Town offices are slowly starting to open up for person-to-person business, following a lengthy suspension of such services due to COVID-19.  Bristol town offices this past Monday announced open hours on Monday and Wednesday mornings, from 8 a.m. to noon. Like Bristol, most town offices are imposing the following health/safety rules: Only three customers allowed in the lobby at any given time, six feet minimum distance must be kept between people, mask wearing is mandatory, and of course don’t come in if you’re not feeling well. 
Middlebury’s Ilsley Public Library is one of 48 libraries statewide now offering the loan of wood moisture meters. Borrowers can use the small hand-held meters to test firewood at home to make sure it’s dry enough to burn safely and efficiently. Burning firewood that hasn’t been dried properly makes it more expensive to heat a home and causes poor air quality. It’s recommended to only burn wood with a moisture content of 20% or less. If moisture levels are higher, firewood doesn’t burn as efficiently and produces more smoke and harmful emissions. To find more information about this program, including a list of participating libraries, visit dec.vermont.gov/wood-burning.
Cast an informed vote this election season. Addison County Candidates for the Vermont House & Senate will be participating in a series of virtual candidate forums co-hosted by the Addison County Chamber of Commerce and the Addison County Economic Development Corporation. These debates are being sponsored by the Addison Independent. The forum for the Middlebury area is Wednesday, Sept. 30, 6-8 p.m. It will feature Addison 1, 2, and Addison-Rutland House Candidates, as well as the state senate candidates. The moderator will be Don Devost. Register in advance at tinyurl.com/y5r5xq63. A Zoom link will be sent to you once you register. If you’d you like to help develop questions for the candidates, respond to the organizers’ survey by Sept. 28 at bit.ly/3535svl. Unable to attend? The recording will be available on the Addison County Chamber of Commerce website the following day. MCTV will broadcast the forum on cable in the near future, as well.
The Lincoln Community School has hosted a vibrant mentor program since 2014. Members from the Lincoln community are matched with students from the school. The commitment is one hour a week, or two hours every two weeks, meeting in school or out of school, or a combination of the two. It’s a win-win situation. And though there is a pandemic, the Lincoln Mentor Program is going strong with the necessary safety precautions in place, of course. Those interested or would like to learn more may please email Lincoln Mentor Coordinator Beth Nelson at [email protected].
Middlebury voters: Please remember there is no in-person early voting in town for the upcoming Nov. 3 General Election. The Vermont Secretary of State’s Office started mailing ballots to all active registered voters in Vermont as of Sept. 21. The name and address information they are using was pulled from the statewide voter checklist on Sept. 2. This means there is a three-week gap between the time they pulled the information and when ballots are being mailed. There will be many changes in registrations and addresses during this three-week period and the town clerk’s office is prepared to issue ballots to all voters who do not receive a ballot. If you do not receive your ballot by Wednesday, Oct. 7, notify the Middlebury Town Clerk’s office to make sure you get your ballot. Ballots may be returned by mail in the prepaid envelope or put in the secure drop box located on the landing next to the Middlebury Town Office entrance near the Ilsley Library. Ballots may also be dropped off at the polls on election day, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 154 Creek Road — the Middlebury Recreation Center Gymnasium. But the sooner the ballot is returned the better.