Mount Holly Newsflash- Friday, May 20, 2022

Mount Holly Newsflash - Friday, May 20, 2022  The weather today in Mount Holly -    A slight chance of rain showers after 4pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 78. South wind 1 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%    Archived Newsflash emails can be read at: https://mthollynewsflash.blogspot.com The Library is accepting donations of your well loved books, Fiction, Non-fiction, Kids. you can drop them off at the library during our open hours Mon 9-1, Tues 1-5, Wed. 2-4, Sat 9-1 Mount Holly Town Library 26 Maple Hill Road Belmont, VT 05730 802.259.3707   dedicated to providing a local alternative to commercially produced factory food This 'n That Welcome to our farm and thanks for following along.  Plew Farm is a diversified farm located in Mount Holly, Vermont.  We raise grass fed beef, meat chickens, laying hens, pigs, and turkeys.  In the summer we produce hay and in the spring we make maple syrup! We operate a farm stand here at the farm.  In addition to our meat, eggs and maple, we carry a variety of items from over 23 of our farm partners!  You can also purchase our award winning, wood fired Vermont maple syrup via our online store found on our website! Plew Farm is owned and operated by husband and wife, Kevin & Patti and was established in 2011.  We have lived in Mount Holly for over 38 years.  We have 5 grown sons and 3 amazing grandchildren.  Our cattle moved out onto pasture last weekend, and they are so happy to be out!  You'll now be able to see them around the farm when you drive by.  Here's the video of them heading out. Our farm stand is open all weekend.  Fresh cut flowers will be available this weekend as well as fresh bread!  Our fridge is stocked with some amazing greens (lettuce and spinach).  Farm fresh eggs grace our counters along with honey, salsas, mustards and coffee. Let's not forget the meat!  It's been a bit of both grilling weather and soup weather this past week.  So whatever you're planning, we can surely help. Our farm stand is located at 1966 Healdville Road in Mount Holly.  Open Tuesdays through Sundays from 12:00pm-5:00pm.  Closed on Mondays!   TURKEY UPDATE This will be a challenging year for raising turkeys.  Prices are up on everything involved with getting and raising them (gas, feed, trucking, packaging, etc).  We are taking orders now for Thanksgiving turkeys, as we will not be raising any extra birds.  Turkeys typically average about 18lbs each, and we expect the price to be between $6.50 & $7.00 per pound.  We are not requiring a deposit for your order at this time.  Do let us know if you'd like to order a turkey and be placed on our 2022 turkey reservation list.  Drop us an email to plewfarm@gmail.com.   Plew Farm   Ready, set, go! Heading into the weekend…. When you are out and about today, we'd love to have you stop by our farm stand! We'll be opening up at noon, and closing at 5:00.         Plew Farm 1966 Healdville Road     Mount Holly, Vermont  05758 www.plewfarm.com Farm stand open Tuesdays through Sundays (CLOSED ON MONDAYS) 12:00pm - 5:00pm   802.259.2250 plewfarm@gmail.com     Are you looking for something fun to do this weekend and want to support a great cause in the process? Then come to the Rutland Dismas House Dinner Auction on Sunday, May 22 at the Spartan Arena! We still have tickets available and would love to see you there! The first Dismas House in Vermont opened in Burlington in 1986 with the goal of "Reconciling prisoners with society, and society with prisoners." The Houses offer not just a place to live, but a supportive, family-like environment and access to resources to assist individuals who have been involved in the corrections system to successfully reenter society. Since the opening of that first house, other houses were opened around the state, including our own here in Rutland County. Rutland also has the distinction of being home to the first women-only house in Vermont, which opened just this past year in the midst of the pandemic to serve this critically underserved and vulnerable population. Our annual Dinner Auction event is a time to celebrate our residents, staff, volunteers, and community partners in addition to bringing awareness and support to the houses and the incredible work they do here in our community. The event kicks off with doors opening at 3:00 and the program to start at 4:30. For more information on Dismas House and our upcoming event, check out our website: https://www.dismasofvt.org/. For tickets, please contact Megan (330-388-1300; meganalachance@gmail.com) or Elijah LaChance (802-734-2701; elijahtlachance@gmail.com). We hope to see you there! -- Megan A. LaChance, Esq., DHS Vice Chair, Rutland Dismas House Council

Mount Holly Newsflash- Thursday, May 19, 2022

Mount Holly Newsflash - Thursday, May 19, 2022  The weather today in Mount Holly -    Rain showers. Cloudy, with a high near 54. South wind 7 to 12 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.    Archived Newsflash emails can be read at: https://mthollynewsflash.blogspot.com Rose Describes Development of Maple Sugaring to Ludlow Rotary   Douglas Rose of the Green Mountain Sugar House in Ludlow was the recent guest speaker at the weekly luncheon meeting of the Ludlow Rotary Club (LRC).   Rose, co-owner and operator of the maple syrup products company along with his wife, Ann, described the history of the syrup production process.   In particular, he noted that the development could be broken down into two general historic phases: one measured by the buckets of maple sap processed, the second and current phase being the impact of technological advances and sap collection.   The bucket period concentrated on measuring the number of individual maple trees that were tapped and transported by horse to the local sugaring house.  The use of horses also dictated when active sap collection was feasible.  Since horses had difficulty getting through heavy snow, this usually meant that active sugaring could only begin when the snow drifts had started to melt.   Rose then noted that the process of heating the syrup to a desired temperature required that someone watch the temperature all the time.  He also said that the volume of actual syrup was low compared to current levels since the process was dependent on buckets of sap collected.   According to Rose, all this changed with the introduction of automatic collection of sap using tubing attached to the trees and the development of temperature controlled boilers for heating the sap.   In describing where Vermont fell in terms of the economic production of syrup, Rose indicated that the state was the leading producer in the United States with Maine and New York vying for second and third place.  However, Canada remains the largest producer of maple syrup. Pictured above is Douglas Rose of Green Mountain Sugar House as he speaks at the weekly luncheon meeting of the Ludlow Rotary Club. Ludlow Rotary Welcomes Melanie Gulde As a New Member Melanie Gulde, Program Director for the new Divided Sky Foundation's Ludlow Addiction Center, was inducted into the Ludlow Rotary Club (LRC) at its recent Tuesday luncheon meeting.  Tom Harris, LRC Rotarian, explained the goals and functions of the club to Melanie and Art Randolph, LRC President, awarded Melanie the membership pin.  Pictured above, from left to right, are Tom Harris, Melanie Gulde, and Art Randolph.

Mount Holly Newsflash- Wednesday, May 18, 2022

Mount Holly Newsflash - Wednesday, May 18, 2022  The weather today in Mount Holly -    Sunny, with a high near 60. Northwest wind 7 to 14 mph    Archived Newsflash emails can be read at: https://mthollynewsflash.blogspot.com 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.   Read the full article at VermontHomeGardener and get the past issues too.     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.