Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1912-01-26
BELLOWS FALLS NEWS
$4,000 Voted for playground.

The principal interest in the Monday
evening village corporation meeting cen>
tired in the question of the purchase OF
| land for a playground. which has been
| agitated four five years. Five years
| ago the board of trade voted to pay 500
year rental for a tract of land on the
brisbane farm south of this village for
an athletic field for the boys. This con-
tinued a year or two and committee
| was appointed by the boa I'd of trade to
| investigate the question of buying suit
| able land. The committee reported in
| favor of the Williams orchard tract To-
| coted In the western part of the village
, on Oak hill. The board brought the mat
| ter up at the village meeting three years
| ago and a committee was appointed
which, two years ago, reported that the
| statutes did not provide for villages pur-
| chasing land for such a purpose. The
| village committee were then instructed
to secure a special enabling act from the
! legislature of 1910. This was done and
| the question was brought up year ago,
when 1t was shelved by statement
made that other desirable property could
be had, not yet investigated. A commit
tee was appointed last year to investigate
all localities and report at future meet
, ing, expecting that an early meeting
would be called for the purpose. No
meeting was called, and report of the
committee was made Monday night de-
scribing various tracts of land. The VIII
lage instructed the trustees to buy the
land known the Williams orchard,
about six minutes walk from the high
school building and extending 1877 rods
over the hill into the SaKtons River
valley and 81 rods north and south, the
north and south lines being parallel
This gives the village the ownership or
what is estimated to be 531A acres of
land, nearly all of which is covered with
a growth of trees of different sizes and
uar IN ha vic Of
liams orchard the grove is of beautiful
tall pine trees. On this property is locat-
ed an exceptionally good spring, for which
the owners recently refused a cash offer
of $500.
The purchase price of the tract is
$40, 900, for which the village voted to
issue 20-year bonds at per cent and
voted to eXpend not to exceed $4,000 in
improvements. Proba bly, this amount will
not be required to fit the property for
the proposed present playground pur-
poses, but it secures a valuable tract OF
land located high which may be de-
veloped in years to come in any way
thought best Practically the only OBJ
lection to the purchase by the voters
was the fact that it would increase the
large indebt edness of the village, but IT
was the decision of the majority of the
200 voters present that the move was
wise one. An athletic field will be
leveled as soon as the ground can be
worked in the spring, large enough for
all athletic purposes. The result of the
agitation gives pleasure to large pro-
portion of the citizens. who feel that 1T
is a movement looking to the better care
of the young people and future citizens of
Bellows Falls.
The board of officers nominated at the
recent caucus, a list of whom given
in The Phoenix last week, was elected
without opposition. The meeting voted
20 I,,,xr
hook and latter truck at a price not to
exceed $4,000; to appropriate $500 for out
door concerts during the coming sum-
mer; to appropriate not to exceed $4,000
for building bank wall on Rockingham
street, near the railroad, and bank wall
on Front street; to exempt the Crandon
Mfg. Co. from taxation for five years,
also that it was the sense of the voters
present that any industry locating here.
employing more than 10 people. should
be exempt for five years: and to raise for
ordinary expenses 65 cents on the dollar
instead of 55 cents as in recent years.
The meeting authorized the appoint
ment of a committee of three to draft an
amendment to the bylaws, enabling the
officers to have better control over the
erection of new buildings, with a view to
danger to the public from fire or other
causes.