#VT - A few weeks ago I posted on Front Porch Forum to get ideas for gifts for two girls graduating from college. I received wonderful responses.  Thank you so much. The gift idea I chose was to get paintings from a local artist Nancy Stone. She did the most beautiful “pet” paintings for the girls and at such a reasonable price. I am so thrilled, I had to share.

Posted on FPF in Williston today by Linda.

My cat went missing a several days ago, we figured either someone took him in or he got “lost” (read: eaten by fisher cat) in the woods beside our house. Thanks to Front Porch Forum and a kind neighbor’s posting that there was a cat in a tree, we found him. He remained scared and “trapped” for 2 nights – yesterday this kind neighbor used tree spurs to climb the 25-30 feet in the air to rescue Max.

It’s hard to explain in words how amazing this was – thank you for saving our Max. He’s very happy to be home and adjusting to “indoor only” status.  My son especially thanks you as Max is his cat. He was devastated when we couldn’t find him.

Thanks again -
Max and family!

UPDATE:  Now Patricia adds a dog story from the same Essex neighborhood on FPF…

I just want to say what a great neighborhood we live in, as Jenna (owner of the treed kitty) can attest.

Tonight, my recently adopted Cairn Terrier, Toto, made another escape from my home, and happily ran like the dickens straight to Maple Street with me in pursuit.  Some wonderful neighbor whom I have never met, stopped his car at the corner of East & Maple, got out, and apprehended the little rascal for me.

Another neighbor, seeing me quite winded and struggling to carry Toto home, offered me a much appreciated ride home.

This is not the first time a kind neighbor has helped me out in this way, and I am so happy to be living here and happy to have Maple Street Front Porch Forum at our disposal.  Thanks to all concerned!

Hi All… I left my tennis racquet at the Perley Collins Sports Center in St. Albans and wonder if anyone who travels between the Burlington area and St. Albans might be able to bring it down to The Edge Club at Farrell St in So. Burlington? A $10 delivery tip is included!  Thanks!

And today she followed up with…

Thanks so very much to Marcia for stopping in St. Albans to get my tennis racquet and returning it right to my door in Burlington. So very kind and very much appreciated!

Thanks to Front Porch Forum as well… thanks for another successful connection… a really great community networking service.

I read through the most recent issue of Front Porch Forum and could only feel gratitude for this community.

Thank you to the person who is offering chicks to people who lost theirs to the bears! Warms my heart to know we live in a community where this kind of thing happens.

Thank you to the people who so well articulated my mixed feelings about the elementary school facility project. I think that the public meeting tomorrow night should focus on some of the questions asked at the end of the letter on FPF not just the dollars and cents…

And thank you for all of the postings about dogs, bears, hummingbirds, town roads and more.

And welcome new members most of whom I do not know but feel that we at least have something in common – a good source of neighborly conversation and important information exchange.

UPDATE:  And here’s another posting on the East Montpelier FPF…

I just want to say that I think FPF is fantastic. I have not caught on to Facebook (and have no urge to do so). This chatting between neighbors is wonderful.

The conversations that are currently taking place over the School Bond have been well written, informative, and respectful. Thanks.

#BTV #VT - From Charles Lawton in yesterday’s Portland Press Herald…

… Two election cycles ago, Howard Dean introduced us to the financial aspect of this [e-government] revolution by showing how Internet-savvy political appeals could mobilize institutionally unconnected individuals into an effective donation and voting bloc.

Since then, Internet appeals and social media have become basic tools of political campaigns.

Another Vermont innovation — Front Porch Forum — has brought the same technological capability to what used to be the town meeting, the pancake breakfast and the church bean supper. It is a virtual meeting place for neighbors to share ideas on topics as mundane as a lost cat and as controversial as ATV trails and town charters. To judge by its glowing testimonials and rapid spread to towns across the Green Mountain state, it has been a great success.

Much is simply an expression of neighborliness — the loan of a sump pump, a reference to a native French speaker, thanks for a bigger-than-average turnout for church bingo.

But other testimonials speak to the forum’s value in building community — “I look forward to reading it every night. I’m not a Facebook fan but I LOVE Front Porch Forum.” And still other comments illustrate its value as a well-utilized source for varying but always respectful, never ranting, opinions on hot-button public issues.

In this last respect, the FPF represents e-government as a reflection not of a more efficient bureaucracy but of a more involved citizenry. And that is its greatest contribution and the one we ought to seek to promote here in Maine.

Increasingly people use FPF to tackle some of the tougher challenges faced by their communities… street crime, school and town budgets, disaster recovery… and currently in Burlington, illegal drug use…

Hello Neighbors – Over the last few months, everyone in our household and that of our downstairs neighbors’ (and landlord’s) had noticed certain vehicles consistently parking on the quiet side street next to our house, and just sitting there for a long time. Of course, this sort of thing makes you wary, but we had not seen or experienced anything overtly suspicious or criminal… until yesterday, when I found two used needles and bloodied alcohol swabs discarded curbside, right next to our house…

Last night, after dark, a cherry red car with a loud muffler pulled up to the same spot and sat. Our downstairs neighbor noticed this, and after a few minutes walked out to have a look/be a presence. The car quickly pulled away, turned around and took off toward North Ave. Sure enough, another pair of used needles and dirty swabs were found on the street. We called the cops, and an officer was sent over to have a look; we described the vehicle to him, and he collected one of the syringes. His idea is that people are buying on North St and then pulling back into our relatively quiet, not-much-patrolled neighborhood to shoot up.

Needless to say, this is disturbing and disheartening, and we’re hoping to help bring a stop to it ASAP. Be aware of stopped vehicles lingering at the curbside in your neighborhood, and be very careful to watch out for discarded needles, especially for the sake of children in your area (“luckily”, the needles that we have found have bright orange plastic components and are easy to spot; also, the idiot users have been thoughtful enough to cap them before dumping). Obviously, direct confrontation is not encouraged, but notice patterns and take down license plates of repeat visitors. And, of course, be very careful and wear gloves when cleaning up after these losers (the cops will come to pick them up if you’re not comfortable doing it, but they do not want them as evidence unless they are still loaded).

Be careful out there, and teach your kids the same!

Vermontivate, an intertown energy conservation challenge, is launching Monday, May 14.  Set to run until June 15, this frolicsome on-line/real-world competition infuses joy and creativity into the serious and important work of energy conservation.

Players will spend the month racking up points for everything from changing lightbulbs and starting compost piles to writing energy poetry for their town paper or hosting a candle-lit raw food potluck and knitting bee.

From newbies and neophiles to over-educated energy mavens, people at all levels of awareness and engagement are invited to play!  Even people who don’t live in Vermont can sign up and play on behalf of their favorite Vermont town.

The winning community will receive the Grand Prize Award, a town-wide ice cream party from Ben and Jerry’s!

“Climate change is the most significant issue we face as a culture, and energy use is at the core of the problem,” says Vermontivate co-founder, artist and activist Kathryn Blume.  “But,” Blume continues, “approaching it with fear and trepidation does nothing to inspire people to action.  On the other hand, we believe we can kick the Culture of Solutions into high gear with a potent combination of innovation, competition, and a little old-fashioned bribery.”

“Agreed!” adds co-founder Nick Lange, a consultant at Vermont Energy Investment Corporation.  “Humanity found a bunch of black goo in the ground and figured out how to make a civilization out of it.  It’s been a great party, but we happen to have seriously compromised the health of the planet along the way.  So it only makes sense that we can take our idea-factory brains and opposable thumbs and turn it all around!  And we might as well have a good time doing it!”

The game begins with players signing up at Vermontivate.com and following a series of weekly “Jumplines,” which offer a host of different energy-related challenges.  “We’re hoping,” says Blume, “to get everyone from town energy committee members to people who’ve never changed a lightbulb in their life.  So, we’ve tiered our challenges into levels of Light Green, Medium Green, and Dark Green, so that anyone, at any level of knowledge or experience can participate and earn points for their town.”

Lange adds, “When people sign up, they can also join one of our Guilds, which are groups of like-minded players who can share information and ideas.  If someone likes blogging or shooting video, they can be in the Town Criers Guild.  If they’re more about writing energy limericks for their town paper, they can be in the Artists, Bards, and Troubadours Guild.  People who like to give each other cupcakes as a reward for great work can be in the Boosters and Bakers Guild.  We’ve really got something for everyone.”

Interested potential players can sign up at www.vermontivate.com.

Hello all – are you ready for our 20th annual letter carrier food drive? Participation is very easy! This Saturday, May 12, please place your non-perishable food donation in or near your mailbox. Your letter carrier will pick up the food during regular mail delivery. All donations go to your local food shelf. …And yes, we are strong, so load us up!

Your donations are needed more than ever as an increasing number of hard-working Vermont families rely on food assistance. 1 out of 7 Vermont households are food insecure. Families of children who usually receive free school lunches will strongly depend on donations from the food shelf during summer months.

One can make(s) a difference!!!

Thank you,

Sandra Sonntag
National Association of Letter Carriers
Food Drive Coordinator

#VT -

We are getting more hits to our website from Front Porch Forum than from Google at this point!

Learn more and contact FPF to get your ads running in Vermont.

Here’s an example from a new steering committee member of a Burlington Neighborhood Planning Assembly…

My impetus to get involved with my community stems from my childhood in Montpelier where I knew my neighbors and neighbors all helped each other.  FPF has been the missing link in community building for my adult life.