Are you a Bristol resident interested in helping shape the manner in which your town will grow in the future? Have you been looking for a way to serve your community? If the answer is “yes,” the town of Bristol invites you to apply for current openings on both the planning commission and zoning board of adjustment. For more information or to apply, send an email to [email protected] or [email protected], or call the town office at 453-2410.
 
Members of the Middlebury Union High School Class of 1968 will celebrate their 50-year class reunion on Sept. 14 and 15 at Elaine Cousineau’s home. It’s not too late to sign up for a good time. Call 877-6855 for details.
 
Vermont is 75-percent forested, but the general public doesn’t know a lot about trees, their life cycle and even basic facts — such as how they form bark. So the Middlebury Conservation Commission has invited local Tree Warden Chris Zeoli to address such issues as the threats trees face here in Addison County (such as pests and fungi), and proper tree maintenance. The event will be held this Friday, Sept. 7, at 5:30 p.m. on the town green. Please contact conservation commission member Kemi Fuentes-George at [email protected] with any questions.
 
Have you considered becoming a hospice volunteer? Specially trained volunteers provide support to community members facing the end of life by providing companionship, respite for family members/caregivers, and help with practical tasks. The next 30-hour training class through Hospice Volunteer Services begins on Sept. 13 and will meet for 10 consecutive Thursday evenings. If you would like to learn more about this very special kind of service please call 388-4111 or email [email protected]. The trainings will take place in the Marble Works, at 63 Maple St. in Middlebury.
 
The Have a Heart Food Shelf is based in the basement of St. Ambrose Church in Bristol. It provides free food to hungry low-income residents in the five-town area. Food shelf organizers will gratefully accept any surplus vegetables produced by your garden during the coming weeks. Please drop them off between 4 and 5 p.m. at the church, located on the town green in Bristol. Go in the side door and down the stairs.
 
Gov. Phil Scott was due to stop by the Vermont Coffee Company this past Friday, but he was called to D.C. for the tribute to the late Sen. John McCain. So one of his emissaries came to pay tribute to the Middlebury enterprise’s recent strides in green energy. Scott — through Secretary of Natural Resources Julie Moore and Environmental Conservation Commissioner Emily Boedecker, Scott awarded the company a 2018 Award of Environmental Excellence, noting it had installed more than $1 million in new, energy-efficient equipment and switched from propane to renewable natural gas and Cow Power. As previously reported in the Independent, Vermont Coffee is now the first U.S. coffee company to use 100-percent renewable biogas to roast its coffee. The Vermont Governor’s Awards were established in 1993 to recognize the actions taken by Vermonters to conserve and protect natural resources, prevent pollution, and promote environmental sustainability. Other award recipients this year included Alchemist Brewery, Downstreet Housing & Community Development, Global Foundries and the village of Essex Junction.
 
The Mount Abraham Unified School District is also looking for some helpers, including what officials described as “a small army” of retirees interested in learning how to use Lego robotics kits in order to teach robotics at the district’s After-school Expanded Learning Program — either on a volunteer basis or for compensation. No former experience required, just an interest in making, creating and building. The district will provide all the training and support during after-school workshops that run from 3:30-4:30 p.m. or 4 p.m. (depending on the school). If you are interested in learning more, please contact Mandy Chesley-Park, Expanded Learning Program Director, at [email protected]. Also needed: folks to help with Robinson Elementary School’s “Four Winds” program in Starksboro. Volunteers team up and help share nature investigations with Robinson School kids. Each volunteer comes to a monthly topic training session (around two hours), then works with his/her partners to help their class of kids discover and explore amazing things about Vermont’s nature for one to three hours. Topics change month to month, each within the year’s theme. All you need is time and enthusiasm; the rest is provided. Interested? See the Four Winds website fwni.org, or contact Starksboro’s Four Winds Coordinator, Erin Bent, at [email protected].
 
The Addison County Relocalization Network (ACORN) is seeking volunteers for its 11th Annual Tour de Farms. This year’s tour, to be held on Sunday, Sept. 16, will kick off at Vergennes Union High School at 8 a.m. and visit several farms throughout Ferrisburgh and Charlotte, before concluding at 6 p.m. Volunteers are integral to the success of this casual cycling event, which is ACORN’s largest fundraiser. All proceeds from the event support ACORN’s mission to promote the growth and health of local food and agriculture in Vermont’s Champlain Valley. Volunteer positions include on-farm helpers who will serve up samples of local food to riders, registration and parking assistants, and more. Most time slots are for three or four hours. All volunteers receive a free T-shirt and most get to ride the tour for free. Please e-mail [email protected] for more information and to sign up.
 
Get ready to have some fun for a worthy cause. It’s the first annual “Tossin’ For The Trades” Cornhole Tournament, scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 29, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Bristol Rec Field. The registration fee is $20 per person for teams that must consist of at least two and no more than six throwers. All proceeds will help the Brendon P. Cousino Med47 Foundation support local first response units and provide scholarships for kids pursuing careers in the trades. It should be a fun afternoon, with beverages, food, and the cornhole game, in which teams take turns throwing beanbags at a hole on a platform placed 27 feet away. This will be an exclusive tournament that will start with round-robin play, followed by a single elimination format. Each team must raise a minimum of $100. Drop-In Brewing out of Middlebury will be on site with a variety of offerings and Citizen Cider will also be available. Food vendors to be announced. Register by Sept. 26 at tinyurl.com/yd6t47e2.