Morning Briefing

Calendar

Provider appreciation day

BENNINGTON —May 9 is Child Care Provider Appreciation Day. Parents with children in childcare are encouraged to show their child care provider how much they appreciate them. This can be done by making a card with your child for the provider, giving a tip, donating new toys to the program or bringing the provider and the children lunch one day. For more ideas, contact the Bennington County Child Care Association, the local child care resource and referral agency, at 447-3778.

Pownal playgroup

POWNAL — Free of charge Success by Six sponsors a free playgroup for children aged birth to 6 from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Pownal Valley Firehouse, on Route 7. This is Vermont's only side-by-side playgroup featuring two rooms divided into age-appropriate activities for children ages birth to 3 and 3 to 6. This is an opportunity for children and caregivers to socialize and network. No pre-registration is necessary. Enjoy a wide variety of age-appropriate play materials, a craft, snack, stories and songs. For more information, call 447-2887 or drop in any Friday morning. The playgroup follows the SVSU calendar.

CAMBRIDGE, N.Y. — There is still time to reserve discounted advance tickets to the Artist Reception for the 2008 Cambridge Valley Balloon Festival. Artist Evan Wilson of Hoosick will be honored at the event at the West Village Market. The doors open at 6 p.m. The official unveiling will occur around 7 p.m.

This reception is the annual kick-off event for the Cambridge Valley Balloon Festival, set for June 6 to 8. A limited number of tickets will be available at the door, but they usually sell out. Call 677-0887 by May 5 to be placed on the advance ticket list.

Community baseball

SHAFTSBURY — The Shaftsbury Recreation Committee invites residents to play Community Baseball at Howard Park. Community Baseball will be a kid-run pickup game for children ages 7 and up; parents may play, too. There is a $1 donation per person per game to benefit Howard Park. Games will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. every Friday evening from May 2 to June 20. Bring your own equipment clearly marked with your name. For more information and to sign up, contact Aaron Chrostowsky at 442-4043 or Ben Hulett at 375-2527.

Announcements

Bake sale benefit

BENNINGTON — Not your ordinary Bake Sale will be held on Saturday, May 10, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. or until the last customer leaves at Tea'nTarts, 512 Main St. Proceeds to benefit 18-month old Nova Mae Post's treatments and travel for her parents, Kim and David Post. Nova has a rare (100 cases worldwide) chromosome abnormality commonly known as "Chromosome 18."

To donate baked goods call Tea'nTarts, Ada Sue, at 447-9790 or home 442-5865. Come to the bake sale and have breakfast or lunch.

Bypass construction

continues

BENNINGTON — Excavation operations will be continuing on the east and west side of East Road next week. Excavated material will be trucked across East Road at the future Route 279 crossing. Traffic control agents will be on East Road to coordinate the movement of the trucks with vehicular and pedestrian traffic on East Road to ensure safe operations.

Motorists may experience minor traffic delays on East Road as a result of this work. Use of alternate routes, when available, is recommended.

Dump trucks will be traveling on Route 7 from the interchange with Route 279 north of Bennington to Fuller Road, south of Bennington. Use caution in these areas as the trucks will be entering and exiting Route 7 at both locations.

Rock blasting operations will continue this week adjacent to the Route 7, Exit 2 northbound ramps. Dump trucks will be exiting Route 7 north at the existing Exit 2 ramp. However, this exit ramp remains closed to the traveling public. Motorists intending to exit Route 7 Exit 2 should use the signed detour north of Exit 2 and not follow the exiting trucks.

Letter Carriers' Food Drive

BENNINGTON — Bennington residents are asked to fill a bag with non-perishable groceries and leave it by their mailboxes on Saturday. Their letter carriers will pick up the filled bags during the day and deliver them to local food shelves so these agencies can help hungry people. The post offices in Bennington, North Bennington, Manchester Center, Shaftsbury, Arlington, Pownal and North Pownal will participate.

Needed are non-perishable food items such as tuna fish, peanut butter, unsweetened cereal and juice, healthy soups, pasta, rice, beans, vegetables and fruits. Cleaning supplies and paper goods are also welcome. For more information, call Elizabeth Eddy at 665-1732.

To check on a press release that has not appeared in a timely fashion, e-mail to dantognioni@benningtonbanner.com, or call 447-7567, ext. 117.

To check on an arts/entertainment release or notice, write sryan@benningtonbanner.com, or call 447-7567, ext. 111. To check a religion release, write to mrondeau@benningtonbanner.com, 447-7567, ext. 113.

In general, notices should be sent at least seven days in advance of an event. Community news appears as space in the newspaper allows. Social news pages appear periodically.