Welcome to the Deerfield Valley and its surroundings. Route 100 is the backbone of the Deerfield Valley, which begins in Stamford and passes all the schools of the WSSU except the Halifax school. The area is most well known for Haystack and Mount Snow mountains in the winter, Lake Whitingham (also know as the Harriman Reservoir) in the summer, and the scenic rolling hills of the Green Mountains throughout the year. Tourism (with its’ retail trade) is the number one industry in Southern Vermont with agriculture being a far second. The Deerfield Valley is truly located in the center between Bennington and Brattleboro, with the closest big cities being Albany, NY, and Springfield, Ma. . Burlington, alas, is just about as far away as Boston.


The Structure :
The Windham Southwest Supervisory Union (WSSU) is made up of five towns and six schools. The Central Office (464 - 1300) is locate off Rt. 9 west In Wilmington. At the stoplight in Wilmington just continue straight through the light heading west on rt. 9 and the WSSU central office building is in the front of the Deerfield Valley Supply Hardware store. Nancy Smith is the receptionist and can guide you to the right person there.

The Deerfield Valley Elementary School (464-5177) is located on Rt. 100 in Wilmington about 1.5 miles north of the stoplight . The school has approximately 150 students and a staff of 30 - 35. It is comprised of a pre K up to 5th grade. Mario Cruz-Davis is the principal and the administrative secretary is Stephanie Arsenault.

The Halifax Elementary School (368-2888) is the one school that is not located just off of rt. 100. The school is located in the center of Halifax. From Readsboro or Stamford, or Whitingham take Rt. 100 north, and from Deerfield Valley Elementary or Wilmington Middle High take Rt. 100 south. In either case, you will eventually arrive at Jacksonville and Rt. 112. Take Rt. 112 (you can go only one direction from there) until you see a sign for West Halifax on your left. Take the left and follow that road until it joins with Branch Road. The school will be on your left shortly after that. The school has about 60 - 65 students and a staff of 13 - 15. It is comprised of K to 8th grade. This year we welcome Stephanie Aldrich as the principal and the administrative secretary is Linda Wheeler.

The Readsboro Elementary School (423 -7786) is located just off of Rt. 100 in Readsboro.The school is home to 80 students and a staff of 13 - 15. It is comprised of K to 8th grade. Debra Vaughan is the principal and the administrative secretary is Pat Kidney.

The Stamford Elementary School (694-1379) is the most southern in our Supervisory Union, It is located directly on Rt. 100 as well. The school has about 84 students and a staff of 13 - 15. The school is comprised of K up to 8th grade. Beth Keplinger is the principal and the administrative secretary is Deb D’Avignon.

The Whitingham School and Twin Valley Middle School (368 -2880) is also located on Rt. 100 just a mile or so past the town of Jacksonville. The school has about 239 students and an overall staff of over 60. It is comprised of a K up to 12th grade. This year we welcome Bill Anton as the principal and the administrative secretary is Sandy Sprague.

The Twin Valley High School (464-5255) is located on School Street, just off of Rt. 100 right behind the Chittenden Bank. The school has 260 students and a full time staff of 35 - 40. It is comprised of 9th grade up to 12th grade. Frank Spencer is the principal and the administrative secretaries are Liz Fernot and Meredith Craven.

Where to get what you need...

Shopping for food : There are local markets in all the areas, but the main supermarkets are located in Wilmington (Shaw’s) Bennington, (Price Chopper and Hannaford’s) and Brattleboro (Price Chopper, Hannaford’s and the natural food store The Coop). The new Rite Aid will be opening this fall and is sure to be able to meet many of your needs. I’m sure North Adams has shopping to offer as well, and there is also a BJ’s Wholesale club in Greenfield. Don’t overlook some of the great produce markets and farm stands !! Starting September 2007, there will be a farmer's market on West Main Street behind The Incurable Romantic Saturday's 10:00 - 3:00 so you can meet folks in town and BUY LOCAL !!

Shopping for clothing or furniture : Good luck trying to buy anything as simple as underwear in Southern Vermont, but you can certainly buy a good warm jacket here. Wilmington and Dover have several shops available for sporting goods and that genre of clothing, but generally you need to go Brattleboro, Bennington, or farther away for finding most clothing (Catalog shopping and on-line shopping are wonderful inventions !!) The closest malls are near Pittsfield, Mass. ( a pretty small mall by mall standards) Crossgates or Colonie malls in Albany, NY (shopping mecca, but beware of the 8% sales tax...soon not on clothing) or Ingleside Mall in Holyoke Mass. (a huge mall, and no sales tax on clothing, but 5% on all else) The Holyoke-Springfield area also has lots to offer as far as Home Depot, Pep Boys, Cosco, and Circuit City type stores are concerned. Personally, I like to shop in Keene, NH (50 minutes) , or West Lebanon NH. (One hour and 15 minutes) where there is no sales tax. They both offer Eastern Mountain Sports, Staples, TJ Maxx, Dick's Sporting goods, JC Penney, Hannaford’s, Borders Books, Kmart, Wal-Mart, and a Home Depot, all without tax. The center of Keene and the center of Brattleboro are also wonderful areas to find local businesses with a unique array of offereings. Finally, for in state shopping, don’t overlook Manchester, VT., home of a gazillion outlets and the Orvis Company Flagship building (also equipped with a nifty outlet store). Bring your wallet, but especially when the seasons are changing, you can pick up some good bargains on nice stuff.

A good haircut : Good News !! There are several different places in the Deerfield Valley where one can cut their locks. They run from full service salons (Mountain Styles in Dover, Valley Creation in Wilmington or Whitman and Whitman in Brattleboro) to Split Ends on Main Street in Wilmington. The yellow pages lists about 40 entries for Southern Vermont and NH, so you’re pretty covered.

Looking for gifty Vt. Stuff ?? - Once again, Wilmington is a gift buying mecca for those neat little things you just don’t see other places. There are several galleries and gift stores so spend a little time before the holidays and shop locally !!

What makes it cool to live here !!

Summer Sports : There is ample golf, tennis, kayaking, mountain biking, swimming, volleyball, hiking, etc., here in the Deerfield Valley to keep everyone healthy.

Water Sports : There are several great spots around Lake Whitingham where you can swim, picnic, paddle or fish for the afternoon. The Mountain Mills boat launch and picnic area is located at the end of Fairview Ave. in Wilmington. Just go to the stoplight (heading west on Rt. 9) and take a left past Buzzy Towne Park. Climb the hill and take the (third) right onto Fairview. Go to the very end. The picnic areas all close at dark, and there is no camping allowed. Also Ward’s Cove (off of Rt. 100 heading towards Whitingham) is a somewhat quieter more park like experience and you can launch a kayak or canoe from there as well, but not motor craft. There is also good swimming at Lake Sadagwa in Whitingham, Lake Raponda in Wilmington, and I’m sure many other great ponds and swimmin’ holes throughout the area. There are also canoe and kayak rentals in Wilmington on Rt. 9 west at Green Mountain Flagship Co. (just before the horrendous construction) and personal water craft rentals right next door. The Green Mountain Flagship also runs a 1 1/2 hour tour around the lake for when your grandmother comes to visit.

The Mountains - There are great trails everywhere to hike including Haystack Mountain ( a little more than an hour up, but oh what a great view) , Molly Stark ( 25 - 30 minutes up with a water tower at the top for a view) and the Appalachian Trail which crosses Rt. 9 in Woodford before Bennington. There is also Mountain Biking at Mount Snow, and they usually open the chair lift to day hikers in the fall. Everywhere you look you see a mountain, so there’s a whole lot of hiking to be had here.

Golf/Tennis/Riding - There are two full size golf courses (Mount Snow and Haystack) with prices to match and then two smaller golf courses (the Sitzmark and Stamford) which sure fit a teacher’s wallet a bit better. There is tennis at the Sitzmark or at Haystack, but there’s also free tennis just next to WMHS. Riding (horses) is becoming even more accessible in our area. Flame Stables (trail riding) is located on Rt. 100 on the way to Whiting ham, at the Ward’s Cove access road, and ring riding is offered at Brookside stables (right on Rt. 100 about a mile and a quarter or so north of DVES) or at Mountain View stables on Higley Hill Rd. (also about one mile north of DVES). There is also a new ranch in Whitingham called White Wolf Ranch.

Winter Sports : Obviously skiing and boarding are very big here, but we offer so much more as a resort area.

Skiing/Boarding - Mount Snow is the largest ski area around, but Stratton is only 30 minutes from the center of Wilmington and worth checking out. There are often bargain season passes to be had before the beginning of October, but many of the "blackout days" are the days you could actually ski.. We’ll keep you updated. There is also skiing at Brodie Mountain in the Berkshires not far from North Adams...it’s probably cheaper than Vermont skiing.

Cross Country Skiing and Snow shoeing - Other than out your back door, there are 1,000 great places for X-country skiing. Both the Hermitage (Wilmington) and Timber Creek (Dover) offer groomed trails with many levels of skiing, but there’s also Grout Pond (on the way to Stratton off of the Stratton/Arlington Road) which is also great and free. It’s usually best to ask your colleagues where their favorite spots are. Also tubing at the White House is just a mess of fun and great exercise as well.

Snowmobiles - Vermont has an incredibly extensive network of trails for snowmobilers. If have your own snowmobile, you can join the local club, the Stump Jumpers, and they have maps of all the trails. Or you can rent “sleds” and go for tours with High Country Snowmobile tours of Wilmington.

Any way you like it, Southern Vermont has so much to offer to outdoor enthusiasts, and let’s face it, that’s probably why we choose to live here !

Getting Around
By far the best way to get around is by car (preferably one with four-wheel drive and studded snows), but there are some options for people coming to visit you arriving by public transportation. There are bus stations in both Bennington and Brattleboro (I don’t know about North Adams) and there is a train station in Brattleboro as well. Along the Rt. 100 corridor between Wilmington and Dover, there is the black and white Moover which runs about once an hour and is free to riders.Check the schedule for limited service to East Dover, Readsboro, Wardsboro, and Brattleboro. It does stop at 5:00 PM during part of the year though, so it can be limiting.

Local Health Care

Clinics :
There are several options for health care in the area. There are two smaller clinics for everyday medical care : Deerfield Valley Health Center (802-464-5311), and Mountain Sports Medicine (802-464-9300)

Hospitals :
One of the largest hospitals in the area, Southern Vermont Medical Center (802-442-6361)is located 20 mile west in Bennington, Vt. 20 miles to the east in Brattleboro Vt. is Brattleboro Memorial Hospital (802-257-0341). A bit further from WSSU are Grace Cottage Hospital in Townshend Vt. (802-365-7357), Cheshire Medical Center in Keene, NH, (603-354-5400, a part of the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Network) and Franklin Medical Center (413-773-0211) in Greenfield Ma..

Dentists :
For Dentists there are 2 options in Wilmington. Dr. Louis Beaudette (802-464-5817) and Dr. Robert Ruhl (802-464-8853). Otherwise, there are several options for dental care in the surrounding larger towns.

Entertainment
Despite being far form any true cultural hub, there is actually quite a bit to do in the Deerfield Valley for entertainment.

Movies : There is, in fact, a movie theater right up rt. 100 (of course) in Dover about a quarter of a mile past the 7-11. Although there are always three choices, you may want a less commercial version of the movies in which case I would suggest the Latchis Theater (Main Street in Brattleboro). In Williamstown, Mass. there is also a good theater with less commercial (and sometimes classic) movies. Bennington has one or two larger movie theaters as does Greenfield, Keene and Brattleboro.

Theater : In the summer the New Yorkers actually come here for the theater. In Saxton’s River, Weston, Bennington, and Williamstown, Mass there are summer theaters that are absolutely great. Memorial Hall in Wilmington also offers a variety of cultural events from theater to classical music and jazz. In July, don’t miss the classical music series at Marlboro College. Check out their schedule for some truly enriching programs.

Music : There are always live bands at the local watering holes such as Deacon’s Den, the Snowbarn, or the Billiard Room (Dover) or also at the Maple Leaf Pub (at the light in Wilmington). Things quiet down quite a bit out of season (Oct. 15 - Thanksgiving and April 15 - Memorial Day) so you might want to head to the cultural hub of Brattleboro to the Mole’s Eye, Moca Joe’s (a great coffee bar) or the Common Ground (the natural foods restaurant) North Hampton, Mass. has loads to offer for live music and concerts, but if you’re looking for really big names, Albany, NY, Hartford Conn., or Saratoga NY are really you’re best shots short of Boston or NY City. Unfortunately, if you’re into disco...you need to head to Keene, NH or south to Springfield, Mass. to cut the rug.

Museums : Mass MOCA (North Adams), the Clark Institute and the Williams College museums (both in Williamstown) are all worth the visit. There is an array of smaller museums throughout the area (I was shocked when I looked in the phone book) to meet any museum goer’ s interests, so visit away in all your free time.

Local Colleges : Between Williams, Bennington and Marlboro colleges, there really are many interesting college activities and events around the Deerfield Valley.

There is truly never “nothin’ to do” around here, with events, fairs, flee markets, etc. so be sure to check to Valley News, The Advocate, The Brattleboro Reformer or the Local Info Sheet that’s closest to where you live for the up to date info on what’s happening.

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Don’t Forget to Go Out and Have Fun !!