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** Happy Thursday Democrats!
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Office Hours

Our office hours are Tuesday and Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.


Fundraising Help Needed


DEC Chair Bill Evans and DEC Member Fritz Trakowski are currently manning the helm of our fundraising efforts. Strategic meetings of the fundraising group, including Dionne McNamee, Josie and Steve Lieberman, Stacey Klim and others, have centered around replacing our annual gala with a direct fundraising appeal to our Blue Gala contributors and prior year donors. We are hopeful that we can start up a series of speaker and neighborhood events next year once gatherings can safely take place. Should anyone wish to become more involved in our fundraising effort, in any capacity, please contact Fritz Trakowski at [email protected] or 571-214-5011. Thank you!!

In Honor of Nancy Hernandez

Last week the Democratic Executive Committee (DEC) was able to honor Nancy Hernandez as an educator, community volunteer, and DEC member. A tree was planted at Glendale Elementary school to commemorate her dedication as an Americorps literacy tutor at the school and her teaching career, in addition to honoring her DEC work. Nancy was able to attend along with our Vice Chair of Outreach, Bob Bruner. Students from Glendale joined the celebration and made it even more special. Thank you, Nancy, we are so grateful for you!

FEDERAL

Social Security Payment Increases

If you receive Social Security benefits, you will be seeing an increase in 2022. But will it be enough to offset the increases in essentials we are paying? Read more about the increase here:

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Economy and Shortages

Computer chip shortages. Epic port congestion. And a serious lack of truck drivers. The world's delicate supply chains are under extreme stress, and it's jacking up prices for consumers and slowing the global economic recovery. Experts warn the supply chain disruptions will get worse before they get better. "As the global economic recovery continues to gather steam, what is increasingly apparent is how it will be stymied by supply-chain disruptions that are now showing up at every corner," Moody's wrote in a report this week. "Border controls and mobility restrictions, unavailability of a global vaccine pass, and pent-up demand from being stuck at home have combined for a perfect storm where global production will be hampered because deliveries are not made in time, costs and prices will rise and GDP growth worldwide will not be as robust as a result." The report warned the "weakest link" may be the shortage of truck drivers, an issue that has led to congestion at ports and caused gas
stations in the United Kingdom to run dry.

Read more here:
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STATE

2022 Governor’s Race

Did you know there are 9 candidates for Governor next year? Who are they? Where are they in the polls? You can find the answers to those questions by clicking here:

** [link removed] ([link removed])


Hint: If you click on the name of the candidate, you can learn more about them.

Teacher Shortage


Florida is nearing a crisis in our schools with vacant positions. Between Covid, low pay, and attacks by the Republican legislature and Governor, teachers are leaving their profession. Who can blame them? You can read more here:

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LOCAL

Storm Grove Middle School Science Fair Judges Needed

Storm Grove Middle School is looking for volunteers to help at their annual Science Fair. If you could spare even an hour of your time, it would be a huge help. You will have to be available to come to Storm Grove Middle School on Tuesday, December 7 from 8:10 a.m. and the fair ends at 11 a.m. If you are interested, please contact Joseph Refsland at ** [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])


Volunteering is easy, fun, and minimal on your time. Volunteer today!

Big Burger Blessing


A local community organization, Team Success, is in need of donations for their Big Burger Blessing. Part of Team Success’ mission is to end hunger. They will now be opening an office at the United Against Poverty headquarters and for their grand opening, they plan to feed hundreds that come through their doors.

Team Success is in need of hamburger meat, hamburger buns, and sodas to make their event a success. Please contact Michael Marsh at the email on the flyer if you are able to help.


DEMOCRATS OF INDIAN RIVER

Democratic Women’s Club

A Life on Our Planet: My Witness Statement and Vision for the Future by David Attenborough is the next Book Group selection. The virtual meeting will start at 2:00 p.m. on October 22^nd. If you are not a Book Group member and would like to attend, please contact Rita Milelli at [email protected].




Democratic Club of Indian River

Approximately 140 people attended the Nikki Fried for Governor event at the Heritage Center on Tuesday, October 12th, sponsored by the Democratic Club of IRC. TC Palm was there to take pictures, update on Twitter live, and record the event. Nikki delivered a riveting presentation followed by thoughtful policy questions from the attendees. As mentioned previously, the Club cannot support or endorse a candidate prior to the primary.

You can read more about Nikki Fried’s visit here:
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The club will reach out to other statewide and national candidates from Florida to speak at future events.

NOTE: The Club will be moving its monthly meeting time from the second Tuesday of the month to the second Thursday of the month. The Board has decided to make the change due to conflicts on second Tuesdays with School Board and DEC meetings. The next Democratic Club meeting will be in person on Thursday November 11th at 6:00 pm. Masks will be required. The meeting venue will remain the Irish American Society on 20th Street in Downtown Vero Beach.

The Club’s membership continues to grow. We are now approaching pre-pandemic numbers with 148 members. The Club’s mission is to be an organized Democratic presence in IRC, as well as a social organization for Democrats to network.


TRAININGS


If you are thinking of running for office or working on a campaign, this training on November 6th is the place to start. Well worth the $35.


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CALENDAR

Tuesday, October 19, 2021


8:30 a.m. – Vero Beach City Council
For agenda and meeting information go to ** [link removed] ([link removed])




9:00 a.m. – IRC County Commission
For agenda and meeting information go to
** [link removed] ([link removed])



Thursday, October 21, 2021


6:00 p.m. - Democrats of Indian River, DEC Meeting
via Zoom. Contact Stacey at ** [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
for meeting link.



7:00 p.m. - Fellsmere City Council
For agenda and meeting information go to
** www.cityoffellsmere.org/citycouncil ([link removed])




COVID TESTING, STATISTICS AND VACCINATIONS


Testing

If you are looking for a testing site, which is becoming harder to find, you can see a list of locations here:

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Statistics

A great place to check statistics for Indian River County is on Covid Act Now. You can access it here:
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Vaccinations

3rd shots are now available from Pfizer.

You can search for vaccination locations and details by clicking here:

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TIDBITS

These caterpillars have only one source of food ... and it's a plant with extremely unfriendly, exploding seed pods. Yeah, not a good match.

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Have a great week!

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Democratic Executive Committee of Indian River County
2345 14th Ave.
Suite 7
Vero Beach, FL 32960
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