There will be a Heartsaver/Certificate course held Thursday night, April 11 at 6:30 pm in the Plymouth Town Hall.
The cost for book and card is $25. The class runs for about 3 hours.
Interested in the Heartsaver/Certificate course?
Contact Susan Poirier at spcolby@gmail.com to RSVP
Reprinted with permission from The Vermont Standard.
3/15/19
Well, here we are on a damp, but warm Friday. Will the temps actually make it to 60 degrees? It wasn’t that cold last night, so not sure the sap is running. Speaking of running, though, I saw a large fisher cat running, well, more like loping, on the snow-covered hill behind our house. Later, Karen Evans and I clamped on snowshoes & followed the tracks. Of course, we really weren’t trying to find it, but to see where it came from. After a long trek higher and higher, we finally had enough exercise & returned to house for a cup of tea!
Thanks to Michelle Pingree for agreeing to cook a corned beef and cabbage dinner for the Community Luncheon and to the Tyson Church for help with funding the meal. It will take place at 11:30 AM on Thursday, 3/21 in the Community Room of the church. Irish soda bread and a green dessert from Windsor Youth will round out the meal and we are hoping to have live music as well. All are invited to attend.
I have not had the pleasure of meeting Matthew McCormick, but he is interested in organizing and utilizing the many outdoor recreational opportunities in our area. He is proposing the name, PASTA, similar to RASTA (Rochester Area Sports Trails Alliance). He has reserved the Community Center at 6 PM on Friday, 3/22 to gather for discussion, complete with pizza, beverages, and maps to enhance the evening. Please consider attending. Kids are welcome to attend as well, The Plymouth Schoolhouse childcare will be open for kids to play in the classroom.
Proud grandparents, Carl and Nancy Hagge shared this wonderful poem written by their granddaughter, Schuyler, age 11. She participated in the Young Writers Project and her poem was recently published in the Rutland Herald. With permission, I am copying it below:
Far away, there is a tunnel full of fears and full of dreams.
Far away, there is a tunnel full of hope and full of wishes
In this tunnel full of fears and dreams and hope and wishes
There is a light that burns in the night, out of sight.
And this light is the fears of the fearless, the dreams of the dreamless,
The hope of the hopeless and the wishes of the wishless.
Although it is a bit premature, I wanted to give you a heads-up about the Second Annual Community Spaghetti Dinner by Tyson Ladies Aid, that will take place on Sunday, 5/5 from 5 -7 PM at Plymouth Town Hall. Mark your calendar and join the fun. The meal is free, but donations are gladly accepted and will be used for community benefit.
Interested in taking a CPR course?
Susan Poirier is available to teach CPR classes on Thursday March 28, Thursday April 4 & Thursday April 11 at 6:30 p.m at The Plymouth Community Center.
There are a couple of types of CPR courses; Family and Friends certification, Heart Saver Certification and Basic Life Support Certification.
The Heartsaver or the Basic Life Support (for healthcare providers such as nurses, EMTs etc) courses are 3 hours long. Those classes are done in ‘one sitting’. These courses are $25 each.
The ‘Family and Friends’ class should only be 90 min. max and will cost $10.
We would need at least 3 people/class to sign up. If interested, please send contact info to Susan at spcolby@gmail.com.
By Jen Flaster, Plymouth Press
Nearly 50 Plymouth residents came out for Town Meeting on Monday evening. There was little discussion on the first two agenda items. The vote to allocate $11,808 for Human Services easily passed.
The question on the town budget was amended by select board chair Ralph Michael to update a typo printed in the report, so voters considered if the town would vote to raise $1,205,454 to cover expenses in the amount of $1,305,454. Discussion on the town budget was minimal, although one voter noted that the town now has at least $1 million on hand in cash, which is higher than in the past. Larry Lynds responded that the auditors report came after the budget was set, but it’s something the select board could consider when they set next year’s budget. If cash on hand remains at that level, perhaps the town would not need to raise as much to cover expenses next year.
The final question on the agenda had the town considering whether to exempt the state portion of Bethany Birches’ property tax. The camp pays its municipal tax, but was requesting that it be relieved of the $17,000 in education taxes to the state. Brandon Bergey, executive director of Bethany Birches was on hand and he answered many questions. He and others spoke up about the benefits that Bethany Birches, a nonprofit organization, provides to Plymouth residents and the larger community. Some spoke about how they use the facilities for birthday parties free of charge, and the camps provide public access for snowmobiling and ice skating. The funds saved in not paying the education tax would go towards aiding low income campers to come to camp.
While many in attendance support the camps and their services, there were many questions about how this tax relief would affect Plymouth taxpayers. The cost to taxpayers was estimated at $7 per $100,000 in property value. There was no time frame stated in the question, so voters asked for how long would Plymouth residents have to cover this tax liability. Would those taxes go up over time as education tax rates changed? Per Brandon and state representative Charlie Kimball who was also in attendance, the tax relief typically is given for a 5-year period. After the close of discussion, the vote was taken by paper ballot and the question passed by 24 yeahs to 22 nays.
After the close of the meeting, Charlie Kimball presented on what’s happening in Montpelier. He left copies of a summary of issues he’s working on at the town office and invited Plymouth residents to get in touch with him or set up a visit in Montpelier.
Plymouth Election Results
Town Moderator: Tom Harris
Selectperson: Ralph Michael
Lister (3 years): Tom Marrone
Lister (1 year): Paul Kowalski
Trustee of Public Funds: Bobbi Jean Lambert
Collector of Delinquent Taxes: Kathleen Billings
Grand Juror: Shawn Bemis
Town Agent: Joyce Cooper
Cemetery Commissioner: Michael Pierson
WCMUUSD/Town of Plymouth
School Director (3 years): Morgan Sailer
School Director (1 year): Jen Flaster
Appropriation of Funds: Yes
Total votes cast: 109
Reprinted with permission by The Vermont Standard
3/1/19
Wow, I can’t believe I am writing this on March 1st. It certainly doesn’t look like spring is around the corner! Yesterday I was able to remove a bit of ice from last weekend’s mixed bag of precipitation. I was so glad that the recent four inches was simply light and fluffy snow. But, who knows what is coming next – at least the lovely sunshine, glistening snow and beautiful blue sky help to brighten our spirits. Anyway, the path to our sugar house is shoveled and tapping out is progressing. Looking forward to the sweet result!
Town meeting is approaching and will be over by the time this appears in the VT Standard. Please note that there are positions with write-in candidates, so if you receive this via the Plymouth Press, please become informed in order to make good choices. Some items are voted on Monday evening at the meeting, while others are by Australian ballot on Tuesday.
How exciting that Lauren Skaskiw- Harootunian has obtained several grants to enhance the Community Center (former elementary school). Her latest one will allow her to expand and provide childcare year round, once she hires additional staff. Knowing Brenda Metzler of the non-profit Let’s Grow Kids, I am sure her mentorship will be very helpful. Certainly there were many of us in town who bemoaned the closing of PES, so it is wonderful to see that the facility is being utilized in ways that benefit all segments of our population.
Starting to plan the next Community Luncheon which will be 3/21. If you are interested in helping, please let me know. We are hoping to have music, too!
