YOUTH NEWS
GOTRVT Board
Girls on the Run Vermont, nonprofit organization for girls in third through eighth grade, announced Christine Beall (Burlington) as the incoming board chair effective Jan. 1, 2024. Beall is vice president and financial advisor at Morgan Stanley.
Five new GOTRVT Board of Directors members include Rebecca Wasserman (Burlington), licensed attorney and executive director of VT Saves; Theresa Glabach (Dummerston), QA manager at EmailOpen and owner of Chasing Strength; Charlotte Lyman (East Dorset, associate director at Junapr; Joanne Perry (Danville), human resources manager at Stone Environmental; and Halley Riley-Elliott (Proctor), vehicle maintenance manager at Killington Mountain Resort.
COLLEGE NEWS
Sobel honored
BURLINGTON — University of Vermont student, Maya Sobel, is one of 12 recipients nationwide of the inaugural 2023 Shine A Light on Antisemitism Civic Courage Award in her advocacy for Jewish rights, culture and Holocaust education. Shine A Light spotlights the dangers of antisemitism through education, community partnerships, workplace engagement and community advocacy.
AROUND TOWN
Public input
The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources will host two public meetings to present a draft, long-range, management plan for the Worcester Range Management Unit:
WORCESTER — from 6 to 8 p.m. Dec. 13, Doty Elementary School, 24 Calais Road.
STOWE — from 6 to 8 p.m. Dec. 19, Stowe High School, 413 Barrows Road.
Information about the WRMU draft plan and public comment opportunities is available online.
These 18,500+ acres of state-owned land, located in north-central Vermont, are in the towns of Worcester, Middlesex, Stowe, Elmore and Waterbury. The WRMU includes five separate parcels. The C.C. Putnam State Forest and Elmore State Park are managed by the Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation. The Middlesex Notch Wildlife Management Area (WMA), Middlesex WMA, and Worcester Woods WMA are managed by the Fish and Wildlife Department.
For more information, email brad.greenough@vermont.gov or call 802-595-3143.
Fancy fashion
MONTPELIER — Vermont Historical Society will host a reception for its latest exhibit, “Fancy Goods: Hats and Fashion Accessories, 1850-1950,” from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 16, at Vermont History Museum, 109 State St. in Montpelier. Reception admission and refreshments are free.
Curated by Middletown Springs Historical Society and featuring items donated by local families, the exhibit runs through Feb. 24, 2024. It features approximately 30 items designed to serve ornamental rather than essential purposes.
Montpelier Alive
MONTPELIER — Montpelier’s first Cocoa Crawl Dec. 16 celebrates downtown with a variety of chocolate offerings, paired with local music, at Rabble Rouser, Capitol Grounds and North Branch Café. For more information, visit www.montpelieralive.com/cocoa-crawl.
Shidaa Projects has received funding from Montpelier Alive to join New Years Eve celebration in Montpelier, partnering with Lost Nation Theater, several local bands and musicians and MRPS Masque program to oversee a kids celebration that will take place at City Hall, the UU Church and the Christ Church, along with other venues TBD. Shidaa Projects Inc. has recently sponsored professional drum and dance director, Samuel “Maama” Marquaye, from the West African country of Ghana to help expand their mission of cultural education and diversity.
AROUND VT
Farmer award
Applications for the 2024 Eric Rozendaal Memorial Award are being accepted under a new timeline, the Vermont Land Trust announced. Applications opened on Nov. 15 and will close on Feb. 29, 2024. This is a change from past years when the award application cycle ran from Jan. 1 through June 30. Farmers can learn more and apply online at vlt.org/eric.
The Rozendaal Award was created to honor the life and legacy of Eric Rozendaal, known to many as the face of Rockville Market Farm in Starksboro.
Public affairs VP
Planned Parenthood of Northern New England and Planned Parenthood Vermont Action Fund welcome Jessica Barquist as its vice president of Vermont Public Affairs, effective Dec. 1. In this role, she oversees public policy, advocacy, communications, as well as organizing and electoral activities for PPNNE and PPVTAF.
Prior to joining Planned Parenthood, Barquist was director of policy and organizing for Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence and was also a proponent of policy changes to support early childhood development with Let’s Grow Kids. She started her professional career as a clinician working with children and adolescents after receiving her MA in clinical psychology from Columbia University.
Be idle free
The Department of Environmental Conservation urges drivers to switch off their ignition to limit unnecessary idling of their vehicle engines. Vermont state law limits all motor vehicle idling to five minutes in any 60-minute period with some exceptions. Local jurisdictions may have additional idling limitations in place. The School Bus Idling Rule also states school buses shall not idle while picking up and dropping off children on school property.
Help protect Vermont’s clean air and avoid unnecessary idling by:
Turning off your vehicle when you are stopped for 10 seconds or more, except in traffic (30 seconds for heavy-duty vehicles).
Warming up your engine and vehicle by driving gently. If needed, limit idling to 30 seconds (three to five minutes for heavy-duty vehicles), even in cold weather. Make sure windshield defrosting is adequate before driving.
Use indoor spaces or waiting rooms instead of sitting in your idling vehicle.
BUSINESS
Loss criteria
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has waived certain notice of loss requirements for 2023 for the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-raised Fish and Livestock Indemnity Program. In an effort to streamline assistance to support access to critical 2023 natural disaster recovery assistance, USDA’s Farm Service Agency is waiving the requirement to submit ELAP or LIP notices of loss within a pre-determined number of days for 2023. Instead, producers have the flexibility to submit 2023 notices of loss as soon as possible, once losses are realized, following a natural disaster event or no later than the established annual program application for payment deadlines for each program. FSA county committees are also being asked to re-evaluate 2023 ELAP and LIP late-filed notices of loss to determine if the waiver applies.
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