Face coverings have been mandated in all public places in Vermont since Aug. 1. If you don’t have a face covering and would like to get one for free, now’s a good time to do it. The state will distribute up to 300,000 cloth face coverings to the public, emergency responders and select agencies throughout the month of August. The State Emergency Operations Center procured the masks from those donated to the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Vermont Emergency Management, the Department of Health, Agency of Transportation and National Guard are helping to distribute the free masks. You can also access these free face coverings through your town, as municipalities are responsible for distributing them. To obtain a facemask, visit tinyurl.com/yyf9med6 to find your local contact. If your town is not listed, then your local officials may have not requested their allotment or provided contact information.
 
The Bristol Conservation Commission has put together two nature-themed Bingo games for people to play in Bristol. One involves bird spotting (aimed more toward adults) and one is for your backyard (aimed more toward families and kids). The games are intended to encourage people to get outside, stay socially distanced, and experience the outdoor beauty that is in abundance in Bristol. The games are easy to play. When you find different items on the Bingo board, check them off. When you complete a vertical, horizontal, or diagonal row you’ve gotten Bingo! Bring your completed board to the Lawrence Memorial Library by Sept. 7 to be entered into a raffle to win one of three $20 Bristol Bucks prizes. Limit: one entry per household. The Bingo cards are posted on the Bristol Recreation Department and conservation commission websites, and are being handed out in hard copy at the library with requested curbside books. Happy hunting!
 
The Middlebury selectboard has approved a proposal from Neighbors Together representative Nancy Malcolm to use state grant funds related to the downtown rail tunnel project to buy a series of large canopy tents. Those tents will be used for the duration of the project to support pop-up events and other community happenings that comply with social-distancing requirements. Altogether, eight tents — four pop-up and four center-pole — will be purchased with the grant funds. The tents will remain the property of the town at the end of construction
 
Addison County law enforcement agencies will be conducting impaired driving checkpoints and saturation patrols throughout the county from Aug. 21 to Sept. 7 as part of the Governor’s Highway Safety Labor Day holiday campaign, according to Mark Stacey, the Addison County Highway Safety Coordinator. Officers will also be vigilant for distracted driving offenders and drivers who are not wearing seatbelts. They ask all to drive responsibly by wearing seatbelts, not drinking and driving, and not using cell phones while driving. Be safe and enjoy the holiday!
 
Dee Gilbert has been appointed to Vermont Adult Learning’s Board of Trustees. She is the assistant director for employer relations and outreach in the Center for Careers and Internships at Middlebury College. She fosters employer relationships in order to provide high quality and diverse employment and internship opportunities to students. Gilbert has a passion for helping people set and achieve goals and brings sixteen years of Human Resource experience in higher education. She is active in her church and has served as a volunteer for Vermont Adult Learning since 2013.
 
There are currently more than 68,000 Vermonters who receive 3SquaresVT benefits (known as SNAP nationally) to help them provide food for their families. Starting Aug. 1, Vermonters who spend some of their 3SquaresVT benefits at 28 participating farmers markets across the state started tripling their spending power by purchasing fresh, local food with Crop Cash. The Crop Cash Program is administered by the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont (NOFA-VT). Typically, Crop Cash provides a one-to-one match of 3SquaresVT/SNAP benefits, up to $10 per day. However, for August, September, and October, NOFA-VT will double the Crop Cash match providing up to $20 extra per day. That means Vermonters shopping with 3SquaresVT/SNAP benefits will have triple the spending power for fresh, local food at the farmers market. For more information on Crop Cash, including a list of participating markets, visit nofavt.org/cropcash.