Local & Regional briefs: May 19, 2019

WEATHERSFIELD — The town of Weathersfield will host a free fishing event on June 15 for kids 14 and under at a private pond located at 3979 Route 131. Children from neighboring towns are welcome.

Fishing will take place from 9 a.m.-noon, rain or shine, with casting practice before starting at 8 a.m.

The event is part of the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Children’s Fishing Program, designed to give kids the opportunity for a fun and successful fishing experience. The department provides 8-by-10 inch stocked trout for the kids to test out their angling skills. Educational stations will also be provided and staffed in part by members of the Windsor High School Bass Fishing Team.

Kids will learn about fish location and identification, baiting, casting and food preparation. The team will also offer a fish cleaning station so that kids can take home their catches ready to eat. Bait will be provided by Tillman’s Bait Shop. Refreshments will be available.

Families wishing to participate should bring a rigged fishing pole with tackle and a bucket or stringer. Some donated equipment is available for those who don’t have it.

Pre-registration is required by June 1, and participation is limited to 50 children, taken on a first-come, first-served basis. Sign up online at http://cms2.revize.com/revize/weathersfieldvt/government/committees_and_commissions/fishing_derby.php or in person at the Weathersfield Proctor Library. For more information, contact Mark Richardson at weathersfieldproctorlibrary@gmail.com or 802-674-2863.

LEBANON — More than 60 people gathered earlier this month at the Engine Room in White River Junction for WISE’s 2019 Annual Meeting and to celebrate the completion of the organization’s A Wiser Community Campaign for Growth and Sustainability.

The WISE Campaign raised funds for organizational capacity and growth, facilities maintenance, and a board-designated endowment. WISE announced that campaign funds have paid off the mortgages for the Program Center and Safe Home, and that its board-designated endowment is now funded at a capacity to begin earning operating revenue, according to a news release from the nonprofit organization. In addition, campaign funds will be used for greater program capacity including insuring broader and deeper prevention and education, expansion of legal services to survivors, development of youth leaders, lifting of survivor voices, and increased access to WISE advocacy.

Jenny Williams, board president, took time at the event to honor former board president Pat Palmiotto, who died last year.

“Pat was the very first believer in this campaign,” Williams said, according to the news release. “She understood its importance and was committed to its success. Pat and her husband Ron made the very first gift to the campaign and I can still see the pride in Pat’s face when she made this first gift. The bright future of WISE is largely due to Pat’s unwavering belief in all of us. It breaks my heart that Pat is not here with us to witness the celebration this evening.”

Peggy O’Neil, WISE’s executive director, presented a commemoration to Palmiotto’s husband and daughter.

O’Neil shared with those in attendance that the cover of WISE’s new strategic direction document reads: “Throughout the last half-century, we have been learning and growing. Our foundation is strong, our momentum is palpable, and our community is ready.”

CLAREMONT — River Valley Community College has rebuilt its lactation room and unveiled the new space for parents to be able to feed, change and take care of children or pump milk at the college.

The updates include new furniture, better technology and appliances and more privacy. Keene State College awarded River Valley a grant to provide baby bottles, wipes, sanitizers and other goods, along with a hospital grade breast pump in the room.

“We are tremendously grateful to all of our community partners who have shown such amazing support to the students of (the college),” said Jenny Albee, president of River Valley’s Student Government Association, in a news release. “The best way for our students to thrive is to be able to have the opportunity to learn free of the stressful distractions that can be so difficult to manage.”

The updated lactation space is part of an ongoing effort by the college to support students through all aspects of their lives. The college also has a food pantry, a free student bus pass program with southwest community services, and mental health services on campus.

ENFIELD — Using a mini-grant from the Friends of Mascoma, the Enfield Village School and the Canaan Elementary School purchased a washer and dryer.

Access to a washer and dryer has an enormous impact for both students and the schools as a whole, said Robin Lobb, school Nurse at Enfield Village School, in a news release.

“Something as simple as clean clothing can hugely benefit a child’s self-esteem and their ability to focus at school. For our students with limited resources, securing daily necessities takes up energy, and having access to a washer and dryer can alleviate stress,” she said. “Knowing they can come to school with clean clothing grants these students one less thing to worry about.”

The addition of a washer and dryer at both the Enfield Village school and the Canaan Elementary schools has also allowed both buildings to begin cleaning with reusable cleaning cloths, moving the schools toward a more sustainable and environmentally friendly method of cleaning.

WOODSTOCK — Billings Farm & Museum will participate in the Blue Star Museums program, a collaboration with the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, and more than 2,000 museums across America to offer free admission to all active duty military personnel and their families from now until Sept. 2.

Billings Farm & Museum will offer free admission to active-duty military members with their ID, and up to five immediate family members.

“We’ve seen the tremendous impact the Blue Star Museums program brings to our military families, and we’re thrilled to be celebrating a decade of support,” Kathy Roth-Douquet, chief executive officer of Blue Star Families, said in a news release. “Not only are museums fun to explore but are also great for making memories and strengthening military families as a whole.”

Military personnel and military family members who have questions about the program may contact Blue Star Families at arts.gov/bluestarmuseums.

HANOVER — Following a strong finish at the Sue Pasco Opening Tournament, the quiz bowl team from Hanover High School will play on a national stage on Friday at the National Academic Quiz Tournaments’ High School National Championship event in Atlanta.

The team members are Daniel Bender, James Eiler, Wright Frost, Oliver Minshall and Liam Szczepiorkowski. The team is coached by William Murphy, who will be assisted by Sally Hair. Frost, Minshall and Szczepiorkowski played the 2018 High School National Championship Tournament in Atlanta, Georgia; Bender played the 2018 Middle School National Championship Tournament in Rosemont, Ill.; and Szczepiorkowski played the 2017 High School National Championship Tournament in Atlanta.

Hanover has attended the High School National Championship Tournament six times before. Last year they entered two teams, of which one made the playoffs, finishing in 77th place.

Tournament results will be updated throughout the three days of competition at http://www.naqt.com/go/stats/9500. People who are interested in updates can also follow #hsnct on Twitter.

DURHAM, N.H. (AP) — Journalist and political commentator David Brooks urged University of New Hampshire graduates to lead with vulnerability and weave relationships together through “aggressive friendship.”

Brooks spoke Saturday in Durham, where more than 2,500 undergraduates and 547 graduate students were awarded degrees. He told them that relationships are the only engine of change, and that vulnerability is the only way to build them. He called on graduates to seek out new friendships and to “live emotionally open in a time of hostility.”

Brooks and award-winning polar glaciologist Julie Palais received honorary degrees.

MONTPELIER (AP) — Vermont law enforcement agencies are joining their counterparts from across the country in urging motorists to buckle up.

For a two-week period beginning Monday, law enforcement officers will be taking part in the 2019 Click It or Ticket national seat belt enforcement campaign, cracking down on motorists who are not wearing their seat belts.

Click it or Ticket Task Force leader Lt. Allen Fortin said officers are prepared to ticket anyone who is not wearing their seat belt, including drivers that have neglected to properly restrain their children.

— Staff and wire reports