Welcome To The Mountain Times

A foot race organized by George Moltz will take place on Friday, July 4 prior to Rochester’s annual Fourth of July parade and will be the first annual Pierce Hall Community Center (PHCC) Independence Day Dash. The foootrace and walking event will be 5 Kilometer (5K) or 3.1 miles and will benefit the restoration project. Pre-registration is ongoing and entry forms can be obtained at the Rochester High School office or at Mac’s Valley Market, and online at www.piercehall.org under the events heading.

Commemorative race t-shirts will be available for participants. You can register the day of the Dash but you will not be guaranteed a t-shirt. Registration and check-in begins at 7:30 am on the Fourth of July. Walkers head out at 8:00 am and runners follow at 9:00 am with the awards ceremony at 10:00 am. Geroge Moltz says most of the event will be on grass paths and fairly flat with two water stops. Run for Independence!

On Sunday, July 6 the Rochester Chamber Music Society presents Images in Sound: Descriptive Music by Debussy, Liebermann, Saint-Saens, and Schumann. The concert will be performed by Robert Penny on cello, Cynthia Huard and Marilyn Taggart performing on the piano. The concert will be at the Rochester High School Auditorium at 4:00 pm. ( No pre-concert talk this week).

The Bird Report: Did you know that there is a new wooden boardwalk in Killington on the River Road just after Archie Baker Road and before Thundering Brook Road that goes out along and across the grassy savannah that boarders River Road and is a great place for bird watching. If you have never been there it is an easy walk and safe for kids with some adult supervision and best of all it is a fun, free outing with easy parking. Estimated gas cost is about 25 cents a person for a carload.

And while you are down in the neighborhood of River Road if you ravel about one minute further you will come to the Killington Library which is free and open to anyone who is a Vermont resident. A pleasant space to frequent, but then again all libraries are pleasant. Gems!

The Stockbridge School Board and the Superintendent of Schools are pleased to announce that Michelle Ricci of Stockbridge has accepted a contract to begin as Principal of the Stockbridge School District on July 1, 2008. A 6 member search committee composed of school administrators, parents, board members, and faculty conducted a competitive search process throughout March and April. 19 candidates were considered for the position. The committee was extremely impressed with Ms. Ricci’s in depth understanding of public school administration and how it relates to Stockbridge Central School (SCS).

Ms. Ricci completed her Masters of Education in Educational Leadership at the University of Alaska in 2007. This past year, Ms. Ricci was a part-time librarian at SCS and a guidance counselor at Thetford Elementary School. Ms. Ricci grew up in Washington State and lived for the past ten years in Juneau, Alaska. She and her husband moved from Alaska last summer so that he could attend Vermont Law School. Ms. Ricci’s husband is a native Vermonter and is extremely happy to be living here again.

Ms. Ricci enjoyed autumn for the first time in many years and is looking forward to our wonderful summer. While in Alaska, she worked as an elementary school counselor and her husband was self-employed as a commercial fisherman and contractor. As a family they enjoy the outdoors; hiking, climbing, cycling, running and exploring. Give them a big welcome when you see them.

Word of the Week Challenge: “Tenacious” means to hold firmly (to a chore, an idea, a dream), cohesive, or retentive. Having tenacity gets things done.

Mary Benoit, Physical Education teacher at the Stockbridge Central School (SCS) will offer a high and low ropes workshop on Wednesday, July 2 and Thursday, July 3 from 9:00 am to 12 noon. The workshop will take place at the Bethel/Whitcomb schools- meet in the back of the schools. The ropes apparatus are located in the woods behind the school. This workshop is for students going into 4th grade and up. Mrs. Benoit has been trained in the use of ropes.

As the SCS year has ended they would like to extend thanks to the Munyon family for the VCR and to Suzanne and Otto Labadie for tilling the gardens. Also thanks to the numerous families that have helped all year.

Thought for the Week: “If all the cars in the United States were placed end to end, it probably be the Fourth of July weekend.” – sent in by a savvy reader.

Write the Mountain Times, we write it down, everybody reads it, send your 100 North good news to PO Box 1, Stockbridge, VT 05772.