YOUTH NEWS
Chess tournament
CRAFTSBURY COMMON — The 37th annual Vermont State Scholastic Chess Championships will be held Saturday, March 23, at Craftsbury Academy, 1422 North Craftsbury Road, Craftsbury Common. This is the selection tournament for Vermont’s nominees to the national Denker, Haring, Barber and Rockefeller Invitationals.
This tournament is open to Vermont residents in Grades K-12, homeschooled or enrolled in a Vermont public or private school. Chessboards, pieces and clocks will be provided. No prior tournament experience necessary. High school and Grade 8 sections will be USCF rated; Grade K-7 sections will be unrated. Individual and team prizes will be awarded.
All players must pre-register for the event. No walk-ins allowed. Registration closes on March 17. Registration may close prior to March 17 due to space limitations. If registration is still open, the entry fee after March 1 will increase to $25. Online registration only, no entries will be accepted via mail or email. Visit vermontchess.org for more information.
COLLEGE NEWS
Delanee Hill, of Middlesex, made the fall 2023 president’s list at Shenandoah University.
Camille Yarrow, dance major, of Waterford, was named to the fall 2023 dean’s list at Hofstra University.
AROUND TOWN
Torchlight Snowshoe
WOODSTOCK — Torchlight Snowshoe will take place from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Fridays, Jan. 12 and Feb. 23, at Billings Farm & Museum.
Guests can walk, snowshoe or ski along the illuminated Billings Farm Walking Trail loop, a gentle, 1-mile trail along the Ottauquechee River with views of Woodstock, the East End Park, and the farmstead. Billings Farm staff and park rangers from Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park, will share insights into wildlife, the land’s history and past inhabitants. Refreshments include complimentary s’mores, hot cocoa and coffee.
Tickets are $12 for adults, $7 for children ages 4-15, and free for age 3 and under. Rates for Billings Farm & Museum members are $5 for adults and free for children ages 4-15. Advance registration is recommended. Walk-ins are welcome. A limited number of adult and youth snowshoes are available to borrow, or equipment can be rented at the Woodstock Inn & Resort’s Nordic Center (which closes at 4 p.m.). Headlamps are recommended. Visit billingsfarm.org/torchlight-snowshoe for more information.
Forest adaptation
DUXBURY — The Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation is beginning a project in the Camel’s Hump Management Unit, as outlined in the 2021 Long-Range Management Plan. This project is designed to increase forest resilience to climate change and invasive pests.
Collaborating with the University of Vermont and the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science, this project is part of a series of forest adaptation experiments being implemented across the Northeast. The research area, covering 90 acres in Duxbury, will see management on 18 acres, with “treatment patches” ranging from ¼-acre to 3 acres. A portion of the research area will then be replanted while the remainder will allow seedlings to sprout naturally.
VTF&W
Ice Fishing Festival
ELMORE — Vermont’s statewide Free Ice Fishing Day is held annually on the last Saturday in January. The day is geared toward giving new ice anglers an opportunity to try ice fishing before purchasing equipment, but any angler may ice fish on any waterbody open to ice fishing statewide without a fishing license on Free Ice Fishing Day.
To celebrate, the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department is holding an Ice Fishing Festival from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Jan. 27 at Elmore State Park in Elmore. The event is free and open to all ages as well as families with kids. Vermont Fish and Wildlife staff, as well as Vermont’s Let’s Go Fishing Program instructors, will be on-hand to teach ice fishing skills. They will operate a fish fry station to cook up participants’ catch, and serve cocoa.
Participants are encouraged to dress appropriately for the weather, and ice cleats are strongly recommended. Fishing equipment will be loaned for this day on the ice, or participants may bring their own. For more information, visit the Vermont Fish and Wildlife website. Registration can be completed online in advance at www.register-ed.com/events/view/206074 or interested participants may register when they arrive.
BUSINESS
Loan repayment
In its most recent December 2023 awards cycle, Northeast Delta Dental made 10 awards totaling over $1M to support dental loan repayment in Maine, New Hampshire, to be used for dental student loan repayments. Awards in this cycle made to Vermont dental practices were Alpine Family Dental, Just Kids Pediatric Dentistry, Kwasnik Family Dental, Pleasant Valley Dental Care, and Vermont Restorative Dentistry.
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