Gasoline prices in Vermont fell 10.3 cents per gallon this past last week, averaging $4.32 per gallon Wednesday, according to GasBuddy’s survey of 626 stations in Vermont. Prices in Vermont are 33.4 cents per gallon lower than a month ago, but stand $1.24 per gallon higher than a year ago. And Vermont consumers aren’t seeing the kind of gas price reductions being seen in other parts of the country. The national average price of gas fell 9.9 cents to $3.92 per gallon during the past week. The national average is down 63.7 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands 74.8 cents per gallon higher than a year ago, according to GasBuddy data compiled from more than 11 million weekly price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations across the country.

Do you have a desire to help to make your community a more just and safer place to live? Are you looking for a rewarding volunteer experience? WomenSafe — an Addison County nonprofit organization that works to prevent, address and end dating, domestic, sexual violence and stalking — is now accepting applications for its annual volunteer training. This training opportunity is scheduled to begin on Saturday, Sept. 17. Training this year will be hybrid, with some in-person sessions and some virtual sessions due to COVID-19. Participants will acquire all the tools needed to provide direct service through WomenSafe’s 24-hour hotline and in person, monitor supervised visits, prevention education and community outreach events, provide childcare or perform administrative tasks. Space is limited. For more information or an application packet, please call WomenSafe at 802-388-9180, email [email protected], or visit womensafe.net.

The Monkton Museum and Historical Society and town Selectboard Chair Stephen Pilcher will host a pizza brainstorming party this Thursday, Aug. 18, from 5-7 p.m., to come up with ideas on how a museum and other public uses might be accommodated in the community’s 1859 Old Town Hall. Boosters will share their progress in applying for grants and awards, as well as their vision of establishing a museum in the space. The meeting will be held at the old town hall. We are eager to hear from the community about their vision that could enable the building to stay preserved as a heritage spot on the National Register of Historical Buildings.

Heading out of Addison County on a train? Fare-free Tri Valley Transit buses can drop you off in the morning at the depot by onboard request. Just ask your driver. You can ride the Middlebury Shuttle Bus/Marble Works neighborhood loop from the Academy Street bus shelter or Triangle Park stop, to the Middlebury Amtrak depot off Middle Seymour and Maple Streets. You can ride the Tri-Town Vergennes bus from those same Middlebury stops as well as the Vergennes Green Street bus shelter to the Vergennes-Ferrisburgh Amtrak depot at 49 Park Lane in Ferrisburgh. For full schedule details, visit trivalleytransit.org. Note that luggage is welcome on the bus, but riders are asked to only take what they can carry and to keep the aisles clear for safety. Return transit service takes advance planning because the trains get back late in the evening after TVT’s service day ends. Call ahead 802-388-2287 two business days ahead and TVT will try to match you with a ride.

Speaking of the Middlebury train depot, riders are urged to park their vehicles at the designated parking area in front of the rail platform on Middle Seymour Street, and not in spaces meant for customers of neighboring businesses County Tire and Chris Morse Computer Services.

State revenue collections for July show Vermont’s General Fund, Transportation Fund and Education Fund receipts last month were a combined $227 million, an amount that was 2.8% above monthly consensus expectations. General Fund revenues collected for the month totaled $136.6 million, which was $600,000 above the monthly consensus cash flow revenue target. Transportation Fund revenues came in at $23.6 million in July, $800,000 above the consensus monthly cash flow target estimate. Education Fund revenues were $4.9 million, or 7.9%, above the monthly consensus cash flow target, having collected $66.8 million in July. SAdministration Secretary Clouser: “It’s always preferable to begin the fiscal year with a small cushion to soften the inevitable bumps down the road. We are pleased to see a good start to the year, although we remain mindful that we have benefited from a very strong wind at our back which may not continue.”

Wondering how you can support Starksboro youth literacy programming? On Wednesday, Aug. 24, the Bobcat Cafe in Bristol will share a portion of its profits to the Project READ program. Also, Project READ advocates are selling tickets for a spiffy Vermont Folk Rocker to raise funds for new, high-quality books for Starksboro’s children to enjoy through the town’s summer Bookwagon program, which last year gave out 599 tomes. Organizers have a goal of selling 300 tickets ($10 each) at the Starksboro Public Library (open Monday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Thursday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Saturdays 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.). Tickets can also be purchased through Lisa Daudon at [email protected] or Katie Antos-Ketcham at [email protected]. Project READ gratefully accepts donations, with checks made payable to Robinson Elementary School, and can be left at the Starksboro Public Library or by contacting Daudon or Antos-Ketcham.