Rochester, Vermont - The Heart of the Green Mountains

Please Donate Your Halloween Candy!

The town select boards of Rochester, Hancock, and Granville have each decided not to have official door-to-door Trick-or-Treating in their towns. Using COVID precautions, each town will have Halloween events to give away sealed candy bags in a safe way.

We need your help.

Please donate your candy that you would have given out in ordinary trick-or-treating. Our towns will safely re-bag your candy with the other candy donations and redistribute a larger sealed bag to each child at each Oct. 31 town event.

Here are the Candy drop-off locations for each town:

Rochester: Town Hall or the Hardware Store at Rochester
Hancock: Contact Linda Anderson at hancockreccommittee@gmail.com
Granville: Contact Melissa Kosmaczewski at melissa.kosmaczewski@gmail.com or drop off at the farmstand at 250 Genes Rd, Granville, VT

Halloween 2020!

Upcoming Halloween Calendar
All Door-to-door Trick or Treating in the Town of Rochester
is cancelled this year due to COVID-19
as an alternative, the following events will take place:

Download a PDF version of the Halloween Flyer

Jack-o-lantern contest

Friday night October 30th
Rochester Park, Hancock Town Green, Pittsfield Town Green, Granville
(use battery operated candles)

There will be an online contest for the Town with the best Pumpkins! Vote online. Check here for further details on Oct. 30!
5:00 - 8:00 pm

Halloween Reverse Parade

Friday October 30th through Sunday November 1st
Businesses, Towns and Individuals along route 100 are invited to dress up mannequins or sticks in spooky costumes like we did for 4th of July.

Businesses, towns and community members to decorate their buildings for Halloween

Pierce Hall Pizza Party

Cancelled due to COVID. They may have a Drive-thru. (tbd)

Trick or Treating

Saturday October 31st, 2:00 - 5:00 pm

Families are encouraged to visit different towns:

Granville - create drive thru at Town office. Volunteers will hand out treat bags to people in cars

Hancock - A haunted walk on the town green. People park at the town hall. There will be a controlled number of people entering the haunted walk at one time.

Rochester - will have a Trick or Treating event around the Park Gazebo.

Go to this Page for more Details

Progress Report from the Envision Rochester High School Repurposing Committee 9/8/2020

The purpose of this report is to inform the Select Board and Town of Rochester on the work accomplished to date by the Envision Rochester High School (HS) Repurposing Committee, and anticipated next steps (details on pages 2-14), as well as stating our request for action from the Rochester SB and School Board.

Please click on link below to view:

Progress Report from the Envision Rochester High School Repurposing Committee

TAX BILLS 2020/2021

Update for Property Owners in Rochester. Due to COVID-19 related impacts and the RSUD School budget voted down, tax bills will be printed and mailed in September with the first installment due in October. The selectboard made the decision to change the four installments this fiscal year to three installments. The February and May installment due dates will stay the same. If you would like to pre-pay you can make an early payment based on last years taxes.

“Rochester From the Air”

Rochester From the Air from Robert Gardner on Vimeo.

Rochester Community Bulletin Board

2 days ago

If you're voting by mail, send your ballots by Saturday! Recommended by Secretary of State Condos to be sure you have plenty of time. vtdigger.org/vtdiggers-2020-election-guide/ballots-are-being-sent-by-mail-what-you-need-to-know-t... ... See MoreSee Less

Ballots are being sent by mail. What you need to know to vote. - VTDigger

vtdigger.org

This year the Vermont Secretary of State’s office is sending ballots directly by mail to every active, registered voter between Sept. 21 and Oct. 1. Voters are encouraged to return ballots by mail t...

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Rochester Community Bulletin Board

3 days ago

From the Rochester COVID-19 Task Force: Residents of Granville, Hancock and Rochester are welcome to obtain free cloth masks at the Rochester Town Office at 67 School Street during business hours: Tuesday - Friday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm. The masks are sealed in packs of 5 and provided by the Vermont Health Department. The supply is limited, so please only take what you need. ... See MoreSee Less

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Rochester Community Bulletin Board

6 days ago

Thanks to new grant funding and hard working volunteers, a food assistance program that has been operating in other areas in Vermont is now setting up here in the White River Valley.

Everyone Eats offers restaurant-prepared meals - with ingredients drawn from local farms - to those who could use a bit of extra support through the Covid pandemic.

Interested in supporting our local restaurant industry? This program pays local based restaurants to create meals.

Vermonters qualify if the Covid pandemic has made food access more difficult for you. If a healthy, prepared meal would ease financial stress for your family, please join the program!

SIGN UP, ORDER your meals, and select your desired
pick up location by clicking here:
tinyurl.com/everyoneeats-signup

Sign up by October 26th for
DRIVE THRU PICK-UP: October 28th 4pm-6pm
@ Rochester Elementary 222 S Main St, Rochester, VT

*Bring bags or a box to carry away multiple frozen meals for stocking the family freezer.
** A number of Farmers To Families fresh food boxes will be available at this date as well.

Program by:
Everyone Eats of Central Vermont
with Capstone Community Action + Skinny Pancake | Shift Meals
Supporting Vermont restaurants, farms, and families through the pandemic.

Please help us spread the word! If you know someone who would benefit, but has no computer access, contact us here in a message and we will get them signed up.Thanks to new grant funding and hard working volunteers, a food assistance program that has been operating in other areas in Vermont is now setting up here in the White River Valley.

Everyone Eats offers restaurant-prepared meals - with ingredients drawn from local farms - to those who could use a bit of extra support through the Covid pandemic.

Interested in supporting our local restaurant industry? This program pays local based restaurants to create meals.

Vermonters qualify if the Covid pandemic has made food access more difficult for you. If a healthy, prepared meal would ease financial stress for your family, please join the program!

SIGN UP, ORDER your meals, and select your desired
pick up location by clicking here:
tinyurl.com/everyoneeats-signup

Sign up by October 26th for
DRIVE THRU PICK-UP: October 28th 4pm-6pm
@ Rochester Elementary 222 S Main St, Rochester, VT

*Bring bags or a box to carry away multiple frozen meals for stocking the family freezer.
** A number of Farmers To Families fresh food boxes will be available at this date as well.

Program by:
Everyone Eats of Central Vermont
with Capstone Community Action + Skinny Pancake | Shift Meals
Supporting Vermont restaurants, farms, and families through the pandemic.

Please help us spread the word! If you know someone who would benefit, but has no computer access, contact us here in a message and we will get them signed up. ... See MoreSee Less

Photo

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Rochester Community Bulletin Board

1 week ago

There is another food distribution with HOPE coming up! Eligible residents of Granville, Hancock and Rochester can sign up to pick up groceries in Granville at Moss Glen Grange this Friday October 16th. Orders must be placed by noon tomorrow. Please help spread the word! ... See MoreSee Less

Photo

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Rochester Community Bulletin Board

1 week ago

Please consider joining the upcoming blood drive! ... See MoreSee Less

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Rochester Community Bulletin Board

2 weeks ago

The Rochester Dems are hosting our three district senators - Allison Clarkson, Dick McCormack, and Alice Nitka - for a forum discussion tonight at 6:30 pm (by Zoom).They'll be discussing budget updates, COVID updates, and other outcomes of the recent legislative session. If you'd like to join, please email elizabeth.shackelford@gmail.com for the link. All community members are welcome! ... See MoreSee Less

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Rochester Community Bulletin Board

3 weeks ago

From the Rochester COVID-19 Task Force: Voting in COVID times

In order to facilitate mail-in voting and limit risk and exposure to COVID-19, all Vermont registered voters should have receive their ballots in the mail and can vote by mail:
-- by dropping their ballot off at the town office before election day, or
-- by taking that ballot to vote in-person at the polling location on November 3.

If you do not bring your ballot with you to vote at the polling location, you will need to fill out an affidavit confirming that you are only voting once. If you have not received your ballot by October 7, call the Town Office to inquire.

The VT Secretary of State recommends anyone mailing in their ballot do so by October 24. After that date, you can drop it at the Town Office or deliver it to the polls by 7pm on election day.

Voting in Rochester on November 3 has been moved to the Rochester High School Building to accommodate social distancing.

Political signs will not be allowed to be placed in the ground or affixed to anything on the property of the polling place. Individuals can hold signs in a designated area near the entrance, respecting social distancing requirements and not impeding anyone from entering the polling place. ... See MoreSee Less

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Rochester Community Bulletin Board

3 weeks ago

From the Rochester COVID-10 Task Force: Travel Guidance

With foliage season here, many Vermonters and their friends and families living elsewhere are looking to take those vacations put off at the outset of the pandemic. The state is doing its best to facilitate travel and tourism as safely as possible, but many parts of the country remain high-risk zones for the virus.

The Agency of Commerce and Community Development updates the quarantine travel map (accd.vermont.gov/covid-19/restart/cross-state-travel) every Tuesday. Please follow the state’s guidance when traveling or hosting visitors to ensure Vermont stays as safe as possible:

• Counties in the Northeast with fewer than 400 active COVID-19 cases per one million residents are eligible for quarantine-free leisure travel. The map indicates these counties in green. Other visitors have travel restrictions.
• While much of Maine is in green, five Maine counties are not, so Vermonters returning from those must quarantine. York County, for example, includes popular destinations like Kennebunkport and Kittery. Travel restrictions also apply to Nantucket and Norfolk County, where Boston is located.
• Vermonters traveling in from other locations or not in a personal vehicle must quarantine upon return.
• Residents from quarantine counties or from areas beyond the travel map must follow quarantine guidelines:

o Travelers arriving to Vermont in a personal vehicle may complete quarantine (14-day quarantine or a 7-day quarantine followed by a negative test) in their home state and enter Vermont without further restrictions.
o Travelers arriving to Vermont via public transportation (plane, train, bus) or from further than a direct car ride would allow may complete either a 14-day quarantine or a 7-day quarantine followed by a negative test in a Vermont lodging establishment or with friends and family (travelers must stay in their quarantine location for the duration of quarantine other than to travel to and from a test site).

• People traveling for essential purposes, including work, do not need to quarantine. Essential travel includes travel for personal safety, medical care, care of others, parental shared custody, for food, beverage or medicine, to attend preK-12 school if commuting daily, or to perform work for businesses that are currently allowed to operate.
• When you travel to Vermont, only stop when necessary (fuel, food or rest). When you stop, wear a face mask or covering, keep a 6-foot distance from others and wash your hands often. ... See MoreSee Less

Cross State Travel Information | Agency of Commerce and Community Development

accd.vermont.gov

Find answers to common questions about cross state travel. Leisure Travel The State of Vermont has determined that any county with less than 400 active cases of COVID-19 per one million residents is n...

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