Spring has arrived! Last night the temperature stayed around the freezing mark and today we awoke to stiff March winds that blew away the clouds so now we have sunshine and real warmth - even the thermometer on the cold side of the house is registering 38 degrees. On the front side it's 44. We can fairly see the snow settling.

We went with Bill and Diane Rossi last evening to Kham's Thai Cuisine, a little restaurant on Memorial Drive in St. Johnsbury. The food was very good and we celebrated Diane's birthday which was actually on Thursday. As we drove down W. Shore Road from our house, there were spots that were quite muddy on the surface, but the road had firmed up nicely since we had been out in the afternoon. Bill and Diane were planning on going skiing today, and I'm sure they'll enjoy having a warmer day and spring skiing conditions.

If any of you are voters in the Town of Cabot, you are probably aware the budget presented for approval by the Cabot Library was voted down. This means the library trustees will have to rework their budget and there will be a special town meeting called in the near future to vote on a new budget. The trustees are meeting this Thursday, and the public is welcome. Here are some figures taken from town reports of previous years:

The percentage of increase in the library budget jumps by double digets almost every year.
We start at $10,470 in 1997 and jump to a request for $53,668.32 in 2008.

In 2002 it was up by $5,820 or an increase of 38.81 % more than the 2001 budget.
In 2003 it jumped by $8,858 or an increase of 42.56% more than the 2002 budget.
In 2004 it went up by $5,939 or an increase of 20.01% more than the 2003 budget
In 2006 it went up by $11,223 or an increase of 29.27% more than the 2005 budget.

Our library is a wonderful resource, but certainly this is a year to be as conservative as possible. It should also be remembered that Cabot tax payers are supporting two libraries - the public library at the Willey Building and a fully stocked and staffed school library with a budget of $130,175.

*****

Our niece, Jenny Brown, is presently in India working with a group of other medical professionals. She writes as follows:

Hi all- Just wanted to let you know that I am alive in well here in India.  It is really amazing.  Everyday I see a million things I'm just so struck by.  It is really poor here.  The clinics are going well.  Lots of beautiful people.  Internet access is limited in this current location but may be better in a few days. Here is a photo of two kids I saw in clinic today - we treated them for intestinal parasites. 

That's Jenny in the picture. She loves traveling and is a great nurse, so this is a really good fit for her. I'm not sure how much longer the group will remain in India, but we wish them well and a safe journey.