Congratulations to Peter Hartwell and David Thomas Train for winning the $500 grand prize in the recent Champlain Area Trails (CATS) Writing Contest with their essay, "Wildlife, Connected In and Out of Town." Peter, a Westport ninth-grader who attends the BOCES special ed program in Mineville, has been exploring our community's woods, streams, wetlands, and lakeshore over the past year in private biology tutorials with author and teacher Thomas Train. The essay they submitted for the CATS contest reflected that year's worth of wandering, observation, and careful record-keeping.
In the way of disclosure, I also tutor Peter a couple of times a week, in the Greek and Latin origins of common scientific terms. We focus on biology, his main interest, but take in other etymological curiosities as well. He's an outstanding student and a good friend. (Ask him what a lithotrophic halophilic cyanophotolytic isomer is, and he'll be happy to tell you, even though it doesn't exist.)
Congratulations also to Jessica Wimett of Wadhams, whose essay "A Great Resolution" won the $250 people's choice award in the contest. You can read both of these prize-winning essays at the CATS web site, www.champlainareatrails.com. The next CATS writing contest begins in February. I'll give you the details in a future column, or you can go online. CATS also wants to hear your ideas for an outdoor education program they're developing for children, adults, and families. If you're interested in participating, email them at champlaintrails@gmail.com or call 962-2287.
The Westport Fire Dept. would like to thank all the donors who responded so generously to our Holiday Mailer annual fundraiser. This is our mainstay event, though we do smaller fundraisers throughout the year, like the Spring Carwash. As I mentioned last week, we're preselling carwash tickets this year. You get a book of 5 for $20, a savings of $5. See any Westport firefighter or stop by the Town Clerk's office to buy a book.
You can also see the Town Clerk to get a dog licence, as the town is doing a dog census and your canine friend has to have one. Especially if they're going to drive.
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