In the spirit of giving, do something simple for those less fortunate:

Please Forward Widely!

URGENT ACTION ALERT!! DEADLINE APPROACHING!
YUCCA MOUNTAIN, SACRED TO THE SHOSHONE & MAJOR FAULT ZONE, IN
IMMINENT DANGER!
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY MOVES PLANS FORWARD TO TURN YUCCA MOUNTAIN INTO
NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY.
PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD DEADLINE JANUARY 10, 2008.

Public hearings have not been well attended, statements mostly in
favor of the plan to put all of the nuclear waste in the country in
this one sacred place. Activists were told that if we do not go on
record with a statement, we will have no legal recourse later on.
Local papers & media spin have recently stated that opposition to the
nuke dump had dropped of since the passing of Corbin Harney. The
nuclear reps are confident to the point of acting like it’s a done
deal. WE KNOW THAT’S NOT TRUE! LETS PROVE THEM WRONG! TAKE ACTION &
MAKE YOUR COMMENT NOW!!

Yucca Mountain is sacred to the Shoshone as an herb gathering site,
for rituals, and as a part of their stories. Yucca Mountain is known
in Shoshone language as Snake Mountain. Indeed it looks like a
snake. It is said that the snake was headed north when it froze where
it is. Further more it is said that it will move again and “flip
around”. Geologists say that there are thirteen different fault lines
running through it.

Citizens can make an oral statement at the scheduled public hearings
or fill out a form and mail it in to EIS Office U.S. Department of
Energy Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Mgmt, 1551 Hillshire dr.
Las Vegas, NV, 89195-7308 or by e-mail at EIS_Office@ymp.gov.
HERE ARE TALKING POINTS: http://www.h-o-m-e.org/Yucca/index.htm

“The eyes of the elders are on us. The fate of the unborn is
rolling toward the cliff, the voice of Corbin Harney is ringing in my
ears, “It’s on your shoulders now…”. Info from Bear Dyken.
mdyken@goldrush.com.

YUCCA MOUNTAIN FACT SHEET, TALKING POINTS, & MORE INFO: Healing
Ourselves & Mother Earth http://www.h-o-m-e.org/

The DOE released two Draft Supplemental Environmen-tal Impact
Statements related to repository changes and rail transportation of
high-level waste in Nevada.

Inyo County CA- Excellent Draft Impacts Assessment Report Comments
due by 1/10/08

One of our other stops during our New England trip was in Bennington Vermont, visiting our friends Nicki and Lisa (you will remember them from our Ft. Lauderdale trip, although we all had slightly different hair at that point….). When in Bennington you must go to The Bennington Battle Monument
The monument was built in the 1880’s at the same location in 1777 during the war of independence, that the American colonists maintained a store of weapons and food, which the British knew was critical to capture in order to restock their own troops.

Besides the history the Bennington Monument is a great place to look out over Bennington and see the landscape which at this time of year included many beautifully colored trees. You get to the top of the monument by going up in an elevator. It is cold up there so be sure to bring a jacket.

Another must see outdoor monuments of sorts is the great poet, Robert Frost’s grave at The Old Bennington Cemetary. It lies in a small cemetary that houses many old and ornate tombstones and also those that are fairly plain. The cemetary goes back to the American Revolution. In 1920 Roberto Frost came to Shaftsbury, VT (one town over from Bennington) to live. His wife died suddenly 13 years later and he went to their old farm in Derry NH to scatter her ashes per her wishes, but the place was run down. He kept her ashes until he bought 2 burial plots at the Old Bennington Cemetery behind the Old First Congregational Church.

We were a little chilly after our trip to the monument, so we decided to look for some indoor activities. There is a local winery in Southern Vermont called The North River Winery. All of us having been residents of Vermont had all been to this winery in the past and had vowed to never go back. But it is just a thing you do when you are in VT - it is like a weird kind of pride for the state thing - local wine. North River Winery makes all their wines from fruits grown in Vermont – apples, raspberries, blueberries, rhubarb, etc. Sounds good right?

Well not so much…all of us really liked the IDEA of these kinds of wine, but the taste leaves something to be desired. I think it would make nice salad dressing, but drinking wine? Um no. I wish it weren’t so. As I love the idea of using local ingredients to make everything! But if you are ever in the area, do take the tasting and make up your own mind. They do stay in business so someone must be buying their wines!

Anyway, Bennington is a wonderful place for a fall getaway full of beautiful leaves, historic monuments and local products! Go Vermont!