News
By the way for Jan. 16
Hello all you creative folks out there — it’s time to slip into deep thought and put fingers to keyboard for the Seventh Annual Weybridge Haiku Contest. Entries are currently being sought in a competition with multiple categories. Begun in 2018, the contest was originally limited to Weybridge residents or writers with a Weybridge connection. Nine writers submitted 70 haikus that year. But the contest is now open to all Vermonters and submissions have steadily increased. Last year, 51 writers submitted 443 haikus. Your haiku poem should be in the haiku form — either the traditional form of three lines with no more than 17 total syllables total (5-7-5), or a short three lines that captures the spirit of the haiku. There’s a 10-haiku limit. Participants of all ages are encouraged to submit. There’s a youth division, through high school, and an adult division. Submit haikus to George Bellerose, contest administrator, by Feb. 24. Email [email protected] or 80 Meetinghouse Lane, Weybridge, VT 05753. He’ll forward them to the three judges: Gwen Nagy-Benson, Susie Davis and Barbara Brosnan, all past contest winners. 2025 winners will be announced at the end of March to celebrate Poetry Month in April. Judges will select three youth winners and three adult winners. Judges also create “Best of” categories, such as “Best Haikus about Climate Change.” Winners will choose from books by Weybridge’s co-poet laurates, Julia Alvarez and Jay Parini, as well from books by Weybridge novelist Chris Bohjalian.
We’re in the middle of winter, but it’s not too soon to start thinking about school graduations and proms. Mount Abraham Union High School’s annual “prom and clothing swap” will take place on Saturday, Feb. 8, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., in the school cafeteria. You can drop off clean, gently used clothing and prom wear (accessories included) at Mt. Abe on Saturday, Jan. 18, from 9 a.m. to noon; Saturday, Jan. 25, noon-3 p.m.; and Saturday, Feb. 1, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. A “last-minute donations” event is being scheduled for Friday, Feb. 7, 3:30-5:30 p.m., also in the school cafeteria. Questions? Contact Teresa Boucher at [email protected].
If you are interested in sending your young child to Evergreen Preschool, the Vergennes nonprofit, the staff at the 30 Water St. school wants to see you this weekend. All are invited to the annual Prospective Parent Open House on Saturday, Jan. 18, from 10 a.m. to noon. Meet the teachers, see the classroom. Children must be 3 years old by Sept. 1. More info is at [email protected].
Vermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas has announced the release of a new training video for public officials about the state’s Open Meeting Law. Under updates to the law from the 2024 legislative session (Act 133), the Secretary of State’s training video will be mandatory viewing for certain public officials serving on public bodies in Vermont, such as selectboard chairs, town managers, mayors and chairs of state-level decision-making bodies. While it is required for some, Secretary Copeland Hanzas recommended the video as a great resource for any public official, citizen, member of the media, or anyone who wants a refresher on the Open Meeting Law in general or the 2024 legislative updates. The Open Meeting Law states that all meetings of governmental public bodies must always be open to the public, with rare exceptions. The Act 133 updates, which included a call for the Secretary of State’s Office to create a training video, codified some of the best practices that emerged from the COVID pandemic, such as hybrid meetings that allow the public to participate either in-person or remotely. The video is available for viewing on the Secretary of State’s Open Meetings webpage, at tinyurl.com/3a6a8abb, and will be distributed to public bodies in collaboration with partners, including the Vermont League of Cities and Towns, the Vermont School Board Association, and the Vermont Superintendents Association. An accompanying FAQ sheet compiled by this group can be found here.
Middlebury Union Middlebury School is seeking magazine donations for an upcoming student project. Please drop off, at the main entrance inside the bin marked “magazines,” any age-appropriate magazines with images of people, animals, places and graphics. Think Better Homes, Oprah, Rachel Ray, outdoor, art, science, etc. Please keep the Cosmos at home, and/or take a quick peek at those old National Geographics to make sure they are age appropriate.
Curious about items that can’t go into your blue-bin recycling but can be recycled elsewhere? Wondering what programs are offered at the Addison County Solid Waste Management District transfer station off Route 7 South? Find all the answers at a free webinar slated for Feb. 6 at 6 p.m. To register, please visit AddisonCountyRecycles.org, or contact [email protected]. Organizers will then reach out with the zoom link before the event.
Average gasoline prices in Vermont have risen 1.6 cents per gallon during the past week to $3.09, according to GasBuddy. Prices are 3 cents lower than a month ago and 12.8 cents lower than a year ago. The cheapest station sold at $2.76 earlier this week, and the most expensive at $3.49. The national average price fell 1.1 cents to $3.02. That average is up 0.9 cents from a month ago and is 3.2 cents lower than a year ago.
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