Article Written by Kaitlin Flannigan
ST.JOHNSBURY - Senator Bernie Sanders was in St. Johnsbury earlier this month as part of his five-town Town Meeting tour Labor Day Weekend.
ST. JOHNSBURY - St. Johnsbury Academy has a new field of dreams. September 10th marked the first time since 1949 the hilltoppers played under the lights at home.
ST. JOHNSBURY – The St. Johnsbury School District received almost $4 million in federal funding and have until September, 2023 to use that money.
A plan that the school district has for the future is “Post Pandemic Education” and an idea of a summer program this summer, but this isn’t like a typical summer program where students who failed a class have to attend. This summer school will have a big emphasis on mathematics and literacy but also a lot of opportunities for students to have fun. Many schools around Vermont have considered this past academic year to be a lost year, but not in St. Johnsbury. Dr. Brian Ricca stated “We’re going to try to find as many silver linings as we can from this year, and it’s really important for us to build bridges and reconnect and give them a sense of normal.”
The summer program is not mandatory, and Dr. Ricca pointed out that he understands if parents felt that the school year was already tough and they would rather just have their kids enjoy the summer. The summer program is going to focus on three areas throughout the season, academics, student engagement, and social and emotional health not necessarily in that order. The school district plans on engaging as many people as they can, with first and foremost asking their students what they need next year, as well as the faculty and staff. With a newly assembled “reigniting task force” this group will help work with the responses that they get from their student body, faculty, and staff.
During the summer program the mornings are going to be academic and then when the afternoon rolls around it will be fun, engaging, and hands on. Dr Ricca stated “As a dad and as a super intendent I believe that’s a really important component to this…”we’re not going to try and cram a years’ worth of information into everybody’s head, and I’ll go back to what I said from the beginning we want a chance for our students to reconnect to come into our building and feel just a little more closer to what it was like prior to March of last year…that’s our vision.”
ST. JOHNSBURY - Gender equality is finally a reality at the Moose Lodge in St. Johnsbury as a new board of officers was sworn in on Sunday.
Read more: Moose Lodge Changes Bylaws to Allow Women in Power
St. Johsbury-Boxcar and Caboose local independent bookstore has now invested in a new tradition to help local charities in the community. Using old books to help raise some funds.
ST. JOHNSBURY - Northern Vermont Regional Hospital (NVRH) was awarded $125,000 to support healthy choices and prevent substance misuse in caledonia and southern Essex counties.
St. Johnsbury- Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital has teamed up with law enforcement, as well as the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) as part of their community coalition to prevent substance misuse in the community. In an effort to take back unneeded prescription drugs out of homes and dispose of them, in a nationwide event called Drug Take Back Day.
ST.JOHNSBURY- February was the start of Northern Vermont Regional Hospital and Northern Counties Health Care teaming up to provide vaccination sites all around Caledonia County... but the month of March welcomed a new clinic at the Green Mountain Mall.
ST. JOHNSBURY - With more Vermonters eligible for the vaccine, some have found that the registration process is not as easy as it may seem. The St. Johnsbury Rotary Club saw this need in the community and has put together a group of volunteers to help.
Read more: St. J Rotary Offers Vaccine Registration Assistance
ST. JOHNSBURY'S-Local mall in Vermont has empty storefronts closed awaiting to be filled, but a Regional Arts Organization knocks down three walls to make one open space.
ST. JOHNSBURY - The St. Johnsbury Maple Festival has once again had to pivot its normal festivities due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Organizer Scott Beck says that there are three focuses for this year's events: donut weekends, maple menu takeovers, and "Did You Know?"
ST. JOHNSBURY-Since the pandemic started the Community Restorative Justice Center has been holding all gatherings online. But wanted to find a more comfortable way for victims to share their stories.
ST. JOHNSBURY-"This allows us to do testing for covid, in house, right here at the hospital," Chief Medical Officer, Michael Rousse explained. As he is one of Northern Vermont Regional Hospitals Doctors that has been working closely with their new high tech machine called the DiaSorin. The DiaSorin allows the hospital to receive covid-19 testing results for patients after just less than three hours of them getting tested.
ST. JOHNSBURY-Fairbanks Museum has finally re-opened its doors after being closed for the winter months, preparing to present their new items added to their exhibits. The goal is to bring a new variety of animals to create animal diversity in the museum.
ST. JOHNSBURY - A new fast charger may be coming to a town near you. Governor Phil Scott announced on Monday that 11 new plug-in electric vehicle charging stations will be coming to the state over the next two years.
ST. JOHNSBURY - The St Johnsbury School has decided to finally let their Pre-K through 6th Graders go back to school. “I am tired of remote learning. I am tired of it for my own kids. I'm tired of it for St. Johnsburys children. I am feeling the push to get students back into the classrooms, as safely as we can,” Brian Ricca, St. J Schools Superintendent explains.
ST. JOHNSBURY - The tradition of fire fighters reaching out to the community during Christmas time will not be delayed this year, despite the rising cases of Covid-19.
ST. JOHNSBURY-The Northeast Kingdom has now reached up to one hundred Covid cases, as cases rise around the country. Although Vermont continues to be a model state during the covid-19 crisis, its hospitals must be better prepared for the possible uptick in covid cases.
ST. JOHNSBURY-A recreational group is hoping their big idea to pull people into the St. Johnsbury area will push more economic development in the future.
ST. JOHNSBURY - With the new hybrid model that St. Johnsbury school is offering to students in order to deliver them the best education they can give during the pandemic, the school has had to make some adjustments while preparing for the winter months.
ST, JOHNSBURY-Law Attorney, Brice Simon, is taking a whack at running for the legislature this year. Hoping to focus on being the voice for regular Vermonters.
ST. JOHNSBURY-Running for re-election, Representative Scott Campbell gives some insights on what campaigning has been like this year during the pandemic.
ST. JOHNSBURY-Scott Beck, House Representative, has had a seat in the legislature for many years. His main focus for this years general election is to help the state of Vermont spend less money in the future.
ST. JOHNSBURY - Northern Vermont Regional Hospitals Veggie Van Go program comes at a critical time during Covid-19. The four year old program is hosted by the hospital and put on by the Vermont food bank, and is a partnership between the food bank, the hospital and schools in the area.
St. Johnsbury-- On Monday, St. Johnsbury School Superintendent Dr. Brian Ricca sent out an email and automated phone call to the St. Johnsbury School community informing that a member of their school's community had tested positive for COVID-19.
Dr. Ricca said the positive case was isolated to the 5th grade and that all 5th grade students and staff would stay remote for the remainder of the week. That all changed on Wednesday when Dr. Ricca announced the COVID case turned out to be a false positive.