Mr. E

Ralston Technical College

The opening for a new vocational school, Ralston Technical College, is being discussed amongst the community. While some want a trade school closer to the island rather than going out for their education, others see a lack of the need for one. Yet, with Ralston Technical College, or RTC, many different skills from welding to cosmetology can be taught and learned to many people alike. It can bring the people from Ralston and people outside the island together. It can also bring a sense of togetherness and build a culture specific for RTC students to gather and meet others with similar aspirations and interests. Others say that with the small number of Ralston students and others looking for trade schools within the area, the need for a vocational school within the area is pointless. Together, some community members are creating a petition to garner interest for the project and hopefully in the near future, we will teach the new generations helpful trades that will aid both Ralston but other communities in the future.

Earth Day

Ralston celebrated Earth Day yesterday, this marks the 53rd annual Earth
Day celebration in Ralston. The festivities focused mainly around city hall park with hundreds of attendees. Parents, children, and families flocked to participate in trash cleanup efforts and arts and crafts projects using recycled materials.

Later substantially fewer families and childrens, but still a substantial number of people stuck around to listen to the mayor’s address regarding the new energy proposals they had and would work on in the coming year. Across the island/city people were celebrating in their own ways, there were a number of neighborhood “trash walks” and the various parks and natural areas saw more admittance and attendance than ever before breaking last year’s records. This event, this day has shown the commitment of the community to the betterment and benefit of the earth.

The Ralston Waste Disposal Agency has informed us of some statistics regarding the cleanup effort of Ralston’s citizens. The RWDA says that the beach cleanup committee cleaned up an impressive 543 pounds of trash from Ralston’s beaches. The RWDA also mentioned another 467 pounds of garbage from the neighborhood cleanup effort. One manager at RWDA jokingly stated, “We’d actually like you to consider cleaning up less next year, hehehe, we can’t handle all this crap at once.” The positive spin on this is to make a resolution to stay cleaner overall to reduce the workload on the good men and women of the waste disposal industry.

School Recess Rewarding!

The Ralston’s middle and high school students have been enjoying the new basketball court/soccer court. They have been able to have recess during breakfast and lunch, get their energy out, and have a break from just sitting for hours in their classes. The students are making friends with different people in other classes and grades and can show leadership when playing sports. We also have sports clubs now and it is not competitive but students who are interested in joining the club are having a great time learning how to play the sport after school. Parents have noticed that their children are coming home happy and get excited to tell them about their day. Overall all the students are happy with the place to have recess and get excited when it’s almost time for lunch.

Weekend Art Workshops

Dear Mayor,

Thank you for inviting me into the Ralston community, I am super excited to contribute. What the Ralston citizens need is socialization with other members of the community and the perfect way to install this idea would be weekly weekend art sessions. These sessions would be taught outside in a public space by other local artists including myself. The event would be for all ages and donations for the local artists would be optional. The artists teaching that day would also have the opportunity to display their pieces while the session is in place. This would be a great opportunity for the artists to gain more exposure and the events would greatly help small businesses that are located near the event.

The main obstacles are funding and supplies. Unless local places in the area wanted to donate supplies like foldable tables and chairs, there needs to be funding for the art supplies, furniture, and paying the artists for their time. Artists within the community are targeted most with this proposal as well as families with children.

Lakeside Park

The new Ralston Lakeside Park is a shining gem on Ralston Department of Parks and Recreation’s Crown. The Mayor cut the ribbon, officially opening the park on August 15, 2025. Just recently, a Trunk or Treat Event was held there by the local elementary school. Some Ralstonians are missing the larger golf course, but the majority agree that this is a much better use of space. The whole town is excited for the possibilities this waterside park presents for the summer time. The area is still being assessed to see where public swimming holes can be designated. Other activities Ralstonians can look forward to being available in the park are are canoeing, frisbee golf, and going down slides. Safe to say, the council made the right choice in eliminating 2/3s of the golf course. The bird population in Ralston is returning to a healthy level ever since such a big area of natural habitat was recovered.

Basketball Court

The above ground basketball court in Ralston is one of the greatest ideas for this town that this community has ever come up with. It is a basketball court on top of the school that students use during recess and physical education class. There is of course a fence around it so the children can’t fall off the roof and there must always be an adult up there to monitor the students. This basketball court has helped extremely energetic students get their energy out so that they can focus in class. This makes it much easier for teachers to keep the kids’ attention in a world where social media is destroying our ability to stay focused.

It is worth mentioning that the court has also had the opposite effect on kids. Some children still have the energy from playing when they come back to the classroom. They behave even more out of control than before. Some students are also more exhausted when they come back to class. But this is only 20% of the students. The majority have no problems with the basketball court.

Ralston Bakery — Ward 3

Ralston’s Bakery now serves as a hotspot for new connections. If you want to meet the local residents, they’ll likely be hanging out there from the mornings until the early afternoon. Mostly people will be working, as the bakery is a place where residents might go to do their work instead of doing it at home. Others, however, will be chatting with locals about current news, interests, drama, you name it. Enjoy yourself while you’re there and pick some pastries up to eat. Maybe talk with some locals as well, as they’re plenty friendly to people who aren’t caught up to speed. Here’s a clip of what it’ll usually sound like.

Public Pool

The recent addition of the Ralston Swimming Hole has given its residents an entirely new way of building their relationships in a healthy way. Funded through memberships and town funds, the location includes one deep swimming pool and one shallow swimming pool for young children. This space is meant to serve as a nice place to go with family and friends, as well as a common spot to do light activities on a daily basis. The Ralston Swimming Hole is fully indoors and has sloped windows that let daylight into the swimming area. Events are held at the swimming pool pretty frequently and the large pool is available to rent on an hourly basis for personal events. The location has a website where people are able to view whether or not an event is currently being hosted. The location also includes an indoor shower area as well as a changing area with closed off stalls for privacy. This addition to Ralston adds a new community space for residents of all ages to enjoy.

Community Health Center — Ward 3

The Ralston Community Health Clinic, located in Ward 3, serves as a place where Ralstonians can receive non-emergency medical attention without needing to leave the island. Before it was built, Ralstonians needed to travel to Burlington for routine medical care, significantly increasing the cost of even basic procedures. With the Ralston Community Health Clinic, citizens can get their vaccinations, check-ups, and basic prescriptions without the hassle of leaving Ralston.

The center takes all of the insurance providers common in the state of Vermont. It also partners with the local high school to offer CPR, first aid, and emergency medicine classes for interested students.

Building this new center has also helped significantly increase the number of people moving to Ralston. Qualified medical professionals have flocked to our island now that there is a place hiring them, and new families feel much better about moving here now that we have a local medical center.

Ralston Community Church

The Ralston Community Church serves as a wonderful place for the citizens of Ralston. With the church people are able to connect to each other and to express God’s love by encouraging each other to stand firm to their faith. There was a time where Ralston didn’t have a church and many christians citizens felt the need to gather together but didn’t have that opportunity. They felt the need to share their faith with others but also felt like they don’t belong. But then one day the government came to their needs and provided a church in the community. The sense of belonging came back to the Christians in the community and the Christianity community continued to grow more as they shared their faith with other citizens. To learn more about Ralston Community Church go to the Ralston website under the categories, “Culture, Recreation, and Religion,” you will find all the information you need.