Chester Vermont

Below is the amended agenda for the Winter Carnival. Please note canceled events.

Chester Winter Carnival 2012

Friday, Feb. 17

Dinner/Dance at the American Legion, 637 VT 103 S.
6 p.m. Cocktails (cash bar)
7 p.m. Dinner ($12 for dinner
8 p.m. Freeway Band Dance

Saturday, Feb. 18

2 to 4 p.m.                Scavenger Hunt $100 prize to winning team; (Noon to 2 p.m. registration and maps at Chester Hardware, 21 Main St.)
6 p.m.                      Bonfire at Cobleigh Field
6 to 9 p.m.               Ice Skating Party at Cobleigh Field CANCELED
6:30 p.m.                 Fire Sculpture by Barre Pinske at Cobleigh Field

Sunday, Feb. 19

9 a.m.                   Chester Snowmobile Club Poker Run at the Pinnacle on Lovers Lane. CANCELED
10 a.m.                 Broom Hockey Tournament at Cobleigh Field, Food vendor - Chester Rotary Club. For more information:  call 802-875-2693 for team signup

 The DIRT:  The Grateful Garden Seed Sale begins Wednesday

The 2012 Grateful Garden Seed Sale begins Wednesday Feb. 1, Carrie Roy King announced over the weekend. You can purchase your Fedco garden seeds from The Grateful Garden and help raise money to repair damage caused by Tropical Storm Irene. The garden, part of Chester-Andover Elementary School, has been declared safe by the UVM Agricultural & Environmental Testing Lab. But extensive damage was still done to fencing and the soils need to be replenished.

You can choose from two lists: 26 types of GMO-free seeds for id="mce_marker".60 a pack and 25 organic seeds for $2.20 a pack. Beans, zukes, cukes, tomatoes, pumpkins, broccoli, lettuce carrots, herbs and flowers are among the offerings. being offered. Download the forms at www.fedcoseeds.com/forms/chester.pdf and www.fedcoseeds.com/forms/chesterOG.pdf
The order forms contain the descriptive plant information that has made Fedco famous. Order forms and a check or cash can be returned to your child’s teacher or mailed to The Grateful Garden @ CAES , 72 Main St., Chester, VT 05143.
This 3^rd annual seed sale run through March 3^rd with seeds being distributed by late March. Please contact King at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Jana Bryan Wunderle This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.
The mission of the Grateful Garden is: (1) to provide place-based enrichment opportunities in science, art, math, writing, geography and civics; (2) to provide healthy food to students and to connect them to the source of their food; and (3) to support community gardeners. The Grateful Garden is a volunteer effort that applies organic and sustainable gardening principles and actions.

 TARPS wins $2,000 in grants

Susan Lampe-Wilson of The Animal Rescue and Protection Society in Chester has announced that the shelter has been awarded theanimalrescue.com’s top prize for Vermont in Rounds 1 and 3 of its Shelter Challenge. TARPS’ shelter has received two grant checks for $1,000 each.
The Shelter Challenge is a partnership between The Animal Rescue Site and the Petfinder.com Foundation. Grant money awarded by the organizations totals $300,000 in direct funding to world-wide animal rescue and welfare groups.

TARPS found a unique way to motivate their voters daily to visit the site and vote. Supporters receive an e-mail or a Facebook posting from one of the shelter’s successfully adopted cats, Seannie, pictured right, who shares a photo and a comment or two about his day-to-day life. Voters also are given the theanimalrescue.com’s Shelter Challenge link and encouraged to remember to vote.

Of the double-win, TARPS President Wendy O’Dette, who is Seannie’s owner, said, “We couldn’t be happier. I am very grateful for our daily voters. We consistently received over 50% of the Vermont vote. I’m sure we couldn’t have achieved that without Seannie’s reminders.” The funds will be used to pay for pet food and vet care as well as rent and utilities for the shelter, located at 1758 Rt. 103 S.

A complete list of TARPS' needs can be found at its website here. Currently, some of its larger needs are a clothes washer, a Mac computer and Mac platform with an external hard drive. Lampe-Wilson said the shelter is always in need of paper towels, Dawn dish detergent and wet catfood. Last year, TARPS was able to place about 125 animals in homes, and it currently is home to 88 cats and kittens.

A new round of voting began on Jan. 9. To vote visit www.theanimalrescuesite.com, and click on the Shelter Challenge tab on the right. To be added to Seannie’s email, visit: http://tarpsanimalsheltervt.org/donate/free-help-info or send your request and e-mail address to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

For a full list of 3rd round winners visit: http://www.greatergood.com/pressroom/PRARSShelterChallenge3Winners.pdf.