With the moratoriums on evictions* and foreclosures expiring this month, predatory lending practices will sadly likely be more prevalent this summer. Given that, we’ve decided to take a pause on our retirement series and revisit our predatory lending series. This week we’ll return and conclude our series on predatory lending and discuss possible alternatives to predatory loans.

*Certain renters in high-transmission areas may still be protected from eviction until October 3rd – review this CDC document for more information!

“Healthy Forests, Healthy Communities” is the theme for this year’s national youth poster contest sponsored by the National Association of Conservation Districts. Entries will be taken from all Gloucester, Middlesex, and Mathews students in grades K-12. Up to 5 winners will be selected at the local level. The winning designs will then move on to compete at the state and possibly the national competition. Local winners from the three counties will receive a gift certificate valued up to $25. Our Virginia Forests are an extremely precious resource to us – show us what they mean to you in your poster!

The poster size must be between 8.5″ x 11″ and 22″ x 28″ and any media may be used to create a flat or two-dimensional effect. For complete rules and entry form please contact the Tidewater Soil and Water Conservation District office at 804-699-3482 or the Tidewater SWCD website www.tidewaterswcd.org.

All entries must be delivered to the Tidewater Soil and Water Conservation District in Gloucester by September 20, 2021. PO Box 677 Gloucester, VA 23061.

The Board cannot wait to see all the entries coming in over the next couple of weeks!

The Virginia Employment Commission will be hosting its “Live, Love & Work in Virginia! Fall 2021 virtual hiring event September 9 from 1-5 p.m. Gloucester County will be participating, and currently has multiple opportunities available for job seekers. Numerous other employment opportunities will also be available!

For more information, visit this site!

To register, visit this site!

This week’s Town Crier! You can get the information at this link!

Also, if you’d like to have your organization’s upcoming event or important message included, click on this link, and if you’d like to receive this information weekly by email, click on this link!

With the school year beginning, it’s a great time to take advantage of the Every Kid Outdoors Program from the National Park Service. The program was created in 2015 in an effort to get more children and families to visit our national parks, and it has been renewed and expanded over the years to now include a wide variety of public lands. 

Free Passes

The program is very simple: every 4th grade student (or home school equivalent) in the United States is entitled to get one Every Kid Outdoors pass which is valid from September 1, 2021 – August 31, 2022 (so it is valid all the way through next summer). The pass will admit that student, any other youth under the age of 16 in the party (other youth do not have to be 4th graders), and up to 3 adults free to any site which charges an entry fee. This does not cover other fees like parking fees, camping permits, etc. but covering the entry fees can represent a significant savings to families. Any eligible student/parent can visit https://www.everykidoutdoors.gov to print the free pass or to get more information.

Educators are also able to print out passes from the website for all of their 4th graders, plus there are activity guides that can be downloaded. All you will need to do is visit https://www.everykidoutdoors.gov/educators.htm, download any activity guides you would like, and fill out the information to print out the passes. 

The activity guides were developed by the National Park Service, and they are easily adaptable for school use. The four activity guides are:
1.          Exploring Federal Lands & Waters

2.          Environmental Stewardship

3.          Our Nation’s Native Peoples

4.          Citizen Science

Where the Pass Can Be Used

The pass can be used at most fee-based sites administered by the following federal agencies:
•           National Park Service

•           Bureau of Land Management

•           Bureau of Reclamation

•           National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration

•           United States Fish & Wildlife Service

•           United States Forest Service

•           United States Army Corps of Engineers

With the moratoriums on evictions* and foreclosures expiring this month, predatory lending practices will sadly likely be more prevalent this summer. Given that, we’ve decided to take a pause on our retirement series and revisit our predatory lending series. This week we’ll return to our discussion on predatory lending and overdraft loans and rent-to-own contracts.

*Certain renters in high-transmission areas may still be protected from eviction until October 3rd – review this CDC document for more information!

This week’s Town Crier! You can get the information at this link!

Also, if you’d like to have your organization’s upcoming event or important message included, click on this link, and if you’d like to receive this information weekly by email, click on this link!