Attention poets of all ages and abilities: Weybridge’s fourth annual haiku contest is underway. Your haiku can take either the traditional form of three lines with no more than seventeen syllables total (5-7-5), or a short three lines that captures the spirit of the haiku. There are no limits on the  number of haikus a writer can submit, and the submission deadline is March 1. Judges will select three youth winners (a trio from Weybridge and a group from the rest of Vermont), and three adult winners, (again, three from Weybridge and three from the rest of the state). The youth winner will receive a copy of Julia Alvarez’s young adult novel, “Where Do They Go?” The adult winner will receive a copy of Jay Parini’s “Why Poetry Matters.” Weybridge’s co-poet laureates, Alvarez and Parini, judged the first three contests before turning over the judging to a community  panel that will include Narges Anzali, Weybridge’s youth poet laureate; Chris Bohjalian, the novelist and playwright; and Martha Winant, Weybridge’s winner of the 2020-2021 contest. This year’s theme: Life During and After the Pandemic. Submit haikus to George Bellerose, contest administrator, at [email protected] or 80 Meetinghouse Lane, Weybridge, VT 05753. He will forward them to the three judges. Winners will be announced at the end of March to celebrate Poetry Month in April.

Tiny Goshen has (finally) gone online! Out of a desire to connect the community, a handful of Goshen residents got together to make an unofficial community website: GoshenCommunity.weebly.com. Their hope is that the website will provide helpful local information and another way for residents to stay connected. The website includes information such as links to selectboard agendas and minutes, trash collection information, lists of elected officials and their contact information, and much more. If there’s something you’d like to see on the webpage that’s not there, please email [email protected].

Please don’t trash it, repair it. On Saturday, March 5, the Addison County Solid Waste Management District and the Hannaford Career Center will once again co-host host a “repair fair.” A repair fair is a free community event where members of the community with relevant skills volunteer their time and knowledge to fix broken items. Members of the community with broken objects can bring them to the event and are encouraged to engage with the fixers to learn a new skill. Learning how to care for and repair your possessions will prolong their life, negate the need to purchase new items, and reduce landfill waste. Due to the ongoing pandemic, this event will look slightly different from years past. All attendees must register for a time slot to bring in their items. Visit AddisonCountyRecycles.org to learn more and register. Volunteers are still being sought to help with this event, to be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the career center. If you have any interest in volunteering your skills or would like to be part of the organizing crew, email [email protected].

With most town meetings happening online or just in the voting booth, Middlebury has rolled out a 2022 town meeting poll that can be completed online. The link for the survey is: surveymonkey.com/r/TOWNMEETINGPOLL. There are also physical copies located in the lobby of the Middlebury Town Offices at 77 Main St. You can also return your completed survey when you got to vote at the polls on Tuesday, March 1, at the Recreation Center at 154 Creek Road. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The town set a March 9 deadline for surveys to be completed.

Thanks to the efforts of Town Planner Jennifer Murray, the town of Middlebury has been awarded a $19,900 Agency of Commerce Community Development Municipal Planning Grant for the development of a Middlebury Pedestrian and Bicycle Connectivity Plan. It’s focused on downtown and will list future sidewalk and path connections, safety concerns and needed bike lanes. Stay posted.