Andrea Chesman on canning

Ripton resident Andrea Chesman appears in the Burlington Free Press today, in an article about canning food:

Andrea Chesman, of Ripton, is a longtime canner, a cookbook editor and
author. She has noticed a resurgence in home preserving during the last few
years. Her first book, “Pickles and Relishes, 150 Recipes from Apple to
Zucchini,” was published in 1983; she is working on a revised edition, expected
out in 2011. Chesman moved to Vermont from upstate New York in the 1970s during
the “whole back to the land thing.” She said her interest in canning and
preservation was greeted with great amusement by neighboring farmers’ wives:
“They got a big kick out of us.”

The latest on Ripton school planning

Our school planning process is reported on by the Addison Independent.

a series of Ripton school board-sponsored forums... began on May 18 and
most recently convened on July 19. Residents have been invited to offer any
short- and long-term ideas to keep the small community school viable in wake of
shrinking student numbers, a trend that is affecting most schools in the Addison
Central Supervisory Union (ACSU) and indeed throughout Vermont.

Lee Sease, ACSU superintendent, said Ripton’s K-6 enrollment was 61 children in 2003, a number that shrank to 45 this year and is projected to descend to 27 by 2013.

Bill McKibben on another podcast

Ripton local Bill McKibben was interested on the Speaking of Faith podcast this week.



Topics include Bill's love of nature, world travel, and, of course, his new book.

Bill had another fine podcast interview earlier this summer.
You can play the audio from that link directly, or download the file to your desktop for listening later on.

Tomorrow: Robert Frost & the Forests of Vermont

Our community church is hosting a talk about an important Ripton figure, tomorrow:

“Robert Frost & the Forests of Vermont”

a talk by Professor John Elder

Sunday, July 25th Starting at 4 pm at The Ripton Community Church

Professor Elder will look at some of the ways in which Robert Frost’s poetry both explores and is illuminated by the forests of Vermont. Frost was an excellent naturalist, whose ability to perceive seasonal change in the landscapes around him also brought a measure of stability to his intense inner life. Those of us who are privileged to live in the same place where one of the century’s greatest poets once worked are truly blessed.

(via Charles Billings)

School Long Range Planning Meeting July 19, 2010

The board has scheduled a second public meeting to take place on July 19th. We will conduct school board business starting at 6:00 PM and will move to long range planning at approximately 7:00 PM.

The board has discussed the ideas generated at our May 18th meeting. We feel that the process should move toward identification of a range of realistic short and longer term options or action items. In an effort to move in that direction, we have discussed the following alternatives;

- Do nothing or status quo. Under this scenario we would make virtually no change to our program or staffing.

- Program adjustments in reaction to declining enrollment that allow the board to achieve cost containment and “customer satisfaction.”

- Privatization.

- Consolidation of governance and/or school to include exploration of tuitioning and school choice.

As we move toward a study of options available to the board we feel strongly that any action must support our school’s mission. Accordingly, we have asked Marta and the staff to review our existing mission statement and to propose any adjustments they see as beneficial.

We have also asked Lee Sease to provide us with historical information on our cost per equalized pupil (the most direct reflection of education property tax rates) along with our enrollment and staffing history.

Your input is critical to our success in this important work. The outline of options we have identified is meant to guide and advance our community discussions. Please feel free to bring your thoughts on these issues as well as any perspectives that you feel we may have overlooked. We look forward to your continued participation and attendance at our July 19th meeting.

Tree down on North Branch Road

A tree is down somewhere on North Branch, maybe not far from Fire Brook.
Has anyone seen this?

July in Ripton

It's the first week of June, and Ripton is very green.

How's your summer so far?

(photo from the Alexanders)