My New Blog

Pleasnt Valley is an area in Underhill Vermont that is defined by it scenic vistas and life style. Beautiful Mount Mansfield Views and surrounding hill sides are quite beautiful.

The life style has to do with a love of the outdoors and all it has to offer. We hike, bike, ski, run, climb and swim (in the rivers). With the enjoyment of these activities we also get the weather. We get significantly more snow than Burlington or Jericho (our neighboring town) for that matter, and we get wind! when it is gusting up to 35 miles an hour near the lake up here in Pleasant Valley we get 50 to 60 miles an hour. No kidding. It is beautiful and can be wild, but it is why those of us that choose to live here love it!

The local elementary school is wonderfully nuturing for our young children and they even take the kids out side to cross country ski or snow shoe one day a week during the winter. From the playgorund you see incredible views of Mount Mansfield and you can't help but think how lucky our kids are right here in this little corner of Vermont!

The school invites parent participation and there is even an enviromental learning for the future course that parents teach to the kids. Please check out Underhill Central school at cesu.k12.vt.us for more information.

Lea Van Winkle

Town Meeting ia always an exciting day, and this year even more exciting with the Presidential Primaries on the ballets this year. Will we elect a Republican or a Democrat? Who knows but it has been one of the best presidential candidate races in many years. Why? Well we actually have candidates that people like and they are willing to get out and vote.

Other things to consider this year besides the presidential races revolve around town budgets and school budgets. These topics are on the agenda every year and this year is no exception. Let's talk about our schools here in Underhill today and I will follow up the rest of the week with information on our other local area schools as the week passes.

Underhill Central School is a Kindergarten through fourth grade school. Enrollment currently stands at 136 kids. It is a 15:1 ratio (for every fifteen students there is one teacher). We are nestled at the foothills of Mount Mansfield and our kids have the good fortune to have an incredible setting with remarkable views and wide open outdoor spaces and a very nuturing atmosphere within the school itself. Parents are encouraged to participate and become involved in the school, day to day activities.

Classrooms are multiage..grades 1-2 are combined and 3-4 are combined. The philosophy is that the teacher knows the students from the prior year and can adequately prepare them and know how best to work with them the second year. The 'second year' students also are familiar with the workings of the classroom and assist the younger students in the day to day operations of classroom studies and activities.

It is a remarkable group of teachers. they work well together and plan together how they will approach each year and how to assist the students with the transitions they go through. I have been very impressed with this system, having had a daughter go through this school.

For more details please feel free to contact me at 899-3890 for more information about the Underhill Central School located on Pleasant Valley road in Underhill Center.

Everybody is waiting for the real estatae market to hit bottom. Okay so you have waited and your time is now. We have good inventory (not too much though) and interest rates are very low, and my best advice is "whenyou are ready to buy or selll is when the time is right".

So, it doesn't get much better for buying why are you waiting? Lea

So, has the crash of the subprime market hit Vermont Real Estate? Well yes in a very periferral way, meaning that our local areas of Jericho Underhill and Cambridge have been affected by the reactions to the housing crisis. Lending has tightened and mortgage brokers and banks are cautious about credit ratings, bad credit can affect whetther you will be able to borrow money.

However, we have not had large amounts of foreclosures, we have no larege standing inventory of houseing and while we have more homes on the market than say 18 mnths ago we arein no way saturated. Even better, the interest rates are at near historic lows! So, it seems it is a perfect strom for buyers.

What do you think out ther? Lea Van Winkle