Recent Headlines About Civic Engagement
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Front Porch Forum connects neighbors through emails and online postings
The Burlington Free Press reports that the Front Porch Forum (www.frontporchforum.com) is a digital neighborhood where neighbors can come together online for free to "communicate and connect through e-mail newsletters." Michael and Valerie Wood-Lewis, who moved to Burlington from Washington, D.C. 10 years ago, started the online forum in 2000 for their Burlington neighborhood. The forum has since expanded to include 130 neighborhood forums in Chittenden County and 10,000 subscribers. "On the forum, neighbors, who are identifiable by name and street address, post information or questions on a range of issues. The topics, whether a missing cat or a hazardous cross-walk, are typically bound by the interests and parameters of the neighborhood" and "the combined forums generate about 2,000 messages a month." Notably, "the Front Porch Forum has received national recognition for its work, including grants from the Middlebury-based Orton Family Foundation and the Case Foundation." Orton also "selected the Forum for its 2007 Innovator in Place award."
Brattleboro holds town meeting on racism
Vermont Public Radio reports that about 200 Brattleboro residents including teachers, police officers, community leaders and many members of the biracial community "turned out for a community forum on racism in Brattleboro, where the discovery of a racist group and the arrest of a teenager on hate crime charges has shaken people up." The event was designed to "gauge community sentiment on how the recent incidents had affected people, and what should be done about racism in the community." Attendees said "they were relieved to see the large turnout of support. But others said talking to like-minded people would not solve the problem."
VCF Staff
Students Fight Racism with Technology
The Rutland Herald reports that high schools students in Brattleboro are "using technology to keep a recent racist incident from igniting further problems." Last week the students "launched a text-messaging campaign to keep fellow students informed, and prevent misinformation and rumor from boiling over into violence." According to Curtiss Reed Jr., the executive director of ALANA, a local civil rights organization, and chairman of the Vermont State Advisory Committee on Civil Rights, "The kids are telling each other 'avoid, ignore, resist, [and] don't respond."
The campaign comes in response to recent racist incidents in Brattleboro, "which included the formation of an informal student club, whose very name includes a threat of violence and a racial epithet. Last week, a 17-year-old Guilford student was placed on house arrest after he was charged with two hate crimes, including aggravated stalking with a deadly weapon and disorderly conduct, as well as two other alleged crimes." In addition, the Vernon Police are "investigating several racist signs left in town.
Vermont Housing gets $1M for AmeriCorps program
The Rutland Herald reports that the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board has been "awarded more than $1 million in financial aid through a federal grant from the Corporation for National and Community Services." The three-year grant will "be used to continue the Vermont Community Stewardship Program, an AmeriCorps program." Currently the program has "34 AmeriCorps full- and part-time members [placed] at 25 sponsoring nonprofit organizations in the state...for one-year service periods." These participating nonprofits "address housing and environmental needs ."
Essex civics class finishes 4th in national contest
The Burlington Free Press reports that the Essex High School civics class placed fourth in the 21st annual "We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution National Finals" held in Washington, D.C. "Students in the class broke into groups of a few students each and specialized in civics questions pertaining to topics such as the 'philosophical and historical underpinnings of the Constitution.' During simulated congressional hearings, they had to apply constitutional principles and historical facts to contemporary situations."
Elwin Cross Honored As Citizen Of The Year
The Caledonian Record reports that Elwin Cross, longtime St. Johnsbury selectman and community servant, was named Northeast Kingdom Chamber of Commerce's 2008 Citizen of the Year. Cross "began his service in town government in 1972 on the zoning board, serving in that role until 1984 when he began his career as a selectman. Cross retired from the St. Johnsbury Select Board in 2005 after 33 years of service to the community." Over the years, "one of Cross's main concerns was town building and road issues." He helped build dozens of homes in St. Johnsbury, Newark, East Haven, and West Burke and has been very involved with the new bridge being constructed in St. Johnsbury Center.