West River Valley

News from the Rt. 30 Corridor, including Newfane, Harmonyville, Townshend, and more.

Christmas Sale of West River Railroad Books

by LarryRobinson | History, West River Valley

The Historical Society of Windham County located in Newfane, Vt is selling West River Railroad Books at a discounted price in time for Christmas.   The West River Railroad ran from Brattleboro to South Londonderry for the period of 1880 to 1936,  the Historical Society has purchased the Newfane Depot which was one of 10 stations along the route.  The depot has been refurbished and is now a museum for the railroad.

Route 30 Feedback

by cgrotke | West River Valley

The road crews are doing a great job overall, given the weather we’ve been having, but now that the Route 30 reclamation project is about to the halfway point or so, I have some feedback from the point of view of a road user.

1. Stickney Brook was the wrong “break point”

They’ve paved a base coat all the way to the Stickney Brook bridge. It would have been better for RT 30 users to have Rt 30 paved with a base coat to the Dummerston covered bridge, another mile down the road.

Newfane to Vote on Retail Cannabis

by cgrotke | West River Valley

Newfane voters can weigh in on whether to allow retail cannabis sales at a Special Town Meeting to be held on September 20 at 6 pm at the Newbrook Fire Station. There will be in-person voting only.

An informational meeting is scheduled for Tuesday August 23 at 6 pm:  www.zoom.us/joinameeting   ID: 972 2791 1757   Passcode 352680

Upper West River to be Studied this Summer

by Not Signed In | West River Valley

The water quality of the upper West River and some of its tributaries is getting closely examined this summer. Fitzgerald Environmental Associates has been hired through the State of Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to conduct a Stream Geomorphic Assessment (SGA), which is a way of assessing, understanding, and evaluating the condition of the river system.

According to Marie Caduto, Vermont DEC Watershed Planner for the southeastern portion of Vermont which includes the West River and its tributaries, “this project has been in the works for several years.  The local communities are concerned that the recreational use of Townshend Lake and the West River has been impacted by all the sediment moving down the river since Tropical Storm Irene.  What we are looking to study is where this sediment is coming from and to find on-the-ground projects that can be done to help stabilize the erosion.”

Road Construction Projects in the West River Valley

by cgrotke | West River Valley

Travelers in the West River Valley might be both pleased and dismayed to know that there will be Route 30 paving and other road projects going on soon. Expect some delays and alternative routes in the near future.

The big plan is to re-surface VT Rt. 30 in Brattleboro, Dummerston and Newfane. You may have seen people out taking measurements last year.:

“Project Location: Beginning on VT Route 30 in the Town of Brattleboro, at mile marker 0.326 (just north of the intersection of VT-30 and Cedar St.) and extending north for 9.948 miles and ending at mile marker 1.597 in Newfane (just past the intersection of VT-30 and Hemlock Hill Rd).

Windham School Board Fights Back on Act 46 School Merger

by Lise | West River Valley
Windham Elementary School, Windham, VT

Although most towns across the state voted — in some cases reluctantly — to accept the forced merger of their schools as mandated under Act 46, the town of Windham did not. The Windham School Board continues to fight the merger of their elementary school into the new West River Education District, which they see as unconstitutional seizure of town property and against the best interests of their students.

On May 11, the Windham School Board took the unusual step of writing to all its neighbors in the new merged district to ask that they vote No on the latest school merger articles up for vote. The other towns in the West River district are Newfane, Townshend, Brookline, and Jamaica — all have agreed to merge their schools and have approved the merged budget.

Friends of the Moore Free Library Community Tag Sale

by Not Signed In | West River Valley

The Friends of the Moore Free Library are reserving spaces now for theirCommunity Tag Sale to take place on the Newfane Common on Saturday, June29, from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm.

To reserve a space, please contact Julie at 802-365-7278 or julielavorgna@gmail.com or pick up a reservation form at the Library, 23 West Street, Newfane. The Library is open Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday from 1:00 to 5:00 pm, Thursday from 2:00 to 7:00 pm, and Saturday from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm.

Newfane Town Meeting – Property Tax Late Charges Reduced

by cgrotke | West River Valley

I attended my first “real” Town Meeting today. It was the Newfane, VT Town Meeting, held at Williamsville Hall. Previously, I’ve been both a representative and a constituent in Brattleboro’s Representative Town Meeting system. This is the first time I could attend, or not, without needing to be elected  first.

Williamsville Hall is right down the road, so I took advantage of the sunny day and walked. Along the way a neighbor caught up with me and we arrived together, went inside and found seats.

Newfane History Survey

by Not Signed In | West River Valley

The Moore Free Library and Windham County Historical Society are looking into creating a program to record, preserve, and share people’s stories about Newfane.

Answering these few questions will help give us direction as we shape the project.

Friends of the Moore Free Library Community Tag Sale

by JulieLavorgna | West River Valley

The Friends of the Moore Free Library are reserving spaces now for their Community Tag Sale to take place on the Newfane Common on Saturday, July 7, from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm. To reserve a space, please contact Julie at 802-365-7278 or julielavorgna@gmail.com or pick up a reservation form at the Library, 23 West Street, Newfane.

Backpack Lost on Route 30!

by jna | West River Valley

For Route 30 commuters

Hi folks,

I believe I lost my son’s backpack along Route 30 on Sunday on our way from Brattleboro to Townshend.  He is 6 years old and it has some things which are dear to him inside, his well loved stuffed animal and a string of beads from mom.  I am including a picture of the type of backpack that it is although his name is not Kyle.  If you find it please call me, I will be in your debt.

Townshend Web Site

by rick | West River Valley

The Townshend website has been redeveloped as a private venture. Local Board minutes, information, links to meeting videos, are being posted currently for anyone who is interested. The email list has been reinstated as well for items like agendas or important, time sensitive, information. More past documents will be uploaded as time goes by but much has been posted as of this note. 

http://www.unofficialtownshendvt.net/

Car Keys Lost In/On West River

by BusyMom | West River Valley

While tubing Monday 6/16, discovered their absence about halfway between the Dummerston Covered bridge and the remnants of the old railroad bridge (near the Irving station on Route 30).  2 car keys (for upstream and downstream cars) were double-bagged together inside 2 ziplok bags.  

If you’re swimming or kayaking in this area or downstream and see something floating (or underwater) please grab them and reply to this article…replacement keys are expensive these days, so waterlogged or not, there’ll be a reward!  Don’t divulge details of exactly what you found in your reply, though, save that for private followup for identification.

Newfane Yoga Opening Monday, April 7!

by Not Signed In | West River Valley

Newfane Yoga is opening Monday, April 7. Join us for our first vinyasa flow class @ 6pm. Your first class is only $5. We’re located right next to the Newfane Cafe & Creamery.

Please visit www.newfaneyoga.com for the full class schedule. We’re excited to bring yoga to Newfane and Windham County.

Townshend Death Cafe

by Not Signed In | West River Valley

Are you curious about Death Café’s but haven’t been able to attend? Your next opportunity has arrived—once again we’ll be hosting a Café, this time in Townshend! We’ll gather on Tuesday, April 1st, 6 – 7:30pm @ the Townshend Dam Diner, 5929 Route 30, W. Townshend, 2 miles north of Townshend Dam. Event and munchies are free and everyone is welcome, but RSVP’s are a must!