Community Vine is a free local source of information produced by Jay and Jennifer Shenk of Westminster, with help from the many local people who write, proofread, fact check, provide news tips, or just encourage us by telling us how much they enjoy reading “the Vine”. To them we extend our thanks, as the Vine as you see it today wouldn’t be possible without everyone’s help.

What’s become known as “the Vine” is really a two-part online publication.  There is our email newsletter that comes out bi-weekly, which introduces the topics of interest being reported on in the current issue, and there is the website, updated frequently, where the full articles, slide shows, community calendars, and more can be found, either by linking from the emailed introduction, or by going directly to the website. Together these two components form an online magazine, Community Vine, which delivers in-depth stories about local events, news and people; as well as some news and feature stories that reach beyond the local area.

As the Vine has evolved, grown in popularity, and spread beyond Westminster, we've also been writing about interesting people, events, and news from other towns in Central MA, along with stories of 'field trips' we take to write about people and places with some connection to our area. The more stories we can get from outside Westminster, the better. The Vine’s reach is spreading, and that’s exciting.

Our goal is to foster closer community ties by supporting local businesses, charities, schools, events, and other local initiatives, and to provide accurate, in depth, bias-free reporting, supplemented by clearly identified editorials, so that citizens are both entertained and informed to make democratic decisions based on the facts (as best we can describe them). We chose www.communityvine.net as our website because we want to build a “network” both of involved and knowledgeable people in our town, and a network of such towns in our area. “Keeping it local” is our motto and we want to do all we can to encourage that way of thinking. Our local businesses, charities, schools, and civic organizations need our support, and we want to do our part.

We encourage readers to submit news, stories and pictures. We will be happy to edit your article if requested. Let us know if you have a story idea that would be interesting to our audience or if you have an upcoming event that you want to publicize. If you have an idea for something that would be interesting reading, a book or movie you'd like to review, or just a question about anything local, send us an email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Thanks, and enjoy the Vine!

Jay and Jennifer Shenk