where Are We Now? – Join the three towns of Tinmouth, Danby, and Pawlet for a Flower Brook Community Event on August 28 from 11 AM – 2 PM at Edie’s Green in Pawlet. Presenters include Ned Swanberg, VT DEC Rivers Program; Ethan Swift, VT DEC Watershed Coordinator; and Hilary Soloman, PMNRCD Director. There will also be Tropical Storm Irene Photo and Story Displays. There is great fun for the kids as well: Wonderfeet Museum and the Rutland Area Food and Farm Link (RAFFL) will have hands-on activities, and there will be a Watershed Model and Flume Table: an interactive display with sand and running water that helps users visualize how dynamic streams interact with the landscape.  We’ll have pizza, BBQ, pies and ice cream for sale and rousing music by Spruce Knob Uprising. For those who would like to explore the stream and to better understand its dynamic potential, there will be a hike along the Flower Brook from 2-4 PM starting from Edie’s Green. 

Chriss Monroe Chapel Opening, Sunday, July 31, 3 PM: Join us for the Grand Opening event at the Pawlett Historical Society’s new facility, the renovated Chriss Monroe Chapel in the Mettowee Valley Cemetery in Pawlet, on Cemetery Hill Road (located off VT Route 30, adjacent to the Pawlet Post Office). The opening will take place at 3:00 PM, with Robin Chesnut-Tangerman, State Representative for Pawlet, in attendance. The event will be free; refreshments provided. By agreement between the PHS and Pawlet Cemetery Association, the chapel has been modified to provide program and exhibition space, as well as archive processing and storage space in the back room. This back room is now to be renamed “The Susanne Rappaport Memorial Archive Room.” In addition, an ADA-compliant restroom has been added. These renovations have taken place with the support of a Vermont Arts Council Cultural Facilities Grant. In conjunction with the chapel facility’s opening, there will be an exhibition on the history of past Pawlet businesses, kindly curated by George Bouret with the support of Martha Schoenemann, Sarah Rath and Rose Smith. Please join us for this important event in the life of the Pawlett Historical Society! Please park outside the cemetery fence and walk the fifty yards to the chapel. Attendees may be dropped off at the door, but parking is limited to outside the cemetery fence. Return on August 18 at 7 PM for a presentation by Ken Major, Mettawee Valley Lost and Found, A History of Pawlet and Beyond Through Excavated Objects. For more information contact Steve Williams at 802-645-9529.

Upcoming Pawlet Town Government and School Meetings: All meetings are open to the public and are held at the Pawlet Town Hall on School Street.

• Select Board, Tuesday, August 2 and August 16, 7 PM. If you have a specific topic to discuss with the board and wish to be added to the agenda, please notify Tim at pawletselectbrd@vermontel.netby the Friday before the meeting you are planning to attend. The meeting agenda is posted at the Pawlet and West Pawlet Post Offices and on the town website at least 2 days in advance.
• Energy Group, Monday, August 22, 12 PM.
• Pawlet Planning Commission, Monday, August 22, 7:30 PM.

Roast pork dinner Saturday, August 6, 5 PM, Pawlet Church: The menu includes: roast pork baked with topping, stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, hot vegetables, cabbage, salad, applesauce, fruited Jello, rolls with butter, and hot and cold beverages, and a special dessert. The cost is $12 for adults, $6 for children up to 12 and free for ages 5 and under. Takeout orders can also be made on the day of the dinner by calling the church at 325-3022. 

Vermont Primary Election, Tuesday, August 9: This election is being held to vote for candidates for these offices: U.S. Senator, U.S. Representative, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, State Treasurer, Secretary of State, Auditor of Accounts, Attorney General, State Senator(s), Sate Representative(s) and High Bailiff. The polls will open at 9 AM and close at 7 PM, located at the Pawlet Town Hall, 122 School Street. Sample ballots can be viewed at: http://pawlet.vt.gov/town-offices/town-clerk/ . Please note: Voters will be given 3 ballots to take to the voting booth. ONLY one ballot will be marked. All three ballots will then be taken by the voter to the exit checklist table. The two unvoted ballots will be handed by the voter to a designated elections official who will then deposit the unvoted ballots into an unvoted ballot box. The voted ballot will be taken by the voter and deposited into the vote tabulator. No one will be asked to declare or specify a party. Thank you, Deb Hawkins, Town Clerk 

Notice of Tax Sales: Properties will be sold at public auction at the Pawlet Town Office, a public place located at 122 School St. – Pawlet on the 17th day of August, 2016:

• Parcel ID#0153-2648; E911 address: 2648 Route 153 South
• Parcel ID#0027-0229; E911 address: 229 Robinson Hill Rd.

Detailed information on each property can be found at the Town Office during regular business hours as posted.

Modified Office Hours for Town Clerk during August: Please note the following “modified” office hours for the Town Clerk for a few dates in August:

• Wednesday, August 10, the office will be open from 9-12
• Thursday, August 11, the office will be open from 9-12 (this is the regular schedule for Thursdays)
• Monday, August 22, the office will be open from 9-12
• Tuesday, August 23, the office will be open from 9-12
• Wednesday, August 24, the office will open from 9-12
• Thursday, August 25, 2016, the office will be open from 9-12 (this is the regular schedule for Thursday)

The town offices will be closed Monday, September 5th in observance of Labor Day!

West Pawlet Volunteer Fire Department Auction, Thursday, August 25, West Pawlet Firehouse: The auction event begins at 5:30 p.m. and continues until all items are gone. Auctioneer for the event will be Chriss Mars. The many bargains will include antiques, tools, tables, dressers, mirrors, an old school desk, knick-knacks, glassware, toys and more. All items will be available to view starting at 4 PM. The auction is a charity event in support of the West Pawlet Volunteer Fire Department.  The proceeds from donated items help the department’s general operating costs and for much-needed equipment and training programs. Donated items for the auction are now being gladly accepted by the department.  Please contact the department for assistance getting items to the auction site. Food will be available for purchase; the menu includes grilled burgers, hot dogs and French fried potatoes. Contact:  Dave Hosley, 802-645-0158.

Desert Storm Veterans Memorial Highway:  We have petitioned Vermont State Board of Transportation asking that Vermont Route 22A from Fair Haven in the south to Ferrisburgh in the north be named “The Desert Storm Veterans Memorial Highway.” We have asked all 10 town select boards along Route 22A for their support. The Board will meet in Shoreham at 6 PM on August 17 at the Platt Memorial Library, 279 Main Street, to conduct a public hearing on this request. Please support this tribute to Desert Storm Veterans by writing to the Vermont Board of Transportation, Attention: John Zicconi, 14 Baldwin Street, Montpelier, VT 05602 and asking them to name Vermont Route 22A, “The Desert Storm Veterans Memorial Highway.” Thank you, Steve Leach, U.S. Army Retired, VT State VFW Committee Chairman to name VT Route 22A.

Rutland Area Visiting Nurse offers monthly community health clinics: The Rutland Area Visiting Nurse Association & Hospice sponsors a wide range of clinics for area residents and businesses, including health education, screening, testing, and adult immunizations. For more information visit http://vermontvisitingnurses.org/events/categories/rutland-area/ to learn about their flu and foot care clinics; cholesterol, diabetes and blood pressure screenings; and many other important services.