Williston Observer 12/22/2022

Mobile dead zones mapped

Verizon comes up short in state wireless testing

BY JASON STARR Observer staff

In the battle of behemoth wireless companies, AT&T and T-Mobile are the clear winners over Verizon for mobile voice and data coverage in Williston.

That is one takeaway from the results, published Friday, of the Vermont Department of Public Service’s mile-by-mile driving test of cell phone coverage conducted over the summer. The department partnered with the Vermont Agency of Transportation and a private company named Ookla to complete the tests, traveling main roads throughout the state while making phone calls and using the internet.

In Williston, the tested roads were Routes 2 and 2A, Mountain View Road, Old Creamery Road, North Williston Road and Oak Hill Road.

The results provide a clear picture of which wireless companies offer the best service in town, and where the dead spots are. They can be viewed in an interactive map available at www.publicservice.vermont.gov.

“It was surprising that (Verizon’s) service did not perform as well as we expected it to perform,” said Corey Chase, the Department of Public Service’s telecommunications infrastructure specialist.

Verizon has swaths of dead spots for voice calls at the north end of North Williston Road, along Old Creamery Road and along St. George Road (Route 2A). Its performance for internet data is spottier, with additional dead spots through

Planners greenlight Glaser subdivision process

BY JASON STARR Observer staff

It was the end of the Williston Planning Commission’s third meeting to determine whether to proceed with a “specific plan” application to build about 100 homes on a 97-acre parcel at the corner of Mountain View and Old Stage roads.

Planners had taken input from the landowners, the owners of a neighboring horse farm whose continued operation hinges on the parcel’s future, town staff and several community members. It was time to vote.

But the commission was missing one member at Tuesday’s meeting, leaving it with the potential of a 3-3 split vote. And it appeared that’s what would happen when chair Meghan Cope joined members Chapin Kaynor and Shayla Livingston in explaining why they did not support the Specific Plan process for the parcel; and members Alex Daley, Cate Lamar and Ellie Beckett expressed their desire to move forward with it.

Town staff advised the commission that, without a majority for either side, the application would not proceed. That’s when Cope changed her mind, making the official tally 4-2 in favor of proceeding.

The commission had been tasked with determining whether a “substantial public benefit” could result from the subdivision. Applicants Jack and Caitlin Glaser are offering about half the parcel to the town —

including 11 acres along Mountain View Road and 42 acres of wetland to provide for the continued operation of the horse farm as the public benefit. In return they hope to expedite the construction of housing faster than what would be allowed under existing regulations.

Tuesday’s vote affirmed that a public benefit could result from the subdivision, greenlighting a still-lengthy development review that is outlined in the town’s seldom-used Specific Plan process.

In January, the commission will set up a new committee consisting of members of the planning commission, development review board, conservation commission and four community members. Already, 19 community members have expressed interest in being on the committee, according to town staff.

The committee’s meetings will be open to the public and held on Thursday evenings one or two times a month. Its work will entail finalizing a plan for the neighborhood that considers affordable housing, construction scheduling, street alignment and the terms of a lease for Windswept Farm to continue operating on the 42 acres that are proposed to come under town ownership.

The committee is expected to have a finalized plan by June. The planning commission will then conduct public hearings and vote whether to recommend it for approval to the selectboard. If the selectboard then approves it, the plan would go to the

development review board for permit approval.

“This seems like a really interesting way to achieve a conservation goal maybe at the cost of putting up housing a little bit faster than we otherwise would have, but it’s housing that was going to be (built) anyway,” Daley said before voting ‘yes’ Tuesday.

Kaynor argued against proceeding, saying the town would be better off relying on existing development caps that limit growth in the Mountain View Road area to 20 new units per year. Those allocations are mostly spoken for over the next several years by already-approved subdivision applications to the west of the Glaser’s property.

“The (benefit) is not substantial in comparison to the ask,” Kaynor said. “The ask is for us to override our growth management system and basically build double the number of houses over the next six years than we otherwise would in this district … That has all sorts of downstream effects, from schools to roads …”

Waiting for growth management units to become available would allow the town to enact affordable housing and energy efficiency requirements that are currently under consideration.

“The fact that this might have to go slower is a good thing in the long run for the community, not a bad thing,” he said before voting ‘no’ Tuesday.

Williston planners gave the go-ahead Tuesday for the continued evaluation of a subdivision proposal on this 100-acre parcel at the corner of Mountain View and Old Stage roads. OBSERVER PHOTO BY AL FREY

A very merry meal

Williston-Richmond Rotarians welcome area seniors during the return of the Jonathan Milne Annual Senior Holiday Luncheon held on Dec. 14 at the Williston Federated Church.

Santa Claus (Gary Howard) makes an appearance, spreading holiday joy and laughter.

Rudolph the Reindeer (Marty LeWinter), left, provides piano accompaniment as Pastor Paul Eyer leads a Christmas carol sing.

Caterer Sandy Fisher, right, with help from her husband Dale, dishes up full plates of turkey and all the fixings.

OBSERVER PHOTOS BY AL FREY

Williston artist presents ‘The Gift, Story of the Magi’

Virtual program premiers on Jan. 6

BY SUSAN COTE Observer staff

In some cultures, gifts are traditionally given on Epiphany, the Christian holiday that celebrates the visitation of the baby Jesus by the wise men who traveled far to meet him.

The historical background and significance of this story are the focus of “The Gift, Story of the Magi,” a virtual program that Williston performance artist Victoria Fraser will premiere the evening of January 6.

“The Gift” is one of seven stories developed by Fraser in her Christmas Cycle. Each artistic performance combines storytelling, imagery and music and is the result of extensive research Fraser has conducted into the history and iconography of important elements of the Christmas story. The endeavor, which she began decades ago, was driven by her desire to have a more profound experience of the holiday and its meaning.

Until Covid hit, Fraser performed the narratives live, one per year, in a repeating cycle. The restrictions of the pandemic led her to produce her first video performance from the cycle, “The Great Tree of Christmas,” in 2020. In 2021 she released the video of her story of the birth of Jesus, “Miraculous Child, The Nativity.”

In her telling of the story of the Magi, Fraser aims to show how it can affect our lives in a positive way. As she weaves together visceral descriptions and images from the tale, she generates an intimacy for the audience with the scenes that are taking place.

Fraser notes that there are many opinions and scholarly works written about

Jan. 6 at 7:30 p.m. Right, Fraser sits on the set.

KIMBLE

who the wise men are, where they come from, and what they look like. They are depicted in a wide variety of ways in religious art.

“The conclusion I have come to is that the wise men are us. They are people journeying. They’re on a pilgrimage to find a better way of living, to have a more profound existence,” said Fraser.

Because of this, said Fraser, “We can really relate to the wise men.”

Those familiar with the biblical telling will remember that the wise men first

visited King Herod in Jerusalem in their quest to find the child. Herod saw the baby boy as a threat to his rule and hoped they would return to reveal the child’s location to him.

“As I was working on the story of the Magi this year, I became aware of how appropriate this story is to these times. I have come to think of these challenging times as a period of history, a time, when ‘Herod is afoot.’ Maniacal oppression and tyrannical leaders rising and the additional rising of freedom and beauty

in response,” said Fraser.

Fraser is dedicating the performance to the people of Ukraine for their commitment to overcoming tyranny.

In addition to the video performance, the premiere event will include a Zoom gathering and conclude with a carol sing led by Thomas Jones. For those who cannot make the January 6 program, the video will be available for streaming through January 11. Tickets for both can be purchased at www.christmascycle. com.

Happy Holidays!

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Thanks to our loyal readers and advertisers. We wish each and every one all the best.

~Susan and Rick Cote and the Observer staff

Williston performance artist Victoria Fraser, above, prepares a Christmas tree with ornaments and candles as part of the set for her program, ’The Gift, Story of the Magi,’ which premieres during a live-streamed event on

COURTESY PHOTOS BY JUDSON

Vermonters enlisted in fight for federal broadband funds

OBSERVER STAFF REPORT

At a news conference in St. George’s village center on Wednesday, Congressman Peter Welch and representatives from the Vermont Community Broadband Board pleaded for more time from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to challenge its map of highspeed internet availability.

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Vermont’s Congressional delegation is asking for a 30-day extension through the month of January for Vermonters to file official online challenges with the FCC. The delegation has discovered that thousands of Vermont addresses don’t appear on the map and that many addresses that the FCC believes are served with high-speed internet are not.

Correcting the map through official online challenges will help the state get federal money for broadband infrastructure made available through the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program passed in 2021.

The state is due at least $100 million through the program. But more money will be distributed to states based on the number of addresses

currently unserved.

“We believe there are up to 20,000 Vermont addresses reported inaccurately on the FCC Map. Each address we correct could mean $4,000 to $5,000 in additional federal funding for Vermont. That adds up to tens of millions of dollars to help Vermonters get connected and at a more affordable cost,” said Vermont Community Broadband Board Executive Director Christine Hallquist.

Vermonters can check their address by typing it in at www.fcc.gov/ BroadbandData/consumers. Your home should appear on the map with a list of services that providers claim to have available for purchase at your location.

If the information about the service provided at your location is

wrong, click the “availability challenge” button. Reasons to challenge include a provider denied a request for service at your location; a provider does not offer the technology reported to be offered; a provider does not offer the speeds reported to be available at your location; a provider needed to build new equipment at your location; a wireless or satellite signal is not available at your location; a provider failed to schedule a service installation within ten business days of a request; a provider did not install the service at an agreed-upon time; or a provider requested more than the standard installation fee to connect service.

For assistance, call the Consumer Affairs Hotline at (800) 622-4496.

“In the year 2022, in the richest

country in the history of the world, high-speed internet access is no longer a luxury,” Sen. Bernie Sanders said. “It is a critically important public utility that is essential to our economy, health care, education, infrastructure and more. Too many rural Vermont communities have waited too long for access to quality, affordable internet.

“In the Bipartisan infrastructure bill, we were able to secure historic funding to expand broadband access — an important step in the right direction. But we still have work left to do. I hope my fellow Vermonters will join us in making the FCC National Broadband Map as accurate as possible so that Vermonters in every corner of our state can receive high-speed, reliable broadband.”

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Report: Pandemic response lifted people out of poverty

OBSERVER STAFF REPORT

The Public Assets Institute’s annual “State of Working Vermont” report for 2022 reveals the effects that pandemic-stimulus funds have had on households.

According to the report (available at www.publicassets.org):

• Direct payments such as Child Tax Credits and supplemental unemployment benefits decreased poverty from over 9 percent in 2019 to under 7 percent

in 2021.

• Funding for food aid including 3SquaresVT and universal school meals grew, better addressing people’s nutritional needs.

• Stimulus payments boosted consumer spending and state revenues.

“The abnormal response of government, the willingness to invest public funds to protect people from the medical, economic and social ravages of Covid-19, provides the model of a better, ‘new normal’ for

Vermont,” said Stephanie Yu, incoming executive director of Public Assets Institute. “We’ve seen during the pandemic that, coupled with public solidarity and community mutual aid, the state can improve social and racial equity and boost the economy by putting people’s needs first.”

Some people, the report shows, are worse off since the pandemic began. For instance, more Vermonters are homeless than before Covid. And while poverty fell overall during the pandemic, it increased among

older Vermonters.

“‘State of Working Vermont’ highlights the progress achieved when government adequately addresses the needs of people and communities,” said Yu. “By making these priorities permanent, Vermont policymakers can fix persistent problems and create a state that works for everyone, leaving no one behind.”

Public Assets Institute is a nonprofit organization in Montpelier that analyses budget, tax and economic state policies.

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Looking forward to the legislative session

BY REP. ERIN BRADY AND REP.-ELECT ANGELA ARSENAULT

We are honored to represent Williston and look forward to a productive biennium. Before we get started, we thought we’d share a little bit about how the Legislature functions and the thoughtful, thorough process that’s followed before a bill can become a law.

The General Assembly will convene on Jan. 4. On that first day, each body — the House and Senate — will elect their respective leaders: the Speaker of the House, and the President Pro Tempore for the Senate. All 150 representatives and 30 senators will be sworn in and the hard work will begin.

The speaker will assign each House member to a standing committee, and the Senate Committee on Committees will appoint each Senator to at least two of that body’s standing committees. Senate members divide

their time in both morning and afternoon committee sessions, while House representatives focus their time in one committee. For the most part, committee discussions are civil and positive as members seek to find common ground.

A small and mighty group of 18 non-partisan in-house attorneys, each with their specific expertise, is employed by the state as Legislative Counsel. They draft bills as requested by representatives and senators. More than 1,400 bills were drafted in 2021-22. About 1,000 were introduced, and 213 passed both the House and Senate.

After a bill is formally introduced on the House or Senate floor through a first reading, it’s sent to the committee of jurisdiction. The committee hears from the legislative sponsor of the bill and decides whether or not to take it up for a full hearing.

During a full hearing, committees hear from a wide range of advocates, stakeholders,

members of the governor’s administration and others with expertise and experience as requested. The public is always welcome to sit in on committee meetings or watch them via livestream. The ability to testify via Zoom has been a welcome innovation that allows more people to testify and be part of the process without having to travel to Montpelier.

A bill is almost never voted out of committee in the same form it enters, as people from all sides of the issue have their say on it and may offer amendments. A Legislative Counsel attorney is always present for bill research in committee meetings, giving legal advice and rewriting the bill as directed by the committee chair.

Once a bill is thoroughly vetted by the committee and voted out, it’s sent to the floor

of the House or Senate (wherever it originated) for a second reading and vote. If it passes second reading, it’s read a third time and voted on again. If the bill passes third reading, it’s sent to the other body (the one that it did not originate from) to go through the same process of readings and committee action. Once both bodies agree on the wording, the bill is sent to the governor for signature to become law.

If, however, there is disagreement between the House and Senate, the bill goes back to the committee that started the process. That committee can either agree with the other body and send it to the floor for a vote, or it can disagree and ask for a Committee of Conference to be formed to work out the differences. This committee will have six members, three each

from the House and Senate. If they come to agreement, the bill is sent back to both chambers for an up-or-down vote (a simple “yea” or “nay”) without amendment. If the bill passes both chambers it is sent to the governor for signature. This is an intentionally detailed process and relatively few bills make it through each year.

While legislators may know generally of all bills introduced, they specialize in the bills that their committee is working on. You’re always welcome to inquire about the status of a particular bill, and even if we’re not immediately aware of its status, we can check with the committee chair or Legislative Counsel.

You can also get a wealth of information from the General Assembly’s website: www.leg.

number so that we can verify the letter’s author.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Holiday hazards and your pets

The holiday season brings not only celebrations, presents and decorations but also concerns for pet safety. There are many dangers to be aware of as you begin to celebrate this year. These include specific types of plants, certain foods and even decorations.

Chocolate is in great abundance during many holiday celebrations and is a well-known toxin for pets. If ingested, it can cause mild signs, such as vomiting and diarrhea, but can also cause more serious effects such as seizures and even death. The stronger the chocolate, the more serious the ingestion can be: For example, eating baking cocoa is more serious than eating milk chocolate.

Keep chocolate away from anywhere your pets may get it and call your veterinarian right away if your pet does eat some. They can generally help determine if the amount eaten will cause issues.

Grapes and raisins are used in many holiday recipes, but if given to a pet they can cause kidney failure and even death. Make sure to not feed your pet any holiday sweets with raisins or grapes in them and remind your guests they are toxic to pets. The specific tox-

in in grapes has not been identified yet, so any ingestion is cause for concern.

Tinsel is a common decoration used on many a Christmas tree, but this shiny item can cause a problem if ingested, specifically in cats. The long thread type material looks like a toy to a cat and if the cat eats it, it can get stuck in the stomach or intestines, requiring emergency surgery.

Xylitol is a sugar alternative found in low-fat sweets, gums, peanut butter and even recipes. Xylitol can cause an animal’s blood sugar to drop, which may make your pet have a seizure. It can also cause severe damage to the liver. Not all pets survive xylitol ingestion and those that do require intensive care and hospitalization.

There are many plants we see during the holidays that can cause issues with pets. Lilies are extremely toxic to cats and cause kidney failure, so keep those out of their reach. Holly and mistletoe can cause vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and in very rare cases, seizures and death. Poinsettias are actually not that toxic, despite the hype, and generally just cause mild GI upset. It is a good idea to keep plants in places where pets cannot get to them and chew them.

Some holiday hazards are overlooked, including open flames and electric cords. During the holiday season, many people light multiple candles and put them in places pets, especially cats, can reach. If a pet comes into contact with an open flame, fur can quickly set on fire causing burns and potential lung damage.

Consider keeping candles in places your pets cannot get to them or using decorative candle shades. Many people will also use decorative lights inside and outside their house, which means there will be electrical cords in many places. Puppies and kittens are curious and may chew on them, which can cause fluid accumulation in the lungs from electric shock. Keep wires taped down and use protective cases when possible.

These are just a few of the holiday hazards facing our pets this season. If you have any concerns or questions about your pets and the holidays, please contact your veterinarian. If your pet eats something and you are not sure if it is toxic, call your veterinarian office or poison control right away.

Erin Forbes Veterinarian Mountain View Animal Hospital, Essex

Legislature

continued from page 6

state.vt.us. There you can view bills “as introduced” as well as track their progress (if taken up) in committee by checking the weekly agenda for the committee of jurisdiction for your issue. From the website, you can also access the livestream for committee meetings as well as full House and Senate floor sessions. We look forward to sharing updates on our work as the session unfolds and strive to be accessible. Please feel free to contact us anytime at ebrady@ leg.state.vt.us and aarsenault@ leg.state.vt.us with questions, concerns or invitations to community events and meetings.

Erin Brady and Angela Arsenault were elected in November to two-year terms to represent Williston in the Vermont House of Representatives.

Who’s Feeder?

Thanks to Anne Marie Humbert for this week’s photo.

Year-end thoughts and energized hopes for future

BY REED PARKER Williston Energy Committee

An exciting beginning is the best description for the Williston Energy Committee in 2022. Authorized by the selectboard and guided by the Williston Energy Plan, our seven-member volunteer team dove in many directions as we worked to determine the best guidance for the town and residents of Williston.

With mountains of published information available, new federal and state legislation and funding coming from many directions, we chose to speak to the Williston community as our way to “Think Globally, Act Locally,” using the Williston Observer, Front Porch Forum, Facebook and in-person conversations.

The Observer’s “Living Green” section has enabled us to publish articles with a focus on energy innovation, conservation and weatherization. We directly engaged many enthusiastic community members at the Electric Vehicle Fest, the Isham Farmers’ Market and at town gatherings on

Green Up Day and Independence Day.

Williston took a quantum leap forward when the selectboard voted to fund the Energy and Community Development Planner position and hired Melinda Scott. With a highly experienced planner in this dedicated role, we have a strong advocate for energy planning and conservation efforts as well an invaluable connection to various town departments.

One team can’t do it all, so collaboration with other like-minded groups has enabled us to share information. Energy committee members participated in innumerable meetings with the Vermont Energy and Climate Action Network and Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission and had direct conversations with the members of Sustainable Williston and the Charlotte, South Burlington and Essex energy committees.

2023 AND HOPES FOR THE FUTURE

Most of us have heard or been told, “turn off the light” and “close the door, we don’t need to heat the outside.”

Those statements are as true today as they were decades ago when the focus was solely on the utility bill and not on how wasting energy affects climate change. Vermont has the largest number of older homes per capita in the country. Combined with our rural geography, which lacks significant public transportation and requires a heavy reliance on automobiles, the cost of energy (electricity, propane, natural gas, fuel oil, wood) can be a significant financial burden for many.

For 2023 and beyond, a significant portion of our efforts will focus on “Energy Equity,” defined as giving those who are financially challenged or marginalized equitable access to affordable heat and electricity, home energy conservation programs, renewable energy and newer energy saving technology.

Through the efforts of the Williston Energy Planner, the town recently received a Climate Catalyst Innovation Fund grant from the Vermont Council on Rural

Green tips

Instilling sustainability

For many parents, their interest in sustainability and earth-friendly living is driven by a desire to create a better world for their children. Taking personal action and responsibility are part of the solution, but teaching the next generation to be environmentally conscious is an important part of the equation, too. Here are a few tips for parents to model and impart sustainable living.

• Be smart about school supplies. Before restocking your child’s supplies, take inventory of what you have left over from last year. You probably had several items with plenty of life left — or things that were bought as backups — so you can avoid waste and save a little money while reducing your consumption of unnecessary goods.

• Model good habits. Kids learn by example, so make an intentional effort to turn lights off before you leave the house each morning, turn off the water while brushing teeth, use alternate energy sources around the house and encourage your school district and municipality to adopt sustainable practices.

• Reduce lunch packaging waste. Convenient, single-serve packaging makes assembling school lunches a breeze, but all that extra wrapping is waste that ends up in the landfill. Other options, like buying in bulk and sending treats in reusable plastic bags, is a more earth-friendly approach. Bento-style boxes with compartments for different foods are another option to help make lunchtime more sustainable.

— Family Features

Who’s

Sponsored by

UVM

hires forestry specialist

Alexandra (Ali) Kosiba has been hired by the University of Vermont Extension as its new forestry specialist. She will be based in the Extension office in South Burlington.

Kosiba, a licensed Vermont forester, brings expertise to the job in a number of forestry-related fields including climate-adaptive forest management, forest carbon science and management, tree physiology and forest ecology and health. Although her target audience is landowners, foresters and municipalities, she also will partner with state agencies, members of the forest economy, including loggers and producers, and organizations such as Vermont Coverts and the Vermont Woodlands Association.

In addition, she will continue some of the work she started in her previous position as the climate forester for the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation. This will entail leading the Vermont Forest Carbon Inventory and serving as the state’s point person for foresters and landowners on forest carbon and carbon offset markets.

The U. S. Forest Service recently awarded her a grant through its Landscape Scale

Restoration grant program. One of the goals of this project is to determine what landowners, foresters and others need in order to include climate resilience in forest decisions and management. With collaborators, she will develop resources to help Vermont’s forests and forest supply chain adapt to a changing climate.

The Amherst, Mass., native earned her Ph.D. and master’s degree in forest science from UVM’s Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources. Previous employment included staff scientist at the Forest Ecosystem Monitoring Cooperative and a brief teaching stint in the forestry department at UVM. She is currently a member and chair of the Green Mountain Division of the Society of American Foresters and a member of the Forest Stewards Guild.

Kosiba lives in West Bolton on 10 acres of forestland in a house that she built with her husband. They manage their land for recreation and climate resilience as well as harvest firewood and saw timber. Kosiba also raises chickens for meat and eggs and is an avid gardener and outdoors person.

She can be contacted at (802) 651-8343, ext. 504, or by email at alexandra.kosiba@ uvm.edu.

Lawmakers mull ‘Affordable Heating Act’

BY EMMA COTTON VTDigger

Lawmakers said they plan to bring back one of the most significant climate bills of the last legislative session, which they failed to push past Gov. Phil Scott’s veto pen by a single vote.

The bill that called for a clean heat standard will get a new name this biennium — the Affordable Heating Act — but Sen. Chris Bray, D-Addison, who is drafting the legislation, said much will remain the same.

“I’m talking with lots of different parties who all were involved in the creation of the original bill, including colleagues and folks outside the building, trying to better understand where there are some opportunities to improve upon our work last year, which, you know, passed both House and Senate with

strong votes,” Bray said. “There’s some good work there, already, to build on.”

Last year’s bill laid out a clean heat standard that would gradually transition home heating and cooling systems away from fossil fuels. Using a credit system, it would have rewarded entities — organizations, businesses and, in some instances, homeowners — who helped to reduce thermal fossil fuel usage in Vermont’s buildings.

A person who installed a heat pump, sealed and insulated a home to make it weather-proof or installed efficient appliances could earn credits as long as their project measurably reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

In turn, the measure would have established “obligated parties” — fuel dealers

Alexandra (Ali) Kosiba has been hired by the University of Vermont Extension as its new forestry specialist. OBSERVER COURTESY PHOTO

Heating

bringing fossil fuels for heating into Vermont for sale — that would be required to buy or generate an increasing number of credits per year.

The skeleton of last year’s clean heat standard is likely to remain under consideration in this year’s bill, with lawmakers looking to refine the details and address concerns raised last session.

Scott expressed concern that it would give the state’s Public Utility Commission too much power and potentially raise costs for Vermonters. Lawmakers included a measure in the bill that would send it back through the Legislature after being drawn up by the commission, and Bray said he plans to keep that measure in the new draft.

The bill’s failure was due, in part, to disagreement within the environmental community about what should be included.

Some environmental and social justice groups, such as the Con-

servation Law Foundation, 350VT and Rights & Democracy, opposed the bill, expressing concern mainly with its inclusion of “sustainably sourced biofuels” and “renewable natural gas” as a clean heat measure eligible for credits.

Bray said he plans to take a close look at biofuels this session. From the beginning, he said the new measure is likely to address emissions resulting from the entire life cycle of a fuel, and those emissions would factor into the crediting system.

Asked whether the bill would address environmental and social impacts associated with biofuels that aren’t directly related to emissions, Bray said it’s possible.

“If you’re growing a crop that’s then going to be combusted, it would make no sense to look only at the carbon intensity (and) ignore, for instance, a water quality issue that could come out of the production of that crop,” Bray said.

Other groups, such as Rights & Democracy, were concerned that low-income Vermonters, who

typically spend a higher percentage of their income on heat, could be left with rising costs if the bill wasn’t implemented carefully — and if measures such as weatherization weren’t made accessible.

Recent measures have changed that equation, said Dan Fingas, who works on political issues in Rights & Democracy’s Vermont branch.

“We’ve really seen the advo -

cacy groups, the environmental groups that were for the clean heat standard last year taking in the criticisms from last year’s bill and willing to work on it and better the bill to make a cleaner heat standard, and to make the bill one that would help all Vermonters,” Fingas said.

Most recently, an initiative called the Weatherization Repayment Assistance Program has allowed Vermonters to pay for weatherization projects through financing on their utility bills. That program comes along with a suite of programs designed to incentivize Vermonters to weatherize.

Both Rights & Democracy and the Conservation Law Foundation said they’re prepared to support the bill if biofuels and affordability are addressed.

Democrats and Progressives now have supermajorities in the House and Senate, and could override vetos from Scott by a wider margin than last session.

House Speaker Jill Krowinski, D-Burlington, said she hasn’t yet reviewed a draft of the new Affordable Heating Act, but that she plans to make the measure a priority this session.

“There is a lot of energy around figuring out a way to bring this bill back in a different form that we could get across the finish

line,” Krowinski said. “So it is a priority for me to work on getting a different version of the clean heat standard across the finish line and look to other policies that can reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.”

A third of Vermont’s total greenhouse gas emissions come from the heating sector. Vermont’s 2020 Global Warming Solutions Act requires the state to measurably reduce those emissions, and reductions in each sector must be proportionate to the amount the sector produces.

In the thermal sector, Vermont must reduce emissions 15 percent by 2025, 40 percent by 2030 and 80 percent by 2050.

Becca White, a leader of Vermont’s Climate Caucus who will represent Windsor County in the Vermont Senate next session after serving two terms in the House, said her primary focus will be getting the historic numbers of new lawmakers caught up on the weedy piece of legislation, which was passed by 99 lawmakers last time around.

“The big work that we have to do this session is getting our newest members, this largest class of people, to understand the nuances that we were able to get across to the last class of elected leaders in the House and the Senate,” she said.

Development. The funding will be used to identify households with high energy burdens and target outreach about weatherization and electrification funding programs to those households who would most benefit.

We will work with partners like Efficiency Vermont, Vermont Gas and the Champlain Office of Economic Opportunity to disseminate information about existing and new programs such as the Weatherization Repayment Assistance Program and financial incentives available under the Inflation Reduction Act.

As none of these efforts is easy,

we will be looking to you, the Williston community, for support and participation. As a member of a project team, our collective efforts will truly enable all of us to “Think Globally, Act Locally.”

We would like to wish everyone the best in the coming year and look forward to hearing from you on any topic relating to energy conservation and community planning.

To participate in Williston’s energy future, reach out to your Williston Energy Committee at energy@willistonvt.org or attend one of our public meetings, held on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month. The agenda for upcoming meetings is posted on the Town of Williston website.

“We’ve really seen the advocacy groups… taking in the criticisms from last year’s bill and willing to work on it and better the bill to make a cleaner heat standard …”

Dan Fingas

Vermont Renews Coalition

Yes, even squirrels have personalities

Research emerges on the individualities of wildlife

BY ETHAN TAPPER Special to the Observer

Each of Vermont’s tens of thousands of native species fills an ecological niche, influencing its environment and the species around it in different ways.

While an important component of managing for healthy, biologically-diverse forests includes managing for species diversity (different species of wildlife, trees and plants), there are also differences in behavior between individuals of the same species.

The emergent study of intraspecific behavioral variation — also known as animal personality — has illuminated the behavioral diversity within individual species.

Studies of animal personality focus largely on five traits: boldness/ shyness, aggressiveness, activity, exploratory behavior and sociability. Across a growing body of scientific literature, species from birds and grizzly bears to worms and salamanders exhibit a range of personalities that influence the way they forage, reproduce, rear their young, and more.

A recent study by researchers from the University of Maine examined animal personality by looking at “synzoochory,” the dispersal of seeds by seed-caching animals. Synzoochory is thought to be a mutualistic (mutually-beneficial) relationship between trees and the

animals that cache their seeds. This study found that some deer mice and red-backed voles are more mutualistic — more likely to spread and cache viable acorns — while others were more antagonistic — more likely to consume acorns or to cache them in places where they would be unable to sprout.

Research into animal personality has given rise to another fascinating concept: the keystone individual. Many of us are aware of the idea of a keystone species — a species,

planted oaks across the forest, thus serving an invaluable ecological role. In social animals, from birds to fish to spiders, keystone individuals have also been observed to change the personality and the behavior of colonies, flocks and schools of their own species.

While some animal personality traits may seem to be “better” than others, it is suspected that a behavioral diversity exists because different personality traits are beneficial at different times and in different situations, and because there are tradeoffs associated with different traits. For example, a bolder deer may be more successful at eating backyard apples, a highly-valuable food resource, but more likely to be killed by a hunter. A shyer deer may be better at avoiding predators but less successful at mating and foraging at times when boldness is necessary.

like beaver, whose behavior supports an array of habitats and natural processes. A keystone individual is a single animal whose behavior is disproportionately valuable to the ecosystem that it inhabits, to other species, or to groups of their own species.

For instance, the mice and voles that were more likely to cache viable acorns could be called keystone individuals because they distributed and

Biodiversity is key to forest resilience and adaptability, providing different pathways forward as ecosystems and species face both the harmful legacies of the past and an uncertain future. Researchers now suggest that behavioral diversity is important for the same reason: A diversity of personalities affords a species more ways to respond to a changed and changing world.

In our relatively young and simple forests, we have skewed animal personalities toward certain traits that are adaptive under these conditions. To encourage behavioral diversity, we need to invoke many of the same practices that we also use for a variety of other objectives, from providing habitat for declining

songbirds to improving the climate resilience of our forests. Managing forests to be more diverse and complex, with different species of trees, different sizes and ages of trees, some big old trees and lots of dead wood on the forest floor will help encourage a diversity of animal personalities.

We also need to encourage landscape-level diversity. Landscapes that are a connected mosaic of forests of different ages and in different stages of development are managed in different ways. Managing for habitats that may be underrepresented across our landscape, such as early successional forest, is import-

ant, as is encouraging some areas of unmanaged forest.

Animal personality is yet another example of the many intricacies of forest communities, and another testament to the importance of managing them thoughtfully. As is the case with so many things, diversity is crucial both for protecting what we have and for moving into the future.

Ethan Tapper is the Chittenden County Forester for the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation. For more, visit https://linktr.ee/ ChittendenCountyForester.

Animal personality is yet another example of the many intricacies of forest communities, and another testament to the importance of managing them thoughtfully.

The emergent area of wild animal personality research focuses on five traits: boldness/shyness, aggressiveness, activity, exploratory behavior and sociability.

COURTESY PHOTO BY GARY STURGIS

Police set up sobriety checkpoints

The Williston Police Department and partner law enforcement agencies will be conducting sobriety checkpoints in Chittenden County during the month of December.

These checkpoints are focused on enforcing laws against driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs and also to help people install car seats correctly.

GlobalFoundries layoffs to hit 148 Vermont employees

BY FRED THYS VTDigger

GlobalFoundries, the semiconductor giant with a plant in Essex Junction, has told the state that it will lay off a total of 148 people in Vermont.

The company began notifying those affected at its Essex Junction plant last week. It had announced that it would cut about 800 jobs out of its 14,000-person workforce worldwide, but it did not say at the time how many Vermont employees would be affected.

GlobalFoundries disclosed that number in a filing with the Vermont Department of Labor.

Under federal law, employers of 100 or more people must give workers 60 days’ warning ahead of layoffs of more than 50 people in one location if the layoffs constitute at least 33 percent of workers at a single site. The layoffs at GlobalFoundries’ Vermont plant do

not cross that threshold, but the company filed a notice anyway.

The Essex Junction plant has recently had more than 2,000 employees and about 800 contractors on site. It’s the largest for-profit employer in Vermont.

According to a laid-off employee who spoke to VTDigger last week on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retribution for speaking out, GlobalFoundries is keeping affected employees on the payroll until March.

Another employee who avoided being laid off and who also requested anonymity said staff have been told that the layoffs are over.

“Now it’s just trying to figure out who’s even left because (managers) weren’t allowed to tell us who is actually affected,” the employee said. “Now we’re in the mode of: ‘I’m going to send this person an email and hope they’re still here.’”

erage than other areas of Vermont, the tests show. Eastern and southern Vermont are particularly spotty.

GlobalFoundries did not respond to a request for comment.

“My thoughts are with those who lost their positions at GlobalFoundries,” Gov. Phil Scott said at a press conference Tuesday. “I’m disappointed.”

Scott expressed confidence that his administration could help find jobs for laid-off employees who want to continue working. He said he has been approached by “a couple” of people since the layoffs were announced asking for a list of people laid off.

Dustin Degree, the state’s deputy commissioner of labor, said the Vermont Department of Labor will begin reaching out to laid off workers.

“Our Rapid Response teams are trained to serve those experiencing loss of employment and are ready to help each of these Vermonters get back into the workforce as soon as possible,” Degree said.

CVSD Early Education Programs News Preschool Lottery is now open for 2023-2024!

The CVSD Early Education Program is now accepting applications for a random preschool lottery drawing for the 2023-24 school year. This lottery is for an opportunity to enroll in one of our school-based classrooms which run 10 hours per week. Our schoolbased preschool classrooms are 5 STARs, licensed early education programs that provide play-based, developmentally appropriate environments for all children in an inclusive setting. Our curriculum is based on the Vermont Early Learning Standards (VELS).

Our programs follow the CVSD school calendar. Children who will be age 3 or older bySeptember 1, 2023, who have not enrolled in kindergarten, and live in the communities of Charlotte, Hinesburg, Shelburne, St. George, and Williston are eligible to enter the lottery. Families who are selected for the lottery and choose to enroll their child in a CVSD program access their Act 166 publicly funded pre kindergarten funds for the school-based program.

All applications must be received by February 3, 2023, and are located on the CVSD EarlyEducation website under 2023-2024 Preschool Lottery . Paper applications are available upon request.

For additional information, questions about our program, or any concerns about your child’s development, please visit our website or contact Director of Early Education, Erin Gagne at egagne@cvsdvt. org. Our Early Education team is also available for developmental screenings in the areas of communication, social-emotional development, motor skills, adaptive development, and cognition.

the center of Williston Village (Route 2), around the north shore of Lake Iroquois and on sections of Mountain View Road.

Meanwhile, AT&T’s and T-Mobile’s voice call testing was almost entirely successful throughout Williston. For internet usage, AT&T had dead spots along Mountain View and Old Creamery roads, and T-Mobile had dead spots on North Williston Road, Old Creamery Road and around Lake Iroquois.

“T-Mobile’s coverage is much better than you would have expected, given that they are a recent entrant into the market,” Chase said.

Statewide, most Vermonters use either Verizon or AT&T, according to Chase. The driving tests also evaluated service from US Cellular and VTel Wireless.

The Champlain Valley generally has better wireless cov-

“We all know that there are many areas of the state that lack service. The drive tests helped to identify those areas so we can prioritize them for new coverage,” Public Service Commissioner June Tierney said.

Statewide, there are about 21,000 homes and businesses that have no wireless service. At the same time, wireless internet speeds in well-served areas are faster than ever.

“We’re seeing urban and suburban places getting really tremendous service and fast speeds, and we’re seeing rural areas left behind and not having access to basic voice service,” Chase said. “There are lots of places where you can’t call 911 unless you have a landline. That’s a problem.”

The is state making a concerted effort to connect all Vermont homes to high-speed internet with the creation of Communication Union Districts and angling for federal

funds (see story, page 4), but there are no state government plans to fund or incentivize new cell towers to improve mobile coverage.

A $50 million program in Gov. Phil Scott’s state budget proposal last spring to spur private construction of cell towers was scuttled in the Legislature, Chase said.

“The purpose of this analysis was to inform that program,” he said. “The Legislature declined to provide funding for (it) …. So the primary reason for doing it ends up being kind of for naught. That said, it’s a very beneficial tool. You can use it to help make your (provider) choices and also figure out where you can reliably use service.”

The state plans to incorporate voice and internet tests submitted by citizens last summer through the Ookla app to supplement the maps. The citizen-submitted results will offer a picture of coverage outside of the main roads tested by the state, but they have not yet been incorporated into the maps.

Blue Cross steps away from OneCare

BY KRISTEN FOUNTAIN VTDigger

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont, the state’s largest health insurer, announced Tuesday that it will not contract with OneCare Vermont in 2023, effectively putting the brakes on its participation in the state’s “all-payer” reform program for now.

The nonprofit health insurer has been negotiating next year’s agreement with OneCare, the only active “all-payer” accountable care organization in Vermont, for months, said Sara Teachout, Blue Cross’ director of government and media relations. After failing to come to terms about legal guardrails around the use of the insurer’s claims data, Blue Cross made the decision to step away for at least a year, she said.

As part of their work together, “we give them a lot of very detailed data about our members’ claims,” Teachout said. “We need to be able to protect our individual members’ privacy.”

Accountable care organizations, or ACOs, which are private groups of affiliated health care providers, play a key role in Vermont’s current health care reform strategy. OneCare, a non-profit that is part of the UVM Health Network, contracts to bundle outcome-based payments and incentives from multiple sources — Medicare, Medicaid and private insurers — and deliver them to providers.

OneCare CEO Vicki Loner said her company only learned on Monday about Blue Cross’ decision, which she called “very shocking to us,” especially so close to the new contract term starting January 1.

The withdrawal of Blue Cross cuts the number of Vermonters enrolled in OneCare’s portfolio by around 93,000 people, roughly one-third of its total, and brings the amount of health care spending under contract with the ACO down by the same percentage, according to estimates for 2023 by the Green Mountain Care Board.

OneCare’s payer contracts are currently renegotiated every year. “It’s a lot of work, and the timing is always really tight,” Loner said.

Loner said she expects the company’s board of managers to close soon on contracts with the state Department of Vermont Health Access for Medicaid and with MVP Health, the state’s next largest health insurer. OneCare staff are still in discussions with the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services about the company’s contract with Medicare.

With Blue Cross, “we were open to still staying at the table, but then I see this press release,”

Health Network is starting to use, and that the ACO could access the platform more inexpensively by subcontracting the work.

“Us doing this alone would cost Vermonters more money, and we would have had dueling data analytics with our largest healthcare provider and our sole member organization,” Loner told the Green Mountain Care Board then, referring to the UVM Health Network.

OneCare plans for all its information to be kept in separate secure physical or cloud-based storage, and for only staff working on OneCare activities to access it, staff told the Green Mountain Care Board at the time.

Loner said. “It’s an odd way to manage your negotiations, if you’re still really trying to negotiate.”

But without an agreement on protections around the claims data, Blue Cross did not see how it could continue to effectively work with OneCare, said Teachout. “That is one of the building blocks of this program, using data to improve outcomes and care,” she said.

In general, Blue Cross is not seeing evidence among their members participating with OneCare of progress on health outcomes or cost of care, Teachout said. But the insurer’s more immediate concerns stem from a plan OneCare unveiled in August to start outsourcing its health care data management and analytics to UVM Health Network next year, she said.

Part of OneCare’s work with participating hospitals and other providers involves producing regular reports of outcomes and trends among patient groups. OneCare staff told state regulators at the Green Mountain Care Board during a budget presentation in November that its current data analytics system is not as effective as software that UVM

But Blue Cross does not feel its current contracts with OneCare have sufficient legal protection about how the insurer’s claims data could be accessed or used by UVM Health Network staff, Teachout said. Along with considerations about member privacy, independent practitioners may not want that information accessible outside of OneCare.

Blue Cross is also concerned because UVM Health Network now offers a Medicare Advantage health plan in conjunction with MVP Health, a direct competitor.

From her perspective, Loner said, Blue Cross did not give OneCare an opportunity to respond to their concerns. “We’ve continued to say that if there are unanswered questions that you have, they are resolvable,” she said.

Blue Cross still supports the reform effort’s goals, to improve healthcare quality and rein in costs by changing how health care is delivered and paid for, Teachout said. Blue Cross intends to continue monthly payments to primary care providers and others who provide care coordination services for its members, and to develop other ways to reward them for improvements in members’ health, she said.

The insurer will continue to work with the state Agency of Human Services, regulators and health care providers. “We fully intend to participate and we support their work,” Teachout said.

After failing to come to terms about legal guardrails around the use of the insurer’s claims data, Blue Cross made the decision to step away for at least a year.

Bar, beam and beyond

CLOCKWISE (l to r): CVU’s Warner Babic strikes a pose during her floor routine at the Redhawks’ dual meet win over the Montpelier Solons on Tuesday evening at the Green Mountain Training Center in Williston. Cailin Dusablon works the high bar. Jill Diehl leaps above the beam during her routine. Ruby Opton flies inverted during her floor exercise.

Mini Idea:

Life has changed a lot since last year, when many kids were still learning remotely. While the COVID-19 epidemic isn’t entirely over, you’ve probably had more time for sports, activities and other fun this year.

While we’re on a break from school, it’s a great time to catch up on reading some favorite stories.

• Beginning readers will love the rhyming story in “How to Catch a Reindeer” by Alice Walstead. Can you build a trap that will hold one of Santa’s helpers?

• Our national parks are the settings for the National Park Mystery Series by Aaron Johnson. In Volume 1, “Mystery in Rocky Mountain National Park,” Jake’s grandfather sends Jake and his friends on an adventurous scavenger hunt in Colorado’s wild outdoors.

• As a Chinese American from the West Coast, Evan knows it’ll be a challenge to blend in with kids in his new town of Haddington, Virginia.

Author Wendy Wan-Long Shang weaves a story of a 12-year-old finding the courage to make his own place in “The Secret Battle of Evan Pao.”

• Even when it’s cold outside and snow is on the ground, it’s a great time to prowl for signs of animals. “The Animal Adventurer’s Guide” by Susie Spikol helps readers get closer to wild animals and do some citizen science.

• If you’re a basketball fan, you’ll find lots to love in the “Big Book of Who: Basketball” by the editors at Sports Illustrated. This updated edition features exciting photographs and fun facts about the sport’s great players.

• Jump into a trans-Atlantic epic story in the first of a series, “The Wind Rises,” by Timothée de Fombelle. Set in the 18th century during the slave trade, the book follows a 13-year-old African girl, Alma, and Joseph, an orphaned treasure hunter from Portugal.

• Author Yuval Noah Harari explores an awesome question in “Unstoppable Us”: How did humans become ... humans? How did we evolve to tackle nature, build machines and defy gravity — even to the point of traveling to the moon?

Words that remind us of winter reading are hidden in this puzzle. Some words are hidden backward or diagonally, and some letters are used twice. See if you can find:

Next Week: Pinball machines

• Garvey is just starting to feel like things are going his way when the COVID-19 pandemic starts. Author Nikki Grimes uses a novel in verse to tell his hopeful tale in “Garvey in the Dark.”

• “Relics” uses 133 objects to relate the history of the world — all 4 billion years of it. Covering Earth before humans, the ancient and early modern world and the world as we know it, the Mini Museum taps into everything from fossils to space rocks to take readers on the planet’s journey.

• The third book in the Inheritance Games series, “The Final Gambit,” finds Avery and the Hawthorne brothers challenged with one more puzzle. Author Jennifer Lynn Barnes keeps readers guessing as she finishes the popular series.

• Author Ann Eriksson not only delivers a warning about the Earth’s climate crisis, but she explains the why and how in “Urgent Message From a Hot Planet.” In addition, she shares what kids and adults are doing to help.

Search “winter reading challenge” on the internet to find a program in your area!

Founded by Betty Debnam

weaves a story of a 12-year-old finding the courage to make his own place in “The Secret Battle of Evan Pao.”

Try ’n’ Find

nature, build machines and defy gravity — even to the point of traveling to the moon?

Words that remind us of winter reading are hidden in this puzzle. Some words are hidden backward or diagonally, and some letters are used twice. See if you can find:

ADVENTURE, ANIMALS, AUTHOR, BOOKS, CHALLENGE, CLIMATE, HISTORY, MYSTERY, OBJECTS, PHOTOGRAPHS, PUZZLE, READING, RHYMING, SPORTS, STORY, TIME, VERSE, WINTER.

Cook’s Corner

Molten Lava Meatballs

You’ll need:

• 1 pound lean ground beef

• 4 crackers (any kind), finely crushed

• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese

What to do:

• 1/4 cup spaghetti sauce

• 1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Combine ground beef, cracker crumbs, Italian seasoning, parmesan cheese and spaghetti sauce in a bowl.

2. Shape into 12 equal meatballs (approximately 2 tablespoons of mixture each). 3. Spray a shallow cooking pan with cooking spray and place meatballs 2 inches apart. Press a clean finger into center of each meatball. 4. Place 1 teaspoon of mozzarella cheese deep in the hole. 5. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until meatballs are fully cooked. Makes 12 meatballs.

* You’ll need an adult’s help with this recipe.

At the library:

• “How to Write a Story” by Kate Messner

Mini Jokes

Will: How do you catch a whole school of fish?

Wendy: With bookworms!

Eco Note

Residents of Hawaii’s Big Island were warned that Mauna Loa, the world’s largest active volcano, is showing signs of a possible eruption. Rumblings began in mid-September and have increased from 10 to 30 per day to 40 to 50 per day.

Volcanologists believe the unrest is caused by magma rising into the volcano’s summit reservoir system. Mauna Loa’s first recorded eruption was in 1843, and it has since erupted 33 times.

For later:

Make a list of books you want to read in 2023. Share your list with a friend.

BY DAN THOMPSON

U M R E T N I W E T A M I L C S H P A R G O T O H P D N E S G V S R A U M H I S T O R Y T N E P E S U T Y S P O T M N O I R O A B T T N S L U B I C R M S R D O O C H E T A Z Q M Y Y E T I T R O E O V E M Z A E H Y S N Y C P K J R D R I L M R K V G L R S S S B S A Y N E E G N E L L A H C B O W S Z A

By Jim Miller

Savvy Senior

How to reduce your medical bills

Dear Savvy Senior, What tips do you recommend to Medicare beneficiaries dealing with hefty medical bills? My husband recently had open heart surgery and is recovering slowly, but the medical bills are coming in fast and furious and they’re putting us in medical debt.

Struggling in Springfield

Dear Struggling, I’m sorry to hear about your billing struggles, but medical debt has unfortunately become a chronic problem in this country. According to U.S. Census data, 19 percent of American households carry medical debt, including 10 percent of households headed by someone 65 or older. Even seniors on Medicare can easily get snagged in a web of complicated billing and coverage problems.

To help you slash your medical bills, here are some tips you should try recommended by health care experts.

Double check your bills: Almost half of all medical bills contain at least one error, including duplicate charges or charges for services you never received. If you’re facing a high bill and are on the hook for some portion of it, request itemized invoices from the hospital and other providers that detail everything you were charged for and go through them line by line. If you find something you don’t understand or find fishy, contact the provider for an explanation or a correction.

Wait for your EOB: Doctors’ offices and hospitals may mail ini-

65 or older.

tial bills to you before they even submit them to your health insurer. So, hold off on any payment until you receive an explanation of benefits (EOB) from your insurance provider — Medicare, supplemental Medicare, Medicare Advantage or private insurer. This will show what you owe after your insurance has paid its portion.

If your EOB shows that your insurer is refusing to pay for services that you think should be

covered, call them to see whether it’s a correctable mistake, such as a coding error for a certain test or treatment. If it’s truly a denial of coverage, you may need to file an appeal. For details on how to file a Medicare appeal, see www.Medicare.gov/claims-appeals/how-doi-file-an-appeal.

Ask for a discount: Call the hospital’s accounting office or the billing staff at your doctor’s practice and ask if they can reduce your bill. You’d be surprised how often this works. Or if you have the funds to pay the entire bill, ask the hospital or provider for a “prompt pay” discount which may save you 15 percent or more.

If it’s best for you to pay your bills over time, ask the billing office to set up a no-interest payment plan for you. It’s in the provider’s interest to work with you to obtain payment.

You can also call the hospital where your husband had his surgery and ask a billing specialist if the facility offers financial assistance. According to the American Hospital Association, about half of U.S. hospitals are nonprofit. This means they are required to offer free or discounted services in some instances. This is usually reserved for low- to moderate-income patients who have limited or no health insurance, but requirements vary from hospital to hospital.

Get help: If you’ve gotten nowhere on your own, contact the Patient Advocate Foundation (www.patientadvocate.org, 800532-5274) which can help you understand and negotiate your medical bills, free of charge. Or consider hiring a medical billing professional to negotiate for you, but be aware that these services can cost more than $100 an hour. You can find potential candidates through the Alliance of Professional Health Advocates (www. advoconnection.com). Be sure to choose someone who is credentialed by the Patient Advocate Certification Board.

Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.

According to U.S. Census data, 19 percent of American households carry medical debt, including 10 percent of households headed by someone

TODAY’S HISTORY:

• In 1864, Union Gen. William T. Sherman sent a message to President Abraham Lincoln that began, “I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah.”

• In 1990, Lech Walesa was sworn in as Poland’s first directly elected president.

• In 2001, the first cloned cat was born at Texas A&M University.

• In 2010, President Barack Obama signed the repeal of the U.S. military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

TODAY’S FACT:

• The five Great Lakes hold about 21% of all the fresh water on Earth.

Arnold H. Griggs

Arnold H. Griggs of Williston passed away on December 7th after a 16-year struggle with several debilitating brain conditions. His wife of 30 years, Susan, was by his side at the McClure Miller Respite House in Colchester.

Prior to the onset of his medical problems, Arnie was the owner/operator of New Generation Communications, Inc, specializing in voice and data systems installation and maintenance. He worked throughout Vermont and traveled across the country and into Canada. He loved his work, and his enthusiasm was contagious. Anyone who knew him appreciated his knowledge, work ethic and unique sense of humor. He enjoyed spending lots of time outside either in the garden, fishing, boating, or having fun at a summer BBQ.

He is survived by his wife, Susan (Culver), his sons Christopher and wife Angie, Brian and wife Aron, Andrew and wife Laura, granddaughter Ava, his sisters

Linda and Kim, his mother-in-law M. Viola Culver, sisters-in-law Margaret Adams and Joan Culver, brother-in-law Stephen Culver and his wife Cyndi, long-time friend Jody Perkins and special nieces and nephews.

For those who wish, donations may be made to the McClure Respite House in Colchester or to an animal rescue agency of your choice as Arnie loved his furry forest animals.

Janet Helen Parent Harvey

Janet Helen Parent Harvey passed away peacefully surrounded by family on Nov. 10, 2022, at the age of 89.

She is survived by her husband of 67 years, Russell “Jack” Harvey, her children Philip Harvey, Douglas Harvey, Thomas Harvey and Susan Harvey as well as 9 grandchildren and two nephews. She was predeceased by her grandson John Harvey and her brother Thomas Parent.

Janet was born in Burlington, Vermont on July 6, 1933. Her parents were Caroline LaBelle Parent and Raymond Colixte Parent.

She married Russell Jack Harvey on July 9, 1955. She graduated from Hinesburg High School and then attended the University of Vermont double majoring in mathematics and physics. She was one of the first female electrical engineers General Electric hired, and after having children she changed careers.

She continued her education, achieving a Master of Education in 1958. She worked part time teaching for years including at Pine Ridge School in Williston. Later she taught in the Milton school district where she worked for decades, retiring in 1996.

She attended the Immaculate Heart of Mary church in Williston and was the organist for countless

masses, weddings, baptisms and funerals.

Janet was an extraordinary mother, wife, sister, and friend.

She was a talented pianist playing in orchestras when she was young. She sewed, painted, wallpapered, tiled and did whatever needed to be done to keep her home beautiful. She loved to ski downhill and enjoyed many dogs and cats, loving each as much as the one before. After retirement, she had flower and vegetable gardens that she cherished.

She had a long struggle with dementia and is now at peace. Even as dementia took her away, she maintained her kindness and sense of humor with all of those who cared for her.

A celebration of Janet’s life will take place on Saturday, Jan. 7 in Florida and in Vermont in the spring of 2023.

Our loss is felt today and for all our tomorrows.

Marion “Midge” McKee

Marion “Midge” McKee, 94 of Williston, formerly of Williamstown, and Randolph passed away on Nov. 3, 2022.

Midge was born in New York City, New York, on Dec.30, 1927, to Moses Miller and Claire (Leichty) McKee.

She graduated from Hunter College High School in 1945, received her B.A. from Hunter College in 1949, and graduated from Temple University Medical School in 1953.

Midge completed her internship and year of pediatrics residency at Mary Fletcher Hospital, one year in neurology at the University of Vermont College of Medicine, and two years at the Children’s Hospital in Boston, Mass. She taught neurology and pediatrics at the UVM College of Medicines for many years.

Dr. McKee served as a pediatric neurologist in Vermont and was director of the Child Development Clinic that was run by the Vermont State Health Department. She was instrumental in spearheading a program for developmentally and neurologically disabled children and developing

the Vermont Infant Screening Program.

Dr. McKee received several honors, including serving as delegate to the White House Conference on Mental Retardation in 1963. She also participated on a panel that submitted a Consensus Development Conference Statement on febrile seizures to the National Institute of Health in 1980.

Midge loved gardening, scrap booking, painting, and feeding the birds. She enjoyed spending time with her family and was always up for a toboggan ride

down the hill at the farm with the younger generation, playing a game of croquet, and playing Michigan. Midge was a member of the Baptist Fellowship of Randolph and enjoyed spending time with her many friends in the congregation. She enriched the community through her numerous church activities. One of her favorite projects was that of filling shoe boxes with toys and treats to send to children in need.

Midge is survived by her sister Virginia (McKee) Atherley, nieces Claire (Atherley) Grinnell, Robin (Atherley) Dupuis, and nephew David Atherley, as well as five great nieces and nephews and seven “great greats”.

Midge will be dearly missed and fondly remembered by all those fortunate enough to have known her. A memorial service was held on Nov. 17, 2022; a private burial will be held at the convenience of the family.

Day Funeral Home in Randolph, VT is assisting the family with arrangements. Online condolences can be made at www. dayfunerals.com

OBITUARIES

Paulette Hance

Paulette Hance, 75, of Williston, VT passed away on December 3, 2022, with friends and family by her side.

Born in Cohoes, NY on April 18, 1947, to parents Raymond and Marguerite Bourdeau, Paulette was the eldest of ten siblings. After graduating from high school, she pursued her life’s dream to become a nurse. She earned her LPN in 1965 and worked in a hospital, caring for burn victims. In 1967 she met and married a native Vermonter, Wayne Hance. They made a home and life together in Rutland, VT.

Paulette put her career on hold for 18 years to raise her three children and returned to nursing in 1985 after earning her RN. She was passionate about helping others and, as a friend recently said of her, “she could reach out and connect with anyone, making them feel safe and cared for.” Her well-rounded nursing career spanned 30 years.

She had many talents: she made beautiful quilts for those she loved; she had a knack for interior design and took pride and pleasure in decorating for special events in the community and her beloved church. But above all else, she had the gift of gab.

Paulette loved to talk ... to everyone ... about anything. Spinning stories about her life and experiences was as important to her as the air she breathed — perhaps more so.

She loved sitting at the puzzle table with friends from her Senior Living community and sharing stories, reminiscing with her siblings about days gone by, chatting with medical professionals about her nursing exploits, and witnessing how her life was transformed by having her sins forgiven through faith in Jesus Christ and being confident that as Jesus rose from the dead so also she will rise to eternal life.

Nine years ago, Paulette was diagnosed with end stage, metastatic cancer. With

courage she endured numerous surgeries and chemotherapies; her prognosis was grim. But Paulette, eternally optimistic, and with an unwavering faith in her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, never gave up hope nor her ability to give to others in a meaningful way. She loved everyone at church — young and old — and prayed faithfully for the salvation of others. She served in many church ministries for years; preferring to give rather than to receive.

Paulette was predeceased by her parents and her husband of 42 years. She is survived by: daughter Liz, her wife, Jackie, and their children Kristin, Matthew, Riley, and Toamin; son Jeff, his wife Julie, and their children Meekah and Kagan; daughter Michelle, her husband Burton, and their children Nathaniel, Dillon, Gary, and Christopher. Her surviving siblings include: Bernard (Maggie) Bourdeau, Catherine (Gary) Bartrug, Warren Bourdeau, Rita (Bob)

Young, Jeanne Fosby, Nelson Bourdeau, Matthew Bourdeau, Marie (John) Curley, and Paul Bourdeau. She is also survived by many friends who are her sisters and brothers in spirit.

Most everyone who knew Paulette felt her big heart and giving nature. She will be greatly missed.

We would like to thank the staff at UVM Medical Center, Medical Intensive Care Unit, for their compassionate care during Paulette’s short stay. A special heartfelt thanks to Henry, the nurse whose extraordinary kindness helped us through a difficult and painful time. We would also like to thank all our family and friends for their support and prayers, especially Julie,

Jackie, Beth and Greg, Shannon and Eric, Karen, Pastor Mitch, and Marie.

In her memory, donations to Aspire Together or NETS can be sent to: Christ Memorial Church, 1033 Essex Rd. Williston, VT 05495.

Paulette wishes to have people come to share in the hope of eternal life that she knows through faith in Jesus. She would like to be remembered with stories that celebrate all that was good in her life and her innumerable blessings. A combined memorial service and Celebration of Life was held at the Christ Memorial Church, Williston, on Sunday, December 11th beginning at 3:00pm. Family and friends shared fond memories and stories.

Why not have a job you love?

Positions include a sign on bonus, strong benefits package and

Service Coordinator: Continue your career in human services in a supportive environment by providing case management for individuals either for our Adult Family Care program or our Developmental Services program. The ideal candidate will have strong clinical, organizational & leadership skills and enjoy working in a team-oriented position. $47,000 annual salary, $1,500 sign on bonus.

Residential Program Manager: Coordinate staffed residential and community supports for an individual in their home. The ideal candidate will enjoy working in a team-oriented position, have strong clinical skills, and demonstrated leadership. $45,900 annual salary, $1,500 sign on bonus.

Direct Support Professional: Provide 1:1 supports to help individuals reach their goals in a variety of settings. This is a great position to start or continue your career in human services. Full and part time positions available starting at $19/hr, $1,000 sign on bonus.

Residential Direct Support Professional: Provide supports to an individual in their home and in the community in 24h shifts including asleep overnights in a private, furnished bedroom. You can work two days, receive full benefits and have five days off each week! Other flexible schedules available, starting wage is $20/hr, $1,000 sign on bonus.

Shared Living Provider: Move into someone’s home or have someone live with you to provide residential supports. There are a variety of opportunities available that could be the perfect match for you and your household. Salary varies dependent on individual care requirements. $1,000 sign on bonus.

Join our dedicated team and together we’ll build a community where everyone participates and belongs https://ccs-vt.org/current-openings/

https://ccs-vt.org/current-openings/

the opportunity to work at one of the “Best Places to Work in Vermont”.

Make a career making a difference and join our team today!

Dorothy Alling Memorial Library hours:

• Monday and Wednesday: 10 a.m.-8 p.m.

• Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

• Saturday: 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Visit www.damlvt.org to apply for a library card, renew materials, access digital offerings and register online for programs. Need help? Call 878-4918 or email daml@damlvt.org.

The library will be closed Friday, Dec. 23, Saturday, Dec. 24 and Monday Jan. 2. Happy holidays from the staff at DAML

YOUTH PROGRAMS

Children in fourth grade and younger must be supervised by someone over 16 years of age.

STORYTIME

Tuesdays, Dec. 27 and Jan. 3, 10:30-11 a.m. Join Danielle for stories and fun.

AFTERNOON CRAFT

Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2-3 p.m. Create a popsicle stick fireplace ornament or magnet.

BABY TIME

Wednesday, Jan. 4, 10:30-11 a.m. Socialize with your baby and

others during these gentle activities.

AFTER SCHOOL LEGO AND BOARD GAME TIME

Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2-3 p.m. Find a new favorite game or make something exciting with the library’s game and LEGO collections.

PRESCHOOL MUSIC AND PLAYTIME

Thursday, Jan. 5, 10:30-11:30 a.m. Enjoy music with Linda Bassick, then stay to play.

MULTI-AGE PROGRAMS

VERMONT READS

Stop by the library to pick up a copy of “The Most Costly Journey,” edited by Marek Bennett, Andy Kolovos, Teresa Mares and Julia Grand Doucet and keep an eye out for Vermont Reads events over the next couple of months. Email bonnie@damlvt.org if you are interested in recording a 5-10 minute personal story on related prompts for the Vermont Reads podcast (in collaboration with Brownell Library). Vermont

Reads is presented in partnership with The National Endowment for the Humanities.

READ TO A CAT

Thursday, Jan. 5, 3:304:30 p.m. Call to schedule an eight-minute time-slot to read to therapy cat Oscar.

PROGRAMS FOR ADULTS

To join a book club or for Zoom link, email programs@ damlvt.org.

ADULT WINTER READING CHALLENGE: BOOK BINGO Jan. 3- Feb. 28. Come pick up a Bingo card at the front desk and challenge yourself to read your way to Bingo. Return your completed card for a chance to win prizes.

BROWN BAG BOOK CLUB: READER’S RECOMMENDATION

Tuesday, Dec. 27, 12:30 p.m. Come share a favorite. What have you been reading that you love? Bring a book to share with the group and tell us why you love it. We will all come away with a list of recommended reads. Please

email title and author of the book you want to share to events@ damlvt.org.

CURRENT EVENTS DISCUSSION

Wednesday, Dec. 28, 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m. Drop by for a discussion of newsworthy topics.

GUIDED MEDITATION (ONLINE)

Friday, Dec. 30, 12-12:30 p.m. Reconnect to your peaceful body and breathe in this guided meditation led by Maryellen Crangle over Zoom.

ADULT WINTER READING CHALLENGE

Join our reading challenge and enter to win prizes. See www.damlvt.org for details.

SPANISH CONVERSATION (ONLINE)

Wednesday, Jan. 4, 5-6 p.m. Join teacher Elliot Lafferty to practice Spanish conversation.

ADULT CRAFTERNOON: SALTSHAKER SNOWMAN

Thursday, Jan. 5, 2-3 p.m. Make a snowman that doesn’t melt to brighten your shelf this winter. Register at www.damlvt.org.

A remote option to participate using the online platform zoom is available using the following web address: https:// us02web.zoom.us/j/81716692120. The zoom meeting can also be accessed by calling 1-646-558-8656 and entering the meeting ID 817-1669-2120.

CLASSIFIEDS

identify major physical improvements needed to serve the community for next fiscal year and for the subsequent five years. Projects include, but are not limited to: building, park, and road improvements and equipment purchase and replacement.

https://www.town.williston.vt.us/budget. Dated at the Town of Williston, Vermont this 12th day of December 2022.

Erik Wells, Town Manager

DP 23-10 Nautilus Holdings, LLC c/o James Unsworth request a discretionary permit for a Master Sign Plan for 115 Wellness Dr. in the IZDW.

LEGAL

Tuesday, January 3,

8:00 P.M. in the Beckett/McGuire Meeting Room at Williston Town Hall to receive comments on the proposed operating budget for fiscal year 2024 and capital budget and program for fiscal years 2024 to 2029.

The proposed operating budget provides for expenses of $14,005,454. This represents a 6.5% increase over the current fiscal year. The funds are used to provide municipal services including, but not limited to: Police, Fire, Highway, Library, Recreation & Parks, Planning & Zoning and General Administration.

The purpose of the capital budget is to

Potential revenue sources include property taxes, impact fees, and grants. For next fiscal year, the total proposed expenditure for capital projects and equipment funded from property taxes, fund balance, and other revenue sources is $838,103.

Copies of the proposed operating and capital budgets are available for review at the Town Hall. Summaries are also available for review on the Town’s website

TOWN OF WILLISTON DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD AGENDA

Tuesday, January 10, 2023 – 7:00 PM

Police Station Meeting Room (7928 Williston Road) or Zoom Meeting ID 846 5863 3532 on zoom. us/join or call 1-646-558-8656

DP 23-11 Jared Enterprises c/o Robert Lake request a discretionary permit for a 1,200 SF limited service eating place as an accessory use to the existing Island Homemade Ice Cream manufacturing facility at 21 Commerce St. in the IZDW. Project details and site plans are available online, go to bit.ly/DRBagendas. Contact Planning & Zoning Office for more information: 802-878-6704 or email planning@willistonvt.org

2022 SPONSORS & DONORS

Vermont Attorneys Title Corporation

Community Bank

Fred Erdman & Cindy Cole

Sally Stockwell & William Metro

Access Self Storage

Barb & Marty LeWinter

BEVS

Champlain Orthodontics

Chris Stewart

Susan & Richard Cote Williston Observer

Building Energy Corp Champlain Periodontal

Ericson Group - Red Sox Nation

Howard Novak, Richmond Dental

Lenny’s Shoe and Apparel Northfield Savings Bank Shaw’s

Vince and Donna Conte

VT Center for Dental Implants Associates in Orthodontics

Engineers Construction, Inc. (ECI) First Earth Hannaford

Home Mobility by Design Jude Hersey Quintin Brothers

Town of Williston Recreation & Parks Venus and Crew

Vermont Meat & Seafood

2022 Service Activities

Martin Luther King Jr. Day Observance

Easter Egg Hunt and Parade

Memorial Day Observance

Deb Beckett Memorial 5K

Halloween Trunk or Treat

Veterans Day Observance

Jonathan Milne Senior Holiday Luncheon

Red Cross blood drives

Natural areas maintenance Park bench maintenance Ramp building for a person who uses a wheelchair

Plus providing funds for home heating assistance, “Little Libraries,” WCS Connecting Youth Mentoring Program, college scholarships and more!