For Sale: New 6 inch stainless chimney liner for oil or gas systems. 25 feet. Includes a cap and top plate, no tee. I bought the wrong size and was unable to return it. Paid $500. Asking $300. Call or text 802-855-3245.
Vermont Home Gardener
It's Time for Spring Planting! (zones 4-5) Sunny, warmer days make the garden real in May. While there are many garden plants that can be seeded outdoors now, don't be tempted to start working your soil too much if it is still wet. If you insist on tilling your garden it is very important to wait until the soil has drained and dried enough to be crumbly, not gooey or sticky. I do not till my gardens at all because tilling is very damaging to soil & unnecessary. If you have raised beds (see previous article) you can get started sooner because of better drainage, warmer soils & no tilling is needed. This article looks at what we can plant right now and some seasonal tips about voles, carrots, and lawns to make things go better.
Ludlow Rotary Offers Scholarships To Area Graduating Seniors
The Ludlow Rotary Club (LRC) is continuing its annual scholarship awards to graduating high school students who reside in Ludlow, Mt. Holly, Plymouth, and Cavendish.
Three special scholarships have been named for legendary members of the Ludlow Rotary Club. Two of these – the Daniel E. Kesman Rotary Scholarship (academic excellence) and the Ralph D. Hogencamp Rotary Scholarship (vocational education) – have been awarded for many years. In December of 2013, the Ludlow Rotary Club named the Robert W. Kirkbride Rotary Scholarship (community service). Bob Kirkbride was an outstanding member of the Ludlow Rotary Club for over 60 years. The criteria for awarding these and the other Rotary scholarships are scholastic achievement, financial need, realistic goals, extracurricular activities and community service. Graduating seniors are urged to contact their school guidance department to learn the details for applying for these scholarship awards. All applications for the scholarships must be received by June 1, 2022.
Interested people are invited to help the LRC support the continuing education of our future. Checks should be made payable to the LUDLOW AREA ROTARY CHARITABLE FUND, Inc., with SCHOLARSHIP FUND or the name of a specific scholarship entered in the memo area , and then mailed to: Ludlow Rotary Club, PO Box 216, Ludlow, VT 05149. The Ludlow Area Rotary Charitable Fund, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) organization under IRS regulations and, accordingly, all such scholarship donations are deductible for income tax purposes. The Ludlow Rotary Club will provide documentation for each donation to the scholarship fund.
The LRC has awarded over $250,000 to graduating seniors since this program was initiated.
With your help, more of our young people will be assisted in preparing for the challenging times ahead of them. For more information, please contact Tim Faulkner, 802-228-5575, email at tlfcpa@tds.net or visit www.ludlowrotary.com.
Rotary Helps Ukrainian Refugee Children Continue Education
"They do not want to stop their education, problem is they do not know Polish and cannot connect with their teachers in Ukraine." With this simple statement, Tomasz Michalik, President Elect of the Bialystok (Poland) Rotary Club asked John Bob Siemienowicz, Governor of Rotary District 7870, which includes 59 individual clubs in southern New Hampshire and southern Vermont, for help.
Michalik further explained that a large number of school-age children had become refugees from their native country of Ukraine as a result of the Russian invasion. They lacked the means to communicate with their teachers in Ukraine to continue their education. While Poland offered them access to its public school system, most of the children did not speak Polish and likely instructors lacked a knowledge of the Ukrainian language.
To further complicate matters, the Polish education system required 8th grade students to pass an examination that was conducted in Polish to continue their secondary school education. The Ukrainian students, due their inability to understand the Polish language, would probably fail this test.
What was needed were tools that would enable the children to communicate with teachers in Ukraine where schools were still in operation. The key element to resolving this dilemma was laptop computers with access to the Internet.
The Bialystok Rotary Club surveyed the number of refugee students and determined that they needed to acquire laptops.
Acting on this request, Siemienowicz arranged for $13,000 for the laptops through the district's fund-raising efforts on behalf of Ukraine for the purchase of 50 basic laptop units.
In addition to helping Ukrainian refugee students continue their education, the district was also involved in helping pregnant Ukrainian refugees and refugees with medication needs not supported by the Polish state medical program.
In the case of the former, the Bialystok Rotary Club was assisted by the district. As described by a representative of that club "these Ukrainian families didn't have the opportunity to give baby showers and associated gifts . . . so our Polish counterparts are doing their best to be the substitutes providing that support. They are truly relying on the kindness of strangers in every way".
Thus far, Siemienowicz estimates that District 7870 has raised over $150,000 to support the needs of Ukrainian refugees. A 14-month-old Ukrainian refugee in Poland needed medication not funded by the Polish state medical system. Rotary District 7870 raised the funds to enable the purchase of the medicine. Pictured above are the President of the Bialystok Rotary Club, the doctor from the University Clinical Children Hospital, and the Treasurer of the Rotary Club. Pictured above are members of the Bialystok Rotary Club holding the new laptops donated by Rotary District 7870. These laptops will enable refugee Ukrainian students to communicate with instructors in Ukraine so that they may continue their education uninterrupted by the Russian invasion.
