Thanksgiving dinner at the School!

Hello Sudbury!

Please come and join the students and staff at Sudbury Country School
for a Thanksgiving meal at the School on Tuesday, Nov.17th at 12noon.
(We thought we would give you a little recovery time before you sit
down to your dinner at home!) We will have fresh Vermont Turkey with
all the fixings, good coffee and great company. This is a free
dinner, just for fun and to share with our neighbors.

As an added treat, the kids are having a Scholastic book fair on the
same day. Its a great way to pick up some Christmas gifts in a
relaxed shopping venue. Stop by and check out the selection!

And, if you are in the mood on Monday night, Nov 16th,between 6 and
8pm, we will be at school preparing for the next day! Feel free to
stop by and peel some potatoes, or join us for a cup of tea and a
visit. It will be fun!

Happy Thanksgiving! Hope you all can come and share some good fun
with us!

Friends of Sudbury School
(any questions, please contact Colleen Wright (opsarge@earthlink.net)

Centrally located or individual houses?

Do people have an opinion as to if it would be better to have the
yard sale centrally located on the green in front of town hall, or do
you prefer to have it at your individual homes?

If we did it on the green, we could have a bake sale, too...

Thoughts?

Yard sale throughout Sudbury in August?

Hello Friends & Neighbors-

I was feeling the need to divest in the "stuff" that has accumulated
in our years at our house, and am thinking of planning a town-wide
yard sale for some time in mid- to late August. Anyone else
interested? Make a few bucks, and clean up your home by getting rid
of things you don't need!

Leave me a comment or send me an e-mail (jennb33@gmail.com) if you're
interested, and what date would work best for you - August 15 & 16 or
22 & 23.

Thanks!

Jenn Brown

Current Use cut-backs

From: Vermont Natural Resources Council <jmiller@vnrc.org>
Date: Tue, Apr 28, 2009 at 5:36 PM
Subject: URGENT: Help Protect Vermont's Farms and Forests

 

Dear VNRC members, activists and friends,

We need your help.

The Legislature is considering a policy that would undermine a crucial land conservation program that supports Vermont's rural economy. Attempting to fill a budget gap, lawmakers are looking to make a significant and sudden shift in Vermont's long-standing policy to protect and enhance our world-renowned farms, forests, and working landscape.

Undoubtedly, the state must make very difficult decisions about how to balance a budget in these challenging economic times. But targeting a program that contributes over $4 billion to Vermont's economy is counterproductive. 

Lawmakers need to hear right now from Vermonters like you who care about the future of our farm and forestland. Please contact Senate President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin, House Speaker Shap Smith and your legislator. Leadership especially needs to hear that Vermonters want to protect this program.

Vermont would be a drastically different place without the Current Use Program. The program has helped conserve approximately 15,000 properties by taxing them at their "use" value — their working value — not their development value. This has not only helped keep 2 million acres, or one-third of Vermont's total land area intact, but keeping this land in production has contributed billions to our rural economy.

The Legislature is moving swiftly to cap the applicability of the program based on the value of one's property. If a parcel of land is valued at more than $4,000 an acre, a landowner will need to pay taxes on the development value above $4,000 even though the land is conserved through the Current Use Program.

Multi-generation farms and forests owned by hard working Vermonters would be affected by this provision and it would unfairly tax landowners who are land rich and cash poor in areas that happen to have high property values, a move that runs counter to the stated goals of the program.
 
Legislators who are negotiating this deal need to hear loud and clear from constituents that they should NOT cap the current use program. Please contact your legislator today! 

Peter Shumlin, Senate President Pro Tem — senprespt@leg.state.vt.us or 828-3806
Shap Smith, Speaker of the House — speaker@leg.state.vt.us or 828-2245
Your legislator

Call and leave a message for legislators at the Sergeant of Arms office at 802-828-2228. Make sure to leave your name, town of residence and phone number with your message. 

For more information on what you can do to help or on the Current Use Program in general contact VNRC Forest Program Director Jamey Fidel at 802-223-2328 ext. 117 or jfidel@vnrc.org or click here.

Thanks for your help on this important issue!

Sincerely,
The VNRC Team




 

Scare tactics

On 2/12/09 the following article was published in the Herald trying to scare people. 

http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20090212/NEWS01/902120369

The following is my response posted online:

READER COMMENTS

Christina,
Let's not scare the taxpayers! The total municipal taxes are being raised only by $12,518. The budget is up because the State of Vermont forces town treasurers who operate on a calendar year to lug ED taxes forward into the following fiscal year. Since the amount the state rape's the Town of Sudbury as their contribution to the sharkpool rose from $35,000 to more than $161,000 last year, one half of that amount being due next June 1st, that increases the budget. The total expenditures in the budget (less the state's money)is actually only up $5,283.00 and $5,000 of that is the "Allowance for discount" line item. Christina, you really chose the scare mode on this one.

Steve Sgorbati
Town Clerk/ Treasurer
Town of Sudbury

-- Posted by Steve Sgorbati on Thu, Feb 12, 2009, 9:11 am EST