BIRTHS
CVMC
A daughter, Roselynn Wren Mola, was born Oct. 3, 2023, to Lorel Francis and Frederick Mola, of Barre.
YOUTH NEWS
National 4-H dairy
Six Vermont 4-H’ers were among the more than 200 4-H dairy members from 30 states and several Canadian provinces selected to attend the 65th National 4-H Dairy Conference. The event, held annually in conjunction with the World Dairy Exposition, took place from Oct. 1 to 4 in Madison, Wisconsin.
Participants, ages 15 to 18, had the opportunity to learn about the dairy industry and career choices through tours of dairy operations and agricultural businesses, a dairy skill-a-thon, motivational speakers and educational workshops, including one on the science behind dairy foods, which involved making ice cream with liquid nitrogen.
The Vermont delegation included Peyton Ball, Vergennes; Maeve Leslie-Gawalt, Hartland; Gabriel Michaud, East Hardwick; Natalie Michaud, Greensboro; Madalyn Perry, East Montpelier; and Erin Whipple, Bridport. Brian and Cindy Kayhart, New Haven, chaperoned the group.
Applicants had to meet the age requirement and be enrolled in the 4-H dairy project for at least three years. They were chosen on the basis of their outstanding 4-H dairy achievements, including their 4-H dairy project record books and participation in county and state 4-H dairy events, such as dairy shows, judging contests and quiz bowl.
Funding for the trip was provided by the State 4-H Foundation, Farm Credit Northeast AgEnhancement, the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, county 4-H foundations and several Vermont businesses and individual donors.
Regional 4-H horse
The 2023 Northeast Regional 4-H Horse Contests, held Oct. 15, were hosted by UVM Extension 4-H. A total of 33 4-H’ers ages 13-18 from New England, New York and New Jersey, took part in the annual event, which included horse judging, hippology, quiz bowl and communications contests. The contests serve as practice for the 4-H’ers who will be competing at the Eastern National 4-H Horse Roundup in Louisville, Kentucky, in November.
Tuff Terrain Farm, Clarendon, was the venue for the judging contest and judging phase of the hippology contest. The other phases of hippology (team problem-solving, identification stations and written exam) were held at Castleton University in Castleton, along with the quiz bowl and communications contests.
In quiz bowl, Vermont fielded two teams. The A Team will compete at the 4-H Horse Roundup. The B Team are next in line after the A Team was selected.
The Vermont A Team placed second overall, with the Vermont B Team coming in fourth. Britney Zager, Gill, Massachusetts (A Team), was second high overall scorer with two B Team members also finishing in the Top 10, Mikayla Tobey, Fairfax, was fifth and Lucy Badillo, Rutland, sixth.
Other A Team participants were Jasmine Akley and Elizabeth Brown, both from Vernon; and Lillian Kascha-Hare, Milton. Sara DiStasio, Londonderry, and Charlotte Thompson, Castleton, were the other members of the B Team.
In horse judging, Vermont captured second place overall with a first-place finish in classes and second in oral reasons.
For individual scores, Jenna Bennett, Swanton, placed first overall (first in classes, fourth in reasons). Seanna Erickson, Florence, was fourth high individual (third in classes, eighth in reasons). Viola Brown, Vernon, placed seventh overall (sixth in classes, fifth in reasons) while Rose Ouimet, Castleton, was eighth (seventh in classes, sixth in reasons).
The Vermont hippology team swept the competition, winning firsts in each of the four phases and first place overall.
Individual overall placements were Haileigh Demers, Westford (first); Emma Sibley, Milton (third); Shyanne Wedge, Shoreham (fourth); and Natalie Jackman, Vergennes (sixth). Haileigh also earned the highest score in each phrase. Emma was third in stations and judging and sixth in the written exam. Natalie was fifth in stations, sixth in judging and fourth in the written phase. Finishing fourth in stations was Shyanne, who placed seventh in judging and second in the written test.
Danville 4-H’er Tieghan Perry presented an individual demonstration on equine recurrent uveitis, the most common cause of blindness in horses. Twin sisters Lily and Samantha Provost, Milton, gave a team demonstration, “Exhibiting Memories,” showing ways to repurpose ribbons won in 4-H competitions.
AROUND TOWN
New book
NORWICH — Norwich Bookstore will host Ross Gay with his latest essay collection, “The Book of (More) Delights,” at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 24, at Norwich Congregational Church.
BUSINESS
Trailblazers training
In recognition of Careers in Construction Month, Vermont Works for Women announced the 2024 schedule of its free trades training program for women and gender-expansive individuals ages 16+: March 18 to May 2, South Burlington, Carpenter’s Union; May 20 to July 3, Newport, North Country Career Center; July 29 to Sept. 12, Brattleboro, HatchSpace; Sept. 30 to Nov. 1, Rutland, The MINT.
The pre-apprenticeship, seven-week program provides an environment for participants to build skills, gain confidence, and explore career fields in construction, renewable energy, and other high-demand trades, that tend to be male dominated. Trailblazers also have the opportunity to complete a paid, onsite internship with a local employer who has completed VWW’s gender equity training. Interested individuals can visit www.vtworksforwomen.org/trailblazers to apply.
Lawyers added
BURLINGTON — Gravel & Shea welcomes E. Kendall Enersen-Watts as an associate in the firm’s real estate department, assisting clients in acquisition, financing, permitting, development, management, leasing and sale of commercial, residential and industrial properties. Prior to joining Gravel & Shea, Kendall worked at a Vermont law firm specializing in residential real estate services. Kendall earned her J.D. from Vermont Law and Graduate School and Master of Environmental Law and Policy in 2021.
BURLINGTON — Attorney Kelsey Schweitzer has joined the northern New England law firm Downs Rachlin Martin PLLC. Schweitzer began practice in the firm’s Litigation Group in Burlington after serving for two years as a judicial law clerk. Schweitzer received her Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from Vermont Law School.
Solar projects
WAITSFIELD — Vermont craft brewery Lawson’s Finest Liquids announced achieving its goal of 100% solar-powered beer and brewery operations. Following a B Corp certification this year, this landmark includes the largest solar canopy in Vermont.
The Lawson’s Finest team installed its first brewery roof solar array in 2019; the 43-kWH AC system and series of over 140 solar panels produce approximately 52,000 kWh of electricity per year. Added in 2022, the canopy features 495 individual solar modules (REC 375W) positioned above 40 covered parking spaces and 12 level-two electric vehicle charging stations.
WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — Norwich Technologies, parent company of subsidiaries Norwich Solar, Norwich EV, and RunTime Solar, announced an expansion of its Norwich Solar brand services celebrating completion of a 500 kW AC solar project in Barnet.
VTF&W
2024 Calendar
Vermont Fish and Wildlife’s 2024 calendar is now available. It features Vermont native species by nature photographers, including Roger Irwin, Jim Blakeslee, Emmanuel Soza-Foias, Roger Farmer, Chris Ingram, Brian Pfeiffer and Rav Benett. Visit www.vtfishandwildlife.com to purchase the $15 calendar.
Do you have an item you would like to see in Community News? A milestone? A public announcement? A short news release about something entertaining going on in your town? Simply email the information to us at news@timesargus.com. Be sure to put For Community News in the subject line. (Note: We do reserve the right to edit for length.)
