AROUND TOWN
Humanitarian Hero
St. JOHNSBURY — The NEK Council on Aging (NEKCOA) annually recognizes a special volunteer(s) or organization with the Humanitarian Hero award in honor of its dedication to the council’s mission and the impact they have on the community at large. This year, the council announced the NEKCOA Senior Companions as the 2023 Humanitarian Heroes.
Senior companions are volunteers aged 55 and older who provide assistance and friendship to elders who have difficulty with daily living tasks, such as shopping, organizing paperwork or getting to medical appointments. The six honorees are Susan Brill, Christine Elder, Joan Wollrath, all of St. Johnsbury; Natalie Fuller, of North Concord; Waid Hudson, of Island Pond; Jeannine Richards, of Derby Line.
The awards will be made at the NEKCOA annual meeting held from 9 to 11 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 16, at the St. Johnsbury Meal Site and Meals on Wheels (St. Johnsbury House).
Steampunk Expo
ESSEX JUNCTION — The second annual Vermont Steampunk Expo will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Nov. 11 and 12, at Champlain Valley Exposition, 105 Pearl St. in Essex Junction. The family-friendly event is a weekend of Victorian science fiction and fantasy which includes authors, artists, makers and vendors. Everyone is welcome to come in costume (tasteful), but it is not required.
Kids younger than age 6 get in free. Free parking. Tickets are available at the door or at www.vtgatherings.com/vermont-steampunk-expo.html online.
Center closing
BARRE — The Barre Disaster Recovery Center at 16 Auditorium Hill will close permanently at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 9. It is currently open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday (closed Saturday and Sunday).
Library events
MARSHFIELD — Upcoming Jaquith Library events include:
— Movies About Work, 7 p.m. second Wednesdays.
— Winter Clothing Giveaway, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 11, upstairs in the hallway and meeting room of the Old Schoolhouse Common.
— Chapters in History Book Group, 2 p.m. second Saturdays. Nov. 11 features “The American Presidents Series: “Zachary Taylor: The 12th President (1849-50), John D. Eisenhower; “Millard Fillmore: The 13th President (1850-1853),” by Paul Finkleman.
— Story Time and Playgroup for ages birth to 5, 10:30 a.m. Fridays.
Comics festival
BURLINGTON — Vermont Folklife and the Fletcher Free Library will hold the second annual Non-Fiction Comics Festival Nov. 17, 18 and 19, in Burlington. The event explores and celebrates the use of comics in nonfiction storytelling. The festival is free and open to the public. Visit www.nonfictioncomicsfest.org for more information.
CVCOA staffing
BARRE — Central Vermont Council on Aging welcomed Jennifer Badgett, case manager, and Holly Thompson, AmeriCorps Seniors RSVP program director, to its staff and promoted two employees.
Badgett has experience as a long-term care ombudsman and prior-authorization specialist; she will work primarily in Washington County. Thompson was most recently a home health care provider.
CVCOA has also promoted Luke Rackers to director of Community Engagement and Leanne Hoppe to director of Philanthropy and Communications.
Executive director
CABOT — Neighbors in Action recently appointed Amy Hornblas as new executive director to oversee its locations in Cabot and Lyndonville. She has been a health educator in central Vermont and the Northeast Kingdom.
Neighbors in Action staff, board and volunteers would like to extend much gratitude to its outgoing director, Elizabeth Vitale, for seeing the nonprofit through many changes over the past couple of years. Its mission is to “help ensure that food relief and social interactions have a more meaningful and enduring impact” through food distribution, community meals, enrichment programs and volunteer opportunities.
AROUND VT
Grants received
Vermont Community Foundation announced its Spark Connecting Community grant program has awarded $62,450 to 15 organizations across Vermont. The Spark Connecting Community 2023 round two grant recipients are:
Brattleboro Museum & Art Center, $5,000; Cabot Arts, $4,000; Central Vermont Council on Aging, $2,500, Addison, Lamoille, Orange, Washington, Windsor counties; Come Alive Outside, $5,000, Rutland County; Dad Guild, $5,000, Addison, Chittenden, Franklin, Orange, Washington, Windsor, counties, and statewide; Homeward Bound, $1,100, Addison County and statewide; HOPE Works, $5,000, Chittenden County; John Woodruff Simpson Memorial Library, $5,000, Caledonia, Orleans counties; Roxbury Roots, $5,000, Orange, Washington counties; Rupert Village Trust, $1,350, Bennington, Rutland counties; Stowe Land Trust, $5,000, Lamoille County; Sundog Poetry Center, $5,000, statewide; Town of Northfield, $5,000, Washington County; Vermont Rural Education Collaborative, $3,500, Caledonia, Essex, Orange, Orleans counties; Windham Southeast Supervisory Union Office of Diversity, Equity, and Social Justice, $5,000, Windham County.
Brownfield funding
Gov. Phil Scott and the Department of Economic Development announced the state of Vermont is committing $4,058,184 from the Vermont Brownfields Revitalization Fund that promotes the productive reuse of contaminated sites to clean up properties. Details include: $1,200,056, Town of Hardwick; $566,433, Turning Point Center in Barre; $168,506, Gilman Housing Trust in Newport; $1,052,692, Champlain Housing Trust in Burlington; $253,712.70, Golden Junk, LLC, in Winooski; $16,785, 512 Main, LLC, in Fairlee; $800,000, Vermont Farmers Market Education Center Inc. in Rutland City.
Cars received
COLCHESTER — Since it began in July, Vermont Public’s car donation partnership with Burlington-based Good News Garage has yielded three vehicles to Vermonters in need. On Sept. 27, a 2009 Nissan Altima donated by a Vermont Public supporter went to Warren Royea, of Brattleboro. A 2008 Honda Civic was awarded on Sept. 29 to a recipient in Rutland. On Oct. 13, Shannon Bussiere, of Waterbury Center, received a 2012 Toyota Prius donated by a Vermont Public supporter.
After picking up a donated vehicle, Good News Garage inspects it. If in usable condition, it is donated to a Vermont family in need through a partnership with the state’s Reach Up program. Vermonters must be Reach Up participants to qualify for cars.
If the vehicle is not appropriate for placement with a family, it is sold at auction and proceeds are split between the two nonprofits: Vermont Public and Good News Garage. Car donors qualify for tax deductions of at least $500 and up to the car’s fair-market value.
Call 877-448-3288 for more information about the program.
BUSINESS
CEAP deadline
Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets Capital Equipment Assistance Program deadline has been extended to Nov. 11 to give applicants more time to apply following harvest/seasonal delays due to flooding and wet weather. CEAP assists producers with purchasing new or used equipment that will improve Vermont’s water quality, mitigate greenhouse gases, reduce odors from manure application and reduce costs to farmers.
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