Seven Days, February 16, 2022

CURB SERVICE

Boves dish up evictions

VE R MO NT ’S INDE PEN DENT VO IC E FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022 VOL.27 NO.19 SEVENDAYSVT.COM

PAGE 15

Local Commotion

National divisions on race and equity are roiling Vermont school boards

HOT WHEELS

PAGE 27

Why are car thefts up in BTV?

UNCOVERED STORIES

PAGE 38

A photo essay on stray face masks

B Y A L I S O N N O VA K , PA G E 28

THE HOLE THING

PAGE 44

A writer learns how to ice fish

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WEEK IN REVIEW

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FEBRUARY 9-16, 2022 COMPILED BY SASHA GOLDSTEIN & MATTHEW ROY

A state investigation into medical appointment delays has found that patients are waiting an average of two months to see a specialist across Vermont, far longer than the most recent national figures, according to a report released on Wednesday.

For some specialties, the average wait exceeded 100 days, while certain clinics were booking more than a year out.

The report follows a monthslong investigation after a Seven Days cover story last fall detailed lengthy delays for care at the University of Vermont Medical Center. Three state agencies participated in the probe. Their findings represent the most comprehensive assessment of wait times in state history — and paint a bleak picture of Vermont’s health care system.

“There’s no metric that we could find where it appeared like Vermont was performing better than states or areas similar to us,” said Mike Pieciak, the state commissioner of finance.

Investigators conducted a “secret shopper” survey that replicated the experiences of patients seeking to schedule their own appointments. They called more than 400 clinics across 21 different specialty areas and asked for the next available date for various nonurgent medical issues.

Clinics in Vermont reported average wait times of 60 days, though the results widely varied by specialty type.

Ten areas exceeded the state average, while four posted delays of more than 100 days: dermatology (141), neurology (114), endocrinology (113) and rheumatology (101).

Wait times also varied across providers. Five hospitals performed below the state average, with the UVM Medical Center topping the charts at 100 days. That’s nearly twice as long as Dartmouth-Hitchcock medical center in New Hampshire.

HIGH FLYIN’

No one routinely tracks medical wait times in the U.S., but when viewed against the most recent national survey, Vermont comes up well short. A 2017 study by the health care recruiting and consulting firm Merritt Hawkins found that the average wait time across 15 midsize metro areas was 32 days.

Vermont hospital leaders have largely blamed factors out of their control, from a national shortage of specialists to, more recently, the pandemic. But the report notes that wait times were lengthy long before COVID-19.

Claims examined from the three years leading up to the pandemic show that patients with chronic conditions such as asthma, anxiety and heart disease waited more than three months on average to see a specialist — much longer than in neighboring Northeast states. While two-thirds of chronically ill patients saw specialists within 60 days of their referrals across the region, Vermont providers scheduled only about half of their patients in that window.

Other potential contributing factors include a complicated and unreliable referral process, an overreliance on specialty care, and a health care system that’s been slow to adopt technology proven to reduce wait times, such as telehealth visits and virtual consults between primary and specialty doctors.

Officials hope the report will be viewed as a launching point for further studies. “This is really new ground,” said Isaac Dayno, a member of the investigative team. “It’s not an area that’s studied academically by other states.

Vermont is really the tip of the spear here in trying to get our arms around it. And I think we’re learning some hard truths.”

Read Colin Flanders’ full story and keep up with developments at sevendaysvt.com.

IT’S OFFICIAL:

FILE: SEAN METCALF

VERMONT PATIENTS WAIT TOO LONG

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Shelburne’s Megan Nick nabbed a bronze medal in aerial skiing at the Winter Olympics in Beijing. Congrats!

NO WAY WITH WORDS After someone used racial slurs at a basketball game, the Enosburg Falls High School principal repeated them during morning announcements.

He’s now on leave.

SMOKEY AND…

donated to Feeding Chittenden after collecting overdue parking tickets as part of a Fines for Food program.

TOPFIVE

MOST POPULAR ITEMS ON SEVENDAYSVT.COM

1. “A Vermonter Seeks Family Members of Those Killed in 1973 Plane Crash” by Anne Wallace Allen. Michelle Brennen wants to honor her father and 87 others lost after Delta Flight 723 took off in Burlington and crashed at Boston’s Logan International Airport.

2. “Burlington to Build ‘Shelter Pods’ for Homeless, Review Encampment Policy” by Courtney Lamdin. The city will use federal coronavirus relief funds to supply pods for unhoused residents.

3. “Shelburne-Based EatingWell Magazine to Cease Print Publication” by Melissa Pasanen.

After its April edition, the magazine will be online only.

The FBI is hunting for the “Route 91 Bandit” who stuck up banks in Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Hampshire.

10-4!

4. “Control of the Burlington City Council Likely Hinges on One Race: Ward 8” by Courtney Lamdin. Prog-endorsed Ali House and Democrat Hannah King, both UVM pupils, are competing to represent the student-heavy district.

FLOOD NEWS

tweet of the week

Vermont is doing a poor job monitoring old dams, endangering lives and property, the state auditor’s office found.

Another thing to worry about…

5. “Despite a Housing Crisis, South Burlington’s City Council Adopts Regs to Slow Rural Development” by Chelsea Edgar. The council adopted new rules for the area known as the southeast quadrant.

@movie_christmas Beth, a secret heiress, rides a sleigh to a charity ball in Vermont where she bakes with her nemesis.

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @SEVENDAYSVT OUR TWEEPLE: SEVENDAYSVT.COM/TWITTER

THAT’S SO VERMONT

Karen Taylor Mitchell never considered changing her name before May 2020. That’s when a video went viral of the so-called “Central Park Karen” who phoned the New York City police because she felt threatened by a Black man nearby who was bird-watching.

“Karen” quickly became synonymous with any intolerant woman who uses her white privilege to get her way. Since then, it’s devolved into a pejorative placeholder and meme for self-righteous women.

“Karen is the word ‘bitch’ for the digital age,” Mitchell said.

A nonprofit consultant who now goes

DREAMSTIME

KARENS IN THE ‘CROSSFIRE’

by Kaomi, Mitchell is trying to reclaim her given name from the haters. In January, the 55-year-old Colchester woman launched therealkaren.com, a website devoted to

changing the narrative by highlighting the thousands of Karens who’ve made positive contributions to society.

The site features short bios of such notables as Karen Tse, a Chinese American antitorture activist; Karen Thompson, an LGBTQ activist in Minnesota; and Karen Silkwood, a nuclear industry whistleblower from the 1970s.

Mitchell also launched a Facebook petition called “Friends of Karens Pledge,” which asks people to stop using the name as a misogynistic stereotype or sharing memes that do so.

Mitchell said she first experienced hostility as a result of her name after she became an Airbnb host. While participating in an online owners’ forum, someone in the group posted a message about a guest she didn’t like, then

hashtagged it #Karen. When Mitchell asked the group’s moderator to remove the Karen slur, other Airbnb owners accused her of being entitled, thin-skinned and racist.

Since launching the website, Mitchell has discovered a lot of women in the same predicament. She now belongs to an online support group of more than 1,800 women who’ve experienced similar hostility and ridicule merely because they’re named Karen.

“People don’t realize that caught in the Karen crossfire are millions of people who have PTSD, depression or anxiety, or they’re 82, and they don’t understand what’s coming at them,” Mitchell explained. “It’s just become a lesson in how we manufacture hate.”

KEN PICARD SEVEN DAYS FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

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FEEDback READER REACTION TO RECENT ARTICLES

‘EXCEPTIONALLY FINE ARTICLE’

That was an exceptionally fine article on the journey of Nicholas Languerand into extremism [“Capitol Offense,” February 2]. And also very disturbing.

John Thanassi

SOUTH BURLINGTON

‘SHAME’ ON SEVEN DAYS

As a Black woman, retired at 65 and living happily in Vermont, I am appalled by the article that you chose to run regarding Nicholas Languerand and his “quest for ‘belonging’” [“Capitol Offense,” February 2].

I listened to the defense of the article offered by your two reporters, Derek Brouwer and Colin Flanders, in a “Vermont Edition” episode on Vermont Public Radio. Sadly, these men seem to be conflating free speech and representing all sides with what they have done.

What they have done is given a platform to a disturbed, racist young man who asked them for the interview. As if that weren’t enough, your newspaper decided to feature Nicholas’ angelic face on the cover. Such a nice-looking boy. This is the subtlety of institutional racism. He looks just like “the average Vermonter.”

And I don’t.

So I don’t appreciate your contributing to the racism/simple ignorance of difference that I must fight here daily. Would your readers like to listen to good reporting on who is who in rural Vermont? Try Erica Heilman’s excellent story on VPR featuring another white Vermont male: “Finn and the Bell.”

Now I use the only power that I have in this system, which is to boycott your newspaper. Meaning, not read it anymore.

Such a shame. Yes, shame on you for giving so much space to this, simply to attract more readers.

Opeyemi Parham

MONTPELIER

EYE-OPENING COVERAGE

Just like a pair of cheap leggings, media coverage is not one-size-fits-all. That some folks feel that telling Nicholas Languerand’s story [“Capitol Offense,” February 2] is glamorizing his misbehavior is an example.

It’s a narrower view than I hold.

Had Seven Days not published his story, I’d never have learned of him and his exploits. It’s not that I don’t access

WEEK IN REVIEW

TIM NEWCOMB

libraries to death. Some do; some don’t. If you’re bored, try something else!

Finally, Seven Days and local commercial radio stations compete for the same advertisers. Failure to disclose that simple fact in articles claiming that radio is badly programmed and losing audience is a rather obvious ethical failure.

I’m always happy to discuss music and radio programming: znorris @radiovermont.com.

Zeb Norris

MARSHFIELD

PLAY IT AGAIN, HÄNDEL

other media; it’s that I’m overwhelmed by coverage in the other media. My home-state paper made a national issue accessible and did so without sensationalism — or a paywall. Nor did I encounter a slew of snarky readers’ online comments, which illustrate perfectly the uninformed outrage so many harbor. That’s the aspect of media coverage we don’t need.

This kind of long-form journalism flies in the face of many folks’ information sourcing (i.e., sound-bite/clickbait flashes across a mini screen). Long-form journalism is the granola to Google News’ cotton candy.

Fortunately for us, Seven Days keeps giving us something to chew on, without forcing it down our throats.

Tricia Chatary

MIDDLEBURY

CORRECTIONS

A February 2 news story, “Assessing the Reassessment,” mischaracterized the appellants to Burlington’s hired consultant, Tyler Technologies, last spring. The nearly 1,500 appeals came from homeowners, not the broader category of “property owners.”

A photo caption in last week’s news story “Zoned Out” was inaccurate. It should have read: “Mount Mansfield seen from Old Farm Road, near the site where more housing units are planned for O’Brien Farm.”

Last week’s “Electric Avenues” misstated where EV chargers in Vermont are located. State law does not allow them to be located at highway rest stops.

COINCIDENCE?

I find it ironic that in the February 1 edition of the Daily 7, the article about the Burlington City Council vote to not certify Jon Murad as police chief has a crawler across the top declaring “City Market, celebrating 20 years of cooperation in downtown Burlington.”

Perhaps a message to all of us.

Pat Burns

BURLINGTON

MUSIC MAN

[Re WTF: “Why Do Local Radio Stations Play the Same Songs Over and Over?”

February 2]: I think that the author hasn’t heard the station I program.

An introduction: I’m Zeb Norris. I’ve been doing radio since 1976, including at WNCS and WCVT here in Vermont since 2005. Like most people I know in radio, I got into the business because I love music. I consider myself to be on the side of music fans.

These days, I do mornings on and program 101.7 WCVT Classic Hits Vermont. We play four to five times as many songs as a typical classic hits station.

I pick the music, sometimes on the fly. The other morning, I played Alice Cooper’s “I’m Eighteen” directly into Janis Ian’s “Society’s Child” just because they’re great songs and the organ at the end of each reminds me of the other.

So that’s my station. Then there are community stations like the Radiator, college stations like WRUV and WWVP, and internet station WBKM, whose programming is even looser. I guess the WTF question is really based on a false premise: that all radio stations flog their

[WTF: “Why Do Local Radio Stations Play the Same Songs Over and Over?” February 2] sure rings a bell ad nauseam, but it’s not just in the arena of popular music.

If I hear once more Sergei Prokofiev’s Classical Symphony, Georges Bizet’s first symphony or Gabriel Fauré’s Masque et Bergamasque (all music that I love), I don’t know what I’ll do — certainly not contribute.

Do you only have 20 discs? And what about the pronunciation of foreign names? The latest gem was “George” Frideric Händel — with umlaut. Since he lived in Germany and England, respectively, Georg should be his first name, and the last should sound like “Hendel.” The English side would be George Frideric Handel (“handle”), but to meld the two isn’t right.

Tom MacDonald

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MORAL OBLIGATION TO KIDS

[Re “Learning, Interrupted,” February 2]: It is horrifying to read about the plight of Vermont kids with special needs who have been abandoned by their schools and communities because it’s become “just too hard” to meet their needs. My heart aches for them and their families. Where are our lawmakers in this? Are districts allowed to simply say, “Sorry, we give FEEDBACK

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contents FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022 VOL.27 NO.19

COLUMNS 11 27 41 57 58 93

Magnificent 7 WTF Side Dishes Album Reviews Movie Review Ask the Reverend

SECTIONS 23 40 46 50 54 58 60 66 67

Life Lines Food + Drink Culture Art Music + Nightlife On Screen Calendar Classes Classifieds + Puzzles 89 Fun Stuff 92 Personals

FOOD 40 Thai Tastes

New Maliwan restaurant in Essex balances the fragrances and heat of Thailand

Breaking the Ice

Angling for a new winter hobby with the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department

STUCK IN VERMONT

Local Commotion

Online Now

National divisions on race and equity are roiling Vermont school boards

BY AL ISON NOVAK, PAGE 28 COVER IMAGE MATT MIGNANELLI • COVER DESIGN REV. DIANE SULLIVAN

14

38

48

NEWS & POLITICS 13

FEATURES 28

CULTURE 46

From the Publisher

Oh, Chute!

Letter by Letter

Coyote Loophole?

Bill would require Vermont hunters to eat, skin or mount prey

Forced Out

Bove brothers plan to evict low-income refugee families in Winooski — and raise rents

Bill of Health

Proposed legislation seeks to keep more Vermonters out of medical debt

Snow tubing at Sharp Park in Milton

Fallout

What stories do stray masks tell?

Doggone It, People Like Him

Al Franken on the U.S. Senate, “Saturday Night Live” and his new tour

Book review: Constellation Route, Matthew Olzmann

For three years, John “Snowdog” Predom has SUPPORTED BY: been strapping on his snowshoes, heading out into his scenic East Brighton backyard and creating massive designs in the snow.

He shares drone footage of his snowshoe art online.

Eva Sollberger spent a chilly hour watching him work.

In the Bedroom

Theater review: I Do! I Do!, ArtisTree Music Theatre Festival

We have

Find a new job in the classifieds section on page 73 and online at sevendaysvt.com/jobs.

Material Witness

Art review: Sabrina Fadial’s sculptures reference women’s bodies and “the bloody stuff”

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Not all heroes wear capes— some wear aprons!

In every community across the state, school nutrition professionals are working tirelessly to make sure our students have the good nutrition they need to learn. They’ve worked harder than ever during the pandemic to feed kids.

Learn more and get involved at universalschoolmealsvt.org.

Let’s make sure they never have to see a student go hungry in their schools by making Universal School Meals permanent.

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COURTESY OF STARLIC-73

EVENTS MAY BE CANCELED DUE TO THE CORONAVIRUS, AND MASK AND VACCINATION REQUIREMENTS VARY. PLEASE CHECK WITH EVENT ORGANIZERS IN ADVANCE.

MAGNIFICENT MUST SEE, MUST DO THIS WEEK COMPI L E D BY EM ILY H AM ILTON Submit your upcoming events at sevendaysvt.com/postevent.

MONDAY 21

ALL I’M ASKIN’ “Ain’t No Way” anyone but a “Chain of Fools” is missing A Tribute to Aretha Franklin — The Queen of Soul at St. Johnsbury Academy’s Fuller Hall. Damien Sneed, Franklin’s mentee who toured with her for years, and six-time Grammy Award-nominee Valerie Simpson put together a riveting program of the legend’s classic songs and a loving reflection on her life.

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 64

LOOKING FORWARD

THURSDAY 17

Bay Watch In 1776, Benedict Arnold burned every ship in the American fleet to evade British capture. In 2021, Lake Champlain Maritime Museum researchers, in collaboration with Abenaki and Stockbridge-Munsee Community tribal leaders, began scouring Arnold’s Bay for remnants of that battle. Armchair historians don’t have to leave their seats to learn all about it at Virtual Archaeology Conference: Arnold’s Bay Research Project.

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 60

STARTS ON THURSDAY 17

Growing Season Farmers, homesteaders, food-system activists and curious citizens gather to imagine a better agricultural future at the 2022 NOFA-VT Winter Conference: Dream Into Being. Two weeks of virtual panels, featured speakers, film screenings, in-person socials and other thought-provoking activities provide fertile ground for discussion, collaboration and connection.

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 60

FRIDAY 18

Sink or Swim Activist groups from around the state convene on the Vermont Statehouse lawn in Montpelier for Climate SOS Rally, a demonstration in support of greenhouse gas emissions-slashing initiatives.

Marchers can bring their own flotation devices (the kind you might need if, say, water levels were rising) to this day full of art, powerful speeches and community organizing.

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 62

FRIDAY 18

Polyphonic Party Middlebury College’s Mahaney Arts Center brings back in-person programming with a bang with Nobuntu, the internationally acclaimed Zimbabwean quintet. Using voice, drum and mbira — a type of Shona finger harp — the women of Nobuntu perform a dazzling array of jazz, gospel and traditional Mbube songs.

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 62

OPENS ON SATURDAY 19

COURTESY OF BMAC

Gimme Shelter For the second year running, Brattleboro’s Retreat Farm hosts “Artful Ice Shanties,” an outdoor exhibit of creative, kooky ice-fishing shelters. With the help of Brattleboro Museum & Art Center, the farm transforms into an all-day delight of art, performance, demonstrations, and outdoor activities such as skiing and skating.

SEE GALLERY LISTING ON PAGE 51

FRIDAY 18-MONDAY 21

Bird’s-Eye View For four epic days, birders around the world are united in one glorious purpose: the Great Backyard Bird Count. Rutland County Audubon invites avian enthusiasts in Rutland and Addison counties to spend as little — or as much! — time as they wish recording all the feathered friends they see or hear in their backyards, local parks or nearby hiking trails.

SEE CALENDAR LISTING ON PAGE 62

THIS IS A SAMPLING OF VERMONT’S IN-PERSON AND VIRTUAL EVENTS. BROWSE THE FULL CALENDAR, ART SHOWS, AND MUSIC+NIGHTLIFE LISTINGS AT SEVENDAYSVT.COM/EVENTS. SEVEN DAYS FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

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FROM THE PUBLISHER

Learning on the Job

Before she started writing about schools for Seven Days, Alison Novak worked in them.

Postcollege, she spent a year teaching English to kindergartners in Thailand. She liked it enough to earn a master’s degree in education back in the U.S., through a program that put her in a classroom in the Bronx. Teaching third and fourth graders in an under-resourced, underperforming urban public school was “eye-opening,” Alison says.

After three and a half years, she and her Alison Novak teaching at Lawrence Barnes Elementary in 2009 husband, Jeff, moved to Vermont, where education jobs were scarce in 2004. Alison worked for a year as a permanent sub at Burlington’s J.J. Flynn Elementary School before a job opened up at what is now the Sustainability Academy at Lawrence Barnes. She was two years in, teaching fourth and fifth graders, when she had her first child.

By then, Jeff had become a public school teacher, too. Inspired by his wife’s work, he left a career in advertising, got certified at the University of Vermont and took a job teaching language arts to middle school students in Sheldon. He commuted for four years until a position opened up closer to home, at South Burlington’s Frederick H. Tuttle Middle School. The Novaks had a second child, and in 2012 Alison gave up work in schools to raise their kids, now ages 12 and 14.

All those experiences inform her education reporting, which started as a part-time job as the calendar writer at Kids VT, our parenting publication; two years later, she became its managing editor. During the pandemic, she moved to a full-time gig on the Seven Days news team, covering Vermont schools.

The timing was perfect. Prior to March 2020, we struggled as a newspaper to write about K-12 education in a way that readers could relate to. Just penetrating the bureaucracy and jargon takes passion and perseverance; so does explaining to childless readers Alison (left) on assignment at why they should care.

Burlington High School in 2021 A lot has changed in the past two years. Vermont’s disrupted schools offer the most obvious evidence of the pandemic’s toll and, in some cases, have become cultural conflict zones. Quietly and competently, Alison started documenting it all, finding and writing stories about the impacts of the coronavirus — changing protocols, the challenges of remote learning, struggling childcare programs, staff shortages — as well as racial tensions on the playing field and in the virtual teachers’ lounge.

Her cover story this week looks at the deepening divides within Vermont’s once civil nonpartisan school boards. An alarming number of them are fighting over school mascots, critical race theory and flags. People who never cared a wit about local schools are competing for seats.

You can tell from the story’s thoroughness and depth of reporting that Alison does her If you appreciate our education reporting and homework, a lesson she learned long ago. One can afford to help pay for it, become a Seven she’s picked up more recently: When interviewing Days Super Reader! Look for the “Give Now” people, “sometimes I do slip in the fact that I was buttons at the top of sevendaysvt.com. Or send a a teacher, my husband’s a teacher, and … that gives check with your address and contact info to: me a little bit of a leg up in terms of people being SEVEN DAYS, C/O SUPER READERS willing to talk to me,” she says. “They know that I P.O. BOX 1164 understand.”

BURLINGTON, VT 05402-1164 Official statements from higher-ups aren’t For more information on making a financial the end of the story for this educator-turnedcontribution to Seven Days, please contact journalist. For her, “it’s really important to talk to Corey Barrows: people who are on the ground, doing the work.”

Paula Routly

VOICEMAIL: 802-865-1020, EXT. 136 EMAIL: SUPERREADERS@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

SEVEN DAYS FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

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news

MORE INSIDE

SEC. OF STATE CONDOS TO RETIRE PAGE 16

COURTS

EQUITY DIRECTOR STEPPING DOWN PAGE 19

Excessive-Force Claims Against Burlington Police Clear Key Hurdle

SICK OF MEDICAL DEBT PAGE 20

Coyote Loophole?

B Y D ER EK B R O U WER derek@sevendaysvt.com

Bill would require Vermont hunters to eat, skin or mount prey — except for Canis latrans B Y K E V I N MCCAL L UM • kevin@sevendaysvt.com LUKE EASTMAN

STATEHOUSE

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he idea behind the bill seemed simple enough: Require hunters to use the animals they kill. Shoot a deer; eat the meat. Trap a coyote; sell the pelt. Bag a bobcat; mount it for your man cave.

A “wanton waste” law, in essence, would prohibit hunters from killing animals for no reason. Dozens of states already have such laws, and many hunting groups support them.

So, in 2018, when animal rights groups proposed such a ban for Vermont, activists were optimistic that lawmakers would get behind an effort that, according to a University of Vermont poll, enjoyed strong public support.

“We thought it would be easy,” recalled Brenna Galdenzi, the cofounder and president of Stowe-based Protect Our Wildlife.

Instead, the proposal went nowhere, stalled by contentious debates between animal rights advocates and hunters. But now, nearly four years later, lawmakers are closing in on that most elusive of quarry — a compromise. The House Committee on Natural Resources, Fish and Wildlife approved a bill on Tuesday that would require most game animals taken in the state to be used for food or fur.

“This is a very big step forward for Vermont’s wildlife and ethical hunting,” said Rep. Amy Sheldon (D-Middlebury), who sponsored the bill and chairs the committee.

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With one exception: The bill, H.411, would exempt coyote hunters from the wanton waste rules. That means people who shoot Eastern coyotes — which hunters can do day or night, all year, without limit — may continue to do so, with no obligation to put their furry carcasses to any use. Many say they shoot the animals to control their numbers and to keep them wary of humans.

THIS IS A VERY BIG STEP FORWARD

FOR VERMONT’S WILDLIFE AND ETHICAL HUNTING. R E P. AMY S H E L D O N

Trappers, however, would still be required to use the coyotes and all other fur-bearing animals they catch and kill.

Trapping is highly regulated, with a season that starts in late October and runs through December. The fur during those months is denser and more valuable, so most trappers can sell the pelts of the coyotes they kill.

If the agreement holds — the bill still requires approval by the full House, Senate and governor — it would mark a breakthrough in one of the longest and most

polarizing wildlife management debates in the state.

The apparent détente also reflects the reality that the wanton waste bill isn’t the only wildlife-related legislation of consequence under consideration this session.

The Senate is digging into two other bills that would protect wildlife. S.281 would ban the hunting of coyotes with hounds, while S.201 would ban the use of leghold traps for all game animals. A third bill, S.129, would open up the Fish & Wildlife Board to nonhunters and limit its powers. The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department opposes all three.

The bills got a robust airing last week at a two-hour virtual public hearing hosted by the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Energy. Jennifer Kittell of Eden told senators that she grew up in a hunting family and feels that the bills would modernize the state’s wildlife management.

“Coyote hounding is nothing more than a barbaric form of dogfighting,” Kittell said.

Chris Bradley, president of the Vermont Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs, called that an “exceedingly gross exaggeration” meant to “inflame and mislead the public.”

Canis latrans were first documented in Vermont in the 1940s, though they’ve now established themselves throughout COYOTE LOOPHOLE?

» P.18

A pair of civil rights lawsuits brought by two Black men against Burlington police officers can proceed, a federal judge ruled this week.

The City of Burlington had asked Judge William Sessions to rule in its favor by providing something known as summary judgment in both cases.

But Sessions denied the motion and will allow Jérémie Meli and Mabior Jok to pursue their excessive-force claims related to separate downtown incidents in 2018.

The U.S. District Court judge did toss several other parts of the lawsuits, including claims brought by two of Meli’s brothers, who were with him the night of the incident.

Meli was injured in September 2018 when sergeant Jason Bellavance shoved him while responding to a call outside of a bar. Meli’s head slammed into a wall, knocking him unconscious.

Police arrested him on charges that were later dropped.

The previous night, on the same block of Burlington’s Main Street, Jok was standing in the center of a group of people when Officer Joseph Corrow approached and took Jok to the ground.

Corrow believed that Jok was engaged in a fight, he said. The officer was not disciplined following an internal investigation.

The city sought to dismiss both lawsuits on several grounds, including that the officers were protected by the judicial doctrine of qualified immunity.

The principle often prevents people from winning lawsuits against public officials who violated their constitutional rights, unless previous cases have “clearly established” the conduct was a violation.

Critics have pushed for an end to the doctrine, arguing that it unfairly limits victims of police violence who sue individual officers who harmed them.

Sessions determined that the Burlington officers’ actions did violate clearly established law — if Meli and Jok can prove certain facts at trial.

“Taking an arrestee to the ground who is not violent, resisting, or posing a threat to officers or the public violates clearly established law,” Sessions wrote in the Meli ruling, one of a pair of 60-page orders.

In 2020, after George Floyd’s murder, activists occupied Burlington’s Battery Park to demand that the city fire three officers accused of excessive force. Former sergeant Bellavance ultimately left the department as part of a $300,000 buyout. m

Forced Out

Bove brothers plan to evict low-income refugee families in Winooski — and raise rents

BY D EREK B ROU WE R & LIAM ELDER- C O NNO R S derek@sevendaysvt.com, lconnors@vpr.org

DEREK BROUWER

HOUSING

R

ick and Mark Bove want to evict 24 low-income, mostly refugee families from an apartment complex in Winooski and plan to raise rents to market rate, causing panic among tenants and alarming city officials.

The notices to vacate 300 Main Street, which take effect at the end of June, come at a time when affordable housing is in extremely short supply, rents across Chittenden County are rising and the state is already struggling to house hundreds of newly arriving Afghan refugees.

Blindsided local officials and housing advocates are scrambling to avert what many fear will be a devastating displacement of New Americans from Winooski, a city that has sought to welcome and aid them.

“Finding affordable housing in Winooski can DEVON be challenging under the best of circumstances,” Winooski School District superintendent Sean McMannon said. “It will be nearly impossible for many of the economically disadvantaged, multigenerational families who live at 300 Main to find housing that is large enough to meet their needs.”

On February 2, an attorney for the Bove brothers, of the namesake pasta sauce brand, delivered letters to tenants of 300 Main, a set of four townhouse-style apartment buildings. The notices said they need to vacate so that their landlord

can complete “major renovations” at the property.

“Your Landlord is giving you a great deal of advance notice so you have time to find new housing,” the letter states.

“Good luck to you,” it concludes.

The mass evictions follow an investigation published last November by Seven Days and Vermont Public Radio that found substandard living conditions and persistent health code violations across the Boves’ large empire of rentals. The apartments at 300 Main had one of the worst track records, including widespread cockroach infestations dating back to 2016, the news organizations found. The coverage highlighted a Congolese family who lived at the Winooski property until the end of 2020. Rick Bove AYERS had charged them to exterminate cockroaches that the family said were already there when they moved in.

Mark and Rick Bove did not agree to an interview, but Mark sent a statement calling the upcoming renovation “essential” to maintain quality rental housing, “which we are publicly being held accountable to do.”

In response to written follow-up questions, the Boves described a “top to

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Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos announced on Tuesday that he will not seek reelection this fall, ending his 12-year term as the state’s top elections official.

The 71-year-old Democrat, a former South Burlington city councilor and state senator, said that after 35 years in public office, he was looking forward to retiring. Still, he did not rule out running for public office in the future.

“While I have enjoyed this job every day, I am looking forward to a new chapter next January at the conclusion of my current term,” Condos told reporters during a virtual press conference.

Condos said he has worked hard to ensure that his office was run in a nonpartisan manner, and he was proud that the state has been nationally recognized as a leader in elections, business registrations and records management.

“I am grateful to have been provided the opportunity to help protect, defend and enhance our democracy,” he said.

Paul Burns, executive director of the Vermont Public Interest Research Group, praised Condos’ tenure.

“Jim Condos leaves a legacy of prodemocracy reform. He’s helped to make Vermont one of the most voter-friendly states in the nation,” Burns said in a written statement.

Under Condos, the office transitioned from largely paper-based systems to more accurate and efficient digital ones. In cooperation with lawmakers and town clerks, the office, he said, has ensured “accessible, free, fair election processes” while also making it easier for people to register and vote, including through universal mail-in balloting.

Condos took the opportunity of his announcement to make a suggestion: that Vermont develop a better legislative redistricting process. He noted that the effort currently under way involves a seven-member partisan board that makes recommendations on new districts to a partisan legislature, which then decides where to draw the boundaries.

“It’s kind of convoluted right now,” he said. “I would like to see it get to the point where it really is a nonpartisan board.”

He singled out for praise Deputy Secretary Chris Winters, who has worked in the department for 25 years and whom Condos called “a tremendous asset and indispensable partner” in improving its operations. Condos acknowledged that Winters “is considering a run” for his seat, but he said his remarks were not an endorsement. “I will deal with that at the appropriate time,” he said. m

water and foul odors. “It is not her choice to be here,” an interpreter conveyed.

But moving has not seemed like an option, and the mother has no idea where to begin looking.

“We’re just waiting for any help,” she said, taking a deep breath.

The notices to vacate did not mention that the landlord planned to raise rents, which left some tenants still hopeful over the weekend that there would be room to negotiate a return to their homes. A couple of the New American tenants said they were willing to accommodate a temporary DE RE relocation — for instance, by living with KB RO UW relatives for a month or two — until the renovation was complete.

Some community leaders were dismayed that the Boves elected to evict the entire complex at once, without coordinating their timeline with city officials or New American agencies. Other landlords who have embarked on renovations have worked with tenants to reduce the disruption, Rep. Hal Colston (D-Winooski) said. By contrast, he said, the Boves’ approach seems “selfish” and “kind of ugly.”

“Why this way?” he asked. “It’s just Rick Bove not fair.”

The Boves’ buildLAST SHOT ing is in a coveted location along one of refugee who is a single Winooski’s main thormother of a teenage boy, oughfares. Across the street, a new “luxury said she has not had problems living at the boutique” apartment apartment for the past building of studios few years. She appreand one-bedrooms is ciated the affordable scheduled to open in rent and said the locathe spring, with adverA GREAT SAVE tion was especially tised rents of $1,400 to COOKING WITH GUSTO FURTHER ALONG convenient. Her son $1,700. And a run-down can walk to school, parking lot next to 300 and she’s had neighbors and relatives Main is slated to become who can help with transportation when a four-story complex of 24 studio and oneshe needs it. Nearby Nepali stores offer bedroom apartments. traditional food, clothes and furnishings.

The Boves’ plan to evict, renovate Someone delivered the eviction and raise rents reflects an increasingly notice to her door earlier this month, the common practice in Vermont, said Devon woman said. She couldn’t read the letter Ayers, a paralegal at Vermont Legal Aid. but recalled that she was asked to sign “You don’t have to evict 24 households something and complied. Now that she to make it a safe and habitable place to understands she must move out, she’s live,” Ayers said. been struggling to sleep. Without English Last month, a Boston-based real estate or computer skills, she does not know investment group delivered similar lease how to find another place to live. The termination notices to tenants of 18 rental stress, she said, is triggering some existing units in Quechee after purchasing the mental health conditions. properties last November, VTDigger.org The eviction notice arrived at another reported. The new landlord is open to 300 Main apartment about a year after a retaining existing tenants under new leases Congolese woman was resettled there if they meet the new owner’s income and from a refugee camp in Tanzania. The credit requirements, a representative told two-bedroom unit was too small for her the news outlet. five children, who range in age from 3 Last fall, Bove representative Paul months to 15 years, and has been plagued by O’Leary told the Essex Planning Commisproblems including cockroaches, seeping sion that Rick Bove might raise rents at VOICE NOVEM BER

B Y KEVI N MCCAL LU M kevin@sevendaysvt.com

bottom” renovation, “including windows, doors, flooring, bathrooms, parking lots, porches and heating systems,” that entails a long period without revenue.

Once complete, Mark said, the complex “will most likely transition to a market rate housing location.” He described the switch as a business decision and noted that the company will still offer units eligible for Section 8, the federal public housing voucher program, at some of its other locations in nearby towns.

“It is a challenging position to be in, to hear that we aren’t doing enough to improve the conditions of our apartment buildings and then hear the criticism as we work to improve the conditions of our apartment buildings,” the brothers’ statement reads. “You can’t have it both ways.”

But according to John Audy, Winooski’s code enforcement director, the violations highlighted by Seven Days and VPR were mostly addressed in the weeks following publication, and there were no outstanding violations that would require major renovations.

City officials were not aware of any plans to renovate before the notices went out to tenants, Audy said. The Bove brothers have not filed any permits for a project.

The five months that the Boves are giving tenants to leave is more than legally required in Vermont. For a no-cause eviction, state law requires 30, 60 or 90 days’ notice, depending on whether the rental agreement is written or oral, as well as how long the tenant has occupied the unit.

But local housing officials worry that even five months isn’t enough time to find new homes. As of last fall, most of the tenants were New Americans, including many large families. Eleven of the 24 units were occupied by Section 8 tenants. There are almost no affordable family-size apartments in Winooski, said Katherine Decarreau, executive director of the Winooski Housing Authority.

“That’s what makes this a huge problem,” Decarreau said.

Winooski Mayor Kristine Lott wrote to lawmakers last week, saying many of the refugee families at 300 Main will likely need to relocate outside the city, where they will lose crucial cultural and educational resources. McMannon, the superintendent, said 29 Winooski students, including 17 elementary-age children, could be affected.

“Being uprooted from their homes, schools and community — and possibly risking homelessness — could have severe, long-lasting consequences,” he said.

Using interpreters, Seven Days and VPR spoke with New Americans residing in four of the units. Each requested anonymity to speak freely about their housing situation.

The tenants described differing experiences at the apartment complex, where rents can run about $1,450 for a two-bedroom unit. But all said they worry about having to leave the city that has become their new home.

Speaking from her living room on Sunday, one Bhutanese woman, a former

INDEPE NDENT

Secretary of State Condos Won’t Seek Reelection

Forced Out « P.15

ROACHES AN

D BROKEN LOCKS

VERMO NT’S

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Mark and Rick Bove’s grow ing empire of affordab le rentals vexe s code enfo & LIAM ELDER rcers

BY DEREK BROUW ER

Woodstock

-CONN ORS,

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a different affordable housing building at the Essex Town Center if the planning commission didn’t approve his latest proposed development there. The commission rejected his plan anyway, citing his history of health and safety violations.

Some of the Boves’ apartment buildings, including those in Essex, were erected with federal tax credits that required most of the units to remain affordable in perpetuity. The brothers purchased 300 Main in 2010, and the complex is not bound by such rent restrictions.

Within days of learning about the 300 Main eviction notices, the nonprofit housing developer Champlain Housing Trust and the Winooski Housing Authority, a public housing agency, reached out to see whether the Boves might sell them the complex. They have not yet heard back.

“We would have an interest in purchasing the property in order to avoid what is seemingly going to happen in June and July,” Champlain Housing Trust CEO Michael Monte said.

Shortly after Seven Days and VPR published their investigation of the Bove brothers’ rental company last November, a real estate broker contacted the housing

trust on behalf of the brothers, expressing interest in selling some of the Boves’ apartment buildings, Monte said. The Winooski property was not among those put forward, Monte said, but regardless, the landlords decided not to proceed. In an email Tuesday, Mark Bove declined

WE WOULD HAVE AN INTEREST IN PURCHASING THE PROPERTY

IN ORDER TO AVOID WHAT IS SEEMINGLY GOING TO HAPPEN. MIC H AE L MO NTE

to tell VPR and Seven Days whether the brothers were looking to sell any of their rental properties.

Other community groups and activists have already begun exploring possible options with tenants to keep them in their homes. Several met with tenants over the weekend. Winooski Mutual Aid, a group

of community activists, issued a statement of solidarity on Monday calling on city officials to meet with 300 Main tenants and look for solutions with them. The group urged the city to pay for interpretation services for tenants throughout the termination process.

The events at 300 Main, the group said, expose “unjust housing policies and lack of access to safe, stable and affordable housing for many of the most marginalized people in our small one-square mile community.”

If they can’t find a solution, refugee agencies will begin the arduous process of seeking two dozen apartments for the displaced families. They’ve been heavily engaged in similar work in recent months, as Vermont has taken in about 220 Afghan refugees. Many were initially placed with host families or in Airbnbs, dorms or other temporary setups while local resettlement offices and volunteers scoured the region for long-term apartments.

While the process has not been easy, the agencies have made good progress in a tight housing market, according to Tracy Dolan, the director of the Vermont State Refugee Office.

“The service providers and refugee case managers are working hard with landlords to make it happen,” she said.

Already, Winooski leaders say the events at the Boves’ property are prompting them to consider what policy changes might help stem future mass evictions. Mayor Lott sent a letter about the situation to the House Committee on Government Operations, which is weighing a Burlington charter change that would ban no-cause evictions.

A separate bill that has yet to gain traction would temporarily bar no-cause evictions statewide, said Ayers, of Legal Aid. The nonprofit analyzed eviction filings in Lamoille and Windsor counties during 2019 and found that 18 percent were for no cause. The proportion of no-cause evictions in those counties spiked to 50 percent in 2021, the organization found.

Colston, the state representative, said landlords who decide to evict their leaseabiding tenants should be required to help relocate them.

“It just seems this has gone too far,” Colston said. m Hear an audio version of this story at VPR.org.

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“Hopefully, a wiser steward and more effective steward in the future can take care of the coyote issues,” McCullough said.

Charles Storrow, a lobbyist hired by the Vermont Wildlife Coalition, also expressed displeasure with the compromise.

“If we’re going to have a wanton waste bill that basically stands for the principle that if you shoot a wild animal, you either have to use it for its food, pelt or taxidermy, then that should apply to all animals,” Storrow said.

In a telling concession, however, Storrow said his group was “not going to let perfect be the enemy of good” and urged the legislation to proceed regardless. “This bill has a lot of value,” Storrow said.

Sheldon said the bill is stronger now that it has the support of Commissioner Herrick.

She said she hoped the Fish & Wildlife Board would take up limits on coyote hunting given the abundant evidence of their value to the ecosystem, including in reducing rodent populations.

Galdenzi was disappointed by the carveout for coyotes but took comfort knowing that the bill would still apply to all other game animals in the state. If it became law, it would be one of the strongest in the nation.

“If we say we don’t want this bill at all, then all of those bobcats and foxes and river otters and beavers and all those other animals won’t have to be utilized,” she said.

Galdenzi thinks that even if the imperfect bill wouldn’t have a significant impact on how coyotes are hunted today, it could eventually have a profound, positive effect on the state’s hunting culture.

“This will hopefully change the lens through which we view those animals that we hunt and trap,” she said, “and help teach young people that if you’re going to hunt or trap something, you should do it for a reason.” m S

the Northeast. Fish & Wildlife Department publications refer to coyotes as “one of the least understood and most maligned creatures of the state.”

Many rural Vermonters regard coyotes as nuisance predators that threaten livestock and desirable game species such as deer.

State laws have reflected that view, with an open season that allows coyotes to be killed without limits.

In recent decades, images of coyote carcasses strung up like laundry or stacked like cordwood as a result of hunting contests have stoked public outrage. Animal rights groups convinced the legislature to ban those killing sprees in 2018. But calls to further pare back the hunting have only intensified.

Rep. Sheldon said she realized that lawmakers needed to step in with a wanton waste bill after the Fish & Wildlife Board refused to take up the issue in 2018, even after a retired game warden implored its members to do so. Hunters objected strongly to any such rules, arguing that requiring them to use coyotes threatened their right to hunt the animals year-round.

The Fish & Wildlife Department supports wanton waste regulations in theory, according to Kim Royar, the department’s longtime furbearer biologist. But to be effective and enforceable, a single bill banning the waste of game animals must cover a lot of ground.

“You’re really trying to say, ‘Look, utilize the animal that you take, in the best way that you possibly can.’ But that’s hard to put into legislation,” she said.

Past proposals have tried — and failed — to prevent wasteful practices without also “making people outlaws when they are still using most of the animal,” Royar said. For example, some people have interpreted drafts of wanton waste bills as requiring hunters to use or consume all edible parts of an animal.

“If somebody eats the tongue or the eyeballs or the liver, does that mean

everybody has to eat the tongue, the eyeballs and the liver to meet that regulation?” Royar asked.

The answer is no. The current language merely calls for an animal to be “processed for food” and says the “inedible or unusable parts or portions” can be discarded. Alternatively, the animal can be “processed for its fur, hide or feathers” or “used for taxidermy.” State game wardens would be responsible for enforcement.

The bill contains a number of exemptions, such as when an animal was wounded and couldn’t be retrieved, was sick, or was taken “in defense of property.”

It also clarifies that “generally accepted hunting or trapping practices,” such as field dressing a kill and leaving the guts behind, are not considered waste.

There have been some tense moments in the Committee on Natural Resources, Fish and Wildlife in recent weeks as members worked toward a compromise.

The original bill would not have exempted coyotes, which hunting organizations took as an attempt to create a “de facto season” on the animals, said Mike Covey, president of the Vermont Traditions Coalition. The animals’ pelts are only valuable in the winter, when their fur is thicker, Covey said, giving hunters no practical way to use coyotes killed in the warmer months.

His pro-hunting group found an ally in Rep. Leland Morgan (R-Milton), who told his colleagues last month that many people felt that the original bill was “deceptive” and likely to make them distrustful of lawmakers.

“It just doesn’t seem open and honest and fair to create a season on coyotes in this manner,” Morgan argued.

The fraught discussions have come as the new Fish & Wildlife commissioner, Chris Herrick, is settling into the gig. Appointed last October, he raised eyebrows at a

VI DA

Coyote Loophole? « P.14

Coyotes killed by a Northeast Kingdom hunter in 2015

committee meeting in late January when he proposed adding “fertilizer” to the list of approved uses for killed animals.

Sheldon seemed stunned by the suggestion and asked Herrick to repeat himself. At another point, Sheldon challenged Herrick’s characterization that there was no season on coyote hunting.

“An open season, to me, implies there’s a season,” Sheldon said.

At a subsequent meeting in late January, Rep. Tom Terenzini (R-Rutland) took umbrage at Sheldon’s treatment of Herrick, and things got testy.

“I just wish that the next time he comes in, you could be a little more civil to him,” Terenzini told Sheldon.

After an awkward silence, Rep. Seth Bongartz (D-Manchester) asked, “Is that a joke?”

“No, that’s not a joke! OK?” Terenzini barked in retort.

Not all are pleased with the compromise.

Rep. James McCullough (D-Williston) said he strongly supported coyotes being fully covered by the bill but was resigned to their removal in the face of opposition from Herrick.

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Tyeastia Green, Burlington’s Racial Equity Director, to Resign B Y COUR T NEY L A MDIN • courtney@sevendaysvt.com

FILE: LUKE AWTRY

Tyeastia Green, the City of Burlington’s first-ever director of racial equity, inclusion and belonging, is resigning after nearly two years on the job.

In a statement on Tuesday, Mayor Miro Weinberger said Green is leaving the city next month to “pursue other opportunities.” Green wouldn’t comment on her departure, but several people who spoke to her about the decision did — and said Green is leaving because she feels unsupported in her role. Her last day is March 10.

“There were conversations that made her feel truly unwelcome and that made it clear the systemic change she was trying to bring was unwelcome,” said Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale (D-Chittenden), a friend of Green’s. “I frankly don’t know how she stayed this long.”

Tyeastia Green

City Council President Max Tracy (P-Ward 2) placed the blame squarely on Weinberger, alleging that the administration threatened to slash Green’s budget and to move management of the department’s marquee event, Juneteenth, to Burlington City Arts.

“Everything that she’s tried to do since Juneteenth has been a battle, has been a fight,” Tracy said. “For people who declared racism a public health emergency, it seems like they’ve done everything they can to stall progress on racial justice.”

After this story was published online, the mayor’s office responded to Tracy’s allegations, calling them “pure fiction.”

“President Tracy has been fundamentally confused and wrong about his assertions on [funding for Green’s department] since the moment the Mayor introduced the plan,” Weinberger’s chief of staff, Jordan Redell, said in an email.

She added that Tracy’s claims about Juneteenth were “similarly false.”

Green came to Burlington in April 2020 from her home state of Minnesota.

Her role in Burlington was to eradicate systemic racism — no small task given

that Green ran her fledgling department solo until November of that year, when she hired two public policy analysts.

The Office of Racial Equity, Inclusion and Belonging now has 14 staffers. Green is one of two Black department heads.

After Green’s hiring, Weinberger praised her dedication to anti-racist work and said her post “represents a milestone in the city’s efforts to advance equity.”

But the relationship hit the rocks in March 2021. Shortly after being reelected to a third mayoral term, Weinberger removed Green from overseeing a major study on policing and replaced her with Darren Springer, the general manager of the city’s electric utility, who is white.

Weinberger implied at the time that Green had not been “neutral” in discussions about police staffing — a divisive debate sparked by a June 2020 council vote to reduce the force by 30 percent through attrition. After intensive community backlash, he reversed his decision and put Green back on the police study.

Ram Hinsdale was a vocal critic at the time and condemned Weinberger’s decision as harmful not only to Green but also to the city’s anti-racist movement. Ram Hinsdale, the first woman of color to serve in the Vermont Senate, worked on Weinberger’s transition team when he was first elected in 2012.

In an interview with Seven Days this week, Ram Hinsdale said Green’s exit is a huge loss for Burlington and the state.

“Tyeastia ran a division that 100 percent centered the needs and care of people of color and what they needed from city government,” she said. “In my mind, the mayor would have rather had an agency that was working to make people feel more comfortable … when she was there to make systemic change.”

Burlington resident C D Mattison, a former Weinberger supporter, said Green led many community efforts beyond the highly visible Juneteenth celebration, including a grant program for businesses and nonprofits owned by Black, Indigenous and other people of color. She also helped push for livable wages for seasonal workers, Mattison said.

“We had an [office] led by a Black woman, staffed by a significant number of BIPOC folks, that made the city government look more like the city of Burlington,” Mattison said. “With her absence ... we lose that.” m

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news JEB WALLACE-BRODEUR

Mary-Jane Boyce

Bill of Health

Proposed legislation seeks to keep more Vermonters out of medical debt B Y CO L I N FL A ND ER S • colin@sevendaysvt.com

A

s a case manager at a life insurance company, Mary-Jane Boyce has what she considers a good health plan. So when a bad case of the flu landed her in the emergency room at the Central Vermont Medical Center in Berlin several years ago, she couldn’t believe the price tag: $3,000, after insurance kicked in.

“All I could think about was, How am I going to pay this off ?” said Boyce, 56, of Montpelier. “I don’t have $3,000. I don’t even have $1,000.”

The payment plan offered by a debt collection agency allowed Boyce to pay in monthly installments, but even those proved too much at times. She couldn’t always afford her asthma medications, one of which cost about $300 a month after insurance, and had to stop helping her daughter pay off student loans. Some weeks, she subsisted mainly on donations from the food shelf.

Boyce finally paid off her ER bill but found herself back in debt again last year after her insurance refused to cover a 20

SEVEN DAYS FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

costly dental procedure. Forced to pay up front, Boyce said she had “no choice” but to take out a $2,600 loan from a local bank.

She now expects to be free of her medical debt within two years — so long as she stays healthy.

Boyce’s experience is common in the United States, where collection agencies held $140 billion in unpaid medical bills last year, according to a recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Nearly one in five Americans has had unpaid medical bills turned over to a collection agency within the last decade, and medical debt now represents the leading cause of personal bankruptcy.

No one knows how many Vermonters carry medical debt, but the number is likely high. State hospitals reported some $85 million in unpaid bills in 2019. That didn’t include bills paid off with credit cards or those on long-term payment plans. Nor did it reflect debts owed to other medical providers.

Vermont Legal Aid began soliciting stories about medical debt last year to help policy makers better understand the prevalence and human cost of unpaid bills. More than 500 people from across the state, including Boyce, offered their experiences.

Vermonters who responded were mainly insured, including a large number of older people on Medicare plans. Many said they regularly defer or avoid necessary medical care, even when it’s recommended by their doctors, out of fear of incurring another bill they can’t afford.

“We clearly touched a nerve,” said Mike Fisher, Vermont’s chief health care advocate, a state-funded position at Legal Aid. “Almost everybody that I talk to says, ‘Yeah, I’ve got a friend...’ or ‘I’ve got a brother...’ or ‘I know somebody who’s really being hurt.’ It’s prevalent.”

Fisher recently shared the project’s findings with lawmakers and is urging them to consider legislation that would do more to prevent low-income patients from falling into insurmountable debt. Doing so, Fisher said, would help Vermont meet one of its main health reform goals: getting people the “right care at the right time.”

“Vermonters want to pay their bills.

They want to make good on them,” Fisher said. “In desperation, all they know how to do is not go to the doctor again.”

The number of uninsured Americans has plummeted since the passage of the Affordable Care Act. But plans with high deductibles have become common, and insured people who suffer medical emergencies routinely end up paying hundreds or thousands of dollars in outof-pocket costs.

Hospitals have two options when patients don’t pay their medical bills.

They can either forgive the debt or refer it to a collection agency knowing that, at best, they’ll recoup a percentage of the full amount.

Vermont hospitals forgave about $45 million in unpaid bills in 2019, nearly half of what they reported in bad debt.

As nonprofits, Vermont’s 14 hospitals are obligated to provide discounts and charity care for low-income patients, as well as budget a certain amount of money each year for that purpose. But they aren’t required to screen people to see whether they qualify. There are also no federal standards for what free-care policies should look like, so each hospital sets its own rules, leading to wide disparities.

For example, patients can apply to have their bills completely forgiven at

HEALTH

BILL OF HEALTH

» P.22

Outright Vermont Has a Neighbor It Can Count On:

Mascoma Bank

Dana Kaplan

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OUTRIGHT VERMONT

888.627.2662 mascomabank.com

F

rom the outside, the McClure Multigenerational Center on Burlington’s North Winooski Avenue looks like a standard office building. But inside is the vibrant, welcoming and homey headquarters of Outright Vermont, a nonprofit organization serving lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth ages 19 and under, as well as their families.

Founded in 1989, Outright’s mission is to build a Vermont where all LGBTQ youth have hope, equity and power. Outright does this in a number of ways: It hosts youth organizer events and campaigns, as well as weekly peer-support groups, in towns across the state.

It puts on annual student activism summits and a popular summer camp for teens. It also provides training and consultations to schools and organizations seeking to create affirming environments for LGBTQ youth, who navigate massive health disparities compared to their peers, says executive director Dana Kaplan.

“It’s still really, really rough out there for queer and trans youth,” he reports. Outright helps empower these young people, so that they feel both seen and safe.

Kaplan was at Outright’s Old North End office one day in the winter of 2020 when a pair of new neighbors stopped by — representatives from Mascoma Bank. Mascoma had just opened a branch across the street inside Jake’s ONE Market.

Kaplan was impressed by the in-person visit — and by Mascoma’s commitment to the neighborhood. The Old North End isn’t one of the city’s most prosperous areas; despite the fact that many residents lack access to reliable transportation, no other bank operates a branch there.

But Mascoma isn’t an ordinary bank. As a Certified B Corporation, it’s committed to having a positive impact on the communities it serves.

“For a bank, that’s pretty radical,” Kaplan observes, “and we’re here for radical.” Not long after, Outright started working with Mascoma.

Turns out it was great timing. When COVID-19 arrived, Outright had to apply for government relief funds. “I knew exactly who to call,” Kaplan remembers. “They were right there helping us every step of the way.”

Mascoma’s foundation has also donated money to support Outright’s work with marginalized groups. And the bank signed on as a sponsor of the organization’s biggest fundraiser, its annual Fire Truck Pull.

In 2021, when Outright was ready to buy its 5,400 square-foot office, Mascoma delivered a favorable rate on the mortgage. Volunteers from the bank even showed up to help paint Outright’s brightly colored walls.

On behalf of the youth he serves, Kaplan is immensely grateful. “Mascoma has really gone out of their way for us,” he says. “I really do trust them.”

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SEVEN DAYS FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

21

news Bill of Health « P.20

AIKEN FLATS IN SOUTH VILLAGE DEVELOPMENT

The proposal’s chances to pass this session remain unclear. The House Springfield Hospital if their household Health Care Committee reviewed the income is below 100 percent of the bill earlier this month and plans to take federal poverty guidelines — about testimony in the coming weeks. Some $26,500 for a family of four. That same Republican lawmakers have expressed household could take home $53,000 and concerns about how it might impact cashstill have bills forgiven at the University strapped rural hospitals. of Vermont Medical Center, and it could Fisher responded that the bill make up to $79,500 to qualify at Copley shouldn’t have a major effect on hospiHospital in Morrisville. tal budgets. Patients who earn little Income caps aren’t the only differences. enough to benefit from any expanded Whereas some policies, including UVM policies probably can’t afford to pay their Medical Center’s, allow anyone who lived medical bills already, he said. And while in Vermont at the time of their care to hospitals continue to pursue their bad apply, others require patients to live within debts, they usually receive only “pennies a certain distance of the hospital. on the dollar” of what they’re owed. “But Fisher recalled a Vermont truck from a patient’s perspective, it’s a world driver who suffered a medical emergency of difference,” he said. while working. The hospital that treated Solving Vermont’s medical debt probhim denied his request lem will require a far more for financial assistance concentrated effort, espebecause he lived outside cially as health care costs of its service area, Fisher continue to rise. And there’s said. The hospital reversed only so much that Vermont course only after Legal Aid lawmakers can do on their got involved. own, since some patients end up going out-of-state The legislation that Legal Aid is supporting at the for their care.

Statehouse would prevent Shauna Hill, a 44-yearsituations such as this by old single mother from creating a uniform, stateBurlington, racked up wide free-care policy that $15,000 in medical bills six would guarantee patients years ago after a bump on her head turned out to be a could have debts forgiven no matter where they’re rare form of blood cancer treated, as long as they meet — one that ultimately income requirements. required neurosurgery The bill, which has at Dartmouth-Hitchcock been introduced in both medical center in New M I K E F I S H ER the House and Senate, Hampshire. She, too, would require hospitals recounted her experience to offer free care to households below for Legal Aid’s storytelling project. certain income levels and would cap As a social worker, Hill made too out-of-pocket charges at 20 percent of a much to qualify for most free care polipatient’s household income, regardless cies but not enough to be able to afford of how much money they make. It would her bill, even after getting on a payment also require hospitals to widely publicize plan. Still, she had heard enough horror their policies, offer them to every patient stories about aggressive collection and have translations available upon agencies to know that she never wanted request. “You can have the best policy in one to pursue her, so she scrambled to the world and not let anyone know about pay the costly bills. it,” Fisher said.

Doing so meant that she had to rely Michael Del Trecco, senior vice on high-interest credit cards for other president of finance and operations at expenses, and she eventually realized the Vermont Association of Hospitals that her debt was growing instead of and Health Systems, said the trade shrinking. She’s now on a payment plan organization was still working to deter- with her credit union and estimates that mine whether the bill would create she will have paid about $30,000 more any “unintended” financial burdens for than her initial medical bills once she’s its members. But he sounded open to finished. the idea, saying he found much of the “The financial grip of my initial crisis proposal “generally favorable.” is more limiting than the health issue “We are always trying to get patients itself by miles,” she said. “The stress of the access and financial assistance [they] managing month to month, year to year need,” he said. “Anytime there’s an oppor- — Christmas, birthdays ... It controls my tunity to help, that’s part of our mission.” life. It’s my main dragon to slay.” m

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READ, POST, SHARE + COMMENT: SEVENDAYSVT.COM/LIFELINES

lifelines

OBITUARIES, VOWS, CELEBRATIONS

OBITUARIES

Andrew Ian Gagnon

medical residency in general surgery and fellowship in transplantation surgery at Lahey Hospital in Burlington, Mass. In 2018, he and his family moved to Utah, where Andrew continued his career as a transplant surgeon at Intermountain Medical Center, saving hundreds of lives and positively impacting countless others.

During his time in Utah, Andrew could be found with his family and friends in the mountains doing the things he loved. He was an avid skier, mountain biker and hiker, and he took great joy in introducing his children to these activities and spending time with them outdoors. He could also be found many evenings playing board games and card games with his family, reading books and helping the kids with their homework.

Andrew will be remembered as a loving father, husband, son, brother, uncle and friend. We will treasure the memories of his warm smile, his love of his family, his dedication to others and his genuine caring disposition.

Andrew was preceded in death by his father, Dave A. Gagnon.

Andrew is survived by his wife, Candice Marie Lamar Gagnon; children, Eliza Willow Gagnon, Lincoln Andrew Gagnon and Anderson Lamar Gagnon; mother, Fiona M. Murray; brothers, James A. Gagnon and Robert J. Gagnon; and many aunties, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews in Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and England.

A memorial will be held in honor and remembrance of Andrew at Memorial Mountain View Mortuary in Cottonwood Heights on Sunday, February 13, 10 a.m. to noon. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the GoFundMe organized by friends in memory of Andrew (gofundme.com/f/in-lovingmemory-of-andrew-gagnon).

“Now cracks a noble heart.

Good-night, Sweet Prince; And may flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.”

—Shakespeare, Hamlet

the Power and Chemical Industries, until his retirement in 2007.

Left to cherish his memory are his beloved boyhood brother, Jim Snyder, and close friend Lorie Snyder, who supported and cared for Paul through his illness and passing. Paul leaves behind his cousins Mary Elizabeth

Hofstetter, Clifford Koehler, Judith Markovich, Robert Koehler, Linda Martindale and Rodney Halls, all from Ontario, who will forever remember his warmth, his infectious sense of humour and his killer instinct at crokinole. He was predeceased by his parents, Arthur and Alice (Koehler) Steinman, and cousins Maureen Halls and Carl Steinman.

Paul was an energetic volunteer and great community supporter of causes around South Burlington. He will be dearly missed and is remembered fondly by his friends in Vermont and Ontario.

Interment will take place in the spring at Memory Gardens in Breslau, Ontario. A celebration of life will be held at a later date in Burlington, Vt.

JANUARY 22, 1984FEBRUARY 3, 2022 COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS, UTAH Andrew Ian Gagnon, 38, of Cottonwood Heights, Utah, died on Thursday, February 3, 2022. He was the husband of Candice and loving father to Eliza, Lincoln and Anderson.

Andrew was a dedicated transplant surgeon at Canyon Surgical Associates in Murray, Utah.

Andrew was born on January 22, 1984, in Burlington, Vt., to Fiona M. Murray and Dave A. Gagnon.

He grew up in Underhill, Vt., where he developed a love for soccer and the outdoors. His brothers, James and Robert, cherish the memory during that time of building epic bobsledding runs together with Andrew on their backyard hillside.

Andrew graduated from Mount Mansfield Union High School in 2002 and went on to complete his undergraduate studies at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 2005. He attended medical school at the University of Vermont, receiving his doctor of medicine degree in 2011. He completed his

Paul Arthur Steinman

MARCH 25, 1944FEBRUARY 6, 2022 SOUTH BURLINGTON, VT. It is with deep sorrow and much love that we mourn the peaceful passing of Paul Arthur Steinman on February 6, 2022, at the McClure Miller Respite House in Colchester, Vt. Paul was 77 years of age and was born in Kitchener, Ontario, to Alice and Arthur Steinman. He was raised and educated in Baden and moved to Burlington, Vt., in the mid-1970s.

Paul was a valued member of the management group at Hayward Tyler, a company that sold products for

Ann Denise Taylor

SEPTEMBER 14, 1951-FEBRUARY 1, 2022 SHELBURNE, VT. Ann Denise Taylor, daughter of Marguerite (Riendeau) and Arnold Taylor, was born in Manchester, N.H., on September 14, 1951. She graduated from Immaculata High School, where she was voted “athlete of the year,” and from the University of Vermont with a degree in physical therapy. She was an only child who spent a lot of time in nature, where she found solace. Her love of sports and the outdoors was clearly expressed by the happiness she felt while skiing, sailing, hiking, kayaking and camping. She had a very successful orthopedic physical therapy and massage practice for more than 40 years, helping thousands of athletes and folks get back to what they loved. She participated in the 2002 Winter Olympics as a coach and medical professional.

She was feisty, a free spirit, and the quintessential extrovert who met people and made friends everywhere she went. She was known as Dee Dee, Taylor and Annie, and she will always be remembered as one of the most beautiful and elegant skiers on the hill, as well as an epic powder hound. She was an experienced mountaineer who had a knack of making fresh, deep tracks on any terrain. Her love for water, the ocean, Lake Champlain and sailing was contagious.

Taylor was very passionate for many causes and had an indomitable spirit when it came to sticking up for the underdog. She was a proud lesbian and a self-proclaimed hippie who cared about the environment.

She had a special place in her heart for dogs, cats and all living things. Her animated storytelling will be missed, along with the joie de vivre she brought to every occasion.

She fought cancer valiantly for 28 years, 20 of those years with stage IV breast cancer. Her uncanny ability to live in spite of very difficult circumstances gave hope, inspiration and encouragement to many people afflicted by cancer. The cancer’s progression, along with the extended medical treatments she received, took a toll on her physical and mental health and made her last few years extremely challenging both for her and for those who loved her.

Taylor is survived by her cousin Pierre Sylvestre and his wife, Marjelaine Marcil, of Laval, Québec, their daughters Genevieve and (Ann’s goddaughter) Annie, and their three grandchildren; her cousin Charles Woodbury of Manchester, N.H.; and many, many friends whom she made family over the years. Taylor leaves behind a legacy of adventures, tales of laughter and truly crazy times with many people from around the world.

She will be missed, and we salute and celebrate a life well lived. We are grateful to her caregivers, who lovingly helped her transition at McClure Miller Respite House.

A Mass for Ann will be offered at 8:45 a.m. on February 13, 2022, at Holy Cross Church, 416 Church Rd., Colchester, VT 05446. There will be a memorial/celebration of life event for Taylor in Burlington, Vt., sometime in the spring. We have created a special website for her where we can post stories and memories and will include information about the celebration there. Please go to Gathering Us and post your thoughts and images.

We will post updates of the memorial here. In lieu of flowers, you can donate on her behalf to the Peace & Justice Center of Burlington (pjcvt.org) or a charity of your choice.

Arrangements are by Boucher and Pritchard Funeral Directors.

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SEVEN DAYS FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

23

lifelines

OBITUARIES, VOWS, CELEBRATIONS

OBITUARIES Elizabeth Craig (Wilson) Slayton

Vermont staff in 1980. For 20 years, Liz was Sen. Leahy’s human services representative in Vermont, retiring from that position in 2000.

Later, she worked for Central Vermont Home Share.

Liz devoted her working life to helping people.

In her years with the Leahy staff, she worked with social service agencies across the entire state, learning about their work and problems, and helping them obtain financial and other support to which they were entitled. She also informed the senator and his Washington, D.C., staff of the needs of Vermont individuals and human service organizations, and she

was instrumental in helping Sen. Leahy fund community health centers all over Vermont.

Liz had a deep affection for the underdog and consistently advocated for the poor, for children, for the elderly and for those who needed a hand up. She was warm, friendly, articulate and sincere in her desire to help. As a result, she became known, trusted and liked by virtually everyone she came in contact with, both in her two decades with Sen. Leahy and later with Home Share.

She was fun to be around and had a gift for putting people at ease. She once said that even in the humblest of homes, she could always find something to exclaim over and compliment.

“She lit up a room, coming into it,” one acquaintance said.

Her innate personal dignity was leavened by a vibrant sense of humor, and coworkers remembered fondly her joyous, infectious laugh.

Liz was devoted to her family and worked to make their home and flower gardens places of comfort and delight. She had a lifelong

love of music and a beautiful voice. As a young woman, she considered a career as a concert soprano but set that goal aside to marry and have a family. Nevertheless, she and her husband enjoyed many different forms of music throughout their life together. She especially loved the music of J.S. Bach and W.A. Mozart.

She was an active member of Christ Episcopal Church in Montpelier, where she served on the Vestry Committee and the Altar Guild.

Besides her husband, she leaves behind her son, Ethan A. Slayton, and his wife, Shawna, of Portland Ore., and several cousins and nieces.

A memorial service is planned for a later date at Christ Episcopal Church. An announcement of the date and time of that service will be made when they are established.

In lieu of flowers, please make contributions in her memory to Central Vermont Home Health & Hospice or to the McClure-Miller Respite House in Colchester.

Those wishing to express online condolences may do so at guareandsons.com.

in his youth, he would often reminisce about his hunting and fishing exploits in the woods and waters surrounding what is now Shelburne Road. He grew up fishing trout in Potash Brook and hunting deer and rabbits in areas now occupied by large

shopping centers and residential housing. In his youth, Bruce loved riding motorcycles; he was especially fond of Harley-Davidsons and Indians. He dabbled in racing anything — motorcycles, boats and sprint cars. His most cherished memories involve his family camp, which was located on Bartlett Bay, Lake Champlain.

As he raised his family, he worked at IBM in Essex, Vt., where he retired in 1993.

Bruce was a great storyteller and avid reader. He could captivate any audience when at his best. He loved reliving the memories of an era gone by and won the hearts of colleagues and friends with his charismatic demeanor and humor.

Mr. Lambert is survived

by his wife, Peggy Lambert, of Shelburne, Vt.; son Bruce Lambert Jr. and his wife, Kerry, and daughters Alyssa and Ella of East Fairfield, Vt.; son Kevin Lambert of Bristol, Vt.; daughter Maggie Lambert and her partner, Corbett Torrence, and their children, Zander and Piper Torrence of Jeffersonville, Vt.; and various nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his brother Willard L. Lambert of Kennewick, Wash., and sister, Betty Huemoeller of Fairmont, Minn.

At Mr. Lambert’s request, no funeral service will be held. Arrangements are in the care of the Cremation Society of Chittenden County.

To send online condolences to his family, please visit cremationsocietycc.com.

SEPTEMBER 25, 1945FEBRUARY 10, 2022 MONTPELIER, VT.

Elizabeth “Liz” Slayton, 76, died on Thursday, February 10, 2022, at McClure-Miller Respite House in Colchester, after a long battle with cancer.

She was born on September 25, 1945, in St. Johnsbury, the daughter of Russell and Patricia Wilson, and spent her early years in Lyndonville. She married Thomas K. Slayton on December 24, 1964, and they have one son, Ethan. Liz attended the University of Vermont and graduated from Castleton State College (now Castleton University) in 1967 with a teaching degree.

She taught elementary school in Mount Holly for a year and then moved with her husband to Montpelier, where she became active in Democratic Party politics.

She worked on campaigns for secretary of state James Guest and U.S. Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, joining Sen. Leahy’s

Bruce R. Lambert

APRIL 29, 1933JANUARY 16, 2022 SHELBURNE, VT. Bruce R. Lambert, a resident of Shelburne, Vt., died on January 16, 2022.

Bruce was born on April 29, 1933, the son of John Ford and Margaret (Hartwell) Lambert, in Burlington, Vt. In 1952, he graduated from Burlington High School, where his father served as vice principal and was a longtime teacher and basketball coach at BHS (Edmunds).

He was raised in the South End of Burlington at a time when the landscape consisted mostly of dirt roads, pastoral horizons and farmland. An avid outdoorsman

24

SEVEN DAYS FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

Christopher Bryant Fulton AUGUST 8, 1991-FEBRUARY 1, 2022 CHICAGO, ILL.

Christopher Bryant Fulton of Chicago, Ill., previously of Norwich, Vt., passed away unexpectedly in Chicago on February 1, 2022. He had COVID-19 at the time of his death, but the exact cause of death is undetermined.

Chris was born on August 8, 1991, in Lebanon, N.H. He loved spending time at his family’s place on Post Pond in Lyme, N.H. A highlight was spending hours with his brother, Erik, in a canoe outfitted with a trolling motor, exploring all the nooks and crannies of the pond.

Another highlight was summer trips to Maine with his family to visit his grandmother, going to Popham Beach, Fort Popham and Spinneys in Phippsburg, Maine. In his early years, he summited many of New Hampshire’s mountains, often carried up by Dad and sometimes carried down by Mom. During elementary and middle school, he spent many Saturdays at Britton Lumber in Ely, Vt., with his dad riding in the forklift, shoveling sawdust and mowing lawns.

Chris attended Marion Cross School in Norwich, then graduated from Hanover High School in 2010. He went on to study accounting at the University of Vermont, graduating a semester early in 2013. After graduation, he worked in Boston for State Street Bank. He loved hiking and skiing, particularly cherishing trips to Colorado with his mom. He had a goal of hiking all of New Hampshire’s 4,000-foot peaks by the time he was 30, and he came so close. When he died, he only had the Bonds left to have summited all 48 peaks, always together with his mom. Chris also loved visiting his stepbrothers in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, and visiting his favorite beach there, Sandy Point.

Wanting a change in his career, he recently joined a financial technology firm, Enfusion, in Chicago, as a technical account manager.

He will be forever loved and missed by his brother, Erik Fulton, of Lebanon, N.H.; mother, Catherine Richmond McCullough, and stepfather, David McCullough, of Norwich, Vt.; father, Thomas Fulton, and stepmother, Holly Fulton, of Middlebury, Vt.; niece Eliza Fulton and nephew Alex Fulton; his forever friend Emily Zea; close friends from UVM, including Kelsey Wooley and special friend Dale Osef; and many cousins, aunts, uncles, stepsiblings, and the friends he made and people he touched wherever he went. Chris is also loved, missed and survived by his maternal grandmother, Anne Richmond, of Cape Elizabeth, Maine, and his grandfather Peter Richmond and step-grandmother Tamara Selyangina of Del Ray Oaks, Calif. He was predeceased by his paternal grandparents, Elmer and Effie Fulton.

Chris’ life ended too soon, but his warmth, kindness, gentleness and humor will live on forever.

The family is planning a celebration of life in the spring. In lieu of flowers, please do something you love with someone you love. You may also send a donation in his memory to the Appalachian Mountain Club, 10 City Square, Boston, MA 02129 (outdoors.org) in support of his beloved mountains.

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Joel McLean Larsen SEPTEMBER 1, 1929JANUARY 18, 2022 SHELBURNE, VT.

Joel McLean Larsen died from COVID-19 in Shelburne, Vt. Joel was born in Ogden, Utah, to Boyd and Verda Larsen. He was the second of five children and lived in the West until high school.

His family mainly lived in Wyoming, including a few years living in Yellowstone Park. “I was the fifth grade at school. When two kids got the flu, we closed the school, as it was an epidemic. Three kids in my family and the ranger’s kids — that was our school.” Those early years living in the wide-open spaces of Wyoming were in sharp contrast to his family’s move to Washington, D.C., when he was a teen. Joel embraced this change, as with everything else life threw at him — with a carefree attitude and a smile.

Joel received his degree in economics from Cornell University, which he said was because they had given him the most money to attend there. He joined the Navy, as he said the Navy gave him a uniform — versus the Army, which asked you to buy your uniform. He settled in New York City after the Navy, stealing the heart of his shipmate’s girl, Judith Bingham. Judy and Joel’s tales of dating in New York in the early 1950s are the stuff dreams are made of. Young love, late-night parties and Manhattans in Manhattan.

Joel and Judy remained friends with Joel’s shipmate for the rest of their lives.

Joel earned his MBA from New York University while working at Chemical Bank in NYC. He and Judy were married in 1956. Their son, Peter, was born in 1958, followed by his daughters, Dinah and Jennifer. He worked in many different capacities for many companies, advancing in the finance and data processing fields. It was a

fun and lively time living in Hightstown, N.J., Joel and Judy’s adopted hometown.

Joel taught his kids about the stock market at the First National Bank of the Front Porch. He also taught us how to pull pranks on our mother; how blindfolding your kids in the car made every excursion a guessing game; how to participate in politics, because it is important to stand up for what you believe in; and, at any given opportunity, when offered a cookie or a maple creemee, you must take advantage. Dad loved raucous dinner parties with the potluck group, goofy plays with the church group, and cheese and crackers on the porch at Oven Bay House.

Hightstown, N.J., was a small town where Joel was able to volunteer his time and make a difference. He was a very active member of the Republican Party, the First Presbyterian Church, the Community Action Service Center, the Hightstown East Windsor Historical Society, the Zoning Board and the Boy Scouts. He became the selfappointed photographer at the First Presbyterian Church because there were “no committees and no meetings.” He loved to find out what made people tick, and he was known for putting out his hand to help.

After retirement, Joel and Judy moved to Vermont to be near their family. They enjoyed their retirement

and their friends at Wake Robin. They were able to travel and vacation all over the world, but at heart, Joel was a kind man who had simple needs. He rarely had a harsh word for anyone, except for people who don’t vote or his teenage daughters when they tried to use his rebellious side to their own advantage.

He was predeceased by his son, Peter, in 1973. He was also predeceased by his sisters, Nancy, Lois and Carol. He is survived by his adored wife of more than 65 years, Judy. He is survived by his daughters, Dinah and Jennifer, who are fortunate enough to know that he loved us dearly. His sonin-law, Alain Brizard, and his daughter-in-law, Kara Lenorovitz, were incredibly loved by Joel. He is also survived by his cherished grandson, Peter. Their adventures together were magical, including their induction into the 251 Club of Vermont. His treasured best friends for most of his life were his brotherin-law and sister-in-law Ken and Phyllis Severson, and his brother-in-law and sister-in-law Allen and Jody Bingham. He is also survived by his kind brother, Gary, and his wife, Sharon, of Stamford, Conn.

Joel and Judy have lived at Wake Robin for many years. The staff graciously and kindly cared for our dad, and we thank them for the difficult and often sad work done on his behalf. Dad never missed an opportunity to extol the virtues of the bighearted people who help usher residents through this phase of life.

This summer at Lake Champlain, we will have a celebration of his life.

Dad’s choice of charity was Camp Ta-Kum-Ta, a camp for children with cancer.

Please make a donation in memory of a jolly old man, Joel McLean Larsen: Camp Ta-Kum-Ta, 77 Sunset View Rd., South Hero, VT 05486 (takumta.org).

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WEEK IN REVIEW

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Brianne Goodspeed

WILDER

DARK SIDE OF SCHOOL

While [“Learning, Interrupted,” February 2] shows the heartbreaking reality for parents of special-needs children, it fails to show the other side of the story: the terribly broken educational system. If parents actually understood the reality of a typical day, they would be mortified. Having been a paraeducator myself, I can honestly tell you that it was one of the most challenging and mentally exhausting jobs I have ever had. A typical day would include anything from being covered in feces to getting screamed at, punched, kicked, bitten and spit on — for a paycheck that one could get from working at any fast-food joint.

However, that’s only part of the problem. The truth is that with “inclusive education,” everyone loses: the kiddos in the classroom who are trying to learn while pretending that they are not hearing or noticing a screaming kiddo tearing at the walls and throwing whatever they can get their hands on; the teacher trying their best to conduct a normal lesson and pretending that everything is fine, with all the other stressors that we’ve put upon our teachers; and, most importantly in this context, the special-needs kiddo who is expected to be and behave in a way that is beyond their capacity.

A better solution would be to allow for inclusion to happen a few times per week for a much shorter span, with special classrooms for those with severe disabilities. Unpopular but true.

Kashka Orlow

BURLINGTON

SATISFYING TAKE

Thank you so much for the incredibly well written and nuanced “Hunger Gains” cover story [January 26]. I really appreciate how Seven Days food writer Melissa Pasanen understood that the common theme connecting all the different 26

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programs and new experiments profiled in the article is the issue of stigma, as well as her understanding of the efforts of all of us fighting hunger to create programs that leave participants with an experience of dignity and worth as members of our Vermont community.

She really got the essence of what all of us who work in the anti-hunger space are seeing and struggling with — two years into the COVID-19 pandemic and many decades into the hunger crisis in this country.

This story made a real contribution to raising awareness about hunger in Vermont and why we need new kinds of responses.

that you want their continued support of this important program!

Helen Rortvedt

BURLINGTON

Rortvedt is the farm-to-school and food access programs director for NOFA-VT.

UNFAIR TO VICTIM

[Re “Sentence Served? Prosecutor Sarah George Offers Chance at Parole to Man Who Murdered His Wife in 1993,” January 26]: As a former victim advocate for the Chittenden County State’s Attorney’s Office and also the Chittenden Unit for Special Investigations, I agree with Sarah George that a defenAnore Horton dant’s taking full WILLISTON KILLER NEW DEAL responsibility for his Horton is the executive acts and taking steps director of Hunger to rehabilitate himself Free Vermont. are factors that should be considered in some cases. But those prinNOFA-VT ciples do not apply in RESPONDS Gregory Fitzgerald’s Thank you for your case. cover story about First, Fitzgerald availed himself of his some of the innovative programs ensuring right to a trial by jury OVEREASY A SOUL FOOD BIG FEAT that Vermonters are of his peers and was fed [“Hunger Gains,” convicted of aggravated January 26]! murder. The legislature In addition to those you mentioned, I set the penalty for this conviction as life want to highlight some additional oppor- without parole, which was the sentence tunities that fight hunger while supporting imposed. Second, throughout the trial local farmers. Investing in programs that process and after his conviction, Fitzgersupport food security and simultaneously ald expressed no remorse for his acts. His bolster our local agricultural economy is recent expression of remorse in exchange key to building a food system that will be for the reduction of his sentence is not to more just and resilient in the face of future be believed and is not a basis for leniency. disruptions.

Most crucially, George failed to fully • Farm Share: Northeast Organic Farm- involve the victim’s family in her plan to ing Association of Vermont subsidizes the reduce the defendant’s sentence. George’s cost of CSAs from local farms for limited- decision to impose her politics in place of income Vermonters. It’s a win-win: Farms the penalty imposed by law was wrong. receive full value for their food while more Crime victims have rights, too. George people have access to fresh, local food failed to protect the victim’s rights in this all season. Applications are open at case and similarly failed to protect public nofavt.org/farmshare. safety.

• Crop Cash: When farmers market Therese Surdek shoppers use 3SquaresVT or SNAP BURLINGTON benefits, NOFA-VT provides a match in Crop Cash to spend on local fruits and vegetables, seeds and starts. Through the SUPPORTING HOUSE end of April, folks get $20 Crop Cash for [Re “Power Struggle: Control of the every $10 in benefits spent. Learn more Burlington City Council Likely Hinges at nofavt.org/cropcash. on One Race: Ward 8,” February 9]: I • Local Foods Incentive: Last June, know Ali House well, as she has been the legislature passed and Gov. Phil Scott my student and also served as my teachenacted Act 67, creating a grant program ing assistant in a number of social work that incentivizes Vermont schools to buy courses at the University of Vermont. She more local food. In the first year of the is a person of great integrity and brings a program, demand has already reached the wonderful positive energy that would be $500,000 allocated. Tell your legislators so beneficial to our city and to the work Murderer will get out of jail early

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up”? What about those piles of federal grant money? Is the Agency of Education content with this? Secretary Dan French?

The Department for Children and Families? The teachers’ unions? Gov. Phil Scott?

Hello?!

Our first obligation is a moral one to these children, who are entitled to an education and fulfilling lives just like everyone else. Of course, the school districts also have a financial obligation to the taxpayers who might start to wonder what they’re paying for, if not to meet the needs of all Vermont children, especially the most vulnerable.

HUNGER GAINS

How pandemic need, federal dollars and local collaboration are driving better ways to help food-insecure Vermonte rs

BY MELISSA PASANEN, PAGE 26

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Midd junior helms outerwear

brand

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Hearty fare in Essex Junction

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Series pairs dance and science

of the Burlington City Council. She holds a deep commitment to issues of equity and social justice. Her work as a social worker and educator has given her deep, firsthand awareness about many of the most pressing issues in our community.

I believe that her compassion, kindness, respectful curiosity about people’s lives, bravery and humility are just what our city government needs right now. I am excited about her candidacy to represent Ward 8 and encourage you to learn more about her ideas and priorities.

Celia Cuddy

BURLINGTON

NOTHING ‘PROGRESSIVE’ ABOUT SEX WORK

[Re “Bawdy Brouhaha: A Proposed Tweak to Burlington’s Charter Sparks Impassioned Debate Over Sex Work,” February 2]: Were it not disturbing, it would be funny how progressives champion white men, mostly at the expense of women and girls. In attempting to loosen laws against prostitution, progressives are taking the very stance that most empowers men — and since we live in one of the whitest states, that means empowering, in particular, white men. The number of women who buy sex is pretty close to zero. While progressives want to eliminate all sorts of dirty and dangerous jobs, for some reason when it comes to prostitution, progressives instead pursue that age-old goal of making it easier for men to get sex.

Burlington City Councilor Perri Freeman implies that religious groups against exploitation must be bad because, well, they’re religious. Here the “progressive” resembles Fox News commentators, who naturally oppose anything the other team says. It is simplistic tribalism: taking stances solely because you think that your tribe believes it — or worse, only taking stances that are opposite of what perceived enemies believe. In that regard, color-by-number progressives resemble former president Donald Trump and Fox News.

Pew Research Center surveys show that progressives are mostly white.

Although progressives believe that they speak for women and people of color, on average women are much more religious than men. Black people are by far the most religious — and most Christian — in the U.S. According to Pew, about the least likely people to be religious are white men.

Living in their echo chamber, progressives both flippantly dismiss religious people’s concerns and have incorrect perceptions of who religious people actually are.

Peter Dubrul

CHARLOTTE

WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT BY KEN PICARD

What’s Driving Burlington’s Recent Wave of Vehicle Thefts?

W

But Burlington isn’t the only municipality experiencing more grand theft auto. In 2020, the Vermont State Police received 122 reports of stolen vehicles. Last year, they received 182 — a 49 percent increase.

The uptick has been even worse in Rutland. According to Nathan Thibodeau, a crime analyst with the Rutland City Police Department, between 2016 and 2020, the city averaged 15 reported stolen vehicles a year. In 2021, there were 42. Since January alone, Rutland police have received at least eight reports of missing vehicles.

Thibodeau suggested that most are “cashready crimes,” akin to the city’s recent rash of catalytic converter thefts. The antipollution devices are often stolen from vehicles and pawned for their precious metals.

Such increases indicate a marked reversal in crime trends from the last 25 years, when vehicle thefts, both in Vermont and nationwide, had been falling steadily. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program, larcenies of all motorized vehicles in Vermont — including trucks, buses, motorcycles, scooters, snowmobiles and ATVs — declined from 585 in 2008 to 264 in 2020. In each of those years, Vermont had the lowest number of vehicle thefts of any state.

In addition to substance-abuse-related motivations, why are they revving up again?

Tully Lehman, senior public affairs manager at the National Insurance Crime Bureau, explained that several factors are

at work. Since the start of the pandemic, more vehicles have been left parked for extended periods, making them easy targets for thieves.

Another explanation, ironically, is the increased number of new vehicles equipped with keyless ignitions and smart keys. Though manufacturers adopted these innovations, in part, to foil thieves’ ability to hot-wire cars, the technology is effective only if drivers take their key fobs with them when they park. Nationally, one in 10 stolen vehicles was ripped off because owners left their keys or fobs inside. In Rutland, Thibodeau found that 19 percent of the vehicles reported stolen in 2021 were left unlocked with the keys inside.

Especially common in winter is theft of unattended vehicles left running to warm up. In fact, the day this reporter interviewed Murad, Burlington police had just apprehended two runaway juveniles from Rutland who’d made off with a vehicle whose owner left it running. One of the teens had used the vehicle to try to run over his ex-girlfriend in the Burlington area.

Generally, vehicle larcenies become a priority to police only when they pose a public safety threat, as with the runaway teens, or when they’re used in the commission of a felony. The latter was the case in mid-January, when a thief stole a truck and rampaged through the Intervale Community Farm, destroying greenhouses

and beehives. (As of press time, that case remained unsolved.)

After Janet learned that someone had allegedly spotted her car in Essex, she called the Burlington police, but they never followed up.

“The police have been of no help at all,” she said.

Murad admitted that, given his department’s diminished resources, most vehicle thefts are a low priority for investigation.

“Officers will take that report, but it’s not going to be something they spend time on, to be frank,” Murad said. “But when the driver of that stolen vehicle tries to run his ex-girlfriend over, we start looking for it.”

The only possible good news is that Vermont has an 81 percent recovery rate for stolen vehicles, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau. But as Lehman pointed out, just because a vehicle is “recovered” doesn’t mean it’s undamaged. Many get driven into rivers, burned or stripped for parts.

Janet, whose car was uninsured for theft, is taking a different approach to recover it.

“If anyone can help me find it, I’ll take them out for dinner at Hen of the Wood,” she said. “I really want my car back.” m

INFO Are you spinning your wheels trying to solve a Vermont mystery? Ask us! wtf@sevendaysvt.com.

© TARTILASTOCK | VERA PETRUNINA | DREAMSTIME

hen Janet read on Facebook in December that thieves were rifling through cars in Burlington’s Old North End looking for items to steal, she followed the advice of a neighbor: Keep car doors unlocked so thieves won’t smash the windows.

The day after Christmas, Janet (who declined to give her last name) came outside to find that someone had stolen her 2014 black Mazda3 right out of her Spring Street driveway.

Such incidents have become increasingly common in the Queen City, where vehicle thefts have spiked in the last year. Between January 1, 2021, and January 15, 2022, the Burlington Police Department received 168 reports of stolen vehicles. During the same period a year earlier, 77 vehicles went missing; in 2019, just 55.

According to Burlington’s acting police chief, Jon Murad, a small percentage of the vehicles reported stolen were actually towed or parked elsewhere. Nevertheless, Murad called the recent uptick in automobile larcenies “significant.” Whether those crimes were the product of pandemic-bored teens, people in financial straits or a Gone in 60 Seconds-like crime ring, he couldn’t say.

“What’s driving it? I don’t know for sure,” Murad said.

Back when the Sears Lane homeless encampment was still occupied, he noted, it was “a go-to place” for local law enforcement tracking down stolen vehicles. Though the encampment, which the city closed in December, didn’t operate as a “chop shop” like those found in bigger cities, he added, “There was definitely some vehicle disassembly going on there.”

One likely motivator, he suggested, is substance abuse, a conclusion with which Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George concurred.

“The [vehicle thefts] that I have personally prosecuted were substance-use fueled,” George wrote in an email. “Folks [are] looking for easy property to sell for drugs.”

And as drug use in Burlington spiked in 2021, so did property crimes of all kinds, including burglaries, Murad said.

“What we’re seeing from 2020 to 2021 is a uniform increase (in property crimes) across the city, at the very time when we do not have the police resources to patrol,” Murad added. Currently, BPD has 65 officers on its rolls, compared to 96 a year ago. (In June 2020, Progressive city councilors pushed to reduce BPD’s ranks through attrition; numerous officers have switched departments or resigned sooner than expected.)

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Local Commotion

National divisions on race and equity are roiling Vermont school boards

BY ALISON NO VAK • alison@sevendaysvt.com

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he December 14 Rutland City School Board meeting agenda was packed. The 11 school board members needed to ratify a budget for the tech center, discuss a budget for fiscal year 2023 and recognize middle schoolers for their achievements in writing. More than 75 teachers and support staff, clad in red T-shirts to show solidarity, had packed the room and hall outside to raise concerns about an impasse in contract negotiations.

But before the board could take any action, the meeting was derailed by a hotter topic — the school mascot. Members had ditched the Raiders name in 2020 after a group of students and alumni successfully argued that the mascot perpetuated racist Native American stereotypes. But on Town Meeting Day 2021, voters elected three school board members who rejected that argument; they promptly began pushing to reinstate the old name.

Now, when one board member questioned why “Rutland Moniker” was on the agenda under unfinished business, the disagreement boiled over into a sloppy stew of gavel-banging, finger-pointing and profanity.

“Five-minute recess. Period!” board chair Hurley Cavacas yelled after commissioner Alison Notte questioned his decision to consult privately with his personal lawyer.

“Alison, you’re a bitch,” board member Brittany Cavacas, Hurley’s daughter, told Notte.

Notte whirled around to face the elder Cavacas, who was trying to talk to her: “Leave me alone and do not speak to me until we’re in session.”

Post-recess, after the board failed to agree on an amended agenda, Cavacas adjourned the meeting — all of its business undone.

“It was incredibly disappointing,” said sixth-grade teacher Sue Tanen, who had been hoping to speak on behalf of educators that night.

Community members had also watched in disbelief. Bob Pearo, a local business owner and father, said witnessing the “complete fiasco” spurred him to run for school board this March.

“There was literally no control,” Pearo said. “If people’s tempers had flared, they should have been asked to leave the meeting until they could get themselves in check.”

While the “Jerry Springer”-esque display of dysfunction in Rutland may have been particularly embarrassing, it’s just one of a number of conflicts that have played out at school board meetings in half a dozen Vermont school districts over the last year.

Ignited by president Donald Trumpera divisions and fueled by the renewed

COURTESY OF JIM SABATASO/RUTLAND HERALD

Rutland School Board meeting on December 14, 2021

As school boards take more political stances, they’re going to see more politicians get involved in school boards.

COURTESY OF BURLINGTON SCHOOL DISTRICT

V E R M O NT GOP CHAIR PAU L DAME

Burlington High School students raising the Black Lives Matter flag

Trump, made his camp’s view clear on his radio show last year.

“The path to save the nation is very simple,” he said. “It’s going to go through the school boards.”

Since January 2021, according to an Education Week analysis, 37 states have introduced measures that restrict how educators teach about racism and sexism.

Fourteen have already passed them, including neighboring New Hampshire.

In Virginia, Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin has set up a tip line for parents to report the teaching of “inherently divisive concepts.” In Florida, the state senate recently advanced a bill that seeks to restrict discussion that would make students “feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress on account of his or her race, color, sex or national origin.”

In liberal-leaning Vermont, school fights have also made it to the legislature. Lawmakers in both the House and Senate are considering bills to ban school mascots and team names tied to racial or ethnic groups.

And the Vermont GOP is taking up Bannon’s call to political action. In a January 17 email, the party chair, Paul Dame, urged Republicans to run for selectboard and school board, citing the need to counteract Emerge Vermont, an organization that trains Democratic women to run for elected office up and down the ticket.

“I really like the idea of school boards and selectboards being nonpartisan,” Dame said in a follow-up phone conversation, “but the fact is that some of the steps that school boards have taken have been very political stances that don’t have a lot to do with academic performance and basic needs of the school building.

“As school boards take more political stances, they’re going to see more politicians get involved in school boards.”

‘CRT IS NOT A CURRICULUM’ movement for racial justice, once sedate meetings have turned into battlegrounds over polarizing topics such as critical race theory and the Black Lives Matter flag.

The local fights have created rifts among board members, spurred residents to air their grievances over school policies and, in some communities, added a political charge to next month’s school board races.

In Rutland, for instance, the pro-Raiders contingent succeeded in reinstating the controversial name last month. But now 10 candidates — including several in favor

of the Raiders mascot and several against — are running for four seats on the school board. And in Springfield, Essex, St. Albans, Shrewsbury and Barton, the March ballot will include candidates energized by the debate over how schools should handle polarizing issues such as equity and race.

The issues driving school board drama in Vermont are a reflection of the way that, across the country, schools have become an arena in the larger political battle between conservative and liberal forces.

Steve Bannon, once chief strategist for

Former Randolph Union High School principal Elijah Hawkes, who has written extensively about public schools and democracy, sees the current school battles as the result of a “slow and deliberate attack on the public sector,” as well as broadening income inequality, which has created distrust and social anxiety.

“And then the pandemic was just like a punch in the face,” he said recently. “It exacerbated income inequality, and it created more distance between us … and more distrust.”

Over the last two years, there’s been a marked shift in the tenor at Springfield School District board meetings, chair Troy Palmer observed.

As the format shifted from in-person to virtual to hybrid, “participation in the

meetings has definitely increased,” Palmer said. “It’s become much more politicalfueled topics than it is education-fueled topics … It’s really whatever is in the news at that moment.”

That politicization was on display at a meeting last August, when Springfield School Board member Steve Karaffa, a former criminal justice instructor at the local tech center, introduced a resolution to ban the teaching of critical race theory in district schools.

Critical race theory is an academic framework that asserts that racism is built into institutions such as schools — it is not a curriculum. But the term has become a catchall phrase used by opponents to describe any attempt to teach about race and racism. After he introduced the resolution, Karaffa refused to define what he meant by critical race theory.

In September, the Springfield board narrowly rejected Karaffa’s resolution, 3-2. But the issue galvanized dozens of community members to speak out. Some said the district was promoting divisive political ideas that made white students feel badly about themselves. They spoke in support of a color-blind approach — one that has been widely criticized by those who study education because it discounts the experience of people of color. Others took issue with a summer curriculum camp at which teachers read an article by Hawkes titled “Do You Teach the Children of White Supremacists?”

“More or less, I just don’t want my children to go to school and be taught that because they’re white-skinned, they have some advantage or they’re different than someone of a different color,” resident Katie Parent said at the August meeting. “I support that human is human, that we are all equal … I see anybody here as another human, not their color.”

The discussion prompted Vermont Education Secretary Dan French to write a letter to the Springfield school board noting that Karaffa’s resolution was part of a “coordinated national effort” and used the same language, verbatim, as a policy being implemented in Colorado Springs, Colo.

“CRT is not included in our state standards and I have yet to find a school board in Vermont that has adopted it as a curriculum because CRT is not a curriculum,” French wrote.

Regardless, the battle appeared to invigorate Parent: She’s running for school board this Town Meeting Day. She declined to speak with Seven Days.

In the Essex Westford School District, critical race theory was also a topic of debate last spring. The school board was considering whether to approve an equity LOCAL COMMOTION SEVEN DAYS FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

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Liz Cady at an event in Essex in June 2021

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policy that aimed to diversify the curriculum and faculty, as well as provide teachers with equity and bias training. Hundreds of community members logged on to Zoom meetings last May and June to forcefully state their views for and against the policy.

Adding fuel to the fire was newly elected Essex Westford District School Board member Liz Cady, who opposed the equity policy on the grounds that it would promote “segregation” because it called for students to participate voluntarily in affinity groups, or gatherings in which people who share common identities can connect with and support each other.

The school board ultimately approved the equity policy 8-1 — with Cady casting the sole “no” vote — but the debate unearthed rifts in the community.

After the policy passed, meetings became less intense and fewer people attended, board chair Erin Knox said. But there remains a more political tone — on issues ranging from COVID-19 protocols to equity. In September, for example, the bulk of public comment focused on whether to continue flying the Black Lives Matter flag at the district’s schools.

The board voted 6-3 in favor of keeping the flag. Soon after, though, someone stole the BLM flag from outside of a district elementary school.

Cady gained some notoriety outside the community when she appeared last year at public forums in Essex and Rutland intended to mobilize parents to object to how race is being taught in their children’s schools.

In December, she published a letter on conservative website the Vermont Daily Chronicle likening the treatment of unvaccinated people to Jews’ persecution during the Holocaust. That prompted board chair Knox and district superintendent Beth Cobb to disavow Cady’s views on Twitter. Earlier this month, the board began a discussion about member conduct, sparked in large part by Cady’s actions.

“If you look at the news and you see what’s happening all across the country, those things are now happening here,” Knox said, “and now we have to deal with it in our local meetings.”

School board members are “people volunteering quite a bit of their time to serve their community,” Knox continued.

“We have a very important job to do, but we’re not politicians and, I think, by and large, most of us don’t want to be.”

Palmer, the Springfield board chair, said candidates who are energized by a single political issue often don’t understand what the job entails.

“A school board is essentially there to monitor the superintendent first,

FILE: JAMES BUCK

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Gregory Thayer at an anti-critical race theory rally in September 2021

set a budget and then deal with district policies,” Palmer said. When people run because they’re angry about one particular thing — a mascot, for example — it can hinder the board’s ability to do its job.

“You’re there at these meetings, and you become a body sitting in a chair instead of someone involved in the conversation and really helping move things forward,” he said. But, he added, low voter turnout for school board elections can mean those fiery, single-issue candidates have a good chance of winning.

“The more people know you and the more you’re out and about in that month leading up to Town Meeting Day, the more apt you are to get elected,” Palmer said.

“And sometimes those people who have that hot-button topic are really active on social media and their name pops up all the time.”

WHAT’S FAIR?

On a steamy Friday evening last August, a crowd of about 50 gathered at the American Legion in Island Pond to talk about critical race theory. Among the featured speakers were state Sen. Russ Ingalls (R-Essex/Orleans), who has criticized teaching about race, and Ben Morley, a state vocational rehabilitation counselor who is a parent of an Irasburg Village School student.

Morley paced the small, carpeted stage and asked the largely older crowd to stand up. Most people complied.

“I feel that I need to warn you about what’s occurring in our school system,” Morley said. “Children in class can’t do this easy thing — standing up and speaking for what they believe in and defending their own values at home. It’s our job to stand up for them.” He told the audience how he’d started a Vermont chapter of a group called FAIR after being disappointed by the actions of the Orleans Central Supervisory Union School Board.

FAIR — the Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism — is one of a handful of national organizations that’s popped up recently to fight school equity initiatives. On its website, which displays quotes from Martin Luther King Jr. and Frederick Douglass, FAIR bills itself as “a nonpartisan organization dedicated to advancing civil rights and liberties for all Americans.” That description only tells part of the story.

The organization was founded less than a year ago by New York parent Bion Bartning, who pulled his children from the upscale Riverdale Country School in the Bronx because he objected to the school’s anti-racism curriculum. FAIR has been promoted by staunch conservatives such as Glenn Beck and counts former Fox News host Megyn Kelly and conservative columnist Bari Weiss as advisory board members.

Visitors to FAIR’s website can report schools and organizations for teaching about diversity, equity and inclusion in divisive ways. A recent review of Cabotbased Building Fearless Futures, a racial and social justice nonprofit that works with Vermont schools, asserts that its consultants “are hired by school districts in Northern VT … to indoctrinate and corrupt the minds of our children.” Shelburne Farms is also called out — anonymously — on the site for its “anti-racist, equity driven curricula.”

At the Island Pond meeting, Morley encouraged the crowd to vote down school budgets, file Freedom of Information Act requests to find out what teachers are teaching, and take legal action against school districts “if we find evidence of indoctrination or discrimination.”

A few weeks after the meeting, Morley wrote a letter to his son’s teacher — which was promptly posted on True North Reports, a conservative online publication — questioning why his son was encouraged to share his preferred pronouns during an eighthgrade humanities class. In November, Morley filed a lawsuit against his employer, the State of Vermont, asserting that he had been “shamed, humiliated, reprimanded, excluded from assignments and leadership

I just don’t want my children to go to school and be taught that because they’re white-skinned, they have some advantage.

S P R I NG FIEL D SCHOO L B OARD CANDIDATE KATIE PAR E NT

positions, and threatened with termination because he is a white male.”

In December, Morley announced that he was running for a seat on the Lake Region Union High School board in Orleans County. The filing deadline for that race is February 21; as of press time, Morley, who declined Seven Days’ request for an interview, had one competitor: the incumbent, Gerry Cahill.

In some states, national money is flowing in to support ideologically driven school board candidates such as Morley.

While that doesn’t appear to be happening in Vermont, at least a handful of local school board candidates this year has an association with FAIR. In Springfield, candidate Katie Parent — the woman who stood up at the school board meeting to advocate for color blindness — has expressed her support for FAIR. In a Facebook post outlining her platform, Parent wrote that “it is not acceptable for teachers or school administrators to tell any child that they are a product of racism” and said she’ll work “for our tax dollars to be spent on actual academics versus culture, climate and equity.” Five people are running for two open seats on that board. Like Parent, fellow candidate Michael Jasinski Sr. also spoke at the August meeting, grilling board members about whether the state had mandated teaching about critical race theory or white supremacy.

In the Mill River Unified Union School District in Rutland County, Shrewsbury candidate Kristine Billings asked the school board in January to consider adopting a FAIR-approved curriculum for teaching about equity. In her letter to the board, Billings asserted that “the essence [of critical race theory] is being spoon feed [sic] repeatedly to the staff during in-service equity meetings and these theories are being matriculated [sic] into the classrooms.”

Jeffrey Henig, a professor of education and political science at Columbia University’s Teachers College, said the “softer” pro-civil rights, anti-conflict messaging of FAIR is likely to appeal to more traditional Republicans in Vermont, “whereas in some other places, [the messaging] can be a more direct and a little bit less diplomatic language.”

Several candidates seem to represent more extreme beliefs. Until recently, Ingrid Lepley, another candidate for Mill River School Board, ran an Etsy shop, AutumnBleuJewelry, selling her QAnonthemed necklaces, among other items. In a Facebook post, Lepley highlighted her extensive experience as a parent volunteer and said she is running to give back to her community. She did not respond to requests for an interview.

In Arlington, former Vermont State Police sergeant Luke Hall is running for a three-year term on the school board.

Hall resigned from the police department last year after being suspended for posting comments on Facebook supporting “the great Patriots in Washington D.C.” on January 6.

“We are beginning to see good, lawabiding citizens stand against a corrupted Government,” he wrote.

Last month, Hall told the Manchester Journal that he is running because of his concern for the welfare of the district’s students, saying he thinks that mask wearing has taken a toll on their social and academic growth.

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‘LITTLE FLAMES’

Challenges from the far right have prompted residents with opposing views to jump into school board races.

Mary Krueger, a parent of a sixth grader in Springfield, said her school board’s conversation around critical race theory was one of the main reasons she decided to run for one of two open seats this year.

Krueger said she saw Karaffa’s anti-critical race theory resolution as part of the national movement to create a wedge in communities and undermine public education.

“Frankly, I felt that [it] really distracted from what we needed to be doing to address the pandemic in our education system,” she said. “And that was just really frustrating for me.”

In Essex, Emerge Vermont graduate Laura Taylor has been closely following the discussion around equity. Last year, she started a Facebook group, Engaged Community Members of EWSD, to LOCAL COMMOTION

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I wanted to raise awareness in southern Vermont.

A lot of racism ... happens here.

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mobilize like-minded residents to speak at school board meetings in support of the equity policy. Now she’s running for a school board seat.

“A lot of people who were speaking out against it, I found, didn’t really understand it, because there was a lot of misinformation out there,” Taylor said.

In Rutland, the battle over the Raiders mascot, and whether it is racially offensive, has resulted in an especially crowded school board election, with 10 candidates running for four open seats. Four candidates who are campaigning together have been promoted by the left-leaning political group Rutland Forward. If they were all to win, the school board would have enough votes to get rid of the Raiders once again.

Another slate of four has been endorsed

by Republican lieutenant governor candidate Gregory Thayer, who has spoken at several anti-critical race theory forums. In two separate social media posts, Thayer has described his favored candidates as both “pro-Parent involvement, pro-Human and true, fact-based U.S. history teaching” and “pro-Raider, anti-Woke and Indoctrination.”

Pearo, the Rutland resident who said he was spurred to run after the dysfunctional December 14 board meeting, is one of the candidates whom Thayer has endorsed.

In an interview, Pearo said that while he likes Thayer, he objects to his “anti-woke, anti-indoctrination” characterization.

“As far as I’m concerned, whatever political beliefs I may hold have absolutely no bearing on what I want to happen at the school board,” Pearo said. “My idea of what is right is, ‘What do the students believe is right? What do the teachers believe is right?’ — not what I believe as an individual.”

Dame, the Vermont GOP chair, said he believes that the Republicans who have contacted him about running for school board are sincere in wanting to make schools better for their kids.

“Parents are feeling like going to some of the meetings isn’t resulting in the kind of change they want to see, so they’re looking at getting involved in the next level,” Dame said. “I think some of the folks that I’m hearing from that are conservative want to move through this political polarization of school boards and get back to reading and writing … There’s people saying, ‘Let’s get back to the core business of what the school is about that’s going to unify the community.’”

But even when a candidate’s motives are genuine, it’s possible for them to be exploited for a grander political purpose.

While people are often energized to get involved in local school board debates because of particular issues that are

meaningful to them, Columbia professor Henig said, there are also national political strategists who aren’t interested in those particulars.

“They’re trying out issues and themes to see which ones they can effectively bring into these broader electoral arenas to try to win swing voters,” Henig said. “These things that … in the past would just be localized, little flames across the country that are unconnected, they’re being connected now by other actors who are trying to use those in a bigger political battle.”

CHOPPY WATER IN MILL RIVER

School board meetings and elections used to be sleepy affairs in the Mill River district, which draws students from Clarendon, Shrewsbury, Tinmouth and Wallingford. But a culture clash that started in June 2020 over the Black Lives Matter flag amped up the intensity of school board business. A year and a half later, the drama is still playing out.

The 2020 election results provide a clue as to why the district is so ripe for polarization. In Clarendon, 53 percent of voters favored president Trump, while 56 percent of Shrewsbury voters and 54 percent of Wallingford voters went for challenger Joe Biden. Tinmouth was split right down the middle — 50-50. Statewide, Trump earned just 30 percent of the vote.

The rift in Mill River began earlier that year, after Reese Eldert-Moore, then a high school junior, brought a proposal to the school board to raise the Black Lives Matter flag at all the district’s schools. EldertMoore, the daughter of former Rutland Area NAACP president Tabitha Moore, said she was inspired by other school districts in the state that had flown the flag.

“I wanted to raise awareness in southern Vermont,” Eldert-Moore said in an interview last month. “A lot of racism in Vermont happens here … Burlington is a little more open-minded about that stuff.”

After the board voted by an 8-4 margin to hoist the Black Lives Matter flag — and the LGBTQ pride flag, as well — the backlash was swift.

Hundreds signed a petition against the flag raising, and, at the next board meeting, dozens of community members weighed in on the decision. While the majority expressed their support for the flag, a small group spoke forcefully against it.

Some said they believed that the flag had a political association and, therefore, had no place in schools. Others said it would alienate or exclude students and families who did not believe in the flag’s message.

Shrewsbury resident Todd Fillmore, who’d go on to run unsuccessfully for school board in 2021, called the pride flag “open indoctrination of schoolchildren towards sexual anarchy.”

Clarendon resident Art Peterson, a former football coach who would win election to the state legislature later that year, said the Black Lives Matter flag was a symbol of a violent organization with Marxist roots; he equated the banner to a Nazi flag.

“We don’t have to politicize and sexualize our children’s education,” Peterson said at the meeting. “I feel that’s very strongly what we’re doing.”

From that point on, “Public comment at board meetings went from virtually nonexistent to 45 minutes, an hour, two hours,” said John McKenna, a Clarendon board member at the time who supported flying the Black Lives Matter flag.

Eldert-Moore and her family also faced online harassment that ultimately led them to move out of the county. Because she’s biracial, Eldert-Moore said, some commenters asserted that she didn’t understand what it was like to be Black.

“My feelings weren’t hurt about it, but I was just annoyed and in awe … that these were full-grown adults saying this about a 17-year-old,” she said.

In the wake of the board’s decision, some community members sent the board requests to fly other flags — including a Yellow Lives Matter flag, a Your Life Matters flag focused on suicide prevention and a Don’t All Lives Matter? flag. Others threatened lawsuits. The board ultimately

VERY ACTIVELY PURCHASING decided that it acted too hastily and needed guidelines before making any decisions about what flew on the flagpole.

After crafting a policy last fall that outlined criteria for approving flag requests, board members received a letter from the Liberty Counsel — an organization affiliated with Virginia-based evangelical Liberty University that’s been designated an anti-LGBTQ hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center — urging them to abandon it and hinting at further legal action.

“There is no need for the district to overtly or covertly introduce and endorse divisive political organizations and political causes that disrupt the orderly administration of the schools,” Liberty Counsel attorney Richard L. Mast wrote in his November 2020 letter.

The school district’s attorney responded later that month asserting that the policy was sound and questioning why an organization outside the state was inserting itself into the matter.

“Your letter does not indicate that you represent any person affected by the policy, nor does it appear that you are licensed to practice law in Vermont,” Mill River’s lawyer, Sean Toohey, responded.

“Nonetheless, the district has considered your concerns and concludes that the policy is sound.”

The board encouraged Eldert-Moore to resubmit her proposal to fly the Black Lives Matter flag. She did last June — limiting it to the high school — and it was approved by an 8-3 margin.

McKenna, who had served on the school board for eight years, wasn’t there to cast his “yes” vote, though. He’d lost his reelection bid three months earlier, an outcome he attributes to his ardent support of equity issues in the conservative community he grew up in.

“I just had a feeling that that could be the end of my [school board] career,” McKenna said of his decision to make the motion to fly the Black Lives Matter flag back in 2020. “But I decided that it was an important enough thing to want to just go ahead and do it.”

Mill River Union High School raised the Black Lives Matter Flag on September 7. Later that night, it was stolen, which “was nothing surprising to me or anyone I knew,” Eldert-Moore said.

After that, school administrators made the decision to take down the flag each evening. It flew for three months — the time specified in the district flag policy — without further incident.

Still, those who initially opposed the flag raising continue to show up to school board meetings to state their grievances. In November, now-Rep. Peterson (R-Clarendon) said he was concerned

that the district was teaching critical race theory, although administrators have said it is not.

In a phone interview in late January, Peterson said even if critical race theory isn’t “sanctioned to be taught,” he still believes that its concepts are seeping into Mill River’s schools.

“What happens, in my opinion, is that if an individual teacher uses the words around critical race theory and espouses that in the classroom, then it’s being taught,” Peterson said. “White superiority, white privilege — I just don’t think those words belong in the classroom, I really don’t.”

Mill River board member Maria French, who also supported the Black Lives Matter flag raising, said she believes that change is difficult for some in her community. French, of Wallingford, recently announced that she won’t be serving the remainder of her three-year term. She said she no longer has the time and energy to devote to the school board since she began teaching full time in a neighboring district.

“People can feel threatened by things they don’t understand, and that makes it harder to listen to each other,” French said. “It’s like we’ve divided up into camps.”

French said there are both pros and cons to the increased public participation at local school board meetings.

“In some ways, it’s great that people show up and pay attention to what the board is doing,” French said. “But if they’re so focused on one thing, then it seems like they miss the point of the responsibility of the board. It doesn’t mean that they understand what we’re doing or that they respect that we’re community members. It’s just this pounding we feel after a while.”

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SEARCHING FOR COMMON GROUND

In an environment that has become so politically polarized, is it possible for school communities to find common ground, or at least understanding?

That seems to be what happened in South Burlington more than four years ago.

At issue was the school’s mascot, the Rebels, which for some evoked the Confederacy. After the school board unanimously voted to drop the name, a community backlash ensued. Residents voted down the school budget twice.

A pro-Rebels parent was arrested for stalking the multiracial high school LOCAL COMMOTION

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Maria French

People can feel threatened by things they don’t understand, and that makes it harder to listen to each other. It’s like we’ve divided up into camps.

Reier Erickson

MARIA FR E NC H

removing school resource officers from the district last year when he ran for the Maple Run school board, said he’s feeling more hopeful than he has in the past.

Even after losing that election, he and others continued to show up at meetings to explain why they felt that armed, uniformed police officers in schools harmed marginalized students. This fall, the Maple Run board voted 8-1 to remove officers from district schools and create a police liaison program instead; Peter DesLauriers, who defeated Erickson last year, was the “no” vote.

“It was unbelievable,” Erickson said.

“It was a big victory after 14 months of attending school board meetings and writing and doing all this stuff. I just would not have expected it to be that decisive of a vote.”

Erickson will try again to win a seat on his school board this year. He’s got a

competitor, though — Green Mountain Hemp Company chief operating officer Keith Longmore, who has claimed on social media that Black Lives Matter supporters were responsible for the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and slammed Vermont teachers for being selfish. Longmore, who is also Black, declined an invitation to appear with Erickson in a public candidate forum that aired on Northwest Access TV last week. Longmore did not respond to an interview request.

Erickson said he’s disappointed that his opponent didn’t participate.

“I am always willing to sit down with anyone, regardless of their views, and have a robust conversation,” Erickson told Seven Days. “I think that’s core to public service and elected positions.”

Former Randolph principal Hawkes also believes that engaging with people

who see things differently — even if you don’t condone their behavior or views — is important. Both Republicans and Democrats can fall prey to tuning out those who don’t agree with them, he said.

“I think there’s blame to go around,” Hawkes said. “On the left and on the right, we’re guilty of this cancel-culture impulse that erodes trust and defeats dialogue.”

But, he added, “I can think of no group of people better positioned than educators to be committed to dialogue no matter what people believe. Our doors are open to whoever walks in the door. We’re a public school. Come on in. Let’s talk.” m

FILE: STINA BOOTH

student who proposed the mascot change. Anonymous email threats of violence put the high school into lockdown. Racist graffiti was spray-painted on the football field.

But in 2018, the Vermont Supreme Court rejected an attempt by pro-Rebels residents to force a city referendum on the mascot change. And the community appears to have adjusted. The new Wolves mascot has become one of the most unifying aspects of the school, South Burlington High School principal Patrick Burke said last fall: “We’ve never had more school spirit.”

Madison Akin is looking for common ground in her community, too. An elementary school counselor who has lived in Clarendon for 23 years, Akin has made a habit of trying to start conversations with those with different viewpoints around issues such as critical race theory and equity.

When Akin focuses conversations on students’ well-being, she finds that it’s easier to have a more respectful dialogue. Still, she said, it’s challenging when people come to the table with misconceptions about what’s going on in classrooms.

“The people who are so angry — like, ‘You’re brainwashing our kids to believe these things’ — it’s so difficult to defend against the thing that’s not happening,” Akin said. “The angry voices are always the loudest in the room. The ones of equity and inclusion and fairness are usually not the yelling voices.”

Though Akin worries about the direction in which school boards are going, she also thinks that there are reasons to be optimistic.

“I find so much hope in our future leaders and the ways that kids have conversations about things that adults struggle with, like pronoun use,” Akin said. “When we’re talking about changing hearts and minds and bringing people along to show how we can be a better community, we’re small enough that that doesn’t feel like a ridiculously daunting task.”

That viewpoint was bolstered last June, when the Mill River school board voted, for the second time, to raise the Black Lives Matter flag. New board member Matt Gouchberg, who had previously said he was against the flag, ended up voting for it.

“Honestly, when I came into this meeting, I did not intend to vote yes to this flag,” Gouchberg said after the vote. “And I see this as a learning experience, where differences can come together.”

In St. Albans, Reier Erickson, a Black resident who spoke passionately about

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Oh, Chute!

Getting in the groove of snow tubing at Sharp Park in Milton S TO RY & P H O TO S BY K E N P IC AR D • ken@sevendaysvt.com

T

he sliders were lined up on the launchpad at the top of the hill, adjusting their helmets and donning their goggles as they awaited their turn to race down the curvy white track. Most had never slid this chute before, which was lengthened and upgraded for the winter of 2022. Early scouting reports indicated that the track, sluggish all morning due to an overnight snowfall, was finally getting packed down and smooth, shaving seconds off the sliders’ finish times.

OK, so maybe I was imagining the Winter Olympics as my kids and I trudged through the snow to the top of Son of Chute, the newly renovated snow-tubing hill at Sharp Park in Milton. But there was no race clock timing our descents, nor was anyone setting records, world-class or otherwise.

Still, Son of Chute, which more closely resembles an alpine slide than a conventional sledding hill, lends itself well to Olympic comparisons. At more than a quarter-mile long, it has five banked turns and an extended runout at the bottom. While sliders don’t approach luge-like speeds of 90 miles per hour, they occasionally catch air off the bumps, which can spin the tubes around and send sliders sailing down the mountain backward.

Snow tubing is essentially river tubing on much colder water. Riders plant their butts in an oversize inner tube, which has a fabric cover, handles, a smooth plastic bottom and a strap for dragging it around.

The pastime is a fun, low-cost alternative to skiing, snowboarding and all manner of other downhill sports.

However, be prepared to spend time and calories hoofing it uphill. Sharp Park has no lift or rope tow, just the boot prints of previous sliders pointing the way to the top.

Surprisingly, the parking lot at Sharp Park was only half full when my daughter, Manya, 12, and son, Ezra, 9, and I reached the launchpad on a recent Saturday. After an epic powder dump 24 hours earlier, I had assumed that the snow-tubing hill would be jammed with visitors.

Instead, we often had Son of Chute to ourselves. From the top, the view was gorgeous, with the snow-covered ridges and the wind turbines on Georgia Mountain to the north gleaming in the sun.

The hike up isn’t long, but it’s steep 36

SEVEN DAYS FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

RECREATION in spots and exhausting, especially after multiple trips, so we rested at the top between runs. There, we met Megan Parker, from Cape Cod, Mass., who was preparing to slide down with her 8-year-old son, Thomas. Parker explained that she and her family were looking for a “lower-key day” that didn’t involve schlepping ski equipment to a resort. I wasn’t sure whether dragging snow tubes uphill qualified as “lower key,” but they seemed to be enjoying themselves.

“I love it,” Parker said. “Climbing up the hill is definitely a workout, but … we’re drinking a lot of craft beer this weekend, so it’s good to work it off.”

Rick Sharp

We waited until Parker and her son reached the bottom and got out of the chute before heading down ourselves.

Unlike most water parks and alpine slides, Sharp Park has no one stationed at the top

telling riders when it’s safe for them to go. Helmets are mandatory for everyone under 18, but otherwise all sliding is at your own risk. Riders must immediately clear the chute upon reaching the bottom lest they become, as the park rules indicate, “a bowling pin for the next snow tube coming down.”

Son of Chute is the brainchild of Rick Sharp and Ruth Masters, local entrepreneurs who for years have earned their living from various kinds of recreation.

The husband-and-wife duo also owns and operates Burlington Segways, which offers electric bike rentals and Segway tours in Milton and on the Burlington waterfront.

Though locals have been sledding this hill for decades, the snow-tubing chute actually began as a bit of a lark. In 1984 Sharp purchased the property, an abandoned dairy farm, aiming to use it to offer hang gliding lessons. He scuttled that plan when he discovered that his proposed landing zone wasn’t suitable for that purpose.

Fortuitously, the sport of paragliding was just taking off. Sharp began paragliding in 1985 and started teaching it in 1992, using a hillside he had cleared. He and Masters also planted Christmas trees as a cash crop and in 2009 built the barn, which now houses the snow-tubing business. In non-pandemic times, visitors can pop inside to warm up, grab a hot chocolate and snacks, and use the restrooms.

Sharp still teaches paragliding on the hill in the warmer months, though he no longer pilots them himself. In 1996 he was in Mexico when he crashed into a cliff and broke his leg and two vertebrae in his neck, which left him paralyzed from the chest down for several months. It took him more than a year to learn to walk again.

In 2009, Sharp carved the first snow-tube chute into the hillside and purchased 20 snow tubes for rentals. Though the track was actionpacked, he recalled, “People would start going faster and faster, then go flying out of the chute. So that started to get dangerous.”

Between 2009 and 2020, Sharp and Masters invested a little each year in upgrading the chute and buying more tubes. When COVID-19 hit and many people sought new outdoor activities,

they flocked to Sharp Park, he said, and income from the snow-tube business tripled.

In 2021, the couple invested another $12,000 to rebuild the embankments, extend the entire track and buy more tubes. (They now have 60.) That work was completed last summer.

Sharp Park also has a conventional sledding hill, albeit one that’s as straight and steep at the top as a black diamond ski run. At the bottom of that hill I met Brandie Brooks of Essex Junction, who’d read about Sharp Park last year. Brooks described that hill as “lots of speed — and lots of snow in the face.”

By our sixth slide down Son of Chute, my kids and I were enjoying the faster speeds. Manya was catching more air on each descent, and Ezra was riding farther up the embankments. Nevertheless, once they started complaining about hunger, exhaustion and cold toes, we called it a day.

According to Sharp, Son of Chute is still a work in process. Some of the embankments need to be raised more to prevent sliders from flying off the sides and sailing into the woods, which happens on occasion.

SON OF CHUTE IS MORE THAN A QUARTER-MILE LONG AND HAS FIVE BANKED TURNS.

At 69, Sharp said he doesn’t envision running the business for more than another four or five years. But he’d like the property to remain a recreational mecca for Milton, possibly as a nonprofit organization similar to Cochran’s Ski Area in Richmond.

“We’ve got 101 acres,” he said, “and I don’t want to see it become another 10-lot subdivision.”

He often hears the question, “Any plans to install a lift?”

“We may,” Sharp said. When a cellphone tower was erected on top of the hill in 2015, Sharp insisted on buried power lines to avoid aerial hazards for paragliders. That enabled him to install electrical boxes at the bottom of the chute that could power two lifts.

“They’d be about $125,000 apiece, which we’d never recover,” he added. “But I might do it anyway, because I think it’s the thing to do.” m

INFO Sharp Park, 204 Cobble Hill Road, Milton, is open on Saturdays and Sundays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., in February, weather permitting. Parking is $10 per car, but the fee is waived with rental of one tube for $20. Learn more at sharppark.com.

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2/7/22 9:10 AM

Fallout

CULTURE

What stories do stray masks tell?

BY BRYAN P F E IF F E R

W

hether it is a token of virtue, a symbol of acquiescence or an expression of common sense, the pandemic mask is also a new form of litter.

Yet rarely do we pick one up — not in the same way we might take a plastic bottle from the trail or a candy wrapper off our front lawn. The mask we avoid like, well, you know.

The beer can, the cigarette butt, the apple core, the hypodermic needle — as litter each can be an expression of culture, intent and circumstance. Not so the pandemic mask. We do not cast it away with haste or indifference or disgust. The mask’s journey to earth is almost certainly accidental, regrettable.

Since autumn, I’ve been photographing fallen masks around Montpelier and during my routine adventures in nature — watching birds and botanizing, for example, or contemplating the waves in the Gulf of Maine. Each mask tells a story or evokes in me some emotion.

On Monhegan Island, Maine, a flowerprint mask lay on the trail. Did it belong to an artist visiting to paint the lighthouse or landscape? The medical mask beside Lake Champlain bore the impression of its wearer’s Roman nose. Did he wander off-trail there as I had? And what about the psychedelic mask dangling beside a footbridge over the river in Montpelier?

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SEVEN DAYS FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

What brave soul hung it there, like a lost mitten, for the owner to retrieve?

On the city’s streets and sidewalks, the stories seem more pointed. Which lawmaker or lobbyist might have dropped that blue mask near the Statehouse? Was the mask at rest in oak leaves outside my office one of mine? N95 masks are scarce among this litter; are their owners more careful not to lose them? And that black fabric mask, flattened like roadkill, soiled with winter salt and sand: Well, I have no notion of its erstwhile owner, but for the mask itself I bear no sympathy whatsoever.

None. Some masks are like that.

I’m not entirely sure why I photograph these masks — about three dozen so far.

Maybe this is performance art. Maybe it’s little more than fuel for social media. Or maybe I’m seeking something more, some chronicle of us expressed in our pandemic fallout.

As if the lives it has taken hasn’t been terrible enough, this plague has also exposed and exploited our disunities.

Masks are flimsy and potent symbols in the culture wars. But then again, so are debates about art and garbage. m

INFO Bryan Pfeiffer is a Montpelier-based field biologist and writer whose work appears occasionally in the Boston Globe. bryanpfeiffer.com

SEVEN DAYS FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

39

food+drink

Thai Tastes

New Maliwan restaurant in Essex balances the fragrances and heat of Thailand B Y M E L I SSA PASANEN • pasanen@sevendaysvt.com

GLENN RUSSELL

Pad prik khing with chicken at Maliwan Thai Restaurant

C

oming to Vermont was a big change, Sai Nitchamon said as we embarked on a multicourse dinner. She had agreed to guide me through a meal at Maliwan Thai Restaurant in Essex, which married co-owners Jeanne Sucharitaves and chef Jirapon “Noom” Chaisuwan opened just before Christmas in the space occupied

by Joyce’s Noodle House for almost two decades.

Born and raised in Bangkok, Nitchamon married a native Vermonter and moved to Newport in 2001. Over a first course of chewy rice-flour chive dumplings ($5), tangy green-papaya salad ($8.50), and maple-kissed grilled moo ping pork ($8) eaten with fingerfuls of sticky rice ($3), she detailed just a few

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SEVEN DAYS FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

of the differences between her current and former homes.

“We are super chill,” she said of her fellow Thai. “We don’t have to be ambitious like you. We don’t have to cut wood or freeze to death.”

Nitchamon, who now lives in South Burlington and works as a nurse at the University of Vermont Medical Center, hasn’t chopped any wood since settling in Vermont. She has learned to dress in layers during the winter, though she still misses the foods of home.

She tried to grow lemongrass, the fragrant, citrusy herb used in many Thai

dishes, in her backyard. Even when she managed to harvest some, “it was pretty sad,” she said with a rueful smile. “It tasted mostly like grass; no lemony essence. It’s still Vermont sun, not Thai sun.”

That’s why Nitchamon took to social media in early January to enthusiastically endorse Maliwan.

After 20 years in Vermont, she wrote, “I’ve learned to dial down my expectations when it comes to Thai food.” Maliwan impressed her, and she urged others to give it a try. She readily agreed to meet me there and help me get the most out of my dining experience.

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Before that visit, I texted Nitchamon for advice on my first takeout order. One of her recommendations, kua kling or turmeric chicken ($15), turned out to be delicious but burning with a fiery heat. I should have been forewarned by the dish’s spice options, which were limited to the top tier of Maliwan’s heat scale.

My husband took one bite of the kua kling and immediately started sweating, blowing his nose and chugging milk, all the while sputtering: “I’m sorry I’m not the man you thought I was.”

I shared leftovers of the dish with a friend who always wants her food spicier.

Though she enjoyed it, even she acknowledged that it tested her.

By contrast, the larb salad ($8.50) featured ground chicken like the kua kling but at a two-chile (medium) heat level. Its dressing was refreshingly limey, herby and fish-sauce funky, and it had loads of red onion and a just-to-my-taste hit of chile.

Also ordered at medium, the coconutbathed panang curry with shrimp ($15) balanced its heat with tongue-calming, creamy sweetness.

When I later spoke with Maliwan co-owner Sucharitaves, she recommended ordering sweet, milky Thai iced tea or coffee ($2.50) to mellow the burn. She also noted that most of the dishes on the menu can be made without any heat — or all the way up to extra spicy.

But not the kua kling. “That dish was made to be spicy,” Sucharitaves said, explaining that it’s from the south of Thailand, where the food packs more heat to match the temperatures.

At Maliwan, chef Chaisuwan pounds kua kling chile paste out of lemongrass, makrut lime leaves, fresh chiles, and turmeric and galangal roots in a mortar and pestle.

Even when chiles don’t dominate Maliwan’s cuisine, they are always there playing a critical bass note. “For us, Thai food, THAI TASTES

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Stop the Presses EATINGWELL MAGAZINE CEASES PRINT PUBLICATION AND LOSES TWO TOP EDITORS

Shelburne-based EATINGWELL magazine will stop print publication after its April issue and become a digital-only brand. Longtime editorin-chief JESSIE PRICE and managing editor WENDY RUOPP will both leave the publication, Price told Seven Days. Ruopp was part of the original team that launched the magazine in Charlotte in 1990.

Dotdash Meredith, a division of Barry Diller’s IAC/InterActiveCorp media group, bought EatingWell in 2021 as part of a $2.7 billion purchase of the magazine’s previous owner, the publisher Meredith Corporation.

Dotdash Meredith spokesperson Erica Jensen confirmed via email that EatingWell is among six former Meredith magazine

brands, including Entertainment Weekly and InStyle, that will no longer have monthly print editions. Jensen added that “these brands will continue to thrive and grow in a digital format.”

The Wall Street Journal first reported the changes on February 9.

The elimination of the six print magazines will result in the loss of 200 jobs, primarily in Dotdash Meredith’s New York offices, according to Jensen. She did not specify how many EatingWell positions would be cut but said “Dotdash Meredith intends to continue our presence in Vermont.”

As of September 2018, EatingWell had about 30 employees in Shelburne.

Meredith bought EatingWell in 2011 and moved its offices to Shelburne in 2012. In 2018, EatingWell absorbed Cooking Light magazine, making it “the largest subscription magazine in the epicurean category,” according to a press release at the time.

BARRY ESTABROOK, a James

Beard Foundation Award-winning food and agriculture writer who lives in Ferrisburgh, was EatingWell’s founding editor. He later became a contributing editor at Gourmet magazine and remembers vividly when that magazine abruptly ceased print publication in 2009.

Estabrook acknowledged the strength of online media but noted that “there are certain things that print can do — and does well” that tend to get lost in the flood of digital content. He has continued to contribute to EatingWell, which he called “the last of the serious food magazines.”

Estabrook’s most recent story, “Who Will Farm Our Future?,” appears in the March issue and reports on the younger generation of American farmers who are reinventing agriculture. It is the kind of deep dive into the food system

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sticky rice in a puddle of thick, reduced coconut milk.

Nitchamon met Sucharitaves before Maliwan opened, when she bought some of the family’s duck eggs. That was her first hint that the restaurant would stand out.

During my dinner with Nitchamon, she modeled how a meal unfolds in Thailand. Thai do not eat with chopsticks or knives, she said; proteins are almost always cut small, and the proportion of meat to vegetables or other ingredients is lower than in the U.S. — though Maliwan and other Thai restaurants cater to the American appetite for meat. She introduced me to several new dishes and ordered a side of sticky rice to go with our appetizer spread, which I highly recommend.

FOR US, THAI FOOD,

WHEN IT’S SPICY, IS FLAVORFUL.

Mango with sticky rice at Maliwan Thai Restaurant

J E ANNE S UC H AR ITAVE S

PHOTOS: GLENN RUSSELL

when it’s spicy, is flavorful,” Sucharitaves said.

Sucharitaves, 46, and Chaisuwan, 45, live in Essex with their three children. The kids are often with a babysitter in the big back room of the restaurant, which is also available by reservation.

In addition to managing the front of the house and filling in as needed in the kitchen, Sucharitaves works full time remotely as an engineer for GlobalFoundries. She came to the U.S. from Bangkok in 1995 to study computer science at Dartmouth College through a Thai government program; after graduation, she landed a job at what was then IBM. The couple met after Sucharitaves returned to Thailand in 2007. Chaisuwan is from Chiang Rai, the country’s northernmost city. They opened their first restaurant together there in 2010, while still dating. It was also called Maliwan, which means jasmine in Thai.

“I guess we were committed,” Sucharitaves said with a chuckle.

She moved back to Vermont with her husband in 2012. “We wanted to have our family here,” she said, chatting in the restaurant one morning last week with her 8-month-old strapped to her chest.

Chaisuwan worked for other restaurants until 2018, when the couple opened their first Vermont spot, Thai Smile, in Waterbury. They sold it last year to a friend, Arut Cheesungworn, and jumped on the opportunity to take over the Joyce’s Noodle House location, just five minutes from their home.

Much of Maliwan’s menu consists of Thai classics, such as pad Thai ($13 to $18, depending on the protein), and saucy curries, such as the panang I sampled at home. Beyond chiles, the signature flavors and fragrances of the dishes include the deep, salty umami of fish sauce; the citrus notes of Thai basil, lemongrass and makrut lime leaves; and galangal, which is similar to ginger.

The chef makes some concessions to availability and customer needs, Sucharitaves said, such as avoiding shrimp paste due to the prevalence of shellfish allergies.

Thai spice pastes often include fresh cilantro root, but stems are substituted when it’s scarce.

“In the summer, we grow our own cilantro and scallions,” Sucharitaves said.

The couple also has a flock of 150 ducks, whose eggs play a starring role in the coconut custard with sticky rice ($5).

I am still dreaming of this smooth, rich custard speckled with toasted sesame seeds, served on a pillow of mixed, sweet

Jirapon “Noom” Chaisuwan and Jeanne Sucharitaves

Sucharitaves later told me that sticky rice is a staple in northern Thailand, her husband’s native region. Farmers eat it before going to work in the fields. “It keeps you full longer,” she said. As a finger food, sticky rice is also a good vehicle for delivering sauces to the mouth.

Of the small plates, I especially loved the crisp exterior and tacky, soft interior of the sticky rice-wrapped chive dumplings.

I did wonder, though, whether the allium flavor would be more pronounced with fresher chives than what New England in February has to offer.

When Nitchamon ordered our next round of food, she added a fried egg to the basil duck stir-fry ($20 plus $2 for the egg). The puffy, oil-basted egg broke open to reveal a runny yolk, which beautifully complemented crisp, rich morsels of poultry cooked with ample garlic, chile and loads of fried basil.

Also among the dishes I’ll reorder is pad prik khing with pork ($13), a green bean and chile paste stir-fry showered with slivered lime leaves.

In Thailand, it’s common to add a fried egg to dishes. Sucharitaves’ own favorite

on the Maliwan menu is a popular street food: ka prow chicken with fried egg ($16), made with ground chicken, basil, onion and fresh chile.

When I returned to the restaurant to chat with Sucharitaves, I peeked into the kitchen as Chaisuwan and his team prepared for lunch. Huge woks sat on massive burners. Tubs and squeeze bottles of chile pastes and sauces, chopped peanuts and garlic, and buckets of eggs stood at the ready.

I ordered two final items for a takeout lunch. One was my standby Thai favorite: tom kha with chicken ($5) in a light, limey, galangal-infused coconut broth.

The other was a dish to which I was introduced on a trip to northern Thailand a few years ago: khao soi ($13).

The golden-hued coconut curry broth contains boiled noodles and is served with crispy noodles, pungent pickled mustard greens and fried onions.

In Chiang Mai, it came with a chicken drumstick, but in Essex, it comes with boneless sliced chicken.

That difference aside, when I took a sip of the rich, fragrant broth and closed my eyes to shut out the snow and the leafless maple in my front yard, I was almost transported for a moment back to Thailand. m

INFO Maliwan Thai Restaurant, 5 Carmichael St., Essex, 288-9828, maliwanvermont.com. BYOB.

food+drink

Burgers, Sushi & Drinks TO GO!

LOCAL LOVE!

Side Dishes « P.41 co-op’s history — including the city council vote that secured its place downtown — are detailed in an anniversary video on the City Market website.

City Market, Onion River Co-op

FILE: DARIA BISHOP

Travis (left) and Allan Walker-Hodkin of the Café HOT.

that Estabrook believes is at risk in the changing media landscape.

“Who is going to run a 3,500-word piece about young farmers?” he asked.

Melissa Pasanen

Crumbs CITY MARKET, ONION RIVER CO-OP CELEBRATES 20 YEARS; THE CAFÉ HOT. ADDS INDOOR DINING

The downtown location of CITY MARKET, ONION RIVER CO-OP celebrates its 20th anniversary this month with free snacks and a taste of its history.

Co-op staff are giving away warm beverages and baked goods from local businesses such as JONES THE BOY BAKE SHOP

and MY LITTLE CUPCAKE; look for them each Friday in February outside the

downtown store, beginning at 10 a.m.

City Market became downtown Burlington’s only grocery store when it opened at 82 South Winooski Avenue in February 2002. The cooperative’s history goes back further, though — to 1971, when Onion River Co-op began as a buying club. Its first storefront was on Archibald Street in the Old North End; in 1990, the co-op moved to a larger space on North Winooski Avenue, with a human chain passing food along the sidewalk from building to building.

That sidewalk scene and more stories from the

It’s been a busy month at Burlington breakfast hot spot the CAFÉ HOT. ALLAN and TRAVIS WALKER-HODKIN quietly opened the doors at 198 Main Street for on-site dining last Thursday.

Seeing a full restaurant — and the surprise and delight on regulars’ faces — was “overwhelming and great,” Travis said.

The menu full of “bonuts” (fried, glazed biscuit dough) and egg sandwiches hasn’t changed, but “it tastes a little better when you’re sitting inside,” Allan said, noting that on-site dining shows off the café’s espresso drinks.

While online ordering and pickup at the popular takeout window are temporarily paused, to-go orders can still be placed inside.

Also last week, the Café HOT. became the first restaurant in Vermont certified by the Green Restaurant Association. The Bostonbased nonprofit helped the brothers update their facility to minimize environmental impact, from using low-flow fixtures and secondhand equipment to outlawing straws.

They’re also committed to serving a vegetarian “no-kill menu.”

“There are a thousand ways to be more sustainable,” Allan said. “It’s nice to have a target to work toward.”

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Breaking the Ice

Angling for a new winter hobby with the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department S TO RY & P H O TO BY J O R D AN BAR RY • jbarry@sevendaysvt.com

A

nthony Bourdain skewed my perception of ice fishing. Since watching him in the Québec episode of his food and travel show “Parts Unknown” in 2013, I’ve dreamed of an elaborate meal in a deckedout ice shanty: a multicourse feast served on vintage dishware with oysters, foie gras, lobster with shaved black truffle, an overly fussy cake, wine and Chartreuse.

Before his meal, the late chef briefly sat with his hosts around a hole drilled into the three-foot-thick ice of the St. Lawrence River, pretending to fish.

His takeaway? “It’s one thing to work outside in this wintry mess, but it takes a strange and wonderful kind of mutant to actually find it pleasurable.”

The pleasure, in Bourdain’s case, came from a slab of foie gras seared on the shanty’s wood-burning stove — or maybe from the Cuban cigar that followed. The fishing was just an excuse to escape for an afternoon and indulge.

My first ice-fishing expedition did not have foie gras or Chartreuse, though the herbal liqueur would have been a delicious addition to my thermos full of hot chocolate. But you have to start somewhere, and I started with an Introduction to Ice Fishing clinic hosted by the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department.

The free clinics are part of the department’s Let’s Go Fishing Program, hosted around the state to give beginners like me the basics necessary to fish safely on their own.

On a windy, flurrying Friday morning in late January, I headed to Shelburne Pond, where I joined 20 other bundled-up participants in a 200-yard trek out onto the ice. We gathered in a semicircle around the clinic’s leader, Fish & Wildlife education specialist Corey Hart, and a table full of equipment.

Thankfully, Hart started the clinic without an icebreaker. He did, however, begin by gently scolding the group for following him blindly onto the ice.

“We would never have had you come out here if the ice were bad,” Hart said, “but when you go on your own, you have to check to make sure you have enough ice.”

I’ve been afraid of falling through ice since reading Little Women as a kid, imagining Amy’s plunge into frigid waters every time I get near a frozen body of water. The month of January had been so cold, though, that I’d let my guard down.

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SEVEN DAYS FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

Corey Hart demonstrating how to set a tip-up

I CAN ALMOST GUARANTEE WE’LL GET SOME YELLOW PERCH BEFORE WE LEAVE TODAY. C O R E Y H AR T

But even a brutal string of temperatures below zero doesn’t guarantee safe ice, Hart said, especially if it’s really windy. The only way to know for sure is to whack the ice with a metal rod delightfully known as a spud bar.

“Walk out, whack. If it goes through, go back,” Hart said — a mantra that looped in my head throughout the three-hour clinic.

To be safe for walking, ice must be about four inches thick and solid black, he continued. At around six inches, you’ll start to see snowmobiles; at eight to 12, small cars and pickups. In the middle of the 452-acre Shelburne Pond in late January, we were standing on at least a foot and a half of ice.

Fish & Wildlife doesn’t recommend

driving vehicles onto a lake. “But if you’re hesitant, and you see a Chevy driving around on the ice, that’s usually a good indicator you can go out and walk,” Hart said.

Bait dealers are another good source of knowledge about ice conditions; they talk to anglers all day and tend to know where the bad spots are on a given body of water. “And they want you to come back and keep buying bait,” Hart added with a laugh.

Next, he covered safety equipment, showing off the spiky ice picks he wears around his neck, a rope to throw from a safe distance if his fishing partner were to fall

through, ice cleats to prevent slipping and falling, and his float coat.

I was woefully unprepared, gear-wise.

I wasn’t even wearing snow pants, which I haven’t owned since elementary school, when they were required for recess.

I also didn’t have a fishing license. As Hart got into the regulations portion of the clinic, he reassured us that we didn’t need a license to fish that day. And the next day, January 29, happened to be Vermont’s Free Ice Fishing Day, so we could put our new skills to the test license-free then, too. After that, if we were mutant enough to enjoy fishing in the cold, we’d have to make the investment, $28 a year for a Vermont adult.

Ali Thomas, the department’s outreach director and education programs coordinator, handed out glossy magazines full of the official state regulations — including license details, catch-and-release tips, fish species identification, and where to fish.

During the clinic we fished for northern pike and yellow perch, “one of Vermont’s favorite food fishes,” according to the guide.

“I can almost guarantee we’ll get some yellow perch before we leave today,” Hart said.

No catching happens without holes in the ice, of course. Hart held up a corkscrew-like hand auger — an affordable option for beginners. “The downside is, it’s all you power,” he said.

The Fish & Wildlife team had already predrilled eight-inch holes with battery- and gas-powered augers for the group. But with temps in the teens, a few participants gave hand drilling a try to generate body heat.

State regulations allow each person to put up to eight lines in the water, using either tipups or jigging rods. To quote an old infomercial, tip-ups are the “set it and forget it” of the ice-fishing world. A stand sits over a hole with a baited line dangling down; a bright flag pops up triumphantly when there’s fish on the line. Handheld jigging rods are like typical open-water fishing poles but shorter.

I chatted with Wendy Eberhart and Brian Ebel as they put out a tip-up stand in a freshly hand-drilled hole. The Shelburne couple said they’d attended the clinic to learn the basics before heading back out to ice fish with their two young children — “maybe on a warmer day,” Ebel said.

“With cocoa and hot dogs, so there’s food no matter what,” Eberhart added.

Farther out on the pond, seventh grader James Waite was setting a tip-up of his own.

His dad, Miles Waite, had let him take the morning off from school to attend the clinic.

“I’ve never ice fished,” James said. “It’s really fun. I just like being out in nature and seeing a bunch of cool wildlife.”

I grabbed a jigging rod of my own and placed the line in a hole. I opened the bail and let the tackle drop until I felt it hit the bottom of the lake. Raising it up by a foot or so, I flicked my wrist to mimic a tasty morsel.

“It’s really effective to use the eyeballs of smaller fish as bait,” Thomas told the group.

She did her best to gross out the crowd of newbies, detailing the process of poking out a perch eyeball. Then she pulled a container of 100 maggots out of her coat, where she’d

been keeping them warm to preserve their wiggle.

“I’ve definitely [accidentally] left them in my pocket and created flies,” Thomas said.

The cold started taking its toll after a couple of hours. Even the fish were wary of the wind — nobody caught anything, despite Hart’s confidence. Walking back to the parking lot, one participant recited the fishermen’s adage: “That’s why they call it fishing, not catching.”

At the clinic, catching wasn’t really the point. “It’s a beautifully relevant and equitable way to get people out, connecting with nature,” Thomas said. Ice fishing is particularly cool, she said, because you don’t need a boat to access the whole lake.

Fishing and hunting license sales have increased over the past two years. A big motivator, Thomas said, has been Vermonters’ interest in sustainable and accessible food sources.

Recent research by the National Food Access and COVID Research Team found that fishing, hunting, foraging and other home food production increased during the pandemic, particularly among food-insecure households.

“We don’t call fishing a sport very often,” Thomas said. “It’s fine to do it without eating [what’s caught], but it’s really about local food procurement for a lot of people — of all different ages and backgrounds.”

In addition to the roughly 30 ice-fishing clinics it hosts each winter, the department offers year-round programs through Let’s Go Fishing that focus on how to process fish. It also offers more advanced, speciesspecific fishing clinics. The department serves between 5,000 and 6,000 Vermonters per year through all of its 100 to 150 fishing clinics.

If my shanty meal dreams come true — and my fishing luck improves next time I hit the ice — I’ll skip the foie gras for yellow perch, lightly battered and fried in brown butter. m

INFO Learn more at vtfishandwildlife.com.

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culture Letter by Letter Book review: Constellation Route, Matthew Olzmann B Y J I M SCHL EY • schley@sevendaysvt.com

M

atthew Olzmann’s new book is composed of letters — poems that take the form of epistles from the poet to friends and teachers, other sentient beings, objects, and even concepts. Among the correspondents are a flying saucer, the Connecticut River monster, a traffic light in North Carolina and the actor (now corporate flack) William Shatner.

Olzmann displays the playfulness of his “to” and “from” amusingly in his table of contents, where we find titles such as “Letter to a Man Who, Within a Year of Being Struck by Lightning, Had Previously Been Hit by a Cement Truck and Bitten by a Tarantula,” “Letter to Matthew Olzmann From the Roman Empire,” and “Letter to Justin, Age Seven, Regarding Any Possible Mixed-Race Anxieties Which One Might Experience in the Near or Distant Future.”

And could you possibly pass by a poem called “Letter to a Cockroach, Now Dead and Mixed Into a Bar of Chocolate”?

Constellation Route also features poems that celebrate — of course — the postal service.

White River Junction resident Olzmann is the author of two previous books of poems: Mezzanines (2013), which received the Kundiman Poetry Prize for “exceptional work by an Asian American poet”; and Contradictions in the Design (2016). His writing has appeared in The Best American Poetry and many journals, and he’s received fellowships from the Kresge Foundation, Bread Loaf Writers’ Conferences and MacDowell colony. He teaches at Dartmouth College and in the low-residency MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College.

This new book demonstrates how a quick-witted artist can repurpose the sorts of miscellaneous information that bombard us in broadcasts, in overheard conversations and online. Olzmann is eager as a crow to snatch shiny, intriguing bits and pieces and give them new homes in poems. He’s fascinated by history, including stories of fortuitous mishaps such as the inventions of the pacemaker, the X-ray and nuclear fission — all

OLZMANN IS EAGER AS A CROW

TO SNATCH SHINY, INTRIGUING BITS AND PIECES AND GIVE THEM NEW HOMES IN POEMS. discovered while looking for something else. The narrator of “Letter to a Canyon” says, “I fill everything with accidents.”

As well as crafting pieces prompted by such odd gleanings, Olzmann has a knack for fashioning extended riffs on figures of speech and literary snippets. In “Letter to the Horse You Rode in On,” fancy diction bumps into blunter slang: “It matters not who rode in on / the aforementioned steed. It matters not / what kind of jackassery said rider has committed.”

In a note, Olzmann admits he’s not certain who originated the expression “The best place to hide a leaf is in a forest” (Jorge Luis Borges or G.K. Chesterton?). But his trenchant poem addressed to Bruce Wayne, alter ego of Batman, keeps finding new ways of hearing that tantalizing locution.

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COURTESY OF MARGARITA CORPORAN

BOOKS

Matthew Olzmann

‘LETTER TO SOMEONE LIVING FIFTY YEARS FROM NOW’ FROM CONSTELLATION ROUTE

By Matthew Olzmann, Alice James Books, 2022 Most likely, you think we hated the elephant, the golden toad, the thylacine and all variations of whale harpooned or hacked into extinction.

It must seem like we sought to leave you nothing but benzene, mercury, the stomachs of sea gulls rippled with jet fuel and plastic.

You probably doubt that we were capable of joy, but I assure you we were.

We still had the night sky back then, and like our ancestors, we admired

its illuminated doodles of scorpion outlines and upside-down ladles.

Absolutely, there were some forests left!

Absolutely, we still had some lakes!

I’m saying, it wasn’t all lead paint and sulfur dioxide.

There were bees back then, and they pollinated a euphoria of flowers so we might contemplate the great mysteries and finally ask, Hey guys, what’s transcendence?

And then all the bees were dead.

A good place to hide a drop of water is a stream.

A good place to hide a stream is beneath an ocean.

A good place to hide a man is among thousands of men. Watch how they rush through the city like water through a ravine.

Olzmann’s poems often begin like the setups for jokes, then slide into simile or narrative analogy, ping-ponging between divergent rhetorical styles, from somber and matter-of-fact to drolly outlandish.

Writing about the ins and outs of mail delivery, he improvises on entries in the official “Publication 32 — Glossary of Postal Terms,” such as “Phantom Route,” “Daylight Container,” “Wing Case” and “The Dead Letter Office.” He selects

what might be bureaucratic banalities and spins them into allegory. At its start, “Day Zero” is about the moment when “a mailpiece enters the mailstream,” but it becomes about “the day before” Genesis. “Conversion” is initially about a U.S. Postal Service employee’s change in status, but it expands to encompass the hazards of Earthly existence.

The sun orbits the earth, then one day it doesn’t.

The whale gets legs, gets bored with land, goes back to the ocean, the legs are now a metaphor. Nothing certain, nothing written in stone that can’t be unwritten by the hammer. The world keeps trying to end itself because it wants to end, then one day it doesn’t.

The book’s title poem begins by playing on “star route,” a term for rural areas where independent carriers make deliveries. Characteristically, Olzmann

allows the phrase to mutate in his mind into the image of an actual path lit by celestial lights. He upends a cliché by taking it literally, then plays with abandon on its linguistic implications, yielding possibilities and surprises.

This poet ’s epistolary wizardry is never solitary. He’s corresponding, continually.

And, taking to heart the ethos of a devoted letter writer, he features letter-poems by other writers, including Jessica Jacobs, Ross White, Vievee Francis and Cathy Linh Che. The effect is generative and generous. These guest appearances are not without risk, because they offer some of the volume’s strongest writing.

While it’s still unusual for poets to commingle works by others in their collections, it’s reminiscent of how musicians trade solos when playing together, both fooling around and completely in earnest.

Emily Dickinson called a poem her “letter to the World.” In Constellation Route, Olzmann delivers to readers a marvelous packet of letters, penned by one of the most perspicacious and sympathetic raconteurs we could know. As he says in “Conversion”: This always stuns me: the way an envelope arrives; how we still reach toward one another, how this correspondence endures: one figure approaches your door with a satchel full of sand, pigeon feathers, sorrows, and names.

INFO Constellation Route by Matthew Olzmann, Alice James Books, 100 pages. $17.95.

Olzmann reads with Katie Crouch on Thursday, February 24, 4:45 p.m., at Sanborn Library, Dartmouth College, in Hanover, N.H. Hear Olzmann read Constellation Route’s title poem online at Poets & Writers (pw.org).

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“A democracy cannot thrive where power remains unchecked and justice is reserved for a select few. Ignoring these cries and failing to respond to this movement is simply not an option — for peace cannot exist where justice is not served.”

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In the Bedroom Review: I Do! I Do!, ArtisTree Music Theatre Festival

BY J ORDAN AD AMS • jordan@sevendaysvt.com

A

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The dominant and versatile set piece remains a constant as characters Agnes (Lyn Philistine) and Michael (Christopher Sutton) live through 50 years of marriage. It’s a place Buy tickets online at middleburysnowbowl.com or Buy tickets online middleburysnowbowl.com Buy Buytickets ticketsonline onlineatat atmiddleburysnowbowl.com middleburysnowbowl.comoror or to come together, live out fantasies, dance, call 802-443-7669 for more information Buy tickets online at middleburysnowbowl.com or call 802-443-7669 for more information Buy tickets online at middleburysnowbowl.com or fall apart and find stability again. call for call802-443-7669 802-443-7669 formore moreinformation information call 802-443-7669 for more information call 802-443-7669 for more information Directed by Gary John La Rosa, the

THEATER

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1966 musical comes to life in South Pomfret’s Grange Theatre. The 90-seat playhouse provides a cozy atmosphere and puts the audience exceptionally close to the action.

Written by Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones, masterminds of The Fantasticks, I Do! I Do! is unconventional in some noteworthy ways. Its two-person cast runs counter to the era’s trend of large ensembles, as seen in Hello, Dolly! and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.

I Do! I Do! also satirizes love and marriage with a much gentler touch than those popular shows do. It empathetically examines marital norms, infidelity,

loneliness and companionship through two acts chock-full of lively musical numbers.

We meet Agnes and Michael as hopeful fiancés on the eve of their nuptials. Eager and naïve, the pair dives headfirst into marriage, blissfully unaware of what it takes to stay together for the long haul.

At the top of Act 1, Agnes and Michael don’t know each other very well, as was normal at the turn of the 20th century, when the show takes place. Neither has much experience with love or sex, but they enthusiastically embrace their new life together. On their wedding night, Michael’s simple act of removing Agnes’ shoe and stroking her foot is a tender and

charged moment. The intimate gesture breaks the ice, and their partnership begins in earnest.

Before long, Agnes is pregnant. But after eight months, Michael is the debilitated one, not the engorged, lumbering Agnes. He lies in bed with sympathy pains, oblivious to his wife’s very real discomfort. It’s our first glimpse of Michael’s egotism and complacency, a trait that grows more prominent as he gains success as a novelist.

Agnes gives birth to a son and a daughter in rapid succession, all the while growing bitter in response to Michael’s neglect. They confront each other with a litany of grievances.

The conflict reaches a boiling point when Michael reveals that he has been having an affair. Though she considers leaving him, Agnes decides to stay — for now.

Act 2 finds Agnes and Michael still together, seemingly h e a l e d f ro m t h e strain of Michael’s affair. Their kids are older and stirring up trouble for their parents, who are reluctant to see them grow up. Soon the children come of age and get married, much to their parents’ disillusionment.

As empty nesters, Agnes and Michael ponder what’s next for them. Without children to keep them together, will they find reasons to stay? As each examines what it means to be self-reliant as well as dependent on the other, they find that love is worth fighting for.

Philistine and Sutton, a real-life married couple, deliver energetic and engaging performances that never flag.

Both members of Actors’ Equity Association, they have a chemistry that drives the comedic numbers as much as it does the tender moments. With brilliant physicality, they hurtle full-bodied through moments both joyful and somber, brandishing facial expressions that use every muscle.

Each boasts an excellent singing voice perfectly matched to the lavish musical style of I Do! I Do! Accompanied by a modest remote-pit orchestra performing in a nearby barn, Philistine and Sutton take fluid jaunts from song to song. They revel as much in bouncy numbers full of snappy lyrics and witty barbs as in anthemic torch songs steeped in emotion.

Though the show is set between 1898 and 1948, not much in the script pins it to that era. A modernized set and wardrobe wouldn’t come off as

anachronistic. Nonetheless, scenic designer Christian Kohn roots the show in the not-too-distant past, adorning the master bedroom with antique armchairs, books, crystal decanters, perfume bottles and other bric-a-brac.

The room’s walls are stenciled with an elaborate gold-leaf pattern on a base of deep red that calls to mind emotional fervor and humanity. After all, blood rushes to the cheeks after a first kiss and, ahem, gives “rise” to passion.

La Rosa, who also choreographed the show, uses the small space well, leaving about 40 square feet on the lip of the stage for his actors to dance a soft shoe or two.

Lighting designer Curtis Shields captures a life lived at all hours.

Two gas-lamp sconces pulse on opposite sides of the set. Early morning sun and full moonlight splash the set through a fourth wall full of imaginary windows.

Sartorially, the characters’ looks range from just-risen to coiffed for a cocktail party. Costumers Michael Bottari and Ronald Case assembled period looks that change as the story progresses from early to mid-20th century. The couple’s sleepwear fashions say as much about the era as any of the ensembles. On their wedding night, Michael wears a thoroughly unsexy Ebenezer Scrooge-style cotton nightshirt, Agnes a dowdy nightgown. Decades on, both have upgraded to silky pajamas.

Some may assume that ArtisTree picked a marriage story to mount the weeks before and after Valentine’s Day, but in fact the show was originally planned for September 2020. The reason for its postponement should be obvious.

Given the inescapable scrutiny of love, sex and relationships that hits every year in mid-February, I Do! I Do! arrives just when people are most likely to be pondering their own relationships. More than an amusing diversion, the musical offers couples and singles alike a timely examination of love and what it takes to sustain it. m

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INFO I Do! I Do! by Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones, directed by Gary John La Rosa, produced by ArtisTree Music Theatre Festival. Wednesday, February 16, 2 p.m.; Thursday, February 17, through Saturday, February 19, 7:30 p.m.; and Saturday, February 19, 2 p.m., at the Grange Theatre in South Pomfret. $35-45. artistreevt.org 4T-ECHO021622 1

SEVEN DAYS FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

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art

Material Witness Sabrina Fadial’s sculptures reference women’s bodies and “the bloody stuff” B Y A M Y L I L LY • lilly@sevendaysvt.com

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The wall-hung “Bulbous” is an assemblage of rounded forms bound in netting and unbound forms that seem to elongate as they droop. According to Fadial’s gallery label, the work “evokes feelings of constriction and overflowing.”

“Constricted Breath,” one of four works in ink on paper, continues the former theme. Fadial executed its sweeping arcs with a brush in each hand on paper approximating the size of a human body. The brush marks’ trajectories overlap to form a large X in the center of the paper.

This viewer experienced a similar

REVIEW

sensation of constriction while standing in front of “11/9,” Fadial’s response to the day in 2016 when Donald Trump was declared president. Over a backdrop of thick horizontal brushstrokes interleaved with peaceful planes of exposed white paper, a scrim of heavy drips creates a vertical curtain, as if to shut down all possibility.

"Constricted Breath"

IT EXPRESSES MY IMMEDIATE FEAR AND SADNESS FOR ALL WOMEN AND THE CHALLENGES WE STILL FACE. S A B R I N A FA D I A L COURTESY OF T.W. WOOD GALLERY

arre artist Sabrina Fadial is known locally for her largescale, forged metalwork flowers, milkweed pods and other nature-inspired forms. In a solo exhibition at T.W. Wood Gallery in Montpelier, “Corporeal Discretion,” a different side of her work emerges: Fadial’s inventiveness with found materials.

Hundreds of wire hangers form a tiered, chandelier-like sculpture. At one end of the gallery, large tubes crocheted from wire hang draped from the ceiling.

Variously hued pantyhose stuffed with plastic pellets are grouped in pendulous arrangements. Large, gestural paintings in ink on five-foot-square sheets of paper hang from binder clips.

The works in “Corporeal Discretion” reference women’s bodies — a topic much in the news lately, given the proposed or actual legislation in several states to severely restrict abortion rights and Vermont’s proposed constitutional amendment to guarantee reproductive freedom. Those debates often involve clinical, removed discussions of female bodies. Fadial wants to bring their messiness back into the conversation.

“In society, we don’t talk about miscarriages, abortions, birth — any of the bloody stuff,” the artist said during a phone call.

“These are taboo subjects, yet women are the majority of people on the planet.”

“Surrogate Praxis,” the sculpture made from wire hangers, viscerally evokes that bloodiness with its reference to the abortion tool of desperation. Paradoxically, the work is also inherently elegant, with each of its tiers exploring a different orientation of the humble object. The hanging sculpture casts intricate butterfly and starburst shadows on the light-gray wall and on a scroll of white paper that Fadial has laid beneath it.

The stuffed-pantyhose protuberances of “Bulbous” and “Organic” invite squeezing, and Fadial recommends doing so. (“Because you know you want to,” she said with a chuckle.) In “Organic,” the bulging forms are piled unceremoniously, like a surfeit of unwanted breasts, on a vintage medical cart; some dangle precariously over the edge.

“Organic”

“Surrogate Praxis”

ART SHOWS

“It expresses my immediate fear and sadness for all women and the challenges we still face,” the label reads.

To make “Ectopic,” Fadial unbraided an industrial steel cable and then rewove it around a tapered, hand-blown glass vessel. The sculpture evokes an ectopic pregnancy — one that has formed in a fallopian tube instead of the uterus. The pain of that condition contrasts with the beauty of the gleaming sculpture, which is enhanced by its placement on the gallery’s mini-grand piano.

It’s not surprising that an artist who majored in textile design at the Rhode Island School of Design has the ability to weave steel strands. That major “ticked a lot of boxes: draw, paint, weave, sculpture,” Fadial said. She soon added blacksmithing to her skills, building a forge in her backyard.

Fadial came to Vermont in 1999 to earn an MFA in visual art at the Vermont College of Fine Arts. She currently teaches classes at Norwich University on visual art and foundations of architecture — yet another interest that predates her days at RISD. More metal-weaving techniques appear in Fadial’s installation “Salpinges” — another name for the fallopian tubes.

Using a discarded basketball hoop as a crochet loom, she wove what appear to be miles of greasy bailing wire into seven giant tubular forms with flowerlike openings. A rupture in the middle of one may be another ectopic reference. Rather than imitating the body’s symmetrical arrangement of fallopian tubes, these tubes have the structure of a disjointed roller coaster.

Fadial encourages visitors to walk around and among them.

T.W. Wood’s executive director, Margaret Coleman, originally planned to pair Fadial’s work with that of another artist. But when she visited Fadial’s 2,000-square-foot studio — the artist bought her house for the insulated mechanic’s shop that came with it — the director saw the extent and scale of her work. Coleman offered Fadial a solo show, which the artist curated herself.

“She’s really unique in her choice of materials,” Coleman enthused. “Her studio has so many textures.”

Fadial acknowledged that she has her own “story around fertility” and derived the theme of “Corporeal Discretion” from the current zeitgeist. Ultimately, though, the materials themselves drive her.

“I just collect random junk all the time,” she said. “My process is really about play and screwing around with materials.” m

INFO Sabrina Fadial, “Corporeal Discretion,” on view through March 18 at T.W. Wood Gallery in Montpelier. twwood.org, sabrinafadial.com

NEW THIS WEEK

available or BYO. Legion Field, Johnson, February 19-26. Free. Info, kyle.studiostore@gmail.com.

burlington

LANTERN & LIGHT FESTIVAL: Community members, schoolchildren and Northern Vermont University-Lyndonville students illuminate handmade lanterns crafted from willow, reed and parchment in an outdoor event that includes hot cocoa and live drumming. Park at Municipal Building. Bandstand Park, Lyndonville, Friday, February 18, 5-7 p.m. Free. Info, 229-8317.

ERIC AHO: “Headwater,” monumental paintings that capture the Vermont artist’s sensory experience of nature reconstructed through memory and invention. SARAH TRAD: “What Still Remains,” an exploration of personal and cultural identity using single-channel video, multichannel moving images and textile installations by the Philadelphia-based Lebanese American artist.

February 18-June 5. Info, 865-7166. BCA Center in Burlington.

barre/montpelier

AMY BURNS & KEILANI LIME: An exhibition of illustration, cartoons and large-format mixedmedia paintings; also, the artists’ collaborative comic about living with chronic illness. February 16-March 30. Info, 479-0896. Espresso Bueno in Barre.

brattleboro/okemo valley

f ‘ARTFUL ICE SHANTIES’: Presented by the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center and Retreat Farm, this outdoor exhibit is a place-based celebration of artistic talent, creative ingenuity and the history of ice fishing at the Retreat Meadows.

Activities and hot cocoa available daily. Awards ceremony: Saturday, February 26, 2 p.m. February 19-27. Info, office@brattleboromuseum.org. Retreat Farm in Brattleboro. f SCHOLASTIC ART & WRITING AWARDS EXHIBITION: Award-winning artwork and writing by 97 Vermont youth. Awards ceremony: Saturday, March 5, noon; keynote speaker is local poet, writer and photographer Shanta Lee Gander.

Event is in person and livestreamed; register at brattleboromuseum.org. February 18-March 5.

Info, 257-0124. Brattleboro Museum & Art Center.

outside vermont

f ‘PHOTOGRAPHS FROM HOLLYWOOD’S

GOLDEN ERA’: Recently acquired from the John Kobal Foundation, the images include studio portraiture, publicity shots and film stills from the 1920s to ’50s. Winter opening: Thursday, February 24, 5-7 p.m., with curatorial talks and other programming February 19-May 21. Info, 603646-2808. Hood Museum, Dartmouth College, in Hanover, N.H.

ART EVENTS ARTIST TALK: ANTHONY GOICOLEA: The New York-based visiting artist gives a presentation via Zoom. A multidisciplinary artist, his work ranges from photography, sculpture and video to multilayered drawings on Mylar, oil on canvas and large-scale installations. Wednesday, February 23, 7-8 p.m. Free. Info, 635-2727.

ARTIST TALK: MOHAMAD HAFEZ: The Syrian-born, Connecticut-based artist and architect discusses his sculptures in the current exhibit, “Unpacked: Refugee Baggage,” and his process of collaborating with refugees who have resettled in the U.S. Fleming Museum of Art, University of Vermont, Burlington, Wednesday, February 23, 5:30 p.m.

Free. Info, 656-0750.

COMMUNITY ART AND POETRY: JC Wayne facilitates coming together as community members to create art or poetry responses to Vermont Humanities’ Vermont Reads book, We Contain Multitudes, by Sarah Henstra. No art or poetry experience necessary. Register for Zoom event at kellogghubbard.org. Online, Wednesday, February 16, 6:30-8 p.m. Free. Info, 223-3338.

COMMUNITY SCAVENGER HUNT AND ART WALK: Participants of all ages can pick up a scavenger clue sheet at various downtown locations, or download from johnsonrecreationvt.com. The weeklong hunt concludes at the rec field with Skate & Bake on February 26, 2-4 p.m., including cocoa, cookies, ice skating, sledding, bonfires and a raffle for scavenger participants. Limited skates and sleds

‘MOKUHANGA STORIES’: The Southern Vermont Arts Center presents artists Yoonmi Nam, Jennifer Mack-Watkins, Katsutoshi Yuasa and April Vollmer in a discussion about the printmaking technique and their works in the exhibition “The World Between the Block and the Paper.” Register for Zoom link at svac.org. Online, Thursday, February 17, 7 p.m. Free.

SNOWLIGHTS: An outdoor dance party with an illuminated sculpture park, snow-sculpture demonstrations, live music and snacks by the fire pits. Winter wear recommended; masks required inside. Highland Center for the Arts, Greensboro, Friday, February 18, through Sunday, February 20, 5:30-8 p.m. $30 per carload. Info, 533-2000.

‘WHAT THE CONSERVATOR SAW: LOOKING AT WORKS BY LUIGI LUCIONI’: Shelburne Museum director of conservation Nancie Ravenel shows how she uses lighting and photographic techniques to gain insight into how artist Luigi Lucioni (1900-88) worked. The artist will be featured in an upcoming exhibition at the museum.

Register for Zoom link at shelburnemuseum.org.

Online, Wednesday, February 16, noon-1 p.m. Info, 985-3346.

WINTER LECTURE SERIES: SUSAN ABBOTT: Middlebury’s Edgewater Gallery presents the Vermont artist in a slide lecture titled “I Don’t See That Purple,” with dinner following. Reservations required. The Pitcher Inn, Warren, Wednesday, February 23, 5-8 p.m. Info, 496-6350.

ONGOING SHOWS burlington

ARTWORKS AT UVMMC: Oil paintings and watercolors by Susan Bull Riley (Main Street Connector, ACC 3); acrylic and ink paintings by Mike Strauss (Main Street Connector, BCC and Patient Garden); acrylic paintings by Brecca Loh (McClure 4); and acrylic paintings by Michelle Turbide (Pathology hallway, ACC 2). Curated by Burlington City Arts.

Through May 31. Info, 865-7296. University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington.

Cherouny, as well as photographs by Caleb Kenna and Michael Couture in the building’s hallways.

Curated by Burlington City Arts. Through March 31.

Info, 865-7296. Maltex Building in Burlington.

PIEVY POLYTE: Paintings by the Haitian artist and coffee farmer. Sales benefit his philanthropic efforts for a farm and school in Haiti. Through February 28. Info, 540-0406. ArtsRiot in Burlington.

SHANNON O’CONNELL: Botanical paintings with phosphorescent and UV-sensitive pigments mixed into the paint, allowing secondary paintings to be revealed. Through March 2. 802-865-7296.

Burlington City Hall.

STEPHEN SHARON: A solo exhibition of vibrant, multilayered abstract paintings by the Burlington artist. Curated by SEABA. Through March 4. Info, 859-9222. Speeder & Earl’s Coffee in Burlington.

chittenden county

ERIKA LAWLOR SCHMIDT: Relief monotypes, Skyway. Curated by Burlington City Arts. MAREVA MILLARC: Acrylic paintings, Gates 1-8. Curated

by Burlington City Arts. Through March 31. Info, 865-7296. Burlington International Airport in South Burlington.

‘EYESIGHT & INSIGHT: LENS ON AMERICAN ART’: An online exhibition of artworks at shelburnemuseum.org that illuminates creative responses to perceptions of vision; four sections explore themes ranging from 18th-century optical technologies to the social and historical connotations of eyeglasses in portraiture from the 19th century to the present. Through October 16.

‘IN PLAIN SIGHT: REDISCOVERING CHARLES SUMNER BUNN’S DECOYS’: An online exhibition of shorebird decoys carved by the member of the Shinnecock-Montauk Tribes, based on extensive research and resolving historic controversy. Through October 5. Info, 985-3346.

Shelburne Museum.

‘THE GIFT OF ART’: An off-season exhibition featuring a changing collection of artworks. Open by appointment or during special events. Through April 30. Info, 434-2167. Birds of Vermont Museum in Huntington.

LISA BALFOUR & KELLY O’NEAL: Acrylic paintings (Merrill Community Room) and photographs exploring place (Pierson Room), respectively.

Curated by Burlington City Arts. Through June 15.

Info, 865-7296. Pierson Library in Shelburne.

barre/montpelier

‘DARK GODDESS: AN EXPLORATION OF THE SACRED FEMININE’: An exhibition of photographs

by Brattleboro-based Shanta Lee Gander that employs ethnography and cultural anthropology to consider the meaning of the male gaze and the ways society confines females. ‘UNPACKED: REFUGEE BAGGAGE’: A multimedia installation

by Syrian-born, Connecticut-based artist and architect Mohamad Hafez and Iraqi-born writer and speaker Ahmed Badr. The miniature sculptures of homes, buildings and landscapes ravaged by war are embedded with the voices and stories of real people. Through May 6. Info, 656-0750. Fleming Museum of Art, University of Vermont, in Burlington.

f ‘CALL AND RESPONSE’: To motivate creativity during the long months of social isolation, the Photographers Workroom began a visual exchange of imagery to maintain much-needed connection. Eight Vermont photographers participated: Nancy Banks, Christie Carter, Rosalind Daniels, Lisa Dimondstein, Marcie Scudder, Kent Shaw, Peggy Smith and Shapleigh Smith. f ‘FACE IT’: A group exhibition of portraits. f NED RICHARDSON: “What the Machines Told Me,” images generated by Generational Adversarial Network, a deep learning system, that began with the artist perceiving a connection between the living forest networks around his home and the digital and technological networks that surround us all. f SONYA SAGAN-DWORSKY: “Discarded: Daily Views of Trash,” watercolor paintings of objects thrown away each day, in the Quick Change Gallery. Prints of five select paintings are for sale to benefit Vermont Energy Education Program and the Union Elementary School art program.

Art Social reception: Saturday, February 19, 3:30-5 p.m. Face masks required. Through February 26.

Info, 479-7069. Studio Place Arts in Barre.

JACKSON TUPPER: “Mayo,” a solo exhibition of paintings by the Vermont artist made in response to domestic isolation during pandemic lockdown.

Through March 9. Info, 233-2943. Safe and Sound Gallery in Burlington.

‘THE CATAMOUNT IN VERMONT’: An exhibition that explores the feline symbol of Vermont through the lenses of art, science and culture.

Through May 31. Info, 479-8500. Vermont History Museum in Montpelier.

f ATHENA PETRA TASIOPOULOS: “Inner Spaces,” a solo exhibition of mixed-media encaustic collages by the Barre artist that explore themes of interconnectedness, isolation and the delicate nature of equilibrium. Reception and Soapbox Arts’ third anniversary: Thursday, March 10, 6 p.m.

Through April 2. Info, 324-0014. Soapbox Arts in Burlington.

MALTEX ARTISTS: Paintings by Dierdre Michelle, Judy Hawkins, Nancy Chapman and Jean

BARRE/MONTPELIER SHOWS SEVEN DAYS FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

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DJ BARRY: The Vermont artist shows pieces from his World Cow series as well as past work. Through March 5. Info, 225-6232. Filling Station in Middlesex.

JASON GALLIGAN-BALDWIN: “Safety Procedures,” works incorporating acrylics, antique text, childhood books, film stills and other materials to explore American culture, or lack thereof. Curated by Studio Place Arts. Through February 26. Info, 479-7069. AR Market in Barre.

‘LET’S COLLAGE ABOUT IT!’: A community exhibition of contemporary collage art featuring Kristin Bierfelt, Liz Buchanan, Katherine Coons, Anne Cummings, Elizabeth Dow, Ren Haley, Holly Hauser, Lily Hinrichsen, Jean Kelly, Jess Quinn, Rachel Marie Rodi, Cariah Rosberg, Anne Sarcka, Peggy Watson and Olivia White. Curated by Quinn. Through April 15.

Info, jess@cal-vt.org. Center for Arts and Learning in Montpelier.

SABRINA FADIAL & GAYLEEN AIKEN: “Corporeal Discretion,” sculptural work that addresses female fertility by the contemporary Vermont artist, Nuquist Gallery; and “A Life of Art,” paintings by the late folk artist, Contemporary Hall. Through March 18. Info, 262-6035. T.W. Wood Gallery in Montpelier.

‘SHOW 47’: Members of the gallery display an eclectic exhibition of paintings, sculpture and mixed media.

Through February 27. Info, info@thefrontvt.com. The Front in Montpelier.

f STAFF ART SHOW: An exhibition that shows how eight NBNC employees connect with nature through photography, painting, woodcarving, wire sculpting and more. Reception: Thursday, March 3, 5-7 p.m.

Through March 31. Info, 229-6206. North Branch Nature Center in Montpelier.

SUSAN CALZA: “A Vacant Chair,” a mixed-media, multisensory installation that reflects on concepts of home and homelessness. Through March 13. Info, 224-6827. The Susan Calza Gallery in Montpelier.

stowe/smuggs

‘THE ART OF THE GRAPHIC’: Eight displays of snowboards that let viewers see the design process from initial conception to final product; featuring artists Scott Lenhardt, Mark Gonzalez, Mikey Welsh, Mishel Schwartz and more. Through October 31. Info, 253-9911. Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum in Stowe.

CATHERINE OPIE: Photographs of rural and urban American scenes that investigate the parallels between natural and political landscapes and their connections to a sense of identity and community.

Through April 9. Info, 253-8358. The Current in Stowe.

‘LISTENING OUTSIDE THE LINES’: A multimedia group exhibition exploring what it means to be a Person of the Global Majority (Black, Indigenous or other person of color) in Vermont, featuring oral history, visual art and poetry by Sarah Audsley, Alexa Herrera Condry, Harlan Mack, Crystal Stokes, Isadora Snapp and Madeleine Ziminsky. A Lamoille Art & Justice project. KATHY BLACK: “Women and Girls,” paintings that explore the experience the changing perspectives of females over time and the connections that run between women at different points in life. Through April 9. Info, 888-1261. River Arts in Morrisville.

f MISOO BANG: New paintings by the Burlington artist. Closing reception: February 17, 3-5 p.m.

Through February 18. Info, 635-1469. Julian Scott Memorial Gallery, Northern Vermont University, in Johnson.

ROSE PEARLMAN: “Counter-Space,” abstract wall hangings created by punch-needle rug hooking.

Through March 5. Minema Gallery in Johnson.

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SEVEN DAYS FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

mad river valley/waterbury

PAUL HAVERSTICK: “Nature’s Images Reimagined,” photographs digitally manipulated into color and shape fields. Through March 5. Info, 244-7801. Axel’s Frame Shop & Gallery in Waterbury.

‘TEXTURES AND PATTERNS’: Textural paintings

by Sandy Grant, hooked rugs by Judy Dodds and ceramic mosaics by Bette Ann Libby. Through March 5. Info, 496-6682. The Gallery at Mad River Valley Arts in Waitsfield.

middlebury area

ALEXIS SERIO: Abstracted landscape paintings that explore perceptions of time and memory. Through February 28. Info, 458-0098. Edgewater Gallery at Middlebury Falls.

‘ITTY BITTY: TINY TEXTS IN SPECIAL COLLECTIONS’: Books from the 17th to 21st centuries that measure between 1.8 and 10 centimeters, from religious manuscripts to cookbooks, children’s books to Shakespeare. Visitors are not currently allowed in the library but may view the works online at go.middlebury.edu/tinybooks. Through May 31. Davis Family Library, Middlebury College.

‘PRIDE 1983’: Through interviews with organizers, photographs and scanned images of historic documents, the exhibit, curated by Meg Tamulonis of the Vermont Queer Archives, explores the origins and lasting legacies of Vermont’s first Pride March on June 25, 1983, in Burlington. It can also be viewed online at vtfolklife.org. Through March 25. Info, 388-4964. Vermont Folklife Center in Middlebury.

rutland/killington

LOWELL SNOWDEN KLOCK & HEATHER WILSON: ‘Baby It’s Cold Outside, photography on a winter theme and “bombshell” pinup artworks, respectively.

Through February 25. Info, 775-0356. Chaffee Art Center in Rutland.

champlain islands/northwest

‘JANUARY: COLOR AND LIGHT’: Painted, CNC-cut wood panels by Scott Brown and illuminated sculptural lanterns by Kristian Brevik. Through March 20. Info, 355-2150. GreenTARA Space in North Hero.

upper valley

‘THE MAGIC OF LIGHT’: A group exhibit of 22 artists whose works in photography, sculpture, collage and lanterns use light in myriad ways. Through March 3.

Info, 229-8317. The Satellite Gallery in Lyndonville.

JULIE CRABTREE & AMANDA ANN PALMER: Fiberart landscapes inspired by the Scotland coast, and hand-thrown pottery, respectively. Through February 28. Info, 295-4567. Long River Gallery in White River Junction.

OPEN AIR GALLERY: SKI & SNOWSHOE TRAIL: Outdoor sculptures by 20 artists can be seen along a two-mile trail through the center’s grounds and neighboring fields. Reserve free tickets at high landartsvt.org. Through March 27. Info, 533-2000.

Highland Center for the Arts in Greensboro.

‘LOCAL RELATIONS’: Figurative paintings with moments of humor, hyperrealism and the grotesque

by Vermont artists Joan Feierabend, Leda Nutting and Rebecca Morgan. Through February 27. Info, 347-264-4808. Kishka Gallery & Library in White River Junction.

STJ ART ON THE STREET WINTER SHOW: Downtown businesses exhibit artworks in storefront windows, including stained glass, lamps, paintings and mixedmedia, in a collaborative public art project. Through February 25. Info, eknarey@catamountarts.org. Various St. Johnsbury locations.

northeast kingdom

brattleboro/okemo valley

ARTS CONNECT AT CATAMOUNT ARTS JURIED SHOW: The sixth annual juried show features works by 74 member artists. Slide show of art can be viewed online. Through April 10. Info, 748-2600. Catamount Arts Center in St. Johnsbury.

BEN BARNES: Recent paintings of northern Vermont: small-town street scenes, landscapes and retired cars and tractors. Through March 25. Info, 525-3366.

The Parker Pie Company in West Glover.

DIANNE TAYLOR MOORE: “Let Us Fly Away,” vibrant pastel paintings of Colorado, the Florida Keys and southwestern U.S. Through February 26. Info, 7480158. Northeast Kingdom Artisans Guild Backroom Gallery in St. Johnsbury.

‘A LIFE IN LISTS AND NOTES’: An exhibition that celebrates the poetic, mnemonic, narrative and enumerative qualities of lists and notes. The objects on display span myriad creative, professional, bureaucratic, domestic and personal uses of lists

CALL TO ARTISTS 2023 SOLO EXHIBITIONS: AVA features three or four Main Gallery opportunities featuring exhibitions that range from thematic, group shows to single/solo artist shows. Deadline: March 31. Find the link for applications at avagallery.org. AVA Gallery and Art Center, Lebanon, N.H. Info, 603-448-3117.

CREATION GRANTS AVAILABLE: Intended to support the creation of new work

by Vermont artists, creation grants can fund time, materials, some equipment costs and space rental for artists and artist groups. An independent panel of practicing artists and arts professionals reviews applications. Both established and emerging artists are encouraged to apply for this $4,000 award. More info and application at vermontartscouncil.org. Vermont Arts Council, Montpelier.

Through April 4. Info, 402-4614.

DIANE GABRIEL VISUAL ARTIST AWARD: Established in 2021 by the family of the late Burlington artist, the award for a Vermont-based emerging artist provides $1,500 cash and $1,000 value toward the use of any BCA Studio facilities. Info and application at burlingtoncityarts.org. Deadline: March 31.

BCA Center, Burlington. Info, cstorrs@burlingtoncityarts.org.

‘FINE FEATHERS’: The museum is seeking artworks about birds or feathers for its 2022 juried exhibition. Almost any medium accepted, except feathers from actual birds. Up to three entries per person, submitted electronically. Use online form or email museum@birdsofvermont.org. Birds of Vermont Museum, Huntington. Through March 21.

GREEN MOUNTAIN WATERCOLOR EXHIBITION: Mad River Valley Arts seeks entries for the 10th edition of this annual show in the Red Barn Galleries at Lareau Farm in Waitsfield, held June 19 to July 23. Submission form at onlinejuriedshows.com (scroll down). Deadline: April 22. Online. Free.

Info, 583-2224.

MICRO-GRANTS FOR ARTISTS: The Montpelier Public Arts Commission is offering a micro-grant program for Vermont-based artists for up to $1,500 for permanent or temporary art installations throughout the city. The request for proposals is open for an indefinite period; artists may submit at anytime during the year. The commission will review and award grants twice yearly; the next deadline is March 30. For more info and to review the RFP, visit montpelier-vt.org. Info, 522-0150.

VISUAL ART IN SEVEN DAYS:

through the ages. Through May 31. Info, 626-4409.

The Museum of Everyday Life in Glover.

ART LISTINGS AND SPOTLIGHTS ARE WRITTEN BY PAMELA POLSTON. LISTINGS ARE RESTRICTED TO ART SHOWS IN TRULY PUBLIC PLACES.

DELITA MARTIN: “Between Worlds,” a yearlong installation in the museum’s front windows that reimagines the identities and roles of Black women in the context of Black culture and African history.

Through May 31. MICHAEL ABRAMS: “Arcadia Rediscovered,” a luminous, misty painting installation that invites viewers to be mindfully in the world.

Through March 5. VERMONT GLASS GUILD: “Inspired by the Past,” contemporary works in glass exhibited alongside historical counterparts from the museum’s collection. Through March 5. WILLIAM RANSOM: “Keep Up/Hold Up,” mixed-media installations that speak to the current state of social tension in the U.S., the reckoning with a history of white supremacy, and the potential for flare-up or collapse.

Through March 5. Info, 257-0124. Brattleboro Museum & Art Center.

PETER SCHUMANN: Paintings on bedsheets by the founder of Bread and Puppet theater from his “Bad Bedsheets” and “Handouts” series. Through February

SEEKING NEW MEMBERS: Become an exhibiting member of the downtown Brandon gallery, participate in group and solo exhibitions and join a vibrant creative community. Apply at brandonartistsguild.org. Deadline: February 20.

Brandon Artists Guild. Free. Info, 247-4956.

‘SEPARATIONS AND MIGRATIONS’: Seeking ready-to-hang artworks for a summer exhibition to bring awareness to political and climate migration and the resulting affects on lives of refugees, migrants and asylees. Email director@ cal-vt.org for more info and the submission link. Deadline: March 15. Center for Arts and Learning, Montpelier.

THE VERMONT PRIZE: Four art institutions, Brattleboro Museum & Art Center, Burlington City Arts, the Current and Hall Art Foundation, are collaborating on a new annual award for an artist who is producing “the best visual art” in the state. The winner will receive $5,000 and an online showcase.

Find details and application at vermontprize.org. Deadline: March 31. Online.

VERMONT’S GREENEST BUILDINGS AWARD: The 10th annual statewide competition recognizes exemplary residential and commercial buildings that excel in green building strategies and meet the highest standard of demonstrated energy performance. Details and submission form at vtgreenbuildingnetwork.org. Deadline: March 4 at 5 p.m. Online. Info, 735-2192.

VSC FELLOWSHIPS FOR LAMOILLE COUNTY RESIDENTS: VSC is offering two studio rental fellowships to Lamoille County residents. As part of the Studios at VSC program, visual artists and writers working in all mediums and genres can apply for rent-free studio space for one year on the campus in Johnson.

All participants will have access to the center’s public events. Details and application at vermontstudiocenter.org. Vermont Studio Center, Johnson.

Through February 20. $10. Info, communications@vermontstudiocenter.org.

VSC RENTAL GRANTS FOR VERMONT RESIDENTS: VSC is offering Vermont residents rental grants to subsidize a portion of the cost of studio space rental for one year. As part of the Studios at VSC program, Vermont-based visual artists and writers working in all mediums and genres can apply. All Studios at VSC participants have access to VSC events. Details and application at vermontstudiocenter.org. Vermont Studio Center, Johnson. Through February 20. $10. Info, communications@vermontstudiocenter.org.

GET YOUR ART SHOW LISTED HERE!

PROMOTING AN ART EXHIBIT? SUBMIT THE INFO AND IMAGES BY FRIDAY AT NOON AT SEVENDAYSVT.COM/POSTEVENT OR ART@SEVENDAYSVT.COM.

ART SHOWS

Sonya Sagan-Dworsky

The aptly named “Discarded: Daily

Views of Trash” is an exhibition tucked into the Quick Change Gallery at Studio Place Arts in Barre. The space — a former phone booth — is tiny, but the concept for the collection of watercolor paintings is monumental: how much we throw away. Sonya Sagan-Dworsky, an 18-year-old senior at Montpelier High School, has already been a climate activist longer than many adults. She’s also been making art “my whole life,” she said in a phone call.

Sagan-Dworsky rallied both of those passions for “Discarded,” which began as a monthlong project in 2021. “When COVID came and I couldn’t do any group events, I decided on this as a personal climate action and also a daily art practice,” she said.

The practice was to make a watercolor painting of something — typically food packaging — that was thrown out in her household each day. Sagan-Dworsky acknowledged that some of the items were technically recyclable, but she pointed to “the small percentage of things we put in the recycling bin that actually don’t get recycled and end up in the landfill.”

When the month ended, she decided to keep going. Once she had 80 watercolors, Sagan-Dworsky “chose to share the concept of climate awareness art with my community.”

She did so in two ways: with the public exhibition at SPA and with the development of an art and climate action curriculum for young students. Along with art teacher Kristina Kane, Sagan-Dworsky presented the curriculum to a third-grade class at Montpelier’s Union Elementary School last fall. Some of the student artwork is included on her website, dailyviewsoftrash.com.

Five Sagan-Dworsky watercolors — delicately rendered depictions of an Alter Eco chocolate bar, Lucerne milk, Kikkoman soy sauce and a couple of plastic bags — are for sale as 5.5-by-8.5-inch giclée prints ($80 each). She’ll donate 25 percent of proceeds to the Vermont Energy Education Program and the art program at Union Elementary.

In the fall, Sagan-Dworsky is heading to college and, for now, plans to double major in visual art and mathematics. Her climate actions will continue.

“Discarded” is on view through February 26 on the second floor of SPA. An Art Social reception for all SPA exhibits is Saturday, February 19, 3:30-5 p.m. Pictured: a collage of Sagan-Dworsky’s watercolors.

28. Info, breadandpuppetcuratrix@gmail.com. Flat Iron Co-op in Bellows Falls.

politics. Through February 27. Info, 367-1311.

Southern Vermont Arts Center in Manchester.

SUSAN BREAREY: Paintings of animals in which primal, totemic images take the place of photorealistic details and are set against abstract surfaces.

Through February 20. Info, 387-0102. Next Stage Arts Project in Putney.

‘THE WORLD BETWEEN THE BLOCK AND THE PAPER’: An international group exhibition of ecologically sound, sensitively produced mokuhanga prints, organized in collaboration with print collective Mokuhanga Sisters. Through March 27. Info, 367-1311. Yester House Galleries, Southern Vermont Arts Center, in Manchester.

manchester/bennington

‘HIROSHIGE AND THE CHANGING JAPANESE LANDSCAPE’: An exhibition of Japanese woodblock prints by Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) that depict how the political climate of 19th-century Japan influenced its art and how the art influenced

randolph/royalton

MICHAEL SACCA: “In the Surf,” photographs of water in motion by the Vermont artist. Through March 19.

Info, 889-9404. Tunbridge Public Library.

‘VOICES OF HOME’: An exhibition that explores the experiences of Vermonters living in affordable housing through audio recordings and painted portraits.

Through March 19. Info, 728-9878. Chandler Center for the Arts in Randolph.

outside vermont

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‘STICK WITH LOVE’: A group exhibition in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. and love, featuring works by Cheryl Betz, Elizabeth D’Amico, Daniela Edstrom, Laura Graveline, Chris Groschner, Naomi Hartov, Patricia Magrosky, Mary Mead, Matthew Peake, Kathryn Peterson, Jessie Pollock, Jan Sandman, Heather Stearns, Laura Tafe, Susan Wilson, Olivia White and Dana Zeilinger. Through February 18. 14TH ANNUAL REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL EXHIBITION: Artwork created by students at 13 Vermont and New Hampshire high schools.

Awards chosen by Norwich University adjunct professor Sabrina B. Fadial. Through February 25.

Info, 603-448-3117. AVA Gallery and Art Center in Lebanon, N.H.

5 days a week

COMMUNITY GALLERY SHOW: Local artists showcase their photography, sculpture, painting, pastels, ceramics, stained glass, printmaking and drawing. Through February 25. Info, 518-563-1604.

Strand Center for the Arts in Plattsburgh, N.Y. ‘ECOLOGIES: A SONG FOR OUR PLANET’: An exhibition of installations, videos, sculptures, paintings, drawings and photographs that explore the relationship between humans and nature, and disruptions to the planet’s ecosystems caused by human intervention. Through February 27. NICOLAS PARTY: “L’heure mauve” (“Mauve Twilight”), a dreamlike exhibition of paintings, sculptures and installation in the Swiss-born artist’s signature saturated colors. Online reservations required.

Through October 16. Montréal Museum of Fine Arts.

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FORENSIC ARCHITECTURE WITH LAURA POITRAS: “Terror Contagion,” an immersive, activist exhibition by the London-based research collective in collaboration with the journalist-filmmaker. Narration

by Edward Snowden, data sonification by Brian Eno. Through April 18. Info, 514-847-6226. Montréal Museum of Contemporary Art.

f ‘IN THE MOMENT: RECENT WORK BY LOUISE HAMLIN’: Paintings and works on paper by the former Dartmouth College studio art professor and print maker. Winter opening: Thursday, February 24, 5-7 p.m., with curatorial talks and other programming. Through September 3. ‘THIS LAND: AMERICAN ENGAGEMENT WITH THE NATURAL WORLD’: Drawn from the permanent collection, the museum’s first major installation of traditional and contemporary Native American art set alongside early-to-contemporary art by African American, Asian American, Euro-American and Latin American artists, representing a broader perspective on “American” art. Through July 23. ‘THORNTON DIAL: THE TIGER CAT’: Part of a new acquisition of 10 artworks from the Souls Grown Deep Foundation, the exhibition looks closely at the late artist’s work and the ways in which it broadens an understanding of American art. Through February 27. f ‘UNBROKEN: NATIVE AMERICAN CERAMICS, SCULPTURE, AND DESIGN’: Items drawn from the museum’s permanent collections to create dialogue between historical and contemporary works by Indigenous North American artists. Winter opening: Thursday, February 24, 5-7 p.m., with curatorial talks and other programming. Through April 30. Info, 603-646-2808. Hood Museum, Dartmouth College, in Hanover, N.H.

online

‘OUR COLLECTION: ELECTRA HAVEMEYER WEBB, EDITH HALPERT AND FOLK ART’: A Shelburne Museum exhibition that celebrates the friendship between the museum founder and her longtime art dealer, featuring archival photographs and ephemera, a voice recording from Halpert, and quotations pulled from the women’s extensive correspondences. Through February 9, 2023.

Online. m

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monday tuesday wednesday thursday friday SEVEN DAYS FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

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53 3/1/11 5:54 PM

music+nightlife

Al Franken campaigning for Sue Minter at Nectar’s in Burlington in 2016

FILE: TERRI HALLENBECK

Doggone It, People Like Him

SOME SENATORS DIDN’T UNDERSTAND

WHAT A JOKE ACTUALLY WAS.

Al Franken on serving in the U.S. Senate, working on “Saturday Night Live” and his new tour

BY CHRIS FARN SWORTH • farnsworth@sevendaysvt.com

A

COMEDY

SEVEN DAYS: Hi, Al. Thanks for taking the time to talk.

AL FRANKEN: Well, thank you. See? Now we’re both on the same ground.

54

SEVEN DAYS FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

A L F R A N K EN

SD: We’re both so thanked.

AF: [Laughing] Finally!

SD: How’s life back on the road? I imagine touring is very different these days.

AF: Yeah, we did have two shows in northern California postponed because of Omicron, but we rescheduled those. I’m hitting Pennsylvania and New York next week. I’m so eager; I love doing this show.

SD: It seems like you’re getting some thoughts off your chest about your former colleagues in the Senate.

AF: Yes. A lot of the show is about my time in the Senate and talking about some of my colleagues.

For my first term, I was trying to show people I was serious. I won very narrowly, so I had to prove that I was there to do the job. I think I did that.

Once I got reelected by a very big margin, I felt freer and could joke with my colleagues, but, well, I found a lot of them had little to no sense of humor. Some senators didn’t understand what a joke actually was.

SD: They didn’t think it was funny or didn’t understand the actual joke?

AF: Tom Coburn from Oklahoma did not know what a joke was. My first interactions with Tom weren’t good. He’s a very rightwing guy, and we were on the Judiciary Committee together. So after the first few times didn’t go well, I said, “Let me take you to lunch.” He said, “Breakfast.” Fine.

We go to breakfast. I just want us to have

Senator Paul Simon and Franken in 1991

COURTESY OF JAMIE HOWREN/LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

l Franken has a résumé unlike that of any other former U.S. senator. The 70-year-old comedian-turned-politicianturned-pundit was an original writer on “Saturday Night Live.” He spent 15 seasons on the hit NBC show before winning a Minnesota Senate seat in 2009. He resigned from the Senate in 2018 after several allegations of past sexual misconduct. However, some who called for Franken’s resignation at the time later came to regret it. Citing a lack of due process, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) later said that urging Franken to resign was “one of the biggest mistakes I’ve made.”

Since leaving the Senate, Franken has launched a successful podcast focused on the politics and public affairs of today. “The Al Franken Podcast” has featured guests such as Michelle Obama, Chris Rock and, most recently, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), serving on the January 6 Select Committee.

Franken has also embarked on a tour combining his political experience with his comedy, fittingly billed as “The Only Former U.S. Senator Currently on Tour Tour.” The former senator rang up Seven Days to chat about the show, which hits Burlington’s Flynn Main Stage on March 5, as well as the state of the union and whether he’ll ever run for office again.

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a good time and talk about families and careers. I say, “You’re a doctor. Let me ask you this: To be a doctor in Oklahoma, do you need to have any formal education?”

He just got really mad. I had to clarify it was a joke.

So I talk a bit in my show about the difficulty of being in a body where a lot of people are humor challenged.

SD: Are you concerned about some of your former colleagues hearing you trash them onstage?

AF: Not really, though I’d be really happy if Ted Cruz heard what I said about him.

But I do a lot of people. I do a pretty good Bernie Sanders. “This country is run by the millionaires and the billionaires!” [imitating Sanders] SD: That’s a pretty accurate Bernie.

If you rip on Phish and Ben & Jerry’s, too, you’ll have the Vermont trifecta of sore spots.

AF: I was actually up in Burlington in 2006 for a Bernie fundraiser when he was first running for Senate, so, you know, my impression is a pretty affectionate rip.

As for Phish, well, I’m a Deadhead. I like Trey [Anastasio], and I’ve seen Phish at Madison Square Garden, but, yeah, I’m a Deadhead. I play them for my walk-in music a lot, though I play a lot of stuff.

Los Lobos, too.

SD: These are strange days. As a satirist, are you ever concerned that things might be too stressful to make fun of? I recall the “South Park” guys talking about how hard it’s been to write jokes because satire has become reality.

AF: Well, satire deals with stressful stuff.

That’s what I’ve always done. There’s a balance, for sure. I wrote a lot of the political satire on “SNL” when I was there. Very often it was just fun and silly, but sometimes it was pointed.

When Dana [Carvey] did George H.W. Bush, he was so funny that [“SNL” writer] Jim Downey had to tell him between dress and air, “Don’t get so many laughs because we’re losing the through line.” I don’t think anyone has ever said that to a comedian: Don’t get so many laughs? But it was true, and Dana knew exactly what we were talking about.

Satire can be influential, like George Carlin and Richard Pryor, or Lenny Bruce. I really admire those guys.

SD: Speaking of comedians with podcasts and the state of satire, what do you make of Joe Rogan and

the controversy surrounding him these days?

AF: Look, he’s very popular, and I can imagine that’s for a reason. I don’t want to say too much, because I haven’t listened to his podcast — maybe I should. But I think it’s incredibly irresponsible to put out some of that misinformation.

In my act, I talk about the 20 percent or so of Americans who refuse to be vaccinated. I say that the No. 1 cause of death in America right now is Tucker Carlson. I’ve updated it to say maybe it’s actually Joe Rogan.

I guess he’s very compelling, but I think he’s been irresponsible. You’re entitled to your own opinion, but you’re not entitled to your own facts. That sort of thing has just gotten out of control now.

SD: You’re talking about the GOP’s stance on the January 6 insurrection?

AF: Among other things. I think it’s a tough time to be an American right now.

Obviously, the pandemic. But we have an entire political party invested in a big lie. It’s absolutely a huge, clear lie, and everyone knows it. My former Republican colleagues, they know it. They know it’s a lie. But they’re afraid of their own voters, because it’s Trump’s party now.

Look at this stuff about critical race theory … CRT isn’t taught in K-12. It’s actually only taught in law schools, and not many at that. It’s a very serious, multidisciplinary study about how our society has [institutionalized] systemic racism.

It’s in our economics, our laws and our culture.

Gov. [Ron] DeSantis down in Florida, he has a law now that if a teacher makes a kid uncomfortable, the kid’s parents can sue the teacher. How do you teach American history if any parent can sue a teacher? It’s insane. But the fact is, no one teaches CRT. People don’t even know what it is.

SD: Sounds like you have plenty left in the tank for a fight. Are you thinking about getting back into politics?

AF: I don’t know. I’m young; I’m only 70.

I’d say I have a good 40 years left. Maybe I’ll run for president when I’m 102. I’ll serve eight years and then drop dead. m

• • • • • • •

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Find, fix and feather with Nest Notes — an e-newsletter filled with home design, Vermont real estate tips and DIY decorating inspirations.

This interview was edited and condensed for clarity and length.

INFO Al Franken performs on Saturday, March 5, 8 p.m., at the Flynn Main Stage in Burlington. $48.50-69.50. flynnvt.org

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SEVEN DAYS FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

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4/6/21 11:24 AM

music+nightlife

live music WED.16

Al’s Pals Acoustic Trio (folk) at Mad River Barn, Waitsfield, 5:30 p.m. Free.

COURTESY OF ASH DYE

CLUB DATES

Find the most up-to-date info on live music, DJs, comedy and more at sevendaysvt.com/music. If you’re a talent booker or artist planning live entertainment at a bar, nightclub, café, restaurant, brewery or coffee shop, send event details to music@sevendaysvt.com or submit the info using our form at sevendaysvt.com/postevent.

Events may be canceled due to the coronavirus. Please check with event organizers in advance.

Hippie Sabotage with Daisy Guttridge (electronic) at Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $28/$32.

Wednesday Night Dead (Grateful Dead covers) at Zenbarn, Waterbury, 7 p.m. $5.

open mics & jams WED.16

Open Mic Night (open mic) at Monopole, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 10 p.m. Free.

WED.23

Jazz Night (jazz) at Hotel Vermont, Burlington, 8:30 p.m.

Free.

Willverine (electronic) at the Wallflower Collective, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

Open Mic Night (open mic) at Monopole, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 10 p.m. Free.

Jazz Sessions with Randal Pierce (jazz) at the 126, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. Free.

djs

comedy

Mrcus Rezak’s Shred Is Dead (Grateful Dead tribute) at Zenbarn, Waterbury, 7 p.m. $12/$15.

WED.16

WED.16

Wooly Wednesdays with DJ Steal Wool (eclectic) 6 p.m. Free.

Junk Island (comedy variety show) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 6:30 p.m. $5.

THU.17

Standup Comedy Open Mic (comedy open mic) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. Free.

Swimmer with Russian Dolphin Pool Fight (jam) at Nectar’s, Burlington, 8 p.m. $8.

THU.17 // MACIE STEWART [INDIE]

Windy City Indie Chicago-based

MACIE STEWART’s compositions are far-

DJ Baron (DJ) at Red Square, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.

Wednesday Night Dead (Grateful Dead covers) at Zenbarn, Waterbury, 7 p.m. $5.

reaching, multi-textural pieces of folk wonder. A founding member of indie-folk group

DJ CRE8 (DJ) at Red Square Blue Room, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.

Willverine (electronic) at the Wallflower Collective, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

OHMME, Stewart has written arrangements for artists such as indie-pop act Whitney and hip-hop rising star SZA. Her résumé is hardly surprising, considering she started

Memery (DJ) at Red Square, Burlington, 7 p.m. Free.

THU.17

AliT (singer-songwriter) at Filling Station, Middlesex, 6 p.m. Free.

American Roots Night at Zenbarn, Waterbury, 7 p.m. Free.

Dave Keller (blues) at Zenbarn, Waterbury, 7 p.m. Free.

learning piano at 3 years old from her mother, a career musician, and mastered the violin, as well. Stewart released her first solo record, Mouth Full of Glass, in 2021 to much acclaim, showcasing an avant-garde streak with lush songs full of introspection and ethereal vocals.

Stewart performs at ArtsRiot in Burlington on Thursday, February 17, with support from Arizona experimental artist KARIMA WALKER and local indie-folk act BEAR’S TAPESTRY.

Dean Ford and the Beautiful Ones (Prince tribute) at Pickle Barrel Nightclub, Killington, 8 p.m. $15/$20.

Dave Mitchell’s Blues Revue (blues) at Red Square, Burlington, 3 p.m. Free.

John Lackard Blues JAM (blues) at Bent Nails Bistro, Montpelier, 7 p.m. Free.

Devon McGarry Band (rock) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 9 p.m. Free.

Marcie Stewart, Karima Walker and Bear’s Tapestry (indie) at ArtsRiot, Burlington, 8 p.m. $14/$16.

The Discussions (jazz) at Foam Brewers, Burlington, 8 p.m. Free.

The Movement with Ballhoo!, Little Stranger (reggae) at Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington, 7 p.m. $20/$25.

Open Mic Open Jam Night (open mic) at Orlando’s Bar & Lounge, Burlington, 8 p.m. Free.

Robert Gagnon Quartet (jazz) at Foam Brewers, Burlington, 7 p.m.

Free.

Spy MC, Ben Buck, Paws One, TruKlassick (hip-hop) at CharlieO’s World Famous, Montpelier, 9 p.m. Free. yarn. with No Showers on Vacation (indie rock) at Monkey House, Winooski, 8 p.m. $5.

FRI.18

Abby Jenne (singer-songwriter) at Charlie-O’s World Famous, Montpelier, 9:30 p.m. Free.

Angel Bat Dawid & Tha Brotherhood (jazz) at Next Stage Arts Project, Putney, 7:30 p.m. $25/ $30.

Chris & Erica (singer-songwriters) at 14th Star Brewing Co., St. Albans, 6 p.m. Free.

56

The Jim Branca Band (blues) at Red Square, Burlington, 6 p.m.

Free.

Joe Pug (singer-songwriter) at Zenbarn, Waterbury, 8 p.m. $20/$25.

Lotus (electronic, jam) at Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington, 8 p.m. $27/$30.

The New Motif (jam) at Nectar’s, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. $8.

Raised by Hippies (cover band) at Monkey House, Winooski, 5 p.m.

Free.

The Red Newts (country) at Orlando’s Bar & Lounge, Burlington, 9 p.m. Free.

She Was Right (covers) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 5 p.m.

Free.

SAT.19

Andriana Chobot and Joshua Glass (dueling piano) at Foam Brewers, Burlington, 8 p.m. Free.

Danny & the Parts (americana) at Charlie B’s Pub & Restaurant, Stowe, 9:30 p.m. Free.

SEVEN DAYS FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

The Frank White Experience: Notorious B.I.G. Live Band Tribute with DJ Dakota (Notorious B.I.G. tribute) at Nectar’s, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. $8.

Dave Keller Band (blues) at Spruce Peak at Stowe, 1 p.m. Free.

Full Melt Presents BASSment 006 (drum and bass, electronic) 9 p.m. $10.

Mullett (cover band) at Pickle Barrel Nightclub, Killington, 8 p.m. $15.

Gentleman Brawlers (soul) at Bolton Valley Resort, 8 p.m. $20.

MON.21

Jen Durkin’s Steal Your Funk (funk, jam) at Zenbarn, Waterbury, 9 p.m. $18/$20.

Karl & the Instrumentals (rock) at Charlie-O’s World Famous, Montpelier, 6 p.m. Free.

Jaded Ravins (Americana) at Foam Brewers, Burlington, 1 p.m.

Free.

Wild Rivers with Corey Harper (indie rock) at Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $18/$20.

TUE.22

Left Eye Jump (blues) at Red Square, Burlington, 3 p.m. Free.

Clem Snide (alt-country) at Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington, 7 p.m. $15/$18.

Phantom Airwave (rock) at Red Square, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

Dead Set (Grateful Dead tribute) at Nectar’s, Burlington, 7 p.m. $10.

Pony Truck (rock) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 9 p.m. Free.

Treatment with Ronnie Stone & Ethan C Wells (indie) at Monkey House, Winooski, 8 p.m. $5.

Queen City Kickback with Pons, Rivan C., Tommy Richman, Greaseface, Charlie Mayne & Two Sev (rock, hip-hop) at ArtsRiot, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $10.

Robin Gottfried Band (rock) at On Tap Bar & Grill, Essex Junction, 5 p.m. Free.

Tyler Mast (singer-songwriter) at Zenbarn, Waterbury, 6 p.m. Free.

SUN.20

Bob Wagner and Friends (rock) at Foam Brewers, Burlington, 7 p.m.

Free.

WED.23

Al’s Pals Acoustic Trio (folk) at Mad River Barn, Waitsfield, 5:30 p.m. Free.

Jazz Night (jazz) at Hotel Vermont, Burlington, 8:30 p.m.

Free.

Mi Yard Reggae Night with DJ Big Dog (reggae and dancehall) at Nectar’s, Burlington, 9:30 p.m.

Free.

Socializing for Introverts (DJ) at Red Square, Burlington, 6 p.m.

Free.

THU.17

Funny Money with John Keynes (comedy) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 8:15 p.m. $5.

Mothra! A Storytelling/ Improv Comedy Show (improv comedy) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 6:30 p.m. $10.

FRI.18

Thirsty Thursday with Malachi (DJ) at Club Metronome, Burlington, 10 p.m. $5.

Michael Yo (comedy) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 7 & 9 p.m. $25.

FRI.18

SAT.19

ATAK (DJ) at Red Square Blue Room, Burlington, 11 p.m. Free.

DJ Craig Mitchell (DJ) at Red Square, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.

DJ CRWD CTRL (DJ) at Monkey House, Winooski, 9 p.m. Free.

Felix Brown and DJ Primary Instinct (DJ) at Pickle Barrel Nightclub, Killington, 8 p.m. Free.

Memery (DJ) at Red Square Blue Room, Burlington, 9 p.m. Free.

Y2K Pop: 2000s Pop Dance Party with D Jay Baron (DJ) at Club Metronome, Burlington, 10 p.m. $5.

SAT.19

DJ A-Ra$ (DJ) at Red Square, Burlington, 10 p.m. Free.

DJ Matt Hagen (DJ) at Monkey House, Winooski, 9 p.m. Free.

DJ Raul (DJ) at Red Square Blue Room, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

Reign One (DJ) at Red Square Blue Room, Burlington, 10 p.m.

Free.

Tell Your Friends: Emo Night with Malachi (DJ) at Club Metronome, Burlington, 10 p.m. $5.

Lawrence with MLLN (soul-pop) at Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $25/$28.

TUE.22

Swimmer with No Showers on Vacation (jam, rock) at Nectar’s, Burlington, 8 p.m. $8.

WED.23

Local Dork (DJ) at Foam Brewers, Burlington, 6 p.m. Free.

Wooly Wednesdays with DJ Steal Wool (eclectic) 6 p.m. Free.

Michael Yo (comedy) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 7 & 9 p.m. $25.

WED.23

Standup Comedy Open Mic (comedy open mic) at Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington, 8:30 p.m. Free.

Whale Tales: An Evening of Comedic Storytelling (comedy) at Nectar’s, Burlington, 6:30 p.m.

Free.

trivia, karaoke, etc.

THU.17

Trivia Night (trivia) at Nectar’s, Burlington, 6:30 p.m. Free.

MON.21

Trivia Night (trivia) at Monkey House, Winooski, 7 p.m. Free.

TUE.22

Karaoke with DJ Party Bear (karaoke) at Charlie-O’s World Famous, Montpelier, 9:30 p.m.

Free.

Trivia Night (trivia) at the Depot, St. Albans, 7 p.m. Free. m

GET YOUR MUSIC REVIEWED? MUSIC@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

REVIEW this The Devon McGarry Band, Nothing but Noise EP (SELF-RELEASED, DIGITAL)

When I was a kid, I thought all bar bands were like the Jeff Healey Band in Road House. The vision of beleaguered musicians just trying to get through a 12bar blues song while inebriated rednecks flung beer bottles at them stuck with me. I was truly disappointed when the dive bar I got into with my brandnew fake ID didn’t resemble the Double Deuce in the 1989 Patrick Swayze movie.

No chicken wire around the stage; no tough-as-nails bar band. In fact, it was a cover band playing Ronnie Milsap songs. Welcome to real life, teenage Chris.

No, the real bar bands are much more akin to the Devon McGarry Band. The Burlington-based four-piece has gigged around the area since 2016, releasing two EPs and several live records. Over the years, the band has refined a rootsrock sound, centered on McGarry’s

straightforward, ’90s alt-rock-flavored compositions.

With Nothing but Noise, McGarry and his cohorts — Jeffrey Messina on guitar and keyboard, Mitch Terricciano on bass guitar, and Rich Armstrong on percussion — attempt to capture their live sound in the studio. The no-frills production, courtesy of Jeff “Coop” Cooper (Fire vs.

Coop) at Vibesville Studios, focuses on representing a live rock band and keeping McGarry’s vocals up front in the mix.

It’s a good tactic. The band has solid rock chops and a rapport from years of gigging, but some of the songs on Nothing but Noise rarely do more than form a soundtrack.

Opener “Swinging Ship” is an acoustic, mid-tempo rocker that features a rousing chorus and nice vocal harmonies from McGarry and Messina. There’s a hint of Southern rock, with Messina ripping solo after solo of wah-wah-heavy guitar, but the tune falls flat.

“What You Got” starts with Terricciano and Armstrong laying down an ominously cool groove before the song moves into the kind of blues and funk that cancel

each other out. Only slightly funky and tangentially bluesy, the song sounds like the product of a focus group that tried to fit several pleasing genres together.

McGarry is a strong vocalist with a keen sense of melody, which comes to the fore on “Southern Exchange”; one of the five-song EP’s stronger cuts, it tells the story of a particularly bad bender. “It’s a luminescent taste / This whole room With your financial GIVE is starting to fade / Splash something support, we’ll keep TODAY! upon my face / Because I can’t take this delivering and making Southern Exchange,” McGarry sings as his sense of the news. band indulges in some gritty rock and roll.

SEVENDAYSVT.COM/SUPER-READERS “Light On” and “Nothing but Noise” OR CALL COREY GRENIER AT 865-1020, EXT. 136 close out the record, the former a ballad, and the latter another easy bar rocker. You can hear the interplay between McGarry 7/15/21 and his band, which gives the sense that 12v-countonyou-SR.indd 2 20 22 these songs likely kill live. All the cuts on Nothing but Noise are well played and composed with skill, but you get the feeling that they’d hit a lot harder after a few cold ones at the Double Deuce.

Nothing but Noise is available at devonmcgarry.bandcamp.com. The band plays On Tap Bar & Grill in Essex Junction on Friday, February 18. Alas, there won’t be any chicken wire covering the stage.

PRESENT

4:20 PM

S

CHRIS FARNSWORTH

JUN 18

Kristian Montgomery & the Winterkill Band, A Heaven for Heretics (SELF-RELEASED, DIGITAL)

Kristian Montgomery calls A Heaven

for Heretics, his new album with the Winterkill Band, “another crawling out of the American gutter record.”

Though most Vermonters, given the recent whopper of a storm, were probably busier climbing out of snowbanks, Montgomery’s hard-driving country music offers moments of explosive catharsis, perfect for blowing off steam after shoveling.

According to his web bio, Montgomery, a 2021 New England Music Awards and Boston Music Awards Country Artist of the Year nominee, was born in Florida. He later moved to New England, where his Danish-born father worked as a fisherman.

The singer-songwriter and guitarist said his reverend, a former professional tenor, noticed his church choir singing and encouraged him. Montgomery, inspired by his father’s work, took to barrooms to sing sea chanteys, as well as Celtic

and Scandinavian songs of fishermen’s homecomings.

Montgomery, who fronted the Boston rock band Bone Dry System in the 1990s, has been based in Wallingford, Vt., since August. On A Heaven for Heretics, which follows 2021’s Prince of Poverty and 2020’s The Gravel Church, he has traded the shining sea for the jaded see — an outsider’s visions of struggle.

“A Heaven for Heretics is for everyone who doesn’t feel like they fit in,” Montgomery told the website Rock at Nite. “We can be who we want when we want and love as deeply and as intimately as we can … This album is about living.”

Several of the 10 tracks on the album, which dropped on New Year’s Day, suggest that the living is hard. In “The Year the Bottom Fell Out” — a title befitting any of these pandemic years — he sings, “Line ’em up / Put ’em down,” perhaps referring to ordering a round of shots. “Lips are cracked / Whiskey stings,” he continues, “but not worse than my back.”

In the rockabilly “Ain’t Got Nobody but Me,” a woman bellies up to Montgomery’s bar. Her lips “taste like Tennessee whiskey,” and she “drinks like John Belushi and pretends she’s onstage.” They

go back to his place, or somebody’s place, and couple, groping bodies grasping at life.

“I want to feel like I’m drowning,” Montgomery sings. “I just want to feel again.”

The Winterkill Band, with Dave Leitch on bass, Jeff Armstrong on percussion and Joe Clapp (who produced the album at Ultrasound Productions in Hanover, Mass.) on guitars, hang tightly through shifts in tempo and tone. Montgomery cites Steve Earle and Townes Van Zandt as influences, but there are clear glimmers of Bob Seger, too.

Although the opener “I’ll Break Your Heart Again” is reportedly getting Vermont airplay, the album’s sticky mindtwister is “Family Owned.” The song describes a bloodthirsty ghoul that crawls not from a gutter but from a grave.

“He’ll bury his teeth; claws will dig in deep,” Montgomery sings on the song’s video to black-and-white scenes from the 1943 horror movie Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man. “He tears them apart and feasts on their bones.”

Montgomery seems not shocked but sanguine. “The dog might roam,” he sings, “but he’s family owned.” The lesson: Don’t dread the devil you know.

A Heaven for Heretics is available at kristianmontgomeryandthewinter killband.bandcamp.com.

EAGLEMANIA

JUN 25

BADFISH ATOTRIBUTE SUBLIME

JUL 16

THE SWEET REMAINS

JUL 30

ONCE AN OUTLAW TICKETS AVAILABLE AT DOUBLEEVERMONT.COM/SHOWS

MATTHEW CROWLEY SEVEN DAYS FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022 6v-Essexexperiecne021622 1

57 2/14/22 10:24 AM

COURTESY OF COLLEEN E. HAYES/NETFLIX

on screen

SHE’S COME UNDONE Bell gives a funny performance as the wine-swilling, unhinged heroine of an all-too-generic domestic thriller.

‘The Woman in the House Across the Street From the Girl in the Window’ HHH

W

e’re deep in the winter doldrums, and that’s right where Netflix wants us. What better time to hook us in with an endless supply of limited series that we might be willing to try just because they resemble something we’ve already watched?

The streaming service’s algorithm knows I like murder mysteries and stories about women on the verge of nervous breakdowns. Because I (unfortunately) watched Netflix’s 2021 adaptation of The Woman in the Window, it fed me this cannibalistic parody of its own movie in the form of an eight-episode series. And, yes, I watched that, too.

TV REVIEW

The deal

Anna (Kristen Bell) lives in an upscale suburb, whipping up casseroles in her HGTV-ready kitchen for a family that never materializes. Her husband and daughter were taken from her by an unspeakable (and very unlikely) tragedy.

58

SEVEN DAYS FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

Now she spends her days trying to find people to nurture and her nights pouring enormous glasses of red wine.

While quaffing said wine, Anna spies on the house across the street, home of her studly new neighbor (Tom Riley) and his motherless daughter (Samsara Leela Yett).

One fateful night, she watches in horror as a brutal murder occurs.

Given Anna’s tendency to hallucinate, however, we can’t be sure she saw a murder at all, or that she herself wasn’t wielding the knife. After the cops rebuff her report for lack of a corpse, she sets out to solve the case herself.

Will you like it?

The title of “The Woman in the House Across the Street From the Girl in the Window” is the wittiest thing about it. If you’re familiar with the wildly popular literary genre of domestic thrillers (The Girl on the Train, The Woman in Cabin 10, Gone Girl, The Good Girl, The It Girl and so on), then you know instantly what to expect.

It could be a title created by an algorithm.

All stories built on formulas are ripe for parody, and over the years the publishing industry has perfected a formula for bestselling suspense novels about unhinged suburban white women with gorgeous kitchens. Someone needed to mock that formula, and now someone has tried.

Despite the presence of Michael Lehmann (Heathers) in the director’s chair, however, “The Woman in the House…” never even approaches the heights of wicked satire. While its short episodes go down easily, and Bell is a skilled comedic actor, the show never finds a consistent or effective tone.

There’s more than one valid way to approach a genre parody. You can go broad, tossing every single genre cliché into a hopper to see what kind of absurdity emerges, à la Airplane! or Scary Movie. Or you can go subtler (think Scream), crafting a story that appeals to genre fans while also encouraging them to think critically about what they’re enjoying.

The creators of “The Woman in the House…” don’t seem to know what they’re

doing. Rather than mock a whole array of tropes and characters, they stick close to the plot of The Woman in the Window, which was itself an obvious riff (though not a funny one) on Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window. Besides a missing family, a wine habit and mysterious noises in her house, Anna even has a phobia that keeps her housebound, just like Amy Adams’ character — who was also named Anna.

It’s enough to make viewers feel trapped in a hall of mirrors, and perhaps that’s the point? But meaningful satire — actual commentary on why this genre keeps repeating itself — never manifests.

Are we supposed to root for Anna as she rediscovers her purpose in life and hooks up with a mysterious stranger (Benjamin Levy Aguilar) in a scene that verges on NC-17? Or are we just supposed to laugh when the pair upsets Anna’s gigantic collection of wine corks in the course of their amorous acrobatics?

The series has some decent visual gags (watch Anna’s daughter’s gravestone!) and a few jokes that successfully cross over into the heady realm of absurdity.

Cameron Britton is a deadpan hoot as Anna’s sinister handyman. The solution of the mystery is suitably silly, but it’s also way too predictable.

“The Woman in the House…” is so derivative of The Woman in the Window that it can’t succeed as either parody or thriller, but it tries to do both. Luckily for streaming services, viewers in the grip of cabin fever are as desperate for distraction as poor Anna is. Let’s just go easy on the red wine, OK? MARGO T HARRI S O N margot@sevendaysvt.com

IF YOU LIKE THIS, TRY...

A SIMPLE FAVOR (2018; rentable):

Director Paul Feig (Bridesmaids) made this earlier, middling attempt to fuse domestic thriller and comedy, starring Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively as contrasting suburban moms.

GONE GIRL (2014; Hulu, rentable): David Fincher’s thriller about the disappearance of a seemingly perfect wife is perhaps the best of these movies, just as Gillian Flynn’s source novel outdoes its literary imitators.

HIGH ANXIETY (1977; HBO Max, rent-

able): There haven’t been many cinematic parodies of the suspense genre, but Mel Brooks went for broke with this very silly take on the films of Hitchcock, also involving a protagonist with a pesky phobia.

NEW IN THEATERS DOG: Channing Tatum plays an Army Ranger whose road trip to the funeral of a fellow soldier is interrupted by the shenanigans of his companion — a Belgian Malinois — in this comedy directed by Channing and Reid Carolin. (90 min, PG-13. Bijou, Capitol, Essex, Majestic, Marquis, Paramount, Roxy, Star, Welden) UNCHARTED: A mismatched pair of treasure hunters (Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg) seek Ferdinand Magellan’s fortune in this action adventure directed

by Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland). (116 min, PG-13.

Big Picture, Bijou, Capitol, Essex, Majestic, Marquis, Paramount, Roxy, Star, Welden) THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLDHHHH Two Oscar nominations went to this brisk Norwegian comedy-drama about a thirtysomething (Renate Reinsve) who’s still trying to figure out who she is.

Joachim Trier (Thelma) directed. (128 min, R. Roxy, Savoy; reviewed 10/13)

CURRENTLY PLAYING BELLEHHHH A shy high schooler (voiced by Kaho Nakamura) escapes into a virtual world where she is a star in this animated adventure from writerdirector Mamoru Hosoda (Mirai). (121 min, PG. Savoy) BLACKLIGHTH1/2 Liam Neeson plays a U.S. operative who discovers a sinister plot in this spy thriller from director Mark Williams (Honest Thief). (108 min, PG-13. Essex, Majestic, Stowe) DEATH ON THE NILEHH1/2 Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh, who also directed) must find an heiress’ killer while on a sumptuous vacation in this new adaptation of Agatha Christie’s whodunit. (127 min, PG-13. Capitol, Essex, Majestic, Playhouse)

2H-farrelldist020922.indd 1

FLEEHHHHH Animation depicts the harrowing story of a Danish immigrant from Afghanistan as he unveils his history in this documentary from Jonas Poher Rasmussen, the recipient of a slew of critics’ awards. (89 min, PG-13. Roxy, Savoy; reviewed 2/9)

SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOMEHHH1/2 Peter Parker (Tom Holland) seeks the help of Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) in the latest installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Jon Watts returns as director. (148 min, PG-13. Essex, Majestic, Roxy)

JACKASS FOREVERHHH1/2 Johnny Knoxville and cast members from his erstwhile MTV show return with a fresh set of wacky and hazardous pranks and stunts. Jeff Tremaine directed. (96 min, R. Bijou, Capitol, Essex, Majestic, Roxy, Star, Stowe, Welden)

SUNDOWNHHH1/2 Tensions erupt among family members vacationing in Acapulco after they hear of a relative’s death in this drama from director Michel Franco (New Order). Tim Roth and Charlotte Gainsbourg star. (83 min, R. Roxy)

LICORICE PIZZAHHHH1/2 A teenager (Cooper Hoffman) pursues a woman (Alana Haim) 10 years his senior in this acclaimed coming-of-age comedy from Paul Thomas Anderson, set in 1973 Los Angeles.

With Sean Penn and Tom Waits. (133 min, R. Big Picture, Essex, Roxy, Savoy; reviewed 1/12)

THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETHHHHH1/2 Joel Coen wrote and directed this Shakespeare adaptation starring Denzel Washington as the all-too-ambitious Scotsman and Frances McDormand as his wife. (105 min, R. Savoy)

MARRY MEHH1/2 Betrayed by her celebrity fiancé, a pop diva (Jennifer Lopez) makes a split-second decision to propose to a random guy (Owen Wilson) in this rom-com directed by Kat Coiro. (112 min, PG-13. Bijou, Capitol, Essex, Majestic, Star, Stowe) MOONFALLHH In the new disaster flick from Roland Emmerich (2012), the moon is on a collision course with the Earth, and only an astronaut played by Halle Berry can (maybe) stop it! (120 min, PG-13. Essex, Roxy) PARALLEL MOTHERSHHHH1/2 Two women (Penélope Cruz and Milena Smit) of different generations who are both single and giving birth meet and bond in the hospital in the latest acclaimed drama from writer-director Pedro Almodóvar. (123 min, R. Roxy, Savoy) SING 2HH1/2 Show biz-loving critters return in this sequel to the animated hit, featuring the voices of Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon and Bono. Garth Jennings directed. (112 min, PG. Welden)

OPEN THEATERS (* = UPCOMING SCHEDULE FOR THEATER WAS NOT AVAILABLE AT PRESS TIME) BIG PICTURE THEATER: 48 Carroll Rd., Waitsfield, 496-8994, bigpicturetheater.info BIJOU CINEPLEX 4: 107 Portland St., Morrisville, 888-3293, bijou4.com CAPITOL SHOWPLACE: 93 State St., Montpelier, 229-0343, fgbtheaters.com ESSEX CINEMAS & T-REX THEATER: 21 Essex Way, Suite 300, Essex, 879-6543, essexcinemas.com MAJESTIC 10: 190 Boxwood St., Williston, 878-2010, majestic10.com

THE VELVET QUEENHHHH In this documentary, a photographer and a novelist explore the Tibetan Plateau in search of the elusive snow leopard. Marie Amiguet and Vincent Munier directed. (92 min, NR. Savoy)

MARQUIS THEATER: 65 Main St., Middlebury, 388-4841, middleburymarquis.com

WHO WE ARE: A CHRONICLE OF RACISM IN AMERICAHHHH1/2 Jeffery Robinson of the ACLU presents the evidence for a tradition of anti-Black racism that continues today in this documentary directed by Emily and Sarah Kunstler. (117 min, PG-13.

Roxy)

PARAMOUNT TWIN CINEMA: 241 N. Main St., Barre, 479-9621, fgbtheaters.com

OLDER FILMS AND SPECIAL SCREENINGS

STAR THEATRE: 17 Eastern Ave., St. Johnsbury, 748-9511, stjaytheatre.com

THE CURSED (Majestic) THE POWER OF THE DOGHHHH (Roxy)

*MERRILL’S ROXY CINEMAS: 222 College St., Burlington, 864-3456, merrilltheatres.net

PLAYHOUSE MOVIE THEATRE: 11 S. Main St., Randolph, 728-4012, playhouseflicks.com SAVOY THEATER: 26 Main St., Montpelier, 229-0598, savoytheater.com

*STOWE CINEMA 3PLEX: 454 Mountain Rd., Stowe, 253-4678, stowecinema.com WELDEN THEATRE: 104 North Main St., St. Albans, 527-7888, weldentheatre.com

TCM BIG SCREEN CLASSICS PRESENTS: LADY SINGS THE BLUES 50TH ANNIVERSARY (Essex, Sun only)

SEVEN DAYS FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

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EVENTS MAY BE CANCELED DUE TO THE CORONAVIRUS, AND MASK AND VACCINATION REQUIREMENTS VARY. PLEASE CHECK WITH EVENT ORGANIZERS IN ADVANCE.

calendar F E B R U A R Y

WED.16 activism

RECOVERY ADVOCACY DAY: Recovery Vermont’s annual celebration honors the power of recovery from substance-use disorder and addiction. Political leaders and others participate in this day of shared personal stories and recovery resources. 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Free. Info, 223-6263.

agriculture

COLLECTIVE GARDENING COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE: Organizers brainstorm ideas and share stories about cooperative planting and harvesting. Presented by Vermont Garden Network.

9-10:45 a.m. Free; preregister.

Info, michelle@vcgn.org.

FARM SUCCESSION PLANNING WEBINAR SERIES: Land for Good specialists teach a four-week course for farmers looking to transfer ownership to the next generation. 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 603-357-1600.

business

HOW TO GET CONNECTED & GROW YOUR BUSINESS IN VERMONT IN 2022: Andrea Bacchi of Think Dynamic Digital shares free and low-cost resources that help women-owned businesses get off the ground. Presented by Women Business Owners Network Vermont. 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, info@wbon.org.

community

COMMUNITY RESPONSE TO ‘WE CONTAIN MULTITUDES’: JC Wayne guides community members in creating art and/ or poetry responses to the Vermont Humanities’ Vermont Reads book by Sarah Henstra.

No experience necessary.

Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, 6:30-8 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, info@ kellogghubbard.org.

VERMONT WOMEN’S MENTORING PROGRAM: Mercy Connections trains new volunteers who want to help support women healing from prison and other encounters with the criminal justice system. 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Free; preregister. Info, 846-7063.

crafts

DIEGO ROMERO: The Cochiti Pueblo potter and printmaker talks about the intersections of ancient technique and modern pop art in his work. Alumni Hall, Hopkins Center for the Arts, Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H., 5 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 603-646-2422.

FIRESIDE KNITTING GROUP: Needle jockeys gather to chat and work on their latest projects. Morristown Centennial Library, Morrisville, 10:30-11:30 a.m. Free. Info, 888-3853.

environment

DO-IT-YOURSELF STORMWATER MANAGEMENT: The Franklin County Stormwater Collaborative and the Friends of Northern Lake Champlain teach locals how to stop the water that runs off their property from polluting nearby waterways. 5:30-6:30 p.m.

LIST YOUR UPCOMING EVENT HERE FOR FREE! All submissions must be received by Thursday at noon for consideration in the following Wednesday’s newspaper.

Find our convenient form and guidelines at sevendaysvt.com/postevent.

Listings and spotlights are written by Emily Hamilton. Seven Days edits for space and style. Depending on cost and other factors, classes and workshops may be listed in either the calendar or the classes section. Class organizers may be asked to purchase a class listing.

Learn more about highlighted listings in the Magnificent 7 on page 11.

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SEVEN DAYS FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

2 0 2 2

Free; preregister. Info, ddevlin@nrpcvt.com.

film

See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.

‘AUSTRALIA’S GREAT WILD NORTH 3D’: An educational and entertaining film takes viewers on an epic adventure through some of Earth’s wildest landscapes. Northfield Savings Bank 3D Theater: A National Geographic Experience, ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington, 11:30 a.m., 1:30 & 3:30 p.m. $3-5 plus regular admission, $14.50-18; admission free for members and kids 2 and under. Info, 864-1848.

‘DINOSAURS OF ANTARCTICA 3D’: Moviegoers join scientists on a journey through a surreal world of bug-eyed giants and egg-laying mammals. Northfield Savings Bank 3D Theater: A National Geographic Experience, ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington, 11 a.m., 1 & 3 p.m. $3-5 plus regular admission, $14.50-18; admission free for members and kids 2 and under. Info, 864-1848.

‘GEORGE NAKASHIMA: WOODWORKER’: The Architecture + Design Film Series streams this portrait of one of the most well-known and influential woodworkers of the modern era, widely considered the father of the American craft movement.

Free. Info, 865-7166.

‘IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT’: A Black detective must solve the crime he’s been falsely accused of in this murder mystery starring Sidney Poitier. Catamount Arts Center, St. Johnsbury, 6 p.m. Free. Info, 748-2600.

‘MEERKATS 3D’: A tenacious mammalian matriarch fights to protect her family in a desolate environment. Northfield Savings Bank 3D Theater: A National Geographic Experience, ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington, 10:30 a.m., 12:30, 2:30 & 4:30 p.m. $3-5 plus regular admission, $11.50-14.50; admission free for members and kids 2 and under. Info, 864-1848.

‘RIGHT IN THE EYE (EN PLEINS DANS L’ŒIL)’: A trio of virtuoso musicians provide the live soundtrack to a montage of classic films by George Méliès, considered by many to be the inventor of cinematography. Next Stage Arts Project, Putney, 7 p.m. $18-22. Info, 387-0102.

‘SPACE: UNRAVELING THE COSMOS’: Sparkling graphics take viewers on a mind-bending journey from the beginning of time through the mysteries of the universe. Northfield Savings Bank 3D Theater: A National Geographic Experience, ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington, 10:30 a.m., 12:30, 2:30 & 4:30 p.m. $3-5 plus regular admission, $14.50-18; admission free for members and kids 2 and under. Info, 864-1848.

food & drink

Find club dates at local venues in the Music + Nightlife section online at sevendaysvt.com/music.

= ONLINE EVENT

CBD & THE HERBAL APOTHECARY: Kria Botanicals’ Emma Merritt discusses how working with cannabis through the lens of herbalism creates opportunities for innovation. A Q&A follows.

Noon-1 p.m. Free; preregister.

Info, 201-739-1177.

DEVELOPING SELF: Participants reflect on their experiences and reconnect with their values in order to address life’s challenges.

Presented by Mercy Connections.

10 a.m.-noon. Free; preregister.

Info, 846-7063.

U.S. CITIZENSHIP TEST PREPARATION: Adult learners study English, history, government and geography with personal tutors. Virtual options available. Mercy Connections, Burlington, 9-11 a.m. Free. Info, 846-7063.

ARTHRITIS FOUNDATION EXERCISE PROGRAM: Those in need of an easy-on-the-joints workout gather for an hour of calming, low-impact movement.

United Community Church, St. Johnsbury, 1:30-2:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 751-0431.

CHAIR YOGA: Waterbury Public Library instructor Diana Whitney leads at-home participants in gentle stretches supported by seats. 10 a.m. Free.

Info, 244-7036.

language

music

music + nightlife

seminars

health & fitness

art

See what’s playing at theaters in the On Screen section.

WILDLIFE TRACKING WEDNESDAYS: Naturalists teach trackers of all ages how to distinguish the snowy paw prints of coyotes, foxes, minks and more.

North Branch Nature Center, Montpelier, 7:30-8:30 a.m. Free.

Info, 229-6206.

UNDERSTANDING THE FINE PRINT: CREDIT CARDS: From choosing the right card to managing debt, New England Federal Credit Union talks dollars and sense when it comes to purchasing on credit.

Noon-12:45 p.m. Free. Info, 764-6940.

Find visual art exhibits and events in the Art section and at sevendaysvt.com/art.

film

MOONLIGHT SNOWSHOE TOURS: Snowshoers catch the sunset and the moonrise, then enjoy s’mores and beer around the bonfire.

Ticket price includes snowshoe and headlamp rentals. Edson Hill, Stowe, 4:30-5:30 p.m. $50; preregister. Info, 253-7371.

EDEN CIDERS TASTING: Eden Specialty Ciders founder Eleanor Leger gives discerning drinkers the full cidery experience from the comfort of home. Presented by City Market, Onion River Co-op. 5:30-7 p.m.

Free; preregister. Info, info@ citymarket.coop.

ELL CLASSES: ENGLISH FOR BEGINNERS & INTERMEDIATE STUDENTS: Learners of all abilities practice written and spoken English with trained instructors. Presented by Fletcher Free Library. 6:30-8 p.m.

Free; preregister. Info, bshatara@ burlingtonvt.gov.

FIND MORE LOCAL EVENTS IN THIS ISSUE AND ONLINE:

outdoors

OPEN MIC: Artists of all stripes have eight minutes to share a song, story or poem. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 6-7:30 p.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

WILD WOODS SONG CIRCLE: Singers and acoustic instrumentalists gather over Zoom for an evening of music making. 7:15-9:15 p.m. Free.

Info, 775-1182.

talks

PAUL DESLANDES: A UVM historian discusses the process of researching and writing his new book, The Culture of Male Beauty in Britain: From the First Photographs to David Beckham.

Memorial Lounge, Waterman Building, University of Vermont, Burlington, 4:30-5:30 p.m. Free.

Info, 656-1297.

Jersey woman experience an unexpected connection in this Northern Stage production.

Byrne Theater, Barrette Center for the Arts, White River Junction, 7:30 p.m. $19-59; preregister for socially distanced shows. Info, 296-7000.

‘I DO! I DO!’: Real-life married couple Lyn Philistine and Christopher Sutton star in a musical about marriage, from wedding to midlife crisis. The Grange Theatre, South Pomfret, 2-4 p.m. $35-45. Info, 457-3500.

words

ALICE B. FOGEL & ALEXANDRIA PEARY: The former and current Poets Laureate of New Hampshire, respectively, share their new collections with the Norwich Bookstore. 7 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 649-1114.

BYOB VIRTUAL BOOK GROUP: Lit lovers bring whatever they’re currently reading to this cozy Morristown Centennial Library book club. 6-7 p.m. Free. Info, 888-3853.

THU.17

agriculture

NOFA-VT WINTER CONFERENCE 2022: DREAM INTO BEING: Featured speakers, in-person socials, and more than 40 workshops, panels and other events give food and farm enthusiasts three weeks of fabulous fun. See nofavt.org for full schedule. 6:30-8 p.m. $30-150; sliding scale; free for BIPOC. Info, 434-4122.

business

HIRING2DAYVT VIRTUAL JOB FAIR: The Vermont Department of Labor gives job seekers a chance to meet with employers from around the state.

11 a.m.-noon. Free. Info, 828-4000.

SERVING ON BOARDS: Central Vermont Chamber of Commerce experts pull back the curtain on what being on a corporation’s board of directors is like. 2 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 229-5711.

community

WINTER SPEAKER SERIES: VAN GOSSE: The history professor illuminates the political world of Black Vermonters between the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. Presented by the Vermont Historical Society. Noon.

Free; preregister. Info, 479-8500.

VERMONT COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP TRAINING: Mercy Connections teaches community-building skills to anyone looking to effect change in the lives of the people around them. 1:30-4 p.m. Free. Info, 846-7063.

theater

conferences

‘BALDWIN AND BUCKLEY AT CAMBRIDGE’: Elevator Repair Service and Catamount Arts present a dramatization of the 1965 debate between civil rights activist James Baldwin and white supremacist pundit William F. Buckley Jr. See calendar spotlight. Free; preregister. Info, 748-2600.

‘HEISENBERG’: An elderly Irish butcher and a middle-aged New

VIRTUAL ARCHAEOLOGY CONFERENCE: ARNOLD’S BAY RESEARCH PROJECT: Lake Champlain Maritime Museum researchers unveil their findings from the Revolutionary War battlefield where Benedict Arnold burned the American fleet. 1-4 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 475-2022.

THU.17

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FAMILY FUN

upper valley

MAGIC OF MAPLE: See WED.16.

TODDLER STORY TIME: Toddling tykes 20 months through 3.5 years hear a few stories related to the theme of the week. Norman Williams Public Library, Woodstock, 10:30 a.m. Free. Info, 457-2295.

Check out these family-friendly events for parents, caregivers and kids of all ages.

• Plan ahead at sevendaysvt.com/family-fun.

• Post your event at sevendaysvt.com/postevent.

FRI.18

ONLINE PRENATAL YOGA: See WED.16, 12:30-1:15 p.m.

WED.16

chittenden county

GMBA BOOK GROUP: High school-age readers discuss thoughts and themes regarding the book of the month. Presented by Brownell Library. 2:30-3:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 878-6956.

OUTDOOR PLAYTIME: Energetic youngsters ages 2 through 5 don warm layers to play with hoops and parachutes out in the snow. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 11:30 a.m.-noon. Free. Info, 878-6956.

ONLINE PRENATAL YOGA: Mothers-to-be build strength, stamina and a stronger connection to their baby. 5:45-6:45 p.m. $5-15. Info, 899-0339.

PAJAMA STORY TIME: Puppets and picture books enhance a special prebedtime story hour for kids in their PJs. Birth through age 5. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 5:30-6 p.m. Free. Info, 878-6956.

burlington

CRAFTERNOON: Weaving, knitting, embroidery and paper crafting supplies take over the Teen Space. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 3-4:30 p.m. Free.

Info, 863-3403.

ITTY BITTY PUBLIC SKATE: Coaches are on hand to help the rink’s tiniest skaters stay on their feet. Gordon H. Paquette Ice Arena, Burlington, 10:30-11:30 a.m. $8. Info, 865-7558.

STEAM SPACE: Kids explore science, technology, engineering, art and math activities. Ages 5 through 11. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 5:30-7 p.m.

Free. Info, 863-3403.

chittenden county

FAMILY FUN NIGHT: PAPER FLOWER BOUQUETS: The whole fam works together to craft beautiful paper blooms. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 5:30-6:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 878-4918.

LEGO BUILDERS: Elementary-age imagineers explore, create and participate in challenges after school. Ages 8 and up, or ages 6 and up with an adult helper.

South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 3-4:30 p.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

FEB. 19 | FAMILY FUN Stopping by Woods

stowe/smuggs

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: Players ages 9 through 13 go on a fantasy adventure with dungeon master Andy. Morristown Centennial Library, Morrisville, 3:304:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 888-3853.

Saturday, February 19, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., at Vermont Institute of Natural Science in Quechee.

Regular admission, $15-17.50; free for members and kids 3 and under. Info, 359-5000, vinsweb.org.

Centennial Library, Morrisville, 3:30-4 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, cvarner@ centenniallibrary.org.

TEEN KARAOKE: Singers ages 12 through 18 croon, belt or scream along to their favorite jams. Morristown Centennial Library, Morrisville, 3-4:30 p.m. Free. Info, 888-3853.

mad river valley/ waterbury

STORY TIME: Little ones from birth through age 5 learn from songs, sign language lessons, math activities and picture books. Masks required. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 10:30-11 a.m.

Free. Info, 878-6956.

upper valley

KIDS’ BOOK CLUB: Little lit lovers ages 8 and up discuss The Terrible Two by Jory John and Mac Barnett. Morristown

WINTER STORY TIME & PLAYGROUP: Participants ages 6 and under hear stories, sing songs, and have hot tea and oatmeal around the fire. Dress warmly.

Jaquith Public Library, Marshfield, 10:30 a.m. Free. Info, 426-3581.

WINTER WILDLIFE CELEBRATION

LEGO CHALLENGE CLUB: Kids engage in a fun-filled hour of building, then leave their creations on display in the library all month long. Waterbury Public Library, 3-4 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 244-7036.

stowe/smuggs

barre/montpelier

Real-life critters and fantastical glitter combine for a day of chilly cheer at the Vermont Institute of Natural Science’s rescheduled Winter Wildlife Celebration. Accompanied by educators through the institute’s canopy walk and research stations, enthusiastic ecologists of all ages spend the day meeting birds of prey, chickadees, reindeer, sled dogs and other denizens of the winter months.

Those seeking a slightly more magical affair hunt through the woods for the elusive Fairy Court, where the Fairy Grandmother and her friends await. (Wing-wearing is highly encouraged.)

STEAM ACTIVITY: Little engineers and artists gather for some afternoon fun. Grades 3 and up. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 2-3 p.m.

Free; preregister; limited space. Info, 878-4918.

STORY WALK: ‘I AM THE STORM’: Little readers bundle up, take a walk around the library grounds and read about how people keep each other safe during storms. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Free. Info, 878-6956.

STORY WALK: ‘I AM THE STORM’: See WED.16.

MAGIC OF MAPLE: Families make candy and learn about sugaring in between $5 horse-drawn sleigh rides and other winter delights. Billings Farm & Museum, Woodstock. Regular admission, $8-16; free for members and kids 3 and under.

Info, 457-2355.

THU.17

KIDS IN THE KITCHEN: Chefs in training and their caretakers make dinner with a trained dietitian.

Grades 1 through 5. Presented by Hannaford, Dorothy Alling Memorial

Library and Brownell Library. 4 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 878-4918.

ONLINE PRENATAL YOGA: See WED.16, 12:30-1:30 p.m.

PRESCHOOL STORY TIME: Energetic youngsters join Miss Meliss for stories, songs and lots of silliness. Presented by Kellogg-Hubbard Library. 10:30 a.m. Free. Info, 223-3338.

VIRTUAL BABYTIME: Librarians bring out books, rhymes and songs specially selected for young ones.

Ages birth to 18 months. Presented by Fletcher Free Library. 9:30-10:45 a.m.

Free; preregister. Info, 863-3403.

burlington

‘VOICES MATTER’ SCREEN PRINTING: Readers ages 10 and up print quotes from their favorite books by Black YA authors on card stock or a shirt or tote bag from home. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, 3:30-5:30 p.m. Free. Info, 863-3403.

chittenden county

BOOK CLUB FOR KIDS K-2 & PARENTS: Little bookworms and their caregivers learn to love reading together through sharing, crafts and writing activities.

South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 4-5 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, sbplprograms@southburlingtonvt.gov.

PRESCHOOL MUSIC WITH LINDA BASSICK: The singer and storyteller

extraordinaire leads little ones in indoor music and movement. Birth through age 5. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 10:30-11 a.m. Free; preregister; limited space. Info, 878-4918.

STORY TIME: Babies, toddlers and preschoolers take part in reading, singing and dancing. Winooski Memorial Library, 10-10:30 a.m. Free. Info, 655-6424.

STORY WALK: ‘I AM THE STORM’: See WED.16, 9 a.m.-6:30 p.m.

stowe/smuggs

BABY & TODDLER MEETUP: Tiny tots and their caregivers come together for playtime, puzzles and picture books. Morristown Centennial Library, Morrisville, 10-11 a.m. Free. Info, 888-3853.

MIDDLE SCHOOL ADVISORY BOARD MEETING: Students ages 10 through 12 kick off the library’s new participatory program for preteens. Morristown Centennial Library, Morrisville, 3 p.m.

Free. Info, 888-3853.

READ TO XANDER: Novice and nervous readers find a calm, comforting environment in which to practice when Xander visits the library, courtesy of Therapy Dogs of Vermont. Morristown Centennial Library, Morrisville, 4-4:30 p.m. Free; preregister; limited space.

Info, 888-3853.

upper valley

MAGIC OF MAPLE: See WED.16.

SAT.19

KAMAMAMA YOGA TRIBE FOR LITTLES & BABES: Expecting parents and families with babies or toddlers connect over a Facebook yoga session. Presented by Kamalika-K. 10-10:50 a.m. Donations. Info, 871-5085.

burlington

CIRCUIT CIRCUS FESTIVAL: Hair-raising science shows, crowd-dazzling spectacles and hands-on activities spark the whole fam’s scientific curiosity.

ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Regular admission, $14.50-18; free for members and kids 2 and under. Info, 864-1848.

chittenden county

FAMILY GLOW DANCE!: Dancers of all ages boogie till they drop with the help of glow sticks, face paint, snacks and a live DJ. Essex Alliance Church, 5-8 p.m.

Free. Info, 878-8213.

KARMA KIDZ YOGA OPEN STUDIO SATURDAYS: Young yogis of all ages and their caregivers drop in for some fun breathing and movement activities.

Kamalika-K, Essex Junction, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Donations. Info, 871-5085.

SAT.19 SEVEN DAYS FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

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crafts

THURSDAY ZOOM KNITTERS: The Norman Williams Public Library fiber arts club meets virtually for conversation and crafting. 2-3 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, programs@normanwilliams.org.

health & fitness

CHAIR YOGA WITH LINDA: Every week is a new adventure in movement and mindfulness at this Morristown Centennial Library virtual class.

10:15-11:15 a.m. Free. Info, 888-3853.

THE LAND IN WHICH WE LIVE: A panel of ecologists, farmers and activists discusses the intersections of responsibility, caretaking, fragility and climatology. The Current, Stowe, 5-7 p.m. Free. Info, 253-8358.

DESIGNING YOUR DREAM HOME: A home designer and a mortgage loan officer discuss the financial considerations of building a new house from the ground up. Presented by New England Federal Credit Union. 6-7 p.m. Free; preregister.

Info, 764-6940.

etc.

U.S. CITIZENSHIP TEST PREPARATION: See WED.16.

MONTHLY MEDICINE BUDDHA PRACTICE: Milarepa Center leads a full moon practice for those experiencing illness, injury or suffering. 11:30 a.m. Free; preregister. Info, 633-4136.

USING YOUR TAX RETURNS WISELY: New England Federal Credit Union runs through a plethora of ways to spend refunds from the IRS. Noon-12:30 p.m. Free; preregister.

Info, 764-6940.

film

talks

‘AUSTRALIA’S GREAT WILD NORTH 3D’: See WED.16.

‘DINOSAURS OF ANTARCTICA 3D’: See WED.16.

‘GEORGE NAKASHIMA: WOODWORKER’: See WED.16.

‘MEERKATS 3D’: See WED.16.

‘SPACE: UNRAVELING THE COSMOS’: See WED.16.

food & drink

LISA STEELE: Listeners learn all about cooking with ova from the fifth-generation chicken keeper and author of The Fresh Eggs Daily Cookbook.

Presented by Phoenix Books. 7 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 448-3350.

LOVE BAR: Adventure Dinner hosts a pop-up bar featuring sommelier-selected wines, flirty cocktails and ooey-gooey fondue in a 2,000-square-foot space suited to social distancing. Reservations available; proof of vaccination required.

Adventure Lodge, Vergennes, 4-9 p.m. Cost of food and drink. Info, 248-224-7539.

SUP CON GUSTO TAKEOUT SUPPER SERIES: Philly transplants Randy Camacho and Gina Cocchiaro serve up three-course and à la carte menus shaped by seasonal Vermont ingredients.

See supcongustovt.com to preorder. Richmond Community Kitchen, 5-8 p.m. Various prices.

Info, gustogastronomics@gmail. com.

games

WHIST CARD GAME CLUB: Players of all experience levels congregate for some friendly competition. Morristown Centennial Library, Morrisville, 12:30-3 p.m.

Free. Info, 888-3853.

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FEB. 16 & 17 | THEATER

seminars

environment

See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.

COURTESY OF JOHANNA AUSTIN

THU.17

BLACK HISTORY MONTH LECTURE SERIES: TUCKER FOLTZ & MATTHEW MARCH: Two museum educators dig into the history of two very different stops on the Underground Railroad.

Presented by Rokeby Museum.

6:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 877-3406.

tech

IPHONE/IPAD: GETTING STARTED: Classmates navigate the ins and outs of Apple cell phones and tablets, from taking photos to secure web browsing. Presented by Waterbury Public Library. 6-7 p.m.

Free. Info, 244-7036.

theater

‘BALDWIN AND BUCKLEY AT CAMBRIDGE’: See WED.16.

‘HEISENBERG’: See WED.16.

‘I DO! I DO!’: See WED.16, 7:309:30 p.m.

FRI.18

agriculture

NOFA-VT WINTER CONFERENCE 2022: DREAM INTO BEING: See THU.17, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

climate crisis

CLIMATE SOS RALLY: Activists from across the state gather to sing, speak, make art, share hot drinks and demand that Vermont politicians make major moves to halt the climate crisis. BYO flotation device. Vermont Statehouse lawn, Montpelier, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

Free. Info, jaiel@350vt.org.

dance

TEEN JAZZ TOUR PREVIEW: Teen Jazz Company and the Junior Company of Contemporary Dance and Fitness Studio perform from various genres. Auction precedes show. Vermont College of Fine Arts, Montpelier, 7-8:30 p.m. $1015. Info, 229-4676.

SEVEN DAYS FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

education

EDUCATION, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES STUDENT RESEARCH CONFERENCE: Undergraduates present their projects on teaching, coaching and counseling. Angell College Center, SUNY Plattsburgh, N.Y., 4-6:30 p.m. Free. Info, 518-564-5148.

fairs & festivals

GREAT ICE!: Fireworks, snow sports and even a chance to drive a Zamboni make for a wintry weekend done right. See great icevt.org for full schedule. See calendar spotlight. Various North Hero locations, 4-8 p.m. Free. Info, 378-5115.

film

See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.

‘AUSTRALIA’S GREAT WILD NORTH 3D’: See WED.16.

‘DINOSAURS OF ANTARCTICA 3D’: See WED.16.

‘GEORGE NAKASHIMA: WOODWORKER’: See WED.16.

‘MEERKATS 3D’: See WED.16.

‘SPACE: UNRAVELING THE COSMOS’: See WED.16.

games

MAH-JONGG: Tile traders of all experience levels gather for a game session. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 1-3 p.m. Free. Info, 878-4918.

SCRABBLE!: Those for whom the daily Wordle is simply not

Notes of a Native Son On one side, James Baldwin, an icon of the civil rights and gay liberation movements; on the other, William F. Buckley Jr., a supporter of segregation and the father of modern conservatism. These were the stakes when Baldwin and Buckley met in 1965 to debate the resolution “The American Dream Is at the Expense of the American Negro.”

Curious parties could read a transcript of their confrontation — or they could see it brought to explosive life by New York City’s Elevator Repair Service theater company.

Through February 17, Catamount Arts screens this starkly intimate performance. A live, interactive discussion with the actors and director follows on the 17th at 7 p.m.

‘BALDWIN AND BUCKLEY AT CAMBRIDGE’ Wednesday, February 16, midnight, through Thursday, February 17, 5 p.m.; artist talkback on Thursday, February 17, 7 p.m. Online. Free; preregister. Info, 748-2600, catamountarts.org. enough gather for an hour of friendly wordplay. No experience necessary. Morristown Centennial Library, Morrisville, 11 a.m.-noon.

Free. Info, 888-3853.

health & fitness ARTHRITIS FOUNDATION EXERCISE PROGRAM: See WED.16.

ONLINE GUIDED MEDITATION: Dorothy Alling Memorial Library invites attendees to chill out on their lunch breaks and reconnect with their bodies. Noon-12:30 p.m.

Free; preregister. Info, programs@ damlvt.org.

QIGONG WITH GERRY SANDWEISS: Beginners learn this ancient Chinese practice of meditative movement.

Presented by Norman Williams Public Library. 8:30-9:30 a.m.

Free; preregister. Info, programs@ normanwilliams.org.

sports

NOBUNTU: The internationally acclaimed Zimbabwean women’s a capella quintet sings traditional Mbube songs and gospel classics. Robison Hall, Mahaney Arts Center, Middlebury College, 7:309:30 p.m. $10-25. Info, 433-6433.

HARRIS HILL SKI JUMPING COMPETITION: Skiers from around the world compete on the 100th anniversary of New England’s only Olympic-size ski jump. Olympian Jim Holland is inducted into the Vermont Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame. Harris Hill Ski Jump, Brattleboro, 6-8 p.m. $15-20. Info, 254-4565.

outdoors

talks

music

GREAT BACKYARD BIRD COUNT: Rutland County Audubon invites locals to join birdwatchers around the world in logging all the feathered friends they can find in their yards or favorite nearby park. Various Rutland and Addison County locations, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Free. Info, birding@ rutlandcountyaudubon.org.

EEE LECTURES: DEVIN COLMAN: The Vermont State Architectural Historian tells the story of 20th-century Burlington’s mail-order houses.

Presented by Education & Enrichment for Everyone. 2-3 p.m. $45 for season pass. Info, 343-5177.

LIST YOUR EVENT FOR FREE AT SEVENDAYSVT.COM/POSTEVENT

theater

‘HEISENBERG’: See WED.16.

‘I DO! I DO!’: See WED.16, 7:309:30 p.m.

‘RENT’: The Dartmouth Department of Theater teaches audiences to measure their lives in love with a run of the iconic musical. Moore Theater, Hopkins Center for the Arts, Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H., 8 p.m. $915. Info, 603-646-2422.

words

NATURE BOOK CLUB: ‘BRAIDING SWEETGRASS: INDIGENOUS WISDOM, SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE AND THE TEACHINGS OF PLANTS’: Readers enjoy Robin Wall Kimmerer’s treatise on Indigenous ways of connecting to nature. North Branch Nature Center, Montpelier, 7-8:30 p.m.

Free; preregister. Info, 229-6206.

SAT.19

agriculture

NOFA-VT WINTER CONFERENCE 2022: DREAM INTO BEING: See THU.17, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

fairs & festivals

GREAT ICE!: See FRI.18, 7 a.m.-9 p.m.

film

See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.

‘AUSTRALIA’S GREAT WILD NORTH 3D’: See WED.16.

‘DINOSAURS OF ANTARCTICA 3D’: See WED.16.

‘GEORGE NAKASHIMA: WOODWORKER’: See WED.16.

‘THE LAST COMMAND’: Silent film accompanist Jeff Rapsis provides a live pipe organ score for this classic historical drama that won Emil Jannings the first-ever Academy Award for Best Actor.

‘MEERKATS 3D’: See WED.16.

string band music. Refreshments follow. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 12:30-1:30 p.m. Free. Info, 846-4140.

‘SPACE: UNRAVELING THE COSMOS’: See WED.16.

outdoors

Epsilon Spires, Brattleboro, 8-10 p.m. $15. Info, info@epsilon spires.org.

WOODSTOCK VERMONT FILM SERIES: ‘JIMMY CARTER: ROCK `N’ ROLL PRESIDENT’: A documentary charts the mostly forgotten friendships between the president and rock legends such as Willie Nelson, the Allman Brothers and Bob Dylan. Billings Farm & Museum, Woodstock, 3 & 5:30 p.m. $12-15; $115-130 for season pass. Info, 457-2355.

food & drink

MIDDLEBURY FARMERS MARKET: Produce, prepared foods and local products are available for purchase at this year-round bazaar. Middlebury VFW Hall, 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Free.

Info, middleburyfarmersmkt@ yahoo.com.

games

BEGINNER DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: Waterbury Public Library game master Evan Hoffman gathers novices and veterans alike for an afternoon of virtual adventuring. Teens and adults welcome. noon-4 p.m.

Free. Info, 244-7036.

health & fitness

BIPOC COVID-19 BOOSTER SHOT CLINICS: Vermont Health Equity Initiative administers vaccines to BIPOC Vermont residents and their households. Transport and interpreters available on request.

The Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Burlington, noon-4 p.m. Free.

Info, info@vermonthealth equity.org.

SUN-STYLE TAI CHI FOR FALL PREVENTION: Seniors boost their strength and balance through gentle, flowing movements. Father Lively Center, St. Johnsbury, 10-11 a.m. Free; preregister. Info, 751-0431.

lgbtq

FOMO? Find even more local events in this newspaper and online:

art Find visual art exhibits and events in the Art section and at sevendaysvt.com/art.

film See what’s playing at theaters in the On Screen section.

music + nightlife Find club dates at local venues in the Music + Nightlife section online at sevendaysvt.com/ music.

Learn more about highlighted listings in the Magnificent 7 on page 11.

= ONLINE EVENT

GLOW CRAFT SOCIAL: Queer women and women-aligned folks gather virtually to work on all kinds of craft projects. Presented by Pride Center of Vermont. 11 a.m.-noon.

Free. Info, 860-7812.

music

ANAÏS MITCHELL: The Vermont singer-songwriter and awardwinning creator of Hadestown performs with three-piece band Bonny Light Horseman. The Flynn, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. $3252. Info, 863-5966.

WIND ENSEMBLE: Student instrumentalists showcase new pieces from the 2020 Dartmouth Wind Ensemble Composition Competition. Spaulding Auditorium, Hopkins Center for the Arts, Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H., 7:30 p.m. $7-12.

Info, 603-646-2422.

WINTER CONCERT SERIES: THE SKY BLUE BOYS: The acoustic duo delivers folky authenticity and the excitement of old-time

AUDUBON WEST RUTLAND MARSH BIRD WALK: Enthusiastic ornithologists go on a gentle hike and help out with the monthly marsh monitoring.

Meet at the boardwalk on Marble Street. West Rutland Marsh, 8-11 a.m. Free. Info, birding@rutland countyaudubon.org.

GREAT BACKYARD BIRD COUNT: See FRI.18.

MOONLIGHT SNOWSHOE TOURS: See WED.16.

TREASURE THE LIBRARY: Skiers or snowshoers who donate to the Craftsbury Public Library gain access to private trails through a magical cedar swamp for an entire morning or afternoon. 400 Post Rd., Craftsbury, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. & 1-5 p.m. Donations; preregister.

Info, 586-9683.

sports

HARRIS HILL SKI JUMPING COMPETITION: See FRI.18, 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

theater

‘HEISENBERG’: See WED.16.

‘I DO! I DO!’: See WED.16, 2-4 & 7:30-9:30 p.m.

‘RENT’: See FRI.18.

words

WRITERS’ WERTFREI: Authors both fledgling and published gather over Zoom to share their work in a judgment-free environment.

Presented by Waterbury Public Library. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free. Info, judi@waterburypubliclibrary. com.

SUN.20

BUY ONLINE AT SEVENDAYSTICKETS.COM Seasons of Life: A Supportive Community for Women WED., FEB. 16 ONLINE

After School Nature Art Workshop with Rachel Mirus THU., FEB. 17 GRANGE HALL CULTURAL CENTER, WATERBURY

Macie Stewart with Karima Walker & Bear’s Tapestry THU., FEB. 17 ARTSRIOT, BURLINGTON

Improv Night

FRI., FEB. 18 ARTSRIOT, BURLINGTON

BIOCANNA for Effortless Organic Cultivation SAT., FEB. 19 GREEN STATE GARDENER, BURLINGTON

Facing Change: Life’s Transitions and Transformations WED., FEB. 23 ONLINE

agriculture

NOFA-VT WINTER CONFERENCE 2022: DREAM INTO BEING: See THU.17, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

dance

WINTER CARNIVAL DISCO ON ICE: GLOW SKATE WITH A DJ!: Next Stage Arts and the Brattleboro Winter Carnival throw on the tunes for an epic ice dance party. Nelson Withington Skating Facility, Brattleboro, 7-9 p.m. $5; $3 for skate rentals.

Info, 387-0102.

fairs & festivals

GREAT ICE!: See FRI.18, 7 a.m.-8 p.m.

film

See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.

‘AUSTRALIA’S GREAT WILD NORTH 3D’: See WED.16.

‘DINOSAURS OF ANTARCTICA 3D’: See WED.16.

SUN.20

EV E N T S O N SA L E N OW

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Vermontijuana Ski Daze

FRI., FEB. 25 SMUGGLERS’ NOTCH RESORT, JEFFERSONVILLE

Open Memorial: Remembering in Community FRI., FEB. 25 ONLINE

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SEVEN DAYS FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

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2/15/22 1:45 PM

calendar SUN.20

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‘FREE RENTY: LANIER V. HARVARD’: A new documentary follows Tamara Lanier’s lawsuit for ownership of photos of her enslaved ancestor. Q&A with Lanier and art history faculty follows.

Loew Auditorium, Hopkins Center for the Arts, Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H., 4 p.m. $5-10. Info, 603-646-2422.

‘MEERKATS 3D’: See WED.16.

‘SPACE: UNRAVELING THE COSMOS’: See WED.16.

food & drink

PANCAKE BREAKFAST: The Knights of Columbus DeGoesbriand Council #279 serves up an all-you-can-eat brunch buffet. Cathedral of St. Joseph, Burlington, 9:30-11:30 a.m. $6-8. Info, 862-5109.

health & fitness

COMMUNITY MINDFULNESS PRACTICE: New and experienced meditators are always welcome to join this weekly class, virtually or in person. Evolution Physical Therapy & Yoga, Burlington, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Donations. Info, newleafsangha@gmail.com.

music

JOE K. WALSH: The acclaimed mandolinist blends the virtuosic improvisational excitement of bluegrass with a dedication to finding and creating beauty.

Livestream available. Richmond Congregational Church, 4-6 p.m. $15-25. Info, 557-7589.

outdoors

GREAT BACKYARD BIRD COUNT: See FRI.18.

sports

HARRIS HILL SKI JUMPING COMPETITION: See FRI.18, 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

talks

WILLARD STERNE RANDALL: Ethan Allen Homestead hosts the author of the new financial history The Founders’ Fortunes: How Money Shaped the American Revolution.

2-3 p.m. Free. Info, 865-4556.

theater

‘HEISENBERG’: See WED.16, 5 p.m.

‘RENT’: See FRI.18, 2 p.m.

MON.21

agriculture

NOFA-VT WINTER CONFERENCE 2022: DREAM INTO BEING: See THU.17, 12-4:30 p.m.

film

See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.

‘AUSTRALIA’S GREAT WILD NORTH 3D’: See WED.16.

‘DINOSAURS OF ANTARCTICA 3D’: See WED.16.

‘MEERKATS 3D’: See WED.16.

64

FEB. 18-20 | FAIRS & FESTIVALS Ice, Ice, Baby

business

February is anything but dark and dreary at Great Ice!, North Hero’s winter wonderland of a small-town festival. The fun kicks off with the annual Christmas tree bonfire and City Bay fireworks display, followed by a skate party with the music cranked up.

Visitors sip local brews and sample tasty bites at the Food and Wine Village, snowshoe and hike through Camp Ingalls, and compete to build the most impressive ice fort or cook the most powerful chili. New-grass outfit the Tenderbellies soundtrack a footstomping barn dance, and anyone who’s ever dreamed of driving a Zamboni gets their (supervised) chance.

GREAT ICE! Friday, February 18, 4-8 p.m.; Saturday, February 19, 7 a.m.-9 p.m.; and Sunday, February 20, 7 a.m.-8 p.m., at various North Hero locations. Free. Info, 378-5115, greaticevt.org.

‘SPACE: UNRAVELING THE COSMOS’: See WED.16.

$15-56; free for students. Info, 748-2600.

‘THE TRUE COST’: Sustainable Woodstock screens a groundbreaking documentary that pulls back the curtain on the fast fashion industry and its environmental costs. Free. Info, 291-1003.

outdoors

health & fitness

SETTING A DIRECTION: In this two-week workshop, attendees explore how their experiences can move them towards new possibilities.

Presented by Mercy Connections.

1:30-4:30 p.m. Free; preregister.

Info, 846-7063.

ARTHRITIS FOUNDATION EXERCISE PROGRAM: See WED.16.

music

‘A TRIBUTE TO ARETHA FRANKLIN: THE QUEEN OF SOUL’: Franklin’s mentee Damien Sneed and songwriter Valerie Simpson head up an astonishing journey through the legend’s decades-long career. Fuller Hall, St. Johnsbury Academy, 7-9 p.m.

SEVEN DAYS FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

GREAT BACKYARD BIRD COUNT: See FRI.18.

seminars

DEVELOPING SELF: See WED.16.

U.S. CITIZENSHIP TEST PREPARATION: See WED.16, 121:30 & 3:30-4:45 p.m.

TUE.22

agriculture

AGING GARDENS, AGING GARDENERS: Landscape architect Ann McEntee teaches seniors sustainable horticultural habits.

Presented by the Woodstock Garden Club and the Norman Williams Public Library. 4-5 p.m.

Free; preregister. Info, programs@ normanwilliams.org.

MARK STARRETT: Burlington Garden Club members and neighbors get their hands dirty in a propagating workshop led by a University of Vermont professor.

Faith United Methodist Church, South Burlington, 1 p.m. Free. Info, 238-4213.

NOFA-VT WINTER CONFERENCE 2022: DREAM INTO BEING: See THU.17, noon-8 p.m.

LET’S GET SOCIAL: Connections: A Community of Women hosts a virtual speed networking event for female business owners.

6:30-8:30 p.m. Free; preregister.

Info, 310-5823.

VERMONT DEPARTMENT OF LABOR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT: Job seekers drop in for tips on résumé writing, applying for jobs, and training.

Morristown Centennial Library, Morrisville, 9:30 a.m.-noon. Free.

Info, 888-3853.

community

CURRENT EVENTS DISCUSSION GROUP: Brownell Library hosts a virtual roundtable for neighbors to pause and reflect on the news cycle.

10-11:30 a.m. Free. Info, 878-6955.

conferences

THE EMPATH SUMMIT: Local intuitive coach and reiki healer Sara Lopez hosts three days of talks for anyone who struggles with people pleasing.

See empathmagic.com for full schedule. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, sara@flowpath. love.

demonstrates how to make a roll-up main and a sweet potato side with local ingredients.

Presented by City Market, Onion River Co-op. 5:30-7 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, info@citymarket. coop.

film

See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.

‘AUSTRALIA’S GREAT WILD NORTH 3D’: See WED.16.

‘DINOSAURS OF ANTARCTICA 3D’: See WED.16.

‘MEERKATS 3D’: See WED.16.

‘SPACE: UNRAVELING THE COSMOS’: See WED.16.

‘THE TRUE COST’: See MON.21.

language

ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING & ACADEMIC TUTORING: Students improve their reading, writing, math or ELL skills through one-on-one time with experienced tutors. Mercy Connections, Burlington, 9-11 a.m.

Free. Info, 846-7063.

seminars

crafts

FIRESIDE KNITTING GROUP: See WED.16, 6-7 p.m.

MAP!: MAKE AN ACTION PLAN: Guest speakers and the Mercy Connections team help students plan how to live their best post-pandemic lives. 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Free; preregister.

Info, 846-7063.

fairs & festivals

theater

CHICKEN ROULADES: Chef Jason Gelrud

‘HEISENBERG’: See WED.16.

LIST YOUR EVENT FOR FREE AT SEVENDAYSVT.COM/POSTEVENT

words

KAREN BRENNAN, VICTORIA REDEL & ANGELO NIKOPOULOS: The Norwich Bookstore and Four Way Books present an evening with the authors of Television, A Memoir, poetry collection Paradise, and book-length poem Pleasure, respectively. 7 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 649-1114.

KEN ELLINGWOOD: Champlain College and Phoenix Books host the author of First to Fall: Elijah Lovejoy and His Fight for a Free Press in the Age of Slavery. 7 p.m. Free; preregister.

Info, 448-3350.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Members of this writing group motivate each other to put pen to paper for at least an hour, then debrief together. Morristown Centennial Library, Morrisville, 5-7 p.m. Free.

Info, 888-3853.

WED.23 agriculture

NOFA-VT WINTER CONFERENCE 2022: DREAM INTO BEING: See THU.17, 9 a.m.-8 p.m.

PLANNING FOR SEED SAVING WORKSHOP: Master gardener Judy Hall leads a

SAT.19

lesson and Q&A session on ideal ways to conserve and replant seeds. Presented by the South Burlington Public Library. 6-7:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, sbplprograms@southburlington vt.gov.

FOMO? Find even more local events in this newspaper and online:

art Find visual art exhibits and events in the Art section and at sevendaysvt.com/art.

film See what’s playing at theaters in the On Screen section.

music + nightlife Find club dates at local venues in the Music + Nightlife section online at sevendaysvt.com/ music.

Learn more about highlighted listings in the Magnificent 7 on page 11.

« P.61

STORY WALK: ‘I AM THE STORM’: See WED.16, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

barre/montpelier

WINTER DISCOVERY HIKE FOR FAMILIES: Trail trekkers put on their “deer ears” and connect with the natural world. Families with kids ages 6 and up. North Branch Nature Center, Montpelier, 10:30 a.m.-noon. Free; preregister. Info, 229-6206.

stowe/smuggs

READ TO FIGMENT: The Therapy Dogs of Vermont emissary is super excited to hear kids of all ages, including teens, practice their reading. Morristown Centennial Library, Morrisville, 11 a.m.noon. Free; preregister; limited space.

Info, 888-3853.

champlain islands/ northwest

DISNEY CHARACTER BREAKFAST: SOLD OUT. Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy eat brunch and play games at this all-ages magical morning. The Depot, St. Albans, 9-11 a.m. $12.50-17.50. Info, 443-798-5380.

upper valley

MAGIC OF MAPLE: See WED.16.

WINTER WILDLIFE CELEBRATION: RESCHEDULED. Sled dogs, reindeer, birds and even woodland fairies are out, about, and ready to be discovered during a day of exploration. See calendar spotlight. Vermont Institute of Natural Science, Quechee, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Regular admission, $15-17.50; free for members and kids 3 and under. Info, 359-5000.

= ONLINE EVENT

community

CURRENT EVENTS OVER ZOOM: Dorothy Alling Memorial Library leads an informal discussion about what’s in the news. 10:30 a.m.-noon.

Free; preregister. Info, programs@ damlvt.org.

VERMONT WOMEN’S MENTORING PROGRAM: See WED.16.

conferences

THE EMPATH SUMMIT: See TUE.22, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.

crafts

FIRESIDE KNITTING GROUP: See WED.16.

MARILYN DA SILVA: The metalsmith and sculptor explains how her trademark use of treatment and color tells stories through steel. Alumni Hall, Hopkins Center for the Arts, Dartmouth College, Hanover N.H., 5 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 603-646-2422.

environment

RECYCLING RIGHT!: Chittenden Solid Waste District recycling pros answer questions about what should go in the bin and what happens at the Materials Recovery Facility.

6-7 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, community@cswd.net.

SUN.20

ONLINE PRENATAL YOGA: See WED.16, 10:15-11:15 a.m.

burlington

CIRCUIT CIRCUS FESTIVAL: See SAT.19, Through March 1, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

D&D WITH DUNGEON MASTER ROBBY: Warlocks and warriors battle dastardly foes in a Dungeons & Dragons adventure. Ages 10 and up. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, noon-4 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 863-3403.

middlebury area

MNFF SELECTS FILM SERIES: ‘DUMA’: The family-friendly screening series continues with a drama about an orphaned cheetah who makes friends with a South African boy. Town Hall Theater, Middlebury, 2 p.m. $7-16. Info, 382-9222.

upper valley

MAGIC OF MAPLE: See WED.16.

MON.21

ONLINE PRENATAL YOGA: See WED.16.

burlington

CIRCUIT CIRCUS FESTIVAL: See SAT.19, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

ITTY BITTY PUBLIC SKATE: See WED.16.

chittenden county

STORY WALK: ‘I AM THE STORM’: See WED.16, 9 a.m.-6:30 p.m.

barre/montpelier

TEEN JOURNALISM CLASS: Seven Days’ own Anne Wallace Allen teaches

film

language

‘AUSTRALIA’S GREAT WILD NORTH 3D’: See WED.16.

SPANISH CONVERSATION MEETUP ONLINE: Fluent and beginner speakers brush up on their español with a discussion led by a Spanish teacher.

Presented by Dorothy Alling Memorial Library. 4-5 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 878-4918.

See what’s playing at local theaters in the On Screen section.

‘DINOSAURS OF ANTARCTICA 3D’: See WED.16.

DISCUSSION OF ‘EMMA.’ (THE MOVIE): Jane Austen Society of North America Vermont Region members lead a rousing debate on the 2020 adaptation of Austen’s comedy of manners. Hosted by KelloggHubbard Library. 6:30-8 p.m.

Free; preregister. Info, 223-3338.

‘MEERKATS 3D’: See WED.16.

‘A RAISIN IN THE SUN’: Catamount’s Black History Month film screening series closes out with a classic Sidney Poitier movie. Catamount Arts Center, St. Johnsbury, 6 p.m. Free. Info, 748-2600.

‘SPACE: UNRAVELING THE COSMOS’: See WED.16.

‘THE TRUE COST’: See MON.21.

health & fitness ARTHRITIS FOUNDATION EXERCISE PROGRAM: See WED.16.

CHAIR YOGA: See WED.16.

high schoolers the nuts and bolts of the newspaper business. Jaquith Public Library, Marshfield, 3:30-5 p.m.

Free; preregister; limited space. Info, 426-3581.

upper valley

MAGIC OF MAPLE: See WED.16.

TUE.22

CREATIVE SELF CARE: LAURA LEE GULLEDGE: The author of The Dark Matter of Mona Starr teaches tweens and teens how to make a self-care plan and map their support networks. Presented by Fletcher Free Library. 4-5 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 863-3403.

ONLINE PRENATAL YOGA: See WED.16, 12:30-1:30 p.m.

PRESCHOOL STORY TIME: See THU.17.

VIRTUAL SING-ALONG WITH LINDA BASSICK: Babies, toddlers and preschoolers sing, dance and wiggle along with Linda over Zoom.

Presented by Fletcher Free Library.

11-11:30 a.m. Free; preregister. Info, 863-3403.

VIRTUAL TEEN WRITERS CLUB: Aspiring authors unleash their creativity through collaborative and independent writing games. Hosted by Brownell Library. 4 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 878-6956.

burlington

‘VOICES MATTER’ SCREEN PRINTING: See THU.17, 1:30-3:30 p.m.

CIRCUIT CIRCUS FESTIVAL: See SAT.19, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

ELL CLASSES: ENGLISH FOR BEGINNERS & INTERMEDIATE STUDENTS: See WED.16.

music

CUARTETO LATINOAMERICANO: The award-winning string quartet teams up with Hopkins pianist-inresidence Sally Pinkas for an evening of thrilling classical music.

Spaulding Auditorium, Hopkins Center for the Arts, Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H., 7:30 p.m. $15-45. Info, 603-646-2422.

JARET REDDICK & ROB FELICETTI OF BOWLING FOR SOUP: The kings of aughts pop rock take to the stage for a funfilled, sing-along acoustic show.

Troy Millette and the Fire Below open. Double E Performance Center’s T-Rex Theater, Essex Junction, 8 p.m. $20. Info, info@ doubleevermont.com.

outdoors

WILDLIFE TRACKING WEDNESDAYS: See WED.16.

chittenden county

MAGIC OF MAPLE: See WED.16.

WED.23

L.E.A.N. IN: Health coach Becky Widschwenter teaches a biweekly series on healthy habits and wellness tips.

Presented by Waterbury Public Library. 5:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 244-7036.

U.S. CITIZENSHIP TEST PREPARATION: See WED.16.

tech

INTRODUCTION TO VIRTUAL GAMING FOR OLDER ADULTS: Technology for Tomorrow takes attendees on a tour of the wide world of online video games and demonstrates how to download and play one on an iPad. Noon-1:30 p.m. Free; preregister. Info, 448-0595.

theater

‘HEISENBERG’: See WED.16. m

HARRY POTTER SCAVENGER HUNT: Witches and wizards ages 10 and up search throughout the library for horcruxes and sorcerer’s stones. Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, noon-7 p.m.

Free; preregister. Info, 863-3403.

ITTY BITTY PUBLIC SKATE: See WED.16.

STEAM SPACE: See WED.16.

chittenden county LEGO BUILDERS: See WED.16.

PRESCHOOL STORY TIME: Kiddos 5 and younger share in stories, crafts and rhymes. Morristown Centennial Library, Morrisville, 10:30-11:30 a.m. Free. Info, 888-3853.

BABY STORY TIME: Librarians and finger-puppet friends introduce babies 20 months and younger to the joy of reading. Norman Williams Public Library, Woodstock, 10:30 a.m. Free.

Info, 457-2295.

DEVELOPING SELF: See WED.16.

CRAFTERNOON: See WED.16.

STORY WALK: ‘I AM THE STORM’: See WED.16, 9 a.m.-6:30 p.m.

upper valley

seminars

CIRCUIT CIRCUS FESTIVAL: See SAT.19, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

PRESCHOOL STORY TIME ON THE GREEN: Dorothy Alling Memorial Library leads half an hour of stories, rhymes and songs. Williston Town Green, 1010:30 a.m. Free. Info, 878-4918.

STEAM AFTERSCHOOL: Kids learn art, science and math through games and crafts, including paper airplane races, Lego competitions and origami. Ages 6 and up. Morristown Centennial Library, Morrisville, 3:30-4:30 p.m. Free. Info, 888-3853.

TIMELY TOPICS: JOHN-PAUL HIMKA: The Vermont Council on World Affairs kicks off a new speaker series with a discussion of rising tensions in Ukraine. 6-7 p.m. $10; preregister; free for members.

Info, 557-0018.

burlington

ARTS & CRAFTERNOONS: From painting to print-making and collage to sculpture, creative kids explore different projects and mediums. Ages 8 and up, or ages 6 and up with an adult helper. South Burlington Public Library & City Hall, 1-3:30 p.m. Free. Info, nliuzzi@southburlingtonvt.gov.

stowe/smuggs

politics

SPECIAL FAMILY STORY TIME: BEACH PARTY: Picture books transport little ones and their parents somewhere tropical. BYO beach blanket. Brownell Library, Essex Junction, 10:30-11 a.m.

Free. Info, 878-6956.

STORY WALK: ‘I AM THE STORM’: See WED.16.

YOUTH CRAFTERNOON: 3D YARN MONOGRAMS: Crafty kids use yarn and cardboard to make letter-block decor. Grades 3 and up. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, 2-3 p.m.

Free; preregister. Info, 878-4918.

stowe/smuggs

WEDNESDAY CRAFTERNOON: A new project is on the docket each week, from puppets to knitting to decoupage.

Ages 7 and up. Morristown Centennial Library, Morrisville, 3:30-4:30 p.m.

Free; preregister. Info, youthservices@ centenniallibrary.org.

upper valley

MAGIC OF MAPLE: See WED.16. K

ONLINE PRENATAL YOGA: See WED.16.

SEVEN DAYS FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

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CLASS PHOTOS + MORE INFO ONLINE SEVENDAYSVT.COM/CLASSES

classes art

CREATIVE HEART LIFE DRAWING: Find and foster your creative voice while drawing a live human model.

This is a class for all people and all skill levels. We’ll emphasize creative expression over pure technique, as we build an intentionally playful space to connect with self and community. All basic supplies provided. Mon. and Fri., 7 p.m. Cost: $25. Location: Creative HeART, 19 Church St., Suite 8, Burlington. Info: Margaret, hello@therisinsuns. com; register at therisinruns.com.

DAVIS STUDIO ART CLASSES: Discover your happy place in one of our weekly classes. Making art boosts emotional well-being and brings joy to your life, especially when you connect with other art enthusiasts. Select the ongoing program that’s right for you.

Now enrolling youth and adults for classes in drawing, painting and fused glass. Location: Davis Studio, 916 Shelburne Rd., South Burlington. Info: 425-2700, davis studiovt.com.

gardening COMMUNITY TEACHING GARDEN: Join a unique garden education program to learn how to grow your own food in a fun, supportive and cooperative learning environment. This six-month long course follows the rhythm of the growing season through weekly lessons

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and hands-on garden work. Wed., May 4-Oct. 12, 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Cost: $550/24 wks., all gardening materials, monthly make-and-take food preservation & herbalism products. Location: Community Teaching Garden, 1 Ethan Allen Homestead, Burlington. Info: Vermont Garden Network, Angela Debettencourt, 861-4769, angela@ vcgn.org, vtgardens.org.

Generator

GENERATOR is a combination of artist studios, classroom, and business incubator at the intersection of art, science, and technology. We provide tools, expertise, education, and opportunity – to enable all members of our community to create, collaborate, and make their ideas a reality.

LASER CUT RUBBER STAMP WORKSHOP: Design and make your own custom rubber stamp!

Students will use Adobe Illustrator to create their own image or text, then etch it onto rubber using Generator’s Epilog laser cutters.

Finally, they will create their own mount for their rubber die. Note: Stamps may change as we get a protoype. Wed., Mar. 23 & 30,

SEVEN DAYS FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

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6-8:00 p.m. Location: Generator, 40 Sears La., Burlington. Info: Sam Graulty, 540-0761, education@ generatorvt.com, generatorvt.com/ workshops.

LASER-CUT TABLETOP GAME WORKSHOP: Want to make your own version of a tabletop game or game accessory, or invent a new game? With the help of a skilled instructor, you’ll design your project using graphic design software, then create your object on the laser cutter. Possible projects include: game pieces, accessories, boards or other components. Wed., Mar. 2 & 9, 6-8:00 p.m. Location: Generator, 40 Sears La., Burlington. Info: Sam Graulty, 540-0761, education@ generatorvt.com, generatorvt.com/ workshops.

language ALLIANCE FRANÇAISE SPRING 2022: Join us for online and possible in-person French classes this spring. This 12-week session starts on March 14 and offers classes for participants at all levels. Children’s classes are also offered on Saturdays. Please visit our website and read about our offerings on our class page. 12 wks., beginning on Mar. 14. Location: Alliance Française, Burlington. Info: Micheline Tremblay, education@ aflcr.org, aflcr.org.

LEARN SPANISH LIVE & ONLINE: Broaden your world. Learn Spanish online via live, interactive

videoconferencing. High-quality, affordable instruction in the Spanish language for adults and students. Travelers lesson package.

Our 16th year. Personal small group and individual instruction from a native speaker. See our website for complete information or contact us for details. Location: Spanish in Waterbury Center, online. Info: 5851025, spanishparavos@gmail.com, spanishwaterburycenter.com.

martial arts VERMONT BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU: This school was developed to communicate the importance of proper, legitimate and complete Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instruction. We cover fundamentals of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with a realistic approach to self-defense training skills in a friendly, safe and positive environment. All are welcome; no experience required. Develop confidence, strength and endurance.

Julio Cesar “Foca” Fernandez Nunes was born and raised on the shores of Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Earning his black belt and representing the Carlson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Team, Julio “Foca” went on to become a five-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu National Champion, three-time Rio de Janeiro State Champion and two-time IBJJF World Jiu-Jitsu Champion! Julio “Foca” is the only CBJJP, USBJJF and IBJJF-certified seventh-degree coral belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

and self-defense instructor under late grand master Carlson Gracie Sr. currently teaching in the USA. Accept no Iimitations! Location: Vermont Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, 55 Leroy Rd., Williston. Info: 598-2839, julio@bjjusa.com, vermontbjj.com.

music DJEMBE & TAIKO DRUMMING: JOIN US!: New classes (outdoor mask optional/ masks indoors), starting on Jan 10. Taiko Tue., Wed.; Djembe Wed.; Kids & Parents Tue., Wed. Conga classes by request!

Schedule/register online. Location: Taiko Space, 208 Flynn Ave., Suite 3G, Burlington. Info: 999-4255, spaton55@gmail.com, burlington taiko.org.

psychology TRAINING FOR FRONTLINE WORKERS: Support Circles: 10week program, two hours per week exploring and discovering ways to balance personal and professional stressors. Traumatic Stress Relief Training: 40 hours of instruction learning self-care techniques for yourself or to help peers deal with occupational stressors. Psychoeducation Series: Prerecorded

and live trainings on various topics. Visit vtresponderwellness. com. Location: Vermont Center for Responder Wellness and the Institute for Trauma, Recovery, and Resiliency, 162 Hegeman Ave., Colchester. Info: Salvatore Provetto, 377-5137, cop2cop@hotmail.com, vtresponderwellness.com.

well-being AYURVEDA PP DOULA TRAINING: VSAC grants are available to Vermont residents, and NAMA PACE credits will be available.

Serve the women and families in your community during a time of huge transition and growth by becoming an Ayurveda postpartum doula. Graduates will be able to offer postpartum support services, including in-home Abhyanga massage, meals and meal planning as a business or as a gift, safely within the Ayurvedic lens. Apr. 11-15, 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Cost: $995/ paid in full or $1,195 w/ payment plan. Location: Ayurvedic Center of Vermont, 34 Oak Hill Rd., Williston.

Info: The Ayurvedic Center of Vermont, Allison Morse, 872-8898, info@ayurvedavermont.com.

THE FOLLOWING CLASS LISTINGS ARE PAID ADVERTISEMENTS. ANNOUNCE YOUR CLASS FOR AS LITTLE AS $16.75/WEEK (INCLUDES SIX PHOTOS AND UNLIMITED DESCRIPTION ONLINE). SUBMIT YOUR CLASS AD AT SEVENDAYSVT.COM/POSTCLASS.

2/1/22 8:53 AM

COURTESY OF KELLY SCHULZE/MOUNTAIN DOG PHOTOGRAPHY

Humane

Society of Chittenden County

housing »

George & John SEX: 4-month-old males REASON HERE: They were brought to HSCC due to an unexpected litter in the home.

ARRIVAL DATE: December 2, 2021 SUMMARY: Ladies and gentlemen, it’s the Beatles! Well, half of them, anyway. Meet George and John, two handsome bunny brothers looking for their new fan club. This dynamic duo likes to walk on the wild side — hopping around, playing with boxes, getting into trouble (aka seeing how far they can crawl inside their hay bin). But they like to rest just as much and can often be found dreaming away, always snuggled up next to each other. If you’re looking for some new companions to take center stage in your home, come meet George and John at HSCC today!

APARTMENTS, CONDOS & HOMES

DID YOU KNOW?

on the road »

George and John’s adoption fee is currently waived as part of our “All You Need Is BUNS” adoption event!

Visit hsccvt.org/small-animals to learn more and see who else is available for adoption!

CARS, TRUCKS, MOTORCYCLES

pro services »

CHILDCARE, HEALTH/ WELLNESS, PAINTING

buy this stuff »

APPLIANCES, KID STUFF, ELECTRONICS, FURNITURE Sponsored by:

SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS: They must be adopted together.

Visit the Humane Society of Chittenden County at 142 Kindness Court, South Burlington, Tuesday through Friday from 1 to 5 p.m., or Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call 862-0135 or visit hsccvt.org for more info.

NEW STUFF ONLINE EVERY DAY! PLACE YOUR ADS 24-7 AT SEVENDAYSVT.COM.

music »

INSTRUCTION, CASTING, INSTRUMENTS FOR SALE

jobs »

NO SCAMS, ALL LOCAL, POSTINGS DAILY

SEVEN DAYS FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

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CLASSIFIEDS

housing ads: $25 (25 words) legals: 52¢/word buy this stuff: free online services: $12 (25 words)

MOTORCYCLES on the road

CARS/TRUCKS CASH FOR CARS! We buy all cars! Junk, high-end, totaled: It doesn’t matter. Get free towing & same-day cash. Newer models, too. Call 1-866-5359689. (AAN CAN)

m

We Pick Up & Pay For Junk Automobiles!

Route 15, Hardwick

802-472-5100

3842 Dorset Ln., Williston

802-793-9133

WANTED: OLD MOTORCYCLES Top dollar paid! Buying any condition “as is”: 1950s, 1960s & 1970s Harley, Kawasaki, Honda, Norton, Triumph, Indian, etc. Get cash offer: 800-220-9683, wantedoldmotorcycles. com.

OFFICE/ COMMERCIAL OFFICE/RETAIL SPACE AT MAIN STREET LANDING on Burlington’s waterfront. Beautiful, healthy, affordable spaces for your business. Visit mainstreetlanding.com & click on space avail.

Melinda, 864-7999.

CLASSIFIEDS KEY

sm-allmetals060811.indd 7/20/15 1 5:02 PM

appt. appointment apt. apartment BA bathroom BR bedroom DR dining room DW dishwasher HDWD hardwood HW hot water LR living room NS no smoking OBO or best offer refs. references sec. dep. security deposit W/D washer & dryer

EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968 and similar Vermont statutes which make it illegal to advertise any preference, limitations, or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, handicap, presence of minor children in the family or receipt of public assistance, or an intention to make any such preference, limitation or a discrimination. The newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate, which is in violation of the law. Our

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discounts avail. Call 1-877-649-5043. (AAN CAN)

Queer, non-smoking 44-year-old wheelchair-bound woman & tortoise seek VT shared living provider (SLP). SLP receives yearly tax free stipend, respite budget, to provide personal care. Her interests: childcare, discussion, education, fiction. Contact Jill: allenjillm@gmail.com

services

AUTO SAVE MONEY ON AUTO REPAIRS Our vehicle service program can save you up to 60% off dealer prices & provide you excellent coverage! Call Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

(PST) for a free quote: 866-915-2263.

BIZ OPPS BECOME A PUBLISHED AUTHOR! We edit, print & distribute your work internationally. We do the work; you reap the rewards! Call for a free Author’s Submission Kit: 844-511-1836. (AAN CAN) WAREHOUSE FOR LEASE 26,000-sq.-ft. AA warehouse, easy access for shipping/ receiving, frontage on Route 116 in Bristol, w/ parking. $6 ft./yr. Call Chris Fucci Associates, 802-332-4023.

COMPUTER COMPUTER & IT TRAINING PROGRAM! Train online to get the skills to become

readers are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised in this newspaper are available on an equal opportunity basis. Any home seeker who feels he or she has encountered discrimination should contact: HUD Office of Fair Housing 10 Causeway St., Boston, MA 02222-1092 (617) 565-5309 — OR — Vermont Human Rights Commission 14-16 Baldwin St. Montpelier, VT 05633-0633 1-800-416-2010 hrc@vermont.gov

SEVEN DAYS FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

print deadline: Mondays at 4:30 p.m. post ads online 24/7 at: sevendaysvt.com/classifieds questions? classifieds@sevendaysvt.com 865-1020 x110

SEEKING HOMESHARE

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housing

display service ads: $25/$45 homeworks: $45 (40 words, photos, logo) fsbos: $45 (2 weeks, 30 words, photo) jobs: michelle@sevendaysvt.com, 865-1020 x121

a computer & help desk professional now.

Grants & scholarships avail. for certain programs for qualified applicants. Call CTI for details! 1-855-554-4616.

(AAN CAN)

EDUCATION TRAIN ONLINE TO DO MEDICAL BILLING! Become a medical office professional online at CTI! Get trained, certified & ready to work in months. Call 866-243-5931. Mon.-Fri., 8 a.m.-6 p.m. (AAN CAN)

HEALTH/ WELLNESS MENTAL HEALTH PEER SUPPORT Pathways Vermont’s Community Center is offering free, flexible, scheduled, one-on-one & in-person mental health peer support.

Connect w/ someone today! Contact chrisn@ pathwaysvermont.org to learn more.

info, visit: stowemtb. com.

a.m.-8 p.m.; Fri., 9:30 1/20/22 2:41 PM a.m.-noon. (All times Eastern.) 1-877-6730511. (AAN CAN)

HOME/GARDEN NEVER PAY FOR COVERED HOME REPAIRS AGAIN! Complete Care Home Warranty covers all major systems & appliances. 30-day risk-free. $200 off + 2 free mos.!

Mon.-Thu. & Sun., 9:30

WATER DAMAGE TO YOUR HOME? Call for a quote for professional cleanup & maintain the value of your home! Set an appt. today! Call 833-6641530. (AAN CAN)

buy this stuff

MISCELLANEOUS ATTENTION, VIAGRA & CIALIS USERS! A cheaper alternative to high drugstore prices!

50-pill special: $99 + free shipping! 100% guaranteed. Call now: 888-531-1192. (AAN CAN) BATH & SHOWER UPDATES In as little as 1 day!

Affordable prices. No payments for 18 mos.!

Lifetime warranty & professional installs.

Senior & military

DONATE YOUR CAR TO KIDS Your donation helps fund the search for missing children.

Accepting trucks, motorcycles & RVs, too! Fast, free pickup.

Running or not. 24-hr. response. Max. tax donation. Call 877-2660681. (AAN CAN) DIRECTV SATELLITE TV Service starting at $74.99/mo.! Free install!

160+ channels avail.

Call now to get the most sports & entertainment on TV! 877-310-2472.

(AAN CAN) HUGHESNET SATELLITE INTERNET Finally, no hard data limits! Call today for

BUY THIS STUFF »

COMING SOON STANDARD OFFER PROGRAM REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

Buyer or Selling?

NEW RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS

Let’s make it happen.

MAXIMUM PROJECT SIZE: 2.2 MW

NOW IS THE TIME! Robbi Handy Holmes • 802-951-2128 robbihandyholmes@vtregroup.com Client focused Making it happen for you!

FOR UP-TO-DATE RFP INFORMATION VISIT VERMONTSTANDARDOFFER.COM

PAGAN-HUMANIST OFFICIATE Wiccan, pagan, humanist or blend w/ other 1 2/14/22 3:56 PM 16t-robbihandiholmes021622.indd 1 2/10/2216T-vonballmoos021622.indd 3:06 PM traditions: life events, smudging, dowsing, clearings, hospital visits, deathbed blessings & funerals, baptisms, new home & new baby.

Ordained ULC minister.

VT & other locations.

Jaccivanalder@gmail.

Share home near UVMMC w/ bright woman in her 30s who plays piano, enjoys swimcom or 802-557-4964.

Homeshares BURLINGTON

PSYCHIC COUNSELING Psychic counseling, channeling w/ Bernice Kelman, Underhill. 30+ years’ experience. Also energy healing, chakra balancing, Reiki, rebirthing, other lives, classes & more. 802-899-3542, kelman.b@juno.com.

STOWE MOUNTAIN BIKE ACADEMY Stowe Mountain Bike Academy (SMBA) is a rider development program dedicated to inspiring mountain bikers through skills, camaraderie & adventure. For more

ming & skiing. $350/mo. plus occas. transportation, meal prep 1-2x/wk & shared cleaning. Shared BA.

HINESBURG Share a home w/ delightful senior & her adult son. Rent-free housing in exchange for meal prep & companionship 2 evenings/wk for active, upbeat senior. Must be dog-friendly!

SOUTH BURLINGTON Tidy, comfortable condo to share with busy professional in her 50s who enjoys travel, music & movies. $550/mo. + utilities. Shared BA.

Finding you just the right housemate for 40 years!

Call 863-5625 or visit HomeShareVermont.org for an application. Interview, refs, bg check req. EHO

Homeshare041520.indd 1

2/3/22 12:50 PM

SEVENDAYSVT.COM/CLASSIFIEDS

Show and tell.

»

View and post up to 6 photos per ad online.

24x

Foreclosure: 3BR Mobile Home on Rented Lot

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Extra! Extra!

Post & browse ads at your convenience.

There’s no limit to ad length online.

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Thursday, February 24 @ 2PM Register and Inspect from 1PM

7 Sunset Terrace, Swanton, VT

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USDA Foreclosure: 3BR/1BA Ranch Home

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Friday, March 11 @ 2PM

70 Birchwood Drive, Hinesburg, VT

Open House: Wed., Feb. 23, 1-3PM

CALCOKU

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DIFFICULTY THIS WEEK: HHH

DIFFICULTY THIS WEEK: HH

Fill the grid using the numbers 1-6, only once in each row and column. The numbers in each heavily outlined “cage” must combine to produce the target number in the top corner, using the mathematical operation indicated. A onebox cage should be filled in with the target number in the top corner. A number can be repeated within a cage as long as it is not the same row or column.

Place a number in the empty boxes in such a way that each row across, each column down and each 9-box square contains all of the numbers one to nine. The same numbers cannot be repeated in a row or column.

ANSWERS ON P.70 H = MODERATE HH = CHALLENGING HHH = HOO, BOY!

THCAuction.com  800-634-SOLD

crossword

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MUNICIPAL APPLICATION ANSWERS ON P.70

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SEVEN DAYS FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

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GUITAR INSTRUCTION Berklee graduate w/ 30 years’ teaching experience offers lessons in guitar, music theory, music technology, ear training. Individualized, step-by-step approach.

All ages, styles, levels.

Rick Belford, 864-7195, rickb@rickbelford.com.

Hosting virtual or in-person classes?

Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8320459631 4?pwd=QXJsdy9SZE16RGt1dytWT3dDRzNTUT09 Password: 847185 Webinar ID: 832 0459 6314 Telephone: US: +1 301 715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799 or +1 929 205 6099 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 669 900 6833 1. ZP-22-9; 97-117 Curtis Avenue (RL-W, Ward 4N) Eric Zawadski

Bids will be received by: Lea Sanguinetti, Assistant Town Engineer, Town of Colchester, 781 Blakely Road, Colchester, VT 05446 until 11am on Friday, March 11th, 2022. Due to covid-19, we will not be publicly opening the bids. A bid tabulation will be prepared and distributed upon request by interested parties.

Spread the word in the Seven Days Classifieds.

Establish a bed and breakfast (short-term rental) within existing residence.

2. ZP-22-13; 450 North Avenue (RL, Ward 7N) William Lockwood Establish a bed and breakfast (short-term rental) within existing residence.

Each BID must be accompanied by a certified check payable to the OWNER for five percent (5%) of the total amount of the BID. A BID bond may be used in lieu of a certified check. The CONTRACT DOCUMENTS are available in electronic format upon request. Please contact Lea Sanguinetti at lsanguinetti@colchestervt.gov or 802-264-5635.

CONTACT KATIE FOR A QUOTE AT 865-1020 x110 katie@sevendaysvt.com

3. ZP-22-20; 42 Marble Avenue (RL, Ward 5S) Sara Alexander / Sara E. Alexander Revocable Trust Establish a bed and breakfast (short-term rental) within existing residence.

A non-mandatory pre-bid conference for prospective bidders will be held via Zoom Meeting/Conference Call on Tuesday, March 1st, 2022 at 2pm. Please contact Lea Sanguinetti for

4. ZP-22-50; 83 Central Avenue (RL-W, Ward 5S) Andrea Noonan

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5. ZP-22-14; 452 North Avenue (RL, Ward 7N) William Lockwood Establish a bed and breakfast (short-term rental) within existing residence.

Plans may be viewed upon request by contacting the Department of Permitting & Inspections between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Participation in the DRB proceeding is a prerequisite to the right to take any subsequent appeal. Please note that ANYTHING submitted to the Zoning office is considered public and cannot be kept confidential. This may not be the final order in which items will be heard. Please view final Agenda, at www.burlingtonvt.gov/dpi/ drb/agendas or the office notice board, one week before the hearing for the order in which items will be heard.

The City of Burlington will not tolerate unlawful harassment or discrimination on the basis of political or religious affiliation, race, color, national origin, place of birth, ancestry, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, veteran status, disability, HIV positive status, crime victim status or genetic information. The City is also committed to providing proper access to services, facilities, and employment opportunities. For accessibility information or alternative formats, please contact Human Resources Department at (802) 540-2505.

CITY OF BURLINGTON, VERMONT NOTICE & WARNING OF VOTE TO INCUR A BONDED DEBT The legal voters of the City of Burlington, Vermont are hereby notified and warned to come and vote at the Annual City Meeting on Tuesday, the 1st day of March, 2022 between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. in their respective wards, at the voting places hereinafter named, for the following purposes:

1. AUTHORIZATION TO ISSUE GENERAL OBLIGATIONS BONDS FOR CAPITAL PROJECTS

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PUZZLE ANSWERS

Establish a bed and breakfast (short-term rental) within existing residence.

To vote upon two bonding articles placed on the ballot by request of the City Council, said bonding articles being as follows:

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BURLINGTON DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD TUESDAY, MARCH 8, 2022, 5:00 PM PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE Virtual Remote Meeting

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NEW IN PACKAGE N95S Bought these N95s from Project N95, but they don’t fit. Have 14 left wrapped in the box. $20 OBO. Local curbside pickup. Cora: 922-0598.

INSTRUCTION

information on how to participate. Questions regarding the Bid are due by Thursday, March 3rd, 2022 at 3pm. All bidders must notify Lea Sanguinetti of their intent to bid so they can be placed on a Bidders List to receive any issued addenda or other pertinent information. Please notify the Town if email is not an acceptable method for receiving information and provide alternate means of contact.

ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS TOWN OF COLCHESTER, VT 781 BLAKELY ROAD, COLCHESTER, VT 05446 Separate sealed BIDS for pipe lining, spot repair or initial investigation of 20 stormwater pipe segments at various locations around Town. The scope of work includes piping lining for 397 linear feet (LF) of 12” corrugated metal pipe (CMP), 24 LF of 15” CMP, 861 LF of 18” CMP, 332 LF of 24” CMP, and 82 LF of 15” polyethylene pipe (PE). We have two locations that we believe a spot repair may be adequate, specifically located on a 15” PE and 24” CMP, but are also asking for the full lining cost for these pipe segments separately in the event that action is determined to be necessary.

Also, the work includes an initial investigation completed on 405 LF of 48” wide by 32” high CMP arch pipe. If these pipes are identified to be suitable candidates for lining, the contractor will furnish a price for the work to be completed this field season. The specific locations of the pipe and images from the inspection videos are included in Appendix A of the Contract & Bidding Documents.

Videos taken from inside the pipe are available for download here: https://colchestervt.gov/3256/ File-Transfer.

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speeds up to 25mbps as low as $59.99/mo.! $75 gift card, terms apply.

1-844-416-7147. (AAN CAN)

music

Legal Notices

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buy this stuff [CONTINUED]

PLACE AN AFFORDABLE NOTICE AT: SEVENDAYSVT.COM/LEGAL-NOTICES OR CALL 802-865-1020, EXT. 110.

“Shall the City Council be authorized to issue general obligation bonds or notes in one or more series in an amount not to exceed Twenty Three Million Eight Hundred Thousand Dollars ($23,800,000) for the purpose of accomplishing a series of capital improvements, replacements, and repair projects within the City, including but not limited to replacement of fire trucks and emergency communication systems, repair of ten city-owned facilities and nine miles of city sidewalks, and allocation of local matching funds for on-going or upcoming capital projects all of which are intended to preserve City facilities and services, avoid further maintenance and repair costs, and to further projects to improve the City and its infrastructure with the condition that if the City succeeds at securing other capital funds in excess of the current projections, which can be used in place of General Obligation bonding, the Administration will prioritize taxpayer savings as a goal with the additional condition that it may not reallocate bond proceeds to other investments, except with explicit City Council approval of the reallocation?”

2. PLEDGING THE CREDIT OF THE CITY TO SECURE INDEBTEDNESS FOR PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS WITHIN THE DOWNTOWN TIF DISTRICT “Shall the City Council be authorized to pledge the full faith and credit of the City to secure indebtedness or make direct payments for the purpose of funding one or more public improvements and related costs attributable to projects serving the Downtown Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District, specifically: a. Main Street Streetscape Upgrades: For the six blocks between South Union Street and Battery Street inclusive of all intersections: to include streetscape, stormwater, utility, lighting,

transportation upgrades, and including relocation of or otherwise upgrading the portion of the so-called “ravine sewer” from its present location crossing mid-block from College Street to Main Street in the block between South Union and South Winooski Avenue; b. Related Costs: payment of or reimbursement for TIF eligible related costs incurred by the City for the creation, implementation and administration of the Downtown TIF District, including costs paid to outside vendors, consultants, and various related fees and other expenses related to the TIF district, as well as direct municipal expenses such as departmental or personnel costs related to creating or administering the district to the extent they are paid from the municipal and not education incremental taxes and are otherwise reimbursed in accordance with law; in a total principal amount not to exceed $25,920,000 (which will bring the total Downtown TIF District debt approved since the Downtown TIF District’s creation to $35,920,000, of which $10,000,000 has been previously authorized by voters and $5,420,000 has been previously borrowed with $4,580,000 that is approved but not yet borrowed), and to issue bonds, notes or make interfund loans for such purpose, and expend up to $1,470,000 for related costs, which will bring the total related costs authorized by voters to $1,848,000 with the understanding that tax increment from the properties within the Downtown TIF District shall be pledged and appropriated for the payment of such indebtedness or direct costs of the improvements; and with the further understanding that the City may utilize more than the statutory minimum requirement of 75 % of all municipal increment, up to and including 100 % of same, in meeting the financial obligations of the Downtown TIF District?”

The following are designated as polling places, viz: Ward One/East District: Mater Christi School, 100 Mansfield Ave. Ward Two/Central District: H.O. Wheeler School (Integrated Arts Academy), 6 Archibald St. Ward Three/Central District: Lawrence Barnes School (Sustainability Academy), 123 North St. Ward Four/North District: Saint Mark’s Youth Center, 1271 North Ave. Ward Five/South District: Burlington Electric Department, 585 Pine St. Ward Six/South District: Edmunds Middle School, 275 Main St. Ward Seven/North District: Robert Miller Community & Recreation Center, 130 Gosse Ct. Ward Eight/East District: Fletcher Free Library, 235 College St. The polls open at 7:00 a.m. and close at 7:00 p.m. ___ Miro Weinberger, Mayor Publication Dates: February 9, 16, and 23 Burlington, Vermont PRIVATE AUCTION OF STORAGE UNIT CONTENTS Jonathan Wish, last known address of 51 Depot Road Colchester, VT 05446 has a past due balance of $1,290.00 owed to Champlain Valley Self Storage, LLC since 8/30/21. To cover this debt, per lease dated 1/31/17 the contents of unit #269 will be sold at private auction on, or after February 18, 2022.

Auction pre-registration is required, email info@ champlainvalleyselfstorage.com to register.

PRIVATE AUCTION OF STORAGE UNIT CONTENTS Marcel Clark, last known address of 55 Jericho road Essex, VT 05452 has a past due balance of $304.00 owed to Champlain Valley Self Storage, LLC since 11/30/21. To cover this debt, per lease dated 3/26/20 the contents of unit #184 will be sold at private auction on, or after March 5, 2022.

Sacha O’Connor, last known address of 101 North Cove Road Burlington, VT 05408 has a past due balance of $711.00 owed to Champlain Valley Self Storage, LLC since 10/31/21. To cover this debt, per lease dated 6/27/16 the contents of unit #143 will be sold at private auction on, or after March 5, 2022.

Douglas Whitney, last known address of 60 Brickyard Road Unit 6 Essex Junction, VT 05452

has a past due balance of $791.00 owed to Champlain Valley Self Storage, LLC since 10/31/21.

To cover this debt, per lease dated 6/11/15 the contents of unit #252 will be sold at private auction on, or after March 5, 2022.

listed above. If you have technical difficulties, call the Court at (802) 888-3887.

Yasi Abdi, last known address of 46 Bright Street Burlington, VT 05401 has a past due balance of $808.00 owed to Champlain Valley Self Storage, LLC since 12/31/21. To cover this debt, per leases dated 10/12/21 the contents of units #621 & #705 will be sold at private auction on, or after March 5, 2022.

VERIFIED COMPLAINT FOR ABANDONMENT PURSUANT TO 10 V.S.A. § 6249(i) (Uninhabitable)

William Himan, last known address of 7 ruth street S. Burlington, VT 05403 has a past due balance of $906.00 owed to Champlain Valley Self Storage, LLC since 11/30/21. To cover this debt, per lease dated 7/22/20 the contents of unit #1011 will be sold at private auction on, or after March 5, 2022.

1. Ship Sevin, a Vermont limited liability company with a principal place of business in South Burlington, County of Chittenden, State of Vermont, is the record owner of a mobile home park known as the Pinecrest Mobile Home Park (the “Park”), located in the village of Morrisville, Vermont.

Mike Bessette, last known address of 29 Baldwin Ave South Burlington, VT 05403 has a past due balance of $551.00 owed to Champlain Valley Self Storage, LLC since 11/30/21. To cover this debt, per lease dated 4/3/21 the contents of unit #818 will be sold at private auction on, or after March 5, 2022.

Derek Lamotte, last known address of 63 River Road Unit M Essex Junction, VT 05452 has a past due balance of $745.00 owed to Champlain Valley Self Storage, LLC since 9/30/21. To cover this debt, per lease dated 10/24/20 the contents of unit #664 will be sold at private auction on, or after March 5, 2022.

Shavon Greene, last known address of 36 Gilman Circle Apt 2 Colchester, VT 05446 has a past due balance of $426.00 owed to Champlain Valley Self Storage, LLC since 10/31/21. To cover this debt, per lease dated 5/22/20 the contents of unit #673 will be sold at private auction on, or after March 5, 2022.

Auction pre-registration is required, email info@ champlainvalleyselfstorage.com to register.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS: BYLAW REVIEW AND UPDATES TO ADDRESS APPROPRIATE AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN BRISTOL The Town of Bristol is requesting proposals for professional services to help plan for, identify issues, and develop bylaw updates associated with increasing the supply of available, appropriate, and affordable housing to meet the needs of Bristol’s population.. A detailed RFP can be found on Bristol’s Web site at: http:// bristolvt.org/. Proposals will be accepted until 12:00pm, Wednesday, March 9, 2022 by e-mail to townadmin@bristolvt.org with “Bristol Bylaw Modernization RFP” in the subject line or by mail or hand delivery on the envelope to Town of Bristol, 1 South Street, P.O. Box 249, Bristol, VT 05443.

Questions? Contact Planning Commission Chair Kevin Hanson by e-mail at khanson.pc@gmail.com.

The Town of Bristol is an equal opportunity provider and employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, religion, gender, or familial status.

STATE OF VERMONT SUPERIOR COURT CIVIL DIVISION LAMOILLE UNIT CASE NO. 22-CV-00364 IN RE: ABANDONED MOBILE HOME OF SHANNON BURRIS & BRYANT PIERCE II NOTICE OF HEARING A hearing on Ship Sevin II, LLC’s Verified Complaint to declare as abandoned and uninhabitable the mobile home of Shannon Burris & Bryant Pierce II, located at the Pinecrest Mobile Home Park, Lot #43, 6 First Street in Morrisville, Vermont has been set for February 28, 2022 at 9:45 a.m.

To participate in this hearing, the WEBEX Login Information is as follows: App: Cisco Webex Meeting Website: https://vtcourts.webex.com Meeting Number: 2331 913 0947 Password: XNexE7mPB73 If you do not have a computer or sufficient bandwidth, you may call (408) 418-9388 to appear by phone. (This is not a tollfree number). You will then enter the meeting number and password

Date: February 1, 2022 Clerk

Civil Division

NOW COMES Ship Sevin II, LLC (“Ship Sevin”), by and through its counsel Nadine L. Scibek, and hereby complains pursuant to 10 V.S.A. § 6249(i) as follows:

2. Shannon Burris (“Burris”) and Bryant Pierce II (“Pierce”) are the record owners of a certain mobile home (the “Mobile Home”) described as 1968 Holiday Cottage, 12’ x 60’ located at the Pinecrest Mobile Home Park, Lot #43, 6 First Street in Morrisville, Vermont according to the Town of Morristown Land Records. See attached Bill of Sale.

3. Burris & Pierce leased a lot in the Park from Ship Sevin pursuant to a written lease. Burris & Peirce paid Ship Sevin a security deposit of $334.00.

Pierce vacated the mobile home in 2020 as he has purchased another mobile home in the Park. See attached Lease.

4. Burris’s last known mailing address is 6 First Street, Morrisville, VT 05661.

5. Pierce’s last known mailing address was 2 Third Street, Morrisville, VT 05661. Ship Sevin does not have a current mailing address for Pierce but has communicated with Pierce via email.

6. The mobile home has been abandoned and is empty. The last known resident of the mobile home was Burris. All of Burris’s personal property is believed to have been removed from the mobile home and utility services have been terminated.

The Park’s Counsel has communicated with Burris & Pierce with respect to their intentions with their mobile home. Pierce called the Park’s Counsel on October 4, 2021 and indicated that the mobile home needed to be torn down. In December, 2021 the pipes burst at the mobile home. Pierce contacted Ship Sevin and indicated that he would get a dumpster and clean out the mobile home, but he has not done so nor has he contacted Ship Sevin since. Ship Sevin has received no response from Burris. See attached.

7. Burris was evicted from the Park for material breach of lease on or about September 17, 2021 by the Lamoille County Sheriff’s Department. The mobile home has been vacant since that time. The Court issued a Judgment and Writ of Possession to Ship Sevin on August 25, 2021. See Ship Sevin II, LLC v. Burris, Vermont Superior Court, Lamoille Civil Unit, Case No. 21-CV-00425. See attached.

8.

The following security interests, mortgages, liens and encumbrances appear of record with respect to the mobile home: a.

Burris & Pierce are in arrears on obligations to pay property taxes to the Town of Morristown, Vermont in the aggregate amount of $11.69, plus interest and penalties. See attached copy of Tax Bill.

9. Mobile home storage fees continue to accrue at the rate of $363.00 per month. Rent/ storage fees due Ship Sevin through February, 2022 total $1,815.00. Attorney’s fees and court costs incurred

by Ship Sevin currently exceed $3,000.00.

10. Ship Sevin sent written notice by certified mail to the Town of Morristown on December 21, 2021 of its intent to commence this action. See attached.

11. The mobile home is uninhabitable. Cindy Whitham, Property Manager, will testify under oath as to the poor and unlivable condition of this mobile home at the abandonment hearing.

human habitation to the Park owner without a public auction so that it may be removed and disposed of accordingly.

3. Order pursuant to 10 V.S.A. § 6249(j) that the mobile home and any security deposit paid be conveyed to the Park Owner in “as is” condition, and free from all liens and other encumbrances of record.

DATED this 1st day of February, 2022.

SHIP SEVIN II, LLC BY:

Nadine L. Scibek

Attorney for Ship Sevin I declare that the above statement is true and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief.

I understand that if the above statement is false, I will be subject to the penalty of perjury or other sanctions in the discretion of the Court.

February 1, 2022 By: Cindy Whitham, Duly Authorized Agent for Ship Sevin

STATE OF VERMONT SUPERIOR COURT PROBATE DIVISION CHITTENDEN UNIT DOCKET NO.: 21-PR-06096 In re ESTATE of Patricia Eyler NOTICE TO CREDITORS To the creditors of Patricia Eyler, late of Johnson I have been appointed to administer this estate. All creditors having claims against the decedent or the estate must present their claims in writing within four (4) months of the date of the first publication of this notice. The claim must be presented to me at the address listed below with a copy sent to the Court. The claim may be barred forever if it is not presented within the four (4) month period.

Date: Friday, February 4, 2022 Signature of Fiduciary: /s/ Steven C Eyler Executor/Administrator: Steven C Eyler, 87 Kingsbury Xing, Milton, VT 05468 sceyler@msn.com (802) 343-6498 Name of Publication: Seven Days Publication Date: 2/9/22 and 2/16/22 Name of Probate Court: Vermont Superior Court, Lamoille Probate Unit Address of Probate Court: 154 Main St., Hyde Park, VT 05655 THE CONTENTS OF STORAGE UNIT 01-03668 LOCATED AT 28 ADAMS DRIVE, WILLISTON VT, 05495 WILL BE SOLD ON OR ABOUT FEBRUARY 24TH, 2022 TO SATISFY THE DEBT OF CHRISTOPHER STONEMAN. Any person claiming a right to the goods may pay the amount claimed due and reasonable expenses before the sale, in which case the sale may not occur.

THE CONTENTS OF STORAGE UNIT 01-03676 LOCATED AT 28 ADAMS DRIVE, WILLISTON VT, 05495 WILL BE SOLD ON OR ABOUT FEBRUARY 24TH 2022 TO SATISFY THE DEBT OF NAOMI SHAW. Any person claiming a right to the goods may pay the amount claimed due and reasonable expenses before the sale, in which case the sale may not occur.

THE CONTENTS OF STORAGE UNIT 01-04477 LOCATED AT 28 ADAMS DRIVE, WILLISTON, VT, 05495 WILL BE SOLD ON OR ABOUT MARCH 3RD, 2022 TO SATISFY THE DEBT OF NINA MUNROE. Any person claiming a right to the goods may pay the amount claimed due and reasonable expenses before the sale, in which case the sale may not occur.

WHEREFORE, Ship Sevin respectfully requests that the Honorable Court enter an order as follows: Declare that the mobile home has been abandoned; 2. Transfer the mobile home which is unfit for

LEGALS » SEVEN DAYS FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

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Legal Notices [CONTINUED] VILLAGE OF ESSEX JUNCTION NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING PROPOSED FY23 BUDGET FEBRUARY 22, 2022, 6:35 PM A public hearing on the 2022-2023 municipal budget for the Village of Essex Junction will be held online via Zoom on Tuesday, February, 22, 2022 at 6:35 pm. The public is invited to participate online or by telephone at 1(888) 788-0099. Enter meeting code 944 6429 7825, passcode 635787.

The public is invited to attend and offer comments regarding the proposed FY23 Budget and Capital Program.

Complete details and information to connect to the meetings can be found at www.essexjunction.org.

WARNING CHAMPLAIN VALLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT ANNUAL MEETING FEBRUARY 28, 2022 AND MARCH 1, 2022 The legal voters of the Champlain Valley School District, are hereby notified and warned to meet virtually via Zoom at five o’clock in the evening (5:00pm) on February 28, 2022 to conduct an informational hearing with respect to articles of business to be considered by Australian ballot on March 1, 2022.

Zoom Meeting: https://cvsdvt-org.zoom. us/j/88634652241 Meeting ID: 886 3465 2241 Passcode: cvsd11. Zoom Meeting Phone Participation: 1-646-876-9923 Passcode: 854788 The legal voters of the Champlain Valley School District, are hereby notified and warned to meet at their respective polling places on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, at seven o’clock in the forenoon (7:00am), at which time the polls will open, and seven o’clock in the afternoon (7:00pm), at which time the polls will close, to vote by Australian ballot on the following articles of business: BALLOT QUESTIONS ARTICLE I: To elect a moderator.

ARTICLE II: To elect a clerk.

ARTICLE III: To elect a treasurer.

ARTICLE IV: Shall the voters of the Champlain Valley School District authorize the Board of School Directors to borrow money by issuance of bonds or

notes not in excess of anticipated revenues for the next fiscal year?

ARTICLE V: Shall the voters of the Champlain Valley School District authorize the Board of School Directors to provide a mailed notice of availability of the Annual Report to residents in lieu of distributing the Annual Report?

ARTICLE VI: To establish the date of the Champlain Valley School District Annual Meeting of Monday, March 6, 2023 at 5pm at CVU High School and recessed and opened back up at Australian ballot voting on Town Meeting Day. ARTICLE VII: Shall the voters of the Champlain Valley School District approve the expenditure by the Board of School Directors of the sum of Eighty-Nine Million, Three Hundred Ninety-Seven Thousand, Seven Hundred Sixty-Two Dollars ($89,397,762) which is the amount the Board of School Directors has determined to be necessary for the ensuing fiscal year commencing July 1, 2022? It is estimated that the proposed budget, if approved, will result in education spending of Eighteen Thousand, Four Hundred Fifty-Four Dollars ($18,454) per equalized pupil. This projected spending per equalized pupil is 9.9% higher than spending for the current year.

ARTICLE VIII: Shall the voters of the Champlain Valley School District authorize the Board of School Directors to allocate its current fund balance, without effect upon the District tax levy, as follows: assign One Million Dollars ($1,000,000) of the school district’s current fund balance as revenue for the 2022-2023 operating budget, and assign the remaining balance, One Million, Nine Hundred Thirty-Two Thousand, Nine Hundred Five Dollars ($1,932,905) as revenue for future budgets?

ARTICLE IX: Shall the voters of the Champlain Valley School District authorize the Board of Directors to borrow money by the issuance of notes not in excess of Two Hundred Ten Thousand Dollars ($210,000) for the purpose of purchasing two (2) school buses?

ARTICLE X: Shall general obligation bonds or notes of Champlain Valley School District in an amount not to exceed Seven Million, Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($7,500,000), subject to reduction from the application of available state and federal grants-in-aid and reserves, be issued for the purpose of financing the cost of making certain public school building improvements, namely (1) Charlotte Central School electrical and life safety improvements ($4,785,000) (2) Champlain

Valley High School mechanical upgrades and grounds maintenance ($865,000), (3) Hinesburg Community School building repairs and upgrades. ($725,000), (4) Shelburne Community School grounds and building repairs and replacements ($855,000), (5) Williston Central and Allen Brook Schools grounds and building repairs and upgrades ($270,000) the aggregate cost of such improvements estimated to be Seven Million, Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($7,500,000). State funds may not be available at the time these projects are otherwise eligible to receive state school construction aid. The District is responsible for all costs incurred in connection with any borrowing done in anticipation of the receipt of school construction aid.

to be adjourned to reconvene at the Winooski Senior Center, 123 Barlow St., on Tuesday, March 1, 2022 to transact any business involving voting

by Australian Ballot to begin at 7:00 o’clock in the morning and to close at 7:00 o’clock in the evening.

The legal voters of the City of Winooski are further notified that voter qualification, registration and absentee voting relative to said meeting shall be as provided in Chapter 43, 51 and 55 of Title 17, Vermont Statutes Annotated. In Addition, Act No. M-6 (H.227).

POLLING PLACES

Article Two, City Budget

Charlotte-Charlotte Town Hall, HinesburgHinesburg Town Hall, Shelburne-Shelburne Town Center – Gymnasium, Williston-Williston Armory, St. George-St. George Red Schoolhouse.

Shall the voters of the City of Winooski approve the budget for the Fiscal Year for 2023 in the amount of Eight Million, Seven Hundred Fourteen Thousand, Eight Hundred Eighty-Five Dollars and Sixteen Cents. ($8,714,885.16)? The amount to be raised from property taxes is Six Million, Three Hundred Thirteen Thousand, Six Hundred Eighty-Seven and Forty-Three Cents. ($6,313,687.43).

Ballots shall be transported and delivered to the Champlain Valley Union High School in the Town of Hinesburg and there commingled and counted by members of the Boards of Civil Authority of several towns under the supervision of the Clerk of the Champlain Valley School District.

The legal voters of the Champlain Valley School District are further notified that voter qualification, registration and absentee/early voting relative to said annual meeting shall be as provided in Section 706u of Title 16, and Chapters 43, 51 and 55 of Title 17, Vermont Statutes Annotated.

Adopted and approved at a duly noticed, called and held meeting of the Board of School Directors of the Champlain Valley School District on January 18, 2022. Received for record and recorded in the records of the Champlain Valley School District on January 19, 2022.

ATTEST: David Connery, District Clerk; Angela M. Arsenault, Chairperson

WARNING OF THE 99TH ANNUAL WINOOSKI CITY MEETING The legal voters of Winooski are hereby warned and notified to meet at a remote City Meeting on Monday, February 28, 2022 at 6:00 o’clock in the evening to discuss Article Two, Article Three and Article Four, and to conduct an Informational hearing on Australian Ballot questions, and the meeting

And on the seventh day, we do not rest.

Instead we bring you...

Article One To elect two (2) City Councilors for a term of two (2) years each.

Article Three Shall the City Council be authorized to apply for and accept funds from sources other than Property taxation, and to expend the same for the benefit of the City in addition to sums for which budget appropriation has been made? (Approval of this article will not impact property taxes.)

Article Four Shall general obligation bonds of the City of Winooski in an amount not to exceed One Million, Three Hundred Thousand Dollars ($1,300,000} be issued for the acquisition and equipping of a Fire Truck and related capital improvements for the City’s Fire Department?

Dated at Winooski, Vermont this 24th day of January 2022. s/s Kristine Lott Mayor Kristine Lott s/s Hal Colston Councilor Hal Colston s/s James Duncan Councilor James Duncan s/s Bryn Oakleaf Councilor Bryn Oakleaf s/s Michael Myers Councilor Michael Myers

Get the newsletter featuring notable news, arts and food stories handpicked by our editors. Sit back, relax and read up on what you may have missed.

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SEVENDAYSVT.COM/ENEWS

723H-SundayBest033421.indd SEVEN DAYS FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022 1

1/11/22 2:20 PM

73 FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

ATTENTION RECRUITERS: POST YOUR JOBS AT: PRINT DEADLINE: FOR RATES & INFO:

JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM/POST-A-JOB NOON ON MONDAYS (INCLUDING HOLIDAYS) MICHELLE BROWN, 802-865-1020 X121, MICHELLE@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

YOUR TRUSTED LOCAL SOURCE. JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM PRODUCTION MAKERS

Cleaning Crew (P/T positions) DELIVERY DRIVER & COMPOST PRODUCTION Approx. Full Time: March, April, May

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Part Time: Summer and Fall Delivery Area: Chittenden Co and N. Addison Counties Must be comfortable driving a medium-size truck, and have an excellent driving record.

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NO CDL Required GENEROUS Hourly Wage Send resume and cover letter to steven@cvcompost.com.

Navigate New Possibilities ™ Your Career at NDI is Waiting

Conant Metal & Light is hiring production makers. You must be a creative problem-solver, team player, good with your hands and capable of mastering a broad array of processes.

Please visit: conantmetalandlight.com/employment for more information or send a resume detailing your interest, experience, and skills to jolene@conantmetalandlight.com.

Store Operations Manager

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1/13/22 2:53 PM

Seeking someone motivated to: Build and lead highly effective teams

At NDI we are driven by our belief that advanced spatial measurement solutions can help our customers in their aim to improve medical procedures and patient lives.

Operate a sustainable and profitable business that benefits the community

We are hiring for the following position:

Software Engineer Shipping & Warehouse COORDINATOR The Shipping and Warehouse Coordinator receives, labels, and stores incoming shipments, assesses stock for damages, keeps concise inventory records, accurately fills customer orders, and keeps the warehouse organized. A successful Shipping and Warehouse Coordinator is hard-working, organized, and detail-oriented.

HOURS: 15-20 hrs/wk HOURLY RATE: $15 - $18 (Rate based on experience.) biofieldtuning.com

Continuously improve systems, customer experience, and personal skills

(Hybrid Role - Shelburne, Vermont office and work from home option) For full descriptions and to apply go to: bit.ly/NDIsoftwareEngineer

or scan here to go directly to our webpage!

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Affordable Housing

PROJECT MANAGER

1/10/22 10:16 AM

<job title here>

STREET OUTREACH

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<job title here> Join the Street Outreach team where you will provide street-based outreach services to individuals who are experiencing homelessness, mental health crises or substance use. Ability to work outdoors in all weather <job title here> conditions a must.

Ask about ourstaff sign bonus! about 47 words.

Garvin Intensive Program is seeking motivated that on are passionate

Evernorth is seeking a Project Manager to join our real estate development team. The successful candidate will be an excellent communicator, team builder and problem solver, with experience in project management – design/construction related, preferred.

50 words. Support individual and small group instruction at the Baird School. The Teaching Interventionist will also be responsible for class coverage when the Classroom Teachers are absent. The Baird School provides an alternative educational environment for children ages 5-14 (grades K-8). Est antur recaborent occus alitatia del moloris ellorum.

We believe in equal access to affordable housing and economic opportunities; the power of partnerships based on integrity, respect and teamwork; and a collaborative workplace with professional, skilled and dedicated staff.

embracing each student’s individuality and strengths, while supporting their academic success in a friendly, therapeutic, and supportive environment. Poriandam, sed mil iliquam eume vellautFictorem qui duscitiorpor as pelit ande eaqui volorep roruptiis ellauta evelib.

Please send a cover letter and resume with salary requirements by February 28, 2022, to Sue Cobb, Director of Project Management c/o hr@evernorthus.org. Evernorth is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Apply at www.howardcenter.org.

Full-time, Part-time, and Substitute Positions Available • Flexible Schedules • Competitive Compensation • Great Benefits, including 36 days of paid time off • Inclusive Work Culture

howardcenter.org • 802-488-6946 Howard Center is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. The agency’s culture and service delivery is strengthened by the diversity of its workforce. Minorities, people of color and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

EOE/TTY. Visit “About Us” on our website at www.howardcenter.org to review Howard Center’s EOE policy.

ATTENTION RECRUITERS:

74

POST YOUR JOBS AT JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM FOR FAST RESULTS, OR CONTACT MICHELLE BROWN: MICHELLE@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

RESOURCE COORDINATOR Farm First is seeking a Resource Coordinator responsible for carrying out the mission of the program: promoting mental health and providing direct support to Vermont farmers experiencing stress from any number of sources. Connects farmers with resources related to both agriculture and emotional support. Candidate would thrive in a rapidly changing environment, and excel at building rapport, expanding partnerships, and developing programs.

This position is open for both full and part-time applicants.

CAREGIVERS • Full & Part-Time Caregivers for day and evening shifts, both Traditional Assisted Living and Memory Care.

HOUSEKEEPER

Master’s degree in agricultural or human services field with 2 years of related experience; or a BA degree with at least 5 years of related experience. Experience in fundraising and/or grant writing would be a plus.

Converse Home is an Assisted Living Community located in downtown Burlington. If you are looking for a rewarding position as a caregiver, working with wonderful residents and staff, please consider applying. Long term care is one of the fast-growing industries in Vermont and the world. The Converse Home is looking for seasoned caregivers or good humans new to the healthcare industry.

New care staff do on-site training with our Nurse Educator to make sure you feel confident in your new skills. If YOU ARE A SEASONED CAREGIVER OR WANT TO BECOME A CAREGIVER, INQUIRE WITH US!

Please submit resume & cover letter to Karen Crowley: karenc@farmfirst.org by February 23rd before 4pm EST.

Please apply online & learn more about us: conversehome.com.

Or email Kristen@conversehome.com with your resume.

Qualifications:

The Harwood Unified Union School District headquartered in Waitsfield, VT is seeking a highly qualified:

CUSTOMER SERVICE REP PFSI

DIRECTOR OF FINANCE & OPERATIONS

Multiple Opportunities Sign on Bonus for eligible candidates!

The Director of Finance & Operations requires high level skills in business administration and previous experience. This Director of Finance is a pivotal member of the Administrative Team.

The role is central in all financial matters and is responsible for planning, organizing and directing the fiscal and business affairs of the District. The Director of Finance & Operations is responsible for accurate maintenance of all financial records and administration of the budget, as outlined below or delegated by the Superintendent of Schools. Successful performance of this position requires the ability to analyze, interpret, and communicate complex documents and topics. The Director of Finance & Operations must have a confirmed history of sound financial management as well as excellent communication skills with the ability to respond effectively through the use of visual and verbal presentations. The Director of Finance must have the ability to communicate courteously, efficiently and effectively with direct reports, administrators, faculty, parents, and representatives of outside organizations.

The Customer Service Account Rep (CSS) is the first contact for all incoming calls for patient inquiries made by external and internal customers related to registration, coding, billing, payment, budget plans, financial assistance, and collections.

QUALIFICATIONS: • Bachelor Degree in Accounting or Business related field with CPA preferred (willingness to obtain Vermont Business Manager Certification) • Relevant financial management experience • Knowledge of governmental/financial (fund accounting) software, preferred For more information go to huusd.org/jobs or Schoolspring.com and search Job ID #3780424

Learn More & Apply: https://bit.ly/3GwLwQj

Full Time Wake Robin, Vermont’s premier senior living community, is seeking Housekeepers to join our team!

Housekeepers support residents who live independently by providing contactless housekeeping services in their homes while they are away, along with residents in our Linden Health Center.

By developing strong personal connections and an understanding of habits, housekeepers are often the key to resident well-being.

Competitive hourly compensation and comprehensive benefits.

Interested candidates please email a resume to hr@wakerobin.com or complete an application online at wakerobin.com.

Wake Robin is an E.O.E.

Brewery Assistant The Brewery Assistant - is a Utility Player who will work throughout the brewery assisting with all processes associated with production and packaging while adhering to SOPs and safety guidelines to achieve the best possible consistency in Fiddlehead beers.

PATIENT ACCOUNT REPRESENTATIVE - PRD Multiple Opportunities Sign on Bonus for eligible candidates!

The Patient Account Representative resolves patient accounts by performing billing and follow-up activities to effectively collect balances due on assigned accounts.

Learn More & Apply: https://bit.ly/34QfnGf

Benefits: • Fun Team • Competitive Pay • Health Insurance w/ Vision and Dental after 90 days of employment • PTO, 401K For full description go to bit.ly/3rGOOwQ Send resumes to: haleychurchill@ fiddleheadbrewing.com

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12/6/21 2:37 PM

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Magical Maple Ambassador

75 FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

MULTIPLE POSITIONS OPEN AT SOUTH BURLINGTON!

If you’re looking for an opportunity to quickly grow with one of the fastest growing maple retailers, we have the perfect opportunity for you.

Are you our next Assistant General Manager? Meat Supervisor?

We are looking for both full time and part time team members. Training will be provided. We offer product discounts, retirement, PTO, health care contributions, and a sweet pay scale!

Scan to see all open positions!

For full job description go to: bit.ly/3GR8qSN

NO PAY RATES BELOW $15/HR!

Send letter of interest and resume to: palmerlanemaplevt@gmail.com

Apply online at healthylivingmarket.com/careers 4t-HealthyLiving020922 1

MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN YOUR COMMUNITY! Open positions around the state serving with non-profit organizations land stewardship environmental education

Do you dream in spreadsheets?

Do you want to work for an organization with a mission to make a difference in Vermont?

The Accountant is responsible for assisting in the reconciling and administration of finances and investments for the Community Foundation and its supporting organizations. Including providing financial preparation, reporting, statements, and analysis, and special projects as assigned, such as implementation of new accounting guidance and other compliance.

homeless assistance homebuyer education

If this sounds like a good fit for you, visit vermontcf.org/careers for complete job description and instructions for applying.

Apply now!

Service Term: 4t-VTCommunityFoundationACCOUNTANT020222 March 2022 - August 2022

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Goddard College, a leader in non-traditional education, has the following benefit-eligible position openings: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT SPECIALIST OUTREACH & COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR STAFF ACCOUNTANT To view position descriptions and application instructions, please visit our website: goddard.edu/about-goddard/ employment-opportunities/

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SHELBURNE FARMS We’re hiring for seasonal & year-round positions

• Cheese: Order Fulfillment Coordinator • Education: Farm & Forest Based Educator

Summer Camp Educators • Children’s Farmyard Educator

• The Inn at Shelburne Farms:

Chef de Cuisine • Breakfast Chef • Housekeepers Dining & Beverage Manager • Guest Services Swing Manager Join our team! Learn more & apply at:

shelburnefarms.org/jobs

2022.02.11 Seven Days Job Ad 4T.indd 1 1 1/31/22 4t-ShelburneFarms021622 12:15 PM

vhcb.org/americorps For 6 months of service, you’ll receive: • $10,800 living allowance • $3,100 education award • Health insurance • Training opportunities • Leadership development

2/2/22 4:58 PM

2/14/2022 2/14/22 3:04:22 4:23 PMPM

Join Us!

Work at CCS and support our mission to build a community where everyone participates and belongs.

www.ccs-vt.org

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CCS is thrilled to be voted as one of the “Best Places to Work in Vermont” for the fourth year in a row and we would love to have you join our team.

2/14/22 4:32 PM

ATTENTION RECRUITERS:

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POST YOUR JOBS AT JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM FOR FAST RESULTS, OR CONTACT MICHELLE BROWN: MICHELLE@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES Champlain Community Services just raised their salaries.

SIGNIFICANTLY And that’s on top of being a “Best Place to Work In Vermont” for three years running.

Great jobs in Service Coordination ($45k) and Direct Support Professionals ($18 per hour) at an award-winning agency serving Vermonters with intellectual disabilities. Plus a $500 sign-on bonus and an incredible benefits package.

Red House Building is looking for a full-time Bookkeeper/Office Assistant.

Responsibilities will include bookkeeping, data entry, payroll assistance and other general office support. Must be detail oriented. Experience with Quickbooks and within the construction industry is helpful, but not required. This position has flexible hours and assumes 30-40 hours per week. Remote work is possible for a portion of the weekly responsibilities. Red House is an Employee-Owned, Award Winning Company with a supportive team environment and excellent benefits.

The successful candidate will bring sincere care and concern for the well-being and employment experience of staff, a service orientation, an appreciation for difference, and a collaborative and team-oriented approach.

Qualifications include: HR Generalist background and 5+ years in a senior leadership role for an organization with 100+ employees; SPHR or SHRM-SCP.

Make a career making a difference. Apply today at https://ccs-vt.org/current-openings/

ccs-vt.org

BOOKKEEPER/ OFFICE ASSISTANT

Seeking a strategic, well-rounded, and innovative HR professional to provide overall leadership, direction, and delivery of services to recruit, engage, develop, and retain Wake Robin’s amazing employees, who work together with humor and an appreciation for diversity. For many, the biggest benefit of working here is coming to know Wake Robin’s residents and having the time and support to do good work on their behalf.

For more information and to apply, visit: bit.ly/wakerobin-director-hr-apply.

Wake Robin is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

E.O.E.

COMMUNITY & POLICY MANAGER

RESPITE PROVIDER Open your home to a sociable, pet-loving, wheelchair-using gentleman who is seeking regularly scheduled overnight respite (2-3 overnights per month). This individual enjoys watching movies, spending time outdoors and watching big trucks, machinery, and buses. He has a wheelchair accessible van for transportation needs, a portable ramp that can be used for accessibility into a home with 3-4 steps and a Hoyer lift for transferring in and out of his wheelchair.

The Community and Policy Manager will support all VCRD community engagement as well as leadership efforts and rural policy initiatives.

The ideal candidate will be fun-loving, have an accessible home with an extra bedroom and will be able to support him with all Activities of Daily Living. Person centered training is provided.

The position is based in Montpelier with some remote work and scheduling flexibility with regular evening meetings; in state travel required. Salary starting at $52,000 based on skills and experience; attractive benefit package.

Contact Pam at Pamelacook24@aol.com or 802-324-7012 for more information.

Application deadline is March 10, 2022. For the full job description & application instructions: vtrural.org.

ccs-vt.org

VCRD is an equal opportunity employer.

E.O.E.

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Please send resumes to info@redhousebuilding.com.

Learn more about our work at RedHouseBuilding.com.

THE GRIND GOT YOU DOWN?

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1/7/22 10:25 AM

2/1/22 3:34 PM

Are numbers your thing?

Do you want to work for an organization with

SHARED LIVING PROVIDER Provide an accessible home for an easy-going 38-year-old gentleman who enjoys being part of a dynamic household. This individual has a comprehensive team and strong family support, along with respite and weekday supports.

We are looking for an accounting professional who

The ideal provider will have strong interpersonal communication and personal care skills as all aspects of ADLs will be provided. This position includes a comprehensive training package, generous tax-free stipend, $500 sign-on bonus and a handicap accessible van for transportation.

Contact Jennifer Wolcott at jwolcott@ccs-vt.org or 802-655-0511 x 118 for more information Join us! Visit ccs-vt.org to apply today.

ccs-vt.org

We’re looking for someone who demonstrates excellent verbal, written, and listening skills; is a self-starter with the ability to work independently and as part of a team; and is dedicated to the progress of rural Vermont communities.

Wage dependent upon skill level.

E.O.E.

Accounting Specialist will be an important member of our growing Finance team and responsible for accounts payable processing, gift processing, and managing prepaid expenses, as well as assisting with budget preparation and entry and monthly, quarterly,

vermontcf.org/careers for complete job description and instructions for applying.

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Perk up!

Browse 100+ new job postings from trusted, local employers.

Follow @SevenDaysJobs on Twitter for the latest job opportunities

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77 FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

Cabinet Finisher VISITOR CENTER POSITIONS The Green Mountain Club is seeking friendly, dynamic people for two part-time positions in our Visitor Center.

Visitor Center Assistant: year-round position, 3-4 days a week. $16-18 per hour.

Hiking Information Specialist: This is a seasonal position that runs from mid-May to mid-October, 1-2 days a week. $14-15 per hour.

The Woodworks at Silver Maple Construction is looking for a Cabinet Finisher to join our team. Our company is dynamic, high-energy, and team-oriented and our culture is one of customer service, collaboration, and agility. Qualified applicants must have at least 5 years of experience applying lacquer and various finishes but willing to train the right applicant. Applicants should be ready to lead our finish department spraying high-end custom cabinetry and woodwork and, as an important part of the finished product, should expect to collaborate with the Silver Maple team, clients, and designers in creating custom finishes. Applicants need to be self-directed, eager to learn and work in a fast-paced environment, be detail-oriented, and be an extremely reliable member of the woodshop team.

Benefits include health insurance, matching 401k, paid holidays, combined time off, and more.

Interested folks should apply through: https://silvermapleconstruction. bamboohr.com/jobs.

Both positions would assist 4t-SIlverMaple090821.indd visitors with hike planning, answer phone calls and emails, provide education about Vermont’s hiking trails and GMC, and sales of our products.

For more information, visit: greenmountainclub.org/jobs

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COMMUNITY INVESTMENT TEAM Evernorth currently has two open positions within its Community Investment team. The Community Investments Closing Manager has the primary responsibility for organizing and managing closings for Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) and New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) transactions, performing a critical role as the liaison between our development partners, Evernorth staff, financing partners, and LIHTC equity investors.

The ideal candidate will have a bachelor’s degree and/or paralegal training, and 3 years of recent experience supporting real estate transaction closing. Key competencies include project management, prioritization, interpersonal skills, solution-oriented problem solving and promoting the mission of Evernorth to its partners and the public.

We believe in equal access to affordable housing and economic opportunities; the power of partnerships based on integrity, respect and teamwork; and a collaborative workplace with professional, skilled and dedicated staff. To apply, please send a cover letter and resume to Julia Morgan, HR@evernorthus.org by March 4, 2022. Evernorth is an equal opportunity employer.

1/28/22 10:55 AM

NORTHEASTERN VERMONT REGIONAL HOSPITAL has exciting opportunities!

JOIN THE RHINO FOODS TEAM! Perks Include:

NVRH is looking for dedicated and compassionate RNs, LPNs and LNAs to join our team and provide high quality care to the communities we serve. NVRH provides a fair and compassionate workplace where all persons are valued by the organization and each other, providing ongoing growth opportunities.

Income Advance Inclusive Hiring Paid Volunteer Time Off Bonuses Earned on Goals Met

FT and PT employees are eligible for excellent benefits including student loan repayment, generous paid time off, health/dental/vision, 401k with company match and much more!

Finance Director

APPLY TODAY AT NVRH.ORG/CAREERS.

The Finance Director is 4t-NVRH092921.indd responsible for all financial matters of the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont (NOFAVT) and Vermont Organic Farmers LLC (VOF) with a combined budget of $3.5M. Reports to the Executive Director.

The Finance Director also works with Program Directors, the Development Director, and is a member of the senior leadership Administrative Team.

Overall responsibilities include: overseeing the financial health of the organization, general bookkeeping, managing all financial aspects of grants, and leading all financial reporting.

For more information and to apply: nofavt.org/about-us/join-our-team

1

Medical, Dental, and Vision Benefits Employee Exchange

www.rhinofoods.com/about-rhino-foods/jobs-and-careers

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1/31/22 12:06 PM

SAME DAY DELIVERIES (802) 862-7662

MEDICAL COURIERS AND DELIVERY DRIVERS

Currently, we are seeking drivers to join our growing team. We are hiring for several full time and part time positions, as well as different shifts.

Feel free to stop in to our office at 54 Echo Place, Suite# 1, Williston, VT 05495 and fill out an application.

Or fill out an application via our website at shipvds.com or email Tim a copy of your resume at timothy@shipvds.com.

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Delicious Cookie Dough

8/24/21 2:18 PM

ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTOR Vermont Care Partners, a small dynamic nonprofit, seeks Administrative Director. Expertise in financial operations/ budget management using QuickBooks and human resource management required. Knowledge of cafeteria plans preferred.

Duties include office management, support for meetings, trainings communications, IT and assistant to the Executive Director. Expertise in Microsoft Office essential. Full time with benefits. May combine remote/in-office work. E.O.E. Send cover letter and resume by February 28 to: Julie Tessler - Vermont Care Partners 137 Elm Street, Montpelier, VT 05602

julie@vermontcarepartners.org

ATTENTION RECRUITERS:

78

POST YOUR JOBS AT JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM FOR FAST RESULTS, OR CONTACT MICHELLE BROWN: MICHELLE@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

Vermont Public Power Supply Authority

ASSISTANT CONTROLLER The Vermont Public Power Supply Authority, located in Waterbury Center, Vermont is seeking an Assistant Controller to join our team. This position will have significant direct responsibility and support the Authority’s Controller in all financial aspects of the organization.

DENTAL ASSISTANT Middlebury Pediatric Dentistry is looking for a dental assistant to join our friendly, close-knit team. Help us take care of Vermont kids’ oral health! Full time. Health insurance. Paid vacation. Please contact us by email and include your resume:

frontdesk@middleburypediatricdentistry.com Primary functions include: Generating financial reports, preparing year-end audit documents, preparing and overseeing the monthly power supply settlement process, processing and administering human resource activities, preparing annual budgets, managing debt activities, overseeing cash management and AP 2h-MiddleburyPediatricDentistry101420.indd 1 10/12/20 functions, and monitoring and updating the Authority’s policies and procedures.

Demonstrated knowledge of fund accounting, GASB standards, governmental and/or not-for-profit utility accounting with a Bachelors degree in Business, Accounting and/or Finance (or equivalent experience) and five to seven years of progressively responsible related experience preferably in the utility industry, operating in a fully regulated environment. Candidate should have strong analytical, problem solving, computer, and financial software skills.

VPPSA is building a team of professionals who are passionate about helping Vermont communities meet their future energy needs. If you are a team player and enjoy a fast-paced collaborative environment we want to hear from you.

Please send resumes and salary requirements to: Vermont Public Power Supply Authority, PO Box 126, Waterbury Ctr., Vermont 05677 Attn: General Manager, or to knolan@vppsa.com.

The position will be open until filled.

JOB TRAINING. WELL DONE. Join the Community Kitchen Academy!

Are you interested in a career working within the food service industry? At Community Kitchen Academy (CKA) you’ll learn from professional chefs in modern commercial kitchens and graduate with the skills and knowledge to build a career in food service, food systems and other related fields. Throughout the seven-week course, you’ll develop and apply new skills by preparing food that would otherwise be wasted from grocery stores, restaurants, and farms. The food you cook is then distributed through food shelves and meal sites throughout the community.

CKA is a program of the Vermont Foodbank, operated in partnership with Capstone Community Action in Barre and Feeding Chittenden in Burlington. Next sessions start mid-March and early May. APPLY ONLINE: vtfoodbank.org/cka.

CIRCULATION LIBRARIAN THE STOWE FREE LIBRARY is seeking a customer service and detail oriented individual to fill the position of Circulation Librarian, and to assist in fulfilling our mission: “To Welcome, To Inspire, To Enrich the Mind.” This position involves direct contact with the public, supervising volunteers, and maintaining the library’s patron database. The Stowe Free Library is a cherished community institution and has 6,400 registered borrowers and 25,000 volumes in its collection. It is located within the historic Helen Day Memorial Building in the center of Stowe, a premier four-season resort community with a year-round population of 5,225 and a large number of second homes.

A Bachelor’s degree or an equivalent combination of education and experience is required, and an MLS from an ALA accredited school or a Vermont Department of Libraries Certification is preferred. Working knowledge of and experience with computers, Integrated Library Systems (ILS), data base management, and current technologies are preferred.

Good verbal and written communication, excellent customer service, organizational and supervisory skills, and the ability to work with a team are required. Candidates must be able to perform detailed work and to lift and shelve books. This position includes some evenings and Saturday hours, comes with excellent benefits and a starting salary of $17.92 – $19.76 per hour, contingent upon qualifications and experience.

A job description and employment application can be obtained on the Town of Stowe website: townofstowevt.org. Send employment application, letter of interest and resume to: Town of Stowe, Attn: Recruiter, PO Box 730, Stowe, VT 05672, or email recruit@stowevt.gov.

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. E.O.E.

INSIDE SALES Sunbelt Rentals--the fastest growing rental business in North America--is seeking a Inside Sales Representative.

Are you seeking an entrepreneurial, empowering workplace that allows you to:

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• Develop skills for career growth through an outside sales or operational management career track • Use your inside sales or customer service skills for steady hours & potential overtime • Work with an incredible team of people to make it happen for customers To view details and apply visit: bit.ly/SunBeltRentals2022 Reasonable accommodations may be made to comply with applicable laws.

Sunbelt Rentals is an Equal Opportunity Employer - Minority/ Female/Disabled/

Full-Time Legal Assistant/Paralegal Caffry Law, a special needs and estate planning law firm in Waterbury, is seeking a detail-oriented full-time legal assistant or paralegal (depending on experience) who will enhance office efficiency and quality of service provided to clients.

Must have strong drafting, organizational, communication, and timemanagement skills. Prior experience either with disability services or in a law office is a plus.

Job tasks include professional email and phone conversations with clients and prospective clients, providing relevant special needs information and resources and/or scheduling client meetings; preparing and maintaining confidential client files; drafting client planning documents and documents for filing with courts; and organizing and preparing final documents for distribution either to clients, public benefits agencies, courts, or other appropriate parties.

Long-term, full-time position with flexible schedule. Hourly wage based on experience. Please send resume, cover letter, and three references to Kaitlyn Keating at kaitlyn@caffrylaw.com.

CUSTODIANS The Colchester School District is seeking Custodians. The custodian is expected to provide a clean and healthy atmosphere for all students and employees.

They will collaborate with other custodians, and the building administrators as appropriate.

The Colchester School District educates approximately 2,200 students across five schools.

CSD offers employees a generous benefits package including a competitive wage and an excellent BCBS healthcare plan. In addition, the benefits include dental insurance, long-term disability, retirement plan, life insurance, and tuition reimbursement.

Apply online at: SchoolSpring.com job #3769403

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NEW JOBS POSTED DAILY!

Network Desktop Applications Support Technician We’re looking for an experienced Information Technology professional to join our team at VSAC in Winooski, Vermont. The ideal candidate will have:

Is currently seeking

DIVERSITY, EQUITY, & INCLUSION SPECIALIST https://bit.ly/3BHCkXR

• Advanced experience supporting Windows PCs (desktop & laptop) in a networked environment • Office 365 applications support experience • Support of client software for IBMi systems • Use of remote tools to support a distributed user population • Use of PC imaging software to deploy new/updated PCs • Strong written and verbal communication skills • Excellent customer service skills

WARMING SHELTER SUPPORT STAFF https://bit.ly/3o7nmpm

SUPPORTED HOUSING YOUTH COACH https://bit.ly/33Mgp6k

We’re all about mission at Vermont Student Assistance Corporation (VSAC). Help us fulfill our mission of providing all Vermont students with information and financial resources to reach their educational goals.

VSAC offers a dynamic, professional environment with competitive compensation and generous benefits package that includes health and dental insurance, retirement plans, tuition assistance, onsite fitness center, and more. Apply ONLY online at vsac.org (Jobs at VSAC link in site footer).

VERMONT STUDENT ASSISTANCE CORPORATION PO Box 2000, Winooski, VT 05404 EOE/Minorities/Females/Vet/Disabled

3.83”

JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM

an equal opportunity employer

Now Hiring!

Multiple Full-Time Positions

Looking for a job you’ll love? Join the team at Lake Champlain Chocolates!

Sweet benefits include generous paid time off, paid holidays, medical insurance, free dental insurance, 401K match, company events, and lots of free chocolate! As a certified B Corporation®, we use business as a force for good -- listening, learning, and adapting to ensure that we provide an equitable and inclusive work environment where all people experience belonging, opportunity, respect, and dignity. We seek team members who want to join us in that effort.

5.

• EMAIL and LOYALTY MARKETING SPECIALIST • ASSISTANT BUYER • CHOCOLATE MAKER and PACKAGING SPECIALIST • MAINTENANCE TECHNICIAN • RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT CONFECTIONER • RETAIL SALES CHOCOLATE AMBASSADORS • SANITATION TECHNICIAN We’d love to welcome you to our team!

Call today, 802-264-2179, or visit our website for additional job details: LakeChamplainChocolates.com/careers

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CONTROLLER

79 FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

2/14/22 2:06 PM

Butternut Mountain Farm is one of the larger packagers and distributors of pure maple syrup and sugar products in the United States. We continue to grow and are seeking a Controller.

As Controller, you will be responsible for managing the daily operations of the Accounting Department and working closely with departments throughout the organization.

The successful candidate must be able to lead and build the Accounting Team and be highly ethical and reliable.

Important qualities include being able to prioritize in a fast-paced setting, being forward-thinking, analytical, an excellent problem solver and a good communicator.

This position reports directly to the CFO.

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Applicants should have a Bachelor’s in Accounting or Finance with a minimum of 8 years of experience that is on par with the requirements. This is a full-time position offering a competitive compensation and benefits package. This position may work remote with some required office time.

Butternut Mountain Farm is an employer of choice and offers a very friendly work setting, professional development, and growth. We are an equal opportunity employer. Please forward a cover letter and resume to katem@butternutmountainfarm.com for consideration.

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ATTENTION RECRUITERS:

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POST YOUR JOBS AT JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM FOR FAST RESULTS, OR CONTACT MICHELLE BROWN: MICHELLE@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

REGIONAL TREATMENT COURT COORDINATOR (Job Code 22000)

WOOD & WOOD SIGN SYSTEMS MARKETING & SALES MANAGER

A full time grant position funded until September 2023, 40 hours per week. The Coordinator will be responsible for the general administration and ongoing development of the treatment court programs. BA & 1 year prior experience in criminal justice or social services settings required. Located in White River Junction. Starting $24.20 per hour with excellent benefits. Open until filled.

WOOD & WOOD SIGN SYSTEMS is seeking a marketing & sales manager to join our creative team of designers and fabricators. The ideal candidate is a self-starter with a genuine interest in design and ability to research, connect, track and generate new business. Required skills include strong organizational and multi-tasking abilities and a proficiency in Microsoft Office. This Waitsfield Company has serviced a national client base for 50 years and provides a light hearted work atmosphere with flexible schedule and benefit package.

Go to vermontjudiciary.exacthire.com/job/86297 for further details and application. These positions are open until filled.

Position is 20-30 hours per week and hourly wage compensatory with work experience. Open to working part time in the office and remotely. Start Date: Immediate.

VERMONT STATE COURTS

The Vermont Judiciary is an E.O.E.

THE VERMONT STATE HOUSING AUTHORITY

is seeking highly organized individuals who find satisfaction in doing meaningful work, meeting challenges, providing excellent service, and working in a team environment.

COORDINATOR OF OCCUPANCY SERVICES

VSHA’s Housing Program Administration has an immediate need for management-level support of the Occupancy Services Division, which assists individuals accessing Section 8 housing subsidies in maintaining their benefits and housing. He or she manages the programming and leads the team of Client Services Specialists to ensure that high-quality services are provided to individuals and families with income-based needs for affordable housing.

INTAKE/CLIENTS SERVICES SPECIALISTS

Intake/Client Services Specialists have a direct service & administrative role in facilitating access to affordable housing for Vermonters, assisting applicants with the application process, determining eligibility for rental assistance, and performing administrative tasks to support clients in securing & maintaining housing.

SELF-SUFFICIENCY/ HOMEOWNERSHIP COORDINATOR

Coordinates and provides case management to Section 8 participants; determines eligibility and re-examinations; and generates interest in program participation by working with partnering service providers.

ACCOUNTANT

Financial management, accounting, and technical work at a professional level involving applying complex accounting theory and regulatory practice to the maintenance of cash management, accounting and internal control systems relating to the activities for VSHA and other partners. *Check our website for further information. To apply, please email your application materials (resume, cover letter, and employment application) to careers@vsha.org or mail via USPS to: Vermont State Housing Authority, Human Resources, 1 Prospect St., Montpelier VT 05602.

Send resume w/three references: info@woodandwoodsigns.com.

ELECTRICAL

MAINTENANCE TECHNICIAN The Champlain Water District (CWD) is seeking applications from qualified candidates for the position of Electrical Maintenance Technician.

The Electrical Maintenance Technician is responsible to perform all scheduled and unscheduled maintenance of all CWD’s electrical/electronic equipment and all computerized control process systems. Employee shall also be responsible for CWD property and equipment as directed by CWD Policy.

Employee will often perform job related responsibilities with limited supervision and will be required to make decisions, and take action, on his/her own without continuous supervision.

Candidate must have a working knowledge of mechanical, electrical, and electronic practices as they apply to water systems. Minimum of 4 years’ working experience in the electrical/electronics field at a level equivalent to a licensed journeyman electrical, while successfully demonstrating selfmotivation and competence in mechanical, and particularly electronics/electrical components of water systems operation, is required.

Employee shall possess and maintain a State of Vermont Journeyman Electrician’s license, or have ability to attain such within a time determined by the District, and shall complete all required National Electrical Code continuing education, achieving National Electrical Code recertification.

Must possess a valid State of Vermont driver’s license with a clean record and the ability to meet the insurability criteria of the District’s insurance carrier.

QUALITY CONTROL TECHNICIAN Super Thin Saws, of Waterbury, VT manufactures precision circular saw blades and similar tooling, primarily for the woodworking industry. We are seeking highly motivated individuals to work & grow in our manufacturing operation We are currently seeking a manufacturing technician and a Quality Control Technician. Candidates must be mechanically inclined (previous experience with measuring tools, such as micrometers, calipers & dial indicators, is desired).

We will also provide training to successful candidates.

Super Thin Saws provides excellent pay, benefits including medical and flexible hours.

Please send your resume to bookkeeping@superthinsaws. com or call 802-244-8101.

GOT A CASE OF THE

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The starting hourly wage for this position is $24.00, including an excellent benefits package.

To view the complete job description: champlainwater.org.

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UP for Learning is GROWING OUR TEAM of innovative changemakers!

Restorative Justice Coordinator The Orange County Restorative Justice Center seeks a full-time RJ Coordinator to work with adults referred for restorative justice programs and to coordinate volunteer development, outreach and community projects that further OCRJC's mission.

OCRJC is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, recognizing and respecting that all perspectives and experiences are valuable to our team and essential to our public service.

Apply Now: ocrjvt. org/employmentopportunities.

PSYCHOTHERAPIST OPENING

Real Estate Development Coordinator Evernorth is growing and hiring! The Real Estate Development Coordinator is a member of an eleven person team of developers and project managers.

This individual coordinates activities between Evernorth and our partners for real estate closings for affordable rental housing. The role encompasses broad activities related to due diligence, document management, financing applications and many other related activities. The successful candidate will have excellent communication skills and attention to detail. We are looking for someone with a bachelor’s degree in a related field, 3-5 years of related experience, and a highly proficient user of Microsoft Office 365.

Please visit: upforlearning.org/about-us/work-with-us/ to learn more about these exciting opportunities!

To apply, please send a cover letter and resume to Kathy Beyer, HR@evernorthus.org. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer.

2 POSITIONS OPEN:

DRILLER'S HELPER WATER WELL PUMP TECHNICIAN We are looking for a self motivated person with a "clean" DMV record and reliable transportation, who takes pride in being on time and is willing to work 40+ hours a week. Position requires driving company vehicles. Must pass pre-employment drug test. Strong mechanical and technical abilities and a basic understanding of electrical wiring and plumbing, Must be able to lift and move 100 lbs; ability to work outdoors in all types of weather. Applicants will be able to with training pass the required certifications within 2 years of hire as a condition of employment. All training will be provided including safety training. Competitive wages and benefits offered (health insurance, life insurance, vacation and more).

Please submit resume in person or email to our office: Spafford and Sons, 11 North Main St., Jericho Vt. Monday - Friday between 7:00 am and 4:00 pm. Starts immediately. info@spaffordwaterwells.com

GRANTS & FINANCE SPECIALIST

Send resume and cover letter describing professional interests and goals to: Paul Foxman, Ph.D., 86 Lake St., Burlington, VT 05401 or email: paulfoxman@aol.com

81 FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

We are growing our team! UP for Learning is a growing, dynamic, non-profit organization. We are seeking an Operations Director and two Program Directors. At UP for Learning we believe educational equity is a basic human right and all young people deserve to be meaningfully engaged in their education and community. UP for Learning supports systemic transformation in educational communities across the country, engaging all stakeholders and increasing the authentic voice of youth in learning and decision-making. UP provides facilitation, training and coaching for youth and adults to share in a process for change through a theory- and research-driven approach.

Young people are empowered, within the context of authentic youth-adult partnerships, to shape their environment in order to best meet the needs of ALL youth. UP’s mission is empowering youth and adults to re-imagine and transform education together.

The Vermont Center for Anxiety Care, a private psychotherapy practice on 3/30/21 the Burlington waterfront, 4t-Spafford&Sons030321.indd 1 has an opening for a licensed psychotherapist (M.A., LICSW, The Vermont Association of Conservation Districts Ph.D, Psy.D., LCMHC) or postseeks a full-time Grants & Finance Specialist to support master’s degree intern. Adult our growing operations. This is a statewide position therapy experience required responsible for assisting with day-to-day financial with child therapy experience tasks and for maintaining the grants management an asset. Collaborative group systems and tracking spreadsheets we rely on to provide with holistic approach and support to Vermont’s 14 Conservation Districts. multiple specialties. Clinical supervision towards licensure Ideal applicant will be data-minded with strong attention to detail and provided as needed. problem-solving skills. Expert knowledge of Excel, Google Sheets, Visit website: vtcenterforanxietycare.com.

JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM

Google Drive, and Microsoft Teams and 2-3 years of financial or grants management experience required. Starting salary range $40,000$45,000 commensurate with experience. Home-based position with generous benefits.

Visit vacd.org for detailed job description. Send cover letter, resume, and three references in a single PDF by 8:00 am Monday, March 7 to clare.ireland@vacd.org. E.O.E.

We believe in equal access to affordable housing and economic opportunities; the power of partnerships based on integrity, respect and teamwork; and a collaborative workplace with professional, skilled and dedicated staff.

Executive Director ANEW Place is seeking a dynamic and experienced leader to advance the mission and vision of ANEW Place in its work with our neighbors experiencing homelessness in the Greater Burlington area.

ANEW Place is a homeless services agency equipping adults in the Greater Burlington VT area experiencing homelessness with the tools for lifelong change. With three distinct facilities, ANEW Place works with individuals through various steps towards independent living.

THE OPPORTUNITY: The Executive Director’s primary responsibilities include oversight of the daily operation of the organization and its facilities, management of the annual operating budget, and leading a dedicated staff. The Executive Director works in partnership with a committed Board of Directors to develop the organization’s strategic direction.

This position encompasses operational management and program oversight, community relations and advocacy, human resources management, fiscal management, strategic planning, and fundraising. The Executive Director will ensure the financial strength of the organization, position the organization for appropriate 1:30 PM growth, and seek opportunities to strengthen impact.

CANDIDATE CRITERIA: • Multiple years of progressive, professional leadership experience • Nonprofit experience is highly desirable • Compassion for low-income individuals and excellent understanding of issues pertaining to those affected by poverty & homelessness • Excellent interpersonal, management, and analytical skills.

• Proven skills in fiscal management, strategic planning, and program development • Strong conflict resolution and decision-making skills • Ability to manage and prioritize competing needs • Passion for the mission of ANEW Place and affinity for working for a faith-based nonprofit • Salary is commensurate with experience.

For more information visit anewplacevt.org/employment.

To apply please send cover letter and resume to the Search Committee at edsearch@ANEWPlacevt.org.

ATTENTION RECRUITERS:

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POST YOUR JOBS AT JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM FOR FAST RESULTS, OR CONTACT MICHELLE BROWN: MICHELLE@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

Director & coM

VERSO Community Manager The University of Vermont Complex Systems Center

The University is especially interested in candidates who can contribute to the diversity and excellence of the institution. Applicants are required to include in their cover letter information about how they will further this goal.

VERSO Community Manager: The VERSO Community Manager is a full-time position 2-year grant-funded position that will be responsible for all operations of creating an exciting new community around open-source software development. The VERSO community manager will be responsible for managing and overseeing VERSO community software projects, educational training sessions and technical support, and maintaining the GithLab software repository at the University Library. This position will be supervised by the VERSO program director. We expect this position to serve as a welcoming and kind liaison for open-source software contributors at all skill levels.

Bachelor’s degree in an information technology field and one to three years’ related or specialized experience required. Working knowledge of open-source software utilization.

RunVermont, home of the KeyBank V EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Front Desk/ Personal Trainer

and talented individual to join t

Vermont Sun Fitness is looking for a front desk / Certified Personal Trainer. Candidates must have excellent people, computer, and sales skills. Other duties include cleaning, pool testing, and answering phones.Two or more years of customer service is preferred.Varying weekly hours up to full time if desired.

Must be flexible, evenings a must, and weekend shifts on occasion. Free membership, hourly rate plus commissions.

Send a resume or stop into our Middlebury location to fill out an application.

RunVermont in Burlington, Responsibilities include the develo Vermont seeks a bold leaderstrategies (incl and communications who will oversee the and annual relations) the acquisition an Vermont City Marathon weekend If you’re a highly organized, creative of events, Half-Unplugged team and excels at building relationsh Half Marathon events, Island projects, we want to hear from you. M Vines 10K and other running commu related events and community Additional deta programs organized by the small This is a fullorganization. Send required coverPlease letter and sendresume resumeto: and cover letter No ph search@runvermont.org.

RunVermont is an We anticipate interviews starting March 15th. The salary range being offered is $90,000 - 110,000.

Full Description go to: bit.ly/RunVTexecDirector

info@vermontsun.com

Apply online: uvmjobs.com/postings/50257

GRAPHIC & MULTIMEDIA DESIGNER Established nearly three decades ago, our educational publishing company possesses an established brand, business model and clientele. We are looking for a dynamic Graphic and Multimedia Designer to join our team.

VOCATIONAL CASE MANAGER The Vocational Case Manager provides vocational rehabilitation services to Injured Workers through coordination with the employee, referral source, physician, employer, attorney, State partners and others with the ultimate goal being the client’s timely return to gainful employment. The Vocational Case Manager interviews and evaluates the client to determine vocational services eligibility based on Transferrable Skills, Labor Market Research, Suitable Wage and Work Capacity. This position identifies suitable job goals consistent with the clients’ interests, aptitudes and physical abilities; supporting the RTW goals of the Vermont Department of Labor jurisdictional rules, in collaboration with all parties.

This is a home office position, with regular travel up to 70% of the time throughout Vermont & may include travel to surrounding states.

EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE:

Projects will cover a wide spectrum. The ideal candidate possesses multiple design disciplines, from print graphics, to digital graphics, to animation to video editing.

A Bachelor’s Degree in graphic design or a related field is required as well as 1+ years of experience in the field or an internship. Advanced working knowledge of Macs, Google Drive, Adobe Design Apps and Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere is essential. Experience with HTML and CSS is a plus!

To get started on this exciting path, please send a copy of your resume and a digital portfolio with at least three work samples to us at megan@exemplars.com.

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• Master's degree in Rehabilitation Counseling or related field is required.

• CRC preferred • Vermont Certification or eligible for certification post 6 month internship.

• Knowledge of Managed Care or Workers’ Compensation preferred.

A comprehensive benefits package is available for full-time regular employees and includes Medical (HDHP) w/Pharmacy, Dental, Vision, Long Term Disability, Health Savings Account, Flexible Spending Account Options, Life Insurance, Accident Insurance, Critical Illness Insurance, Pre-paid Legal Insurance, Parking and Transit FSA accounts, 401K, ROTH 401K, and paid time off. In addition, Medical Case Managers are eligible for bonus and will be provided stateof-the-art technological devices to ensure ready access to CorVel’s proprietary Case Management application, enabling staff to retrieve documents on the go and log activities as they occur.

You’re in good hands with...

We are looking for a self-starting team player with a great attitude, good organizational skills, the ability to multi-task, and savviness in both digital and print design.

1/14/22 4:30 PM

SALES ASSISTANT Established nearly 30 years ago, our educational publishing company possesses an established brand, business model, and clientele. We are looking for a dynamic part-time Sales Assistant to join our team 10-15 hours a week.

“Seven Days sales rep Michelle Brown is amazing! She’s extremely responsive, and I always feel so taken care of. I can only imagine how many job connections she has facilitated for local companies in the 20 years she has been doing this.”

CAROLYN ZELLER Intervale Center, Burlington

The ideal candidate has a professional manner and is a self-starting team player with a great attitude, good organizational skills, and the ability to multi-task. This position supports sales and marketing efforts as well as our renewal program through data processing, research, and general administrative support.

Send resumes to: Donna_Curtin@corvel.com

Advanced working knowledge of Macs and Google Drive is required.

Experience in education is a plus!

Get a quote when posting online. Contact Michelle Brown at 865-1020, ext. 121, michelle@sevendaysvt.com.

CorVel is an Equal Opportunity Employer, drug free workplace, and complies with ADA regulations as applicable.

To get started on this exciting path, please send a copy of your resume and a cover letter to alaina@exemplars.com.

JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM

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8/20/21 1:41 PM

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SEASONAL POSITIONS •

Park Maintenance Technician: 40 hrs., $17 hr., Start 3/25

•

Summer Park Laborers: 40 hrs., $14 hr., Start 5/16

• Summer

Day Camp Director: 40 hrs., $20 hr., Start 6/13

• Summer

Day Camp Counselors: 40 hrs., $14-$16 hr., Start 6/13

• Summer

Lifeguards: 40 hrs., $14.50-$16.50 hr., Start 6/13

Qualified applicants should apply! Colchestervt.gov for job description and application. E.O.E.

NEW JOBS POSTED DAILY! JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM

SEASONAL POSITIONS

TRAIN CONDUCTOR

Work in the beautiful Vermont outdoors with some of the friendliest people you’ll ever meet. Happy customers continuously tell us that our staff are the best around. Our staff tell us that working for the parks is some of the most rewarding and meaningful work they’ve ever done. If you have an excellent work ethic, customer service and/or management experience, and great attitude, we’d love for you to apply.

We are currently recruiting park managers, assistant managers, park interpreters, attendants, workcampers, deckhands for our Burton Island Ferry Boat and more, see listings below. Part-time and full-time positions are available statewide.

Apply online: https://vtstateparks.com/jobs

LEAD WATER

MAINTENANCE TECHNICIAN The Champlain Water District (CWD) is seeking applications from qualified candidates for the position of Lead Water Maintenance Technician.

This position is responsible for maintenance and general repair of all types of CWD machinery, vehicles, tools, equipment, and facilities. Employee will be required to perform in all the different areas of the District facilities, i.e. treatment plant, pump stations, storage tanks, underground vaults and water mains. Employee will perform a wide variety of duties to maintain and troubleshoot all types of CWD equipment. The Lead Technician is responsible for the leadership and liaison of the maintenance personnel as well as any CWD personnel working in and utilizing the garage facilities. Employee is required to make decisions and take action on his/her own without constant supervision.

Candidate must have a minimum of a high school education or equivalent and have a minimum of 5 years’ experience in a position of similar responsibilities requiring advanced mechanical ability and knowledge. Employee shall be hired as a Lead Technician I (Grade 11) and is eligible for advancement to Lead Technician II (Grade 12) upon successful completion of the on-call checklist, completion of his/her probationary period, and possession of a valid State of Vermont Class D Water System Operator’s Certificate.

Must possess a valid State of Vermont driver’s license with a clean record and have the ability to meet the insurability criteria of the District’s insurance carrier.

The starting hourly wage for this position is $25.46, including an excellent benefits package.

To view the complete job description: champlainwater.org.

83 FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

Vermont Rail System is hiring train conductors/Locomotive Engineer to be based out of Burlington, Vermont. Job entails operating track switches, coupling rail cars, and performing other duties associated with the movement of trains. Family-owned company with a friendly working atmosphere. Healthcare, 401 K, Life Insurance, Railroad Retirement and many other benefits apply. No prior experience necessary.

Requirements: Willingness and ability to work outdoors, day or night, in all weather conditions. Willingness to work overtime hours and some Holidays. Must be focused on safety and compliance to rules. Must work well with others. Must pass a drug test and a physical, including a vision and hearing test.

Sign on bonus available for qualified applicants.

Call during business hours at 802-324-5733 or email: fkuckovic@vrs.us.com.

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5/3/21 3:47 PM

Multiple Positions Open!

Hayward Tyler, a leading manufacturer of industrial pumps and motors in Colchester, is seeking candidates to fill the following positions:

MATERIALS PROCESSOR II: haywardtyler.com/job_listing/material-processor-ii/ APPLICATION ENGINEER 1: haywardtyler.com/job_listing/application-engineer-i-ae-i/ STAFF ENGINEER I: haywardtyler.com/job_listing/staff-engineer-i/ DESIGN ENGINEER: haywardtyler.com/job_listing/design-engineer/ ELECTRO-MECHANICAL ENGINEER: haywardtyler.com/job_listing/electro-mechanical-engineer/ QUALITY ASSURANCE ENGINEER: haywardtyler.com/job_listing/quality-assurance-engineer/ PROJECT MANAGER: haywardtyler.com/job_listing/project-manager/ We offer a competitive salary and excellent benefits package. If you meet our requirements and are interested in an exciting opportunity, please forward your resume & salary requirements to: Hayward Tyler, Inc. – Attn: HR Department 480 Roosevelt Highway – PO Box 680, Colchester, VT 05446 Email: Careers@haywardtyler.com • Equal Opportunity Employer

ATTENTION RECRUITERS:

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POST YOUR JOBS AT JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM FOR FAST RESULTS, OR CONTACT MICHELLE BROWN: MICHELLE@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

NBG TEAM Providing Innovative Mental Health and Educational Services to Vermont’s Children & Families.

WE’RE HIRING! • Program Clinicians • Residential Counselors Full, Part-time & Relief • Awake Overnight Counselors • Clinical Case Managers

• Community Skills Workers • Family Engagement Specialist • Teachers • Classroom Counselors

Regular positions of 30 or more hours a week are eligible for our generous benefits package, which includes competitive salary & tuition reimbursement. Please apply online at: nfivermont.org/careers We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and celebrate the diversity of our clients and staff.

Engaging Home & Community Support Positions Engaging Home and Community Support positions available now for friendly 26 year-old autistic male. One full-time (Mon-Fri) and one part-time (Wed-Fri) position. Hours 8:30am-3:30pm, however the exact hours are potentially negotiable for the right applicant. Fridays are mornings only. Both positions $26/hr. Centrally located in Burlington for easy walking, biking or driving to work.

Qualifications: degreed applicants highly preferred, experience a plus but not essential but your references will be. Shifts may include doing: personal care, scootering, swimming, hiking, basketball, and much more. Must be one who really enjoys service to others, respectful, friendly, likes to sing. Good work ethic is essential. You will work as a team and must be a team player. Clean driving record.

Must have proof of COVID-19 vaccinations as well as booster(s).

If it sounds like your style send a resume, cover letter detailing your interest, and three references: nbgteamvt@gmail.com.

Medical-Legal Partnership STAFF ATTORNEY

STAFF ATTORNEY

Vermont Legal Aid seeks a full-time staff attorney to cover work with our Medical/Legal Partnerships in Chittenden County on behalf of low-income and disadvantaged clients with healthharming legal needs. VLA’s Medical/Legal Partnerships focus on helping resolve clients’ legal problems before they reach their most serious stage.

Vermont Legal Aid is continuing its search for full-time staff attorneys to work in various areas of its practice, including housing, disability, government benefits, discrimination, and disability law.

We encourage applicants from a broad range of backgrounds, and welcome information about how your experience can contribute to serving our diverse client communities. Applicants are encouraged to share in their cover letter how they can further our goals of social justice and individual rights. We are an equal opportunity employer committed to a discrimination-andharassment-free workplace.

Responsibilities include work at neighborhood medical clinics, training and responding to questions from clinic workers, interviewing clients, factual investigation and analysis, legal research, preparation of legal documents, pleadings and motions, representing clients before administrative agencies and in court, consultation and collaboration with other Project attorneys, and systemic reform work as appropriate.

The position is remote until VLA changes its remote work policy; however, the position will eventually be based out of one of our offices. Some in-state travel in a personal vehicle required.

Starting salary is $57,500+, with additional salary credit given for relevant prior work experience. Four weeks paid vacation and retirement, as well as excellent health benefits. Attorney applicants must be licensed to practice law in Vermont or eligible for admission by waiver.

We encourage applicants from a broad range of backgrounds, and welcome information about how your experience can contribute to serving our diverse client communities. Applicants are encouraged to share in their cover letter how they can further our goals of social justice and individual rights. We are an equal opportunity employer committed to a discrimination-and-harassment-free workplace.

Responsibilities include interviewing clients, factual investigation and analysis, legal research when appropriate, preparation of legal documents, pleadings and motions, consultation and collaboration with other project attorneys, representation at hearings and trials, and systemic reform work as appropriate.

CONSERVATION PROGRAM MANAGER Vermont River Conservancy (land trust) Compensation: $58,000 - $62,000 Location: Anywhere in Vermont Join our dynamic staff as Conservation Program Manager, a position integral to securing protections for lands along Vermont’s waterways. Initiate and manage conversations with communities, landowners, partners, state agency staff and conservation donors, and have primary responsibility for securing new land protections at a watershed scale – from headwaters to river corridors to downtown riverfronts.

See full position description at bit.ly/VTRiverConservJOB

LOOKING FOR A COOLER OPPORTUNITY?

The position is remote until VLA changes its remote work policy; however, the position will eventually be based out of one of our offices located in Burlington, Montpelier, Rutland, St. Johnsbury, and Springfield. In-state travel in a personal vehicle required.

Starting salary is $57,500+, with additional salary credit given for relevant prior work experience. Four weeks paid vacation and retirement, as well as excellent health benefits.

Attorney applicants must be licensed to practice law in Vermont or eligible for admission by waiver.

Application deadline is March 4th. Your application should include a cover letter and resume, bar status, writing sample, and at least three professional references with contact information, sent as a single PDF. Send your application by e-mail to hiring@vtlegalaid.org with the subject line “MLP Attorney Feb 2022.”Please let us know how you heard about this position.

Application deadline is March 4th. Your application should include a cover letter and resume, bar status, writing sample, and at least three professional references with contact information, sent as a single PDF. Send your application by e-mail to hiring@vtlegalaid.org with the subject line “Staff Attorney Feb 2022.” Please let us know how you heard about this position.

See vtlegalaid.org/current-openings for additional information and job description.

See vtlegalaid.org/current-openings for additional information and job descriptions.

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85 FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

Planning & Zoning Administrator

VERSO Program Director

The Town of Underhill seeks to hire a Planning & Zoning Administrator (PZA). The successful candidate will administer and enforce the Town of Underhill’s zoning and subdivision bylaws, as well as general planning functions.

The PZA will work with the Development Review Board, and Planning Commission when necessary. Land use and zoning experience, the ability to read and interpret building and engineering plans, and the ability to effectively communicate zoning regulations and permit requirements to the public is required.

The University is especially interested in candidates who can contribute to the diversity and excellence of the institution. Applicants are required to include in their cover letter information about how they will further this goal.

The University of Vermont Complex Systems Center

VERSO Program Director: The VERSO PD will be responsible for all operations of the new and exciting Open-source Program Office at the University of Vermont. Develop, maintain and provide technical support for the open-source repository and related services/functions. This position will be primarily located in the Vermont Complex Systems Center and will be supervised by Juniper Lovato and Bryn Geffert. This position will oversee the execution of all of the organization of project activities.

The VERSO PD will manage the project broadly, including but not limited to, grant reporting, gathering metrics on program success, communications, and project documentation. This position will be the liaison to UVM leadership and will be responsible for forming agreements and processes as needed.

Bachelor’s degree in an information technology field and one to three years related or specialized experience required. Comprehensive knowledge of open-source software utilization, community development and engagement.

The individual must enjoy working in a small dynamic office, have knowledge of V.S.A. 24 Chapter 117 and experience working with engineers, attorneys and land developers. This is a full-time position with benefits, 40 hours per week. Pay is commensurate with experience; range is 50-55K with competitive insurance and benefits package. Seeking to hire as soon as possible.

Apply online: uvmjobs.com/postings/50256a

Review the complete job description at underhillvt.gov.

Send cover letters, applications and resumes by Monday 2/28, 2022 at 4:00 p.m. to:

Market Garden Assistant & Farmstand Manager

Jennifer Silpe-Katz, PO BOX 120 Underhill, VT 05489

Full description and to apply: trilliumhillfarm.com/ employment.html

Or email: Jsilpe-katz@underhillvt.gov

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Town Treasurer & Delinquent Tax Collector The Town of Calais is seeking an organized and motivated individual to serve as our Town Treasurer and Delinquent Tax Collector. This is a full-time position; pay is commensurate with knowledge and experience; generous benefit package. Town residency is not required.

The Town Treasurer is responsible for the management of all the town's financial activities: receipt, investment, and disbursement of funds; keeping a record of taxes voted, billed, and collected; collecting other funds receivable by the town; and paying orders drawn on town accounts and human resources administration. The treasurer acts as the town's collector of current taxes.

The Delinquent Tax Collector sends monthly invoices and notices of delinquency to taxpayers, creates a payment plan for each delinquent taxpayer, works with the tax attorney on tax sales and other duties.

A bachelor's degree in accounting, public administration, or similarly applicable experience is preferred, as well as at least three years' experience in the area of municipal, public, or private accounting including experience managing payroll, employee benefits, and accounts payable and receivable.

Please submit a cover letter, resume detailing work history, names and contact information of three professional references to: 3120 Pekin Brook Rd., E. Calais, VT 05650. Position is open until filled.

For more information contact calais.townclerk@gmail.com.

Calais is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

1/28/22 11:25 AM

JOIN THE TEAM AT GARDENER’S SUPPLY!

Public Relations & Guest Services COORDINATOR The Vermont Historical Society seeks a full-time Public Relations and Guest Services Coordinator based in Montpelier. The coordinator conveys VHS’s story to the public through all media channels, administers the Society’s retail sales, and coordinates guest services at the Vermont History Museum in Montpelier. Bachelor’s degree and experience in a public relation and/or retail environment required.

Strong customer service and computer skills preferred.

Salary Starts at $42k plus benefits.

Full job description at vermonthistory.org/careeropportunities. To apply, send a cover letter and resume to tori.hart@vermonthistory.org.

Through gardening, our customers control their access to safe and affordable food, and grow food to share with their neighbors. At Gardener’s Supply, we are committed to doing everything we can to help our customers keep gardening, but we need your help.

We’re hiring for SEASONAL POSITIONS AT ALL LOCATIONS: • Pick/Pack customer orders at our DISTRIBUTION CENTER IN MILTON • Provide exceptional customer service to our customers over the phone at our CALL CENTER • Help customers with their gardening needs at our WILLISTON & BURLINGTON, VT GARDEN CENTERS We are 100% employee-owned and a Certified B Corporation. We offer strong cultural values, competitive wages and outstanding benefits (including a tremendous discount!). Please go to our careers page at www.gardeners.com/careers and apply online!

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ATTENTION RECRUITERS:

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FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

MOLLIE BEATTIE INTERNSHIP The Vermont Natural Resources Council seeks a 2022 Mollie Beattie Intern to help coordinate initiatives related to water quality, land use planning, sustainable community development, and forest and wildlife conservation. This opportunity is open to a graduate level student—or a recent graduate with a natural resources or law degree—who intends to pursue a career in environmental science or natural resources policy or law.

Visit vnrc.org for the full job description and to apply.

PROPERTY MANAGER/PROPERTY MANAGER TRAINEE Is there anything more fundamental than housing? Our mission is to provide safe, decent, and affordable housing to families of all kinds. Will you join our team?

The Winooski Housing Authority is seeking a property manager or property manager WINOOSKI trainee. WHA is interested in building quality relations with our tenants who come from all HOUSING AUTHORITY over the world. The ideal applicant will demonstrate effective communication and writing skills and a proficiency in basic math. If you have five years’ experience in customer service or social services or a college degree and three years’ experience and want to help families get Seven Days and stay housed,2/16 please apply. We are looking for you.

Issue:

2/14 by WorkDue: is family friendly, with11am hour negotiated from 30 – 40 hours a week. Excellent benefit package.

Size:

Engaging minds that change the world Seeking a position with a quality employer? Consider The University of Vermont, a stimulating and diverse workplace. We offer a comprehensive benefit package including tuition remission for on-going, full-time positions.

General Merchandise Manager - UVM Bookstore - #S3100PO The UVM Bookstore is looking for a proven leader to oversee our General Merchandise departments. This position will coordinate and supervise the purchasing, receiving, invoicing, distribution, display, and sale of UVM emblematic apparel and gift items, as well as direct our e-commerce team and manage department-specific and store-wide marketing and promotional plans.

The ideal candidate will have a comprehensive knowledge of retail operations, procurement policies and procedures, and exceptional customer service skills. The ability to work in a demanding environment with multiple deadlines is required, as is a demonstrated commitment to diversity, social justice and training, and fostering a collaborative multicultural environment. Hiring salary is expected to be at the low-to-mid range on the salary band.

Office/Program Support Generalist - UVM Department of Rehabilitation & Movement Science - #S3355PO - Provide administrative support in the Department of Rehabilitation and Movement Science, including management of Chair calendar, coordinating course schedules for five academic programs, faculty recruitments and a variety of departmental and programmatic events. Includes general office support to faculty and students. Associate’s Degree and 1-2 years’ experience, or equivalent relevant experience. The University is especially interested in candidates who can contribute to the diversity and excellence of the institution. Applicants are encouraged to include in their cover letter information about how they will further this goal.

Web Services Librarian - University Libraries - #F2141PO The University of Vermont Libraries seeks an innovative and dynamic librarian ready to design, develop, maintain, and evaluate the Libraries’ web presence and other online user interfaces. Successful candidates will be flexible, self-motivated, desirous of new challenges, and have excellent communication and design skills.

The position, which reports to the Director of Access, Technology, and Multimedia Services, will combine the skills of an academic librarian with an aptitude for designing and developing inclusive and accessible web interfaces to enhance the user experience on- and off-campus. The position works closely with technical and public-facing colleagues to integrate proprietary and open-source platforms into the Libraries’ interfaces. The search will remain open until the position is filled. For best consideration, complete applications should be received no later than March 4, 2022.

Office/Program Support Generalist - UVM Extension State Office #S3386PO - UVM Extension is hiring an Office/Program Support Generalist. This is a .80FTE (30 hours per week) position. The position will provide administrative and media support to the Across the Fence television program and to the UVM Extension State Office. They will assist with public relations, promotion and marketing, design of print and digital materials. Distribute schedule, compile data, and maintain confidential records and databases. Manage purchasing, deposits, monitor budget, process bills, create requisitions and purchase orders. The Administrative Assistant will provide reception to Across the Fence and Extension visitors and callers. This duty involves welcoming clients, answering the phone, directing visitors, assigning parking permits, distributing mail and deliveries, and maintaining reception area. Essential tasks include assisting with special events, awards, retirements, presentations, creating spreadsheets, manage copier/ printer usage and reporting, compose communications, research information, use judgement to resolve issues, and other related tasks to support the Extension mission. Minimum qualifications required is an Associate’s degree with 1 - 3 years of related experience. Experience in a field relevant to Extension and or CALS administrative work is highly desirable. The University is especially interested in candidates who can contribute to the diversity and excellence of the institution.

Applicants are encouraged to include in their cover letter information about how they will further this goal.

For further information on these positions and others currently available, or to apply online, please visit www.uvmjobs.com. Applicants must apply for positions electronically. Paper resumes are not accepted. Open positions are updated daily. Please call 802-656-3150 or email employment@uvm.edu for technical support with the online application.

The University of Vermont is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.

8t-Graystone021622 1

3.83 x 8.84

Interested applicants should email a cover letter and resume to: Cost: $710.60 (with 1 week online) Winooski Housing Authority, c/o Debbie Hergenrother, 83 Barlow Street, Winooski, VT 05404.

Or email Debbie Hergenrother at dch@winooskihousing.org Equal Opportunity Employer WHERE YOU AND YOUR WORK MATTER...

When you work for the State of Vermont, you and your work matter. A career with the State puts you on a rich and rewarding professional path. You’ll find jobs in dozens of fields – not to mention an outstanding total compensation package.

COMMUNIT Y BROADBAND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT MANAGER – MONTPELIER

The Vermont Community Broadband Board is recruiting an Economic Development Manager to assist Communication Union Districts leverage existing funding to create additional financing opportunities. This position will perform finance and lending technical assistance, administrative, and policy work related to funding the expansion of affordable broadband to all under-served addresses in Vermont. For more information, contact Rob Fish at rob.fish@vermont.gov. Department: Public Service.

Status: Full Time. Location: Montpelier. Job Id #26567. Application Deadline: February 24, 2022.

Pinnacle Search Professionals, LLC., is expanding its Burlington office. We need sales oriented and motivated individuals to join our team. If you have a strong drive and are looking for an above average income, please email your resume to Kristie@pinnaclesearchpros.com and then call 802.662.4541.

m

POS T-SECONDARY PROGRAMS COORDIN ATOR – MONTPELIER

The Agency of Education (AOE) seeks an enthusiastic and mission-driven individual to provide statewide leadership, oversight, and support for Early College and Dual Enrollment Programs. We are looking for a candidate with experience in secondary and post-secondary education and in-person, online, and blended learning environments. We strive to create a working environment that fosters fairness, equity, and inclusion where everyone is valued and respected. Tele-work options are available. For more information, contact Jay Ramsey at Jay.Ramsey@vermont. gov. Department: Agency of Education. Status: Full Time. Location: Montpelier. Job Id #28030. Application Deadline: February 21, 2022.

N U R S E P R O G R A M C O O R D I N A T O R - A D U LT I M M U N I Z A T I O N – BURLINGTON

This RN position will be responsible for the overall strategic planning, implementation, and evaluation of the adult immunization program in Vermont, including developing and maintaining community partnerships to increase community-wide implementation of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice’s adult vaccination recommendations. Program strategies and activities will also include strategies to increase vaccination coverage among disproportionately affected adult populations. For more information, contact Merideth Plumpton at Merideth.Plumpton@vermont.gov. Department: Health. Status: Full Time - Limited Service. Location: Burlington. Job Id #28281. Application Deadline: February 28, 2022.

ATTENTION RECRUITERS: POST YOUR JOBS AT: sevendaysvt.com/ postmyjob PRINT DEADLINE: Noon on Mondays (including holidays)

TEMPERATURE EXCURSION SPECIALIS T - BURLINGTON

Are you interested in public health? The Temperature Excursion Specialist position is a great opportunity to get experience working for the Vermont Department of Health. You will gather data on temperature excursions from vaccine providers, contact vaccine manufacturers to determine viability and work with practices to prevent future temperature excursions. This program enables health care providers to offer low-cost or free vaccines to people who are unable to pay. Your job is to minimize vaccine loss from temperature excursions. The successful candidate will have excellent organization and communication skills, and expertise with Microsoft Office is desired. For more information, contact Scott Weathers at scott.weathers@ vermont.gov. Department: Health. Status: Full Time – Limited Service. Location: Burlington. Job Id #28063. Application Deadline: March 1, 2022.

Learn more at :

careers.vermont.gov

1 2/14/22 6t-VTDeptHumanResources021622 12:10 PM

The State of Vermont is an Equal Opportunity Employer

FOR RATES & INFO: Michelle Brown, 802-865-1020 x21

michelle@ sevendaysvt.com

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2/14/22 4:25 PM

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @SEVENDAYSJOBS, SUBSCRIBE TO RSS, OR BROWSE POSTS ON YOUR PHONE AT JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM

NEW JOBS POSTED DAILY!

Mental Health Professional We are looking for a licensed therapist with experience using DBT and who has worked with groups to come work in a flexible and engaging practice setting.

Send resumes to: kcharland@therapysecure.com

Greenhouse/ Hoophouse Construction Laborer Go to vineripe.net/ employment for more information.

Accounts Payable Specialist Do you want to work for an Agency that positively impacts the lives of over 20,000 individuals? The Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity (CVOEO) Finance department has a new opportunity for an Accounts Payable Specialist. The Accounts Payable Specialist will assist the Finance Department by processing incoming invoices, disbursing payments and performing accounting tasks.

Successful applicants will have an Associate’s degree in Accounting or 2-3 years’ related work experience or training in accounting/ bookkeeping, or a combination of education and experience from which comparable knowledge and skills are acquired; experience with accounting programs; and proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office. This is a 40 hours / week position.

We offer an excellent benefit package including medical, dental and vision insurance, generous time off, a retirement plan and discounted gym membership.

ReSOURCE has an excellent opportunity for a professional in our Burlington office

ReSOURCE’s training programs change lives every day

Responsibilities include: Prospect and obtain funding for programs; identify, recruit and recognize major donors; communicate about programs, priorities and impact; and maintain strong relationships working with Board of Directors and volunteer committees.

Our perfect candidate will have excellent skills in: • Leadership and independence • Writing and communication • Working closely in a team • Confident and comfortable speaking in public • Organization and meeting deadlines • A strong desire to help others

Our AmeriCorps program Apply with resume AND cover letter to: info@resourcevt.org uses national to Electronic applications only,service please. EOE | resourcevt.org support Vermonters with barriers to employment.

If you have a desire to make a difference, learn more and apply here: resourcevt.org/careers.

Aerospace Engineer opening at BETA Air LLC in S. Burlington, VT. Duties include creating models in, & analyzing results from, computational aerodynamics tools.

Full JD details & job rqmts, and link to submit applications are @ https://www.beta. team/job/?jobId=a5d471ca-9f01-4a11-9b0c37afc8475880. No calls or emails.

To learn more about this position please visit cvoeo.org/careers.

Please include a cover letter and resume with your application.

CVOEO is interested in candidates who can contribute to our diversity and excellence. Applicants are encouraged to include in their cover letter information about how they will further this goal.

CVOEO is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Multiple Staff Positions Committee on Temporary Shelter (COTS) provides prevention resources, emergency shelter, support services, and housing for those without homes or at risk of becoming homeless. Join our team to make a difference in your community!

COTS is currently hiring for multiple staff positions within our shelters, including full-time with benefits, part-time, and as needed substitutes (per diem). Shelter Staff positions work directly with clients/guests to support them in their search for permanent housing, while ensuring a safe, welcoming, and positive environment within the shelters.

High Need: Candidates available to work overnight in our Individual Adult Shelter, hours vary between 5pm - 8am.

Minimum of HS degree or equivalent required; BSW or BA in a related field strongly preferred. At least one year of related experience required; a combination of coursework and experience will also be considered. Strong candidates will have experience with individuals experiencing homelessness and crisis intervention, as well as knowledge of resources and services for individuals and families.

Base pay for regular team members starts at $16.96/hour.

To apply, submit resume & cover letter to jobs@cotsonline.org.

We are a team of passionate individuals who believe in the value and dignity of every human life. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer, and welcome all. Join us on our mission to end homelessness!

JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM

87 FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

COMMERCIAL LOAN ASSISTANT VEDA is hiring for a Commercial Loan Assistant to be based out of our Burlington or Montpelier, VT offices. Some remote work may be possible. The Commercial Loan Assistant is a member of VEDA’s commercial lending team working under the supervision of the Chief Lending Officer.

This position’s primary responsibility is to provide administrative and technical support to one or more commercial loan officer and management. Other responsibilities include reviewing and processing commercial loan applications, performing initial setup and ongoing maintenance of customer relationships, drafting credit reviews, and generally assisting loan officers as needed.

This job has a wide variety of responsibilities and will reward the right candidate with a breadth of experience and opportunities within a non-profit, mission-oriented workplace. Visit veda.org to see a complete job description.

VEDA offers extremely competitive salaries and excellent insurance and retirement benefits. VEDA is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer and values staff and client diversity.

To apply, please email resume & cover letter to Cheryl Houchens:

chouchens@veda.org.

IMMEDIATE OPENINGS IT SYSTEMS ENGINEER: Develops and maintains district computer systems network. Provides technology support to students and staff. Bachelor's Degree and 5+ years’ experience with computers and networking concepts. MCSE, RHCE, CCNA, VCP, or equivalent licensures/experience preferred.

BIOLOGY TEACHER, LTSUB: Background in biology, wellpracticed in contemporary instructional methods. Bachelor degree, licensed educator, secondary level or eligible for licensure.

INTERVENTIONIST/PARAEDUCATOR: Provides K-12 educational and personal support to students. Associate’s degree or 60 college credits preferred.

K-5 LUNCHROOM/RECESS MONITORS: Supervises students during lunch and/or recess. Helps to maintain a safe and respectful environment. HS graduate or equivalent.

SCHOOLS OUT POSITIONS: Counselors, Site Director, Assistant Site Directors: Provides afterschool instruction and services to K-5 students. Some college preferred for entry level positions, Bachelor’s Degree for supervisory positions.

Please apply through SchoolSpring.com, Keyword: South Burlington School District or contact Elissa Galvez, HR Coordinator at 802/652-7247 or egalvez@sbschools.net.

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Have a deep, dark fear of your own? Submit it to cartoonist Fran Krause at deep-dark-fears.tumblr.com, and you may see your neurosis illustrated in these pages.

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY BY ROB BREZSNY REAL FEBRUARY 17-23 admire or respect,” declared comedian Mel Brooks. I agree! The joyous release that comes through playful amusement is most likely to unfold when you’re in the presence of influences of which you are fond. The good news, Taurus, is that in the coming weeks, you will have a special inclination and knack for hanging around people and influences like that.

Therefore, you will have an enhanced capacity for mirth and delight and pleasure. Take full advantage, please! As much as possible, gravitate toward what you love and admire and respect.

AQUARIUS (JAN. 20-FEB. 18)

“Self-control might be as passionate and as active as the surrender to passion,” wrote Aquarian author W. Somerset Maugham. Yes! I agree! And that’s the perfect message for you to hear right now. If you choose to take advantage of the potentials that life is offering you, you will explore and experiment with the mysteries of self-discipline and self-command.

You’ll be a trailblazer of discernment and poise. You will indulge in and enjoy the pleasures of self-regulation.

ARIES (Mar. 21-Apr. 19): You’re slipping into a phase when stuff that has been invisible will become visible, at least to you. You will have extra power to peer beneath the surfaces and discern the hidden agendas and study the deeper workings. Your interest in trivia and distractions will dissipate, and you’ll feel intensified yearnings to home in on core truths.

Here’s your guiding principle during this time: Favor the interests of the soul over those of the ego. And for inspiration, have fun with this quote by religious scholar Huston Smith: “The Transcendent was my morning meal, we had the Eternal at lunch, and I ate a slice of the Infinite at dinner.”

TAURUS (Apr. 20-May 20): “You cannot have fun with anything that you don’t love or

GEMINI (May 21-Jun. 20): “The thing about

inspiration is that it takes your mind off everything else,” says Gemini author Vikram Seth.

I bring this truth to your attention because I believe that you will soon be the beneficiary of steady, strong waves of inspiration. I also predict that these waves will transport you away from minor irritations that are best left alone for now. Be alert and ever-ready to spring into action, my dear, so that as the inspirational surges flow, you will harvest the maximum rewards from their gifts.

CANCER (Jun. 21-Jul. 22): The advice that Reb Nachman of Breslov offered two centuries ago is just right for you now: “Never ask directions from someone who knows the way, or you will never be able to get lost.” In the coming weeks, you will attract tricky but palpable blessings from meandering around without knowing exactly where you are. It’s time for you to find out what you don’t even realize you need to know, to stumble upon quiet little wonders and marvels that will ultimately prove to be guideposts for your holy quests in the future. Yes, I understand that being in unknown territory without a reliable map isn’t usually a pleasure, but I believe it will be for you. PS: Our fellow Cancerian, author Rebecca Solnit, wrote a book entitled A Field Guide to Getting Lost. It might be helpful during your wanderings. Read a summary of it here: tinyurl.com/guidetogettinglost.

LEO (Jul. 23-Aug. 22): “You face your greatest opposition when you’re closest to your biggest miracle,” wrote author and filmmaker T. D. Jakes. According to my analysis of upcoming astrological omens, that’s good advice for you.

I suspect that the problems you encounter will be among your best and most useful ever. With the right attitude, you will harness the challenges to generate magnificent breakthroughs. And what’s the right attitude?

Proceed with the hypothesis that life is now conspiring to bring your soul exactly what your soul needs to express its ripest beauty.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sep. 22): “Always remember this,” said actor Hattie McDaniel (1893-1952).

“There are only 18 inches between a pat on the back and a kick in the rump.” Metaphorically speaking, I believe that her advice will be useful for you in the coming days. Lately, you’ve had to deal with too many experiences and influences akin to kicks in the rump. But now that will change. Soon there’ll be a surge of experiences and influences that resemble pats on the back. In my estimation, you have finished paying your dues and making course corrections. Now it’s time for you to receive meaningful appreciation and constructive approval.

LIBRA (Sep. 23-Oct. 22): Author Gayle Forman offers a set of truths that I suspect will be useful for you in the coming weeks. It may even be inspirational and motivational.

Forman writes, “Sometimes fate or life or whatever you want to call it, leaves a door a little open, and you walk through it. But sometimes it locks the door and you have to find the key, or pick the lock, or knock the damn thing down. And sometimes, it doesn’t even show you the door, and you have to build it yourself.” Are you ready for the challenge, Libra? I think you are. Do whatever you must do to go through the doorways you want and need to go through.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Singer-songwriter Rosanne Cash described her process. “I dream of songs,” she began. “I dream they fall down through the centuries, from my distant ancestors, and come to me. I dream of lullabies and sea shanties and keening cries and rhythms and stories and backbeats.” Scorpio, I would love for you to explore comparable approaches to getting the creative ideas you need to live your best life possible. I would love for you to draw freely from sources beyond your conscious ego — including your ancestors, the

people you were in previous incarnations, gods and spirits, heroes and allies, the intelligence of animals, and the wisdom of nature. The coming months will be a favorable time to expand your access. Start boosting the signals now!

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Author

Madeleine Thien has lived in Vancouver, Montréal, and Iowa City, and has taught at schools in Hong Kong and Brooklyn. Her father was born and raised in Malaysia and her mother in Hong Kong. She has a rich array of different roots. Not surprisingly, then, she has said, “I like to think of home as a verb, something we keep recreating.” That’s an excellent meditation for you right now, Sagittarius. And it will continue to be worthy of your ruminations for another four months. What’s the next step you could take to feel comfortable and secure and at peace?

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): The fastest animal on earth is the peregrine falcon, which can reach speeds of 200 miles per hour when it dives from a great height. The seventhfastest creature is the humble pigeon. Having been clocked at 92.5 miles per hour, the bird outpaces the cheetah, which is the fastest land animal. I propose that we make the pigeon your spirit creature for the coming weeks. On the one hand, you may seem mild and modest to casual observers. On the other hand, you will, in fact, be sleek, quick and agile.

Like the pigeon, you will also be highly adaptable, able to thrive in a variety of situations.

PISCES (Feb. 19-Mar. 20): In 1961, Piscean cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was the first human to orbit the Earth in a spacecraft. As his feat neared its end, Gagarin left the capsule at 20,000 feet above the ground and parachuted the rest of the way. He arrived in a turnip field where a girl and her grandmother were working. They provided him with a horse and cart so he could travel to the nearest telephone and make a call to get picked up and brought back to headquarters. I foresee a metaphorically comparable series of events transpiring in your life, Pisces. Be flexible and adaptable as you adjust to changing conditions with changing strategies. Your exceptional and illustrious activities may require the assistance of humble influences.

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ATTRACTIVE BUT CAN’T COOK WELL A smart, happy, attractive, fit, youngerlooking 49-y/o divorced woman with a great, laid-back personality/sense of humor who can’t cook well (but can bake and make a mean salad). Ready to find a guy to ride bikes, walk/hike, go for car rides/day trips, vacations, explore nature, lunch/dinners/coffee, go to yard sales/flea markets and car shows. Love dogs. IslandGirl72, 49, seeking: M HOPE Charismatic female, well traveled, educated, professional. Intuitive, creative, kind, thoughtful. Recently moved to Vermont to seek solace, peace, start a small business. I seek simplicity in my life. My philosophy: In a world where you can be anything, simply be kind!

I love the mountains, streams, lakes, walking in the woods, swimming.

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People who turn me on know themselves and are honest. So good conversation, personal warmth and strong values go far with me. Welloverpar, 66, seeking: M, l LOTS OF ENERGY! I’m a high-energy, highly educated person in Vermont for winter skiing and fun. I love live music and get out as much as I can to hear good acts. I am interested in making new friends but would be open to a relationship, even an LTR, if the right connections develop.

Winter_friend, 55, seeking: M, l WARM BBW FOR CUDDLY T-BEAR Warm BBW seeks cuddly teddy bear (or two) who’s silly, soulful, spiritual and sensual, as I am. Enjoy being near water, eating out or cooking together, drives to nowhere, plays, movies, live music.

I’m polyamorous and hope you are, too; I believe it’s possible to have more than one loving relationship at once.

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COZY, LITERATE HOMEBODY SEEKS CO-CHEF Voracious reader and creative thinker seeks playmate. If you’re someone who thinks deeply, values friendships, respects the world beyond humankind, chooses science over suspicion, and tempers your thinking with compassion and humility, let’s be in touch. I’m a SF, 55, healthy, active and COVID careful. Sanguinely, 54, seeking: M SEEKING ELUSIVE CHEMISTRY Genuine nice gal — low maintenance, avoider of negative energy. Aim for peaceful coexistence in a beautiful setting.

Love nature: big view, mountains, lake and sky; birds and animals; swimming in streams, lakes and waterfalls. Seek similar male who is tall, educated, kind and upbeat.

Emotionally stable. Well read. Bonus points if you like cooking garden-to-table, and yard projects. swimwstars, 65, seeking: M, l HOPING FOR COMPANIONSHIP Don’t need a fancy trip to France. Would enjoy the company of someone for more realistic adventures — things like breakfast. I love getting breakfast out, playing board games, day trips here and there. bluemonarch, 55, seeking: M, W, TM, TW, Q, NC, NBP, Cp, l EDUCATED, KIND, FUNNY, AUTHENTIC I’m a mom of two, teacher, kind, liberal lady looking for a man who is kind and has a great sense of humor. I like true crime podcasts, public radio, relaxing, vegan food, comedy shows and great conversation. Not looking for someone to complete me, just looking for someone to enjoy time with. No hookups. INFP. Be well! Starryskies, 40, seeking: M, l

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READY TO MAKE FUN MISTAKES 35-y/o M looking for a short- to long-term partner. Been in a whirlwind and need to relax. Looking for someone to goof off, explore the mountains and cuddle with. Let’s start off with a coffee and see if it’s worth having a beer. If we get along, I’ll show you my secret powder stashes. Hoppyhiker, 35, seeking: W, l ADRENALINE AND NATURE LOVER New to Vermont and a bit lonely. I love being outside and going fast.

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BlueNight22, 68, seeking: W, l HARDWORKING, LAID-BACK, ADVENTUROUS I like hiking, long walks, sitting on the back porch and having coffee or a drink, and vacationing in my RV. Sometimes it’s just nice to be with someone and not feel like you always have to talk, ya know. I also like spending time by the pool. I’m 5’10, 170 pounds, white, average build. Text or call 233-7234. Friend61, 61, seeking: W RAVEN LOOKING FOR FRIENDS Ravens love to play. They are happy being alone but also will congregate and have fun. Ravens make jokes (the tricksters) but are empathetic to others.

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VtDanD, 61, seeking: M, W, TW, Q, NC, Cp

LOOKING FOR EXCITEMENT AND ADVENTURE I do my best to make the most of every moment. I enjoy socializing and good conversation and quiet outdoor activities, either alone or with company.

I am sure to get some sort of daily exercise — good for the body, mind and spirit. There is lots more to tell. I hope I have shared enough to tempt you! rockclimber, 67, seeking: W, l

NEED A GOOD MAN Clean, regular guy, professional, retired, seeking discreet, casual, nonserious relationship for sex and fun. Versatile, like all positions, can host, but discreetly.

Enjoy afternoon delights, evenings and overnights. Here in Vermont at second home for winter ski season and need a good man to keep me warm and naked. Let’s meet and go from there. manneeded, 66, seeking: M

HOPE YOUR HANDS ARE WARM! I am looking for someone to enjoy some straightforward, no-mask time with. I’m vaxxed to the maxx, GGG and looking for regular contact. I’m science-minded, well read, cook very well and can carry on a conversation on a variety of topics. I am currently working from home and domesticating a dog rescue from North Carolina.

LoneScottishBoy, 56, seeking: W, l

SINGLE, OPEN-MINDED, WILLING, ABLE 37, single M seeking W to meet offline casually. Open for hookups, arrangements, FWB, possible relationship, or forever if chemistry is right. In Hartford area. Open to anything, only request: females, couples, no age pref, limited transportation. Ladies’ choice on how we proceed. Cautious but open to anything. I look forward to meeting a nice woman! Contact me for more direct communication methods. LB420, 37, seeking: W, l COUNTRY, OLD AND HORNY I am looking for a friend with benefits. A partner in naked fun! Ernie, 59, seeking: M WARM, SEXY, PLAYFUL I am retired from the military, looking for that fun person to make my life happy. thumper63, 59, seeking: W, Cp, Gp, l ACTIVE, FUNNY, EXERCISE, PHOTOGRAPHY Looking for a companion for fitness and cuddling. Love to laugh and stay positive.

Ultimately a long-term relationship; dating at first. Someone who likes to mountain bike and gravel bike. Nordic ski.

I also run. I’m a photographer and give a great massage! MTB29, 66, seeking: W, l

TRANS WOMEN seeking...

T GIRL LIVE IN VT I’m a feminine trans woman with a good sense of humor. I want a special someone. I like dinner and a movie or a baseball game, ride the bike path and see shows at Higher Ground. I love my record collection and taking care of my house. I’m looking for some companionship and love, building a good relationship. Luv2BaGurl, 62, seeking: M, W, TM, TW, Q, NC, NBP, l

COUPLES seeking...

LOOKING FOR FUN We are looking for a man to have sex with my wife as I watch or join in. I want no interaction with the man.

Just fun. No STDs, but bareback.

Can be more than one man with my wife. tracker17, 66, seeking: M, l FUN FOR THREE Attractive, fun, practical couple. FM couple into having sexual encounters with the right lady. We love the outdoors, wet sports and sunshine. We are city kids who love Vermont and playing house in the woods. How about you? unsureinVT, 51, seeking: W, Cp, l SPICING IT UP I’m a cancer survivor happily married to my husband. We’re seeking a couple or single woman to help me find my sensuality. We’ve done this before, but it’s been many years now.

Anyone interested in helping out?

Lookingforfun116, 53, seeking: W, Cp COUPLE LOOKING FOR SOME FUN My husband and I are looking for some fun with a women, or a couple to join us for some drinks and a good time.

Let us know if you are interested.

Torshamayo, 39, seeking: M, W, Cp EXPERIENCE SOMETHING NEW We are a loving couple of over five years. Love to play and try new things.

Spend free time at the ledges. Looking for people to play with. Perhaps dinner, night out and maybe breakfast in the morning. Looking for open-minded men, women or couples who enjoy fun times and new experiences. 2newAdventurers, 53, seeking: M, W, Cp, Gp

i SPY

KELLY IN FERRISBURGH Saw your profile online. Get in touch with me here, please. When: Sunday, February 13, 2022. Where: online.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #915513

If you’ve been spied, go online to contact your admirer!

BARGAIN-SHOPPING BABY BOY To the cute but sleepy young man who came into my store today: Your sawdust scent and faint squint roused something in me that I haven’t felt since I first saw John Travolta twisting that sweet sugar plum in the fall of 1979. I’d love to see what’s under that union suit, but I’d settle for one more adorable yawn. When: Thursday, February 3, 2022. Where: Williston.

You: Man. Me: Woman. #915504

dating.sevendaysvt.com

SHAMWOW Happy Birthday! Scoots! When: Tuesday, February 15, 2022. Where: in my dreams. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915515 SENDING YOU FORGET-ME-NOTS Remembering our sweet summertime days riding bikes and reading the paper together. Our short time together was lovely, and I’m sorry for messing it up. I miss you, dear Vivian! When: Saturday, February 12, 2022. Where: Burlington. You: Man. Me: Man. #915514 WILLISTON WHISTLER 2005-06 Maybe you didn’t think it was you in my original ad, since the date was wrong. I didn’t realize I could put the date in the headline! I would love to see your eyes, your smile and to hear you whistle again! Thinking of you every single day since! Where are you now? When: Thursday, May 11, 2017.

Where: in the stairway to heaven MTP. You: Man. Me: Woman. #915512 THE REAL AMANDA ON MATCH The person who said she was Amanda from D.C. actually wasn’t. The real one is back on Match, and I would love to connect. Her son went to Kenyon (or wore a sweatshirt from there).

Doesn’t anyone know her who can show her this? Match asked for three things, and she listed six. That’s the kind of mind I like. When: Thursday, February 10, 2022. Where: Match. com. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915511 WHITE LEOPARD AT STAPLES We were both looking for printer cartridges and chatted. You wore a long white leopard-print coat and riding boots. Let’s have coffee. When: Wednesday, February 9, 2022. Where: Staples. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915510

DREAM OR REAL LIFE? I recently met a girl at a bar. We went back to my place and ... you know. She was hot and probably about 22 years old. I woke up the next morning, and she was gone. There was no evidence that anyone even stayed the night.

I hope I didn’t just have a really awesome sex dream. Call me, hot blonde. xoxo Albert. When: Sunday, January 9, 2022. Where: in my bed.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #915509

I LIKE TOES HMU if you have cute toes. When: Thursday, February 10, 2022. Where: in my bed. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915502

HOT THROW-UP GIRL At a party, you threw up all over me. It was kind of hot. I only saw your face for a few seconds, but you were gorgeous.

You might have had a green dress. But something I know is that your puke was red. (You might wanna get that checked out.) Write me back, please. You. Are. Hot. When: Wednesday, February 2, 2022. Where: Sean’s house party.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #915508 YELLOW BIKES AND YOU If you crashed into a neon yellow bike on the bike path, I think you might be the one. You wouldn’t recognize me in the light of day, because I was also dressed in all yellow (it’s this roleplaying thing I do). You were short, around four feet, reddish-orange eyes, bald, curvy. If this is you, write back. I felt a spark. When: Thursday, February 10, 2022. Where: on the bike path. You: Man. Me: Man. #915507 RE: WINE & CHEESE TRADERS Gem: Such a brief moment, really, but nice to know that kindness hasn’t gone out of style. There may have been more; my memory fails me. Perhaps we could practice an act of kindness together. Be well. When: Wednesday, December 22, 2021. Where: Wine & Cheese Traders.

You: Man. Me: Woman. #915505

Ask REVEREND the

Irreverent counsel on life’s conundrums

Dear Reverend,

An old friend of mine is interested in dating a newish friend of mine. I know the old friend very well, and he’s more than a little nutty. He’s also currently dating several other women. Should I warn my new friend about him and tell her to be cautious? Or should I let it play its course? I wouldn’t want them to hit it off and then resent me for meddling. On the other hand, I don’t want her to get hurt. Please advise!

Buddy Buddinski

(MALE, 39)

MAN GRIPPING THE BAGUETTE I’m looking for my shawty. We were in the bakery section when we made eye contact. You were wearing your white Doc Martens and a blue denimlike puffer jacket. I was firmly holding a baguette and a bottle of wine, desperately hoping we could share them together sometime. When: Monday, February 7, 2022. Where: Shaw’s.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #915501 ANYONE KNOW IBRAHIM? He was this tall, bearded Middle Eastern guy who used to wander around and always seemed to be at whatever coffee shop I’d go into, who was somehow best friends with every barista. And suddenly he was gone. Does anyone know what happened to him or how I can find or contact him? When: Tuesday, February 5, 2019. Where: every coffee shop and at Dobrà Tea. You: Man. Me: Woman. #915500 I LIKE MY COUSIN Fifty years ago, Mother set a date up. I saw you; you were the prettiest woman I have ever seen. It was love at first sight. You ran off immediately.

I finally built the courage to try and contact you if you aren’t dead. xoxo Albert. If only you weren’t my cousin. When: Sunday, August 6, 2017. Where: sweet home Alabama.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #915498

Dear Buddy Buddinski,

I suppose it depends on what you mean by “more than a little nutty.”

Does your friend have some personality quirks, or do you think that he’s dangerous?

Is he abusive? Is he a criminal? Is he a mean jerk? If so, you may want to suggest that your new friend steer clear.

But if the guy is just a bit kooky, you should stay out of it. You don’t want to scare your new friend away unnecessarily,

YOU LECTURED ME You were going over French Hill on Route 2. Suddenly, you saw me swerving out of control right toward your VW Westfalia. I slid off the road and into a ditch. I was OK, just shaken up. You lectured me on the importance of having winter tires. I only wish I had caught your name! When: Monday, January 10, 2022. Where: driving into Williston.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #915497 COCHRAN’S MEET-CUTE We rode the T-bar together at Friday Night Lights. You: tall, handsome, with kind eyes. Me: wearing a red hat and very interested in your job as a sugarer.

You and your job seemed really sweet.

Thought you should know. When: Friday, January 7, 2022. Where: Cochran’s.

You: Man. Me: Woman. #915496 KILLINGTON SKI PATROL HERO Me: in the glades with a broken tibia, broken free ACL and torn meniscus.

You: Killington ski patroller who got me down on the sled miraculously smoothly and was so kind. I want to thank you personally! My knee may be in pieces, but my heart is full. When: Sunday, January 23, 2022. Where: Killington Ski Resort. You: Man. Me: Woman. #915495 HI AMANDA I sent a reply message to your profile here. When: Monday, January 24, 2022. Where: Seven Days iSpy. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915494 I AM AMANDA FROM D.C. I’m not on Match, but I am on other apps.

Slightly concerned I have a doppelgänger running around. Your description sounds uncannily like my profile, except for the location you spotted it. A little weirded out but also intrigued. Email me? (Also, other Amanda, please reach out!) When: Wednesday, January 19, 2022. Where: I Spy. You: Man. Me: Woman. #915492 INDIAN BROOK DOG WALKER Crossed your path. You were handsome and put together, and there was some auburn in your beard. Your dog’s bark was louder than her bite. She was a 4-y/o German shepherd who played with my little husky gal. I froze, literally and figuratively. Want to walk the dogs sometime? When: Sunday, January 16, 2022. Where: Indian Brook.

You: Man. Me: Woman. #915491

TWICE AS NICE SKINNER We chatted in the skin track on MLK Day, and we introduced ourselves. You stayed for a second run, and I was hoping you would stay for a third. Would love to meet again, for skiing or otherwise. When: Monday, January 17, 2022. Where: Bolton Valley. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915493 MEHURON’S GROCERY Me: in black bibs. You: in brown bibs and black hoodie. Locked eyes by the chips, I believe, and then I ended up in line behind you at checkout. I had a dream you gave me your number on a torn dollar bill. I can’t shake your eyes from my mind. When: Wednesday, January 12, 2022. Where: Mehuron’s grocery.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #915490 LADY IN PURPLE AT WALGREENS I saw a polite, outgoing man. I was wearing a purple jacket and driving a black car. You were driving a large black truck. You impressed me. Would like to find out more about you. When: Thursday, January 13, 2022. Where: Walgreens.

You: Man. Me: Woman. #915489 NECTAR’S TRIVIA BADDIE I see you every week. Your team is called Uncredited Bird #7; mine, A.M. Lumber.

You always beat us by a small margin, and it makes me so mad but also kind of turns me on. You have long brown hair and effortlessly attractive facial hair. Hope to beat you (at trivia) soon.

When: Thursday, December 16, 2021.

Where: Nectar’s Thursday night Trivia.

You: Man. Me: Woman. #915488 AMANDA FROM DC (ON MATCH) Your profile is wow! I’m not a member of that site, or I’d be messaging you directly.

But I like all six of the three things you look for (as well as you making your own rules).

Nice guy here, active and fun and single.

Would really like to chat and see if there’s chemistry. I hope you see this. When: Friday, January 7, 2022. Where: Match. com. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915486 WELCOME TO MOE’S We glanced at each other when your friend pulled into the parking space directly across from where I was sitting, eating my burrito. You were in the passenger seat.

I was wearing a black beanie hat with a navy blue jacket. As I was leaving, you were sitting with your friend, and we caught each other’s eyes again. Let’s meet up! When: Friday, December 31, 2021. Where: Moe’s in Williston. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915485

and if your old friend found out that you did, it could really hurt his feelings.

I’m assuming that both of these people are grown adults who aren’t new to the dating game, so they must know that meeting new people is a crapshoot. Speaking of, dating more than one person at a time isn’t particularly unusual. As long as everybody is honest about it up front, there’s no harm done.

Besides, if you don’t know this woman all that well, how do you know that she won’t enjoy his particular brand of nuttiness? Maybe they’ll be the perfect match.

Good luck and God bless,

The Reverend What’s your problem?

Send it to asktherev@sevendaysvt.com.

SEVEN DAYS FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

93

60-y/o woman seeking 60-y/o man. I am pandemic-weary.

Looking for new friendships outside of work and my two cats. I do like dogs, but my work schedule is not conducive for having a dog. #L1551 I’m a male seeking a 50plus female. I like flowers, houseplants, reading, the beach, long walks and conversation, Scrabble, horseshoes, sports, and cuddles. University of Vermont. #L1548

I’m a 62-y/o WSM seeking a SW female 45 or up. No games.

Looking to find a woman to make me a better man. Am seeking a mature person. No head games. Will send phone number if you respond. #L155 75-y/o lady would like to meet a man 70 to 80 for companionship and possible relationship in the Essex area. #L1553 I am a 20-y/o male college student studying chemistry to become an astronaut. I have free time on Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday. On most days, I can give you two hours to value. I am seeking a female. #L1552

I’m a 62-y/o woman in search of a man under 70. Is there a curious, happy, sexy, nonjudgmental, funny, kind soul who craves adventure and is not afraid to try new things? I love to laugh, dance and get out in nature for hikes, photography and gardening. BMI 19. Leftleaning. #L1554 Seeking fit country woman, 50 to 60. Hiking in fall and winter. Quiet life. Also enjoy snowmobile and motorcycles. Working side by side as a team on land and homestead. Willing to relocate.

I have lots to share. Email, please! #L1550

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SEVEN DAYS FEBRUARY 16-23, 2022

I’m a late 50s SWM seeking age 50s to 60s female. Searching for a well-grounded farm girl.

Love of gardening, cooking and movies a plus. I have a strong desire to travel cross-country to Alaska and return. I’m financially secure and love to be home. #L1547 GWM, 39. I am looking for a kind, caring man my age.

Plattsburgh, N.Y. I want that best friend for life. Mature for mature. Local preferred. I want to meet you. Caring, intelligent, educated, homebody. #L1546 Outdoorsy 63-y/o WM looking for someone special for companionship and affection, a good movie, long walks — even bike riding and dinner with the families. Loves animals, bowling and am open-minded.

If you’re between 50 and 60, give me a call. #L1544

Internet-Free Dating!

Reply to these messages with real, honest-to-goodness letters. DETAILS BELOW. GM near Rutland seeking other gay or bi males for NSA fun. Like everything. Very discreet. Phone only, please. #L1549 Woman, 56. Need a simple life in the country with a gentle, caring man sharing similar values to keep the relationship healthy. Desire to engage in deep conversation, be active in nature and support good health.

Must love coffee, good food and the art of cooking. Phone number, please. #L1543 SWM bi top seeks sub bottom.

Enjoy fem heels, stockings, panties, painted toenails. No drugs. Clean. Vaccinated. Steady lover. Phone. #L1542 Gay white male looking for gay males in the area of Tunbridge/ South Royalton. 5’10 and a half.

Slender build. Dark brown hair and brown eyes. Good looking.

Can be discreet. Contact me. #L1541 I’m a GWM, 60s, 5’9, 170 pounds, seeking a man or men into spanking and/or wearing/ using adult diapers. #L1540

Bi-curious male, 40s, seeking pen pals and phone freaks. Confess your closet kinks, freaky fetishes and taboo tales. I’m open-minded and nonjudgmental. I want to know all your sexy secrets. All are welcome. I’ll reply if asked. #L1539 36-y/o SWM seeking captivating pen pal. Looking to establish an upright, modest relationship with like-minded people. I’m funny, energetic, appealing and enjoy the little things. I love the beauty the outdoors bring. Open to all. Life’s too short to miss an opportunity. Can’t wait to hear from you. #L1538 I am a rural woman interested in building a romantic relationship.

I follow the teachings of Dr. Pat Allen, inspired by science and Taoist philosophy. I want to be cherished by a gentleman who wants to be respected. #L1537 65-y/o woman, but not showing my age yet, looking to meet calm, mature, honest men. I enjoy adventures with most outdoor activities, animals, music. #L1536

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