Attention basketball fans: A panel discussion featuring Jackie MacMullan of ESPN, Bob Ryan of The Boston Globe, and longtime Sports Illustrated writers Jack McCallum and Addison County’s own Alexander Wolff will take place Wednesday, Jan. 15, at 7 p.m. in room 216 of the McCardell Bicentennial Hall on the Middlebury College campus. The highly decorated participants on this panel have a combined total of nearly 200 years of covering basketball. Listen to them address the state of the game, swap stories and take questions during this free event.
The Middlebury Community Players will hold auditions for adult actors and children/teens age 11 and up on Wednesday, Jan. 15, and Thursday, Jan. 16, for an upcoming production of “Tuck Everlasting.” Registration begins at 6 p.m. for auditions from 6:30-9 p.m. at Mary Hogan Elementary School, 201 Mary Hogan Drive. Call-backs, if needed, will be held on Saturday, Jan. 18, at Mary Hogan School. “Tuck Everlasting” is a musical based on the 1975 American children’s novel by Natalie Babbitt. A list of roles, audition forms, and other details are at middleburycommunityplayers.org. A perusal script is available at the Town Hall Theater Box Office, 802-382-9222.
Don’t know a goat or sheep farmer who wants your Christmas tree? Give your Christmas tree a new life with Addison County Solid Waste Management District’s Merry Mulch Program. Through this annual program, trees are chipped and made into a fragrant mulch, which is given away to residents for free in the spring. If you are a district resident in another town, you can bring your tree to the ACSWMD  Transfer Station (located at 1223 Route 7 South, Middlebury) anytime during its normal hours (Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-3 p.m.; Sat 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Christmas trees will be accepted for free until the end of January. Trees only please (no wreaths). Completely remove all decorations from trees. Questions? Call ACSWMD at 388-2333 or visit us at AddisonCountyRecycles.org.
The United Way of Addison County is seeking volunteers to review grant requests from area nonprofits that each year benefit from the UWAC’s fundraising efforts. The UWAC’s Grant Review Team has during the past three years helped the organization invest close to $1 million in life-changing programs offered by 29 different Addison County nonprofits. For more information, call the UWAC at 388-7189.
In the January newsletter of the American Legion Post No. 55 in Brandon, Commander Burt Reynolds congratulated Scott Munger for 65 years of membership with the organization. Reynolds also recognized five area veterans for 50 years of membership: Joseph Bertrand,  Albert Clarino, Ronald Hornbeck, Richard Howland and Harry Hunt. Kudos and congratulations to these members for their years of service.  If there is anyone else we should recognize for their American Legion service and membership, please contact Adjutant Kelly or Commander Reynolds.
The 2020 Census is coming. Every 10 years, the U.S. Constitution requires an enumeration of all persons in the United States, commonly referred to as “the Census.” The count produced by this effort will help determine how more than $675 billion will be distributed to states and communities annually for the next decade through more than 65 federal programs. These programs include special education funding, school lunch programs, meals on wheels, fuel assistance, Medicare, housing rehabilitation, community economic development and revitalization block grants, early childhood education and cooperative extension offices. This year, for the first time, you will have three options for participating in the census: online, by telephone, or with a traditional, short-form written response. Look for your invitation to respond in the mail or at your door. It is critical that everyone participate and that all household members be counted. The 2020 Decennial Census will be available online in mid-March. Please do your part to make sure that all of Addison County counts.