BRADFORD—Over $10 million in federal funding will come to Orange East Supervisory Union as part of various federal coronavirus relief packages. The district has begun asking for public input on how to spend the money.
The funds have been or will be distributed through three separate acts. The initial disbursal came through the CARES Act program, Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief, or ESSER. That amount was $619,541. ESSER 2 yielded $2,959,749, while ESSER 3, as part of the American Rescue Plan, funding totals $6,641,735.

NORTH HAVERHILL—Why is there an inmate labor shortage on the Grafton County Farm?
Last week’s story, “County farm turns to cover crops in 2021,” about the temporary closure of the Grafton County farm stand spurred questions about the lower numbers of incarcerated at the Grafton County House of Corrections.
The lack of farm help started in 2020 with the COVID-19 quarantines and reduced operations of the court system. Since inmate farm workers have to be those who have received sentences and with no one being sentenced, there were not enough available hands for the work.

THETFORD CENTER—The one-lane covered bridge over the Ompompanoosuc River on Tucker Hill Road was temporarily closed for several hours midday on June 17.
But this time the closure was not due to damage caused by an oversized truck striking the wooden frame, an all-too common occurrence at the site.
Instead, a throng of neighbors, Thetford officials and other friends of the bridge gathered near its east end to install new signs on either end of the Sayre Bridge. Several short speeches and a ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the occasion once both signs were mounted in place.

NORTH HAVERHILL—This past year, the Grafton County Farm and Farm Stand, as with everything and everyone else, fell victim to COVID-19’s disruptive influence.
Passersby may have noticed that business is not as usual and wonder what is going on. The farm stand will not open in 2021, but that doesn’t mean the County Farm won’t be operating this year. It just means they will be doing things a little differently.
Since 2003, the Grafton County Farm has supplied produce to the Grafton County Nursing Home, the Department of Corrections, and to the public for sale at the farm stand. Local food pantries also benefitted from the farm’s potatoes and schools enjoyed pumpkins.

It’s been more than a year and a half since COVID-19 made its appearance and upended everybody’s lives. As Covid case numbers decline, restrictions loosen, and temperatures rise, local folks are gathering again with an extra dose of gratitude and joy. And maybe a little trepidation.
Those in the wedding industry basically lost an entire season thanks to Covid. Vermont wedding photographer Sally Carpenter said many couples postponed their nuptials.
“I had three [weddings] at one venue and that venue did not survive the pandemic [and] so they had to cancel all their weddings, very sad,” Carpenter said.
Carpenter said that June is still very slow with a few elopements. The big weddings are just starting to happen again, and that’s where the real money comes in.