Drug arrest in Ripton

Middlebury police arrested a New York man for drug possession in Ripton.

New discussions at the Ripton church

The Ripton Community Church is modifying its Sunday services. Starting this past Sunday, June 17th, discussion format changed. From here on, there will a different discussion topic each month
Services are held the third Sunday of the month, March through December.

(thanks to Charles Billings)

This Sunday, Birds of Ripton

"Birds of Ripton" is the subject of this Sunday's Ripton Community Church presentation.

Warren King will present “Birds of Ripton” on Sunday, June 10th at 4:00 pm at Ripton Community Church. He will use 83 PowerPoint slides to illustrate more than 60 bird species, from robins to red-tailed hawks, that make Ripton’s forest their home. The presentation will be a virtual tour of Ripton’s roads and trails, following the same route used for the annual birdathon walks.

More on the presenter:

Warren is a conservation biologist with a background in ornithology. He worked as an ornithologist for the Smithsonian Institution, which published his book “The ICBP Bird Red Data Book: The Endangered Birds of the World” in 1980. He was an environmental educator for the Keewaydin Environmental Education Center in Salisbury, Vermont, for 13 years. He serves on the board of Audubon Vermont and the board of the Otter Creek Audubon Society. He also serves on the board of the Vermont chapter of The Nature Conservancy and was chair from 1998 to 2000. He received the 2002 Vermont State Award of the New England Wildflower Society. He and his wife Barry live in Ripton, where he is chair of the Ripton Planning Commission and the Ripton Conservation Commission. His interests include botanizing, bird watching, animal tracking and canoeing. He has received awards and recognition from Audubon and the Nature Conservancy.

That's this Sunday, June 10, 2012, at 4:00 pm.
The event is sponsored by Friends of The Ripton Community Church

Ripton school considers solar power

Ripton's elementary school is thinking about using solar power in the fear future, according to the Addison Independent.  Four county schools (Cornwall, Salisbury, and Weybridge, in addition to Ripton) are exploring a partnership with All Earth Renewables and Green Lantern Development.  AER and GLD could provide legal frameworks, technical knowledge, and investment.

Vermont Strong license plates

"I am Vermont Strong" license plates, which celebrate our Irene experience, can be purchased online.
You can also buy them from DMV offices.

Sunday's talk at the Ripton Community Church

This Sunday the Ripton Community Church is hosting a presentation on:

“Religion, Politics and Civility: Can These Three Things Really Go Together?”

Here's more information:

 

James Calvin Davis teaches ethics and American religious history at Middlebury College, where he has been a member of the Religion Department since the fall of 2001.  He is the author of In Defense of Civility: How Religion Can Unite America on Seven Moral Issues that Divide Us (WJK, 2010).  In his writing and teaching, Davis studies the interplay of religion and American public life with historical perspective and contemporary concern.  Chief among the questions he asks is this one: “What is the real story of religion’s past influence on the American moral and political traditions, and what might that tell us about the proper role for religion in today’s contentious debates?”  He gets at that question by combining the insight of history with the disciplines of theology, philosophy, and cultural studies.  Ultimately, Davis believes that a deep and accurate understanding of “public religion” in the American past can help us take advantage of the wisdom religious communities can offer to our current debates over issues as varied as capital punishment, biotechnology, war, and economic justice.

That's this Sunday, May 13, at 4:00 PM.  All are invited.
Sponsored by Friends of The Ripton Community Church.

Ripton volunteers planning emergency response

Ripton's volunteer squad is rethinking emergency response plans, a year after hurricane Irene. According to VPR:

Ripton's Select Board has decided to create an inventory and database of the Addison County town's resources - something that town officials hope will be updated often.

At a select board meeting earlier this month, town and rescue officials identified those areas of town most vulnerable to floods as well as other natural disasters.

The group looked at how Irene cut off nearby Rochester from the rest of the state for more than three days as it considered what resources would be available if Ripton were cut off for a similar amount of time. The town also discussed establishing neighborhood communication hubs with two-way radios, the importance of social media and the likelihood that the town would be without power.

Now, Ripton is charting alternative ways in and out of town in the event of another storm like Irene.

j