Tunbridge Quarterly – Town of Tunbridge, Vermont

The TUNBRIDGE Quarterly is mailed four times a year to everyone that owns property and/or resides in Tunbridge and contains news and information from town and school officials and local volunteer efforts. The brainchild of Tunbridge resident Janet Zug, its first edition was published in July 2005 and has been curated by Janet ever since.

The deadlines for TQ entries are on the 15th of December, March, June and September. Contact Janet at 802-889-9602 or [email protected]

THE CURRENT ISSUE

Published July 1, 2024 – Follow this link to view or download the current issue in PDF format.

Click here to see past issues.

Tunbridge Selectboard
John O’Brien, Clerk
889-3474; [email protected]
Gary Mullen, Chair
889-3323, barn or 889-3242, house; [email protected]
Mike McPhetres, Vice Chair
802-272-6108, cell or 802-728-3390, shop; [email protected]
Mariah Cilley, Administrative Assistant
802-889-5521 or [email protected]

The arrival of the TQ on July 1st is perfectly timed to coincide with the beginning of our fiscal year. According to our Treasurer, Becky Hoyt, our budget and our actual spending, on June 30th, ended up almost identical. What does this mean? It means there will be no appreciable surplus. There will be no unspent funds to return to taxpayers or sock into the Special Projects account. It also means that our bills didn’t outstrip our income, and there will not be a deficit. In the event that expenses overwhelm revenues, towns must borrow in the next fiscal year to make up the difference. The Tunbridge Selectboard has tried to avoid that scenario: It’s better to be honest and transparent with the budget at town meeting—and include all those “ouch” line items—than try to be sneaky and make the total bill to run the town appear smaller than it will be. It’s always more expensive to kick the can down the road.

Speaking of that, it’s been very expensive to kick the can down the Orchard Road legal trail. To recap for those of you who are new to town: Tunbridge has four legal trails totaling less than three miles. Traditionally, the town did not maintain these public right-of-ways, but they were open to public use. Strafford residents and owners of the former Dodge farm on the Orchard Road, John Echeverria and Carin Pratt, in an effort to control public access on the legal trail crossing their property, sued Tunbridge claiming that only property owners—not municipalities—have the right to maintain legal trails that cut through their land. The Selectboard pushed back claiming that a) towns have the authority to maintain their public right-of-ways, b) this is a non-issue because Tunbridge doesn’t maintain its legal trails to begin with, and c) let’s explore a compromise alternative trail that would be satisfactory for landowners and bicyclists alike. This non-issue test is what is known as “ripe” in the judicial world—you can’t sue somebody for something they’ve never done. The Superior Court agreed with Tunbridge—twice. The Vermont Supreme Court has now heard the case and will rule on the ripeness issue (we don’t know when, but they are not known for their rapidity). In hindsight, the day Tunbridge was sued, it would have smarter to send our Road Crew out with chainsaws and have issued a statement: “We’ve never maintained our legal trails, but boy we are going maintain them now!” That would have made the non-issue an issue, and the whole world would agree that the issue was “ripe.” As Tunbridge landowner Peter Hayden said at a recent Selectboard meeting, “All roads lead back to Superior Court.” Ironically, after years of closure, the legal trails now need maintenance in order to make them safe for public usage. Tunbridge wants its right-of-ways to be safe, whether that’s the Stratford Road or the Orchard Road legal trail. The town has always worked with the abutting landowners to keep our roads and trails safe, but the owners of the former Dodge farm insist that they get to decide what fallen tree or limb or branch can be removed. At some indeterminate future date, after more thousands of dollars are spent on lawyers, the Selectboard is pretty darn sure that the Vermont judicial branch is going rule that towns have the authority to maintain their public right-of-ways for the safety and enjoyment of the public. If compromise is an outcome where nobody got everything they wanted but everybody got something, there must be a word to describe a situation where nothing has been resolved and everybody’s unhappy…except, perhaps, the lawyers.

Starting July 1st, the Windsor County Sheriff’s Department will be our designated law enforcement go-to. Two very good departments applied for the job—Windsor County and Royalton—a job that was left vacant by the demise of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department and by the reality of the Vermont State Police being so under-staffed and under-funded that community-based policing is not an option for them. The contract with Windsor County is for one year. By Town Meeting in March 2025, we should have a consensus on the effectiveness of our contracted law enforcement in town, and whether to renew or look elsewhere.

‘Such gardens are not made by sitting in the shade and saying “oh how wonderful.”’ That observation by Rudyard Kipling could well be adapted to our roads and our Road Crew. The reason that Tunbridge’s roads are better than most other towns’ is that our Road Crew spends the summer months grading and ditching and mowing and generally trying to be prepared for the next flood or the five mud seasons of winter. Their job isn’t made any easier by the global economy. When equipment breaks, parts and service are often no longer available locally. For example: The Challenger tractor had to be trailered to Syracuse, New York for a transmission fix. And a wheel bearing for our NEW Dodge one-ton could not be found in this hemisphere. After weeks went by, the dealer eventually located the part in Cuba or Bora Bora.

Tunbridge Town Clerk
Mariah Cilley, Clerk 889-5521
Bonnie McCrillis, Asst Clerk [email protected]
Hours: Monday-Thursday 8-2, Friday closed

Its officially summer folks! I have the curtains drawn and the air conditioner on in preparation of this heat wave we are about to get. After the long months of winter, I say bring it on!

There is not much to report on the office front- Bonnie and I have been keeping busy with recording land records, notarizing documents, starting to put our land records online, dog licensing, processing liquor licenses, issuing Green Mountain Passports, filing overweight permits etc.

ELECTION NEWS: We have a Primary Election to be held in the Town Hall on August 13th from 8am-7pm. You can request absentee ballots up until the day before the election. You can either call and request one, request one online on mvp.vermont.gov, or stop in and see me and pick it up in person. For this election, you are given three ballots. You must choose only ONE to fill out and send the remaining TWO back to me for your vote to count.

If you would like to request a slot on a Selectboard meeting agenda, please email [email protected] or call the number above.

If you would like to reserve the Town Hall for an event, please call Judy Howe at 889-3487. She maintains the reservation book, reservation contracts, and can answer any other questions you may have.

As always, please feel free to reach out to myself or Bonnie with any questions, concerns, or to set up a time outside of office hours. Stay well and enjoy the sunshine!

The TUNBRIDGE Quarterly
Janet Zug 889-9602 [email protected]

TQ Entries are printed as received and only edited for typos. Please accept my apologies for any mistakes I miss or make! Feel free to contact me with any questions, comments or suggestions. The deadline dates for TQ entries are the 15th of December, March, June and September.

Tunbridge World’s Fair
Ingrid Steinberg 802-889-5555 [email protected]

Our event season is in full swing – please check out our website for a complete listing of events. The Tunbridge World’s Fair Office is happy to answer any questions about the fair and the use of the fairgrounds for other special events. All events need to be coordinated through the Main Office. We welcome all size events, but regardless of size you will need a contract & proof of insurance to use the fairgrounds. Look for 2024 brochures in local stores or stop by the office and pick one up. Posters are on sale at the office as well. They are $10 each or two for $15. – You won’t want to miss this year’s poster – you can see it on our website! You can find a schedule for the 2024 fair on our website and don’t forget that a season pass saves you $15 and you can purchase them in advance at the office with cash or check. We also have room for a few more campers/trucks/boats/etc. to be stored this coming winter so give the office a call and we’ll put you on the mailing list. If you need assistance with finding information or need us to print you an entry form give the office a call and we would be glad to help you.

Friends of the Tunbridge World’s Fair
Lori Berger – 889-3242 [email protected]

Hello Friends! Happy Summer! Fair time will be here before we know it….In the meantime, we are busy helping to fund some of the Fair’s next projects, and to do that we count on the success of our biggest fundraiser of the year…..the duck race, which will be taking place on the fairgrounds July 28th.

Here at the FTWF we put the FUN in FUNdraising…..Buy a duck (or a whole gaggle of ducks) before July 28th, and win cash prizes, gift certificates to local businesses and restaurants, and beautiful hand-crafted items from Zug Glass, Anichini and more! Ducks are $5 each (or 5 for $20) and can be purchased from any FTWF board member, or you may contact FTWF president Deb Mullen at 802-889-9406 or [email protected] for more information.

If you’d like to be in on the fun and learn more about what we do consider becoming a member. Friends receive a free day pass for the Fair, as well as the opportunity to support our mission of education and preservation. The Friends are a 501(c)3 non-profit and your donations are tax-deductible (and very much appreciated!).

Tunbridge Historical Society
Fern Strong – 860-986-0507

The Tunbridge Historical Society is having a full year of programs in 2024.

The Memorial Day Parade and a program was about the military service of veterans from the Korean War. 3 riders in the parade were our last remaining Korean War veterans. Maurice Castagner, Arnold Clark, and Roger Welch.

This year the town of Tunbridge will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the first formal survey of the town. We celebrated with a guided bus tour of 18th century Tunbridge on Saturday June 29th. We explored the different people, places, and events that helped shape early Tunbridge. This program was generously supported by a Vermont 250th Commission Community Planning Grant with funding provided by Vermont Covered. The bus service was kindly donated by Butler’s Bus.

Tunbridge Speaks on July 9 at 7:30 in the church will also be about the 250th anniversary of the surveying of the town, primordial forests, why folks settled on top of the hills instead of in the valleys and who the early settlers were and how they lived.

The Ghost Walk will take place at the Monarch Hill Cemetery. Date to be determined.

Annual meeting on August 18 at the Baptist Church with a potluck at 5:30pm, meeting at 6:30pm. The entire community is welcome.

The raffle we host every year is very successful thanks to the organization of Nancy Howe. The quilt made by Nancy and the Ladies Quilting group is gorgeous as usual. The drawing will take place in October.

Baptist Church – Izzy is working through the bid process after he wrote a scope of work. This is for restoring the windows because the panes are dropping as the sills are sagging. There are 40 window panes in each window for a total of 280 panes. We need to raise $28,000 for this project as we need to pay the cost up front but will be reimbursed for half of the cost. We have a committee to work on fund raising. Look forward to hearing more about how the community can help with this worthy project.

Please look to our Facebook Page www.facebook.com/tunbridgehistoricalsociety/ and local listserv for dates and times.

THS now has a web page on the town site under organizations. Thanks to Izzy Provoncha for getting that done. Meeting minutes will be posted on the web page. There is also a QR code link to our Venmo account for donations to the society.

We want to send a special thank you to Lydia Flanagan for her excellent work organizing our archives. It is a difficult job and we look forward to being able to share this excellent resource with the community in the future. We will be looking for volunteers to help carry on with this task. Please contact any of the officers if you would like to help in any way. We are purchasing a computer to store our records and make them available.

We invite all town residents to join THS. We look forward to input and participation by all. Please share information, questions, and photographs with us on our Facebook page and feel free to contact any of the officers.

Fern Strong, [email protected]
Elaine Howe, [email protected]
Israel (Izzy) Provoncha, [email protected]
Lydia Flanagan Archivist, [email protected]

First Branch Ambulance
Barbara LaFrancis 889-3378. Judy Tucker – 889-3305

First Branch Ambulance has a few new faces for which we are thankful. We continue to recruit. Anyone interested in serving their community please contact the station at 685-3112 for information.

We have been notified that the new ambulance that was ordered in June 2023 delivery date has been delayed. The new approximate delivery date is June 2026 due to all businesses trying to recover from the the past few years since COVID.

We have red 911 house signs available that assist us in locating you. You may purchase them for $20.00 by stopping at the station or thru Judy Tucker 889-3305 or tucker-judy@ yahoo.com.

First Branch Ambulance is a car seat assistance station. By appointment only, They will inspect your child’s safety seat free of charge. Call the station at 685-3112 to arrange an Appointment. First Branch Ambulance will have their 40th anniversary later this year. Thank you to everyone in the community, volunteers, staff, boards for realizing the importance of having this service and continuing to enhance the operations that make it what it is today and will be in the future. Look for more on this later.

Before the next quarterly Tunbridge Fair will have come and gone. Look for us there. We will be waiting to see you and meet new friends.

FBA wishes everyone a good and healthy summer.

Tunbridge Library
Mariah Lawrence – Library Director
802-889-9404/[email protected]/tunbridgelibrary.org
Tues 10-5, Wed 3-6, Thurs 10-5, Fri 3-6, Sat 9-1
Staff ~ Maureen Moriarty, Theresa FitzGerald, Russell Lewczuk-Jensen

Summer at the library is bound to be a place of adventure and excitement! Russell will lead participants through a series of amazing events for all ages. Check the library website for details on weekly events throughout the summer.

June 25th join the library for a special story hour at “Seize the Day” horse barn on Monarch Hill at 3pm. Kids of all ages will have the opportunity to meet “Ginger” the mini horse. Thank you to Lori Berger for hosting us! RSVP by June 22nd please!

The library continues to offer Shelf Love, a book club for adults. This month, mark your calendar for Friday, June 28, to share a dish or beverage related to a book you’ve read. And, here’s a sneak peek at our upcoming themes: July: PYO Beach Reads (You get to define what a beach read means to you!) August: Magical Realism (Please send suggestions, and we’ll pick a book for the group!)

Every week the library offers “Imagination Friday”, a day to escape the realities of the world and let your imagination run wild. At 3:15 kids ages 5-10 are invited to join in for No Thank You Evil. At 4:30pm all are invited to attend Magic the Gathering, a table top card game. Adults, teens and tweens of all skill levels and experiences will enjoy playing, sorting cards and hanging out!

Saturdays at the library with Maureen are also known as Tea at Ten! If you need a dump ticket and swing into the library to pick one up, maybe the sweet smell of fresh baked cherry scones will entice you to stay and read a book off our new shelf, or chat with someone new to town. The library is a place of connection and Maureen makes it easy to want to stay and hang out with her amazing hospitality and baked goods.

Thursdays continue to be vibrant and adorable with our Bumblebee Garden Playgroup, offered through our extremely important partnership with Orange County Parent Child Center. Under the leadership of Lauren Preistap, the group has grown over the past year and babies birth to 8 and their caregivers have had the chance to enjoy nature crafts, songs, stories and most importantly wonderful friendships.

The library is excited to announce a new partnership combining all our local library power. Tunbridge School librarian, Jess Anderson, and public librarian, Mariah Lawrence, have begun a new set of outreach efforts with “Sharing Stories”, a traveling library collaborative. June 18th marked the first stop of the summer with book giveaways, free lunch and lots of crafting. Join up August 21st 11am-1pm at Hillside Homes in Chelsea when the Arts bus comes and many books find new homes! This program is funded by a Winnie Belle Learned Grant.

Tunbridge Conservation Commission
Eliza Minnucci [email protected]
Betsy Gaiser and Evan Reiss – Co-Chairs, Cheryl Metcalf – Secretary, Eliza Minnucci – Treasurer, Jory Innes, Bryan Kalleberg, Mali’o Kodis

A quick update from your Conservation Commission, as the beginning of summer brings so many reasons to not be sitting in front of a computer. Perhaps you too are pulling the last of the invasive wild chervil (the white flowering plant that coats our roadsides), or you are battening down your compost to discourage the black bears browsing the hills for easy snacks. Maybe you are pausing to listen to the thrushes in the evening, watch the swallowtails dancing over the wildflowers in the afternoons, or making a morning snack of wild strawberries before they dry up in the heat. Us too.

We had a record breaking Green Up Day in May, and thank all 286 volunteers who pledged to pick up roadside trash. As of this printing the state organization has not made an announcement about our World Record Attempt, but I feel I can confirm that we set a Tunbridge record of which we can all be proud. 155 bags of roadside trash were removed. Thank you all!

We are at work planning community events to share the natural resources with you, keep an eye on our new facebook page “Tunbridge VT Conservation Commission” and our page on the town website for updates, http://tunbridgevt.org/conservation-commission/.

The Tunbridge Conservation Commission meets monthly at the Tunbridge Public Library. For further information contact us at
[email protected].

Tunbridge Energy Committee
Todd Tyson – 802-431-3433 [email protected]

The Tunbridge Energy Committee (TEC) will soon be reconstituted. A revised “mission statement” will be drafted outlining the vision and objectives of this all volunteer citizen group.

Due to an ongoing effort dating back more than a decade, our town now generates about 16% of its annual electricity needs via just completed small solar array located at the Town Garage property. There is allocated space for future array expansion to meet 100% of the town building’s needs with local renewable energy.

All townsfolk interested in joining or learning more about the TEC should speak with Todd or send an email to the attached address. We will then schedule an initial organizational meeting later this summer.

Downstreet’s HomeOwnership Center
Financial Wellness and Homebuyer Education
Cheryl Moyer – (802) 476-4493 [email protected]

Downstreet Housing and Community Development’s Homeownership Center offers a wide range of services and resources to support individuals and families in their journey toward homeownership. Downstreet’s comprehensive programs include homebuyer education, financial counseling, and down payment assistance — all designed to empower prospective homeowners with the knowledge and tools they need to navigate the complexities of the housing market. Through workshops, one-on-one counseling, and access to various resources, the Homeownership Center strives to make the dream of owning a home a reality for those in Vermont. Whether you are a first-time buyer or seeking to make informed decisions about housing, Downstreet’s Homeownership Center is a valuable partner on the path to homeownership.

Financial wellness and homebuyer education: Downstreet Housing and Community Development is your resource for achieving financial wellness and homeownership success. Our comprehensive programs empower you with personalized financial consultations, credit report insights, and action plans to enhance your financial health and credit score. We’re committed to supporting you at every stage, addressing all your financial questions and concerns. Our Homebuyer Education program provides essential knowledge to navigate the complexities of the homebuying process, including terminology, financing options, and down payment assistance.

Tunbridge Grange # 384
Rosemary Distel 802-272-2235

Tunbridge Grange No 384 Spring 2024 News:

The Tunbridge Grange would like to thank all the participants of the Tunbridge Memorial Day parade. While not the best weather, we were happy the rain basically held off. The Tunbridge Fire Department also did a wonderful job on the BBQ Chicken as well!

There is a plan to have yard sale activities on July 13 at the Tunbridge Grange in North Tunbridge both inside (and outside if the
weather cooperates). For more information about setting up a table, contact Betty Roberts, 889-5562.

The Grange will again be hosting Bingo at the Royalton Old Home Days August 1-3 (hours to be determined).

If you have any exterior white paint which you no longer need (even partial cans), please let us know if you’d like to donate it to the Grange. We are slowly trying to do some exterior painting on the Grange Hall.

A bit of background: The National Grange was founded in 1867 and is the oldest agricultural and rural public interest organization. The Grange has been a driving force behind some of the most progressive legislation in the United States. Women were given voice and full vote within the Grange upon its founding, far before women were able to vote. The Grange has had a voice in Congress, helping to pass such bills as the Sherman Anti-Trust Act (1890), Pure Food and Drug Act (1906) and Universal Suffrage (1919). In addition to helping support these laws, Grangers have been a driving force behind improving transportation, waterways, deaf and hard of hearing programs, world relief funds, community service programs, and of course, helping to support agricultural activities.

Chelsea Area Senior Center
Susan Pirie, 685-2290, [email protected]

In addition to offering Meals on Wheels and Curbside pick-up, the Chelsea Area Senior Center is open for indoor dining on Mondays at 12:00 pm. Please call to make a reservation to eat indoors, for curbside pick up and also Meals on Wheels.

The Tunbridge Church
(802) 693-0098, [email protected]

Everyone is invited to the upcoming Ice Cream Social and Community Yard Sale. The social on Tuesday, July 9, will be held at 6:30 p.m. on the Parish House lawn across from the church. Bring a chair and favorite toppings and come socialize before the Tunbridge Historical Society’s “Tunbridge Speaks” 7:30 program in the church. Ice cream will be served at the Town Hall if it is rainy.

The annual yard sale will be Saturday, July 13, on the Parish House lawn from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sale and crafter 10’ x10’ spaces are $20. Coffee, baked goods and hotdogs will be sold. Call or text 802-299-0846 or email [email protected] to reserve your spot on this high-traffic day of the Chelsea Flea Market.

All are welcome to attend the 10 a.m. Sunday church services. Pastor John McClintock, who lives in North Tunbridge, is a musician and song writer and plays and sings in church. He also leads study programs. The Gospel of John discussion began in June and Lenten study was before Easter. In July and August worship services are held in the South and North Tunbridge churches. July’s services will be at the brick South Tunbridge Methodist Church. There is parking near the door and parking help is offered.

August will begin with an outdoor service and potluck brunch at Nancy Rogers’ house on Aug. 4. The remaining worship services will be held at the North Tunbridge Baptist Church next to the Grange. The Tunbridge Historical Society will open the church on Aug. 11, 18 and 25 when society artifacts will be on display.

Sunday services return to the Tunbridge Village Congregational Church building in September. The 9 a.m. come-as-you-are annual Fair Service on Sept. 17 will feature special music.

Women who are alone are invited to the Moving Forward potluck fellowship meals on the third Thursday of the month at the Parish House at 12 p.m. Nancy Howe and Margaret Rogers lead these times for support and discussion.

The church’s Outreach Committee hosts Super Senior Luncheons. Two were held in April and June, with others set for August and October. Volunteers took snack bags to homebound and older residents during the winter and spring. They also provided refreshments at the Tunbridge Civic Club Comedy & Music shows and for two health screenings. Town road crew members and a guest were thanked for their service with a free Rec Breakfast.

The Tunbridge Community Food Shelf is open Fridays from 4-5 p.m. in the Parish House. Please see the separate TQ writeup about Food Shelf produce and other goods that are available at the creche and Community Garden on the Parish House lawn.

Town Nurse Jodi Hoyt stores medical equipment and hygiene items for residents at the church’s Community House in South Tunbridge. She can be reached at 802-249-8956. Al-Anon and and AA meet at the Parish House on Sundays at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. respectively.

Sunday church services are streamed and recorded. Go to tunbridgechurch.org for Zoom. Previous services can be found at the Index to Services link. To listen by phone, dial (646) 876-9923 – meeting ID: 858 4950 1899, passcode: 526048.

If you would like to receive a weekly email about church activities write [email protected] or call (802) 693-0098. Pastor John is at the Parish House weekdays from 1-5 p.m. and can be reached at [email protected]. Please follow the church on Facebook.

New Public Telephone in North Tunbridge
Patrick Schlott 889-9835 [email protected]

The Randolph Public Telephone Operating Company – RandTel for short – has installed a payphone at the North Tunbridge General Store. This phone requires no coins and is completely free to use, 24/7, for local or long distance calls.

RandTel is not a real phone company, but a community telephone project. The goal is to provide free-to-use public telephones in rural Vermont to bridge the connectivity gap, especially in areas without cell service. Whether you forgot your cell phone at home, don’t have one at all, need to make an emergency call, or maybe just want to call mom to say hi – The dial tone is there waiting for you.

RandTel also provides local operator services for those who might need assistance dialing. Just pick up the receiver and dial 0. Operator services are 100% volunteer and may not always be available, but we will do our best to assist when we can.

You can learn more by visiting www.randtel.co. If you’d like to help with the project or host a phone yourself, email [email protected] or dial 0 from the payphone.

Tunbridge Volunteer Fire Department
Jamie Bradford – 802-889-3478

The Fire Department’s Annual Chicken BBQ following the Memorial Day parade this year was a very successful turn out. The department cooked over 550 halves of chicken and 240 meals. All meals were sold out prior to the day of the parade. This event and the parade showed a great turn out of our town community. A special thanks to Matt and Jen Loftus and Tiffany Bates for receiving all of the chicken reservations, Lois Gross for making the salads and Tiffany Bates and Betty Roberts for making the rolls in our meal option, and as always a special thanks to our volunteer fire department for making the outstanding chicken.

The Fire Department attended the last day of school events at Tunbridge Central School on 06/14/2024. They brought one of the fire engines and showered everyone with water. This is a fun and wet event that the department enjoys participating in with our community.

Any Tunbridge residents in need of obtaining a burn permit please contact the Fire Warden Brenda Field at 802-889-5548. Please follow safe burn practices and have a water source nearby. Please check the town website to inquire about burn bans and what is permitted to be burned
www.tunbridgevt.org.

The Fire Department is always welcoming new Volunteers. If you are interested in joining or would like to receive information about joining the Tunbridge Volunteer Fire Department please stop by a meeting any Thursday evening at 7:00 p.m., or email [email protected].

Ed Larkin Contra Dancers
Clyde Jenne – [email protected]

The Ed Larkin Contra Dancers will host Contra Dancing at the Tunbridge Town Hall on July 12th & August 9th. Dances start at 7pm

All dances taught. Refreshments at intermission. $8 donation at the door. Bring the family. Children under the age of 12 admitted free.

Tunbridge Community Food Shelf
Open Fridays 4:00 to 6:00
802-693-0098 (please leave a message)

Summer is here and the Tunbridge Food Shelf has added the outdoor pantry facility in the creche structure, which is open to community members 24/7. The indoor space, which has a wider range of items, is open 4:00 to 5:00 every Friday afternoon inside the Parish House.

As stated in the previous TQ, we are unable to place foods in the outdoor space that have been purchased by our food shelf from the Vermont Food Bank. They are a member of Feeding America which has strict safety guidelines. Because of our contract with the VT Food Bank and USDA, we are bound to follow their guidelines. This is necessary to reduce the risk of contamination from pests, temperature variations, to insure safe handling of foods, and avoid intentional or unintentional contamination.

We will put out only foods given to us as donations and urge community members to feel free to drop off items. If you choose to use foods from the outdoor structure, please check the expiration dates and condition of the foods. Previously opened foods should not be left. Foods taken are your personal responsibility. The Food Shelf can not confirm the safety of these items.

We haven’t purchased a local CSA this year, but there will be some vegetables available periodically. We strongly encourage you to share your excess garden vegetables with your neighbors by leaving them in the outdoor structure. Vegetables and herbs from the community garden will be available later in the season. Thank you to Jerilyn Zaroogian, who plants the garden.

As summer has arrived, the last backpacks have been sent home. It is a program that we support with our foods, for local families, through the school. This year we sent home backpacks to 6-12 families, with the numbers varying from week to week, at minimum feeding 32- 50 individuals.

Thank you to all who support our efforts. We know that your neighbors appreciate it. Actual food items can be left in the outdoor structure at any time, or brought into the indoor one during food shelf hours (Fridays 4:00 to 5:00). Anyone wishing to make a monetary donation may do so, by sending it to Mary Fisk, treasurer, PO Box 12 Tunbridge, VT 05077

Tunbridge Neighbors Helping Neighbors
For TNHN services call 889-3437

Due to a large increase in cost, we have transferred our landline phone service to an internet provider. Not to worry, the phone
number above remains the same.

Vermont Community Fund grant money paid for another length of discharge hose for the trash pump Neighbors Helping Neighbors donated to the town. Don’t forget to call us in an emergency if you need to borrow the pump or one of the two portable generators.

Recent help provided by our dedicated volunteers included 20 rides home for a resident undergoing daily radiation treatments at DHMC, installation of wheelchair threshold ramps in a local home, and moving furniture from a home to an assisted living community in WRJ.

TNHN coordinates and provides basic services at no charge to town residents through the efforts of volunteers. We are a non-profit organization whose operating costs (primarily phone service) are supported by the generosity of Tunbridgians who allocate funds at Town Meeting, and by donations, which may be sent to TNHN, P.O. Box 22, Tunbridge, VT 05077.

A few of the services offered by TNHN are:
• Rides (see below)
• Pick up of prescriptions or other goods from stores
• Cooking meals for people who are unable to cook for a short time
• Minor repairs or painting, minor home improvements, changing a lock*
• Changing a flat tire or jump-starting a car
• Simple repairs to household appliances*
• Help lifting or moving large objects
• Delivery of library books or Food Shelf items
• Help with gardening, lawn care or stacking firewood
• Shoveling snow off walkways and steps
• Other reasonable requests
*Please note: the cost of any materials needed falls on the person requesting help.

Anyone needing a service offered by TNHN should call 802-889-3437. To join our list of volunteers, please contact any of the board members listed below or call 802-889-3437. We respect and value your willingness to help your neighbors.

Current Board Members: Michael O’Donnell, President – 802-763-8985; Jory Innes, Vice President – 802-299-9249; Pat Howe, Treasurer – 802-889-5512; Sarah Priestap Porter, Secretary; Helen O’Donnell; Claire Brock

Friends of First Branch Schools
Tiffany Bates, Eliza Minnucci, Jen Loftus
[email protected]

The Friends of First Branch schools fundraises and volunteers to support and celebrate the students and staff of our First Branch Schools. We are an informal group of community members who have a fun time fundraising, volunteering and approving funds requests together.

As the school year came to a close, the Friends of First Branch funded a lot of fun things: $1,000 of school supplies for teacher appreciation week, a field trip to VINS for the first graders($450), perennials for a planting project for second graders($200), gift certificates for eighth grade award recipients($500), decorations for the middle school dance($150), and supplies for the elementary school field day($100).

Just in time to replenish our coffers, we also had a successful FundRanger – our lemonade stand at The Ranger cycling event on the
Tunbridge Fairgrounds sold 120 decorated maple sugar cookies on the first day alone. We had lots of help from our young sales people who managed to sell just a little more lemonade than they drank themselves during their quality assurance tests.

Finally, Friends volunteers spread out all over the elementary campus for the last day of school festivities and lots of fun (and cotton candy) was enjoyed by all.

The Friends of First Branch will be on hiatus during the summer, but will resume meeting monthly in September. We’d love your participation – send a message to [email protected] to get on our email list. In the meantime, have a great summer!

Tunbridge Town Nurse
Jodi Hoyt 802-249-8956 [email protected]

Hello, residents of Tunbridge.

I have been very busy lately! I have had a huge increase in referrals. I have been getting wonderful donations for the medical equipment closet. Thank you to everyone who has donated and or helped. I was able to do two free community events for heart health screening with DHMC’s help at the town hall. Also having Gifford medical and First Branch Ambulance there giving out information helping residents getting the support they need for finding a primary care doctor and other services. The first event in February early in the day was lot more attended with 29 visitors all tunbridge residents but one. Doing another event in the evening June in which we only had 9 visitors attend. Which I was still able to help 2/9 that found issues was able to help get them the right care.

This quarter I was able to help clients with handicap placards, getting resources to help get handicap bathroom, helping many families transition home from the hospital, help with social/financial resources, green burials, helped clients interpret test results and helped clients get the medical equipment they need. I am trying to create a younger base of volunteers to help me find items that low income clients might need and or anyone interested in providing home care for elderly clients to please reach out. I am struggling with trying to work as a nurse and try to find grants/ funding to help for future of the position. If any of the town members would like to volunteer to help find grants, fundraising events and or any other ideas please reach out I would love to form a Nurse funding committee to help me with this need. Then once we find them Our town grant coordinator can help us write the grants. Thank you, Nurse Jodi.

Tunbridge Town Website
Geoff Hansen, 802-889-3373, or [email protected]

Tunbridge’s town website is a timely resource for information from the Town Clerk, board meetings (including videos of meetings via Zoom), an Events Calendar listing upcoming meetings and community events, and past issues of the Tunbridge Quarterly. Please let us know if there’s something you would like to see listed or have any questions.

Intelligence Based Policing
Robert S. Childs.- 802-889-3241 [email protected]

CVIBP wishes to thank the Tunbridge voters for supporting increased policing in Tunbridge by voting $50,000.00 for contracted services. The selectboard chose the Windsor County Sheriff’s Department to begin providing patrols beginning in July. The selection of WCSD fits well with the efforts of CVIBP over the past two and a half years to coordinate policing with area towns. Tunbridge now joins Chelsea, Sharon, Bethel and Barnard by utilizing one agency for their policing. Brookfield is currently in negotiations with WCSD. Already we have seen a reduction in criminal activity in our area. In addition, a coordinated effort by CVIBP and WCSD with officers in Chelsea and Bethel, were able to locate and return a missing elderly Chelsea person with dementia, safely to his family within an hour. CVIBP has now grown to just under 1600 members from 200 three years ago, and information provided to police agencies by members has helped in solving several crimes within our area.

Call 911 for crimes in progress or any emergency.

If you see something, say something. Post to the Central Vermont Intelligence Based Policing Facebook page to keep your neighbors informed. If you read or hear about a crime and it reminds you that you saw something that day, place or time report it. Your tip may be the information the police need to solve a crime.

Your tips are not emergencies so report them via these non-emergency numbers:
Windsor County Sheriff’s Department; 802-457-5211*
Vermont State Police; 802-234-9933*, 844-848-8477 or Text VTIPS to 27463
* Use these numbers for reporting a discovered crime not in progress or
general information.

Better Bones
Kay Jorgensen – 889-5528, [email protected]

Better Bones balance and weight-bearing exercise program is offered at the Town Hall on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5 p.m. It is aimed at increasing bone density at an age when bone mass is lost and osteoporosis is a concern. Anyone can drop in for a session. A doctor’s permission is requested for those who continue with the program.