Grange Notes for February 15 by Tim Swartz, Grange President (with everyone’s help)
- Agriculture: we talked about the status of immigrant farm workers, which is much on our minds given the current national discussion of DACA recipients and immigration policy.
- Legislative: Our Grange has been learning about health insurance reform possibilities for years–at this point, we learned about the proposal for universal primary care–and the prospects for push-back from the existing health care insurance lobbyists.
- Home Economics: every year, the Grange has a baking contest–this year it is “apple muffins”–any recipe you choose! The judging for our Grange will be at our April 7th meeting–and we will have another high-powered panel of judges, watch for details! The cinnamon buns last year were tasty and varied in style.
- Health Concerns: Phyllis Skinner, an RN for many years, keeps us mindful of maintaining our bodies and minds–this month, by giving us a “scorecard” to evaluate our likelihood of heart problems, based on our age, cholesterol and body-mass index.
- Hall notes: I reported on replacement of broken window glass in the kitchen, caused by ice falling from the roof; Merry arranged with our electrician Alana Norway to get the motion detector light by the ADA ramp working.
- Finances: Together with Treasurer Merry Shernock, I presented financial records from our last 3 fiscal years, to help us understand how our finances have been affected by the property tax exemption given to us in 2015 by Berlin, and how we may want to plan for future building maintenance and improvement plans. Our immediate decision will be how much the Grange wants to contribute to the FCCGH basement renovation project.
These programs are another facet of the Grange’s ongoing mission, to present important issues to the Grange and the community. Join us at our next meeting–see below for next month’s topic, CVI.
Tasty and informative–come the Grange on March 3rd for bread-baking and Internet improvements!
At 5:30, Jeremy Hansen, of Central Vermont Internet (CVI) will present the proposal for a community owned, fiber-optic to the home internet service provider, which will be voted on by at least a dozen towns on Town Meeting Day, March 6th.
Founded by Berlin Selectboard member Jeremy Hansen, Central Vermont Internet is seeking approval from communities to form a “Communications Union District” to provide residents with high-speed, net-neutral Internet service through a non-profit, community owned provider.
The CVI approach builds on the experience of EC-Fiber, which is already providing fiber-optic service to communities south of Central VT.
Continue the conversation at the Community Potluck, about 6:00 PM!
A sharp way to support the Grange Center
One of the resources which the VT State provides for Grange organizations, and for rental to others, is the VT Grange Center in Brookfield. The facility is used for Grange family camps, workshops and festivals. Members and friends of Capital City Grange have taught contra-dancing there! There is lots more information on the State Grange website: https://www.vtstategrange.org/
The State Grange volunteer committee which runs the camp is fundraising through Rada Mfg. Co., selling their 100% USA Made knives and kitchen products to raise money for the Grange Center. Out of the price for every purchase you make, the Grange Center earns 40%. Their knives and other kitchen tools have a long reputation for quality.
Please click on this link: https://bit.ly/2iRoPhx to start shopping.
