Although people are no longer able to gather in person due to stay-at-home orders implemented by the Twin States in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, community organizations are still active. Here is a roundup of Upper Valley community news.
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Three new members have been added to the Upper Valley Trails Alliance’s Board of Directors. The Norwich-based nonprofit organization promotes, maintains and supports stewardship of trails throughout the region.
Kelli Pippin, of West Lebanon, has worked as the marketing and communications manager at Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital for four years. Karen Kaliski moved to the Upper Valley in 1989 to take a marketing position with a start-up technology company and has worked as a consultant since 2005. Matt Oscadel, of Hartland, works as a commercial credit analyst at Mascoma Bank.
“We are delighted and grateful that Kelli, Karen, and Matt have joined the UVTA Board,” Russell Hirschler, the nonprofit organization’s executive director, said in a news release. “Their robust experience in marketing, communications, and finance as well as their love of the outdoors will provide myriad of benefits for the Trails Alliance, especially as we navigate the current global pandemic. We are lucky to have them on our Board.”
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Fairlee Community Arts is collecting 100 photographs of homemade suns from community members to decorate Town Hall with. Per the description on the nonprofit organization’s Facebook page: “We want drawings of suns and macaroni suns, suns made dried weeds, suns of stones, sewn suns, and painted suns. We want serious suns and silly suns! We want great big suns, big enough to cover your house! And tiny suns only big enough for a mouse.” Photographs can be sent via the “Fairlee Community Arts” Facebook page.
Sharon Academy eighth-grader Farren Stainton won first place in the middle school division of the Association for Women in Mathematics national essay contest for her piece titled “Orange Crocs are the new Pocket Protector,” a biography of Heather Vonada. Additionally, Leigh Grace Eggleton, a sixth-grader at the Richmond Middle School, received an honorable mention for her essay “Mapping Climate Change with Math,” a biography of Lori Siegel.
This year’s theme was Biographies of Contemporary Women in Mathematics and students from close to 200 schools throughout the country entered, according to a news release from the Dartmouth Mathematics Department.
Also at the national level, Dartmouth College senior Mary Versa Clemens-Sewall received an honorable mention for her essay “For the Love of (Sharing) Math” a biography of Nadia Lafrenière.
The Dartmouth Mathematics Department held its own essay contest on the same theme. Hannah Malin-Stremlau, of Crossroads Academy, won the middle school division for her piece “A World of Connections.” Honorable mentions went to Stainton and Benjamin Thaler Wellborn, of Richmond Middle School, for his piece “Hypatia’s Legacy.”
In the high school division, Sophie Usherwood, of Hanover High, won for her piece “The Essential Module for a Mathematical Whole” and Sora Shirai, also of Hanover High, was awarded second place for her piece “Stepping Through.” Clemens-Sewall won first place in the college division of Dartmouth’s contest.
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Speaking of contests, Thetford’s Latham Library received more than 40 submissions to its first haiku contest for children 12 and under that was held in celebration of National Library Week and National Poetry Month. All haikus submitted needed to contain the word “library” at least once.
Third place went to sixth-grader Daniel Mann:
warm sunny morning
reading my book happily
from the library
Second place went to sixth-grader Xander Oshoniyi:
A library is
completely like a bank vault
the gold is the books
And first place was awarded to fifth-grader Nick Smallwood:
Endless shelves of books
Wishing I could read them all
Libraries are great
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OK. I promise this is it for children’s contest winners. For now.
Two Upper Valley students were among winners of the Growing Works of Art contest, sponsored by the Vermont Urban and Community Forestry Program. This year’s theme was “Trees are superheroes.” Levi Woodward, who is enrolled in the Upper Valley Haven Afterschool Program in White River Junction, won the kindergarten division and Rowan Lawrence, a home school student in Tunbridge, tied for first place in the third-grade division.
The two also submitted essays along with their drawings. This was Levi’s: “This is my rainbow tree! It is special because it’s awesome and colorful. If I could, it would be cotton candy flavored. It’s the best tree that I can think of! Trees are important because they are a part of nature and give us air to breathe.”
This was Rowan’s: “It was my sister’s first birthday. We went to a nursery to get her a willow tree. Her name is Willow. We brought it home, got it out of the trunk and took it to a wet, sandy place. We broke up the roots, and planted it. My whole family held hands around the tree and sang Happy Birthday. My sister was happy.”
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And here’s another contest: Springfield Vt.’s Gallery at VAULT is sponsoring a “Vermont Outdoors Drawing Contest.” Children who are between the ages of 6-12 as of June 1 and live in Vermont are invited to submit a black-and-white drawing on the theme of their favorite outdoor activity in Vermont. Winners will be featured in a “Vermont Outdoors Coloring Book.” Submissions will also be displayed at VAULT, which is a Vermont State Craft Center.
Here are the details: Send vertical drawings made on paper that is 8.5 by 11 inches to Gallery at the VAULT, 68 Main St., Springfield, Vt., 05156, by June 1. Include the child’s name, town, date of birth and title of drawing along with a parent or guardian’s name, address, phone number and email address. All works of art must be original: No tracing, copying or contributions by another person allowed. At least 12 entries will be chosen and winners will receive $10. Contact Diane Kemble at dkemble@vermontel.net or 802-324-9465 for more information.
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Upper Valley Humane Society Executive Director Nikki Grimes will be making good on her word to dye her hair purple after the community rallied to raise more than $15,000 to support the Enfield-based nonprofit organization.
“We didn’t know if it was possible. We didn’t know if people would think it was fun,” Grimes said in a video posted to the Enfield-based humane society’s Facebook page on Thursday thanking those who made a donation.
Watch the “Upper Valley Humane Society” Facebook page in the coming days to check out Grimes’ new hair color.
Editor’s note: Please email Upper Valley community news items to calendar@vnews.com. Liz Sauchelli can be reached at esauchelli@vnews.com or 603-727-3221.
