Wheelock Community Initiative, Town News and Events

06/09/2026

The Summer Food Drive organized by the Wheelock Community Initiative starts today! Details attached...

05/27/2026

Hi Wheelock Friends and Neighbors!

Looks like spring is really here!

Birds, gardens, shorts, and summer gatherings fill the days.

We have a very newsy newsletter to share with your this month.

It is attached in jpegs, but is also available in a sharper pdf version at the WCI website : https://www.wheelockcmty.org/

Just click on the "Wheelock News" tab.

If you would like future newsletters emailed to you, just send your request to [email protected].

05/15/2026

LAST CALL!!

Hello Wheelock Friends and Neighbors,

Tomorrow, Saturday May 16, our Wheelock Planning Commission is hosting a community forum to share responses to the community survey (over 100 responses!) and to listen to your ideas on planning for Wheelock's future.

Come join your neighbors and enjoy a meal while you contribute to the discussion!

All the details are in the attachment.

Please be sure to sent a quick RSVP email to the organizers so they have enough food and materials.

Best wishes,
Wheelock Community Initiative

05/08/2026

Hey! Wheelock made the evening news on May 6!

https://www.wcax.com/2026/05/06/why-wheelock-students-can-get-free-ride-dartmouth/?fbclid=IwY2xjawRqGMVleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFJS0lTemtNVkQwMUlkTnNMc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHtbXPEceLN4eqESFWf3Mqr6XxKgYtt7Y6Mw0wrJCEnxJgcB_CrA_tuv0zxE9_aem_QdcFkHmUHMksYygUZZdy-w

If you’re a student in Wheelock with good enough grades and college dreams, the town has a deal for you.

05/08/2026

We are just a week away from the Wheelock Community Forum!

Your Community. Your Voice. Our Future.

It is happening on Saturday, May 16th at 1:00 PM
at Wheelock Town Hall

Lunch will be provided...so the good people who are preparing the food need to know if you are coming!

To RSVP, please email: [email protected]

Please email by Sunday evening, May 10.

04/30/2026

Hello Wheelock Friends and Neighbors:

Sharing information from the Wheelock Selectboard.

The Town of Wheelock is updating its Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP). Our current Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP) will expire August 10, 2026.

A current LHMP is critical for disaster planning, for securing grants, and for keeping the town's Emergency Relief Assistance Fund (ERAF) score, and keeping the town's share of approved repair costs, as low as possible in the event of a federally declared disaster.

Understanding our community's experience with natural disasters is an important part of the planning process and a short survey has been made.

Please take a few moments to fill it out; it is anonymous.

Here is the survey link: https://bit.ly/4w3kaMH

Paper copies of the survey will be available at the town office and Wheelock Village Store.

As the draft plan takes form, you will be invited to review and provide comment.

If you would like to be part of the planning team to develop our new plan, please contact town clerk Erin Swigart

[email protected] 802-626-9094

Wheelock is updating its Hazard Mitigation Plan. This plan helps to identify risk during a natural disaster and provides suggested actions that can serve to reduce risk. Having your input is an important part of the planning process. Please take a few moments to answer this survey. Your responses ar...

04/28/2026

REMINDER. TOMORROW, TUE. 4/28 BUDGET REVOTE!

This is a reposting of an earlier message.

Sharing information provided by Norma Twombley who is serving as Wheelock's representative on the Kingdom East School Board. She is sharing information for voters in advance of the revised budget that will be up for a vote on TUESDAY APRIL 28.

Long, but important read with information you will not find in other places!

Kingdom East 2026 Budget Re-Vote-Wheelock
Failed in March by 730 / 632 votes. Low turnout. No information by town, just for the district as a whole.

The budget to be voted on (for fiscal year 2027) represents a 5.76% increase over fiscal year 2026. (This does NOT mean that your property tax bill will be 5.76% greater.) I will show the impact of this on the education portion of the property tax bill in a minute.

Some important points to keep in mind regarding the budget:
There are many costs that KESD does not control
* High school tuition (set by the state)
* Healthcare costs for employees (negotiated at state level)
* Special education requirements (required by federal law)
Inflation (general and in healthcare)

The budget does not buy anything new; designed to provide services as they are currently. Twenty-five unfilled positions were eliminated.

Kingdom East has lower per-pupil spending than the state average.

The main drivers of the increase from last year were increases in
*. High school tuition
*. District-wide salaries (contract re-negotiation, good for retention & recruitment)
*. Special Education
*. Transportation

Many programs are heavily supported by grants, primarily from the federal government.
*. Kingdom East After School Program-(KEAP)
*. Summer Camp

Schools are an important part of the infrastructure of rural town life. They are often the largest employer, their presence or absence strongly affects the likelihood of families with children moving to an area, and they are important anchors of civic life – town meetings, festivals.

There are concerns about how Vermont schools are performing. Too many children are not reading or doing math at their grade level. This has been seen for the last few years and is being addressed. KESD scores in reading and math proficiency improved significantly between 2023 and 2025.
*. Improving from 23% to 44% on grade level or above in Reading
*. Improving from 12% to 36% in Math

KESD is “Meeting the current performance growth measures in Reading and Math as required by the State.”

Although the tax burden for residents of Vermont remains an important concern, the effect of this budget on the education portion of the property tax for homeowners in Wheelock is the following:
*. For a home assessed at $250,000 the increase would be $4 per month or $48 for the year. Taxes are decreasing.
*. For a home assessed at $150,000, it would be $3 per month or $36 for the year. Taxes are decreasing.

Please remember that Property Tax Credit is available to 60-70% of our residents.

I strongly urge you to turn out to vote on April 28 (or earlier-ballots available 20 days before vote) and vote to approve the KESD Budget.

04/24/2026

If you are headed to Chandler Pond's opening on Saturday, be sure to check out the WCI's free Little Library!

Get some books with your donuts!

https://www.chandlerpondfarm.com/

01/24/2026

Hello Wheelock Friends and Neighbors!

Welcome to a new year of Wheelock News!

It's a wild weather weekend ahead, followed by some arctic temperatures next week, so we hope you are all stay safe and warm!

You can find the "Wheelock News" JANUARY edition posted here and on the Wheelock Community Initiative website. https://wheelockcmty.org

Just click on the Newsletter tab!

We will place some hard copies at sites around the village on Wednesday (Town Hall, transfer station, Village Store). If you want a pdf or hard copy of the newsletter sent to you, just email [email protected]

We would love to hear from you!
If you have a story, photo, announcement, or news item to share, just reply to this email.

Wheelock Community Initiative
A small team of volunteers with a mighty mission!

Members: Enid Ellis, Ann Lawless, Hèlène Millas, Carolyn Nolan, Linda Rhodes, Marilyn Lincolnhunt, Kathy Schmidt, Pia Ward, and Eileen Boland...and new members are always welcome...come join us!