Cavendish Update 1/28/22: Town Mtg/Energy Costs/News/Events
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1/28/22
1. Cavendish Town Meeting Moved to March 28
2. Cavendish Info
3. Reducing your Energy Bill
4. Covid update
5. Events
FREE COVID VACCINE CLINIC TOMORROW at the Cavendish Fire Department 10:30-1:30. N95s for adults and kids will be distributed.
1. CAVENDISH TOWN MEETING MARCH 28: The Governor signed the bill allowing the Board to change the date of town meeting and to hold a vote by Australian ballot. At the Jan. 20 Select board meeting, the members unanimously voted to move Town Meeting to Monday, March 28, 2022. This will be a hybrid meeting with voting by Australian ballot on Tuesday, March 29, 2022. Please note that the school budget vote will take place on March.1. Ludlow has also changed its town meeting day to April, but will hold the school vote on March 1. Minutes 1/20/22 Cavendish Select Board Meeting.
2. CAVENDISH INFO
• Willie Kennedy: As co-owner of Ludlow Cooking Company, and one of Okemo’s longest employees (lift operator) many knew and loved Proctorsville resident Willie Kennedy. Our sympathies to Frankie and Jenny, as well as his family and many friends, on his passing (Jan. 24). A Go Fund Me account was started to help the family. As noted, In lieu of flowers and food, please use this page to show support. It’s our hope to help his family manage the burden of this loss. A memorial is being held Feb. 5 (Saturday) from 3-7 pm at the Ludlow Community Center, located at 37 Main Street Ludlow, VT 05149. There is no formal program, so please feel free to drop in at any point to pay your respects. A spring memorial is being planned on Long Island.
• Become a “River Dipper” with BRAT: Cavendish has two swimming spots on the Black River that are tested weekly throughout the summer by the Black River Action Team (BRAT).. Have you got what it takes to be a volunteer “River Dipper” with the Black River Action Team? It takes a love of the outdoors (especially our river and the streams that feed it) an ability to drive to your site or sites as needed (regular Dippers sample every other weekend between mid-May and mid-August, while bacteria samplers visit their swimming hole every Wednesday morning between Memorial Day and Labor Day) and transport those samples to a drop-location in a timely fashion. Good attention to detail is important, as is an ability to follow directions and maintain communication. All training and equipment will be provided; several sites are available all around the Black River drainage basin: Plymouth, Reading, Ludlow, Cavendish, Ascutney, North Springfield, Weathersfield, and Springfield. BRAT is also looking for weekly monitors on both Knapp ponds, Muckross Pond, and Echo Lake. Spoiler alert: you’ll need a kayak or canoe for those Dipping spots. Please contact Kelly Stettner for more information blackrivercleanup@gmail.com or by leaving a message at 802-738-0456
• Cavendish Library February Events Book Club: The following events will be taking place at the Cavendish Library in Proctorsville-FMI: 802-226-7503
- Dinner and a Movie: Monsoon Wedding February 13 (Sunday), 1 pm
- The Book Club will be reading “Dogtripping” by David Rosenfelt. The meeting is Feb. 16. Books are available at the Cavendish Library. FMI 802-226
- A visit with author David Rosenfelt, February 27 (Sunday), 1 pm
• “Borrow” Snowshoes from the Ludlow Library: Fletcher Memorial Library in Ludlow, which is free to Cavendish residents, now has snowshoes for the entire family to borrow. Call ahead to check availability. The loan period is 4 days. FMI: 802-228-8921
• UVM study paints grim picture at Springfield prison
• How the state hopes to fix Vermont’s spotty cell service
• $50M in new help for Vt. homeowners struggling with overdue bills: The aid is targeted toward Vermonters who have fallen behind on mortgage and utility payments. And unlike other packages, people can use it for past-due property taxes, too, dating all the way back to the beginning of the pandemic. Applicants will have to prove financial hardship from the pandemic and there’s a $30,000 cap per household.
• Antiques Road Show Coming to Vermont:
3. REDUCING YOUR ENERGY BILL: The recent announcement of Green Mountain Power’s (GMP) intent to raise their billing rate, resulted in many people posting to Facebook the high cost of their current GMP bill. To help in lowering the costs of this “monthly,” consider the following:
• Assess your energy usage by completing the How Much Electricity Does Your Home Use?
• Check out Is your electric bill too high? Here’s how to troubleshoot
• Order the Free Energy Kit from Efficiency Vermont. Vermonters can get a free kit of products like LEDs and water-saving devices
• Participate in the upcoming webinars from Mt Ascutney Regional Commission: to help reduce costs as well as carbon foot print:
- Advanced Wood Heat Webinar Feb. 3 (Thursday), 5:30 pm Two experts will discuss advanced wood heating options and how they compare to other non-fossil fuel heating alternatives. To join the webinar and for more information, visit MARC’s Energy Page
- Learn how GMP's battery storage programs can help you stay powered up, while also reducing carbon emissions and lowering costs for all GMP customers. February 8 (Tuesday), 7 pm Register for the Webinar here.
4. COVID UPDATE: For local information on testing, vaccinations, boosters, notifying contacts as well as other resources, including for Long Covid, please see the Cavendish COVID-19 Resource Guide.
WEEKLY DATA:
Cavendish & Surrounding Towns For the week ending January 19, Cavendish had 16 new cases of Covid (157 total); Ludlow 33 (302); Chester 35 (552); Springfield 116 (1,701) and Weathersfield 17 (226).
Area Nursing Homes: January 25 Report-Rutland Health & Rehab is showing cumulative 39 case, 4 this past week. The Pines at Rutland Center for Nursing & Rehab is reporting 25- seven in the last week and 10 at the Springfield Rivers Nursing & Rehab.
State: According to Tuesday’s modeling report COVID-19 cases remain elevated in Vermont, with the daily number of new infections averaging over 1000. However, the state reported nearly 2,900 fewer cases this week than last, a decrease of 27%. Vermont has now reported over 100,000 confirmed infections. The CDC Ensemble model predicts Vermont can expect lower COVID counts in the coming weeks; decreases in hospitalizations and deaths will lag falling cases.
Hospitalizations remain high with unvaccinated Vermonters occupying the majority of hospital beds. However, lengths of stay are shorter due to Omicron’s lower severity. For the last 14 days, Vermont has had 100 or more patients in hospital with Covid. Health Commissioner Dr. Levin noted that the deaths that have occurred, given when they first tested positive, are from the Delta variant and not Omicron. Since January 1, there have been 49 new deaths, for a total of 521 to date.
Seropositivity, the percentage of PCR tests that are positive, has continued to drop and yesterday was at 10.4%.
While it appears that Vermont may have peaked for omicron, there is unfortunately a new variant (omicron BA.2) making its way around the world. It’s now the dominant variant in places like Denmark and has already been detected in California, Texas and Washington. A second version of omicron is spreading. Here's why scientists are on alert.
FREE VACCINE/BOOSTER CLINIC: There will be a free clinic at the Cavendish Volunteer Fire Department tomorrow, Saturday, January 29th, from 10:30-1:30. They will be offering all three vaccines/boosters and can provide Pfizer for those 12+. A second clinic will be held on February 7 from 4-6 pm. No appointment needed.
Sam’s Steakhouse (91 Route 103 in Ludlow) will be providing a clinic on January 31 (Monday) from 3-5. All three vaccines/booster will be available, including Pfizer for those 12+
For other vaccine/booster pop up clinics, click here.
FREE MASKS: While Rite Aid in Ludlow is supposed to be a site for the Government’s free N95 mask distribution program, recent inquiries found that they were unsure of what’s happening. According to a statement made to the Today Show by Rite Aid, all stores should have them by early February. "Customers will be able to pick up the masks, with a limit of three masks per person, at an in-store display or the pharmacy counter while supplies last.” Walmart also made a statement that masks will be available at select Walmart and Sam’s Club stores late next week at the earliest.
At tomorrow’s Cavendish Fire Department vaccine clinic, N95s for adults and children will be available while supplies last.
TESTS: Many Vermonters have received both the state free tests as well as those from the Government. You can still order free tests from the Government by clicking here. Note that are providing 4 free tests, which is two free test kits (each kit contains 2 tests).
NH Liquor stores are preparing to sell test kits at cost-about $13- beginning in February. The one million tests will be distributed to the state’s 80 liquor stores in a few weeks.
5. EVENTS
JANUARY 29 (SATURDAY): Vaccination/booster clinic at the Cavendish Volunteer Fire Dept. 10:30-1:30.
JANUARY 31 (MONDAY): Vaccination/booster clinic at Sam’s Steakhouse
FEBRUARY 1 (TUESDAY): Happy Chinese New Year. It’s the year of the Tiger
FEBRUARY 7 (MONDAY): Vaccination/booster clinic at the Cavendish Volunteer Fire Dept. 4-6 PM
FEBRARY 13 (SUNDAY): Dinner and a Movie at the Cavendish Library. Queen Bee, 1 pm 802-226-7503
FEBRUARY 14 (MONDAY): Happy Valentine’s Day
- Select Board Meeting
FEBRUARY 15 (TUESDAY): 3RD Quarter Property Taxes Due
FEBRUARY 16 (WEDNESDAY): Cavendish Library Book Club meets at 7 pm. This month’s book is DogTripping. FMI: 802-226-7503
FEBRUARY 21 (MONDAY): President’s Day. Town Office Closed
FEBRUARY 21 (MONDAY)-25 (FRIDAY): School winter break.
FEBRUARY 27 (SUNDAY): A visit with David Rosenfelt, 1 pm Cavendish Library. FMI: 802-226-7503
MARCH 1 (TUESDAY) Mardi Gras
CA❤︎ENDSH VAXXING, BOOSTING & MASKING TO PROTECT SELF & OTHERS
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