Planned Parenthood to offer free emergency contraception

WILLISTON — Planned Parenthood of Northern New England (PPNNE) is joining Planned Parenthood health centers across the country to offer free emergency contraception (EC) on Wednesday, December 6, 2006.

“Every woman deserves every chance to prevent unintended pregnancy,” said Nancy Mosher, PPNNE’s president and chief executive officer. “As a trusted health care provider, Planned Parenthood wants women and couples to know about emergency contraception and all of their contraceptive options. We hope that Free EC Day will encourage people to think about preventing unintended pregnancy and to come to Planned Parenthood to get EC — just in case.”

EC lowers the risk of pregnancy when started within 120 hours — five days — of unprotected intercourse. The sooner EC is administered after unprotected intercourse, the better it works, making timely access critically important.

Participating Planned Parenthood affiliates nationwide are organizing “Free EC” days in their communities.

“Planned Parenthood strongly recommends that women and couples back up their birth control,” said Vanessa Cullins, Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s vice president for medical affairs. “Keep emergency contraception in your medicine cabinet in case the condom breaks, you miss two or more birth control pills, or have unprotected sex. The sooner you take EC after unprotected sex, the better it works.”

In August the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted over-the-counter status for Plan B emergency contraception for consumers 18 and older. Women of all ages can continue to get EC at Planned Parenthood, where they can also talk with health care professionals in a confidential setting. Research shows that women do not use EC as a regular method of birth control and that over-the-counter access to emergency contraception does not increase or encourage sexual activity among teens.

Vermont planners announce awards

MONTPELIER — Town planners in Benson, Hyde Park, and St. Johnsbury walked away with awards this year from the Vermont Planners Association (VPA).

The awards were announced Nov. 17.

“The awards are presented annually to recognize outstanding achievement in community planning in Vermont. All of the recipients of this year’s awards are excellent examples of how Vermont citizens can work cooperatively to achieve great results for their communities,” said Polly McMurtry, president of the VPA.

Tom Bartholomew, of Benson, was recognized as the 2006 Outstanding Citizen Planner, for his commitment to improving his community and region. Bartholomew was instrumental in developing land use regulations (which were potentially contentious) for Benson that are responsive to public concerns and yet incorporate many innovative concepts.

He has also been affective on other fronts, including taking the lead on the creation of Benson’s pre-disaster mitigation plan, creating a comprehensive culvert and road inventory for the town, and helping the town gain “village designation” through the state’s downtown program.

Bartholomew also received the Northern New England Chapter of the American Planning Association’s 2006 Outstanding Citizen Planner Award.

The Town of St. Johnsbury received the group’s 2006 Outstanding Plan Award for their town planning process in the development of their 2006 town plan. St. Johnsbury confronted many changes in recent years, including economic decline and a devastating fire in 2000, officials said.

Priscilla Messier, the town’s zoning and planning administrator, assembled 160 volunteers to determine how best to address the changes in their community through a new town plan. From March until June 2005, the volunteers worked on 17 different committees meeting weekly. “The Avenue to the Future” was adopted by the Selectboard earlier this year and is being implemented.

St. Johnsbury Town Manager Michael Welch states that this planning process was the most comprehensive and effective he had ever seen. “The energy, commitment, and enthusiasm of these volunteers has been inspirational.”

The award for 2006 Outstanding Project Award was given to the Town of Hyde Park for their development of the Green River Reservoir Viewshed Overlay District. The Green River Reservoir is unique for its wilderness-like character. Previous efforts to adopt zoning regulations to protect viewsheds in the area had failed due to a lack of public support.

Instrumental to the success of this project was the formation of a working group, including property owners and a local group of concerned citizens called the Friends of the Green River Reservoir, to develop the draft provisions.

The resulting regulations are both simple to understand and enforce, focusing on performance rather than restrictions, and include guidelines to aid applications and reviews. The success of this project is evident in the overwhelming support during the public hearing process.

Posted November 28, 2006

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