A student in the occupational therapy program practices an exercise with a client at the University of Vermont. Photo courtesy of UVM.
BURLINGTON — Do you ever feel anxious wondering if you left the oven on or whether you closed the door?
At an open house at the University of Vermont, visitors explored a recreated apartment with low- and high-tech devices that could make it easier to live independently and make people less worried.
Designed to benefit anyone — but particularly older adults and people with disabilities — these innovative devices can assist with everyday tasks and enhance independent living, as demonstrated by UVM students in the occupational therapy program at Friday’s open house.
“If you would ask most people, most people would prefer to be independent and prefer to stay in their homes as long as they can,” said Victoria Priganc, program director for the UVM occupational therapy program.
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An oven that can be controlled via smartphone or set on a timer, a remote control for locking and unlocking doors, and a “bed ladder” to assist those with limited trunk strength were some of the tools showcased.
The students providing information about the devices at the event are all enrolled in the college’s new occupational therapy program. The University of Vermont launched the program last year in response to the growing demand for occupational therapy services in Vermont, according to a press release from the university on Nov. 22.
“The whole promise behind occupational therapy is to really help people wherever they’re at in life to do what they want to do as independently as they can,” Priganc said.
The device that drew the most “wows” was the Samsung smart fridge, featuring a sleek touchscreen control panel that responds to touch and voice commands. The high-tech appliance can assist with creating grocery lists, planning meals and tracking expiration dates, students said.
For those who find it difficult to open the fridge door, an internal camera allows users to check its contents from the outside, with the option to label items with the touchscreen keyboard for easy organization. The smart fridge can also connect to smartphones, enabling users to view what’s inside while grocery shopping.
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Another crowd favorite was the “tornado dryer,” a whole-body built-in air dryer in the bathtub area that activates with the push on a button. With different settings, it provides a convenient and accessible alternative to using towels, making post-bath drying easier for those in need of mobility assistance.
Another bathroom feature was the cut-out part of the bathtub, allowing users to step directly into the tub without having to climb over the edge. It offers a safer, more accessible option and is not as expensive as one might think, according to Priganc.
“It doesn’t cost that much to have a company come in and do that,” Priganc said. “That’s a lower tech solution for people who really can’t get into the bath.”
The bathroom also had adjustable handles, a heated toilet seat inspired by Japanese toilets and a tap that changes color according to the water temperature, helping people with sensory issues.
The devices on display vary widely in price, from affordable options to high-tech gadgets costing several thousand dollars. For instance, the Samsung smart fridge is priced at $2,399, while the bed ladder, a simple tool to assist people with limited trunk strength in pulling themselves up, only costs a couple of dollars.
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The smart apartment also included voice-activated controls for lights, appliances, and adaptive tools for eating and reading.
“It was through collaboration and clinical experience that we decided what we put in the lab (open house),” Priganc said.
Helping out at the open house was Allie Kelly, a consultant from the assistive technology program, a partnership with the college’s Center on Disability and Community Inclusion and Vermont’s Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living.
Kelly had a table full of different buttons to help turn on a ventilator, leave a Zoom meeting or control a tablet. She said the Vermont Assistive Technology Program has hundreds of tech devices that people can try out.
“People can try out these devices for 30 days for free before they make a decision to buy it,” Kelly said.
Vermont’s governor has signed legislation that will allow adults over the age of 21 to legally possess twice as much marijuana as they could previously, enable interstate cannabis commerce and make other changes to rules for licensed businesses.
Gov. Phil Scott (R) on Friday announced that he approved the large-scale cannabis regulatory reform bill, S. 278, which passed both chambers of the legislature last month.
One of the main impacts of the new law for consumers is that it doubles the prior legal possession limit to up to two ounces of marijuana or 10 grams of hashish.
The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale (D), also allows the governor to enter into compacts with other states for cross-border cannabis trade.
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The legislative text notes that there is a “shifting federal posture on regulated cannabis markets” and says it is “the intent of the General Assembly to prepare for the possibility of regional or interstate cannabis markets.”
A provision says that such agreements could only move forward if federal law is amended to allow for interstate transfer of cannabis, if a federal law is enacted that blocks use of agency funds to prevent such transfers, if the U.S. Department of Justice issues a memo allowing or tolerating such activity or if the state attorney general certifies that entering into interstate marijuana commerce agreements “will not result in significant legal risk to this State based on review of federal judicial decisions and administrative action.”
— Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.
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The bill signed by the governor also creates a pilot program for cannabis events at which businesses could sell products but where cannabis consumption would not be allowed.
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The legislation additionally says that housing rental agreements cannot prohibit tenants from “possessing cannabis or cannabis products within the rental premises or using cannabis or cannabis products within a dwelling unit, except that a rental agreement may prohibit the use of lighted cannabis or cannabis products intended for inhalation within the rental premises.”
It also eliminates the vertically integrated license type and reduces licensing fees for cannabis cultivation businesses, among other technical changes to current statute.
Earlier versions of the bill would have altered potency restrictions for cannabis products, reduced taxes and allowed on-site consumption licenses and delivery services, but those provisions were removed during the legislative process prior to final passage.
In 2018, Scott signed a bill to legalize marijuana possession and home cultivation and then allowed subsequent legislation to legalize commercial cannabis sales to take effect without his signature in 2020.
Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.
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PAWLET — The Pawlett Historical Society and Rupert Historical Society will co-host a talk, “The Great Bennington Battle and Vermont,” with acclaimed historian Howard Coffin, at 1 p.m. on Sunday, July 5, at the Pawlet Town Hall, 122 School Street, Pawlet.
The surrender at Saratoga of a British army under John Burgoyne, now almost 250 years ago, has long been called the decisive battle of the American Revolution. But perhaps Burgoyne was doomed after the Battle of Bennington, a bloody day of fighting along the Vermont border that happened two months before Saratoga?
Coffin will discuss the history-changing Burgoyne campaign, focusing on the dramatic battle of Great Bennington—a Vermont battle as well as a New York one. He will also review heroes John Stark and Seth Warner and the Vermont Constitution, itself about to turn 250 years old.
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A seventh-generation Vermonter, Howard Coffin is the author of four books on the Civil War: “Something Abides: Discovering the Civil War in Today’s Vermont;” “Full Duty: Vermonters in the Civil War;” “Nine Months to Gettysburg; and The Battered Stars,” as well as “Guns Over the Champlain Valley,” a book on military sites along the Champlain Corridor.
This free event starts at 12 p.m. with a display of the first coinage minted in the United States, and works by noted photographers Neil Rappaport and John Pelton from our towns’ Bicentennial events in 1976. Be sure to mingle after Coffin’s presentation for an ice cream social with Stewart’s Ice Cream. This event is accessible to all, and made possible by the Vermont Humanities Speakers Bureau. For details on the event, contact Rose Smith at 802-645-0306 or roseksmith1925@gmail.com. For information on Vermont Humanities, visit vermonthumanities.org.
QUECHEE, Vt. (WCAX) – Crews worked across the White River Valley on Friday to restore power and clean up debris after two EF-1 tornadoes touched down in Vermont, including one that swept through Quechee.
Joe Haynes stared over his yard in Woodstock, with chunks of his roof scattered across it, wondering about the next steps.
Reporter Connor Ullathorne: How long will this all take to clean up?
Joe Haynes: Oh, I have no idea.
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He said he’s lucky he and his nearby neighbors are safe and are not blocked in.
“Some of the trees were down. They’ll be down for awhile but they can make their way out,” Haynes said.
Crews in Woodstock continued clearing trees and downed power lines along Route 4. That’s where Tiffany Miller was working inside the Mountain Creamery when the tornado passed right over the store. Nobody was injured, but their new walk-in storage ended up in the trees.
“It’s definitely a big setback for us. We were getting ready to have it wired up tomorrow. So I mean we definitely have a lot of elbow grease and hours to put in to get back up to where we were,” Miller said.
She said she was happy to see how many customers have checked in on them.
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“It’s nice to see that no matter what, in some bad case– storms or indifferent– that we can still come together and be there for each other,” Miller said.
Farther east in Quechee, workers hacked away at trees and swept away debris along the golf course and roads.
“It’s crazy they want to see. Everybody cares about their community and all their assets and amenities, so it’s nice to see everybody come together,” Quechee Club General Manager Brian Kelley said.
Kelley said they were out early Friday, and many residents were shocked at the damage. He’s still hopeful the area can come together and support each other.
“We normally do about 200 rounds a day going into one of our peak weekends. We’ve got the balloon festival this weekend, so we have that population in town, so a little bit of disappointment but people have been great and supportive, and we’ll be back at it tomorrow,” Kelley said.
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Kelley said it should be a few days until they are back to full force in Quechee.
Many others across the region told us they’re now focused on getting back to normal.
Click here for the latest forecast from the WCAX First Alert Weather Team.
