Everyone Eats! returns in Rockingham area
BELLOWS FALLS - Rockingham Help & Helpers says the Everyone Eats! program, which provided free restaurant to-go meals, is returning.
Picking up where the program paused in December, community members can collect meals for their household and up to three other households at Parks Place Community Resource Center, 44 School St., on Wednesdays from 5 to 6 p.m., and Fridays from 10 to 11 a.m.
Meals are also distributed through Our Place, the Bellows Falls Senior Center, Westminster Cares, and the Grafton Community Church. Meals are available on a first-come, first served basis. Organizers say if your ability to get food has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, you qualify to participate in the program.
Everyone Eats! also supports the local economy by providing a source of income for restaurants that have been hurt by COVID-19 and provides Vermont farmers and food producers an opportunity to sell the 10 percent of the program's ingredients.
Participating restaurants include Jamaican Jewelz, MKT: Grafton, Moon Dog Cafe, Wunderbar, Allen Bros, and the Fullerton Inn.
For more information, contact Sam Maskell at the Rockingham Free Public Library at 802-463-4270 or sam@rockinghamlibrary.org, or visit rockinghamlibrary.org.
Absentee balloting to be done by mail this year
BRATTLEBORO - Town Meeting Day and Windham Southeast School District elections are coming up on Tuesday, March 2.
Due to the pandemic, the Municipal Center is closed to the public and there will be no in-person early voting for this election.
All voters are encouraged to visit their My Voter Page (mvp.vermont.gov) to keep their physical and mailing addresses up to date and to request an absentee ballot. If you encounter problems logging into your My Voter Page, contact Town Clerk Hilary Francis at 802-251-8157.
To register to vote, use the online voter registration page at olvr.vermont.gov or by contacting Francis.
In-person voting will take place at American Legion Post 5, 32 Linden St., on Tuesday, March 2 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
RFPL hosts discussion about flash flooding
BELLOWS FALLS - Join the community conversation about Vermont's flash floods on Monday, Jan. 25 at 5:30 p.m. via Rockingham Free Public Library's Zoom.
With the 10th anniversary of Tropical Storm Irene on the horizon this August, this film discussion is one of a series of programs to consider lessons learned from natural disasters.
Laurel Green, chair of Sustainable Rockingham, will facilitate this discussion.
Organizers of the program recommend viewing the documentary film Flood Bound: The Uplifting Story of Pittsfield, Vt., available to stream anytime from the library's website.
Flood Bound brings the devastation that Tropical Storm Irene left behind in Vermont front and center, along with the invaluable help neighbors gave to neighbors during and after this disaster.
To receive an invitation to join the discussion, email programming@rockinghamlibrary.org or call the library at 802- 463-4270. Be sure to leave your phone number and email address.
Rec. Dept. offers youth chess classes
BRATTLEBORO - The Recreation & Parks Department will run theit session three chess classes between Friday, Jan. 22 and Friday, March 12. Classes are $55 ($40 for Brattleboro residents).
Due to COVID-19, all classes will be held over Zoom.
Intermediate classes will take place on Fridays from 3:15 to 4:15 p.m.; these players must know basic checkmate and a few tactics and strategies. Advanced classes will run on Fridays from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., and players must have completed the intermediate level. Eric Strickland is the instructor.
Registration may be completed in person by appointment at the Recreation & Parks Office at the Gibson-Aiken Center, 207 Main St. To make arrangements, call 802-254-5808.
You may complete the fillable registration form along with the COVID-19 release form at at Brattleboro.org, then email them to recreation@brattleboro.org.
If there are special needs required for this program, please request at least five days in advance.
For all programs, events, facility information, registration forms, and more, visit brattleboro.org.
Putney monthly free produce distribution is Jan. 28
PUTNEY - The Vermont Foodbank and the Putney Foodshelf co-sponsor a monthly food drop of free produce and some non-perishables on the fourth Thursday of every month, from 9:30 to 10:15 a.m. at Putney Meadows, 17 Carol Brown Way (the white building across from the Putney Co-op and Putney Fire Station).
The next monthly food drop is Thursday, Jan. 28. All are welcome.
Because of COVID-19, drive-up service and bags will be provided.
Community-based garden organizing training begins soon
ESSEX - Are you hoping to start a garden in your community this season (i.e., neighborhood, school, workplace, apartment building, etc.)? Or perhaps your site's already up and running, but you need some tips to strengthen your efforts?
Join the Vermont Community Garden Network in February (Thursdays, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.) for an online short course, Community-based Garden Organizing. This four-part training will help you get organized, reflect on your goals and strategies, and gather tools and ideas to get your project growing.
In each two-hour session, you will learn from real stories of successful community-based gardens, be given prompts and templates to aid in your planning, and have the opportunity to brainstorm with experts and fellow organizers.
You will finish the training ready to reach out to your community, on the road to finding the resources you need to grow your site, and prepared to engage a diverse community of gardeners.
Course fees, schedules, and other details can be found at vcgn.org/what-we-do/growit. Register by Jan. 26.