Community
Renewable energy funds available for farmers, rural businesses
By Cody Smith, policy associate, Center for Rural Affairs In July, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced more than $400 million available for farmers and rural business owners under the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). REAP, a farm bill program, provides financing for energy efficiency upgrades like insulation, lighting, and H...
Invest in Primary Care Where It Is Needed Most
Bi-State Primary Care Association is proud of the work of our Vermont Congressional Delegation to increase access to comprehensive, affordable, quality health care for Vermonters and people across the nation. Senator Leahy advocates as a member of the Appropriations Committee and Congressman Welch is making his voice heard for added funding in his...
Be a Mentor
By Wendy Freundlich As September approaches and summer comes to its inevitable end, think about becoming a mentor with Girls/Boyz First Mentoring. We are a 22 year old community based mentoring program in central Vermont. Our mission is to provide our mentees with high-quality, long-term mentoring relationships that inspire, support and enable o...
Unintended Consequences
By Stilton Jarlsberg The recent rash of mass shootings has left the nation stunned but, sadly, not speechless. The usual media and political suspects are saying the usual things, using the bodies of the innocent as a sickening ideological soapbox. We’re not going to do that here. These gruesome murders are not about, nor caused by, politics. Rather...
New weatherization incentives good for families, good for jobs
By Brian Gray In the midst of the warm summer months, it’s easy to forget the long winter and cold, wet spring we survived this year. But there are plenty of reasons for Vermonters, especially with moderate incomes, to take action now in preparation for the coming cold. Just about every Vermonter would agree that if there was something they could d...
Leahy: Vermont Receives $98,918 to Connect Schools and Local Farms Under Leahy-Authored Farm to School Program
A program long championed by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) will invest $98,918 in bolstering efforts to bring local agriculture into the classrooms and cafeterias of Vermont schools. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced Farm to School grants to connect child nutrition programs with local farmers. Leahy said: “Tying local agricu...
2019 Vermont Dairy Farm of the Year
Wonder Why Farm, a 235-head certified organic dairy operation in Cabot, Vermont, has been named the 2019 Vermont Dairy Farm of the Year. Morgan and Jennifer Churchill were selected for this award for their overall excellence in dairying as well as their innovative ways to improve herd management and produce high-quality milk, including installing r...
Think Twice before Taking a Native Turtle Home
Each year, Steve Parren, wildlife biologist with the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, gets contacted about pet turtles people no longer want. Some turtles grow too large. Others require more complicated care than owners realize–turtles kept indoors require full-spectrum lighting for healthy shell development. And with lives that can last...
Letter to the Editor
Dear Editor, To look at me, you are bound to come to the wrong conclusion. The years have been hard on me. I am 70 years old. I fought in Vietnam. I suffer from a host of health problems, including PTSD and chronic pain. My face and body reveal my condition and my experiences. Last year I was arrested. I had argued with a school principal abo...
Summer Food Service Program Open Sites
Barre Unified Union School District is participating in the Summer Food Service Program. Meals will be provided to all children without charge and are the same for all children regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability, and there will be no discrimination in the course of the meal service. Meals will be provided at a firs...
