--LAST DAY to submit comments on Premises Registration Rulemaking

--Rural Vermont ICE CREAM SOCIALS
--Rural Vermont Volunteer Gathering
--Action Alert on IP Tire Burn
--Upcoming Events!!

LAST DAY TO SUBMIT COMMENTS ON PREMISES REGISTRATION RULEMAKING
Today is the last day to submit comments on the Premises Registration Rulemaking! You have until MIDNIGHT tonight to submit your comments. If you have only a little bit of time, please send an email saying that you are opposed to the rule, and you would like the whole thing stopped completely.

SEND YOUR COMMENTS TODAY TO animal.health@agr.state.vt.us .

Also, please WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR about the premises registration rulemaking to let people know that even though it is on hold, it is important to let legislators know that it needs to be stopped completely. If you write a letter, please let us know by emailing Shelby at shelby@ruralvermont.org or calling 223-7222. You can find a list of papers and their contact info at http://www.ruralvermont.org/getinvolved.html (scroll halfway down the page for the link).

RURAL VERMONT ICE CREAM SOCIALS!!!
Join Rural Vermont and area farmers for FARM FRESH ice cream! There are still three opportunities to join Rural Vermont for ice cream socials! Come out and enjoy ice cream made from farm fresh milk with your local farmers and neighbors! Learn how you can get involved and help us to achieve our vision of living soils, thriving farms, and healthy communities!

Here is the schedule:
Sun 9/10, 5:00 – 7:00 pm, Raw Milk Theater, Flack Family Farm, Duffy Hill Rd., Enosburg
Sun 9/10, 6:00 – 8:00 pm, Hope Roots Farm, 3870 US Route 5, Westminster
Sun 9/17, 3:00 – 5:00 pm, Community Barn, The Intervale Center, Burlington

The ice cream socials are the perfect opportunity to learn how farm fresh milk supports healthy people, thriving farms, and local economies. You’ll also have the chance to connect with area farmers and find out how you can access farm fresh products and support Vermont’s family farmers.

These events are free and open to the public. They will be family-friendly and include supervised activities for children. The socials are being co-sponsored by Rural Vermont and Vermont farmers. For more information, call Shelby at 223-7222 or visit www.ruralvermont.org.

RURAL VERMONT VOLUNTEER GATHERING!!!
Come out to learn how you can support Vermont’s family farmers by volunteering with Rural Vermont! On Thurs 9/14 from 6 – 7:30 pm at Positive Pie on State St. in Montpelier.

Rural Vermont needs your help to achieve our mission of living soils, thriving farms, and healthy communities. Please consider donating your time, energy, and talent to protecting family farms! On THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14TH, we’ll be hosting an event and serving up pizza and discussion about Rural Vermont’s volunteer opportunities. Whether you have volunteered in the past or are interested in becoming a new volunteer, please join us! For more information, or to RSVP, please call Jess at 802-223-7222 or email her at colin@ruralvermont.org

ACTION ALERT ON IP TIRE BURN - FROM Northeast Clean Air Coalition
URGENT, IP Ticonderoga, NY Paper Mill, Regions largest polluter, 615,000 pounds air,water, land toxics annually (75% efficiency) approved to burn 72 tons (144,000 lbs) of tires and 40 Cu Yds Sludge DAILY without industry standard (95% efficiency) Pollution Controls. Burning to begin as early as 9/12/2006. Please call Gov. Douglas at 1-800-649-6825, Sen. Leahy 1-800-642-3193, Sen. Jeffords 1-800-835-5500, Rep. Sanders 1-800-339-9834 and ask them to contact the EPA and NY Gov. Pataki (518-474-1041) and take action to STOP THE BURN BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE. More Info, Northeast Clean Air Coalition, 802-759-2259, email:

WALK FOR CLIMATE CHANGE!
From the Road Less Traveled: Labor Day Walk Toward a Clean Energy Future
Noted author Bill McKibben will lead a five-day walk from Ripton to Burlington beginning Aug. 31 and ending September 4 in Burlington. The goal? Raise awareness about the problem of global warming and demonstrate such broad-based support for leadership on the issue that Vermont’s political leaders are compelled to act. Concerned Vermonters are encouraged to join. For exact details of the event, or to sign up to walk any or all legs of the journey, visit www.vtwalc.org

Valley Food & Farm invites you to our first Annual
Feast in the Field
At Cedar Circle Farm in East Thetford, Vermont
Saturday, September 9, 2006 from 6 to 9pm
A LOCALLY GROWN FEAST AND DANCING UNDER THE STARS
$35 PER PERSON - KID’S DINNER AND ACTIVITIES $10/CHILD
Valley Food & Farm
Local Farms - Healthy Communities
more information:
sharyna@valley.net or call 802-291-9100 x103 www.vitalcommunities.org
Buy tickets at:
Norwich Bookstore
Three Tomatoes Trattoria
Vital Communities
Cedar Circle Farm

PUBLIC FORUM SERIES
held by the Episcopal churches of Franklin County on the Fridays of September.
September 29
7 PM - Grace Church in Sheldon
The speaker is Prof. John Carroll of the University of New Hampshire. His topic is environmental justice. Prof. Carroll's most recent book is entitled "The Wisdom of Small Farms and Local Food: Aldo Leopold's Land Ethic and Sustainable Agriculture." It has a whole chapter on Vermont, with sections on the UVM program, NEON, NOFA-Vermont, the VGFA, and two whole pages on the Flack Family Farm!

"An Inconvenient Truth," the Al Gore film
two showings - Sunday October 1st
St. Matthew's in Enosburg Falls (3 p.m. and 7 p.m., the later showing to be introduced by Tom Hughes of Democracy for America, who was on Al Gore's staff 1996-2001).

THE LEGEND OF DON DICISCO
September 30th
Noon - 8 pm
Catamount Outdoor Family Center, Williston
a one day pageant that aims to illustrate relationships between creativity and the natural world, and will offer participants an interactive experience with local arts, music, ecology, energy, food, and waste.

Notable participants include: Tom Wessels, PanAshe, Jim Sardonis, Paul Asbell, VINS, The Nicholas Cassarino Ensemble, and The Kings of the Outdoor Disco. Throughout the day, Legend-goers may participate in a series of walks, talks, and demonstrations, including a panel discussion on the taking of life to sustain life. Participants will also contribute to a series of works in progress at the interactive art stations and will have the opportunity to sketch live models.

The Legend is a family friendly event, offering a series of activities designed specifically for kids.
Tickets are $25 for the whole day, $15 kids 4-12, kids 3 and under free.
Admission includes the celebratory feast - a sumptuous meal comprised of foods from a dozen local farms.

The Legend is hosted by Friends of Dicisco, a nonprofit organization that aims to connect people to their communities. For more information please visit: www.legend2006.org or call Legend
director Michael Goodwin at (802)234-5954

SAVE THE DATE!
Saturday, November 11th
Vermonters Building Solutions: People Creating Healthy Communities
Join hundreds of citizens for a day of inspiration, skills building and networking as we learn how to create healthy communities by strengthening the capacity of concerned citizens working on food, energy, toxics and land use issues.
Saturday, November 11th
8:30 - 5:30 Vermont Technical College , Randolph, Vermont
Workshops will include:
Avoiding Toxic Products, Assessing Your Community’s Health, Applying the Precautionary Principle, Building an Effective Citizens Group, Cultivating Vermont’s Homegrown Economy, Creating a Statewide Clean Energy Future, Power to the people: energy action at the town and local level, Meeting Facilitation, Organizing a Successful Media Event, Protecting Vermont’s Drinking Water and many more.

Hosted by: New England Grassroots Environment Fund, Rural Vermont, Toxics Action Center, Vermont Natural Resources Council and VPIRG
If you have any questions about this email or if you want to subscribe to or unsubscribe from Rural Vermont's Farm Policy Network e-alert list, contact amy@ruralvermont.org.