Letters from Hazel Prindle, Nancy Severance, Jenny Cole and Jessie Bradley, and John Quinney
May 19, 2011, page 2.....

Thanks yous for Green Up Day, Concern about CCC Steeple and Annoucement of Publication of the Community Directory

Concerned about steeple in historic district

This is a concern of mine regarding the status of the Charlotte Congregational Church steeple.
The church is located in the historic district of the town along Church Hill Road, starting with Virginia “Ma” Perkins’ house now owned by Andy Mansfield. Also in the district are the Holmes property (Dr. and Mrs. Ittleman), the former Murray Garage, now a private residence, the parsonage, Pinney’s, the former Pat Harte store (now Abel & Lovely), the Charlotte Museum (the original Town Hall), the tavern that is now at the Shelburne Museum, several houses, the residence of Ellen Crane Lane which was originally a gift shop, the old tavern, which has been restored by Harriet Patrick and the Masonic Lodge building.
I question if the state can require the return of the steeple.
Any monetary contribution will be gratefully appreciated, sent to the Charlotte Congregational Church, P.O. Box 12, Charlotte, VT 05445.

Hazel W. Prindle
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Charlotte community directory just published

Transition Town Charlotte has just published its first town-wide directory of knowledge and skills that residents are willing to share with their neighbors as part of building a stronger community.
You may have heard of Transition Town Charlotte. We were established in 2008 out of the Charlotte Sustainable Living Network and in association with the international Transition Network in Totnes, England. The Transition Network focuses on fostering localized, resilient communities that promote mutual support. Localized means that community members’ needs are met as close to home as possible, and resilient means that communities can adapt to changing conditions, whether they are local emergencies or altered global circumstances.
In early 2010, Transition Town Charlotte began collecting information about the skills and resources of folks right here in Charlotte. Over the past year, we have been distributing an asset mapping survey and collecting numerous responses. Now we have published our first town-wide directory, which has turned out to be an amazing repository of information about local resources and what our fellow citizens know how to do.
You can find the directory at transitioncharlottevt.org or at the Charlotte Library. Let me know if you want contact information for those listed or your own .pdf file of the directory.
The directory will be updated regularly. To be included, if you are not already, you may access the survey on our website and return the completed form to me by e-mail or regular mail. Everyone who turns in a survey is eligible for a monthly drawing of gift certificates from local businesses. To date, gift certificates from the Little Garden Market, Yourfarmstand.com and Steve’s Citgo have been awarded.

Nancy Severance
425-2111, skea@aol.com
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Thank you to park volunteers
 
We had a great work crew at the park on Green Up Saturday, May 7. Volunteers got right to work and by noon, wood chips were put on wet sections of trail, shingles nailed onto bog bridges to make them less slippery, invasive shrubs cleared and trees planted near the second bridge, and waterbars installed on the trail approaching this bridge.  
Many thanks to those who were able to participate – to all the Charlotters who came to the park to pitch in, to the Yale alums and their families, and to Kim Locke and Suzy Hodgson for bringing refreshments. 
It was a pleasure working with you all!
 
Jenny Cole and Jessie Bradley
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Green Up Day thank-yous

You did it again! For the 41st year, Charlotters young and old came out Saturday and Sunday, May 7 and 8, to pick up trash, scrap metal and tires from the roadsides of our town. We collected about as much material as in past years, thanks to dozens of volunteers, many of whom come out year after year.
Our haul included old theater seats, a steel axle from a piece of farm equipment, a box of bullets, metal closet doors and a dead skunk well wrapped in plastic! As always, beer cans and bottles, fast-food packaging, paper cups and plastic bags made up most of the total. According to our non-scientific, somewhat accurate map, about three quarters of Charlotte’s roadsides saw some Green Up Day activity.
I want to thank everyone who came out to help. You made a real difference, obvious to all of us driving around town last week. Special thanks to the crews who braved the noise and traffic of Route 7, always littered with more trash than any other road in town. Thanks also to JR and Leslie Lewis for making their trucks available and for taking the Green Up Day trash to All Cycle Waste in Williston. Quonset Hut volunteers distributed Green Up Day bags, unloaded bags and trash from cars and pick-ups and marked progress on our town map. Thank you Peter Richardson, Walter Gundel, Bunky Bernstein, Carol Hanley, Joe Messingschlager, Bob Hyams, Kate Lampton, Colleen Armstrong and Elizabeth Bassett. And as always, I’m grateful to the Charlotte Conservation Commission for sponsoring Green Up Day and for purchasing Green Up Day t-shirts for our helpers. Thanks also to Carrie MacKillop of the Old Brick Store and Carrie Spear at Spears Corner Store for distributing Green Up Day bags to their customers for three weeks ahead of time.
The “You Made My Day” award goes to the person who stopped in for lots of Green Up Day bags and left with the remark, “This is my favorite day of the year. I like this better than Christmas!”
We’ll be back for next year’s Green Up Day on the first Saturday in May. In the meantime, if you’d like to adopt an area of town as your own for Green Up Day, please let me know (425-3773, e-mail johnq@gmavt.net).

John Quinney