BUSINESS
Promotion
SOUTH ROYALTON — Sue Thresher was promoted to branch relationship manager for Bar Harbor Bank & Trust in South Royalton. She has more than 15 years of experience in banking. Thresher began her career as a teller at Randolph National Bank.
COLLEGE NEWS
Free degree
More than 235 high school seniors from 90% of Vermont’s high schools and tech centers enrolled in Early College at Community College of Vermont this fall knowing they are eligible for a free degree. That number marks a 70% increase in CCV’s Early College enrollment since the Free Degree Promise was announced in April 2022 and includes nearly double the number of first-generation college students as well as increased participation among low-income students and students of color.
The Promise builds on the state’s existing Early College program, which allows Vermont high school seniors to complete their last year of high school and their first year of college at the same time, earning free college credits that also count toward graduation from high school. Students who complete the Early College program receive a second year of free college at CCV, giving them the chance to earn an associate degree of their choosing the year after high school graduation.
The Promise covers tuition and fees after federal and state financial aid and offers a living stipend and enhanced advising. Students can choose from CCV’s 11 associate degree programs, earning credits that transfer easily to four-year programs at Vermont State University as well as UVM, Champlain and other colleges and universities in Vermont and beyond.
AROUND TOWN
COVID vaccine
BARRE — People’s Health and Wellness Clinic will offer COVID-19 vaccine free to people who are age 18+ and do not have health insurance, including Medicaid or Medicare coverage. These clinics will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday, Nov. 18 and 25, Dec. 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30, through year-end, at its 51 Church St. location in downtown Barre. For more information, visit www.PHWCVT.org or call 802-479-1229.
Pack the Pantry
BERLIN — The 22nd annual Food and Funds Drive, known as “Pack the Pantry,” for the Central Vermont Salvation Army’s Emergency Food Shelf, takes place Nov. 16, 17 and 18 at Price Chopper in Berlin.
The goal is to pack the truck full of canned goods and nonperishable food items and collect monetary donations. The Salvation Army deployed disaster relief teams from all over the East this summer and that depleted the food raised from last year’s event, causing the army to ship resources from other parts of the country to continue to aid flood victims.
Pack The Pantry is presented by Price Chopper and supported by Blue Compass, Maria’s Bagels, SunBelt Rentals, Applebee’s, Bellavance Trucking, Worksafe TCI, Gustos, The city of Barre and Route 302 Motors; media support is provided by Vox AM & FM.
Grants available
MONTPELIER — Montpelier Alive is seeking applications from individuals and/or entities for grants to create a Montpelier celebration event to ring in the New Year. A total of $5,000 is available. Applications are encouraged for events that celebrate diversity and those produced by BIPOC-led organizations. Grantees will receive: a cash award, promotional support from Montpelier Alive, access to Montpelier Alive’s event lending library, and more. Grant applications can be found online at montpelieralive.com/new-years-eve and must be submitted electronically by 5 p.m. Monday, Nov. 20.
AROUND VT
Pain care
The Department of Vermont Health Access and the UVM Medical Center announced Vermont Medicaid is entering a pilot program which will provide its members the ability to participate in the Partners Aligned in Transformative Healing program at UVM Medical Center’s Comprehensive Pain Program, a clinical arm of the Osher Center for Integrative Health at UVM. Up to 100 Medicaid members suffering from chronic pain will be able to participate in the pilot program.
PATH is a 16-week outpatient program that approaches chronic pain from a “whole person” perspective, using conventional medical treatment with complementary therapies. Participants are afforded access to integrative therapies — many, such as Reiki, massage therapy, culinary medicine and yoga, not previously covered by Medicaid. Participants will also engage in group and a variety of other therapies, including psychologically informed physical therapy, health coaching, nutrition and occupational therapy.
DHVA and the UVM Medical Center have collaborated on a bundled payment model that allows patients access to the full program for one fixed price, rather than billing separately for each visit and service type.
Fleet EVs
The Vermont Agency of Transportation launched the Electrify Your Fleet program, an electric vehicle incentive program for businesses, municipalities and nonprofit organizations to accelerate the transition to plug-in electric vehicles (EVs), including electric bicycles, electric cargo bicycles, adaptive electric bicycles, electric motorcycles, or electric snowmobiles.
AOT is accepting applications for the program on a first-come, first-served basis. A total of $500,000 is available, and $200,000 of that amount is available for applicants who are from or serve historically underserved communities. Awards will be made in the form of reimbursements of as much as $2,500 for each internal combustion engine vehicle replaced or avoided, with a maximum of 20 incentives allowed per fleet. Applicants must demonstrate that the vehicles funded will contribute to reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
Go to vtrans.vermont.gov/planning/climate-change/Electrify-Your-Fleet for more information and to apply.
Grants received
The U.S. Department of Commerce announced “Build to Scale” grants awarded to 60 organizations across the country totaling $53 million for programs that support technology entrepreneurs, catalyze innovation, and fuel economic growth. This is the 10th cohort of grantees for this program. Administered annually by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration, these EDA investments support innovation industries, such as agriculture technology (agtech), bioscience, advanced manufacturing, blue economy and health technology, among others.
The FY23 “Build to Scale” program has two competitions, the Venture Challenge and the Capital Challenge. In Vermont, grant recipients were Northeastern Vermont Development Association (St. Johnsbury) with $749,947 for the Venture Challenge, and the Center on Rural Innovation (Hartland) with $260,379 for the Capital Challenge.
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