AROUND TOWN
Promotion
St. ALBANS — Col. Matthew T. Birmingham, director of the Vermont State Police, announced the promotion of Sgt. Michael Filipek, patrol commander and acting lieutenant at the St. Albans Barracks, to lieutenant/station commander at the St. Albans Barracks.
Lt. Filipek has served the people of Vermont with the State Police since graduating from the Vermont Police Academy in November 2015 and being assigned as a trooper to the St. Albans Barracks. In March 2019, he transferred from the Field Force Division to the Criminal Division as a detective trooper assigned to the Williston Barracks and the Lamoille County Special Investigations Unit. That was followed by a promotion to detective sergeant at the St. Albans Barracks in September 2020. He subsequently transferred back to Field Force as a sergeant/patrol commander at St. Albans in 2021. Two years later, he received a temporary assignment as acting lieutenant and commander of the barracks. His formal promotion to lieutenant and barracks commander was effective in October.
In addition, Filipek currently serves as team leader of the Tactical Services Unit and has been a TSU member since 2016. He is a veteran of the U.S. Army and a graduate of Norwich University.
The St. Albans Barracks provides police coverage throughout Franklin and Grand Isle counties, including primary law enforcement services for the towns of Bakersfield, Berkshire, Enosburg, Fairfax, Fairfield, Fletcher, Franklin, Georgia, Highgate, Montgomery, Richford, Sheldon, Swanton Town, Alburgh, Grand Isle, Isle La Motte, North Hero and South Hero. The field station also provides assistance as requested to the Swanton Police Department, St. Albans City Police Department, Grand Isle County Sheriff’s Department, and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department. The St. Albans Barracks patrols 24 miles of interstate highway, 182 miles of state roads in Franklin County and 45 miles of state roads in Grand Isle County.
Therapeutic meals
BARRE — Recognizing the growing need for meal options tailored to chronic health concerns, Central Vermont Council on Aging announced a collaboration with community partners aimed at expanding therapeutic meal choices for older adults in central Vermont. During the next year, CVCOA will support this program through the creation of an online recipe database, development of an online learning platform for ongoing training, and testing and adaptation of new recipes through collaborating meal sites. This initiative is supported through a Capacity Building Grant from Vermont Foodbank and a Collaboration Grant from Meals on Wheels America.
CVCOA partners with 13 local meal sites and senior centers to provide more than 200,000 home-delivered, congregate, and grab-and-go meals each year. CVCOA will collaborate with two meal sites, Meals on Wheels of Lamoille County and Meals on Wheels of Central Vermont (formerly City Hotel Café), to test recipes targeting specific health conditions and obtain feedback from both the production team and meal recipients. As a result, CVCOA will refine the recipes, construct a user-friendly recipe database, and establish an online resource for ongoing and sustainable training on therapeutic meals.
AROUND VT
Adoption month
Vermont Gov. Phil Scott recently proclaimed November as Adoption Month in Vermont, recognizing the importance of ensuring every child has a permanent, safe and entrusted family. Adoption month is a time to:
— Celebrate and honor all people whose lives are touched by adoption.
— Focus attention on children and youth still waiting for their forever families; there are currently about 100 waiting children in Vermont.
— Recognize the importance of children’s connections to their family of origin, whether by post-adoption contact or through reunification with birth families of more than 50% of the children and youth who come to the Department for Children and Families attention.
Project Family, a partnership between Lund and the Department for Children and Families, works to find permanent families for children and youth. But more families are needed, especially for youth over the age of 14. The chances of a child under age 8 being adopted are almost nine times greater than for one over age 14.
In 2022:
— 186 children and youth were adopted following DCF involvement.
— There were 90 agreements for ongoing contact between the birth parents and children. These numbers highlight the value of connection to a child’s birth family.
— Vermont enacted a change to adoption law, expanding access to adoption records in Vermont. Since July 1, over 150 individuals have connected with the Vermont Adoption Registry to access information about their previously inaccessible records.
— Over 3,000 children living in Vermont joined their families through adoption or guardianship.
— Over 250 families received free Post Permanency Services statewide.
Many young people choose to participate in Vermont’s Heart Gallery, which allows Vermonters to learn more about the children and youth who are waiting for forever families. The Heart Gallery can be viewed at dcf.vermont.gov/fsd/adopt/waiting. If your organization is interested in elevating the needs of Vermont’s waiting children by hosting a Heart Gallery exhibition or distributing bookmarks, email toniy@lundvt.org.
Lightbulb ban
Starting Jan. 1, 2024, a new state law will prohibit the sale of specific mercury-containing fluorescent lightbulbs in Vermont. Restrictions include the sale of general purpose, indoor/outdoor, residential and business mercury-containing 4-foot linear, compact fluorescent, and twist-based fluorescent lightbulbs. Twist-based (GU-24) Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs (CFLs) are also restricted from sale.
If your home or business currently uses these fluorescent bulbs, you will not be able to buy more after Jan. 1, 2024. If your business sells these bulbs online or in a store, you will not be able to do so next year.
Efficiency Vermont is offering rebates to help residents and businesses replace fluorescent bulbs with LEDs. The SMARTLIGHT program will expire at the end of 2023. However, Efficiency Vermont will still offer custom rebates for retrofits from fluorescent to LEDs through 2024. For more information, visit www.efficiencyvermont.com/bizlighting online. Also, email info@efficiencyvermont.com or call 888-921-5990.
The sale of any other mercury-containing 4-foot bulbs, such as specialty lighting (ultraviolet, germicidal, purifier/sanitizer, etc.) is not included in the new restrictions.
Any manufacturer who sold or sells these mercury-containing lightbulbs must pay for the collection and recycling of used bulbs. Anyone can bring up to 10 general-purpose, mercury-containing lightbulbs to free collection locations across the state. Go to VTrecycles.com to find the location nearest you, click the orange “Special Recycling” icon, and select your county from the drop-down menu. For larger amounts of fluorescent bulbs, contact your solid waste district or town at 802recycles.com online.
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