Razia’s Ray of Hope Foundation will sponsor a Fashion Show fundraiser at the Art Complex Museum on Alden Street Thursday, March 29 from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Keep your eyes peeled in the Clipper for a press release from the group. It’s a serious fundraiser for the Zabuli School for Girls in Deh Sabz, Afghanistan, a tough little village on the outskirts of Kabul. Regular Clipper readers will know that the Duxbury Rotary, “Kite Runner” author Khaled Hossaini, Freida Majid Zabuli, and Duxbury’s Razia Jan have collaborated to found, support, and develop this initiative to provide the highest caliber of education at no cost to Afghan girls who most need such hope. That’s right – the girls and their families pay nothing for their tuition, books, supplies and a meal every day for the girls.

The Duxbury Police Department (DPD) announced that last week two elderly residents were targeted by telephone scams.

In one instance, an 86-year-old victim wired a significant amount of money to Panama in the belief that the victim had to pay taxes in order to collect lottery win in Mass. In another instance, an elderly gentleman received a call suggesting a family member had been arrested in Canada and needed money wired to make bail. In that case, the victim called relatives and discovered the fraud before wiring the cash.

Thursday, Feb. 9

5:37 p.m.  Suspicious activity reported on Mullins Avenue.  Area search negative.

7:00 p.m.  Suspicious activity reported on Beechwood Lane.  Area search negative.

7:43 p.m.  Suspicious activity reported on Clark Drive.  Area search negative.

9:39 p.m.  Suspicious activity reported on Clark Drive.  Area search negative.

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation has named one student from Duxbury High School as a finalist in the 2012 National Merit Scholarship Program.  Lindsay Seewald is among the 16,000 academically talented high school senior qualifiers who will now have an opportunity to compete for 8,400 Merit Scholarship awards to be offered in March 2012.  Lindsay was designated from among 1.5 million entrants in this year’s competition.

For all children who will be five-years-old on or before Sept. 1, 2012, registration for kindergarten will be held at Chandler School on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, March 12 – 15, 2012.  We encourage all age appropriate children to participate in the registration process, regardless of your plans for next year.

The Duxbury Cultural Council has announced the awarding of 13 grants for 2012. With an allotment of $3,870.00 from the state and applications totally $19,455.00, the selection of recipients was a challenging process.

The recipients of the 2012 Duxbury grants are: The Art Complex Museum, Bay Players Inc., Duxbury Art Association, Duxbury Free Library, Duxbury High School Theatre, Duxbury 375th Committee, Friends of the Duxbury Council on Aging, David Murphy, North River Arts Society, The Pilgrim Society/Pilgrim Hall Museum, South Shore Art Center, South Shore Conservatory, and the Plymouth Philharmonic Orchestra. The Duxbury Camera Club was also awarded funding for their publication for the 375th Duxbury celebration from the DCC’s own funds.

The Duxbury Rural and Historical Society (DRHS) recently held its annual meeting during which several key volunteers were recognized with awards.

Anne Williams was given the award for preservation. Williams worked long hours to ready the textiles collection for their move from the unheated space at the King Caesar House to their new, more environmentally stable quarters at the Nathaniel Winsor, Jr. House.

Lazuli Buntings do not belong here.  Ever. They live and breed in the West, and winter in Mexico.  They have been spotted in Massachusetts only two other times. This time the bird had the good sense to land at a set of well-tended feeders in a bird sanctuary where it was instantly identified, coddled and shown off to the maximum numbers of people who would appreciate it.

From the journal of David Meechan

Hall’s Hill, Virginia – February 22, 1862

“Out on post this morning with Rix.  He shot a turkey buzzard.  Lieutenant came running to know why Rix fired.  He said he was celebrating Washington’s birthday.  He was arrested just the same.  We are relieved from picket, had a tough march home through the mud.  Passed a whole regiment of cavalry going out scouting.  Got in to camp and had a good dinner of muzzled or fricazeed beef and potatoes.”

For daily Civil War journal updates, please visit the Duxbury Rural and Historical Society’s Web site at duxburyhistory.org and under the blog heading, click on the individual in whom you’re interested.

The Blairhaven Committee, appointed by Duxbury’s Board of Selectmen, put out a request for proposals to raze all of the buildings on the historic Blairhaven property in hopes of converting it into a public park by summer. Purchased by the town with $3 million in Community Preservation Act funds at the 2011 Town Meeting, the property is finally ready to begin its transformation.

Plans are underway to remove the buildings on the five-acre property, tear up the existing asphalt and install a 12-car parking lot at the top of the boundary along Crescent Street, where the grade of the land is flat. According to Conservation Administrator Joe Grady, the lot will eventually hold 22 cars, and the waterfront property, which fronts Kingston Bay, will be landscaped to invite picnickers and sunbathers.

New Community Garden Sprouts

Dick Rothschild

Clipper columnist

In sixty days or fewer, with a little luck, 16 gardeners will be able to plant broccoli, kale, lettuce, parsley, onions and/or potatoes, on a plot in the new Duxbury Community Garden.  All this, thanks to the vision and persistence of members of Sustainable Duxbury, the commitment of the Stewart Family Foundation to have its land used to benefit others and the thoughtful cooperation of John McCluskey, the Foundation’s administrator.

The new Community Garden is ideally located in a sunny part of a small historic working farm at 66 Bayridge Ln., not far from Hall’s Corner. Like similar projects in other communities, it will consist of a single piece of land gardened collectively by its members on their own individual plots. Well water for irrigation and some off street parking will be available.

Participating gardeners can look forward to benefits beyond fresh, organically grown produce and the satisfaction of growing it with their own labor. It’s a way to experience both a fuller sense of community and a closer connection to the environment.

Mama Steph stopped by the Blue River Montessori to perform for the students. Here Ayla Stadelmann, Ben Elliott and Addie Slimbaugh enjoy Mama Steph’s presentation.

Loyola University Maryland has announced the members of its fall 2011 dean’s list. The following Duxbury students have achieved this honor: Jacquelyn Enniss, Jessica Curran, Rebecca Winans and Benjamin Kimball.

Healthcare is currently on the forefront of people’s minds for many different reasons. As loved ones age, receive treatment for illness or fall victim to injury, difficult decisions are often left to friends and relatives. At South Shore Hospital (SSH) in Weymouth, the Ethics Committee was formed to help guide people during conflicted times, in addition to “encouraging moral dialogue.” Duxbury resident Rosemary Phalen, a veteran nurse and mother of three, is a community representative on the Ethics Committee and is dedicated to spreading her knowledge regarding medical ethics issues. We recently discussed with her the importance of being one’s own advocate when it comes to personal health and discovered a bit more about the Ethics Committee’s mission.

(Jill Noerenberg, band director for Duxbury schools, observes as sophomore Christian Dow tutors seventh grader Michael in the baritone as part of a program she helped create within the Duxbury music department.)

For Jill Noerenberg, working in a community that prizes music education, where her students excel to the point that they are nationally recognized and often play Carnegie Hall, and where the kids consider her insightful, is a dream come true. But to then be awarded the state’s highest prize for excellence in music education by her peers is in her words, “pretty cool.”

Little did Susan Curtis know that the day Zeus the Newfoundland was found abandoned on Duxbury Beach, his fur matted, skin covered in ticks, his body nearly overcome by Lyme disease, he would be the one to heal her. Two months before, Curtis’s beloved Olivia, a Spinone Italian, had passed away. Curtis said Olivia was gentle and well-mannered, the kind of dog who inspired love. As a service dog, she worked regularly with an autistic boy from Abington who was nonverbal. Soon after meeting Olivia, he began to speak. He asked for Olivia.

Olivia had been the perfect dog.

“And then Zeus appeared,” said Curtis of that day last June.

Lady Dragon and basketball star Michela North made her 1,000th point last night , scoring 17 points overall in their victory over Hingham. She hit the record on a free throw in the second half. The play stopped so North could be awarded the game ball. The excitement didn't stop there. With only three seconds to go, the game was tied 48 - 48 when North was fouled. She sank both free throws to win the game for the The Dragons. Only a junior, North is the fifth DHS girl's basketball player to hit the 1,000th mark and, only a junior, also the fastest.

The Third Annual Amazing A cappella was held Saturday in honor of Paul S. Fortini. All proceeds from the benefit will support the music and drama departments at Duxbury Schools. Kerri MacLennan, DHS 2010, a member of The University of New Hampshire Alabaster Blue, started off the evening with a variety of styles of song.

[Zeus, a 160 lb. Newfoundland being fostered by Duxbury Animal Control, was recently attacked by three unleashed dogs on town-owned land.]

There’s a new committee in town and it’s looking to put a little more bite in Duxbury’s bylaws.

The Canine Committee was formed last week, and Mark Cleveland was sworn in as its chairman.  Cleveland believes his training as a biochemist might help him in his duties. A member of Citizens of Bay Farm, which has been the site of numerous complaints about dog waste, Cleveland is also the longtime owner of an elderly yellow Labrador retriever.